Ch. 11..20
Chapter 11 The Arts Of Necromancy [Part 2]
Lux nodded his head in appreciation.
He felt that he made the right choice after choosing the third option and giving his first Skeleton a name.
After the naming was completed, the red-headed boy checked the other Basic Summoning Skills that were available to him.
—--
< Summon Skeleton Archer >
Rating: D
Energy: 10
Progress: (0/100)
– You can increase the Progression Rating when you use Beast Cores to upgrade this skill.
– Requirement: Summon Skeleton Rating C
– Summons one Skeleton Archer to fight for you
– Summon duration 1 hour
– Skill Cooldown: 5 minutes.
( Skeleton Archer )
Health: 20
Attack: 3 - 10
Attack Type: Physical Damage
—-
< Summon Skeletal Mage >
Rating: C
Energy: 20
Progress: (0/100)
– You can increase the Progression Rating when you use Beast Cores to upgrade this skill.
– Requirement: Skeleton Archer Rating A
– Summons one Skeleton Mage to fight for you
– Summon duration 1 hour
– Skill Cooldown: 5 minutes.
( Skeleton Mage )
Health: 50
Attack: 5 - 15
Attack Type: Elemental Damage
—--
"Summon Skeleton Archer, and Summon Skeleton Mage," Lux muttered. "Not bad. But, this makes upgrading them more troublesome."
Lux scratched his head as he looked at the requirements of his two other Summoning Skills. He could already imagine the amount of resources that he would need to upgrade Diablo, as well as the Summon Skeleton Skill.
Since both of them were separate Skills, upgrading them at the same time was not ideal. In the beginning, Lux was aware of how hard it was to gain Beast Cores.
Those who passed the Stronghold's entry test to Elysium would gain the right to enter the "Beginner's Area".
Inside this Beginner's Area were low-level creatures, and common monsters that those who were twelve years old and above could practice on in order to refine their fighting abilities.
When these creatures were killed, there was a ten percent chance that they would drop a Beast Core.
When using a Beast Core, people would be given two options by their Soul Books.
The first one was to upgrade their Personal Stats.
Depending on the rarity of the Beast Core, they could gain up to a hundred points once it was consumed.
The Beast Cores of low-tier Beasts usually give a ten percent chance to gain a Skill exclusive to the Creature that was slain. Aside from that, one could also gain one to two stat points that could be allocated freely.
The second option was to upgrade Skills.
When one upgraded Skills, the progress bar of the Skill would rise until it reached 100% progression. The Skill would then become more powerful, and might even lead to a mutation that could unlock a more powerful version of the original Skill.
This was similar to Lux's Skill Evolution [EX], but this instance only happened at a very, very, low probability.
Usually, when people upgraded their Skills, they would only have their Skill's performance improved. This was why the Skill that Lux acquired from the God of Gamblers was a Skill that would make everyone in the world of Solais feel extremely envious.
An ability that could evolve any kind of Skill was unheard of. If this was made public, many powerful factions would fight to have Lux under their wing, or eliminated, to prevent a future powerhouse from threatening their rule.
Lux didn't think about these things because he had a more troublesome problem at hand. He felt conflicted if he should upgrade his Stats first, or his Skills first. This question had plagued countless people soon after they had entered Elysium for the first time.
The line drawn between internal and external strength, had long been a subject of debate for Rankers.
Only those that were born without any Affinities would focus on enhancing their stats, instead of relying on Skills to become stronger.
"Eriol, what should I do?" Lux asked. "Should I upgrade my Stats first, or Diablo's?"
"That's the choice you need to make, Lux," Eriol replied. "For now, you should think of what to do in the morning. Since you just failed the recent entrance test to Elysium, the Leader of this Stronghold, Gerald, will not allow you to take the test anytime soon. He doesn't want others to think that he is playing favorites, so you will have to wait a year to take Elysium's entrance exam again."
"I-I can't wait that long!" Lux stuttered. Now that he had unlocked his body's potential, as well as learned a Skill, not being able to go to Elysium would drive him crazy.
Eriol nodded in understanding. "How about this? I will lend you an artifact that will allow you to travel to a Beginner's Area that is located far away from territory that belongs to Wildgarde Fortress in Elysium.
"This way, not only will you be able to access Elysium, no one will be able to recognize you as well. What do you think about this proposal of mine?"
"I accept!" Lux answered in a heartbeat. He was afraid that Eriol would take back his offer if he didn't answer right away.
Eriol chuckled and looked at the over-excited youngster who was holding himself back from hugging him to oblivion.
"Okay. take this," Eriol presented a black ring to Lux. "This ring is called the Ring of Arondight. It will take you to the Arondight Territory which is located at the Far South of Elysium. Ah, before I forget, do you know how big Elysium is?"
"According to Grandma, Elysium is as big as this world?"
"Correct. But, do you know how big this world is?"
Lux blinked as he gave Eriol a random answer. "As big as Earth?"
Eriol chuckled after hearing Lux's answer. He then gave the young boy a mischievous smile as he asked another question.
"Is Earth big?" Eriol asked.
"Yes," Lux replied.
"Then, is Jupiter bigger than Earth?"
"It is bigger."
Lux was aware that Jupiter was the biggest planet in the Solar System. However, he didn't know just how big it was.
"Solais is the same size as Jupiter," Eriol stated. "Do you know how many Earths you can fit inside Jupiter?"
"... I don't know."
"The answer is almost 1,300 Earths. Solais and Elysium are that big. So, when I told you that this ring would allow you to enter the Southern Area of Elysium, it meant that you would be several Earth's away from the Wildgarde Stronghold."
Lux's jaw hung open because he didn't expect that the world he was living on was that big. A planet that could fit almost 1,300 Earth's was beyond his understanding.
When Eriol asked him if the Earth was big, he had answered yes.
Now that he knew that Solais was as big as Jupiter, he realized that he would be hundreds of thousands of miles away from home.
"Um, is it possible to travel from Arondight to the territory of Wildgarde in Elysium?" Lux inquired.
"Definitely," Eriol answered with confidence. "However, the path will be extremely dangerous. Elysium has just recently opened, and the races of this world have only explored the tip of the iceberg. Even if they were given a thousand years, there would still be many unexplored regions waiting for the brave to discover. Also, the places you can enter are only the Beginner Areas.
"If you really want to go to this Stronghold's territory in Elysium, it will be far safer to wait a year and take the test once again. Wouldn't it be better to give everyone a big surprise when they find out that you've become so strong after staying at home for a year?"
Eriol's playful words struck Lux's heartstrings.
He could already see the shock in everyone's expressions after he took the next test, alongside the other twelve-year olds.
As Lux was thinking of showing off an amazing performance in the future, he remembered his Grandma's worried expression during dinner.
His sudden silence confused Eriol, and the God of Games thought that Lux was getting cold feet. Because of this, he decided to encourage the red-headed boy that everything was going to be fine.
"It's just a year of waiting," Eriol said. "After you pass the test with flying colors, your friends, and the adults here in the Stronghold will definitely see you in a better light."
Lux shook his head because that was not what he was thinking.
"Eriol, can I tell my grandma about this?" Lux asked. "Since I will be going to Elysium, I will not be home. She might get worried and look for me everywhere. Knowing Grandma, she would turn this land upside down just to find me."
Eriol frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. There were several issues with Lux's suggestion, and it might lead to complications later. However, he also couldn't rule out the consequences of what would happen if Lux disappeared for a very long time.
Although he hadn't passed the test to enter Elysium, everyone in the Stronghold cared about Lux. if the red-headed boy suddenly disappeared, it would certainly cause a commotion and it might lead to head-ache inducing scenarios.
If Lux and Eriol wanted to avoid this problem, they needed to bring Lux's grandma, Vera, in their inner circle.
"Very well, let's talk to your grandma," Eriol replied after weighing the pros and cons of things. "I will do the talking. You can just support me from the side."
Lux nodded. "Good!"
If possible, Lux didn't want to hide anything from his grandma. She was the only family he had ever known, and Vera had taken care of him since he was a baby. There was a certain trust between them that couldn't be spoken through words.
This was also why Vera gave Lux her silent approval for wanting to train in secret in order to follow his dream to enter Elysium.
Chapter 12 I Am No Quack Doctor
Vera looked at her grandson with a serious expression on her face. She had known that Lux had wanted to go to Elysium to prove that he wasn't useless, but Vera had never treated him as someone who was.
For her, Lux was a child that filled her lonely world with colors. Although he wasn't the healthiest of individuals, he would do his best in order to help her in any way that he could.
If possible, Vera didn't want Lux to go to Elysium because she was afraid that the boy's life would be endangered.
"Lux, I know that you really wanted to become a warrior," Vera said softly. "But, even if your heart wills it, your body is not strong enough to see it through."
Vera wanted to say that Lux didn't have to think about anything else and just live a happy and comfortable life, but she held these words back. She knew, more than anything else, what her grandson wanted to do in life.
"Grandma, I know that you love me and want only the best for me," Lux replied. "Also, I know that it is hard for you to believe me, but my body is now healed. I will no longer faint if I stress my body too much."
Vera shook her head firmly. "Lux, life is very precious. I will not let you enter Elysium until I personally see with my own eyes that what you are telling me is the truth. However, this will also be the last time. If you fail to convince me, you will no longer insist on going to Elysium. Do we have a deal?"
"Do I have your word, Grandma?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Lux breathed a sigh of relief. He grew up being spoiled by his grandma, and the latter treated him with great care. Although they'd had several arguments in the past in regards to his dreams to go to Elysium, Vera had never rejected his dream, and allowed him to train as much as he could.
"Grandma, I'd like to introduce you to someone," Lux said. "He is the one that helped cure my body."
"... don't tell me it's another one of those quack doctors you invited in the past?" Vera's face became stern. "How many times have you been conned by people into buying those random potions that only made you sick? Have you not learned your lesson?"
Lux coughed lightly because he couldn't refute his grandma's words. In the past, he had bought some shady strengthening tonics from the merchants that passed through their stronghold. Although these tonics looked good on the outside, their effects were horrible, causing Lux to suffer from rashes, or fever, for a few days.
"Don't worry, Grandma. This time it's not a quack." Lux patted his chest with confidence. "In fact, he also came here to personally talk to you."
"He wanted to talk to me?" Vera frowned. "Where is he?"
"In my room."
"... Lux. Did you just invite a random stranger inside our house while I was away?"
Vera's steady gaze made Lux feel like he was suffering from constipation. However, he gritted his teeth in order to take control of the situation.
"Grandma, let me just introduce him to you first," Lux said. "If he's really a suspicious quack, feel free to whack his head silly!"
Vera reluctantly nodded her head and made a gesture for Lux to fetch the person that healed his body. She had already decided that if the quack was planning to hurt her grandson, she would strangle him and feed his body to the crocodiles in the river.
A few minutes later, a child, who seemed to be around twelve years old, followed behind Lux with a smile.
Vera was surprised because she didn't expect that the person that Lux was talking about was actually a boy younger than him.
Suddenly, Vera's expression became serious as she stared at the young boy with dark-blue hair and gray eyes.
She was a warrior, so it was fairly easy for her to notice even the smallest of things when it came to people.
The first thing that alarmed her was that she couldn't sense the blue-haired boy's presence. It was as if the one following Lux was not a person, but just a passing breeze.
The second thing she noticed were the boy's eyes. Those eyes didn't belong to someone young, but a wise person that seemed to have lived for many years.
'A High-Ranker?' Vera thought as she extended her senses towards the boy who was now sitting in front of her.
"Good day. My name is Eriol, and I am the one that helped Lux fix his body," Eriol said with a smile. "Before anything else, I would just like to say that I am no quack doctor.
"Lux is already healed and, although his body still hasn't reached the standards to enter Elysium, it is no longer burdened by its past weakness. If he trains properly then going to the Newbie Area will not be an issue."
"Are you a ranker?" Vera asked. "What is your rank?"
Eriol blinked once then twice before realization hit him.
"Well, I'm not really a ranker…," Eriol replied. "But, if it will make you feel any better, you can think of me as one."
Vera narrowed her eyes. She didn't believe that someone like Eriol would randomly choose to help someone. There was no free lunch in this world, and she was sure that the blue-haired boy had some hidden agenda.
'Lux must have something he wants,' Vera thought. 'I better get rid of him before he can do something to my grandson.'
"Such scary thoughts," Eriol commented with a smile. "I swear by my name that I have no evil intentions in regards to Lux. If I planned something so sinister, I would not have gone out of my way to meet with you, right?"
Vera's pupils shrank when she realized that the other person could read her thoughts. This was not the first time she had met someone with this ability. She had her fair share of fighting against these kinds of people in Solais and Elysium. The one thing that they all had in common was that all of them were troublesome opponents.
"Please, can't we have a proper discussion without you thinking of ways to kill me?" Eriol said with a bitter smile. "I came here to tell you that I will take Lux to Elysium with me and train him for a year. After that he will take the test here in the Wildgarde Stronghold so he can join your faction inside Elysium."
"Take him to Elysium?" Vera raised an eyebrow. "You're already a ranker. You can't possibly enter the Newbie Area."
Eriol briefly nodded his head in agreement. "There are laws in Elysium that divide the lands that people can explore depending on their ranks. However, I can bypass these laws and go anywhere unhindered.
"But, we both know that you won't allow Lux to go to Elysium unless he has proven himself capable of surviving by himself, right?"
"Yes," Vera answered.
"Well then, since both of us are in agreement, how about we all go on a little trip outside this stronghold?" Eriol proposed. "That way, you will be able to see with your own eyes if your beloved grandson had the qualifications to go to Elysium or not."
Vera didn't reply right away. Instead, she looked at her grandson who was giving her a pleading gaze.
After a brief inner battle, Vera sighed and reluctantly nodded her head.
"Very well," Vera said. "We will leave at first light. I want to see if my grandson is really cured of his sickness. If you can show me that he has the means to survive in Elysium then I will allow him to go there. However, if you are lying to me… I don't care who you are, or where you are from. I will ensure that you never see my grandson again. Do I make myself clear?"
Eriol smiled and nodded his head. Vera's threats had no meaning to him, but he could understand how much she cared about Lux.
Although the general plan had been derailed from the start, he was still happy that the candidate they had chosen was well loved by his foster family.
Chapter 13 Earning Vera’s Recognition
Vera, Lux, and Eriol, sat on top of the White Hippopotamus, Sophie, as they traveled along the river.
This was not the first time that Vera had taken Lux on a journey with her, so he was quite familiar with the landmarks that they were passing.
After traveling for half a day, the White Hippopotamus swam towards the riverbank. After walking up to land, Vera, Lux, and Eriol dismounted from her back and observed their surroundings.
"Where are we, Grandma?" Lux asked.
This was the first time that he had stepped into this place, and he was not sure why Vera had brought him here alongside Eriol.
"This place is called the Westmill Valley," Vera answered. "This is a place where both common and ranked monsters can be found. Don't worry, the strongest monsters here are Rank 2 Monsters. As long as you don't go deep inside the valley, your chances of meeting them are slim. "
Lux gulped because according to the knowledge he had, Rank 2 monsters were as strong as Grade C Apostles.
In Solais, there were various ranks to measure the strength of an individual.
Only those that had stepped on the Apostle Rank, were considered individuals that had surpassed the limits of mortality.
Those who had become Apostles were eligible to enter the Intermediate Area of Elysium. It was also where stronger monsters and richer resources could be found.
Children who were twelve and above were given the opportunity to enter the Beginner Area of Elysium, where common monsters, like the Horned Rabbit, could be found anywhere.
This was the place where they could hone their combat abilities, in preparation to step into the Apostle Rank.
Since Lux was not allowed to enter Elysium, Vera could only take him to a similar environment where common monsters could be found. This was the only way for her to gauge whether Lux and Eriol were lying to her.
"Come, let us make camp," Vera ordered as she took out a large tent from her storage ring.
Lux happily helped his grandma prepare the tent because it had been a few years since they had gone on a camping trip together. Even so, he was still very proficient in doing these simple chores, because he wanted to be useful to her whenever they left Wildgarde Stronghold to visit the nearby towns in their territory.
After finishing the tent, Vera started to prepare their lunch.
Lux busied himself with practicing his swordsmanship. He was holding the rare weapon, Tranquility, that allowed him to summon a Forest Wolf to aid him in battle.
"Go!" Lux shouted as he activated the summon skill.
Immediately, a wolf with light-brown fur appeared in front of him.
Lux gave his Grandma a side-long glance to see her reaction, but the latter didn't even raise her head as she stirred the dish inside the cooking pot.
Eriol, who saw this scene, chuckled, because he knew what Lux was thinking. The God of Games was aware of Vera's level, and such a simple display was usually not enough to move her heart, but a tinge of wariness or concern had touched it and she briefly shifted her eyes from the meal in front of her to her grandson.
While weapons with summoning abilities were not that rare in Solais. Anyone who was able to get their hands on one could easily do what Lux had done.
Of course, Lux wasn't aware of this. He thought that having a cool weapon was enough to impress his grandma, so her seemingly indifferent reaction made his heart ache.
"Now, now, don't be so down," Eriol wasn't able to ignore Lux's depressed state, but nor would he reveal the subtle change that had come over Vera, when he decided to cheer him up. "Your grandma just wants to know if you are capable of entering Elysium without relying on external strength."
Lux scratched his head as he looked up at Eriol who was sitting on a tree branch. "Does that mean I can't summon the Forest Wolf and Diablo?"
"You can," Eriol replied. "I'm sure that your grandma will not complain as long as you understand that you shouldn't over rely on them. I'll give you an example. If you were to fight against a Summoner and his powerful summon, who would you attack first?"
"The Summoner?" Lux answered with uncertainty.
Eriol nodded. "Once the Summoner is dealt with, the summon will also disappear. So, although a summoned creature is strong, the Summoner must also have a way to defend himself. There are beasts with very high intellect. They would directly attack you and ignore your summons if you were to face them in battle."
Lux crossed his arms over his chest as he digested Eriol's words. He then glanced at the Forest Wolf who took a sitting position in front of him.
"Should I upgrade my personal stats first and not strengthen Diablo then?" Lux inquired.
Eriol smirked, "Lux, whether you do, or do not, that decision will always be yours to make. Do not rely on others to make the decision for you. No one can decide what to do with your life, except you."
"But, I don't know what to do? Can you give me a hint?" Lux pressed his hands together and pleaded.
Eriol glanced at Vera who was busy cooking their food. He knew that she was listening to their discussion, and testing him to see whether he was indeed a good mentor for Lux or not.
Since that was the case, Eriol decided to give Lux some tips in order to make him understand the concept of roles in battle.
"Priests and Mages are almost always at the back of the party. Swordsmen, Defenders, and close combat professions will always be at the front." Eriol explained. "Archers will always be somewhere where they could snipe their enemies from a safe distance.
"Different strokes, for different folks. What you need to ask yourself is what role you want to play in the greater scheme of things. Do you plan to go solo, or do you want to team up with others? Since you have learned Necromancy, you can have the best of both worlds. Even without people, you can form a party with your summoned creatures."
At the mention of Necromancy, Vera raised her head and looked at Lux who was deep in thought.
"Lux, is that true? Have you learned Necromancy?" Vera asked with a serious expression on her face.
"Yes, Grandma," Lux answered.
"Show me."
"Okay."
Lux took a deep breath as he activated the Summon Skeleton Skill.
"Come forth! Diablo!" Lux ordered.
A magic circle materialized on the ground in front of him.
A second later, a white Skeleton with a black flame mark on its head appeared holding a bone sword in its hand.
Vera frowned because she knew that her grandson didn't have this kind of Necromantic ability in the past. In fact, she had been paying close attention and the boy hadn't shown anything that said he would have this kind of ability today.
She was finding it hard to believe how her grandson, who always fainted during critical moments, could have learned Necromancy without her knowing it.
As Vera appraised the white skeleton, her eyes widened in shock when she noticed something that only experts like her could see at a glance.
"A Named Creature!" Vera hurriedly approached the Skeleton.
She then closely appraised it to ensure that her eyes were not deceiving her.
"How can this be?" Vera asked in confusion. "How can you have a Named Creature in your current state? Is this your doing?" she finished, turning to face Eriol who was still seated on the tree branch.
"I only gave him the means," Eriol replied. "The one that made the choice for his first Skeleton to be named was Lux."
Vera was aware of how powerful a Named Creature could be. Unlike other creatures, a named creature could grow strong at a faster rate than others. Also, it possessed unique abilities that set them apart from normal creatures.
"What do you think, Grandma?" Lux patted his chest. "Don't you think that I have what it takes to enter Elysium now?"
Vera glanced at Diablo before shifting her gaze to her grandson. She admitted that having a Named Creature would greatly help Lux in the long run, but the problem was his short term progression.
"Only if you don't faint in battle," Vera ruffled Lux's hair fondly. "If you faint, no matter how strong your summon is, it will just disappear into thin air."
"Don't worry, Grandma. I will not faint anymore."
"We'll see about that."
Eriol smiled as he watched the playful banter of the grandmother and grandson pair. Now that Vera had finally acknowledged Lux's potential, all that was left was to see how the red-headed boy was in actual battle.
As long as Lux passed his grandma's test, the God of Games was sure that Vera would give Lux her full support and permit him to enter the Beginner's Area, using the backdoor that Eriol had prepared for him.
Chapter 14 Vera’s Trial
After lunch, Vera led Lux and Eriol on the Western outskirts of the valley.
Every now and then, they would come across common monsters like the horned rabbits, foxes, wild cats, boars, and other beasts that would gaze at them in the distance.
Although some of these creatures were aggressive by nature, Vera's presence, as well as that of the White Hippopotamus, Sophie, who had shrunk its size to a half a meter tall and a meter long, made them feel threatened.
After walking for an hour, they finally arrived at their destination.
Lux frowned because he could hear grunts, screams, and howls coming from the trees in front of them. In fact, some of the trees were even shaking because their residents had been alerted of their presence.
"This is the territory of the Barb Tailed Jester Monkeys," Vera said. "They are just common creatures, but they are notorious for their ability to accurately throw things like rocks and fruits at their enemies.
"What I want you to do is hunt ten of them. If you can do this, I will allow you to go to Elysium. However, if you fail, you will not talk about going to Elysium for a year, and continue your training at home. Do I make myself clear?"
Lux nodded. "Okay, Grandma."
Lux was surprised by his grandma's sudden change of heart. He thought that she would prevent him from going to Elysium completely if he failed her test, but she merely said that he should continue to train at home, which was already a good compromise.
"Good luck," Eriol gave Lux a pat on the shoulder as a form of encouragement. 'Still, his grandma made things a little difficult for him to pass the test. Although it is not impossible, Lux has to be resourceful if he wants to clear this trial."
"Don't worry," Lux said with a smile. "I got this!"
Lux took a deep breath before taking a step forward. He was holding his sword, Tranquility, and paying close attention to the Monkeys, who were jumping up and down on the branches of the trees as they continued to scream at him.
Just as Lux was thinking about what to do next, he heard a dull ringing sound in his head. What followed next were rows of text that appeared in front of him, as if they were being carved into the air.
—--
< Special Quest: Vera's Trial >
– Your grandmother asked you to defeat 10 Barb Tailed Jester Monkeys in order to gain her permission to enter Elysium.
< Rewards >
– 5 Free Stats Points
– 10 Body Constitution Points
– 10 Skill Points
—-
'A Quest?' Lux stared at the image in front of him in disbelief. 'What is this? Some kind of RPG Game?'
Although Lux was confused about what was happening, he decided to put it aside for the time being because he needed to focus on the task at hand.
After walking fifty steps forward, the two-foot-tall Monkeys became more agitated as they started jumping from tree branch to tree branch while increasing the decibels of their screeching noises.
Suddenly, a nut that was as big as a human's fist came flying in his direction. Lux had already raised his awareness to its limits because he understood that the Monkeys were wild creatures, and their temperament was on the aggressive side. Because of this, he was able to dodge the nut that was thrown at him with ease.
The monkeys seemed to find his dodging amusing, so they all started screeching and clapping their hands like spectators at a theatrical performance.
It was also at that moment when Lux saw several Monkeys raise their hands in the air in the act of throwing something. Lux's body stiffened when he realized that the Monkeys were now going to attack him for real.
As soon as this thought came to his mind, several flying projectiles, namely fruit, wooden sticks, and rocks, descended on him like rain.
The red-headed boy rolled over to his right side, and hid behind a tree in order to shield himself from the barrage of projectiles that were being aimed at him.
The monkeys then started to jump from tree to tree, in order to encircle Lux and attack him from all directions.
"S-Sh*t!" Lux cursed loudly as he narrowly evaded a rock, that was as big as his head, that had been thrown from his left side.
"Diablo! Help me!" Lux ordered as he summoned his named creature to battle.
A White Skeleton appeared in front of Lux and slashed at the fruits that were being thrown at its master. Unfortunately, its movements were not that fast, and several of the fruits hit their intended target.
Lux saw a couple of numbers pop up above Diablo's head, which he assumed were damages that the Skeleton received from the projectiles thrown at him.
—-
< Diablo >
Health: 6 / 15
Attack: 3 - 10
Attack Type: Ethereal Damage.
—--
,m Lux was alarmed when he saw that Diablo's Health Points had decreased by more than half and knew that he wouldn't be able to beat the Monkeys in his current situation. Because of this, he decided to take a strategic retreat and ran like his pants were on fire.
Diablo ran after its Master and used its body, and weapon, to shield Lux from further attacks that came from the Monkeys.
Only when Lux had escaped to his Grandma's side did the Monkeys stop their attacks.
Vera's glare was more than enough to scare them silly, and the Monkeys decided to stop attacking the red-headed boy who was hiding behind her back.
Eriol chuckled at Lux's comedic performance. Although he didn't have high hopes for him when it came to being able to beat a pack of Monkeys, he still believed that the red-headed boy's decision to retreat was wise.
Vera, on the other hand, knew that her test was a bit unreasonable. Her true goal was to see if Lux would faint during an intense situation like he usually did. Although she was standing far away, Vera had already made preparations to deflect any attack that would prove lethal to her grandson.
What she wanted to teach Lux was that there were times when he would find himself in a disadvantageous situation when he entered an unknown territory for the first time.
The Beginner's Zone might seem like it is a safe place for twelve-year-olds, but the truth was, it was a place where they would hone their survival instincts. Several children often died in the Beginner Zone because they became too confident in their meager abilities.
These kids would go to places where monsters lived together and try to eliminate them, only to find themselves vastly outnumbered, and fighting with their lives on the line.
Although these deaths were unfortunate, the adults could only blame themselves for not teaching their kids properly before they entered the Elysian Fields.
This was Vera's way of teaching Lux that the place he wanted to go was a very dangerous place.
A place where he could lose his life any moment if he was careless in his actions.
"Do you want to call it a day?" Vera rested her hand on Lux's shoulder and looked at him with tender eyes. "Don't worry, you can still try again tomorrow. I will give you one week to complete this test, so there's no need for you to hurry."
Lux pondered for a bit before shaking his head. "It's still too early, Grandma. I want to give it another try."
"Very well. Just be careful."
"Yes!"
Vera smiled and lightly ruffled Lux's hair. She really thought that her grandson would faint earlier, but after observing him for a while, she could tell that Lux didn't lie when he said that his fainting habit had been fixed.
Since that was the case, she was even more curious about how her grandson would clear the test that she had given him.
Chapter 15 Lux’s Counterattack
Lux stared at the Monkeys and the Monkeys stared back at him.
After staring at each other for several minutes, the Monkeys started to chatter amongst themselves, while glancing at the red-headed boy who was eyeing their every move from a safe distance.
"Doesn't that boy look like a Monkey as well?"
"Maybe he is our distant cousin?"
"I don't think so. He doesn't have a tail."
"Ah! He resembles those Red-Butt Baboons from the East!"
"Now that you mention it, Baboons don't have tails. Also, his face is just as red as theirs. He might be from their tribe."
"Bastard! So he came here to show us his red butt?! How shameless! Let's beat him up!"
"I agree!"
"Let's go!"
If Lux were to know that he had been labeled a Red-Butt Baboon by the Monkeys he was observing, he would have definitely been angered to death, and given all of them the middle finger. Fortunately, he didn't speak Monkey language, so he was able to continue observing the Monkeys without being taunted by their words.
After arming themselves, the troop of Monkeys suddenly started screaming as they advanced toward Lux with determination. All of them carried fruit, rocks, and wooden sticks with them that they could use to throw at the Baboon that had entered their territory.
Seeing that the Monkeys had finally started to move against him, Lux did what he needed to do and that was to… run away!
After a few minutes of chasing, the Monkeys gave up and returned to their territory.
Lux, on the other hand, returned to observing them from a distance.
The red-headed boy was trying to memorize the movements and behavioral patterns of the Barb Tailed Jester Monkeys.
This strategy had been taught to him by the Elders in Wildgarde Stronghold when he had turned twelve years of age.
Lux could recall these lessons by heart and now had the opportunity to apply this knowledge to his current situation.
The Barb Tailed Jester Monkeys would jump from tree to tree using their hands, feet, and tail, on normal occasions. When they were going to fight, however, both of their hands were occupied by fruit, sticks, or rocks, which prevented them from using them.
Even so, the Monkeys could still travel at a fast pace because their strong legs allowed them to jump from tree to tree with ease. At times, their tails would coil around branches and help the Monkeys maneuver through the tree-tops, while still being able to perform ranged attacks with deadly accuracy.
'So they can only carry two to three items at most when they start to attack from the treetops,' Lux thought as he observed the Monkeys from afar. 'However, the compendium said that they are also capable of engaging in close combat, using their fangs, claws, and tails like a deadly whip to injure their enemies.'
After pondering for a while, Lux devised a plan for how to beat the Monkeys in order to pass Vera's trial.
Vera and Eriol, who were observing Lux from far away, smiled when they saw the red-headed boy collecting rocks from the ground and placing them inside his storage ring
The next day, right after breakfast, Lux decided to put his plan into motion. He had already made adequate preparations, and he was confident that he would be able to pull it off, as long as nothing out of the ordinary happened
"Grandma, I'm going."
"Good luck."
Eriol just gave Lux a brief nod of encouragement, and the latter gave the God of Games a thumbs up.
—-
"Look. He's back again."
"This Red-Butt Baboon still hasn't learned its lesson?"
"To arms!"
"Fight!"
"Let's get hi–argh!"
One of the Monkeys fell off the tree branch when it wasn't able to dodge Lux's surprise rock throw from a distance.
The other Monkeys were angered by this action and all of them started to screech while jumping from tree to tree, in order to encircle the red-headed boy who dared to hurt their companion.
—--
< Special Quest: Vera's Trial >
Defeated Monkeys: 1 / 10
—-
'I knew it!' Lux laughed internally as the notification materialized out of thin air. 'I don't have to kill them. Incapacitating them also counts as a defeat.'
Lux dodged the attacks that he could, and used the trees as shields for those that he couldn't.
He had stacked many fist sized rocks inside his storage ring, and he threw them one after the other whenever an opportunity arrived. The Monkeys might be proficient in the art of throwing things, but Lux wasn't a pushover either.
After not being able to practice with weapons, due to his fainting condition, the red-headed boy spent his spare time throwing rocks at wooden targets as a means to pass the time.
As a Half-Elf, he was blessed with a natural affinity when it came to using ranged weapons and projectiles. After practicing rock throwing for nearly four years, Lux's proficiency in throwing things surpassed even that of the Barb Tailed Jester Monkeys!
It didn't take long before the Monkeys realized that the boy that they had bullied yesterday had become a changed man overnight. Six of their members had already fallen prey to his rock throwing, and were now squirming on the ground in pain.
After emptying their hands of things to throw, the Monkeys then decided to take things up close and personal.
As Lux was defending himself from the ranged attacks that were coming from the front, three Monkeys had snuck behind his back with blood-shot eyes.
Without warning, they lunged at the boy from behind with their fangs and claws extended, going for the kill.
Suddenly, two blurs appeared in their vision.
Before the three Monkeys could even react, one of them was sent flying by a bone sword, while the other dealt with an excruciating swipe from the claws of a Forest Wolf.
It was only a short exchange, but both Monkeys suffered from serious injuries. The third Monkey was the unluckiest of all because it found itself face to face with a sneering Half-Elf, who used the flat side of his sheathed sword like a baseball bat to send the Monkey hurtling several meters away.
The Monkey's pained scream spread across the jungle before it smashed into a tree, which knocked it unconscious.
After seeing that their attacks had failed, the Monkeys panicked and ran away in fright.
Lux watched them go, and didn't make any moves to pursue them.
His goal was to only clear Vera's Trial and not to annihilate their troop. After completing his mission, a ringing sound once again sounded inside his head and a series of texts appeared in front of him.
—-
< Special Quest: Vera's Trial Completed! >
< Rewards >
– 5 Free Stats Points
– 10 Body Constitution Points
– 10 Skill Points
< Bonus Reward >
Skill: Accurate Throw
< Accurate Throw >
– Increase throwing skill accuracy by 10% and damage by 10%
< Skill Evolution [EX] detected a new Skill. >
Accurate Throw will be upgraded into Power Shot once the requirements have been met.
< Power Shot >
– Increase Throwing Skill accuracy by 30% and damage by 30%
– Has a 5% chance to deal critical damage when using Power Shot Skill.
– Requirement to upgrade: Hit a moving target using Accurate Throw 100x
– Progress ( 0 / 100 )
—--
Lux was quite surprised when he got a bonus reward out of the blue. He didn't expect to learn a Skill in this manner, but he was quite happy about it. The icing on the cake was that his special ability, Skill Evolution [EX], had upgraded this common skill into a more powerful one.
The Half-Elf was confident that he could easily meet the requirement for the Throwing Skill's evolution.
After calming down, he then returned to the camp where Vera and Eriol were waiting for him. He could tell after seeing the relaxed smile on his grandma's face that she was quite satisfied with his performance.
After so many years of waiting, Lux finally saw the look of approval on his grandma's face. He knew that after they returned to the Wildgarde Stronghold, things would finally change for the better.
Chapter 16 Our Heaven’s Gate Project Begins Here!
Back at the camp, Vera praised her grandson for his wonderful performance.
After seeing how the battle played out, Vera was convinced that Lux had indeed recovered from the ailment that plagued him all these years.
She was now more at ease, knowing that her grandson would be able to enter the Beginner's Area of Elysium and survive there for a year under Eriol's guidance.
On the way back to the Wildgarde Stronghold, Lux took out his Soul Book and started to allocate his rewards.
—--
Name: Lux Von Kaizer
Age: 16
Race: Half-Elf
Rank: (None)
Health: 20
Mana: 25
Strength: 4
Intelligence: 5
Vitality: 4
Agility: 5
Dexterity: 4
Free Stat Points Available: 5
Special Abilities: Skill Evolution [EX].
Skills: Accurate Throw.
Body Constitution: Immortal Conqueror's Legacy
—--
'I have received 5 free stat points, so I can enhance my stats easily,' Lux thought. 'The problem is which stat should I prioritize?'
After discussing a bit with Eriol, the God of Games told him that his stats were similar to that of a game character.
His Strength Stat influenced his physical damage, and overall body strength. Allowing him to equip heavy armor, as well as carry heavy items.
The Intelligence Stat didn't have any relation to how smart a person was. This stat raised magical damage, mana capacity, and mana regeneration.
Vitality, on the other hand, increases a person's natural defense and Health Points. To a certain extent, Vitality made the body sturdy, which would allow him to endure attacks from physical and magical damage.
Dexterity played a role in the body's reflexes and overall balance. Performing dexterous maneuvers like backflips, and martial arts, required high Dexterity. This stat also allowed the user to wield weapons like bows with greater proficiency.
Agility's role was to increase a person's movement speed, dodging ability, and capacity to run away from dangerous encounters.
Aside from these stats, there were two other secret stats that couldn't be seen in the Soul Book.
Those two stats were Charisma and Luck.
According to Eriol, these two stats were quite special, and the reason why they were hidden was to prevent others from purposely adding points to them.
Everyone in Solais could access their Soul Books and freely add points to their stats according to their wishes.
This setting was really similar to those RPG games that Lux had played in the past. The only difference was that they were not players who could resurrect an infinite number of times when they were killed.
One mistake and it was a permanent game over for all of them.
'I can either fight alongside my summons, or support them from the rear,' Lux thought. 'However, if given the choice, I would like to become strong enough to protect myself, so even if I get attacked, I can still give my attackers a nasty surprise.'
After careful considerations, Lux decided to take a more balanced approach on things.
—--
Health: 25
Mana: 25
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 5
Vitality: 5
Agility: 6
Dexterity: 5
—--
Lux added two points to Strength, one point to Vitality, one point to Agility, and one point to Dexterity.
The red-headed boy immediately felt the effects in his body and it almost made him cry in happiness. For the past four years, his stats hadn't improved one bit. Even the twelve year olds in Wildgarde Stronghold were stronger than him, when it came to physical and magical strength.
'Now, for the other rewards…' Lux checked the extra rewards that he received after clearing his trial.
—-
– 10 Body Constitution Points
– 10 Skill Points
—--
'The 10 Body Constitution should have been automatically added to my Immortal Conqueror's Legacy,' Lux thought as he went to his Body Constitution tab.
Just as he expected, the progress bar had increased by ten points, which put his mind at ease.
—--
< Immortal Conqueror's Legacy >
Rating: F
Progress: 11/100
Conquest is not all about claiming lands, and expanding your Domain. True conquest is conquering the hearts of people. Once you gain their loyalty, the path to Dominion will open its doors for you.
Abilities: (None)
Note: Upgrading your special constitution will allow you to unlock its abilities.
—--
'As for Skill points…' Lux opened the Skills tab and several options appeared in front of him.
In the Skill Tab, he saw the Summoning Skeleton and Summon Diablo options. Both of their progress ratings were at zero, but for Lux, this was an easy choice to make.
'Let's go with quality over quantity,' Lux thought as he added the ten skill points to Summon Diablo.
Immediately, the progression bar on his Named Summon increased by ten points.
—--
< Diablo >
"Finally a worthy opponent. Our battle will be Legendary!"
– Named Skeleton
– Rating: F+
– Mana: 10
– Progress (10/100)
Health: 15
Attack: 3 - 10
Attack Type: Ethereal Damage.
Strength: 3
Intelligence: 2
Vitality: 3
Agility: 2
Dexterity: 2
Title: Firstborn
—--
After allocating all of his rewards, Lux unsummoned his skill book and hummed a song.
Vera glanced at her happy grandson and was unable to keep herself from smiling. Although she would be a bit lonely when Lux went to Elysium to start his training, she also understood that she couldn't keep him by her side forever.
"Lux, promise me one thing," Vera said as she gave Lux a light hug.
"Anything for you, Grandma," Lux replied as he hugged Vera back.
"Prioritize your safety. If the situation becomes too dangerous, do not hesitate to run away. I have only three family members left in this world, and one of them is you. My heart will break if something terrible happens to you."
"Grandma, I can't promise that I will not encounter a dangerous situation when I am in Elysium. However, I will promise you this. I will do everything in my power to live. I will do my best for you, Grandma."
"Mmm," Vera nodded as she patted Lux's head. "Make sure to come home from time to time, okay? I will be waiting for you."
"I will. I promise," Lux replied as he closed his eyes in happiness.
Now that his grandma had given him permission to go to Elysium, there was nothing more that could hold him back.
Eriol, who was also seated on the back of the white hippopotamus, Sophie, sighed in relief. Now that the wheels of Fate were finally set in motion, the plan that he and Max had made for many years was about to officially start, finally.
'Max, don't worry. I will take it from here,' Eriol said in his heart while thinking of his best friend. 'Our Heaven's Gate Project begins here!'
Chapter 17 People Will Always Be Afraid Of The Unknown
"Have you packed your clothes?"
"Yes, Grandma."
"How about the food I prepared? Do you have that as well?"
"Yes."
Vera looked at her grandson lovingly as she patted his head.
"Remember, if you face an enemy that is stronger than you, just run," Vera said. "The most important thing is to live to fight another day, do you understand, Lux?"
"Yes, Grandma," Lux replied. "I will do as you say."
Eriol watched this from the side without interrupting. Once Lux entered Elysium he could come home anytime he wanted, but most people stayed in Elysium for weeks, or months at a time before returning home.
A day in Solais was equivalent to two days in Elysium. This was something that Lux knew because of the lessons that he received when he was ten years old. Now that he was going to embark on the adventure that he had waited for all his life, he felt somewhat sad about leaving his grandma all alone in their residence.
Seeing the hesitation in his eyes, Vera laughed and lightly pinched his cheeks.
"Silly boy, don't tell me you're getting cold feet now?" Vera said with a smile. "Go and start your new journey. When you get tired and weary, I will be here waiting for you."
Lux nodded as he tried to hold back the sadness that was rising in his heart.
Eriol chose this time to pat his shoulder and give him some reminders.
"Using the ring of Arondight, you will be able to go to Elysium at any time. However, you still haven't set your return point," Eriol stated. "When you exit Elysium, your return point will be in a fixed location."
"Um, can I choose this residence as my return point?"
"Of course. But, which part of this residence would you like to register?""
Vera, who was listening to the side, made a suggestion.
"Why don't you register the training room as your return point?" Vera proposed. "I have placed a ward over there to inform me when you are using the training room since that is the place where you would often faint when you pushed yourself too hard. I think it is the most ideal location for this return point that you speak of."
"Right! Why didn't I think of that?" Lux glanced at Eriol who nodded his head in agreement.
"Let's go to the training room then," Eriol replied.
A few minutes later, Lux pressed the Arondight ring against the floor in the center of the training room in order to register it.
—-
< Return Point has been saved >
< Whenever you leave Elysium, you will automatically teleport to this place. >
—--
"Now, you're good to go," Eriol stated. "To activate the ring, you just need to say the words, 'Open, Heaven's Gate'. You can use this activation code to enter and leave Elysium."
Lux nodded and turned to his grandma.
"Grandma, I'm going now," Lux said.
"Be safe, Lux," Vera replied as she gazed proudly at her grandson. "I'll be waiting for your safe return."
Lux gritted his teeth as he pressed his right hand over his chest.
"Open! Heaven's Gate!"
—-
When Lux opened his eyes, he found himself standing beside a floating blue crystal. It took him a while to regain his composure as he looked around at his surroundings.
He seemed to have appeared in some kind of plaza, where several people had gathered. Some of them were looking at him with curiosity, while others were looking at him in confusion.
"Is that a Human?"
"What is a Human doing in this place?"
"Did he get lost or something?"
"Should we call the village's guards?"
Lux felt that something was completely out of place in his surroundings. Although there were people around him, some of them were only over three feet tall (95 cm).
Their gazes pierced the red-headed boy as if he was some kind of trespasser in a place that he shouldn't have stepped into.
Suddenly, a cute little girl with blonde hair, holding a mace with both hands approached him.
"Um, Big Brother, are you lost?" the blonde girl asked. "Are you a Human?"
"No. I am not lost," Lux replied. "And, I am a Half-Elf, so I'm only half Human."
The little girl's eyes sparkled as she looked at Lux with great interest. "A Half-Elf? This is the first time I've seen a Half-Elf."
Lux crouched down in order to have eye to eye contact with the blonde girl who was showing no signs of hostility to him. "You haven't seen Half-Elves before?"
The blonde girl shook her head. "This is Dwarven Territory. It is very difficult to see other races here. You are the first non-dwarf that has appeared in this territory since Elysium opened."
"Dwarven territory?"
"Yes. This place is called Leaf Village. One of the Beginner Areas exclusive to the Dwarven Race."
Lux finally understood why he felt out of place.
He now understood why everyone around him… was short.
'So they're Dwarves,' Lux thought. 'Did Eriol accidentally make a mistake when he set my coordinates?'
Lux didn't know if the God of Games had purposely sent him to the Dwarven Lands or not. However, one thing was certain. He was stuck in Leaf Village until he broke through to the Apostle Grade.
"Um, Big Brother, how old are you?" the blonde girl asked.
"I am sixteen years old," Lux answered. "How about you?"
"I'm twelve! I just entered Elysium. My name is Colette!"
"Colette? You have a very beautiful name. It suits you perfectly."
The little Dwarven girl smiled sweetly after receiving Lux's praise.
Lux was about to ask more questions when several Dwarves surrounded him and Colette.
"Colette, stay away from this Half-Elf!" a Dwarf with light-brown hair shouted as he raised his sword. Have you forgotten what our Elders told us? Humans can't be trusted!"
"But, he's not Human," Colette argued. "He is a Half-Elf."
"He's still half Human!" the dwarven boy shouted. "Humans cannot be trusted!"
The other Dwarven kids also voiced their opinions, which made Colette unable to use reason to calm them down.
In the end, Lux could only smile bitterly as he stood up and glanced at Colette who had a troubled expression on her face.
"My name is Lux," Lux said. "See you around, Colette."
Without another world, Lux left the teleportation gate to explore Leaf Village.
If possible, he didn't want to start a conflict as soon as he entered Elysium. Since the situation was turning for the worse, he decided to just leave in order to prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
He strolled around Leaf Village and tried to commit its landmarks to memory. Eriol and Vera told him that familiarizing himself with his first village was part of the basics when entering Elysium for the first time.
'This is really like a game,' Lux thought as he visited the weapons shops, armor shops, alchemy shops, potion shops, and general stores that sold miscellaneous items.
There were also the blacksmith and merchant guilds that offered repairs, crafting services, and the trading of items.
Of course, an RPG game wouldn't be complete without an Adventurer's Guild that gave quests depending on your rank.
Leaf Village wasn't big, so it only took Lux several hours to see everything he needed to see. The people in the village, especially the shopkeepers, watched him vigilantly.
However, one kind old lady, named Annie, who sold sweets, told him that he shouldn't be too bothered by the unfriendly stares he was getting.
"People will always be afraid of the unknown," the old lady dwarf said as she poured Lux some tea. "You are the first Foreigner to come to this place that is not of the Dwarven Race. It is only natural that people would find you 'different' from us. However, as long as you showed them that you meant them no harm, they will all warm up to you eventually. I'm sure of it."
"Thank you, Grandma Annie," Lux said with a smile. "I will do my best."
Grandma Annie smiled back. "As long as you understand."
After having a talk with Grandma Annie, Lux went to the Adventurer's Guild to register himself as an adventurer.
The registration itself was quite quick. All he needed to do was drop his blood on a small blank card, and all of his information was registered automatically.
—-
< Guild Card >
Name: Lux Von Kaizer
Age: 16
Race: Half-Elf
Rank: (None)
Registered in Leaf Village
—-
"Your registration is complete, Sir Lux," a pretty dwarf with dark-brown hair bowed respectfully as she presented Lux's Guild Card to him.
Unlike Colette who was only a little above three feet tall, the Guild Receptionist was at least 4'5" (137 cm).
Lux estimated that this was the average size of adult dwarves because most of the adults he met in Leaf Village were around that height as well.
After bidding goodbye to the receptionist, Lux decided to rest at an inn for the rest of the day, and explore the outskirts of the village in the morning.
Eriol had told him that he was going to give him a freebie of 100 Elysium Copper Coins, and 2 Silver Elysium Coins when he arrived in Elysium.
Each Elysium Silver Coin was equivalent to 100 Copper Coins, and one Gold Elysium Coin was equivalent to a hundred Elysium Silver Coins.
Elysium Coinage was the universal currency that was used in Elysium. The gold coins that Lux used in Solais had no value whatsoever in Elysium. For the Elysians, anything that belonged to Solais was no better than stones lying on the road.
After paying 5 Elysium Copper Coins for his room, Lux was guided to his room by the innkeeper himself.
It seemed that he was afraid that Lux would barge into the other rooms, and disturb his other guests, which would ruin his business.
Although the treatment he was receiving was a bitter pill to swallow, Lux decided to do his best to win the hearts of the people in Leaf Village.
'A year in Solais is equivalent to two years here,' Lux muttered. 'I wonder how strong I will be when the trials in Wildgarde Stronghold start next year?'
Lux grinned as he envisioned his glorious comeback after several years of failure. He knew that when that day came, he would shock everyone speechless.
Chapter 18 Pests Of The Plains
Inside his room, Lux was busy reading the information about Leaf Village in the Elysium Compendium.
"So this village is located in the Dwarven Kingdom of Gweliven," Lux muttered. "The specialty of Leaf Village is honey-flavored leaf candies. It restores 50 Health Points and 50 Mana Points…"
With the compendium in hand, Lux was able to access important information about anything in Elysium. Just like Eriol said, it was like a walkthrough that could help anyone who had it.
When Lux clicked the image of Leaf Village in the Compendium, he was given two options. The first option was the map of the village, and the second one was the map of its surrounding areas. Since he had already explored the village, the red-headed boy chose the information on its surrounding areas instead.
—--
< Leaf Village >
p – Beginner's Zone
< North Zone >
– Figaro Gardens
– A place where insectoid type monsters roam.
< West Zone >
– Heartwood Forest
– The place where the majority of people from the Leaf Village hunt for food, and resources.
< South Zone >
– Leaf Village Cemetery
– A place where low-level undead are sighted during the night.
< East Zone >
– Aspiration Plains
– A wide open plain filled with monsters that travel in groups.
—--
"I see, the Compendium also allows me to view the types of monsters that can be found in each area. This is amazing! I'm glad I got this from the Gacha Pull," Lux felt truly blessed after getting the Compendium. "It might not even take me a year to enter the Apostle Rank. Now, the only question is, where will I go first tomorrow?"
Lux rubbed his chin as he checked the information regarding the various monsters exclusive to each zone. The Compendium even highlighted the location of the dangerous monsters that roamed their territories, known as Alpha Monsters.
These monsters were often referred to as Newbie Killers because their strength could easily kill any newcomer who had unknowingly wandered in their territories.
Aside from the Alpha Monsters, Lux also noticed that there was one "Field Boss" in the territory of the Leaf Village and it was found inside the Heartwood Forest.
The name of the Field Boss was Forest Wolf King. Lux checked its stats to get a better idea of how strong a Field Boss was.
—--
< Forest Wolf King >
– Beginner Zone Field Boss
– King of the Forest
– Rank 4 Field Boss Monster
Health: 300,000 / 300,000
Mana: 80,000 / 80,000
Strength: 200
Intelligence: 100
Vitality: 250
Agility: 250
Dexterity: 150
Skills: Windwalk, Wind Blade, Air Blast, Call of the Wild.
—--
Lux sucked in a deep breath because the stats of a Rank 4 Field Boss Monster truly made him feel insignificant.
In Elysium, the mortal and the monster ranks depended on their combined stats.
This was the Basic Ranking System for Mortals.
Grade A Apostles - 800 Points
Grade B Apostles - 600 Points
Grade C Apostles - 400 Points
Grade D Apostles - 200 Points
Beginners - Anyone whose stats are below 200
—
As for monsters, their Basic Ranking System was as follows.
Rank 4 = 800
Rank 3 = 600
Rank 2 = 400
Rank 1 = 200
Common Monsters - Below 200 Points
—-
After their points surpassed the 800 Point Mark, they would enter a new Ranking System. However, since this was only the Beginner's Area, anyone who surpassed 200 points would be forcefully teleported out of their starting zone after ten days.
"Even if I reach the Apostle Rank, I would still not be able to beat the Field Boss alone," Lux said softly. "I can only fight it if I team up with other people. Challenging it alone is akin to suicide. It's a shame… the rare drops I can obtain from killing it are very tempting."
Lux greedily eyed the monster drops of the Field Boss, which would be enough to last him until he became a Grade C Apostle. Still, he knew his capabilities, so he decided to just take things one step at a time.
After memorizing the information of all the zones around Leaf Village, Lux finally went to sleep.
—-
The next day…
Lux stood in front of the Bulletin Board where all the Guild Quests were posted. The quest rewards were mostly paid in copper or silver coins. Some of the quests offer low-grade Beast Cores as rewards, and these were the most popular among the Dwarven Adventurers who had chosen Leaf Village as their starting area.
"Big Brother Lux!"
A cute little Dwarf walked towards Lux with a smile. It was none other than Colette who had tried to befriend him a day ago.
"Good morning, Colette," Lux greeted. "Are you here to take some quests as well?"
"Un!"
"Goodluck."
Lux wanted to talk more, but the glares from the Dwarves who accompanied Colette were starting to make him feel uncomfortable.
'Well, at least they're not shouting at me today,' Lux thought as he eyed the little peepsqueaks who seemed to be part of Colette's fans club.
The Dwarf that had pointed a sword at him yesterday was glaring at him more intensely than the others. It was quite easy to tell that this Dwarf was among Colette's top admirers.
After eyeing Colette's group of six, Lux once again shifted his attention to the bulletin board. He was looking for a decent quest to take, but most of the good ones were already taken. The only ones remaining were chores like gathering herbs, helping with village repairs, and escort missions.
After pondering for a while, Lux decided to choose the quest to pick the herbs that grew in the Aspiration Plains, located in the East Zone of Leaf Village.
He had read all about the monsters that could be found in this area and he deemed that all of them were within his capabilities.
After Lux registered the quest with the Guild Receptionist, he immediately headed to his destination and left through the Eastern Gate of Leaf Village.
After ten minutes of walking, he arrived in a wide open plain that extended as far as the eye could see. He could see several monsters grazing on the grasslands, as well as Dwarves who were busy completing their own quests.
"Well then, time to find the Toyama Herb," Lux muttered as he walked towards the Grassland Area. "I just hope I finish before lunch time."
Two hours later, Lux was able to gather six out of the fifteen Toyama Herbs needed to finish his mission.
When he was about to get his seventh herb, a horned rabbit jumped out of nowhere and snatched the herb that he was just about to pull out of the ground.
"Bastard!" Lux shouted at the Horned Rabbit who had already bolted away after snatching his herb. "You think I'll let you go that easily!"
Lux summoned a fist-sized stone from his storage ring and threw it at the fleeing horned rabbit.
"Accurate Throw!"
The rock flew straight and true, hitting the Horned Rabbit on its head dealing five damage. Horned Rabbits only had fifteen hit points, so Lux's single rock throw was enough to lower a third of its Health Points.
The enraged Horned Rabbit immediately turned back and charged at Lux with a vengeance.
"That's more like it!" Lux summoned his sword, Tranquility, and prepared to fight the rabbit that was now hell-bent to stab him with the horn on its head.
"Kaizer Sword Art First Form," Lux said as he thrust his sword forward. "Piercing the Heavens!"
With one fluid motion, Lux executed the sword thrust that Vera had taught him when he was ten years old.
Tranquility's blade, and the horn rabbit's horn collided, spreading a metallic sound in the surroundings.
A second later, a pained cry escaped the horned rabbit's lips as it flew several meters away after getting hit by Lux's perfect sword strike.
—-
< Ding! >
< Repeatable Quest Activated >
< This Quest can be repeated 10x >
< Pests of the Plains >
– Horned Rabbits are notorious for attacking beginners as well as interrupting those who are out to gather herbs in the fields.
– Kill ten of them to show them who's boss!
– Horned Rabbits Killed ( 1 / 10 )
< Rewards >
– 1 Free Stats Point
– 1 Body Constitution Point
– 5 Skill Point
– 10 Elysium Copper Coins
—--
Lux was slightly disappointed when he saw the rewards, but his mood gradually changed after realizing that the quest he received was a repeatable one. Meaning, he could do this quest over and over again in order to farm points that he could use to make himself grow stronger.
Also, Lux realized that this was the perfect quest to help him upgrade his Accurate Throw into its stronger form, which was the Power Shot.
—-
< Power Shot >
– Increase Throwing Skill accuracy by 30% and damage by 30%
– Has a 5% chance to deal critical damage when using Power Shot Skill.
– Requirement to upgrade: Hit a moving target using Accurate Throw 100x
– Progress ( 1 / 100 )
—
"One down, ninety-nine to go." Lux smirked. He then picked up the body of the foot-long horned rabbit to sell back at the Adventurer's Guild after he finished his herb gathering mission.
Right now, he had limited funds. Even though the horned rabbit meat wasn't the most delicious meat in the Beginner's Area, it was still something that could be sold for one Elysium Copper Coin.
Lux could also use the meat for his own consumption, which would lessen his food expenses.
'Back then, I couldn't even catch one Horned Rabbit,' Lux mused. 'Now, I can kill them without any problems. Thank you, Grandma. Those years of hard training were not wasted.'
After storing the Horned Rabbit's corpse inside his storage ring, Lux scanned the surroundings in order to hunt for more.
Since he found one in the area, it was only a matter of time before he found more.
At the corner of his vision, he found something moving fast in the grasslands. A smile appeared on Lux's face as he made his way towards his next target.
Chapter 19 First Quest Completion
< Congratulations you have learned Power Shot Skill! >
Lux panted as he sat on the ground. After killing his hundredth horned rabbit, his skill had finally been upgraded successfully.
'Finally.' Lux sighed in relief before checking his stats in his Soul Book.
—--
Name: Lux Von Kaizer
Age: 16
Race: Half-Elf
Rank: (None)
Health: 25 / 25
Mana: 4 / 25
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 5
Vitality: 5
Agility: 9
Dexterity: 8
Special Abilities: Skill Evolution [EX].
Skills: Power Shot.
—--
Elysium Copper Coins: 145
Elysium Silver Coins: 2
Elysium Gold Coins: 0
—--
Lux allocated his 25 Skill Points to Diablo in order to help his named creature become more powerful. Right now, Diablo's progression rate was at thirty five percent.
—--
< Diablo >
Progress: (35/100)
—--
The red-headed boy was quite excited to see what changes his Named Creature would have once he upgraded him.
Lux was also looking forward to the new ability that he would learn once he had upgraded his body constitution to its next stage.
—--
< Immortal Conqueror's Legacy >
Rating: F
Progress: (16/100)
—--
'I guess it's time to head back,' Lux thought after looking at the sun that was about to set in the horizon. His whole body ached due to all the running he had done all over the plains as he chased the horned rabbits he'd killed.
He had also completed his gathering mission a few hours ago, and was only waiting until he had upgraded his Accurate Throw Skill into Power Shot before he headed back to Leaf Village.
On his return trip to the village, the Dwarves who had been at the plains were staring at him in a weird manner. Some of them were even gossiping, while glancing in his direction every now and then.
Lux knew that these Dwarves were younger than him. Although it was a bit embarrassing, he was without a doubt, the oldest "Foreign" teenager in the Leaf Village.
Because of this, most of the Dwarves looked down on him because he started out late compared to their older brothers and sisters, who were already in the Intermediate Zones of Elysium.
—--
"Everything seems to be in order," the guild receptionist said with a trace of surprise. "Have you handled herbs before?"
"Yes," Lux replied. "When I was younger I usually accompanied my grandma to go foraging."
"So that explains why all the herbs are in excellent condition. Usually, first timers don't know how to gather them properly and just pull them up by the roots. Because of this, the herbs are damaged and lose their quality."
The receptionist smiled and handed Lux the reward money for completing his mission.
After checking his compensation, Lux frowned because he realized that he got more than the quest had been commissioned for.
"Um, the Quest Rewards should only be seven copper coins, I have ten coins here," Lux said as he tried to return the three coins that had been overpaid to him, but the guild receptionist only shook her head.
"Those who commissioned the herb gathering quest explicitly told us to add three more copper coins if the herbs that were handed into our care were in excellent condition," the receptionist explained.
"Don't worry, you are only getting what you deserve. Would you like to reserve the Herb Gathering Quest for tomorrow? I'm sure that our client will have no problems if you are the one who will carry out their mission."
Lux pondered a bit before nodding his head in agreement. "By the way, do you buy horned rabbit meat here?"
"We do. Depending on the quality of the corpse we will buy one horned rabbit for one copper coin," the receptionist replied. "But, if the corpse is damaged then the price is halved."
Lux nodded his head and took forty horned rabbit corpses out of his storage ring at the dismantling area of the Adventurer's Guild.
The corner of the receptionist's lips twitched when she saw the battered corpses in front of her. As she inspected one of the horned rabbits, she noticed that most of them seemed to have been hit by a bludgeon type attack that damaged their fur, and body organs.
Although she could understand that horned rabbits were difficult to kill, seeing the bludgeoned corpses in front of her made her feel pity for the so-called Pests of the Plains.
"Sorry, but the prices will have to be lowered further due to the quality of these corpses," the guild receptionist said. "How about this, we will pay fifteen copper coins for these forty horned rabbits. Will that be fine with you?"
Lux nodded. "Yes."
The red-headed boy felt slightly embarrassed because he had gotten carried away when he was hunting the horned rabbits. Instead of giving them a clean death, Lux had smacked their bodies using the fist-sized rocks he collected in order to train his Accurate Throw Skill.
Only the first ten kills were in good condition, so he decided to keep them for himself to use as food rations during his travels.
Meat that was stored inside a storage ring didn't rot, so he could be assured that the rabbits would remain fresh even if he carried them around for a long time.
After earning an additional fifteen copper coins, Lux returned to his inn to rest for the night.
"The Alpha Beast of the Plains of Aspiration is the Carbuncle," Lux muttered as he opened his Elysium Compendium. "It is the Lord of the Horned Rabbits. Fortunately, its territory is at the center of the plains, so I don't have to worry about meeting it anytime soon. But, just to be on the safe side, I won't wander too far into the plains tomorrow."
The Carbuncle was a meter-tall, blue rabbit with a red, diamond-shaped, crystal on its forehead.
These so-called Red Diamonds were highly sought out by Mages, and Magic Swordsmen because of its ability to amplify magic. However, as an Alpha Creature, a party of six—whose members had stepped unto the Apostle Rank—was needed in order to challenge this quick and nimble beast.
Although it was weaker than the Field Boss, Forest Wolf King, it was without a doubt one of the apex creatures in the Beginner's Zone.
Chapter 20 Monster Outbreak [Part 1]
Lux was sleeping peacefully when the loud tolling of several bells sounded in the middle of the night.
The Half-Elf opened his eyes and opened the window of his room. He didn't know what was happening, so he decided to take a look outside to get a better understanding of what had caused this commotion so late into the night.
It didn't take long for Lux to see several Dwarven patrolmen running towards the South Gate of the village.
Judging by the anxious expressions on their faces, Lux knew that something bad had happened.
The red-headed boy immediately equipped the Wolf's Leather Armor that he had acquired in his Gacha Pull before leaving his room in haste.
—-
< Wolf's Leather Armor >
– Defense: 20
– Pierce and Slashing damage reduced by 10%
—-
When he arrived at the first floor of the inn, several Dwarves were organizing themselves into parties. All of them were wearing armor, and they were holding their weapons firmly in their hands.
"Excuse me, but can you tell me what is happening?" Lux asked the innkeeper who was standing behind the bar and smoking a pipe.
The Innkeeper took a deep drag of his pipe before answering Lux's question, "Every once in a while, we get monster outbreaks. Right now, we have an Undead Outbreak and everyone's gathering at the South Gate in order to bolster our village's defenses. Are you planning to participate in the village's defense?"
"Yes," Lux replied in a heartbeat. "Although I just arrived here in Leaf Village, I feel that I should do my best in order to protect this place."
The Innkeeper's gaze softened as he lightly patted Lux's shoulder. "I'll give you something good for breakfast later. Go, but make sure that you don't get yourself killed."
Lux nodded with a smile as he headed towards the door. The Dwarves heard his discussion with the innkeeper and they were somewhat impressed by Lux's conviction to help the village in its time of need.
"What are you numbskulls dawdling around for?" the Innkeeper shouted at the Dwarves who were still loitering at the tavern area of the Inn. "Are you Dwarves or are you Goblins? Are you going to let that Half-Elf fight alone? If any of you don't want to fight then you can scram. I don't need useless brats here!"
The Dwarves immediately left the inn because they were afraid that the Innkeeper would really throw them out if they didn't participate in the village's defense.
When everyone had left, the Innkeeper sighed as he looked up at the picture of a teenage Dwarf that hung on the wall.
"Times like this, I wish you were here, son," the Innkeeper said as he sighed a second time. "This place will never be the same without you."
—--
As Lux hurried towards the Southern Gate of Leaf Village, he noticed several Dwarves running alongside him.
"Big Brother Lux!" Colette waved her hand as she ran alongside him. "Are you going to participate in the village's defense?"
"Yes," Lux replied. "Colette, is it just me or are you pretty hyped about this thing?"
"Of course I am hyped! This is the first time I get to participate in a village's defense. My Pa and Ma usually forbid me from doing dangerous things like this, but now I am here in Elysium, they won't be able to stop me!"
"... Just do things in moderation, okay?"
"Un!"
After having some small talk with Lux, Colette increased her running speed and left Lux behind.
The Half-Elf had a dumbfounded expression on his face as he looked at the speedy little Dwarf who was already fifty meters ahead of him.
'She sure runs fast,' Lux mused. 'I didn't expect Dwarves to run this fast.'
A few minutes later, Lux arrived at the South Gate, which had been shut tight. Several Dwarven patrol guards could be seen standing on the ramparts, holding crossbows in their hands.
Colette and her party had also gathered on one side of the protective wall, just beside the entrance, and were looking at something in the distance.
Lux didn't waste any time and also climbed the ramparts to see what kind of enemies they were fighting against.
As soon as he stood on top of the village's protective walls, his expression immediately became grim as he saw a countless number of skeletons and zombies, walking shakily towards Leaf Village.
'This is a Monster Outbreak?' Lux frowned.
He was not unfamiliar with a Monster Outbreak because Wildgarde Stronghold had experienced them as well in the past. However, the children would always be gathered into the underground shelter of the stronghold, preventing them from participating in or observing the battle.
Now that Lux was facing a Monster Outbreak in Elysium, he now understood why the adults chose to safeguard the children, instead of letting them participate in a battle of this magnitude.
'Grandma always participated in the defense against Monster Outbreaks,' Lux thought as he clenched his fists to shake away the fear that was starting to take hold of his body. 'It's fine. As long as I stay here on the ramparts, I will be fine. The village's guards are here, so I'm sure that they will be able to handle the rest.'
Lux tried to assure himself that everything was going to be fine, but the wild beating of his heart, and the pounding in his ears, prevented him from being able to calm his senses.
It was at that moment when he felt a small hand hold his own.
"Don't worry, Big Brother! I will protect you!" Colette said with a big smile on her face. "Those skeletons and zombies are nothing. I can beat them with ease!"
She noticed that Lux's expression was turning pale, so she decided to tell him the words that her sister always said to her, whenever they were up against a dangerous situation.
Lux snapped out of his daze as he looked at the smiling little girl who was holding his right hand.
,m 'Get a grip, Lux!' Lux berated himself internally. 'I am the oldest here! I should be the one protecting these kids! Grandma would definitely feel sad if she found out that I was hiding under the skirt of a girl that is younger than me by four years!"
Lux lightly squeezed Colette's little hand as he gazed at the Undead Swarm that was only a few hundred meters away from the walls of the village.
"You don't need to protect me," Lux said with a smile. "I'm not afraid of these weak skeletons and zombies. Heck, I can even summon a skeleton of my own. Do you want to see?"
"Really? You can summon a skeleton?"
"Of course I can. Just watch me. Come forth, Diablo!"
Immediately, a white skeleton appeared in front of Lux.
Colette's jaw dropped when she saw the skeleton that Lux had summoned.
Before Lux could even brag about his Named Creature, several bolts flew in Diablo's direction. Fortunately, some of them passed harmlessly through his skeletal ribs, but a few hit its head, sending it flying away from its body.