Ch. 71..80

Chapter 71 This Is What You Call Investment

"You did well, Lux," Randolph said as he looked at the corpse of the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis that was strewn across the ground of his warehouse. "Can you tell me the current situation in the Figaro Gardens?"

Lux nodded his head and explained how the battle of Mosquitoes and the insects played out. He also told him about how they interfered with the battle and how he backstabbed the Mosquitoes when they least expected it.

Randolph listened as he rubbed his beard. After Lux finished his tale, the Dwarf sighed before he patted his Disciple's back.

"You're one god damn backstabber." Randolph chuckled. "Are you going back to the Figaro Gardens?"

Lux nodded. "The night is still young and there are still many corpses to be collected. It will be a waste if I leave them behind."

Randolph understood that Lux was right. Even so, he was concerned about his safety, so he reminded him to not do anything reckless, and just let his Skeletons do the fighting.

After bidding his Master goodbye, Lux once again slipped into the Figaro Gardens and headed towards the location of the Ant Nest.

However, along the way, he heard the buzzing sounds of Mosquitoes, so he hurriedly took cover in order to hide from them.

Diablo and the rest were with him, so he wasn't too worried about his safety. His only concern was that the number of the mosquitoes would be too much for him and his small team to handle. All the Skeletons each held a torch in their right hand, which served as a distraction that prevented the mosquitoes from sensing Lux's warm blood.

Fortunately, after glancing in their direction, the mosquitoes didn't bother to take a closer look. They just focused on their mission which was to look for the Insects that were currently grouping with each other to resist their overwhelming numbers.

Even after the Mosquitoes had left the scene, Lux didn't move from where he was hiding. He sent four Skeletal Fighters to scout in different directions to ensure that there was nothing that could threaten his life within the radius of five hundred meters.

Only after making sure that it was indeed safe to move did the Half-Elf hurry towards the nearest entrance to the Ant Nest in order to seek shelter.

Just like usual, the Ants happily welcomed him after he shared the location of where the latest battle had been fought. Lux's skeletons had already taken the Beast Cores that he could take from them, so he didn't mind sharing the dead bodies with the Ants, who always made sure to keep him safe while he was inside their colony.

The Mosquitoes were not too keen to fight the Ants in their underground tunnels. The lack of maneuverability as well as the cramped space prevented them from being able to use their advantage in numbers. One could even say that, among the Insects in the Figaro Gardens, it was the Ants which were least affected by the one-sided slaughter that was happening on the surface.

After arriving to safety, Lux didn't hurry to send out his Skeletons. The first thing he was going to do was upgrade them in order to make them stronger.

Lux had a dozen Rank 3 Beast Cores, as well as the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis' Alpha Core which glowed crimson red.

He also managed to acquire a total of fifty Rank 2 Beast Cores and two hundred twenty-two Rank 1 Beast Cores, which was more than enough to strengthen his skeleton army by a few grades.

Lux still had several Beast Cores in his collection, which he still hadn't used. After taking a quick look in his inventory, to see just how many beast cores he had, he saw three hundred seventy Rank 1 Beast Cores, Sixty Six Rank 2 Beast Cores, twelve Rank 3 Beast Cores, and 1 Alpha Beast Core.

This was a staggering number. If his Grandma Vera were to know how her grandson was faring inside the Beginner's Village, she would definitely be surprised and would question him about how he had managed to acquire so many Beast Cores on his own.

No matter how one looked at it, Lux was simply a cheat-like character who was abusing the mechanics of the rules inside the Beginner's Village. Although his rank was still below the Apostle Grade, his summons had long exceeded the limit of the rank of anyone that could stay in the Beginner's Zone.

Lux was like one of those gamers who liked to over-level themselves before taking on the first boss of the game. This would ensure that the enemy wouldn't pose any threat to him, and he would be able to gain the upper hand in any of the battles that would take place within the different zones of the Beginner's Village.

The Half-Elf used forty-three Rank 2 Beast Cores in order to upgrade Diablo twice. He knew that the one who would decide the success of this mission would be none other than his First Named Creature, whose combined stats had reached five hundred and sixty, making him a Rank 2 Monster in the middle stages.

Diablo also learned the skill Expert Trainer, which allowed him to successfully train any kind of Monster which rank didn't surpass his by two tiers.

For example, Diablo was currently a Rank 2 Monster. He could tame monsters that he could use as his mount as long as they were Rank 4 and below. Of course, for higher-leveled monsters, he would have to weaken them first before he could make them submit to become his Beast Mount.

For higher ranked monsters, even if they were near-death, Diablo wouldn't be able to tame them because his rank would prevent him from doing so.

Ishtar was the next one that Lux upgraded. As the dedicated long-range damage dealer, it was only natural for him to buff up the former who would also play a vital role in the upcoming battle.

Just like Diablo, Lux upgraded Ishtar twice, which brought up her combined stat points to five hundred and ninety five. She also learned the skill Siege Stance, that rendered her immobile with the tradeoff of increasing her attack by 100%

—--

< Siege Stance >

Increases damage output by 100% and has a high chance of dealing critical damage for ten seconds. While in siege stance, the user is unable to move from their spot, and can only shoot at their enemies like a siege tower.

Moving away, jumping, or breaking this stance will cancel the effect of the skill. This Skill stacks with any other long-ranged skills.

—--

Lux also upgraded his Skeletal Fighters once and his Skeleton Grand Archers twice, greatly reducing his stockpile of Beast Cores, but Lux had no regrets. After all those upgrades, he no longer had any Rank 1 Beast Cores remaining and only eight Rank 2 Beast Core was left in his inventory.

He didn't touch the Rank 3 Beast Cores, as well as the Alpha Cores, because he planned to use those for himself after he left Leaf Village.

His Skeletal Fighters learned the skill Whirlwind Slash, which allowed them to deal AOE damage, while the Skeleton Grand Archers learned Poison Arrow, which made their attacks very deadly.

"This is what you call investment," Lux muttered as he gazed at his Skeleton Team that had become stronger. Although his way of doing things burned more resources when compared to Colette and the others, the payback was very satisfying.

Right now, aside from Diablo and Ishtar, Lux's army was only wearing the basic weapons and armor that he had bought from his Master at a very cheap price. If only he could arm them all to the teeth, then forget about forming a party for the dungeon.

He could go solo and kill the Boss all by himself, as long as his Skeletons had the right equipment for the job.

"Now, let's address the main goal of this trip. Diablo, lead everyone towards the North of the Figaro Gardens," Lux ordered. "It's time to raid the Mosquito Nest and see what is causing this massive outbreak."

Lux and Randolph both agreed that what was happening inside the Figaro Garden was a bit abnormal. He wanted to get into the bottom of things, and in order to do that, his forces would first need to travel to the North, and investigate the source of the problem.

—-

North Region of the Figaro Gardens…

Someone, who was wearing a dark robe, frowned upon hearing the report of the Scaled Torment Mosquito (Rank 2 Monster) that he had tasked to supervise the attack on the other regions of the garden.

He needed the Beast Core of the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis for the ritual he was planning to make, but its corpse was nowhere to be found. Also, the Ruthless Venom Mosquitoes that led the attack had been all wiped out, which made the frown on his face deepen.

He didn't believe that the Alpha Beast was the one that killed them all, so he conducted a thorough investigation and interrogated the scouting parties that he had assigned to patrol the garden on a regular basis.

"Did any of you see anything unusual?" the dark-robed figure asked. "It could be anything that you don't always see in this territory.

"Bzzzt." one of the Red-Striped Mosquitoes flew towards him and spoke about the Skeletons that it saw when it was patrolling the area.

After hearing his subordinate's report, the person wearing the dark-robed smashed his fist on his make-shift table, breaking it in half. After panting for half a minute, he regained his composure as he stared at the giant cocoon that was pulsing beside him like a beating heart.

"So, we have a rat in our midst," the dark-robed figure gnashed his teeth. "All of you, find the location of those Skeletons. Do not alert them, just simply encircle the area where they are located. Find any Dwarf that you see and bring them to me alive. I would like to have a nice… long talk with the person that is getting on my way."

The dark-robed person assumed that the one that was getting on his way was a Dwarf. He could not be blamed for thinking that way because the Gweliven Kingdom was a Dwarf Kingdom.

No other races could be seen within its lands, so he deemed that only a Dwarf could pose a threat to his plans. Now that he was only one step away from realizing his goals, he would ensure that no more mishaps happened.

Although losing the Beast Core of the Alpha Beast was troublesome, he had other substitutes that he could use in order to take its place. However, what concerned him was the identity of his enemy.

Right now, he was increasing the pace of his experiment because he had heard that the Riders of Norria had just dealt with the Kobold Bandits that were terrorizing the lands. He thought that he still had a few more days before his experiment was complete, but it seemed that Fate had other plans for him.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to find the perpetrator, and offer their blood to the new breed of Monster that would make him and his organization the overlords.

An organization that wished to control the Dwarf Kingdom of Gweliven from the shadows.

 

Chapter 72 Birth Of An Abomination

In the middle of the night, the intense buzzing sounds of insect wings spread across the Figaro Gardens.

Diablo, Ishtar, and the other Skeletons, were sneakily moving towards the North using the darkness as cover. The Mosquitoes weren't able to detect them because their bodies didn't give off any heat, making them practically invisible in the former's eyes.

As the elite Skeleton party neared their destination, they noticed that the Monster Nest was mostly empty. The robed-man had ordered the Mosquitoes to look for the traces of the Skeletons, and capture their summoner.

Fortunately, Diablo and his team had been using plenty of the underground tunnels the Ants had made to reach the Northern Regions, which allowed them to bypass the Mosquitoes that were looking for them.

Diablo gazed at Ishtar and the latter nodded her head. She then nocked an arrow on her bow and took aim. The Skeleton Grand Archers followed her lead and also prepared to shoot, only waiting for her signal to attack.

A few seconds later, a shower of arrows killed the Red-Striped Mosquitoes that were loitering around the entrance of the Monster Nest.

Since they were Common Monsters, they instantly died from the surprise attack that Ishtar and her Archers had unleashed. After making sure that no other Monsters were in sight, the group hurriedly entered the Nest.

Lux, who was watching everything through the eyes of Diablo, frowned. He thought that he and the Skeletons would be fighting their way through vast swarms of Mosquitoes, but after arriving at their destination, the Mosquitoes were nowhere to be found.

​ The Half-Elf wasn't aware that the majority of them were currently sweeping the FIgaro Garden in search of Diablo and him.

As the skeletons traveled deeper inside the Nest, they arrived in what seemed to be a spacious cavern, where a four-meter-tall glowing cocoon lay at its center. Beside it was the robed person who was busy chanting incantations, as if reinforcing the cocoon and strengthening whatever was inside it.

Before Lux could even assess what was going on, a notification sounded and a series of text materialized in front of him.

—---

< Birth Of An Abomination >

Mission Rating: S

– An unknown organization is conducting an experiment within the Beginners Area of the Gweliven Kingdom. Their goal is to create a monster that could potentially make them the Overlords of the Dwarf Kingdom to overturn the rule of the Royal Family.

– Their plans are still in the initial stages and it is up to you to stop them!

< Quest Objective >

– Kill the Abomination.

– No matter what happens, the creature must be killed at all cost.

– Gather information about the unknown organization and pass it to the Knights of Norria.

– Quest Duration: 1 Hour

– Quest will automatically fail if you fail to subjugate the Abomination within the allotted time.

< Rewards >

100 Free Stat Points

100 Skill Points

100 Body Constitution Points

500 Elysium Gold Coins

500 Riders of Norria Reputation Points

100 Kingdom Reputation Points (Exclusive to Kingdom of Gweliven)

2000 Leaf Village Reputation Points

—--

'A Rank S Mission?!' Lux gasped internally after reading the information that had suddenly flashed in front of him. 'And I only have one hour to accomplish it?!'

After staying inside the Leaf Village for a few months, he found that there was not a single Rank S Mission available for people in the Beginner Zone. The highest mission available was the subjugation of the Field Boss, Forest Wolf King, but even that was only a Rank A Mission.

What did that mean? It meant that this Mission was harder than subjugating a Field Boss. It also meant that an Elite Party of Apostles was needed to finish such a task.

'Fortunately, I upgraded Diablo, Ishtar, and my other skeleton summons,' Lux thought as he observed the robed-person through Diablo's eyes. 'Perhaps they will be able to finish this mission, if things play out right.'

Right now, the robed person still hadn't discovered that he was no longer alone inside the cavern. Lux assumed that the identity of the figure was a male dwarf, whose rank was unknown to him.

'We have the element of surprise in our side,' Lux mused as he used Diablo's eyes to look at the cocoon that was pulsing like a human heart. 'I bet he didn't expect that someone would venture deep inside this Nest and discover his sinister plans.'

Lux decided to act quickly because he didn't know when the Mosquito Swarm would return to their nest. Also, the timer was ticking and he had less than an hour to finish this task before the mission failed.

Ishtar planted her feet firmly on the ground as she activated her Siege Stance, which would increase all of her attacks by 100%.

The Skeleton Grand Archers also posed to fire a Crippling Volley to paralyze the robed figure, allowing Diablo to close the gap and deal with him.

Diablo and the Skeleton Fighters took a charging position in preparation for their united assault. After everyone had taken their position, Lux gave the order and Ishtar's Piercing Arrow flew towards the robed figure, at the same time the Crippling Volley was activated.

As the whistling of the arrow echoed within the cavern, the robed figure moved his body to the side, barely evading the arrow that grazed the side of his cheek.

Ishtar had aimed for his head in order to deal a lethal blow, but her opponent was a veteran that had fought in the battlefield before joining the secret organization. The moment he heard the whistling wind, his body had unconsciously moved to the side, allowing him to barely escape Ishtar's deadly attack.

When the rain of arrows, that were imbued with paralyzing effects, rained down on him, the dwarf raised a staff and created a barrier that repelled the attacks that were meant to incapacitate him.

"Who are you?!" the Dwarf shouted. "What faction do you belon–guh!"

The robed man was forced to stop his questioning when Ishtar's second Piercing Arrow collided with his shield, breaking it apart. In desperation, he rolled to the ground to evade the arrow that held considerable power to threaten his life.

Unfortunately, after rolling to the side, the robed Dwarf came face to face with Diablo, who had used his Leap Attack to smash Blood Moon onto the robed Dwarf's head.

"Protection!" the Dwarf shouted as another barrier appeared in front of him. He hoped that it would be enough to block the unusual attack of the Black Knight that was wielding a red sword in his hand.

What followed next was a scream of pain that made Lux breath a sigh of relief from inside the Ant Nest.

Diablo's Heavy Slash managed to shatter the barrier, but it didn't end there. The Dwarf had used a blink spell to escape, but Diablo's Bone Spear had already materialized in the air. In one swift motion, the bone spear pierced the left arm of the robed figure, making the latter scream in pain.

Lux watched as the robe of the dwarf fell down on the ground, revealing his body.

The man's scarred face, who seemed to be in his late thirties, appeared in Lux's vision. The Dwarf's hair was tied up in a braid, and there were ear piercings on his mouth, and nose, making him look intimidating.

Fortunately, Lux was not intimidated as he ordered Diablo to engage the Dwarf and knock him unconscious.

To his surprise, the Dwarf once again blinked away, and even summoned a Fireball that sent Diablo crashing to the wall of the cavern.

"Bastards!" the Dwarf shouted as he fired Fireball after Fireball at the Skeletons, who did their best to evade.

Although his left arm was seriously injured and couldn't be used at this point in time, his tenacity gave the Skeletons a very difficult time.

'At least Grade A Apostle,' Lux thought with a grim expression on his face. 'This won't do. I need to change my tactics!'

Lux immediately gave his orders, which Diablo obeyed without fail. The Named Creature used its Leap and swung its sword at the cocoon at the center of the Cavern.

"Noooo!" the Dwarf shouted as he stopped hurling Fireballs at Ishtar and the Skeleton Grand Archers, who were using long ranged attacks against him.

Just like their leader, the Skeletal Fighters also started to hack the cocoon, using it as a shield to prevent the Wizard from firing Fireballs at him.

"Blasted Undead!" the Dwarf screamed as he tapped the butt of his staff on the ground thrice, activating a magic circle. He couldn't possibly just watch as the mission that was entrusted to him was destroyed right in front of his eyes.

The Dwarf regretted sending all, but a few Mosquitos out to look for the Skeletons. Because of what he did, the Monster Nest was left unprotected, which allowed the Skeletons to sneak up on him.

'Dammit!' the Dwarf cursed internally. 'Just one more day and everything would have gone according to plan. Why now?!'

Knowing that he was left with no other alternative, the Dwarf forcefully awoke the creature that was inside the cocoon. Although it was going to be a premature birth, it was better than dying at the hands of the Skeletons who were hacking its body like crazy.

"Rise and trample these fools!" the Dwarf commanded. "Come forth! Ash Wing!"

One of the Skeletons that were hacking the cocoon was blown away when a spiny leg emerged from the cocoon. Diablo hurriedly ordered the other Skeletons to back away as they observed the Beast that was emerging from its shell.

A four meter tall, ash-colored Mosquito with golden stripes appeared in everyone's vision. Its golden eyes glowed brightly, as it glared hatefully at the Skeletons who had hurt its body. What made Lux shudder was the fact that the monster had three heads instead of one, which was something he didn't expect from the mosquito.

Although the newly born beast looked powerful, it was still in a weakened state after forcefully breaking through its shell. Its wings were quite small, perhaps due to the fact that it was born prematurely, depriving it of its ability to fly, which made the Half-Elf feel thankful.

Just as Lux was about to recover from his shock, an arrow flew to the air and pierced the monster's back, where its heart was located.

The Ash Wing screamed in pain, as it tried to move its body closer to the wall, in order to prevent it from getting hit from behind.

Diablo quickly made his move and used Heavy Slash repeatedly on one of its legs, cutting it in two. Another loud shriek echoed inside the cavern as the giant mosquito's three heads screamed in unison. It then kicked Diablo away, sending him smashing towards the cave wall in order to stop him from continuing to hack at its remaining legs.

The other Skeletal Fighters immediately retreated because they knew that a single kick from the Mosquito would be enough to kill them. Although it was still in a weakened state, the fact still remained that it was similar to a Field Boss that was in the peak stage of Rank 3.

 

Chapter 73 This Is Checkmate

"It's incomplete. This monster cannot be used to further our goals in the Gweliven Kingdom." The dwarf clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I shouldn't have been impatient. I should have continued to play it safe until this thing was born properly. Now, it's too late. This project has failed."

The Dwarf broke the bone spear that had pierced his arm, and poured a healing potion over it. His wounds healed up completely, but he wouldn't be able to fully use his arm for a few days. Since his plans had failed, he decided to leave and start from scratch.

As the man was about to leave, he heard a whistling sound coming from behind his back, and he was forced to roll to his right side to evade whatever it was. Grazing the side of his waist, an arrow shot past him, almost dealing a lethal injury to him had it hit its designated target, which was his heart.

"Dammit!" The Dwarf cursed as he opened another healing potion and poured its contents on his injury.

Ishtar had shot at him due to Lux's orders. The dwarf couldn't be let go yet because one of Lux's mission objectives was to collect information about the unknown organization and pass it to the Knights of Norria. Since that was the case, he couldn't possibly allow the man to escape at all costs.

Diablo, who also received Lux's orders, leapt from the ground and aimed to deliver a fatal blow to the Dwarf who seemed to be an Apostle Grade Mage who specialized in Fire Magic.

"Barrier!" The Dwarf shouted just in time to block Diablo's Heavy Slash and prevent the latter from giving him a serious injury.

The barrier shattered, but the Dwarf was able to use his blink ability to gain distance from his attacker. Just as he was about to cast a fireball at the skeleton in front of him, several whistling sounds reached his ears, which prevented him from doing what he wanted.

The Dwarf slammed the butt of his staff against the ground, which created a powerful shockwave that repelled the arrows that Ishtar had shot in his direction.

Right now, the Skeleton Grand Archers, and the Skeleton Warriors were keeping the Ash Wing's attention, allowing Diablo and Ishtar to work in tandem to defeat the Dwarf Mage, who was responsible for overturning the balance inside the Figaro Gardens.

Ten minutes passed as Diablo and Ishtar fought together against the Dwarf, whom Lux had determined to be at least a Grade B Apostle (Rank 3 Monster). The Dwarf was hard pressed in dealing with the deadly long range and short range attacks that were forcing him to use all of his abilities to their fullest.

Meanwhile, the Ash Wing was being attacked by the hit and run tactics by the Skeleton Fighters, constantly being pummeled by volleys of long range attacks, and gradually increasing the injuries that it had received in total. After fighting against the Abomination, Lux realized that aside from its strength and size, the Ash Wing didn't know how to fight.

Simply put, it just uses its legs to deliver blows that could be avoided as long as one paid attention to its movements. Just as the dwarf had mentioned, the Beast was a failed project because it was born prematurely.

None of its deadly weapons were fully developed. The Ash Wing was just an oversized meat shield in a nutshell, which made Lux breathe a sigh of relief.

However, although its attacks were very basic, the fact still remained that a single blow from it would be enough to annihilate the Skeletons that were running around it.

After being locked in a deadly battle with Diablo and Ishtar, the Dwarf Mage was finally able to take a breather when he successfully blew Diablo away with a fireball that was fired at point blank range.

The Dwarf immediately used this opportunity to blink away from the battlefield, and he succeeded. He was quite familiar with the terrain of the Monster Nest and had already created several paths of escape to be used once the project had successfully been completed.

His clothes were drenched in blood because the battle had truly been intense. Even so, he just kept on running while pouring Health Potions over his body. Everytime the duration of the skill, Blink, became available, he would blink away again.

This caused his mana to drop at a rapid rate, but he didn't care. Right now, his priority was to escape the Figaro Garden and report his findings to their organization.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

Right after he blinked to a location, the ground underneath his feet exploded. The Dwarf found his left arm being pierced through by a sword, which made him scream in pain.

Lux was riding on top of a Silver Ant, and he used the momentum of its charge to impale the dwarf who was the ringleader of everything. However, his attack was not over yet.

"Mana Drain!" Lux shouted as he grabbed hold of the Dwarf's left arm, which he had pierced with his sword.

Mana Drain was a range spell that absorbed 2% of the target's maximum mana for five seconds. Lux knew that his current stats were not strong enough to fight against the enemy, so he decided to use the only thing that he could do and that was to prevent him from using magic.

The Dwarf panicked as he felt his remaining mana be taken away from him. As a Mage, all of his attacks relied on Mana. His mana was already dangerously low, and now even that was being taken away from him.

"Who are you?!" the Dwarf screamed in anger as he tried to break free from Lux's firm hold. "Why are you getting in our way?!"

Lux didn't bother to answer the dwarf's question, as he pulled his sword out of the Dwarf's arm so he could stab his enemy's chest. Unfortunately, the dwarf was stronger than him, so the latter managed to kick Lux away the moment he pulled the sword that was piercing his arm out.

After escaping from Lux's grasp, the Dwarf ran away, only to be pinned down by the Silver Ant that Lux was using as a mount.

The name of the Ant was the Speedy Silver Ant and, just as the name suggested, it was the fastest ant in the Ant Colony. Lux had asked for its help in order to reach the Nest as soon as possible, to help his Summons deal with the situation.

The duration of the mission was only an hour, so the Half-Elf decided to go to the site, and personally handle the matter in order to clear his mission.

"Annoying Ant!" the dwarf roared in anger. "Fire Bullet!"

The Silver Ant screamed after it was hit by the magical attack, which allowed the Mage to use his Blink Skill to distance himself from the Rank 1 Monster, whose only merit was its fast running speed.

This time around, the Dwarf had been drained completely of his mana reserves. However, just like everyone in his organization, he had brought several potions with him, and two of them were mana potions.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to drink one of them, the bottle he was holding in his hand shattered when an arrow passed through it.

A second later, his chest was impaled by a bone spear, which pinned him to a nearby tree. The Dwarf spat a mouthful of blood as he looked in disbelief at the enemies that had appeared in front of him.

"I knew that the Hunter's Mark is indispensable when hunting prey," Lux stated as he walked towards the Dwarf who was barely clinging onto life. "I just didn't know that the first thing I would be hunting was not a beast, but a Dwarf. Sorry, Mr. Dwarf. This is checkmate."

Lux raised his hand and sneered at the slippery Dwarf who always used his Blink Skill to escape the battle. "Mana Drain!"

The Dwarf spat a mouthful of blood before his entire body stiffened. For magicians, and other spell casters, being deprived of mana was the same as being deprived of their health. When a magician loses all of his mana, and goes into a deficit, their whole body enters a state of shock, which knocks them unconscious.

When they entered this state, they wouldn't be able to regenerate mana for 24 hours, and their bodies would enter a weakened state, making it impossible for them to cast spells. Diablo pulled the Bone Spear embedded on the dwarf's chest out, which made the latter fall to the ground.

Lux poured just a bit of healing potion on the bloody hole to close it up. The Half-Elf had no intention of healing his enemy, he just wanted to keep him alive until he handed him personally to the Riders of Norria who were stationed in Leaf Village.

The Half-Elf rummaged through the Dwarf's belongings and took everything of value from his body. Storage rings, storage bags, his staff, and other miscellaneous items. He had no time to inspect them all because the battle was not over.

For the time being, he stored all of these items in his inventory for safekeeping.

The red-headed teenager then took ropes out from his storage ring and tied the Dwarf up properly and tight in order to prevent him from escaping. Just to be on the safe side, he had Ishtar cast another Hunter's Mark on the Dwarf as insurance, if he happened to wake up before they finished dealing with the Abomination.

"Speedy, can you take him to your nest for the time being?" Lux asked the Silver Ant that had brought him to the battlefield.

Speedy clicked its mandibles and nodded its head before picking up the Dwarf on the ground. He then carried him towards the hole that he had made earlier, and disappeared from Lux's sight.

The Half-Elf finally breathed a sigh of relief as he stared at Diablo and Ishtar who stood a few meters away from him.

"Let's go," Lux ordered. "There's one last pest remaining."

Lux ran towards the entrance of the Nest along with Diablo and Ishtar. Now that the ringleader was defeated, all they needed to do was whittle the Ash Wing's health away, and put an end to the Abomination that threatened the lives of everyone inside the Figaro Gardens.

 

Chapter 74 Mission Completion

A blood curdling screech reverberated across the Monster Nest as the Ash Wing Mosquito went berserk. This was its last resort to kill Lux and his skeletons that had backed it into a corner.

Lux panted as he distanced himself from the monster who was nearing its end. Although his health and mana was still full, the mental exhaustion he received from fighting the Dwarf and commanding his Skeletons piled up and took a toll on his body.

Diablo and the Skeleton Fighters had died plenty of times because Lux had ordered them to do suicide attacks, with the intention of cutting of the monster's legs, to prevent it from moving around.

In the end, they succeeded, and only one leg remained on the Diabolical Beast's body. And even though it had entered a berserked state, the only thing it could do was glare at Lux and his skeletons while helplessly accepting their beating.

The red-headed teenager did his best to calm his breathing as he stared at the dying monster in front of him. He was quite thankful that the Dwarf had been forced to make the monster be born prematurely, which rendered all of its fighting abilities incomplete.

Without wings to fly, it was no different from a stationary target that the Skeletons, whom the Half-Elf could summon over and over again, could beat up.

Five minutes later, the crimson eyes of the three headed Abomination, which glared hatefully at them, eventually lost their luster and turned dim. The Abomination's body collapsed on the ground, dead.

Lux didn't move from his spot until he heard the notification which said that his mission had successfully been completed. Several words appeared in front of him, congratulating him on his victory against the Diabolical Monster.

—---

< Birth Of An Abomination >

Mission Rating: S

( COMPLETED! )

< Rewards >

100 Free Stat Points

100 Skill Points

100 Body Constitution Points

500 Elysium Gold Coins

500 Riders of Norria Reputation Points

100 Kingdom Reputation Points (Exclusive to the Kingdom of Gweliven)

2000 Leaf Village Reputation Points.

< Bonus Reward. >

Choose one among these options.

< Option 1: Hell Horse >

– A hellish creature known for its cruelty as it terrorizes its victims until they draw their last breath. They are found in places where the miasma is thick, or in ancient battlefields where they are known to spawn from the malevolent stench of death that lingers after the lives of thousands have been claimed.

– This monster's rank would always be equivalent to the rank of its Master.

< Option 2: Golden Token of Gweliven >

– This token is one of the thirteen tokens that the founder of the Gweliven Kingdom had made when he was crowned King of the Dwarves' lands. After several years had passed, these tokens changed owners many times before disappearing over the course of history.

– It is said that if you present this Token to the reigning King of the Kingdom, you will be given the title of "Honorary Knight", which would give you certain benefits within the Dwarf Kingdom.

< Option 3: Monster Egg >

– An unknown monster egg, which you can hatch at the nearest bestiary near you.

– Depending on your luck, the Monsters that could be born from the egg can be Common Monsters, Rare Monsters, Unique Monsters, Mythical Monsters, or Legendary Monsters.

< Option 4: Teleport Scroll 4 Pieces. >

– This scroll will directly send you to any places that you have visited, regardless of the restrictions that were set in place.

– For example, if you have become an Apostle or a High Ranker and you wish to return to the Leaf Village, using this scroll will allow you to return without suffering any backlash from the restrictions.

– If you want to bully children, this is the perfect item to satisfy your sadistic desires.

—--

Lux whistled after seeing the list of Bonus Rewards that he could choose from after completing the mission. Although each option was good and picking one of them now was tempting, the Half-Elf decided to set it aside for now because he was still not safe from danger.

The first thing Lux did was to take the Beast Core out from the dead Monster's body, before storing the body inside his Enchanted Beast Ring, which was capable of storing the corpses of any monster regardless of their size.

After safely storing his prize, Lux hurriedly ran towards the hole that his friend, Speedy, had made. Surprisingly, the Silver Ant was still by the time he arrived, as if waiting to carry the Half-Elf for the return trip back inside their Ant Nest.

Lux didn't hesitate and mounted the Silver Ant's back, which was almost a meter and a half tall. Just as Speedy entered the underground tunnel that it had temporarily made along the way, the red-headed teenager heard the buzzing sounds of thousands of wings.

The Half-Elf breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of their very timely escape out of the monster nest. Even though Diablo, Ishtar, and the rest of his Skeletons were strong, they were still not a match against the thousands of Mosquitoes that had been looking for them for several hours in the Figaro Gardens.

—---

Several hours later inside Leaf Village…

"Are you sure about this?" the Village Head of Leaf Village, Cedwyn, asked.

"Yes," Lux replied. "If not, I wouldn't have asked Master Randolph to call all of you out in the middle of the night."

Cedwyn's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the tied-up dwarf who was laying on the floor. The Elders of the village, as well as Boreas, the Captain of the Riders of Norria who were stationed in the village, were also present in the scene.

All the Dwarves had grim expressions on their faces as they gazed at the unconscious man.

"Do you have any other proof?" Boreas asked. "Cedwyn has already passed the documents to me, but this can be forged easily. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I'm doubting you. But for something major like this, I need more concrete proof before I can report this to my superior."

Lux nodded his head in understanding. "I have proof, but it will not fit this place. Let's go outside."

The Half-Elf didn't wait for the Dwarf's reply before leaving the room.

Boreas signaled for two of his men to watch the unconscious Dwarf before following behind Lux. Cedwyn, Randolph, and the other Elders of the village also followed the red-headed teeanager outside the house.

They were very curious about what kind of proof Lux would present to them, so that they would be convinced that he was telling them the truth.

Only Randolph, who was Lux's Blacksmith Master, had a smug smile on his face. He had already seen the Ash Wing, which had given him a fright. He and Lux were confident that after everyone had seen the corpse of the Beast, they would understand that Leaf Village had survived a close call due to Lux's intervention.

 

Chapter 75 I’m Just Happy To Help

"Dear Goddess…"

Cedwyn muttered as he stared at the three-headed Abomination whose body Lux had summoned behind the Village Chief's residence.

This was the first time Cedwyn had seen such a creature in his life, and he was sure that this was not a natural born monster. The only explanation for its existence was that it was artificially bred from an experiment which forced it to mutate and turn into the horrific creature they were looking at.

Boreas circled the beast and appraised its entire body. After inspecting it for a few minutes, he glanced at Lux as he gave his verdict.

"Rank 3 Alpha Beast," Boreas declared. "How did you kill it?"

With a glance, the Captain of the Riders of Norria, who was often stationed in leaf village, could tell that if the creature stood on its legs, it would be four-meters tall at the bare minimum. Just thinking about a Mosquito with a size as big as this was enough to make everyone's hearts tremble.

"Take a good look at its wings," Lux replied.

He had already prepared a story about his confrontation with the monster, in order to make it sound that he just got lucky with the encounter.

"As you can see, its wings were undeveloped, so it was incapable of flight," Lux explained. "I attacked it while it was still inside its cocoon, so it was helpless under my assault. I hacked it over and over until it died. After that, I hurriedly left the scene and returned here to the village."

Boreas frowned. As someone who had fought powerful monsters in the past, this was not his first time seeing such a high-tiered creature. What concerned him was that Lux wasn't strong enough to defeat this monster on his own.

He had been there when the Half-Elf had been carried to the make-shift infirmary site that the Dwarves of Leaf Village had made after the monster outbreak of the Undead Army.

Back then, Lux was unable to defeat even a Rank 1 Monster. The Abomination in front of him was an Alpha Beast, which Boreas assumed to be at least a Rank 3 Monster. In simpler terms, it was extremely powerful. Even though he believed that Lux was just lucky and killed the beast while it was inside its cocoon, that couldn't explain how he managed to capture the Dwarf Mage that was inside the Monster Nest as well.

Only a fool would dare to raid a Monster Nest alone, because anyone would know that doing so was suicide. Boreas decided to just wait until he had time to talk with the Commander of Norria, who was currently in their Stronghold.

"Very well, I will interrogate the Dwarf Mage and get into the bottom of this mess," Boreas said after much contemplation. "However, I will need to bring this monster to our Stronghold, so that our specialists can study its body. Perhaps, we will be able to better understand how this Abomination was made."

Lux nodded in understanding. In truth, he didn't know what to do with the Giant Mosquito because even his Master, Randolph, said that its parts weren't good enough as a material to forge weapons and armor.

At most, the alchemists could use its body parts and organs as ingredients to concoct potions and other miscellaneous items that might be useful to him in the future.

"What about the Beast Core?" Boreas asked. "Did you take it?"

"Of course," Lux replied. "Afterall, it was my kill."

Boreas nodded. Although it was regrettable that they wouldn't be able to study the Beast Core, as the one who killed the beast, it was Lux's right to take possession of it. Giving them the whole corpse was already a generous move on the Half-Elf's part, so Boreas didn't ask for more.

"I expect that the Riders of Norria will give some rewards to Lux as well," Randolph, the Half-Elf's Blacksmith Master said. "If he hadn't stopped this organization's plans then this territory might have been compromised completely. Tell that to your Commander as well."

Boreas sighed and reluctantly nodded his head. He couldn't refute Randolph's words because it was the truth. He believed that if the Monster was born properly and had the time to grow to its fullest, the possibility of it reaching Rank 5 was very high.

A Rank 5 Alpha Beast in the Beginner's area was completely unheard of. The damage the Monster and its lackeys could have brought to the population of Norria would have definitely been astounding.

It might have been able to force the Dwarves to leave the Village just to escape from the calamity that was about to befall them.

"I will make sure to report your good deed to my Commander," Boreas said as he looked at Lux. "You have done the Kingdom a great service."

"I'm just happy to help," Lux replied. "However, the problem in the Figaro Gardens still persists. If possible, the Riders of Norria should still perform an extermination to ensure that such a beast can't be born again."

"Understood. I will request for more reinforcements from our Stronghold." Boreas promised. "I'll be taking my leave so we can make the necessary preparations."

After saying his parting words, Boreas gave a brief nod to Cedwyn before heading to the makeshift barracks where his subordinates were staying. This was an important event, and the sooner he reported it to his Commander, the sooner it would be taken care of.

Lux sighed in relief because Boreas didn't ask him anything else. Right now, the only thing he wanted was to go back to his room in the inn and get some rest. The battle in the Figaro Garden had drained him physically and mentally.

Seeing his exhausted expression, Cedwyn announced that the meeting was adjourned and once again thanked Lux for the meritorious service that he had made to their village. Because of this, he decided to reward the other party at a later day, after he had discussed this matter in full with the other Elders of the village.

After bidding his goodbye to Cedwyn, the Elders and, Lux's Master, Randolph, Lux finally got to go back to the inn where he, upon entering the room, collapsed on the bed. He didn't even bother changing his clothes, and simply laid on top of the bed after removing his shoes.

He had accomplished his main goal of going to the Figaro Gardens. As for the mosquito swarm, he would just leave the rest of it in the hands of the Riders of Norria.

As the Half-Elf slept a dreamless sleep, Cedwyn and the Elders continued their discussion about Lux's rewards.

Randolph made sure that the other Elders weren't too stingy with their proposed rewards, which made Grandma Annie, the old lady Dwarf who had a close relationship with Lux, smile.

She didn't expect that the Half-Elf, who had appeared in their small village several weeks ago, would become a promising individual that would catch everyone's eyes.

 

Chapter 76 Colette The Matchmaker

Lux scratched his head in confusion as he walked towards the East Gate of Leaf Village.

After waking up and leaving his room, he realized that there was a sudden change in the way the Dwarves of Leaf Village look at him.

Ever since he helped them defend Leaf Village during the Monster Outbreak, the Dwarves stopped distancing themselves from him and even treated him civilly during his stay. However, it was different as to how they were being extra friendly now, which made the Half-Elf wonder if he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

The Tavern Owner even gave him two additional eggs when he ordered his usual order for breakfast, bacon and eggs. The middle-aged Dwarf insisted that it was on the house, and didn't ask Lux to pay for the extra.

The people in the tavern would also give him a brief smile whenever he met their gaze, which made Lux wonder if they were pranking him or something. This series of unexpected changes followed the Half-Elf as he walked towards the East Gate to meet with Colette and the others.

Everyone was looking at him in a kind and friendly manner, which made him pinch himself several times to ensure that he wasn't still dreaming.

"You're finally here, Big Brother!" Colette said as she ran and jumped into Lux's arms, which, as usual, made Matty shoot daggers using his eyes to the Half-Elf, who hurriedly opened his arms to catch the lively-little-cannonball that jumped at him so early in the morning.

"Have you been good while I wasn't around?" Lux asked after successfully catching the giggling little Dwarf.

"Un!" Colette replied. "Yesterday we defeated a Berserked Horned Rabbit with just the five of us!"

"Wow. That's amazing!"

"Right?!"

Lux chuckled as he patted Colette's head. A Berserked Horned Rabbit was a Rank 2 Monster, which could be found near the center of the Aspiration Plains where the Carbuncle resided. He guessed that the Goldenslayer Party, headed by Colette, was preparing for their inevitable battle with the Carbuncle.

The Half-Elf had assumed that they had already consumed Beast Cores that were given to them by their parents in order to boost their ranks. Lux had a feeling that the little Dwarves, who had accepted him as one of their party members, were nearing the Apostle Rank.

'Soon, they will be leaving this place behind,' Lux thought with a sigh as he gazed at the Dwarves who were looking at him with happy expressions, with the exception of Matty, who was looking at him with envy and jealousy.

'I feel sorry for this hen-pecked shrimp.' Lux chuckled internally as he flashed a smug smile to Matty, which made the latter give him the middle finger.

"How did the fight against the Berserked Horned Rabbit end?" Lux asked.

"It took us fifteen minutes to defeat it," Colette reported. "It was very fast and very strong. According to the information we gathered, the Carbuncle is always accompanied by two of them. This is the reason we decided to familiarize ourselves with its attack patterns."

"That is a very good plan," Lux nodded in agreement.

Knowing the fight patterns of the Monsters you would be fighting against would greatly increase the probability of defeating them. This was especially true for strong Monsters like the Carbuncle, which was the Aspiration Plain's Alpha Monster.

"You better pay attention when we fight the Berserked-Horned Rabbit later," Matty snorted. "That Monster is a meter tall and packs a punch. You don't want its horn stuck into your butt, right, Big Brother?"

Matty's words didn't hide his wish for Lux to suffer from a butt-attack from the Rank 2 monster who was known for its speed and short temper.

"You should worry about yourself," Lux replied. "A mere Berserked-Horned Rabbit is no match against me. I even fought against an Alpha Monster…"

"Alone?" Colette asked as she looked at Lux with sparkling eyes.

Lux shook his head. "No. It was fourteen against one."

Colette, Matty, and the rest of the Golden Slayers party, looked at Lux with a weird expression on their faces. While the adorable blonde-haired Colette didn't say anything, Matty used this opportunity to bring Lux down a peg.

"What? Fourteen against one?" Matty asked with an amused expression on his face. "Aren't you ashamed, Big Brother? Even the Dwarf Parties here in the Beginner's Zone only fight Alpha Beasts with up to seven members. You on the other hand fought them with twice the number? That's not something to be proud of!"

Colette and Helen, the two girls of the party, giggled as they looked at Lux's proud expression. What Matty said was true, and there was no sense of achievement in fighting an Alpha Beast with twice the number of regular party members.

Although there was nothing fundamentally wrong with this strategy, many Dwarves looked down on this practice because they would not feel any satisfaction from this.

They preferred to fight Alpha Monsters with a single party, in order to prove that party's overall strength.

Lux just shrugged Matty's words because for him, fighting a monster one-on-one, or fighting it in a group was not a big deal. Since he was a necromancer, it would be a great waste if he didn't bring his Skeletons to fight alongside him.

"Where is Robin?" Lux asked. After scanning his partymates, he found out that the boy, whom the Riders of Norria had been very keen to rescue, wasn't around.

"Robin is handling some family matters, and will be away for some time," Colette replied. "He said that he will return once he is able to and told us not to wait for him."

"Robin comes and goes as he pleases," Helen commented as she walked towards Lux. "He's a free spirited boy and is only a temporary member of our party."

Lux nodded his head in understanding. Until now, he had been wondering about Robin's real identity. For the latter to be treated so highly by the Riders of Norria, that could only mean that the Dwarf boy was not an ordinary person.

"Let's go, Big Brother." Colette smiled as she held onto Lux's right arm and dragged him towards the gate. "We'll hunt for the Carbuncle and try to defeat it. I'm sure that if all of us worked together, we will emerge victorious! Oh, before I forget, do you want to marry my Big Sister? I talked to my father about it when I returned, and he said that he would love to meet you and go fishing with you."

The corner of Lux's lips twitched when he heard Colette's innocent words. Deep inside, he knew that Colette's father didn't want to go fishing with him. The Half-Elf had a feeling that if he really were to meet Colette's father, whichever fishing area it was, the latter would definitely feed him to the fishes if he ever played along with Colette's wishes and asked Colette's sister for her hand in marriage.

"Colette, why are you so intent on making me your Big Sister's fiance?" Lux asked as they passed through the gate.

The little blonde Dwarf was humming a tune before she turned her head to look up at Lux.

"Isn't it obvious? I want Big Brother to be part of my family."

"Um, that is what is bothering me. Why do you want me to be part of your family?"

Colette gave Lux a mischievous smile before replying to his question.

"Because, Big Sister once told me that she didn't plan on getting married," Colette answered. "When I pressed her for answers, she said that there was no Dwarf that had caught her attention. Since no Dwarves can satisfy her, I thought that you might be able to do that. After all, Big Brother is not a Dwarf, right?"

Lux didn't know if he should laugh or cry at Colette's innocent words. He found the reasoning silly, but coming from Colette, he thought that it was very likely of her to come up with such a conclusion.

'I'm sure that your sister just said that she didn't plan to marry in order to pursue her goals here in Elysium,' Lux thought as he walked hand in hand with Colette who had started to hum a song.

For the little girl, her sister was her idol. Her sister was one of the Prodigies of their country, and she was simply perfect. Many noble families in Solais and Elysium had tried to play matchmaker in order to form a strong connection with her, but all of them were politely rejected by her.

Aina, who was Colette's older sister, had a grand goal in life and, for that to happen, she had to expand her influence in Elysium to simultaneously build the foundation of her dream.

Colette was not aware of her sister's circumstance, so she was doing her best to play matchmaker for Lux and Aina.

After being rescued by Lux in the Kobold's Nest, her respect and admiration for the Half-Elf had grown in leaps and bounds.

Colette wasn't aware that the more she talked about Lux to the members of her family, the more her father wished that he could go to the Beginner Zone and hack Lux to pieces. Fortunately, he couldn't do that because of the rules that bound the world of Elysium.

As the Dwarves and the Half-Elf headed towards the center of the Aspiration Plains, a purple-skinned menace with red eyes and a red jewel on its head, opened its eyes.

It let out a soft cry, and four Berserked Horned Rabbits ran to its side. It was now time for it to hunt, and everyone in the Aspiration Plains was its prey, ready for the taking.

 

Chapter 77 Alpha Monster Of The Aspiration Plains [Part 1]

As they traveled towards their destination, Lux pondered which among the four options that he obtained from his Bonus Reward was the most ideal choice. He must choose the one that would give him the most benefits.

—--

Hell Horse

Golden Token of Gweliven

Monster Egg

Teleport Scroll 4 pcs

—--

In truth, if he wanted an immediate upgrade, the Hell Horse was the most ideal option. Not only would it allow Diablo's Skeleton Rider Class to show its full potential, the mount would also grow along with its rider.

For example, if someday, Diablo became a High-Ranker, the Hell Horse would also become a High-Ranker, Lux would automatically have two powerful creatures under his command.

The Golden Token of Gweliven might have useful functions, but it was only effective within the Dwarven Kingdom.

The egg was either a hit or miss. Lux might gain a decent monster or an extremely good monster after hatching. Unfortunately, the Half-Elf didn't trust his luck too much, and he wasn't confident enough to choose the egg and hatch it.

As for the Teleport Scroll, Lux believed that it would be extremely useful in the future after he left the Beginner's Village. It could be used as a life saving item if he had to escape from a dangerous situation. The teleport scroll had different functions depending on the situation, which made it a very valuable item to possess.

'Fortunately, choosing a reward doesn't have a time limit,' Lux thought. 'For the time being, I'll keep it on hold and decide when something unexpected happens. I don't need to hurry.'

Lux knew that his current strength was enough to deal with anything in the Leaf Village, as long as he didn't do anything stupid like challenge the Field Boss, which was the Forest Wolf King.

The Half-Elf glanced at the Dwarves, who were seated with him, in the horse wagon, which they had rented back at the village. In the front, Matty was tasked to be the coachman, while the rest were assigned to scan the surroundings.

The children were being extra alert because of what happened with the Kobolds during their escort mission. All of them were holding their weapons at the ready, prepared to react instantly at the first sign of danger.

Even Helen, the group's cleric, had a serious expression on her face as she observed her surroundings with a critical eye. When Lux saw that, it made him smile. Most of the time, he would almost forget that they were just children because of how strong-willed they were.

"Two Berserked Horned Rabbits at eight o'clock!!" Colette shouted.

Everyone immediately looked in the direction where the little blonde Dwarf was pointing. Two red Rabbits that were a meter tall were running in their direction. They were Rank 2 Monsters that were known for their speed and their aggressive attitude towards those that had entered their territory.

"Battle Formation!" Colette shouted as she jumped off the horse wagon, holding the mace in her hands. Matty stood beside her, while Andy, Axel, and Helen were in the rear.

Colette's profession was a Paladin. She was a hybrid offensive warrior that excelled in close combat, could use magic, and tank enemies if needed be.

As the leader of the group, she was always on the front line alongside Matty, who was a pure offensive fighter.

Lux also stood beside the two children as he raised his hand and summoned Diablo and Ishtar. It had been a while since he had fought side-by-side with his friends, so he was wondering how much they had improved during the time they weren't together.

"I'll handle one of the Berserked Horned Rabbit," Lux said. "The rest of you deal with the other one."

"Okay, Big Brother!" Colette agreed as she braced herself to collide with the horned rabbit whose horn was poised to strike her.

The sound of metal hitting a hard object reverberated in the surroundings as Colette and the Horned Rabbit clashed. The little girl's feet skidded across the ground by a meter, but her stance didn't break as she stopped the Berserked Horned Rabbit's charge.

Matty took this opportunity to deliver two powerful slashes to the Horned Rabbit's right leg making it cry out in pain.

"Fire Bullet!"

"Water Bullet!"

Andy and Axel fired their respective spells which landed on the Berserked Horned Rabbit's body, pushing it back.

Diablo on the other hand, smashed his shield against the Berserked Horned Rabbit's head, stunning it before delivering a Heavy Slash on the side of its body.

Ishtar, on the other hand, used Siege Stance, and fired a piercing arrow into the Berserked Horned Rabbit's leg, crippling it.

Diablo used this opportunity to strike the Monster's other foot, preventing it from running away. The Horned Rabbit's main weapons were its powerful legs as well as the horn on its head, both which were often used to attack its enemies with a charging attack. As long as its legs were immobilized, it would effectively lose more than seventy percent of its combat abilities.

Diablo was no longer ignorant of the ways of battle after he had fought in the Undead Outbreak, then against the Kobolds, the Mosquitoes, and the Dwarf Mage, which they had recently defeated. As a Named Creature, its intelligence was quite high. With each battle it fought, its Tactical Ability grew more and more.

Diablo and Ishtar worked together in order to kill the incapacitated monster, which they did with relative ease. Lux didn't do anything and simply stood still, while he observed the battle of his friends.

Matty had also attacked the legs of the Berserked Horned Rabbit after the initial clash, with practiced movements.

Colette, on the other hand, used her mace to give the horned rabbit an uppercut, which made Lux subconsciously massage his jaw due to the imaginary second-hand pain that he had felt.

"Fire Lance!"

"Water Lance!"

Andy's and Axel's attacks pierced the Monster's chest, making it screech in pain and frustration. With just a glance, Lux could see that the kids were also just a few points away from reaching the Apostle Rank. Their current performance reflected this.

'So, this is why you want to fight Carbuncle,' Lux thought. 'You guys are about to graduate, and are planning to fight against the Alpha Monsters of the Beginner's Village as proof of your strength and courage.'

Lux felt a little sad at the knowledge that his friends would be leaving Leaf Village soon. The Half-Elf guessed that due to the Kobold Incident, the parents of his friends decided to give them Beast Cores, in order to help them break through to the Apostle Rank.

'Ah, if I remember correctly, Colette's Big Sister is also an Apostle,' Lux mused. 'Maybe Colette's parents want her to babysit her little sister and keep her safe.'

Although he felt a little sad knowing that the children were preparing for their graduation in the Beginner's Village, he was also very happy for them.

A few minutes later, the two Berserked Rabbits were dead, and the Goldenslayers Party rejoiced for their easy win.

"Big Brother, how did Mr. Diablo become so strong?" Colette asked as she patted one of Diablo's legs, which was covered with black armor.

Diablo must have been amused by the little girl who was patting him all over, so he patted her head and even playfully ruffled Colette's hair, which made her giggle.

"This is the first time I've seen this skeleton," Matty said as he pointed at Ishtar who was looking at Colette's and Diablo's interaction with a curious gaze. "Is he your new Summon, Lux?"

"Yes," Lux replied. "Her name is Ishtar, and she is a Skeleton Hunter."

"Skeleton hunter? First time I've heard of it." Matty crossed his arms over his chest as he pondered. "I only know about Skeleton Archers. This Skeleton Hunter doesn't ring a bell."

Andy and Axel used their own Enchanted Beast Rings to store the corpse of the two Monsters, which they would bring back to Leaf Village to sell after they finished their goal in coming to the Aspiration Plains.

"You can think of her as a more powerful version of a Skeleton Archer," Lux explained. He was about to say more when he suddenly heard a screech coming from behind them.

A two-meter tall, purple Monster with a red jewel on its forehead charged in their direction. Lux's expression turned grim when he saw that the Monster wasn't alone. Running alongside it were four Berserked Horned Rabbit, whose red eyes glowed with fury.

"Everyone brace yourselves!" Colette shouted as she stood in front of her party members. "That is a Mutated Carbuncle! It's stronger than the normal Carbuncle, and its strength is equivalent to a peak Rank 3 Alpha Monster!"

Lux frowned because this was the first time he heard the term "Mutated" and it made him wonder if there was something special about this Monster that was now headed in their direction.

 

Chapter 78 Alpha Monster Of The Aspiration Plains [Part 2]

The red jewel on the Mutated Carbuncle's head glowed brightly, signifying its increase in movement speed as well as the increase in speed of the Berserked Horned Rabbits with it.

Lux already knew that the Carbuncle was more of a support type monster, rather than an offensive one. Just like the Berserked Horned Rabbits, the Carbuncle was only supposed to be a meter tall.

However, the one that they were facing right now was at least two-meters tall, which was why Colette called it a mutated monster.

Lux didn't have time to open the Elysium Compendium and check what that 'mutated' meant, but he didn't have to be a genius to understand that it was a stronger version of the original monster.

'I just hope that it is still a support focused monst–'

Lux was unable to finish his thought because the carbuncle opened its mouth and released a barrage of sparkling golden diamonds, all of which were the size of fingernails.

"Skeleton fighters!" Lux summoned his Skeletons, which stood in front of the Dwarves and used their shields to block the unexpected magical attack from the mutated Alpha Beast.

When the dazzling attack receded, a third of the Skeletal Fighters' health was lost, which made Lux's face turn serious. However, before he could even think of a way to counter the Carbuncle's offensive, the four Berserked Horned Rabbits had already closed the distance, and rammed their horns on the Skeleton Fighters' shields, which sent them flying away.

Fortunately, although Colette and the others were young, they were not helpless little kids.

After the Skeleton Fighters were blown away, Colette, Matty, Diablo, and Ishtar all used their strongest skills to attack the legs of the Berserked Horned Rabbits, in order to lower their mobility.

The attacks successfully connected, which gave them the ideal results they were aiming for, but, before any of them could celebrate, the red jewel on the Carbuncle's forehead glowed once again.

A green light enveloped the Berserked Horned Rabbits, and the injuries that they had received got healed, allowing them to evade the follow up attacks of Colette and the others.

Lux summoned his Skeleton Grand Archers in order to deal range damage to the Carbuncle who stood behind all of his minions.

The Alpha Beast deftly evaded the rain of arrows that was aimed at it with its incredible speed. No matter what kind of attack was fired at it, the Carbuncle dodged it without fail, which made things difficult for Lux and the others.

There were times when they were able to seriously injure the Berserked Horned Rabbits, but because of the Carbuncle's healing abilities, the injuries the monsters received recovered at a rapid pace.

"This is not going anywhere, Big Brother!" Colette said as she smashed her mace on the head of the Berserked Horned Rabbit that had attacked Matty, who stood beside her. "We need to deal with the Mutated Carbuncle first!"

"Got it! Diablo, Ishtar, let's deal with that Alpha Beast first!" Lux ordered before activating his Battle Cry, which raised the physical and magical attacks of his allies.

He then ordered his Skeleton Fighters and Skeleton Grand Archers to assist Colette and the others in dealing with the Alpha Beast's minions.

The Skeleton Fighters, as well as the Skeleton Archers, were at the peak of Rank 1 Monsters. The Berserked Horned Rabbits might be stronger than them, but the gap between the two parties wasn't that wide.

The Dwarves were surprised when they realized how strong Lux's summoned Skeletons were. It hadn't been long since they fought against the Dark Draugr in the Bronze Crypt and came out victorious.

Because of that, they thought that if they added Lux and Diablo to their party, they would be able to fight the Carbuncle if all of them worked together. Never in their wildest dreams did they think that one of Lux's Skeleton Fighters were just as strong as them!

'Unbelievable,' Colette thought. 'Big Brother is really amazing!'

Matty who was fighting alongside Colette had also noticed the strength of the Skeletons fighting by his side and was dumbfounded.

'Just how did he get this strong in such a short period of time?' Matty couldn't believe what he was seeing. Although he knew that Lux had been rewarded with several Beast Cores by their families, it wasn't enough to create this many powerful Summons at the get go.

Without the help of the Carbuncle, the Berserked Horned Rabbits were slowly losing their ground in the head-on confrontation.

"I feel more powerful!" Axel gasped when the effects of the Battle Cry affected him.

Axel nodded as he fired spell after spell at the Berserked Horned Rabbit that was being pinned down by Lux's skeleton fighters.

"We can win this!" Helen chanted as she cast her own support spells to help her teammates become stronger.

The battle was quite intense, with neither side wanting to back down. The Mutated Carbuncle was fighting a three against one battle, while his minions were fighting four against sixteen.

Seeing that its minions' health had already fallen past fifty percent, the Carbuncle decided to use its healing ability to restore their health. However, Lux and Diablo were waiting for this exact moment.

Diablo pointed his sword at the Mutated Carbuncle and activated his special skill Duel [EX], which forced his enemies to exchange one blow with him.

It was similar to a taunting skill, but the difference between the two skills was that the Taunt Skill could be resisted, while the Duel [EX] couldn't. With an effective range of three hundred meters, Diablo could practically taunt anything that he had set his eyes on.

Although the skill had a one minute cooldown, it was still a very useful ability to break the enemy's momentum.

After executing the skill, the Mutated Carbuncle faced Diablo and screeched. Its healing skill was interrupted, and was now forced to charge in the Named Creature's direction.

Diablo, who was wearing his black knight armor, stood steadily in order to clash with the Alpha Beast that it had angered.

Ishtar had taken a siege stance and fired a Piercing Arrow, which flew towards the chest of the Carbuncle, making it howl in pain.

Lux extended his hand and shouted "Mana Drain" in order to deplete the Alpha Beast's mana reserves. The Half-Elf knew that this was going to become a battle of attrition, so he prioritized draining the Carbuncle's mana to stop it from being able to cast spells that would help its minions recover from the one-sided beating that they were currently suffering from.

The sword in Diablo's hand glowed briefly as he activated his skill, Heavy Slash. His sword met the Mutated Carbuncle's swiping attack. The sound of metal hitting metal spread throughout the surroundings.

Diablo's feet skidded against the ground, while the Mutated Carbuncle took two steps back after their collision.

Another arrow flew through the air and pierced Carbuncle's chest making it shriek in pain. Ishtar was a very opportunistic hunter and timed her attack at the right moment to deal significant damage to the Alpha Beast.

Lux also fired a Dark Arrow at the Mutated Carbuncle, hoping to blind it, but it failed.

It was at that moment when one of the Berserked Horned Rabbits let out a blood curdling screech before collapsing on the ground dead.

The Alpha Beast was immediately alarmed because it had completely forgotten about its minions since it was entangled by Lux and his two Named Creatures. Just as it was about to cast its healing magic on the survivors, Diablo smashed his shield against the Alpha Beast's face, interrupting its healing magic for the second time.

Lux understood that the only reason why they could overpower the Mutated Monster was because of the Carbuncle originally being only a support type monster. Among the Alpha Beasts in the Beginner's Village, it was the weakest.

To deal with it, everyone just had to kill its minions first before encircling it and hacking it to death. This was the typical strategy used when fighting against the Carbuncle, which had been proven effective over time.

Because it was unable to heal its allies due to Diablo's interference, the remaining Berserked Horned Rabbits fell one by one.

Just as everyone was about to encircle the Mutated Alpha Monster, it leapt high into the air in an attempt to run away. Diablo also used his own Leap Skill, following its enemy into the air, while Ishtar released another Piercing Arrow.

Although the sound of the whistling wind reached the Mutated Carbuncle's ears, the arrow was almost impossible to avoid while in air. Unable to evade, the arrow pierced its chest, breaking its stance. Diablo's Heavy Slash immediately followed after the arrow had struck true, smashing its back and sending it towards the ground.

The Dwarves and the Skeletons didn't miss this opportunity and ran towards the fallen Alpha Beast. However, Lux's shout made them all take a defensive stance as the Carbuncle once again unleashed another Diamond Storm as its last resort.

Just like before, the Skeletal Fighters stood in front of the Dwarves and shielded them from the unique attack of the Mutated Beast.

When the attack ended, the Skeleton Fighters' bodies shattered because their health was already low after fighting against the Berserked Horned Rabbits. However, this wasn't a big issue.

"Arise!" Lux ordered and his Skeleton Fighters rose once again to beat the crap out of the oversized rabbit that had killed them just a moment ago.

The pitiful Alpha Monster then found itself surrounded on all sides with nowhere to go. Diablo and Ishtar had already dealt significant damage to its legs. However, its ability to heal itself was getting annoying.

To deal with this, Lux used Mana Drain every time the Skill's cooldown ended. After a grueling thirty minutes, the Mutated Alpha Monster finally fell, transforming into particles of light.

It left several items on the ground, including an egg that was two-feet tall, which made Colette jump up and down due to happiness.

 

Chapter 79 Special Quest Rewards

Colette and the other Dwarves flocked to the items that were dropped by the Mutated Carbuncle.

The monster egg stood at the center of it all, catching everyone's attention.

"This egg is without a doubt a Carbuncle's egg," Colette said with sparkling eyes. She then began to gently touch the egg as if it was a priceless treasure that she had seen for the very first time.

Helen also touched the egg just like Colette. This was the first time she had seen a monster drop an egg, so she was quite surprised when she saw it.

Since the two girls were busy touching the egg all over, Matty and the others busied themselves with organizing the rest of the loot that they had acquired.

One of them was a red jewel that was as big as Lux's hand. This jewel, which could be found on the Carbuncle's forehead, was very precious, and many merchants were willing to buy it at a very high price.

The second item was the Mutated Carbuncle's purple fur. This was another top tier item that could be used as a carpet, a blanket, and even clothes which were perfect to wear in places with cold weather.

The third item was the monster's meat, which also fetched a decent price in the market. Since rabbit meat is quite popular in Leaf Village, the meat of this Alpha Beast was considered to be a rare delicacy.

Last, but not the least, was the Mutated Carbuncle's Beast Core. It was the size of a bowling ball and had a bright purple color. Although it was a Rank 3 Beast Core, it was bigger than a regular one, which meant that the number of skill or stat points that could be gained from it would not be less than fifty.

"Nice haul," Lux said as he crossed his arms on his chest. "Congratulations for beating your first Alpha Beast."

The Dwarves who were in cloud nine were broken out of their daze after they heard Lux's words. All of them stopped what they were doing and looked in his direction as if they had completely forgotten about him.

It was at that moment when they remembered that the one who played a major role in subjugating the Mutated Carbuncle was none other than the Half-Elf in front of them. If Lux wasn't there, all of them might have been seriously injured. As for the worst case scenario? They might have all died fighting the Mutated Monster that came out of nowhere.

"B-Big Brother, these spoils of war should belong to you," Colette stuttered while looking at Lux with teary eyes. Her hands were still latched onto the egg like a Koala hugging a tree, which made the red-headed teenager laugh due to how adorable she looked.

"Don't worry, all the loot for this hunt is for you guys," Lux replied. "As you can see, with my current strength, it will not be a problem for me to hunt another Carbuncle. If you still find this unfair then just think of it as an older brother giving gifts to his little brothers and sisters. It's fine that way, right?"

Colette immediately let go of the Monster Egg and ran towards Lux, jumping into his arms.

"Big Brother, you are the best!" Colette shouted happily as Lux spun her round and round.

After spinning the little girl a few times, Lux finally set her back down on the ground. Colette then glanced at the egg then back at Lux before voicing her thoughts.

"Big Brother, you can take the egg," Colette said. "The eggs of Alpha Beasts are very rare, especially mutated ones. Even my sister didn't get one when she was in the Beginner's Village."

Lux shook his head firmly. "No. I don't need it. However, promise me that you will raise that Carbuncle with love and care. Since it is a support type monster, it will help you and Helen heal your party members when things get rough.

"I will be able to have more peace of mind knowing that you guys have an extra healer supporting you in your adventures. So, just take the egg and the other items."

"Big Brother, are you sure you really don't want it?" Colette asked with a serious expression on her face.

"I'm sure. Just keep everything for yourselves." Lux smiled as he glanced at the rewards that he had obtained from killing the Mutated Carbuncle in his Soul Book.

—--

< Special Quest >

– Encounter with a Mutated Monster

Mission Rating: B

Status: Completed!

< Quest Objective >

– Kill the Mutated Carbuncle

< Rewards >

– 50 Free Stat Points

– 50 Skill Points

– 50 Body Constitution Points

– Mutated Carbuncle's Jewel

– Mutated Carbuncle's Meat

– Mutated Carbuncle's Fur

– Rank 3 Alpha Beast Core

< Bonus Reward >

– Alpha Monster Egg

– Hatching the egg will give you a random baby monster that is equivalent or higher than an Alpha Monster that could be found in the entirety of the Territory of Norria.

– You can hatch this egg with the help of a Monster Breeder

—---

The reason why Lux didn't want to fight the children with the distribution of the loot was due to the fact that he had already acquired a set of items on his own. Since that was the case, asking for more would be too greedy of him.

Besides, he really liked Colette and the others. He thought that it would be best to just let the kids enjoy their first attempt at challenging an Alpha Monster as a team.

Since the egg wasn't an item that could be stored inside the Enchanted Beast Ring, Lux and the others carefully placed it inside the carriage. Matty was assigned to put the egg on his lap to ensure that the bumps on the road wouldn't break it.

Everyone was in a good mood as they returned to Leaf Village. The distribution of the loots was done as follows.

Colette would take the monster egg because she was the leader of the group.

The boys decided to give the monster fur to Helen as compensation.

Matty, Andy, and Axel, on the other hand, would sell the Carbuncle's Jewel, and share the profits that they would gain from it.

Since Lux didn't get anything, Colette decided to scribble something on a piece of paper and handed it to Lux.

The Half-Elf couldn't help but chuckle after reading its contents, which made Colette's face turn beet red due to embarrassment.

One Shoulder Massage Ticket.

That was what was written on the piece of paper that Colette gave Lux, which made Matty extremely envious. If possible, he would give Lux his share of the gold coins they would receive for selling the Carbuncle's Jewel in exchange for the shoulder massage ticket in his hand.

Naturally, he couldn't voice this out loud, so he had no choice but to glare at the Half-Elf who acquired a very precious ticket that he would fight to get.

As soon as their merry little band entered Leaf Village, Lux noticed Boreas, as well as the middle-aged Dwarf, Nevreal, who was also Robin's caretaker, standing by one of the sides of the gate. There were other Goat Riders beside them, which made Lux wonder if they were planning to go on a mission somewhere.

However, before their carriage could drive past them, Boreas called out to Lux.

"Lux Von Kaizer, do you have some time today?" Boreas asked. "There is something very important that we need to talk about. Why don't you follow me to the barracks for now?"

Lux frowned, but still nodded his head. Although he didn't know why Boreas and Nevreal were waiting for him at the gates of the village, he could tell that the matter they wanted to discuss was a serious one.

 

Chapter 80 Rewards From The Dwarven King

Lux and the important people in Leaf Village sat in a conference room.

Boreas had called for all of them because the matter he was going to discuss was about the recent incident that happened in the Figaro Gardens.

"My Commander, Lord Thoram, took the remains of the Abomination to the capital and had an audience with his Majesty," Boreas said with a serious expression on his face. "The mages there examined the corpse and found some highly-confidential information that I will share with all of you right now.

"Make no mistake, this information mustn't be revealed to anyone. The only reason why I've been given permission to mention this to everyone present is because this new organization is currently performing their experiments in the villages near the borders of the Kingdom."

"After his Majesty gave the order, a massive operation was set in motion, and various border Strongholds managed to capture four more members of the organization in the other Dwarf villages."

"These places also encountered an unusual increase of a specific type of monster in their area. Unfortunately, in two of those places, the monster was born successfully, which made subjugation very difficult. Many lives were lost, so his Majesty was forced to send Initiates to handle the situation."

"After a gruesome battle, those two Abominations were slain. However, after examining all of their bodies, the mages discovered that these monsters had the power to evolve…"

The faces of the Elders of Leaf Village immediately went pale when they heard the word "evolve". Certain monsters had this particular ability, so it was not that surprising. However, creatures that had the strength of field bosses after being born, and still had the power to evolve, was bad news for everyone.

If left undiscovered, they could step into a high rank, which was strong enough to wipe out entire villages and towns, whose defenders didn't have the strength to defeat it.

"Lux Von Kaizer, Lord Thoram, and the other Commanders of the Border Guards are very grateful for your contribution in this matter," Boreas gave Lux a brief bow before passing him a wooden box. "His Majesty wanted to hold a ceremony for you to become an Honorary Knight of our Kingdom, but his advisers advised against it."

"Although the Kingdom of Gweliven does trade with other races, their presence in our Kingdom is very rare. Usually less than ten people from the other nations are allowed entry to our borders. The advisers said that if you were knighted publicly, it might cause unrest for the people, and would in turn create unnecessary trouble in the future.

"This was why, instead of His Majesty, I have come to present to you the medal that bestows upon you the rank of an Honorary Knight within our Kingdom. Although you are conferred this title, you will not be awarded with any lands."

"However, you will receive discounts in any shops or for any services that this nation provides. Please, accept his Majesty's well wishes, and know that you are now known to him and he regards you in high esteem."

Lux opened the wooden box and saw a golden medal with the insignia of a war axe. It was carved with a very intricate design, which made the Half-Elf quite happy. It was because as soon as he received the medal of knighthood, he received a series of notifications telling him that he had acquired the Honorary Knight Title.

—-

Title: Honorary Knight

– You have performed an outstanding service for the Kingdom of Gweliven, and his Majesty, King Maximilian Von Gweliven, hereby recognizes you as an honorary Knight.

– Grants additional 100 Reputation Points to the Kingdom of Gweliven

– You will receive a 10% increase in attack and defense if you are fighting within the Kingdom of Gweliven

—--

'Very nice,' Lux thought.

However, that was the only beginning. After receiving the medal, the Reputation Function in his Soul Book activated. Lux checked the effect of the reputation points he had gained, and was quite happy with the outcome.

—--

Kingdom of Gweliven Reputation Points: 200

Relationship Status: Good

– You will get up to a 20% discount for all services within the Kingdom

– The law abiding Dwarves in the Kingdom will not find any trouble for you.

—--

Riders of Norria Reputation Points: 500

Relationship Status: Friendly

– Gives you the privilege to enter the Stronghold of Norria and explore the services available there.

– You will get up to a 20% discount on all services inside the Stronghold.

– You will be able to gain their assistance if you wish for it. Every time you ask for their help, your reputation points will be decreased by 500 Points.

—--

Leaf Village Reputation Points: 2000

Relationship Status: Benefactor

– As someone who had saved the entire Village from a catastrophe, you will be treated politely by all of its residents.

– Certain services that are not available to foreigners will be open to you.

– You will get up to a 50% discount on all services inside Leaf Village.

– You will be able to ask for the help of the City Guards if you wish for it. Each time you use this service, 250 Reputation Points will be deducted.

– Points will not be deducted when you ask for their help, as long as the task will benefit Leaf Village as a whole.

—

'Interesting,' Lux thought. 'I will be able to ask for their assistance if need be. I never thought that reputation worked like this.

Although the price for asking for the assistance from the Stronghold of Norria would immediately bring his reputation points to zero, Lux thought that it was a good trade-off since he would have their full assistance.

The Stronghold had hundreds of Warriors, whose Ranks ranged from Grade D up to Grade A Disciples. It was the strongest force within the territory of Norria, and Lux felt having them as a backup was a worthwhile thing.

"Aside from the Medal of Knighthood, you will be given other rewards," Boreas continued. "Sir Nevreal said that you are looking for weapons and armor. According to the information that we have on you, your profession is a Necromancer. Do you perhaps plan to arm your minions with these weapons?"

Lux had a dumbfounded look on his face as he gave Boreas the "how did you know about that?" gaze, which made the Rider Captain chuckle.

"It's not that hard to guess," Boreas explained. "You already have good weapons and armor, so I'm guessing that the weapons and armor that you requested from us will be equipped by your Skeletons. Worry not, our Stronghold will allow you to receive fifteen sets of weapons and armor which are in the same level as the standard equipment for Riders of Norria. Just go to the Stronghold and collect the things you need."

"Thank you very much!" Lux replied excitedly. He would initially get a headache whenever he thought about how he would even arm his ordinary Summons with stronger gear. Now that they would receive the equipment from the Stronghold of Norria, this problem was solved for the time being.

Nevreal, who had kept silent for the duration of Boreas' speech, suddenly cleared his throat in order to catch Lux's attention.

"His Majesty also passed a decree to me before we came here to see you," Nevreal said. "He said that if you have something you want, as long as it doesn't go past the limit of his generosity, he will bestow it upon you. So, is there something that you want as a reward for your services to the Kingdom?"

Lux's smile widened after hearing Nevreal's words. He knew that this was a good opportunity, so he decided to see if he could get the thing he needed most right now.

"Um, if it's not too much of a bother, can His Majesty give me a Hell Horse?" Lux asked.

Nevreal frowned. "A Hell Horse? What do you plan to do with one? They are malevolent Beasts and it is very hard to tame one. Although there are several of them roaming near the borders of the Kingdom, we mostly leave them alone because acquiring one is more trouble than they're worth."

"I want one," Lux replied. "This is the reward that I want his Majesty to bestow upon me."

Nevreal and Boreas glanced at each other before shifting their attention back to Lux.

"I'll pass your message to His Majesty," Nevreal said after pondering for a moment. "From what I can tell, you plan to get a mount that has an evil personality. Although we don't have a Hell Horse in our possession, we do have something similar called a Nightmare.

"If you are interested, I'll ask his Majesty to bestow this beast to you. However, if it causes any trouble to the Kingdom, you will take responsibility for its actions. Do you understand?"

Lux nodded his head in understanding. After getting Nevreal's promise, the Half-Elf felt like all the effort he put into investigating the abnormality in the Figaro Gardens had finally paid off.