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Saharan Successor - CH 57
Vol. 2 – Chapter 3 - Mother and Master Tailor
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Mathias, who felt slightly better knowing that he was in Fayrene's natal village, Cidarian, walked around the small village, where the simple people of the village seemed to look with a worried gaze at them. However, Mathias smiled at them and even waved his hand at the kids in a friendly manner, unlike the players who just rushed toward the biggest house of this village which could symbolize the place of residence for the leader.

Not focusing on stealing the start, instead, wanting to find Fayrene's family, he started approaching the citizens of the village who seemed to be scared of him and wanting to retreat back to their houses.

"Don't worry, I am not here to hurt you, people. Can we talk a bit? I have some questions for you." asked Mathias, a man who was in his 50s who, hearing Mathias' calm voice, stopped inquiring.

"What would an outlander wish from me? The Elder of the village is in the biggest mansion, prepared to give you tasks. We got nothing for you."

"I see. However, what I wanted to ask you is if you have ever heard about a girl called Fayrene?"

The man, when hearing about Fayrene, had his expression changed a bit, turning vigilant, but a woman that was in her 20s exited the house next by, asking Mathias back.

"How do you know about Fayrene? What business do you have with her? So you know, she has left the village, never to return."

Turning his gaze at her, he nodded calmly before asking her and the man.

"Her family is still in the village, correct?"

"Indeed."

"Shh, stop saying anything more than that, daughter. What if he is one of those bandits lurking in the mountain? Let me deal with him. Why are you looking for Fayrene and her family? Are you trying to harm them, to take revenge?"

Hearing the man ask him that, he started to laugh a bit while shaking his head, denying such accusation or even thought of the guy, telling them he was a friend of Fayrene who had a message for her parents.

When hearing that, their vigilance lessened, and as they talked more with Mathias, getting accustomed to him, and along with the view of the players in the background rushing in and out of the village, Mathias was someone like them.

"It is on the opposite side of the village where you can find Jasmine and Charles along with their young. Your visit bringing news about their daughter might put a smile on their face, easing their worries about her whereabouts."

Thanking the man and young woman for their time, he followed the direction given and passing some houses made of wood, he got to his target. A house like the other, with a garden and a decent-sized farm at the back where farm animals were grazing the greenfield.

In the distance in the greenfield, he could see two small boys standing around a middle-aged man looking after their sheep, while in the courtyard of the house, a middle-aged woman was standing on a rocking chair sewing some clothes.

"Fayrene took after her mother." commented Mathias when seeing this mature woman, who was a mirror of Fayrene, only that age marked her but in the good aspect, even having similar violet eyes.

She raised her head from the clothes she was sewing and was surprised to see Mathias wearing his rag clothes gazing at her with such calm and warm eyes. It felt weird for her not to recognize him as one of the villagers.

"Young man, how can I help you? Do you wish to buy some clothes from me?"

"Greetings to you, madame. Unfortunately, I have no money on me, but I am not here for this. In fact, I am here bringing some news to you."

"What could that news be? Please, come in, don't stay at the gate." said the woman whose name 'Jasmine' was of a silver color which looked to contain some golden glimpse on it, getting up from her chair to watch Mathias clearer.

Receiving her welcome, Mathias smiled warmly at her, entering inside the courtyard and walking toward the woman before giving her a respectful bow, almost saying something he would say when greeting his mother.

"Hello madame, I am Mathias. I am bringing news about Fayrene, and because I was in the vicinity of Cidarian, I thought I could find her family and share this with them."

"Ahh, my darling sent another letter? The last one was one month ago."

"Unfortunately, I am not one of those letter carriers. It is slightly complicated and embarrassing."

Jasmine, when hearing this mysterious young man, say that with awkwardness in his voice, gazed at him, trying to search for some hints that he might be an enemy, but she couldn't find anything because Mathias was truly genuine in his approach, not leaving a bit of doubt.

'He seems to know my daughter. He is not a boy from the village for sure, so who could he be? What's his relation with my daughter?' thought Jasmine as she guided Mathias inside the house, walking to prepare some tea.

Mathias tried to stop her, not wishing to disturb her too much, but Jasmine was adamant in giving him some of her tea from the fresh leaves she cultivated from her garden.

"Did you settle your mind? You looked a bit agitated when I asked you about the background you have with my daughter."

"Madame, I am Fayrene's lover. Because of certain circumstances, I was transported here from Titan, without having the chance to have some better clothes and also bring her with me to visit you." said Mathias, a half-true, who didn't give out some information that might seem confusing.

Instead, the explanation he cooked was something palpable, easy to understand. Nevertheless, Jasmine had her doubts, and to clear them, she started asking Mathias questions about Fayrene.

From her height to eye color, body appearance, things she loved to do, her job, background inside Titan, even touching some intimate questions.

Mathias responded flawlessly to every question since he was beside her parents, someone who knew her to perfection or at least close to that point. When he got to the intimate questions, he bowed his head low, apologizing in a quiet voice.

"Sorry mother, we didn't wait for the marriage and consumed our love."

Jasmine seemed surprised by this confession from where she was standing on a chair, and looking at Mathias expression, she told him with a warm voice.

"None of my concerns, my daughter is a big girl who can take care of herself and decide for herself. You don't have to apologize for anything. In fact, you saying all of this made me so happy. I can finally see with my eyes, my little grandchildren. So many of the girls close in age to Fayrene are already married and have children, yet my daughter decided to follow a hard path. Child, you don't know how happy I am knowing my little girl managed to accomplish all of those things."

He just smiled at this kind woman as she began talking about Fayrene's childhood and the mischief she has done when little, in doing so creating a harmonious atmosphere in the house that lasted until the doors of the house was opened, with two kids entering inside.

"Mom, we are back!"

"Ahhh, it has already been two hours. My, let me start heating up the food for you boys. Theo, Aendyr, let me introduce you to your elder brother, Mathias."

Mathias still couldn't see the newcomers, but soon the two kids about 10 years old he saw in the distance in the greenfield had short black hair with tanned skins from all the work outdoors.

They looked shy at this stranger, wanting to retreat at their mother, but she was busy preparing the food, leaving them with Mathias and noticing their shyness and even slight fear of the unknown man. He got on his feet, lowering to their level, later doing a friendly greeting.

"I am your sister Fayrene's closest friend, Mathias."

"Hey brother, did he by chance say he is big sister's husband, or did I hear it wrong?" asked the little boy called Theo, his twin brother Aendyr, who stared at Mathias with something akin to a strong adult.

"Indeed, let's test him. Hey you, how many moles does big sister have on her neck?"

"Hmmm, that's really a tricky question, little guy. Is this your final check on me?"

"If you respond, I will believe you are my sister's husband. If you can't even answer that, you are an imposter."

Jasmine, who was not far from the main room, could hear her sons checking on Mathias, which had her laughing at the situation, but intervening in telling her sons to cut it off.

"It is fine, lady Jasmine. Kids like to play around." responded Mathias, not minding the tough question the little guy placed him under.

Gazing at the boy's brown eyes, making them look a bit scared, he told them after pondering, remaking Fayrene's body in his mind, each of her body parts were still fresh in mind along with the touch sensation.

"Two small moles, one in the front and another at her nape. This is the answer to your question, little guy. Have I passed the test?"

The twins looked at one another, surprised, and retreated for a bit to discuss, asking if the answer was right.

"I don't know. It has been one year since big sister left the village. He should be right. Don't you know the answer since you asked it yourself?"

"I kind of forgot. I know big sister Fayrene had some moles on her neck between two or four. He should be right."

"Am I right, little guy? Do you also want me to draw an image of your sister?"

"Yeaa! Do that, and we will acknowledge you as big sister's husband."

Chuckling at the boys, he asked them to bring him something to write on, either be it ink or sand, which the kids were quick to react, dashing to another room of the house coming with a box with sand, something used to write and teach kids to write and do math.

"Is this good enough, big brother?" asked Theo, holding on to the sandbox.

Taking it in his hand, he ruffled his head a bit before dropping on the floor, and with the slender stick used to write, he began drawing Fayrene.

As he was drawing Fayrene, the twins were at his side, watching with curiosity at the image that began showing on the sandbox. There was also another person who arrived inside the house, the middle-aged man whose hair was of black color with black eyes, he was quite the handsome man, but the years made their mark on him too.

He wanted to enquire about Mathias and make some noise, but Jasmine told him to stay quiet, she too was interested in the drawing Mathias was doing, and after some minutes, as the food was cooking, Mathias stopped from his draw, creating only a portrait of Fayrene.

"This is all I could do with my meager skills. I hope I didn't put up a bad display to you."

"What are you saying big brother, you drew big sister so well. As if she is in front of us. We are sorry for doubting you big brother." called out Theo beside Mathias, who complimented his work, something that all of the family of 4 did, being impressed with his skills.

Jasmine, who watched Mathias' careful moves, asked him to find a response to one of her thoughts.

"Dear, could it be that Fayrene taught you how to sew? Or you already knew this before meeting her?"

"Indeed, she was the one who taught me, mother. She constantly reminded me of your mastery of the art and the fact that she was far away from reaching your skills."

"That girl, even after all these years. I am not that great as she makes me seem, so let's not exaggerate, compared to the master tailors of the big cities. Anyway, it seems my daughter is healthy and still as beautiful as she was when she left, if not even more beautiful, with that smile on her face. Thank you, dear, for keeping my daughter safe."

"Can we even mention this, mother? Isn't my role in protecting her? I will soon return to Titan, and in the future, we will visit you together."

"Of course, child. It's been one year since my little girl left, being all alone in that big city to make a future for herself pushing her craft further ahead." said Jasmine with a kind smile on her face, helping Mathias raise up from his knees.

Raising up on his feet, he noticed the newcomer, the one who should be Fayrene's father, or better called, his father-in-law, who he respectfully greeted, to which Charles nodded, gazing at him as if to find any bads about him. After that moment, he went to shake Mathias's hands where he tested his strength, to which he was satisfied, especially when he noticed that his hands had some wounds and calluses.

"You are a hard-working lad. It's nice seeing that my little girl finally found herself someone. She rejected all the lads in the village and even went to Titan. However, is that the custom of Titan, for men to have long hair?"

"This? No, does it bother you sir?"

"Well…" started Charles to talk, before Jasmine cut him short, saying to him "Charly, quiet."

"Don't take this old man seriously, he lived all his life in the village and didn't see the outside, with maybe some rare occasions when he went to Grenhaler to sell livestock. I myself don't care about your appearance as long as my daughter is happy. I even read stories about the legendary elfs and their noble appearance, with long hair reaching their backs, and tall, slender bodies."

"Those stories might be right, mother."

With the food ready, Jasmine welcomed Mathias at their table, and even gave him some food. Jasmine kept talking with Mathias, being curious about this young man, well-spoken and behaved, and when she heard about the fact he wanted to craft himself his new clothes, she offered her help.

"I can help you with the fabrics I have stored. I've stopped from crafting so many clothes that I would sell in Grenhaler to keep the farm aloat when we wouldn't sell the livestock. Follow me after the meal to my workshop, you will have everything required to tailor your clothes."

"Please, no need to be bothered with my problems. I haven't come here to request for help or anything, in fact, I want to help around the farm until I have everything prepared. Since my stay here will be for some weeks because I need to train my spear techniques and magic."

"Wow, big brother, you are also a knight and magician?"

Smiling at the kids who were talking with food in their mouths, he told them to don't talk when eating, and turning his gaze at Jasmine and Charles, he heard the woman tell him.

"Dear, you can stay here for as long as you want. We are family now. You can sleep with the boys until you leave. How does it sound?"

"Hah, do I even have a choice, mother?" asked Mathias, barely containing his happy laughter, for he was received in such a warm manner

"No." replied Jasmine, making Charles laugh out loud, making him tell him the two would have fun at the farm.

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After the meal, Mathias followed after Jasmine, where behind him were the twins sticking around with him, curious about their new brother craft, that was similar to their sister and mother, and once inside, he could see the room being illuminated by the outside light, where the smell of leather was intense.

Basking in this serene environment, while looking around the studio, Jasmine pointed him to where her tools were located, the fabrics she had available at hand, and the colorants for the fabric coloring. Afterwards, she inquired about what Mathias planned to craft, to which Mathias began drawing the clothes similar in style to the Victorian Era clothes.

A black dress, with a hat to match the mysterious look, assorted with a crimson tie.

When Jasmine saw the sketches, she couldn't find something similar in her mind telling him with some youth spirit in her voice.

"I didn't expect you to do such a daring project. Can I take my words back? I also want to take part in this project and help my son-in-law take aback my daughter when he returns to her."

"That's really a cool dress, big brother. " said the twins getting on tip-toes to see the sketch on the table, later being raised by Mathias where they could see properly.

"When you grow bigger, I will make one for you too, with the same color or different, as you will wish at that time." mentioned Mathias, ruffling their heads after placing them down.

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It didn't take long for the duo of son and mother-in-law to begin their work, preparing the fabrics, from silk fabrics to leather fabrics, Jasmine had everything in her studio, a remarkable quality of a respected tailor. Taking Mathias' measurements for every cloth piece from the hat, shirt and pants and noting them down, the two began cutting the materials for the materials.

As they worked, the twins got bored of watching the young man and mature woman tailor and opted to return to their father who was smocking from a pipe while sculpting in wood the small figure of a girl.

"Ahhh, we caught you father. So it was you who made those small sculptures."

"Heh, what about it, little Aendyr, do you want to give it a try? How do you think I made my pocket money for tobacco? Otherwise, your mother wouldn't give me a coin."

"But I heard from Lady Eveline that smoking is bad for the body. Shouldn't you listen to the doctors?"

"I'll be fine, son. This small pipe will not harm my body in any shape or form. The air of Gravelmark just clears my body."

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Hours passed, and Mathias who was working on the pair of pants, managed to finish them being assisted by Jasmine, giving him the notifications of Item Creation along with him opening back the 'Tailoring Technique' and the 'Dexterity' stat.

[Ding] [You have created along with Master Tailor Jasmine the first Epic Item, receiving the rewards. Level Up 1x + Title: Item Creator]

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[Title: Item Creator]

Dexterity: +150

Increase the odds of creating an Rare Item by: 10%

Increase the odds of creating an Epic Item by: 5%

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[You have created a piece of equipment without blueprints, requiring a name]

'The name will be 'Exquisite Victorian Pants'.'

[Name has been registered for the item you have created. The following items following the designs of the item will hold the same name.]

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[Beginner Tailoring Technique]
Equipment items can be made from various fabrics and leather materials. If a tailor would craft armor, he could only craft leather armor and cloth armor.
There is a very rare probability of producing rare-epic rated items
*When rare items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +2, and reputation throughout the continent will rise by 10
* When epic-rated items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +4, and reputation throughout the continent will rise by +20
[Gaining the Tailoring Technique also opens the Dexterity stat. Gaining 10 points as starting reward for the finished work]
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Jasmine who looked at the pair of trousers, looked pleased as she gave Mathias a smile, telling him.

"The quality of the sewing on this one is good. It could sell high on Grenhaler or even Titan. My little Fayrene taught you well. Congratulations. But the result has been influenced by me, so don't get arrogant, okay, son?"

"Mother, I am surprised. Fay never mentioned that you were a Master Tailor."

"That's in the past, child. When I was young, I used to be called Master Tailor inside Grenhaler, but after settling down in this village, I dropped from such high titles. I don't miss at all those events or nobles flashing their wealth around.

My Charly, while being a bit slow and narrow-minded at times, he is a sweetheart nonetheless, even after all those years."

"It is good to know that, mother. This means you weren't from this village?"

"No, I was born close to Grenhaler, and lived my childhood and adolescent life helping my family tailoring business. I guess the art of tailoring and the talent is running in the family." said Jasmine while laughing with a proud smile on her face, patting Mathias shoulder.

He too chuckled a bit, finding it quite the story, for a city lady to settle down in a small rural village and live her life here with her husband, raising her children in a clean and healthy environment outside of the city, bad influences.

He took a look at how the pants looked, and could only look surprised at how nice they turned out to be. For even Jasmine a Master Tailor to compliment her work, it could only mean success.
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[Exquisite Victorian Pants]
Rating: Epic
Durability 200/200 Defense: 135
* Intelligence increased by 105 points.
* Magic Power increased by 10%
* Magic Resistance increased by 20%

This is a work made by Mathias and Master Tailor Jasmine Arundell using new concepts and designs that stirred the passion for the craft to the experienced tailoress. Combining the work of both hands, the feelings of the craftsmen are imprinted in the piece.
Using magically imbued silk and threads, the cloth piece took over the properties of the material, which was transformed under the masterful hands of Jasmine.
Condition of Use: None
Weight: 70
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"Mother, you really are good. A master, nonetheless. You have my respect, but aren't those materials expensive and hard to procure?"

"They would have dusted on my storage chest, working together with my son-in-law to create such cloth pieces, makes me want to return back to the tailoring scene."

"Mother, me and Fayrene plan to make a big tailoring business inside the Titan and Saharan Empire. I am sure when I return with her, she will tell you her plans since it has become something akin to a dream."

"She does? My, you young people sure are burning with passion. I will think about it, son. Maybe I will contact my family to help your establishment with materials."

"You don't have to do anything. Let us do the heavy work. If you wished to return to tailoring, you would be our guest and someone with a decisional power, but that's it if you want to experience that feeling again."
 
Saharan Successor - CH 58
Vol. 2 - Chapter 4 - Youngsters Dreams
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Mathias and Jasmine moved to begin their work on the shirt and coat, but seeing that night was encroaching on them, they spotted their work, not rushing to do anything. She returned to her menial activities, while Mathias walked accompanied by the boys to their room, which was a relatively humble room.

In general, the entire house and farm could be described with this world, humble, even though Jasmine could have earned a lot of money if she wanted, she opted to keep to a simple life.

Inside the room, the boys were rather excited to have Mathias with them, finding him fun to talk and interact, he wasn't so serious like their father, and severe at times like their mother, placing them to practice their reading and other mischievous arts that she learned as a young girl in the big city of Grenhaler.

"Big brother, you tell us since you are from the big cities, it is really important to know how to write, read, and all the things mom asks us to do?" asked one of the twins, Theo, who Mathias learned to distinguish quite early from his mole close to his right eye.

"Indeed, it is important. Do you want to know the reasons why learning all those things is important? To not make it complicated for you little guys, simply put, the more you learn the more flexible your mind will be. Aside from being able to read, write, calculate, you gain the benefit of having your eyes more inclined to new information.

Let's say you encounter a good book which talks about your hobby, reading that book will satisfy that hobby or help it out. Aside from this, let me ask you. Do you little ones have hobbies or a dream you want to achieve?"

The twins who went together in one bed, leaving one for Mathias, gazed at him with excited eyes, being asked about their dreams, the first one to share his dream and hobby was Aendyr.

"Big brother, I want to become a knight. Precisely a Red Knight. As for my hobbies, I like to look after livestock and bees."

Looking with a big smile at the young boy, which encouraged the boy, he began telling him about the benefits of learning and continuing listening to his mother.

"Okay, then let's take your example little Aendyr. Becoming a Red Knight will be a long and arduous journey, filled with hardships, it might seem you don't need to know all that mischievous information right?"

"Indeed."

"But here comes the problem. The Red Knight is the strongest and the best knight of the Saharan Empire, it holds command over other knights and commands respect. How will you be able to manage the people under you if you don't have a flexible mind, how could you administer the logistic aspect of your expeditions if you don't know how to calculate? How will you be able to communicate long distances with your allies if you are far away from home if you can't even write?"

Theo, who was beside his twin brother, nodded his head, telling his brother.

"That is right Aendyr, big brother is fully right. Have you seen mom's expression when you told her about your dream, she didn't lash at you, trying to stop you, instead made sure to give you more work and homework. Big brother just explained the reasons for why mom did all of this."

"Indeed, good job little Theo. Do you now understand why your mom wants you to learn those things, little Aendyr?"

"Ahhh, I am so stupid. Why haven't I figured that out? I even throw a tantrum to mom, telling her all those things are useless."

"Well, maybe being headstrong is a good trait to have if you want to become a Red Knight. To tell you the truth little Aendyr, I also plan to become a Red Knight."

"Ohhhh, this is why you are planning to train yourself, big brother? Can I join you?"

"Haha, my reasons are a bit off, I want to become a Red Knight to gain a noble hereditary title and get some land. Because I am a commoner, I can't do that without a noble title."

"But dad owns our land, why couldn't you buy it?" asked Theo, who found some problem in the motives for Mathias' Red Knight aspirations.

"Well, you have a point little Theo, but what I want is a lot of land. Bigger than the entire Cidarian Village."

It was then that Theo looked with big eyes at Mathias, getting an idea of what he meant, making big circles with his two hands, visualizing in his mind what 'Bigger than Cidarian Village' signified.

'This boy, he is smart. Really smart. Could it be that the golden glimpses on their name means that they are future important NPCs? Argh, I hate this term so much. This means they will become important citizens of Saharan or their community.'

"What about you little Theo, what do you dream of becoming, any hobby?"

Theo got shy when being asked that question, but already getting close with Mathias, he responded to him with a small laugh.

"I want to become a doctor. A weird dream, right? There are already church healers who can heal people."

Mathias looked even more surprised than when Aendyr mentioned his dream, which took Theo aback, yet he perceived this surprise as disappointment which had the young boy look down.

"Little Theo, your dream is even nobler than becoming a knight or a noble itself. How could it be weird? My respect for that craft is so big that I can't even tell it in words. Becoming a doctor is just a small path of a great craft, called science. The church priests can heal people, you say? But they have limits. They can heal bones, wounds, and other small things, but a doctor can simply bring you from the gates of Tartarus back to this beautiful land.

Ahh, I can't even bring myself up to tell you how much you can achieve little Theo. Using magic along with your medical knowledge? How many people could you treat with this art?"

Theo, who heard Mathias talk about those complicated things, understood most of it, especially about magic and science which made him say to himself.

"Just like that lady."

"Ohh, have you seen one that fits my description?"

Theo, when remembering the beautiful woman who would occasionally arrive in Cidarian to check on the health of the villagers, turned red as a tomato, instead of him responding it was Aendyr who told Mathias.

"Indeed, big brother. But Theo really likes that lady. A lot. He hasn't even looked at the girls in the village since he saw that lady."

"My, my. Little Theo, you are quite daring. But, if you want big brother's help, we can always work in the future to court that lady. She might be older than you, but magicians can live more than normal people. However, once you grow, you will start seeing girls in a different view."

"It is not that way, big brother." said Theo in a quiet voice, barely audible.

"Ohh, so you admire her for her craft. Don't worry little Theo, if you haven't talked with your mom about this, you should do. I don't see any shame in trying to become a doctor. If the elder and people of the village put a nice word for you, along with some support from your mom, you might become her disciple and learn the craft. You'll also be able to get close to her a lot."

"Hehe, big brother, you really are evil. Now I understand why big sister loves you." commented Aendyr laughing as if understanding what Mathias implied, to which Mathias just smirked, telling the boy.

"Kid, do you even know what love is?"

"Isn't it when a man and girl get together and make a baby?"

"Hmmm, smart, but that's just a part of it." said Mathias while laughing in a hearty manner, talking with the boys and trying to give them some advice with their dreams.

Looking at the in-game clock, which showed 18:25, Mathias got up from his bed, and looking at Aendyr, he told him casually.

"You said you wanted to see me training. Come outside, I will show you some of my tricks. This will give you enough motivation to keep your dream alive."

"Finally, I thought you would have gone to sleep."

'Is not like I can sleep in here.' mentioned Mathias to himself, when hearing the young boy remark, later taking both outside, but before being asked what he was trying to do.

"Father, Mother, I am taking the two to watch me train. It will be in the courtyard, so you shouldn't be worried. They will only watch."

"Only watch? Put them to work, doesn't that brat want to become a Red Knight? I don't have fighting skills, so I can't train him, but seeing someone with proper skills would do wonders. So don't be lenient with them, and teach them some things." said Charles when he understood what was Mathias's intentions, making the latter smile evilly.

"For now, we'll have to wait and see how they behave."

Not staying too much at talk, with the parents' agreement, Theo and Aendyr arrived in the courtyard where it was night and the sky was covered by darkness, with only the moon being the only source of light in these times. Yet Mathias didn't care that much as he walked to light some lamps outside, bringing on some light for the two little guys to see.

They could see him bring from nowhere a dark crimson spear which looked rather rusty and in poor condition, but Mathias's expression wasn't even bothered by this fact, on contrary, the twins could see him smile happily, spinning around the spear.

"Hah, so what if you got in such a poor state. You are still a good spear regardless of the situation."

Equipped with Ragnius and the new black trousers he created today which significantly boosted his INT, he walked some holding a lamp with him, taking a good distance from the kids.

"Okay, so first I will show you some basic spear attacks. Unfortunately little Aendyr, I am not a swordsman, but I had my fair share of practice with the sword. First, it is the most basic attack of a spear, the piercing attack."

Saying that he did a slow 'Piercing Rain' which could be followed by the twins, however they could see how his intensity of attacks grew, faster and faster, until they couldn't even see properly what he was doing.

"That's what the basic attack will look like after you drill it daily. Regardless of conditions and plans, taking some time for the basic spear drills. Aside from this the other fundamental attack of the spear is the strike, which uses the strikes using the blade of the spear. Like this."

He swung his spear slowly for the twins to see, and as they followed him with their eye, he began doing his strikes faster, until they could be barely noticed.

Minutes later, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and with the new notifications being brought in his attention.

[You have acquired the following skills: Basic Spear Control, Basic Spear Attacks, Basic Spear Mastery]
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Taking a quick look at them, to remind himself of what their abilities were, he later cleared their notifications, returning his attention back to the twins.
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[Basic Spear Control -Lv.1]

Type: Passive.

Grants 0.5% accuracy rate in spear attacks + 0.5% attack speed.

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[Basic Spear Attacks] - Lv.1

Type: Passive

Grants the general knowledge of spear, unlocking the [Thrust] and [Strike] attacks.

Depending on the spots attacked, the [Thrust] will deal more than 2% [Critical Damage] and has a chance to proc the 'Bleed' abnormal status.
[Strikes] deal damage according to how much attack power the user has, with a 1% chance of dealing [Critical Damage]

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[Basic Spear Mastery - Lv.1]

Type: Passive

-Increase attack power and attack speed by 1% when a spear is equipped.

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"Nevertheless, if you think you can only do those two moves with the spear, [Strike] and [Thrust] you are mistaken, let me show you with this occasion some of the combinations of attacks you can link it to your spear. Once you start combining your footwork and have a balance on your body, you can do this."

Saying that to the boys while spinning his spear attracting the attention of the boys like a good teacher, he stopped bringing Ragnius in a domineering position next to his body, before he took some quick steps, and unleashing 'Piercing Rain' which instantly sent out a notification about him re-learning the skill.

Seeing Mathias's movements and attacks was a theatrical act in itself which had the two boys' attention captivated. Each of Mathias's spear movements held the boy's spirit with him.

After drawing Ragnius back from executing 'Piercing Rain' he gazed at the twins, and with a smile, he explained to them what was the most important aspect of the technique he showed them.

"You need speed and precision. The power will come along with your attacks, but in Spearmanship the fundamental thing one should learn is balance and control. "

Walking a bit back while spinning Ragnius as if he was a parading military man he later moved to execute [Sweeping Thrust] which created a strong wind that touched the boy's legs when Mathias lowered himself to execute [Sweep] and the [Thrust] which he placed a serious, evil intent, looked menacing in front of them.

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[You have learned the skills 'Piercing Rain' and 'Sweeping Thrust']

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[Piercing Rain - Lv.1]

Rate: Common
Unleashing a rain of attacks against your enemies with a three-attack combo in rapid succession, dealing 91% of his physical attack power for each strike.
Skill Mana Cost: 30 MP
Skill Cooldown Time: None
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[Sweep Thrust - Lv.1]
Rate: Common
One of the basic attacks of a spearman shows your efficiency in using the spear. A diamond-shaped sweep movement that has an AOE range attack that deals 61% of your physical attack power and the thrust that deals 104% of your physical attack power.
Skill Mana Cost: 30 MP
Skill Cooldown Time: 25 seconds

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As he moved from technique to technique, Mathias stopped because he knew the kids had to go sleep instead of being there with him, watching him drill his techniques.

"This will be all for today, you little ones. If you are interested in the spear, I will gladly teach you some techniques, as for the sword, I might find you some trainers. For now, be good and listen to your parents, okay?"

"YES SIR!"

Returning home with the two boys running toward their room excited to have their talk about what they have seen, Mathias was stopped by Jasmine and Charles, with the mature lady having only a question.

"Dear, are you sure you didn't lie about your background? Not that I care, but your spear techniques, I could only see such mastery inside Grenhaler from the knights of the Duke."

"Thanks for the compliment mother, but I am just a simple adventurer with a plethora of interests. If you want me to guide the small ones, it is unfortunate because I don't have the time on my hands right now."

Jasmine gave Mathias a knowing smile, while Charles asked Mathias with an awkward voice.

"Lad, can I ask you something? At what age do you think I should let Aendyr and Theo go from home to pursue their dreams?"

That question took Mathias unprepared, having to ponder it for a while, before coming with an answer.

"How old are they right now?"

"Both are eleven." responded Jasmine in a calm manner.

"I see, I suggest for them to wait until they are 13-14 years old before moving out to pursue their calling. Until then, Fayrene and I will get on our feet and have enough influence to assure the little ones the best tutors and treatment. Aside from this, to keep the two busy, you can have little Aendyr learn from a former guard or hunter inside the village, as for little Theo, his path is more delicate. He requires knowledge, lots of them.
Mother, you have to feed his curiosity for knowledge because he is a bright kid, I can tell you for certain. Use your old connections to ensure at least a specialist in medicine tutors him once in a while, for example, the lady who visits this village."

Jasmine when she heard Mathias speak his mind on how he saw the problem of guiding the two youngsters, she could only nod her head.

"It will be hard to convince Her Grace but I will try."

"Wait, the lady the small guys mentioned is a noblewoman?"

"Hm, it is complicated, dear. But in short, she is the daughter of Duke Grenhal."

Getting his interest picked, Jasmine began telling Mathias as she handed him a cup of tea, standing at the fireplace about the young Duchess, Eveline, and her visits around the entire Duchy, but for some reason, she got attached to Cidarian and was happy to visit them once every month to heal and check the villagers and talk with them.

Making a general understanding of the situation, Mathias walked toward the boy's room, and watched the twins sleep side by side, and not disturbing them, he didn't linger much in the room, opting to walk out of the house again and bask in the night.

There, he also opened up the notifications settings for the messages which flooded him, from Malakai to Leona. It was an overwhelming number, but he soon started managing them, responding to each of them.

After cleaning out the entire mess, he checked out with Red, who was spawned in Dewars City, one of the big cities of Saharan Empire belonging to Duke Diworth.

&Mathias: Sorry for the delay in responding. What happened did you struggle leveling up?"

&Red: Hey man, no, not at all. The leveling grounds are relatively easy since I managed to get to level 5 already. However, I wanted to ask you something.

&Mathias: Sure, go ahead.

Red: So, I managed to gather enough money to create our guild. Do you want me to make it since I am close to the administrative buildings for creating the guilds? Just in case so we get our guild name with certainty.
Mathias: Ahh, that is right. There's only one unique name for each guild tag. Please, do so. I will pay you back once we gather up."

&Red: Don't worry man, the price is a small one just 500 silvers. Leviathan or Leviathans?
&Mathias: What do you suggest?
&Red: Let's go with Leviathan, a guild formed by the giants of the game, forming the beast of God, Leviathan. Similar to how the Monarchs of the former Empires were recognized as Leviathans. No doubt this name will be a magnet for those people desiring a place to group up with other minds thinking alike.
&Mathias: Then place that name for the guild.

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Filling his time, he began exercising 'Raven's Movement' which he still didn't unlock. However, after what seemed to be 30 minutes, he was welcomed by two notifications, one from the system that announced his success in re-learning his lost skill, along with a message from Red.

[Player 'Red' invites you to join the guild, Leviathan.]

[You have accepted the invite.]

A new system was opened up to him, which was closely related to the 'Friend List' only that the guild interface was extensive and more detailed and organized where everyone in their group was added.

[Player 'Red' transferred the guild leadership to you.]

Seeing the group formed and their small levels, he talked around with them, before moving to give Vlad a private message, asking him if he managed to re-learn his skill.

&Malakai: I am killing myself, we'll talk later. I have to unlock 'Shadow Breath' to do anything else. Until then, I can only ask the guards in the city I spawned to strangle me.

Whistling when hearing that from Vlad, he let him to his affairs, while he returned to drilling his spear techniques. After he was finished, especially when he tried the newer skills from Corvus that he couldn't unlock, he went to start his martial arts drills, by choosing a tree that he began kicking.

On occasions, he would gain some stat points, mainly on his strength and stamina, which began rising, until a certain point, before stopping rising up.

Along with the breaks he required to refill his Stamina bar, a new day arrived in 'Satisfy' where the little kids could see Mathias on his bed staring at them with a warm gaze, greeting them one by one.

"Good morning, big brother."

"Good morning to you too little ones."

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After starting their day, the simple family went to their activities, with Charles taking the boys after breakfast to help him with the livestock, which Mathias followed after them. When he got to the farm and saw the livestock that had to be milked, something that Charles waited for an entire day.

His smile told many, from his cheeky intentions in wanting to teach Mathias something, but also, trying to test this city boy who captured his daughter's heart.

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[Work for Arundell Farm - 1]

Charles wants to test you, his son-in-law, by placing you in tough situations believing you are a city boy who can't do farm work or any menial work. Prove him otherwise.

Quest Clear Conditions: Milk the cows on the farm

Quest Reward: 400 EXP

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"You want me to milk the cows? Sure, no problem, but can you teach me first?"

[You have accepted the quest]

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"Hehe, no. This is your task."

"Don't worry big brother, we'll show you." said the twins, grabbing Mathias's hand and taking him inside the cow's enclosure.

"Ahh, to think I will live to do this too." mentioned Mathias in a sarcastic manner, finding himself standing beside a cow.

Looking at it, and with the bucket from the kids, he dropped down and watched the first example from Aendyr which squirted a lot of milk in the bucket, splashing on Mathias's hair.

"Let me tie my hair." said Mathias, bringing his long hair and tying it without using a cloth, just his own hair.

Watching some more examples from the boys, he moved his hand to get in his hands the cow udder and he could only feel a satisfying sensation on his hands. Following Aendyr's example, Mathias did the first squeeze which squirted quite the jet of milk.

The cow remained in place, not even moving the long tail as he imagined, and with some tries he got the hang of it rather quickly. His hands moved smoothly, which had Charles and even the boys look at one another and ask.

"Could it be, it isn't his first try? He knows how to milk cows?"

"No way, he is a city boy. Don't worry sons, I will see for myself how good he is."
 
Saharan Successor - CH 59
Vol. 2 – Chapter 5 – The Farmer's Son

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The sons and father looked at Mathias, who started milking the cow as if he did this all his life with the cow standing still calmly, allowing Mathias to touch her udders. Stroke by stroke, the bucket was filled and still on the wooden seat he had, he turned his head to ask Charles if it was good.

"Did I mess up anything, sir?"

"... No, you did decently. You passed the first check." responded the man after a blockage, not knowing how to tell Mathias he actually surpassed his expectations by a lot without seeming too flattering.

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[Congratulations, you have cleared the quest <Work for Arundell Farm - 1> earning the respective rewards.]

Not minding the notification window, he then heard Charles open a new challenge again for him at the farm, trying to put Mathias in a tough spot where he would have to ask for his help.

"Now, I want to see how you deal with cutting grass. Since the estate is decent in size and there's plenty of grass, I can't keep it to a fielded level by myself since the boys are too young to use the scythe. Yet you? You are at the age you could be the head of a household and even have children."

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[Work for Arundell Farm - 2]

Charles wants to test you, his son-in-law, by placing you in tough situations believing you are a city boy who can't do farm work or any menial work. Prove him otherwise.

Quest Clear Conditions: Cut the grass on the specified zone Charles would assign you.

Quest Reward: 600 EXP

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"I guess, do I even have a choice? I will try not to make a mess of myself, sir."

[You have accepted the quest]

After Mathias said that, he followed Charles along with the twins to where he kept his farm tools, and with Charles taking a scythe for himself, and with others being held on support, he took hold on the scythe, moving to a new location, and that being the greenfields were in the distance some cows grazed the field of vibrant green grass.

"Listen, Mathias, you will have to clean that section without messing up the grass since it will be turned into cows feed." said Charles as he stopped at pointing with his scythe the part of the greenfield he was supposed to clean.

Seeing the section of overgrown grass, he nodded his head, confirming to Charles, before walking in that direction.

"Understood."

Getting on his spot after arriving where the overgrown grass was, he grasped the scythe handle, and remembering his grandfather's teachings from his early years he would spend his summer vacation with him, he took the correct position of holding the scythe, which made Charles stare shocked.

Without waiting for any instructions from Charles, Mathias started to swipe at the grass the first minutes were slightly off for him not finding the right balance to the movement, until his muscle memories kicked in, and soon with each swiping movement, going in an arc swipe, the sons and father stared at Mathias work the field.

"Could it be that this boy is a farmer and he is embarrassed to tell us? What do you think, boys? I haven't even taught you how to use the scythe, yet this guy can do it without me even explaining."

"I don't know dad, but scything isn't really that hard from how you did it. Just follow that swiping movement, placing the scythe on the ground and follow along."

"If it was so easy. I will put you to a test after Mathias leaves the farm and you will understand it isn't so simple. Does he know how to sharpen the scythe?" asked Charles, curious about something.

Only after 30 minutes of grass cutting did Charles saw Mathias stop working and while supporting himself on the scythe and removing his sweat, he turned at him, asking for exactly what his curiosity surrounded.

"Sir, did you pick the sharpening stone from that tool room? I forgot about mine and you also didn't say anything. Was that on purpose?" inquired Mathias with a smile on his face, feeling a bit awkward with the situation he was.

"Here. Show me you know how to sharpen the scythe and I will leave you alone." replied Charles, taking a long river stone that he tossed to Mathias who caught it in his hand, giving it a look before remarking.

"I still haven't finished my work. Wouldn't the grass dry out?"

"Nay, it doesn't matter, but if you wish to do it. I'll let you show off."

"Hah, I am not. This place just brought me back to my childhood."

Saying that, Mathias cleared the notification windows that he started enjoying after his farm work, he put some strength on the scythe to hold it still, and with his right hand holding the blade sheath, he started to run the stone around the blade with dexterous movements.

"Decent speed. Whoever taught you this, for sure deserves some wine."

"Better not. That old man should stay off alcohol if we want to live more. He is only 70 years old, still in the youth of his life." mentioned Mathias about his grandfather with a chuckle, who had Charles awed by that age.

"My hats off to that Elder. To live such a long life, he must have his secrets."

Mathias shook his head and returning back to cutting the grass, but continuing talking with Charles about why he knew to cut grass, and it all started from one of his curiosities 9 years ago when he went to spend his summer with his grandfather, who secluded himself from the outside world after his grandmother's death.

He couldn't even hold the scythe properly at first, but slowly as the summer was high, he depicted the correct movement and even found it relaxing.

"Doing it on a small scale might be relaxing, but having such a large greenfield, it would take even days on end to finish the work."

"Sir, I don't deny this at all. My grandfather and I were cleaning around the garden, the pathway to his house, and only the surroundings. He didn't wish to expand his house into a farm, even though he has plenty of land."

"An elder of his age should just stay put and enjoy life. He must be proud of having such a grandson like you, lad."

"Thanks, sir. I don't know what to tell you about that since he is quite weird at times. Probably I will introduce you to him. I am sure you will be like his lost son or something."

The twins started laughing, making fun of their father after hearing what Mathias had to say, and soon, he too finished his workload, gazing at the grass.

"Leave it there. I will pick it up with my cart another day. You passed this test too."

Mathias cleared the notifications he gained from working the field, the dexterity stats and stamina stats were raised ever so slightly, a reason he wished to continue working. Yet this time, with the clearing of this quest from Charles, he gained enough experience to level up.

[Congratulations you have cleared the quest <Work for Arundell Farm - 2> gaining the respective rewards.]

[Ding!][You have leveled up]

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Not moving to the status windows, still there with Charles on the moment, he heard the farmer ask him some casual questions about the activities he did with his grandfather.

"My intent was to have you work around the farm and let the boys relax a bit since they had some tough days not too long ago when they had to help me. But it will not be fun if I just see someone who knows how to work on the field without much fuss like the city people.

"Lets go to the garden and pick some vegetables, and after that we will have to butcher a chicken for dinner. Can you do it, lad?"

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[Work for Arundell Farm - 3]

Charles wants to test you, his son-in-law, by placing you in tough situations believing you are a city boy who can't do farm work or any menial work. Prove him otherwise.

Quest Clear Conditions: Pick up the specified vegetables without missing one.

Quest Reward: 1000 EXP

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[Work for Arundell Farm - 4]

Charles wants to test you, his son-in-law, by placing you in tough situations believing you are a city boy who can't do farm work or any menial work. Prove him otherwise.

Quest Clear Conditions: Kill a chicken without creating a scene, and also clean the chicken.

Quest Reward: 5000 EXP & Title: <Farmer Son>

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"Sure, let them relax and enjoy their free time. That's what a kid should do, learn and relax. Where is the garden, sir and what vegetables do you think I can't find?" remarked Mathias before asking Charles with some sarcasm in his tone.

"Don't you dare. Wasn't it enough that my daughter was doing the same sarcastic response. Follow me, and pick whatever you see fit for a chicken broth."

"No problem. Do I also have to cook?"

"I wouldn't recommend it since this is what Jasmine likes to do."

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Picking the vegetables he learned to use from his mother for broths, clearing another quest in the process. Then he later followed Charles in the chicken enclosure, where Charles and twins turned to spectators.

"Come here, you little bastards don't run from the start when I did nothing."

"Haha, they are quite sensitive, big brother. You have to pick them up fast." said Aendyr from the enclosure entrance as he watched Mathias encroach on the chicken.

Then at the moment he gathered about ten chickens in one corner, he busted to action with his hand catching one chicken and holding it tight in his arms, not allowing it to flap its wings around.

"Here or outside?"

"There's a woodblock outside, and the axe is there."

"Thanks."

Moving outside with the chicken in his hand, arriving at the wooden block Charles mentioned and also seeing the axe, he asked the farmer, unsure.

"Is it sharp, correct?"

"Yes lad, one hit and the head is severed if you know where to hit."

"Not asking for that specific reason. Grandfather has this saying about this process "You shouldn't agonize the poor creature for more than they can handle."

"I guess he is correct. A dull blade might fail to sever the head, but you would get it on the second or third cut."

Nodding his head, Mathias turned his gaze at the twins who seemed to be fine watching on him preparing the chicken.

Placing the head of the chicken on the wooden block and still securing his grip on the farm animal, he took the axe with his right hand and after murmuring something, with an expressionless face, he gripped the axe tight then reaped down, cutting clean off the chicken's head.

Still holding the chicken in his left hand and placing it upside down while it moved from the muscle nerves still being alive, he gazed at Charles, who only nodded at him.

"Good approach. I really don't like when people in the village cut the head and later throw the poor animal just to see it move as if alive. Maybe I teach you the most humane manner one could put a chicken to sleep."

"I guess it is snapping his head?"

"So, you know?"

"Saw grandfather do it. The only time I did that, I ripped its head because I didn't know how much strength to put and splashed blood on me and my clothes. Bad experience I should say." commented Mathias, moving on with his activities inside the farm while clearing the notifications of him clearing the final quest to Charles' series of challenges.


[Congratulations you have cleared the quest <Work for Arundell Farm - 4> gaining the following rewards: 3500 EXP and the Title: Farmer's Son + 50 points Affinity with Charles]

[Ding!] [You have leveled up]

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[Farmer's Son]

You reached the point where Farmer Charles sees you as one of his sons. While his role in society isn't big, he is filled with pride for what he was able to achieve in his life as a farmer, and looks forward to his new son's achievements.

* All stats increased by 15 points
* Stamina Regenerates Faster by 50%

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'That's really an unexpected reward that would also look after me with some of my concerns.'

Walking to the front of the courtyard where Jasmine was preparing the hot bath in order to pluck the feathers of the chicken as efficiently as possible, he was the only one standing beside her to help with this process, while the boys entered inside the house.


"Son, this is enough. I can take it over from here. Thank you for the vegetables and ending this poor creature. Sigh, I will never be able to understand how you can be fine after cutting the heads off those chickens." said Jasmine feeling bad but at the same time thankful for having someone care about how the food was made, and what it required.

"Mother, the reason humans domesticated chicken is for the sole reason of eating them. I don't see anything wrong in this, being more of a natural act. The only problem you might find is seeing the blood, am I right, mother?"

"Che, can you not talk about that?" asked Jasmine, slightly disgusted.

Giving her a small smile as he told her in a joking manner. "Mother, by now you should have gotten used to those menial things."

"I guess you might be able to bring a city girl to the village, but some things will not be changed until death."

*Chuckle* "Indeed, you are 100% right. The same would apply to a village person. He would struggle updating to the city environment and how its untold rules work."

Taking his time to talk with Jasmine, asking about Grenhaler while she asked him about his world, to which he had to be careful what he would tell her not wishing to make things uncomfortable between the two, clearly having his speech ready since he had to train it with Fayrene and Jeanne.

"Impressive. So you outlanders aren't much different from us."

"That's indeed correct. Apart from this curse that keeps up undying, we aren't that strange. We bleed just like you. In fact because we are undying the pain we feel from certain actions might be draconic at times. We have that to balance it out I guess. The creator had it fair for everyone."

"You call the Goddess like that?"

"Hm? Yes, we aren't that respectful with the pantheon of Gods here. But we have to get used to living alongside you."

"Tell me more, dear. When I went to the market I could see a lot of those youngsters rushing in the village, from the market to the Elder's mansion, back and forth, should I be worried?"

"Nothing to worry about, mother. Once my brethren settle down and adventure in the world, this place will return to its original calm. I guess this is what you dislike, people who destroy this calm and peaceful environment."

"How can you tell?"

"Because I also have my fair share of thoughts about them, not just you, someone inhabiting this land."

Checking his timer, he could see that outside it was already 23:50 and as he remained for the dinner with the family, thanking them for their warmth, he explained to them his circumstances and for the fact he also had to enter another dimension to keep his balance. A way of saying to them, he required sleep too, just like them.

By the time he checked his Status Window and clock, it showed 00:42, and in 5 minutes he pondered hard which stats he should prioritize.

'I guess, this time I shall move with INT in order to prepare for 'Arcane Awakening' and if my speculation is right, I might profit from it. Or regret it even harder.'

'Heh, knowing the tricks of the game, sure can be helpful. My stats look better than inside the beta stage thanks to Charles and his jobs he asked me to do and my spear drills.'

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[STATUS WINDOW]
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Name : Mathias / Class :Beginner
Level : 6 (600/2700) / Title : Farmer's Son / Item Creator
Health : 645/645 / Mana: 92/92
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Strength : 40 / Stamina : 38
Agility : 22 / Intelligence: 46 / Dexterity: 174
STAT POINTS: 0
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'It will be enough. This time, I will not mess around because I only have this character. My Fayrene's dreams and also my targets aside from writing about, I want to see them achieved. Tomorrow after I wake up, I should complete the Victorian Set and spend one week around Cidarian before journeying to Gravelmark and going to Titan.

There's also the Elder, I guess I should visit him and see what quests he has for me. Maybe kill some wild beasts or defeat some mountain bandits. Either way, it will be good for me and Ragnius's recovery.'

Finishing his planning while pressing the (+) adding the points on his Status Window, once he finished working on his stats, he walked outside of the house, and seated on a wooden block, he logged out, afterwards preparing for a new day to arrive, a new Saturday that was bound to be exciting even by his standards.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 60
Vol. 2 - Chapter 6 - Receiving Quests
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With the Saturday arriving and Mathias starting to do his checks on his guild members, and the landscape of Satisfy, he saw the numbers in the forum grow exponentially, which gave him a shock and with the level of the rankings where the top guys who disclosed their levels for the ranking were level 7 to 9, approaching level 10 which made him question if the amount of EXP was changed from the Beta Phase.
It took some time for him to finish his menial things in the house, from washing the plates he ate and also start vacuum cleaning the carpet and all rooms.
"No need to hurry anywhere. Everything shall be played stable and logically. I made up my mind on what my path would be."
Once he was done with his cleaning and checking on his guild members' messages after logging out from the game, he wrote them a global message in their guild messenger app that they opened.
&Mathias: I took note of all of your positions. For now, we can only level individually, and once we reach Titan, we will go from there on and move around, looking for bosses to raid or quests.>
<So far, the level difference didn't show itself. Red, continue on being in the top 10 since you love so much being on that ranking ledger.>
&Red: Don't worry, man. We got ourselves covered. I'll be the advertisement board for the guild since I am about to hit level 10, and I will go to sleep. Who knows, when I wake up, the rankings will be changed, so I will leave it to you, boss, to take on the levels.
&Mathias: You know my playstyle is different from average players, and I don't try to follow the rankings that much. If it happens, it happens."
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Connecting himself back to the game, he saw himself in the Arundell Courtyard, and it was 21:20 on the 'Satisfy' timer, a notable aspect because it was night. Looking back at the house slightly illuminated by the candles, he sighed and chose not to enter inside, instead moving for the Elder's mansion.
On his way, he could see players moving in the slightly bigger than the rest houses at the center of the village.

Mathias could see a small number of guards around the house, who looked sharply at the players ordering them to stay in a line, and whenever someone would exit from the house, a group of 10 would be allowed to enter.
'Interesting approach to a starting place. The Elder choose a good strategy of giving around quests to the players without antagonizing them and keeping this place safe from their menace.'
It didn't take long for Mathias to be allowed inside by the guards following 9 other players, entering the house and being guided by a young man toward the office of an old man with short hair and a monocle on his right eye gazing forward at the newcomers.
"Greeting to you, outlanders. I hope I didn't leave you waiting for far too long at my mansion gates. I am called Erle Aridai, Elder of Cidarian Village."
Nine of the players in the room didn't care much about the Elder's introduction and pushed ahead to receive their quests.
"Don't go into a ranting old man, just give us the quests like you did others, and we will scram from this shithole."
The Elder turned his eyes at those 9 guys, and giving them a casual expression, not bothered by their comments, he told them.
"Understood. Then just for you nine, I want you to go to the outside of the village and go to Eldeyin Forest and bring the pelts of 25 Gragger Boars."
Their eyes flickered a bit, staring at the quest notification, which showed that the quest was a D graded one that gave off a decent 7000 EXP reward which had them excited. Quickly accepting the quest, they dashed out of the mansion living only Mathias inside who gazed calmly at the elder.
"Greeting to you, Elder, I am Mathias. Do you have any other troubles bothering the village people? Since I have some friends here, and because my family is from inside this village, I would like to know if there is anything I could help with?"
"Youngster, aren't you an outlander, how can you know someone from this village?"
"I wonder if you still remember Fayrene?"
"Fayrene? That little girl with violet eyes? Jasmine's daughter?"
"That's her."
"Heh, so you are from Titan. I understand the gist of it, young man. Well, if you want to give me help with this, we have some problems with the mountain bandits that are based on the Gravelmark Heights, and sometimes wild wolves and boars would descend from the mountain and make it hard for the hunters to keep things in check. Do you think you are capable of dealing with those criminals and wild beasts?"

[Deal with the Mountain Bandits]
Difficulty Level: A
Elder Erle Aridai shared with you some of the village problems, hearing about you wanting to help the inner issues of the village. Sharing about the problem of mountain bandits who would descend on the village to steal livestock and also wishing to harm the well-being of the villagers, he managed to contain this problem with the support of the Duke Grenhal guards and the able men of the village to push them off.
Yet, it isn't enough to contain their push, starting to struggle with each day passing.
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Quest Clear Conditions: Deal with the mountain bandits.
Clear Reward: 25.000 EXP & Affinity with residents of Cidarian Village risen by 40.
Quest Failure: Level -2. The Event 'Mountain Bandits Strike Back' will be triggered.
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[Keep the Wild Beasts in Check]
Difficulty Level: B
Elder Erle Aridai shares with you another struggle of the Cidarian Village concerning an enlarging population of wild beasts that starts descending down the mountain to find food. In this manner, disturbing the lives of the people.
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Quest Clear Conditions: Lower the wild beast population of Gravelmark Mountain. Kill more than 50 wild beasts. The more your kill count passes the target mark, the more there will be a possibility for additional rewards
Clear Reward: 12.000 EXP & Affinity with Elder Erle increased by 25
Quest Failure: The Event 'Beasts Descending the Mountain' will be triggered
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Reading the contents of those two quests and what it implied taking them, he remained there contemplating before asking the old man with a calm voice containing some wicked intent.
"When we are talking in "dealing" with those bandits, you mean ending them for good, correct?"
"If you can do that, it would be the best outcome. Having those criminals hidden in the mountain constantly pestering and making me have migraines dead would solve my worries. As for the wild beasts, hunt as many as possible and let the carcasses there. My hunters will count your kills, but you can also bring me the trophies from the kills.
Tsk, now that I think about it, all those outlanders I gave this quest to still haven't returned to me. Could it be that they got wiped by the beasts?"
Hearing that question, Mathias just shrugged his shoulders, not bothering himself with the reason why some players didn't return to submit the quest, and instead focused on himself and the problems the village was confronting.
"Elder, I understood my task. I will not keep staying here because there might be other people wanting for your tasks."
"Hmph, young man, how long do you think I will give them tasks? Once the problems in the village are solved, I will have nothing for them."
"Who knows, just be careful and don't annoy them since they can turn unpredictable."
The Elder nodded his head at what Mathias said and watched this young man walk out from his office, and later another group of 10 people arrived inside his office, asking for tasks like most players did.
Once that new group of players was sent off, he turned to the young man not far from him, telling him with a tired voice.
"Huios, go notify Captain Odyr to have the outlanders stop entering my mansion. This will be enough for today, people also have to sleep to keep healthy, especially those my age."
"Understood, grandfather."
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Once outside with the news about the closure to the Elder quests, the players got dissatisfied, but the head guard was unflinching in those moments, brushing past the reaction of the players and once the players found out they had no choice, they walked toward the forest trying to hunt some first level monsters.
While this was happening Mathias could barely hear the players whining as he walked toward the Gravelmark Heights using a road which took him to the forest.
Before entering the forest, he could see some outposts which he chose not to explore, not wishing to disturb anyone who might be resting there.
"It is close to Empar Forest. Could this be the Eldeyin similar to Empar Forest from the opposite direction of the mountain? The only way to check is by slaying some of those beasts and hearing the notifications."
Changing his leg piece in the 'Victorian Leggings' which boosted his INT and respectively his MP, changing the amount of mana he could draw from his body compared to when he was under his naked stats.

[Health : 645/645 / Mana: 302/302]
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"Plenty of mana for a beginner without a class. I have to complete the entire set with mother, and follow up with my plan."

Taking out Ragnius who lost his luster and seemed to be rusted ready to break, he stepped inside the forest with a serene calm, using his hearing to pick on any activity while having the cover of the large trees.

Tree by tree, using their large shadow, Mathias got deeper inside the forest where he finally could hear the voices of others except for his own thoughts.

"Don't run off, you cowards. This is only a level 8 mob, we can take it down."

"This is already my second death. If I die again, I will be logged out for an entire day. No way in hell I will lag compared to others."

"COWARD!"

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With those lines heard, it picked Mathias interest, creeping toward those roars, and once he got on the place of question, he could see a large boar with an Elite Mark fighting off against a group of 4 players where 2 started backing off, later excepting from the fury of this elite monster.

'Interesting. Would this make for a good fight against for the first fight since my skills got reset? I should also use Ragnius more so it could charge some experience and grow back to Normal grade.'

His thoughts kept on going as he watched the two remaining players fight with their basic weapons against the boar, who shrieked in such a manner it made Mathias remember about the Bristling Boars who had an mechanics that summoned more of their brethren.

It was precisely what he had in mind. From the deeper parts of the forest, other 2 Gragger Boars appeared, charging at the players in such a manner that the players were overwhelmed.

"FUCK! Those cowards! I will bring your name to the forums and let others see what type of people you are. Good that this is my first death. Let's deliver everything, Bandar, even if we die. At least it will not be without a fight."

"Sure thing, big brother."

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Mathias, who was hiding behind the large trees watching the last moments of the players, suddenly heard a shriek from his direction, and once he turned his head, he could see another boar move toward him with murderous intent.

[Gragger Boars - Lv. 5] [2500 HP]

"Ohh, aren't we impatient? I wanted to kill your leader after those two guys did their best, but it seems I have to act faster before more of you beasts are gathered surrounding me, turning it more of a headache in dealing with you."

Grabbing tighter on Ragnius shaft, he exited from the shadows cover and unleashed a [Piercing Rain], which all hit the boar without missing the target.

[You have dealt 168 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 120 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 152 damage to the target.]

The attacks that hit the boar were still on the high number because of Ragnius's quality as a weapon, even if it reached the abysmal rating. Mathias seeing this gave a small smile that shifted to a serious expression once the boar kept on charging at him with the only intent to end this human who hurt him and entered his territory.

"[Raven's Movement]"

Activating his movement speed skill, he quickly stepped out from the boar's elongated tusks like a matador before he unleashed another [Piercing Rain], which opened up the wild beast sides, gushing with blood.

The hits were on the range of [93], a critical [296] that was the hit that caused the 'Bleeding' debuff along with the last hit of [132]. After that, he stopped using his skills and only used basic attacks and his Spearmanship and agility to block and fight off the outbursts of the beast, and after one minute, the boar dropped down full of opened wounds which leaked blood before it shrieked hard, later turning to gray light.

[You have defeated one Gragger Boar of the Eldeyin Forest.]

[You earned 200 EXP, 5 silver coins, and Gragger Boar Horn Trophy]

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Clearing his notifications and also looking at the quest item, which was the trophy, he then heard the players who got closer to him after noticing his fight.

"Hey man, can you help us fight those beasts? I will pay you well?"

Mathias turned to look at the two guys who were as resilient as a mule, still alive after being attacked by 4 boars which made him curious about who those guys were [Orpheus] and [Ape Wine].

"Not interested in your enticement. However, I will give you a hand if you give me some of your boar trophies."

"Sure, I will give you 5 trophies if you help us." called out Orpheus who was defending himself with his sword.

Mathias who was recovering his MP after the fight, with each second recovering 13 MP, he sprawled into action unleashing [Sweep Thrust] which managed to capture 2 boars, the elite one and another one simple.

[You have dealt 115 AoE damage.]

Once those two boars were dropped, he quickly unleashed the thrust to the elite boar causing 195 damage, and from nowhere, this spearman drew all the aggro on himself, giving the two guys a breather.

[You have suffered 56 damage.]
[You have suffered 68 damage.]

Nevertheless, he was still hit by the two boars who escaped his 'Sweep' attack, but it was an acceptable amount of damage that Mathias just brushed past, unleashing two [Piercing Rains] for both wild beasts making them shriek in pain.

Both guys who were freed from the beast's aggro turned to look at Mathias who was dealing efficiently with the beasts by himself, keeping them at bay using draconian methods.

Still, Mathias' voice rang truth in their ears when he said casually.

"I will not team up with you so you better also start doing damage or you will lose from the EXP once I kill those beasts."

They woke up from their stupor and charged at the normal-rated boars lifting some weight from Mathias's shoulders who began decimating those boars.

[You have defeated one Gragger Boar of the Eldeyin Forest.]
[You have defeated one Gragger Boar of the Eldeyin Forest.]
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With only the elite and the average boar, the three players returned the favor and ganged on them, unleashing a storm of hits and so also killing along with the last remaining average boars, leaving only the elite who roared enraged.

"He is summoning his friends, brother. Let's end him." said Orpheus to his teammate Ape Wine who nodded, confirming the plan, with only Mathias stopping from his attacks, wanting to draw more boars for his quest.

"What are you doing, man!! Let's end this beast once and for all."

"Let him summon more boars. It will be more efficient to hunt like this compared to searching inside the forest and knowing on what you will stumble."

"No way! I am on low resources. I can't fight on like this. Sorry dude, no offense, but this fight will end here."

"I see, there's nothing I can do about it. [Piercing Rain]"

Unleashing his skills on the elite boar along with the two players, the large boar later turned into gray light similar to his brethren.

[Congratulations, you have defeated the Elite Gragger Boar of the Eldeyin Forest]
[You are the one causing the most damage against the Gragger Boar, and so earnings the entire rewards of the kill, gaining the following.]

[1000 EXP, 50 silver coin, Gragger Boar Leather Armor, Gragger Boar Leather Leggings, Gragger Boar Boots, Elite Beast Trophy]

"Where's the reward? We only got EXP. Why haven't we gotten the rewards for the hunt?"

"I've done more damage than you, that's why. Anyway, here receive this from me, it is your part for the hunt with except to the EXP." explained Mathias to those guys before using the exchange system.

"You want the trophies for your help?"

"Yes, but before that, let me share with you the reward for the boar. It will be fair, I promise."

They had nothing to lose and so accepted the request for the trading system, which made them see on their individual windows the chest piece which was of a Rare Grade, respectively the leggings who were too of a Rare Grade, followed by 10 silver coins individually.

"Man, were there armor pieces dropped by that elite beast? Who could imagine it? Thanks a lot for the gesture, we will not forget your help and the items. Here let me give you my trophies."

"Same."

Looking calmly at the two guys and seeing the 10 trophies, the quest items required for the Elder Quest, he walked to another direction of the forest, trying to move deeper and also exit to reach the Gravelmark Heights.

"Bro, could that guy be a pro player or a beta stage player?"

"No idea. But if I would be made to guess from his skills and the way he fights, knowing his reach with the spear, he is a beta player. Only those lucky bastards have a headstart in the game.

"Indeed, but I doubt it is that big. We will be able to catch up with those guys soon, brother. We'll just have to stick together or find one of the strongest guilds to team up with other players like us."

"That's exactly what we should do. Let's test those items that Mathias gave us. The chest piece even gives STR and has double the defense my chest piece would offer."

"The leggings also give me STR and high defense, it also gives an effect when the entire set is completed, which is way too good. Stamina Recovery and a lot of STR."

"We'll resume the hunt after we recover the stamina. However, let's not go in the direction that guy went. We'll probably not find anything after him."

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On Mathias' side, he was moving around the goods he received from his boar hunt and also checked the boots he received, which were rather good.


[Gragger Boar Boots]

Rating: Rare

Durability: 160/160 / Defense: 35 / Movement Speed: +2%

* Gain 10 STR points

User Restriction: Level 5 or higher
Set Bonus:
* When all 4 set pieces are equipped, the user recieved 50 STR / 20 STA/ and 15% Stamina Recovery Speed

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"Good one. The full set would be able to take any starting level player to the level 20 range easily. If I get those armor pieces, I might sell them around since I don't have a need for them, especially after completing the 'Victorian Set'.

Now, let's level up since I am 300 EXP away from hitting level 7.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 61
Vol. 2 - Chapter 7 - Lurking Spiders Instance
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Following his hunt, he managed to find another herd of boars that he put down, gaining enough experience as to level up.
However, once he got to level 7, he found that the amount of experience he gained from the boars was smaller than he imagined.
He was moving Ragnius around himself, unleashing Sweeps to keep the wild beasts in check and deliver his damage using [Piercing Rain].
The scene was bloody, but once the boars gave their last breath, their blood staining the ground along with the gore scene vanished like ash blown by the wind, turning into gray light, leaving out only the small rewards Mathias was accumulating.
"With only 50 EXP per boar, it will be a hustle completing this quest. But I guess I have nothing better to do, and in such a way, my skills will also rise up."
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Mathias continued his hunt like a possessed ghost, entering deeper in the forest, and once he got to another herd of boars, he saw one big enough that the elite ones looked small. It was full of scars with tusks that had a metallic luster on them. His back also made it seem like a miniature mountain, which made Mathias step back and reconsider his chances.
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(Ψ)[Hillsbars Gragger Boar - Level 15] [12.000 HP]
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'Dangerous. I don't have enough firepower to take this boss down solo as I am standing right now. Maybe after I awaken my Mana Core, I will try to hunt it down. For now, let's avoid this place and hunt other beasts.'
Ending that series of thoughts while gazing at the boar from a distance, he went to clean up other zones of the forest without creating a big disturbance that would trigger the boar boss into acting against him.
Soon he reached a zone where a group of wolves resided, and which made him prepare to ambush them.
Yet once he got in their hearing range, one of the wolf scouts sensed that something was off, even if he couldn't hear anything, there was a smell of crows coming from their back which alerted the group.
*Howl*
"Tsk, they sensed my approach even if I was using Raven's Movement. My stealth method got stuffed, let's return to the direct approach. Kill or be killed."
Exiting his hiding place and moving with a fast speed, he jumped in the air using Ragnius shaft to give himself a boost, bringing the spear along with him, in the sequence of an aerial strike when the spear blade collided with one of the wolfs he had in his target.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 784 damage to the target causing the debuff 'Bleed']
Once Mathias entered the center of the group hitting his mark using [Bloodfall] as if it commenced a storm of blood, he looked with serious eyes at the beasts and raising Ragnius on the sky, he did a warrior cry before he started with [Sweep Thrust] wounding all the wolves in their legs.
With this new circle of blood and cries of pain from the beasts, he saw an opening in this group of 5 wolves, and following the [Thrust] movement of his skill, he targeted the throat of a wolf which dealt a critical hit of [480] damage along with the 'Bleed' debuff.
'Tsk, I think I got over excited with starting with [Bloodfall]. Now I have to play with basic attacks until my MP slowly recovers.'
Looking at his resources, he noticed his MP being at a low with only 50 mana which he chose to leave for escaping from a dangerous situation using Raven's Movement.
In this manner, after managing to get the aggro of this entire pack of wolves, Mathias moved his attention on the one who struggled to move and who was bleeding a lot.
Spinning Ragnius to make the wolves trying to slash him back off, he moved forward to the one he hit with [Bloodfall] and using fast piercing attacks that give off the impression of using [Piercing Rain], he put the level 8 wolf from his misery, not caring about the notifications and fully focusing on the encroaching beasts that started encircling him.
His green eyes had a flicker in them as he dashed toward the wild beasts returning the gesture, following a flurry of attacks that pushed them away.
The fight started with a rapid kill, but slowly as both parties were hurting each other, it took Mathias to the extremes, draining him of all the resources. Nevertheless, the wolves slowly dropped on the ground, scattering like ash, leaving out only Mathias, who was full of wounds and having a haggard breathing.

[You have defeated a Forest Wolf gaining 100 EXP, 5 silver coins, 1x Wolf Fang, Wild Beast Trophy]
[You have defeated a Forest Wolf …]
[You have d…]
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[You have defeated a Forest Wolf gaining 100 EXP, 5 silver coins, Wolf Pelt, Wild Beast Trophy.]
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"Hah, hah. That was crazy and stupid of me. I shouldn't have used 'Bloodfall' when I don't even have enough resources or some mana potions. At least I survived this fight, barely having 120 HP left. Let's get out of here and find a place to hide before more of those pesky beasts come my way."
Saying that he used Ragnius to stand upright, and with his remaining stamina he started to wander deeper in the forest, where he stopped at the entrance of an underground tunnel which made his mind work again, pondering on what could be hidden inside the tunnel.
"It could be the den of some rats. Let's recover my mana and HP, and I will test my thoughts. I still haven't got an instance alert so it shouldn't be that dangerous."
Outside of the tunnel range, he stood hidden in the dense vegetation looking at his resources and also at the quest progression that notified him of his state.
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[Keep the Wild Beasts in Check - <20/60>]
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"Forty more to go, and this quest will be done. This tunnel should have plenty of those beasts that need their population reset."
Taking a deep breath after recovering his resources, he walked toward the tunnel, and he could see it was so spacious that even he could enter. When he got inside, only darkness was ahead of him, with the moonlight not being strong enough to light even these deeper crevices.
It didn't take long for Mathias to find out how wrong he was when he walked deeper into the dark tunnel.
[You are about to enter the instance 'Tunnel of the Lurkers'. Danger Level: High]
'Really? So there's actually an instance hidden here. Should I step in and check it out?'
This moment couldn't be described as a crossroads, but it was an interesting moment for Mathias, who entered inside filled with curiosity after thinking about his options.
[You have entered the instance <Tunnel of the Lurkers>. You can't exit the instance without clearing it.]
Exhaling a deep breath, he brought Ragnius out and walked ahead, where he immediately flinched after he heard the sound of rocks being stirred around him, and then giant rats appeared from the holes of the tunnel walls pouncing at him.
[Giant Rat - Lv. 9] [2500 HP]
'Already 5 rats of level 9 each? This difficulty level is really no joke if the first mobs are this level. God knows what will await me at the end of the tunnel.'
Entering the middle stance guard, he let the rats get to him at the same time before he unleashed [Sweep Thrust], which dealt an AOE hit of [115] and on one rat dealing a critical of [230] damage, while the piercing attack of the skill dealt a hit of [179] damage.
Following that skill, he also started sending out the [Piercing Rain], which the low intelligence rats could figure out how to dodge, being pierced and having their body full of wounds.
Yet it wasn't like they were ragdolls that didn't try to wound Mathias. In fact, it was something that they managed to do, biting off some flesh and delivering to him the 'Bleeding' debuff and another weakening debuff called 'Armor Reduction'.
Using Raven's Movement to exit the encirclement of the beasts, he started his attack combo once again, with [Sweep Thrust] and ending it with [Piercing Rain], and rapidly after being hit for some moments until he figured out their attack mechanics, he put an end to this annoyance.
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[You have defeated a Giant Rat gaining the following rewards. 150 EXP, 10 silver coins, Wild Beast Trophy]
[You have defeated a Giant Rat gaining the following rewards. 150 EXP, 10 silver coins, Wild Beast Trophy]
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The same notification happened for all the giant rats he killed in his first meeting and also the other groups that followed up as he advanced up. There were so many rats he fought against that he started to get annoyed by only seeing them.
"Same mechanics and attack pattern. The only difficulty was the fact their number increased by two heads with each progression I made."
Mathias, who was fighting a new group of 8 Giant Rats after dealing with the group of 4 rats and another one of 6, was concentrating on his fight with the rats, not giving them a chance to profit over his relaxing senses.
"Hmm, I am about to hit level 8. Isn't this great?"
This happened when he killed the first rat from the group, which pushed his EXP bar to a new level, and with his resources refreshed with except for his stamina, he unleashed havoc on the Giant Rats, who he learned like a child's book.
[You have leveled up!]
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Mathias, only after he cleaned up the sector he stepped in, did he take a seat on the ground and open his windows status, and also verified his quest mark.
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STATUS WINDOW
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Name : Mathias / Class :Beginner
Level : 8 (1300/4100) / Title : Farmer's Son / Item Creator
Health : 676/676 / Mana: 302/302
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Strength : 50 / Stamina : 38
Agility : 22 / Intelligence: 151 / Dexterity: 174
STAT POINTS: 20
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"Let them gather around, and once I get stuck in a dangerous situation, I will fill the blank spots."
Saying that to himself as he checked his stats, he moved to check the progress on Ragnius where his progress had risen to [23%] as for his basic skills, they were at 46% growing in an alerted manner with each fight he was part of.
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[Keep the Wild Beasts in Check - <38/60>]
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'My, aren't I close to reaching the top level rankings if I disclose my data? Haha, what are you guys doing? How can someone like me who is not even trying to get ahead of "gamers"?'
"Ahh, it's comical when I think about it right now. But the first levels don't mean a lot. Only after level 25 will there be a barrier between those good and the ones playing it casually."
Raising on his feet after his rest, he noticed that he was inside the tunnel for about 30 minutes while outside, it was probably midnight. Moving on the long dark tunnel, with his eyes already adapting to this dark environment, he felt his feet touch something wet.
'This is a new setting. It is quite sticky to the touch. Could it be?'
Gazing down on the floor and using Ragnius, he figured out fast that he stepped inside a spider's web, and the vibration of his movement sent out the signal to the lurking enemies.
[You have suffered 78 damage.]
[You have suffered 56 damage.]
"What? From where?"
A simple question that Mathias asked, but without a found answer as he turned his gaze down and around him. He could find a single thing that might have attacked him.
Yet the vibration still continued, and with a chill on his back, he used Ragnius to stab on the ground web where the shriek of a monster was heard.
[You have killed a 'Lurker Spider'.]
Quickly raising Ragnius, he could see some small insect-like creature in the shape of a spider with sharp dagger-like fangs.
"No wonder I couldn't find them. They blend perfectly with the web and the environment fitting the description of the instance. Lurkers."
Cutting the web around himself and freeing his feet, he started to prepare for 'Bloodfall', and once he hit the skill on the ground, it created a shockwave on the web, later killing the surrounding spiders who had low HP, but as the notification windows were ringing in his brain, the roar of a monster was heard.
"Fuck. I think I triggered the boss of the instance by killing so many of those small lurkers."
As he said that, the big shadow of what could be said to be a spider was revealed to Mathias, and when he tried to escape, he heard the sound of something flying in his direction and then hitting him.
[You have suffered 325 damage and got trapped by the 'Spiderweb']
"I think?... No need to think since I am dead."
After saying that, he saw the monstrous spider with crimson red eyes glimmering even in the darkness with a black body that was shrouded by the environment. From its fangs there was some venom, similar to snakes, which made Mathias remain shocked.
(ΨΨΨ)[Lurking Spider Queen - Lv. 35] [100.000 HP]
Seeing that dark red name with the huge HP gauge made Mathias open his mouth before closing it, turning serious all of a sudden, acting upon instincts, and using Ragnius's blade, he freed himself from his spider web trap. Using 'Raven's Movement' he stepped on the clinging webs as if they were normal ground, and getting at the large body of the spider, he slashed with Ragnius.
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[You have deal 57 damage to the target.]
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*SCREECH*
"Come on, give me a break, I didn't even make a wound on your body and you are so angry? You lady need some manners."
Saying that, he saw the large body of the spider turning to meet him, but he moved with the body line starting to pierce with Ragnius, who gained experience faster than when he was fighting simple mobs.
However, everything had an end to a story, and such was Mathias's story to stop his dance around the Lurking Spider Queen who used her abdominal sting, something that looked like a javelin to impale Mathias chest, which made him gush blood on the spider.
[You have suffered catastrophic damage]
"Screw you … It seems you got some attack patterns I might have to learn in order to teach you a lesson. No problem, I will return. You better remember me because I am a petty person at times."
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*SCREECH*
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From how he was impaled by the spider monster, he saw the spider move her upper body to bite him, delivering his final blow and bringing a sea of pain along the way, but something he learned to get used, being comparable to being punched hard in his sparring sessions.
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[You died]
 
Saharan Successor - CH 62
Vol. 2 - Chapter 8 - Exquisite Victorian Suit
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Waking up in the limbo realm that was the state between life and death where it was a dark room which made it seem like you were confined inside a cube. It looked quite sinister, but it only lasted for one minute that it took for the respawn to happen.
Mathias who took in this confinement space later saw the light at the end of the tunnel getting stronger and suddenly having his vision returned to the 'Satisfy' world right outside of Cidarian Village where the sun started making his way to embrace the world.
"I wonder if there's anything deeper to the death mechanics for it to be built in such a manner like a confinement prison cell where all your senses are bound."
"Heh, I most likely will never find out. But it is an interesting question to be formulated."
Sighing in place, he watched some players also appear like himself from the limbo of death, looking rather flustered for dying and cursing around which made Mathias give off a small smile, moving away from the respawn place.
"Curse those high-level monsters. How can a level 3 defeat a level 8 wolf when I don't even have a proper weapon. This is madness."
"Yea, you are right! That old man gave us the wrong quests. I want something else, simpler like the LTS quest system."
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Entering back in the village, he greeted the villagers with a warm smile, and when he returned to Arundell Estate, he saw Jasmine outside of the house washing clothes while Charles was cutting wood.
"Good morning to both of you."
"Mathias, dear, where have you been? We have been worrying believing you left without even saying farewell." asked Jasmine as she put away the clothes she was washing, to gaze at Mathias who entered the courtyard waving his hand wanting to calm her down.
"Since the way I spend my time is slightly weirder than you guys, I went to the Elder to listen to some of the problems the village is dealing with and so I took on some tasks. Dealing with the wild beasts pestering the village and also the mountain bandits."
When Jasmine heard that, she looked surprised and later scared, inquiring for more details, confirming to Mathias that they indeed had this problem with the bandits, but it wasn't something that they couldn't manage alone.
"Don't worry mother. Until I leave the village I will see that problem done. The wild beasts pestering you will be something of a past."
"Lad, you have to be careful with those criminals. They are renegades from all over the villages nearby, most likely preparing for something bad."
"Dad, mom, it will be fine. Trust me. Besides that news, I also brought you something from my hunt. There are lots of things I got my hands on, from meat to pelts, tusks, fangs, where can I place them?"
"After me, lad. To the curing meat place." responded Charles who stopped from what he was doing, and took Mathias to the back of the house, followed by Jasmine who was curious.
To Mathias it felt like he was watching Fayrene only on a matured side because she would act just like Jasmine when she was curious about something and when he arrived at the room filled with dry meat, pelts and all sort of byproducts of the livestock Charles was taking care off, he stopped right in front of a table.
"You can place your hunt here, lad."
"Understood."
Giving his understanding, Mathias started to take out from his inventory the wolf pelts who were already in a cured, dry state, afterwards, he brought out the boar pelts, followed by the giant rats pelts. Finishing with the pelts, he started bringing out the tusks, fangs off all the creatures he hunted, and gained rewards from the system, later ending with the meat from the wild beasts he hunted.
"Unbelievable! Dear, this is everything you managed to hunt last night?" asked Jasmine who started counting all the pelts, meats, tusks, and fangs."
"Indeed, I managed to hunt about 40 wild beasts last night, stopping at that number and returning to the village at the start of the sun."
When Charles heard that number he turned to look at Mathias with shocked eyes, asking him, double-checking.
"Forty? Did I hear it right? That's how many of those beasts you hunted last night?"
"Yea. I could have gotten a bigger number if not for my curiosity. Will you be able to sell these pelts for some money in the Duchy?"
"Obviously. Once it is the selling season, they will reach a good price. Am I right, honey?" said Charles as he looked at the pelts' conditions, later asking his wife if he was correct on the price thing.
"Hmm, you remembered well. Spring is the season that most tailors start searching for leather to start their projects. But because farmers don't wish to cultivate the leather business, the hunters are unreliable for a constant flow of material." mentioned Jasmine with a calm voice, making Mathias remember of a discussion he had with Fayrene about goods chain and how the price might differ according to demand.
"That's something I am aware of, mother. You can keep them, and once dad might go to sell his goods, it will be a bonus. A small gift from your son."
"No need for such gestures, lad. Do you think I can't get enough money using my pelts?"
"Charly, quiet!" said Jasmine who made Charles turn quiet before she walked to give Mathias an embrace and pat his back.
"Dear, we are thankful for your gift and it is well received. It will be a good addition to the two rascals' funds for their studies."
After finishing shorting out his goods received from last night's hunt, Jasmine took Mathias inside the house and offered him some tea while she reheated last night's meal for him. At that moment both Theo and Aendyr got from their room taking both of Mathias's legs in an attached manner.
"Big brother, where have you been? You weren't home last night and yesterday."
"I was on an adventure and went hunting the beasts in the forest and mountain. Do you wish to hear those stories?"
"Yey!!"
Patting and ruffling their hair as he went to the kitchen table taking a seat, and eating the food Jasmine cooked which filled his satiety and resolving all lingering background problems on his character which required food to function normally, like any human, his needs were similar, food and water for proper functionality.
While he was eating he would listen to the boys tell what they did yesterday to the minute detail something that didn't bother him at all, having experience with kids since he was the eldest of his family. The boys looked annoying from outside, that Jasmine gave Mathias a small smile, as if to tell him "Hang in there" and only after Mathias finished his meal and told the twins about his adventure inside the forest did they gave him a breather.
*Chuckling* "Dear, you really have it hard, being the eldest brother for those two curious little imps."
"It is fine, mother. I also have two little brothers and I used to tell them a lot of stories at night so they could sleep." replied Mathias with a warm smile, with his eyes lingering in the past something that Jasmine managed to pick from him.
"Well Mathias, while you weren't home yesterday, I prepared the right materials for the rest of the dress, we just have to start working on it. Whenever you want to."
Seeing her slightly impatient when she was telling him about how she prepared the right materials for the remaining pieces for the dress, he could only smile and nod.
"Let's get back to work then mother. While I was on the hunt, I discovered that I was lacking the rest of the pieces."
"Heh, isn't it obvious? Just thinking about how mismatched you would look wearing only the fabric trousers with the rags. Blah. talking about tests, who even gave you those rags you are wearing."
"Ahem, please mother, don't embarrass me by talking too much about how I have to wear these rags. It is like the gods want to make fun of us outlanders and they give us those rags."
"I see, then I can be confident to say they don't have a fashion sense." said Jasmine with a confident voice, seeming to have a detached take on the Pantheon of Gods residing in Heaven.
Reaching her studio where the tools and materials were prepared with Mathias's measurements, the duo made from son and mother resumed their work starting with what looked to be the easiest part of the suit which would make up the entire upper piece, going with the necktie which was composed of a crimson silk fabric.
Even for that necktie, the craftsmanship required was high, requiring precise sewing and cutting of the material, along with a balanced weight to keep the fabric extended without any imperfections.
After one hour of working on the tie, Jasmine smiled, taking the tie and wrapping it on Mathias's neck, humming something akin to song.
"It fits nice. Now let's start working on the shirt and the suit."
Looking down on the tie that wasn't yet knotted, he gave a smile taking it off and placing it on the finished product station. Moving on to start on the white shirt that had its buttons made from silver modeled coins.
"Hehe, who would think that the old order I gave for the buttons would come in handy right now? What do you think of the buttons?"
"Aren't they too flashy?"
"Flashy? Not at all. Just wait and see how it will look once we sew the suit." replied Jasmine with a smile, starting working on the shirt, assisted by Mathias who also tried not to slow her down.
The process of sewing the shirt was more complicated than the tie, and in two hours it was finished, leaving out only the suit, but before starting with that they took a break and went to drink some tea where they discussed ideas for clothes.
Jasmine was mesmerized by the concepts Mathias was talking about and even noted down some using a quill pen, and after he was done with his stories, she would tell about her life in Grenhaler and experiences in the tailoring business which were like food for the young man brimming with youth.
As they discussed and decided to resume on the work, Theo and Aendyr followed along watching the two work on the black piece suit that started giving off some blue aura.
"Brother, have you seen that blue light from that cloth?" asked Aendyr, curious about the blue aura he saw.
"Fully."
"Do you know what it is?"
"Mana." responded Theo, focusing on the job his mother and Mathias were doing.
"Like that thing mages use to do their spells?" inquired Aendyr, placing the puzzle pieces in his mind before watching, surprised.
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Mathias and Jasmine continued working undisturbed by the twins, and as hours passed they noticed that they were still watching them work. This made Jasmine smile brightly believing that her sons wanted to learn the craft.
"Theo, Aendyr, don't tell mom, you wish to learn how to tailor clothes?"
"Sorry mom, we just want to see first look how big brother suit would look like."
*Chuckle* "Mother, don't make that face, it will affect how the suit will turn out. Smile, they are still young and don't know about their priorities."
Jasmine heard Mathias mention that nodded, starting to laugh with a fresh tone, and after another period of time, Mathias could hear the notification window ring at last.
[You have created along with Master Tailor Jasmine Arundell an Epic Rated item.]
[You have created a piece of equipment without blueprints, requiring a name.]
'The name will be 'Exquisite Victorian Suit'.'
[Unique name has been registered.]
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[Your stats has been permanently risen by 4 points benefiting the effect of <Beginner Tailoring Technique>]
[You have gained 10 dexterity points for completing an Epic Rated item.]
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Jasmine who watched the cloth piece seemed pleased by the outcome, mentioning to Mathias with a confident voice.
"These cloth pieces will be unique in the entire world. While the outcome isn't the one I was hoping for since I even took out the pristine quality magical fabric, yet this one is also fine since I worked together with my son and this is all that matters. What do you think, son? This old lady still has it in her, right?"
"Mother please don't joke about such things. You have a long way to go for me even considering calling you an "old lady"." As for the suit, let me take a look please." said Mathias as he went to grab the suit from Jasmine's hands, and check on the equipment status.
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The moment he did that, he remained surprised and shocked at the same time.
'No way. Such armor pieces should be something for higher level, not the early game. Mother, aren't I cheating right now, relying on your skills as a Tailoress?'
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[Exquisite Victorian Suit]
Rating: Epic
Durability 200/200 Defense: 185
* Intelligence increased by 155 points.
* Magic Power increased by 15%
* Mana Recovery Effect Increased by 50%
* Magic Resistance increased by 20%
* Fire Resistance increased by 5%
This is a work made by Mathias and Master Tailor Jasmine Arundell using new concepts and designs that stirred the passion for the craft to the experienced tailoress. Combining the work of both hands, the feelings of the craftsmen are imprinted in the piece.
Using magically imbued silk and threads and magical beast leather the cloth piece took over the properties of the material, which was transformed under the masterful hands of Jasmine. Taking in the aspects of the entire pieces forming the suit, from the shirt to the tie, all combined in the suit.
Condition of Use: None
Weight: 1
***********************
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'This suit is the "pièce de résistance" of the entire set. I might be greedy saying this, but the only thing missing is a set effect like the boar equipment. No worries this will suffice for my plans, and once my skills as a Tailor increase I will attempt to create another suit to satisfy my new conditions.'
"It is perfect, mother. Just like I envisioned in my head."
"Good, I am glad you like it too, son. Let's go work on the hat and everything will be completed."
"You don't want a tea break?"
"Not now, since my hands are already fired up, I will not relax until I see the entire project completed." replied Jasmine with her eyes burning with passion for her craft, reinvigorated by the new style of clothes brought by Mathias from his world.
Like this both started their final work on the hat which was designed to be similar to what the people from the 18th-19th century would wear, something akin to a top hat and fedora hat was starting to take shape from Jasmine masterful hands, while Mathias was too sewing components that would enter the entire build.
It took a while for the hat to be completed, but when it was done, Jasmine shook her head looking a bit disappointed, mentioning Mathias.
"Because this is the first time I make such a hat, the lines don't connect as I would have wished. Still, it is an elegant hat that brews in mystery and intrigue. I like it a lot, maybe I will make something similar for myself but using a more feminine design."
"Don't worry mother about the outcome, I don't really mind it that much. As for the design, I can help you sketch something that might be to your liking."
"Really? Whenever you wish, you can come to the studio and sketch around what's on your mind. It will be a nice gift to mom."
"I see, that's what I shall do."
"Still, dear, you have to change your clothes and let mom see how the entire suit looks on you."
Laughing a bit at Jasmine's request, he nodded and taking the clothes in his hand along with the hat, he went to a small changing room inside her studio, where having two options to change the clothes, he opted to change his clothes himself instead of drag dropping the item pieces from his inventory.
Doing this, he also checked the stats of the hat, after naming the piece.
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[Your stats have risen by 2 points after completing a Rare Rated item.]
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Clearing around the notifications from his item creation process, he then put his gaze on the stats which left him in a pleased state of mind.
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***********************
[Exquisite Victorian Hat]
Rating: Rare
Durability 200/200 Defense: 50
* Intelligence increased by 55 points.
* Magic Power increased by 4%
* Magic Resistance increased by 10%
This is a work made by Mathias and Master Tailor Jasmine Arundell using new concepts and designs that stirred the passion to the craft to the experienced tailoress. Combining the work of both hands, the feelings of the craftsmen are imprinted in the piece.
Using magically imbued silk and threads along with basic leather, the cloth piece took over the properties of the material, which was transformed under the masterful hands of Jasmine.
Condition of Use: None
Weight: 1
***********************
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"It could have been worse, so no need to complain, everything has been completed. I wonder how I look in those old-fashioned clothes with some modern touches to them. Fascinating, I feel like a Chanel model when I gaze at this mirror."
"How is it son? Does it fit you?"
"Like clockwork, mother." responded Mathias while looking at the young man in the mirror who had his jet-black hair flowing past his shoulders.
The entire suit was tailor-made, there was obviously no problem with it, and so after doing his final checks on the suit and drowning the hat on his head, he exited the changing cabin allowing Jasmine to take note of her work.
"Not bad, really not bad. Those clothes enhance your appearance even more. For such a handsome young man only such clothes could fit you properly."
Hearing those compliments had Mathias a bit embarrassed, turning his cheeks slightly red, as he tried to mask it with dry coughs.
"Good for my daughter. She chose a bright young man."
"Ahem, ahem. I am not that bright."
"What are you talking about son? Just you sketching those clothes and showing your skills in tailoring is enough to make you a bright young man with his future assured. You just have to continue working on your skills and in the future people will know you as Master Tailor Mathias."
With those warm, encouraging words, even if he didn't require them, it made Mathias give a pure smile, wide open, as he gave Jasmine a hug, before testing around the suit, taking Ragnius out and doing some fighting moves.
"Those clothes are made from quality fabric, it is normal they will keep up with the movements."
"Mother, I really can't bring myself to tell you how thankful I am for your assistance. This project of mine wouldn't even be completed at my own pace."
"It is all good sweetheart, you really remind me of Charly when we were young. You aren't good at expressing yourself, but I can tell it means a lot what we did those days. I am also delighted to find out that my daughter found herself a good boy who will look after her even in her worst days."
 
Saharan Successor - CH 63
Vol. 2 - Chapter 9 - Arcane Awakening II
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Elated with how things turned out, after spending time with Arundell Family where he showed the final product to the little twins, Theo and Aendyr along with Charles who was impressed by how dignified the suit look from outside.

Mathias even placed the hat on Theo's head which slid like a magician topper who was filling his hat with rabbits. Obviously, Aendyr also picked the hat from his brother's head and tried to place it over his own small head which slided in, covering his entire head.

"Haha, that's what you get for being a jerk Aen. Do you think it was fun having my head covered by the hat? Jokes on you."

"Get it off. I can't see."

"Stop playing around you two is time to eat." said Jasmine who smiled with a joyful expression, coming with plates of food.

Mathias, seeing Aendyr struggle getting the hat off his head, started chuckling, giving him a hand, and after that placing his hat close to him and tying down his hair, he placed his hands together as if in prayer, but instead of praying he thanked Jasmine for the food.

"Thank you for the food, mother."

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In a harmonious atmosphere the family started the meal, and along the process filled themselves with the daily events, especially Charles who was talking proudly of his livestock herd. Mathias even pointed out some possible business he can do if he was ever curious using his cows.

"You say I should, instead of focusing on pelts and meat, switch to cheese making?"

"Indeed, don't you think you are wasting the byproducts of the cows in your farm just breeding and raising them for meat and pelts? I think the breed of cows you have is perfect for cheese making, giving plenty of milk."

"But I don't know how to make proper cheese, son. Similar to the authentic cheese makers."

"Don't worry father, don't you have me here? Until I leave we will experiment around with cheese. But before that you will have to ask around if there's any demand for cheese otherwise the investment will not sprout fruit."

"Tomorrow I will go talk with the rest. What about you honey, what do you think of Mathias' proposal?"

Jasmine, who was eating, finished her spoon, turning her gaze at Charles who was talking with Mathias, and with a calm voice, she told him in a brief manner.

"Charly, you should listen to Mathias. He knows what he is talking, and if he is really right, we can also make some money."

"With that new income, you will be able to reinvest, enlarging your herd number, being able to fulfill more orders, and so on."

"Hmm, really?"

"In theory, you should. Now we have to see in practice how it would turn. I don't wish to tell you lies and raise your hopes since I don't know how common cheese is here."

"Understood. Mathias, I will ask around. We will see tomorrow what we can work with."

Mathias nodded his head and went back to finish his food, afterwards he went to oversee how Jasmine was teaching the twins, and to his surprise, it was something common a 10-11 years old should know.

He went one step ahead and introduced some modern concepts that were easy to understand which would prove useful later on for them. Simple exercises to keep their minds active, from puzzles.

"Sorry, mother if I seem a pain, but I have this exercise for the kids."

"I don't mind it. Let me hear it too, I am curious."

"Okay. The first game would be this one. Name all the round things from my following list. Ball, balloon, pretzel, bun, sun, moon, button, watch, glasses, drop on a glass, necklace, pendant, bracelet, ring, cherry seed, cherry, circle, mouse hole, jar lid, fox den, flower heart, iris eye."

Jasmine turned serious along with the boys who started pondering on each of the stuff on his list, and the first to answer was Aendyr after noting down all the round things on Mathias list.

"Big brother, all of the things you mentioned are round."

Mathias just smiled at Aendyr, and allowed the rest to give their answers and the next one was Jasmine who told him the same answer as Aendyr who only smiled, watching Theo who was still pondering, circling three items from his list. (A/N: Can you guess which one he picked)

"How is it, little Theo, made up your mind on your choice?"

"Yea, my answer is only 3 things on your list. Drop on the Glass, flower heart and rat hole."

Mathias kept his smile fresh, not telling them if they were right or not, he walked back and forth in his black suit giving off a professional feeling to him, and once he stopped keeping his suspense he told them.

"All of you are correct. However, this small game is used to show certain aptitudes to people. For example, someone who responded that everything I mentioned was right, like mother and little Aendyr, enters the category of people with fluency. This means people like you have a capacity of realizing a number of distinct mental connections in a short span of time. Something usually associated with people having high creativity.

"What about me, big brother? Don't tell me I am a fool?"

"You a fool? Haha, stop jesting little Theo. The type of people the people who might choose like you have a unique characteristic called originality. It designates someone's ability to make distant, surprising associations."

"So I am not a fool for not picking like mom and Aendyr?"

"Not at all. Didn't you hear me early, all the picks were correct." said Mathias chuckling, walking to ruffle Theo's head.

Like this Mathias after capturing the curiosity of his audience, started to think of other games that helped him in his early childhood which he spread out for the mature lady and the twins. With each minute he was spending talking with them about different manners of looking at things, he could see with his own eyes the flickering in their nameplates, turning more golden.

By the time it was night, Mathias changed himself in his rags and was seating at the fireplace where he had the entire Arundell family, having an open talk about their beliefs and what was the meaning of being a human.

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After such a day where his brain ran at full capacity, he went outside to take care of his physiological needs after his warning system warned him of a bladder.

It was comical in a sense because players had to take care of their outside needs such as staying hydrated, sated, and also clear of any possible embarrassing accidents. The case Mathias was could be described as normality, and after he also eat, checked his clock which showed 14:00, he started his workout which took him 30 minutes.

When Mathias finished his "recreation" time, it was already 15:00, and still allocating some time before entering inside the game, he went on the web searching for how mozzarella cheese was made.

"Should I really try with Parmesan? I mean, the environment of Cidarian is kind of similar to that of Reggio-Emilia. What if there's those type of bacteria that can produce the cheese? Hope dies last, nothing to lose with except to some time."

Documenting himself on how the cheese was made, the clock was already 16:25 when he finished putting down his notes, and with an excited drive, he jumped in the capsule and powered on the game, reconnecting himself.

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&Malakai: Looks who decided to enter.

&Mathias: ??

&Red: Brother Mathias, don't mind that crazy bastard, he finally succeeded in committing suicide.

&Malakai: Fuck you, stop saying that stupid thing, and yes, the Shadow Master has been born. Fear me bitches.

&Leona: I will pretend I didn't read your message.

&Malakai: Boss, we are outside of the working environment, you can't constrain me.

&Leona: …

Mathias had a busy schedule from outside to inside, yet he wasn't complaining about having to manage this strange group of people, especially with Leonor's advices on how to manage people and resources.

As he was staring at the sky that was shining again, he took a look at the ranking ledger and noticed that people already reached level 11, with Red being level 10.

&Mathias: Red, is it correct to say that the devs decreased the experience rate compared to the Beta Phase?

&Red: Correct assumption. It even created a buzz in the forums with beta players complaining all day long for how hard it is to level up and for the fact they lost all their hidden treasure spots. Haha, but no worries, I managed to team up with some guys and we are clearing a level 14 hunting ground. By tomorrow I should be level 12 or 13.

&Mathias: It seems I wasn't imagining things. Thanks, Red and good luck with your leveling. I will also start leveling up soon, after I am finishing my preparations in the place I spawned.

Saying that, Mathias equipped the 'Victorian Set' and the 'Boar Boots' then opened his status windows where 20 free status points awaited him along with his decision to where they could be put to good use.

"This status windows is quality wine compared to the one from the beta. Nothing to complain here, let's go with Agility and Strength on this first series. With levels and needs, I will adjust them, but this will suffice.
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[Status Window]

Name : Mathias / Class :Beginner
Level : 8 (1300/4100) / Title : Farmer's Son / Item Creator
Health : 877/877 / Mana: 734/734
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Strength : 66 / Stamina : 49
Agility : 38 / Intelligence: 367 / Dexterity: 196
STAT POINTS: 0
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I'll rather keep waiting with the Arcane Awakening spell, let me remember the entire spell from start to finish with the other spells, and I also need a secluded place to say the incantation. The forest? Why not close to that monster lair, it might hold some mana vein which will boost my performance overall.

Still wandering in a decent place, his crazy self took over and decided to attempt the awakening inside the Lurker Spider Lair.

"Haha, perfect. Since I don't mind getting killed if I disturb that monster again, but if she went to sleep, I might be able to use some mana from her lair for my awakening. Ahh, old man reading your journal and the crazy ideas you had, how can I not be corrupted too?"

Mentioning his plan for himself, Mathias stood outside the house watching the sunrise, and when Charles went out from the house he turned his head, telling the middle-aged man.

"Let's make some cheese."

"Sure, but after I give food to the cows and birds."

Hearing that lax response, calmed Mathias, and following Charles he too helped him give food to the cows and birds, afterwards beginning their plan on making cheese.

"So what I am supposed to do?"

Mathias started telling Charles the recipe for the parmesan cheese from A to Z, even going back to read again the note he captured and placed inside the capsule, just so he didn't mess the proportions.

"That's really all?"

"Yea. Why do you ask sir?"

"Seems too simple even for me."

"Give it a try. I will assist you on the first production. After that, you will have to write me a letter to tell me the outcome and how it matures."

"I get it, but from what you told me I will have to wait like a year for it to turn in the manner you described."

"What we are doing here is testing the waters, what I want to do is make the basic cheese which will take about one week to be mature enough for consumption. Slowly you can increase the amount of time you allow the cheeses to age, from three months to years."

"Ohh, finally I understand what you meant by that. I have no other problems."

Finishing his rundown on how the cheese was made after documenting himself thoroughly on the cheese-making, if you could call two hours of your life thoroughly, might make it seem a joke. Nevertheless, Mathias took this cheese making as some fun experience that might result in something.

Like this, the father and son started off the process of cheese making, from milking the cows to preparing the fire for cooking the milk, by the time they were on the end process eight hours passed by, yet both looked at each other when they were tying down the curds that would make the cheese.

"We did it, son."

"Haha, I never imagined it would be like this. We left such a mess trying to get the curds into shapes for the cheese."

"No worries, I will clean it. Also, even if I might not make money from this cheese, I will still make them." mentioned Charles, waving his hand as to reverse the thought they made a mess.

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Time passed after Mathias spent his time alone with Charles, and he seemed to relax himself, but at the same time call in his mind the arcane incantations required for his mana core awakening.

The twins noticed that Mathias wasn't focusing much on them and didn't bother him as he murmured something they couldn't understand, while Jasmine and Charles knew not to stick their noses where they had no part off.

"Honey, doesn't this feels like how Fayrene would be after she came from that stormy day holding in hand that old book?" asked the middle-aged man his wife as he observed Mathias concentrate on remembering his incantation.

"Probably you are right, Charly. However, let's not bother him, the young ones choose their own path, not us, old ones."

"Hey, we aren't that old."

"Shhh, just enjoy the tea, Charly."

It took Mathias two days to be confident that he knew the incantation from start to finish without breaking focus, and so, in a Tuesday, right after exiting from his work, where time allowed him to stay long hours in-game, he reconnect in the magical world and waiting for the night to arrive, he started his plan.

Exiting the Arundell House without much commotion, and using the cover of the night for shade, along with his black dress, he arrived after 20 minutes at the foot of Eldeyin Forest.

Stepping inside the forest, and distancing himself from where he was standing, Mathias started encountering the wild beasts which were on his hit list.

[Gragger Boar - Lv. 10] [3500 HP]

'Right, monsters also grow along with players. I almost forgot that aspect.'

Gazing at the boars from the shadow of a tree, the moment they smelled his scent and got allerted, Mathias exited his cover, starting with Raven's Movement that boosted his movement speed and agility, he took the beasts unprepared.

"[Treachery]"

Activating his attack skill, he started off the combo by unleashing two fast jabs that pierced the boar flesh, dealing to a single target [168] and [232] damage, and stepping inside the boars range, he used a spinning attack which wounded all of them.

[You have dealt an AoE hit of 310 damage.]

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*Shriek*

Not even ending his skill sequence, Mathias once again spinned Ragnius in a wicked manner which razed the flesh of the 5 boars around him, dealing a [289] hit, followed by slashing and jabbing the spearhead three times, one hit for a boar.

[You have dealt 135 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 210 damage to the target.]
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 392 damage to the target.]

Those wild boars didn't wait for Mathias to hit them, instead reacted with vicious intent pushing to impale him with their long tusks, and to Mathias dislike, even with 'Raven's Movement' activated, the boars managed to give him a run for his money, with 3 of them wounding him, dealing a total of [178] damage.

'Even if my armor is superior, I can't get arrogant thinking I can't get killed by normal monsters. They for sure have the amount of power to have a run for my money.'

Thinking that, as he dodged the parried the two other boars from the herd, he sidestepped and unleashed [Piercing Rain] three times on the boars, blasting their sides and opening their bodies, turning the ground into a blood pool.

Seconds passed, and while he was still under 'Raven's Movement' consuming 5 mana each second, the boars started to get in their last phase of trying to self destruct and drag Mathias with them too.

"Your attacks started getting predictable. Do you think I will get demoralized if you are roaring at me? I have a coach who does it better than you all." commented Mathias, dodging the boar's attempts at wounding him while countering like a boxer who was sidestepping.

Nevertheless, one boar charged at him making him feel like a matador, believing he just had to sidestep like all the attacks and a sudden wake-call when the boar changed direction, followed by the other boars who charged, making him back away some steps.

'Those boars, they don't have pea brains and actually found a tactic to pressure me.'

Thinking that, he stopped from backing away, and standing his ground he started to attack the boars from distance, doing something similar to what they tried on him.

"Heh, you don't like it when someone else is doing it? Then let me increase the momentum."

Starting to move forward, he started wounding the boars using basic attacks, and as the fight was approaching the end, they all charged at him ignoring his attacks.

"Fuck! I got comfortable leading the dance. Arghh, damn it."

[You have suffered a total hit of 234 damage.]

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"[Sweep Thrust]"
"[Piercing Rain]"
"[Piercing Rain]"

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[You have defeated one Gragger Boar of the Eldeyin Forest.]
[You have defeated one Gragger Boar of the Eldeyin Forest.]
[You hav…]
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[You have defeated one Gragger Boar of the Eldeyin Forest.]
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Taking his breath after ending those boars watching his HP and MP start to recover he also took a look at Ragnius whose EXP rose to [27%] after this fight, and his Basic Skills who were at [54%]. There was some displeasure on his expression when he saw how much damage he ate from those boars he thought were easy prey any person could beat once adjusting to their attack sequence, as for his MP it was normal for him to consume his mana from using only one advanced attack.

"To think I would still be down to 50% HP after this fight and with only 44 MP, I should start getting adjusted to not having 'Mana Hunger' or 'Evocation' to start my mana recovery process even in combat. Sure, I have probably one of the best items in the entire game right now, but I shouldn't enter the sin of relying on items because there will be a moment when others will be the same like me with strong items and being comfortable, relying on my items will not get me anywhere."

Settling down his state of mind, and using Ragnius to get up, he started moving deeper in the forest.

As he was taking the same path as before, he saw some players fighting the Forest Wolves to which he ignored them, unbothered by what their situation in their fight was. Pushing ahead, he also encountered some large owls that were of level 11 which slowed his procession by 10 minutes.

[You have defeated a Forest Owl of the Eldeyin Forest.]
[You have defeated a Forest Owl of the Eldeyin Forest.]
[You have defeated a Forest Owl of the Eldeyin Forest.]

With his suit covered in blood and guts, he looked down at the giant owl with annoyance gripping tight on Ragnius while clenching his teeth in pain.

"Aerial bastards, arghh, they got me for good. Just imagine how big of a pain would be if there were more of those owls instead of three. Constantly watching your back because you can't hear their movement in the air."

Gazing at the owl who was turning to gray light, dispersing in the air like ash, in that moment even the blood on Mathias body was scattering, he took off and in about 15 minutes he arrived at the Lurker Spider Lair.

[You are about to enter the instance 'Tunnel of the Lurkers'.]

Ignoring that alert, he stepped forward, walking toward the Lurker Spider Queen audience room or whatever one could call the brood chamber of the spider mother.

What greeted him forward were the 'Giant Rats' who were most likely reseted after he got killed by the 'Lurker Spider Queen' and making easy work of them, gaining 50 EXP per head, his body was enveloped by the light of leveling up, from his 7th kill inside the instance.

[You have leveled up!]

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This new level in Mathias mind, was like an addiction that couldn't affect the outcome of what was about to happen.

Clearing out his path to where he last died, he stood right outside of the spider web trap, seated in a meditative stance and staring with his green eyes in the distance, but failing to spot anything or rather his target.

*Inhale* *Exhale*

Doing his breathing movement while calming his heart, he found this claustrophobic and creepy place calming, especially after he cleaved his path ahead, leaving behind him only scattering gray light.

******************
[Arcane Awakening]
Rating: ???
The incantation uses the purest form of magic energy surrounding the Middle Earth, drawing energy from the Realm of Gods, Realm of Demons, Realm of Elements along with the earth's magic energy to infuse your nascent mana core and awaken it.
*** According to your affinity with mana, you will awaken one type of mana core without the possibility of redoing the process.
Condition of use: Citing the incantation in the purest form possible.
Effects: Ancient Mana Core Awakening
*******************

Taking a last look at the spell description before starting to sign to the abyss, he closed his green eyes that were of a cold hue, before slowly opening his mouth to pronounce the first line of the incantation.

< With my call I summon you, Order.>
Instantly when he said that in the ancient language of the past, the whispering of unknown beings started to travel past him while his body started to give off a purple light, making the scene even more creepy as if he was schizophrenic.
From deep underground, a woman with abyssal black iris sitting on a throne made of beings that had six wings on their back releasing a dark light looked up, and touching her black lips with her slender finger she said in a surprised voice.
"There's another little monster who is about to be born. Heh, old ghost I can bet my throne made from the remains of the Archangels I have slayed that those two pups of yours will not reach the age of maturity."
 
Saharan Successor - CH 64
Vol. 2 - Chapter 10 - Mana Core
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Not placing to heart the maddening whispers he was experiencing, coming from down the earth like black smoke, he kept a focused heart and continued his incantation in a solemn manner.
<The power who brought everything to stability. The one who watches everything and knows everything from the first moment of creation. I summon you!>
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<With my call I summon you, Chaos.>
<The power who brought everything to its end. The one who watches everything collapse and looks down on worlds since their creation. I summon you!>
New changes were brought around him where the whie-purple light from the Order morphed into a dark purple which was flowing from the caverns of the earth and when the white-purple that was surrounding the tunnel from the forest, a veil of darkness blocked that energy.
Those were changed Mathias wasn't aware from outside as he continued on with the incantation.
<Since the creation you have surrounded them all, passively watching them in their destruction and ordering. Hear me out and heed my call!!>

<By the power of order and chaos, I, this soul awaits your judgment!>

As he said that in the foreign language with great intensity, the atmosphere around the chamber he was residing in changed. Eight eyes opened from the end of the tunnel that glimmered with crimson light, slowly starting to move toward the intruder who invaded her home, but as she made some steps, the soft whispering of a woman entered the spider's ears which froze her.
"Don't disturb that little cubs ceremony. He has been tainted."
The Lurker Spider Queen lowered herself as in prostrating to the dark smoke that vanished from where she was, while in the dark throne room, the woman was massaging her temples doing an exhausted sigh.
"To think those annoying barriers would be so hard to bypass. Do I even have a choice? I lost the War along with Hanul and the others against those hypocrites."
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Back to Mathias whose body was covered in the dark-purple was expecting an agonizing pain, yet the pain he suffered was to an agreeable amount, making him grit his teeth.
'Focus, Mathias. Focus, everything will be alright.'
Saying that to himself, there was some white-purple light that made its way to the chamber he was seating, which entered his body that made him grit his teeth in pain. Unlike what he thought, the pain came like a monstrosity with no calm, both sides of Order and Chaos made their way inside his body, starting to balance the color of his arcane, into something between deep black-purple to a whiter purple.
"ARGHHHHHH!! WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY BODY? I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED SUCH PAIN IN MY LIFE!"
Screaming that, not caring about the monsters that could attack him, in that moment one could add he wanted to die and cut short the pain he was suffering, yet there was nothing, no spider, no rat.
Minutes and minutes that felt like an eternity to him, there was the familiar burning sensation in his chest, where a core that started to be drizzled in runes was forged by the order and chaos, the light slowly settled down in a balanced manner, but it was still darker than the original white-purple arcane light.
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<If you have deemed my soul just for wielding this power, then I will awaken from my slumbering sleep to be eternally basking in your presence!>
{YOUR VESSEL IS A STRONG ONE! THE CHAOS WILL BE WITH YOU!}
A voice unheard by Mathias after he said the last part of the incantation, yet the pain inside of him began intensifying even more, that even the process of dying felt like nothing. He instantly let out a primal scream just so he could drown his pain, something that even shook the underground tunnel slightly.
Blood flowed from his mouth and ears, in those moments Mathias's only desire was for this seeming eternal torture to end.
However, bit by bit with the pain he suffered soothing, his body that by now finished forming the mana core, released a burst of purple light, and the crack of glass resounded in the tunnel chamber along with a black notification window.

[AWARENESS! You awakened your Mana Core (Grade A)]
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[Mana Core]
Rating/Grade: Epic/(A)
A modified and enhanced mana core that was awakened with uncommon methods long forgotten in history
* Passively increase Intelligence by 15%
* Increase spell damage, spell hit rate by 15%, magic spell casting by 15%, magic critical chance increased by 4% and your focus by 25% of not failing your spells
* The mana increase will adjust to your level [500 MP bonus]
* Special Passive 'Chaos Blessed'
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[Chaos Blessed]
Type: Special Passive
*When unique magic is casted by the user, there is a chance of giving off chaos magic, causing chaos attacks dealing 250% of your own magic spell power.
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*** LOCKED PASSIVES ***
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With the remaining mental strength, he had to keep awake in those moments, he only muttered one spell that he familiarized in the small arsenal of spells he learned.
"[Isolation]"
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[Isolation]
Rating: Rare
Among the first spells, apprentice arcanists are asked to learn in order to cancel the effects of magic and divine magic that would want to pry into your secrets. Blocks a space of your choosing out from the senses of other beings that would use their mana to pry into your secrets.
Mana Consumption: 700 MP (Will change according to the user Mana Core and resources)
Cooldown: 30 minutes
********************************
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Instantly from his body a veil of purple light appeared covering him, while he was breathing hard, and also shaking on the ground from the pain he suffered.
"I can't even describe this feeling. Not even getting kicked in the balls can describe it. No words, an absolutely sinister moment that I don't wish upon even my worst enemies. Hah, hah, I might have gotten some trauma after this."
For someone who just experienced excruciating pain, he even had the gall to talk around.
Nevertheless, it might be a strategy for him to diminish this sensation by allowing the stress in his body to scatter.
It took him about 30 minutes to get on his feet and check his environment, and he was still untouched by the spiders in the lair.
"I have no way out from this lair but fight the Lurker Spider Queen again. This will be a good chance to test around my 'Arcane Missile'. Wait, wait, first, let me take a look at the mana core."
Opening his skill window where the 'Mana Core' entered in a special section, he could see the beauty in all its splendor.
"I did it! Haha, my patience, perseverance, and foolishness proved to be worthed. Compared to the Beta where I had a C, being ranked as an A after I've done my homework sure is delightful. There's even a new passive to my core, it sounds good being able to trigger those "chaos" attacks, but 'Mana Hunger' was the real deal."
Sorting out his messy thoughts, he watched the deeper parts of the tunnel where he concentrated on the mana inside his body that he was guiding around his veins to reach his brain. The burning was there too, but it actually felt calming, and as it was gathering around his brain, on his forehead a purple-shaped eye appeared which instantly made his mind serene.
"[Arcane Intellect]"
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[Arcane Intellect]
Rating: Epic(Growth)
Infuses the user with brilliance, drawing into the potential of the arcanist, increasing intelligence by 20% and spell power by 15%
Skill Consumption: 500 MP (Will change according to the user Mana Core and resources)
Skill Buff Time: 30 minutes
Skill Cooldown: 60 minutes
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After he cast his buffing spell he saw the skill appear back to his list of skills as if they had never disappeared, with the only difference that the amount required to cast the spells increased.
"That warning isn't just for show, the amount required to cast the spells will really change according to my Mana Core and Resources. It seems a fair exchange since there's nothing perfect to the world. No way the developers would build a class that will be that broken, there must be a balancing aspect to it."
Mentioning that, Mathias whose concentration was enhanced by the spell, started to make a list of all the spells he learned and also execute them, in such a manner while in the darkness, there was constantly a purple light being emitted like a flickering star which might be prepared for a supernova.
"There is 'Arcane Barrier', 'Evocation', 'Arcane Missile' and 'Mana Devourer' that I learned from the Arcane Tome."
Doing his list, he was also starting to cast the spells he was accustomed to use whenever fighting against opponents of different levels, and starting with 'Arcane Barrier' Mathias started exhausting his mana in attempts of casting the spell.
"Tsk, three attempts and I am already out of mana. Don't tell me the spell consumes so much mana right now because I gained an A graded Mana Core?"
"It will require some adjustment time to synchronize my spell casting with the actual fighting motions. If it took me about one month to get used to the 'Arcane Missile' I wonder how long it would take me now with an advanced core."
Persevering in this environment, he could hear the movement of some beings getting closer and closer to him.
'I guess you have finally noticed me after all this commotion.'
Taking out Ragnius and holding it close to his body as the rustling sound stopped and his senses alerted him of an incoming attack.
'Raven's Movement'
Activating immediately his movement skill, he stepped back and could see about 10 small spiders that proved to be a pain in his first encounter with them, and not waiting for more to arrive and overwhelm him, he stepped forward and using 'Bloodfall' he blasted the small spiders into smithers which gave him about 10 EXP, compared to when he gained about 50 EXP when he was level 8.
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Gazing toward the other part of the tunnel, he could see some larger spiders that were elite monsters welding something akin to blunt swords in their spider legs like arms.
(Elite)[Lurking Spider Enforcer - Lv. 15] [8000 HP]
"Ohh, she didn't come herself, instead sent her soldiers to do the dirty work."

After the 'Enforcers' there were some smaller ones that were welding some primitive weapons but nevertheless looking dangerous.
(Normal)[Lurker Spider Soldier - Lv. 13] [4000 HP]
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From where he was, the number of spiders kept on rising and without even a chance of planning much, one of the Spider Enforcers started charging at Mathias while giving off some creepy sounds from his mouth.
Seeing this advancement of the spider monsters he remained calm, starting to channel his arcane energy in his palms which was gathering faster and with a stronger energy that could be said to resemble the one Fayrene could muster.
He didn't look at his hands as he focused himself on controlling the energy that was gushing from his Mana Core like a floating river, making his palms start getting to a dark-purple.
"[Arcane Missile]"
It was exactly in the moment the 'Spider Enforcer' arrived in the part of the chamber he was, cleaving with his sword at him, but what meet the spider monster was a large dark-purple missile which blasted his head knocking him down and pushing off the other spider soldiers away from the chamber Mathias was residing.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 1424 damage to the target while the ones suffering from the impact have been hit by 460 damage.]
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[You have learned the spell 'Arcane Missile']
[You have unlocked the passive 'Arcane Mastery']
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Quickly taking a look at the spill so he could verify if the amount of mana required was the same as in the past, he could only sigh and start making new strategies of how to keep the fight.
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[Arcane Missile]
Rating: Epic(Growth)
The most ancient spell dating from the first world and loved by so many arcanists. After so many eons of enhancing this spell and reworking it from its basic form, under the mythical archmage who sundered fear in even Gods and Dragons, it reached its final version.
It boasts tremendous power but consumes a lot of resources.
It deals damage with a variety of chances but always being in the range of 1x -2x your current magic power to the target.
It also ignores the enemy's magic resistance, and once the magic missile wounds the target, it has a chance of 10% to proc Critical Strike DMG.
Resource Consumption: 300 Mana. (Will change according to the user Mana Core and resources)
Skill Casting Time: According to the user control (1 - 120 seconds)
Skill Cooldown Time: No Cooldowns..
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[Arcane Mastery]
Rating: Rare (Growth)
Increases magic power by 10%, reduces casting time by 10%, and increases the intelligence by 2%
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"At least the damage didn't change, but I only have 4 more shots with the 'Arcane Missiles' and those ones I should keep on hold when I have to get distance. Yes, just like in the past."
Saying that, he stepped forward while using Ragnius to pierce the 'Spider Soldiers' who managed to escape the impact, and with his attacks dealing damage in between [150] and [197], it made him believe he was on a good roll since he didn't hit the rock bottom of his physical damage.
Mathias, in those moments of the fight, where 15 monsters were on his tail, he approached the fight with a detached intellect that it was even scary, entering the process of calculating in his mind the benefits of allowing the monsters to connect with him.
[You have suffered 45 damage]
[You have suffered 78 damage]
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*SCREECH*
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"Hmph, stop screaming in my ears you monsters. My brain is quite sensitive in those moments." said Mathias as he looked at the 'Spider Soldiers' who were of about 12 at number approach him, to take advantage of the opening the other spiders created.
"[Sweep Thrust]"
Yet, just as he ended saying that Mathias did a spin allowing Ragnius the entire extent of his arm to have a maximum range, moving with the spiders that had their weapons stabbed in him, holding for dear life. Using his spin, everyone in his range got wounded, creating an unison reaction that echoed in the chamber, and with his thrust movement, he impaled 6 spiders before drawing the spear back.
[You have dealt 121 AoE damage to all surrounding targets.]
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 410 damage to all attacked targets.]
Still snowballing, Mathias after drawing Ragnius back from the impaled spiders who entered the 'Bleeding' debuff, started unleashing 'Piercing Rain' around himself, jabbing with the spear as if he was pulling the trigger on a machine gun. Nevertheless, this assault of his also had some drawbacks because his Stamina was chipped away.
'Resilient bastards, I only got you to 50% HP after so many hits? Good that I have AoE abilities otherwise I doubt I could have survived the way I am doing right now.'
Thinking that, he started stepping back in the face of the maddened 'Spider Soldiers', and before he knew the 'Spider Enforcers' also made their way pushing aside the soldiers and doing the attacking.
[You have blocked one attack.]
[You have suffered 178 damage.]
Another attack came that moved too fast for him to switch stances, but with the arcane energy that was building in his body, in an attempt to block the attack from the second 'Spider Enforcer' he used his defensive spell.
'[Arcane Barrier]'
The moment he envisioned in his mind the basic shape of the shield he got accustomed to, from his body the purple light morphed, expanding outward like a protective cocoon.
[You have learned the spell 'Arcane Barrier.]
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[Arcane Barrier]
Rating: Epic (Growth)
An ancient spell dating from times immemorial when life was still in its first evolutions. A spell that uses the mana inside of you to shield you from harm and also cause damage against your enemy.
Shields you for five minutes of 35% of all incoming damage with a 10% chance of reflecting the damage absorbed by the shield against the attacker. (There's a limit the barrier can handle before breaking)
Skill Consumption: 500 MP (Will change according to the user Mana Core and resources)
Skill Cooldown: 5 minutes
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[You have suffered 130 damage.]
[*Reflecting 70 damage to the attacking target.]
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Pushed by the strength of the attack, he rebounded against the spider monsters sending out one 'Arcane Missile' which blasted two of the Enforcers, before he stepped forward and attacked using all his mana on 'Piercing Rain' unleashing 6 skills creating a storm of spear attacks that was cutting into the flesh of the 'Spider Enforcers'.
Once he was done with his outburst, the spider monsters didn't care about their wounds and cleaved their swords with only one target in mind, Mathias.
Evading two strikes from the enforcers, one still managed to hit his barrier which pushed him constantly back to the start of the instance.
[You have suffered 97 damage.]
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[Health: 479/877 ] [Mana: 70/1560]
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With a fast look at his mana and health gauged he did two [Sweep Thrusts] trying to knockdown the spider enforcers and also push back the soldiers who were advancing, before unleashing his spear javelin-like throws solely focused on the 'Enforcers'

"Hah, hah, I can see the light to my tunnel. One chance to win this fight, and that managing to cast that spell."

Concentrating while stepping back from the monsters attacking him, he gazed at the ones wanting his demise, and with his eyes shining with a purple light, he murmured one cast.
"[Evocation]"
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[Evocation]
Rating: Legendary
Channeling the mana of the world for 20 seconds increases the mana regeneration by 850% while in combat.
Skill Consumption: 25 STA
Skill Cooldown: 60 minutes
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From his surroundings Mathias could see blue vapors move toward him and enter his body, starting the mana recovery process, which would assure him like a dying sun a lingering moment of shine.
[STAMINA: 38/100]
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He was still in the good margins of his stamina, not feeling constrained in any shape or form by the stamina system in this live version. His mana was also an important resource that couldn't be described as a constraining factor for his fighting style. From the moment he succeeded in casting 'Evocation' his mana recovery each second was equivalent to him drinking one mana potion, recovering 320 MP.
"HAHAHA, UNLIMITED POWER!"
Laughed Mathias feeling his mana core energized, before not long, he started to unleash all his arsenal of skills on the monsters in front of him, sending off two 'Arcane Missiles' which hit two of the 'Spider Enforcers' pushing them, aside and leaving only one enforcer and the remaining off the spider soldiers.
Creating some space for himself, Mathias started sending a 'Piercing Rain' attack on the soldiers trying to buy more seconds for his mana to recover, and with two seconds passing, and as the monsters kept approaching him, getting Mathias almost to the start of the instance, he jumped in the air using Ragnius and attacked with 'Bloodfall'
[You have dealt 386 AoE damage to the targets.]
Landing from his jumping attack, he started off with 'Treachery' doing three light fast jabs to the closest spider monster, before he stepped inside the encirclement using 'Raven's Movement' and began doing two spinning attacks which razed the spiders.
[You have suffered 25 damage.]
[You have suffered 42 damage.]
Stepping back immediately from inside the encirclement of spiders who were low on HP, avoiding the remaining attacks, he unleashed another missile that hit the 3rd 'Enforcer' right in his head, but that wasn't enough to kill them off.
The seconds of his 'Evocation' were running out, and the situation on the tunnel was favorable for Mathias who looked at the monster's health gauges being on the lowest possible percentage.
He unleashed another 'Sweep Thrust' which hit the monsters in an AoE attack before pinning off some grouped soldiers with the 'Thrust' sequence, and like with some basic attacks while keeping the 'Enforcers' at bay using his arcane spells, he took a deep breath, saying when hearing the notification of him killing the first 'Lurker Spider Soldier'.
[You have defeated a 'Lurker Spider Soldier' gaining the following rewards: 350 EXP, 20 silver coins, 1x Rare Quality Spider Silk Fabric, 1x Trophy]
"At last, they start dying."
Getting himself reinvigorated seeing them drop down, turning to gray light fragments, he pushed ahead, and one by one the twelve spider soldiers turned to nothing.
[You have defeated a 'Lurker Spider Soldier' gaining the following rewards: 350 EXP, 12 silver coins, 1x Rare Quality Spider Silk Fabric, 1x Trophy]
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[You have defeated a 'Lurker Spider Soldier']
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[You have defeated a 'Lurker Spider Soldier']
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*SCREECH*
The Enforcers released a pain-inducing scream, that pushed Mathias some steps back, but with the remaining 5 seconds off mana recovery, he concentrated on ending them too, gathering his mana for the missiles, waiting for the best opening to blast them.
'My 'Bloodfall' and 'Treachery' are on cooldown. I have to use the finish attack, I wonder if I can pull it off since I only did it so little.'
Thinking that while watching the three enforcers charge at him at the same time, with the intent of ending him, who was with only [235] HP. Just three attacks from them would suffice in killing him.
'Bad choice.'
Dropping Ragnius on the ground, stabbing the ground with his sharp blade, Mathias extended his arms forward, opening his palms toward two enforcers and with a calm voice, casting his prepared spells.
"[Arcane Missile]"
"[Arcane Missile]"
[You have defeated a 'Lurker Spider Enforcer' gaining the following rewards: 1000 EXP, 100 silver coins, Fang of the Enforcer, 1x Elite Trophy]
[You have defeated a 'Lurker Spider Enforcer' gaining the following rewards: 1000 EXP, 100 silver coins, 1x Epic Spider Silk Fabric, 1x Elite Trophy]
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[You leveled up!]
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Once he leveled up, not expecting for such event, he picked Ragnius back from the ground, and with his arms gnashing with dark smoke that dropped some raven's feathers, he dashed toward the last 'Spider Enforcer' and using more of the hiding effect of the 'Raven's Movement' it looked as if Mathias disappeared from where he was, only to said in a cold voice behind the monsters back.
"[Nephthys Lament]"
It was such a quick strike that it wasn't even sensed by the spider, who woke with the spear passing by its chest, shattering the heart.
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[Critical]
[You have dealt 2870 damage to the target.]
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[You have defeated a 'Lurker Spider Enforcer' gaining the following rewards: 1000 EXP, 100 silver coins, 1x Epic Spider Silk Fabric, 1x Elite Trophy, Sleep of the Spider]
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"What a weirdly named item, an sleep?"
However, as he said that, from the darkness of the walls, the head of the 'Lurker Spider Queen' was revealed moving at light speed to bite Mathias who relaxed after killing off the spider monsters.
['Arcane Barrier' has been crashed]
"Wait? Something attacked me?" asked Mathias confused, quickly turning his head to see the head of the 'Lurker Spider Queen' up close which turned into a woman's head with silky jet-black hair and dark skin, with an elfish appearance to her.
[You have suffered catastrophic damage.]
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<HUMAN, THIS PLACE ISN'T FOR YOU TO DISTURB. DON'T YOU COME EVER AGAIN IF YOU DON'T WISH FOR THE HUMANS LIVING IN MY TERRITORY TO SUFFER PAIN AND AGONY.>
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"Argh, you know lady, sometimes I hate being threatened, but do I have another choice? I can't even lift a finger against you. But, remember, if anything happens to the village outside of the forest, there will come a day when I will hunt you down."
<AS LONG THEY DON'T DISTURB MY SLUMBER, I WILL NOT HURT ANYONE.>
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"You better, not." said Mathias looking with cold eyes that shined with dark-purple light at the woman's face.
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[You died]
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With Mathias turning into gray light fragments, the 'Lurker Spider Queen' moved back to her chamber where the statue of a large spider with beautiful patterns on her body was revealed.
<DARK MOTHER, I SENT THE HUMAN OUT OF THE CHAMBER.>
"Good girl, for this you will receive some blessings. Maybe with this, you will evolve to the next stage becoming a full-fledged Drow Priestess of mine. Once the evolution is successful you will have to return to Abyss for further training."
<YOUR WORDS ARE THE GOSPEL, DARK MOTHER.>
 
Saharan Successor - CH 65
Vol. 2 - Chapter 11 - The Old Herbalist
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Once again returning to the same spot after dying, that being the entrance to the Cidarian Village, Mathias could only pour cold water on his head to calm himself, and start moving on from the respawning place where he felt the glares of the players that weren't expecting someone wearing clothes like him to appear in this first starting zone.
"Hey, could that person be a ranker?"
"With such items, he should be someone of level 15 or 20 like that guy Kraugel."
"I wonder how he managed to get his hands on those items? They are for sure of a rare quality."
"He is a whale. I am sure about it."
"Wait, that guild name tag, 'Leviathan' where have I seen it before?"
"That's what's next to Red's name."
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Hearing the conversation of those starting players who were checking the level ranking in order to look at Red, who was level 17 and being in the top 10, making a positive representation for his guild, but in those moments, it was troublesome for him because of possible conflicts of interest with those players.
'Red, ohh, James, this is good advertisement, but don't drag me into unnecessary talks with those people. I don't want to be a public figure, at least not now. Otherwise, how will I be able to explore cities, zones, hunting grounds, kingdoms, if I am constrained by people wishing to talk with me?'
Activating 'Raven's Movement' with a speed higher than those starting players, he disappeared from their view, appearing inside the village with the intent of changing his clothes in something Jasmine gave him from Charles. However, before changing into the casual clothes, he cast 'Arcane Intellect' and using his available 10 stat points from the level up, he verified how his character stats looked.
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[Status Window]

Name : Mathias / Class :Beginner
Level : 10 (1600/7100) / Title : Farmer's Son / Item Creator
Health : 930/930 / Mana: 1560/1560
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Strength : 70 / Stamina : 52
Agility : 41 / Intelligence: 530 / Dexterity: 196
STAT POINTS: 0
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"Overall, it looks like I am carried by the items. But from my level it really doesn't feel like it. It has been about one week since the game started, and I am only level 10 after actually trying to level up."
Changing himself in the casual clothes he received from Jasmine, which were of a good quality that could be described as equipment for the starting players, he walked the main street of the village, greeting some villagers.
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[Elegant Cidarian Shirt]
Rating: Rare
Durability 150/150 Defense: 40
* Intelligence increased by 20
This is a work made by Master Tailor Jasmine Arundell for her husband Charles. It is something of a clean style used for going in the city or at events. It uses normal silk fabrics that don't imbue the clothes piece with any magical effects. The wearer of this benefits from the craftsmanship of Jasmine and some people of Grenhaler and Duchy of Grenhal might recognize this style.
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Condition of Use: None
Weight: 140
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[Elegant Cidarian Breeches]
Rate: Rare
Durability: 150/150 Defense: 40
* Intelligence increased by 20
Condition of Use: None
Weight: 125
********************************
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As he was being kind to all the villagers, and walking toward the Arundell estate, to recover from his strenuous mental activity, he opened the guild interface, where he could see some activity in the chat with two new members added today.
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[Mathias (Lv. 10) - GM
Red (Lv. 17) - Officer
Malakai (Lv. 12) - Officer
Leona (Lv. 8) - Officer
Maple Mist (Lv. 12) - Officer
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Evan (Lv. 14)
Lane (Lv. 14)
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Mathias: Seems I am late to welcome the new members of the guild. Welcome, Evan, Lane.
Lane: Thanks a lot. I'll try not to make too much commotion in the chat.
Evan: So you are the guild master? Red talked about you while hunting. Are you up to some PVP after we meet in Titan?
Red: Hey guys, can you not give me away? Yoo, Mathias, those two are the ones I teamed up to hunt while in Dewars Region. They are good guys and also hard-working, visible from their level.
@Marhias: "I see. To respond to Evan, whenever I am available, I can play around if you wish. Moving back to what Red just said, I don't have any problem with the newcomers, as long as the simple rules I've written at the guild information are respected. Everyone is welcomed to Leviathan, so invite your friends to the guild."
Talking around with the newcomers, and also checking out with the rest, Maple, Malakai, Leona, especially with Leonor who would ask him about certain aspects of the game.
@Leona: I got a quest from an old person, here let me link it to you. <Reach Judar's Cathedral>. It was something I gained after I helped him with some chores, and he mentioned about having an old friend inside Judar's Church.
Mathias: Good for you Leonor, joining one of the main churches of this world would benefit whoever joins since there are unique quests, and events to partake in. I can tell you from experience since I was a half-member of the Rebecca Church.
@Leona: That's something I heard from the forum too, but the journey is quite long since I am inside Fullbaz Region.
Mathias: No, not really, you are close to the Church, but now it depends on which part of Fullbaz you have spawned. I will send you an image with the map of the Saharan Empire in a while. This will for sure help you.
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Putting a hold to his conversation with the guild members, and entering Arundell's family courtyard, later the house, he gave Jasmine the goods he gained from his hunt, before walking down the studio with her.
"Mother, there's something I want to tell you, this is why I asked for you to follow me to the studio."
"Yes, dear? What is on your mind?"
"I really don't know where to start, and how to make it seem like I am not telling a horror story. But, from my adventure inside the forest, aside from the wild beasts that have been lowered in number, there's one major problem haunting me."
"There's some spider monster in an underground tunnel right in the center of the forest, and I had my own fair share of trouble with those monsters. That's the place I just returned from after being sent off by the monster commanding that tunnel."
"Spiders?"
"Indeed, mother, lots of spiders. I made a deal with that 'Spider Queen' before being sent away, she will not attack this village as long as no one is bothering her."
Describing to her, his experience in the instance, the monsters he encountered, and some parts of his fight, she also managed to make an image of where Mathias's abilities were sitting when she heard how he dealt with those monsters using his magic and Spearmanship.
"If I was capable enough I could have hunted that spider monstrosity, but I am too weak right now. I will no longer disturb that place, but if by chance that monster doesn't keep to her word and there are signs of chaos with monsters invading, I want you to evacuate immediately and keep yourself and the family safe."
"That's a lot of information to digest, Mathias. Does anyone else know about this besides the two of us?" asked Jasmine, starting to put in order the information Mathias told her.
"Just the two of us."
"Don't tell anyone else. Not to Charles, not to Theo and Aendyr, or to the Elder. No one.
The smaller the number of people knowing the secret, the better, because once people find out there's a danger lurking behind their back they will start acting, and disturbing that creature. If that creature told you to stop disturbing it and sending the message of not wanting to hurt the village I will take it as a guarantee. A half one at least because we can't put our trust in monsters."
"I can agree with your plan, but I still worry about your guys' safety. I might sound selfish, but I will not be able to face Fayrene if by chance we return to Cidarian and stumble on the fact that the spider monster didn't keep to her word."
"Don't worry, son. If things turn for worse, I will have everyone move to Grenhaler and notify the Duke about the events taking place in Cidarian."
Nodding at what he heard while relaxing himself a bit, he asked Jasmine if he could draw something on her work table to which the lady gave him the okay, even joking about the fact he didn't have to constantly ask for her confirmation.
Chuckling a bit, he started drawing a map that looked quite elementary, but soon it started turning more detailed, having some mountains, and rivers on it, along with major cities and all of the regions.
"Could this map be?"
"Indeed, this is the Saharan Empire, something I copied from a map of the Empire I saw inside the house of a friend. I will need this to guide myself around the regions I will explore in the future before settling down."
"Ohh, your kind really likes to adventure around. There have been some youngsters who asked me if I had any problems, or needed some help with chores, cutting logs, and so on. It almost made me chuckle seeing them so persistent in having me giving them some tasks."
"You actually encountered the good ones. That's us, constantly wishing to adventure around, and help the people of this world, unlike what some people fear about us, bringing chaos and destruction to their lands."
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Taking a capture of the map after he finished placing the final touches, he uploaded it on the guild chat for everyone to use it, something everyone received as some sort of blessing.
malakai: I finally know where I am, thank you, brother."
Mathias: Where are you at?
malakai: Moroiz Region (Duke Morse Territory), quite close to Titan.
@Leona: Ahhh, I am close to my quest target. Who would have expected this? (She is in Fullbaz Region governed by the Marquis)
@Maple Mist: Ohh no, I am in Gelder Region (Duke Rigal Territory) my journey to Titan will take me more than I expected.
Red: A good addition, I will not ask you how you got your hands on such a detailed map, because you are full of secrets.
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Moving away from the guild chat, and returning his attention to Jasmine, he informed her with a calm expression that turned slightly sour.
"Mother, I will not stay for long in Cidarian. There's one more thing I have to take care of one of things being the bandits in the mountain, and after that, I will make another stop to the village to inform the Elder before I take on Titan. Fayrene is for sure worrying about me at home."
"That's right, while I might wish to have you here for a longer period of time since having an elder son gives me a new experience, my darling might get hurt if she waits for far too long. You have been here for about two weeks. Plenty of time, I should add. We don't need you to do our chores, son. Be at ease, especially with the monsters in the forest. It will be fine."
Sighing, agreeing with Jasmine, he didn't linger too much in the Arundell house, choosing to focus on the quests and reunite faster with Fayrene and Jeanne.
Thus with a change of plan, shortening his stay with the Arundell's, while he was telling Jasmine some of his constraints about requiring some potions to heal himself, she instantly reacted.
"Stop right there, you need healing potions?"
"It is optional, I just asked you if you knew about such a place that sells potions of any kind in the village."
"There's Granny Olga who is an herbalist."
"Ohh, that's great news, can you tell me where she lives, I will make her a visit."
"No need, I will take you myself since it's been a while since my last visit to her. She has done so many things for me that it makes me feel like a cheap person for not checking on her too often. So you know she was the midwife for all my children."
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Like this, the duo of mother and son exited the house and moved to another part of the village, where a lot of weeds and plants were overgrowing the pathway to a certain house that looked slightly rundown.
Following Jasmine, who knocked on the door of this specific house, he heard the voice of an old woman who could be said to be annoyed by their visit.
"Damned kids with their stupid requests and damn all those villagers who told those crazed kids I am an herbalist."
"Granny Olga it is me Jasmine."
"Ahhh, I take my words back, let me open the door since I sealed it from fear those crazy kids would force me to make them their potions."
Moments later, Mathias could see for himself the old lady with a silver nameplate, called Olga. She was your average old woman, walking using a cane, she had gray hair and wrinkles on her face.
"Girl, what is this, did you get forced by that outlander to have me cooperate?" asked the old woman looking vigilantly at Mathias behind Jasmine, who was surprised by this cold response from an NPC he did nothing to wrong it.
Jasmine quickly dismissed this notion, placing her hand on Mathias' shoulder and tapping it, saying with a confident voice to the old woman.
"This is my son-in-law, Mathias. He is unlike those youngsters who arrived in Cidarian, instead if you spend time with him, you will find out what a darling he is."
*Cough* Mathias turned slightly embarrassed, but he kept his front stable, looking calmly at the old woman.
"You didn't get forced?"
"No, granny. Can we enter your house?"
"... You..., outlander, you better don't touch anything once you arrive. My plants have already been stolen by those ingrates. Damn them all, I had some plants growing for two years, yet those little bastards picked them up without a care in the world." said the old woman, after a long break where she observed Mathias reactions.
She still continued to observe Mathias even after she ended saying that, and could notice that Mathias shook his head, sighing, before changing his facial expression into one of displeasure.
"My apologies to what my brethren have done to you madam."
"Hah? Why apologize for what some little bastards did? Whatever. Jasmine, that doll of yours found quite the weird man."
Jasmine could only laugh it off, entering the house, following the old woman, with Mathias entering last, and also who closed the door. Shortly after, he found himself stepping inside the main room of the house where the smell of medicinal plants hit his nostrils, with the mint being predominant along with other citric smells.
"Tell me little girl, why have you come to visit me?"
"Besides, reminiscing about the past, I also brought my son because he wanted to buy some of your potions. I brought him myself because I know you don't like people from outside who visit the village. Now, I can imagine what you went by with the apparition of Mathias's brethren."
"..."
Keeping her quiet, as she gave Jasmine a displeased look, before turning to gaze coldly at Mathias, she returned back to Jasmine and slowly her gaze warmed up, telling her.
"I get it. Let me deal with this brat before talking. Kid, I only have three types of potions available, healing, mana, and strength potion.
"All of them would be fine."
"I see, but I doubt you need all the potions I have or do you have the money. So listen here brat, I will offer you 20 Health Potions, 20 Mana Potions, and 5 Strength Potions. Everything would cost you 1500 silver coins. A fair price, that will not cheat you, or myself."
Hearing that price, he took a look at his inventory bag that only had almost 2 gold coins, he nodded, taking out one gold coin and 500 silver coins that he gave the old woman.
The old woman was slightly surprised by the prompt response, which meant he didn't doubt her prices. Thus she went to another room, leaving Jasmine and Mathias in her main room, later appearing with a bag filled with something that Mathias found out only after Olga opened it for him to see.
"Number them. I don't want to hear that you got cheated."
Grabbing the bag, he drag it into his inventory, making the potions and bag disappear from Olga's face, giving her another surprise.
"This is how my plants were stolen?"
"Mostlikely." responded Mathias, and he opened his inventory where 3 new items were sitting behind the messy goods lingering there.
"All is good, madam. I will no longer disturb you. Mother, we will meet again after I am finished with my problems."
"Take care son."
Giving Jasmine a warm smile as he waved his hand at her, he walked out of the Herbalist House, while doing his checks on the potions which were slightly off compared to the ones from Titan.
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[Weak Health Potion]
This is a potion that has been formulated with five or more herbs.
Restores 650 health.
The cooldown time is 5 seconds.
Weight: 9
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[Weak Mana Potion]
This is a potion that has been formulated with three mana energized herbs or more herbs.
Restores 400 mana.
The cooldown time is 5 seconds.
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[Weak Strength Potion]
It is a potion prepared by blending a small amount of ogre's blood with different types of herbs.
Increases your strength by 50 points for 10 minutes.
There is no cooldown time.
Weight: 31
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"This granny potions are stronger than the ones from Titan one could buy in the stores. I only get 50 strength when using that potion for about 10 minutes, which sounds decent for maybe 100 silver coins. What's next? Dealing with the mountain bandits. My items are in decent condition, however some repairs to Ragnius can do wonders."
Adding that, he opened his map which contained the basic utilities the village had to offer after discovering them from Jasmine and Charles, and after marking his destination, he walked passing over players and villagers alike, until he reached a small workshop that was giving off smokes from its forge.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Enter, it is open." said someone who from his voice seemed to be a middle-aged person.
Entering the workshop, where he was met by a raised temperature, he saw a middle-aged man with grey and black hair beside his forge hitting some hot metal.
"What do you want, kid?"
"Sir, do you by chance also repair weapons?"
"Aye, I can also do that, but as you can see I am a bit busy. Maybe after 15 minutes can we talk again?"
"Understood, do you mind if I stay inside your shop?"
"I see no harm in that if you can deal with the heat." responded the blacksmith in a casual manner, to which Mathias walked towards a chair, and instead of staying on the chair, he brought out some sheets of paper, a quill, and inkwell, using it as a table to write something while he was on his knees.
'What a weird outlander, he didn't ask a single thing about swords or daggers, only wanting to have his weapon repaired. I'll see what you've got in a couple of minutes after this metal bar has cooled down since it would be a waste to stop working on it while it is hot.'
 
Saharan Successor - CH 66
Vol. 2 - Chapter 12 - Fighting the Field Boss
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Mathias to fill his waiting time started to write on his novel, and in such a way those 15 minutes flew by without even noticing, being woken from his stupor by the blacksmith having a green nameplate 'Modou' who finished his work.
"Young man, you can show me what you want to be repaired."
"Ahh, are you already done? Time sure flies fast when you focus on something. Here, can you repair this spear of mine?" asked Mathias while bringing Ragnius from his inventory and giving it to the blacksmith whose eyes turned big when being graced with Ragnius craftsmanship.
"Good spear, it is a shame it has rust on its blade. I can try to remove the rust on your spear if you allow me, but it will cost extra money."
"Sure, please do so." replied Mathias seeing how the blacksmith wasn't feeling discomfort from holding onto Ragnius's shaft.
The blacksmith didn't linger idly around and placing Ragnius down on the worktable, he went to pick up his sharpening tools. Starting his work on Ragnius, he began using delicate movements on the blade trying to remove first the rust on the blade.
Swipe after swipe with the sharpening tool, the middle-aged man looked confused at the spear before turning to ask Mathias watching close-by.
"I can't remove the rust. You saw it too, even after 10 minutes there's absolutely no change into it."
"Don't worry, I saw it. Please move on with the rest of the process of the repair if rust removal doesn't work." mentioned Mathias in a calm voice, while he started to ponder why the blacksmith couldn't get the rust away.
'Could it be that rust is linked to Ragnius's Grade? The higher the grade the better its quality would be?'
The blacksmith moved on with the rest of the process which didn't oppose any resistance, such as sharpening the blade and cool tempering the blade, a process that took the blacksmith about 25 minutes to finish, but the result was satisfying.
"The work done on the spear costs 250 silver coins." added the blacksmith after finishing his repair on Ragnius.
Taking out the money from his inventory, giving it to the blacksmith for his work, he opened the information on Ragnius and nodded seeing that his durability was refilled, with one additional small bonus added by the sharpening of the blacksmith.
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[Weakened Ragnius]
Rating: Poor (Growth) (43%)
Durability: 90/90
Attack Power: 75-185 | Critical Chance: +1% Attack Speed: +1%
* 2% increase in your attack power
* 5% increase in maximum health.
* Sharpened Blade - Ragnius gains 2% attack power (30 days)
A spear forgotten from the annals of history, yet it still gives off small fragments of its splendor and glory.
A spear that was once thought to be the sole weapon of a saint brought to the status of a scrap weapon ignored by everyone and looked down upon, however without the rightful master, the spear will never break off from its past.
It will be the symbol of fear to the enemy and a symbol of protection to its master.
Conditions of Use: Chosen by Ragnius' slumbering ego.
*************************
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Finishing his stay with the blacksmith, leaving from his shop with about 250 silver coins remaining in his bag, only after settling down his potion acquisition and repairing his weapon, did he adventure toward the forest.
Getting himself deeper inside the forest, while encountering a small number of monsters on his way to the center where he remembered seeing the Hillsbars Gragger Boar, the field boss who has marked that central region of the forest as its territory.
Monster after monster, with his newly acquired arcane power, clearing his way in the monsters that were off level 10 was a matter of 30 seconds. Nonetheless, as he approached the region the field boss was supposed to be, the voices of two guys were picked up by his keen senses, with one specific thing being taken by him, they were flustered and cursed a lot.

"Brother, stop fucking up the rotation. We have to tank it in rotation otherwise we are fucked. This is a level 17 Field Boss, we have to do this to perfection."
Mathias continued approaching this hunting ground where he finally saw one big hog, looking slightly bigger than when he last saw him, full of scar wounds with tusks that had a metallic luster containing some blood on them, fighting two guys containing familiar faces, [Orpheus] and [Ape Wine].
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[<Boss> Hillsbars Gragger Boar - Level 17] [14.530/18.000 HP]
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His presence was noticed by the 'Hillsbars Gragger Boar' elites who moved away from the two players choosing to attack him instead.
"What? Someone's here?"
"Focus on the boss, don't concern yourself with the elite monsters. This is actually good for our fight." said Orpheus who slashed with his sword the giant boar, making some small wounds on its flesh, taking away [145] and [278] damage from using his skill.
"Brother, never ever put me to tank bosses. It is too strenuous for my mind."
"Shut up, here comes another attack from its arsenal."
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Meanwhile, Mathias who was attached head-on by the elite boars numbering a total of 5, who were of level 13 with 6500 HP each, made him start charging up his mana for his spells.
"[Arcane Barrier]"
Surrounding himself by the dark-purple barrier he followed by activating 'Raven's Movements' and sidestepping in a lateral direction, creating a weakness in the charge of the boars who had to switch directions.
Quickly grabbing a potion from his inventory, the 'Strength Potion' that he downed, gaining 50 STR points for 10 minutes of the fight, he grabbed the end part of the shaft extending his range to the maximum, and beginning to jab three times at the boars who had to stop.
"[Treachery]"

[You have dealt 215 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 246 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 128 damage to the target.]
With three boars hit directly by Mathias first sequence of 'Treachery' he advanced while shifting the manner he held Ragnius getting a middle hold of the shaft and with two spins that wounded all of the 5 boars, dealing an AoE damage of [342] which enraged the elite boars more than the two [Orpheus] and [Ape Wine] could do by attacking their ruler.
[You have suffered 32 damage.]
[You have suffered 39 damage.]
[☆ Arcane Barrier effect 'Reflect' has been triggered, dealing the target 21 damage.]
Quickly evading the rest of the attacks the enraged boars had in store for him, as he retreated, he unleashed an [Sweep Thrust] while retreating, which managed to put down two of the boars whilst the rest had flesh wounds on their fatty legs, but the main assault was when 'Thrust' penetrated the eye of one boar.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 530 damage to the target.]
Drawing Ragnius back from his jab attack, he kept the tempo going strong, unleashing three 'Piercing Rain' attacks that flooded in the vision of the boar monsters who shrieked in pain. They simply weren't fast enough to evade the lightfast strikes, moving on and striking at the boars while they were struggling to keep up with the pain, he used Ragnius to launch himself in the air, and bring the spear along with himself striking the monsters in an AoE radius.
"[Bloodfall]"
[You have dealt 468 AoE damage to the targets.]
Creating a small shockwave from all the dirt and blood-filled ground which was pushed away from the range of the impact, Mathias continued on using basic attacks to harass the boar monsters with attacks that could make an outlooker think they were generated by activable skills.
Such a case was for Orpheus and Ape Wine who noticed Mathias fight the five boars without even struggling.
"Brother, isn't that person the one who helped us when those bastards betrayed us?"
"Indeed, but don't get distracted. I'll try to talk with him through the fight, maybe we can strike a deal to share the spoils with the field boss."
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As Mathias continued fighting with the five elite boars, managing his mana without even activating one skill, but opting to activate 'Raven's Movement' whenever he was trapped by the boars. Arcane Barrier also started proccing the 'Reflects', but the amount was barely noticeable compared to the basic attacks he did.
The fight proceeded with a low difficulty for Mathias, compared to the Lurker Spiders who were truly difficult to manage, the attack patterns of the boars were limited and basic at best, yet, there were also times he got careless, resulting in him being hit. When he was dodging the attacks of 3 boars and preparing to counter a new notification to his chat interface appeared.
&Orpheus: Do you want to team up, and fight the field boss together? We will be fair with the gear if something drops.
Ignoring that message taking enough space from the boars while doing a feint that pushed them back, he responded to the player fighting the field boss in a casual manner.
&Mathias: I guess you can invite me, I'll be soon done with those elite boars.
&Orpheus: Already that fast?
Seeing the last message which felt more like the person asking himself that, he later received another notification
[Player Orpheus is inviting you to his party]
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[You have accepted the invitation to the party. Bringing up the information to the rest of the party members.]
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[Orpheus - Lv. 13 (650/1030 HP) (65/130 MP)
[Ape Wine - Lv. 13 (710/1120 HP) (55/115 MP)
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"Brother, look at that guy's HP and MP amount and he is only level 10."
"Focus on the fight. Hmm, let me check it for a brief moment. Don't lose the aggro."
Saying that, Orpheus watched with amazement Mathias's HP and MP which could be said that was equivalent to both of them combined.
'This person, how could he have such HP gauge and MP gauge when he is only level 10? Wait, his gear seems too fancy and extravagant for a starting player, so this must be his secret. A whale enjoying the benefits of gear.'
Returning his thoughts back on the fight, in order to not get wiped by the Boar Field Boss where their progress was minuscule even after they had consumed most of their consumables to restore HP and MP. But, one minute later, they got the notification of the elite boars being killed, and after a suspense where their resources barely kept up with the enraged boar.
"Isn't that guy coming to help us?"
"Keep resisting, he probably is recovering his MP and HP."
One minute has passed since Mathias killed the boars, and just as they wanted to ask for Mathias to help directly, they heard his voice call with a cold tone.
"[Nephthys Lament]"
[Player 'Mathias' has dealt 1758 to Hillsbars Gragger Boar. Hillsbars Gragger Boar has been afflicted by the 'Weakened' debuff turning his defense 20% weaker.]
'This fucker hits like a monster! What skill is that? Ahh, back to the fight, I need to focus on the fight and contribute.'
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Back to Mathias who entered the fight starting with his finisher attack, trying a new approach to boss fights with the skills who had a chance of causing debuffs. Thus, managing to hit a 'Weakened' debuff on the field boss.
*SHRIEK*
"Move back and recover your HP, before tagging in. It seems this monster has entered his second phase if you could call it that."
From where he was, Mathias still under 'Raven's Movement' he circled the giant boar jabbing continuously using 'Piercing Rain' until his mana got to [690/1560] to which he stopped in place gazing coldly at the monster.
*SHRIEK*
The field boss charged madly at Mathias using a faster speed than ever which surprised Orpheus and Ape Wine who lost all their info on the boss with this new transition. This outbreak and speed even got Mathias to pull his guard up, blocking the metallic tusk from impaling him.
[You suffered 169 damage.]
His block wasn't enough as the tusk pierced his 'Arcane Barrier' touching his middle section. However, the barrier still held strong, not breaking entirely.
Gazing with his eyes that started to shine with dark purple light, he extended his hand to the boars head, as he sent out an 'Arcane Missile' blasting the head, pushing the monster away from him.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 1708 to Hillsbars Gragger Boar.]
In that moment both Orpheus and Ape Wine returned, striking the boar with their skills, dealing in total [634] damage, followed by another 'Arcane Missile' from Mathias that pushed the boar until it hit a tree, collapsing it in half.
[You have dealt 537 damage to Hillsbrad Gragger Boar]
Orpheus and Ape Wine followed where the boar was pushed and started striking him using basic attacks, dealing strikes of [97], [167], [159], with a critical from Orpheus of [351] who give a wicked smile when hearing the boar cry in pain.
*ROAR*
"Get away from him, he entered the last transition for the boss fight."
Drinking a mana potion, he used his arcane magic freely to push away Ape Wine from the proximity of the boar, but when he was about to pull Orpheus, the boar stomped his feet, and dashing with a speed akin to him, he sent a strike using his back legs, dealing catastrophic damage to the player.
[Player 'Orpheus' suffered 730 damage.]
"Arghhhh, this hurts so badly! It feels as if I broke my ribs. Are those developers crazy to implement such a concept?"
"Stay quiet if you still want to be alive after this fight. So you know newbie, once you die after reaching level 10 and above you lose experience and have a chance at dropping your gear."
"I know that too, from that tone you sound like a Beta Player. Arghh, one more hit, and I am dead." commented Orpheus from where he was blasted, trying to get up from where he was, but failing because of his fractures.
[Orpheus (125/1030 HP)]
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Mathias shook his head, dashing toward the boar, drawing the aggro back from what turned out to be a strong adversary to himself and Ragnius. Appearing close to his large body, he activated 'Treachery', beginning to attack the boar monster with the first attacks of the sequence.
[Target has dodged your attack.]
[Target has dodged your attack.]
[You have dealt 193 damage to the target.]
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To his surprise the boar's agility skyrocketed even with his large size, managing to dodge his piercing jabs, but the first spin connected with his large body, unable to dodge the long-range of Ragnius, dealing [320].
Reaching the momentum for the second spin, he found himself in a sea of pain with the boar's tusk impaling his stomach.
[You have suffered 340 damage.]
[You have suffered 210 damage.]
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[Health:369/1088] [Mana:140/1560]
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Checking his stats, as he watched the boar with a cold gaze as it most likely wished to kill him first, where he closed his eyes calling out in a whispering tone.
"[Evocation]"
The changes around Mathias who was impaled by the boar were evident with the blue mist gathering around him, which kickstarted his mana recovery that it dumbfounded Orpheus who watched the mana gauges of Mathias refilling with 297 MP the first second.
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"Bandar, jump to help this guy, don't look like a dumbfuck from the sideline. I am still unable to move because of a broken bones affliction." shouted Orpheus from where he was, returning his focus on the fight, having his brother jump in to distract the monster.
"I am right there, brother."
Ape Wine arrived behind the boar, sending out two sword slashes at his lower body, making it growl in pain.
"Ahh, shit, I am in his range for the hind leg attack."
Nevertheless, Ape Wine heard Mathias' cold voice, mentioning to him.
"Don't worry you'll be fine. But first, let me get this monster off me since it irks of death just staying so close with me."
Having his right hand extended toward the head of the boar, beginning to giving off a dark-purple light, which intensified along with the blue mist which entered his body, before both Orpheus and Ape Wine saw something never seen before, in the entire videos they watched on the 'Satisfy' Beta Phase.
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"[Arcane Missile]"

The dark-purple shaped missile was propelled from Mathias right hand blowing with the head of the large boar making it shriek in pain, unlike any other attack. Yet, this wasn't the end of the attack, because from behind Mathias a dark purple light blade was summoned dashing toward the boar, and cutting at his throat.

[You have dealt 856 damage to the target.]
[☆ Chaos Blessed has been triggered. Spell: 'Chaos Blade' has been casted, dealing 2140 damage to the target.]
"GO, GO, Bandar, take those herbs that are good for mana recovery and cast all your spells. The boss is about to drop. I will be off in 25 seconds, just you wait."
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Mathias was still in a serene state of mind, not being marked by the effect of 'Chaos Blessed' instead, with a new second which brought about a new intake of Mana, like a transfusion of blood, he took a health potion, which refilled 650 of his HP, before casting 'Bloodfall' cutting straight at the chest of the beast when landing on the ground.
[You have dealt 467 damage to the target.]
[Player 'Ape Mist' cast 'Sword Blight' dealing a strike of 540 damage]
"Hah, this beast is not dead yet. Ahhh, it started recovering his HP." remarked Ape Wine watching the field boss start to recover his HP, starting with a 1000 HP recovery."
Seeing that for himself too, it made Mathias frown, starting to hit the boar whose body was shining with a green color, with 'Piercing Rain' and with the first hit of the skill, he got notified about the increase in level of two skills, [Basic Spear Mastery] and [Piercing Rain] that leveled up.
One [Piercing Rain] wasn't enough, as he started raining down the skill until his mana dropped to 0, but in such a crazed mannered attack, the boar who roared in pain giving off a stronger green light, trying to recover his HP, failed to achieve such goal because of the storm of spear attacks.
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[Congratulations, you killed 'Hillsbars Gragger Boar' for the first time ever. You overshadowed your party members' contribution, earning the possibility of announcing to the world your achievement.]
[Do you wish to announce to the world your achievement?]
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[Decline]
It was something Mathias immediately pressed, not wishing to become a public figure and also someone that might reach the hate of the players for what he managed to achieve.
[Your choice has been registered.]
[Your following rewards are: 10.000 EXP, 10 Gold, Title: Dominance over Hillbars, Boss Level Trophy]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
Skeptical about not seeing any items on his loot, he heard Orpheus who rose on his feet after leveling up, clearly having his debuffs removed from the fight with the boar field boss, he heard the latter say in excitement.
"Never ever would I have imagined there would be an Epic Drop on this low level. A boss monster is bound to be a walking treasure trove. Here, I will link all the items dropped beside the rewards."
<Shield of the Resilient>, <Cloak of the Pride>, <Hillsbar Gragger Chainmail>, <Gragger Boar Hat>,
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"Guys, I just want the Cloak, leaving the rest to you. How does it sound?" asked Mathias as he checked each item's stats, but only being interested in one item from the dropped loot.
Staying some seconds to think, while his younger brother was telling him to be a jerk and not give that item, he responded favorably to Mathias's request.
"You want only the cloak? I guess it is fair to give it to you since you carried the rest of the fight after the monster got to its second phase."
[Player 'Orpheus' wants to open trade with you.]
[You have accepted the trade invitation.]
Quickly enough, Mathias found himself in the possession of the cloak, which was the only Epic Item dropped from the boss.
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[Cloak of the Pride]
Rating: Epic
Durability: 120/120 Defense: 50
* Strength: +25
* Stamina: +25
☆ Activable Buff: Prideful - Gain 5% attack power buff while your defense is lowered by 25% for 60 seconds. Cooldown: 60 minutes
User Restriction: Level 35
Weight: 10
*******************
&Ape Wine: Big brother, are you crazy? Why have you given the only Epic drop from the boss to this guy? We could have used it in the future.
&Orpheus: Calm down and don't be narrow-minded. Do you see the guild name of this guy? Leviathan. Go see in what guild Red is, and after that maybe you will understand why I did what I did."
&Ape Wine: So what if that Red guy is top 5 in the world, being level 19.
&Orpheus: You still don't understand. We aren't that far from the top players, but compared to this guy whose items clearly don't belong to a beginner, it means he is an elite Beta Player just like Red. This Leviathan guild was most likely made by the elites of the Beta Phase.
&Ape Wine: What are you talking about, big brother? Isn't the strongest guild from the Beta Phase, 2Stoned2Care, led by Cain.
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Mathias, who recovered all his resources, looked at the two brothers, saying to them calmly.
"Thanks a lot for the fairness, and I hope we will meet again in the future."
"Wait, are you moving to another hunting ground? Why not continue teaming up with us?"
"I see. But it isn't my style of playing in a team, since I am constrained by what others might do in the fight, but you two don't seem that bad. Follow me, I have a quest which requires me to kill the mountain bandits lingering at the base of Gravelmark Heights. Don't worry about the quest, I will link it to you after I find them."
"Sure, no problem. A question, how do you prefer the party setting to be? All loot be picked by the party leader or random looting?"
"Set it as random, it will be more fun in such a manner." replied Mathias with a chuckle, as his expression turned serious when he noticed that the body of the boar still was visible for him.
'Should I try 'Mana Devour' for the first time now that I have the available mana?'
"Hey, are you alright?" asked Orpheus, who watched Mathias walk toward where the boar used to be, lowering himself with the hand touching the dirty ground.
After one minute as Mathias still hasn't shifted his position, he heard him murmur something he couldn't understand, something that even the general translator of the game couldn't understand to translate.
'What the fuck? Is that some spell that is using the language those NPC uses?'
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On another hand, Mathias who could see the corpse of the monster, placed his hand right where his heart was still existing, contemplating about one minute what was happening for him to see the corpse of this monster when everytime he would slay the monsters they would turn to gray light.
'Maybe it is linked to 'Mana Devourer'? I have to experiment a lot more to have a decent understanding of what's going on. Anyway, let's see if the spell works as the Archmage proposed.'
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[Mana Devourer]
Rating: Legendary
A dangerous spell created by a lost Archmage to give a window for the ones desiring power, fully knowing the risks they would take in partaking in this route.
* Strip the dead you have slain of a portion of their accumulated mana. You have 1% of stripping the enemy of a small part of their mana that will be converted in INT stat and [Mana Core] experience, up to the amount of mana stripped.
* If the ability is overused, there is a 50% chance of your [Mana Core] shattering, which would lead to you losing the 'Arcane Energy' and losing all your gained INT in the process of mana devouring.
Mana Consumption: 1500 MP (Will change according to the user Mana Core and resources)
Skill Cooldown Time: No Cooldowns
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<My Desire for Power is Unmatched for that I am willing to even devour the remaining power of the lost souls.>
<The order and chaos who have been judged me, conferring me with this ability, shall be witnesses to my act of stripping the power of the mortal being's shell creators.>
While telling the incantation in the ancient language exactly as the Archmage instructed, his body gave off a dark aura that had a vibrant purple light which enveloped the corpse of the boar monster, slowly turning it into dark-purple light fragments which scattered in the wind, before a new notification entered Mathias's attention.
[Mana Devourer has been cast successfully with the result being: Failure]
 
Saharan Successor - CH 67
Vol. 2 - Chapter 13 - The Mountain Bandits (I)
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Mathias chose not to respond to the questions about what he just did at the corpse of the boar, however, as he listened to Orpheus comments, it seemed that moment when he did 'Mana Devour' looked as if he was touching the ground and wanting to blast it with one of his 'Arcane Missiles'.
This solved the nuisance of having to bring up some lies to have people stop questioning him what he was doing.
Yet, apart from this incident, they began forgetting about it with the encounter of new monsters who rose in level, but now that they grouped up, those normal monsters were easy kills contributing slowly to their advance in EXP.
The number of monster trophies for the Elder's quest overpassed the mark requested by the old man, reaching a number of 146 heads under his belt and still counting. The two players who teamed with Mathias experienced a new style of fighting, watching him dispose of the low leveled beasts using his basic attacks and the raven's feathered steps that boosted his agility.
"You are a beta user, right?" asked Orpheus, after stopping to recover his resources when they killed a pack of wolves.
"Indeed. Why? Do you want some advice?"
"No, not really, I've dug out all the information ever posted on the forums by the beta users. Also, that spear of yours resembles something I saw from a video that went viral two months ago. The Black Spearman."

"I don't know the guy."
"Right, his gear was totally different from yours. Another question if is not troublesome for you."
*Sigh* "Go ahead." replied Mathias, slightly annoyed by the constant questioning, as if he was under some interrogation, but keeping a tactful approach he was kind enough to respond to their questions.
"That suit you are wearing, how did you get it?"
"Tailoring? I am a tailor."
'What? You have spearmanship, you have magic, and you also have a craftsman class? Could this guy be a hacker? No, no, he is just too calm while responding to my questions, as if he means it.' thought Orpheus while adding up the information he managed to dig from Mathias's mouth, preparing to ask another question.
"And your class?"
Mathias' calm gaze turned cold immediately, telling the Indian player, taking him unprepared for such a reaction.
"That would be enough questions for me. There's something called decency. Do you even wish to know what color my underwear is? My blood type? The year I was born? Country? Address? So you know, this is how your questions feel to me."
Feeling that he might have messed up, Orpheus nodded his head and apologized.
"Sorry if my questions have bothered you. I will no longer ask you about those types of information."
Shaking his head, Mathias pushed ahead slowly, reaching the end of the forest where the view of the Gravelmark was enhanced by the massive size of the peaks in the distance.
'On the opposite side awaits the lake. I am sure about it.'
Stopping to look around himself he saw a trodden path cleared out, which was something rare to be spotted in a mountain where people didn't adventure. He checked around for any possible traps, not finding anything weird, the same was for Orpheus and Ape Wine who looked around the surrounding range of the pathway.
"No monsters, wild beasts or signs of activity even though there's this pathway leading to the top." commented Orpheus after gathering back to where Mathias was placed in the central part of the trodden pathway.
"The bandits should be at the end of the pathway. Let's go, follow me and stop talking. Use your system interface to talk around if it's so hard to keep quiet."
"Understood."
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Settling down on a plan, Mathias started ascending the mountain, using the pathway already trodden by someone or a group of people. A new eye-capturing scenery welcomed the group of three players where they could hear the stream flowing downward to the Cidarian Village, with the trees scaped around allowing the sunlight to beam off them.
The feeling he had was similar to a hike in the Carpathian Mountain along with everything that a hike had in store. However, this moment of calmness and stillness from the Gravelmark Mountain instantly shattered when he heard the sound of something darting at him.
Quickly activating 'Raven's Movement' he moved away from where he was standing in seconds taking by surprise the two brothers, who didn't understand why Mathias reacted like this.
"Start dodging, those guys have prepared for us." called out Mathias who saw an arrow hit the ground after failing to meet its target.
"Wait, what?? But how, we didn't see anything." asked Ape Wine who also sensed something approaching him, but because he asked that question, delaying his response.
[Party member 'Ape Wine' has suffered 109 damage.]
Orpheus was luckier, managing to dodge the arrow targeting him.
&Orpheus: Now what Mathias?"
&Mathias: Take cover, I will see how many of those bastards are hiding in the mountain. Be on your guard because there might be those trying to flee once the fight ensues.
&Ape Wine: Fuck them, that arrow hit me good, 109 an arrow? Most likely those bandits are all elite mobs.
&Mathias: That's why you should take cover and let me see where they are so we don't suffer unnecessary damage.
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Giving his quick instructions to the brothers, he jumped from his hiding spot, choosing to go on another path while climbing some large stone walls of the mountain, a point where he started hearing the voices of people.
"Get your weapons ready! We got guests trying to attack us."
"Don't tell, did the Immortal Duke arrive to deal with us?"
"It is unlikely, it is probably those damned villagers from Cidarian who send out those outlanders we captured three days ago and interrogated. Those crazed outlanders are far more dangerous than the Duke or even the Emperor."
Keeping in mind those voices, while hanging himself by the end of the rock to hear their conversation, he used his strength and agility to get up until the ruins of a fortress entered his sight first before he dashed for cover using the high vegetation.
Scanning his field of view from the cover of the dense vegetation, he could notice 6 guys holding swords in hand, all with elite marks over their heads.
(✣)[Kewin - Lv. 20] (4500 HP) / (✣)[Cainan - Lv. 19] (4000 HP) / (✣)[Sven - Lv. 20] (4250 HP) / (✣)[Laius - Lv. 20] (4200 HP) / (✣)[Diede - Lv. 20] (4400 HP) / (✣)[Hauke - Lv.19] (4100 HP)
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'Hah, it will be hard to deal with all of them. I can only try, but first let me recover my MP and after that, I have to charge up the missile for the surprise effect.'
Yet, in the meantime, he opened the chatbox and told the brothers about the situation on the top of the platform where the fortress ruin resided.
Mathias: I already managed to get in sight 6 elite bandits, and from my estimation, there should be more since different voices can be heard from here. Once you hear their screams don't forget what I told you, surround this range and also climb up to assist me.
@Orpheus / Ape Wine: Got you.
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Mathias casted [Arcane Barrier] and [Arcane Intellect] along with [Isolation] who slowly enveloped the fortress range in an invisible veil of dark-purple light, a point where he started to bide his time.
While waiting for the resources to fill up, he eavesdropped on their talk and also plans to take on the "outlanders". They didn't seem to notice the veil he shrouded the fortress in and kept discussing their plans, from taking revenge on the Cidarian Village to how they would rape all the women in the village and turn to slave the male population, which was an instant mood swing for him.
With his eyes on the mana gauge, after about one minute he activated 'Raven's Movement' and using his high movement speed, he appeared like a ghost where the group of 6 bandits grouped up.
"Who?" asked one bandit who spotted Mathias at the center of the grouped bandits, before receiving a cold response that alerted all of them.
"Your maker."
'[Treachery]'
Starting off with his advanced engaging skill, he pierced three of the bandits with lightfast movements before fastly spinning and cleaving at them two times, to the point where they tried sounding the alarm in the camp, but for an unknown reason, there was no backing up.
When the spins were completed, he dashed away from the center of action, ending with two jabs which pierced their leather armor, nonetheless, he remembered something about fighting humanoid enemies, they had a higher armor than normal monsters, turning his damage weaker instead.
Such was the case for 'Treachery' who on a single enemy dealt only [608] damage.
"FUCK HIM UP! HE IS OUT OF ATTACKS"
"AHHHHH! DIE, DAMNED OUTLANDER!"
Being received so well by the bandits, Mathias just scoffed at them, activating Raven's Movement starting to dodge some of their attacks, however, there were still some that landed clean on him, dealing [81] and [100] respectively.
[☆ Arcane Barrier effect 'Reflect' has been triggered, dealing the target 54 damage.]
The dark-purple bolt that was discharged by the barrier hit the bandit in his face, giving off an 'Blind' debuff, which Mathias took advantage, stepping back and switching his hold on Ragnius, he casted two 'Arcane Missiles' hitting the one blinded in his chest, and another one closer to him.
[You have dealt 458 damage to Cainan.]
[You have dealt 916 damage to Kewin.]
"Watch out, this guy is also a mage. Don't allow him to hit you so easily, and let him consume his mana. I might not be an expert to know how mages work, but I heard from the taverns in Grenhaler that mages require a lot of mana to cast their spells." reminded the bandit Deide who gazed at Mathias with a murderous look.
He too was hit by Mathias' piercing attack and spinning strike from 'Treachery' unable to coordinate himself to dodge those unpredictable attacks which decimated them. Readying himself to strike at Mathias, he saw the latter turn his gaze at him staring with his green eyes that contained a dark-purple light in them.
"You talk a lot."
The bandit then noticed how Mathias turned his body in his direction, while his hand released a dark purple light that concentrated in the center of the palm. Instantly, a projectile that had the shape of an arrow or better called it like a javelin was released, finding its target before the bandit could even react.
[You have dealt 458 damage to Deide]
After the missile hit its target from behind Mathias something akin to a portal opened, where a dark purple arrow was sent out, moving at a random targeting, find the mark on the person called Sven.
[☆ Chaos Blessed has been triggered. Spell: 'Chaos Arrow' has been casted, dealing 1145 damage to Sven.]
Once Sven was hit by the 'Chaos Arrow' he screamed in pain looking as that dark-purple was disintegrating while causing him more pain with his muscles pulsing.
Looking left and right vigilantly, Mathias started conserving his mana and stamina, but doing this also caused him to suffer from the strikes of the bandits who were left with only 1000-1600 HP each, whilst his resources looked rather decent taking in account that he was fighting 6 elite humanoids who had an increased fight IQ.
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[Health: 685/1146] / [Mana: 265/1584]
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Drinking two potions one for HP and MP, he recovered back his HP to full while the mana also got reinvigorated without him having to cast 'Evocation' to start his mana recovery.
"Those potions! Curse be that witch from the village. It is unmistakable, those potions belong to Olga."
Mathias didn't care about their line, as he casted 'Sweep Thrust' after stepping inside their encirclement, trying to drop them down, but all of the bandits jumped avoiding the sweep but failed to counter his thrust which carved a wound on the chest of the bandit Laius.
The fight kept on going, with Mathias returning back to being low on resources after the bandits adjusted to his skills, such as 'Piercing Rain', 'Sweep Thrust', something he was aware himself which flustered him.
'Nothing to cry about, those attacks are the fundamentals to a spearman, so it's not a mistake those bandits started reading my attack pattern. Hmm, let's combine the attack sequence, and see how you will fare.' contemplated Mathias while sidestepping from the attacks of the bandits, where he took the stance for Sweep Thrust which instantly alerted the bandits who prepared to intercept him and counter.
Dashing toward them, Mathias did the sweep attack, which was dodged by the bandits, however, when he was about to do the piercing attack, he switched up canceling the attack, and starting 'Treachery' which got them.
"Fuck, I didn't expect he could do that. BLOCK HIS ATTACK!"
He could only say that, because he later screamed in pain, when his chest was pierced by Ragnius, leaving him stunned in pain, before Mathias continued his attack sequence, finishing it in seconds, with the two spins, before he jumped in the air and unleashing 'Bloodfall' bringing the end to the bandits who were level 19 and one who was level 20.
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[You have defeated the Mountain Bandit Hauke, gaining the following rewards. 1500 EXP, 500 silver coins, Laced Mail Pants]
[You have defeated the Mountain Bandit Cainan, gaining the following rewards. 1500 EXP, 350 silver coins, Bandit Bracers]
[You have defeated the Mountain Bandit Laius, gaining the following rewards. 1750 EXP, 700 silver coins.]
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"Curse you, outlander! We just minded our business in the mountain, why did you have to come here?" shouted Deide, who was full of wounds, with blood oozing from his wounds.
"A quest." replied Mathias in a cold manner, not placing too much heart to respond to those criminals.
Rapidly he put an end to the remaining three bandits, which didn't give him much rewards aside from the experience, which brought him to a new level.
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Following that, he moved to the end of the zone he isolated, where he could see the bandits gathered at the wall of the purple veil with a guy at the center of this group of 15 people who shouted madly.
"SOMEONE OPEN THIS PURPLE SHIT RIGHT NOW!"
"Boss, we tried. There's simply no way for us to enter inside." replied a subaltern, with a worried expression, trying to calm down his boss.
Meanwhile, Mathias, who was facing the wall where he could see everyone's faces, took notice of the leader of the bandits whose name and level was larger than what he encountered so far, with the exception of the Spider Queen.
(Ψ)[Evander - Lv. 25] (12.500 HP)
This level along with his HP gauge made him contemplate if he was strong enough to kill this boss-level bandit, and with the 'Isolation' still holding 10 minutes from his duration, he gave the brothers a message.
&Mathias: There's a change of plan. Everyone of the bandits has gathered where I am. I need you with me right now, so I can take on the boss without feeling the struggle of fighting the elites.
&Ape Wine: Is the path you took safe?
&Mathias: That's right, you can come the way I took, and I will explain to you my strategy of dealing with them.
&Orpheus: Wait for us, we will come fast since we still didn't advance toward the mound.
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Mathias after his short talk with the brothers, looked at the fortress part he managed to envelop in his arcane spell, looking at advantageous points he could use to split up the bandits, allowing himself enough space to fight the boss.
'Wait, I can have the two pull the aggro from the boss, and get them to circle around, while I deal with the bandits one by one. It will be more efficient, but there's a flaw. What if they don't enter my scheme? Well, I might sound selfish, but as long I clear the quest without dying, I will repay those two in a way.'
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It took the brothers 6 minutes to arrive at the wall of the fortress, where a dark purple dome enveloped the surrounding fortress, looking skeptical at this light wall, but when they asked Mathias, he told them to enter inside since they were in the same party with him.
"Hey, what's with this dome, is this your doing?"
Mathias turned his head at the newcomers looking calmly, while responding in a short manner.
"Hmm, indeed. But this isn't important now, the details of what the spell does. We only have four minutes before the spell wears off, so listen to my strategy of dealing with the remaining bandits. If you have another idea make sure to tell me, don't worry about interrupting.
"The boss of the bandits is a level 25 NPC, what I want from the two of you is to distract him, not fight him per se. Following that, I myself will start clearing out the rest of the bandits."
"Wait, aren't you asking us to kill ourselves by making us fight a level 25 boss?" asked Ape Wine, feeling cheated by this strategy where it was visible Mathias's plan of using them.
Mathias looked at the guy, and with a calm gaze which made him look even scarier, he commented.
"Ohh, you think I am using you by distracting the boss? Then do you wish to fight the 19 elite mobs? I don't mind taking on the boss if you can pull that."
"Well, we might be able to deal with the elites."
"Bandar, shut up. Sorry for my brother's narrow-mindedness. Can you detail a bit more on the plan?"
"After I tell you this, we will move on to different locations to hide from the bandits. The inside of the fortress is the best location to take the fight. I will be the one starting the fight, while you keep your eyes on the boss, once he appears, attack him, taunt him, anything can be on the table as long as you distract him. Run, dodge his attacks, just try staying alive, while I will try my best to take out the remaining bandits and take on the hurdle of the fight."
"Fine. This sounds like a sound plan. I got nothing to reproach especially when you detailed how the fight might turn."
"Good, now go hide, enter the forest ruins."
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Swiftly the brothers entered inside the fortress ruins, searching for a good location to hide, while Mathias, also entered the fortress after carving something on the floor using Ragnius before entering too inside the fortress.
<You will not escape my watch.>

['Isolation' effect has waned off.]
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"FINALLY THIS BLASTED SPELL IS OFF! SEARCH EVERY SINGLE CORNER OF THE RUINS AND HUNT DOWN THOSE WHO WANT US DEAD!" shouted the boss of the bandits in a crazed style while the bandits moved around the range of the fortress ruins, with some entering inside the fortress.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 68
Vol. 2 - Chapter 14 - Mountain Bandits (II)
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The party could hear the shout of the boss, and as Orpheus and Ape Wine were hiding, they talked in private, not expecting for such an event to happen so early for them.
&Ape Wine: Brother, I don't know what to say. Aren't you taking what this guy says in a good heart? It is clear what he intends to do.
&Orpheus: Bandar, you have to think of this like a new world, not a game. This Mathias is already level 13, while we are only level 15, and he could deal with 6 elite NPC level mobs by himself. You saw too on the vids from those streamers how hard it is to kill humanoid NPCs, is like fighting against another user.
&Ape Wine: Still brother, this doesn't explain to me why we should be the bait and risk getting killed.
&Orpheus: I have a theory in mind about who this Mathias guy is. Do you remember the popular video of that spearman fighting inside Titan against the gang members? That spear is almost the same, just that it has a lot of rust on it. Some of those skills he used are like the fighting style that person used in the video, only that now it turned more smoother and ruthless.
&Ape Wine: You want to imply this Mathias is that pioneer to the PvP aspect of the game? Showing to the world what someone can do in the game.
&Orpheus: Most likely. Do you understand why I am willing to do this work? Aside from being the only viable chance at clearing that quest he shared with us, we might be able to join the guild if we ask.
&Ape Wine: I don't know brother.
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[Party member 'Mathias' has slayin Mountain Bandit Ovid. You gained a small fragment of the EXP being in the party, and in close proximity. Gained 350 EXP]
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&Orpheus: He already started killing off those guys. But I didn't hear a single thing. Have you picked any signs of conflict?
&Ape Wine: It is clear in my zone.
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Fifteen seconds later, they heard another notification, where another elite bandit found his maker in Mathias hands, without even a sign of his end being noticed by the two brothers.
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On another hand, Mathias who was breathing hard, drinking an Mana Potion, looked at his exhausted mana gauge, while moving silently to another direction of the fortress ruins, blending in the shadow using the Raven's Movement.
'Three done, but I had to use 3 potions already because of the overdrive on 'Arcane Missile'. It doesn't matter, I can buy other potions from the old lady, this quest is more important then some meager potions.'
With his mana recovering while moving out of combat, he spotted a team of two bandits looking vigilantly in the corner of a destroyed room. Seeing them, Mathias started charging his arcane energy, building four arcane missiles worth of energy in his veins that it stung him like he was burning himself on his own volition.
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"Did you hear that?"
"What to hear? Just relax, there's no way those invaders will target us inside the fortress. They most likely hid somewhere outside and everyone is running circles around, failing to find them." commented the bandit to his teammate, turning his vigilance down.
"If you say so. It could be a rat, lurking around the corners."
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What they failed to notice was that Mathias blended using his black suit and jet black hair to blend with the dark room of the ruined fortress, and from nowhere, when the two bandits turned their back at Mathias, the latter with a cold expression stepped silently behind them using Ragnius to trip them, before casting 'Arcane Missile' on their heads, destroying their heads which started regenerating.
With a hit of [916] on both bandits, he casted two arcane missiles again, landing an critical [1832] before sending them off using 'Piercing Rain' which rained on their backs, turning them to gray light fragments.
'Hah, I need to move on before they pick me up.' thought Mathias feeling drained by his missing mana, walking back to the wall, and activating 'Raven's Movement'.
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This dirty method that could be described as assassination, worked until he reached the 10th bandit who managed to alert the entire group of mountain bandits.
"THE OUTLANDERS ARE HERE! COME FAST AND HELP ME!"
Mathias who didn't manage to stun this person in order to shut his mouth, could only sigh, and start his skill combo, with 'Treachery' which dealt a total of [1375] to the guy alone, followed by ending him with 'Bloodfall' which caused an critical damage of [952] damage.
&Mathias: Start your act and look for the boss.
&Orpheus: Understood. How are you? Can you deal with the remaining 9?
&Mathias: I am changing spots, so I don't get cornered. Fighting that many elites is too much even for me.
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After he killed the 10th bandit, he quickly dashed away from the part of the fortress he was, but as he did something or better said someone moving at a fast speed intercepted him, sending out a punch which blasted him, hitting a wall of a fortress room.
[You have suffered 320 damage, with the impact dealing 54 damage.]
[☆ Arcane Barrier effect 'Reflect' has been triggered, dealing the target 171 damage.]
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"I found you, piece of shit. Who will not escape the watch of who? Damned rat. You killed 16 of my good men that I struggled to recruit to rebel against that Duke."
"So frustrating, playing cat and mouse with you! But don't worry, I will play with you plenty now that I found you."
Yet as he said that, from another room nearby, the two brothers, Orpheus and Ape Wine exited, charging at Evander while taunting him at the same time.
"Motherfucker, first play with us."
Evander quickly turned his body, and unsheathed his sword, which blocked the attacks of the brothers, looking with an arrogant expression at them, replying to their taunts.
"Sure, you bunch of outlanders rats. I will make sure I torture you like I did the others who were dumb enough to enter my territory."
"We'll have to see that. "[Sword Jolt]"
The skill Orpheus sent hit clean Evander, dealing [458] damage to him, while Ape Wine also cast one of his skills dealing [326] damage.
Instantly as they managed to hit the bandit leader, they retreated following Mathias's plan, and Evander started cursing mad of the small wounds he suffered on his body. He turned his eyes where Mathias crashed on the wall, and later at the two brothers who distanced away from him, and immediately he reacted by cashing after him.
"We did it big brother, we pulled the aggro from Mathias. Now what?" asked Ape Wine to Orpheus, while running.
"We run like bitches! Don't ask where, just keep yourself alive, while cursing this bastard." commented Orpheus with an alerted mind when seeing Mathias health gauge and mana gauge shifting around violently.
[Mathias - Lv. 14] (765/1146 HP) / (890/1584 MP)
'Man, don't die. I'll feel bad after all this pain of fighting those beasts to see the quest fail.'
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Having the brothers lead away the bandit boss, Mathias was encircled by three bandits who striked him from where he was seating on the destroyed wall.
'Raven's Movement'
Activating his movement speed ability, he dodged two strikes while one connected with his body, dealing [120] damage, before he did a 'Sweep Thrust'.
The skill attack dropped them on the floor, and vulnerable to his piercing strike which carved the stomach of one bandit, dealing [215]. Afterwards, he send out two 'Piercing Rain' for the ones getting up, dealing to them an total of [470] and [530].
It felt like a ticking bomb, since he could hear more people arrivig at the battlefield, and gathering his mana, he send out two 'Arcane Missiles' to the exact ones he targeted with 'Piercing Rain', dealing another additional damage.
[You have dealt 916 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 543 damage to the target.]
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Swiftly, he sent another 'Piercing Rain' which connected fully, on the bandits who couldn't adapt to the combat style of magic and melee, which lead to them eating fully those attacks, and only attacked Mathias after suffering the burden of the attacks.
[You have suffered 120 damage]
Taking such hits calmly with his 'Arcane Barrier' only swaying a little bit, he also countered them using basic attacks which dealt on average hits of [174] which after an fight of one minute when the rest of the reinforcements arrived, it proved too much for them.
"We arrived guys! Hang in there, well take over the hurdle of fighting that dangerous outlander." called out an bandit followed by another group of 6 people, which made it the entire elite bandits.
"Thanks for the compliment, but no need. I will entertain you myself." replied Mathias with a calm voice, while his green eyes gazed at them for a brief second before sending off the three guys he was helding in Raganius' dead inducing jaw.
[You have slayin Mountain Bandit Olbit, gaining the following rewards: 1450 EXP, 500 silver coins, Red Leather Bag]
[You have slayin Mountain Bandit Olbit, gaining the following rewards: 1450 EXP, 500 silver coins, Red Leather Bag]
[You have slayin Mountain Bandit Cnut, gaining the following rewards: 1450 EXP, 200 silver coins, Lesser Moonstone 1x]
[You have slayin Mountain Bandit Chobin, gaining the following rewards: 1450 EXP, 600 silver coins, Forester's Axe]
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"Noooo, what have you done!?" screamed one of the bandits who charged at Mathias who took one mana potion, to recover his weakened mana, before being left in the air, slashing empty air.
Mathias who activated 'Raven's Movement' for that moment instead of attacking the one leading the attack, placed his attention on the one behind everyone, casting an 'Arcane Missile' having only him in heart.
"What?? This guy is a magician! Dodge his spells! They are able to incinerate anyone they wish with their spells." allerted another bandit who saw Mathias's projectile charging at light speed toward them, still unknown who was the one to make it.
"Arghhh! Cover me, I got hit my this projectile. Aghhhhh, it hurts like hell." screamed in pain the bandit who was hit by Mathias' spell, who used Ragnius to block the one behind him.
"Isn't it obvious I would watch you too?" asked Mathias rhetorically while on his forehead the shape of a dark-purple eye was revealed, before waving off.
"Damn bastard! Who are you? An mage, a spearman? How did our group offended you in any shape or form? Aren't outlanders supposed to hunt wild beasts and monsters?"
"Ohh, a talkative one. Even though I don't have your full backstory like a book, being only feed chapters from your history, the recollection of a dear person of mine, was enough for me to deem you not different from the monsters I've been hunting." replied Mathias while starting 'Treachery' and fooling the guy who he was talking from the first feint, with another jab connecting, and the spins, cleaving three guys closer to him, with the other three guys being out of range.
Ending his skill with another three attacks that he targeted another bandit, the fight continued on similar to his initial fight with the group of bandits.
Minutes passed, and his potions also reached the 10 mark, and in an moment of carelessness, he didn't keep in mind the cooldown of 'Arcane Barrier' becoming open, which the bandits took advantage of like it was a gift from the gods.
"End him! His damned shield got removed!"
[You suffered 150 damage.]
[You suffered 175 damage.]
[You suffered 196 damage.]
"Cleaving Knife"
[You have suffered 367 damage]
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[Health: 167/1146] / [Mana: 959/1584]
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With the agonizing pain that was brought about, he instantly casted the barrier again, refreshing the cooldown to a new 5 minutes of protection, similar to an armadillos.
Stepping back, from what ensued a second rain of attacks, he thought to himself in a clear minded way.
'It seems I got so drawn in the fight that I didn't even manage the cooldowns of the barrier? I almost got myself killed by those guys.'
As he was moving back, he took a potion, which triggered the bandits, cursing him and Olga, aware of who the crafter of those handy potions could be.
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Mathias didn't mind the curses at all, being rather thick skinned when it come to such insults, having been trained by the most toxic people on the platform he was posting his novel. Thus, he organized a new play to combat those bandits who were at 40% of their HP.
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'I can do them as I did the first group. If it worked back then, it has to work here too.'
Like this, Mathias stopped and charged at the bandits, instantly increasing his speed using 'Raven's Movement', and doing a 'Sweep Thrust' which managed to hook in just two guys, and pin down only one guy, before quickly stepping back.
There was a slight increased difficulty to the fight compared go his first encounter with the bandits, but sticking to his plan, the sprout je was watering took place in the minds of the bandits who were wary of any of his movements and keeping in mind that he was two bandits away from leveling up, he pushed ahead.
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Dashing using another 'Sweep Thrust' using the effect of them getting accustomed to his attack sequence he instantly canceled the attack, jumping in the air, and striking with 'Bloodfall', followed by 'Piercing Rain' and ending with 'Treachery' which slayin three of the bandits, later turning into gray light, leaving out only the three demoralized bandits next on his list.
"CURSE YOU DEVIL! WHY WILL NOT JUST DIE AFTER BEING HIT SO MUCH?" screamed one of the bandits charging at Mathias, who instantly reacted by activating 'Raven's Movement' and sidestepping his sword strike as if he was in a boxing ring, evading strikes to his head.
In an unexpected attack, Mathias sends out an Spinning Back Kick sending to the ground the bandit who just attacked him, following by advancing to the other three bandits looking with a calm, even frigid gaze.
Yet in that moment, he was preparing to end those three bandits, the chat was ringing with new messages.
&Orpheus: Man, you have to hurry up, this crazy motherfucker is too wierd of a boss, I can't even tell if he shifted to stage 2 or if he is still in stage 1. Also, our resources are plummeting, hurry, or we will not be able to help.
&Mathias: Just a bit more, I have 3 more of those bandits.
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Replying to him, he saw a sword pass in front of his eyes, which almost cleaved him in the moment he wasn't focused totally on the fight.
After that, he balanced himself fighting using his basic abilities with the spear and also the kickboxing kicks he learned in the two months training at the MMA Club, turning his basic style even more unpredictable, with the bandits unable to feel the change to charge and strike him.
"Don't worry, you will join your brothers in Heaven or Hell."
"You might have won this time, but our boss will end you. He is famous in Grenhaler for being one notorious bastard."
Still fighting, striking the bandits while talking with them, taunting them, he gave them an wicked smile before sending out two missiles which blasted the specific targets before, being in a solo situation, he picked apart the bandits weak defense, collapsing his defense at the first jab connecting with his flesh.
"What you are saying makes my consciousness even clearer to end you."
'Piercing Rain'
Sending out his basic skill, which was sending his body on a sea of pain, before his comrades could come to help him, Ragnius passed by his throat, dropping him on the ground gushing out blood, turning the floor into a blood puddle before shattering into gray light fragments.
With only two people left even thought the difficulty decreased a lot, his vigilance wasn't lowered one bit, and after he ended those guys too, he dropped on the bloody floor exhausted.
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[Stamina: 61/100] (1 minutes for point recovery) - 'Farmer's Son' Effect
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"Thanks a lot father, if not for this effect, I would have been drowned by my fighting style which is heavy on stamina."
Saying that, he waited for his HP and MP to recover, and when they got to 65% he started to walk toward where Orpheus and Ape Wine were located, luring the bandit boss around. In about two minutes, he too arrived at what seemed the plaza of the fortress, where instantly his gaze dropped on Evander who was slashing his sword like a mad person.
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(Ψ)[Evander - Lv. 25] (10.980/12.500 HP)
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Activating, 'Raven's Movement' he dashed toward the boss with Ragnius enveloped by the black feathers, releasing a murky aura, and as he sprinted toward Evander, the bandit boss preoccupied with ending Oprheus and Ape Wine for all the cowardly fighting they did, woke himself with a spear running in his chest, washing him in agony.
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'[Nephthys Lament]'
[You have dealt 1254 damage to Mountain Bandit Leader, Evander. The target has been afflicted by 'Bleeding' debuff.]
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"You are finally here. Damn, I thought I would have been killed by this bastard." commented Orpheus who retreated, taking one health potion similar to what Mathias has been using, in the entire encounter with the bandits, similar in style was Ape Wine.
On another hand, Mathias before drawing his spear back from the impaled body of Evander he saw the bandit leader grab hold of Ragnius and with a weird strike cleaving backwards while saying.
"You got some skill on you, brat. I couldn't even notice your presence before you backstabbed me." commented Evander with an angry voice, with his teeth gritting.
[You have suffered 360 damage.]
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Still struggling to take Ragnius back from this crazed man, he gritted his teeth bracing for another slash that was going backwards.
[You have suffered 318 damage.]
"Hahah, you don't like it being played from behind, brat? I will teach you what it means to be a backstabber." said Evander while his right hand moved back again for another swing backwards, but Mathias who was surrounded by the pain of having his arms slashed to his bone, reacted upon his instincts with only one thought.
'Get off from this situation, right now!'
Concentrating the arcane energy in his left hand, right when Evander was about to cleave, he blasted him from behind, distancing himself from him, and also recovering Ragnius.
[You have dealt 497 damage to the target.]
"Tsk, I forgot you are also a magician. Arghh, this wound stings so much. Hahaha, who would have thought I could encounter such brats. The outlanders I captured where so weak that they could only bark at me, threatening me with revenge. So delusional." added Evander taking an health potion from his pocket that he downed, recovering 1500 HP.
"What's with that face? Do you think you are the only one with potions? To my surprise those ruins holds quite the gifts for me after bringing my people to camp here.
Mathias who heard this took an mana and health potion, and giving Evander and wicked smile, he replied to him.
"Better don't consume all of those potions because I will have a need for them after I kill you."
"Haha, that has to be seen. Don't look down on me brat just because you know magic and also have trained your spearmanship. I, Evender, have my own destiny to complete, sang by the Gods themselves

Ending that Evander charged at Mathias who took a middle stance using Ragnius, and also opening his movement ability, seconds later clashing weapons with the bandit leader, before breaking off, still suffering some damage.
[You have suffered 35 damage from the clash of weapons]
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"Good one, brat. But can you hold on like this for ten minutes, thirty minutes, one hour?"
Mathias clashed weapons with Evander again, gazing at him with his green eyes, while the later mocked his attempt at beating him in terms of power.
However, in that class, he was caught unprepared and the spinning kick landed clean on his midsection, making him grunt in pain and from the soles of his boots, an 'Arcane Missile' was sent flying, hitting Evander who was stepping back.
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"Such a disgusting and cheap way of fighting for a respected profession such as a magician. What would your elders think when seeing the degenerate manner you kept fighting?" taunted Evander while whipping the blood from his mouth, trying his best to get a reaction from Mathias that would lead to countless mistakes.
Yet what he received was a calm expression and one salty comment.
"You know "Boss" from where I am, people who talk a lot of shit, are hit hard in their mouths. Do you try to become one of those?"
"Try me bitch."
 
Saharan Successor - CH 69
Vol. 2 - Chapter 15 – The End of a Monster
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Mathias charged at Evander and starting with 'Sweep Thrust' the latter blocked his attempt at attacking his legs, in doing so breaking the skill activation sequence, which was a first for Mathias.
Nevertheless, he charged his arcane energy in his hand and gave the impression he was about to cast another spell, which made Evander move away from Mathias. However, from his side the two brothers, Orpheus and Ape Wine who recovered their resources jumped into action, sending out their attacking skills which were direct attacks, instead of target-focused attacks such as Mathias's.
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"Get lost, you ants. Can't you see I am focused on only one person?"
"Go suck a dick you fucking mob. We played enough with you, and now you shall taste your death." commented Ape Wine, who slashed using his sword skill on Evander's leather armor.
Annoyed by those attacks, while having to deal with the constant bleeding from Mathias' engaging attack, he used his own sword skill to attack the brothers, doing an instant attack that stunned the brothers.
"[Sword Mound]"
Both, Orpheus and Ape Wine were slashed by Evander, dealing a hit of [790] to both guys, who cried in pain, and when the bandit boss was about to send them on their way to Tartarus, Mathias intervened, pushing the boss away from the two players.
"Sorry, we start becoming a burden."
"Recover and we'll talk about ending this boss. Whenever you see openings while I fight this bastard, grab them and attack him with skills or classic attacks. You are useful, don't get discouraged by the huge damage you suffer from his attacks, this is the level and gear difference."
Getting some morale back in their system, they took the medicinal herbs giving off a strong smell that they began consuming to recover their health and mana.
Gripping their swords tight they could only watch as Mathias was fighting 1vs1 against a boss on equal terms, a sight to behold when understanding that humanoid bosses were different to beast monsters who had a proportionally lower IQ.
The display of power Mathias was showing was a unique spectacle for the two players, who saw his entire arsenal of skills, from 'Bloodfall' to 'Treachery', going to his basic spear attacks, 'Piercing Rain' and 'Sweep Thrust'.
But his mana was devoured fast by the high-cost skills, and he had to rely on his basic skills to deal damage to Evander who reached 50% of his HP.
"Boy I understand you outlanders can't die, and for that, once I kill you, I will descend to Cidarian and kill everyone in that village before Grenhal's Knights come after me." commented Evander who unleashed a sword skill which pushed Mathias, taking out [430] of his health, following suit continuing his assault.
Mathias entered a defensive mode, started to sidestep, and got a good position to strike the bandit, and such a chance arrived when Orpheus and Ape Wine jumped again from the sides to strike Evander, distracting him.
'Good read. [Piercing Rain]'
Sending his skill which had all three attacks wound Evander, he sent an 'Arcane Missile' which pushed him back, as he was hit by a bullet. It was enough space for breathers for Orpheus and Ape Wine who could feel the pressure both Mathias and Evander were releasing.
Looking at his mana resources, which dropped to rock bottom, he took a deep breath while gazing at the bandit and with a whispering tone, calling for the 'Evocation' beginning his mana recovery at 234 MP per second.
"BASTARD! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BUT I AM SURE YOU ARE USING SOME FORBIDDEN SPELLS!" shouted Evander from where he was, downing another potion which recovered 1500 HP, being so thick-skinned that he didn't feel him drinking potions was cheating.
Such was a fight between a player and humanoid NPC enemy who had an increased IQ that could rival a player in fights.
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Mathias walked slowly toward Evander, while his body started releasing a dark-purple aura beside the 'Arcane Barrier' protecting his body, which alerted the bandit into pushing the fight to the mage, instead of waiting for Mathias to cast his spells which he couldn't predict.
It was a smart move on his end because Mathias's Spearmanship was still vulnerable only having five skills, with two which could be said to be the basics one could start predicting in a fight, and three advanced skills Evander still couldn't adapt even after fighting against Mathias for 4 minutes.
Once he got to Mathias, he started off by sending a sword combo, that looked like a cross formed strike, which Mathias evaded using 'Bloodfall' while striking him for [389], later doing a 'Sweep Thrust' from his behind, which knocked him on the ground, yet when the end of his skill continued Evanded dragged his sword in the direction Mathias was going to strike.
Clicking his tongue, he started attacking using basic attacks, pushing the bandit, and in that moment, both the players also returned to harass Evander, doing small wounds which accumulated.
As this pressure accumulated on his head, the bandit boss roared like a beast, allowing some hits to connect with him before out a sword strike which looked like a tornado from the manner of his spin.
"Sword Tornado!"
[You have suffered 445 damage.]
&Orpheus: Mathias, we are close to be out of healing herbs. What not? This bastard seems to have entered his last phase.
&Mathias: Same strategy. For 20 seconds I am on overclock with unending mana.
Orpheus when getting that message nodded, transmitting the message to his brother who was on board with the plan, seeing Mathias as a capable person who wasn't there to look for their end and cash in by killing the boss bandit solo.
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Mathias's 'Arcane Barrier' was also about to turn down, and keeping the countdown in his mind, once the barrier was off, where Evander saw it as an opening to strike him down, he enveloped himself in the dark-purple barrier.
"DAMN IT! I WAS LATE BY SOME SECONDS."
"Indeed. One second in fact, and for that, you will have to get burned." noted Mathias in a rare moment when he talked with Evander before dodging his sword strike, shifting his hold on Ragnius, and casting an 'Arcane Missile'
[You have dealt 848 damage to Evander.]
At the same time from Mathias's side, a dark-purple blade was unleashed from nowhere, slashing at Evander's chest, making the bandit leader scream in pain and agony.
[☆ Chaos Blessed has been triggered. Spell: 'Chaos Blade' has been casted, dealing 2120 damage to the target.]
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When the brothers saw that sinister looking dark-purple blade cleave the chest of Evander they got shocked, where they remembered the fight with the boar field boss where something similar attacked the boss, dealing a massive hit.
(Ψ)[Evander - Lv. 25] (3550/12.500 HP)
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&Oprheus: Bandar, get ready. The boss is about to die. Let's do everything in our power to deal enough damage to help Mathias.
&Ape Wine: Wait, brother! Look, that guy seems weird.
&Mathias: Stay away, there's something wrong.
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Mathias could see from a distance Evander bringing out a flask containing a dark liquid inside that he downed before he released a beastly roar.
"KILL! KILL! I WILL KILL EVERYBODY! NO ONE WILL BE SPARED!"
In that maniacal roar, a crazed laugh ensued followed by another cry of pain, where his body started to morph, growing like a mutated monster with beastly arms, where his entire eyes went black, similar to the liquid Evander ingested.
"Brother, what the fuck is going on. Is this supposed to be normal inside Satisfy?" asked Ape, watching with big eyes the changes happening in the bandit boss who looked more like a demon from the fantasy stories.
"I have no clue. Let's get moving."
This moment was conflicting even for Mathias, who decided to quickly take a health potion so he wouldn't die from one hit, before charging at this monstrous human, whose level and health changed completely.
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(ΨΨ)[Half-Demon Evander - Lv. 25] (10.550/45.500 HP)
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'I have to kill this blasted monster at all cost, or my failure will doom the entire Cidarian Village and who knows how many lives by unleashing this monster on the world.'
Gazing at Evander who growled like a beast at him, he jumped toward him with insane agility covering the entire distance between each other, punching him with his mutated hands that he barely managed to block using Ragnius and also his barrier. Nevertheless, such an impact was too much for his hands which sent him a jolt of pain.
[You have suffered 180 damage.]
Another punch was delivered by Evander at a fast speed, which he blocked, suffering again damage, and when the two brothers arrived, the monster turned its attention at them and using his long fingers as a sword, he slashed at Orpheus who instinctively put his sword in the way of this attack.
[Player 'Orpheus' has suffered 450 damage.]
[Player 'Ape Wine' has dealt a hit of 650 damage.]
Following that successful attack, Ape Wine, started doing some sword combos that took another 1000 HP from the half-demon in front of them, before he too was blasted away from him, with an
"I got your back little brother. No way in hell will you die before me." shouted Orpheus who bounced back, charging at Evander who sent another attack causing 598 damage to Ape.
While Orpheus took over the aggro, in what could be described rather easy, Mathias started channeling his mana, for a last push against this monster, consuming along 300 MP for each projectile he was stashing in his body. It was a process he had never done before to such a scale, with each second his mana was recovering for him to create a missile that he was holding in his arms.
The pain increased with the amount of missiles he was creating and holding back from casting, and even the system started sending red alerts flooding his field of vision with unnecessary crap, he wasn't interested in the moment.
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[ALERT!]
[Your body is overcharging on Mana! Mana Overdrive has been triggered. You will suffer 100 HP each second until you solve the cause of the Mana Overdrive!]
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'Just a bit more, one more projectile and it will be enough to wipe this monster from this earth, sending it back to the hell it got out.'
Quickly sending Orpheus a message, he told him to bring the half-demon in his direction without trying to fight it too much and die for no good reason.
Orpheus who even got dirty to evade the attacks of this unleashed monster that could kill both him and his brother in two-three hits could only follow Mathias led, and once he gazed at Mathias for a brief moment, he saw his nose, ears, mouth, and ears bleed off. However, what shocked him, even more, was the intense dark-purple his hands that he was holding low were emitting as if he was holding a dark star in his hands.
"MATHIAS I GOT THIS MONSTER READY FOR YOU! TAKE HIM OVER!"
"I can barely see from all this blood in my eyes, but I hope this will be enough." said Mathias to himself, barely being able to see because of all the blood in his eyes, and with his hands extended concentrating on Evander, he began casting all of his 'Arcane Missiles' gathered.
The first projectile hit its mark, followed by the second, third, fourth, fifth, and the sixth all hit their targets leaving a dark-purple smokescreen similar to the aftermath of an artillery barrage.
&Ape Wine: Brother, there's no notification for that monster being dead.
&Orpheus: I have absolutely no idea what's going on here.
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On another hand, Mathias could only grit his teeth, seeing that his entire damage accumulated to only [5214] without triggering a single 'Chaos Blessing' effect to assist him at ending this half-demon. Nevertheless, there was something new he discovered after that continuous casting off arcane missiles, gaining a new skill similar to what Fayrene has done against Ilkjnos in the Beta Phase.
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[You have discovered a new spell after Mana Overdrive, called 'Arcane Barrage'.]
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"HAHAHAHA, MORE. I WANT MORE! PAIN, GIVE ME MORE PAIN!"
"THERE'S NO MORE PAIN? Sad. THEN DIE!"
Hearing that sinister voice that was distorted, reminiscent of a low-budget horror movie, he saw Evander exit the smokescreen full of burnt marks, and flesh dripping from his body, as an aftereffect of his maddening attack.
Before he could even block or attempt to dodge Evander, he was stabbed in his stomach by his monstrous nails, making him puke, and sending his entire system on alert mode.
[ALERT! USER IS LOW HP!]
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"YOU WILL SUFFER YATAN'S WRATH! KUHAHAHA, WEIRD CREATURE OF UNWORLDLY ORIGINS."
"Look who's talking." remarked Mathias in a cold, sarcastic tone, sending a strong kick to Evander's balls which made the half-demon screech in his ears, almost turning him deaf for a moment.
Still, it was enough time for him to distance himself, and bring out two potions to refill his HP and MP. Even so, Evander noticed this from where he was and sent flying to his long nails which shattered the glass flask keeping the liquids, and later as consequence for his action screamed in pain before laughing like a crazed psychopath.
It was that exact moment, Orpheus along with Ape, jumped on Evander, cleaving his body
"What are you laughing at, you crazed monster?"
"HAHAHA, I AM LAUGHING ABOUT HOW I WILL DEVOUR ALL OF YOU!" screamed Evander who turned his body as if he was in Exorcism, stabbing the players with his long nails that regrown in a couple of seconds.
Pinning the two players, his attention was taken away from Mathias, who quickly brought other potions that he downed, recovering mana and health enough for the last attempt at finishing this half-demon.
Both brothers were screaming in pain as Evander started to bite off their limbs with his monstrous mouth that had sharp teeth similar to a beast, and immediately when sensing Mathias, he stopped from torturing Orpheus along with Ape Wine.
"THAT BASTARD STILL DIDN'T LEARN HIS LESSON! ARGHHH, SO ANNOYING! I WILL KILL YOU AND TORTURE EVERYONE! YES, THIS IS WHAT I SHOULD DO. HEHAHAH, DIE!" screamed the half-demon like a maniac, shifting his position to charge at Mathias whose spear was covered in a dark aura, with raven's feathers dropping in a dignified manner on the bloody ground.
"HAH? I CAN'T MOVE!"
"You will not get anywhere! Do it Mathias!" said Orpheus after he used all his strength along with Ape to pin down Evander's feet.
"GET OFF ME YOU INFERIOR SPECIES!"
"Sleep of the Spider"
"WAIT WHAT? HOW DID YOU GOT YOUR HANDS ON THAT RING?" screamed Evander, visibly disturbed by the ring Mathias put on his finger, which sent a dark spiderweb enveloping the half-demon.
In spite of all of the half-demons' attempt at getting away the spiderweb and from Orpheus and Ape Wine, Mathias's sprint didn't slow down one bit after casting that ability, later penetrated Evander's chest, straight for his heart, where immediately black blood gushed from his monstrous mouth and body.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 3156 to Half-Demon Evander]
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"NOOOOO! I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE THIS WORLD! THIS SWEET AIR, THE SWEET BLOOD OF THE SHEEP AWAITING MY AWAKENING! HOW CAN I LEAVE THIS? CURSE YOU, OUTLANDER! THIS IS NOT OVER I WILL REMEMBER YOU!" screamed Evander, something Mathias could understand, before cursing him using a language he didn't understand, with except to something that sounded similar to the elvish word for 'revenge' he studied from Fayrene's books.
As Evander turned into fragments, Mathias whose expression remained unfliched, with a somber coldness, only told the vanishing demon.
"Once we meet again. I want to see how you will take revenge, damned monster."
Evander's black eyes shifted from the madness it once held, turning to calmness and while hearing Mathias mention that, before starting to laugh, mentioning, in a language, Mathias found familiar.
"Sar shall aelo, bhen. Sal will Wutheh va sunti Tel' othi Ath Tarrus welsa"
Ending that, Evander turned to gray lights fragment, marking the end of the short lived Half-Demon.
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[You have slayin Half-Demon Evander, a unique achievement in the world by eliminating an sprouting evil, gaining the following rewards:]
[75.000 EXPERIENCE] [25 Gold Coins] [Vial of Darkness] [Sword of the Betrayer] [Title: Repeller of Evil], [Quest Item: Half-Demon Evander's Head]
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[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
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The brothers started laughing cheerfully, while their bodies were also surrounded by the level up effect, not in the same manner as Mathias, but they were there, gaining 2 levels after this fight with Evander, along with the shared Title, Repeller of Evil and some item drops that they were happy to share with Mathias. However, he just gave them a small smile, declining this offer, telling them he also got his own rewards.
"My gosh, I never could have imagined I could get such a title that gives 50 stats for all stats. We also entered the top 25 by becoming level 18. Such a bountiful hunt could only be achieved because of you, brother Mathias." remarked Orpheus, with a wide smile on his face, counting his spoilers of war, while Mathias seemed to be focusing on what he got.
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[Vial of Darkness]
Rating: Secret
The essence of Great Demon Nebiros who made plans to use his essence in order to corrupt possible victims.
Once consumed the effects are unknown. You can gain one power of the Great Demon with a race change to Half-Demon.
Disclaimer: Once you consume the vial, you can't turn back to a human.
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[Sword of the Betrayer]
Rating: Epic
Attack Power: 188~371
Attack Speed: -4%
* Additional fire damage will be added to all critical attacks.
This is the greatsword of the Betrayer, Evander, who backstabbed his allies for a shameless reason which stained this sword furthermore.
Conditions of Use: Level 45 or higher, more than 200 strength, more than 140 stamina.
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[Title: Repeller of Evil
The Unknown Hero who has defended the lands of the brewing evil that could have been unleashed on the innocent people.
You might not be recognized by the people and saluted for your gesture, but ballads of your fight will be sung by the minstrels with an imagination high enough to perceive the battle.
All stats +50
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"Not bad. But, I am more thankful knowing Cidarian Village will be safer because I eliminated this brewing evil which would most likely spew straight to Cidarian."
"Mathias, what now? Are we going to deliver the quest to the Elder?" asked Orpheus, walking toward him, awaiting his response.
"Yes, let's go. Most likely you guys want to get to the quest rewards rather than getting out of this mess." remarked Mathias in a sarcastic manner, to which the brothers could only laugh, replying.
"There's 25.000 EXP in play with this quest you linked with us. Still can't think of a way to thank you for letting us party with you."
"Hmm, don't worry about it. Rather, you also have been of huge help to me. If I were fighting that demon by myself, I would have for certain be killed, and the aftermath, I don't even want to think about. The villagers down the mountain would have been the first ones to suffer from that demon's claw."
"Sigh, man, why do you care so much about those NPC? Even if you failed the quest, it is just a quest, nothing big."
Shaking his head slightly disappointed, at what Orpheus mentioned, he continued walking down the mountain followed by the brothers who were perplexed as to why Mathias reacted in that manner.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 70
Vol. 2 - Chapter 16 - Clearing the Elder's Quests
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Mathias's way to Cidarian Village was smooth, the monsters he killed still didn't respawn, and as he went closer to the village he could see the starting players fight some wild beasts, where his eyes flew past them for a split moment, before continuing on.
Once he arrived inside the village periphery, the first thing he did was to change his black suit into something more casual. This equipment change made the two brothers once again question why he was doing that, but they could only think for themselves of his reasons.
Following that, his first set of actions was to move toward Cidarian Village Elder, Erle Aridai, house, to receive the rewards for the quests he was tasked to complete.
Getting to his mansion, he and the two brothers went in line waiting for their turn to arrive to have an audience with the Elder, however, once some guards tasked to keep in check all the newcomers who wanted to get quests from the Elder spotted Mathias, they immediately made way for him to get to the Elder along with his party.
"Hey, what the fuck? Why do you allow that guy to get to the village without waiting in line? This is unfair!" whined some players who where close to where Mathias was waiting in line, feeling cheated by such treatment.
"Keep your mouth shut, outlander. This young adventurer has returned from an expedition that the likes of you will never accomplish. He is even that respectful that he waits for his turn to meet the Elder to arrive."
"Sir Guard, now, now. No need to get angry. I will probably disrupt their quests if I go meet the Elder. Allow them to receive their audience, and when my turn comes, I will meet the Elder." replied Mathias not budging from where he was waiting even though the guard wanted to bring him to the Elder.
"Are you sure, adventurer?"
"Pretty certain. Thanks anyway for the gesture."
"Well it is obvious, you were the only one to be genuine with the Elder and us people of Cidarian. There's already rumors in the village about, little Fayrene husband who came to visit his in-laws. It is sad that Fayrene didn't come too." mentioned the middle-aged guard, afterwards patting Mathias shoulder in a kind manner, and walking back to the gates.
The brothers who saw how Mathias was acting with the NPC's where baffled, talking with each other in private of what they saw.
&Orpheus: Could it be we are wrong about the NPC's?
&Ape Wine: I don't know big brother, to me they are still some NPC's controlled by Morpheus.
&Orpheus: What if it's not this case? Have you noticed how real the exchange between Mathias and that guard was?
&Ape Wine: He is just a weirdo, why bother with what he is doing?
&Orpheus: Tsk, are you really born from the same mother?
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Unknown to what the two brothers discussed, their turn was also about to arrive, getting in front of the gate where they could notice Mathias talk casually with the guards, about their families, job, if they were also farmers, their adventures.
"Haha, compared to your adventurer, our adventures are still limited. I only saw Grenhaler with my two eyes and could only be ashamed when gazing at the Duke's Knight Order."
"Don't stress yourself, sir. Everyone has their path in life. Even if you are the guard of this village, don't look down on yourself. Your job is noble, the safety of the villagers are in your hands." replied Mathias, making the guards of the village feel better about themselves, with some of the guards with green name even having their nameplate flicker with a silver color.
"Now that you put it that way you are right. We are the true guardians of the village along with Elder Aridai. Those mountain bandits are still a lurking danger even now, planning their schemes to take revenge on us for killing some of their bastards."
Mathias smiled at them, only telling them in a quiet manner.
"You are bound to hear good news from the Elder soon. Don't get shocked, okay?"
"What do you mean, adventurer?" asked the one who seemed to be the leader of the guards, with a silver nameplate.
"I will not spoil you now." chuckled Mathias, and not long after that comment, his turn also arrived, only entering inside with Orpheus and Ape Wine, with the guards not allowing other two people.
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Walking the same pathway to Elder Aridai office guided by the youngster, who also remained inside the office.
"Grandfather, sir Mathias has returned back to Cidarian."
"Okay, Huios, I can see it for myself. I greet you again young man, has the goddess of light shined upon your adventure?" asked the old man, placing down his monocle on the table, and getting up to size up Mathias, ignoring the two brothers.
"Elder, you are indeed correct, The Lady of Light has kept me safe and showered me with a bountiful hunt. First let me tell you about the task you gave me to keep in check the wild beasts. I hope this much will suffice."
Saying that, Mathias took from his inventory all the trophies he gained from the quest, from normal monster trophies, to elite ones and later going as far to the boss monster trophies.
Elder Aridai, who watched carefully each of the trophies Mathias was taking on the ground, could see for himself the heads of the beasts slayin. When the number passed his mark of 60 trophies, his eyes grew bigger with more trophies being brought out.
Once the elite ones had him in awe, but once he took out Hillsbars Gragger Boar Boss, head that was so large it covered the rest of the boars trophies, he took some steps back, tripping on the ground.
"Grandfather, are you alright?" asked the young man who went to the old man back to help him up.
"Hah, I am fine. Just a bit shocked." mentioned the Elder who walked closely to gaze at the spider enforcer heads, and the Hillsbars trophy, with curious yet fearful eyes.
"Young man, you've done more than what have I asked of you, and even managed to hunt that menace who kept reproducing, overflowing the forest with those beasts." mentioned the elder, turning his eyes at Mathias who had his hands crossed.
"That reward for the request I gave you, is simply too small for what you have done. This will be the reward that you deserve."
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[You have cleared the quest, <Keep the Wild Beasts in Check> exceeding the marks of the quest by higher margin, gaining the following rewards: 25.000 EXP & Affinity with Elder Erle increased by 30 & 10x Intermediate Health Potions]
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[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
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"Elder Aridai, that really wasn't needed." replied Mathias who saw the old man bring from a safe in his office, a bag with potions that had a delicate artisanal glasswork.
"No, no, how can I not reward the brave adventurer who most likely stopped the growth of the beasts in the surrounding forests. My men can finally breathe at ease when it comes to the beasts descending the forest and arriving at the village periphery. Still, there are those criminals lurking in Gravelmark Mountain. It is worrying me, young man. Did you find anything on them from the last time we spoke?"
Hearing the Elder mention the bandits, he looked with a serious face at the old man, telling him to brace himself and not get scared for what he was about to show him.
"You make it sound scary, young lad. I am ready, Huios, stay next to me." added the old man, who grabbed hold of his grandson just in case he went limp.
Mathias was serious, while the two brothers were rubbing their hands in anticipation of the large reward they would get for completing the quest linked by Mathias. Thus, he took out the half-demon head belonging to Evander and showed it to the Elder, who took steps back in fear in the face of this monstrosity in Mathias's hands.
"That thing I have a feeling I've encountered somewhere." remarked old Aridai, looking at Mathias for an explanation.
"This monster's head in my hands belongs to Evander, the leader of the bandits in the mountain. Why he turned like this, is because he consumed a wicked substance which turned him into a demon."
"A demon! By the Goddess, are you sure."
"Old Aridai, what are you seeing is a demon, a half-demon at that since I killed it before it could evolve and spread its evil to the innocent."
"The rest of the bandits?"
"I have killed them too with those two friends of mine." replied Mathias, to the old man, who started trembling with emotions spewing out, the tears in his eyes also flowed down, making Mathias withdraw the head of the demon, and walk toward the old man, and give his support.
"What is wrong, Elder? Are you supposed to be happy in those moments? Those criminals will no longer be a nail in your soles."
"I am not sad, lad, I am relieved knowing my good men will not have to fight those criminals once they descend again to raid the village."
Slowly recovering from his emotions, he grabbed hold of Mathias's shoulders and told him with a confident voice.
"Young man, you must have suffered a lot from having to fight that monster, since I burdened you with such a hurdle, fully knowing you might have failed, I take this chance to apologize and offer you the rightful rewards for your task."
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[Ding!]
[You have cleared the quest <Deal with the Mountain Bandits> and by sharing the story of the Half-Demon Evander, the quest rewards will be changed to fit the difficulty of the quest, the quest being rescored to S grade. The rewards are the following:]
☆[55.000 EXP] [100 Gold Coins] [Reputation with the Saharan Empire increased by 1000] [Affinity with residents of Cidarian Village risen by 40]
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[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
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"Mathias, brave adventurer, I know this bag of gold might not seem a lot, but this is all the money I can give you for now for your effort. I still have to leave something out for the Taxes to His Grace Grenhal. Also, I will prepare a celebration for you, where I will announce to the people your success and also the end of the bandits."
Seeing the old man hand him the bag of gold with slight embarrassment, he later turned bright when he told Mathias about the celebration he was planning to make for Mathias's success, along with his two friends, Orpheus and Ape Wine.
"Elder Aridai, please, no need for such troubles."
"No, no, there has to be a celebration where every villagers must see the brave adventurers who put an end to the mountain bandits." told the old man insisting on his idea, which made Mathias give in but telling him to do it two days after since he had to work in the morning and the time wouldn't correlate right, thus allowing, in the end, the old man to do that, and as such, Elder Aridai sent his grandson to inform the chief guard to start the preparations.
"Sure, young adventurer, we will do it when you are available. This will give the villagers enough time to prepare themselves. I will send Huios to notify you when all the preparations will be done. Bring along your family, I am sure they will be proud of your achievement."
"Sigh, Elder, aren't you placing me in a tough spot? I don't really like attention."
"Hahaha, such a brave lad like you to be afraid of such easy things? You have to get accustomed because I foresee your future will be bright. I am sure of that!"
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Discussing some things, where the Elder asked Mathias, Orpheus, and Ape Wine about how their fight with the mountain bandits went on, this person moment for the two players was a unique one where they were up close with one NPC, where they spotted some small details, and as the talk went on until they had to leave because of the rest of players requiring an audience with the Elder.
"Good that you reminded me, Mathias, I almost forgot about the rest of your people who wish to get stronger. Don't forget about the celebration."
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Once they exited the house, the players waiting for one could say thirty, forty minutes started cursing Mathias and the other two, something that the brothers got pissed wanting to retort back, but Mathias stopped them, choosing to go to another place, where the brothers followed along.
"Why are you following me? Haven't we cleared the quests, now is time to separate our ways. I told you I am more of a solitary person rather than a party people."
"Ahem, we didn't intend to do that, However, we wanted to ask you something. Can we join your guild?"
"You want to join my guild?"
"Yea. Can we, or do we need to fulfill some marks?" inquired Orpheus, who was the spokesman between the two brothers.
"Not really. Sure, I can invite you to the guild, but our path, for now, ends here. Ahh, also don't forget to be ready for the celebrations the Elder intends to throw for us. There might be some benefits for that."
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Orpheus, saw immediately after Mathias mentioned that, a notification from the system.
[Player 'Mathias' has invited you to the guild 'Leviathan']
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[You have accepted the guild invitation.]
Similar to his situation was his younger brother, who was invited by Mathias, where they could see the state of the guild, the rules, and the members, who immediately reacted at their join. However, what confirmed to them was who Mathias actually was.
[Guild Members: 1. Mathias - Lv. 23 (GM)
2. Red - Lv. 21 (Officer)
3. Malakai -Lv. 17 (Officer)
4. Maple Mist - Lv 16 (Officer)
5. Leona - Lv 12 (Officer)
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6. Evan - Lv.19
7. Lane - Lv.19
8. Orpheus - Lv.19
9. Ape Mist - Lv.19
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&Red: Ohh, new people joined the guild, and also they are high level. Welcome guys. Hey, Mathias, are those the ones you mentioned you teamed up to fight those monsters? Also, what cheat have you done to get 10 levels in one day?
&Mathias: I fought bosses, elite monsters, and cleared quests.
&Maple Mist: Welcome to the newcomers. Big brother, now that I look at the Level Ranking Ledger, you are above that Kraugel guy if you would release your level.
&Mathias: I don't want to be bothered by people giving me private messages, curses, and also be annoying when I move around places.
&Maple Mist: I know about that big brother.
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Seeing this atmosphere in the guild where everyone was online, the two brothers thanked the ones who welcomed them, in general all of them except Malakai who chose to keep quiet all this time. Unknown what he was doing, but something was for certain, he was leveling up faster than the usual player.
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Inside Cidarian, Mathias separated from Orpheus and Ape Wine who walked to the only Tavern in the village where they bought a room to recover their stamina, inside Orpheus was the first to open about something.
"Bandar, I think I know why Mathias was angry at that time when we mentioned about the quest failure. Are you curious to hear what I picked up?"
"Sure, but I doubt it will change anything for me."
"Tsk, you idiot. Listen, have you noticed how real the reactions of that old man were? How his emotions were actually genuine, not forced at all by some short of algorytm?"
"Hmm, you want to suggest that those NPC have actual feelings? Drop those jokes big brother, there's been scientists debunking this idea. It is all on Morpheus."
"Fine, you seem not to be interested. I'll keep this to myself."
'Stupid dumb wit, I wonder if he is from the same father and mother like me. As for the NPC's I will need to test my thoughts with them, maybe in the celebration tomorrow I will hit up some talk with the girls. Saw one cute girl in the tavern, I hope she attends the celebrations tomorrow so I can approach her.'
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On another hand, Mathias who returned back to Arundell family was welcomed back with warm food, and full of curiosity from the twins who couldn't give him a break from their talks.
He started telling the twins about his adventure inside the forest, and how he hunted the beasts which troubled the villagers, along with the bandits, omitting the details about Evander turning into a demon. About that details, only to Charles and Jasmine, he opened up, telling them about Evander who drank the flask similar to 'Vial of Darkness' and how he turned into a demon.
"Dear, you did too much for us, villagers of Cidarian." said Jasmine as he gave Mathias an embrace.
Even Charles was impressed by Mathias's courage of fighting against a demon and not giving up on the fight even if he was outpowered. His self was washed by a sense of pride, but he kept it to himself, not exteriorizing outside like Jasmine.
Mathias, after slowly changing the subject, arrived at the recent visit to the Elder, and notifying them there would be a celebration for him and his two party members, something the couple reacted in goodwill, agreeing to accompany him.
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The following hours before exiting the game were spent with him writing on his novel, checking the content of the newly acquired skill, and also working on his window status points, distributing them with a careful sense for the future.
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[Status Window]
Name : Mathias / Class :Beginner
Level : 23 (3900/30150) / Title : Farmer's Son / Item Creator / Dominance over Hillbars / Repeller of Evil
Health : 2201/2201 / Mana: 874/874
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Strength : 160 / Stamina : 112
Agility : 101 / Intelligence: 187 / Dexterity: 246
STAT POINTS: 0
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"Almost balanced. Ahh, I have to have STR and INT equal so they are perfectly balanced, then I might be able to call that meme."
 
Volume has started with a wondrous bang! Interesting to see that interactions with Mathias (possibly any player) can help NPCs unlock their potential if they're genuine enough and the NPC willing enough to believe. Getting some hints that Gods in this game may just be the GMs doing routine updates and changes for upcoming major in game events and that Arcane Magician may have been a piece of rogue AI code. The cheese making might be a game changer for the village, quality Parmesan cheese made from modern techniques might just upend that local economy and wider regional economy lol.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 71
Vol. 2 - Chapter 17 - Eirene von Grenhal
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With a new day, bringing fresh air to Mathias, with his work shift being a normal one without any events, he also found out from Vlad what he was up to in Moroiz Region.
He reached the capital of that region and started cashing in quests from all sorts of people. There was even a noble who took notice of how well-executed his quest was that decided to use Vlad's services further.
Vlad told Mathias that he might not drop to Titan anytime soon, getting this chance while working for a Count House who had close ties to Duke Morse House.
"Man, you know I wasn't giving an order for everyone to specifically arrive at Titan. I really don't, you do your things, while I will be there to assist you from the capital."
"So dependable, but aren't you trying too hard to actually level up?"
"I have to, otherwise my journey to Titan will lag behind and I don't wish to know what might happen to Fayrene and Jeanne if I don't get there faster."
"Today I will start my journey back to Titan, and it might take me two or three days to get over Gravelmark Heights. Our time."
*Whistle* "You really have quite a hurdle to pass. Do you have an idea what kind of monsters you will encounter on your ascension?" asked Vlad, taking a look at his phone to check the clock.
"No idea."
"Well, it will be fine. I can't wait to see my sisters, haha."
"Ahh, better be as you say."
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Their talk was cut short when they had to return to their respective sections, where Mathias started to clean some hotel rooms.
The work was your average, something he got used to doing, and it paid a decent salary where he could pay his rent, the apartment maintenance, and also save something for the future.
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After the work shift was over, he returned home, continued on with his menial things, from showering, changing in comfy clothes, eating, and later checking his email and online part of his life.
It was also a day that he was supposed to update his story, and so he did, taking a fresh chapter from his stash of completed chapters, fully edited and also proofread by himself.
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Only after everything was settled, did he travel back to 'Satisfy' where by now it should be morning.
Waking himself in Jasmine's salon, he walked to the main room where he saw everyone in the family be active, with Jasmine nagging the boys. Hearing her voice before he even entered the main room from the salon.
"You boys have to change into the clothes I give you or you will not attend the festivities. Understood?"
"But mom, I have never worn such clothes. Aren't they too flashy?" asked Aendyr, trying to run from Jasmine who was holding some clothes that had delicate sewing on them, the right measurements for the twins.
"Indeed, honey. We aren't going to Grenhaler to visit your family, why make me wear these tight clothes? I don't want to embarrass myself in front of the neighbors."
"Charly, today is the celebration for Mathias' success at defeating the mountain bandits. We will be at the center of attention since we are the in-laws. Isn't it normal "
Before the two father and son could say something, Theo walked from his room wearing a clean buttoned silk shirt assorted with a pair of quality fabric black trousers along with some clean shoes fitting right on his feet.
"Mom, I have changed my clothes."
"Splendid, sweetheart. See, you two, take an example from Theo. He knows the best, unlike you."
Mathias still watched the scene without making his presence known, but he couldn't keep his chuckles seeing Charles and Aendyrs sulking faces.
"Haha, give them a break, mother."
"That's right. Good that you know this son." commented Charles, nodding pridefully at Mathias with little Aendyr giving him thumb ups.
"No, everyone in the village will participate in the festivities. I bet that old man will have us sit at the front table. We are from Arundell House, like it or not, clothes are what we are good at making, I will not allow my family to exit this house without changing their clothes. I have some honor to keep."
Mathias just smiled, barely keeping his laughter as we went to Theo, ruffling his hair and talking quietly with him, while watching the comedic act in front of him.
Both Charles and Aendyr, seeing how serious Jasmine was, could only agree, moving to their respective rooms to change in the new clothes. Meanwhile, Jasmine, who still didn't change her clothes, mentioned to Mathias while laughing a bit.
"Dear, that old man has outdone himself and had your brethren assist in ordering the square for the festivities. Hehe, you should have seen their faces, being dumbfounded by what weird requests the Elder had for them."
"Good to know, I might not be surprised that much for what he did. Go on, mother, shouldn't you also change into some clothes that should represent you?"
"Ahhh, I almost forgot, having to run after those two farmers distracted me. Thank you, dear."
Saying that she went to the salon in order to prepare herself, leaving Mathias with Theo, who he played around with, teasing him a bit.
"My, my, little Theo, isn't mother by chance preparing to find you a fiance by dressing you like this? Could it be that noble lady you have been mentioning might come to find her princeling? I am sure she will be smitten by my little Theo."
"Quit it, big brother. It is embarrassing. Also, I doubt there will be someone interested in me while I wear those clothes."
Hehe, who knows. We will never know what the future holds for us, little Theo."
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Soon, both Charles and Aendyr changed themselves in festival clothes, waiting in the main room with Mathias and Theo. Trying to boost their morale with some smooth talk, he mentioned to the two disliking their festival clothes.
"Little Aendyr, a Red Knight also has to get used to such events because you will be in the Saharan Elite. Nobles will have to bow their heads when greeting you. So get accustomed to those tight clothes."
"Arghh, I want to wear something like that black suit of your big brother. It seems comfortable and not so tight, unlike what mom has made."
"I totally agree with you, son. Mathias, how much do you think it will take me to convince Jasmine to tailor me such a suit? Without the expensive materials of course."
"Hmm, good question. Maybe if you quit smoking? So you know, between us, she knows about your secret, but she can't just bring herself to stop you."
"But I thought I've hidden my pipe and tobacco well enough to evade her gaze." mentioned Charles, shocked by what Mathias remarked.
"Tsk, father, so you know even if you eat mint, the smell of tobacco will not leave all of a sudden. Also, this comes from me, please stop smoking, it will be good for your health and also your pockets."
"I will think about it."
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Minutes passed, and the boys were waiting in the main room, and they kept waiting, until it got annoying, to the point Mathias had to remark.
"Fayrene took after her mother, nonetheless."
"I don't know, Mathias, usually for the festivals in the village, I would be by now at the tavern drinking with the boys." mentioned Charles, before he heard Jasmine's voice who remarked.
"While Fayrene and I would have to take care of preparations. Anyway, I am ready to go to the festival."
Mathias turned his head in the direction of the salon where he could see Jasmine who had her hair arranged in a delicate fashion, with some light make-up along with a gorgeous long light crimson dress, adorned by a necklace, and her wedding ring.
"You look good, mother, just like the noble ladies of Titan."
"Thanks, dear. At least someone knows to recognize good clothes around here."
"Ahem, you know I love each of your clothes, honey." remarked Charles, walking toward his wife and taking her hands in his own, to which Mathias just smiled warmly.
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Before the family could exit, the door was knocked two times by someone, and when answered Jasmine said with slight surprise.
"Little Hu, what brings you here?"
"Aunty Jasmine, grandfather sent me to guide you to the square, for big brother's celebration."
"Ahh, there was no need for Elder Aridai to send you. Let's go, everyone. Knowing the Elder, he most likely is waiting with everyone."
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Walking toward the square he got familiarized together with the Arundell family, he could see the entire square being organized for a banquet, with tables assorted in raws. All of the tables seemed to be attended by the people, where food was on the tables.
'That old man made all the Cidarian players arrange this banquet, is he crazy? Those poor guys.'
Thinking that he could see the villager's eyes gaze at him with his family, with some recognizing him, while others seeing him for the first time. What was for certain, was that the number of villagers present was of about 4000 people from young to old, everyone was on their seat.
"Who is that guy dressed in that nice black suit? His name seems to be covered by his hat." asked some players who didn't have a seat, watching from close by the banquet and listening to the music played by the minstrel of the tavern.
"No idea. He must be some important NPC, just take a look at the Elder of the Village, he got on his feet and is walking in his direction." commented another player, pointing at Elder Aridai.
"Anyway, I got some nice EXP for helping out with the banquet building. There was a need for meat, cooks, builders, and so on. This little village sure has a nice start compared to the other places I've read on forum." said another player discussing the rewards and the smooth process of playing in Cidarian.
"Man, you are spot on. I got about two levels just doing that chain of quests for helping the banquet. One friend of mine who took on becoming a cook in the game even leveled up his profession while cooking for the banquet, being able to learn from the innkeeper's wife."
"Haha, there's even a nice atmosphere now with that singing minstrel."
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The minstrel on a raised platform who was singing accompanied by his instruments was performing a song inspired by Mathias's fight against the bandits, where to Mathias's surprise there was a mention about the great evil. It was still good that the minstrel had the decency of hiding his identity, only with the villagers being aware of who the song was referring to.
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"Young adventurer, come walk in. Courage brave youngster, your friends have already arrived and taken their honorific seat."
@Orpheus: We are also here. The food and wine is really good.
Mathias: I see, glad to hear you are enjoying yourself.
Transmitted Mathias to Orpheus who was besides a young lady, from what he remembered, the innkeeper's daughter. He could only smile while walking toward Elder Aridai, and with an extended hand, the old man also went to grab his hand, into a handshake, which later turned into a manly hug.
"I am glad you are here, lad. Otherwise, I would have been saddened for you missing this celebration. There's also another participant that is about to arrive at the event, so if you are a little bit more patient you will see who I am referring to."
"Also, Jasmine, Charles, little Theo, and Aendyr, grandpa is glad you have dressed nicely for this occasion."
Aendyr who had his head patted by the Elder, gave him a bright smile, meanwhile Theo was a bit shyer, being watched by all the villagers on this occasion and even hearing some of their talk.
"Elder, I am glad to see you in good health." greeted Jasmine, giving the Elder a lady bow, while Charles went for a respectful handshake.
"Sir Aridai, I hope you are not troubled by having to do such festivities."
"What bothers, lad? No more trouble for this old man with those snakes that tried to extort me of money and food, to not have them attack the village, and even after all my goodwill they attacked the village.
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As the Arundell family is placed on the main table for the banquet, with Mathias still holding his hat, fully knowing that it blocked the view of the players who wanted to peer into his identity. Slowly they went with some casual talk, with the Elder asking about the kids, the family estate, work, and so on.
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Yet outside of the village from the main road of stone, there was a carriage moving for the village, where around the carriage there were four horsemen following behind.
Inside the carriage, there was a young lady with blonde hair reading a book while around her were some medicinal herbs that filled the interior of the carriage with aromatic flavor.
When the carriage arrived at the village and had the carriage move forward toward the elder's mansion, the horsemen knocked on the door of the carriage, where the lady lowered the glass protection, asking in a calm manner.
"There's music in the village. Is there a festival that I didn't know about? From the letter the Elder has sent me, he didn't specify about such a thing?"
"I have no idea, my lady. We can only see for ourselves." replied one middle-aged man, the lead horsemen.
The young lady inside the carriage told something to the carriage man who reacted by advancing the carriage a bit closer to the square from where the signs of activity were revealed, and when the carriage stopped, the players from the distance noticed the arrival of the newcomers.
"Ohh, could it be this banquet is for whoever is in that carriage? It looks expensive. Also, look at those Cavalrymen."
"It must be someone important."
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There were a decent number of players curious to find who the newcomer was, and once they saw the door of the carriage being opened by a white milky hand with a clean manicure, they went on an uproar.
"It must be a beauty!"
"Shhh, don't make a scene. Can't you see the murderous stares of the cavalrymen? We can't even see their level."
"My lady, do you wish I deal with those outlander vermins?"
"Leave them alone Ulmo, they are also human." replied the young lady, who exited the carriage, revealing a young woman with long, blonde, silvery hair, a sweet smile amplified by her blue eyes.
She had a delicate figure reminiscent of a fairy, wearing simple clothes, but even those simple clothes couldn't be compared with the ones the commoners would wear.
This young lady started walking toward the square, where the villagers who took notice of the newcomer instantly reacted by greeting the girl the most respectful way.
"Young miss, what brings you here today? Did you by chance miss the view of the mountain? Or did you miss us?"
*Giggling" "Such troublesome question. Why not both?" replied the young lady to the old villagers after giggling for a tiny bit.
Meanwhile, Orpheus, who was beside the innkeeper's daughter, testing his theories, asked in a normal way the girl about who the newcomer was.
"Ahh, adventurer, you don't know her? She is Lady Eirene, the young Duchess of Grenhaler."
[You have learned about an important figure of the Saharan Empire.]
[Your Intelligence has increased by 1.]
"Understood, thank you a lot Jolie."
"For nothing."
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'Damn, don't tell me that old man plans to link Mathias to Grenhal House? Wait, isn't the old man a genius? Mathias can take advantage of this situation and dry the Grenhaler's of their quests, and turn to become the strongest player of Satisfy.'
'Argh, from what I've seen I doubt he would even consider such a path. Let me tell him who that girl is in advance.'
Giving the message fast, he also got his message back with a casual and simple message. "I know."
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The blonde young lady was then welcomed by the Elder who bowed respectfully to her, making the girl wave her hands and stop the old man. After excusing himself for not telling her more details about the banquet, he guides her to the main table where he, his grandson, Mathias and Arundell Family was seated.
"Lady Eirene, let me introduce you to the brave adventurer, Mathias, who has put an end to Evander's and his acolytes. This banquet is for him."
"Greetings to you, brave adventurer, I am Eirene von Grenhal. I am sorry for keeping you waiting. Ahh, madam Jasmine, I didn't expect you to be here too."
"Good to see you little Eirene. What can I say, I am here for my son, so he doesn't feel awkward being surrounded by so many strangers."
Eirene when hearing from Jasmine about Mathias being her son, had her curiosity picked, and quickly she remembered about the girl who she liked to talk to when visiting Cidarian, the raven-haired girl with violet eyes who would seclude herself behind an ancient tree to read books, Fayrene.
'It must be her. Interesting.'
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Mathias looked at Eirene with a calm smile, and getting his hat off his head revealing his tied long hair, he bowed toward the young lady, greeting her.
"Greetings to you too, my lady. We didn't wait long for you, so don't worry. Please, heave a seat."
The Elder too reacted looking at Eirene and Mathias and guiding Eirene next to Mathias where he intentionally left an available chair, just for this occasion.
'Lad, do your best to impress the lady. This old man did everything in his power to help you carve a better future.' thought the old man, while walking back to his seat.
On another hand, Mathias was stuck next to Eirene, having to observe this young girl who from his opinion was about 16 years old, and soon enough the Elder started his speech, introducing Mathias and also explaining to them what his achievements implied.
After his speech, the Elder let Mathias give his words to the public.
Raising on his feet, and looking at the villagers whose eyes seemed to contain interest in himself, making him a tiny bit nervous addressing such a large audience, he opened his mouth starting off his speech as if he was a natural.
"Well, dear citizens of Cidarian, you've heard plenty from the Elder. I will not go into detail to over glorify my achievements for some fake honor. I will be sincere with you, while taking that hard task of defeating the mountain bandits, my intent was only to protect my family. My family is next besides me, but by extension, you too become my family that had to be protected from the murderous hands of some tyrants."
"It is normal what I did, and I would like to believe anyone who is willing to protect his family and be in my shoes would do the same. We also have here, right in this moment, some heroes that we usually like to believe don't deserve so much praise, but with this chance, I extend this appreciation I receive to my two friends who fought alongside me to defeat those bandits. Please, raise up and stay upright."
Orpheus could only chuckle in that moment, taking the young lady beside him by surprise, as he got on his feet, and later with his younger brother from a secluded part of the banquet. His annoyed face for being dragged into this unnecessary and useless event immediately changed when he heard the claps of the entire village.
"That's right my friends, you too deserve this round of applause because otherwise, I would have failed my family. Lastly, I would like to tell you about other heroes that are obscure in anonymity, the Village Guards. Those brave men have protected you from those hard times, and still protecting you from the future events that might follow suit. Please, all the guards attending the banquet, could you raise up?"
Soon, the guards also got up one by one, and saw Mathias bow to them, and offer his round of applause, followed by the villagers who started to whistle and give the fair share of praises to the guards, who looked shocked, with some even tearing up after this moment.
Some whose names were green flickering with silver lights morphed to a light silver color, a signifying change triggered by being encouraged and also showering them with goodwill and respect for what they have done, brimming them with desire to best themselves and become stronger in order to protect their family.
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The Elder could only smile, and after things calmed down, giving the start to the banquet, flooding the players with notifications.
['Banquet for the Adventurer' had commenced. For the duration of one week, users will receive an additional 5% EXP from their hunt and quests while in the proximity of Cidarian Village along with a 10% discount from the items bought in Cidarian Village.]
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Such an event made all the players cheer up happy about the new event which was like a blessing dropped from the sky.
"Cidarian is the best location for starting players! No doubt! Whoever did whatever quest which led to this event, may your day be brighter than yesterdays."
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The Banquet progressed, where Mathias was talking with Eirene about diverse subjects, from sword fighting to magic, and later down the path to medicine.
Mathias might not be the brightest mind on such subjects, but a fool he wasn't, his brain accumulated a lot of information from diverse branches of studies, wanting to know more from everything. What he could tell from his talks with this young lady was that she was indeed bright.
"Sir Mathias, you said you also study magic. If I may, which branch are you studying? Fire, Water, Wind or Earth?"
"Arcane."
"What's that? I have never heard of it before."
"Well, you can think of it as an old-style of magic compared to the conventional ones. More than that it will be hard for me to discuss because I am still only an apprentice to this craft.
"I see, don't worry, sir Mathias. I was curious since I never heard about it. It is fine if you don't wish to get into details."
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He could only smile awkwardly at her, not wishing to go into details at all about the arcane, something he didn't detail to Jasmine who too was curious about his magic. Nevertheless, the discussion moved away from the magic, and slowly passed subjects of interest for Mathias.
Even the way he looked at Eirene was that of a kind older brother since he was still being fully preoccupied with his reunion with Fayrene and Jeanne, but not missing this chance to promote a bright talent, he mentions little Theo and his admiration for her craft.
"I got this little brother, Theo, that shy boy who had been staring at the two of us, well mostly at you. He dreams of becoming a doctor, and from what I understand you practice something akin to what this little boy wishes to become."
"Ahhh, him? I've seen him all the time on the circles I would talk about plants and their medicinal effects. So he is sir's younger brother."
"Indeed. Can you take him as your disciple or something?"
The Elder who was keen on their talks, noticed that Mathias wasn't interested on Eirene, however a new name was brought up, Theo Arundell. He knew about Theo quite a lot. Him being a good lad, and always respectful with everyone, not causing any events or drawing the eyes of people, he also would see him around Eirene listening to her monthly talks, showing signs of a bright future from his behavior.
"Your Grace, little Theo is a bright youngster of my village. If his dream is to become a doctor, why not give him this chance?"
'Good one, old man. You adapted fast. Seeing as how I am not interested in going to Grenhaler you changed your tactics. Shrewd old fox.'
Eirene turned at the elder, and with slight embarrassment, told him.
"Grandpa Aridai, I am only 15, how can I teach anyone when I didn't even master the craft?"
"Sir Mathias, I still don't know what to say."
Mathias smiled at the young lady, remarking to her with something which made her mind click.
"You know, young miss, when someone with knowledge teaches someone with less, even if that information isn't detailed enough, it will reinforce certain elements of what you know, and so also help you learn, by teaching others. Why don't you give it a try? Maybe you will have some success since Theo is smart and will for sure prove to be a good student."
"Sigh, I understand. But before that, I have to talk with Theo and settle down certain boundaries." agreed Eirene to Mathias and Aridai's insistence, more like being captured by Mathias's proposal and advice of enhancing her learning speed by teaching someone else.
Hearing her agreement, Mathias kept his smile for himself, but slowly turning his head at Theo who was shocked and embarrassed at the same time, he noticed Mathias gazing at him, later giving him a wink, making him even more embarrassed.
"Theo, did you eat something rotten? You need to pee or poop?" asked Aendyr, feeling worried about Theo next to him who behaved weirdly.
"Big brother did some unnecessary thing." commented Theo with his face, red as a tomato.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 72
Vol. 2 - Chapter 18 - Fortress Ruin Vault
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The banquet kept on going for more hours until the food was finished. One thing was for certain when the villagers left the banquet, they did with wide smiles and brimming with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Elder Aridai, quickly turned to the players, giving them quests to clean the aftermath of the banquet which the later part gladly took it, enjoying some more EXP from who they called 'Santa Clauss' for bringing them gifts ahead of time.
Orpheus left together with the innkeeper's daughter, still talking with her in a friendly manner, retreating to advance on what he was doing, while Ape Wine moved toward the forest to hunt some beasts to keep on gathering experience and grow along with the rest of players.
As for Mathias? He retreated with his family after thanking the elder for the high honors he received, moving back to the Arundell House, Eirene also followed them, where the cavalry leader Ulmo acted as her bodyguard, not saying anything else besides giving Mathias a cold stare.
Mathias followed suit by grabbing Theo and walking together where he whispered to him to not stress him too much.
"Little Theo, it will be fine. This little girl just wants to talk something with you, be honest and make a good impression. Elder Aridai and I had to do some convincing to have her agree."
"It wasn't needed, big brother. Sigh, what should I do? What if I get nervous?"
"You'll be fine. Believe in yourself and your dreams and you'll see how fine you will be at the end." said Mathias while ruffling his hair, and after some minutes the entire group arrived back home.
Soon after, Eirene asked for Theo and herself to talk alone, which Jasmine guided them to her salon, leaving after guiding Eirene inside. After she returned back to the main room, she gazed at Mathias, before telling him.
"Dear, I don't know if I should praise you or nag you for what you did. Hah, I hope everything will be good and it doesn't cause any trouble with the Duke House."
Ulmo, the cavalryman leader who was also inside the main room, turned his attention on Jasmine, remarking to her.
"Lady Jasmine, this is up to my lady. My Lord has given her the freedom to decide for herself. However, this might be interpreted by the other noble's houses by being associated with the Arundell Family. Even though Arundell Family is an influencing family, you are in the end commoners and this association between my Lady and that son of yours can create aftereffects."
Mathias shifted his gaze at the cavalryman who was a level 205 NPC, and with a calm voice, he told his mind.
"Lord, I don't wish for the young lady to take my little brother to Grenhaler if it will bring harm to both parties. Instead, if the young miss would bring a book and guide Theo in her visits to Cidarian, it would not bring suspicion to the noble houses."
"That thing. You are not wrong. It might be the best approach, but this if my lady wants to guide that boy. With no disrespect to Lady Jasmine, but you must be fully aware of what it means for a noble to be associated with a commoner, especially a young lady and a young man."
Jasmine remained calm, not bothered by the knight's comments, and only gave him a nod.
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Meanwhile, inside the salon room, Theo guided Eirene to a comfortable chair at the worktable, saying with an apologetic tone to the young miss.
"Lady Eirene, I am sorry that you had to be dragged into this mess by my brother and Elder Aridai. If you dislike this idea, I will be fine. I know that in the future if I pursue this dream of mine I will become a great doctor."
Eirene, who was slightly bigger than Theo, looked at him with interest, as she listened to his apology and also him trying to delude from the idea that he wanted to become her disciple.
"So, you don't wish to learn from me?" asked Eirene after listening to Theo talk, shutting him immediately, which looked comical, making Theo shutter a bit from nervousness.
"Of course, I want to, but I am a commoner, will it trouble you if people know you are teaching someone like me?"
"Okay, this is all I wanted to hear. You will come with me to Grenhaler and act as my servant, to disguise this premise I am teaching you the craft of the Great Mage."
"Wait, what? But, my lady, wouldn't that trouble you?"
"It will be fine, people will only know you as my servant. However, don't worry you will not become a real servant. It is just the story we will tell to the people who ask questions. Ahh but before that, I will have to tell father and get his agreement, otherwise it will be hard to explain to him if I bring you home."
Theo could only look down, embarrassed of the idea of burdening this young miss, however, he didn't decline this offer, grabbing on his straw since it was the best possible scenario for him.
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They kept on talking with Theo still remaining shy being this close with Eirene, which made the young girl even more curious. Once they walked from the salon, they were welcomed back by everyone staring at them, or specifically at the door.
"Aunty Jasmine, I will have to get father's agreement, and once I do, the next month I visit Cidarian, Theo can come along with me to Grenhaler."
"Are you sure my lady?" asked the knight the young girl, who nodded her head, moving out from Arundell house after bidding her farewell.
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Following the departure of the young duchess, Mathias turned his attention to Theo, where he asked him if there was something changed, to which the young boy filled his family with what he and Eirene discussed.
"Haha, brother, you will become a servant? I can't wait to see your sulking face." said Aendyr starting to make fun of Theo, who got embarrassed.
"You find it funny, little one? I got your training also covered since I am preparing to leave Cidarian by night. You will be under the mentorship of Guard Captain Odyr until I visit you and see your progress. You better don't slack, future Red Knight, or I will look down on you once I become the Commander of Saharan Empire, Red Knights."
"Ahh, you already found someone to train me? Wait, is that uncle who is a farmer?" asked Aendyr, quieting down from his laughter, staring at Mathias with big eyes.
Smiling to hold off his chuckle, soon things calmed down, and it looked as things returned to their normal.
By the time night arrived, he spent his time talking with the Arudenll family. Right before making his mind to leave, he gave Jasmine half of the monetary rewards he received from Elder Aridai.
"Keep them, safe mother, use that gold to spend it on the education of those two pups. Aendyr needs training equipment, and while sir Odyr said he will train Aendyr for free, some coins would drive him to give more from himself. As for little Theo, I will not be here to wish him good luck on his journey, but that gold will also be part of his allowance."
"Son, there are 100 gold coins here. Are you sure you don't need them?"
"I don't, those two need them more than me to achieve their dreams."
Looking at the window, where it was night, he gazed back at his family, and patting Theo's and Aendyr heads, he told Jasmine and Charles.
"It was a pleasure meeting you guys. Next time, I return I promise I will bring Fayrene with me. I don't know when that will be, maybe in half a year, or a year? However, we will keep in touch."
"Big brother, please stay for one more day." said Theo next to Mathias, which made the young man next by to ruffle his hair.
"If I stay won't Fayrene get upset with me for making her wait too long for me?"
"I understand."
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When he was ready to leave, all the family went to the courtyard gate, sharing their last moments with Mathias, who give them an embrace starting with Charles, and also telling them.
"Father, don't forget about the cheese, but it is fine even if you forget about it. I will remind you on the letter in the future, so better check them. Also, don't forget what we talked."
"I will not, thank you for the good time we spent together, son. And take care of my daughter when you arrive on Titan." said Charles, tapping Mathias back, where later the young man returned to Jasmine, where he gave her a pure warm smile.
"Mother, it brought me a lot of pleasure getting to know you, talking and working together. I really don't know what to tell you, as if I mentioned everything on my mind."
Jasmine went to give Mathias a hug and later arranged his long hair, as she was doing that telling him with some emotion.
"Son, be careful on your way to Titan. Gravelmark is still full of unknowns even to us villagers of Cidarian. Maybe you should stay until tomorrow when it will be morning."
"I will be fine. Right, I almost forgot, I left you a gift on your fabric cabinet, by the time me and Fayrene return to Cidarian, I am expecting to see a new invigorated Master Tailor with desire to bring to greatness the art of tailoring."
Jasmine tried to keep her emotions in check, as she caressed Mathias cheeks, nodding her head, and after saying his last words to Jasmine, he lowered himself on his knees taking both Theo and Aendyr in a hug.
"Boys, I will not be home to watch you, but I want to believe you learned some things from me. As for my parting words, just follow your dreams and be good, listening to father and mother."
"Visit us often, big brother." said the two boys sniffing, containing their crying, to which Mathias just got them closer to him, keeping quiet, as he calmed down.
"I will."
"Take care everyone, and stay healthy." said Mathias after separating from the twins, and giving Jasmine and Charles a last bow.
"You better keep in touch and don't forget what you promised me." said Jasmine with a smile on her face, which made Mathias laugh while nodding his head, and only after that, he departed from Arundell family, still laughing in a merry way.
The Arundell family watched from their gate as Mathias was no longer in their view, before returning to the warmth of their house.
"It will be fine. Is not like he will disappear and never appear. Now, you two have also become busy with work, so don't complain in the future."
"Yes, mom."
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Walking on the path toward the Eldeyin Forest, Mathias returned himself to that silent environment. Even the wild beasts as he went on toward the mountain, couldn't be spotted, as if their population declined exponentially. It was a good sign, reducing his worries, but as he passed by the center of the forest, where not too far was the 'Spider Lurking' instance, he stopped for a moment and talk with himself.
"I am level 23 while that Lurking Spider is only 35. Sure, but what if that monster also grew in strength? I can't be the only one leveling up the monsters here also level up with time. Sigh, I should not disturb her as I promised."
Ending his conflicting moment, he walked the forest path, only encountering at the end of the forest some wild beasts that instantly fled when noticing Mathias, even the annoying Forest Owls had chased from disturbing him, and so turning his journey toward the start of Gravelmark Heights base quite the enjoyable hike.
It took him about 3 hours to hike the entire forest of nonstop walking, and after he when he arrived at the Fortress Ruins, he chose to explore those ruins with the intent of finding anything else beside what the bandits managed to dig.
As soon as he got to the Fortress, he found some giant rats that scavenged for what leftovers was forgotten by the bandits in their camp.
[Giant Rat - Lv. 17]
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Seeing those rats, lurking around this fortress, he didn't think too much into it, since nature had its way of balancing things, thus when the bandits were defeated by Mathias leaving a vacuum in this region of the Gravelmark, it was also the moment the rats arrived.
Nevertheless, he stopped for a brief check wondering from where those rats came from since when he moved from the forest there was total silence.
Bringing Ragnius out and buffing himself, waiting for his mana to recover from the spell casted, he sprawled to action killing off the rats which sounded some alarm, scattering the rats in all directions, it got chaotic for him too keep up with the fleeing rats which gave him absolutely no experience, about 5 EXP per kill.
Seeing no end to this scene, he quickly acted by using his arcane energy to brand one of the rats fleeing. That arcane brand was more like one of the runic letters from the Ancient Tome, but once he marked that fleeing rat, he could feel his presence and also sense his location, as if he just unlocked a sonar.
"I didn't expect that to work. Ahh, let's move on after those rats since the energy I feel starts weakening. It could be something about the amount of energy I put on that brand since I consumed only 50 MP for that."
Quickly entering inside the fortress, and arriving in front of a destroyed passway filled with rubble, he noticed in the right corner of that rubble, a gap enough for a human of normal proportions to fit in.
"There must be something hiding behind these rubbles, otherwise I can't explain this gap made for someone to enter inside and explore. It must be the bandits who cleared out and explored the forest, and maybe got their hands on that vial."
Lowering himself down on the dirty floor, he looked at the hole, but couldn't see anything, just after he sent a flicker down the gap made from arcane energy it illuminated the gap like a firework in the dark sky. What he noticed was a dead end, or better said a wall where some rats moved around.
"Seems okay for me to slip inside." remarked Mathias, taking his hat off and placing back on the inventory before starting to crawl in the gap, slowly and steadily.
[You have suffered 15 damage.]
[You have suffered 12 damage.]
The rats that started becoming cornered by Mathias acted upon instincts as any creature that only had three options, freeze, fight back, or be submissive, and so, attacking and biting him.
'Ahh, annoying bastards. If I pull the barrier I might collapse those rubbles on me. Endure, their attacks are nothing.' reprogrammed his mental state Mathias, trying to ignore the stinging pain from the rats biting his legs, and all over the places.
Once he got away from the entrapping enclosure, he activated Arcane Barrier which blasted away from his body all the rats that took on the taste of blood.
*Screech*
From above his head bats started screaming, from the disturbance created by Mathias activating his defensive spell which illuminated the hallway he was currently in. Still, taking note of the bats which were level 20 mobs, he gazed with a serious expression, waiting for them to attack him.
In the end, the bats calmed down when the intensity of the arcane barrier lessened, and didn't follow suit in attacking Mathias.
'There are so many bats here. Never in my life have I seen such a scene. Only in documentaries, did I spot such a scene.'
Shaking his head, he saw a rat who tried to rush back to attack him, but with an already annoyed mindset, he sent that rat flying with a leg kick, as if it was a soccer ball.
Getting out Ragnius he started to slaughter the rats, and also build up with the minuscule exp they offered Ragnius which was already (74%) from all the fighting he did from the moment he was reborn for the live version, and following the branded rat, he could see there was more to this fortress.
Walking and making a turn after the end road, he could see something akin to an underground vault that had its door opened. Not wasting any time, he lowered himself stepping into the vault where he could see an underground study room.
Using his arcane power to light this room, he could see the mess it was, and also the rats moving around like they were drugged. However, he ignored them and walked toward the center of the room, where the skeleton of a person was on the floor, with a book on his study table still open.
When Mathias placed his gaze on the page, he couldn't understand a single thing, with the words being in a foreign language unlike the common humans spoke.
"This should be elvish. I wonder what happened here and what this book is."
Mathias couldn't get any information from the book even after touching it, it was all in [???]. Nevertheless, as he spent more time in this room, exploring it, he saw a lot of glass tanks of human size all broken, but getting closer to those tanks he could see some human parts.
Minutes passed and the more information he gathered from this place, it only required a book that was written in the common language for him to understand a bit what was this place.
[Journal of Experiments]
Year 976, Month of Silversight, Day 13, My Castle has been constructed after buying the dwarven slaves from the market. Today, after settling most of the insignificant administrative rights, I went to kickstart my studies on eternal life. The elven book contains words I can't decipher.
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Year 977, Month of Suren, Day 22. After one year of studies, I could only decipher certain words, maybe I should use some elves for my studies, and speed up my research in deciphering the book. In the meantime, I decided to use the books I managed to get from the Yatan Servants to progress on my eternal life quest. The progress is small, but I started to get the hang of building a new life that will be the catalyst to eternal life.
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Year 978, Month of Teysuren, Day 14. The progress is small, I still couldn't get my hands on the elves. ...
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Year 979 …
Year 980 …
Year 981 …
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Mathias read carefully each of the pages and slowly he was creeped out by the content he was reading, about the wicked tests he would put the captured people he would chain in this room, and testing his crazy ideas on them. He remained in place, and even his arcane barrier, which waned off, made the atmosphere darker, with the only source of light being Mathias's index finger shining, making his reading easier.
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Year 1001
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Year 1016, Month of Truefrost, Day 7. After all my tests, and all those years that have passed, I am but only an old man with desires of immortality. I am ready to try the immortality spell on myself. Also, I managed to get my hands on an elf, after all these years, and force him to confess to what the book that grinded my heart meant. That elf could only be useful in translating some pages, before not having an answer for the rest of the words.
What the elf could translate was about a letter where some Leylin addresses his future students, mentioning some names that don't make sense to me, before ending his message with some blessings, leaving at that, while the rest is undecipherable. However, I no longer care, it is just some insignificant book written by some fool, I will soon become closer to gods with my spell.
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Mathias turned the page but couldn't see a continuation to the notes taken by this Great Mage of the past, and was left with a blank story.
"So what happened to you? You got scammed by the Yatan Church and some Great Demon, and got yourself killed in the process of some unattainable wish?"
"Hah, Immortality? Why would you want that, just to suffer the passing of time, losing anyone close to you?"
"Even those experiments of yours seem like they turned you more into a brain-dead old man who would do everything without questioning the information, and if it is worth something. Probably that Vial even comes from your failed experiments, but you were just too preoccupied with your immortality to even write it down, sad.
Still, those magic books of yours will do wonders for me and for Fayrene's dream. I'll not let them rot in this cellar."
Speaking his mind, he activated the arcane barrier, and with a constant source of light showing ahead of his field of vision, he began taking all the books from the library of this wizard of the past, without having much clue what they contained, and only after cleaning out this vault of its contents did he move out, getting outside of the fortress.
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Saharan Successor - CH 73
Vol. 2 - Chapter 19 – Monsters of Gravelmark
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With most of the magic books in the experimental room taken away, stashing his inventory bag with books full of different content, from elvish language to draconian, to common language one, from just the ones he skimped he could draw the conclusion it was worth millions just to acquire this type of knowledge. (A/N: Knowledge is power)
'Sigh, thankfully those brutes didn't understand much about the laboratory, or maybe only that Evander guy entered inside, and took one of the 'Vials of Darkness' before hiding the vault from the other bandits so they wouldn't challenge his authority.'
'Fay, we have the books for a magic school, but I am not talented enough to study them, so I hope it will another present gift for you which will bring a smile on your lips.'
Thinking that as he walked out of the Fortress Ruins, he could slowly notice how he was approaching the end line, the point where he started his crawling to get to the vault.
After getting away from the experimental room and exiting the fortress, he set a new respawn location right at the ruins courtyard, so he wouldn't have to embarrass himself by returning to Cidarian and being spotted by any villager.
The respawn setting was something any player could pick to their choice as long it wasn't a contested zone or someone's property. In such cases, the wide wilderness and nature of Satisfy was the safety of the players.
Done with his precocious settings, he started moving up the mountain, and the more he was getting higher, the bountiful the monsters his eyes could meet were. The sun also started making his way to greet Mathias, but he didn't take it as such, because in the morning the beasts were also active, if not the most.
Nonetheless, he moved ahead, and now with the natural source of light, he no longer had to spend his MP to use an arcane construct he created that was like a torch.
In the distance Mathias could see some mountain goats grazing the greenfields in peace and even after noticing him passing whose target was to pass this first range of the Gravelmark Heights, they ignored him, continuing to eat grass, unfazed.
Those mountain goats had thick, white and black fur and their bodies were also rather muscular.
"Those goats could make for good mounts, there was this book from Fayrene library which mentioned about dwarfs using goats instead of horses to go into battle. Still, better not get too close to them since even in reality they are territorial and I want no business with those beasts since they outlevel me by a lot."
[Mountain Goat - Lv. 45](42.000 HP)
From then on, he kept walking slowly on the mountain which by now didn't have any trodden road to guide himself on. Even his maps were of no help in these moments because Gravelmark was a zone not detailed on Juander's map, so he had to guide himself using the compass his system map offered.
Still, to be sure, Mathias stopped in a safe spot beside a large tree, and using his system map which revealed only locations explored by him, he could see where Cidarian was and where his location was marked and using his drawn map for reference he looked in the distance, for where Titan would await him.
"I am yet far, far away. I didn't imagine Gravelmark to be so huge territory-wise, and because I have to climb and hike through difficult terrain, my estimation was really correct."
Saying that to himself, he returned back to his journey, being required to step of sharp stones which sent a chill to his nerves, but it was a climb which had also his bonuses for showing Mathias a view hardly encountered even in reality, but his enjoyment lasted until his stamina chose to play with him, and stop his right at the peak of one of Gravelmark Peaks.
"You've gotta be kidding me. Sure, I might not be able to climb such a tall mountain by myself, and this is how the videos of Kilimanjaro are, but please don't be realistic with me right now." lamented Mathias the situation he was, barely able to move in his difficulty terrain, where not long after even some debuffs started hitting him such as, 'Oxygen Imbalance' 'Mountain Acclimatization,
The moment the system decided to play its games on him were in the worst moments because his presence was sensed by some creatures.
He couldn't see or guess what it was because the mountainous terrain of Gravelmark was simply unworldly, with peaks and after peaks, and barely a pathway for him to take to overcome the mountain. However, right in the distance as his presence was felt, the strong resonating cry of a bird which was massive and from one of the highest peaks where a platform made from rocks and gigantic trees was formed, a massive bird took to the skies and started moving toward Mathias who began struggling to move.
Turning his head in the direction of the cry, he could see in the distance the platform in question with a nest, and in the air, a giant bird with dark brown feathers with a body Mathias could guess was about 15 meters with a wingspan that made him scared, making its presence even more imposing.
(★★★)[Zakharan Roc - Lv. 275] [??? HP] (A/N: Can you smell what The Rock is cooking? Haha, I had to do it)
"Fuck, don't tell me that monster is after me? Come old pall, don't leave me at hard times, I will waste more time if I return to the Fortress Ruins."
*Screech*
The aerial giant released a strong shockwave screech that smashed Mathias right in his face that dropped him on the ground, with his nose and ears instantly bleeding.
[You have suffered 1832 damage]
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"Hah, damn, just one shout, and I am dead. If that was some giant wouldn't I be dead if it sneezed at me? What am I thinking, focus? Fortunately, this shockwave pushed me closer to the cliff. I only got one chance to escape from here and not get myself killed."
Saying that he could feel the winds getting heavier on him, slowly blocking his set of motion, but using his remaining strength he jumped off the cliff like a madman, dodging the swooping attack of the Roc, with his long sword-like talons destroying the cliff Mathias was struggling not too long to overcome.
*Screech*
Another deafening cry of the bird was released which shook the surrounding trees and rocks, with many more of them dropping around Mathias who was descending on nothingness.
The feeling of not sensing your body was unique for Mathias, and the rocks which started grazing his skin was an awakening call, instantly activating 'Arcane Barrier' lowering the impact of the rocks with him.
Mathias was still on a free fall, and in order to change something about this, he channeled his arcane energy and used the freedom of his arcane to create a rope that he secured Ragnius before throwing the spear inside the mountain.
When the fall was stopped he felt another shock in his body, where his palms started bleeding from the beating he took.
"Arghh, that hurt like heck."
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*Screech*
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Hearing that cry, made Mathias get closer to the mountain wall by pulling himself using the rope. While pulling himself closer to the mountain, he noticed some crevices that could be of use in this situation, and immediately as he pulled he hid under one of those crevices.
During that, just moments later the giant bird arrived closer to the mountain wall and started inspecting around releasing strong cries which put to test the resistance of the wall and its crevice.
'Please hold, don't break and bust me in front of this monster.' thought Mathias, remaining silent and unmoved by the predatory cry of the bird.

As for the Roc, it still watched for any sign of intruders, but time passed and it couldn't figure out where Mathias vanished since his corpse wasn't on the ground or impaled by the rocky spikes of the peaks.
Meanwhile, in the face of this dangerous moment, with Mathias securing a nice spot to hide, he began lazing around, talking with his guildmates about random things while also watching some live streams which got even more popular with the passage of time.
From E-girls to gamers, from casuals to old people, to even rankers, a plethora of types of players were having fun inside the game. As for Mathias? He was hiding from a predator that could probably destroy countries if unleashed down the mountain. (A/N: Life has his funny ways of screwing people)
The situation was similar to an apocalypse novel where the main character ignored the zombies outside his house, while listening to music and playing games. The Roc was doing its things while Mathias was with his own.
"I can just log out and return when my stamina is full. I should do some workout for the night, and prepare to wrap it off for today."
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Logging out from the game, he went to call home and talk with his family, before working out, and later on eating.
Once he did that and still had some hours before going to sleep, he opted to return back and continue on marching on the Gravelmark Heights, which were full of mysteries and surprises from encountering low-level monsters to giants he couldn't even wrap his head together to make a plan to defeat them.
As such, when Mathias returned back to his hiding spot the first was to peek out and watch carefully the sky.
'Did it go away?'
While thinking that, he kept on waiting for about ten minutes before exiting his hiding spot and slowly climbing the mountain wall using his arcane powers to create some climbing equipment, and when he was closer to the ground he jumped off, reducing his time of descent.
His view was again covered by other peaks, which might house creatures such as the Roc, something he found again when he encountered beasts from low level to high level. However at this new peak, it was a griffon instead of a Roc, and this creature was more intelligent than the Roc, enough to realize Mathias wasn't a danger to its territory.

Still, noticing Mathias, the Griffon released a warning cry from where it brooded its eggs.
*Eagle Cry*
Mathias turned his head in the direction of the cry, exactly on the peak the Griffon was nesting, and when he saw the huge level, he panicked again trying to sprint toward what he thought was a safe spot to hide from this noble giant.
(★★★)[Arch Griffon - Lv. 315][??? HP]
'Hah, not again. Other hours will be wasted because I need to hide and calm this monster. Let's hurry to that part of the mountain and find a crevice to hide. I am not fighting such monsters, no way in hell. Wouldn't one day be wasted if I do this?'
As Mathias moved to a rocky wall, he slowed down when he sensed there were no other griffon cries, or even feeling pressured, and so turning his head right at the griffon he saw it stare in the distance not even focused on him.
'Phew, it doesn't want me dead.' thought Mathias, while breathing at ease, later on hurrying out from this section of the mountain that was ruled by the Griffon.
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When he stepped on another territory of the Gravelmark, he said it quits, logging out of the game, and preparing to go to sleep, along with being fresh for his work.
Only after getting home from work, has he returned to his journey on the mountains, and with this second day, he could see new monsters that he noted down, from a flying beast that appeared to be between a cross of a giant eagle along with a demonic-looking Stagg, dark green feathers, while its stagg body had blue-black fur.
Its size from where he could see this beast was about three meters, small compared to the Griffon or the Roc, but its level wasn't joking about how dangerous it could be for him to challenge it.
(★)[Peryton - Lv. 170] (??? HP)
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Moving past such dangers with fast mobility, activating in those moments 'Raven's Movement' just so he wouldn't disturb the bosses territory. This cautious, lengthened his journey quite a lot, but just as the sun was about to dawn, he finally saw, at last, a peak from Gravelmark which was familiar to him.
"Finally, I am close to home. Those peaks are familiar, having a similar shape to the ones I used to gaze at with Fayrene. Hah, such nice memories, I will have to recreate them in the worst case possible. Also, Jeanne, I wonder how you are? If you are safe, if you are healthy and eat properly, sleep properly, I have so much to tell you."
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Saharan Successor - CH 74
Vol. 2 - Chapter 20 – Jeanne's Worries
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On the other hand, inside Titan things looked just like when he left. Nothing could change overnight the glorious capital of the Saharan Empire, Titan. Yet the people were fickle, especially when the arrival of the outsiders happened.
The criminality inside the city skyrocketed that there were multiple cases when the Red Knights had to intervene because the Black Knights couldn't handle the increasing cases of chaos. There were still cases of players who committed gruesome crimes just believing it was a game.
Their behavior was also a catalyst to how some inhabitants of the city were thinking and looking at the players, and as the players who just wanted to play the game in peace found it hard to get quests, a massive chance was formed, followed by public backlash where the S.A Group was accused of messing with peoples freedom of content.
Nevertheless, this was not for long especially when such cases of crimes were published in the game's forum, making the community of users in Titan gather around, starting shaming in the forums each individual who committed crimes which affected the overall experience of the rest. The cancel culture effect was still alive and well even in the late 21st century, only that it was used less after some restrictions added by the UN Council.
The players who committed crimes inside Titan, apart from being restricted for days on end from playing the game after being imprisoned, they also had to face the backlash of the public, and so most of them stopped playing the game, quitting it, and also asking for a refund, some who committed a lesser offense inside Saharan Empire and in general inside the Satisfy world who wished to get their money back, managed to get them.
In a unique fashion, the CEO of S.A Group issued a statement where he too lashed at the people who committed such gruesome acts in the world he and his friends built it, declining their refund request on the premise they played the game 30 days.
"You think is unfair that you've spent your money and want a refund? Then I also want you to return the people who you murdered. Apart from this, according to the theme of services you've signed, all of those people will be under police notice, and I suggest you go to a psychiatrist or doctor to check on yourselves."
"<Satisfy> while it is a game, doesn't mean you can blindly and foolishly kill NPC's as you see left and right. There are consequences to everything you do inside the game, and now you will have to face them."
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It was an unfortunate event for most players who just wanted to enjoy their life, and also the developers who sweat and had sleepless nights creating the inhabitants of the world, but with the message registred by the community, taken as a good sign of faith in the players the events unfolded without the intervention from a body of power.
Aside from this, nothing significantly changed in the lives of the NPC's, with except for two gorgeous ladies who were drinking tea while watching the fireplace. One girl had a silky raven long hair, with mesmerizing violet eyes, and with a body figure that could be the envy of other girls, while the other girl had long golden hair braided at the end strands, with hazel eyes which made her more mysterious, and light make-up on her face, while wearing comfortable clothes, that could make someone guess she was a hunter.
"Sister, it has already been one month since the letter. I am starting to get worried about Mathias." mentioned the blonde girl, while sipping from her cup of tea with a worried expression.
"Patience, sister, we have to believe in his words. From my interactions with the outlanders, they mentioned that most of them were sent randomly in different locations of the world, with only the ones choosing the Saharan Empire being sent to regions of the Empire."
Jeanne sighed, being pacified by Fayrene's words, and as they were discussing something ordinary, she thought about the serious talks she had with her and turned nervous while remarking.
"Fay, there's still this thing that has been bothered me for a while, about my role as Bishop. My Faith has been placed to question more and more, and I fear the Goddess will sense it and punish me. Even now even if you use that spell of yours to hide us from her eyes, I am fearful for our safety for even daring to say that."
"Sister, as I look at things, the power of light that comes from Rebecca is something closely related to Mathias's and my Arcane Energy, it shouldn't be something that can be revoked overnight just because she feels like it. You've trained for it, right?"
"I did, but I am still fearful that everything will be taken away from me and I will be useless."
Fayrene who gazed at Jeanne while taking a sip from the teacup, remained silent seeming to contemplate before responding to Jeanne's worries.
"You are worrying too much Jeanne, regardless if you have the power and status you have now, it will not change anything in Mathias's eyes. That's what you fear, that he will not embrace you knowing what you've been through?"
"…" Jeanne didn't say anything, but her silence was enough to respond to Fayrene's inquire.
*Chuckle* "That little fool doesn't care about such insignificant things. Don't you remember that he didn't even shift a glance and stared in your eyes even after you told him who you are, about what you've experienced with that curse of yours? Same for me, I remember as it was yesterday his tender touch of my scarred arm, while all I wanted was to cut it off."
"Thank you sister, it is really awkward for me to be thinking like this."
"You'll get used to it pretty fast, once you are around him."
As the girls were talking about menial things, connecting deeper, and knowing each other in a friendly-like relation, Jeanne reached a point where she opened up about one of her dreams she constantly had.
"I had some dreams about how I had to fight angels and demons together with a crimson-haired man who was giving off blazing energy around him. What do you think of it? Or have you had such dreams?"
"I don't usually dream that much. What you've seen is a mystery even for me, Jeanne. I can't give you an answer to what your dream means, but one thing is for certain, it is bound to a conflict, angels, and demons? It can be interpreted literally or metaphorically, I can't even imagine what would mean if it's a literal angel or demon as in the stories.
As for the crimson-haired man, likewise, I can't mislead you with baseless things since I am not a witch to sell lies." remarked the raven-haired girl while sipping from her teacup.
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Back to Mathias, who was fighting the mountains with high spirits in the darkness, he could see the familiar peaks getting closer and closer to him.
In the process, as he was getting closer, with most of the beasts he was avoiding without putting a fight, there was on his path which lead to the next section of Gravelmark, a monster with the body of a bear covered in thick fur and feathers, whose head was like that of an owl but with serrated beak was right in front of his path.
*SCREECH*
"Not again." commented Mathias who noticed the monster aggressively screech in his direction, and unfurling its feathers at him.
[Owlbear - Lv 28] (20.000 HP)
Seeing this beast start charging at him full of aggression, he took a flask of Strength Potion, along with one for 'Intelligence Potion' he managed to get from Olga inside Cidarian after she warmed up a bit to him thanks to his achievements for Cidarian.
[You have gained 50 STR for 10 minutes.]
[You have gained 50 INT for 10 minutes.]
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'Arcane Intellect'
'Arcane Barrier'
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Casting his buffing spells, which eat him of 1000 MP, he quickly used a recovery MP pot, to refill 400 mana and only after he was done, he used Ragnius to counter the charge of the Owlbear, yet he was still out strengthened by this beast.
[You have suffered 50 damage.]
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Not playing on the movements of the owlbear that was about to swipe its sharp claws at him, he sidestepped using 'Raven's Movement' and instantly sent out two 'Piercing Rains' attacks which carved the fatty skin of the bear, however because of the relatively high defense of the bear, the damage was lesser.
[You have dealt 176 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 89 damage to the target.]
[You have done 137 damage to the target.]
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Seeing this type of damage from his spear attacks he got serious because it was evident this wouldn't be a smooth sailing fight. The second 'Piercing Rain' dealt a total of 475 damage, where immediately the monster turned its large, 2.4 meter body to fight back, but Mathias had the advantage of speed, moving in circles around the beast attacking with basic attacks, from the first that connected easily, with occasional critical hits because of hits 2.2% critical chance.
It was when the Owlbear attacked Mathias with an instant skill damage, that his fast piercing attacks ceased, dealing a total of [2134] damage after a total of ten strikes.
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[You have suffered 352 damage after being hit by 'Owlbear Talon']
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The fight continue on, where the bear sent another 'Owlbear Talon' that he couldn't dodge being hit by one of the monster's talons, as if it was a hunter, a silent one at that, until it screeched and roared, from the attacks he has dealt to him.
[You have suffered 396 damage after being hit by 'Owlbear Talon']
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After that skill of the bear hit him, he started attacking the monster using 'Treachery' which dealt a total damage of [2286] when completing the entire combo of seven attacks, but it was still not enough to lower the momentum of the bear which sent another attack, that Mathias couldn't dodge, and who sent him backward, a claw attack, called 'Olwbear Pounce'
[You have suffered 510 damage.]
Quickly getting up from the ground, he started channeling his mana for one spell that he still had to gain experience in using and also find the right times to cast it. Mathias could feel his mana getting depleted fast by his mana channeling, but soon enough once he casted his arcane spell, the Owlbear couldn't even find space to dodge his spell.
'Arcane Barrage'
From his hands at the same time, three arcane missiles were fired at the large beast, hitting him on different locations of its body.
[You have dealt 939 damage to the target.]
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 1878 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 939 damage to the target.]
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[Arcane Barrage]
Rating: Rare (Growth)
An Arcane Spell obtained after the user of arcana found the method of launching one after another the 'Arcane Missiles'. Being a spell obtained from the understanding of the user, the damage still lacks, unlike the original spell.
Launch 3 arcane missiles that deal 155% of your magic power, each of the missiles having a chance of 6% of dealing critical damage.
Skill Consumption: 750 mana
Skill Cooldown: 1 minutes
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After each of the missiles hit their target dealing a total of [3756] damage, the Owlbear whose body started being covered in burn marks and also deep cuts released a strong cry of pain and anger.
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*SCREECH*
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Yet this reaction of the beast meant nothing for Mathias, as he took a fighting stance with Ragnius, commenting in a cold voice, while refilling his depleted mana with another mana potion.
"Be mad and get even madder. Do you think I am not annoyed when dumb creatures attack me for no reason? I only intended to go home to my loved ones, and yet you have to be adamant in stopping my journey."
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[Health: 1058/2366 ] [Mana: 618/1938]
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Gazing at the Owlbear, he saw that it too, was half of his HP, and he should be able to put an end to the fight soon.
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[Owlbear - Lv 28] (10.947/20.000 HP)
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With the beast charging at him, as it was about to release another of those Talon attacks, Mathias advanced rapidly, getting right in the close melee range of the beast, disabling its ability to throw the talons at him, and with some fast-paced basic attacks, which dealt a total of [1154] damage, the beast did a jump before attacking the ground madly, kicking off Mathias's balance, before returning with a claw attack, blocked just in time. Yet, the stress his arms holding Ragnius suffered was enormous, suffering damage even when the attack should be blocked.
[You have suffered 97 damage.]
To return to his dominant advantage, he casted an 'Arcane Missile' hitting the monster right on its head, pushing it backward and sending it in a frenzy.
[Critica]
[You have dealt 2430 damage to the target.]
*ROAR*
The Owlbear immediately bounced back, starting to charge at Mathias, and unlike all its attacks that Mathias got used to, this was a new pattern that took him by surprise. He sent two 'Piercing Rain's' which didn't stop the monster at all from its advance, and faster than he expected the Owlbear, used its beak to pierce Mathias's chest, later on initializing a claw attack to end him for good.
[You have suffered 580 damage from the enemy's 'Owlbear Dagger']
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Barely alive in those moments, he gritted his teeth and channeled Evocation before the claw made contact with him, he immediately sent out the 'Arcane Missile' which pushed the monster back, dealing [607] damage, in doing so stopping its momentum and attack.
*ROAR*
Not caring about what the Owlbear had to say, he took a health potion that he downed before he started charging at the monster, getting closer to it, and what it seemed to be a melee confrontation, Mathias engaged with another 'Arcane Missile' which created a burn wound, which was on the double damage spectrum, hitting the beast with [1215] damage.
Seconds ticked for Mathias, who started sidestepping, before channeling another 'Arcane Missile' which angered the beast even more, starting to charge at him, and end him.
"We'll see who ends who." remarked Mathias in a cold voice, before firing off another arcane missile, while behind him a dark-purple portal opened up, sending off a dark-purple sword flying in the direction of the bear, and cleaving it along with the missile that hit the mark.
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[You have dealt 607 damage to the target]
[☆ Chaos Blessed has been triggered. Spell: 'Chaos Sword' has been cast, dealing 1517 damage.]
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Approaching the end of the fight, while his stamina was on the bad margins, being [18/100] after being required to cast 'Evocation' to kickstart his mana recovery process, later after acquiring 750 mana, he started gathering power for 'Nephtys Lament' which had a low chance of miss because of all the effects of the attack.
*SCREECH*
The Owlbear woke itself with Ragnius skewering its body, while also causing an agonizing hit.
[You have dealt 1834 damage to the target, while also triggering the debuff 'Weakened' lowering Owlbear overall stats by 20%]
Quickly drawing Ragnius back so he wouldn't be done just like against Evander, he followed by doing an two 'Piercing Rain' which dealt [894] damage, followed by a 'Sweep Thrust' who against this monster couldn't get a knockdown effect, but the damage was still contributing to its downfall.
Only one skill away from ending this monster, Mathias jumped in the air after 'Sweep Thrust' and unleashed 'Bloodfall' which from all the blood from the ground, and Ragnius blade, gave you the impression you were watching a waterfall, only that it was completely gory.
The beast could only cry about its end, and drop on the floor dead, not turning into gray fragments.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 1080 damage to the target.]
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[You have defeated an Owlbear gaining the following rewards: 2250 EXP, 750 silver coins, Furious Falchion, Owlbear Pelt 1x]

Clearing his notification windows and also checking out the item he gained, a rare type bastard sword that only users with level 30 could equip, before gazing at the dead corpse of the Owlbear.
"This should be another chance at Mana Devour. From what I understand, it might happen only to those beasts that have a certain amount of mana inside of them, and this also happens occasionally."
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Lowering himself to the corpse after recovering all his mana, he went to touch the monster's heart location, before his hand started shining in a dark-purple light, starting off the incantation which turned the surrounding area in a show of dark-purple lights.
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<My Desire for Power is Unmatched for that I am willing to even devour the remaining power of the lost souls.>
<The elements who have been judged me, conferring me with this ability, shall be witnesses to my act of stripping the power of the mortal being shell creators.>
As he called the incantation with his body giving off the dark aura that had a vibrant purple light which enveloped the corpse of the boar monster, slowly turning it into dark-purple light fragments which scattered in the wind, before a new notification entered Mathias's attention.
[Mana Devourer has been cast successfully with the result being: Success]
[You have gained 2 INT stats and 0.2% Growth to the Mana Core(A)]
 
Saharan Successor - CH 75
Vol. 2 - Chapter 21 - The Whisper
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Finishing the Mana Devourer, his Stamina reached the lowest point, making him unable to do anything but remain grounded, being required to wait for that vital resource to recover. Barely able to move, he got to a safer spot at a snail pace, vigilant about his surroundings, until he relaxed as he watched the sky.
"Soon, I will be home, just a bit more Fayrene. Jeanne." uttered Mathias while the sky along with the mountain was a sight to behold, that would be marked in his memory.
Sighing after a while, entering a state of mind where he had to be patient and not rush himself, in case he was risking being spotted by one of the end bosses of this zone.
Not having much to do, but wait for his stamina to recover a bit more, only after he recovered 45 stamina did he step out from his hideout, feeling as if his wait was enough.
"This much would suffice to keep on going until I would log out." remarked Mathias, looking around the mountain range, with the wind blowing his long hair.
Walking away from his hideout, the journey continued on good terms, without him encountering monsters or bosses, but it all started to change when he started descending, slowly and later on quickly encountering monsters that aggressively defended their territory like watchdogs, even though Mathias's intent was to quickly get the heck out from the Gravelmark Heights.
He understood that he was still too weak level-wise to fight those monsters and he could only run from them as if it was the plague.
Nevertheless, it was hard to achieve such a balance with the monsters constantly pestering him and sometimes even being as close to encircling him, he lashed out, not being given a choice he started fighting off the attackers, from level 35 to level 40 that he barely evaded with his life intact.
The Mountain Goats were sticking so close to him, trying to kill him, that it made Mathias remark in his mind.
'To heck with you devilish goats. Has Evander reincarnated already inside of you that you want me dead? Give me a break.'
'[Raven's Movement]'
Thanks to his movement speed skill, he could safely evade the monsters who dwarfed him level-wise, but when he thought he lost their track and they chased from following him, one bigger menace arrived, called Owlbear which made it look as if they were the common monsters of this region, but all were Elites.
Barely able to keep up fighting against the Owlbear, right in the fight from the commotion they were doing, a large bird appeared over the sky which made both Mathias and the Owlbear stop their fight.
*SCREECH*
"Huh? What now, another damned monster got to my tail? This mountain is too high of a leveling ground for me. What's that new monster, a Roc?" asked Mathias, gazing at the Owlbear who, even though was covered in wounds that oozed blood, started retreating, which made Mathias raise his head to the sky and gaze at the large bird monster.
This monster had a close resemblance with a chicken, but it was a hideous hybrid with the wings of a bat and a lizard-like tail. Its tail had yellow-green scales, with bat wings of a grey shade, while its feet and beak were yellow, combined with feathers of golden-brown hue.
[Cockatrice - Lv. 135]
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Once he got to see the monster level, his expression shifted, reacting instantly.
"I need to get away immediately or I will be dead meat." said Mathias to himself, before using his remaining energy to dash toward a hiding place, where not even the Owlbear bothered to continue their fight, choosing life like himself.
When this monster that was giving off chicken cries started descending to get him, he dodged by jumping inside a mountainous crevice, but he was slower than before and it gave the impression he was almost done for, but luckily he landed just fine in the crevice, hiding while the flustered monster could only screech angrily.
Those screeches started getting into his head as if the chicken he killed back in Arundell estate reincarnated inside this Cockatrice to haunt him down.
"I'll turn vegetarian, just leave me alone," whispered Mathias, from where he was, gazing at the monster from some openings.
Yet, it took a while for the monstrous bird to fly off, and leave him alone, but it also gave Mathias the opportunity to calm himself down and recover his stamina.
So, as time passed and things calmed down, with a fresher turnover, Mathias had an look out for his surroundings before exiting his hiding spot, and quickly passing the territory of the Cockatrice, dashing off and even ignoring some of the lower level monster such as the Owlbear, Mountain Lions, Wolfs, and other predators of the region.
Once he started climbing down some steep rocks, and touching the ground of a new zone belonging to Gravelmark, he could see the familiar landscape and zones in the distance point where he went on his back and raised his hands to celebrate his success of getting to the region he was familiar, that being the salt lake and the mountain range the Gravelmark Kobolds were located.
Checking on his time, he chose to put a stop to his journey at this point, setting the new respawn location, in case something dangerous appeared from nowhere and his reaction would lag behind and get caught.
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When the new day came for him, even the day at work felt like flying too fast. Missing out on the gym, to be as efficient with his time as possible, immediately after he returned home, and completed his menial activities, he jumped back inside Satisfy, like a crackhead.
After finishing the rest of the procedures he couldn't contain his excitement. Waking himself in a morning day where birds chirped around and the overall atmosphere was pleasing to the ear, compared to his hellish experiences of running from giant monsters that could kill him just from releasing their cries.
Hiking around this zone going forward, he didn't spot any monster that would wish to eliminate him or any signs of player activity.
'Hmm, they should be stopped by that mutated bear from ascending the mountain? Or they are unable to defeat the rest of the monsters in the zone?'
Thought Mathias while hiking in the mountain path which was dense in trees, and after a while, the first sign of the salt made its presence felt, his sense of smell being the first to pick on it, like a dog, before his tongue started testing the salty taste coming from the lake.
Stopping in place and managing his excitement, he stared around himself in the forested area and he could only clench his fists and celebrate his success earlier.
"I am finally here. Ahh, it has been three days of adventuring around this mountain that I got closer to home." rejoiced Mathias, at the first sign of the familiar salty lake, looking around himself and taking in the views of the mountains in the distance.
"This should be on the opposite side of the lake." remarked Mathias as he saw the lake from the distance, getting closer to the shore until he stopped at the familiar sounds of certain birds.
*Quak* *Quak*
"That sound? What is this?"
With curiosity, he looked left and right for where those duck sounds came, and after he got to the shore he could see exactly the ducks from the Beta Phase living their life without a care.
Once he calmed himself from his shock, he began laughing out loud in a hearty way which attracted the attention of the ducks where some ducklings even moved interest in the new giant guest.
"Hahaha, I got so tense believing it might be some monster, but it was you little ones. Would you imagine myself getting so tense after all those days of encountering those nasty monsters?"
He watched the duckling get closer to him, and lowering to their level, he took some food from his inventory and began feeding them with a wide smile, almost unable to contain his happiness.
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At first, the ducklings got scared by Mathias' gesture, but the enticing lettuce leaves were too appetizing for the pure ducklings to pass, and so with one brave duckling who got to Mathias's palm, the rest followed suit.
"Easy, easy, there is plenty for everyone." said Mathias, feeding the ducklings with patience, before also taking a cup that he filled with fresh water.
The quaking coming from the ducks in the distance woke him from his moment of serenity and with a nod he tossed some vegetables in their direction, before returning his attention to the ducklings, playing a bit with them.
Afterward, he took his clothes, and made his way in the cold autumn water of the salty lake, getting himself used to the temperature and later jumping in the water, laughing around in a happy manner.
"I made it! Soon I will be home sweethearts. This time every single problem I left unturned in Titan will be solved. Corvus, you think I will not attack those gangs just because you wish for your balance? Maybe I will not do this immediately, but once I grow more in levels, I will see who this Clark is, and everyone else who wished to kill me after becoming Syndicate Nemesis."
Swimming around for a bit in the salty water, he noticed that some ducks followed him, as if asking for more food, something he did without batting an eye.
"Enjoy, little ones. I will not remain here for too long since winter will be bound to happen soon. Take care, and be aware of the monsters in the region."
Bidding his farewell with the ducks and ducklings, he started swimming toward the opposite side of the lake, which took him about 20 minutes, but the notifications which announced him about the benefits of the salty water came along, gaining after getting to the opposite shore, 6 STA stats, and 2 STR stats.
"Hah, such a great place. Even though the water temperature isn't what it used to be when I visited this place with Fayrene, the benefits are still there." mentioned Mathias while getting out from the lake and spitting some of the salt from his mouth.
What followed next for Mathias was walking toward the fresh water stream close by, in order to wash himself of the salt, and later on walking straight to the place he built his vacation cabin with Fayrene and the Kobold Vek.
"This was the place right? Indeed, just about close to the old tree. Such a place filled with memories."
Saying that, he walked slowly toward the old tree, where he searched for the marks he inscribed in the past together with Fayrene, but they were not to be found. Sighing and shaking his head, his fears of not finding Fayrene and Jeanne were amplifying, that he gripped his hand in a fist and pressed it on the tree.
"Even if they don't remember me, I will still be there watching over them, and slowly win over their hearts as I did in the past."
This rush of emotions was slowly calmed down, where he watched the place he inscribed his words on the tree, and the melancholy hit him, driving him to inscribe back the words of the past on this tree.
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Meanwhile, from inside the roots, a crimson ring started vibrating a bit and releasing a red light, but it was weak, and the voice of a person could be vaguely heard.
{That presence and spirit? Just like how I was when young. Could it be the rightful candidate I have been waiting for those hundreds of years, has appeared? Hah, how many years has it been since anyone has ever visited this old man?
My senses have gotten dull. Should I use all my power to try to communicate with this person? What if he isn't the rightful candidate to pass my touch? What if he destroys the home I've shed my blood and tears to build? The one I sacrificed my love and desires to construct? The one where I took my tribe to the ascension of this realm, turning that small tribe into a respectful country and later into an Empire that commenced the veneration of most races of this world.}
The sound of inscription touched the one inside the ring, which made him ponder on his choices, weighing his choices if he should gamble or not in this new torch to push his wishes forward.
<If I keep waiting like this, like a damsel I will not get out from this cursed trap. My powers are also starting to get weaker since the people no longer have me as their Emperor in mind. I am just an old ghost of the past, with unfinished business.>
<I will do it. All my power, just for this moment.>
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Back to Mathias who was still working on the wood using Ragnius's blade, almost done with his inscription, he began hearing something weird passing by his ears, as if they were some whispers from the wind in a female tonality.
{I am … here ….}
 
Saharan Successor - CH 76
Vol. 2 - Chapter 22 - The Cast of the Curse
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The whisper was barely audible, making him think it was just his brain acting weird that he asked himself something unlikely.
'Don't tell me I have schizophrenia? Nah, no way, even if there have been some cases in my family of crazy ones, and maybe I am talking to myself sometimes, but it is one to have your brain go crazy on you, and one talking with your inner self.' (A/N: I don't know Mat, I am not a doctor, can't tell if you are crazy or not)
Still working on the wood of the ancient tree, the whispers kept repeating, where the <I am> kept on repeating until he stopped and turned around for which direction those whispers came, until he found they came from the ground.
{I am here, ohh you chosen one, the one who shall grant you with power.}
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"What the? So I wasn't crazy, there's actually something here. Hey, whoever is there, aren't you tired of repeating the same line."
Inside the ring, a voice came extending toward Mathias who replied back to the voices.
{If you managed to hear my voice, it means you are the rightful one, who is destined for greatness. I am the spirit of this land, and saw you since you came here, I observed you since the moment you stepped on the Heavenly Mountain.}
Yet the person inside the ring looked rather annoyed for being required to use such tactics to entice Mathias, and even told himself, without transmitting his voice outside.
"Ahh, Dehakel, old friend, I even got to use your dirty tactics of misleading young pure girls, only that I do it for a man. No space for being shamed in those moments, my power is drying with each second I talk. Let's stick out the bait more."
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Mathias, who heard the initial whisper, mentioning about its presence and about the fact it was the spirit of the land, even mentioning the name Heavenly Mountain which reminded him of what the Elder Kobold said in draconian.
'It must be legit, otherwise, I can't explain how someone would know about the original name of this place as the Kobolds have mentioned. Heavenly Mountain. This is also the place holding Dahlia's Tears, so I should visit the kobolds too before descending the mountain.'
"Where are you spirit? How can I help you?"
{Deep down, forgotten by time, but I remain strong awaiting my champion.}
<Wow, that went so smoothly, this old man really perfectioned the art of shameless talk after all those political dances I did with the Elves, Dwarfs, Aarakocras, Orcs, Draconians, and Human Kingdoms. Zik, you are the only one my smooth talk wasn't going anywhere, you damn ghost of the past. Ahh, wait, I am also one too.> (A/N: The outside speech for the ghost is with {}/ while when he talks with himself it is with </>. Hope I didn't confuse you on this part and you understand how they talk.)
When Mathias got the confirmation from the voice, he looked around the tree, and thought of more possibilities of where it could be calling from, but to be sure he asked.
"Could it be that you are inside the tree? Down in the tree?"
{Yes, champion, some wicked person trapped me here.}
Obtaining some information on where he should look, he started digging close to the ancient tree trunk and moving toward the roots, but quickly enough the soil was too hard for him to clear. Switching his tactics, he started using Ragnius as a digging tool, which had some success at first, until it too, got stuck, unable to progress.
"It's stuck. Hey, spirit, how close am I to finding you?"
{I don't know, champion, but I can sense your presence even stronger which means I am somewhere out there.}
"Tsk, this doesn't help me at all. Can't you be more specific at least?"
{Unfortunately, I have been slumbering to conserve my energy for a long time, and I forgot about my surroundings}
Hearing that young woman's voice that was saddened and even held some despair in it, he could only sigh and ponder on how to dig deeper, which had him stop for about 15 minutes before a light bulb shined and he started using his arcane powers to dig, slowly proving a success.
The one inside the ring could feel this arcane power and was surprised by how pure it was compared to other forms of magic that were diluted by other elements.
<I wonder what form of magic is that? Even the Elf King's magic wasn't as pure as this young man's.>
The progress done by Mathias was visible, where he even reached the roots of the ancient tree, and there was the moment he saw a red light coming from the location of the roots.
Digging and clearing around the roots, he could see a ring full of mud and dirt that was giving off the red light guiding him, but it was entrapped by the roots of the tree.
{Young champion, I can feel your presence. Can you take me from this agonizing place?} asked the one from inside the ring using a young woman's voice, without even breaking the immersion.
Mathias waited for his mana to recover before he used the arcane energy to sever bit by bit like a surgeon the roots which entrapped the ring.
{Slowly, champion, I am worried if not that wicked person might have left some traps to stop you.}
"There's nothing here, just the roots which seem to be drawing upon mana the ring releases. This should be the trap?"
{Most likely, champion. Please, continue, I will reward you generously.}
He looked slightly surprised and full of curiosity as the tree roots were stealing some of the ring's mana before he acted and started severing for good the roots keeping the ring hostage, and once it landed on its hand, he could feel the strong power of the mana released by the ring.
Using the system power to gaze at the information of the ring, he was confused.
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[Engagement Ring]
Rating: Ancient
A simple ring of common origins, that marked the love between man and woman. It doesn't have much properties instead of signifying the reunion between a couple to not be separated until death.
Condition of Use: none
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There was nothing to tell Mathias about the spirit inside the ring, but the rating of the ring, a [Ancient] rating, something he never saw or heard about was a lead telling him the ring was old, just like the Egyptian Artifacts, if not this ring was something following that theme.
Looking at the ring reminiscent of Smeagol with his "Precious" the spirit inside the ring started spreading its words up close.
{Young Champion, I have been freed, but I don't have any place to go. Will you take me with you? My only remaining wish is to explore the world.}
The red light released by the dirty ring was a warm one, and the mana it gave off was also something it made Mathias even more curious, awakening his desire to explore the story of this ring and spirit.
Thus, Mathias placed the ring on his index finger wishing to find if there was any change in the item.
"I guess, there's nothing new." remarked Mathias, before the dried dirt and mud, shattered from the ring, revealing a crimson ring decorated with a jewel made from a simple rock.
Still surprised by this sudden change, he still didn't feel anything wrong with it, until he asked the spirit inside the ring, curious about the new change.
"Spirit of the ring, can you tell me your backstory if it is not too hard for you?"
He asked that, but there was no voice replying back which turned the situation slightly weird. Asking again, once again it was silent, until he started getting suspicious, and immediately moving to take the ring off.
Tried he tried, but the ring wrapped on his skin, tightening on the index finger scarring Mathias, and in a panic, he began to try to pull the ring out.
Opening the information tab on the ring, he could see that it was unchanged, making him question this event if it was premeditated.
Another weird event happened for Mathias, where he gained a notification window, stating something unexpected for him.
[??? Class change has been triggered. Do you accept the class change?]
Immediately he gazed at the crimson ring with the polished rock jewel giving off a red light, and asked himself, before targeting the question to the spirit inside the ring.
"Wait what? What change? I don't even know what this ring is all about, and that ghost? Don't tell me I got cursed and scammed at the same time by a Great Demon? Something a Great Demon left for some fool like me to be scammed while I left my guard down feeling safe in this place?"
"Arghh, I can't get this ring off my finger! What's this, it got even tighter. Hey demon, if you wish me so much, don't get too attached to me, since I am also crazy at times and you might regret it."
[Decline] pressed Mathias on the choice the system gave him, before once again gaining the offer.
[??? Class change has been triggered. Do you accept the class change?]
"No! If you can't even explain to me who you are without fooling me, I can't accept anything."
Still no response, but the ring was getting redder with a bright aura, and the mana it released dwarfed Mathias by so much he couldn't explain it in words. The feeling was similar to watching a volcano erupting while his mana was similar to a bottle of coke where you placed mentos on it.
"Motherfucker, it hurts like heck. If I can't get it off, I'll cut it off."
Making his mind, he gritted his teeth and started channeling his mana for an 'Arcane Missile' which formed rapidly and not caring about the consequences he fired at his index finger hoping it would be severe, or blew away with the finger along.
The pain he felt after that got even more intense, and watching his index finger, he could see a barrier made from the red light protecting his finger, and immediately with a heartache, he felt his veins throb, as if someone injected something in his circulatory system.
Dropping on the ground from the pain he suffered, he saw another notification of the game, stating something he didn't accept or planned to do in the future.
[Your class has been forcefully changed to ???. You can't decline the class change.]
"What the fuck, what's going on? I don't want anything that I didn't work for. What's this class appearing from nowhere? Hey, you demon explain to me, who are you?" shouted Mathias, with anger and frustration for the situation he was in currently.
Before getting any response from the spirit inside the ring, who inside the inner space of the ring was giving off a pressuring red aura, that dwarfed even Juander's aura if compared, his middle-aged face was dead serious as he stared in the space with his crimson eyes.
<A strong body indeed, you will manage the entire process and gain my powers.> said the middle-aged man in a serious voice inside the inner space of the ring, and soon enough the ring on Mathias index finger started pulsing as if it also contained veins, tightening up around it.

"ARGHHH! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? I JUST WANTED TO HELP YOU! FUCK THIS! DEMON YOU BETTER REMEMBER THIS, I MIGHT BE TURNED BY YOU IN YOUR KIND, BUT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ME!" shouted Mathias full of emotion, to the sky, before he heard a tired voice of a matured man, say to him.
{Sorry kid, I had to do it. You turned a sissy right in the moment you should have accepted my offer nicely. This is a once in a lifetime chance, and I was willing to give it to you because you got me from that trap that drained me of my energy.}
"WHO ARE YOU?" shouted Mathias when he heard his voice.
There was still no response from the entity inside the ring, but the constant throbbing of his veins was real, barely enduring, still, to release steam, Mathias kept on asking his questions in a loud voice.
"What have you done to me? Why does my body hurt like this, as if someone sent my veins on fire?"
It didn't take long for the tired voice of the man to respond to him in an evasive way.
{Too much for me to explain to you right now kiddo. I am tired, really tired. I will tell you who I am after sleeping a bit. I look forward to seeing how you turn out by tomorrow. Nonetheless, don't panic lad, all the changes you will go through will be beneficial to your growth as a person and as my successor, so hang in there.}

In such a way, the sea of pain, turned into a hellish moment for Mathias who felt his veins throbbing as if they got alive, he was rendered disabled to even move in those moments as he felt his body being set on fire.
Gritting his teeth to fight off the pain, he kept on fighting the pain, but it was too much, and blood began oozing from his mouth, from his clenched teeth. His fingernails kept on digging in his palms from how he clenched his hands to endure the fight.
The notifications about him losing HP and recovering it at an alarming rate was visible, in those moments, one could say he was immortal.
"Cursed game, cursed old ghost. You will regret all the pain I will endure."
Inside the ring, the middle-aged man with a dignified appearance and crimson hair, slowly turned into an old man with wrinkles around his face, with his crimson hair slowly shifting to a white snowy color, while his eye color remained the same crimson.
He could hear all of Mathias swearings and even feel his pain because, at this moment, he was giving all of his remaining powers to Mathias to keep the torch aflame, and could only chuckle like a crazy old man, before telling himself.
<Boy, I will let you even screw my descendants to keep you satisfied after all you will endure, for all I care. Seeing you endure this pain like a monster, makes me want to see how much you can handle before your mind shuts down.>

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[A/N: Sometimes being awakened might hurt, this is for Mathias's case]
 
Saharan Successor - CH 77
Vol. 2 - Chapter 23 - The Saharan Successor Awakens
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As Mathias was fighting the changes happening to him wondering between clarity and insanity, inside the office buildings of the S.A Group, the head of the Operation Teams, Yoon Nahee was doing her standard overseeing of the game, an alert was sent off my Morpheus, which stocked the woman when reading the contents of the message.
[Class X-04 has been acquired by a player]
[x:; 04ZX871S01 has been awakened ahead of time.]
"What?"
The woman still couldn't believe what she was seeing on her screen, and quickly sounded the alarm, reaching toward Lim Cheolho and the Developer Team.
'How can someone get something that is supposed to be for the late game? How?? This is unbelievable, more than that guy who got the attention of Baal.' thought Yoon Nahee to herself, trying to make clarity from her chaotic thoughts.
Category x:; entities had a great influence on Satisfy's worldview. Among the great demons, only ten were given the code 'x:;' and there were only ten NPCs entering this category. It was extremely unlikely that contact with players would occur before a certain time was reached.
While she contacted Lim Cheolho and the Developer Team, someone besides her, the leader of the third production team, Rahul, saw the warning messages on the monitor and shouted.
"Convene an emergency meeting right now! It is the first bug in Satisfy's history! We have to respond quickly!"
Chatter chatter! The production team was upset and hesitant about where to start fixing this but from the room.
From the woman's phone, the voice of a man could be heard, saying in a calming voice.
"Calm down, Nahee, did Morpheus recommend the game being corrected?"
"No."
"Then it isn't a bug." remarked Cheolho from his phone line, before the people working in overseeing the game process saw the CEO and some developers enter the room, reaching straight for the leaders.

"Chelho-nim!"
"Okay, quiet down, this isn't a failure of the game or Morpheus in this case. Nahee, bring me the files on the person in question and turn the omniscient view on his point."
The woman nodded her head, starting to type something on her keyboard before the view was turned to Mathias who was in a pathetic state, covered full of wounds of self-mutilation, while his screams of pain and agony made all the people in the room with except to the leaders feel some fear.
"What is this? Should a user feel such pain from the game?" asked a conductor, who gazed at the poor young man on the ground screaming in pain while using his bloody fingers to harm himself.
Chelho who watched this could only shake his head, before commenting, as if remarking for himself.
"That young man found Haycien too fast, the class itself should be supposed to be acquired after the Nevartan Episode. The body resistance of the players who would reach that episode is about level 200-400 would be higher compared to a level 20 or whatever that person is right now."
Yoon Nahee kept quiet, while Rahul started asking Cheolho about why this wasn't a bug for a player to acquire something that should be acquired after more years to come.
"Rahul, there's advantages and disadvantages to everything. The faster one gets his class doesn't mean it should be in the strongest form. There are different conditions from event to event, and in this case with Haycien awakening faster than expected, it means he is also in a weakened form."
"An Emperor without an Empire to Rule is no Emperor." commented another developer for the scared conductors who believed they saw the first bug on the game happen before their eyes.
"You guys also have to keep in mind that the story of the game is told by the Players and their actions. Morpheus will find a balance to everything so the game isn't swung in the direction of one person." added Chelho, before Nahee gave him the information about Mathias.
Reading his personal info, along with the video of how he dug the ring from underground, from using his hands, and later his weapon, to using his magic.
"Ohh, Nahee, can you give me more details about that magic?"
"Understood, sir."
After she started searching more for Mathias info, she gave Chelho another form of magic.
"So it is the Chaos one, don't tell me he discovered that on his own way? That is more unexpected than what Agnus or Kraugel did to reinvent their journey. One is the Necromancer who raised the first undead without even acquiring the spells books and gaining the attention of Baal, while the other one from Morpheus' estimation should be the first person to take the torch of Muller."
"Sir, how can a person use magic without even having a skill book acquired?"
"Practice and a lot of inspiration. Each of the concepts of the game is based upon something real, so if someone has prior experience, those movements will be turned into existing skills of the game. The best example is Kraugel who even if it might sound unfair for the Beta Players, has practiced so many times the skills he acquired inside that phase that it came naturally for him inside the Live Phase."
"However, besides what Chelho noted, you need to understand the skill itself to get it back. Simply relying on the skill book and just blindly using the skill wouldn't do, understood Rahul?"
"Understood."
"Okay, guys, I will return back to my office, and watch the events that will come." said Cheolho before retreating with his developers, and as they were walking toward the office, the group started discussing.
"Cheolho, what do you think about this sudden surprise? Aren't you the one who designed Haycien, Juander, and most of the Saharan Empire?"
"I am, but what about it?"
"Aren't you sad that your soul work will vanish after Navertan attacks the Empire?"
"If it happens, it happens. The structure of the world has been created in such a manner that there is a possibility for everything. Now that the Saharan Successor has been awakened, the rotten Saharan Empire filled with corruption from the top of the pyramid down the lower echelons would be put to test. Still, this young man has to walk carefully on his rope because each step he makes to get closer to the Saharan Imperial Family, will lead to more uncertainties."
"Tsk, Cheolho, can't you be normal for a second and agree that it will be over. How can that person fight against Nevartan? Even the Grandmaster and the Keen-Eye Mercedes will be sacrificed in the process, with Juander and most of the Saharan Empire being destroyed."
"Sangmin, don't try to rub salt on my wounds. We better watch how long this young man can take it before his mind shuts down from the pain."
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Reaching their office, and opened a large screen where Chelho typed something on a holographic keyboard, and soon enough the view of Mathias struggling with his changes was evident.
"Morpheus, give me the health conditions of Player-0105."
"Hmm, this guy is among the old ones who joined the game." commented another developer when he heard Chelho say the code for Mathias's account."
[User-0105 is under strenuous tension in his brain but not reaching the critical state of shutting down yet.]
[User-0105 heart activity is in stable parameters.]
[User-0105 neuron signals without signs of anomalies.]
"Thank you Morpheus, that's enough."
The developers watched Mathias's struggle and felt weird about themselves observing someone suffer like how the young man in front of their screen was, as such, they kept on with their activities while on a smaller screen was Mathias and his struggle.
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Meanwhile, inside Gravelmark close to the Ancient Tree, timed passed but the cries of pain kept on going, his muscles were spasming constantly, while his raven black hair, slowly turned into red, before it got crimson similar to the one inside the ring, who was just a weak old man, taking deep breaths as the change inside Mathias continued.
Hours after hours, Mathias who was full of wounds finally couldn't keep on fighting the pain, and went in a blank state, without expressing his situation.
{It will be fine, young lad, I am still here to watch over you. You've suffered enough, and I acknowledge you as a rightful successor.} commented the old man inside the ring as it opened his crimson eyes that lost focus.
While Mathias brain shut down on him because of the pain tolerance that passed his barrier, he still wasn't disconnected by the game, and after his body was laying inside the capsule for about four hours, as if he was sleeping there, step by step his mind got awakened from his sleep.
Gently waking himself up, instead of being inside his room, resting in the comfortable chair of the capsule, he was laying on the green grass where there were full marks of grips, and weeds took out from their roots, with dirt all over the place.
"Arghhh, my head hurts so much. What happened to me? I REMEMBER! DAMNED RING!"
Trying to channel his arcane energy just so he could blast his finger off, he could hear a weak voice belonging to an old person.
{No need to self-harm yourself anymore lad. Everything is over, I've passed the torch to you.}
"WHAT TORCH? WHO ARE YOU! I WANT ANSWERS NOT STORIES!"
{I am too weak right now, after I wake up I will tell you what you wish to know, at least what I remember from my slumber.}
"A NAME AT LEAST."
{Sigh, what an impatient young man. My name is Haycien von Saharan, now leave me alone. I need to sleep so I can recover some of my energy.} replied the old man, laying on the floor of the inner dimension of the ring he was residing in, with blue mana that started to surround him and nurture his recovery.
'Haycien von Saharan?' thought Mathias when he heard that name, before he carefully observed his surroundings, where he noticed that his hair was no longer jet-black, his natural color, instead, it was of a crimson color.
"My hair, what happened to my hair? Also my skin, it turned slightly whiter and fairer." inquired Mathias, confused about what happened to him, grabbing his long hair in his hands and checking his strands of hair that had a crimson color to them.
Still not coping with his changes, he ran toward the lake and noticed that he was more agile than normal, something confusing too, but immediately when he saw his reflection in the lake water, he got shocked.
"Who is this guy in the reflection? I didn't dye my hair or put on contact lenses."
Brimming with confusion, with the headache still being prominent, he gazed at the notifications which flooded him once he opened the game setting.
"Whoa, so many, warning alerts. Don't tell me I was about to get killed for real because of the pain I took?"
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Turning around the notifications, he reached the most important part which made him turn dead serious.
[Congratulations! Your class has changed successfully to 'Saharan Successor']
[You have unlocked the following unique stats: Dignity, Indomitable, Regeneration, Insight, Charm]
'Is this some curse? A bug that I don't know? How did I get such stats while most of my time I only knew about the primary ones.' thought Mathias, while getting to another notification, who mentioned.
[Haycien's Mastery skill tree has been created.]
[Red Energy has been created]
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Moving past those notifications, mentioning his mental stress, and body strain, he at last viewed all the notifications, and with surprise on his face that had its sharp features enhanced, opened his status window along with the skill tree window.
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[STATUS WINDOW]
Name : Mathias / Class : Saharan Successor
Level : 23 (21900/30150) / Title : Farmer's Son / Item Creator / Dominance over Hillbars / Repeller of Evil
Health : 4141/4141 / Mana: 2184/2184
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Strength : 260 / Stamina : 217 / Agility : 201 / Intelligence: 577 / Dexterity: 246 /
Indomitable: 10 / Dignity: 10 / Regeneration: 50 / Insight: 10 / Charm: 50
STAT POINTS: 0



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*Whistle* "Seeing this, even my headache will agree that it was worthed." commented Mathias sarcastically after seeing his status window, before shifting his gaze on another big surprise the old ghost had left for him.
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[Saharan Successor]
Rating: Epic(Growth)
A person chosen by the first Emperor, Haycien von Saharan to lead the Empire carrying the torch alive, and keeping the dignity of the bloodline intact.
*** You are the successor of Haycien Saharan 'Will'. The Red Energy has been unlocked permanently.***
* Permanently increases the attack power and magic power, along with your mana and health by 5%.
* Integrates red energy and weapon mastery and permanently reduces the cooldown of all skills by 20%.
* Permanently increases all your combat stats regardless of those yet to be unlocked by 80 points.
* There will be more beneficial effects if your class grows in rating. To grow the class you will be required to clear certain challenges.
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[Red Energy]
Rating: Epic(Growth)
An innate force resource only available to the noble descendants of First Emperor Haycien von Saharan or his chosen successor.
A power that allows the user to penetrate into the matter and change the state of the matter:
✩ While using the red energy on your attacks you have a 2% chance of your attacks doing debuffs against your opponent (stun for 3 seconds, blind, fear, slow, Increase your Damage in 10-20% on the opponent for 25 seconds, Decrease target's Damage in like 10-20% for 25 seconds, amour reduction to a random number according to the rate of the ability)
The red energy according to the amount contained in the user has the following effect:
For every 10 points of your Red Energy not consumed, your Primary Stats: (Strength, Stamina, Agility, Intelligence) increased by 10%
Red Energy: [10/60]
Unique Ability: [Item Enchant] [Energy Manipulation]
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[Item Enchant] - You can enhance the performance of your weapons by using your red energy for 20 minutes. DAMAGE of weapon increased by 15% Crit Hit chance +2%, Crit Hit DMG bonus + 20%
Skill Cost: 15 Red Energy
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[Energy Manipulation] - You can freely manipulate your red energy to attack or assist yourself. There will be different results to the choices you take in using the red energy. Each minute of manipulation costs 5 Red Energy.
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✰It takes 60 seconds for the user to recover 1 RE while in combat or outside of combat
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"This is how it feels to have a class? For me, it feels as if someone woke me from a coma and brought me gifts after gifts."
Turning down his skill list tree, he was welcomed by the appearance of four skills along with Haycien's Mastery skill, which were not something an Epic class should give.
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[Haycien's Mastery - Lv.1]
Rating: Ancient
*** The culmination of experience and mastery in Haycien's entire life has been accumulated inside this art. The Red Emperor, a master of all weapons who crashed all the various races of the Middle Earth in his conquest for Power, has created techniques and attacks for each weapon, but because you, the Successor, are still young and inexperienced, he only bestowed upon you the ones he thought would suit you after watching your experiences.
Your Mastery in the art increases in level, the user will unlock more techniques belonging to the Red Emperor.
You can become one with your weapon at any time. Increases physical attacks by 20% and magical attacks by 5%, critical hit rate by 5%, critical hit power by 50%
* This effect can be applied to any weapon with a cutting edge while equipped
* The number of available skills. (4)
* Every time the skill level rises, you will be bound to receive new techniques.
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"I see, so whenever I level up this skill tree, more skills will appear for me. Interesting, truly interesting, it even makes me want to forget about the pain, but if more honey is given to me, I will not lash at the old man."
Finishing inspecting his skill, he got down the skills offered by the mastery and was dumbfounded by their complexity and what percentages of damage they would deal after executing them. His face soured a bit, remarking one problem he might encounter.
"Aren't those techniques too complicated for me to learn, look at those instructions, not even Corvus was so crazy to make such techniques, or he is but didn't show me the complicated techniques?"
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[Eclipsing Rose – Lv. 1]
Rating: Secret
A movement that Haycien created in his younger days while trying to imitate the grand atmosphere of an eclipsing sun and also the sharpness of the Rose thorns.

Deals 550% of your physical attack power to a single target. Once hit, the target will be given the 'Bleeding' and 'Despair' effects and the 'Disarm' effect will be temporarily applied.
* Disarm effect corresponds to the area that is hit.
* The bleeding and despair effects won't apply to targets that can resist abnormal statuses.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a weapon with a sharp edge equipped.
Skill Mana Cost: 650 MP
Red Energy Consumption: 10 RE
Skill Stamina Consumption: Consumes 10 STA energy
Skill cooldown time: 5 minutes.
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[Waning Moon – Lv.1]
Rating: Secret
An attack that follows the movement of swaying back and thrusting, dealing three piercing attacks in the front line before doing a spin attack and continuing the assault or disengaging from the fight.
Deals 175% physical attack power to the enemy in the path of the weapon blade. Each of the piercing attacks has a 5% chance of causing the bleed debuff and armour debuff to the enemy wounded successfully.
After the end of the piercing attacks, the user gains a 50% boost in attack speed for a duration of 60 seconds, and the spinning attack of the spear moon deals 350% physical attack power in an AOE attack.

* This skill isn't affected by attack speed debuffs.
* The debuffs are weakened if the target affected is resistant to abnormal statuses.
Mana Consumption: 500
Red Energy Consumption: 6 RE
Skill cooldown time: 1 minutes.
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[Soul Spear – Destruction - Lv.1]
Rating: Secret
Just like the formless essence that is the soul, this skill tries to emulate the intangible feeling and the unseen form of souls. Only after the movement of the soul and achieving the absolute countering will the destruction come about.
During the casting, it will return all attacks with 100% of the power. Targets hit by the counterattack will expose their weak points and take more damage the next time they are hit. There is also a 10% chance of debuffs being afflicted to the target countered.
* Lasts for three seconds and can be deactivated to use other skills during this time.
Mana Consumption: 650 MP
Red Energy Cost: 8 RE
Skill Cooldown Time: 2 minutes
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[Ghost Spear – Mars – Lv. 1]
Rating: Secret
Swings the weapon wide to attack the enemies nearby and force them backwards. An ability that tries to simulate the dignity of Mars, the God of War in the ancient empire of the first world.
Pulls all enemies in a radius of 10 meters to your side, dealing 225% physical attack power and slowing down all speeds by 25%. It also has a high probability of causing them to 'lose balance. And other abnormal statuses belonging to the Red Energy'

* A target that resists abnormal statuses will only have a 30% reduction in movement speed.
* If a target blocks it, the 'violent shockwave' effect will occur, and the defense effect is ignored.
* There is a high probability that when causing the enemy backwards for them to receive bonus damage if landing on their back.
Mana Consumption: 500 MP
Red Energy Cost: 8 RE
Skill cooldown time: 2 minutes.
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"This will be hard for me, especially managing the Red Energy. Just using those four skills I go half on that resource and all my mana. However, this will be a revamp to my old skills, since my arsenal is kind of limited when it comes to melee attacks."
Pondering on his new changes, he felt his body slowly being empowered each minute he was standing doing nothing but checking his status and new skills, with a layer of red aura emitted by his body which looked calm at first glance.
"This feeling, I can sense this warmth from my heart. Could it be that my heart is the one generating this energy? Let me see if I can work and mold this energy into something."
Closing his crimson eyes while taking a deep breath, he extended his hand toward the lake, where he started guiding the red energy like how he would do the Arcane Energy, it didn't take long for him to understand that the concept was closely related to the Arcane, and while his mind was soothed by the pain he suffered by this warm wave of energy, his palm started forming a little hummingbird.
Feeling himself calmer when sensing the little creature in his hand being formed, he woke from his stupor and watched the hummingbird in his palm, as if it was a small Phoenix bird.
[You have successfully used 'Energy Manipulation' consuming 5 Red Energy.]
Giving a small smile, he had the bird slowly open its wings following his mind commands, which made him talk to himself, commenting on his observations.
"This feeling really makes me a psychic from those fantasy stories. It isn't really that bad, since I have some training controlling the arcane, this red energy will just come in handy."
"Now, let me see how far you can go, little bird."
Ending that, he controlled the bird using his mind to fly in the air, and move around circles where he noted his range of control was 1000 meters, but before the cooldown of his skill was over, he wanted to see how far he could push his limits.
"I lost the mental link to it." remarked Mathias after the hummingbird that still had 30 seconds of playtime with Mathias went in the distance of the forest.
"Hah, the most I can go before losing control is 1200 meters. Plenty."
Giving another try, in just five minutes he consumed his entire Red Energy, where he returned back to his normal state, he tried to use the Red Energy to attack and found surprising results, having an attack hit 80% of his attack power or magic power, while the method of using the Red Energy for defensive porpoises was an eye-opening for him.
He could buff his armor, and improve the defense by 10-20% for five minutes, he could also concentrate the energy to form constructs just like with the arcane.
As he played around at the lakeshore his left hand started giving off dark-purple lights while his right hand was giving off a crimson light, time passed, and even his headache was eliminated but kept persisting because of his failed ideas.
"I should clean up the mess at the tree before leaving. I need to refill my resources to take on Iljnoks and take Dahlia's Tears from the Kobold Elder."
The now, crimson-haired young man, moved toward the Ancient Tree, where he began to push back the ground he dug to get the ring, which was in itself some patience training for Mathias.
Only after he was done, and checked to see if the tree was alright after the ring removal, he followed moving down the Gravelmark Mountain, with the intent of finding the mutated bear who was a challenge for him to face in the Beta Phase and put an end to him early on.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 78
Vol. 2 - Chapter 24 - The New Party
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On his way toward the base of Gravelmark, he encountered a pack of Dire Wolfs, of level 20, which started growling at him as he descended the mountain.
"Do you wish to die?"
Asked Mathias after turning his attention to the beasts gazing deeply with his crimson eyes at the Dire Wolves, while his body was giving off an imposing Red Aura which made the wolves cower away.
The wolves could sense that they were no match for Mathias, and retreated quickly to the interior of the mountain, afterward he resumed his journey toward the cave, and as he got closer and closer to the cave, he could hear the sound of people discussing something with a voice of a man being predominant.
"This is the third time we have failed this raid that we found in this mountain after following that Beta User guide from the past."
"Anjo, we need more people for this raid, otherwise we can't defeat the bear. You also noticed that after each instance that monster grows in levels and becomes more powerful." mentioned a girl in a calm voice, which made the same man, called Anjo, reply.
"From where should I get such a high-level player, Vivian? We are high rankers, we need people who are level 20+ otherwise, if we feed that bear with cannon fodder, we will just sabotage ourselves."
"I don't know Anjo, but I am not getting there to get myself killed by the bear just because you are stubborn."
"Tsk, let me think."
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Mathias, who surprisingly could hear them for a large distance without even approaching them to eavesdrop, stepped closer to the cave point where an arrow was shot in his direction with the appearance of a girl with brown hair and a Caucasian appearance wearing skin-tight leather armor and holding a bow in her hands.
'[Arcane Barrier]'
Fully aware he didn't have time to dodge the arrow, he cast his protective shield and got hit by the arrow before a dark-purple lighting struck the huntress in question, Vivian.
[You have suffered 287 damage.]
[☆ Arcane Barrier effect 'Reflect' has been triggered, dealing 123 damage to Vivian.]
"Argh! What was that lighting strike?" inquired the young woman, who was pushed back by the reflect of Mathias' spell.
When she reacted vigilantly and even fired a preventive shot at Mathias, while the rest of the players in her group also came to back her up, with a blonde man in his mid-twenties, wearing leather armor and a longsword at his waist, followed by a black-skinned person, wearing the attire of a knight, followed by one blonde girl with the attire of a magician.
"Vivian, do we have an enemy monster on our hands?" asked Anjo, the blonde man, but when he turned his attention to Mathias in the distance, he could see the crimson-haired man with ruby eyes surrounded by a dark-purple barrier, wearing a clean black suit with a victorian style black hat, gazing at them in a calm manner.
"What are you doing Vivi? This person is a player."
"I know, but what about it? The player community is filled with backstabbers looking for opportunities." remarked the huntress, and when Mathias started walking toward her, she pulled the string of her bow again.
"Your face seems familiar to me. Especially the two young ladies and the warrior. Where have I met you in the past?" mentioned Mathias not caring much about the wound he gained, because his HP began recovering even when he was in a fight because of the Regeneration Stat, recovering 6 HP each second.
"That voice? Are you Mathias? The one who helped us with the Empar Forest?" asked the magician girl called Paula, who recognized Mathias's voice rather quickly.
"I see so that feeling of familiarity wasn't for nothing, it was you guys." replied Mathias who walked closer and closer to the group, but with the huntress still on her tiptoes ready to strike, it made Mathias chuckle, before turning a bit serious.
"Huntress, do you want something from me? If you keep showing your sharp claws, I might also have to retaliate." said Mathias as he took off his hat that covered his nameplate.
"Vivi, cut it off, can't you see that it is indeed that Mathias?" said Paula to the huntress, who lowered the tension on her bowstring, but watching Mathias vigilantly.
Mathias still had about 4 minutes of 'Arcane Barrier' and he wasn't going to cancel it, just in case that huntress had some ideas behind his back. Placing back his hat, he arrived in front of the ground, greeting them calmly,
"You've reached this deep and even passed Empar Forest, getting to Iljnoks Den. But, I've heard from my passing that you failed to defeat the bear in four, why so?"
"Hah, it is a bit embarrassing to talk about it. But our party doesn't have enough firepower to take down that bear monstrosity, no pun intended Vivian, Paula, but that's the reality. That monster also has a recovery skill which heals him for 5% his HP each second for 15 seconds."
Vivian gritted her teeth, while Paula just sighed, when hearing Anjo tell Mathias the details of their fight.
"Ohh, so you got stuck at that mechanics of Iljnoks fight."
"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me the reason the cave was empty in the Beta Phase was because of you?"
"Well, I don't wish to hail myself, but you got the idea. Now, since I don't want to waste my time too much around here, are you ready to take on a fight against that bear?" asked Mathias the group of players in a casual manner, which made the group have an inner discussion.
@Anjo <Mathias, is one of the first players of the Beta Phase, and if he is right, he even defeated Iljnoks while he was only level 25. What do you say guys, are we going to try again or coward in fear?>
@MikeIron <I got most of that monster attack patterns so if I don't make any stupid mistakes, I could tank as long I get some heals from you Paula>
@Paula: <I can't guarantee you anything. However, I am willing to give it a try again.>
@Anjo: <Vivi? What do you say, another try?"
Vivian: <Hmph, I will try again, but if you blame me for not delivering enough DPS, I am done with this boss fight and party. As for that 'Secret' guy, we'll see how good a Beta Player is>
@Anjo: <Aren't we also Beta Players?>
Vivian: <You call playing two weeks a Beta Phase experience? Anjo, don't fool yourself, the original Beta Players are the ones who began from day 0. Anyway, I'll do it, go send an invitation to that Mathias guy.>
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Finishing with their discussion, while Mathias walked toward the den entrance, he was stopped by their party invitation.
[You have been invited by 'Anjo' to the 'Leveling Experience' party.]
[You have accepted the invitation.]
Accepting the invitation, he opened the party system interface, where he saw the information of all members of the party.
[Anjo: Lv. - 23 (Warrior)
MikeIron: Lv. - 22 (Guardian)
Vivian: Lv. - 24 (Ranger)
Paula: Lv. - 22 (Nature Magician)
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Mathias: Lv. 23 (???) (A/N: Players can choose if they want to disclose their class information to others) ]

"Hmph, you are just level 23 even after knowing most of the beginning content?" inquired Vivian, as if to rub some salt into Mathias's unexisting wounds.
"Haha, how cute. Are you ready, little huntress?" asked Mathias, after turning his crimson eyes at Vivian which the latter was also focusing on, making her ponder.
'What is up with the crimson hair and crimson eyes? All the videos on the forum that captured you, are when you had black hair. Don't tell me you dyed your hair? But the eyes can't be explained, so what happened to you? Black Spearman?'
"Who are you calling cute and little huntress? I will show you what I am capable off." responded Vivian after breaking away from her thoughts, following Mathias who entered the instance.
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[You are about to enter the instance 'Mutated Bear Den'. Once you enter inside, you can't exit the instance.]
Not stopping in place, he entered inside the instance, where darkness entered his crimson eyes with a moldy atmosphere around him, and with dirt on the ground. The tunnel system of the den was the same, without any changes and immediately after his presence was felt, Giant Rats started exiting from the crevices of the tunnel.
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[Giant Rat - Lv. 18] (7000 HP)
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"Wait for my buffs and I will come to take over the rats." said MikeIron, who saw Mathias walking toward the Giant Rats.
"No need."
'Arcane Intelligence' 'Item Enchant'
A dark-purple eye appeared on his forehead from his buff, and still walking forward, from his hand a red aura started circulating as waves, before entering Ragnius. With all preparations done, he lunged at the Giant Rats starting off with 'Treachery' where each of the jabbing attacks targeting individual rats made them scream in pain, and when the spin sequence of his attack came, he did an AoE attack where all 10 Giant Rats got wounded.
[You have dealt 540 damage to the targets.]
[Critical]
[You have dealt 1030 damage to the targets.]
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Afterwards, seeing all the rats gathered around him, he saw it as a good chance to test his new skills, and with his crimson eyes turning dead serious, he gripped Ragnius shaft tight, and concentrated his Red Energy on the spear, before doing a large spinning swing in an 360 * radius.
'[Ghost Spear - Mars]'
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When he did that swing spin, the force and momentum he felt was another experience compared to 'Treacheries' spins or even a basic spinning attack. The wind created by his attack blasted all the Giant Rats around him, hitting the walls of the cave, causing more damage to them in the process.
[You have dealt 736 AoE damage, and successfully triggered the debuff 'Slow', slowing the enemy hit by 'Ghost Spear - Mars' attack by 25% for two minutes.]
There were some critical hits, on two of the Giant Rats, and behind him the arrows started flying, hitting the Giant Rats spread out from Marhias who was releasing a red aura around himself.
[Party member 'Vivian' has dealt 850 damage, with skill 'Power Shot' to Giant Rat]
[Party member 'Vivian' has dealt 650 damage, with skill 'Power Shot' to Giant Rat]
[Party member 'Vivian' has dealt 720 damage, with skill 'Power Shot' to Giant Rat]
"What are you waiting for, guys? Go into action and start doing something, we can't have only one person fight." said Vivian, as she put another arrow on her bow, pulling it and using another skill, targeting the Giant Rats.
Once she said that, the Warrior Anjo, also jumped in the fight, slashing at the rats using his longsword, while MikeIron, activated his taunting skills while shouting some curses at the rats, drawing the aggro on himself. Paula, started channeling her mana, and 'Nature Protection' which buffed the entire party with a defense increase by 15%.
Mathias was surprised too see the coordination of the party and how smooth their transitions were, from attacking and retreating, with Vivian making him whistle when seeing her damage and fast long ranged attacks.
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[You have defeated one 'Giant Rat' gaining the following rewards: 100 EXP, 50 silver coins]
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[Party Member 'Vivian' has defeated one 'Giant Rat' granting you the following rewards: 50 EXP, 15 silver coins]
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[Party Member 'Anjo' has defeated one 'Giant Rat' granting you the following rewards: 50 EXP, 20 silver coins]
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When they finished the rats, the party took a break to recover their resources, chance where Paula asked Mathias about his magic spells, to which he just told her it was something he gained from a dungeon, without making his skills sound all that great.
"What about the spear skills? I've watched you do that spinning strike which dealt about 7000 or more damage in total against the rats."
"Just your average skills, if it was a 1vs1 situation it wouldn't be that strong. AoE skills are only good in such cases, and you also need the correct enemy because if it was a smarter monster, it wouldn't attack me like a flood." commented Mathias, who rapidly recovered his mana, without suffering many hits from the rats.
"Don't try to brush it off, you are among the first Beta Users, you sure hoarded on some skills without sharing with people." remarked Vivian picking up the arrows from where the Giant Rats vanished in gray fragments.
"Hehe, what if I tell you, I didn't even respawn in Titan to gain the advantage of quests? I am just your average player, haha."
'The Leader of Leviathan?'
"Average? You are part of the Leviathans" continued Vivian, pointing out something surprising for the party, as for Mathias, he looked at the woman with a look that questioned her.
"Ohh, has my guild become famous?" asked Mathias insinuating he didn't know what she implied.
"Famous? Red, Evan and Lane destroyed an entire guild who was hoarding on a hunting ground in Dewars. Do you want to know what Red told the Guild Leader of Blackdawns?"
"Not really." replied Mathias gazing at the huntress, who still continued.
"If you wish to declare war on the Leviathan besides fighting me, you will have to face other players that you will fear until the game ends."
'That big mouth. This is why he passed the guild leadership to me? To push off the burden of managing guild relations after he messes up?' thought Mathias to himself, before entering the Guild chat, and starting to ask questions, and pulling Red's tongue out for answers.
Soon enough, Red just replied to Mathias' message in a casual manner.
Red: Don't worry man, those are just some scrubs who thought of themselves as some great players. That guild is also based on Dewars, so if they want to fight against us, it is only me, Lane, Evans in this region. Thus far, we only antagonized those guys.
Mathias: Only those guys?
Evans: I mean, guild leader, what would you do when some retard comes into your face and tells you they own the hunting ground as if it is his home.
Mathias: Ignore his bullshit?
Lane: That's exactly what we did, but those fuckers later come to kill steal our hunt, so we obviously PK them.
The group made of four could see Mathias facepalm himself, before not long returning his attention to them.
"Done with your recovery? Are you ready for the next part of the tunnel?"
"Yes, we can advance." replied Anjo, who took the lead along with MikeIron, and Mathias, who used his Red Energy to make a bird he sent out in advance to scout the tunnels.
'Hmm, there's new changes to the instances, those tunnels didn't exist before.' contemplated Mathias who extended his sense using his Red Energy bird, and also his abilities.
"YIP, ME KILL!" screamed from one of the tunnels he was scouting, before the bird collided with a creature the size of a kobold, that looked rather morbid.
"YOU NO TAKE CANDLE!"
Vivian ranger senses picked on the commotion, turning herself to the tunnel the kobold who screamed was heard, and with her Bow drawn, she called out her skill in a calm manner.
"[Skullpiercer Shot]"
[Party member 'Vivian' has dealt 2037 damage to an Undead Kobold Kott.]
"Bullseye! Guys it seems we have missed some content from this instance by ignoring those split-up tunnels." remarked the huntress, who took another arrow, drawing it tensing the bow, and firing another shot.
"[Power Shot]"
[Party member 'Vivian' has dealt 656 damage to an Undead Kobold Zazz.]
As she drew for another shot, from the tunnel a group of 6 kobolds exited the tunnel, looking like rotten kobolds, similar in style to Iljnoks which made Mathias to frown, starting to ponder on what this new change meant.
'New content? Those tunnels were not here in the Beta Phase. Hmm, they should be the Champions of the Kobolds that got killed by Iljnoks mentioned by Vek.'
While he was trying to figure out the new changes, the party already started working on killing the new monsters, without putting them to heart, since compared to Iljnoks they were far weaker. Yet, there was some level of difficulty compared to the Giant Rats, and the first one to test the power of those undead creatures was MikeIron who even as a Tank class was pushed back.
"Damn, those little dead bags really have power in their attacks." commented MikeIron, who used his Guardian Shield to block most attacks from the six Undead Kobold Champions who were themselves mini field bosses.
"[Iron Guard]"
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[Iron Guard]: You fortify your defenses, reducing melee damage taken by 40% for 15 seconds. You also gain Immunity to knockback and knockup effects for the duration.
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The fight only began when the kobolds entered their first phase after Anjo, Vivian, MikeIron and Paula took 25% of the kobolds HP, before things turned fast paced in the fight.
Mathias entered the fight only at this point after he put in order his fleeting thoughts, assisting in the fight, an already successful party from his standpoint.
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[Undead Kobold Zazz -Lv. 28](18750 / 25000 HP) / [Undead Kobold Kott - Lv. 29](18345/ 25000 HP) / [Undead Kobold Mekks-Lv. 30](18750 / 26000 HP)
[Undead Kobold Solbe - Lv. 29](18345/ 25000 HP) / [Undead Kobold Nive -Lv. 28](18750 / 25000 HP) / [Undead Kobold Appi - Lv. 30](19345/ 27000 HP)
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Entering the fight, the stress on Mike's shoulder was instantly lifted, when he saw the dark-purple projectile fly past his head and blast the undead monsters that he was taunting, dealing a significant hit of [850], before seeing another three of the same looking projectiles who flew around, hitting randomly three of the kobolds, dealing [1316] per hit.
Next, he saw the crimson-haired man get in melee range, and strike with his spear in quick succession three times, later jumping using his spear almost hitting the tunnel roof with his head while descending and striking three of the closer undeads with 'Bloodfall', dealing a hit of [813] damage.
"YOU NO TAKE CANDLE!" screamed the undead starting to hit MikeIron harder, with their frail bodies giving off a green liquid that released smoke when touching the ground, which when touching his Shield he got a debuff that shocked him.
"Fuck, they hold toxins which turn your items into garbage for a period of time."
"Keep the front line, Mike. I will buy you a shield from the auction market." said Vivian, who fired off at the kobolds at full gear, that she started giving off an intense presence around her, which made Mathias who was fighting the kobolds notice.
'I wonder what class is that, except for being a Ranger. Weren't you mad at me for being a Beta Phase player, young lioness? Aren't you hitting almost the same as me?"
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The fight continued against the kobold undeads, and after five minutes of fighting, to save his shield MikeIron started to retreat, handing the aggro to Mathias who took it without sweating too much, holding them at bay using his 'Arcane Barrier' and 'Ghost Spear - Mars' which would blast the enemy around him, however on his third try of this spell in the fight against the Undead Kobolds, the pull effect was triggered.
"You fool, what are you doing, do you try to kill us? Why pull them so close to the party?"
"The skill backfired on me." replied Mathias not placing to heart the comments of the huntress, while preparing to eat the hits of the monsters.
[You have suffered 468 damage.]
[You have suffered 346 damage.]
[You have suffered 420 damage.]
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Followed by one more hit which hit him for [445] damage, before he rebounded and unleashed 'Waning Moon' one of Haycien's techniques that had at the basics a trigger sequence similar to 'Treachery', and luckily for him the activation was successful, not making a fool of himself.
Starting with the three lighting fast jabs similar to 'Piercing Rain' in style but holding a greater force, he stopped the other two kobolds from attacking him, and while gathering his spear closer to him, he did a spin attack closely related to [Mars] technique wounding all of the monsters in the process and while they charged to attack him, he stepped back, attacking with basic attacks that were boosted by 50% attack speed.

"Don't come this way! Anjo, take on the aggro."
"You know my forte is not tanking monsters. Mike, come here man, switch to your sword and help us."
"Damn, if my sword or shield gets destroyed all of you will have to pay." remarked the Guardian who from the backline, shouted like a madman.
"Thundering Charge"
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[Thundering Charge]: Increase your movement speed by 100% for 5 seconds. At the end of the duration, you will stomp the ground dealing 150% of your attack power. This attack will generate threat. While this effect is active you cannot stop moving.
Cooldown: Five minutes
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"Move, I'll take care of those zombie rats." shouted MikeIron, who felt like superman flying toward his enemy, and when he arrived in front of the party gathering the attention of all the kobolds using another skill, 'Arcing Strike', with all the monsters focused on him again, he stomped on the ground dropping the kobolds on the floor.
"Paula, give me some healing, I got touched by their toxin."
"I got your back, don't worry. You guys continue your fight, and I will make sure you don't die." said the nature magician, who pointed her staff toward Mathias casting a spell which restored his mana, instead of health.
"Thanks, after this instance, I would like to try to learn that spell."
"Sorry, but this is a locked ability just for Nature Magicians."
"What a shame. Still, an interesting spell."
"Arcane Barrage." casted Mathias his spell, shooting another three arcane missiles in the direction of the kobolds who were occupied with IronMike.
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The fight took another five minutes before the zombie Kobolds dropped on the ground, turning into gray light, even for Mathias.
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[You have leveled up!]
"Let's continue on this path, maybe we will find more monsters." suggested Anjo, who began recovering his resources.
"This is my intent, last time when I was here, those tunnels didn't exist. So I am more intrigued than you are." mentioned Mathias, who checked the EXP his skill had accumulated along with Ragnius that began getting closer and closer to upgrading, returning back to his Normal Rate.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 79
Vol. 2 - Chapter 25 - Necromancer Mallus
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Stepping deeper inside the tunnel after defeating the Undead Kobolds, they started to feel around themselves the putrid smell of death encroaching closer and closer, and slowly entering a room carved in the mountain that was like a study room, similar in style to the one in the Fortress Ruins, Mathias explored.
The room was dark but in this eerie atmosphere, there was the fire of torches giving some light to this room.
Once entering inside the party entered fight mode, preparing themselves for the unexpected.

Nevertheless, in this eerie room, where silence and death ruled, a weak voice could be noticed, bringing forth the miasma of death as his voice entered the ears of the party.
It wasn't an act of provocation, instead, his voice seemed surprised and even welcoming.
"Guests? How rare. Ever since those kobold rats entered my study room, my creation kept them busy without disturbing me. Who are you and what do you wish from me?"
Mathias gazed rapidly at the frail middle-aged man whose skin was white-pale, looking like a skeleton with flesh skin on his body, and immediately released his Red Energy, preparing to block any incoming attacks.
(ΨΨ)[Mallus - Lv. 45] (70.000 HP)
@MikeIron: We are dead, that is a level 45 boss.
@Anjo: It is what it is. It will suck that we will be logged out for 24 hours.
Vivian: Wait, you guys don't be so pessimistic. Mathias, do you have any plans for the fight?
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Mathias saw the party chat conversation between the four, and stepping forward toward the necromancer, without having any fear in his eyes, he asked him something simple before acting aggressively.
"You are the one who raised from the death those dead kobolds who I presume got killed by Iljnoks?"
"Ohh, so it was you who killed those failed puppets. Indeed, it is I who raised them from their pathetic fate and give them a new purpose. Why bother asking me something so insignificant, young man?
Could it be that you want to participate in my studies and be part of my final creation? This place doesn't miss guinea pigs, so you better leave now while I feel content."

Mathias who heard the pale man, mention so nonchalantly about his experiments and even courteously inviting him to participate as if he was just an ant in his eyes. It made Mathias ruby eyes shine a bit in this dark room, feeling disgusted by the experiments he saw around himself.
Taking out Ragnius and stabbing it vertically next to him, still gazing at Malus with his sharp eyes.
"The dark arts sure have their ways of corrupting the people, or you were evil by circumstances."
"Yet, necromancer, before we start fighting you I have a simple question for you?"
The necromancer who was holding in his hand a dark staff studied Mathias, and to buy himself more time, he didn't hesitate to let Mathias ask freely.
"Go ahead, young man."
"What is the reason for doing all of this? Surrounding and embracing death and the dark arts in such a way? Is it really worthed? All the suffering, the risk of losing your life in the end for such madness?"
Malus got surprised by how calmly Mathias was speaking with him, since he was expecting some brazen adventurer full of hypocritical justice and enouncing all short of poems before attacking him, but with Mathias, it was a new change in approach even for him.
He remained quiet for a while and watched the party behind Mathias readying themselves to strike, but got stopped by Mathias who raised his hand, giving the perception he really wanted to hear his story.
"You wouldn't understand even if I tell you what I pursue and what I suffered in this life. For Power, so I could get my revenge against a certain someone, Duke Moroiz to be specific, I've abandoned all my humanity to pursue the strongest path to power. He who killed my tribe, who I swore of taking revenge, I am who I am right now. Have I satisfied your curiosity, young man?"
Asked Mallus, who finished his preparations, starting channeling his dark powers, but in the same time, Mathias who heard this side story, could only laugh a bit sarcastically.
"Pathetic." remarked Mathias, shattering all of Mallus preparations, who frowned and give Mathias a wicked expression, to which the crimson-haired man who wasn't one bit scared of the necromancer, continued.
"Eternal life and revenge? The typical cliche ranges of motives for any villain. It is quite sad seeing how even here people would degenerate just because of those three aspects. Money gives you power, money gives you an extended life, money can give you revenge if you know how to use it. Hah, but I digress, let's put an end to this since you are nothing more but one of the small pawns who suffered from a grand game. There are so many ways of getting revenge on one single person without dragging into mud others, but an insignificant person like you wouldn't even contemplate it."
Extending his right hand, a red sparrow exited his hand, illuminating the darkroom, revealing the necromancer's madness that was awakened after hearing Mathias's mocking tone, along with his surrounding kobold ghouls who were like watchdogs.
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With the distraction created by his Red Energy manipulation which began attacking the necromancer, Mathias with his left hand opened released the 'Arcane Barrage' sending off three projectiles one after another, which collided head-on with the enemy, dealing a total damage of [3948] before activating 'Raven's Movement' and appearing in front of the necromancer and ghouls with his untied crimson hair moving in the wind he created barely kept in check by his hat.
The necromancer gazed with his cold brown eyes at Mathias's spear that was giving off black energy that was releasing raven's feathers, a point where his face gestured an immediate change, trying to use his spells to protect himself, shouting his spell.
"Bone Shield"
Yet it was too late, Mathias's [Nemphys Lament] pierced his chest dealing a critical hit thanks to his critical hit chance and the party members could see first hand how his skills looked if he was serious.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 4962 damage to the target, and successfully caused the debuff 'Weakened' for one minute against Maluss]
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With Vivian getting ready since Mathias attacked, she checked the effects of the 'Weakened' debuff and was surprised about how strong it was, weakening the boss monster for 20% of its defense.
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The necromancer screamed in pain like it was the wail of a monster, before gazing with his cold eyes at Mathias who drew back his spear from the formed bone shield surrounding Mallus, and instantly bite his hand, spewing toward Mathias, calling out a spell.
"Curse of Agony"
As he retreated, hearing the necromancer cast his spell, he later noticed that blood spewed by Maluss in his direction morphed into a mist that was bound to him.
[You have been hit by 'Curse of Agony' and will suffer 138 magic damage each second for 24 seconds]
"Curse you, foolish man, even if your clothes are protected by mana runes, lowering the pain you would fear otherwise from my curse, you will die. All of you will die. Even if you know Crow's technique, this will not save you at all."
"Immolate"
Another spell cast by the necromancer, targeting Mathias sending off a blazing dark fire in his direction, which the later dodged at hair length, causing the ground to be burned continuously, while Mathias charged at the necromancer and attacked him with 'Treachery' which was mainly blocked by the necromancer 'Bone Shield'.
Still, when Vivian sent one of her attacks while the bones were focusing on blocking Mathias's spear attacks, she managed to hit Mallus right in his head, causing a 'Headshot' effect, dealing 3x critical damage.
[Party member 'Vivian' dealt 1884 damage to Mallus with 'Skullpiercer Shot']
The party member also entered in fight mode, with MikeIron and Anjo arriving in melee range to Mallus and starting attacking him, and seeing himself encircled the necromancer didn't lose his calm, and with his body shining with a putrid green light, he sent a wail shout.
"Howl of Terror"
This skill of the necromancer sent a fear debuff to everyone in the range of his spell, with only Mathias resisting and continuing fighting the necromancer and kobold ghouls that numbered 15 while Paula kept healing him and also buffing him with nature blessings.
Paula looked with slight fear when seeing this gory fight, between Mathias and the Necromancer, and could only help from behind the lines with healings and supporting spells.
<Mother Tree, please give me strength to fight this evil>
[The World Tree has listened to your prayer and blessed you with 'Nature Power III' granting you a boost to your stats by 30%]
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Viviana also helped Mathias with everything she could do gritting her teeth when seeing him tank all of the attacks of the monsters while Anjo and MikeIron were feared.
"[Spread Arrows]"
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[Spread Arrows]: For the next 15 seconds, your Ranged Auto Attacks fired additional shots at enemies near your targets.
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Starting to place more arrows on her string, she started shooting three arrows at once, dealing damage to Mallus and also focusing on the kobolds who attacked Mathias in a fierce manner, for 15 seconds, she was busy attacking at the fastest rate her body allowed before slowing down when MikeIron used his 'Thundering Charge' colliding head-on with the kobolds and Mallus, and stomping hard on the ground shaking the floor and taking the aggro from Mathias, who stepped back drinking two potions to recover his HP that was at 40% and MP that was 20%.
MikeIron immediately when the monsters started attacking him, asked like a bullied kid his parents.
"Paula! Please do some blessings or this meatblock will perish and I'll say bye-bye to this juice EXP."
"[Nature Growth]" "[Nature Resilience]"
With the new buffs to the Guardian, he roared like a beast and used his sword to attack the kobolds and Mallus, while Anjo came along and did a flurry of sword strikes, and like this, the fight kept on going until Maluss reached 50% HP, and with his staff raised up he screamed like a demon.
"Rain of Fire"
Instantly his surroundings started turning into a hellscape with the fire burning everywhere around Mallus, with fire that dropped like rain droplets, and instantly burning the players in the fight, such was Mathias who even when using 'Arcane Barrier' couldn't block the 'Burning' debuff which caused another dot attack on himself apart from the 'Curse of Agony' which eat at his HP.
'This fight I can feel the pressure. My stats and attack power finally have been balanced out by this strong enemy.' thought Mathias quickly reacting faster than his party members, throwing Anjo and MikeIron from the range of the fire, and using his Red Energy, he created another layer to the 'Arcane Barrier' which to his surprise worked as he intended, boosting the effects of the barrier to a 50% protection.
"Paula, do you best. I will enter a state where I will bother with potions since they will stall the momentum of my attacks. Do the Mana buff too since I will go all out." said Mathias to the young lady who was under heavy pressure right now, having to keep everyone alive and also herself.
She saw Anjo and MikeIron thrown back, affected by the burning which took 5% of their HP each second, but not shifting her attention on them, she gave Mathias a buff which boosted his Mana Resource, before giving another buff to Vivian who moved at the boundary of the 'Rain of Fire' to tell Mathias something.
"[Gift of Nature]" "[Nature's Focus]"
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Vivian, who was one who could be said to take some of the burden off Mathias's shoulders, told him that her class had a stage where she would enter a burning phase and her damage would skyrocket.
"Listen here, Black Spearman, I know you can hold your own 1vs1 against this high-level boss, so don't die. I will start focusing on generating more of my Hunter's Marks to enter my burning phase. But if you die, I will also die instantly because I lack defense."
"I see, but what makes you think I am not fighting at the best of my capabilities?" asked Mathias who was fighting Mallus one versus one, after all the kobolds died from the focus attacks of all the party and also Mallus, necromancy skills.
"Tell that to those who filmed you dismantling that 'Whale' in such a careless manner. Anyway, you better don't die, I've spent like twenty gold of arrows in this fight already."
When hearing the huntress, Mathias's serious expression gestured a slight smile, and when he noticed Maluss giving him a wicked expression, he sent a spinning kick pushing the necromancer who visible lacked physical defense, and asking in a rhetorical way.
"What are you looking at with that dead face at, bag of bones?"
"Hahaha, can't I stare at my future rats? I will turn your bodies into the strongest zombies that will rival even Iljnoks. Now, a payback for that kick you bastard! [Searing Pain]!"
Mathias, seeing another flame spell thrown in his direction, was deep down amazed by the plethora of spells this unknown necromancer had under his arsenal, and while he activated 'Raven's Movement' to dodge the attack, he heard Vivian call out her skills, where one even boosted him.
"[Tracker's Focus]"
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[Tracker's Focus - LV.1]
[Manifest your experience as both the hunter and the prey to track down a target.
-Increase your sensitivity and movement speed by 20% when tracking down a target.Up to 10 minutes.
-Enter the 'Muffle' state when you're within 50m radius of their location. up to 5 minutes.
When in a party the first effect is partially shared among party members but the effectiveness depends on your leadership stat, the default value is 10% and is capped at 20%.
Skill cooldown: half the duration of its use.
Skill mana consumption: 250 mana per minute
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"Damned rat, you think you can escape from my spells? Searing Pain"
Mathias who dodged the first spell, stepping closer to the necromancer, used his Red Energy morphing into a bird which collided with the fire, blocking the spell from hitting him, and when he reached in front of him, with a swift spear strike that followed the grandness of a celestial body, and the sharpness of the pure nature.
'[Eclipsing Rose]'
[You have dealt 1924 damage to the target, causing the debuff 'Bleeding' for 20 seconds]
Following the success in executing another of Haycien's techniques, he saw thorns being stuck inside the flesh of the necromancer made out of Red Energy, and continuing his assault while he too was hit by curses which kept him on half of his health constantly, he moved to attack with a basic 'Sweep Thrust' to see how his reactions was.
Mallus blocked the initial sweep attack using his 'Bone Shield' circling around him, along with the 'Thrust' he blocked the shield which cracked a bit, just like how his 'Arcane Barrier' was after being hit constantly by flaming spells. Not giving a chance to cast his spell, Mathias pushed by attacking him with 'Piercing Rain' which increased in level in the face of this high-level boss, turning level 3, and giving Mathias a boost to the attack power, still undetectable as of yet.
His pestering was successful because it made Mallus multitask, fighting against both Mathias's and also Vivian who had a range advantage with her bow.
He also noticed Paula who was healing Mathias, and immediately formulated a game plan to take everyone out and leave out only Mathias who proved himself a challenge he shouldn't scoff at, being constantly stopped by him.
The fight continued like this, with Mallus accumulating and channeling his power, and as a consequence of his new plan, he began suffering from Mathias's and Vivian attacks which brought him closer to his demise, however, when he reached 35% HP, he released a 'Howl of Terror' which reached Vivian fearing her, MikeIron and even Mathias who for the first time felt a chill sensation, where his skin crawled up, later receiving the sensation someone straggled him up.
Looking at Mallus who shifted his focus from him, he saw the necromancer point his staff at Paula who was in the process of casting another supporting spell.
"I've got sick and tired of your magic, whore. Go preach about your Mother Tree all you want to Yatan because I will no longer allow you to pester me and block me from killing those rats."
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[A/N: The creator of Iljnoks, Necromancer Mallus, quite the foe with large potential I shall add too.]
[The fight displayed the strengths of all parties, from the other players, Mallus Necromancer/Warlock skills, and Mathias's new skills.]
 
Saharan Successor - CH 80
Vol. 2 - Chapter 26 - The Necromancer's End
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Paula noticed that she was the one to draw the aggro from Mathias, which shocked her, being the first in all the time she played Satisfy, and immediately a thought run her mind, followed by Mathias whispering in her chatbox.
'This is Satisfy, it should simulate reality. It is obvious this necromancer would attack the weakest target and also the one keeping everyone alive.'
Mathias: Use your defensive cooldowns immediately! I am still feared for 3 seconds before being able to attack him and take on the fight on the right track.
Getting Mathias whisper, as Mallus atmosphere changed extending his staff toward her, starting to shine with a dark light, she casted her defensive spells on herself, even though she wished to use them for her teammates, not wishing to see them die, but because of how alerting Mathias's whisper was, she accepted as if she followed the instructions of a teacher.
'Nature Wall' 'Nature Blessing'
"Hmph, even if you cast those spells, it is still not enough to stop this attack of mine! Suffer and die, you little whore!"
"Burning Madness"
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A jet of burning dark fire was released from Mallus staff, moving directly for Paula who was protected by a green layer of armor, but when the fire made contact with the 'Nature Magician' defensive spell it immediately reacted by first burning on the protective spell, where cracks began appearing making Paula cry in pain from the fire that began to enter the cracks.
"Suffer!"
"ARGHHHH!"
Paula, whose protective spell shattered and was soon about to be hit head-on by the jet of burning fire, could only scream in pain as if she was a banshee. It seems that the end would be soon to happen for the Nature Magician, the key player of the party, was about to be ended first.
"NO, I will not allow this!"
Anjo who escaped from the range of the 'Howl of Terror', being unbound from the nasty "Fear" debuff, charged and slashed at Mallus. Still, the defensive spells of the necromancer were far beyond what damage the warrior could do for the moment, and it seemed to be in vain.
Instead of breaking the activation of the necromancer spell, it made it look as if the warrior's effort only triggered Mallus to cast his spell faster. Seeing this and also hearing Paula's cries of pain from being burned, he immediately moved at top speed to intercept the jet of fire that was about to hit Paula again who reached 15% HP.
Paula who was feeling the realistic pain of being burned, still downscaled by the system pain transmitters, couldn't get enough space to dodge the jet of burning fire, and closing her eyes while trembling, she made her mind to welcome death, unable to change her situation.
"I am sorry everyone, I am too weak."
Saying that in a murmuring voice while her whole body was covered in dark flames, she waited for the second the fire would hit her, but then from not to far, the movement and the presence of someone could be felt, standing in front of her, while saying in a horse voice.
"You are not weak Paula, it is me who is weak for not being able to stop this monster and for being a weak party leader. I've let you guys down again."
Paula opened her eyes to see Anjo's body burning, and losing HP at an accelerated rate, from his initial 75% HP gauge, swiftly in just one second turning to mush reaching 40%, and with another second getting to 10% HP.
"NOO ANJO! Why have you done this? YOU ARE BURNED ALIVE YOU FOOL!" shouted Paula who channeled her mana to cast her healing spells on the valiant warrior who didn't wish to abandon his teammates to the demise of the instance.
"This isn't what getting burned feels. It's just a stinging pain and nothing more."
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Mathias, whose bench time ended, with the [Fear] debuff being canceled, swiftly looked around himself to process all the information, later on focusing his ruby, crimson eyes at the Necromancer, who was still being busy casting his fire spell at Anjo and Paula.
"So what if you saved her? Your death is near, I can feel it." Remarked Mallus in a sinister voice, with his hands also being burned by the dark flames that enveloped the staff he was using.
His expression didn't gesticulate any signs of discomfort or pain, as the black fire was spewing toward the two players, and later on also extending to his hand.
"BURN TO ASHES!" shouted Mallus before releasing a maniacal laugh, like some cliche villain for no reason, as if he enjoyed seeing the blonde warrior flesh being melted.
Meanwhile, Mathias, who comprehended the entire situation since he got "Feared" reacted swiftly, and taking out a mana potion from Lady Olga's stash, he, later on, dashed using 'Raven's Movements' that boosted his agility and sending out 'Treachery' in the Necromancer's direction.
The first attacks got blocked by the 'Bone Shield' of the Necromancer, but the later attacks cracked the defensive spell, opening Mallus's body, with Mathias spinning attacks arriving, blasting completely the bone shield and blasting the frail man backward.
"How have you managed to get away from my 'Howl of Terror' so fast?" asked Mallus who recovered rather fast from the attack he suffered.
Glancing at Mallus as he dashed at him, he remarked in a sarcastic way, preparing his finishing sequence.
"Who should I ask instead, you dead man? Go ask that Yatan of yours when you get in hell."
When Mathias said that, with his arcane energy being channeled since he was doing [Treachery] he casted an 'Arcane Missile' in the direction of the necromancer who was too slow to evade the dark-purple projectile.
[You have dealt 987 damage to Mallus]
Then, getting in melee range with the Necromancer, it looked as if he took the control of the fight again, soloing him, while Vivian and MikeIron still under the 'Fear' debuff, getting an initial of 20 seconds of fear from the necromancer showed signs of recovering.
Anjo, who was no longer getting roasted by Mallus, dropped on the murky floor while gritting his teeth that got bloody from the strength he put in not gesturing any pain, later receiving assistance from Paula who took one mana potion which immediately refiled most of her mana, thus starting casting her healing spells.
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Then she felt the room the fight commenced start shaking around, with Mathias releasing a bright Red Aura around his body making his long crimson hair also release that energy, while two small phoenixes were harassing the necromancer, later hearing the necromancer say something surprising.
"Blasted red mana. No this isn't mana, it is similar to those arrogant bastards looking down on the divisive races. Yes, it is a correct assumption, this is the power of the Imperial House of Saharan."
After Mallus who said his assumption noticed Mathias's surprised face, he shouted at him, later on releasing one of his warlock spells attempting to CC, Mathias.
"WHO ARE YOU TO THE CURSED SAHARANS?"
Still fighting undisturbed by this statement, Mathias remarked in a cold tone.
"I am not one of them so don't think it was one of the Imperials who defeated you. My name is Mathias and just that. A spearman and mage. Nothing more."
Countering his attacks with the burning black staff that burned Mathias's hands along the way after colliding Ragnius with his weapon, heard the Necromancer scoff, with his eyes turning black.
"Don't try to dissuade me, YOU ARE ONE OF THEM, A SAHARAN! What you are using is exactly that cursed power that destroyed my people."
"Ohh, so it wasn't just the Duke that you have problems with, but also those fools called Saharan. Still, you are quite slow to figure out half of the story. To me, you are still the same insignificant person who can't escape from a somber fate after stepping into an abyss you can't swim out."
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Vivian who could hear thanks to her Ranger senses the conversation between Mathias and Mallus while in the feared state, she takes note of all the information brought to light by the Necromancer, which might have solved the mystery of why Mathias didn't disclose his class.

Yet playing along with the appearances of a player, once she was freed beginning her own assault, remarking in boldly.
"Necromancer, you are just too unlucky to have met us! Not even that Yatan you serve will be able to save you from your death."
"Stop shrieking swine, I am not talking to you." shouted Mallus dodging Mathias's spear strike, and later on casting a 'Dark Bolt' that had the intent to blast Vivian to smithers.
"Bastard! What did you just call me?" raged the woman, who immediately jumped like a lioness on a her pray, out of the spell range, before unleashing a storm of arrows that once again put the necromancer on multitasking.
Yet, seconds later, even another person came to the fight, roaring like a black ox, full of muscles and imposing status, MikeIron who attacked Mallus with an attack that had Mathias take note.
"[Death Ram]!"
[Party member 'MikeIron' has dealt 1587 damage to Mallus.]
The ending assault was initiated with Vivian keeping to her words, when the necromancer reached 10% of his HP, starting her burning phase, while IronMike once again took over the job of tanking the necromancer.
The ranger started leaping around the room and unleashing all her skill arsenal, while Mathias too, as Mallus seemed to prepare for a last stand, channeled his mana for an 'Arcane Missile' readying to disturb his schemes while Vivian kept on firing arrows after arrows.
"Haha, I can feel my death! It isn't such a bad feeling." remarked Mallus who took a vial similar to something Mathias had in his possession from the Fortress Ruins Hidden Laboratory which made him react and tell all the party.
Mathias: END HIM RIGHT NOW OR THE FIGHT WILL GET EVEN LONGER AND DANGEROUS!
Vivian: Don't worry, cutie, no one can escape the Huntress Mark!
@MikeIron: I will also do my Ultimate Attack just to be sure this monster dies for good.
@Anjo: I will also contribute with the last hit after all this fight, I have to get revenge on that burning spell he subjected me.
@Paula: My spells will be your support guys!
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Getting his message, the party began their burning phase, starting with Vivian who drew her bowstring to the limit that even her hands began bleeding.
"[Wailing Arrow]"
"[Pulverize]"
"[Bladestorm]!"
"[Wrath]"
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When it was Mathias turn, he casted the 'Arcane Missile' in an instant, hitting the necromancer heart, before from his back a dark-purple portal opened up, sending out a guillotine that reaped the head of the necromancer.
[You have dealt 1698 damage to Mallus.]
[☆ Chaos Blessed has been triggered. Spell: 'Chaos Reaper' has been casted, dealing 4120 damage to Mallus.]
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"You won this time, but my creation will take revenge. I have unsealed all the restrictions placed upon him. This world will suffer from my anguish."
"That will remain to be seen." commented Mathias who watched the necromancer turn into gray light fragments, along with the notification about his and the team's victory.
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[Ding!] [World Achievement! Congratulations, your party has defeated the <Necromancer Mallus> . As a participant in the instance, you will gain the following rewards:]
[You have received 125.000 EXP.]
[You have acquired 100 Gold Coins.]
['Vial of Darkness' has been acquired.]
['Staff of Dark Mending' has been acquired.]
[Blessed Weapon Enhancement Stone (5) has been acquired.]
[Blessed Armor Enhancement Stone (4) has been acquired.]
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[Staff of Dark Mending]
Rating: Epic
Durability: 299/299 / Magic Attack Power: 295
* Intelligence will be decreased by 50 points.
* Magic casting speed will increase by 10%.
* Every time a spell is cast, there is a 5% chance of releasing the passive "Flame of Darkness"
*When casting a spell there is a 5% chance of the passive spell "Bone Shield" to be activated.
* Magic critical chance is increased by 5%.
* Magic critical damage is increased by 30%.
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☆ [Bone Shield] – Absorbs 3500 damage while lasting until the shield is cancelled by the user or broken.
☆ [Flames of Darkness] – Passive: For the duration of 15 seconds you will burn the target the spell you casted targeted for a fixed hit of 500 DMG.
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User restriction: Level 100 / More than 750 INT points.
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[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
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[Do you wish to announce to the world your achievement?]
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After taking note of all the notifications the system had to throw in his direction, he was once again asked if he wanted to spread out his name for everyone to see. Turning toward his teammates, he saw them also level up three or two times, before he heard Anjo and MikeIron say with an excited voice.
"At least, those idiots from the forum will know who I am, and there will no longer be people to say I am a noob. Obviously, I will accept."
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'Noo, wait what are you guys thinking?' thought Mathias before he saw a World Message from the system announcing in a loud voice.
[The team formed by the players 'Anjo' 'Vivian' 'Paula' 'MikeIron' and 'Mathias' have defeated the unique boss <Death's Puppeteer Mallus>]
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While his mind was screaming in frustration for what Anjo did, another notification came to him as a consequence of the <World Announcement>.
[Your name has been marked down inside the minds of your brethren. You have defeated a person with great potential who has been deemed a dangerous adversary to the Saharan Successor, in doing so gaining 5% Progression Experience to your growth.]
[You gained 1000 reputation points inside the Saharan Empire.]
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"WOOHOO! We will be a superstar soon baby!" shouted Anjo and MikeIron laughing like some fools, while Vivian facepalmed herself, Paula chuckled a bit, and Mathias, well Mathias was deep inside his brain contemplating on what the last part of the system implied.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 81
Vol. 2 - Chapter 27 - Entering the Kobold Tribe Settlement
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From the 'World Announcement' which was a first since the game began 3 weeks ago, everyone was clamoring to find out who the party who managed to achieve such a feat was. Just as the announcement ended, a storm of salty players, along with two guys he placed his eyes on their name tags called 'Grid' and 'Katz' came about to throw some insults to Mathias in his private whisper box, that started annoying him, into quickly turning off all incoming messages from people he didn't have on his friend list.

'Bunch of degenerates, why insult me so much when I didn't even want this announcement to be made. Hah, whatever, back to my business. If I gained 5% to my class growth from defeating Mallus, does this mean I have to hunt down bosses to grow my class? Isn't this class requirement too harsh for me? Old man, Alo, are you there?'

He asked that in his mind, wanting to try and see if the old ghost inside the crimson ring on his finger would react or say something, but instead it was dead silent.

"Hey, Mathias, what is with that downed expression? Did the items you gained are so bad?" asked Anjo, the blonde warrior who walked closer to Mathias with a happy expression, before continuing throwing another question.

"Or could it be that those noobs started throwing insults in your direction? Just do what I do, and reply back to them, place salt to their wounds."

"I've canceled the whispers from other players except those from my friend list. Do you think I will start entertaining random people who are so burned with the idea that someone appeared on some insignificant announcement?"

"It isn't really insignificant, we can get fame, money, and become internet sensations. Legends of the Satisfy."

Hearing Anjo say that Mathias immediately frowned and with his crimson eyes getting colder by the second when he heard the foreigner mention money and fame, he was about to tell the warrior something from his heart, but Vivian threw a leg kick at the back of the man, sending him hitting the wall of the room, maybe even saying the warrior from his lash, while adding her view.

"Sorry if you wished to remain in anonymity, that idiot should have waited before accepting that notification window."

Lowering his coldness when looking at Vivian, he sighed, turning to walk around the room, before he suddenly stopped, starting to hear something going wrong in the tunnel, from the entrance.

*ROAR*

When the monster approaching got even closer, all the party members could hear it, and instantly reacted by panicking.

"It is that cursed monster, Iljnoks! Why did he come this way when he was supposed to be in the grand room, its lair?" asked MikeIron who was the most familiar with the bear monstrosity, having to tank and fight him from melee range.

"Ahhh, let me get my arrows before the fight starts! Paula, start recovering your resources, this fight will be hard. Anjo, get your ass here, and prepare for the fight. Mathias? How are you faring with your stamina, you began breathing a bit hard when the fight with Mallus was on the end part."

"My stamina is at 35 right now. This fight will be truly harsh even on me."

"Damn it so frustrating. What now? It will take you about 2 hours to recover the remaining 60 stamina. I guess even I need some pause from all the firing I've done with that skinny guy." remarked Vivian, who began picking up all her fired arrows, using her system to automatically pick them whenever stepping near them.

Anjo who went back to the group turned serious when seeing that everyone was not faring so well with regard to their respectives resources. From what he heard them talk, Mathias who with Vivian were the firepower of the group, was lacking on his Stamina resource, the same could be said for Vivian, who was [46/100] while Paula had blown her cooldowns on the window, taking her about 30 minutes to recover her buffing spells and other supporting skills.

'Fuck, this situation really sucks. We don't have much time to fight against the bear monster as we are right now. Mike's shield is also close to being destroyed, while my sword is also not faring so well. Should I try to encourage them to fight to the death even knowing it is a last cause?' thought Anjo who wanted to try and risk it all against the bear.

The roars from Iljnoks were getting intenser with the tunnel started trembling and Mathias without waiting to meet his adversary extended his hand forward with his palm facing himself where his Red Energy began bubbling up into forming a small phoenix that he later sent flying in the direction of the tunnel.

It took only a brief moment for the phoenix to gaze at the monster, in doing so, also allowing Mathias to see Iljnoks, who looked more monstrous than in the past. He still couldn't gaze into his information, such as level or health, and stopping when noticing the red, small phoenix, it cleaved his monstrous claws at the flying energy construct, in doing so destroying it, but also hurting itself in the process.

*ROARRR*

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"What have you seen Mathias?"

"It morphed even more than the time I fought against him. Even my scouting spell was destroyed when encountering him, so better prepare yourselves, in one minute this monster will arrive upon us."

The trembling sound kept on going, before a loud sound of rocks collapsing was heard, like an earthquake, where rocks even splashed toward Mallus room that they resided in right now. This change made Mathias's remark in a cold, yet calm voice, announcing his party members of an inevitable event.

"The exit has been blocked. This monster for sure doesn't want us to escape."

"Mike, let's get prepared. I'll be damned if I don't win this time against the bear." said Anjo, who took out his sword from his sheath, gripping the hilt.

Vivian, too, managed to recover all her arrows thanks to the efficiency of the system, returning to draw her bow in preparation for the fight. Paula, too, was prepared with her staff to buff her party members, while MikeIron and Anjo stood at the front, as if telling 'Let us take the brunt of the fight, you just carry us later.'.

Meanwhile, Mathias remained in the same position, without even drawing out Ragnius or taking out his new staff acquired from Mallus, in fact, it seemed as if he waited for something, and indeed, a presumption of his, that got confirmed when from a destroyed part of the room, the rocks got kicked out, turning the attention of the party.

They could see a small creature the shape of a lizard, being covered in some cloth pieces that looked rather old and moldy, while behind him a group of 4 same-sized creatures looked behind the one leading them, having a familiar name Mathias recognized.

[Kobold Champion Vek - Lv. 35] (5.000 HP)

"Humans quickly come here, into hiding. Hurry! The beast is soon to arrive here, and you are still too exhausted from fighting the evil human." said Vek who opened up a small tunnel toward the unknown toward the party members.

The group of players looked skeptical at the kobold that they only saw as zombies or other monsters from different games holding a fantasy theme, except for Mathias who nodded his head in a stoic manner, hiding a small smile under a cold exterior, starting to walk rapidly toward the kobolds.

"Follow me, humans. We don't have much time on our hands, the traps installed by my tribe are constantly triggering."

Vivian was second to follow Mathias, using her 'Tracker's Leap' to close the distance, and even take over, and enter first in the narrow tunnel which was visible having in mind only the kobolds, not humans.

Mathias choose to wait for the rest of the party to enter the tunnel before getting it crowded, and with the other four kobolds entering inside, only Vek and himself remained to stare at the distance, where Iljnoks would appear.

"Little kobold, how resistant are the tunnels if that monster would want to force his way inside?"

Vek, who felt the closeness from Mathias' tone, turned his head up, gazing with his draconic eyes at the crimson-haired human who was giving off a red aura from his body, while his hands started shining with a dark-purple light.

"That beast can't enter the tunnels. Why do you ask, human?" responded Vek, with a certain voice, before turning back the question at Mathias, whose expression turned cold.

"I have a gift for that beast before entering the tunnel." mentioned Mathias with his palms shining with an intenser arcane light.

"A gift?" inquired Vek, confused by what this human even mentioned.

"Just watch and swiftly enter the tunnel when you hear your ear buzz." replied Mathias calmly, before the atmosphere around him turned violent with a dark-purple eye appearing on his forehead.

The roar of the beast came into Vek's keen senses, and when he saw the monster who culled the lives of so many of his brothers, he could only close tightly his crocodile-like snout, but soon his ears started buzzing as if something was blasted close by.

"My greetings present for you abomination. When my Stamina recovers I will see your end. For now taste my two Arcane Barrages."

A barrage of arcane missiles was fired numbering three of those magical attacks which made contact fully with the newly arrived beast that released a beastly roar, shaking the ground.

Before it could even process the information about who was the enemy, Iljnoks woke himself with six projectiles approaching him at fast speed, not even giving him time to react, that it blasted his body, yet it wasn't enough that another dark-purple sword that gave off a wicked pressure dashed toward the monster, cleaving the monsters head.

[You have dealt 3948 damage to Iljnoks.]

[You have dealt 3948 damage to Iljnoks.]

[☆ Chaos Blessed has been triggered. Spell: 'Chaos Sword' has been casted, dealing a critical hit of 6580 damage to Iljnoks.]

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Not lingering too much when he saw the bear monstrosity exiting from his barrage of attacks unfazed, he at least got some information on the newly rebirthed Iljnoks.

[Iljnoks - Lv. 45] (105.524/120.000 HP)

When he jumped inside the tunnel, Vek who watched the gift Mathias had to offer immediately sealed the tunnel, not giving the chance to the beast to even entertain the idea of forcing the kobolds tunnel system.

Iljnoks wasn't fazed by Mathias's attack that took about 20% of his HP, and charged toward the underground tunnel entrance from where Mathias and his party escaped, roaring and even using his entire body to collide with the entrance creating a tremor inside the tunnel. Another of those collisions happened where the monster roared in anger and madness, but each time it tried this, the tunnel remained stable, unbreaking.

"Hey, Mathias, what have you done? This tunnel is about to collapse on us!" shouted Anjo who felt the narrow tunnel move around, making them feel more uncomfortable.

"Human, don't worry, our tunnels will not collapse on you. This is our gift to make tunnels that would remain unbreakable." mentioned one of the kobolds close to Anjo and MikeIron, before turning his draconian eyes at Vek who was talking something with Mathias, in a friendly manner, which surprised them.

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"Human, you did something unnecessary that could have backfired on us right now. That monster is not something to be trifled with, especially when it mutates each time it kills a target. I've watched those other four humans with interest as they fought against the monster, but each time they failed, and got consumed by that monster, in doing so, allowing it to grow faster."

Mathias who heard Vek explanation to why Iljnoks was stronger than in the past, turned his eyes at the group ahead while doing a sigh, before continuing on with Vek behind him in the narrow tunnel.

"Little kobold, it will be fine. My goal is to defeat that monster and let you guys free from its menace."

"Human, your help is much appreciated, but I will have to take you to my Elder, and let you talk with him about your plans. I am not in the position to negotiate with you even if I am the Champion of my people." mentioned Vek, who followed Mathias, and slowly in this narrow tunnel, they entered a bigger gallery which led to another section of the kobold settlement.

The party of players watched in awe at the new environment appearing in front of them, with two small raised nooks guard, about 8 feet tall with a ramp that leads into the nook where four kobolds were stationed, two per nook, who looked surprised at the human visitors that they entered a fight mode.

"Calm down, they are the humans who defeated the evil human who killed our brothers, and I have invited them to the tribe to recover their strength since that monstrosity was at the doorsteps." said Vek who appeared after Mathias, while looking at the four kobolds with his red eyes.

"Vek, you are fine, thanks to the ancestors." replied the kobolds, before lowering their vigilance at the party of humans, where afterward Vek guided them toward a long underground hallway where signs of excavations around the gallery were visible.

The party of humans, watched curiously at the kobolds who stopped in place, holding pickaxes, with their small bodies holding as little clothes as possible. The kobolds also stopped to see those new guests who they never had the chance of encountering in their lives, some looked vigilantly at Mathias and his group, while others were watching them curiously.

However, the moment Vek was seen moving ahead of the group, they looked at Vek and the other four kobolds as if they were ghosts that arrived to haunt them, soon sending the alarm, to another place of the gallery.

On something similar to a mound, where a building was resting, an old kobold having a spider silk fabric long tunic around his body, with a necklace made of sharp teeth, containing so many it was a pain to number them. His frail hands held a wooden staff with a gem on the head, decorated in an good taste, with his white fish-like tentacles, that were his beard, braided and adorned with some gems. Stepping out of his house, he heard the voices of his people more loudly, and walked to have a better view down, he saw Vek, and the four kobold elites next to him, accompanied by a group of five humans.

"Humans? Vek, child, why have you brought those humans to our tribe? Haven't you heard my warnings that humans are dangerous?"

Vek stepped forward, when hearing the old kobold, and with a bow, he told the elder respectfully.

"Elder Morkl, I've brought those humans inside because they were in danger of being devoured by that monster haunting our tribe's doorsteps. They defeated and killed the evil human who tortured our people, but was short of breath when that monstrosity arrived to harm them. I had no other choice but to assist them, as the Champion of the Gravelmark Tribe."

"They managed to defeat that evil human? The one even I fear facing without endangering you, children. Lead the leader of the humans to my house, while the other fours lead them to the warm spring so they can wash themselves and recover from their wounds suffered." said the old kobold after understanding the circumstances of the party's visit.

Anjo gave off a confident smile and was ready to ascend the mound with Vek, but Vivian sent a kick on his butt, while Vek turned his head at Mathias, saying to him.

"Don't worry humans, the elder is a wise kobold, who has outlived most of our generations. Follow me."

"But, I am the leader of the party!" said Anjo from where he was on the ground, while Vivian scoffed at him.

"Anjo, shut up. You have already ninja looted too much loot. Don't be shameless. By contribution to the fight, it is clear who is the leader, with Mathias being a key element to our party."

"What ninja steal? I don't know what you mean." replied Anjo while his eyebrow trembled a bit, with his eyes not gazing back at Vivian, making Paula chuckle, and MikeIron also look around vigilantly, as if he was in league with Anjo.
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[A/N: The boss mutated, growing stronger than what Mathias fought in the past, but how stronger? He wasn't the only one to grow in the past.
Vek also showed himself with his kobold friends, giving them help, securing a safe checkpoint for the party where they can fill up and recover their resources and cooldowns.
 
Saharan Successor - CH 82
Vol. 2 - Chapter 28 - Victims of a Sham
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Mathias, guided by Vek, was on top of the mound, using the steps carved by what one could deduct was pickaxes, he could see the craftsman of the house being quite rustic and simplistic, something that could send you to the medieval era. When he finished ascending on the steps reaching the house, he was guided inside by Vek who quickly kicked some stones from the courtyard pathway.

'Wait a minute, those stones had some sparkling to them. What could those be?' thought Mathias who instinctively turned his head to gaze at the stone Vek threw away from his path.

'Still can't figure out what that was.' continued Mathias who walked after Vek, stopping pondering on what he just saw.

Entering inside it made him feel awkward barely with enough space to pass his head.

'So this how the Nordics feel when they come around countries who have the average of height smaller. Now that I think about it, sometimes it is better not to be so tall, while there are advantages from being tall, the drawbacks in the long run are harsher.'

'What am I even thinking about, I have no reason to be flustered about my 1,80-meter height, I can still dream a bit until I turn 23 for 1 more centimeter of growth.'

Still unable to stop from thinking about random things, before entering the lobby of the house, he heard the voice of the old kobold who he meet in the Beta Phase who remained unchanged.

"Please, come in, human guest."

As that old voice waned off, he stepped inside entering deeper in the house, and with Vek whispering description, Mathias entered the main room of the house that was in a circular shaped manner, where the old kobold he saw in the distance before was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and the staff close by.

Standing on his feet it made him feel like a Giant, compared to the smaller kobolds who had to raise their heads to look at him. Then seeing Vek who walked close to the elder and sat in the same position like him, which he followed suit not finding that position difficult, especially when it was reminiscent of the Chinese martial arts that he saw in some old movies, with the addition of becoming rather flexible from all the MMA training he went through.

The two kobolds turned their sharp eyes at Mathias, observing the human guest hold his legs crossed, similar to a monk, and could be seen some admiration for this human to do the respectful stance of the kobolds when discussing, point where the kobold Elder was the first one to say to Mathias.

"From what Vek told me, you and your friends have defeated that evil necromancer who experimented and even turned my children into undead. I am truly grateful for this gesture, and for this I will give you all my support and offer the patience of my tribe."

Staring at the Elder, observing his behavior and settling his crimson eyes on the tooth necklace, he heard the old kobold mention it in a calm manner.

"This is a soul item to us Kobolds, it represents our experience in life and how many circles have passed. By human years, I should be 90 years old, but by my ancestors and Gods blessing, I am still able to watch as the new generation of kobolds is rising. Nevertheless, it has been a harsh time for my tribe because of the necromancer and its monstrosity."

"Elder, my colleagues and I will take care of the bear monster since this was our intent from the start." replied Mathias, after the old kobold told him how old he was, which he remembered from the Beta Phase when Vek and Morlk visited him.

Nodding his head, the old kobold gazed quietly at Mathias before telling something to Vek using the draconian language." أحضر نبيذ الفاكهة من قبوبي " (A/N: Forgot to note down what I've wrote here, but it's in the shorts of "Get my fruit wine from the celar")

"Ahem, elder, let's talk in common since we have a human quest. He can't understand draconian." told Vek, when gazing at Mathias whose face remained unchanged, with his body giving off a red aura that looked dignified and also calming.

"This is right, thank you for reminding me. At my age, I started forgetting certain things. Go get my fruit wine from my cellar little Vek, I have to serve the human quest before taking on the challenge of fighting that monstrosity. Ahh, I almost forgot to ask you human, how are you called?"

Mathias got curious about what wine the kobolds had brewed which could be spotted by the old kobold, and as he heard his question, he waved his head and later bowed his head mentioning in a calm tone.

"Don't worry, there's no problem, also thanks for the wine. My name is Mathias."

Vek didn't wait for further instructions, getting on his feet, he walked to another part of the house, leaving out Mathias and the old kobold, a friendly NPC of level 65 with a silver nameplate with some golden fragments around.

Remaining alone in the room, the Elder stroked his long beard which looked rather comical and asked Mathias curious about something.

"Mathias, and interesting name. Does it mean something in the human language?"

The latter who received this question, gazed at the old kobold in a calm way, and after pondering on the meaning of his name, he opened his mouth replying.

"My name means, the "Gift of God"."

Nodding his head at Mathias's explanation, the Elder also noticed how his body was giving off a serene aura around him which looked more like a veil protecting this crimson-haired young man with ruby eyes. Yet, this was Mathias's Red Energy emanating outside with the recovery of his unique stat bar, which proved troublesome because he had absolutely no idea how to hide this power, which made the latter counterpart ask him curiously.

"Are you by chance a magician, human Mathias?" asked Elder Morlk another question, trying to figure out what that red-crimson aura around him was.

"Hmm? You can count me as one part magician because I still haven't become a full-fledged apprentice to the craft. However, I can cast spells, why are you asking?"

"Your body gives off pure magic, like the dragons my clan reveres and the ones my ancestors and predecessor All-Watchers have taught to spread the word about. Also, I am also the sole Sorcerer of my people who have managed to pass the 'Draconic Rite of Passage' and awakening my latent dragon bloodline."

"Interesting, does this make you a half-dragon?" inquired Mathias curious to find more about the kobolds, apart from what he knew from some fantasy books.

"Hahaha, I can't even consider myself half-dragon since I didn't awaken my entire bloodline. I am far from reaching that stage, and old kobold like me? My potential has been wasted. All I care about now is to pass the torch to the next generation."

"So, little Vek is the future leader of the tribe?" remarked Mathias placing together the puzzle from the bits he was receiving from Elder Morlk.

"Yes, I wanted for himself to prove against that monstrosity, and if he defeated together with his brothers, I would have stepped down from the leadership position and allowed Vek to take on the spot of chief, while myself would only be the All-Watcher and Sorcerer of the tribe. But, why do you seem so warm when mentioning little Vek, are you familiar with the kobolds?"

"Ohh, no, not really. I just have a feeling I have met him in a past life of mine where we fought together, and also about your kobold tribe which would have prospered being lead from the shadows of the Gravelmark and reach a bigger world."

"Hah, my tribe ever prospering? A bigger world to be seen? Those words, young human, are familiar to me. My predecessor has mentioned them, about how his own predecessors followed by the older generations told a story about a human who has fought against my ancestor who at that time settled on the lands of Gravelmark, and wanted to expand the territory our kobolds would have, in order to impress God Nevartan along with God Asgorath and gain their blessings."

"As my ancestor fought against that human, he still lost, but in an act of respect, and even sympathy for my tribe cause, that human didn't mind us settling inside Gravelmark as long as we kept to a binding promise. To never leave Gravelmark, or expand and disturb the life of the humans."

Listening to the old kobold story, he could only humm, as if registering the story, and what followed next from the kobold, was something surprising.

"There's been this treasure from the ancestor that each generation of All-Watchers have to safely protect, attesting a sort of a human legal bid attesting something akin to a right to holding this mountain."

"How long was that been, Elder, do you remember or has your predecessor even bothered to mention?"

"Ohh, but they did, it has been 800 years since that event."

"I see, it must be hard for you people to not see other places, and be bound by this piece of paper. Don't you feel like wanting to see the outside?"

The old kobold give a laugh, before telling to Mathias in a brash tone.

"Since the ancestor has died, the older generations didn't bother too much to respect the agreement drawn by that human and the ancestor, and still allowed a selected few elites of the tribe to explore the world and collect information. But everything ended, when Gravelmark started becoming the breeding ground of the monsters, which has restricted our movements. It must have been because of the magical powers of the mountain, since there is a guardian spirit of the mountain who we would talk to for guidance."

When Mathias heard about the spirit, his face shifted a wrinkle, starting to contemplate, asking himself a simple question.

'Could it be? This kobold refers to that old ghost who cursed me?' I mean that tree's roots were quite deep, so it could be that? However… No way, there can't be such a case even if this is a fantasy setting. Yet, I got to ask.'

"Sir, by chance his voice sounded like this?" asked Mathias before starting pulling off a cheap imitation of how shamelessly the old ghost sounded like a female.

'Fuck, glad this is a kobold and doesn't understand much about human concepts. If this was a player or a human inhabitant of this world, I would have dug my head underground for shaming myself so badly.'

Deep inside his ring, an old man with snow-white hair, and wrinkles on his face, went to scratch his ass while sleeping and talking. <Someone's cursing me? Is that you Dehakel? Do you have a problem if I stole the girl you had butterflies? Bah, whatever, it has been so long, you probably forgive me by now.>

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When Mathias imitated Haycien using or at least trying to sound just as close to him, Vek walked inside the room holding an obsidian jug, that he was carrying with both hands, before stopping in place, when hearing Mathias who he viewed as the most dignified human he saw.

"Sorry, young man, but this doesn't feel familiar. The spirit talked with me when I was checking on a precious plant of my tribe and it was a male voice."

Getting another lead, Mathias checked on the Elder using Haycien's male voice, which made the old kobold immediately react, rising on his feet and even step back, even Vek reacted, feeling the voice familiar, barely containing himself to place the jug down without breaking it.

"How do you know the Gravelmark Mountain Spirit Voice?"

"Elder, sorry for what I am about to tell you, but that is not the spirit of Gravelmark, it is just a damned ghost who cursed me, almost making me die for good, even if I am immortal."

"How can it be? It knew so much information and even said he saw the fight against my ancestor. He told details about each generation of All-Watchers." inquired the old kobold staring at Mathias in some indignation in his expression.

Even Vek, nodded his head, being one who talked with the spirit when he was taking care of Dahlia's Tears.

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Immediately the sound of footsteps could be heard with haggard breaths, with the door of the house being opened with two people entering inside, and telling the Elder in the draconian language.

"All-Watcher! Something bad happened to the Grove! Dahlia! She started losing its luster. Could it be that the Spirit of the Mountain got upset on us?"

"Something happened to the Grove?" asked Elder Morlk, shifting his attention to the two kobolds who held tunics, and also some decorations composed of precious gems.

Mathias couldn't understand what they were talking about, but from Vek's expression and the old's kobold expression, things were serious.

"What are you waiting for, let me see with my old eyes what happened to the Grove! Human, you come too since you talked about something sensible and it is better to hear the spirit too for yourself. "

Not lingering too much on empty talk, the two kobolds who from Vek explanation were the Clerics of the Tribe, along with the Elder, himself and Vek went in an alerted rhythm to another place of the underground settlement, where his perception of his surroundings changed abruptly.

From the dark and chill gallery environment that gave you the impression of a large cave depression, to suddenly waking up in a lush jungle.

'Green? What is this? How could a tropical forest grow inside a cave? Is this the fantasy part?' thought Mathias as he stepped inside this 'Groove'.

It was something he only saw on the internet or in fantasy books, never with his two eyes.

It looked like a tropical forest of sorts, with a freshwater stream being heard in the distance with the voices of the humans being most vibrant, giving Mathias the impression, only he was suffering all sorts of unnecessary events to him.
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[A/N: You escaped shaming your entire line of ancestors Mathias. Thank the stars that those were kobolds and not humans. For trying to pull a female voice, even with your voice is unlikely, don't tell me the shamelessness of the old man started being transmitted?]
 
Saharan Successor - CH 83
Vol. 2 - Chapter 29 – Dahlia's Tears

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Meanwhile, as Mathias and the kobolds went toward the Groove, an area covered in very healthy looking grass that's fed by a nearby aquifer of clean spring water, inside another zone closeby, the human party was bathing in the warm spring water, which was taken as a big surprise. Paula, and Vivian were in a separate part of the baths, wearing nothing but their Eve Clothes, revealing their curves, especially the huntress who could be proud to boost quite the bosom and buttocks.

"Vivi, have you heard those kobolds' panicking voices talking in their native language?"

"Shhh, they returned and it seems there are three more people they brought about."
"[Hunter's Senses]."

Casting a spell on herself, Vivian could hear clearly the commotion on the green place the kobolds were so proud showing off to them, and even the baths, which were clean and held a basic architecture to them, that was practical, separating the genders, but also allowing a common ground.

Nevertheless, Vivian managed to pick Vek's voice explaining something in the human language, she could understand, and it was about a type of flower who had magical powers and it was something their tribe took great care of, along with asking the Mountain Spirit for nourishment, and when she heard Mathias reply her cogwheels started turning, making Paula ask her interested.

"What is wrong Vivi?"

"No, nothing. I just heard those kobolds speak in what we players can understand."

"Continue?"

"The leader of the kobolds told that guy, Mathias something about the forested area of their settlement, nothing important. Anyway let's not talk about the game, and bother thinking about that bear monster, and relax. I've never been to a hot-spring, this is a first for me here."

"Hmm, indeed, the feeling is realistic that I can't even deem this as a game."

Yet before they knew it, Anjo's voice was heard, shouting something at the kobolds inside the mixed baths, before water splashed even Vivian's face.

"WOOHOO! MAKE WAY YOU KOBOLD, THIS IS CALLED AMERICAN CANNONBALL!"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!!" shouted MikeIron before a loud sound of a big weight hitting the water, sending another wave of water hitting the girls head first.

Vivian gritted her teeth, while cleaning her face, glanced in the opposite direction from the mixed baths, and turning her head at Paula, she commented.

Paula also was the same, and seeing Vivian's angry look, she told her in a pacifying tone.

"That's how most boys behave if you don't leash them and leave them to their antics."

"That's not true, most will behave normally without making a commotion, but those idiots think of themselves as some important guys. I am even thinking of leaving this group after we finish the raid."

"Hah, and I thought I would encounter some decent guy, after all, he told me he is from MIT. But his behavior is that of some spoiled fool. Way too immature and stupid at times for an MIT guy.

"No comment. If someone asks me if I know him, I will decline it."

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Apart from the relaxing time of the rest, Mathias arrived deeper in the Grove as the Clerics and Elder called it, and step by step, they reached something akin to a small temple that was covered in the roots of a tree. When Mathias made eye contact with those roots, he went closer and touching them, he was lashed by the Clerics.

"Keep your hands away, human! Those are the roots of the Sacred Tree and an extension of the Gravelmark Mountain Spirit."

Ignoring their remarks, he still touched the roots, and with his memory still fresh about the ring event, and how he had to dig deep and even cut the roots, to get the cursed ring which almost killed him, before shifting his gaze at the Elder who was nowhere to be seen.

Still, his voice could be heard from inside the temple where it was clearly filled with sadness and saying in draconian.

"AHH, the pure Dahlia's Tear, what happened to you? Ohh, Spirit of the Mountain, with what have we angered you?"

Vek, who was beside Mathias, give him a short translation of what the Elder was saying, which made him remark in a stoic manner.

"Haven't I told you I got cursed by the spirit? That damned old ghost is inside this ring as we speak. Hah, let me explain it to you little Vek, you tell the old ones, okay?" mentioned Mathias while showing the crimson ring he tried to remove but couldn't, before Vek who nodded in agreeing, told him.

"I will try, even though you sound believable and genuine, I can tell you that the Spirit is real, I've talked with him."

Like this, Mathias started telling Vek about the ancient tree not too far away from the lake, and went into a fast-paced story about how he was enticed by that spirit they were talking to withdraw the trapped ring, who was bound by the tree roots. He had to cut the roots securing the ring, and it even told the kobold about how the ring had a large mana amount to it that it even shocked him.

"So, in that way, that old ghost which sounded like a pitiful woman at first, who wanted to be rescued from her prison, made me act, and when I got the ring out, and placed it on my index finger, everything went terrible wrong, and I got cursed by that ghost I've been talking which sounded exactly as what you've heard."

Vek had his crocodile-like snout opened, with his eyes surprised, only after some long seconds did he process all the information Mathias fed him, before asking back.

"Did the roots of that ancient tree look exactly like the one covering the temple?"

"It is spot on. My assumption is that the tree was drying the ring of the mana, and feeding it down that temple it spread out its roots. There's only that place it is mana infused, right?"

"From what the Elder told me, yes. There are only magical plants inside the temple that our tribe has been growing for generations, from healing plants to magic plants."

"Ahh, that old ghost not only that it damned me, it also got you into a tricky situation. Let's go tell the Elder before he consumes himself too much." mentioned Mathias after doing a small sigh, as he walked toward the entrance of the temple, and barely high enough to pass his head.

When Vek saw the three old kobolds gather around a place, he sighed and started talking with them using the draconic, and immediately their attention was captured back to the young kobold. They started having a back and forth using their native language, and their talks got so intense that the two clerics pointed their staff angrily at Mathias, as if they wanted a piece of him.

But Vek, waved his small hands to dissuade any of the aggression on himself, and continued telling the old kobolds in a calm voice, what Mathias felt was the story he told them, things continued in that route until Mathias heard the Elder sigh, and tell him in the common language.

"Does that ring really contains the spirit of Gravelmark, no, the old ghost you've mentioned to little Vek?"

"Yes, it does, but that shameless ghost is now sleeping or God knows whatever he is doing down his rabbit hole. I would have wished he would come to explain himself to me and you, since I want to be selfish and remark that I almost got killed, you imagine an Immortal as me, an outlander, say this, it means die for good."

"Damn it. We can't do anything about it. Dahlia would slowly lose its powers, and its mana required for the Draconic Rites of Passage for a future chosen one wouldn't be possible."

Hearing the old kobold say that, Mathias raised his hand casually to attract the attention of the kobolds, and told them in a calm voice.
"Elder, I have a proposition if you would want to hear it."

"What is it, young human?"

"If I understood well, the power inside Dahlia isn't yet enough to awaken that ritual for your race, but the plant is still precious nonetheless, and I have a use for it."

"..." the Elder remained quiet, as if signaling Mathias that he wanted more details or some explanation since he wasn't a fool, just to give away something his tribe groomed for so many generations.

"I need Dahlia for my wife, Elder. She has been scarred by the magic she learns, and even the divine powers of the High Paladin inside the strongest church, serving Rebecca wasn't enough to heal her scar and flesh wound. Yet, there are alchemical ointments, who in theory are capable of healing anything that is concerning a flesh wound. If it is possible I would want that plant, obviously not for free. Nothing in this world is free."

Listening to Mathias's explanation, and reasons for desiring Dahlia's Tears, even the Clerics lowered their aggression and were looking at Elder Morlk for an agreement.

"What can you offer my tribe that will help me assure that the future generations don't miss out on awakening their ancestral bloodline?" inquired the Elder, while Mathias went into a deep pondering before a click in his mind happened, and he started spreading out all the Equipment Items he garnished after all his journey from Cidarian going as far as the depths of Gravelmark Mountains.

There was even the [Rare] rated dagger called 'Fang of the Enforcer' that had some good stats, with high attack power, and boosting the agility of the wielder, with a toxic effect on it along with a chance of delivering [Paralyzing] debuff.

One could even say it was a match made in Heaven for an assassin class if the dagger landed on their hands. Then there was the sword he received from Evander, 'Sword of the Betrayer', along with other items, from the boars composing at least three Gragger Boar Armor sets, and other parts scattered around, with different pieces.

"So many artifacts." exclaimed the kobolds, in amazement by the equipment Mathias has shown them, which made him feel slightly shameless because his own equipment was worth for certain the value of this gear he showed the kobolds multiplied by ten times or a higher number.

Elder Morkl, went forward and touched the armor made from the leather of the boars, and could feel the resistance and strength, followed by what advantages this type of armor would offer in a confrontation with future enemies.

"Little Vek, go take in your hand that dagger, and tell me how it feels." told the old kobold, while Vek nodded and from Mathias's 'Treasure Trove' the small creature took in his hands the dagger which made it seem it was a sword in the kobold's hands.

Vek slashed the air, checking the flow of the strikes using the dagger, and was surprised to see how smooth and quick the strikes were.

"Better than my weapon, Elder. This is an artifact that could serve as the tribe's heirloom for generations."

"I see. What about that sword little Vek. Mind giving it a try?"

Placing back the dagger from the trove, Vek tried to take the sword in his small hands, but the overall build of the sword was too large for the kobold, turning his attempts into failures."

"I can feel this sword is stronger than the dagger, but I am too weak to use it."

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Mathias watched the kobolds calmly, while the old kobolds made Vek try the armors and also the weapons he managed to get from the mountain bandits which the young kobold fulfilled the system requirements of usage. Like this, minutes passed and not hurrying the kobolds to get his answers, they stopped from their checks, and with Elder Morlk stepping forward to be face to face to Mathias, he heard him declare.

"Young human, my tribe will trade Dahlia's Tear with the dagger in the shape of a fang, four swords, five chest armors, helmets, and trousers."

Surprised by the small requirement, he looked down at the kobold, and inquired to make sure.

"Elder, you also need the boots in order to receive a magical effect of the equipment. Are you sure, you don't require them?"

"It is fine. No need, young human. Unlike you humans, we kobolds don't need footwear, it would hinder our strong legs and weaken us."

"Then take some more of the armor pieces to make up for the boots." added Mathias, not being shameless enough to scam the kobolds, and spit on their pure conceptions of trade."

The kobolds couldn't say no to this generosity and took the offer, and after they selected their armor pieces, he took back the items the kobolds didn't want, especially the Epic Rated, which was like a relief since he intended to use it in the future.

What followed next was, the kobold Elder walking toward another location of the temple, where he took a spider silk fabric and returning back he used that fabric to wrap it around the plant so desired by Mathias and many other magicians for his plethora of unique effects, that it made the plant a Legendary one, only heard in legends.

"Here is the flower, young human. I hope your wife will be healed after you make that potion." said Elder Morkl while handing Mathias the plant, where instantly the notification window of the system appeared, announcing.

[You have received 'Dahlia's Tears' after you initiated a trading exchange.]

[Charm has increased by 15 points.]

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Opening the information, for the flower, he was pleased to see that it was the legit one, gaining even the confirmation of the system.

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[Dahlia's Tear]

Rating: Legendary(Downgraded) -> Unique

[Description: The flower of the World that has been fed in its growth stage rich mana that could be only found in the veins of the Earth. The rarity of the flower and the miraculous stories the people shares on the flower gave the flower another effect, enhanced by the belief of the people, always mentioning its name.

Effect: Each of the flower petals can boost significantly the intelligence on the constitution of the user. Used in healing wounds, assisting in mana tasks … ]
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'Indeed, it was as back then, does this mean that in the Beta Phase the Elder picked the plant ahead of time just to secure my goodwill? Such a shame, I wonder how this flower would look when reaching its final growth stage.'

'Still, nothing to regret about it, this flower is the key plant in the alchemical ointment for Fay's scar. Now, I will need to search for three more rare plants, before I could make the ointment.'

With his own thought sorted out, still impressed by the description of the plant itself, he turned his attention back to the kobolds, and while bowing his head for a bit, he told the Elder.

"It has been a pleasure trading with you Elder, and I hope my gear will be sufficient for your people."

Elder Morlk, nodded his head in a pleased way, himself too satisfied by the trade and Mathias's gracious acts, before he mentioned to Mathias as if he requested him of something.

"They will be put to test when your adventurer party will go to fight the monstrosity the evil human created."

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Feeling that something was about to happen with that comment from the old kobold, instantly the sound of the system rang in his mind, notifying him about a new quest that was triggered.

[You have received a quest!]
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[Defeat the Undead Beast Iljnoks.]
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[A/N: Dahlia's Tear has been acquired, now there are two more plants that need to be found in order to make the ointment for Fayrene's burn scars.]
 
Saharan Successor - CH 84
Vol. 2 - Chapter 30 - The Kobolds Gemstones
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In the moment the kobold Elder has mentioned about Vek and the other 4 elite kobolds being tested, a notification came to Mathias's eyes announcing him about a quest which made him gaze at the old kobold, before asking him to make sure.

"Elder, there will be a high risk because that beast is unpredictable. I would rather not wish to risk the lives of the innocent people of your tribe."

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[Defeat the Undead Beast Iljnoks]

Difficulty Level: S

Elder of the Gravelmark Kobold Tribe, Morlk, wants you to defeat the Undead Beast Iljnoks, that has been a menace for the tribe, constantly making a hell for their usual lives since being unable to leave their settlement without risking their lives. Along this request, the Elder also intends to send the strongest prospects of the tribe to challenge their resolve, allowing them to grow stronger and reach a possible new form.

Quest Clear Conditions: Defeat Iljnoks without the Kobolds to die in the fight

Clear Reward: Level +2 & Affinity with Gravelmark Kobold Tribe increased by 40, the Event "Ancient Heirloom Rediscovery" will be triggered.

Quest Failure: Level -2, the Event 'The Kobolds Change of View" will be triggered, the Event "Iljnoks Escapes Gravelmark" will be triggered.

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Passing the contents of the quest rather fast, he stopped on the last event that might be triggered, where Iljnoks was mentioned. He took a deep breath, imagining the worst scenario that might happen if he failed, with villages being ravaged by this beast, an monstrosity that will grow at an alerted rhythm which will for sure challenge even the mighty Red Knights.

Thus, focusing on the detailed description instead of what he could get, and while he was doing that, the old kobold gave him his answer in a calm manner.

"Young human, we kobolds are the spawns of dragons. The dragon's power is also inside of us, just that we can't reach deep inside of ourselves to awaken the latent power. This is why I want for the brightest children of the tribe to test themselves, and experience the challenges that would forge them into becoming closer to the Dragon Gods who gave us life."

Giving a sigh, he nodded his head and accepted the quest. Following that, he walked together with the old kobold alone, after the clerics remained in the temple, and Vek went to summon his friends that were the elites of the kobold tribe.

As the crimson-haired human that looked like a giant compared to the small-statured kobolds walked side by side with the Elder, where the inhabitants of the tribe who weren't disturbed by the party's visit turned their heads to respectfully greet Morlk, and step back when Mathias gazed at them.

"It is normal for the younger ones to be afraid of you, young human. This is their first time seeing a human, besides hearing about your kind in the stories passed by the ancestors. However, I want to discuss something with you between two eyes, a worry of mine."

"Sure, Elder. I will be as patient and listen to your worries." responded Mathias in a calm manner, gazing at the kobolds who were carrying pickaxes in their hands and baskets where stone could be carried.

The old kobold who was touched by the Red Energy released by Mathias, felt its warmth, and calmness as if it was the sunlight touching his face, and in a sense, it made Mathias more approachable.

Once they returned back to his house, the old kobold poured some of the fruit wine he intended to serve Mathias before the clerics alerted him of what happened in the Groove area, and with a smile on its old face, asked the human who took a sip of the wine.

"How does the fruit wine taste, young Mathias?"

*Sip* "Yea, I like it. The sweet wines are my favorites. What fruit did you use for the wine because I didn't see any grapevines in the Groove area."

"Hehe, I heard about those fruits but only from my predecessors. What I used for this wine is a fruit you humans are calling Rubus idaeus which are grown in the Groove."

'Rubus idaeus? Never heard of such a fruit. Wait? That's Latin, seems familiar. I know Rubus means blackberry, but the most frequent mountain fruit is the raspberry. It could be that fruit they used.'

Still, to make sure he nailed the answer, Mathias shifted his attention from the wine cup to his hand where his Red Energy was gathered in a buddle where the shape of a berry was formed.

"Is this fruit?"

"Ahh, yes, that's right. The توت العليق ."

"Yes, it is a familiar fruit, but to be honest, I have never drunk a wine made of raspberries, just syrups." commented Mathias while continuing on drinking from the raspberry wine, and slowly the atmosphere between him and the old kobold got easier.

The old kobold kept asking Mathias about himself, and the others and how was the life outside the mountain, to which Mathias responded calmly and patiently, telling him about Titan and how big it was, the tall buildings, from the Hippodrome to the Imperial Palace, Grandmaster's Palace, and Light's Cathedral.

His stories made the old kobold keep quiet, and listen like a kid to a good storyteller at the fireplace, and without even noticing, Mathias got caught up in telling the Elder a detailed story about the Saharan Empire, the ruling human kingdom of those domains Gravelmark was situated.

"Truly impressive. The chieftain of your Empire must be a strong person to be able to lead such a large territory."

"Hah, him? Lord Juander, even if he is a strong person, is also a simple man with his own weaknesses. Is he greater than most people? Most likely. But in my eyes, he is still a foolish man who can't walk the balance of powers."

"It seems you have met this chieftain you speak about from how you sound. Right, I remembered to tell you about my worry, young Mathias. Since almost two months ago, while I meditate, in my house to refill my spells, I kept on hearing many voices of humans coming from the lower levels of the mountain and forest, constantly shouting and cursing, making it seems as if they are the spawns of chaos told in the stories about the demons of Hell.

They keep on shouting like madden creatures {Kill all the beasts and monsters! We have to grow faster and reach the top of the world!}"

When hearing the worry of the old kobold, Mathias frowned which the Elder took it as a bad sign, seeing Mathias's Red Aura get colder and intenser, before not long after, it calmed down, getting back to its initial state, and he asked Mathias for his opinion.

"Tell me young Mathias, I have the impression those humans who have such a deep desire for killing the beasts of the forest and mountain will misjudge my tribe as one of the aggressive creatures of the mountain and attack us once they find around the settlement. I don't wish for my tribe to fight against you humans since we kept to our pledge not to disturb the humans."

"Hah, Elder, calm down. You've seen the four other friends of mine, they are a good representation of my brethren. While they might curse and shout all kinds of foolish words, just take them as some rabid dogs who were not taught other insults when angry. I understand your worry because it is like living beside a crazy unpredictable neighbor who might attack you for no reason in the next second."

"... So, I shouldn't be worried for my tribe?" inquired the old kobold, feeling a bit calmer after listening to Mathias, and when he heard Mathias's next his expression once again turned panicked.

"Well, you should, but not so much that it will haunt your dreams. Haha, relax, I have an easy solution to your problem which will have about 98% chance of success if you do your part without deviating from the plan."

"That high?" doubted the Elder, later hearing Mathias mention with some annoyance.

"Well, the idiots and crazy people who don't abide by my generalization, are that 2%, but even those can be dissuaded from turning hostile. So listen to my plan, it is quite basic and simple to understand.

You should give those adventurers who might stumble upon your tribe's whereabouts tasks, just like how you went about to make me get the prospects of your tribe to hunt Iljnoks. Once you do that I am willing to bet on my entire clothes that they will do as you ask them. For example, you can have them kill some beasts in the mountain since their population is high, to pick up some fruits, plants, to assist the tribe in living better, but all those tasks will require you to reward them according to the difficulty of the tasks since it is an exchange of interests."

The old kobold stared at Mathias with a weird expression, as if he questioned if that was all, even asking to make sure. "We only have to do this much?"

"Only this much. But remember, act friendly and not seem like you are trying to cheat them with your tasks, even if some will do even the hardest ones. They are quite petty if the rewards don't fit the tasks."

Nodding his head, the old kobold who understood the approach to the problem, didn't keep Mathias too much on talk, and allowed him to visit around the settlement.

[Affinity with Kobold Elder Morkl risen by 15 points]

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Taking note of the notification about the Kobold's affinity being increased, Mathias who was now off from his house, walked toward the central part of the settlement where Vek was giving the Gragger Boar Armor and their swords, which left them surprised.

"Ahh, human friend, I hope you haven't gotten bored by the Elder and how small the tribe is." mentioned Vek, who noticed Mathias walk in their direction.

"No, it was an enjoyable talk. Did I disturb your preparations?"

The kobolds who were gearing remained quiet, while Vek shook his head, before asking Mathias.

"You didn't visit all the settlements, right? Do you wish to visit it before going out to fight the monster?"

"Heh, sure, I still require some time to recover, so it wouldn't hurt me."

LIke this, Vek told the other kobolds something in draconian, and along with Mathias, he took him around the settlement of the kobolds, visiting the Nursery of the Kobolds, where a lot of eggs were on a rocky platform, arranged close to one another so their warmth would be uniformly distributed. Following that, Vek wanted to bring Mathias to the baths, feeling that it was one of the best locations of the settlement.

"No need, I've seen them in the passing when going to the Groove. I would like to visit the mine itself."

Not finding a problem with this request, Vek guided Mathias toward the gallery, where many kobolds worked with smiles on their faces hitting the rocks on the wall with their pickaxes and also picking up the rocks and placing them on a wooden back bucket. Seeing Mathias, curious about why the kobolds were so happy to work, Vek turns slightly embarrassed, telling their ancestral story and how their ancestor served under the Dragon Gods who were competing to find who was the richest dragon in the entire Middle Earth.

"That … I never understood why dragons, even in stories, were so obsessed with shiny objects."

"I also don't understand why we kobolds feel fulfilled when mining. Maybe it is the thought that we will expand our territory and make the future generation's lives easier, but I never stressed myself to find that answer since my path is different from most kobolds. Once I pass the Elder's test, I will journey out in the world to see for myself how big the surroundings the ancestors kept mentioning truly are."

"They are really big, you want to see how big?"

"Can you help me? Please do so." requested Vek in an excited way, while stopping at a part of the mine, where Mathias pulled the map of the Saharan Empire and the rest of the Continent.

Pointing at the location where Gravelmark was located, he told Vek the place they were located currently, and slowly pointing out where each influential city of the Empire was situated. From the Capital, Titan to each of the Duke's territories capitals.

"It is so big!"

"Indeed, so they say. But I didn't show you this map to discourage you, instead to inform you, the path ahead of you will be a long one."

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Passing past the gallery's path, Mathias noticed a small rock that looked different than the rest of the stones in the wall and he immediately stopped, and using his arcane powers extracting the stone which was still dirty.

"A gemstone. I need one more for my Jeanne. Can you help me little Vek?"

"Ahh, sure thing, Mathias. This place we are now digging in the one Elder Morkl has divinated with his magical powers." said Vek while giving Mathias a small explanation on the gifts of the All-Watcher and kobolds' talent at finding shiny rocks.

Hearing that, it made Mathias contemplate as he was looking for another gemstone, making it seem he wasn't really curious about the kobold's innate talent.

'Those kobolds, they have a lot of potentials, they could become the backbone of a territory since the more I listen to them the more I feel the one who developed this kobold tribe has used the good description of the kobolds, about their talents and affinities.'

'I have to protect them in the future and if I get a territory for my own, to relocate them and give them the chance to spread their wings. From spies to construction workers, miners, hah, just imagining the roles they could fill for the future is amazing potential.'

After placing his thoughts in order, he sent a notification to his guild chat, where he announced about the Gravelmark Kobolds and his intent to have them under his protection.

Red: We need a territory to use the entire potential of the kobolds. From what you told us, boss, those kobolds seem more useful than even the dwarfs. However, the big question is, how do we get territory in the Saharan Empire?

malakai: Don't worry he has it sorted out.

Mathias: It will take me quite a while, so until then we have to make sure those guilds and players don't attack the kobolds, even if I taught the leader of the kobolds a way to handle the problem of aggressive users.

Red: It is not urgent yet, those kobolds should be stronger than most players at this point, and the high rankers are not stupid people.

@Leona: Those kobolds, how do they look?

Hearing Leonor's question, Mathias placed a screenshot taken of Vek wearing his Gragger Boar set and the Fang of the Enforcer Dagger, which helped her make a general image of the kobolds.

@Leona: They are quite pleasing to the eye, and they even wear some nice-looking gear.

Red: Boss, by chance it was you who gave the kobold the items? Isn't that the Gragger Boar full set? Wew, it really is that set. Do you know how much the entire set sells for?

Mathias: No idea and it also doesn't matter for me, the trade I did by giving those items bought something so rare that I will not stumble upon for a long time to come, <Dahlia's Tears>.

Linking the information of the plant for the guild members to see, they were shocked to see a plant that was a Unique Rated item.

Lane: Gosh, that's Unique Rated plant material? What use do you have to it, guild leader?

Mathias: Healing someone's wounds.

malakai: Healing his waifu.

Frowning while searching for the gemstone when Vlad began talking randomly without being required, Vek who was close by interpreted this as a bag sign, of him being displeased by something.

Ignoring the guild chat while the group asked Vlad about more details, the Shadow Branded Novice could only deliver what Mathias had fed him with, which wasn't really a lot. Instead, Mathias felt Vek staring at him, which made him realise his emotion fluctuated for a brief moment and the Red Energy might have gotten out of control.

"Sorry, little Vek, I am not angry at you or this place. Did you have any success with the gems?"

"Obviously, they are pretty easy to be spotted, here. Is it big enough?" asked Vek while presenting Mathias with a sparrow egg-sized gem which took the latter aback.

"More than enough."
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[A/N: There are lots of gemstones there. If you think about the Dwarfs building their cities out of pure gold, Kobolds are like those canal rats that would be able to build anything from anything if you tell them the plans. Besides being like searching dogs when it comes to finding gemstones, so you guys tell me. Do they have the potential for a building race?]
 
Did something happen? The spaces are gone and all I see is a giant wall of text.
 

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