《Einherjar》 Prologue- Less than a Hero ¡°You understand, right? Your target is the armoured car driving three clicks north of your position. You are to capture the targets, not kill them, and you are to do so in as flashily a manner as possible. Make sure to keep property damage down though.¡± The voice crackled through the radio as the man sighed, unstrapping it from his chest and speaking into it. ¡°Understood¡­ you know, when we made this deal, I was under the assumption that I wouldn¡¯t be called in for bank robberies.¡± The man spoke back to the radio, no longer pressing the button so as to receive a reply as he ran his hand through his messy black hair¡­ ¡®I think I¡¯ll need a cut soon¡¯ the man absently thought as his radio crackled once more and he focused on it, trying to ignore the bright lights of New York at night as he focused on the voice. ¡°Normally we wouldn¡¯t call you in, but this has to do with Jack. I¡¯m sure you can understand why it¡¯s good if you¡¯re the one to capture members of his organization.¡± The man sighed, incapable of arguing with the voice behind the radio, before he could speak though, it crackled once more. ¡°And for the record, you know I could destroy them from where I am positioned.¡± the man thought for a moment, acknowledging his words¡­ the man on the other side of the radio, Shaun Fife, was quite dangerous and the man could believe that Shaun could stop the armoured car from his base¡­ Not that he would. He¡¯d see it as a waste of publicity and as a way of outing himself as being something more dangerous than he appeared. Though with his title as ¡®American Head of the Babel Investigation Unit¡¯, he was already plenty scary, even if most had not realized how scary he was. ¡°Hey, you two don¡¯t need to keep talking anyway. Michael¡¯s about to take his shot, we need to move out.¡± The man holding the radio sighed once more, feeling himself age as he wondered what happened to the life he used to have, where he could be lazy and zone out through classes on Architecture of all things¡­ Oh yeah, that life vanished when he, Arthur Clive, became more than human¡­ ¡°Got that Emilia, I got that. Right, call it in, Einherjar Squad is moving out.¡± The man named Arthur rolled his head, causing a nice cracking sound to come out of his neck as he gave a quiet sigh in relief, looking out into the city, estimating the area his mission was in¡­ With focus, he felt energy flowing through him, culminating in sparks suddenly bursting from his feat, and though he couldn¡¯t see it, he knew his hair was spiking backwards from the electrical charge flowing through him, and his eyes would be glowing yellow. ¡°So glad I¡¯m a Lightning Mage¡­¡± Arthur said slightly as he crouched slightly, before jumping off of his position on the Brooklyn Bridge, shooting into the sky as he willed the energy flowing within him to shoot him forward in a manner reminiscent of a horizontally moving lightning bolt¡­ The energy in question was one which all humans now possessed, something straight out of fantasy, magic. A streak of red light signalled Michael Grave, the sniper of Einherjar, attacking the armoured car. Arthur didn¡¯t even question if he had hit it or not¡­ it was Michael, the car was definitely damaged, whether it was enchanted or not. Arthur landed, skidding on his boots across the tarmac for a bit, slight puffs of smoke leaving his body, though his spell was still active, leaving his hair now slightly shining yellow and spiked back similarly to a certain Monkey King from a vegetable planet. Next to Arthur was a tall man holding a massive curved tower shield, his other hand holding a war-hammer as he looked to Arthur with a grin. ¡°Hey, the boss is pissed, told you not to use that spell while holding the radio remember?¡± the other man, Matt Jacobson warned the leader of the Einherjar Squad as Arthur waved him off.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Not like it matters, we can just get another one¡­ they should really learn how to insulate those things.¡± Arthur complained, his voice crackling through the electricity covering his body as he and Matt walked forward, Matt shrugging in agreement as he looked at the spell covering Arthur. ¡°You finally reach the point where you can keep that spell on constantly?¡± Matt asked as Arthur nodded, his face twitching into a smirk as he spoke. ¡°Yeah, though the control is still iffy¡­ I have to actually focus to speak at a speed you can understand me, and to not walk at the speed of a car.¡± Matt whistled in appreciation for the power. ¡°Well, my Metal Magic can¡¯t do stuff like that, but defensive wise I¡¯m happy.¡± Matt said, grinning savagely as they came across the armoured car, now tipped over on its side. From the red lines running across it, it was enchanted for sure, fire¡­ likely to increase speed or defence against fire element attacks¡­ Judging by the arrow pierced into the side of the car, caving in that side as if it had been slapped by an angry god, the enchantment had been worthless against Michael, even if he had fired a fire element arrow. The people in the car were out now though, none daring to pick up a gun and shoot, instead rushing forward with daggers and swords and one guy had a spear. ¡°Do I need to even step in at this point?¡± Arthur wondered as Matt stepped forward, slamming his shield into someone and watching them fly off into a wall, cracking said wall as Matt shrugged. ¡°Probably not, one of us is already enough for most people under level three hundred, and there are very few at that level.¡± Arthur acknowledged Matt¡¯s statement, watching as someone tried to run away only to turn back around screaming in fear of nothing¡­ ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a very exclusive club right there¡­ there are what, about a hundred, two hundred people out of around five billion at that level?¡± Arthur asked the new person to appear from where the scared robber ran away from, a man in a jacket and jeans with sneakers, a staff in his hands as his skin went through numerous colours before settling on its natural darker colour. ¡°Yeah, there are very few over all at that level. The hundreds represent quite a large gap after all.¡± The new person was also a member of the Einherjar Squad, named John Collins, his surname was so generic it was usually forgotten though¡­ oh, and he was the medic for their group, or to be more accurate, the Cleric, due to his Healing Magic. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re really strong¡­ by the way, was the illusion really necessary, I mean Emilia and Alice would destroy them anyway.¡± Arthur had a point, as they looked to see someone appearing once in a while with flips and vanishing again after stabbing someone in the legs or arms, and another just running in and punching the hell out of them. Both were female by the way, with Emilia being blonde with a supermodel level look, despite being an Assassin, and Alice was their heavy hitter, despite being the shortest one in their group. Fun fact, there were four guys and two girls in the Einherjar unit, and both girls were high powered damage dealers. ¡°Hey Alice, that one¡¯s a regenerator!¡± Arthur called out as Alice turned and cut the leg off of the guy whose wounds were closing at a visible rate, leaving him screaming, but hey, he¡¯d probably get another leg in a week or two. Very soon the enemy was all defeated as Michael Grave, brother of Alice Grave and their sniper, finally appeared, walking with his bow vanishing from his hands as he high fived Arthur on approach. ¡°Excellent, our job is done here everyone, Agent Shaun will solve all the other issues. Let¡¯s go chill.¡± Arthur gave an ¡®order¡¯ as they walked away, some pictures being taken for tomorrow. As they left, Shaun Fife palmed his face, watching the video footage of the group leaving, before cancelling the Light spell he had been using to see what they were doing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong boss, didn¡¯t they finish the mission?¡± Shaun turned to his second and third in command, Dante Vasquez and Grey Vincent as he pointed out into New York. ¡°Oh they finished the mission alright, but Arthur broke another radio and didn¡¯t even fight. Meaning this was a waste of resources for some publicity for America¡¯s Strongest.¡± Shaun was understandably annoyed, but he had long since gotten used to disliking Arthur, and he couldn¡¯t stop now, even if they could work together easily. ¡°Boss¡­ is this about you not liking Arthur?¡± Grey asked as Shaun scoffed at the accusation, looking out into the city, before turning to glance at the obsidian stone, two by two metres with a small pedestal to its side. ¡°It¡¯s not so much that I don¡¯t like our top Adventurer, our ¡®hero¡¯, in so much that I am afraid of him.¡± Shaun admitted, Dante sighing at this old argument while Grey raised an eyebrow at his boss¡¯ admittance to disliking Grey¡¯s old friend. ¡°Every other top adventurer has reasons for why they fight. Ichiro because he nearly died and he doesn¡¯t want to feel helpless again, Albert because it¡¯s his job, Jade has her sister and that crazy Head Agent of England telling her to fight, but each one has a reason¡­¡± Shaun glanced away. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a reason¡­ he¡¯s just doing it because it¡¯s there to do¡­ Honestly, he¡¯s a monster in human form, not a hero.¡± Shaun wished he had some alcohol at this point¡­ or a lot. Chapter 1- Awakening Arthur Clive. He had short black hair and nondescript dull brown eyes. He was a bit shorter than most in America, and he always seemed a bit bored. Arthur Clive was not normal. He knew that, and was reminded of it every day of his life through his own thoughts and minor realizations of reality. Arthur Clive was a scared person who didn¡¯t think of himself as amazing at all. In fact, he thought of himself as a hypocrite on the best of days, and a coward on the worst, for all that he feared confrontations and loved senseless violence. For what would you call someone like that, but a hypocrite? Arthur was strange and his mind-set alien to those around him, luckily those that understood him to a certain amount nearly always ended up becoming friends with him¡­ otherwise, living might have been too difficult for him. The sound of a television was what woke Arthur, as he yawned and stretched, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he blearily reached for the remote, making the volume increase a bit. ¡°¡­and so we believe these ¡®Dungeons¡¯ will be open soon for registered people, ¡®Adventurers¡¯ so to speak, this was decided at the recent U.N meeting following Red Sky Day-¡± Arthur didn¡¯t care much for what those people were saying, despite realizing the importance of what the News Anchors were saying. Red Sky Day, Dungeons, Adventurers, lots of terms that would have been strange, had it been a month ago. It was currently January 4th of 2020. Last Month/Year, December first, a lot had changed for the world, and the world was still adjusting to it. On the first of December, there had been an ¡®invasion¡¯ by paranormal entities¡­ basically, demons. It had practically been hell on earth for the one hour in which they attacked, only three types were known, a giant centipede one that attacked on the ground, a flying snake thing and some aquatic shark demon. Seeing as Arthur had been on solid ground during Red Sky Day, as the day was now known as, he had been one of many who had encountered the centipede demons. He had survived, killing the demon with a knife and assistance from a friend of his who had a gun for some reason¡­ Arthur didn¡¯t want to ask why they thought a gun was necessary. But yeah, the demons weren¡¯t as strong as they appeared. Sure, they could kill people easily, but it was the same vice versa, a bullet or two would kill those centipede things if they got hit in the head. Arthur and his friend who had been helping him had actually hunted the things down during that hour, despite both of them being scared out of their minds at first¡­ Well, Arthur had been detached from it all, his friend was the one that panicked for a while before calming down¡­ Arthur on the other hand, was eerily calm about it, as if he wasn¡¯t even being affected by the fact people had been dying around him and he would die if he got hit by the centipede things that had blades for front limbs. It was just one of the strange things that made Arthur who he was, he accepted himself as a strange person, and if someone couldn¡¯t handle that then they¡¯d have no right being involved with him. Red Sky Day was dangerous for humanity as a whole though, having reduced the population of eight billion to roughly five billion over the course of the day, Arthur was just thankful that no one he knew died that day, as he didn¡¯t want to know what he would have done¡­ Probably sworn vengeance like some Shounen Anime character¡­ he liked those. But no one he knew died. He had few friends, and of those friends, no one had anyone in their family die. One of them mentioned a colleague from work dying, but that was about the extent of it. Arthur considered himself lucky, even if he didn¡¯t care about humanity in the long run; he knew he was lucky to not be part of the three billion that died, or the people who knew them. But Red Sky Day wasn¡¯t just about the whole ¡®invasion from Demons of Hell¡¯ thing, though that was obviously the most noticeable thing that happened that day. The second most notable thing was getting an announcement, from the Devil of all things. Arthur looked to his wall, where he had written the words of the self-proclaimed Devil. Greetings to all leftover living members of humanity. I am the Devil, Ruler of Hell. Note, I am not Lucifer the guy who used to run this place, I¡¯m a different person. You can all refer to me as The Devil, Devil or Chronos. I like the last one. So, I bet you are all wondering why you are hearing a voice in your head from the Devil of all people. Well, as the Devil, I¡¯m sure you all know what the Devil does, the Devil makes deals¡­ and I¡¯m here to offer all of humanity one. See, Lucifer, Angel of Light and Warden to Humanities Sinners, was the previous ruler of hell. It was stable, and everyone in Hell pretty much picked fights with each other and stayed there. It was pretty boring. Then I came along, got strong pretty quickly and kicked Lucifer off his throne out of sheer boredom. It was a difficult fight, but fun. Then I sat on the throne for about a month before getting bored again. So I decided on something crazy awesome to do. I¡¯m going to slowly invade Earth. And Earth is going to fight back. And hopefully it will be interesting. Admittedly, it would be boring if humanity, as it is, were to try and fight me and my army of beings from Hell¡­ so I decided to give you all quite the boost. No need to thank me, it¡¯s the deal. You fight and you will be rewarded with more power. Fight more, gain even more power. Eventually, get strong enough to fight me, maybe even kill me, and I¡¯ll be glad to get rid of my boredom. Oh, and if by some miraculous way of impossibility I get killed by someone¡­ That person will become the new Ruler of Hell, aka The Devil. If that doesn¡¯t sound interesting, this next bit will be. Hell is a world onto its own, and it isn¡¯t just fire and brimstone, though that is here. Hell has armies and power, food and water, Hell has resources, and I know you humans are running out. So yeah, your only option to live longer than about¡­ fifty years on your planet? Take over Hell and share its near unlimited resources with Earth¡­ I hope you humans become interesting. It was¡­ weird¡­ and complicated. The words of the Devil, or Chronos as he wanted to be called, seemed to make him out as some battle hungry guy who just got bored, took over Hell, got bored again and decided to take over Earth. He even provided humans with ways to get stronger and fight equally with Demons, which Arthur noted absently on his wrist which had a slightly glowing tattoo. LEV 01 was what it stated, showing that he hadn¡¯t grown any stronger using it, but that he had it. It provided quite a bit more features than just glowing, though Arthur wasn¡¯t capable of using it just yet¡­ He¡¯d first need to go to a Dungeon Entrance and talk to a ¡®Guild¡¯ member there. Upon going through some legal red tape, he¡¯d ¡®Awaken¡¯ to whatever abilities Chronos had granted him through this deal¡­ This was a strange deal which required Arthur to get stronger to kill Chronos the deal maker. From what was released to the public, Awakening would provide four things, each associated with a common RPG element in Arthur¡¯s mind, except for one. Stats were one thing that would appear, there were six stats, split into Physical, Mental and Defensive, with two stats for each category. Physical had the stereotypical Strength stat, as well as Dexterity. Strength measured just that, physical strength, whereas Dexterity measured flexibility and motor skills, with too little Dexterity one could run face first into a wall when one tried to run, and with too little Strength one would be incapable of fighting at their best. Defensive had the Endurance and Vitality stats, Endurance representing how resistant a person was to damage, while Vitality represented the recovery speed a person had. Mental had to do with that thing nearly every human wished they had when they learnt of it, magic. Intelligence affected the amount of ¡®Mana¡¯ one could possess, as well as being the main source of damage for magical abilities offensively. Wisdom affected the rate of recovery for Mana, and affected how well defensive magic worked. Intelligence and Wisdom both affected the effects of Supplementary magic, such as magic that increased strength or speed, with Intelligence factoring into the strength of said magic, and Wisdom giving control over the magic and keeping it lasting. Arthur was quite excited when he heard of this, knowing already what else would follow, especially if stats existed. Levels existed as well, as verified by the tattoo on Arthur¡¯s arm, stating his current Level to be one, though he was incapable of using its abilities¡­ it wasn¡¯t actually awakened through this process though, seeing as everyone already had one. Magic was the next thing awoken, the dream of all who heard of it, the ability to cause phenomena with your will. Anyone could use magic apparently, to a limited degree, and your elemental affinities were decided during Awakening, with most having just one element, rarely two. Following Magic were Skills. Skills weren¡¯t entirely rare, but they weren¡¯t common either. Just about everyone would awaken to at least one, but after a certain point it just got rare. In addition, Skills had rarities and levels, upon levelling up a Skill through use, it would change in Rank. If its Rank increased enough, it might evolve into a different skill, or perhaps change rarity. The final thing Awakening caused was the one that was confusing to Arthur, even as he finished his morning rituals of showering, eating his breakfast and brushing his teeth¡­ The final thing to appear with Awakening was Anima. At first the word provoked thoughts to the band, or perhaps even Carl Jung, a famous psychologist slash philosopher, and his theory of the Anima being the unconscious feminine side of a man¡­ then people simply translated it, from its base Latin to English, and its real meaning was found. Anima, in English, meant ¡®Soul¡¯. While the term was correct, it didn¡¯t quite describe what an Anima was, and everyone was quite frankly confused on it themselves. The only assurances involving Anima were that each was unique to each person, similarities could exist, but they would never be wholly the same, and that everyone had an Anima, some rare cases even spoke of people possessing two. Of course, some philosophers and psychologists were happy and disturbed with these new revelations, Arthur remembered reading quite a few articles of outrage at the Anima. Anima¡­ they were the truest form of the soul apparently and while not all were physical, as some Anima manifested as spells or skills, the most common spell type Anima being one centred on healing¡­ though most were physical, like swords. But should one be judged on their Anima? If a sweet and innocent little girl awakened to a screaming Scythe that devoured souls, would that make the little girl the grim reaper? It was still up for debate in most first world countries, but then again, most countries didn¡¯t have the freedom to care about such worries, as they¡¯d rather send the little grim reaper girl to go kill the enemy than worry about her soul being in the form of screaming death. Arthur felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and checked it with a bit of an annoyed look, disliking social media and long distance communication. It had to do with him disliking how he couldn¡¯t read someone¡¯s expression through a text. When he saw the message, he just sighed and left the house, leaving a note on the table that he was leaving to a nearby Dungeon Entrance with some friends, and that he¡¯d be home for dinner. Upon leaving the plain soft green house with a white picket fence and immaculate garden, Arthur moved to the driveway, pulling out his keys and zipping up his jacket. Leather was important to wear when on a motorbike, especially during winter when the cold bit into ones flesh when driving around at a hundred miles per hour. Arthur started the bike and drove off, the Dungeon Entrance wasn¡¯t too far away, but he liked the thrill of driving around on a motorbike at high speeds, it made him feel alive. A few corners from his home, ignoring the left over destruction that was slowly but surely fading after Red Sky Day happened a month ago, he arrived at the Dungeon Entrance, already seeing a line forming to talk to a Guild Employee. ¡°Arthur! Over here!¡± Arthur kept his helmet on as he got off his bike, but took it off immediately after, clipping it to his bike as he walked over to the people calling to him. There were two already there, though three more would be on their way to meet up with the two currently here. ¡°Alice, Michael, it¡¯s good to see you two.¡± Arthur was surprisingly sincere when it came to his greeting, though he didn¡¯t step in close beyond what was necessary for a handshake, liking his personal space too much. ¡°You¡¯re a bit late¡­ though the others are too.¡± Michael, the eldest one of the three, was also the tallest, at roughly six foot two, he was a giant, despite his lankiness, and he had spiky short black hair and brown eyes, his clothing was similar to Arthur in that he was wearing Jeans and boots, but he had a zip-up hoodie instead of a leather jacket like Arthur. ¡°Why am I here¡­¡± the half-dying girl was Alice, the eldest of Michael¡¯s sisters, though she was still younger than he was. Alice was short, but her physique ensured no one thought of the term ¡®child¡¯ when looking at her, she had straight black hair going to just about her shoulders and brown eyes much like her brother. ¡°You¡¯re here because you wanted to quit school remember?¡± Michael rolled his eyes at her antics, though he didn¡¯t blame her, considering they were standing in the cold at seven in the morning on a Saturday so soon after school re-started. ¡°I don¡¯t want to quit school¡­ I just want a part-time job I¡¯d enjoy instead of hate. Can you imagine me at McDonalds saying ¡®May I take your order?¡¯¡± Alice asked with a slight glare at Michael, though Arthur chuckled a bit at the imagery.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Sure, sure, but you realize that if you¡¯re in school we¡¯d still need to continue this without you?¡± Michael raised a valid point as Arthur nodded sagely. ¡°Yeah Alice, we¡¯re planning on doing this as a career, but you¡¯re part-timing. See the problem here?¡± Arthur asked and Alice sighed, knowing that the both of them were right, but not wanting to outright admit it. ¡°High School seniors are being given the opportunity to focus on this, so during school hours I¡¯d probably be able to go into a Dungeon nearby, as long as I went with fellow students.¡± She explained and Arthur widened his eyes at her words. ¡°I¡¯m impressed¡­ are they really letting you do that? I mean, the laws haven¡¯t changed yet you know, if students get harmed during school hours that¡¯s on the school, especially if they know where the student is.¡± Arthur wondered how likely it was to be true at this point. ¡°Yeah, though we wouldn¡¯t be allowed past a certain point until we reached certain levels. They¡¯re letting it happen because this could be a well-paying job.¡± Arthur didn¡¯t deny Alice¡¯s words, fighting in the Dungeon was apparently worth a lot. ¡°Of course, not every student can become an Adventurer, we still need teachers, doctors, engineers and what not, and so only six per class can do that.¡± And there the catch was, she¡¯d need to secure a one in five chance to continue going into the Dungeon on her school hours. ¡°Right¡­ where is everyone else by the way?¡± Arthur complained, checking his watch on his right wrist, a habit from his father who was left handed, and Michael shrugged. ¡°Matt should be arriving soon, it¡¯s really easy to tell when he¡¯s close, John might have fallen asleep on the bus¡­ and as for our sixth member you know her more than the rest of us.¡± Michael smirked at Arthur at his last words and Arthur looked away trying to ignore what Michael was insinuating. ¡°Well at least I got here on time, the place is opening soon.¡± Arthur tried and failed to ignore Michael¡¯s words, but at least he made it appear as if he heard nothing. ¡°Yeah¡­ so, any ideas on what you¡¯d get?¡± Alice interrupted their moment of silence as both Michael and Arthur shrugged. ¡°No idea. We know everyone starts with stats of five and gains a Class which grants skills and stats per level, but what Class you gain is apparently dependant on your Anima¡­ who knows what you¡¯d get there.¡± Arthur complained as the two looked at him. ¡°¡­What?¡± Michael and Alice remembered that Arthur was the type of person who¡¯d win a game, then read a wiki to know more about it, then would win it again. He liked knowing things and putting those things to use. ¡°Okay, so you have no idea on what Class or Anima you¡¯d get, but what about Magic and Skills?¡± Michael voiced out, and that got both Alice and Arthur thinking, even as they all heard the roar of an engine approaching. ¡°Magic is based on feelings and personality so unless I see a graph I wouldn¡¯t know¡­ skill-wise, there are a huge amount of them, but apparently a good one to get is a stat-booster skill, such as Hero¡¯s Strength or Quick Reflexes.¡± Arthur explained and Alice¡¯s eyes glinted at the idea of stat-boosting skills¡­ then the engine¡¯s roaring got close enough for them to see the Nissan Fair-lady-Z parking near Arthur¡¯s bike. From the car appeared another member of their group, Matt Jacobson, a tall guy with short curly hair and a short beard and moustache, in Arthur¡¯s opinion he looked like a taller, more thug-like James Franco. ¡°What up motherfuckers!¡± and there his language was, Matt swore a lot, he was loud, and he was violent. Great friend though, without a doubt, just don¡¯t mess with him. ¡°Yo Matt, glad you got here on time.¡± Michael greeted, Arthur giving a short wave as Matt tried to ruffle Alice¡¯s hair, only for her to dodge. Matt was Michael and Alice¡¯s cousin, meaning that Arthur was the only one not related here by blood, not that he cared, the Grave¡¯s welcomed him anytime, usually with a serving of food. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still tired¡­ I just want this done.¡± Matt was not a morning person, despite how he just sounded¡­ Arthur was pretty sure his shouting of greeting was more of a reflex than not though. ¡°Hey, weren¡¯t we going to go into the Dungeon today?¡± Michael complained and Matt raised an eyebrow as he shrugged. ¡°Maybe, maybe not, it depends on what you awaken as. People with classes like Blacksmith usually aren¡¯t allowed to go in, unless they have a combat skill. Even then, who would let untrained civilians enter a combat zone?¡± Michael nodded at Matt¡¯s words, Arthur agreeing, though with reluctance at the truth in those words¡­ Yeah, this was going to be a profession soon, but that didn¡¯t mean people had to just rush in and die. ¡°Well, normally you¡¯d be right, but according to the reports the first floor just has Slimes and Goblins that even children could win in a fight¡­ as long as mistakes don¡¯t occur.¡± Arthur made sure to add that last bit, knowing the fallacy of arrogance. ¡°So the first floor of the Dungeon is actually open to anyone, but going beyond the first floor requires more than what average people can do, meaning you need to be a higher level, probably four or five.¡± Arthur noted, and Matt looked thoughtful for a moment. ¡°Yeah, that makes sense¡­ good skills could also ensure that going into a higher level would be alright, but how could they enforce it?¡± Michael asked and Alice piped in. ¡°They can¡¯t, Dungeons can only be entered with a group of six at the max, and even if you enter the same Dungeon you won¡¯t see anyone else.¡± Alice added, and Arthur nodded. ¡°Yeah, so it¡¯s not a hard limit, if someone thinks they can survive further they can go ahead, but they are warned beforehand that should they die in that situation, it would be their own fault.¡± Arthur added, even as someone walked up to them with a yawn. ¡°Hey guys and Alice¡­ what did I miss?¡± This was the fifth member of their group, John Collins, aka the black guy, not that he¡¯d let you say that. ¡°We¡¯re talking about the Dungeon¡­ so, you going to be a blacksmith?¡± Matt joked as John calmly raised a middle finger in response. ¡°Ha, ha, funny, and I guess you going to be thief so you can shank people?¡± the jokes, despite their words, were harmless, as one could tell by the tone of their voices, still being jovial. ¡°Hardly, you¡¯re more likely to be a thief, you could just fade into the shadows.¡± Arthur thus proceeded to ignore the witty banter of semi-acceptable racist jokes¡­ it was all fair, John was aware of his own racial stereotypes and just rolled with them, it¡¯s not like he fit them anyway, seeing as he was more, in his own words, African American, than black. Racism, everywhere, but unnecessary beyond a good joke in their opinions. Arthur just sighed at his friends antics before he turned and saw a white BMW M3 pulling into the parking, and he smiled as it parked and their last member walked out. Emilia Vasilievna was a Russian student studying architecture and was in Arthur¡¯s University, the New York Institute of Technology, a prestigious affair, one that Arthur¡¯s friends liked teasing him over. Back to Emilia, Emilia was pale, with surprisingly golden blonde hair and bluish green eyes, as she walked over wearing warm clothing for the mid-winter weather as she walked over before giving Arthur a brief hug. Again, Arthur disliked it when people entered his comfort zone, but when it was a friend he¡¯d leave it alone for a bit¡­ a bit, any longer and he¡¯d start feeling irritated. His friends all knew this, so Emilia let go quickly as she greeted everyone, trying to remember their names as she had only occasionally met the rest of the group. ¡°Alright, looks like we¡¯re all here¡­ and the Awakening Chamber will be opening. Let¡¯s go.¡± Michael noted with a look over towards the line, all six getting into the line, with Arthur being last unfortunately. The ¡®Awakening Chamber¡¯ wasn¡¯t all that amazing, seeing as it was a rush job. See, to awaken your stats, skills and whatnot, it required accessing a podium in front of the Dungeon¡­ Unfortunately, accessing it for the first time was a surprisingly private affair due to how it worked, so a kind of larger cubical was created hastily to defend the privacy of people undergoing Awakening. After doing so, accessing the podium would do very little more, beyond allowing one to update their stats, skills and such. To explain that last bit, one could fight at level one for a whole day, getting enough ¡®experience points¡¯ to level up three times, but one would only level up at the podium. This prevented people from rushing through the Dungeon though from tests it was worthwhile, as they tried to see what was the limit one could go involving held-back levels. The test subjects all experienced intense nausea at levelling up six times without using the podium, so going beyond that was probably bad. Arthur had his own theories on why it worked like that, but he wasn¡¯t the authority on it and he was not willing to just randomly share thoughts on it. As mentioned though, the ¡®Awakening Chamber¡¯ was merely there to hide the accessing of the Podium for the first time, and to provide privacy for later users. Luckily Dungeons didn¡¯t pop up in crowded places or inside buildings, or else they¡¯d worry about a Dungeon in the middle of the road or something, so there was space for the government to build Guilds. The line was moving slowly but surely, as Arthur sunk into his own thoughts, Emilia looking behind her to see Arthur nibbling on his lower lip making her stifle a giggle as she turned to face the front¡­ you could trust Arthur to look like his thoughts were an intense mathematics question. Guilds were the thing Arthur was thinking about, or to be more precise, the Guild, it was made up of Government Workers, Soldiers and more¡­ secretive, occupations. The Guild was there to monitor the people leaving and entering the Dungeons as well as to be a neutral party between the ¡®Adventurers¡¯ people who would enter the Dungeons, and the Government, as well as helping non-combatants ways of asking materials or assistance from Adventurers. Scary thing was that Guild Leaders were all required to be at least level ten, at least, this early into the Dungeon explorations, but that number would likely rise. Guild Leaders were supposed to be strong enough to be on equal grounds with Adventurers, or possibly stronger, so as to ensure compliance with laws. This was obviously going to happen in Arthur¡¯s opinion¡­ give everyone on earth magic and what amounts to superpowers, and rotten people would start appearing a lot often with their new ¡®freedom¡¯. In fact, Arthur had heard that a prison or two had jailbreaks when Dungeons and their podiums had appeared inside the open areas within prisons, and the prisoners would get access to magic and their Anima¡¯s. So Guild Leaders were the law, not counting police officers who now also underwent mandatory Dungeon ¡®diving¡¯ so as to maintain a lead on criminals that could shoot fireballs out of their hands. ¡°Next¡­¡± Arthur blinked as the world came back into focus, and it would be his turn soon as John walked in¡­ followed by Emilia who waved at him as John walked out a bit to the side, stumbling a bit. ¡°Next¡­¡± Arthur felt sorry for this Guild Employee who stood there with a clipboard, dark circles around his eyes and wearing glasses. ¡°Name, I.D, address, contact number¡­¡± the man rattled off absently as Arthur took the pen, glad that he remembered everything as he entered in his information. ¡°Enter¡­¡± the man blearily continued, though Arthur wondered at the flash of green in the man¡¯s eyes as he looked over to Emilia and the others, he wrote it off as his imagination. The Awakening Chamber was quite bare, beyond the podium of obsidian; the flat, angled top of said podium was white, black lettering floating above it as if it was a hologram¡­ fantasy and science fiction, both were awesome. The lettering simply stated: Place LEV hand on access panel. And So, Arthur followed the instructions, raising his left hand, as the LEV always appeared on the non-dominant hand, and then placing the hand on the panel. Arthur jolted as the breath was knocked out of him, his airways clenching as he tried to scream, no voice exiting as his head throbbed as if his heart had decided to move there¡­ and suddenly Arthur wasn¡¯t inside the Awakening Chamber anymore. You are mortal, you are weak. How do you fight? I fight with both mind and body, through control and everlasting force. You fight in such a manner¡­ what would you learn through such fighting? I would learn tactics of war, I would learn combat¡­ and¡­ And? I would understand. How would you understand¡­ rather, what would you understand? I would understand myself, I would understand my allies, and I would understand my enemies¡­ I would understand them at their core, and accept them. You would accept your enemies? Yes. I would accept my enemies even as I¡¯d slay them piecemeal. Why? Understanding is how we better ourselves¡­ understand the world around you, and you better the world. Interesting¡­ what do you think of yourself? I think myself¡­ a hypocrite. I think I¡¯m both a coward and a warmonger. How so? I dislike emotional conflict. I understand both sides, and thus feel the pain of both in such conflict¡­ yet conflict of the flesh excites me, drives me, in a manner I know is not acceptable in the world I live in. Do you seek acceptance from the world, or from yourself? I seek acceptance from myself of course¡­ but the world is important as well. My opinion matters the most, but the world itself affects me. A balance, albeit a lopsided one¡­ one that does not favour you. Indeed, it does not¡­ but when is one person more important than the world? When indeed¡­ When one is more powerful than all. ¡­So power. I seek power? Maybe you do¡­ if you do, what would you do with power? I would¡­ I would¡­ Infinite, unimaginable power, all in your grasp¡­ what do you do? ¡­I devour. I protect. Once more, such confliction¡­ to devour is to attack, to protect is to defend. How would one accomplish both? Through¡­ through connections, I would accomplish both. To my poisonous enemies, I would devour them; to my steadfast allies I would protect them at the cost of my life. My connections shape me, and so my connections shall shape the world. ¡­How unique. And suddenly Arthur was heaving gasping breaths, as he struggled to hold back from vomiting¡­ he luckily succeeded, the pain wracking his body going away rather quickly as he stood, surprised that he was not sweating or in pain anymore, looking towards the ¡®access panel¡¯ for answers.
Arthur Clive
Level: 1
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 6.25% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1%
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician I (0/50)- increases Wisdom by 10% Swordsmanship I (0/50)- Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (0/200)- Allows insight beyond mortality
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
It¡­ was quite neatly arranged¡­ but Arthur wasn¡¯t quite sure what he was seeing, and before he could focus on it, the Guild guy glared at him, his eyes shifting green for a moment. ¡°Hey, you can check that later, step aside.¡± He had a point, so Arthur walked away; still uncertain by just what happened to him during his Awakening as he stepped outside, still in a daze as Michael threw an arm over his shoulder, a faux grin on his face. ¡°Well, exciting, wasn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s go sit over there¡­ and talk.¡± The last bit was said in a monotone unlike the rest of his sentence¡­ but no one seemed to care at this point¡­ even Arthur himself as he sat down at a bench. Emilia ambled to a nearby shop for some drinks and returned, handing Arthur¡­ apple juice. Well, he¡¯d normally take energy drinks but he didn¡¯t think that would matter much. He just needed something. ¡°So¡­ that was not what we were expecting.¡± Matt said easily as they all nodded, the whole group feeling quiet. It was not out of awkwardness, or disgust or any other truly negative emotion¡­ it was rather a moment of introspection. They were all thinking about what they had seen. ¡°¡­Hey, did anyone else¡­ have a conversation with a strange voice?¡± Arthur asked, knowing the question to be quite sensitive, but willing to ask, in the same manner an addict might ask fellow addicts about the pain of going cold turkey. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t remember.¡± Emilia shook her head, the rest all shaking their heads along with her as they looked to Arthur. ¡°I¡­ I think I remember because of a skill I got.¡± Arthur voiced his opinion, making them look at him for answers. ¡°Soul Sight¡­ I can¡­ what was the description¡­ see what mortals are not meant to see.¡± Arthur explained, knowing instinctually how to use the ability¡­ and desperately trying to not use it. ¡°Oh¡­ what¡­ what was the conversation about?¡± Michael asked, and Arthur held his head in his hands as he focused on remembering. ¡°It was¡­ questions, I guess. The voice never referred to itself, only asked questions¡­ the first question it asked was how I¡¯d fight, as a weak mortal¡­ from there it just continued.¡± Arthur said, stopping for a moment to think. ¡°It¡­ I couldn¡¯t lie to it; I couldn¡¯t help but speak honestly¡­ and after hearing that¡­ I don¡¯t know how to feel about myself right now¡­ I guess that¡¯s why you¡¯re all like this too.¡± Arthur pointed out, pausing to drink a bit of his juice. ¡°You don¡¯t remember it¡­ but you can feel what happened, and it¡¯s very¡­ invasive, and slightly degrading. Worst part is that it wasn¡¯t the voice¡¯s fault¡­ it¡¯s ours. The feeling of everything you are, being laid bare.¡± He shivered and they all looked at each other. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s not go into the Dungeon today¡­ tomorrow?¡± Michael offered, and they all agreed there, as a man walked over¡­ a man with glasses, sans clipboard this time. ¡°Smart choice¡­ I reckon you all might survive.¡± The man said as he patted his shirt pocket before sighing. ¡°Right, don¡¯t smoke anymore¡­ ahem, my name¡¯s Shaun, Shaun Jacobson. I¡¯m the Guild Leader, and I¡¯m guessing you all might survive a bit longer than others.¡± Shaun said as the group froze a bit, at the idea of someone stronger than them had just spoken to them¡­ The minimum level for Guild Leaders was ten. Starting Classes, regardless of rarity, provided two stats per level, and five stats per level to go to stats of the person¡¯s choice. If five was the standard of a person, seven times nine was¡­ sixty three, even divided over all six stats; Shaun would be three or so times stronger than any other human, discounting magic. ¡°So, in line with that, here.¡± He handed six card shaped objects to the group, who all looked at it in confusion as Shaun sighed once more. ¡°Channel some Mana into it; you¡¯ve all got magic now after all.¡± He reminded and they realized the strange feeling starting in their chests as they began to move the feeling around¡­ it was slow going at first, before the feeling finally touched the cards in their hands, the cards changing. The cards gave their names, their levels, their Class, and finally floor cleared, which in this case showed [N/A] seeing as they hadn¡¯t even entered a Dungeon yet. ¡°That¡¯s an Adventurer Card. Normally I wouldn¡¯t hand those out until the first time you enter and leave a Dungeon¡­ but, I¡¯m the boss around here, I make the rules. I hope you all get stronger.¡± Shaun said, walking away with a calm wave as he went back to his work of registering people with the Government. Arthur didn¡¯t even have time to wonder about the card as the group just looked at each other. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s just¡­ see you all tomorrow.¡± Arthur couldn¡¯t even feel it in himself to finish his first sentence before they all just nodded and left in their own ways, Alice and Michael walking, Emilia in her BMW M3, Matt in his GT-R and John walking. Arthur, on the other hand, drove home on his bike, wondering¡­ ¡°To Devour and Protect.¡± He stated to himself absently as he parked his bike at his home. The rest of the day he was quiet, and he went to sleep still thinking, still pondering, over his Awakening. Chapter 2- Clear Souls The day after their Awakening, Arthur and his friends arrived at the same Dungeon Entrance as before, only to see a larger building there now, albeit it looked¡­ plain. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you guys¡­ the boss said to look out for you.¡± The man at the door noted and Arthur¡¯s group was quick to wonder why Shaun was made out to sound like a mob boss, and this guy looked like an enforcer, with his muscled build and shades. ¡°Um¡­ yeah, right¡­ we want to enter the Dungeon.¡± Michael spoke out, one of the more outgoing members of their group, and Arthur didn¡¯t mind letting him take the attention. ¡°Sure, no problem, just go over there to the counter and log in the members of your team, the name of your team, and a rough guess to what time you¡¯re entering.¡± The man, despite his looks, was well mannered as he opened the door for them, pointing to the counter where a woman sat. ¡°Uh, thanks.¡± Michael added as the man nodded with a well-natured smile. ¡°No problem. Oh, log your time for a bit after you sign, most people entering for the first time stop to check stats for a while first. And respect my sister over there.¡± The last bit was said half in warning, but otherwise his tone was polite and well-mannered as the group approached the counter. ¡°Hello, here to log in a Dungeon entry?¡± the woman at the counter asked; the tag on her uniform reading Ellie Vasquez. That was an amazing surname, Arthur noted. ¡°Uh, yeah¡­ anything else we¡¯re going to do?¡± Michael turned to ask as Arthur stepped forward with a bit of thought. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just a question, but does the Guild have primers on using magic?¡± Arthur felt the need to ask, and Ellie smiled at his question. ¡°Wow, the boss was right, you all do ask the right questions. Here, it¡¯s a small booklet, but don¡¯t let what it says dictate what you do with magic.¡± She handed the small four page booklet over as Arthur raised an eyebrow in questioning. ¡°Magic is split into a few forms apparently, but the one we all use is Soul Magic which is used by Demons as well. Soul Magic works on imagination, but it can¡¯t do specialized things like healing, and it works with pure manipulation of an element.¡± Ellie explained helpfully as Arthur nodded in thanks, quick to vanish into the book as the rest of the group shook their heads. ¡°Alright, so you¡¯ll all be entering the first floor. I¡¯m supposed to tell you not to go past the first floor, but you all seem reasonable so it¡¯s implied.¡± Ellie stated with a warning look as everyone in the group wrote their names, even Arthur, after he got knocked upside the head. ¡°In addition, take note that it¡¯s best to only level up five times at max before returning, as occasionally Demons appear on the route back, forcing you into the sixth and painful level up.¡± Ellie continued as they looked at their team, now needing to pick a group name. ¡°¡­Ideas? I¡¯m tempted to enter Squad One.¡± Michael noted and soon the group fell into discussion over names, Arthur still busy focusing on his booklet on magic, before he held his palm out¡­ Sparks appeared on his hand, capturing the attention of some of the people there, as Arthur looked up, now having the attention on him as he awkwardly looked around. ¡°¡­What?¡± He was a bit lost on what was happening as Emilia explained what was happening. ¡°We¡¯re busy trying to pick a name for our group¡­ say, what¡¯s your name idea?¡± Emilia asked, ignoring John¡¯s team name of ¡®I don¡¯t want to be here¡¯ and Matt¡¯s ¡®Upside Down Teddy Bears¡¯. ¡°A name for our team?¡± Arthur asked her, and she nodded as he thought¡­ he hadn¡¯t wanted to say anything too majestic, but before he could stop himself- ¡°Einherjar.¡± He spoke, making the group pause, looking at him in explanation for the name as he blushed, wishing his love of mythology hadn¡¯t appeared just then. ¡°It¡¯s Norse¡­ they¡¯re the great warriors who, upon dying, live within Asgard in preparation for the fight against Ragnarok.¡± The rest of the group looked interested before Michael spoke up. ¡°To a vote, Einherjar?¡± they all raised their hands, making Arthur want to sink into his book a bit more, as Michael nodded, the unofficial spokesperson/leader of the group. ¡°Right, our team name is Einherjar, the warriors who face Ragnarok.¡± Arthur was a bit worried over the pretentiousness of their name, but accepted it¡­ He also wasn¡¯t aware that the reason they were named Ein-her-jar, was because it meant ¡®one time warriors¡¯ as in, they relaxed and only fought during Ragnarok¡­ still worked though. ¡°Alright, since no teams are coming after you, you have quite a bit of time with the access panel, just, try to be done before a half hour.¡± Ellie reminded them after they wrote the team name down, the leader slot currently being taken by Michael, not that anyone in the group cared really. Their Adventurer group, Einherjar, was a meritocracy; they had all agreed that whoever had the best knowledge about something was to take over that role. In this case, Michael was a good spokesperson and, with assistance, could convey and make plans very well. To be a bit orderly about it, Michael was the leader, Matt was the ¡®raw instincts and manliness¡¯ guy, Emilia had hunting training so when it came to tracking or something like that, she had best say, John was currently a healer apparently, so injuries were his area, and Alice watched their supplies. As for Arthur, the group as a whole just let him do as he wanted, he was the one with the most know-how on how role-playing games worked and so understood levels, skills and magic better than anyone else in the group, and his job was to teach them about some of those things. They entered the access panel room, and one by one went to the panel to check their stuff, no one else capable of seeing what was on the panel while the person using it was busy. Not that it mattered to Arthur, who noted that he could see it for some reason¡­ but rather not. They were going to write their skills and such down for the group to share anyway, between knowing it now and betraying trust, or knowing it in a minute and keeping trust, the choice was obvious to Arthur. It was soon his turn and he looked over his information.
Arthur Clive
Level: 1
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 6.25% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1%
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician I (0/50) - increases Wisdom by 10% (total 110%) Swordsmanship I (0/50) ¨C Increases skill in blade handling Soul Sight I (1/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
Arthur noted that his Soul Sight had increased somehow, and that levelling up didn¡¯t have an ¡®experience bar¡¯ like most games¡­ then again, that made sense, reality wasn¡¯t a game, despite how the information was laid out. Arthur had a piece of paper, writing his information down, including that he was one of those few people with two Anima instead of one, and with his new ability, Soul Sight, he now found the implications disturbing. Once done, the group as a whole compared their information, and Arthur was quite disturbed that his was slightly better than the others, Skill wise.
Michael Grave
Level: 1
Class: Bowman Surveyor- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Grants Archery Skill and Eagle Eye Skill
Anima
Longbow of Skill
Anima Skills
Elemental Shift- Grant your arrows magic damage based on element
Primary Element: Fire
Personal Skills
Hawk Eye I (2/50) ¨C Enhanced vision, drains stamina Archery I (0/50) ¨C increases accuracy with ranged weapons
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
Michael¡¯s was pretty good, but he had one skill less than Arthur, worse, all his skills were granted by his class and Arthur¡¯s apparently only gave him one skill¡­ a disturbing thought. Not to mention Michael got tired if he used his Hawk Eye skill, and he¡¯d been trying it yesterday for quite a while¡­ that skill was really necessary for a leader though, being able to grasp everything in an area around him¡­ Plus, he had the Archery Skill, a staple of all ranged fighters not counting magicians, and much like Arthur¡¯s swordsmanship skill, it granted a ¡®mini-Skill¡¯ within the skill upon gaining a rank. For example Arthur could pick between Power Slash and triple stab, Arthur had picked Power Slash for ease of use. Were his swordsmanship skill to rank up, Arthur would get a skill again.
Emilia Vasilievna
Level: 1
Class: Hunter Thief- Grants one stat point to Dexterity and Intelligence per level Gives Tracking Skill and Dagger Arts Skill
Anima
Bloodletting Daggers
Anima Skills
Shred- increases damage dealt to animal-type enemies, occasionally causes Bleeding
Primary Element: Water
Personal Skills
Quick Reflexes I (0/50)- increases Dexterity by 10% Dagger Arts I (0/50)- Increases Dagger-type weapon damage Tracking I (0/50)- Allows tracking of wounded enemies, can be used to map areas, but is not designed to do so.
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
Emilia had three skills, one of them being the stat skill for Dexterity, which was good for her Class, a combination of a Hunter and Thief, as the name suggests¡­ Emilia¡¯s Dagger Arts were actually a subset of the Swordsmanship skill focused on dagger use. Unlike Swordsmanship, Dagger Arts can obviously only be used with a Dagger, they¡¯re more focused, while Swordsmanship can be done with Daggers or Great-swords just the same. Plus, with her tracking skill, she¡¯d make a good¡­ what was the word¡­ Cartographer, that¡¯s it.
John Collins
Level: 1
Class: Shade Healer- Grants one stat point to Wisdom and Intelligence per level Gives Sneak Skill and Light Scripture Skill
Anima
Enhancing Arts
Anima Skills
Hard Hitting- lets someone deal double damage on their next attack
Primary Element: Mind
Personal Skills
Sneak I (4/50)- grants the ability to blend in with shadows and sneak up on enemies Light Scripture I (0/50)- Grants Healing Spells, lowers Mana cost
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
Everyone, everyone laughed at John upon learning his Skills and Class, no exception. Yes, even John laughed at John, wondering why his Sneak Skill seemed to be getting better really quickly. Otherwise, he was really healing and support focused, his magic element was even Mind, and according to the booklet Arthur was reading, it didn¡¯t do much beyond allowing the user to show illusions, despite being one of three High Tier Elements¡­ Arthur was pretty sure that wasn¡¯t all there was to that though¡­ an entire Element dedicated to just messing with someone¡¯s head? Probably not, but Arthur wasn¡¯t sure yet.
Matt Jacobson
Level: 1
Class: Wall of Steel- Grants two stat points to Endurance per level Gives Spatial Recognition (Rare) Skill and Shield Arts Skill
Anima
Shield of Immunity
Anima Skills
Bulwark- ranged attacks against team are redirected towards the shield
Primary Element: Metal
Personal Skills
Stand Strong I (0/50)- increases Endurance by 10% Shield Arts I (0/50)- decreases Damage taken when blocking Spatial Recognition I (0/100) - Allows tracking of all things within a five metre radius, causes headaches with long use
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
Matt wasn¡¯t even humble when it came to his ability as a ¡®tank¡¯ character. His Endurance at level fifty, even if he placed no points into it, would reach one hundred and thirteen, not accounting for placing points in the stat or ranking up his Stand Strong skill. Even better, he was capable of blocking ranged attacks. The enemies, if they could shoot spells or arrows, couldn¡¯t hit anyone else, but only Matt, within limit of course. Alice did voice out that if it was an Area Of Effect (AOE) attack, then Matt could do nothing, but the group as a whole agreed that wasn¡¯t likely to happen anytime soon.
Alice Grave
Level: 1
Class: Martial Berserker- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Gives Pain is Gain Skill and Hero¡¯s Strength Skill
Anima (Skill)
The World is a Weapon- grants use of any weapon as if holding a rank I skill of that weapon type
Primary Element: Darkness
Personal Skills
Hero¡¯s Strength I (0/50)- increases Strength by 10% Pain is Gain I (0/50)- The more damaged, the more powerful the user becomes, causes intense anger Calm Mind I (0/100)- Keeps a person calm and collectedStolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
And then Alice¡¯s stats and skills were shown and¡­ well, Michael, John, Matt and Arthur all had looks as if they hadn¡¯t used a toilet in years. A Berserker was typically male, and incapable of using any weapons beyond brute force ones such as clubs and the occasional axe, they¡¯d be horrible to fight, especially if they could regenerate health by attacking, becoming a walking example of perpetual motion, hindered by anger. Alice wouldn¡¯t get that anger, and while only Matt and Arthur seemed to get it, once it was explained, Alice became even scarier in the eyes of the guys in the group¡­ a Berserker capable of using any weapon calmly while destroying armies¡­ insert shiver. ¡°Well, that¡¯s everything¡­ We all got our roles?¡± Michael asked as we all looked over the notes, taking about five, ten minutes to check everything. ¡°Yeah, John is the healer, you¡¯re the sniper, Matt¡¯s the meat-shield, Emilia kills things that are nearly dead and I beat the-¡± Alice¡¯s next words were interrupted by Michael holding up his hand. ¡°We¡­ we get the idea Alice. As for Arthur, he has a grasp on magic unlike the rest of us, and he can fight at close range¡­ Arthur, you okay with moving as necessary? Basically, we need you to play mid-fielder.¡± Arthur nodded, giving thumbs up at the excellent soccer analogy. ¡°Well¡­ this is all well and good, but do plans survive contact with the enemy?¡± Emilia raised a good point as Alice shrugged beside her, standing up and using an amazing feature they had discovered about LEV¡¯s¡­ they could store things. Granted, one would still feel the weight of the stored things, but it was spread equally upon the body, as if underwater. It made moving harder, but not so hard that they couldn¡¯t jump out the way of an attack, much like they could do the same with a bag on their backs. So everything that was brought was soon stored, mostly boxed lunches which were still warm due to the nature of LEV storage¡­ a feature Arthur was glad for, as he had discovered he had an addiction to spices mixed in with melted cheese on bread. It was really good in his opinion, and anyone who said otherwise was insane. Anyway, they soon packed the pages and such they had been using, and moved to the access panel, having gathered a few steps away and Michael touched some stuff, a burning sensation going across their LEV¡¯s, registering them as one team. Everyone got ready as Michael tapped on the ¡®Enter Dungeon¡¯ icon that had appeared on the access panel, and the block of obsidian a bit behind said access panel lit up in a white light. On their bodies, their equipment appeared, at least, what they could use at the time. With Michael, his bow had appeared in his hands, no arrows necessary as it generated arrows that disappeared in ten minutes automatically. With Alice, she removed a sledge hammer from her storage making the males shiver in fear¡­ remember, a Stat of five was standard adult male strength, not seventeen year old female strength¡­ so there was a sense of ¡®what am I seeing?¡¯ there. With Matt, a shield appeared on his arm, a heater shield commonly used by knights, except slightly bigger. In his off-hand, a base-ball bat appeared, not that it would do much damage since it wasn¡¯t boosted by being an item from the Dungeon, an Anima, or a Skill in club use¡­ but it would work. John had nothing, as he wasn¡¯t a combatant in the first place, but he couldn¡¯t get away with that so a knife was handed to him¡­ those close by could hear him muttering about getting a staff. In Emilia¡¯s hands, two daggers appeared, still one Anima though, and both were slightly serrated and large bowie knives. With Arthur on the other hand, a cloak appeared around him, being fastened around his shoulders in a manner similar to a cape, allowing him free movement. Strangely, no matter how he moved, the cloak wouldn¡¯t hinder him, as if¡­ Arthur wouldn¡¯t go there, the moment the thought of ¡®Are Anima¡¯s alive¡¯ comes in, it would get weird. As for his second Anima, his ¡®dagger¡¯ appeared in his hand and he stared at the weapon with a bit of annoyance¡­ because it wasn¡¯t exactly a Dagger¡­ not a modern one. It looked to be made of bone, a good example being the weasel¡¯s dagger in that movie about a mammoth, a sloth and a sabre-tooth tiger. Trademarks and Copyrights are scary things. Still, it was a weapon, and its edge was still sharp, and it curved viciously¡­ the Dagger of Hunger¡­ ¡°¡­That is creepy.¡± Arthur looked up from his Dagger to see the rest of the group edging away from the weapon as they looked at it. ¡°Why?¡± Arthur¡¯s question was plain, even as they moved towards the dungeon entrance. ¡°It¡­ It looks like a fang¡­ what is that big?¡± Michael asked and Arthur looked¡­ right¡­ it was as long as his head, a bit long for a dagger, but still¡­ yeah, if this is a tooth, what was that big? ¡°Other than that, it feels like¡­ I¡¯m a piece of meat in front of a hungry dog.¡± John added and Arthur realized that his Dagger had a ¡®feel¡¯ to it¡­ one of a hungry animal apparently. ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry¡­ this is for the enemies.¡± Arthur twirled the knife around, surprised at his sudden skill with the dagger, before noting that his Swordsmanship Skill must have been helping, not to mention the fact that the Dagger of Hunger was part of him, he¡¯d always use it a bit better than other weapons apparently. Seemingly mollified by Arthur¡¯s words, the group entered the shining light, and entered the Dungeon for the first time¡­ They reappeared exiting from an obsidian wall with a white light, the light fading as Arthur stepped through last, noted that the wall stopped shining and that the rest of the Dungeon¡¯s walls seemed to be similar to a cave system¡­ albeit weirdly. ¡°Emilia are you going to start with the mapping?¡± Michael asked as Emilia nodded, removing a drawing board and a few rulers and setsquares¡­ Arthur and Emilia had been studying Architecture, of course they used tools to draw¡­ neater that way. ¡°Okay then. We¡¯ll wait for a moment before continuing.¡± Michael added as everyone nodded, still maintaining that feeling of ¡®something¡¯s going to happen¡¯ while waiting for Emilia to finish the beginning bit of the map. ¡°While Emilia¡¯s busy, Arthur, got any idea on magic?¡± Michael asked their resident ¡®explanation guy¡¯ as Arthur nodded, holding out his hand and having it spark for a moment. ¡°Our magic works on imagination and belief, and there are some limits built in that differ depending on the person.¡± Arthur explained to the group, Emilia working while listening as Arthur continued. ¡°Magic works with a few key things, imagination being one that allows you to picture your element manipulation. Other than that, knowledge on an element can also influence what you do, and how well you do it.¡± Arthur explained, adopting a thinking stance before nodding at something. ¡°Right, an example would be three Fire Element users. All have the same stats, and neither have boosts to their Element from Anima or Skills.¡± Arthur set the stage for his example, his listeners picturing said example. ¡°One of them just thinks hot equals fire. So he makes a fireball, but can only launch three.¡± Arthur decides to practice his mediocre skill in free-hand drawing by using his knife to draw a person in dirt with three balls next to the person, labelling them as ¡®1¡¯ ¡°Another thinks that fire is caused by oxidation, and thus attempts to cause electrons in air to vanish, making a fireball appear. His fireball is just as hot as the other, but he can shoot it four times.¡± Arthur¡¯s next drawing was similar to the first, only different in that another ball was added and it was labelled ¡®2¡¯. ¡°And the third knows about oxidation, but also considers that air contains lots of different gases including nitrogen and oxygen, key elements of a fire. So instead of having to generate these elements, he manipulates them into causing the fire. His fireball forms quicker; and they possibly burn hotter. He can shoot maybe three or four, but he does more damage than the others.¡± Arthur¡¯s final drawing is once more similar to the others, with larger drawings for the attacks. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that, depending on knowledge, one¡¯s ability with magic will change?¡± Michael was keen on this lesson, with fire as his element, even if he was a bit lost. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I mean. Of course, all the knowledge in the world is worthless if there isn¡¯t enough Mana to make it happen, I know a bit about how lightning bolts form but I can¡¯t make one now.¡± Arthur explained, and the group nodded, understanding that bit¡­ To use an analogy, spells were like cars and Mana was like fuel. An old car could go a long way on less fuel, while newer, faster cars required much more. ¡°Of course, even with knowledge some just wouldn¡¯t work, like John being able to heal us with his mind, it¡¯s because these are structured spells compared to element manipulation.¡± Arthur frowned at this before noting Emilia standing up; everyone was getting ready to leave. ¡°So in the end, knowledge only applies to our element manipulation, but to do things beyond science one needs a magic based skill to learn spells.¡± Arthur finished up, and everyone tried to mess with their element for a moment. Emilia¡¯s hand dripped a bit of water for a moment, Matt¡¯s seemed to gain a metallic lustre, Michael¡¯s went on fire and¡­ ¡°Why doesn¡¯t ours work?¡± Alice complained with John as they began to move, coming up to the first recorded fight in the Dungeon. ¡°Elements have ranks, and the highest elements are Darkness, Mind and Light. Your element has a greater threshold than ours for powerful spells, but it needs more Mana than you have.¡± Alice and John got the idea and they encountered their first enemy¡­ a gelatinous blob of blue that squeaked as it hopped towards them, only being about¡­ if Arthur was to estimate, thirty to forty centimetres tall, and about as wide. Hey, he wanted to work internationally, and the international unit standards were centimetres, metres, kilograms, etc¡­ Made him really weird compared to his friends, but he found more order there than the rough guesstimates caused by Inches and Feet. It¡¯s a problem when even drug dealers need to use the metric system instead of Imperial. ¡°Right¡­ Slime¡­ how dangerous is that?¡± John asked absently as Arthur spoke out in warning. ¡°Pretty dangerous as it¡¯s made up of acidic materials¡­ basically, stick your hand in there long enough and there won¡¯t be a hand left.¡± John felt a bit of fear at the seemingly adorable little blob as Michael was quick to shoot off an arrow¡­ It hit the Slime, and Arthur noticed the spark of flames from the red arrow as the Slime burnt a bit, visibly shrinking as Michael shot another arrow, killing it as it squeaked to death, much like one would imagine a teddy bear dying¡­ kind of weird. There was a feeling of¡­ fullness, Arthur wasn¡¯t quite sure how to explain it, but he could feel something that wasn¡¯t quite right after that thing had died. The feeling settled down soon after, but he was still a bit disturbed. Apparently killing ten Slimes would get a level, so ten Slimes¡­ to Michael that meant eighteen more shots. ¡°Well that was¡­ subpar.¡± Matt noted, and Arthur sighed at their ease as he walked over to where the Slime died, picking up the tiny gem, a Soul Stone of a Slime. This was the monetary earning method of Adventurers, selling these stones to people or more notably, the Governments. These stones were capable of providing alternative energy to their dying Earth; some were already experimenting with trying to use them to make phones, power cars, or more. Even the Adventurer Cards were made out of the stuff, though the lower the quality, the more were needed. Not many Cards had been made yet, even after a month of the Government hunting through Dungeons, so Arthur and his friends had been quite pleased that the Guild Leader, Shaun, had decided to provide them with some. ¡°Of course it was Matt, what were you expecting, an epic battle with a dragon to be our first fight in the Dungeon?¡± Arthur joked as he placed the stone in his ¡®inventory¡¯. ¡°Not exactly, but I was expecting something better than a tiny blob of acid death squeaking.¡± Arthur conceded the point, Slimes were sad really¡­ ¡°Well, they are still kind of dangerous; they mostly rely on close combat, by basically jumping on their enemies. They melt things slowly though, and only flesh.¡± Alice and Emilia seemed happy¡­ with that last bit for some reason¡­ Arthur¡¯s thought of Slimes in Anime came to the forefront and decided yeah, they could be happy that they only dissolved flesh. ¡°Slimes are pretty weak to magic, but physical attacks barely work on them, it¡¯s why magic is one of the first things people need to learn.¡± Arthur added as they continued, both liking and disliking his position as Mister Exposition¡­ rhymes, ha. ¡°Oh¡­ Michael¡¯s best for them then, because his arrows do fire damage.¡± Emilia added, as Alice frowned as she looked to her hand in annoyance¡­ ¡°¡­I can¡¯t use magic¡­¡± she complained, but no one blamed her for complaining¡­ it really was annoying for her at first. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry, Slimes are the majority on the first floor but there are Goblins too.¡± Michael added, knowing of the two Demons who roamed the first floor. On a side note, there was an argument going about whether or not to call them Demons or Monsters, everyone eventually just agreed they were the same thing as far as the Dungeons were concerned. ¡°Fine¡­ I find a Goblin I¡¯m braining it to death.¡± Seeing Alice gently caress the sledgehammer was disturbing for everyone, but Alice¡¯s sense of humour was always a bit vitriolic. Their group continued, and once they found two more Slimes, Arthur stepped forward, Michael aiming at one of the Slimes as Arthur attacked the other one with his dagger, which was sparking from a bit of electricity left on it¡­ As he attacked, Arthur made sure to activate his Unique Skill, Soul Sight, as he stared at the Slime, it quivered after just one hit as it died, Arthur¡¯s Dagger of Hunger dealt more damage than Michael¡¯s arrows, but not by much. The key difference was their elements, as Arthur¡¯s Lightning was effective against the water-like Slimes, and it was a Mid-Tier Element, while Fire was a Low-Tier Element. So Arthur¡¯s Slime died in one hit, and Soul Sight was already activated, despite his dislike for the skill¡­ not because it was bad, no, it worked precisely as advertised¡­ which was the problem. Think of X-ray vision. Some people, we know who you are, would love to have it, but others would feel awkward about possessing an ability that caused one to see others in such a way. Soul Sight was even worse because Arthur saw the core of another person. He couldn¡¯t make out details due to the low ranking of his skill, but he could see it and occasionally gain some information from it. For instance, when he saw Michael¡¯s soul it was a light red, bordering on pink. One would assume girly, but it flickered between that and dark red, much like a flame would flicker then roar back to life. From that, he figured he could see people¡¯s Elements even before seeing it in action. It became clearer the longer he stared, but when Michael¡¯s core turned into a bow, with a wall, he knew he had looked to deep and instead looked away¡­ as he was about to see why Michael had gotten a bow for an Anima. And from what little Arthur could remember about receiving his own, it was a private thing, not something everyone should know. Soul Sight on Slimes provided some confusion though, as their souls were so¡­ bland, boring. Spherical and¡­ difficult to explain, but their souls looked like an absence of colour. And no, that didn¡¯t constitute as the colour black, as black was the warmest colour due to being a mix of the primaries and their secondary colours. Clear. That was a better term. It felt like looking at empty glass where one should be seeing a precious gem. And upon killing the Slime, that crystal shattered, a large amount of it seeming to float away, while a few pieces lingered, one of which flew towards Arthur¡¯s chest and entered as Arthur froze. He looked to the other pieces, seeing them enter the souls of his companions, as he now noticed the clear pieces sticking to the souls¡­ already it looked like a third of their souls had crystals growing over them, though the crystals were empty. As for the last lingering piece of the Slime¡¯s soul, it turned into a gem, a gem Arthur had picked up earlier, another Slime Soul Stone. Arthur walked to the side and felt the urge to vomit, but resisted as he sat on the floor, the rest of the group rushing over to check what was wrong with him. Upon seeing his normally dull brown eyes shining violet, Michael had already figured what Skill Arthur had been using. ¡°What did you see man, what happened?¡± Michael asked, worried about Arthur, who had been his friend since childhood. ¡°I saw their souls¡­ I saw their souls breaking¡­ I saw our souls eating pieces of theirs.¡± The reactions varied as Alice frowned, Emilia and Matt paled while John and Michael just froze. ¡°I¡­I think that¡¯s how we level up¡­¡± Arthur said, shivering as he stood, feeling slightly better now that he had deactivated the skill, his eyes once more gaining his dull look¡­ It worried Emilia the most, having thought it eerily similar to those blank stares held by those seeing things they shouldn¡¯t have, but according to Michael, even at a young age Arthur had had that look. ¡°Our souls¡­ they¡¯re like colourful crystal, but they flow like water.¡± Arthur hinted a bit as he looked to the Soul Stones, glad to no longer see the tiny red gems turn into lumps of clear empty crystal. ¡°The Slimes, probably the Goblins too, their souls are like empty glass. When we kill them, their soul bursts into pieces, some fade away, and a small amount comes to us and grows on our souls¡­ when we get enough, our souls begin to move toward the extra space, increasing the size of our souls.¡± Arthur was theorizing a bit towards the end, but he felt sure of his words. ¡°Okay, Arthur, let¡¯s talk this out.¡± Emilia said, making the other members of the group blink a bit at her as Arthur nodded and she continued. ¡°Our souls grow, and we level up. What does levelling up cause?¡± Emilia asked, and Arthur was quick to respond. ¡°An increase in ability in the form of five stat points and two predetermined stat point allocations due to our Classes...¡± he seemed a bit lost towards the end as Emilia nodded. ¡°Right, now, ignoring Classes for a bit, why would our souls growing give us stats?¡± Emilia asked, and Arthur looked to be thinking for a bit. ¡°Our souls¡­ get stronger and stats allow us to decide the growth direction of that strength.¡± Arthur stated, and by now the rest of the group was watching the byplay with either amused or confused expressions. ¡°Right, but why would that let us become stronger, faster, or recover quicker?¡± Emilia could see Arthur was winding down, calming himself from his previous burst of confusion. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m thinking¡­ like that saying, strong body provides a strong mind, perhaps it works in reverse with the soul as well, the soul increasing in strength allows the body to increase as well¡­ on the other hand¡­.¡± He looked a bit thoughtful as Emilia nodded, rolling her hand in a gesture for him to finish his thought. ¡°On the other hand, our souls might have actual impact on reality, based on our magic¡­ so stat growths might not actually be actually making our bodies stronger. A person with a high Endurance stat can be bullet-proof, but their skin would still feel normal. Meaning it¡¯s not a physical change, but a bleeding effect that somehow lets the soul begin to affect reality when it gets strong enough.¡± The last bit was very confusing, but Arthur was visibly calmer by the time he was done with his ¡®rant¡¯. ¡°Better?¡± Emilia grinned at Arthur, her smile a tad too bright for someone of Arthur¡¯s disposition as he had a tired smile at her reaction. ¡°Better.¡± He added, now having something else to think about instead of his previously morbid thoughts¡­ oh, they were still there¡­ but he now had an explanation for it. ¡°Well, that was weird and awesome. Let¡¯s continue¡­ and Arthur, no using that Skill in a fight if it will distract you.¡± Michael added and Arthur nodded, feeling calmer. They continued their movement around the Dungeon, walking further into the Dungeon and encountering three Slimes. When they fought these three, Arthur kept his Soul Sight off, for the moment, as they fought. Alice, despite not being able to do real damage due to her lack of available magic, did help in the fights. While Slimes required magic damage to do proper damage to them, they could still be hit and moved around an area due to being hit in those directions. Alice¡¯s job was to keep them away from Michael and John, for the moment. Emilia¡¯s magic had an appearance of its own, as she willed water into existence which covered her blades, before the water rapidly cooled, surrounding her Bloodletting Blades with Ice to deal damage. Matt, on the other hand, didn¡¯t do much beyond blocking the Slimes from jumping at Arthur or Emilia, and on occasion his baseball bat would shine silver and he¡¯d do proper damage¡­ Much harder to use metal magic on something your mind is convinced is made of wood. Magic works on belief, and if you believe it impossible, well¡­ It¡¯s kind of self-explanatory at that point. Slimes were still weak, despite their group only having three people capable of hurting them, but when they continued after killing the three Slimes, encountering another three, Matt accidentally let a Slime past his shield, letting it impact on his arm, he grunted in pain. That worried their group as Matt was one of those men. Those guys that think if you flinch from a punch you deserve to get hit on that spot again. So for him to actually voice out his pain from just a quick touch was enough for their group to know that Slimes actually did do a lot of damage if they hit. Note the ¡®if¡¯ there. Slimes were typically slow, and the only reason this next Slime hit Matt was because Matt had blocked one from hitting Emilia. The fight ended relatively quickly, their engagements never lasting longer than two minutes, which was already quite a long time¡­ those movies where they talk about how a fight lasts hours? Lies, because even if the people fighting were strong enough to destroy the world, which just meant their fight would be that much quicker. The only time a fight like that would last so long would be if both were regenerating at rates almost equal to how much damage they were doing to each other. So following this example, their fights were actually pretty long when one considered that it took Michael roughly five seconds to fire an arrow, and that one could launch two slow but stable attacks with a knife in roughly the same time. After the fight, Emilia looked at Matt with worry, but did her job as the cartographer for their group while John approached Matt and did his first spell for healing. ¡°¡­That¡¯s it? No holy light or mystic chanting?¡± Matt asked as John basically held his hand over the injury, an already bruised arm, and when he removed his hand the bruise was gone. ¡°That¡¯s it man. I mean, if I had Light as my element there might have been lights and such, but I¡¯m a Mind-user.¡± John complained as Arthur looked up from his looking at the map Emilia was drawing. ¡°Hey, you think it would look different depending on the element? Like Fire would have the wound look like it was burning closed, Water covering it, and so on?¡± He asked and everyone just shrugged¡­ they didn¡¯t have any other healers so they wouldn¡¯t know. Healing was possible through every Element even if it didn¡¯t make sense theoretically. But a proper Healer had much better spells in comparison to a warrior trying to heal himself. Their third fight against a group of three Slimes was much quicker, and safer in comparison to the fight before that, and Arthur even got a chance to test his Lightning magic. Of course, everyone laughed, including Arthur, at the sign he made with his hand when the weak jolt of lightning left his hand¡­ a classic punk rocker¡¯s devil-horns, aka the Spider-man web-shooting hand sign. His reasoning was that he was picturing his pointer and pinkie fingers as alternating magnets, sending electrons through the air in front of him. On a side note, spells couldn¡¯t be created by people, only through magic skills such as John¡¯s Light Scripture Skill. So even if Arthur considered this ability as a ¡®spell¡¯ that he knew, it wasn¡¯t actually one unless he gained a skill for it. It was a bit annoying to Arthur, but he understood the gist of it as they worked on killing the Slimes. With more than ten Slimes defeated, the group felt their arms burning a bit, signifying that a level had been earned, but they would not become stronger until using the Access Panel. Using his Soul Sight afterwards, Arthur informed the group that the clear bits of souls were now evenly layered over their souls, looking like their souls were covered in glass casings. They would have turned around¡­ but Alice had not killed a Goblin yet and refused to leave until they had done so¡­ the group as a whole decided that it should be fine, as they would need to kill one eventually, might as well do it now. Their next opponents, unfortunately for Alice, were still Slimes, and this time four of them. Arthur weaved through them easily, now knowing their general attack patterns, being thankful for the mindless nature of the Slimes. If they had intelligence, they would fight differently and that would mean trouble for Arthur¡¯s group. Arthur¡¯s main advantage over the other members of his group, ignoring the Soul Sight Skill and his Animae, was that his pattern recognition ability was really high. A small twitch, the Slime would attack, a wobble, the Slime would instead try to do a lower stabbing-like attack. Knowing these signs, Arthur could dodge easily as he attacked when able, Emilia and Matt attacking at their leisure¡­ Michael shot an arrow or two¡­ He didn¡¯t want to shoot more out of worry for hitting one of the vanguards, knowing that despite his sudden skill with a bow, that he was still new to that fighting method. The fight ended with the group praising Arthur for his dodging skills, making Arthur scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. The group stopped to eat for a bit, having taken their time to move through the different corridors, on occasion ending up at dead ends and getting annoyed, but accepting it. After eating, the group moved forward and finally encountered their first Goblin¡­ Before Arthur or Michael could warn her, Alice was already upon the ugly green creature which stood at roughly a metre, ninety centimetres tall, wearing a loincloth with tribal tattoo¡¯s and holding a tiny club. The creature swung at Alice, who swung her own sledgehammer at the club instead of the creature, the sledgehammer going through the club and breaking it, to the shock of everyone watching¡­ well, except Alice, who ignored it and continued on to spin the hammer into position to slam it on the poor Goblin¡¯s skull. The one hit did not kill the Goblin, but it was most certainly heavily injured and would die out on its own anyway, considering its cracked skull with blood pouring out slightly¡­ Alice ignored that and took a second hit just to be sure. After becoming really sure that Alice was secretly very violent beneath her amiable exterior, the Goblin faded away leaving its Soul Stone. ¡°That was so nice¡­ finally killed something!¡± No one had the heart to tell Alice that she was scarier than the Goblin, and even if they could they wouldn¡¯t¡­ it would be too dangerous. Unknown to any in their group, even Arthur, was that none of them felt anything truly wrong with what had just occurred, despite the gore and disturbance¡­ and that in itself was wrong. It would be much later when they would notice this though. By then, the only thing that would possibly disgust them would be witnessing a soul cannibalizing another, much like Arthur was attempting to get used to seeing. They would run into another two Goblins before deciding that they had enough, the next two Goblins being taken out by Michael, Alice and Matt, while Arthur and Emilia handled the other one. By the end of it all, they had returned to the Dungeon Entrance to level up to level two, and distribute their stats, the group finding that travelling a certain distance, then having to turn around and come back was annoying and boring. At the access panel, Arthur chose to raise all his stats to six, and Wisdom to seven due to that stat giving Mana regeneration and being boosted by his own Tactician skill. Everyone else did pretty much the same, agreeing with Arthurs Soul Sight telling him that creating an imbalance in stats would lead to an imbalance in the soul, not something nice. Not to say they couldn¡¯t focus on certain stats, but only when their souls wouldn¡¯t be at the verge of tipping over, something he would know since he could see how different stat placements affected the soul. Michael and the others noted that, were Arthur to make what he knew public knowledge, a lot of researchers would be happy¡­ Arthur agreed, but only to certain groups. They had soon handed their Soul Stones over, receiving five dollars per Slime Stone, and ten per Goblin Stone, leaving them with one hundred and ten dollars total¡­ A nice amount, but not enough to make a living off of¡­ luckily for them, it wasn¡¯t so simple, as they¡¯d eventually make their way to lower floors, and fight stronger monsters to get more money, simple as that. Rather than that though, Ellie had needed to call Shaun himself when Arthur had come forward with knowledge pertaining to how levelling up worked, as well as why it happened. He had been separated from his team for a private conversation when Shaun had appeared to talk. The conversation was really tense for some reason unknown to Arthur, and when Shaun¡¯s own eyes shone green for a moment, Arthur had realized that Shaun had a ¡®sight¡¯ skill of his own. ¡°It¡¯s my Anima. It lets me see things about a person¡­ I can¡¯t see your Soul Sight Skill though, so I¡¯ll assume it has a rating higher than Rare, since I can see those too.¡± That had been terrifying information for Arthur, knowing that someone could get a much more concrete understanding of an enemy than himself. After his explanation though, he was assured that his team would gain a large monetary reward for explaining so many phenomena their scientists had been wondering about... the money would likely be around sixty thousand, split six ways. Not a huge amount, but good earnings for just seeing things in Arthur¡¯s opinion¡­ Though Arthur could have done without Shaun requesting Arthur use the skill on Shaun¡­ witnessing a strange glowing eye in the centre of Shaun¡¯s chest was glaring at him was scary, especially because the whole soul acted as the eye, and it seemed to be split between three colours, yellow sparks of lightning, and white light... and green flames. The last bit didn¡¯t count towards any element Arthur knew of, so he just considered it a part of his Anima itself as he practically ran away from the glaring animal like eye. Seeing souls had brought up some curiosity on his own soul though, so he wanted to check his own out when he got home¡­ He was waylaid by his parents, Markus Clive and Julia Clive, as well as his younger siblings, Dennis and Angelica. During dinner, Arthur had been forced to talk about his time in the Dungeon, and had eventually breeched the topic about souls, wishing he¡¯d never mentioned it when he saw the gleam in his parents eyes, as both minored in Psychology. ¡°It changes the way Psychology could be done, if all psychologists could get that ability¡­ not that it seems possible¡­¡± Markus complained at that last bit, Markus and Julia had both had their own Awakenings but Soul Sight was Unique. After discussing it a bit more, Arthur went to his room and tried to go to sleep¡­ finding himself incapable of it, he finally gave in and went to the mirror, activating Soul Sight. He immediately left the room for the bathroom and decided that there was nothing wrong with vomiting up his dinner after seeing that¡­ Souls shouldn¡¯t be cracked or missing pieces¡­ Let alone look like the pieces were grinding together like glass.
Arthur Clive
Level: 2
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 6.25% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1%
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician I (2/50) - increases Wisdom by 10% (total 110%) Swordsmanship I (2/50) - Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (9/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality
Stats
Strength: 6 Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 6 Wisdom: 7
Endurance: 6 Vitality: 6
Chapter 3- The daily grind A yawn was how Michael greeted the Monday morning, but within moments he felt wide awake. He was one of those kinds of people, who, despite struggling to wake up, once awake they were alert and ready for the day. He was awaken in an undignified manner via pillow to the face by Alice, but after his brief surge of anger he sat up, and that was when the yawn kicked in as he heard a few feminine voices saying goodbye, then the front door of his house closing. Michael scratched his head as he stood, noting the change to his LEV which now showed the number two instead of one, meaning he was now stronger than a normal adult male. Well, he had placed his points equally, at the recommendation of his best friend Arthur, though he had one stat, namely Strength, be higher than the others, all his stats were at six except for Strength at seven. His reasoning was that as an archer, his strength determined the power of his arrows, and his Dexterity determined his accuracy. Seeing as he wasn¡¯t taking shots from a hundred metres away or anything like that, he wasn¡¯t worried about aiming for now. After washing up, brushing his teeth and such, Michael got dressed and ate his breakfast, a favourite of his¡­ cereal. He enjoyed that ¡®I¡¯m a cereal killer¡¯ joke¡­ the pun got dry after a while though. After finishing his cereal, he looked around the now empty house with a sigh, knowing that he¡¯d have to clean it. It¡¯s how it went every day at this point, even before Red Sky Day. Michael didn¡¯t work much, though he did work part-time jobs every once in a while, he just hadn¡¯t been sure what he wanted to do. Originally he had been thinking of joining the air force or the police, but he had never gotten around to joining. Now, with the Dungeons, he had found his profession, an Adventurer, someone who entered the Dungeon as a candidate to slay Chronos the ruler of Hell¡­ it didn¡¯t pay a lot yet, seeing as Michael and his team weren¡¯t that strong, but he was glad for it, knowing his pay would only increase. Due to Michael not working, or at least not having to be anywhere early, he was left to clean the house after all three of his sisters left the house. Yes, he had three sisters and he was the eldest of the siblings, it was difficult at times, and while his sisters all annoyed him to some degree he wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to them. Michael had time to think as he began to sweep and pack away clothes, change bedding, and such, and during that time he thought to his team, Einherjar. Michael had honestly been a bit worried when he had been placed as the leader, as he had been hoping for Arthur to take that place. It was a strange thought to those who knew both Michael and Arthur, as clearly Michael was the more outgoing between the two¡­ but Michael knew Arthur was a brilliant planner and he noticed things that Michael didn¡¯t. For example, during the day they had Awakened, when their group had separated to go their separate ways and think about their experiences, Michael had gotten a few messages from Arthur. The main point of the first messages was that Arthur wanted Michael to be their team¡¯s leader, or at least a spokesperson. From there they had discussed placements for the group, and what they would all do in their roles for the group. Their skills weren¡¯t quite known at that point, but Arthur noted his Soul Sight was activated for a moment then, just enough for him to see their souls¡­ a scary prospect, but Michael didn¡¯t hold it against Arthur. From what he could see, their group all complimented each other, with a blocker, an archer, a healer, a thief/assassin and warrior, Arthur was quick to note he¡¯d probably end up a magic user mostly¡­ He had ended up correct. Out of all six members of their group, Arthur had the greatest apparent magic ability and control over his magic, likely due to his large understanding of physics and an imagination that ran wild at times. They could all do magic, but from what they had discussed, Michael noted that Arthur¡¯s magic was one of, if not the best at pure damage dealing, for the simple reason that Lightning magic seemed to penetrate most defences. So they all had their roles. Archer, Healer, Guardian, Assassin, Warrior and Wizard, and while there was clearly some uncertainty at this point, in time it would change. Michael chuckled, thinking about how their Swordsman fit the role of a Wizard best as his phone vibrated, a message, likely from Arthur stating they would go into the Dungeon nearby without Alice, who would go with a team from her school. Michael checked his phone, and indeed his thoughts were right, so he just shrugged, picking up the keys and walked out, locking the door and then taking the key and stashing it in his inventory (keys were a negligible weight really) He was lucky enough to live near the Dungeon, it only took him about four minutes to walk there, a long time unless one listened to music like he did. He really wanted a car, a BMW M3 to be exact, but he didn¡¯t have the money, or the licence yet really, and so he had never gotten one¡­ the fact that Emilia had one made him jealous, but just in the sense of ¡®I wish I had one too¡¯. Motorbikes like Arthur, on the other hand, Michael decided to never buy. Motorbikes were death-traps in his opinion, with the exception of old school choppers, otherwise known as Harley Davidsons. Michael looked around in thought, and frowned when he saw a man standing on one corner, shouting uncaring of whether or not anyone was listening, the man shouting about how all who wielded a LEV were vile for accepting a contract with a person who was essentially the devil¡­ The world had changed a lot, due to Red Sky Day, in ways not immediately apparent to some. For religion, it was proof that Hell existed, which meant that Heaven had to exist in some form right? Of course the most switched to religion in the past month was Christianity, due to Chronos referencing his domain as ¡®Hell¡¯ and speaking about Lucifer, though Michael wondered a bit at that¡­ Michael was a Christian, went to church every Sunday for mass and went to Sunday school until finishing that around the age of sixteen¡­ But he never considered Christianity to be wholly the correct religion. Or to be exact, after talking with Arthur for a long time about Arthur¡¯s views on religion, he now no longer viewed any singular religion as correct. Arthur¡¯s views of religion were quite extreme, thinking that religion was essentially man made. That wasn¡¯t to say he thought God or a being of that level did not exist, in fact Arthur believed that such a being had to exist. But why would said being care how the being was believed in? As long as belief was there, Arthur claimed, it should be enough. Be kind, share, do not murder, things like those were taught in religion, but most of that was common sense, don¡¯t kill someone¡¯s mother because you wouldn¡¯t like it if someone killed yours. As for the act of prayer, again according to Arthur, it was a comforting act for humans who wished for acceptance and comfort somewhere in the uncertainty that was life, in truth whether or not the Creator listened it would comfort the person doing it, knowing that they let their hopes and worries out in some manner. Michael didn¡¯t agree with everything Arthur said, thinking Arthur to be one of those strange forward thinkers, but accepting Arthur for his views all the same. The final thing of note about Arthur¡¯s strange belief was that he ¡®did not support religion, but he supported faith¡¯, saying that religion, while a beautiful thing when done correctly, also had the potential for being twisted to the needs of the believers, much like the Crusades or Isis bombers, using religion almost as an excuse to hate or do violent actions¡­ Of course not everyone did that, but the fact that it could be used as an excuse at all annoyed Arthur, and made him refuse to even have anything to do with religion, rather having faith, but no religion. Called himself agnostic, which in the dictionary, meant a person who ¡®was questioning the existence of God¡¯ or believed that ¡®even if God exists, we have no way of knowing what God would want from us¡¯. The only thing Michael agreed with Arthur whole heartedly was that no religion was innately more ¡®right¡¯ than another. Even Hinduism with its many Gods didn¡¯t deserve to be looked down, as it was their faith. Faith between people was just that, faith. There was no reason to hate a person for what they believed in, only when they tried to force another to believe what they did, would there truly be an issue. Arthur¡¯s family, like Michael¡¯s, was Christian, though less religious, Arthur¡¯s father was a humble sort of religious person, and while he had disliked Arthur¡¯s refusal to adhere to any religion, he had accepted it in the end. The Dungeon changed a lot about religion though, unfortunately¡­ it was once more being changed by the views of man. Chronos¡¯ LEV was a contract between Chronos and every human on earth; Awakening was the acceptance of the contract and its terms. The terms were simple, get stronger, try and kill Chronos, the LEV will help with the ¡®get stronger¡¯ bit. Many religions were split on how to take that, some believed that humans should use the LEV to kill demons, fight fire with fire, while others still believed that using the LEV was betraying a person¡¯s basic humanity. ¡°The Devil¡¯s Contract it is, don¡¯t join those fools who walk willingly hand in hand with the truest of evil, no, we should stay away from temptation!¡± The man was shouting, spittle flying as he tried to get people to listen¡­This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. No one did. There were only five or so Billion (more around 5.3 Billion) people left on Earth. Of that group, more than ninety per cent of those people Awakened, or died soon after they entered the Dungeon. The amount of people walking around with their LEV¡¯s Awakened were more than nine people to one, and even the people who weren¡¯t Awakened usually didn¡¯t because of other reasons, such as not wanting to fight, or being too young or old. ¡°None of you may care, but when your souls are dragged to the lowest pits of hell you will remember my words and wonder why you did not listen!¡± The man was pretty annoying, and Michael went into a shop and got himself something to eat for later in the Dungeon¡­ Michael thought that guy was preaching not only to the wrong crowd, but incorrectly¡­ because every Adventurer was actively trying to get into hell anyway, so the dragging would be unnecessary. As he approached the Dungeon, turning into the parking lot of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Building, which Michael had learnt was created using Earth Magic¡­ It would be made to look better as time went on, but for now it completed its job. ¡°Michael, you took too damn long!¡± Michael ignored the profanity and focused on the meaning of the sentence instead, having learnt to filter the vulgarity of Matt to just get the meaning of his words. ¡°Sorry man, had to clean the house.¡± Michael noted, getting a cigarette from Matt as Michael looked around, wondering where the other members of their team were, seeing Arthur¡¯s bike. ¡°Ah, Arthur went to go practice his magic for a bit, he¡¯s figured out a thing or two about magic.¡± Michael raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what Matt meant by that. ¡°Basically, he wants to check why his element manipulation doesn¡¯t result in spells, and while he thinks he gets the difference between Spells and manipulation he wants to check it out first before he says anything is certain.¡± Matt explained, and while someone who didn¡¯t know Matt might have been a bit confused by the difference in Matt¡¯s first words and the factual tone here, Michael wasn¡¯t. Matt was loud and violent, but he was most certainly not stupid. He was actually very attentive and capable of speaking calmly¡­ he just chose not to. Matt¡¯s reasoning was unknown to Michael, but Matt assured Michael that it was just how he was at this point. ¡°Ah, Michael, you¡¯re here, John and Emilia should be by in a moment¡­ we are only going to go a bit further than yesterday, since while we¡¯re all stronger, we¡¯re also down a member. Is that right?¡± Michael held back his chuckle at Arthur¡¯s antics¡­ Arthur had just essentially told Michael what they should do, but he had voiced it as if it was a question instead of fact¡­ it was a habit that Michael was certain Arthur knew he possessed¡­ Accountability was something that Arthur feared. That wasn¡¯t to say he was a coward, but rather that he feared having expectations heaped on him, and then coming up short. So instead of being the leader, and thus having expectations, he pushed the role on others, only on those who¡¯d thrive there though, such as Michael. A puppet master would be one way of looking at Arthur¡¯s habit of making other people lead while he advised them. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s what¡¯ll be done.¡± Michael didn¡¯t mind though¡­ despite his apparent role as leader, he knew that he wasn¡¯t a long-term leader. He could lead in a fight, he could come up with plans on the fly¡­ But long term situations required fore-thought, something Michael wasn¡¯t that good at in comparison to Arthur. ¡°Right then¡­ well, I¡¯m going to be listening to some music while we wait.¡± Arthur removed his phone, but before he could plug in his earphones Matt stopped him with a grin. ¡°Don¡¯t do that man¡­ how about we talk about girls¡­ or rather, your girl.¡± Matt grinned even as Arthur carefully kept his face neutral¡­ Michael indeed found this to be more interesting. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Arthur denied, though Matt and Michael, who was also smiling by now, didn¡¯t accept his denial. ¡°Oh you know who we mean¡­ haven¡¯t you been brushing up on your Russian a lot in the past year?¡± Michael joked, and Arthur looked away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment at his words. ¡°Emilia has to speak her second language to us all the time, I figured she¡¯d be happy talking in her home language.¡± Arthur said, and even as he said it he realized he was making a mistake. ¡°Aha, so you admit you learnt Russian for Emilia! You like her, right?¡± Matt added in as Arthur folded his arms as he looked at the cousins, unsure whether or not to glare or look passive. ¡°Whether I do or not, means nothing at this point.¡± Arthur neither confirmed or denied, because if he were to agree, more teasing would follow, were he to deny, they would likely switch to asking why he wouldn¡¯t like her while listing her positive traits. Traits such as her beauty, her interest in books almost on the level of Arthur himself, or her kind personality, for example¡­ ¡°Oh, is that a blush?¡± Arthur inwardly cursed, hoping for something to distract them from their line of questioning¡­ and was awarded with a white BMW pulling into the parking lot. ¡°Oh look, Emilia and John just got here, let¡¯s go there and ignore what we were talking about before.¡± Arthur said the sentence so quickly Matt and Michael were a bit uncertain to his words by the time the three reached the car. After greetings were done, though Emilia was curious on why Arthur seemed to be a bit quieter than usual, they headed inside to the Adventurer¡¯s guild. Once inside, they signed up with Ellie once more, and went to the access panel once it was opened. Their group, Einherjar, was still listed as their team, but this time there were only five of them, which was acceptable to the Dungeon. After checking their skills, and Arthur noting worriedly that his Soul Sight skill was getting better at a notable pace, they moved into the Dungeon after summoning their Animae. Fun fact, Anima is Latin for Soul, and Animae was the plural, meaning ¡®Souls¡¯. Just in case that wasn¡¯t known at this point. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move. Take care to note that Alice isn¡¯t here, meaning more pressure will be on our melee fighters.¡± Emilia and Matt nodded at Michael¡¯s words, while Arthur just listened in¡­ Everyone at this point knew that Arthur was the real leader of the group, Michael just being a really good spokesperson¡­ but no one would call Arthur out on it. Their movement through the Dungeon was simple, much like the day before, due to Alice being incapable of hurting the Slimes much, when against Slimes they rarely felt the loss of a person to their group¡­ Soul Sight, Arthur¡¯s chosen/forced method of experimentation proved something, lowering the amount of people in a team would not increase the individual ¡®experience¡¯ a member would receive. Though Arthur did mention once in a while that he¡¯d think he was seeing something involving the pieces of souls approaching their own¡­ but he wasn¡¯t sure what it was yet. It was only upon reaching the Goblins that the loss of Alice was felt, as this time the first Goblin was eliminated by Emilia and Michael, with Matt being an efficient guard for when she¡¯d almost get hit by the Goblin¡¯s rusty dagger¡­ The rust made Arthur wonder about sickness, and whether or not they¡¯d even get sick anymore¡­ possibly, but only if the sickness was really unique. Arthur¡¯s understanding of the soul grew as he witnessed the destruction of clear souls and the absorption by unique, colourful souls, and he was beginning to understand that his theory was correct, Souls impacted the world, using the body as the medium. Meaning that they were now more soul than body, which was likely why Awakening felt so painful. It was essentially causing the Soul to act in place of the body in certain situations. Running, for example, if someone could someday run at the speed of sound, the sound barrier would not break. This was because the souls only partially impacted the world, making certain ¡®laws¡¯ no longer affect them. Logic and the power of the soul were not good friends. For instance, a fireball should theoretically hurt more than getting hit with a ball of air. This was not the case, as an ¡®air-ball¡¯ dealt just as much base damage as a fire-ball, and it confused Arthur when he witnessed this with help from Emilia and Michael against a Slime or two. Emilia shot a globe of water at them. Slimes resist water to some extent so obviously the damage was slightly lower¡­ but because they were mostly of a liquid, they resisted fire just as much. The result was that both required two ¡®shots¡¯ to kill a Slime, despite fire being more destructive and the water like splashing a bucket of water on someone. It was this last bit that proved that Arthur was right, though the guys in his group didn¡¯t seem to care, saying that it was magic, what else could be expected? Emilia on the other hand realized what he was saying, and sought to understand¡­ if only in an attempt to keep Arthur from becoming depressed that something he discovered with excitement was being written off as boring. ¡°But¡­ but, souls can ignore physics¡­ why isn¡¯t that interesting Emilia¡­ why?¡± Arthur was half way to sobbing as he sat on the floor while Emilia patted his head in an attempt to help him. ¡°There, there Arthur¡­ remember that Michael didn¡¯t do Physics, Matt isn¡¯t that great at it, and John is an artist, he has nothing to do with it¡­ they don¡¯t get it.¡± Emilia stated. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ do you think Alice would think it¡¯s interesting?¡± Arthur stood after a moment and Emilia nodded with a small smile. ¡°Surely, she¡¯s pretty good at Physics, she might find it interesting.¡± Emilia stated as Arthur calmed down. Their dungeon-dive was over within two hours, most of the time being spent travelling or mentally relaxing after a fight, usually through music. Certain things could not be brought into the Dungeon, such as guns or vehicles, but surprisingly phones could be brought in, and while Einherjar had not done it, they knew that skateboards and scooters, the ones without motors, could be brought into the Dungeons. As they began to leave the Dungeon, their group agreed to get themselves some form of transport inside the Dungeon until their movement speed overtook the speed on a skateboard or scooter. Their levels, to their annoyance, had stayed level two, though from what Arthur could see, they would have only needed a few more kills to level up, something that made all of them happy as they¡¯d definitely have a chance to fight tomorrow. Michael was the first to leave, due to needing to unlock his house for his sisters when they came out of school, and then he¡¯d simply zone out for the rest of the day. While Michael¡¯s end of the day plan was decided, Arthur and the others did their own things, Matt took off in his Nissan to just drive around, the love of going fast is what caused that kind of reaction. John was an artist studying graphic designing, he had projects and commissions outstanding so he was busy even beyond the Dungeons¡­ one of said commissions tying into Arthur¡¯s plan for the day. Arthur, with his love of books, was trying to write his own story. He¡¯d succeeded, though he had yet to edit the book, or have a cover for it¡­ Said cover was meant to be designed by John, who had been putting it off for a long time, to Arthur¡¯s annoyance. Emilia, for the day, decided to hang out with Arthur. Something everyone else was quick to take note of and tease both of them over¡­ even Arthur¡¯s parents when they got to his house. Emilia didn¡¯t go out much, partly because she didn¡¯t quite care for dressing up and going shopping for needless amounts of clothes, though she still liked her shoes. The other reason she didn¡¯t go out was because of her looks actually, much to her displeasure she had a habit of turning heads with her looks. To Arthur and Emilia, it was perfect though, as Arthur also wasn¡¯t one for going out much, when the two just relaxed in each other¡¯s presence reading their own books, listening to music, it was a tiny world for the two of them, filled with soft music and the occasional sound of a page turning. And no, they were not dating, no matter what anyone said... Arthur was too indecisive and Emilia wasn¡¯t used to actually liking another person romantically¡­ quite silly to anyone who knew the two¡­ but this was how their group handle their days until the weekend, where Alice would join them once more. On that note, Alice¡¯s day was filled with the boredom of school, a sneeze during physics class and an annoyance at her time in the Dungeon with ¡®incompetent¡¯ partners who didn¡¯t know how to decide a leader. But that was her problem.
Arthur Clive
Level: 2
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 6.25% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1%
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician I (1/50) - increases Wisdom by 10% (total 110%) Swordsmanship I (1/50) - Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (6/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality
Stats
Strength: 6 Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 6 Wisdom: 7
Endurance: 6 Vitality: 6
Chapter 4- Natural Violence A yawn was how Michael greeted the Monday morning, but within moments he felt wide awake. He was one of those kinds of people, who, despite struggling to wake up, once awake they were alert and ready for the day. He was awaken in an undignified manner via pillow to the face by Alice, but after his brief surge of anger he sat up, and that was when the yawn kicked in as he heard a few feminine voices saying goodbye, then the front door of his house closing. Michael scratched his head as he stood, noting the change to his LEV which now showed the number two instead of one, meaning he was now stronger than a normal adult male. Well, he had placed his points equally, at the recommendation of his best friend Arthur, though he had one stat, namely Strength, be higher than the others, all his stats were at six except for Strength at seven. His reasoning was that as an archer, his strength determined the power of his arrows, and his Dexterity determined his accuracy. Seeing as he wasn¡¯t taking shots from a hundred metres away or anything like that, he wasn¡¯t worried about aiming for now. After washing up, brushing his teeth and such, Michael got dressed and ate his breakfast, a favourite of his¡­ cereal. He enjoyed that ¡®I¡¯m a cereal killer¡¯ joke¡­ the pun got dry after a while though. After finishing his cereal, he looked around the now empty house with a sigh, knowing that he¡¯d have to clean it. It¡¯s how it went every day at this point, even before Red Sky Day. Michael didn¡¯t work much, though he did work part-time jobs every once in a while, he just hadn¡¯t been sure what he wanted to do. Originally he had been thinking of joining the air force or the police, but he had never gotten around to joining. Now, with the Dungeons, he had found his profession, an Adventurer, someone who entered the Dungeon as a candidate to slay Chronos the ruler of Hell¡­ it didn¡¯t pay a lot yet, seeing as Michael and his team weren¡¯t that strong, but he was glad for it, knowing his pay would only increase. Due to Michael not working, or at least not having to be anywhere early, he was left to clean the house after all three of his sisters left the house. Yes, he had three sisters and he was the eldest of the siblings, it was difficult at times, and while his sisters all annoyed him to some degree he wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to them. Michael had time to think as he began to sweep and pack away clothes, change bedding, and such, and during that time he thought to his team, Einherjar. Michael had honestly been a bit worried when he had been placed as the leader, as he had been hoping for Arthur to take that place. It was a strange thought to those who knew both Michael and Arthur, as clearly Michael was the more outgoing between the two¡­ but Michael knew Arthur was a brilliant planner and he noticed things that Michael didn¡¯t. For example, during the day they had Awakened, when their group had separated to go their separate ways and think about their experiences, Michael had gotten a few messages from Arthur. The main point of the first messages was that Arthur wanted Michael to be their team¡¯s leader, or at least a spokesperson. From there they had discussed placements for the group, and what they would all do in their roles for the group. Their skills weren¡¯t quite known at that point, but Arthur noted his Soul Sight was activated for a moment then, just enough for him to see their souls¡­ a scary prospect, but Michael didn¡¯t hold it against Arthur. From what he could see, their group all complimented each other, with a blocker, an archer, a healer, a thief/assassin and warrior, Arthur was quick to note he¡¯d probably end up a magic user mostly¡­ He had ended up correct. Out of all six members of their group, Arthur had the greatest apparent magic ability and control over his magic, likely due to his large understanding of physics and an imagination that ran wild at times. They could all do magic, but from what they had discussed, Michael noted that Arthur¡¯s magic was one of, if not the best at pure damage dealing, for the simple reason that Lightning magic seemed to penetrate most defences. So they all had their roles. Archer, Healer, Guardian, Assassin, Warrior and Wizard, and while there was clearly some uncertainty at this point, in time it would change. Michael chuckled, thinking about how their Swordsman fit the role of a Wizard best as his phone vibrated, a message, likely from Arthur stating they would go into the Dungeon nearby without Alice, who would go with a team from her school. Michael checked his phone, and indeed his thoughts were right, so he just shrugged, picking up the keys and walked out, locking the door and then taking the key and stashing it in his inventory (keys were a negligible weight really) He was lucky enough to live near the Dungeon, it only took him about four minutes to walk there, a long time unless one listened to music like he did. He really wanted a car, a BMW M3 to be exact, but he didn¡¯t have the money, or the licence yet really, and so he had never gotten one¡­ the fact that Emilia had one made him jealous, but just in the sense of ¡®I wish I had one too¡¯. Motorbikes like Arthur, on the other hand, Michael decided to never buy. Motorbikes were death-traps in his opinion, with the exception of old school choppers, otherwise known as Harley Davidsons. Michael looked around in thought, and frowned when he saw a man standing on one corner, shouting uncaring of whether or not anyone was listening, the man shouting about how all who wielded a LEV were vile for accepting a contract with a person who was essentially the devil¡­ The world had changed a lot, due to Red Sky Day, in ways not immediately apparent to some. For religion, it was proof that Hell existed, which meant that Heaven had to exist in some form right? Of course the most switched to religion in the past month was Christianity, due to Chronos referencing his domain as ¡®Hell¡¯ and speaking about Lucifer, though Michael wondered a bit at that¡­ Michael was a Christian, went to church every Sunday for mass and went to Sunday school until finishing that around the age of sixteen¡­ But he never considered Christianity to be wholly the correct religion. Or to be exact, after talking with Arthur for a long time about Arthur¡¯s views on religion, he now no longer viewed any singular religion as correct. Arthur¡¯s views of religion were quite extreme, thinking that religion was essentially man made. That wasn¡¯t to say he thought God or a being of that level did not exist, in fact Arthur believed that such a being had to exist. But why would said being care how the being was believed in? As long as belief was there, Arthur claimed, it should be enough. Be kind, share, do not murder, things like those were taught in religion, but most of that was common sense, don¡¯t kill someone¡¯s mother because you wouldn¡¯t like it if someone killed yours. As for the act of prayer, again according to Arthur, it was a comforting act for humans who wished for acceptance and comfort somewhere in the uncertainty that was life, in truth whether or not the Creator listened it would comfort the person doing it, knowing that they let their hopes and worries out in some manner. Michael didn¡¯t agree with everything Arthur said, thinking Arthur to be one of those strange forward thinkers, but accepting Arthur for his views all the same. The final thing of note about Arthur¡¯s strange belief was that he ¡®did not support religion, but he supported faith¡¯, saying that religion, while a beautiful thing when done correctly, also had the potential for being twisted to the needs of the believers, much like the Crusades or Isis bombers, using religion almost as an excuse to hate or do violent actions¡­ Of course not everyone did that, but the fact that it could be used as an excuse at all annoyed Arthur, and made him refuse to even have anything to do with religion, rather having faith, but no religion. Called himself agnostic, which in the dictionary, meant a person who ¡®was questioning the existence of God¡¯ or believed that ¡®even if God exists, we have no way of knowing what God would want from us¡¯. The only thing Michael agreed with Arthur whole heartedly was that no religion was innately more ¡®right¡¯ than another. Even Hinduism with its many Gods didn¡¯t deserve to be looked down, as it was their faith. Faith between people was just that, faith. There was no reason to hate a person for what they believed in, only when they tried to force another to believe what they did, would there truly be an issue. Arthur¡¯s family, like Michael¡¯s, was Christian, though less religious, Arthur¡¯s father was a humble sort of religious person, and while he had disliked Arthur¡¯s refusal to adhere to any religion, he had accepted it in the end. The Dungeon changed a lot about religion though, unfortunately¡­ it was once more being changed by the views of man. Chronos¡¯ LEV was a contract between Chronos and every human on earth; Awakening was the acceptance of the contract and its terms. The terms were simple, get stronger, try and kill Chronos, the LEV will help with the ¡®get stronger¡¯ bit. Many religions were split on how to take that, some believed that humans should use the LEV to kill demons, fight fire with fire, while others still believed that using the LEV was betraying a person¡¯s basic humanity. ¡°The Devil¡¯s Contract it is, don¡¯t join those fools who walk willingly hand in hand with the truest of evil, no, we should stay away from temptation!¡± The man was shouting, spittle flying as he tried to get people to listen¡­ No one did. There were only five or so Billion (more around 5.3 Billion) people left on Earth. Of that group, more than ninety per cent of those people Awakened, or died soon after they entered the Dungeon. The amount of people walking around with their LEV¡¯s Awakened were more than nine people to one, and even the people who weren¡¯t Awakened usually didn¡¯t because of other reasons, such as not wanting to fight, or being too young or old. ¡°None of you may care, but when your souls are dragged to the lowest pits of hell you will remember my words and wonder why you did not listen!¡± The man was pretty annoying, and Michael went into a shop and got himself something to eat for later in the Dungeon¡­ Michael thought that guy was preaching not only to the wrong crowd, but incorrectly¡­ because every Adventurer was actively trying to get into hell anyway, so the dragging would be unnecessary. As he approached the Dungeon, turning into the parking lot of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Building, which Michael had learnt was created using Earth Magic¡­ It would be made to look better as time went on, but for now it completed its job. ¡°Michael, you took too damn long!¡± Michael ignored the profanity and focused on the meaning of the sentence instead, having learnt to filter the vulgarity of Matt to just get the meaning of his words. ¡°Sorry man, had to clean the house.¡± Michael noted, getting a cigarette from Matt as Michael looked around, wondering where the other members of their team were, seeing Arthur¡¯s bike. ¡°Ah, Arthur went to go practice his magic for a bit, he¡¯s figured out a thing or two about magic.¡± Michael raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what Matt meant by that. ¡°Basically, he wants to check why his element manipulation doesn¡¯t result in spells, and while he thinks he gets the difference between Spells and manipulation he wants to check it out first before he says anything is certain.¡± Matt explained, and while someone who didn¡¯t know Matt might have been a bit confused by the difference in Matt¡¯s first words and the factual tone here, Michael wasn¡¯t. Matt was loud and violent, but he was most certainly not stupid. He was actually very attentive and capable of speaking calmly¡­ he just chose not to. Matt¡¯s reasoning was unknown to Michael, but Matt assured Michael that it was just how he was at this point. ¡°Ah, Michael, you¡¯re here, John and Emilia should be by in a moment¡­ we are only going to go a bit further than yesterday, since while we¡¯re all stronger, we¡¯re also down a member. Is that right?¡± Michael held back his chuckle at Arthur¡¯s antics¡­ Arthur had just essentially told Michael what they should do, but he had voiced it as if it was a question instead of fact¡­ it was a habit that Michael was certain Arthur knew he possessed¡­ Accountability was something that Arthur feared. That wasn¡¯t to say he was a coward, but rather that he feared having expectations heaped on him, and then coming up short. So instead of being the leader, and thus having expectations, he pushed the role on others, only on those who¡¯d thrive there though, such as Michael. A puppet master would be one way of looking at Arthur¡¯s habit of making other people lead while he advised them. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s what¡¯ll be done.¡± Michael didn¡¯t mind though¡­ despite his apparent role as leader, he knew that he wasn¡¯t a long-term leader. He could lead in a fight, he could come up with plans on the fly¡­ But long term situations required fore-thought, something Michael wasn¡¯t that good at in comparison to Arthur. ¡°Right then¡­ well, I¡¯m going to be listening to some music while we wait.¡± Arthur removed his phone, but before he could plug in his earphones Matt stopped him with a grin. ¡°Don¡¯t do that man¡­ how about we talk about girls¡­ or rather, your girl.¡± Matt grinned even as Arthur carefully kept his face neutral¡­ Michael indeed found this to be more interesting. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Arthur denied, though Matt and Michael, who was also smiling by now, didn¡¯t accept his denial. ¡°Oh you know who we mean¡­ haven¡¯t you been brushing up on your Russian a lot in the past year?¡± Michael joked, and Arthur looked away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment at his words. ¡°Emilia has to speak her second language to us all the time, I figured she¡¯d be happy talking in her home language.¡± Arthur said, and even as he said it he realized he was making a mistake. ¡°Aha, so you admit you learnt Russian for Emilia! You like her, right?¡± Matt added in as Arthur folded his arms as he looked at the cousins, unsure whether or not to glare or look passive. ¡°Whether I do or not, means nothing at this point.¡± Arthur neither confirmed or denied, because if he were to agree, more teasing would follow, were he to deny, they would likely switch to asking why he wouldn¡¯t like her while listing her positive traits. Traits such as her beauty, her interest in books almost on the level of Arthur himself, or her kind personality, for example¡­ ¡°Oh, is that a blush?¡± Arthur inwardly cursed, hoping for something to distract them from their line of questioning¡­ and was awarded with a white BMW pulling into the parking lot. ¡°Oh look, Emilia and John just got here, let¡¯s go there and ignore what we were talking about before.¡± Arthur said the sentence so quickly Matt and Michael were a bit uncertain to his words by the time the three reached the car. After greetings were done, though Emilia was curious on why Arthur seemed to be a bit quieter than usual, they headed inside to the Adventurer¡¯s guild. Once inside, they signed up with Ellie once more, and went to the access panel once it was opened. Their group, Einherjar, was still listed as their team, but this time there were only five of them, which was acceptable to the Dungeon. After checking their skills, and Arthur noting worriedly that his Soul Sight skill was getting better at a notable pace, they moved into the Dungeon after summoning their Animae. Fun fact, Anima is Latin for Soul, and Animae was the plural, meaning ¡®Souls¡¯. Just in case that wasn¡¯t known at this point. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move. Take care to note that Alice isn¡¯t here, meaning more pressure will be on our melee fighters.¡± Emilia and Matt nodded at Michael¡¯s words, while Arthur just listened in¡­ Everyone at this point knew that Arthur was the real leader of the group, Michael just being a really good spokesperson¡­ but no one would call Arthur out on it. Their movement through the Dungeon was simple, much like the day before, due to Alice being incapable of hurting the Slimes much, when against Slimes they rarely felt the loss of a person to their group¡­ Soul Sight, Arthur¡¯s chosen/forced method of experimentation proved something, lowering the amount of people in a team would not increase the individual ¡®experience¡¯ a member would receive. Though Arthur did mention once in a while that he¡¯d think he was seeing something involving the pieces of souls approaching their own¡­ but he wasn¡¯t sure what it was yet. It was only upon reaching the Goblins that the loss of Alice was felt, as this time the first Goblin was eliminated by Emilia and Michael, with Matt being an efficient guard for when she¡¯d almost get hit by the Goblin¡¯s rusty dagger¡­ The rust made Arthur wonder about sickness, and whether or not they¡¯d even get sick anymore¡­ possibly, but only if the sickness was really unique. Arthur¡¯s understanding of the soul grew as he witnessed the destruction of clear souls and the absorption by unique, colourful souls, and he was beginning to understand that his theory was correct, Souls impacted the world, using the body as the medium. Meaning that they were now more soul than body, which was likely why Awakening felt so painful. It was essentially causing the Soul to act in place of the body in certain situations. Running, for example, if someone could someday run at the speed of sound, the sound barrier would not break. This was because the souls only partially impacted the world, making certain ¡®laws¡¯ no longer affect them. Logic and the power of the soul were not good friends. For instance, a fireball should theoretically hurt more than getting hit with a ball of air. This was not the case, as an ¡®air-ball¡¯ dealt just as much base damage as a fire-ball, and it confused Arthur when he witnessed this with help from Emilia and Michael against a Slime or two. Emilia shot a globe of water at them. Slimes resist water to some extent so obviously the damage was slightly lower¡­ but because they were mostly of a liquid, they resisted fire just as much. The result was that both required two ¡®shots¡¯ to kill a Slime, despite fire being more destructive and the water like splashing a bucket of water on someone. It was this last bit that proved that Arthur was right, though the guys in his group didn¡¯t seem to care, saying that it was magic, what else could be expected? Emilia on the other hand realized what he was saying, and sought to understand¡­ if only in an attempt to keep Arthur from becoming depressed that something he discovered with excitement was being written off as boring. ¡°But¡­ but, souls can ignore physics¡­ why isn¡¯t that interesting Emilia¡­ why?¡± Arthur was half way to sobbing as he sat on the floor while Emilia patted his head in an attempt to help him. ¡°There, there Arthur¡­ remember that Michael didn¡¯t do Physics, Matt isn¡¯t that great at it, and John is an artist, he has nothing to do with it¡­ they don¡¯t get it.¡± Emilia stated. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ do you think Alice would think it¡¯s interesting?¡± Arthur stood after a moment and Emilia nodded with a small smile. ¡°Surely, she¡¯s pretty good at Physics, she might find it interesting.¡± Emilia stated as Arthur calmed down. Their dungeon-dive was over within two hours, most of the time being spent travelling or mentally relaxing after a fight, usually through music. Certain things could not be brought into the Dungeon, such as guns or vehicles, but surprisingly phones could be brought in, and while Einherjar had not done it, they knew that skateboards and scooters, the ones without motors, could be brought into the Dungeons. As they began to leave the Dungeon, their group agreed to get themselves some form of transport inside the Dungeon until their movement speed overtook the speed on a skateboard or scooter. Their levels, to their annoyance, had stayed level two, though from what Arthur could see, they would have only needed a few more kills to level up, something that made all of them happy as they¡¯d definitely have a chance to fight tomorrow. Michael was the first to leave, due to needing to unlock his house for his sisters when they came out of school, and then he¡¯d simply zone out for the rest of the day. While Michael¡¯s end of the day plan was decided, Arthur and the others did their own things, Matt took off in his Nissan to just drive around, the love of going fast is what caused that kind of reaction. John was an artist studying graphic designing, he had projects and commissions outstanding so he was busy even beyond the Dungeons¡­ one of said commissions tying into Arthur¡¯s plan for the day. Arthur, with his love of books, was trying to write his own story. He¡¯d succeeded, though he had yet to edit the book, or have a cover for it¡­ Said cover was meant to be designed by John, who had been putting it off for a long time, to Arthur¡¯s annoyance. Emilia, for the day, decided to hang out with Arthur. Something everyone else was quick to take note of and tease both of them over¡­ even Arthur¡¯s parents when they got to his house. Emilia didn¡¯t go out much, partly because she didn¡¯t quite care for dressing up and going shopping for needless amounts of clothes, though she still liked her shoes. The other reason she didn¡¯t go out was because of her looks actually, much to her displeasure she had a habit of turning heads with her looks. To Arthur and Emilia, it was perfect though, as Arthur also wasn¡¯t one for going out much, when the two just relaxed in each other¡¯s presence reading their own books, listening to music, it was a tiny world for the two of them, filled with soft music and the occasional sound of a page turning.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. And no, they were not dating, no matter what anyone said... Arthur was too indecisive and Emilia wasn¡¯t used to actually liking another person romantically¡­ quite silly to anyone who knew the two¡­ but this was how their group handle their days until the weekend, where Alice would join them once more. On that note, Alice¡¯s day was filled with the boredom of school, a sneeze during physics class and an annoyance at her time in the Dungeon with ¡®incompetent¡¯ partners who didn¡¯t know how to decide a leader. But that was her problem.
Arthur Clive
Level: 2
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 6.25% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1%
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician I (1/50) - increases Wisdom by 10% (total 110%) Swordsmanship I (1/50) - Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (6/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality
Stats
Strength: 6 Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 6 Wisdom: 7
Endurance: 6 Vitality: 6

Chapter 4- Natural Violence

¡°Ah! I¡¯m glad I¡¯m back!¡± Arthur rolled his eyes as he spoke out at Alice¡¯s exclamation. ¡°Alice, we saw you every day of the week.¡± He retorted, making sure to dodge Alice¡¯s fist which had a faint red aura around it, a result of her Anima Skill, the World is a Weapon, registering her own body as a weapon. Meaning she now knew Kung-Fu. Neo would have been impressed. ¡°Yeah, but I didn¡¯t enter the Dungeon with you guys, I got stuck with people in my class.¡± She looked really annoyed at that, seeing as she was a level behind Arthur and the others now. It was now the eleventh of January, a week after their group of six had Awakened, and they were already getting better, each member of the group in level six, or like Alice, was at level five. This level made them strong enough to be ¡®allowed¡¯ entry into Floor two, where the ratio of Slimes to Goblins changed from around 2:1 to 1.5:1. Doesn¡¯t seem like much, but Goblins were troublesome creatures since they had actual intellect¡­ A week intellect, but it was there nonetheless. ¡°Well¡­ I want to say it couldn¡¯t have been that bad, but your level¡­¡± Arthur didn¡¯t dodge the fist this time, and was thus left to cradle his shoulder as he cried for a medic half-jokingly. Arthur did actually feel pain because Alice¡¯s Strength stat was already around twelve or so, and that was twice the strength of a grown man. ¡°See Arthur, this is why Endurance is a good stat.¡± Matt was quick to extol the virtues of his main stat which was now at fifteen, it was enough for normal people to barely bruise him even with a hard punch. ¡°Yes, it is, but Arthur rarely gets hit anyway.¡± Emilia added even as she helped Arthur up, knowing that Arthur¡¯s stats were all around ten or higher, but while he did place points in Endurance, he didn¡¯t care much for the stat, since, as Emilia stated, he rarely got hit. ¡°Whatever, can we leave, some people think I¡¯m about to rob you guys.¡± And there was John¡¯s self-deprecating racist joke of the day, a good eight out of ten on John¡¯s joke-o-meter. ¡°Yes, yes, let¡¯s leave. Come on Alice, you¡¯re going to need to play catch up with the group now.¡± Michael joked as they entered the building after greeting the man at the door, Dante Vasquez, the right hand-man of the Guild Leader. ¡°So Arthur, got an explanation for why Matt has five points more in one stat than the others, yet his soul is still stable?¡± Michael asked, having gotten surprisingly interested in the near philosophical discussion over the week as Arthur made different observations every once in a while. ¡°It¡¯s his Class. It acts as a stabilizing agent in the soul, keeping it from undergoing an imbalance due to stats placed by said Class.¡± Right¡­ Michael still got lost once in a while, but he got the gist, it only worked because the Class was causing it. ¡°Does that mean those stats can rise higher than normal?¡± John inserted his own question while it was ¡®ask Arthur time¡¯. ¡°No, if Matt placed one point into Endurance it would probably tear his soul or something¡­ but if it grows naturally due to the Class, it¡¯s fine.¡± He explained, and it helped a bit¡­ Of course, Arthur was saying these things confidently due to the fact that he was the only person actually capable of seeing what he was explaining. He¡¯d be just as sceptical as others if he had been incapable of seeing souls¡­ Of course, everyone else didn¡¯t notice the disturbance in their souls if they did try placing all their points in one stat, and Arthur was heavily exaggerating the extent of the possible imbalance, but he did it knowing that while specialization would occur no matter what, it was better if it occurred later, after having a stable base of all stats being slightly high, then one or two could be very high. Think of it like building a pyramid, without the base then it wouldn¡¯t be possible as it would collapse under its own weight, in this situation, the base was the stats. They had already entered the Guild and had lined up to talk to Ellie, another group in front of theirs already having their weapons out and prepared¡­ Arthur didn¡¯t understand why the showed off in such a manner, much in the same way he didn¡¯t understand why girls liked looking prettier than other girls, or men wanted to be richer or stronger than other boys. He just didn¡¯t care much for competition - not when it would end quickly when someone died - not when he wasn¡¯t the competitive type¡­ he felt a sense of inconsistency for a moment but shook his head. Unfortunately, he happened to shake his head just as one of the people at the back of the next group looked at him, making a misunderstanding occur. ¡°Hey, you got a problem with me?¡± The man spoke, glaring at Arthur as Michael and the others just kept quiet, already wanting to break into giggles or chuckles. ¡°No, I was just wondering about how silly it is to carry your weapons everywhere.¡± Michael choked back his laugh, knowing that Arthur wasn¡¯t even trying to be rude, just stating fact. ¡°Oh so we do got a problem! You wanna sort it out?¡± he held his sword out, Ellie at the counter looking a bit annoyed as she tried to warn the other teams leader, only for said leader to be looking contemplatively at Arthur. ¡°Firstly, I don¡¯t know you, why would we have a problem? Looks like you want to share your problems; I don¡¯t care for them though. As for the second thing, it¡¯s ¡®want to¡¯, please speak properly, I barely understood you.¡± Okay, by now Arthur had been getting a bit irritated, and Michael could tell. ¡°Alice, your strength stat is the highest, get ready to step in when Arthur goes ballistic.¡± Michael warned his sister as she nodded, already knowing about Arthur¡¯s rare temper. ¡°Oh you little mother-¡± the man swung his sword at Arthur, only for wrist to be grabbed before the swing could be completed, with Arthur stepping under the arm, sliding behind him and his other hand clenching around the man¡¯s throat, now having him in a one handed chokehold with his arm behind his back, sword left on the floor. ¡°Leave my mother out of this, before I hurt you.¡± Arthur¡¯s anger was cold and intelligent, but oh so very violent, and the man had a moment to struggle before Arthur began choking him, causing Alice to walk over and tap Arthur¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Oh¡­ yes, sorry about that¡­¡± Arthur seemed to realize that he had been watched as the altercation occurred as he let go while shoving the man at level three to the side, towards his group as Arthur looked to Ellie with an awkward look on his face. ¡°Sorry Ellie¡­ a bit of anger, it¡¯s my fault.¡± Arthur apologized as Ellie smiled with narrowed eyes. ¡°It¡¯s okay Arthur, I saw everything.¡± She said, looking to the man who was now glaring back at Arthur with a glare of her own. ¡°Be aware that had he knocked you out I would have accepted that, and everyone in here would agree. Just because you¡¯ve levelled up a bit doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± Ellie glared, her own level was level eight, and she would have been stronger if she was actually focused on fighting though. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that, really. We¡¯ll discuss this between ourselves.¡± Their team leader spoke, glaring at the person who swung his sword at Arthur with annoyance¡­ Arthur, in response to the team leader¡¯s words, gave a smile that just seemed to reek of trouble as he spoke up. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll praise him for checking the strength of someone at double your level.¡± The man paused, looking to Arthur before shaking his head with a sigh, walking away with his team, to enter the Dungeon. ¡°Really now¡­ so, I take it your group is set to enter the Dungeon now? Finally challenging the second floor?¡± Ellie asked curiously as the group signed some forms and logged in their entry time, Michael nodding at her words. ¡°Yeah, we would have entered floor two earlier, but Arthur said we¡¯d be better off at level six, plus we were missing a member.¡± Michael looked to Alice who let out a huff of air in annoyance with her being too busy to enter the Dungeon with them. ¡°Well, she¡¯s level five as well, so it should be alright. Go ahead, though know the boss will want a word with you all after you get out of there.¡± The group nodded, moving towards the entrance, making last minute checks to their stats and skills before walking in. No one in their group had armour yet, not willing to buy any with their meagre earnings, and even if they did, normal armour wasn¡¯t as good as armour made by people with the Blacksmith class. This was once more a side-effect of Arthur¡¯s theory involving souls becoming strong enough to have an effect on the physical plane, but only in certain ways. In this case, the soul of the Blacksmith found more ¡®weight¡¯ in their creations compared to those without that class. Upon checking their stats and skills, they went into the Dungeon¡¯s first floor once more. From experience, Arthur¡¯s group knew there to be a total of twenty one Slimes and eight Goblins, split into different groups with a rare occurrence where two Goblins partnered up with Slimes. Their group moved through the floor, by now strong enough to easily mow through the Slimes, and while Goblins died a bit easier now for those who did not kill them in one hit, they were a bit easier to fight. Alice could even use her magic now, though not for long before she started feeling headaches, Arthur noted that it wasn¡¯t actually a headache so much as her soul¡¯s colour, a deep black tinged with purple, seemed to fade a bit. After a while though, the colour would return to be as it was, and this could be viewed as having regained your Mana, how quickly this happened apparently depended on Wisdom, and how much your soul kept was determined by Intelligence, which is where the colour was stored, in Arthur¡¯s vision¡­ Again, souls, despite Arthur¡¯s new ability to see them, were conceptual, if two people had his ability they would both see souls differently as they fit into ideas and concepts one already had. If Arthur found souls easier to understand as toy blocks he might have just seen toy blocks being moved around and added onto some central block which would be the core of the soul¡­ instead, he saw crystal, as he understood it better in that sense. After killing the group blocking the way down to the second floor, their group paused to rest a bit and eat their lunch, now being capable of moving through the first floor much quicker. Oh, and the group blocking the stairs comprised of two goblins and four Slimes. A large group, but they just sent Alice, Matt and John towards the Goblins, leaving Arthur, Emilia and Michael to face the Slimes. Goblins were tougher than Alice made them out to be, with her buffed up Strength stat and her ability to use any weapon to the point of ¡®I trained with it a few times¡¯. She almost always killed a Goblin in a hit or two, where everyone else took a bit more. Michael, Arthur and Emilia, on the other hand, found the Slimes really easy to kill, Michael just stood from a distance as Emilia and Arthur weaved through the idiotic blobs of blue, slashing at each one at least once before Michael would shoot them and end their lives. As mentioned, they had already killed that group though. When Alice wasn¡¯t there, it changed to leaving Emilia against the Goblins and just Michael and Arthur against the Slimes. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head down to the second floor. Apparently Goblins appear more often and Slimes are rarer, meaning we can fight more often.¡± Michael spoke out as everyone else nodded in agreement. Slimes required magic to fight, and casting magic made one mentally tired. Using less magic meant less mental tiredness, and more physical when it came to fighting. And as for the physical fatigue, they rarely if ever felt that at this point, only breathing hard against the final group of the first floor, or that one case involving three Goblins. Even then, according to the access panel and its information, Vitality was the stat corresponding to recovery from physical exertion and wounds, having a high enough Vitality stat would make a person capable of going days without sleep theoretically. The reason it was theoretically was because at current no one wanted to stay up longer than their usual, though Arthur had already noted that he could go a bit longer without sleeping¡­ a real problem for him as he already had trouble falling asleep. ¡°Alright¡­ let¡¯s go.¡± Michael added as they moved to the stairs¡­ and they were immediately amazed at the appearance. The stairs themselves seemed to be made of polished marble, shining and easily visible in the light¡­ the light itself, was what made the view so amazing, with the rest of the way down having the walls and ceiling covered with that obsidian-type metal that made the Dungeon Entrance, with pinpricks of light dotting the walls and ceiling. To be honest, it was as if walking on a staircase through the night sky, and it was honestly beautiful¡­ Arthur found it a good point to make a reference, but with the exception of Alice, no one got the reference¡­ Well it made sense; the two of them were the only ones to ever play the first ¡®paper¡¯ version of that game with a plumber killing turtles with jumps. So it was obvious only the two of them would understand the joke behind ¡®Star Way¡¯ at all. Once at the bottom, they noted that the second floor looked similar to the first. Namely, like a cave with no sources of light, yet bright enough for everyone to see everything clearly¡­ basically, Hollywood darkness. They continued moving after Emilia had removed her drawing board and begun a new map, the first map possessing all the ¡®known¡¯ areas, leaving aside paths they had not gone down, and showing the dead-ends of wrong paths. Now they moved, and their first enemies were a Goblin accompanied by two Slimes. Alice was quick to demolish the Goblin, not wanting to use her magic due to its insane consumption rate in comparison to the others, and Michael and Emilia quickly dispatched the two Slimes¡­ ¡°We really need to fix our equipment¡­¡± Arthur noted as he looked at Matt¡¯s baseball bat, which occasionally shone as if covered in metal, and also noting that all of them were wearing casual clothes¡­ Honestly, they were like Cosplay-characters who got the equipment right but forgot their outfits. ¡°How should we do that? We aren¡¯t exactly earning a lot, and armour would cost a lot.¡± Michael noted as Arthur raised an eyebrow in return. ¡°Uh, what about bullet-proof vests, welder gauntlets, safety boots, shin-guards?¡± Arthur¡¯s words caused the group to contemplate what he had just mentioned, and they really didn¡¯t agree with the combination, but they saw his point. One didn¡¯t need to get medieval armour or even things made by a Blacksmith, just some basic protection would do for a while. ¡°Right¡­ we¡¯ll check that out next time.¡± Michael stated, and the group agreed with him, but they continued on their dungeon-dive, not willing to turn around at this point. Their dive was filled with more of the usual, Goblins, Slimes, but the amount was around double of the first floor. It was enough that Alice felt the pressure of levelling up, and the rest of the group was approaching level seven. They were eventually forced to pause as they encountered a new enemy, one which confused Arthur especially¡­ because every other enemy they had fought had appeared in a role-playing game, but these ones, he did not recognize. Luckily for them, the LEV actually stored information involving witnessed enemies, and it gave more information for defeated enemies. For the enemy in front of them, they were only informed that it was known as a Lantern Squire. It floated, kept from falling by tiny red flames on its legs, which ended in stumps with the flames below, likewise, it possessed no head, instead having a flame there. In its hand it carried a sword, and in the centre of its chest it had a glass panel with a flickering flame inside of it, the flame growing and shrinking much like a heart-beat. Michael took the first attack, being the person who started the majority of their fights with a pre-emptive attack¡­ ranged people were best suited for those, even if Michael inwardly groaned at how cowardly that sounded. When the arrow pinged off the chest of the monster, that was when their group realized that the monster was much stronger than Goblins, and it turned to their group. It moved quickly, floating on its flames as it rushed to attack their group, stabbing out at Emilia who jumped back even as Matt got in the way with his shield. The blade of the Squire bounced off, and as it recoiled Alice took a large swing with her sledgehammer hitting the thing square through the flame where its head would be. It somehow actually hurt the creature, but not by a large amount, as Arthur carefully observed the enemy, scanning it to find weaknesses. ¡°Alright, its weak spot should be the panel on its chest, its resistant to cutting edges, so blunt force should work! Matt and Alice, the two of you are up!¡± Arthur scanned the enemy quickly and Matt and Alice grinned, the only members of their group that actually fought with blunt weapons¡­ John had a long stick that was basically a staff, but he didn¡¯t actually fight. His Anima required a ¡®focus¡¯ which constituted as a giant piece of crystal, a wand, or a staff. Didn¡¯t even have to be real, there was a guy who used a plastic made in china ¡®crystal¡¯ ball and shot off spells with it. It was about mentality. ¡°Die!¡± seriously, it was kind of silly but it apparently helped Matt and Alice get into the mind-set of ¡®kill this thing in front of me¡¯¡­ people shouting die at something was still weird though. Matt¡¯s silvery baseball bat was intercepted by the Squire¡¯s sword, surprisingly, while Alice¡¯s sledgehammer was unimpeded, resulting in a massive crack on the chest of the Squire as it¡¯s flame crackled as if screaming. It wasn¡¯t out just yet, but before it could strike back at Alice, Arthur was there, surprising his team as he stood to its side, turning in a classical right hook, his fist heading towards the glass bit. Arthur¡¯s first reaction, upon seeing the attack did not kill the enemy in one shot, was to hit the thing away from the group, if only for a moment, as he triggered his magic, layering it into his fist, causing it to spark as it impacted the glass casing that was the Squire¡¯s chest. The attack didn¡¯t kill the enemy, only causing it to move back from the force, though Arthur did note that the flame that replaced its heart seemed to be flickering erratically, no longer timing itself, it now expanded and contracted to irregular sizes. Without getting a chance to wonder about this phenomenon, the Squire dashed forward, slashing out at Arthur who blocked with his dagger, using his free arm to reach out and grab its arm¡­ which was uncomfortably warm, like holding a bowl with how water in it, as he turned the enemy. The reason he turned it was to place the Squire in front of Emilia, who was jabbing forward with both daggers towards the cracked glass, finally breaking it as the flame sputtered and died, the Squire, which looked like a floating suit of armour, fell to the floor, disintegrating much like all other Demons did¡­ Though surprisingly, it dropped something other than a Soul Stone¡­ the blade the Squire had carried had also dropped. ¡°Huh¡­ looks like Matt might not need to look for a weapon¡­ or are you going to wait for a mace or hammer?¡± Alice asked her fellow ¡®warrior¡¯ type as Matt looked to the sword with a frown¡­ then shook his head. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not using that. We¡¯ve just found a Demon that resists cutting it, so I won¡¯t switch¡­ though I¡¯m hoping to get a metal base-ball bat at least.¡± Matt joked as the group chuckled. ¡°Well¡­ can I use it then?¡± Everyone turned to their resident ¡®scientist¡¯ as Arthur looked at the blade, holding it in his right hand, after moving his dagger to the left. ¡°Arthur? Planning on dual-wielding? That¡¯s pretty difficult in real life from what I hear¡­¡± Michael seemed uncertain, but Arthur smirked, holding his dagger in a reverse grip and the sword loosely as he wiggled his wrists a bit. ¡°Oh I can manage¡­ besides, just like you like guns, you know I like blades¡­ I¡¯m good with them.¡± Arthur¡¯s words felt a bit deeper than they first appeared, but no one argued with his claim. ¡°Alright then¡­ so, a Lantern Squire¡­ that thing was pretty strong¡­ Arthur, did you check how much Soul we got from that?¡± Michael asked, using the now official term ¡®Soul¡¯ which was equivalent to a role-playing game¡¯s ¡®experience points¡¯. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s about three Goblin¡¯s worth¡­ closer to two Goblins and a Slime though.¡± There were no concrete values for Soul gained per fight, but depending on the enemy soul only a certain amount could be gained in return. If someone entered a Dungeon with a group of seven, the amount of Soul everyone would gain would decrease, by half each, meaning that there was quite a bit of the Soul being wasted, so a group of six was the max. On the other hand, even if you were alone, you¡¯d get the same amount of Soul as if you were in a group of six, because that was the limit of your soul to absorb the left overs of another. The larger the soul, the more you could absorb of it, leading to stronger monsters giving more Soul. Soul is the experience points and soul is the actual thing, just in case there was any confusion. ¡°Well¡­ you want to fight another one?¡± Michael asked, looking into the distance with his Hawk Eye skill, and noting another Squire. ¡°We can get away with that¡­ mind if I try out my dual-wielding?¡± Arthur asked as the group looked interested at his request. ¡°Sure, though Matt and Alice are going to be on standby, obviously.¡± Arthur knew there would be a bit of a condition like that, and accepted it as he stalked towards his next enemy, his team following behind him. The lantern witnessed Arthur¡¯s approach, and it ¡®looked¡¯ to the group behind Arthur, before raising its sword, gripping it with both hands in a manner similar to Kendo. ¡°Interesting¡­ honour amongst Demons huh¡­¡± Arthur mumbled to himself as he activated Soul Sight, and while his back was to his team, they had no doubt that he would be grinning. Arthur was weird like that, disliking emotional conflict and yet thriving in physical violence like this¡­ Michael wasn¡¯t sure why Arthur acted like that, but he just accepted it, as did everyone else. The only one who had an idea on why was Emilia and that was only because she spoke to Arthur a lot more than Michael these days. See, the human mind possesses a trait known as empathy, the degree of empathy changes between humans, but the standard is to care about some, and disregard others emotionally. Arthur dislikes other people, and only amongst his closest friends and family would he actually care about what their lives were like, otherwise he¡¯d steamroll a conversation to be about him or something he was interested in. If he couldn¡¯t do that, he¡¯d just leave. The reason for that was because Arthur¡¯s empathy was really high, not because it was low. He could see and feel the other party¡¯s lack of interest in him, their boredom, their dislike, so he treated them likewise. It was because of this empathy that Arthur got strangely emotional when it came to things like shouting matches and such, and yet he¡¯d probably break the neck of an animal with no care. ¡°Well¡­ how long do you think that Squire will last?¡± John asked aloud, as he was pretty casual at times due to the ability of his team, they rarely if ever got hit. ¡°Knowing Arthur, and how brutal he can be at times¡­ I¡¯d say twenty seconds to a minute.¡± Alice said as they all began to input their own thoughts, Emilia offering a thirty five seconds, Michael twenty and Matt a full minute. The fight began as they finished, with Arthur dashing forward. Bit of trivia, the average human adult male¡¯s running speed would be anywhere between 10 and 15 miles per hour, or converted to Kilometres, aka the standard of the rest of the world except America, would be between 16.1 and 24.14 Km/h. So averaging that, it would be around 20.12 KM/hr. Now recall that according to Stats, a stat totalling five would be the average of an adult human male, meaning with a stat of five in Strength and Dexterity you could run at that speed even if before you could barely run half of it. Some people, like that famous sprinter who holds the world record, are obviously faster than that, but their stat points would still total five, just they¡¯d be given a Stat booster Skill and possibly a Skill for running faster actually. Now consider that Arthur was level six, and he had a pretty average stat score of ten in each stat at a minimum¡­ in fact, all his stats, with the exception of Endurance, were at eleven points each. So with eleven points in Strength and Dexterity, he sprinted at just around 2.2 times the speed of an average adult male. So with his dashing speed of roughly 44.26 Km/h, or 27.5 Miles per hour, he was just slightly slower than that record holding sprinter¡¯s max speed, with barely any warm up. Ah, Arthur believed whole heartedly in the brilliance of solid numbers¡­ if everything could be quantified, there would be very few random answers in his opinion¡­ of course, quantifying everything would make life too boring, but having some numbers made him overall happier. So it was with this blitz that he appeared in front of the Squire, surprising the group as they hadn¡¯t tried actually pushing their stats to the max at this point¡­ This was because they were still in the mind-set of a normal human. The thoughts that ¡®there is no way I can run that fast¡¯ or ¡®I can¡¯t lift that much¡¯ and it was messing with their fighting. Arthur, on the other hand, liked testing out things¡­ one of which was how Stats actually affected him. From the results, he knew how fast he was now, how strong he was¡­ and yet, the Squire still reacted in time, which made Arthur smile, even as his dagger in his left hand shot out to intercept the blade. The block was successful, as Arthur angled his right arm so that it stabbed beneath the blocking left arm, creating a sort of cross with his arms as he stabbed into the Squire¡¯s chest with a sword very much like the one in its hands. His first strike, much like Michael¡¯s arrow just bounced off, but unlike Michael¡¯s arrow which lost a bit of force in the distance travelled, Arthur¡¯s attack caused a small crack in the chest of the Squire as it pulled its blade back. With a thrust, it attempted to stab into Arthur¡¯s stomach as he tilted so that the blade breezed past his back, the blade turned to try and turn the stab into a slash but once more Arthur¡¯s Dagger of Hunger was there to block it, the sword lashing out towards the chest of the Squire once more. ¡°Wow¡­ he¡¯s using that dagger like Matt would use a shield¡­ a tiny shield, but still.¡± Alice noted and their group watched with an impressed air, as Arthur had shown no knowledge of dual-wielding before this, beyond speaking about it and an Anime-character who gets trapped in a VR-game. Once again, Copyrights and trademarks are scary. ¡°Yeah¡­ I actually recognize the style a bit, it was used by European nobles actually. He¡¯s using his Dagger of Hunger like those nobles would use a specially designed dagger just for parrying¡­ of course, he¡¯s attacking with the Dagger of Hunger too, so it¡¯s more like a quick and messy mix of that style and traditional Kendo dual-wielding.¡± Emilia spoke, causing Michael and the others to look at her with wide eyes. ¡°Hey, I learnt Kendo at one point, I found it fun¡­ couldn¡¯t do the dual-wielding thing though.¡± Emilia pointed out, and they nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ using a shield is kind of easy because I just need to put it where the enemy is hitting¡­ if I want to get fancy, I could angle it to make the attacks glance off instead of fully stopping them, but it¡¯s simple.¡± Matt noted as he saw Arthur¡¯s dagger lash out, widening the crack in the glass chest of the Squire. ¡°The thing is, that Dagger isn¡¯t as big as my shield, meaning you have to have really good spatial awareness to know where it is relative to your opponents attacks and yourself, plus most people can¡¯t attack with their other hand while doing stuff like that.¡± Matt was the only one in their group other than Arthur that used different equipment in his two hands, so he knew best. Arthur, while fighting the Squire, had finally gotten bored as he did a move similar to a shield bash using his right arm to knock the sword arm of the Squire into the air, surprising Arthur in that they used their swords in their left hands. After the sword arm was knocked away, Arthur stepped forward, and channelling his Lightning magic into his Dagger of Hunger, and it sparked. The basic ability to cover a weapon in magic was known as Clad to all users of it, but what Arthur was doing here was ever so slightly different, instead of covering the weapon in magic, he was using it as a director for the magic to increase the weapons piercing force. The Squire died, with its crackling fire-like voice and the Soul Stone and its sword dropped to the floor, while Arthur smiled. ¡°That was fun.¡± Yes¡­ Arthur was their little ball of natural violence.
Arthur Clive
Level: 7
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 6.25% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1%
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician I (8/50) - increases Wisdom by 10% (total 110%) Swordsmanship I (10/50) - Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (38/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality
Stats
Strength: 12 Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 13 (14)
Endurance: 11 Vitality: 12
Chapter 5- Blood ties ¡°So you finally broke level ten? Any major changes you noted?¡± Arthur smiled at his father¡¯s question, even as he scribbled a bit in a notebook about prices. It was the Thursday after Einherjar¡¯s first encounter with the Squire Lanterns, the sixteenth of January, and indeed they had grown notably¡­ unfortunately, their growth was only because they had moved to floor five, due to the differences between floor three to five being very similar. Arthur had no doubt they¡¯d slow down with their levelling soon, considering they reached their first milestone, the double digits. ¡°Well, for one, an extra Skill Slot appeared¡­ unfortunately it was already filled for me.¡± Arthur noted with annoyance, recalling Michael, Emilia and the others cheerfully selecting a skill. ¡°Why was that?¡± His father asked in curiosity. His father was only level three, because he only went Dungeon diving in his free time with a friend or two¡­ yes, he went in with teams of two or three. ¡°I had a Skill that was being used even before the Skill Slot was opened, so when it did open, it registered be using the Skill before and automatically placed it I guess.¡± Arthur¡¯s father nodded, following his train of thought easily. Between Arthur and his father, his father was the actual doctor/scientist, so Arthur was frequently left confused when he was younger. ¡°I see, so it was like pre-registering for something, but you didn¡¯t know you did that.¡± Arthur¡¯s father was also pretty good with analogies, which is why Arthur kept trying to use them. ¡°Yeah¡­ still, the Skill was worth it, it¡¯s Dual-wielding. I can now use a weapon in my off-hand with nearly the same skill as my right hand, and I deal more damage.¡± Arthur noted and his father hummed in appreciation, despite not being a melee-type, instead being a pure magic type¡­ just because. Markus Clive was a nerd, he knew it, Arthur knew it, and his father¡¯s collection of Anime and video games proved it¡­ Arthur was really similar to his father, and while some would find that offensive, Arthur just shrugged and said that was to be expected. ¡°Which weapons do you use like that?¡± Markus asked his son as Arthur clenched his left fist, his large tooth-like Dagger of Hunger falling into his hands as Markus resisted the sudden instinctual urge to back away. ¡°Ah, your Anima, Dagger of Hunger right¡­ what does it do, beyond the feeling of I¡¯m going to get eaten?¡± Markus asked as Arthur flipped the dagger around before letting it fade away. ¡°It increases how much Soul I can take from an enemy, as long as the Dagger was used in killing it.¡± Arthur noted that last caveat when he had saw that his Soul gained from fighting was slightly larger than the rest of his group. Once more, step into Arthur¡¯s theory corner, where he explains this. There is a limit to the amount of Soul that can be taken when killing an enemy, but, his Dagger somehow raises this limit. This means that he isn¡¯t so much as forcing more for himself, so much as making it easier for his soul to accept the new attachments, with the Dagger being the link between the enemy¡¯s soul and Arthur¡¯s own, widening the original link caused by LEV¡¯s. Okay, theory corner complete, Arthur noted his father looking to the Dagger with a tilted stare. ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s a ritual dagger that devours the enemy souls?¡± Arthur blinked at the outlandish words and nodded, it was basically that really¡­ cutting the enemy or even using it to block an attack from the enemy initiated the ritual, killing the enemy ended it. ¡°Putting it in simple terms, yes. Other than that, I use a western type sword¡­ it¡¯s not a long-sword, but it¡¯s clearly isn¡¯t a short sword¡­ uh¡­ so yeah, just a sword I guess¡­ they really need a term for that.¡± Markus chuckled at Arthur¡¯s confusion, understanding how Arthur felt there, he had been in similar situations before, and it was weird that no word existed for something a person wanted to explain. ¡°Well, okay¡­ oh, you¡¯re one of those people who have more than one Anima right? I have two as well, your mother as well.¡± Arthur found that really disturbing though¡­ He hadn¡¯t noticed the first time, and he tried to not look at his soul again, for fear of seeing the¡­ pieces, of his soul, screaming as they attempted to stay together¡­ It was like he was constantly half dead, and he hadn¡¯t even noticed¡­ so when his father mentioned this, Arthur active his Soul Sight and looked at Markus¡¯ soul¡­ And it wasn¡¯t¡­ bad. It wasn¡¯t like a normal soul, like Michael, or Emilia¡­ Matt¡¯s soul was oddly stable, it didn¡¯t change as much as the others, and Alice and John¡¯s souls were weird in their own way, in that they didn¡¯t take set shapes, due to their Anima being based on skills most likely. But Markus¡¯ soul was most certainly not normal, as it looked like a normal soul¡­ but it possessed a crack running through a section of it, running straight through¡­ A common trait Arthur noticed so far, was that the soul would have at least one crack running through it¡­ he¡¯d need to see his mother¡¯s soul to check what it was though. Another key difference between Arthur and Markus... was that Markus clearly wasn¡¯t missing a piece of his soul. Arthur had a missing piece of his soul, and it terrified him, seeing his soul which looked like someone hit a piece of glass with a hammer¡­ it stuck together, the individual pieces grinding against each other and the screech from that grinding sounded like the dying of humans¡­ And inside that cacophony of pain was a clear section where he was missing a section of his soul. Obviously, that¡¯s not normal¡­ Arthur got quite a few questions from this realization¡­ How does a soul crack, and what could cause a piece of the soul to be missing while the rest cracked so extensively¡­ and how was Arthur alive while this was occurring? It was while Arthur was speaking to Markus about their Animae that the doorbell rang and Arthur went to answer the door, finding Emilia standing there. ¡°Hi Emilia, come on in.¡± Arthur greeted in return once Emilia greeted him first, then she walked in and greeted Markus with a smile¡­ That smile Markus directed to Emilia was notably different from the smile he directed to Arthur, notably in that his eyes narrowed as if saying ¡®I know something you don¡¯t¡¯ to Arthur¡­ he was annoyed by that look¡­ ¡°Ah, Emilia, we were just talking about Anima, want to join in on our discussion?¡± Markus said easily, despite the fact that Arthur really didn¡¯t like talking about the personal bits of the soul to others, Markus felt no such shyness. ¡°Oh, sure, what was the topic?¡± Emilia sat down easily as Arthur got to work on a cup of tea for her, as well as for him and his father. ¡°Well, we were discussing people having multiple Anima, and how those souls appeared to Arthur, plus their usual forms¡­ of course, we only have Arthur and I here currently for a sample group.¡± Markus noted as Arthur placed the cups on the table, taking his seat next to Emilia with a roll of his eyes at his father¡¯s words. ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, when we asked Arthur about it, he looked like he didn¡¯t want to talk about it though¡­¡± Emilia looked to Arthur for confirmation, and Arthur just smiled at Emilia¡¯s questioning glance. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we can talk about it¡­ it¡¯s disturbing, but it makes sense.¡± Arthur began, beginning to explain that those with Animae instead of an Anima had a crack running through their soul at the least¡­ ¡°At the least? What¡¯s the worst?¡± Emilia asked as Arthur pointedly looked away for a moment. ¡°¡­My soul is worse off than my father¡¯s. My soul has much more than one crack in it¡­ and the pieces¡­ they grind against each other, and the sound it makes¡­ like people screaming¡­¡± Arthur looked very disturbed even as he said it, and Emilia softened her gaze and placed her hand on his, under Markus¡¯ approving eye. ¡°Arthur¡­ it¡¯s fine. It sounds horrible¡­ but only because it seems to hurt you.¡± Emilia said and Arthur looked up in that¡­ and found only truth in her eyes. Emilia honestly was confused about it, a soul in pieces, the pieces grinding together as if trying to come back together from how Arthur described it¡­ ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s not all of it¡­ I¡¯m also missing a piece of my soul.¡± Arthur said, and Emilia gripped his hand slightly tighter¡­ ¡°That¡¯s¡­ it sounds bad¡­ but Arthur¡­ it¡¯s still your soul. And that¡¯s enough for it to be okay.¡± Emilia stated, and Arthur smiled at her reply, though they both blushed when Markus coughed. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve had my tea for the day, I¡¯m going to work, Arthur, are you and Emilia going to the Dungeon today?¡± Markus asked as he walked to the coat rack to put on something for the colder weather. ¡°No, the rest of our team said they¡¯d be busy, so we decided to leave it for tomorrow.¡± Arthur said as Markus nodded, pleased to hear that¡­ Arthur had been going into the Dungeon every day for eleven days straight, he¡¯d need the break at some point. ¡°Alright, you two have fun, use protection, bye!¡± Markus¡¯ words had their intended effect as Arthur and Emilia couldn¡¯t look at the other without thinking a bit as to what Markus had stated¡­ They were interrupted from their awkwardness by Emilia¡¯s phone ringing, and Arthur smiled when he heard Emilia switch to Russian upon answering. ¡°Mama, Papa, are you there?¡± Arthur¡¯s Russian was nowhere near as good as Emilia¡¯s, as she spoke quickly but clearly, it took a moment or two for Arthur to catch it. ¡°I¡¯m doing well yes; I¡¯m taking a break from going into the Dungeon for today.¡± Of course¡­ Emilia was unaware that Arthur was learning Russian, as he had wanted to actually be able to speak it passably before he told her¡­ he could understand and read just fine at current though. ¡°I¡¯m at a friend¡¯s place¡­ no, he is not that kind of friend¡­ yes it¡¯s a he, that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re dating!¡± By Emilia¡¯s flustered tone, her parents were doing the same song and dance that Arthur¡¯s did in their presence. Really, busy body parenting¡­ ¡°Papa, you cannot send ex-KGB to his house¡­ no, you can¡¯t have a bomb delivered either, not even as a joke! Mama, talk some sense into Papa!¡± Another issue was that Arthur heard some really disturbing things when he heard her speaking Russian usually¡­ ¡°Thank you Mama, really now, why does Papa go so overboard? Just because he¡¯s the head of the family business doesn¡¯t mean he can throw his weight around like that¡­¡± Again, what this business was, Arthur didn¡¯t know exactly, but considering there was mention of ex-KGB as well as a delivered bomb¡­ ¡°Mama! I know that! You do not need to worry about Arthur, he¡¯s kind to me¡­ Mama, you know I would not see him in that way¡­ he is unaware of our family business.¡± Ah¡­ wait¡­ back up a bit¡­ ¡°¡­Well¡­ if he were aware¡­¡± Emilia sent Arthur a glance, seeing him sipping his tea as if he weren¡¯t listening into her conversation. ¡°¡­Mama¡­ would you accept him? Even if Papa were to try something?¡± Arthur paused in his sip, wondering if what he was listening to was honestly what was going on. ¡°¡­Thank you Mama¡­ then yes, I¡¯d probably be happy. He¡¯s kind, and he doesn¡¯t see me as just my looks, he respects me for me¡­ and he doesn¡¯t know of the family business, which just added to it for me.¡± Arthur took another sip, hiding his small smile by drinking tea. ¡°Do you think I should tell him, Mama? Not yet¡­ I guess Mama is right¡­ but when? Alright¡­ I¡¯ll tell him after you get a chance to talk to him¡­ when will you? Ah Mama, that tells me nothing, but very well.¡± Arthur sat down his cup, internalizing what he had just heard¡­ From what he had just heard, Arthur subsequently placed that information deep within his mind, knowing from the one part of the discussion he heard, that Emilia actually liked him¡­ Something which he was fully aware of, but had never acted on, uncertain of why¡­ Arthur wasn¡¯t handsome, in his opinion, though he wasn¡¯t ugly. He was average, he was plain, if slightly shorter than the average guy. And he finally heard why, from Emilia herself¡­ indirectly, but still¡­ it was enough for him to feel calmer about the idea of dating her, even if he apparently couldn¡¯t just yet. ¡°Bye Mama, tell Papa I love him.¡± The phone call ended, and Emilia sighed, turning to Arthur with a surprisingly calm blush on her face. ¡°Parents again?¡± Arthur asked, and Emilia nodded, holding out her cup as Arthur prepared to top them off, though he also wandered to go put on some music and get their books, he was working on Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, though he thought the book slightly better than the movie, at least when it came to ¡®reality¡¯. As for Emilia, she had begun reading Digital Fortress by Dan Brown, after Arthur asked her to, explaining that the man was one of Arthur¡¯s favourite authors for his ability to mix fiction with scientific fact, creating such a blend that one couldn¡¯t tell where the fiction began and the facts ended. She was quite enjoying it, as the music began to play. The choice for the day, was Glorious, Macklemore¡­ And yes, the day felt glorious for Arthur and Emilia, even if it was really simple. Elsewhere, Michael and Alice were sitting around, playing video games, killing zombies¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be at school?¡± Michael asked as Alice rolled her eyes, focusing for a moment as she opened the gun box, hoping for an assault rifle¡­ or the revolver. ¡°Do I really need to be there though? I finished all my projects, and we¡¯re just doing revision at this point, so I figure I could just be at home and study.¡± She got a sub-machine gun from the box, and frowned, looking for the bus¡­ Michael didn¡¯t go in it yet. ¡°Yeah, this isn¡¯t exactly studying¡­ Alice, I should be the last one to talk, but didn¡¯t you have something you wanted to do, before Red Sky Day?¡± Michael asked, dashing through a few zombies as he took a few headshots, looking in the dinner for the stun knuckles. ¡°You¡¯re right, you had nothing you were doing before then, so don¡¯t question mine¡­¡± Michael kept quiet, giving Alice her silence she seemed to want. ¡°Chemical engineer. I wanted to do that, but¡­ this seems better.¡± Alice noted, and Michael noted her choice of words. ¡°Engineer¡­ Arthur?¡± Michael asked as Alice rolled her eyes at his words. ¡°No, Arthur¡¯s a great friend but he didn¡¯t have an effect on my choice. I wanted to do it, and he seemed to want to be a civil engineer.¡± Alice added, and Michael nodded¡­ he had wondered, about Alice and Arthur, but with Alice¡¯s words, and Arthur¡¯s apparent care for Emilia, it clearly wasn¡¯t happening. ¡°So you didn¡¯t like him then?¡± Michael was a straight-forward guy at most times, although occasionally it got him in trouble. ¡°It¡­ was a bit confusing at one point¡­ he actually told me he liked me at one point, but he seemed uncertain, so¡­¡± Alice¡¯s words surprised Michael, having not known of this¡­ but then he remembered, Alice and Arthur were their own people, they didn¡¯t need to tell him everything. ¡°Anyway, I didn¡¯t like him more than as a friend, I realized that. Wasn¡¯t too awkward afterward, and he was thankful for that.¡± Alice said, frowning as a zombie reached out and hit her once, though she got away. ¡°So it was an aborted situation¡­ hey Alice¡­ do you know how you¡¯re going to catch up to the rest of our team?¡± Michael asked as Alice looked to him as Michael thought for a moment¡­ ¡°Well, you could go in alone, you and I both know that Slimes and Goblins are weak and you could kill floor one and two alone¡­ three and onwards would be another story.¡± Michael¡¯s words were indeed true, as from floor three onwards the amount of enemies jumped, making fighting solo impossible¡­ And according to Arthur, their souls were increasing in size at a large pace, but due to how much material would be needed, they were levelling slower, even though they were fighting more. ¡°Right¡­ so just go in and beat up some weak monsters, maybe a Squire or two¡­ and then get to level ten like the rest of you?¡± Alice asked, and Michael shot a zombie sneaking up behind her¡­ Their stat increases were actually making the game quite easier¡­ normally they¡¯d have died about ten waves ago. ¡°Yeah, level ten is important, since it grants another Skill, and it increases the abilities of your Anima.¡± For Michael, his Skill apparently increased the elemental damage of his arrows, but lowered the ¡®base¡¯ damage of it in exchange. Basically, the base damage would be fifty, and the element damage would be another fifty, he could now control the ratio to either be this fifty-fifty, or change it to forty-sixty bias towards the elemental damage. Michael was quick to understand that it would make his arrows deal more damage to creatures like Slimes, or those that resisted arrow-type damage. ¡°Well¡­ my Anima is pretty cool, but upgrading it¡­¡± Yeah, Arthur was quite vocal in his envy at Alice¡¯s Anima which allowed her to use any weapon with basic skill. ¡°Well, without a doubt it would be awesome. So, it¡¯s only around ten, are you going to go try?¡± Michael asked, and Alice thought for a moment, before sighing. ¡°No, but you have a point¡­ today¡¯s a resting day, but during school days I¡¯ll try to get a bit of extra time in¡­ my school team can only go up to the second floor at this point really, I¡¯m the highest levelled on the team.¡± It was an annoying thing for Alice, who was the lowest levelled in one place and yet the highest in another. ¡°Well that¡¯s a good thing. Quite a few people are over level ten, but no one has broken level twenty yet, we should try to be first.¡± Michael noted as Alice sighed, and pausing the game so the two of them could go get something to eat. ¡°Michael¡­ be realistic, the government agents have been going into the Dungeons before us, and they are all around level fifteen at the least, that Shaun guy is level eighteen¡­¡± Alice stated the facts, they were behind in comparison to government sponsored teams. ¡°Oh I am realistic¡­ after all, our team has some amazing people on it.¡± Alice wanted to argue against this, despite her trust of the group, she didn¡¯t trust easily, and she was usually the one questioning things. ¡°Think about it, we have John as a healer, and those are kind of rare, let alone the fact that he has a third tier element like you.¡± Alice nodded, accepting that John would technically be an amazing supporter for any group he would be in because of his ability to heal and use illusions¡­ and possibly more, though Arthur was being secretive of his suspicions of Mind magic. ¡°Speaking of, you¡¯re a Berserker that doesn¡¯t go insane when injured, capable of using any weapon unlike other Berserkers who can only swing something with brute force, you have finesse, and a powerful tier three element.¡± Alice acknowledged Michael¡¯s compliments¡­ He wasn¡¯t wrong there either, Alice has the greatest potential for pure physical damage, and when she¡¯d be capable of using her magic freely, she¡¯d be able to use it as a support for herself. ¡°Not to brag¡­ okay, I¡¯m bragging, but I¡¯m an Archer that can actually imbue my arrows with elements passively, I don¡¯t lose magic when I shoot my arrows, I can shoot much more than others.¡± Michael¡¯s point was accurate as well, if others could only shoot twenty elemental arrows, Michael could shoot one hundred, due to his Endurance and Strength. ¡°Then we have Emilia who seems brilliant with knives and mapping, her blades will eventually heal her when she damages others, and she seems to be setting herself up to deal heavy damage using weak points. Practically an immortal assassin at some point.¡± They stopped in the kitchen at this point as Alice got to work at making coffee, Michael making the bread to go with it. ¡°Matt is the person in our group with one of the highest potentials, he¡¯s up there with you and our sixth member. He has a second tier element suited for defence, a very high Endurance value for his level, and his skill with the shield is really high. His damage is low, but that will be solved with time.¡± And their cousin Matt was slowly but surely going on the path of becoming invulnerable. ¡°And let¡¯s not forget the scariest guy in our team, Arthur¡­ honestly, he has a bit too much on him for me to quantify correctly¡­¡± Michael stated as they sat down, but before they¡¯d eat, Alice raised her eyebrow in questioning. ¡°¡­We, as in Einherjar¡­ we all know Arthur isn¡¯t normal, he isn¡¯t exactly sane either.¡± Alice looked away, wanting to refute this, but finding herself incapable of denying it. Arthur could survive in public and such, he could act normal, but occasionally, without him even noticing it, he¡¯d go quiet, in a scary way¡­ occasionally he¡¯d say things that were disturbing without even blinking an eye, such as his mumbling of wanting to hurt that guy who almost insulted Arthur¡¯s mother. He was strangely quiet in groups too, though Emilia and Michael knew the reason for that, Alice hadn¡¯t figured it out just yet. ¡°On top of that, he has more than one Anima, one defensive, the other offensive, and with his understanding of magic he is much more versatile than the rest of us.¡± This was another point Alice could admit, Arthur was becoming a ¡®solve-all¡¯ solution to any problem their group encountered. Too many enemies? Arthur will distract a few. When Goblins recently began using bows to attack them, with Matt too far to use Bulwark? Arthur created an electromagnetic field powerful enough to stop arrows for a moment. Arthur was a curious person, and this curiosity was what led to his mastery of many aspects of magic seemingly overnight, even if he clearly didn¡¯t have enough Mana to do certain things for long, like said EMF barrier. ¡°Speaking of his Anima, his Dagger of Hunger makes him level up faster than the average person, even if it isn¡¯t really noticeable just yet. As for his Cloak, it got upgraded when he reached level ten, and it actually boosts his Wisdom slightly, meaning his Mana regeneration would eventually be really high¡­¡± Indeed, Arthur¡¯s Anima were perfectly suited for him in Alice¡¯s opinion, as it showed the duality of Arthur perfectly. His cloak represented his desire to shield himself from others, yet at the same time he still showed his wisdom and intelligence to help others. As for his dagger, it represented something, the more sinister side of Arthur that he typically didn¡¯t bother with when it came to his friends, something which Arthur disliked about himself¡­ After all, Alice thought, Lightning is considered the element of self-dislike or hatred of the self.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Each element represented something integral about a person, a person¡¯s element showed a lot about them actually, and while only Arthur knew all of them, Alice at least knew the meanings of the six in their group. Lightning was the element of self-negativity Fire was the element of passion and courage Water was the element of caring and calmness Metal was the element of understanding Mind was the element of uncertainty And finally Darkness, the element of distrust, betrayed loyalties¡­ Alice learnt the final bit with trepidation, worrying if it was a sign of her inability to trust most people, and Arthur was quick to explain to their group that the elements all possessed their own good points and bad points, the traits as well. Self-negativity was required for a person to better understand themselves, it allowed them to be objective, even if slightly biased towards disliking themselves, Arthur understood. Passion and courage sounded good, and it usually was, but there was also such a thing as blind courage, and passion which was overbearing, such traits needed to be tempered with calmness, which Michael strived to gain. Likewise, caring and calmness in excess was bad, as it would cause the person to shoulder the problems of others, or treat themselves as viewers to the world around them, Emilia was guilty of the first at times. Understanding was an important part of living, understanding one¡¯s self, and understanding the people around them, but it could lead to one becoming jaded and abrasive, much like Matt usually appeared to others. Uncertainty at first appears to be a negative trait, but it wouldn¡¯t always be like that. It means that one is questioning, and finds picking sides difficult, meaning the person would normally be neutral in arguments and objective, much like John could be at times. And the final bit, the distrust of Darkness which Alice possessed¡­ honestly, Arthur just looked at her, shook his head and told her that he was glad she wasn¡¯t an idiot. Alice figured it out after he stated that, as she was quite smart despite her lazy act. Distrust, again, a seemingly negative trait¡­ but it proved that she was much like John in that she questioned, she was always on guard, where others would relax and accept things, she¡¯d be weary and on her guard¡­ And Arthur stated that while she could trust their group, blind trust without being tested or questioned was simply stupidity in his eyes¡­ Alice smiled a bit as she sipped her coffee, thinking about how Arthur quickly found her problem and helped her solve her doubt¡­ For a moment, she wondered¡­ then she shook her head with a chuckle, making Michael confused. Yeah, Arthur was best as a friend. While Michael and Alice contemplated the traits of their team, Matt was currently taking a smoke, looking out to the Hudson River while leaning against his car. It was his off day, no Dungeon, and no races available, much to his dislike as it was one of the few things he really enjoyed. It was while watching out into the river that a guy walked nearby, stopping for a moment and looking to Matt¡¯s car with wide eyes, walking over, making Matt stiffen slightly on guard. ¡°Hi there, sorry to bother you man, just wondering where you bought such a sweet car.¡± Matt looked to the man with curiosity in his eyes, wondering at the strange guy. The man wore a jacket with a hood, the hood having an insignia of a top hat on it, with jeans and boots¡­ It was simple attire for those Adventurers who couldn¡¯t afford armour. Blacksmiths were working on solving that issue, but it was slow going, as the Dungeon was beginning to drop items other than Soul Stones, including iron ingots from Lantern Squires, though they wouldn¡¯t drop a sword in that case. ¡°I got it as a gift, from my dad. I couldn¡¯t tell you where he got it from, sorry.¡± Matt finished his cigarette, tossing it onto the floor and crushing it, thinking if he should go get some more smokes by Michael, or just buy his own¡­ He felt like messing with Michael. ¡°Oh, thanks though¡­ it really is good though, Nissan¡­ is it a three-fifty Z or the three-seventy?¡± the man asked, his hands still in his pockets as Matt patted his gunmetal paint-job. ¡°It¡¯s a three-seventy, otherwise known as the Fair-lady Z.¡± Matt explained as the man nodded with a smile on his face. ¡°Nice¡­ Well, thanks anyway. I¡¯ve been looking around for a car of my own, tired of running everywhere¡­ thinking of getting an Audi, an R-eight.¡± Matt widened his eyes, as he couldn¡¯t quite get the image of the guy in front of him with such a car. ¡°I know, don¡¯t really look like I got the money, do I? Well, the Dungeons are really lucrative, know what I mean?¡± the guy pointedly looked to Matt¡¯s left wrist, though the LEV tattoo wouldn¡¯t be seen, given that Matt was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. ¡°I do know what you mean¡­ that Audi¡¯s are really good, really safe, but quite expensive¡­ hope you willing to part with quite a bit of money for one.¡± Matt warned as the guy chuckled, nodding as he walked away with a wave. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡± Matt asked as the man looked surprised, turning around¡­ and then Matt widened his eyes at the man¡¯s smile, the man¡¯s eyes a strange steel grey and his grin looking like one that came before something very violent. ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s a secret.¡± The man chuckled, the tone of the laugh going very dark as the man walked away. It would be a few minutes later that Matt would get in his car, driving to his house rather than visit Michael, still thinking of that man he had met¡­ When he finally got home, he was surprised to his father there, as his father sat on the couch, looking over to Matt with an unsure look on his face. ¡°Oh¡­ you¡¯re home.¡± Matt didn¡¯t quite know how to react to his father and his greeting¡­ His father had been annoyed with him for the past three years, as he had been in and out of working and colleges uncertain of what to do with himself, his father was getting quite annoyed at this point¡­ Then Red Sky Day occurred, and Matt had a purpose, to defend his team, to keep them from harm, and he even earned a living from it. His father noted the change and seemed to be unsure of his son, expecting his son to go cause trouble like normal, even if he usually didn¡¯t get caught, Matt¡¯s father knew his son didn¡¯t always do legal things. Instead, Matt had actually been pretty quiet lately, and the only things he seemed to really focus on would be his car, hanging out with his cousins, or going to the Dungeon¡­ Honestly, it was dangerous in the Dungeon, Matt¡¯s father was level four, only going in occasionally, before deciding not to go anymore, not seeing the point when he had a career beyond the Dungeon. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m going to go sleep.¡± Matt inwardly cursed Alice and Arthur for their grammar complaints making him actually speak full words instead of using simpler terms like ¡®gonna¡¯. ¡°Okay¡­ Matt¡­ I¡¯m happy for you son.¡± Matt paused on his way to his room, not daring to turn around to look at his father, who would have looked uncertain had Matt turned around. ¡°You¡¯ve always caused trouble, you were always unable to decide on what you wanted from life¡­ but you¡¯re getting there. Red Sky Day was a tragedy¡­ but it seems to have shown how you can be more than what I thought.¡± Matt walked away after acknowledging his father¡¯s words¡­ Honestly, he felt slight indignation at those words, but couldn¡¯t find it in himself to get angry, instead glad for the acceptance he could feel from his father, even if the previous disappointment was mostly gone. Instead, he could only truly focus on his encounter from earlier in the day, worrying about the look Matt had seen as the man¡¯s eyes flashed silvery grey, his grin promising madness before his eyes had changed back to a plain brown¡­ Matt worried because he had seen that look before, if only for spare instances between long periods of time¡­ He had seen a similar look in Arthur. For the final member of Einherjar, John¡¯s day was spent working on artwork he was behind on, including Arthur¡¯s book cover, which featured two boys and a girl standing, looking quite normal, but their shadows all looked different, the girl having what looked like cat or dog ears in her shadow, the boy on the other side having long ears like an elf, and the boy in the middle had his shadow holding its own head. It was a weird story, featuring a whole lot of obscure supernatural things like an Egyptian Kaa spirit, which was essentially a doppelganger, or a Barghest, a European flame breathing, shape shifting dog, and even some monstrosity called a Nukelavee. Really, John wondered what mythology Arthur dragged that thing from, it was like a centaur¡­ if the centaur was dreamt up by a demented Lovecraftian author. And yes, even in the original myths it was like that. Arthur had admitted that his story wasn¡¯t actually done, and that the Barghest, being the first monster, was only the main opponent for the first book, each book going through one or more new ones, sometimes bringing in enemies from previous books to show character growth in a concrete manner. As for the characters, there were four main characters, although only three were shown on the book cover, that was because those three weren¡¯t human, and the fourth was. The main characters were a beast-person of the cat variety, an elf, a human that accidentally became immortal through biblical methods, and a human that has to help them out with information. The story focused on the story of the immortal though, as the first chapter featured him accidentally becoming immortal through some biblical curse, though the reader wouldn¡¯t be aware of this until the third chapter, where the immortal gets knocked over and has his neck broken¡­ then he stands up. John honestly enjoyed the book, which somehow had a carefree humour when it came to death, but took it seriously enough to show the problems with such an outlook. Arthur really outdid himself with it, and John was patiently awaiting the sequel¡­ But before the sequel could go out, the first book had to be published, and it needed a book cover since Arthur wanted to self-publish. It was while designing this book cover, that John heard a knock on his door and he paused¡­ he really didn¡¯t expect anyone to visit him today¡­ He had moved out of his college dorms, seeing as he would no longer be studying designing for a career, he was a healing wizard now. So he was at this apartment, and few people knew where he lived now, namely his team, and his family. His team were on their holiday, so they wouldn¡¯t disturb him, so that left one other choice¡­ an annoying choice¡­ He walked over to the door, taking care to keep his LEV hidden as he opened the door, revealing his younger sister. ¡°Hi John, long time no see.¡± John sighed at his sisters words, not exactly enjoying her company, though she was family they really couldn¡¯t stand each other unless it was against an external threat¡­ for example, those strange centipede demons from Red Sky Day. ¡°Pauline, come on in.¡± John still had his manners, and invited his sister into his house, wondering why the girl who was supposed to be studying for her finals was here instead of at home studying. ¡°Well, it¡¯s small¡­ but it¡¯s cosy. So brother, what have you been doing since that day?¡± Pauline was straight and to the point, to an annoying degree for John who was usually a bit round about in things he did. ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing my art, doing commissions, the usual.¡± John stated, trying to keep himself from showing any tells¡­ unfortunately, it was usually family who caught those easily. ¡°Right and I have suddenly become Michelle Obama. Try the other leg, it comes off.¡± Well, her sass was turned up to eleven for now¡­ guess that meant that John had to be honest. ¡°I¡¯ve been going into the Dungeons.¡± John said, continuing to draw, even as Pauline frowned from her seat a bit to his side. ¡°Oh¡­ you know dad and mom are not going to be happy, right?¡± John sighed, knowing where she was coming from, as she had also wished to start Adventuring, but was instead refused by their parents, stating it was too dangerous and suicidal. John¡¯s parents weren¡¯t majorly religious, but they were paranoid enough to not want to rely on LEV¡¯s to fight, or want to go near the Dungeons¡­ It was actually something John disliked about his parents, because he had begun to do similar things, being passive, and not active¡­ it was why he decided to be an Adventurer when Arthur and Michael approached him on the topic. He wanted to stop fence sitting, and instead finally do something instead of just watching like the majority of his family. ¡°I know they aren¡¯t going to be happy¡­ but unlike you, I¡¯m away from home and an adult. They can¡¯t complain or stop me even if they wanted to.¡± And both of them knew he was right with his words, his parents could do nothing¡­ Or to be precise, they would do nothing because they were so passive¡­ no wonder John got Mind magic as his element, with parents teaching him to always watch, but never teaching him to act and decide. He wanted to change, and it was why he became an Adventurer. Even if Arthur and the others were told that it was because he wanted to chill with his friends while fighting, the truth was that he was doing it for himself¡­ not that he had any doubt the rest were the same. In some way, none of them were majorly changed by Red Sky Day, none of them lost any family. They had no altruistic reasons for fighting, like any other Adventurers¡­ Their reasons were all selfish. John to change himself, Matt to be with others who actually were as they acted, Alice to find a purpose for herself, Michael to finally fight instead of hoping to, and Emilia to help Arthur¡­ and as for Arthur? John was pretty sure Arthur simply fought because he had finally been given the excuse he could use for violently killing things, as proven by his occasional brutal handling of Lantern Squires and Goblins¡­ Really, covering your hand in lightning, grabbing the skull of a Goblin to cook the brain, and then repeatedly slamming it onto the floor until its skull popped was disgusting, and yet Arthur had grinned all while doing it. John was the person in Einherjar most afraid of Arthur¡­ but it also meant that he trusted Arthur the most when it came to certain things¡­ particularly things pertaining to extremely violent actions. ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re lucky¡­ I wanted to do that Awakening thing, and go be an Adventurer, but I guess I have to wait until I¡¯m done with high school¡­¡± John pointedly did not mention that he had someone in his team that was actually the same age, as it would only make Pauline angrier. ¡°Well¡­ you can, just not now. And besides, no matter how stronger Adventurer¡¯s get, you can get stronger than others, simply by putting in more time, and fighting more.¡± John regurgitated the words given to their team by Arthur, their ¡®real¡¯ leader¡­ honestly Arthur was the only one who didn¡¯t seem to notice that they took his suggestions a bit too seriously for someone not in the position of leadership. ¡°Thanks for that¡­ how does it feel, by the way¡­ Awakening I mean?¡± Pauline asked as John paused in his drawing, placing his pencil down, turning his swivel chair to look to her, his brow narrowing in consideration. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ different, for everyone. Some claim they never felt happier, others feel it was one of the most traumatic moments in their life¡­ for me, it was¡­ sad.¡± John tried to explain, but Pauline didn¡¯t quite get it at first. ¡°I didn¡¯t quite know why, but during Awakening, it feels as if you black out for a moment, and then you¡¯re suddenly awake with feelings you don¡¯t know why you have.¡± John wouldn¡¯t tell her about Arthur¡¯s claim of hearing a voice questioning his beliefs and such¡­ John didn¡¯t recall such a thing, but he did have a feeling as if he had realized something about himself that he hadn¡¯t before. ¡°Oh¡­ so you felt sad? How did the others in your team feel?¡± Pauline asked, and while John knew it was an insensitive question, she didn¡¯t know that¡­ but she¡¯d realize that eventually. ¡°Well, our second in command felt afraid, his sister felt slightly happy but in a way that confused her, our shield user felt empty, our leader¡¯s girlfriend who isn¡¯t a girlfriend said she was giddy¡­ and our leader felt¡­¡± John didn¡¯t quite comprehend Arthur¡¯s explanation, so he took a moment to consider it. ¡°He said he felt a few emotions, conflicting, but he felt three most intensely. A sensation of hunger, a sense of happiness¡­ then suddenly it was all replaced by a cold sense of fear.¡± John said, making Pauline frown as John laced his fingers together. ¡°Pauline¡­ I know you didn¡¯t quite understand, but you asked a very personal question¡­ I answered it, but in the future, don¡¯t bring up Awakening to anyone who has gone through the process. No matter what a person feels, beyond the happiness and sadness¡­ it feels so wrong.¡± John emphasized as he turned back to his book. Pauline would leave a few moments later, lost in thought, and thinking that John deserved his space after that moment. In the Guild building, within the Guild Master Room, Shaun was sighing, even as he looked at the report placed in front of him. ¡°What¡¯s the problem boss?¡± Shaun looked up to his¡­ third in command? Yeah, that position suited the guy very well, Grey Vincent was one of the few Shaun could trust, even if he was a person with a strange past. ¡°The statistics on Adventurers¡­ it¡¯s been barely two weeks since the Dungeon has opened, so most Adventurers are still around level five or six¡­ but we have a team with all members level ten except one, and that¡¯s because she¡¯s still in high school.¡± Shaun handed the file to Grey, who looked at it with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Team Einherjar? Huh¡­¡± He opened the file, freezing for a moment, something Shaun caught easily as he raised an eyebrow in questioning. ¡°Sorry sir¡­ I know these people, at least three of them.¡± Grey admitted, making Shaun widen his eyes in mild surprise. ¡°Really? Which three?¡± Shaun asked as Grey placed down the file, moving three pages out, Arthur Clive, Michael and Alice Grave being the three. ¡°I used to be best friends with the two guys, and the girl was my friend¡¯s sister.¡± Grey admitted, still speaking slightly formally despite his usual dislike of it. ¡°I see¡­ how would you explain the team dynamic, from what you know of these people?¡± Shaun asked, hoping Grey would be able to answer the question on his mind¡­ Namely, was Michael Grave really the leader of the team at this point? From what little he could tell from reports from Dante and his sister, the group dynamic, while at first looking to revolve around Michael, truly seemed to revolve around another. ¡°I¡¯m a bit surprised at the reports sir¡­ namely that Arthur wasn¡¯t listed as the leader.¡± And there it was; the semi-confirmation that it was strange. ¡°I had my own suspicions¡­ but why would Clive be the leader?¡± Shaun asked as Grey scratched the back of his head, a habit Shaun had been trying to get the man to stop¡­ it was bad for people in their occupation to have tells. ¡°Well, he has a way of getting people to listen, to follow sir. He¡¯s similar to you actually sir.¡± Grey noted and Shaun frowned, looking to his own hand, and watching the sparks of electricity fizzle from it. Lightning users didn¡¯t like themselves usually¡­ so when two lightning users were similar to each other, they normally wouldn¡¯t like each other¡­ No wonder Shaun and Clive seemed weary around the other, even if the two hadn¡¯t known why. Instead of contemplating on it a bit more, Shaun¡¯s eyes snapped to Grey¡¯s, and judging by the flinch, Shaun had accidentally activated his Anima once more¡­ Hunter Eyes, were what they were called currently, but he had been informed that they seemed more animalistic, primal and terrifying to be looked upon with in their sick green colouration. ¡°Ahem, but yes, Arthur has a way with people, but only sometimes¡­ though I am not surprised he has multiple Animae.¡± Grey stated, and Shaun frowned at the mention of that horrible trait¡­ Grey had also possessed multiple Animae, the two made him really suitable for their careers, so he had been fast tracked to work for Shaun, despite his young age. It was also this that allowed their researchers to try and understand why someone would possess more than one Anima¡­ the results, which mostly tested personality, were common and worrying. Almost all people who were questioned claimed that they had at one point considered opting out of living. Basically, all of them had suicidal thoughts at some point, meaning that they were all compromised emotionally¡­ It was therefore insane to allow Grey to join him, but Grey was one of the few who answered honestly that he was fine now, even if he remembered that time with annoyance. ¡°Right¡­ tell me, is there anything else worrying about Arthur?¡± Shaun asked as Grey looked away, truly looking reluctant before sighing and snapping his eyes to Shaun, not daring to flinch even as Shaun¡¯s eyes flashed green. ¡°Yes sir¡­ he is quite violent, though his ability to hold back on such tendencies is admirable.¡± Grey¡¯s statement worried Shaun even more, before the phone began to ring and Shaun sighed upon looking at the caller ID. ¡°Thank you for the information, you¡¯re dismissed.¡± Grey saluted, walking away as Shaun answered, inwardly finding another reason for why Arthur Clive disturbed him. ¡°What do you want you insane person?¡± Shaun asked, not even bothering to greet the person on the other side of the phone. ¡°Aw, is that anyway to treat your one friend in high places?¡± the voice on the other side of the phone was childish, though Shaun did not let that trick him¡­ No one became that highly ranked without doing some dangerous things, questionable or not. ¡°We¡¯re of equal rank, so it¡¯s pointless¡­ and we¡¯re not friends either, Clements.¡± Shaun growled out towards the end, and he heard the chuckling from the other side of the phone. ¡°Well, you¡¯re right on the equal ranking part, and no, we¡¯re definitely not friends¡­ in fact, I really think we¡¯re going to probably try and kill each other at some point down the line.¡± Shaun froze at the words of the other person¡­ Had it been anyone else to say that, he would have scoffed, as it would have possibly been a joke, and even as a threat, he was amongst the most powerful human beings on the planet. But the man on the other side of the phone was almost as powerful, and not only that, his words were never lies. A person with his Class wouldn¡¯t need to lie. ¡°But that¡¯s far off into the future¡­ until then, we can at least be civil, can¡¯t we, you monster?¡± Indeed, they hated each other, despite the fact that the two of them did indeed need to work together. ¡°We can, you madman. That being said, why did you call me?¡± Shaun asked, wondering why the man in Britain was calling him, despite not needing to. ¡°Well, I have two reasons for calling¡­ well, three actually¡­ give me a moment¡­ ah, here¡¯s the list. Firstly, I wanted an early introduction.¡± Shaun figured that was the insanity talking. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my insanity¡­ or my Anima, same thing. Anyway, the second reason I called was to inform you of the UK vote. We¡¯ve decided on agreeing to the Champion Program.¡± Shaun scowled, having wished that they had refused¡­ America had agreed on that program, but Shaun personally was against it¡­ granting that much power to civilians was really stupid in his opinion¡­ but if this guy was agreeing, it likely had to happen. ¡°Oh, I can practically feel your annoyance with our vote¡­ want to know why we accepted?¡± Shaun was curious, he could admit, so he nodded, even over the phone the other man would know his reactions¡­ he was terrifying like that. ¡°Oh that¡¯s a hurtful thought, isn¡¯t it? But let¡¯s get back to it. The UK agreed to the Champion Program because of many reasons, much like America and their ¡®Land of the Free¡¯ shtick, we agreed because the Champion Program frees people of our ranking to do other things.¡± Shaun realized that did make sense¡­ even if he didn¡¯t like it¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, we¡¯ve added an addendum to our agreement¡­ people of our rank are to be backups for the Program¡¯s chosen.¡± Shaun found that acceptable, as at least they weren¡¯t gambling on normal people without a safety net. ¡°As for the third reason I called¡­ Your country is having a problem, a problem that will spread to others.¡± Shaun frowned at the words, wondering what the cryptic man meant. ¡°Honestly you monster, haven¡¯t you caught on yet? Tell me, do you know about Project Pennhurst?¡± Shaun froze at the question, not out of knowledge on the project, but because he recognized the name at the end. ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t I guess¡­ talk to Clayton, he¡¯ll be able to access the files, and only him. Once you check the files, you¡¯ll note the last entry date for reports¡­ that date is one clue. The other clue, would be the prison breaks your country is attempting to cover up.¡± Shaun remembered once more why he hated talking to this guy¡­ He knew things¡­ things he shouldn¡¯t know, and yet they could not silence the man, because he wasn¡¯t the only man with such an ability¡­ however he was the most powerful amongst those with such powers, such an Anima¡­ such a Class. ¡°These two events are connected, monster. In Project Pennhurst, take note¡­ the two best results from that case? One of them is the cause of the problems¡­ the other will eventually be the solution.¡± Honestly, whatever the British guy was talking about, it sounded like some movie¡­ Then again, weren¡¯t their lives these days out of some bad movie or something, with Demons, levelling up, fighting Hell, and all sorts of insanity¡­ the guy on the other end of the phone fit in too much though. ¡°So don¡¯t worry too much about it¡­ but at the same time, you need to learn about this. That¡¯s all from me¡­ Wait for my call in chapter eight!¡± Shaun rolled his eyes at the weirdness of the other man, wondering how that guy could switch from completely serious to suddenly insane¡­ ¡°Right¡­ I¡¯d say good bye, but this wasn¡¯t good. I hope to not talk to you again for a long time, George Clements.¡± Shaun noted, and the chuckle on the other side of the phone irritated him. ¡°Well, it was good for me, Head Agent Shaun Fife, strongest Secret Agent of America.¡± Shaun scowled, disliking hearing his full title, even if publicly it was Guild Master, George Clements knew how to annoy him, a fellow Head Agent¡­ The phone went off, and Shaun slammed the phone down, taking care of his strength, to keep from damaging the phone too much¡­ Warriors gained more strength than most Classes, and Shaun¡¯s Class was unique even among them, so his power was really outstripping the rest¡­ He looked back to the file on the table, frowning as he lifted the page on Arthur Clive¡­ ¡°The Champion Program¡­ I dislike the idea¡­ because if we follow it, this kid would be dragged in¡­ and I don¡¯t trust him.¡± Shaun sighed¡­ how he wished Dante hadn¡¯t found his stash of Whiskey¡­ He really needed a drink after that conversation¡­ a knock on the door made him pause as he walked to the door, opening it to find a delivery man. ¡°Hello, delivery for a¡­ Shaun Fife¡­ your middle name isn¡¯t ¡®monster¡¯ is it sir?¡± the man asked as Shaun¡¯s eyes twitched, taking the package, signing it off as he looked to the box in his hands. Opening it, he found a bottle of¡­ Glenlivet 50 year old Winchester 1966. Well, it was 54 years old now, but still. It also happened to cost roughly $44 000 dollars a bottle. There were also three more inside the box, and a note. Sorry for giving you a headache, here, have these¡­ I found them lying around my house, figured you could use them more after our conversation. From: Hokage George Clements. Before the delivery man left, Shaun¡¯s blank face turned to the man with trepidation. ¡°When was this sent?¡± Shaun asked as the man blinked in surprise. ¡°Oh, well, these were handed to us about two weeks ago, we were told to hand it to you exactly at this moment, today. Anyway, thank you for using our services.¡± The delivery guy stated, walking away. Shaun simply closed his door, pulled out a glass, and opened one of the bottles. He poured the still cold whiskey into the glass, nearly filling the entire square shaped glass¡­ then proceeded to down it, ignoring the burning sensation in his throat. ¡°Fucking Seers and Oracles¡­¡± At least Clements was fixing his mistake¡­ maybe? Across the city, within an alley way, was a man with a leather jacket, brownish blonde hair and pale skin, and a leather jacket and jeans, leaning against a wall, catching his breath. He had been chased all around the city, and had even used his Anima, which increased his leg strength, to try and jump around and escape his pursuer¡­ unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie¡­ you really need to stop running¡­ it¡¯s annoying.¡± The man leaning against the wall paled, looking to the other end of the alley at the man walked over, cracking his neck as he approached the terrified man named Eddie. ¡°Please, please boss, I, I¡¯ll get the money! I¡¯ll run around the Dungeon, I can pay you back, I swear!¡± Eddie backed against the wall, terrified of the figure approaching him¡­ Honestly, no one should look so terrifying, yet the man approaching Eddie, wearing a strange Top Hat with a skull chain wrapped around it, twirling a terrifying knife in his hand, glaring at Eddie with his silver eyes, Eddie felt as if he was being approached by death itself. ¡°Oh, I know you will, I know you will¡­ because you¡¯re going to be heading in there with me you know? I usually head in alone, but I want to go check out something interesting.¡± The man in the suit terrified Eddie, and Eddie nodded in fear, incapable of refusing the man. ¡°Whatever you say boss, whatever you say¡­ just please don¡¯t kill me¡­¡± Eddie pleaded, and the man still twirled his knife, a twisted grin from Eddie¡¯s old nightmares appeared. ¡°Oh I won¡¯t¡­ you¡¯re surprisingly interesting for one of those people with one Anima¡­ but I¡¯m going to have to hurt you¡­ very, very, nicely.¡± Eddie¡¯s eyes widened in terror, knowing from how the sentence was stated that the man would enjoy this¡­ Honestly¡­ Eddie wished he didn¡¯t have the bad luck to keep running into people who looked like the man in front of him¡­ ¡°Come on Eddie¡­ no point in talking here¡­ come along nicely¡­ and quietly¡­ you can get real loud later¡­ I¡¯m sure your screams will make me happy.¡± Eddie was on the verge of tears, even as he nodded, standing, praying that he did not piss himself. They soon walked out of the alley, into the streets, looking like two random guys walking with purpose to some random place¡­ They fit right in with the crowd, Eddie with his casual looks, and the man to his side in his jeans and hoodie, changing in the alley¡­ the hoodie with a Top Hat decaled on it. Yeah¡­ Eddie wished he was luckier than that¡­ but no, clearly he was the unluckiest person on earth, to have met someone like this twice in his life¡­ rather, he was unlucky enough to always be kept near people like this¡­ Honestly¡­ living with violent psychotics should give him an award or something. On a side note, yes, he screamed quite loudly and the burns and cut marks all over his skin hurt so much¡­ and no, his pants were not clean by the time the ¡®playing¡¯ was done¡­ Boss Mourn was scary like that. Yeah¡­ it was just another messed up Thursday.
Arthur Clive
Level: 10
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 7.5% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 1% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 5% (total 115%)
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician I (37/50) - increases Wisdom by 10% (total 115%) Swordsmanship I (40/50) - Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (63/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding I (15/50) ¨C Allows use of a weapon in each hand
Stats
Strength: 16 Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 14 Wisdom: 17 (19)
Endurance: 13 Vitality: 16
Chapter 6- Increasing Skill I wonder¡­ do you remember the colour, the smell, the texture? Do you remember the blood? Arthur shot to a seated position from his previous position of sleeping, deep breaths and sweat hinting at the shock he felt as he woke up¡­ He had dreamed again, again it was that dream¡­ he hadn¡¯t known how to take it, and did what he had been doing since he was twelve. Ignore them. He got up, showered, dressed, and checked the time. Around seven, still early¡­ but that was fine, Arthur always kept something to do when he was a bit off. He looked over to his computer, something which he wastefully left on all the time, but since he paid for his own electricity, he didn¡¯t quite care. Out of sight, out of mind problems, but it was honestly wasteful¡­ were it not for Chronos. Strange as it was, the climate of the world was fixing itself, slowly, but it was noticeable, and it began to focus those changes around Dungeon Entrances¡­ so they were essentially climate control. Not only that, lots of other problems were slowly being solved, all around the world, with Lightning mages getting paid to be human generators, and Wood mages growing crops, and so on. Really, magic, and those climate control devices, it was like Chronos was giving them a method to slowly solve their problems¡­ That was the problem, Arthur thought, if Chronos solved their problems, they¡¯d have little reason to fight him other than for vengeance for all those who had died¡­ so yes, they¡¯d still fight, but Chronos was having resources as his main lure for people to fight him¡­ that and controlling Hell, which was in itself a bit sketchy. So it was likely that there was a limit, and one was already found in Mana, it took people a while to regenerate, and for some reason, using magic outside the Dungeons took up more than normal. Generate electricity for a light bulb, you¡¯d be tired, fry the brain out of a Goblin¡¯s ears, you¡¯d be ready to go for more. ¡­Arthur looked at his hands and clenched them at that last thought. His, uh, tendencies were become a bit more shown, ever since they had begun going into the Dungeon¡­ He had his ¡®theories¡¯ as usual, but he just wanted to wait for once¡­ That being thought, he looked to the saved word document on his computer, which listed enemies and what he had found out about them, as well as notes on his own teammates. He just scanned through it; already knowing most of what was written, seeing as he¡¯d written it himself, and once done he checked the time. Still around half past seven¡­ The nineteenth of January, a Sunday¡­ he was awake too early. He decided to leave, knowing their team would meet up around eight, as usual. ¡°Hello Arthur, going to the Dungeon?¡± Arthur blinked a bit in surprise at his mother standing in the kitchen¡­ she was not usually awake yet¡­ ¡°Hello mom, yeah, going to go ahead for now. We¡¯re approaching floor eight, and we¡¯ve found a new enemy.¡± Arthur informed his mother, even as he took a lunch box from her with a wry smile. ¡°Oh? Is it another Lantern? Do you think that the ¡®boss¡¯ would be a Lantern of some kind?¡± Arthur listened to his mother¡¯s question with a thoughtful face. ¡°Probably¡­ I mean, we¡¯ve encountered Squires, Knights, and recently Archers¡­ and we saw another one, didn¡¯t get a chance to scan it yet though.¡± Arthur still recalled seeing the massive form in the distance and their group had decided to leave it alone. ¡°With so many ¡®Lantern¡¯ enemies, I¡¯d assume the enemy controlling that Dungeon to be a Lantern of some kind.¡± Arthur added, and his mother hummed, even as Arthur got his helmet and waved. She didn¡¯t notice his eyes changing to violet for a moment, even as Arthur winced and walked away¡­ Well, her soul was cracked too¡­ it had become instinct to look upon others souls, even if it violated their privacy, it taught him a lot, and helped increase his skill. Speaking of which, some were close to being ¡®full¡¯, so he could assume a skill rank up or something. They were all quite new to how LEV¡¯s worked, but they seemed to make themselves appear in video game format for ease of understanding, so it would make sense for skill increases to be a part of it. He¡¯d have to see at the end of the day¡­ but he already knew what his stats from the day before were, so he didn¡¯t care enough, as he climbed onto his motorcycle. Considering his father was a Neurologist with a minor in Psychology, and his mother was a specialist in Sports Medicine with a minor in Psychology, it made sense that his family was well off, which is why he had a superbike instead of a moped or something. It was a strange aspect of his life, Arthur considered, that he disliked drawing attention, disliked talking to strangers, disliked crowds, there were so much things he disliked, and yet he¡¯d occasionally do something that went against those things¡­ Such as owning a superbike when it drew attention he disliked. Occasionally people would stop and stare a bit at his motorbike and the only thing that made him happy was that he had a helmet for moments like those¡­ it kept people from knowing who he was, faceless, unknown¡­ Some people think masks are cowardly things to hide behind¡­ Arthur thought differently. He felt masks were there to protect the wearer from the world on the other side occasionally. But when he arrived at the Dungeon, he knew the helmet that protected him would have to go, people liked talking face to face after all¡­ Arthur liked that as well, but only with people he knew. After placing his helmet into his Inventory, he moved towards the Guild, knowing they¡¯d be willing to put up with him researching for a while. And as usual, Dante was already at the door, a ¡®guard¡¯ for the Guild, despite the fact that every Guild member was at the very least level ten. In fact, Dante should be level fifteen at least, possibly even higher¡­ Dante greeted Arthur easily enough, finding Arthur to be interesting to talk to when they did. The only confusion in the minds of Dante and his sister was that Arthur and Shaun disliked being in each other¡¯s presence for any long period of time, for what reason they were unsure of, but it really seemed like they disliked each other despite their similarities. ¡°Arthur, Arthur!¡± Arthur stared up from his book, only to find Matt smirking at his confused expression as he moved the book in Arthur¡¯s hands towards the table. ¡°Man, deep in your books as usual¡­ how come you didn¡¯t get a Mage Class or something?¡± Matt asked half-jokingly as Arthur shrugged, looking to the book and deciding that a study on the interactions between elements needed to be written considering how little information was given in the book. It didn¡¯t even mention that some Elements had additive effects to others, notably Metal and Mind magic were primarily supportive magic to other Elements, though they could obviously be used on their own. Then again, it had only been about a month and a half since Red Sky Day, so they¡¯ve only had magic for a month and a half. It takes time to have comprehensive understanding. And really, Arthur had found this out by accident when Matt¡¯s spell to strengthen his sword attracted Arthur¡¯s lightning to it, creating a really sharp sword which paralyzed enemies hit. Matt hadn¡¯t gotten a good blunt weapon yet, safe to say. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was awesome while it worked, and proved that some elements could enhance others, though obviously opposing elements would never have that kind of connection. ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself¡­ but I guess that¡¯s mostly because my Anima is a bladed weapon.¡± Arthur gestured to his Dagger of Hunger which materialized in his off hand. Once in a while Arthur would stop and stare when people materialized their Animae, for it was quite beautiful to look at, if a bit commonplace now, seeing motes of light seemingly gather to a location before forming into a weapon, armour, or accessory. ¡°Your skills and Anima are decided by your soul, your magic is more decided by innate personality traits, but still¡­ everything a person is, according to LEV at least, is based on our desires and personality.¡± Arthur added, and Matt just scratched his head at the words of their ¡®scientist¡¯. ¡°If you say so man¡­ that conversation got high level quickly¡­¡± Matt had nothing truly against that part of Arthur¡¯s way of speaking; he just liked thinking simple, even if he could understand the more complex things. ¡°Sorry about that Matt¡­ there are just so many new things¡­¡± Arthur¡¯s smile couldn¡¯t be hidden even if he wanted to, and Matt chuckled at that look of excitement on his friend¡¯s face. ¡°Nice to see some wanderlust in the world. Not worth much, but eh, at least it¡¯s there.¡± And that look on Arthur¡¯s face vanished as they looked at the man standing in a suit opposite their seat. This didn¡¯t stop Matt from smirking as he leaned over to take said man¡¯s hand in greeting of course. ¡°Shaun, how you doing boss man?¡± Shaun just ignored the reaction of Arthur and gave a small smile as he shrugged. ¡°For the most part, everything is alright as a Guild Leader, though paperwork is annoying¡­ there are some other problems, but nothing an Adventurer needs to worry about.¡± Shaun looked particularly angry at that last bit as Arthur caught on to that bit of emotion. ¡°What¡¯s happened? Anything we can help with?¡± Despite not liking Shaun that much, Arthur was aware that was just a personality issue, not anything to do with Shaun and his official role. ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­ no¡­ actually, maybe you can help a bit.¡± Shaun seemed to decide something as he nodded to himself after thinking over his words. ¡°You see, as a Guild Leader, my job isn¡¯t just to monitor the levels of all adventurers and check the requests given by production groups, but also to ensure that Adventure-related issues don¡¯t occur beyond the Dungeon.¡± Shaun said something a bit strange there, Arthur noted, but waved it off. ¡°And well¡­ tell me, what do you think happened to wars and fights after the Red Sky Day and when the Dungeon began being opened to the public? Do you think they increased, decreased?¡± Shaun asked as Matt frowned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they have decreased, I mean, we have an enemy in Chronos now don¡¯t we?¡± Shaun sighed at Matt¡¯s answer before he spoke out. ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong, but you¡¯re not exactly right either. All wars and bits of combat stopped entirely. This was because of the sudden population drop firstly, but then the Dungeon Entrances appeared, and humans became capable of some amazing stuff with their new power.¡± Shaun stated, and Arthur was not too surprised, obviously a large portion of those who died were military due to their fighting against the Demons on Red Sky Day. ¡°But anyone who knows the world of the military is aware that this is merely the calm before the storm. To be exact, the entire world has likely entered something similar to the Cold War, in that a brand new arms race has begun.¡± Arthur¡¯s eyes widened as he spoke out in realization. ¡°Adventurers¡­ but Adventurers aren¡¯t tied to their countries though?¡± Arthur asked as Shaun rolled his eyes, knowing that while the person he was talking to was kind of intelligent, he didn¡¯t quite know everything he was talking about. ¡°No they aren¡¯t, but tell me, who is the strongest Adventurer?¡± Arthur almost replied with his own team, knowing that he hadn¡¯t seen any other team with people at level eleven, but then held his tongue. ¡°¡­It¡¯s you or one of the other Guild Leader¡¯s, isn¡¯t it?¡± Arthur asked as Shaun nodded solemnly, acknowledging that he was the strongest human being currently. ¡°Yeah¡­ oh don¡¯t get me wrong, we don¡¯t go into the Dungeon nearly as much as your team does, so you¡¯ll probably overtake us eventually¡­ but are we Adventurers actually?¡± Shaun asked as Matt shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re the Guild Leader, you work for the government, so unlike Adventurer¡¯s, you¡¯re tied to this country¡­ you¡¯re a soldier.¡± Matt and Arthur looked at each other with worry at this revelation as Shaun nodded with a sigh. ¡°Indeed. Every Guild Member you see when you come here, from Dante at the door to his sister at the counter, are soldiers or intelligence officers, with the Guild Leader as their commanding officer.¡± That¡­ was quite scary for Arthur and Matt, knowing that they were within what amounted as a technical military base. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that though, you weren¡¯t wrong about Adventurer¡¯s not being tied to their countries, so you¡¯re safe, I do my job and you all do as you will.¡± Shaun stated, looking around for a moment as he seemed to reach behind him removing¡­ a flask? ¡°¡­It isn¡¯t even in the afternoon¡­¡± Arthur stated as he just stared at the Guild Leader who grinned in return. ¡°I haven¡¯t slept in two days, its afternoon all the time now.¡± Arthur couldn¡¯t even refute the man as he took a swig of the flask¡­ If Arthur or Matt knew that the man was drinking fifty year old whiskey that cost over forty thousand dollars like it was water, they would be certain that life was unfair. ¡°Anyway, where was I¡­ oh right, my problem. You see, the police forces are a bit short in ability when it comes to people with LEV¡¯s, so Guild Leaders are the main force for situations where an Adventurer catches on shit outside the Dungeon.¡± Shaun reminded as he took another sip of his insanely expensive whiskey. At least the man in cardinal red knew Shaun¡¯s tastes. ¡°And now we¡¯ve got one of the worst types of Adventurer catching on shit, worse, I don¡¯t know who it is.¡± Shaun admitted as Arthur and Matt had to wonder what this person did¡­ Before Shaun could continue explaining though, Michael, Alice, Emilia and John arrived, so Shaun just shrugged and decided to continue without explaining to the latecomers. ¡°Your two friends will catch you four up later. Anyway the guy I¡¯m talking about is a serial killer.¡± That caused their whole team to flinch, even without a backstory it was ingrained into practically all humans that serial killers were insane, evil, or some variation of the two.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Shaun didn¡¯t voice that he found that hypocritical for them to immediately think that, but then look at soldiers in admiration¡­ because while serial killers did what they did for whatever reason, at least soldiers killed for survival¡­ most times. ¡°The only reason we know it¡¯s a LEV user is because of the circumstances of the deaths. The victims all died in different ways, but a common point is that all victims had their spines turned to metal and have a stab wound at the top of the skull.¡± Shaun said it in a matter of fact manner, so Arthur almost missed the hint of disgust in Shaun¡¯s voice towards the end. ¡°Now obviously, turning bones into metal is the domain of magic, namely the Metal element obviously, although there were other reasons to believe it was a LEV user, like the required strength to inflict some of the injuries.¡± Shaun reminded the group, the four latecomers wondering what kind of conversation they just walked into. ¡°Anyway, this guy, who we have no name for because we¡¯re not in some cop-show, is the reason I¡¯ve gotten so much paperwork. He already has at the very least fifty kills to his name¡­ and he started before the Dungeons opened to the public.¡± This caused Arthur to widen his eyes as he spoke out his thoughts. ¡°So wait, either this serial killer is actually a part of the government¡­ or he somehow has access to a Dungeon Entrance that is unknown to the government?¡± Arthur asked as Shaun snapped his fingers at the second option. ¡°That one, that one is likely the cause of our issue. In major cities like L.A, New York and Washington we easily know where every Entrance is, but outside of civilization like the national parks? We¡¯re not sure.¡± Shaun sighed and ruffled his hair in annoyance, taking another sip of his drink before the flask was snatched out of his hand. ¡°Boss¡­ drinking¡­ again?¡± Shaun almost looked pale as Dante, the doorman of the Guild, stared down at the Guild Leader. ¡°Dante, man, come on, it was just a bit¡­¡± No one witnessing this mentioned that he completely looked like someone caught sniffing cocaine. ¡°Right, sure, and you don¡¯t have more hidden on you or in your office? I¡¯m sure your wife would be happy to hear about this.¡± Team Einherjar stared at Shaun with surprise on their faces at this, wondering who would marry that guy. He wasn¡¯t bad looking exactly, but he was always slightly untidy, and apparently a near alcoholic or something¡­ ¡°No! Man you can¡¯t tell her, please, for the love of all creation don¡¯t tell her, she¡¯ll kill me!¡± All the men in team Einherjar vowed to respect whatever woman he was speaking of, while the two girls decided to meet her and possibly get some tips, especially Emilia¡­ What, she was aware of how similar Arthur and Shaun were. Shaun was like Arthur if Arthur was more comfortable with himself¡­ and lazy and possibly alcoholic. So obviously this woman who was Shaun¡¯s wife definitely had some way of getting through to him. ¡°Then I need you to stop drinking while at work man. Besides, our hunt is scheduled to happen in an hour.¡± The other team in the room just looked to Shaun in confusion as he stood with a sigh, holding out a hand as Dante placed the flask in his hands. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t drink, for now. Get the rest of the team together, are our stand-ins here?¡± Shaun asked as Dante nodded. ¡°Yes, our stand-ins are here, I¡¯ll go get the others. Ellie! We¡¯re diving!¡± Ellie, the counter-lady and Dante¡¯s sister, smiled as she did a small fist pump in glee. ¡°Yeah, finally, was getting tired of night-shifts.¡± She said as she walked away, leaving Dante to walk away and Shaun to look at his flask with longing, before pocketing it. ¡°Wait, you normally go into the Dungeon at night?¡± Alice asked as Shaun nodded with a smirk. ¡°Yep, it¡¯s why I drink during the day. We guild-employees are basically vampires. We do our stuff at night, then during the day we rest and help you guys out. Night time for fighting, day time for resting and small jobs.¡± He explained, though he shook his head towards the end. ¡°That can¡¯t keep going on though, we¡¯re humans too, despite our higher stats, we need rest. So a rotation system is being set up, we get lower levelled stand ins to work the Guild while we¡¯re levelling.¡± Shaun explained as he gave a small salute to the team. ¡°Good luck with your dive.¡± Shaun walked towards the entrance room, and Arthur¡¯s team decided to wait for a bit until Shaun¡¯s team had left¡­ From what they knew, the team consisted of Shaun, Dante, Ellie, and two others, forgoing the sixth member of their team for an unknown reason, something about said team member busy studying for exams? Anyway, while Shaun did his thing, Arthur and their team discussed their stats and skills, noting that all of them were close to levelling up at least one skill. After ten minutes, they walked to the counter, finding a new secretary who obviously didn¡¯t know their team, just blandly asking for them to fill the form. As usual, the leader of the team was still considered to be Michael, despite Arthur being the one they wanted to pick, the man wouldn¡¯t accept the role just yet. They soon entered the Dungeon, and began their usual trail through the place, every member of their group was thankful for Emilia¡¯s ability with Cartography, enough that it had apparently become a skill for her upon reaching level ten. By now though, Arthur was suspicious of the Dungeon and its monsters, especially as they came across floor seven, fighting the Lantern Knights. To describe, they were similar to Lantern Squires in the sense that they seemed to be floating armour filled with fire, possessing an obvious weak point in the form of glass plating on their chest with a fire pulsing inside their chests similarly to a heart. The difference between the Squires and Knights were that the Knights were slightly faster, and carried a shield instead of just one-handing a sword for a fight. Beyond that, they were pretty much the same¡­ every one of them. And that was messing with Arthur, and this allowed his friends to catch his confused look. ¡°Arthur, what¡¯s up?¡± John asked, and Arthur looked up, his eyes flashing violet for a moment as he used Soul Sight to see the pieces of souls which entered their own. They were approaching level twelve and even Alice who had originally been behind on levels was catching up, even if she was only about halfway to level twelve in comparison to the rest of the group. ¡°Not to jinx us, but the Dungeon¡­ isn¡¯t it too easy?¡± Arthur asked, confusing the group as he decided to clarify. ¡°Think about it, using my Soul Sight, I can see that our enemies have empty souls¡­ they fight in set patterns, unchanging, they don¡¯t adapt, they aren¡¯t alive. We¡¯re basically fighting puppets.¡± Arthur explained as Alice caught on. ¡°Why would Chronos invade us with only puppets¡­ it¡¯s like¡­ isn¡¯t this like a game tutorial? Where the monsters are simple to fight, allowing you to figure out the mechanics before everything really kicks off?¡± Alice asked as Arthur frowned. ¡°If that really is the case¡­ then floor ten should be where this ¡®tutorial¡¯ ends. I just can¡¯t accept that fighting would constantly be like this.¡± In hindsight, everyone else in their group agreed with Arthur¡¯s observations. Chronos managed to kill over a billion people in twelve summative hours across the world. Why would his soldiers therefore be this¡­ weak? It didn¡¯t make sense and it was a thought that would stay with their team for a while now, even as they continued to fight of the Lantern¡¯s and their variations. The most annoying, for the group they felt, were the Archers. Like the other Lanterns, their weapons were denoted by their names, and in this case they carried crossbows which shot metallic stakes at the group. Needless to say if the thing even hit them they¡¯d be in for a lot of pain, as Alice, Matt and Arthur could attest to, each having been hit somewhere, luckily not the chest or head. Of course, the group had their own Archer, Michael, and he picked off Archers before they could let loose their bolts, but there were occasionally more than one Archer, and Michael wasn¡¯t some super-being capable of shooting more than one arrow at the same time or killing two enemies with one shot. It was understood though, that Matt should be the one to take the hits if possible, as he felt way less damage and pain from getting attacked like that, due to his absurd Endurance stat which was currently at twenty seven in comparison to his other stats, which were all at sixteen currently, due to Matt¡¯s very easy point distribution. Just put one point in everything except Endurance, because Endurance would solve itself. Less hassle compared to everyone else who had to micromanage, considering what points to put where each time. In comparison, only Arthur and Alice had stats higher than twenty, like Matt, but in Arthur¡¯s case it was because Wisdom got a multiplier effect, and for Alice it was her Strength boosting skill. So yeah, Matt was really tank-like, not to mention his Bulwark skill. If any bolts flew close enough, they¡¯d curve towards him, allowing him to block the attacks for other people. The issue was that Bulwark only had a certain range, as learned when Arthur and Alice got hit, if they were a certain distance away from Matt they¡¯d still get hit as the effect from Bulwark wouldn¡¯t activate. So around Lantern Archers, it was best for everyone to stay in a certain radius from Matt, otherwise they are liable to have a small hole in them. ¡°Okay, after we go to the next floor, we turn around and head back, we¡¯re all close to level twelve and I want us to get into floor eight as strong as we can be at the time.¡± Michael added as they approached where they estimated the stairs were. Of course, they were blocked by the newest Lantern, and the reason why their group hadn¡¯t decided to descend to floor eight yet. As they approached, the name of the being was known to them, due to their LEV¡¯s acting similar to a HUD when they encountered enemies. There was no life bar, or mana bar or anything like that obviously, it¡¯s just they¡¯d suddenly know things about stuff they were looking at, and in this case, they were staring at a Lantern Brute. ¡°Damn that thing looks like someone made a suit of armour for the hulk.¡± John¡¯s statement was unanimously agreed to, when they approached close enough for the thing to ¡®see¡¯ them and flex its hands in preparation for a fight. There was no signal to start the fight, but Michael made an impromptu one when he launched an arrow, starting the fight as he began to call out orders. ¡°This thing has some serious plating on its chest, my arrow did next to nothing, we¡¯re going to need to hit it really hard to kill it!¡± Michael called out as the thing charged forward, aiming a fist as the closest enemy, namely Alice. She responded by jumping back in time for Matt to take her place, slamming his shield forward into the fist, causing both him and the Brute to stumble back from the shock. ¡°It hits hard guys, blunt force, so as long as we aren¡¯t hit a lot, or on the head, we¡¯ll be fine!¡± Matt called out after tanking another blow, giving an opening for Emilia to slash its back, trying to get its attention. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s pretty slow, but not as slow as it looks¡­ guys, we¡¯re playing keep-away!¡± Arthur said after a moment of staring at it, and the group got the idea quickly. The thing was huge, could tank hits and dealt heavy damage, but it was slow. Granted, they had to make sure that they dodged or Matt was there to block, but otherwise they simply had to keep attacking one spot. The weak spot all Lanterns seemingly had, that giant glass casing on its chest. Arthur in particular was having some success in comparison to the rest of the group when it came to dealing damage, due to a combination of his magic type and his Dagger, which got stronger with him as he levelled up. Next was Alice who was using a sledge hammer currently, having been using an axe against Goblins and Slimes due to their more fleshy nature. But against a Lantern, which was essentially an empty suit of armour, the sledgehammer worked better, as in blunt force trauma worked better. You usually use a hammer to break glass, not a knife, which made sense, the only reason Arthur was doing more damage was because Lightning magic was suited for piercing attacks and that¡¯s what he was using his dagger for, when he got the chance. Emilia¡¯s daggers weren¡¯t cutting it (pun not intended actually) but she was capable of being a diversion for Arthur and Alice, taking the ¡®aggro¡¯ of the Brute allowing Alice and Arthur to get a breather before trying to attack again, basically she was working defence with Matt. Those three were the main attackers while everyone else worked on just keeping the Brute from killing them, half on offence, half on defence. The battle wasn¡¯t an overly difficult one, more tedious because of a lack of damage¡­ at least until the first major crack appeared on the Brute¡¯s glass heart. With a bellow, the thing seemed to scream fire into the air as its chest began to gain more cracks, and immediately Arthur called out to the team seeing something strange. ¡°Get back, it might be doing a suicide move!¡± Arthur¡¯s warning wasn¡¯t right¡­ it wasn¡¯t wrong either. The thing¡¯s armour seemed to shrink as heat escaped from the very cracked chest, and then it rushed forward, faster than it was before as it hit Alice in the stomach, sending her flying back and into John before anyone realized what just happened. ¡°Alice!¡± Michael moved to protect his downed sister even as Arthur moved in the opposite direction, rushing towards the smaller Brute, now getting a vague idea of what was going on. ¡°Someone, pass me the hammer!¡± Arthur shouted as Matt stepped forward to block a swing from the Brute, getting pushed back even more than he had before as Michael threw the hammer at Arthur. If Arthur was right, and he was pretty sure he was, this was going to be awesome, especially given that John saw what he was doing and used the first skill of his Anima, Hard Hitting, on Arthur to double the damage of his next attack. He almost dropped the hammer as he caught it, slightly mitigating the awesome factor, but using that momentum he spun and managed to hit the Brute straight in the chest, breaking through the previously tough glass extremely easily, sending the Brute stumbling back as its armour began to vanish, leaving behind a Soul Stone. ¡°Hey, John, Alice okay?¡± Arthur asked as he walked back, seeing Alice puking bits of blood and vomit out onto the floor as John focused his healing ability on her. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, internal injury, but fine. If it weren¡¯t for magic she¡¯d need immediate medical attention though.¡± John admitted as Alice visibly began hacking and coughing a bit less overtime. ¡°Alright, I had to use two heals on her, but at current I can only use five a day so I recommend we go back.¡± John, as the healer, was quite aware of when their expeditions had to be cut short due to injury. His skill, Light Scripture, allowed him to pick a healing spell and learn it, though at level one the skill only allowed him to pick a basic ¡®heal¡¯ spell. It apparently healed based on John¡¯s Intelligence, while the amount of uses he got were based on Wisdom. He started out with two uses, and his Wisdom was over twenty now, giving him three more. It seemed to Arthur as if it worked as 1 heal per five points in Wisdom, John wasn¡¯t certain on that yet though. ¡°Right¡­ well, most of us reached level twelve now, and Alice should reach it on the way back. That, and the damage she received should boost her strength by quite a bit actually¡­¡± Arthur said, looking to Alice who was gargling water and spitting out the remaining bile and blood. ¡°Yeah¡­ I got the vague feeling like I could punch through a wall. Probably isn¡¯t that amazing though.¡± Alice stated as she clenched and unclenched her fists. ¡°Right. I forgot, but we really should train your skills a bit more Alice, with John¡¯s help of course.¡± Arthur said, confusing the two as Alice finally stood up and they began to walk back. ¡°Right, basically what I¡¯m saying is that Alice should get an injury on purpose, not a debilitating one obviously, and then continuously fight with it. That would grow her Pain is Gain skill, and her Calm Mind skill which would counteract the negative effects of the first skill.¡± Arthur said as Michael frowned, not liking the idea of his sister being hurt, even for training. ¡°Arthur, I¡¯m not a masochist, that sounds horrible.¡± Alice said with a disturbed look on her face as Arthur shrugged. ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying it had to be done. I¡¯m just saying that you don¡¯t get injured often, and because of that the only skill you really train is your stat boosting one.¡± Arthur reminded. ¡°And the reason I¡¯m included is to heal her in case we get into a fight that needs her at full strength right?¡± John asked, getting a nod from Arthur. ¡°That¡¯s the idea, but it is admittedly disturbing to put into practice. In a video game, it¡¯s what I would do, but this is real life after all.¡± Arthur reminded everyone, but most importantly he was reminding himself that not everyone could train their skills in such a harsh way. His own were easily trainable in his opinion, Tactician levelled from thinking out plans and discussing them with people, having people move according to his advice/orders granted experience for the skill. Swordsmanship levelled up just by him fighting with his Dagger of Hunger or his Lantern Sword, and his Soul Sight was something he used often to check the ¡®experience¡¯ gained by his group and when they were close to levelling up. ¡°Maybe after I put a couple point in Endurance, but not before.¡± Alice allowed, and Arthur didn¡¯t quite understand why they were trying to make concessions for his strange advice. It wasn¡¯t much of an issue on their way back as they allowed Alice to kill as many enemies as she wanted, pushing her over to level twelve as well after the third Lantern Knight they encountered on the way back. After getting back to the Dungeon Entrance they were allowed a moment with the access panel to level themselves up for the next time they entered the Dungeon. Arthur¡¯s skills had all increased, with the exception of his Soul Sight Skill unfortunately¡­
Arthur Clive
Level: 12
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 7.5% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 1% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 5% (total 120%)
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (0/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 120%) Swordsmanship II (0/100) - Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (91/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding I (20/50) ¨C Allows use of a weapon in each hand
Stats
Strength: 19 Dexterity: 20
Intelligence: 15 Wisdom: 20 (24)
Endurance: 15 Vitality: 18
His Wisdom jumped a bit after he placed his points, going up by five cumulative points even though only three went into it. This was due to his Tactician skill levelling up to Tactician II which increased his percentage to 15% for Wisdom from the skill alone. Going by this, at level ten, or X as it were, his Wisdom would increase by roughly 55% or 50% to make it neater? Whichever happened, it would boost his Wisdom by quite a bit. As for his other stats, they all increased by at least one point with the exception of Intelligence, which he rarely bothered with. His manipulation of lightning, as what he did wasn¡¯t spells but element manipulation, was something that was tiring the longer he did it, so his Wisdom stat was supposed to mitigate that effect. It did seem like Wisdom was actually a percentage, with each point corresponding to 0.1% of his recovery rate for ¡®mana¡¯. Following this, it seemed that if someone had one thousand points in Wisdom, their magic could go from empty to full in a minute. Arthur doubted that he would see something like that for a very long time, and probably only when near whatever level cap might exist. Certainly not one hundred, as he doubted someone could kill Chronos with only a total of roughly 700 stat points and some skills, let alone take over Hell alone like he did. No, like Arthur said in the Dungeon¡­ this was only the tutorial before the real ¡®war¡¯ would begin¡­ Hopefully they were ready by then. Chapter 7- To slay a Demon Lord ¡°Right, everyone, we¡¯ve been training for a month, I believe we are ready to get into the tenth floor.¡± Arthur¡¯s words cut through the meal everyone was having, changing the tone from the previous joking to a serious atmosphere. ¡°Well¡­ yeah, I mean, we aren¡¯t exactly getting much stronger on the ninth floor as it is.¡± Michael agreed with some reluctance, considering their current strength¡­ It had been ten days since fighting the Lantern Brute for the first time; it was now the twenty ninth of January. The reason Alice was with them, despite it being a school day, was because she tested early to finish school, and she was just waiting for her results at this point. ¡°We¡¯re all are level seventeen. The experience we get at the ninth floor is alright, but not enough for us to level up meaningfully anymore.¡± Emilia added, even though she really didn¡¯t feel like going lower into the Dungeon just yet. ¡°Yeah, even Shaun was saying that he was stuck at level 19 for the past week right?¡± right, it was like a soft-cap was put in for the levelling up at that point according to Shaun. He could probably level up again, but it would take quite a while to the point where it would be near pointless. ¡°And the reason we¡¯re now level seventeen instead of fourteen or something is because Arthur got it into his head for us to stay twice as long as we normally do¡­ we got out at night Arthur.¡± Matt complained, and Arthur had the decency to look a bit sheepish at being called out on his training schedule. ¡°I just thought that if Shaun could reach level nineteen on floor nine, we should also be capable of it¡­ I get that it¡¯s his job to be stronger than Adventurers, but I don¡¯t like the idea of us not being the strongest.¡± Arthur explained and the group just sighed, understanding what he meant, even if it didn¡¯t make a lot of sense¡­ especially from Arthur. He normally wasn¡¯t so competitive after all¡­ but then again, he normally didn¡¯t dislike people he just met because they seemed similar. ¡°We can understand your reluctance about being weaker than someone else, but the moment we¡¯re higher levelled than Shaun we¡¯re slowing down. He¡¯s had an extra month to fight compared to us, even with time being taken up by Guild issues.¡± Emilia warned and Arthur nodded immediately, not seeing the knowing grins of the rest of Einherjar. Really, they all saw it happening, it¡¯s just those two didn¡¯t do anything about what the rest could see. ¡°Right, right¡­ anyway, as I said, I believe we can fight on the tenth floor now¡­ as for winning¡­ that¡¯s something different.¡± Arthur¡¯s words brought everyone short for a moment, knowing that Arthur wasn¡¯t the type to say something without an explanation. ¡°We¡¯re all level seventeen, we¡¯re strong¡­ but are we strong compared to living beings of equivalent strength?¡± Arthur¡¯s words would normally be confusing, but Michael caught on. ¡°You¡¯re saying that the ¡®tutorial ends at floor ten, the monsters will no longer be husks like they were before¡­¡± Michael¡¯s words were followed by Matt who nodded. ¡°They won¡¯t have set patterns to their attacks¡­ they¡¯ll be able to adapt like we can. We¡¯ll be facing intelligence.¡± Matts warning got the intended effect as they all considered the statement for what it was. ¡°So we¡¯ve been fighting certain monsters for a while, and we¡¯re now to the point where we can end a Lantern Brute relatively quickly¡­ but they could be killed by us even at level eleven.¡± Alice started off, considering her words before she finished. ¡°A Boss is usually higher levelled than the character in video games, or at least of equal level. In cases where you can use many characters against one enemy, the boss is definitely of higher level or statistics.¡± She added, getting a nod from everyone as Arthur tapped the table, drawing attention. ¡°The boss is most likely at the very least equivalent to a level twenty, possibly a level twenty five. Not to mention that they would be intelligent to some degree, whether that¡¯s like an animal or like a person could be a deciding factor in a fight.¡± They stood, their food done as they moved to the Dungeon Entrance. ¡°Yeah¡­ a person of level ten could defeat an animal around level fifteen based on intelligence, in the same way a man can kill a bear with traps and tools.¡± Arthur explained as they finally got to the entrance to the Guild, having parked their vehicles here before getting breakfast together as a team¡­ It was a habit they were trying to build up, to discuss and mingle before going into the Dungeon, friends they may be, but they were still new to fighting together even after almost a month, and it helped to talk. ¡°Okay, so either a level twenty intelligent being, or a level twenty five animal. Now continuing, do they have class bonuses like we do?¡± John asked and that got a pause from everyone¡­ only to be answered by someone not even in their team. ¡°Probably not, there has been a case where an animal has gained a LEV and an Anima, but that was in our world, our enemies don¡¯t have LEV¡¯s.¡± Shaun¡¯s voice called out, getting a greeting from everyone, even Arthur¡­ They had finally figured out that Arthur and Shaun being similar was enough reason to dislike each other¡­ because someone similar to you lets you see all your own faults in others. For many people, it¡¯s easy to dislike the person they see in the mirror, even subconsciously. ¡°I think I got the idea from what you were just saying, but¡­ are you going to challenge floor ten?¡± Shaun¡¯s words were serious as Dante walked closer to hear their answer. ¡°We¡¯re all level seventeen, so we figure that we can at least survive on the floor right?¡± Matt asked as Shaun considered his reply. ¡°Maybe¡­ but I¡¯m going to give you a warning, and not because I¡¯ll carry it out.¡± Shaun walked to the building instead, opening the door as he looked over his shoulder. ¡°There are consequences to being the strongest. Being the first to conquer the tenth floor is a sign of strength¡­ are you ready for the weight that will place on your shoulders?¡± he asked as he walked inside, Dante keeping the door open for Einherjar. They walked in, Shaun was already gone though as they walked to the counter, some people mingling in the building as they watched Einherjar walk past. It was an open thing that the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was also a place where people could hang out to an extent, sure they didn¡¯t serve food or things like that, but there were areas where Adventurers could sit down and talk to each other. It was barely audible but there were murmurs about Einherjar as they signed off at the desk, mostly the other Adventurers in the place were discussing the strength of Einherjar. With every member at level seventeen, their closest competitors within the Adventurers were only level fourteen, three levels below their group, and even then they were on the lowest floor. There were rumours of Einherjar being government sponsored, of their Anima being cheat-like, or even one where they were bribing people to put them in a team and level their group up. Their group didn¡¯t care about those rumours though, given that they were being said by people who didn¡¯t know them. After waving goodbye to Ellie at the counter, they went to the access panel to check up their levels as well as register their team¡­ Luckily the panel seemed to automatically connect the six if they simply selected ¡®Einherjar¡¯ as their team name. Using this, someone could join multiple teams and would be able to pick which team was going into the Dungeon using the access panel. No one ever encountered another team in the Dungeon though, making them think that it was almost like its own cut off space. Arthur looked at his stats, just to check them before they entered the Dungeon once more.
Arthur Clive
Level: 17
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 7.5% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 1% Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 1.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 5% (total 120%)
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (14/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 120%) Swordsmanship II (21/100) - Increases ease of weapon handling Soul Sight I (178/200) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (2/100) ¨C Greater use of two weapons
Stats
Strength: 25 Dexterity: 26
Intelligence: 20 Wisdom: 26 (31)
Endurance: 20 Vitality: 25
Oh he loved uniformity, it was like a minor OCD for him. people liked multiples of five anyway, though his Dexterity and Wisdom were his favourite stats. His Dual Wielding Skill had increased as well luckily, so now the only Skill he had yet to level up was Soul Sight¡­ increasing that would be a double edged sword in Arthur¡¯s eyes though¡­ Pun not intended. Their stats were all high, in their own specialties at least. Look at Matt, his Endurance stat was 37 and he never even placed a point into the stat, not counting his stat increasing Skill¡­ With the Skill, his Endurance stat was now 42¡­ and the rest of his stats sat at 21 points even without it. It made Arthur feel inferior for a bit, but he reassured himself that he didn¡¯t need to compete with his friends. Their strength would be his in the midst of battle after all¡­ and besides, Arthur didn¡¯t need to worry too much about being left behind by Matt or the others, Arthur¡¯s Skills levelled up faster than the others actually, due to his ability to use Soul Sight. By using the ability he could witness how Skills affected the soul, but only slightly, and sometimes his sight blurred when looking for those differences. Arthur had no doubt that as Soul Sight levelled up, he would be able to better see how Skills were meant to be used, and by following such a guideline, he would level up his Skills faster than his comrades. See, Soul Sight was a good ability¡­ but it felt wrong to look at the Soul, yet it was his greatest ability. They moved through the Dungeon shortly after, and within three hours they were at the ninth floor, fighting a group of Lanterns¡­ On the ninth floor they typically fought Knights, Archers and Brutes, sometimes all at once, though if they did there would only be one of each. It was a difficult floor in its own right, but it wasn¡¯t something impossible for their group, who were all more than four times stronger than the average human being, not to mention their Skills and magic. Elemental manipulation technically, but still, it counted. They had already mapped the entire ninth floor two days ago, so they took the shortest possible path to the stairs, while avoiding as many monsters as possible. This was only doable because Arthur recorded which monsters appeared where, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it would remain like that after the tenth floor, but for these beginning floors it was possible to chart a path with the least amount of monsters. They had used these paths Arthur pointed out on Emilia¡¯s maps as they went, and by now they had barely fought half as much as they usually did. The way ¡®spawning¡¯ worked in the Dungeon was that a floor could be cleared of monsters, then if you left the floor and returned, the monsters would be back again. This was how they had been training for the past two days, by clearing out the entire floor, going back to the eighth floor and popping back down to the ninth. Arthur would deny that it was because he liked the stairs in the Dungeon, but they all knew that he liked them. The stairs were marble shining beneath their feet, obsidian stone surrounding them with tiny pin-pricks of light surrounding them to make it look like they were walking through the night sky atop stairs of light. Arthur waxed poetic the first time, they all laughed at him but agreed with his views. Anyway, they soon found themselves in front of the stairs after taking out two Brutes at once, both dropping their Soul Stones, and one of them dropped a gauntlet. Every Lantern had an item drop thankfully, with the archers it was a bow, with the Squires it was their blades, with the Knights a shield, and with the Brutes it was gauntlets, either hand. For the bows, they sold them to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild like they did with the Soul Stones, as well as the shields with the exception of one that Alice kept just in case. A shield counted as a weapon to her Anima after all, so she was collecting different weapons. Arthur in particular liked the gauntlets, quickly trying to get a set once they found out about their enemies dropping the items. Items from the Dungeon had their own rankings as well as level requirements to use, some even had stat requirements but at their level the requirements were all miniscule. For example:
Name: Lantern Gauntlet (Right Arm)
Requirements: Level: 8 Strength: 10
Defensive Ability: D
The ranking for the item was the lowest possible, D rank. It also brought to mind that Adventurer¡¯s possibly also possessed ranks, but Arthur was not aware of his own, though it was likely equal to the Gauntlet, D rank so to speak. Anyway, after defeating the two Brutes they walked down the stairs¡­ and immediately they knew something was different. For one, the stairs were no longer made of marble, instead looking to be made out of one seamless piece of wood, grass and flowers growing randomly while the walls and ceiling changed to be interlocking branches with tiny beams of light shining through¡­ It was like they were walking through a naturally made tunnel of trees, and it was just as beautiful as the old stairs to Arthur. They approached the end of the stairs, walking out onto the tenth floor, their Anima all ready to be used, including Arthur and his two Animae. Once their eyes adjusted to the sudden added light in the room, their eyes went from narrow to wide as they stared across the room at the world around them. For that was an accurate description, no longer were they inside monotonous tunnels with ambient light and rock walls¡­ Now they stood beneath a bright blue sky, white clouds floating around as they took in the fresh forest air. For that was where they were, a large forest, expanding as far as the eye could see, telling them that they were in fact on an elevated level compared to the rest of the forest. They weren¡¯t alone though. Soon after their awe, they managed to take note of the other presence on their elevated stage, and they stared in the direction of the being. In front of the being was a door, a door frame just standing there with nothing connected to it, and turning around would let them see that their own path back up was in a similar state.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The being sat crossed legged, one leg resting against the floor, the other one acting as a prop for its arm as it turned its head to look at them. Seeing its guests, the being stood slowly, picking up a sword from the floor as it turned to look at them, allowing them to see the being clearly for the first time. It looked eerily familiar, considering they had been facing beings of the same ¡®family¡¯ since the second floor. The being in front of them was clearly a Lantern, going by the fact that it looked to be made out of armour and a flame beating as a heart inside the glass casing of its chest. That wasn¡¯t to say it was simple. For one, unlike the other Lanterns, this one had actual feet, looking similar to the clawed feat of big cats such as lions. There were more differences, such as the fire this Lantern possessed being blue instead of orange/red like the other Lanterns¡­ Its armour was also different from all other Lanterns with the greatest similarity being to a Knight, especially considering that it had a ¡®plume¡¯ on the back of its helmet which allowed blue fire to act as the pony tail seen on some knight helms. Its blade was different as well, being thinner than a normal sword used by either the Knights or the Squires, and being slightly longer as well, with the centre of the blade being empty resulting in just having the edge of the blade, the spine of the blade being filled with blue fire. The Lantern also possessed tribal markings all over its chest, though upon closer inspection it was the fire flaring from tiny gaps in his armour, too tiny to put anything but a needle in maybe, but bright enough to draw attention as it looked at them. Another difference from the other Lanterns were that they had simple eyes made of fire, never widening or narrowing, simply staring. This one had blue eyes that narrowed at the six Einherjar, before one widened slightly as its left hand came up to cup its chin. ¡°Interesting¡­ some humans finally arrived.¡± That caught them by surprise as the being spoke, and the being caught their change in expression as it chuckled, the sound of firewood crackling in both its laughter and voice. ¡°I understand your surprise¡­ you were fighting hollow husks until you met me, weren¡¯t you? Lord Chronos was adamant that no human would survive meeting me unless given a chance to grow.¡± The Lantern spoke as Michael looked to Arthur, signalling with his eyes for Arthur to speak. Arthur was understandably annoyed by this, but stepped forward. ¡°I am Arthur Clive, these are my teammates and we call ourselves Einherjar. What is your name, might I ask?¡± Arthur said, making sure to respect the being in front of them as its eyes widened slightly, then narrowed a bit in what might be humour. ¡°So respectful to the lowly me¡­ I thank you for that, Sir Clive. Very well, I am afraid I do not possess a name of my own, but I was informed on how I was to introduce myself by Lord Chronos.¡± That got their attention as the Lantern swung its sword absently, the air pressure of the swing creating a sound, allowing them to know how fast and powerful he might be. ¡°I am the first of the ninety nine Demon Lords under the command of Lord Chronos, Lantern Hero and Guardian of the Forest of the Maiden, I am the Blade.¡± The aura of the being, Lantern Hero Blade, was overpowering even beyond what little humans no longer felt, they instinctively knew that Blade was dangerous. ¡°First of ninety nine? So that means there are ninety nine Dungeons?¡± Arthur asked as Blade blinked, as shown by the fires that represented his eyes flickering between nothingness and wide, before he shook his head while chuckling. ¡°No, no, no, you have it wrong sir Clive. There are not ninety nine Dungeons, let alone two. There is only one.¡± The words caught the group by surprise as Blade pointed to the door behind him with his thumb. ¡°There are ninety nine Demon Lords, and there are ninety nine Areas. Each Area consists of one floor of the Dungeon, split into ten parts. At the end of each Area, a Demon Lord awaits to destroy all enemies.¡± That caught them by surprise as they figured it out. The ¡®tutorial¡¯ area they were in was not nine floors before appearing here¡­ It was just nine separate zones on one floor. Granted, they felt the sensation of climbing or dropping, but to the Demons themselves, there were ninety nine floors, not counting Hell¡­ ¡°So to explain, there are nine hundred and ninety nine parts you humans must journey through to encounter Lord Chronos at the final Area, Hells Throne. I am merely the weakest of the Demon Lords, Ruler of the Empty Caves.¡± Arthur¡¯s hands tightened on his weapons as he looked at the door behind Blade. ¡°So¡­ I take it that we have to defeat you to enter the next floor properly? I understand it¡¯s a bit presumptuous of us, but could you perhaps tell me your strength in comparison to us?¡± Blade blinked and shook his head with mirth in his ¡®eyes¡¯. ¡°You are quite forward, sir Clive¡­ I don¡¯t mind though, I like upfront people. Let¡¯s see¡­ from the feel of you all, I estimate you all to be around Soul Strength seventeen? I would, by your rankings, be around Soul Strength twenty five.¡± That got Einherjar to collectively pale at the realization of their opponents strength, knowing their enemy was much stronger than a single one of them. ¡°Then again, we Demon Lords work different from you humans or even the normal Demons in Hell. We gain more power in comparison to our Soul Strength. At Soul Strength twelve I was roughly as strong as you all.¡± And that just made it worse, meaning their strength was even further from Blade than they thought. ¡°Well, I believe we spoke enough, let¡¯s begin.¡± Blade said, taking a step forward as he began to walk to them, slowly picking up pace as Arthur shouted out. ¡°Michael, attack him now!¡± Michael nodded, not even bothering to care if Arthur was taking command; he had always wanted Arthur to step up more anyway. Michael¡¯s arrows were launched quickly, but they were for naught as Blade simply swatted the arrows out of the air as they approached his running form, Matt quick to stand between the Demon Lord and their team. They wouldn¡¯t defeat this guy without keeping everyone around as long as possible¡­ worse, from the warnings they had discussed earlier in the day, they were aware this guy had intelligence. Meaning that unlike the enemies they had faced until this point, this person did not fight in one set manner. A Squire would always react the same to certain patterns, it would block the same, it would attack the same, and it would move the same. Blade didn¡¯t have that limitation, as shown when he encountered Matt¡¯s shield and instead of attacking, Blade flipped over Matt, to the surprise of the shield user. Blade used the opportunity to try and land a slash to the back of Matt, but instead of scoring the hit Matt had turned fast enough to block, a small smirk on his face. That smirk vanished upon Matt being tossed back from the force of the slash, sent tumbling ¡®ass over teakettle¡¯ as it were, as Blade attempted to follow the stumbling shield user only to block an attack from Alice, who had swapped to a sword. A hammer was too slow against an opponent of this skill and she wasn¡¯t sure the handle of her sledge hammer could survive an attack from Blade. So she was using a shield and sword similar to Matt at current, as she tried to force Blade back. Blade, after a moment of blade-lock, twisted, causing Alice to stumble forward, her strength causing her to move forward once the opposing force vanished as Blade attempted a backhand swing to her neck. Blade¡¯s attack was stopped by an arrow impacting on his blade, knocking it back as Emilia attempted to stab his chest where his weakness so plainly sat. She was punished for attempt by Blade reaching out with his off hand, grabbing her by the arm as he twisted, hoping to break her arm and he did indeed cause her pain before she flipped, trying to kick in his helmet while Arthur attacked his blade arm. Emilia¡¯s kick connected, causing Blade to let her go as she fell to the ground, Blade jumping back with a shake of his head, tossing the flaming plume of his helmet around as he stared. They gathered together once more, and he nodded. ¡°Impressive¡­ you all stopped me from taking a single life¡­ can you keep me from doing so until the end of this fight though?¡± Blade asked as he rushed forward once more¡­ And then they realized that he now had both hands on the handle of his blade, and collectively winced¡­ he was going to hit harder now, wasn¡¯t he? They were proven right, but at the same time they had a way to fix their problems as Blade reached Matt, planting his feet into the ground as he gave a horizontal swing similar to one would see from a baseball player. Matt¡¯s shield got in the way, but they all saw what happened the last time he got hit. Despite his defensive ability, Matt didn¡¯t weigh enough to not get tossed flying. Fun fact, Endurance increased the density of a person, so Matt did in fact weigh more than he appeared to, though it would never be a hindrance thanks to it being based on the Soul, much like how his skin still felt like skin and not stone. But even with this increased ¡®weight¡¯ Blade still hit him flying the first time around. And yet, the second time around he didn¡¯t, to the surprise of Blade. The reason was shortly revealed when Blade attempted to pull back his sword, only for Matt to duck and be used as a spring board for Alice standing behind him to lunge at Blade. The answer was that Alice was pushing Matt from behind with her own shield, using both of them to block one attack and then launching Alice, who was a better damage dealer afterwards. Blade felt impressed by her actions, but he wouldn¡¯t lose against trickery like that, and so he took one hand off his blade, punching forward. Alice hid her body behind her shield, treating it like a platform as Blade punched it so that she flew back, flipping in mid-air to come into a backwards roll. While Alice did this, Michael launched a few arrows at the Demon Lord, who once more parried the tiny projectiles¡­ then a bolt of electricity shot at him and he had to resort to dodging instead, knowing that the electricity went for him better due to the fact that his body was made of metal. Having enough of this, Blade rushed at Arthur who was sending the tiny bolts of electricity at him, this time ignoring the arrows as he ran so fast Michael didn¡¯t have time to track him just yet. Blade used the momentary lull in Michael¡¯s attacks to swing at Arthur, who blocked with both his Dagger of Hunger and his Lantern blade, dropping into a kneeling position as Blade launched an overhead strike. The fact that their blades clashed brought a feeling of glee to the Demon Lord, knowing exactly why Arthur had kneeled. A common fact is that the person who attacked from the higher position had an advantage¡­ But something commonly forgotten was that the lower your centre of gravity, the more stability you had. Arthur used this to his advantage by purposefully lowering himself once he saw what Blade was trying to do, resulting in Blade¡¯s swing losing power. Blade aimed at a certain position, but Arthur was beyond that position, meaning Blade ended up striking Arthur¡¯s weapons with the edge near the tip of his sword, while Arthur was pressed into the ground, Blade could not exert more force in this position. Arthur had won the exchange, even just barely, and Blade grabbed Arthur¡¯s shoulder to flip over Arthur¡¯s head as Emilia¡¯s daggers passed where the Demon Lord¡¯s neck was just a moment ago, Blade kicking her in the chest as he flipped causing her to be sent back, the wind knocked out of her as she wheezed. Blade internally considered her as out of the fight, he hit hard, very hard. She should have a few broken ribs or possibly a shattered collar bone. She was immobilized, he could deal with her another time. Blade focused on the person who appeared behind him, thrusting his sword into the space between his upper arm and chest, just below his underarm to stab behind him, causing the person behind him to be surprised. Blade then twisted, swinging as he turned to try and deal a heavy blow to whoever dared to step behind him, revealing Alice who raised her arm to block the sword, shoving forward just as the sword almost hit the shield to produce a parry effect. The gap was taken advantage of as an arrow pierced Blade¡¯s shoulder, making the Demon Lord wince as he jumped back as far as he could go, landing near the door he was guarding in the beginning of the fight. From his position, Blade widened his eyes upon seeing the woman he had kicked earlier still capable of fighting, though she seemed to be wincing as she stood¡­ Perhaps she had a healing factor? No, her daggers were her Anima, so unless she had something absurd such as the combat recovery skill¡­ Wait. Weren¡¯t there six members of the Einherjar? Where was the sixth? Before Blade had a chance to contemplate it any more, he was hit in the back, causing him to stumble forward slightly as Arthur and the others rushed forwards. Stealth, it had to be, their sixth member had stealth¡­ but wasn¡¯t he holding a staff? A staff wasn¡¯t a suitable weapon to an assassin¡­ ¡°A healer with stealth, how interesting.¡± Blade commented as Matt approached with his shield in front of him, glaring at the Demon Lord. ¡°Shield Bash!¡± Matt¡¯s shield slightly glowed as he thrust it forward, telling Blade that they were about to attack him with Extra Skills¡­ It was not required to say the name of the Extra Skill aloud, but that was something only available to those who were well practiced with the Skill. If one was unused to using the Skill, one would need to say the name of the Skill, or even chant in the case of some magic. Next to attack was their archer, who was holding three arrows instead of one, and Blade recognized the technique as ¡®multi-shot¡¯ and opted to rather dodge than parry, knowing that Extra Skills hit harder than normal attacks. It also said a lot that while some in the group were unused to their Skills, others knew theirs. It also said that those who didn¡¯t need to voice their Skills actually trained in comparison to the others, and that possibly, they had never needed to use Extra Skills before now. It was impressive to Blade. In all honesty, he was meant to be defeated by humans around level fifteen as they called it. But that was only if said people practiced their abilities and had a Stat Skill each. He wasn¡¯t sure of their composition of Skills, but they seemed to be capable. That didn¡¯t mean he would roll over and die though, so he weaved through the attacks of the archer, finding the injured assassin facing him as ice sprouted from her blades¡­ Water manipulation, very suitable against a Lantern like Blade, but without it being based off a Skill it would do next to nothing to Blade. Blade was proven wrong when he attempted to slash at her, only for the daggers to nick into his arms as she jumped away, making him stare at the incisions on his arms. Shallow, but they existed. They shouldn¡¯t have, given that she didn¡¯t use a Skill¡­ even if she hit him with her Anima, she shouldn¡¯t have done that much damage¡­ Well, that¡¯s how it would be, but her Anima had unlocked a useful ability when she reached level ten, namely Armour Piercing. Emilia hadn¡¯t hit Blade until now, so the Demon Lord was still a bit surprised as Alice slashed at his chest, Blade only just barely able to step back, getting a glancing blow instead of a full on one. They didn¡¯t have a moment to attack as Blade flipped backwards, hiding behind the door to the next floor as he spoke out. ¡°Interesting trick your healer pulled off, hiding behind the floor doors, that was pretty smart¡­¡± he called out as Arthur shouted out his own observation. ¡°I honestly forgot he was hiding! But ignoring that for a moment¡­ your defence¡­ it¡¯s weaker than usual, isn¡¯t it?¡± Arthur asked as there was silence for a moment, allowing their group a chance to feel the wind blowing across the plateau they stood upon. ¡°You are correct, Sir Clive. I am the strongest of Lanterns¡­ but there is a price to pay for my strength.¡± He walked out from behind the door, and the nick in his glass chest was easy to see. The problem was that Alice scored a glancing blow, an attack that would barely even harm a Knight let alone a Brute. ¡°¡­It¡¯s your fire, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s hotter than any other Lantern, giving you greater strength¡­ but the glass protecting it is a step away from melting, am I right?¡± Arthur asked as Blade raised a hand, poking his own chest. It wobbled at the point of contact as if he stuck his finger in jelly. ¡°You¡¯re right. I am a Lantern Hero¡­ one of many. I¡¯m not even the strongest type of Lantern but¡­ but I needed to be strong.¡± Blade said as he gestured to the forest stretching on so far that the edge could not be seen. ¡°I was a foolish man. A foolish man in love. And I wished to protect my love, and found myself wanting. So I decided to do the one thing that would give me strength above all other Lanterns.¡± He said, before gesturing to his own heart. ¡°By burning my life force, I gain greater strength¡­ but in exchange, I will forever be a¡­ how would you say, a glass cannon?¡± His words were a bit¡­ honestly, romantic for Arthur¡¯s tastes, even if Emilia and Alice both looked to the Demon Lord with kind eyes. ¡°Your ¡®love¡¯¡­ I take it she resides in the forest?¡± Arthur asked, getting a nod from Blade as he placed both hands on his sword, raising it to eye level as he lowered his stance. ¡°Indeed, she is the Demon Lord of the Forest. In all honesty¡­ the two of us are meant to be dead by now. I should have died about seven years ago, and she would have followed soon after.¡± He said, twisting his blade so that if he moved it slightly to the side it would cut his own cheek. ¡°Lord Chronos appeared, rampaging all over Hell as he moved along, killing all who would oppose him and gathering those who would follow.¡± Blade gave a tired chuckle as he inched forward. ¡°I was one who opposed. And I died for my transgressions. And then I was brought back to life.¡± The words of Blade were met with incredulous stares. ¡°Chronos brought you back to life? That¡¯s¡­ impossible, isn¡¯t it?¡± Arthur asked, getting ready for what would likely be the final clash between them and the Demon Lord. ¡°That was a misnomer I suppose. To be precise, Chronos does not ¡®kill¡¯ his enemies. He consumes them. I just so happened to be amongst the ninety nine he felt were worth letting go once more.¡± Blade¡¯s words ended the stalling, as he rushed Arthur. Arthur stepped back, allowing Matt to walk forward, a frown on his face as the defender raised his shield. No one questioned it, even if Matt had been blown away the first time, and needed help the second¡­ Matt was their guardian, the one to take the hits while the others attacked. If he couldn¡¯t take a hit, the fight was over¡­ so just this once, he had to dig in his feet and survive the hit. Blade¡¯s swing was completed, and Matt¡¯s shield roared in protest, Matt¡¯s teeth were grit in determination, and his feet dug into the ground. He stood strong, and Blade was impressed, realizing that Matt had dropped his sword and lowered his stance during his block. The man had defended, as his was duty. Blade pulled back his weapon hoping for another attack, but found an arrow aimed at his sword as he pulled it back. A smart timing, unless Blade tried an immature swing, what would happen was- With a clang, the sword was jerked back until it almost slipped the grasp of the Demon Lord, giving ample time for Alice to switch to her hammer and swing, leaving Blade no time to use his sword as a shield, instead raising his left arm to take the blow. His left arm, strong as it may be, crumbled under the force of the blow, everything from his ¡®bicep¡¯ down being sheared off from the force of the blow as Blade realized the hammer was coated in Darkness. Blade attempted to punish Alice for the attack, instead finding Emilia in the way as she summoned up a shield of ice, getting another hint of surprise from the Demon Lord. Really, who ever heard of using the assassin/rogue as a defensive fighter, even once? Blade¡¯s sword bit through the ice, but the ice did its purpose in slowing down the attack, allowing Emilia and Alice to escape together as Arthur appeared in their place. Blade found it awkward, but he re-angled his slash to hit Arthur, hoping to cleave his enemy from hip to shoulder¡­ and then he got hit in the back, causing his swing to go slightly wide. To think, he was done in by the Healer and his stealth¡­ Blade felt acknowledgement come over him as Arthur¡¯s dagger sparked with lightning, and he thrust into the glass casing that was Blade¡¯s chest, twisting the dagger before- Ah¡­ you¡¯re back. You weren¡¯t meant to be back just yet. What do you mean? When am I meant to return then? At the very least not now¡­ Oh I see¡­ you have slain a mighty foe. The fight was difficult¡­ is that why I am here again? Most certainly. An achievement like that deserves a reward¡­ what to grant you¡­ I know exactly what to give you. With a gasp Arthur sat up, his breath hitching and his heart hammering in his chest as he felt a hand steadying him, as he looked around wildly. ¡°Easy Arthur, Easy! We¡¯re alive, we¡¯re okay¡­ you passed out after killing Blade.¡± Emilia said, her hand on Arthur¡¯s back rubbing calm circles as Arthur breathed, eyes still wide in shock as he raised his hands, as if to confirm that they were still his own. ¡°I¡­ I did? How long was I out?¡± Arthur asked, noticing the grass beneath him denoting that they were still on the ¡®tenth¡¯ floor¡­ They would probably still consider them floors, even if to the Demons themselves they were ¡®Areas¡¯. ¡°Barely ten minutes¡­ you wouldn¡¯t wake up no matter what, John even used a Heal on you but he said you were as healed as you could be.¡± Emilia said, the group coming closer after seeing Arthur waking up. ¡°Yo man, what happened?¡± Matt asked, worry in his eyes that would get a person very hurt for pointing out. ¡°I¡­ I think I gained something¡­ something¡­ strange, from that fight.¡± Arthur said, willing his Dagger to appear, making the group shudder at the feeling it provoked. ¡°Right¡­ your Dagger provides bonus Soul¡­ so maybe it was just you levelling up more than us? We all feel like we levelled up at least twice from that fight.¡± Michael stated as Arthur clenched his fists. He wanted to explain that what happened was more than simply levelling up, but left it alone as he stood with some assistance. The doors to the stairs, both up and downwards, were now open¡­ and a familiar pedestal stood in the centre of the arena, growing from the ground. ¡°Is that¡­ an access panel?¡± Arthur asked as Michael narrowed one eye while giving a ¡®so-so¡¯ gesture. ¡°It kind of is, but it¡¯s like a lower grade version. Just check it out man. It¡¯s important.¡± Michael said, allowing Arthur to walk up to the Access Panel, already noting that unlike the one at the entrance, this one seemed to be made out of wood, with moss appearing and acting as writing.
Select Area:
Dungeon Entrance Forest of the Maiden
¡°Oh¡­ it¡¯s just a fast travel¡­ it¡¯s a fast travel?¡± Arthur double checked, and he just got nods from his friends as he shrugged and looked at the ¡®Panel¡¯ once more¡­ It didn¡¯t really count as one given that they could only use it as a Fast Travel point, and not as a way to level up or create a team. ¡°¡­Can we go home?¡± Arthur asked, getting a nod from his friends as he pressed the first option, the moss of the Panel floating off of it to touch the six Einherjar, connecting them as they began to glow¡­ And then with a blink, they were standing in front of the Access Panel at the entrance of the Dungeon. They barely had any time to do something before Shaun opened the door and walked in, looking at the six before settling on Arthur, who was closest to the Panel. ¡°Finish updating your Statuses. Then, we have to talk.¡± His words promised lots of problems as he walked away, but at least he had the decency to let them update their statuses. Though after seeing his, Arthur thought that maybe, just maybe, he should have left it for after talking to Shaun. It wouldn¡¯t be so complicated then at least.
Arthur Clive
Level: 20 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 10% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 1.5% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 10 Wisdom per use a day. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 2% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 10% (total 125%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 3% of enemies drop two times the loot.
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (19/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 125%) Sword Sage I (0/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (0/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (13/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental I (0/100) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 27 Dexterity: 33
Intelligence: 22 Wisdom: 32 (40)
Endurance: 22 Vitality: 27
Chapter 8- Babel ¡°So¡­ do you realize what you did?¡± Shaun¡¯s words only got silence in return, leaving the man to sigh as he palmed his forehead¡­ He blamed the Cardinal, he blamed that insane seer for everything that caused him headaches. And if it weren¡¯t for the fact that he got an e-mail moments ago saying: ¡®it¡¯s not my fault you have talent¡¯ he would have called the man to complain. Asshole. ¡°Right, you¡¯re lost on the matter. Let me explain. Firstly, you killed the Demon Lord right?¡± Shaun asked, just to clarify as he got a slow nod from Arthur. ¡°Yes, we did¡­ I got the final blow, but yes.¡± He said making Shaun sigh, reaching to his pocket before he frowned¡­ right¡­ he stopped smoking a while back, it was just drinking now. So much change, and not all of it because of the Dungeon and its nonsense. ¡°Right, right¡­ we kind of expected that to happen, but we were hoping it wouldn¡¯t.¡± Shaun¡¯s words got a look of worry sent between the members of Einherjar. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with killing a Demon Lord? Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± John asked, thinking to his own contribution. Granted, he would never be doing such nonsense again he felt. He was a healer, even if his actions saved the lives of both Emilia and Arthur; he refused to be attacking anything. ¡°It is¡­ kind of? I mean, nothing is immediately wrong with what you did; it¡¯s just that what you did isn¡¯t something that won¡¯t get noticed. Case in point.¡± Shaun said, pointing to a TV he had in his office as he got a remote and turned it on. Everyone¡¯s blood ran cold upon seeing the figure on the screen. It sat upon a simple throne, no embellishments and only barely comfortable enough for the being to lounge upon it slightly. It wore armour, beautiful, ornate armour with a cape hung over its left arm, the right shown and tapping the armrest of the throne and its helmet possessing horns flowing backwards as if slicked back hair, its eyes an eerie violet through the holes of its helmet, and while arguably thin, the being radiated power. There could only be one being that appeared like this. ¡°Greetings humans, it is I, the Devil, better known as Chronos. I¡¯m hijacking every signal in the world to inform you that I am interested.¡± The being¡¯s voice was different from Red Sky Day. For one, instead of grating inside the skulls of every human at once, it now spoke from the speakers of whatever device it was attached to, and its voice was¡­ powerful, with a playful lilt at times. ¡°You see, what I had planned, for my invasion, was that once a month every entrance to Hell would spew enemies. I was actually planning on doing so in a few days, but then, to my surprise¡­ my vanguard died.¡± Chronos said, sitting upright. ¡°I possess ninety nine generals of immense power I dubbed Demon Lords. One was to appear every month to attack the human world, and then return to Hell after the day was through. This was a hidden caveat of my war against you all.¡± Shaun looked at Einherjar, and they realized what happened. ¡°I now possess ninety eight such Demon Lords. One, my vanguard for the first month of the new year, was slain before he could lead his forces into Earth, barely a half hour ago.¡± Chronos¡¯ words both worried and made Einherjar feel good. ¡°So be happy humans, you possess some strong enough to force back my Armies before I could even attack. Don¡¯t think that it will always be so easy however. While powerful, the first Demon Lord is the weakest of them all. But that¡¯s fine.¡± Chronos chuckled, leaning back into his Throne as he raised his right arm to the air. ¡°This war is for my amusement after all. So please, keep fighting, keep getting stronger, so that you may become a challenge¡­¡± And then the jolly nature disappeared as Chronos slammed his fist upon the throne of hell, leaning forward with a snarl. ¡°At which point I will grind the collective dust of humanity beneath my feet. So, hurry along humans. I¡¯m getting bored here.¡± Chronos¡¯ snapped his gauntleted fingers, and the broadcast vanished, flickering back to whatever channel was on before. Arthur and the others barely saw a hint of a person wearing orange powering up until his hair turned blue before the TV was switched off, Einherjar turning to Shaun who gave them a blank stare. ¡°I was just catching up to the Tournament of Power arc, sue me. So yeah, everyone knows that someone killed a general of Chronos. No one knows who it is, and social media is booming with speculation and people who are claiming their team did it.¡± Shaun said as he frowned at the glass of water on his desk, before shrugging and drinking it. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing, other people can guess and lie while we go anonymous? Or is being anonymous bad?¡± Alice asked as Shaun swirled the water. ¡°It¡¯s finger pointing. The problem is that somewhere, there is some random Ted saying he did it. And somewhere there is some random Bob believing Ted and swearing loyalty to Ted. And then there¡¯s Harry, who doesn¡¯t quite believe Ted and tries to fight Ted to prove Ted wrong¡­ basically, it¡¯s causing conflict because there isn¡¯t an answer.¡± Shaun said, downing the water before he gave a sad smile. ¡°Think about it, some of humanities worst wars were over whose answer was right, from the Third Crusade to World War two. It isn¡¯t to that point, obviously, but the United Nations would rather give the answer to everyone before fighting can occur.¡± Shaun said, getting a gulp as Arthur spoke up. ¡°So¡­ we have to publically announce we did it¡­ and then what?¡± Arthur asked as Shaun sighed. ¡°Then¡­ well, we, as in the American government, want to cut your team a deal involving this. Basically, you will go into the Dungeon, and fight to kill Chronos as our poster team. Should you six kill him, one of you would become the Devil.¡± The six members of Einherjar looked amongst them with worry. ¡°In that case, what America wants is a favoured status. Hell has resources for all of humanity sure, but America basically wants first dibs on some of the stuff.¡± Shaun¡¯s words got a look of annoyance from Einherjar as he poured himself some more water¡­ Dante still had his alcohol. ¡°Understandably everything would belong to you, including the armies of Hell so even if we make the deal you could refuse and continue Chronos¡¯ war. There¡¯s nothing we could do at that point, but we¡¯re hoping that we can provide money and assistance, and you don¡¯t kill all of humanity.¡± Every member of Einherjar looked disgusted as Michael spoke out. ¡°You can¡¯t seriously believe that one of us would do something like that? We¡¯re human too.¡± Michael said, but Shaun¡¯s response cut their argument cold. ¡°Are you? Or rather, would you be human at that point? It¡¯s a question of whether or not we¡¯re even human at this point, considering we can control elements and break bricks with our fists.¡± Shaun gave a nod to Alice who looked sheepish at the last statement. They knew she could, and Shaun who had access to their files knew she could. Sure, their exact statistics and such were private information, but Shaun had his ways to find out more than he should, such as their Animae and what they did. It was bluntly an intimidation tactic, Arthur felt. Shaun knew their abilities and possibly their elements, he had so much as told Arthur a few weeks ago¡­ His Anima, whatever it was, made his eyes shine green and let him get information in a more concrete manner than Arthur¡¯s Soul Sight worked. He hadn¡¯t used it since updating his status actually¡­ when his eyes flashed purple, Shaun just looked back with his own flashing green eyes. It was terrifying, for Arthur at least, looking at his friends souls he could see more detail, like how the soul, which he at first considered spherical, was only slightly like that, with bumps and grooves that created patterns in the shape. The terrifying part wasn¡¯t his friend¡¯s souls; it was when he accidentally looked at Shaun¡¯s and flinched away from the massive eye staring back at him. Look into the abyss and the abyss will stare back It was a common thought, and Arthur felt it made sense here. Shaun looked away at the same time, undergoing something similar, except for Shaun it was somehow hearing the screams associated with Arthur¡¯s soul grinding itself. Both looked at each other and just nodded slightly¡­ they would never look at each other with those abilities again. It also let Arthur know that Shaun¡¯s ability was stronger than it was a few weeks ago, given that Shaun had looked at Arthur back then and hadn¡¯t reacted so badly. ¡°Right¡­ let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s never do that again. Suffice to say that everyone in this room should be level twenty or nineteen?¡± Shaun asked as they all nodded. Everyone else in Arthur¡¯s team had reached level nineteen, Arthur alone reached level twenty, as a side effect of his ability to gain extra Soul for levelling up. ¡°Well, I¡¯m level twenty, so I can say with surety that you all are amongst the highest levelled people in the world. It¡¯s a very exclusive club, considering there were only six people including me at level twenty.¡± Shaun admitted, making their eyes widen as suddenly the telephone rang. Picking it up, Shaun waited, knowing his was a private number, very few people would know it. He then scowled upon hearing the words on the other end as he handed the phone to Arthur. ¡°It¡¯s for you. Pay attention to what the man says, he sounds insane, but he doesn¡¯t lie.¡± Shaun admitted, confusing Arthur as he raised the phone to his ear. ¡°Uh, hello, this is Arthur?¡± Arthur was confused, knowing that the man apparently asked for Arthur despite Arthur not knowing who it was that asked for him. ¡°Oh I know who you are, Arthur Clive. You¡¯re an interesting one. My name is George Clements, I am one of the six that monster sitting in front of you just mentioned.¡± Arthur¡¯s eyes widened as he looked to Shaun, who was scowling. ¡°He probably said something he has no right knowing, didn¡¯t he?¡± Shaun¡¯s words were ignored in favour of listening to George¡¯s words. ¡°Ignore the monster, he¡¯s not important in this scene right now. Suffice to say that there are six people of our level, seven now with your inclusion Arthur.¡± George¡¯s words rang out. ¡°Now Arthur, I, in all my cardinal red glory, am to inform you of two things, and only you. You are not to share the second, but feel free to share the first with your Einherjar and Shaun.¡± Arthur was still feeling a bit of worry, considering he had never met this George person, who somehow knew Arthur apparently¡­ Arthur would consider Shaun, but as mentioned by Shaun, George said things he shouldn¡¯t know. ¡°First and foremost, the Dungeon, by now you know that there are ninety nine areas with ninety nine Demon Lords. What you don¡¯t know, is that the Dungeon has a name, one found in myth. You recall the legend of the Tower of Babel?¡± Arthur didn¡¯t even get a chance to talk, as this was a one-sided explanation by the man on the other end of the phone. ¡°The Dungeon is in fact the tower, repurposed to become a dimensional gateway of immense proportions. Due to the fact that the Dungeon, aka Babel, is where you fight, translation occurs automatically. If you wish to confirm my words, ask your friend Emilia what language she hears when you enter the Dungeon.¡± Again, George said something he should not know as Arthur looked over to Emilia. ¡°Emilia¡­ what language do we speak in the Dungeon?¡± Arthur¡¯s words were confusing, but Shaun listened in intently, knowing the man on the other end of the phone, he would not mention something that wasn¡¯t important. ¡°Uh¡­ Russian¡­ right?¡± she asked, making Shaun look to Arthur who calmly turned to face forward, focusing on the phone against his ear. ¡°Right, I¡¯m sure my statement was confirmed just now. This is an important thing to know Arthur, remember it. As for the second thing, keep this to yourself. The being that grants you power is something that only those with two Animae possess. That is hint enough for you to eventually discover its identity.¡± The man said, and Arthur considered his words before laughter was heard. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve done my role for now, I can¡¯t wait for my appearance in the final chapter! And remember Arthur, remember well¡­ praise the marshmallow, and remain beholden to the glory of good steak!¡± with that shout, the phone clicked off and Arthur just blinked in confusion as Shaun reached over for the phone. ¡°He¡¯s an asshole, isn¡¯t he? He says a whole lot of serious stuff that he knows for some unknown reason, and then always leaves with some insane greeting.¡± Shaun said, wishing more than ever that he had his whiskey on hand. A knock on the door and Shaun sighed walking to it, and opening it to find a delivery man. He signed and took the rectangular package and sat down, opening it to reveal a bottle of Bell¡¯s whiskey. Without a word, Shaun opened the bottle, and poured himself some. Then, just as silently, Shaun downed the whiskey, then closed the bottle and placed it under his desk. ¡°¡­¡± the Einherjar were all quiet as they stared at the man in confusion as he just waved their concerns off. ¡°To explain everything as simply as possible, that man, George, has a rare class. Seer. He can literally see the future, though he can¡¯t control what he sees.¡± That got wide eyes from the group as a whole each asking questions, though luckily no one shouted anything. ¡°There are lots of ¡®rare¡¯ classes you know? I have one, and from what Arthur claimed, he has one too.¡± Arthur blinked in confusion as he raised an eyebrow. ¡°A rare class is denoted by what Skill they grant you. All our classes provide two bonus stat points, but depending on the rank of the Skill, the class is considered either normal, rare or unique. We normally don¡¯t give a distinction between the last two.¡± Shaun explained, pointing at Arthur, and then at Matt. ¡°The two of you possess classes like this. Matt, yours is a rare class because it gives a rare Skill. As for Arthur¡¯s, his is unique because it gives a unique Skill, even if he only got one Skill from the deal.¡± Shaun then pointed to Alice who blinked at the focus.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°And despite possessing a rare Skill, your class is still considered a normal one because it only gave normal skills. Get the picture?¡± they all nodded, understanding the difference in class rankings. ¡°As for Seers and their female versions, Oracles, they are really fucking rare. As in we only know of two, and both work for the English Government. One of them was George, and the other is his¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Shaun said, making the group look at him in confusion. ¡°The man himself isn¡¯t sure on their relationship, but she will at some point marry him apparently. So fianc¨¦ would be a good term.¡± The Einherjar just nodded while waiting. ¡°Anyway, where was I¡­ oh yes, the level twenties. There are six of us in the world not counting Arthur here. I am one of them, another is George, the guy who just called. The other four live in Russia, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.¡± Michael frowned at this. ¡°Isn¡¯t that false? I mean, only seven people at that level seems farfetched, it¡¯s more likely there are people of that level that are in hiding isn¡¯t it?¡± Michael asked and Shaun nodded. ¡°You¡¯d be right, but remember, before today no one reached the tenth floor, and I¡¯ve been in the Dungeon for almost a month longer than you all. Trust me, it isn¡¯t feasible for someone to reach higher than level sixteen or seventeen without killing a Demon Lord.¡± Shaun explained and that answered their worries. ¡°Anyway, these six countries I just mentioned are hosting a United Nation¡¯s meeting in two weeks. During that meeting, six people will be introduced to the world at large as Champions.¡± The capitalization was practically audible. ¡°These Champions are to be brought forward as the strongest non-government affiliated adventurers in the world. Or at least originally, but the Russians are trying to pull a fast one on us. We¡¯ll let them, just to prove we¡¯re accepting of their tricks.¡± Shaun said with a sigh, wanting to pull out his whiskey, but recalling what happened the last time he tried to drink more than one glass. ¡°Why bring up these Champions? Why not just have you Guild Leaders be the representatives?¡± Alice asked, and Shaun chuckled at the question. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what Russia is doing, they¡¯re sending their Guild Leader as their Champion. Anyway, the reason for the separation is duty. Quite frankly it¡¯s an unbearable workload to be both Guild Leader and vanguard of the human race.¡± Shaun said as he drew a quick squiggle of two circles, one in front, and one in the back¡­ He sucked at drawing given there were stick figures in the circles. ¡°The vanguard would be led by these Champions who would each have their own teams, charging into battle. The Guild Leaders would be HQ, sending down information and assistance to the vanguard. Being both would require cycling between the positions and that would be tiring.¡± Seeing the example, Emilia spoke up. ¡°Then what Russia plans on doing is having an acting Champion or Guild Leader while the real one is away? If he¡¯s in the Dungeon, they have another person as Guild Leader. If he¡¯s at the Guild, have someone else lead his team?¡± she asked as Shaun nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the plan. Normally, this replacement of his would be the Champion, but they trust him more than they trust this this other person. Every other country could do this, but I refused the offer.¡± Shaun said, looking to Arthur. ¡°¡­¡± Arthur remained silent, not quite getting why everyone was suddenly staring at him¡­ and then it hit. ¡°Wait, so I¡¯m going to be this Champion? Why not Michael, he¡¯s our team leader?¡± Arthur asked as Michael and the rest of Einherjar chuckled, looking at each other. ¡°Hear that, he¡¯s the highest levelled in our team and he wants me to be the Champion of America. Funny guy, isn¡¯t he?¡± Michael asked aloud, making Arthur¡¯s jaw hang slightly as he listened to his friends joking about it. ¡°Wait, but I¡¯m not suited to leading¡­¡± he said as John poked him in the chest. ¡°Are you sure man? Weren¡¯t you the one who led us against the Demon Lord? Michael didn¡¯t say a word during that fight, you did, you led us and we won man.¡± Arthur tried to argue against this until Emilia spoke up. ¡°Arthur, we¡¯ve been wanting you to be our leader for a while. You just didn¡¯t get the hint and we weren¡¯t willing to force it. And besides, don¡¯t we work on merit?¡± Emilia asked as Matt piped in. ¡°Yeah Arthur, working efficiently. You draw a map just as good as Emilia, but she does it faster than you so we let her do it. Alice can block a hit like I can with a shield, but I do it better so that¡¯s my job.¡± Matt¡¯s words got Michael to pat Arthur¡¯s shoulder as Arthur glanced towards his friend. ¡°Arthur, I can lead¡­ but so can you. And when we fought Blade, you did so without hesitation. I¡¯m comfortable just being a scout.¡± Michael joked, referencing his ability to see far distances¡­ He had a point, Michael was usually the first person in their team to find a monster, inform the team, and then attack¡­ He was their opening attacker and scout, despite standing at the back of the team he saw more than all of them. In the close range, that position swapped to Matt, who used his Spatial Recognition Skill to know everything within a certain radius, but Arthur got the idea. ¡°¡­Fine, be that way. I¡¯ll lead the team, but I won¡¯t like it.¡± No one in the room took Arthur¡¯s declaration seriously and they just continued as if he said nothing. ¡°Anyway, you five are considered accessories to Arthur honestly, sorry but it¡¯s how the others will see you. Until the UN meeting, you should continue going into the Dungeon, get stronger and all that shit.¡± Shaun¡¯s words got a nod from everyone but Arthur, who was looking a bit lost for words. ¡°Also, I have to say we of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild have researchers who look out for monsters, weaknesses, paths in the Dungeon, that kind of things. We¡¯ll pay you for information, as we always have, but considering that you all are the furthest along in the Dungeon, we¡¯ll give extra.¡± Shaun explained making their group happier¡­ They got paid for just talking about what they would see in the Dungeon? That sounded wonderful. ¡°Now please, leave for a bit. I have a few calls to make and things to document. I¡¯ll expect you all to explain the Demon Lord tomorrow.¡± Shaun said, getting the group to leave as he thought about his situation. After the door closed, Shaun got his package of Bells and poured himself another glass, seeing something attached to the package he hadn¡¯t before. It was a card, with one line of print. Give that man a Bells. He needs it. Einherjar, walking away from Shaun¡¯s office, just barely managed to hear about twenty six curses in seven different languages, some repeated in other languages rather than be repeated in the same language. They decided it was just something that pissed off Shaun and that they should have nothing to do with it if they wanted to maintain their sanity. ¡°Oh yeah, as leader of the team, I really have to ask this¡­ but can I check your statuses?¡± Arthur¡¯s words, if they were to some random Adventurer, would have been insensitive. An Adventurer¡¯s stats and skills were their own, and telling someone else was the equivalent of showing everything you are to someone. Of course, they were a team, so they had long since ignored such things amongst themselves. ¡°Sure, give us a sec.¡± Michael said as he activated his inventory to let a piece of paper land in front of him, everyone else doing a similar action as they handed their papers to Arthur. Arthur still remembered seeing their statuses when they were all level one, so he had a rough idea on starting skills, and with Matt he could even plainly say he knew exactly where Matt¡¯s stat points were. He leafed through the information easily, connecting what he saw to his teammates as well as some things he had seen.
Michael Grave
Level: 19
Class: Bowman Surveyor- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Grants Archery Skill and Hawk Eye Skill
Anima
Longbow of Skill
Anima Skills
Elemental Shift- Grant your arrows magic damage based on element Focus- perception of time slows down with bow string drawn back.
Primary Element: Fire
Personal Skills
Hawk Eye II (14/100) ¨C Enhanced vision, drains stamina Archery II (21/100) ¨C increases accuracy with ranged weapons Hero¡¯s Strength I (43/50) ¨C Increases Strength by 10% (110%)
Stats
Strength: 29 (31) Dexterity: 29
Intelligence: 24 Wisdom: 24
Endurance: 24 Vitality: 24
Michael¡¯s status explained how he was capable of so accurately attacking an enemy just as they attacked, to disturb their rhythm he had to have the Focus skill. His level ten skill was apparently Hero¡¯s Strength, which was a good thing for an archer. The only thing more important than Dexterity was Strength, and that was because they only needed enough Dexterity to aim at something nearby in most cases. Arthur felt that Michael would most certainly be getting the Quick Reflexes Skill when he reached level twenty though.
Emilia Vasilievna
Level: 19
Class: Hunter Thief- Grants one stat point to Dexterity and Intelligence per level Gives Tracking Skill and Dagger Arts Skill
Anima
Bloodletting Daggers
Anima Skills
Shred- increases damage dealt to animal-type enemies, occasionally causes Bleeding Armour Piercing- chance to bypass armour, weakens blows to flesh after bypassing armour though
Primary Element: Water
Personal Skills
Quick Reflexes II (14/100)- increases Dexterity by 15% Dagger Arts II (28/100)- Increases Dagger-type weapon damage Tracking I (36/50) - Allows tracking of wounded enemies, can be used to map areas, but is not designed to do so. Martial Arts II (2/100) ¨C increases damage dealt without a weapon.
Stats
Strength: 30 Dexterity: 30 (34)
Intelligence: 24 Wisdom: 23
Endurance: 25 Vitality: 23
Oddly enough, Emilia had a skill still at rank one after a month, but that also made sense. Tracking wasn¡¯t a skill that was feasible in the beginning floors of the Dungeon. In the next Area¡¯s though, they might encounter enemies that would retreat, and Emilia¡¯s skill would be put to use then. She also claimed that her Endurance was 20 at level 17, so she tossed an entire levels worth of points into the stat¡­ made sense after she nearly died from a kick and not a slash.
John Collins
Level: 19
Class: Shade Healer- Grants one stat point to Wisdom and Intelligence per level Gives Sneak Skill and Light Scripture Skill
Anima
Enhancing Arts
Anima Skills
Hard Hitting- lets someone deal double damage on their next attack Tempo Accel- Increases movement and attack speed by 5%.
Primary Element: Mind
Personal Skills
Sneak II (42/100)- grants the ability to erase ones presence Light Scripture II (15/100)- Grants Healing Spells, lowers Mana cost Computation I (41/50) ¨C Increases Intelligence by 10%
Stats
Strength: 22 Dexterity: 22
Intelligence: 34 (37) Wisdom: 34
Endurance: 22 Vitality: 22
The MVP of the Demon Lord fight arguably. John saved Emilia and Arthur during the fight, and landed two blows on the Demon Lord without getting detected up until the end, even after the Demon Lord figured out what was going on. He was frankly a better assassin than Emilia, at least until she got the Sneak Skill herself¡­ His stat layout also proved that every stat needed a minimum of twenty before balance was achieved, however overspecialization would lead to the soul issue from before. He¡¯d need to raise everything overtime basically.
Matt Jacobson
Level: 19
Class: Wall of Steel- Grants two stat points to Endurance per level Gives Spatial Recognition (Rare) Skill and Shield Arts Skill
Anima
Shield of Immunity
Anima Skills
Bulwark- ranged attacks against team are redirected towards the shield Spikes- Parrying a weapon might result in its destruction
Primary Element: Metal
Personal Skills
Stand Strong II (24/100)- increases Endurance by 15% Shield Arts II (14/100)- decreases Damage taken when blocking Spatial Recognition II (11/150) - Allows tracking of all things within a ten metre radius, causes headaches with long use Lightened Load I (27/50)- Weight of carried items lowered by 5%
Stats
Strength: 23 Dexterity: 23
Intelligence: 23 Wisdom: 23
Endurance: 41 (47) Vitality: 23
Matt¡¯s stat arrangement, for a tank, was unfairly simple. He placed no points in Endurance, and his five points per level were equally placed between every other stat for simplicity. The result was that he was going to eventually be capable of fighting at a really high level. At, say, level ninety nine, he¡¯d have about seven hundred and fifty stat points, with two hundred and thirty in Endurance. Bulletproof monk, if they could shave his head without dying¡­
Alice Grave
Level: 19
Class: Martial Berserker- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Gives Pain is Gain Skill and Hero¡¯s Strength Skill
Anima (Skill)
The World is a Weapon- grants use of any weapon as if holding a rank I skill of that weapon type The World is a Shield- grants use of all defensive skills to the point of rank I
Primary Element: Darkness
Personal Skills
Hero¡¯s Strength II (21/100)- increases Strength by 15% Pain is Gain II (3/100)- The more damaged, the more powerful the user becomes, causes intense anger Calm Mind I (96/100)- Keeps a person calm and collected Quick Reflexes I (47/50)- Increases Dexterity by 10%
Stats
Strength: 29 (33) Dexterity: 29 (31)
Intelligence: 26 Wisdom: 26
Endurance: 26 Vitality: 26
Alice, the berserker/warrior of the group, had the most balanced stats in Arthur¡¯s opinion. Seriously, check it out. She fought in the front line as a damage dealer, so her Strength and Dexterity were slightly higher than the rest of her stats, not counting the stat booster skills. She needed the Endurance and Vitality to have staying power in a fight, because at the front line she¡¯s more likely to get hit and she moves around a lot, getting tired. Then for Intelligence and Wisdom, that was because her element cost quite a bit of Mana in comparison to most others, the only equal being Light and Mind. And John had a skill that lowered Mana costs, so he could use his element much more easily compared to Alice. Knowing that his friends would be curious, he removed the piece of paper he had his own stats written on, and handed it to Michael who showed it to everyone else. ¡°Bullshit.¡± All five stated looking at his status as Arthur raised his eyebrows. ¡°Me? What about all of you? John¡¯s a practical assassin, Michael can slow down time for himself, Alice is a calm berserker, Matt¡¯s a walking tank and Emilia has Daggers that either deal more damage or ignore your defences¡­ what makes me so amazing?¡± Arthur asked as all the members of Einherjar looked at each other. ¡°You have a Rare Skill, two Unique Skills, a rarer stat boosting Skill and a Skill that lets you fight as if you were ambidextrous, and that¡¯s not even counting your Anima Skills.¡± Emilia stated as Matt nodded. ¡°Yeah, looking at the Dagger Skills, an experience booster so you level up faster, you deal more damage to anything that constitutes as a living being, and can create a small black hole from your knife.¡± Matt said, finally having John complain. ¡°And for your Cloak you get another boost to the same stat already boosted by your skill, increased defence and you have a chance to get twice as much money from your enemies¡­ that last one must be Batman¡¯s super power.¡± Everyone drew a blank at what Batman¡¯s super power could be before John answered it for them. ¡°White Privilege, damn you all.¡± The laughter flowed naturally as they walked away from the Guild, and Arthur considered their words¡­ Yeah¡­ his advantages, in his eyes, weren¡¯t as blatant as the others were, but having them pointed out he could see what they were saying. Tactician, as a skill, was rare, despite being listed as common. Not a lot of people focused on Wisdom as a stat, instead focusing on other tangible stats like Intelligence. There were very few who thought like Arthur did when it came to ¡®recovery rates¡¯. Namely that, if he regained faster than he lost, wouldn¡¯t he never run out? He applied the thought in many games he played, he figured he would try it out in real life, and it was coming out wonderfully in his opinion¡­ Matt gained six stat points from his stat booster skill, with a base value of forty one. Arthur gained eight stat points from a base value of thirty two. Clearly Arthur¡¯s was actually better¡­ he had more stat points than Matt did, despite not focusing as much on the stat. And after seeing John¡¯s stats, he figured¡­ focusing, might be something worthwhile¡­ He wouldn¡¯t know this, but this thought would save his life. Chapter 9- The Forest of the Maiden ¡°So Arthur, there was an announcement from Chronos yesterday about someone killing a Demon Lord¡­ and then an hour after that, the president makes an announcement that the people responsible live in America.¡± Arthur did not dare look at his father in that moment, instead choosing to eat his breakfast. ¡°Anything you want to tell me? Before I tell you what I know of course.¡± His father was straightforward when it came to things like this, and Arthur wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about that. ¡°I¡­ may have been the one to hit the final blow, and I may also have entered a deal with the Guild to be a representative, and I also may need to appear in front of the U.N in a few weeks?¡± Arthur committed to nothing, instead only saying ¡®maybe¡¯. It was a good political trick that Arthur¡¯s father taught him. Admit to nothing but give suggestions and people will run with it on their own. And if the suggestion is found to be true, you didn¡¯t say it was, you just said ¡®maybe¡¯. ¡°I see. By the way, your LEV is showing.¡± Arthur looked down to his left wrist, and indeed¡­ the glowing tattoo stating LEV 20 was showing. ¡°Ah. No wonder.¡± Arthur didn¡¯t clarify, they both knew he was talking about how his father knew it was Arthur and his team that killed the Demon Lord. He was level seventeen when he left the house the day before after all¡­ ¡°Arthur, I¡¯m not happy that people are celebrating killing, but for the human race it is something good. I¡¯m not angry, I¡¯m proud. Just don¡¯t get hurt.¡± Markus stated, and all was still. Arthur finished his food in silence and left with a smile on his face, Markus looking at his newspaper with a smile of his own. In a few minutes, Arthur was at the Guild being shown in by Dante who spoke up as he opened the door. ¡°Hey, go talk to my sister before you go into the Dungeon. She¡¯s got a few things.¡± Dante said and Arthur just nodded, knowing the rest of the group wasn¡¯t here yet. It gave him a chance to think after yesterday¡¯s incident, looking at his hands and clenching them over and over. He had changed, it was slight, but he had changed after slaying the Demon Lord. He was noticing it only now of course, but his¡­ personality, changed a bit. He wasn¡¯t some different person, but he felt¡­ easy. He felt calmer than he had been in a while, he felt¡­ Confident. It was an odd feeling for Arthur, who had always doubted himself unless confirmed to be good at something. He felt strong now. He felt it had to do with the being that ¡®granted¡¯ him power¡­ and the only power it seemed that he could have gotten would be his new Unique Skill. Sword Sage, it seemed to be a much higher form of Swordsmanship, given that it gave a similar boost to damage with bladed weapons. The difference being that with Swordsmanship the percentage boost was something miniscule like two per cent. With Sword Sage, it was huge, at a whole twenty per cent increase in damage with blades¡­ not only that, but like Swordsmanship, it granted Extra Skills to be used with bladed weaponry. The Extra Skill Arthur gained was strange though. Before his skill changed to Sword Sage, he had learnt Power Slash and Jagged, the last was apparently a rarer choice for the second skill level. Now, Arthur lost those two Skills and gained a new one, simply called Slash. He had tried it the night before in his backyard, and he understood the difference between Sword Sage and Swordsmanship. Swordsmanship was a tiny passive increase and powerful Skills that could only be used a certain amount of times before one got a headache. Sword Sage had a huge passive increase and a weaker Skill¡­ but it could be used much more freely. Rather, it almost felt like every ¡®slashing¡¯ attack he did was the new Extra Skill rather than something normal. He did them perfectly, without question, but he still had errors with stabs, blocks, and so on. It seemed like Sword Sage boosted his basic skill with bladed weaponry, little by little until his basic ability with a blade would surpass his peers. While lost in thought, his team finally arrived, starting with Alice and Michael who lived nearby, then Emilia, then John and Matt, who apparently woke up late. They walked to the counter to see Ellie waiting for them¡­ with a team in front of her which she quickly ignored. Apparently someone was trying to flirt. Idiots¡­ she¡¯d kill them if she felt like it. ¡°Ah, team Einherjar, you need to go over to that room there, the Guild Leader¡¯s waiting for you.¡± She said, turning back to the other team who were looking at Einherjar with suspicion in their eyes. Arthur¡¯s team wouldn¡¯t know, since they knew Shaun when the Guild was still starting out and not the impressive building it currently was, but getting to meet Shaun was rare, sure he hung out around the Guild at times, but no one dared to actually talk to him. Seeing a team being called up by Shaun got some suspicious looks, but nothing more than that as Einherjar entered the room, seeing Shaun waiting with a large table in the centre of the room. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re all here¡­ swell, look, I got an order from up top. The Guild is to support you six to the best of our abilities, so we got you a few things.¡± His statement was punctuated with a touch of the table, showing armour and weaponry as Arthur and his friends stared. ¡°Ellie¡¯s a Mind mage. Anyway, we set you up with equipment, made by one of the High Smiths.¡± That got raised eyebrows as they looked to the armour. ¡°What¡¯s a High Smith?¡± Arthur¡¯s question was met with a chuckle from Shaun. ¡°Dante, he¡¯s one. He¡¯s the one who made all these, and, under orders from the boss upstairs, we¡¯re selling them to you. Of course, you don¡¯t need to pay right up front, and because we¡¯re half-sponsoring you, we will give a discount.¡± Shaun¡¯s words were proven by the group scanning the equipment. All of them required at least a level of ten with a stat higher than twenty, usually in Endurance or Strength, sometimes in both. Matt was quick to accept some of the weightier armour, after figuring out that the armour auto-adjusted to fit them. It was a standard effect on all equipment dropped from the Dungeon, and clearly something on equipment made by Smiths. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the question though¡­ what¡¯s a High Smith?¡± Emilia asked as she checked the elbow and knee-guards making Shaun think about it. ¡°It¡¯s a Guild thing. See, we¡¯re the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but we aren¡¯t the only Guild that was created in the past two months. The Smithing Guild is one such Guild, and Dante is a member there as well. He¡¯s level nineteen, the highest levelled Blacksmith in the world, so he¡¯s a High Smith.¡± Shaun¡¯s explanation was continued as Einherjar checked out their equipment. ¡°A High Smith is considered the best at what they do. Only the Blacksmiths with a level above fifteen can consider themselves High Smiths, and Dante is the strongest.¡± Shaun was proud of that, given that Dante was his subordinate and teammate. ¡°Isn¡¯t that weird? I mean, if Dante is part of two Guilds?¡± Arthur asked as Shaun shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not much of an issue. All Guilds use the same system, they¡¯re just places to trade information. Granted, competition is beginning to build up in some, but Guilds at their core provide information and a system to use.¡± Shaun¡¯s words made sense. Kind of like how a band can release an album, and then a single member of that band could release his own album, they weren¡¯t mutually exclusive. ¡°These are good equipment¡­ how much would all this cost though?¡± Arthur asked with worry as Shaun took a sip of his canteen, now filled with Bell¡¯s whiskey as he considered it for a bit. Yeah, it was his new favourite, cheap too. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ all of you took something, metallic stuff went to your tank, your berserker and your leader. Leather worked stuff went to the assassin, archer and the healer. The tank got himself a good hammer, the berserker took a whip, the healer took a staff¡­¡± Arthur gulped as Shaun continued calculating. ¡°It all comes out to-¡± Arthur felt himself blank out when he found out there were five digits in the price. ¡°Why so expensive!¡± someone shouted as Arthur felt himself come back and consider the price. ¡°It¡¯s actually not. This is after a half price discount, so normally it would be over one hundred thousand dollars. This is because equipment is better than any normal version of the same armour. And calculating¡­¡± Shaun pointed at Emilia. ¡°Leather boots, coat, breastplate, knee guards and elbow guards, counting the last two as a single item that¡¯s four pieces of items, the coat is the most expensive piece and the cheapest were the boots, the price range is one thousand dollars to three.¡± Emilia paled a bit looking at the coat which hugged her frame, keeping it from flapping about as she moved. ¡°Next, metallic greaves, helmet, leather joint guards, metallic chestplate, the most expensive items on the list bar the joint guards, ranging from two thousand to six thousand.¡± Matt felt almost physically pained as they continued. Everyone found that their equipment cost almost ten thousand each if the price was split up. John¡¯s equipment cost the least, given that he just got himself boots and arm guards, as well as a staff¡­ But the staff was the most expensive item in the arrangement, going for seven thousand because it increased spell count, a rare ability. ¡°But don¡¯t worry about it. Most of the seventy five thousand you owe can be paid off by the fact that you¡¯ll be providing us with information on new monsters. Even I¡¯ve never been to the eleventh floor, so you should have paid us back by the twelfth or thirteenth.¡± Shaun¡¯s statement calmed the group down after a moment. ¡°Luckily the arrangement with the appraisers lets them check out the price for things. Remember, a Lantern Brute¡¯s Soul Stone gets you a clean fifty dollars. The stuff in the new Area of the Dungeon would probably get you more.¡± Shaun said as they walked out of the place in their old outfits. No point in making people jealous¡­ and luckily their inventory allowed them to get dressed without showing skin. They couldn¡¯t try that in a fight, too little concentration for changing clothes, but otherwise it worked out alright. ¡°Actually that reminds me, why do Adventurer¡¯s make so much money? Wasn¡¯t it that money was becoming scarce?¡± Matt asked, considering his father owned a business and wanted Matt to work for him, he knew how money flowed in their economy. Shaun¡¯s face took a grim look as he sighed, looking around for a moment. ¡°The fact is, almost every government in the world has too much money right now. I¡¯m sure you heard the rumours, of people asking ¡®where is the money going¡¯ after Red Sky Day when entire families died.¡± Einherjar kept quiet as they listened. ¡°The truth is, every government requisitioned the money if it had nowhere to go, and then Animae came in, and some can be used as lie detectors like my own. We rooted out corrupt officials, and now money doesn¡¯t go missing as often as it used to.¡± Everyone noted that Shaun seemed really proud about that last bit. ¡°So because of that, the governments are running smoother around the world, and we all have a bit extra money to make more money.¡± Shaun¡¯s words were cut off by Arthur.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°So what you¡¯re doing with the extra money¡­ is paying us Adventurer¡¯s for the Soul Stones we collect and other items from the Dungeon. And then using what we give the government, they make more?¡± Arthur asked as Shaun nodded with a smirk. ¡°Yeah. Soul Stones are a new form of energy for use, there are scientists we got trying to make phones and other electronics with them, and they can even be used in enchanting items to have elemental effects. To be frank, we¡¯re paying for our scientists to research and make us more money than we lose to you all.¡± Shaun was at least honest about it, and no one in Einherjar blamed them, that¡¯s how the economy worked. ¡°So you¡¯re creating an entirely new section of economy¡­ the Adventurers go into the Dungeon and bring back resources. The Government buys these resources, and Adventurer¡¯s use the money they make to buy food, water, and so on, the money would flow back to the Government due to taxes. Then the Government creates new devices and sells them to the general public, and gains even more money flow.¡± Matt¡¯s statement¡­ Well, they knew he was smarter than he let on, it surprised no one, the only thing surprising was how calmly he said it. ¡°Yeah. A healthy economy is determined by exchange of money, too much exchange and your money is worth little, not enough exchange and people are blocking the economy from flowing.¡± Shaun admitted, and that was some food for thought as they went up to the Access Panel, Shaun leaving them. Shaun looked to his wrist, seeing the LEV 21 before hiding it once more. Einherjar didn¡¯t need to know what he did last night, though he would tell them what he found out another time. Einherjar set up their team formation, and they chuckled as they witnessed Arthur looking reluctant before placing himself as the leader. And then, the door appeared in the obsidian block¡­ but the Access Panel also changed, showing the two options from the previous day.
Select Area:
Dungeon Entrance Forest of the Maiden
The difference being that the second option was available, while the first was not. Picking the second option, the ¡®door¡¯ flashed and then the second option blanked out. ¡°So when teleporting back, we just vanish and reappear. When teleporting into the Dungeon, it changes where the door opens.¡± Arthur noted as they walked into the Dungeon, finding themselves standing on the plateau overlooking the ¡®Forest of the Maiden¡¯ Area. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful honestly.¡± Arthur¡¯s words weren¡¯t denied, the scenery from where they stood was very beautiful. Bright blue sky, dotted by the occasional fluffy white cloud, the sun wasn¡¯t visible but the sky was bright, and the breeze felt like a soft embrace. Arthur wouldn¡¯t mind just sitting there for a while, but they knew they had to move forward, and so they looked to the path heading down¡­ and down they went. Coming down to floor eleven, they knew things had changed. For one, they found themselves on a forest path, no way back beyond the door behind them, and only one way forward. The forest around them, the trees were showing gaps between them, showing the occasional tiny creature looking at them before scampering away. Many of those tiny creatures were not normal, such as a fox with blue fur, or a squirrel with a scythe for a tail, but they didn¡¯t attack Arthur¡¯s group, and Arthur could see why, as their souls were much smaller than any of the Einherjar, thus making them weaker. He was using Soul Sight subconsciously again¡­ ¡°We won¡¯t be able to chase after them. We¡¯re only allowed on the path.¡± Arthur stated, seeing the runes lining the path, pointing them out to Einherjar as he tried to walk past the line, instead, pressing into an invisible wall. ¡°So it¡¯s similar to the caves in that we can only move along the paths, it¡¯s impossible to dig through the walls into another path.¡± Emilia stated with a breath of relief, drawing a map of a forest would be next to impossible for her, but like this, it would be the same as mapping the caves. ¡°Yes¡­ but be weary. While these runes keep them out and us in, there might come a time in the Dungeon where the runes won¡¯t be around, or they¡¯ll let the creatures in.¡± Arthur¡¯s warning got a groan from the group as they began to move. The last time he made a prediction like that, was the one involving the ¡®tutorial¡¯ ending on floor ten, and boy did it end. Einherjar encountered their first monster by surprise. As in the monster surprised them. They had been walking normally, following the new path, branching out occasionally to look at other paths and add them to the map. Oddly enough, when Emilia made a map, due to her Tracking skill being a sub-category of Mapping, she could immediately determine where the stairs were relative to the entirety of the map. Basically, if they made the map a grid, she would now exactly where on the grid they appeared from, and would draw from there. It was a problem for people mapping a new place, but thanks to the skill it seems that they bypassed it. Anyway, they were walking, and then¡­ it just dropped in the middle of their group. It was a Goblin, a creature they were used to, they had fought many of them before, Alice pulped them with her hammer every time they encountered one. This wasn¡¯t a normal Goblin though, given that it immediately lunged at Michael stabbing his stomach with a tiny dagger it held as Michael shouted in pain, holding his wound. The Goblin wasn¡¯t able to retrieve its dagger due to Michael stepping back while holding the knife where it was, and the Goblin was left without a weapon as Alice swung at its head. It died, in one hit, much like every other Goblin they fought, but Arthur stared at its soul with trepidation. Michael removed the dagger, looking at it for a moment before cursing, tossing it on the floor as it faded away, calling out to John for a Recovery, the spell used for abnormal effects, most noticeably poison. John was quick to use it as they gathered around Michael in a defensive position, the four other members looking in each cardinal direction. ¡°Arthur what the fuck was that? It looked like a Goblin!¡± Alice asked in a shout as Arthur clenched his fist. ¡°Quiet, now!¡± he whispered back as they all kept as quiet as possible, Michael having been cured of the poison on the dagger as they waited. ¡°Arthur, we need an explanation, fast.¡± Emilia whispered, and Arthur nodded, looking around, and then at the canopy above them. ¡°It was in the tree above us. It was hiding. Its soul was not clear, but coloured a kind of vomit green. It had intelligence.¡± That was a worry as Alice spoke up. ¡°It died in one hit like every other Goblin¡­ but they¡¯re a threat now, aren¡¯t they?¡± she asked as Arthur nodded, they still looked around in worry. ¡°Yes. Michael, why did you ask for Recovery immediately?¡± Arthur asked as Michael cursed once more. ¡°Shit. Literally. The dagger was rusted and covered in what looked like old shit and blood.¡± The group turned green at the idea of being stabbed with any weapon like that, and it made sense that Michael immediately called out for poison recovery. ¡°We¡¯ll continue¡­ but after we get out of this place, we¡¯re taking him to a hospital.¡± Arthur¡¯s words were accepted. Recovery was never used before now, they didn¡¯t know how powerfully it healed. ¡°Also, I¡¯ll be activating Soul Sight continuously now. It¡¯s difficult for me to make out details while I¡¯m using it, so everyone else will need to guide me as I look out for enemies.¡± He admitted, now that the enemy souls weren¡¯t clear, they wouldn¡¯t blend into the background until shattered. ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll be looking above into the trees now too. That was a mistake on my part as the scout.¡± Michael said, knowing that his injury was payment enough for the mistake he had made. ¡°John, apply bandaging. It¡¯s a normally threatening wound, but with our physique¡­¡± Arthur hinted and John nodded, getting the idea. Clearly Michael wouldn¡¯t be closing the stab wound on his own right now, but bandaging it would heal it better, and they wouldn¡¯t be moving too fast to get him more injured. John only had a certain amount of heals to his name, with the staff he could use eight, without it he could use only six. Eight heals a day, and using one on such a stab wound was not as important as say healing broken bones. Not only that, but their stats affected them in strange ways, and the Vitality stat had to do with recovery. Michael would be fine for moving around, but he wouldn¡¯t be running around without wincing. They learned their lesson, continuing on their path, encountering a few more Goblins of different types as they moved through the forest. The one they first encountered as a Goblin Assassin, only attacking from above and wearing only a loincloth so as to take advantage of their green skin and blend in to the leaves. The other ones they encountered were Goblin Scouts, Goblin Warriors and one Goblin Mage. The Scouts were archers, and the Warriors attacked straight up unlike Assassins, and had a tiny wooden shield looking like a barrel top. And the one Mage shot a fire ball at them, something Emilia blocked easily as Michael shot its throat out. They ended up going home earlier than usual, due to wanting to check out Michael¡¯s condition and reporting the Goblin infestation¡­ They also noticed another thing, courtesy of Arthur. They were getting less experience than they used to from Goblins. Arthur¡¯s explanation was that the Goblin souls were the same size as the empty ones, just coloured in¡­ and for some reason, that colour allowed more of its soul to condense into a Soul Stone, and less to be converted into Soul (experience) for their level up. In exchange there were a huge amount of Goblins, given that they had to have at least killed three digits of Goblins before they left, and that had gotten them a level actually, due to the sheer amount they killed. Arthur was also having fun. Granted, the newer Goblins were scary in their own way, given they moved in formation, were willing to harm each other to kill the six Einherjar, and didn¡¯t move in set patterns they used to¡­ But Arthur was enjoying fighting them, given the smile on his face which no one judged. He was enjoying killing them, but not because of what that meant, but because he was figuring out new things as they fought. For one, they were forced to move more erratically to fight the Goblins, resulting in some creative acrobatics from Alice, Emilia, Arthur, and at one point Matt, and this was a good thing. They were getting stronger, shown by their stats, but they were still learning how that affected them, how to move with their new power and speed, and fighting the Goblins were giving them more surety in their movements. Arthur¡¯s new found skill with blades interested the group as well, seeing how accurately he killed the enemies, never letting them touch him if they got close enough for him to harm them with his new weapon. He only took armour from Shaun, so where did he get the new weapon? Why, from the Demon Lord of course. Blade dropped two items, his Soul Stone which was larger than normal, and the sword he had used against Arthur and his friends. It was good, as shown here:
Name: Soul Flame (Sword of a Lantern Hero)
Requirements: Level: 20 Swordsmanship Skill (or some alternative) Strength: 25 - Dexterity: 25
Offensive Ability: D+ Passive: Fire Damage added to attacks (D)
It¡¯s offensive ability was high for their level, not to mention its fire damage added was especially good against Goblins. It took the form of a long sword meant to be used with one hand, and it was slightly thinner than the original weapon, but still had that fire flickering through the part where a fuller would be on a double edged European blade. That centre piece didn¡¯t even exist for this sword, and while that would usually result in a blade that would break in one use, the flames themselves somehow acted as the ¡®spine¡¯ of the blade to prevent that. Arthur loved the blade, and used it well while keeping his Dagger of Hunger in use as either a parrying dagger or to be used to execute the Goblins after using Soul Flame to knock their weapons or shields away. Arthur also got a chance to test his two new skills, one being Void, the ability his Dagger had to create an effect similar to a black hole. It lasted barely a second, but it was enough to drag three Goblins into striking range when they were previously three metres away, so he decided that it was an ability to drag opponents close to him. He didn¡¯t try using it while the Dagger was stabbed into one of them, mostly because there was a chance of gore and he didn¡¯t want that, even if the blood evaporated soon after the death of the Goblin. And his new favourite skill, Lightning Elemental. It was a Spell Skill, like John¡¯s Light Scripture, in that it gave him spells to use which required actually saying the names or chanting at higher levels. In his case, the Skill granted a choice between two spells, which would have an effect on his future growth of the skill. The first skill, which he didn¡¯t pick, was Lesser Elemental Summon, which would have created a tiny elemental to use magic for Arthur instead of him using it. This was ¡®external¡¯ use. The second skill, which he did choose, was Lesser Spark Step. Everyone laughed at him the first time it was used, and he didn¡¯t blame them¡­ LSS was an internal use spell, a boosting spell similar to John¡¯s Anima, Enhancing Arts, and it caused Arthur to move faster. The problem was that Arthur¡¯s Dexterity stat was not high enough to control the new speed, and that when he used the spell¡­ His hair stood on end, as if he was being electrocuted¡­ it gave him an Einstein look the first time he used it, and the second time his hair instead settled on just looking like he gelled it back. It still looked hilarious to see the tiny sparks shooting between the strands of his hair, and it apparently made him look like he was starting his ¡®super saiyan transformation¡¯. In a few years, he would be regretting that phrasing, but that¡¯s a story for another time. Lesser Spark Step was also a continuous spell. It could be activated and deactivated without worry for ¡®uses¡¯ like John¡¯s own spells, but it took quite a large amount of Mana for Arthur¡­ Arthur could only use it for about ten minutes straight before he ran out of Mana and got a headache so bad hangovers looked cute. He knew about how running out of Mana felt because he had done so before just to know the results, even if he rarely got drunk enough for hangovers. Their final fight of the day was against two Goblin Scouts, three Goblin Warriors and during the fight three Assassin¡¯s arrived to try and do a pincer attack. Arthur ended up killing the Warriors with Alice¡¯s assistance, with Matt activating Bulwark to keep them from getting hit by arrows and Michael killing their Scouts. Emilia felt offended at the presence of Goblin Assassin¡¯s considering her role in the team, and so she attacked them, taking them out of the equation. She had even managed to use Tracking finally, after a Goblin Warrior sneaked off after they assumed it dead, following it to a smaller group of Goblins where it was being healed by placing herbs on its wounds. They killed it without mercy of course. These Goblins were similar to the more vile editions of the beasts, given how they kept trying to kill the men of Einherjar while just ¡®hurting¡¯ the women. Disgusting filth that had to die, was the general view on them. Despite the new found seriousness of the Dungeon though, they were having fun with it, in their own way, and they soon teleported back to level up¡­ and get some surprising news. ¡°Last night I fought the Demon Lord Blade.¡± A pin drop could be heard.
Arthur Clive
Level: 21 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (24/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 125%) Sword Sage I (16/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (4/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (16/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental I (7/100) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 29 Dexterity: 34
Intelligence: 22 Wisdom: 34 (42)
Endurance: 22 Vitality: 29
Chapter 10- A Shaun Day After explaining what he had found to Einherjar, and getting an explanation, Shaun sighed as he leaned back into his office chair¡­ So he and his team had faced a copy. The Demon Lord was well and truly dead, given that Einherjar¡¯s version of the being was capable of speech, while his own version was not. It was strong, admittedly¡­ For most people it would be. To Shaun, it was weak, as it didn¡¯t have the intelligence that made it so dangerous in the first place, and anything without intelligence would never defeat him. ¡°Are they gone?¡± Shaun sighed as he listened to Grey. Grey was his¡­ prot¨¦g¨¦? So to speak, he was one of the six members of Shaun¡¯s Dungeon team, including Dante, Ellie, Shaun¡¯s own brother and a Magic Tool Crafter. The latter was a rare Class, giving them the ability to shape Soul Stones into devices and power sources for other things, they were usually eccentric though¡­ the one in Shaun¡¯s team wanted to make magic guns, and one of the ones in Japan seemed determine to tame Dungeon monsters and carry six around in red and white spherical containers. As stated, they were usually eccentric, but at least they weren¡¯t as eccentric as Seers and Oracles. Finding a sane person there was like finding hen teeth. Don¡¯t hurt yourself, they don¡¯t exist. ¡°Sir?¡± Shaun snapped back to attention as he sighed, hearing Grey as he nodded, hearing the man enter the room from his hidden door. There was a door in Shaun¡¯s room one wouldn¡¯t see unless they sat where he did, because it was hidden from view by the nearby cupboard, so Grey entered from there¡­ It was usually filled with files, but when Einherjar popped up Grey usually jumped in there to hide. It¡¯s not like Einherjar knew he was around, it¡¯s just he had a strange relationship with four of them, namely the Grave siblings, their cousin, and Arthur. Arthur and Michael were best friends, and through Michael he knew Matt and Alice. And he had kind of vanished from their lives a few years ago due to wanting to figure out things in his own life. Grey had been into partying and doing ¡®mild¡¯ drugs, and had nearly fallen into the wrong crowd. ¡°Whew, they¡¯re gone¡­ I don¡¯t really want them to see me just yet¡­¡± Vincent Grey complained as Shaun sighed once more, not wanting to deal with one of the stranger people he knew. ¡°Grey, I don¡¯t care. Are we ready to go down into the Dungeon?¡± Shaun asked, and Grey¡¯s embarrassed look vanished as he nodded, all serious now. ¡°Yes sir, I contacted Roy, he¡¯s on his way here. Dante and Ellie are in the building and waiting the command¡­ and Oliver is at a nearby restaurant with some friends.¡± Grey looked irritated at that last bit and Shaun didn¡¯t blame him. Grey, back before he had become a ¡®good guy¡¯ was found by Shaun¡¯s wife and Shaun¡¯s brother Oliver. His wife had given Grey a stern talking to, and then dumped Oliver on him saying that if Oliver was corrupted she would arrest Grey. Grey was unaware that Shaun¡¯s wife did not technically have that authority, but he had listened to the woman based on her sheer aura. But Oliver, even to Shaun, was an annoying sibling. He cared for him, but he was annoying. He also happened to be a pretty good archer unfortunately. ¡°Go get everyone ready, I¡¯ll be by the Access Panel checking some things.¡± Grey rolled his eyes, hoping that Shaun didn¡¯t catch him doing so as he walked away. Shaun liked to act ¡®in the know¡¯ and ¡®above it all¡¯ but the truth was that Shaun was giddy like a child on Christmas when he realized that there were levels, stats, skills and magic. He was major player of RPG¡¯s and he quite enjoyed his Anime and other stuff. He was basically a nerd. A nerd that went to the military and succeeded in joining special forces and stayed with them for almost four years before ¡®retiring¡¯ to the FBI. Shaun was scary in his own right, and so Grey left hoping that Shaun would be sufficiently stuck looking at his stats and forget that Grey did the ¡®eye¡¯ roll thing. Shaun was already at the access panel at this point, considering his stats¡­ and his two Animae. Like Arthur said, one needed a cracked soul for two¡­ and Shaun thought he understood why.
Shaun Fife
Level: 21
Class: Storm Warrior- Grants one stat point to Strength and Intelligence per level Gives Elemental Storm (Unique) Skill
Anima
Hunter Eyes Sword of Light
Primary Elements: Light and Lightning
Personal Skills
Hero¡¯s Strength II (28/100)- increases Strength by 15% Quick Reflexes II (25/100)- Increases Dexterity by 15% Elemental Storm II (7/300)- Able to combine Elements, grants spells Computation I (6/50)- Increases Intelligence by 10%
Stats
Strength: 36 (41) Dexterity: 25 (28)
Intelligence: 36 (39) Wisdom: 25
Endurance: 25 Vitality: 25
Shaun had a strange Skill set, literally. He was the only one he knew of with three stat boosting skills, but then again, because of that he had no skills for anything else except his Unique Skill. He had down-played his own abilities to Einherjar, as he had a Unique class similar to Arthur¡¯s. The difference being that Shaun¡¯s Unique skill was unfair. He had two elements, unlike others, and he assumed this was because of his Sword of Light influencing him or something, but combining elements was not something normally considered possible unless two people were doing it. Shaun could do so alone, without assistance. And Elemental Storm provided attack spells for every element he possessed, and one for the elements being combined. They were pitifully weak though, and the only worthwhile one was the combined spell which was called Photon Spark, the rank two version of Jolting Light. It was alright, despite how weak it sounded¡­ but Shaun didn¡¯t actually like his class. It felt like he was a magician instead of a warrior, he felt magic was another tool to use sure, but he preferred melee combat inside the Dungeon. Outside of it, he was a good marksman, but guns couldn¡¯t be taken inside the Dungeon. And yet his Unique Skill was based on the idea of combining magic in different ways. It was annoying, but he didn¡¯t deny its usefulness. He¡¯d rather have something else, but it was useful. Soon the rest of Shaun¡¯s teammates had arrived and he was done internally complaining as their team was linked through their LEV¡¯s. Like most adventurers, they no longer felt the burning sensation of their LEV¡¯s connecting to each other, sharing the ¡®experience points¡¯ between them. It was known to precious few people that what most adventurers were calling experience points were actually shavings of a soul¡­ and Shaun had only found that out because of Arthur. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve gotten a report from Einherjar. Floor eleven is filled nearly to the brim with Goblins, and they now possess intelligence. They claimed that Goblins would not be all the enemies on the floor, but they hadn¡¯t encountered another.¡± Shaun explained as everyone nodded, checking their equipment. ¡°So they¡¯re smart now? Any idea on how smart they are?¡± Shaun¡¯s younger brother, barely out of high school asked as Grey walked up. ¡°From what I heard, the Goblins are cowardly, and they act with the idea of ¡®better some other Goblin¡¯ when in a fight. They are selfish and seem to enjoy trying to aim for women.¡± He looked a bit angry at his own words, even as Ellie frowned and looked to her brother. ¡°So they¡¯re similar to the media interpretation. And that describes them as savages who are disgusting and need to die.¡± Roy, their sixth member stated with an intrigued look on his face as Shaun scanned his team. Dante, tanned skin and muscled wearing leather armour, he refused to wear the metal versions because he didn¡¯t have the stamina to be wearing them all the time, and carrying a large hammer, his class was Warrior Smith. Ellie, lighter skin than her brother, her figure was hidden due to her clothing, she had on minimal armour and a robe with a staff, having a dagger strapped to her side, her class was Scout Healer. Vincent (Grey), he had brown hair and his skin was just a bit darker than white and he was more slender compared to Dante, he wore gauntlets and greaves, with leather armour everywhere else, he carried two knives and a short sword as well as a shield in his inventory, his class was Nimble Thief¡­ didn¡¯t help his argument of being a good guy now. Oliver, hair of a similar shade to his brother Shaun and white with a cheeky grin, he wore the most armour in the group despite being the shortest male. His class was Stout Guardian. Roy was the final member of their team and their long-range specialist, with red hair, thin stubble and lanky limbs, he wore a similar getup to Vincent, the gauntlet on his right hand looking odd compared to his left, and he was a Crafter Archer. The five of them were all level nineteen, a similar group in power to Einherjar, except their group was more magically focused. ¡°Listen. With the exception of Oliver and Vincent, you¡¯ve all been with me through battlefields. So we¡¯ll treat this like any other one, except this one comprises only of cannibalistic rapist children.¡± His words, despite their odd nature, were not said jokingly, and no one laughed. ¡°There is another reason we¡¯re going now instead of earlier though.¡± Shaun said as he opened the fast travel option on the access panel. ¡°Why¡­ oh, to see if the new area is affected by outside time?¡± Vincent asked as Shaun nodded, and with that they were all teleported onto the tenth floor. They all looked worried at first, recalling what they encountered when they first arrived at the area, the Demon Lord Blade. He was dead, killed by Einherjar, but for some reason Shaun¡¯s team encountered the Demon Lord as well¡­ A notable difference was that the Demon Lord did not speak, and his movements weren¡¯t as fluid as Einherjar claimed they were. Shaun could only logically assume that the Demon Lord had turned into something similar to the creatures in the previous nine floors, with clear souls and little to no intelligence. If that happened to all the other Demon Lords, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry too much¡­ but Shaun also had no doubt that they had received much less experience for killing a Demon Lord with no intelligence or personality. He¡¯d discuss that with Arthur the next time they saw each other, which would probably be in a few hours. Now, they did not encounter the Demon Lord, letting them know there had to be conditions to the appearance of the Demon Lord, and that teleporting probably didn¡¯t let one find the Demon Lord¡­ Made sense, the fast travel panel was in the centre of the battle field, appearing there and suddenly getting attacked would be unfair. Not only that, but there was a second issue, the fact that the moon was shining down upon them, showing that the new Area of the Dungeon mimicked the outside schedule of day and night. ¡°Okay, now that we¡¯ve confirmed that¡­ we¡¯re going to the ninth floor and then coming back down.¡± Shaun commanded his soldiers, and they all nodded, willing to follow as they moved to the stairs. Their Animae were all activated if they were equip Anima, and if they were a combat skill of some kind they were ready to activate them at any time. For Shaun, his own armour was notably entirely comprised of leather, unwilling to even take a hit, he figured having minimal armour would do for him, but his Anima was not just his Hunter Eyes but also his Sword of Light.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He believed that the sword was why he had two elements for his magic instead of one, but he wasn¡¯t going to complain about having multiple elements in comparison to other people¡­ He would complain about his class though. His sword was a one handed long-sword with no adornments beyond the edge not being silver but instead a light blue, as if made of crystal. Shaun loved his weapon, because like all other Anima, it grew in strength with him. His armour would need replacing as they continued in the Dungeon, but his sword would never need replacing as it would grow in strength with its user, a ¡®levelling weapon¡¯ so to speak. They soon came out to the ninth floor, back into the caverns, and Shaun raised his closed fist, signifying a halt. ¡°Now we go back down, see if Blade has re-spawned.¡± Shaun¡¯s words got worry from his teammates, but they continued down anyway¡­ Besides, While Dante and Oliver had both taken hits in that fight, Shaun had ended it when he resorted to melding his elements together. He would complain, but his class was powerful in its own right. They arrived back to the tenth floor, and there was no enemy, just the access panel acting as a beacon in the darkness. ¡°Right, so we can assume that fighting a Demon Lord requires one to not teleport to their floor¡­ so we must go from the beginning of their Area to the end to fight them.¡± Shaun¡¯s statement was not factual, but an estimation, they had no idea if fighting a Demon Lord was a ¡®once per team¡¯ thing, which would invalidate his statement. They didn¡¯t care though, just letting their leader make his observations before they looked to the stairs heading to the eleventh floor. ¡°Okay, we know our enemies, they¡¯ll probably have the advantage in the dark, so we have two options.¡± Shaun said as they gathered in a circle. ¡°One, we trust our Dexterity enhanced eyesight and reflexes and survive any ambushes in the dark¡­ or I attract enemies using Light magic.¡± Shaun¡¯s offer was considered by the team, this was their decision. ¡°The unseen enemy is scarier than the seen, I vote we use the magic.¡± Roy said, trying to sound needlessly smart¡­ they knew he was, but he didn¡¯t need to act snobbish about it. ¡°It would be easier for me to block enemies I could see, so I agree on that.¡± Oliver said, his votes were typically ignored actually, due to his childish nature¡­ But if a tie-breaker occurred then his vote tipped the scales obviously. ¡°I¡¯d rather not fight a horde of monsters and then have to heal you all¡­ I see the advantages of the Light magic option, but I¡¯d rather we use stealth.¡± Ellie¡¯s vote made it one to two for the Light magic use. ¡°We¡¯re fighting a crowd of Goblins. They¡¯re slightly stronger, slightly faster, and much smarter than the previous ones we fought, but we¡¯re already much stronger. I vote we use the magic.¡± Vincent¡¯s statement ended the vote, regardless of Dante¡¯s decision, the majority had already voted on the magic. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ve already tested this on myself so I know it works, but everyone come here.¡± One by one Shaun placed his hands on their eyes, and once he removed his hands their eyes would flash momentarily, now capable of seeing in the dark. This was pure manipulation of an element, creating a film around their eyes which accepted light more easily, giving them impromptu night vision. Shaun would never admit to having invented it on the fly when looking for his keys in the morning, before the sun was up. When it came to manipulation of an element, a person¡¯s Intelligence and Wisdom stats determined both the strength and control over the element, as well as how much mana someone possessed and how fast they recovered. But for proper Spells Intelligence determined the effectiveness of the spell and Wisdom determined how many uses it had a day. Shaun had checked, the casts renewed exactly at midnight based on the time zone he was in, it helped a lot considering he and his team usually went into the Dungeon at night like now. ¡°Alright, those drain my mana slowly, so I won¡¯t be as useful when it comes to magic. That¡¯s fine though, I rarely use it anyway.¡± The team smiled wryly to each other as they agreed¡­ Shaun admired physical warriors from his days of playing RPG¡¯s. He usually played with those characters, not because of how powerful they were¡­ But because playing with those characters were simple. They moved down the stairs, once more feeling that the stairs between ¡®floors¡¯ were beautiful, in this case moonlight streamed through branches and leaves, glittering in the darkness almost. When they exited the stairs, they found themselves within a forested area, glowing runes lining the path making Shaun nod¡­ Einherjar¡¯s words on the runes were correct, they wouldn¡¯t be able to cross, but any creature they find beyond the runes wouldn¡¯t be able to enter either¡­ Though they should pay attention to those creatures, they might be enemies in a later ¡®floor¡¯. Do they still refer to them as floors when technically there were only ninety nine floors? ¡­Yeah, it still worked for them. Especially if you ended up using stairs and still ended up in the same area. That was one of those things that hurt the brain to think about¡­ You walk up stairs from floor two to find yourself on floor two. And vice versa for going down? They would rather just continue calling them floors then. But for now, their enemies were Goblins, and while the moonlight kept the path illuminated to an extent, there were parts where the trees grew past that ward-line. Einherjar had warned Shaun that those trees occasionally held Goblin Assassin¡¯s in them¡­ The warning was wasted on Shaun though. His Anima Hunter Sight and Arthur¡¯s Soul Sight were similar in effect in how they helped their users find out the abilities of their enemies, but the difference between the two was obvious when you realized one was an Anima and one was a skill. Arthur had his senses dull when he used Soul Sight, but Shaun had the opposite happen, using Hunter Sight actually heightened his senses. There was a trade off in that he couldn¡¯t keep it active for as long as Arthur could keep Soul Sight on though. The world wasn¡¯t fair, but the LEV¡¯s and the Dungeon so far were fair to an extent. Shaun wondered if he could coin the phrase ¡®even the devil is fair¡¯ and get money every time it was said. Nope, it wouldn¡¯t work, but Shaun wished it would though. They soon encountered their first Goblin group, comprising of mostly Warriors, one Archer and a Magician. It was notably different from the day time group in that it was clearly lop-sided to favour Warriors, when in the day the grouping was slightly more even. This was likely because, despite being able to see in the dark, shooting arrows in the dark was different than swinging a sword in the dark. Shaun¡¯s team took advantage of this with relish, because despite their team being comprised of three magic users, an archer and two melee fighters¡­ All six of them were capable of fighting up close and killing their opponent, as shown when even Ellie broke the neck of a Goblin with her staff. The entirety of their team, with the exception of Oliver, were trained in hand-to-hand combat, what styles didn¡¯t really matter to them. Most people extolled how amazing a fighting style must be to defeat their enemy, but that just wasn¡¯t the reality of the situation in a life and death fight. It was something that made Shaun give a tired sigh every time he found more and more proof that it was true. Fighting someone, and killing someone, are two different things. Shaun himself knew that all too well, having experienced time in Iraq, where a little girl tried to give him water. She was stopped though, and at the time, Shaun was new to the place and didn¡¯t know why the stopped a little girl from providing water. Then the bomb under her clothes went off, and Shaun realized the insanity of the world. Fighting and killing. Two different things. The proof of that difference shone inside the Dungeon, where the only solution was killing your enemy, not defeating them. Oliver, their tank, wasn¡¯t capable of attacking like the rest of the team, but he didn¡¯t need to, he was a defender, he just had to stand there and take the hit. Shaun wondered if Oliver ended up like that because of how Oliver would piss off everyone around him¡­ It had to be why he had the taunt skill upon Awakening. So while Oliver couldn¡¯t fight as well as the rest of the team, he just had to protect them from outside attacks such as the spells and arrows. Vincent and Shaun were especially powerful amongst the group, though Dante was nominally the second in command, his abilities weren¡¯t suited for their enemies who were only around one metre tall. Vincent¡¯s ability as a Thief gave him good boosts to Dexterity and Vitality, his Anima even boosted his Dexterity further, called Cheetah Focus, it momentarily multiplied his Dexterity stat. At level twenty, it multiplied the stat by three, originally multiplying the stat by one point five times. Using his Anima, Vincent was capable of weaving around the Goblins as if they weren¡¯t there, slitting their throats as he passed, leaving corpses in his wake. On the other end of the spectrum was Shaun, who had notably less finesse to his movements, and yet was killing the Goblins just as fast, due to his Animae. Hunter Sight allowed him to learn the weaknesses of his enemies, he learnt even more if he killed beings of that race before, meaning the more Goblins he killed, the more weaknesses he¡¯d see, until eventually he learnt common movement patterns of the race itself. A Goblin attempted to stab him in the stomach with its sword, only for Shaun to step back, his eyes flashing green as the sword in his hand, his other Anima the Sword of Light, flashed out, gouging out a hole in the Goblin¡¯s chest, killing it as it faded away. It was mentioned that the Goblins possessed intelligence now, so they didn¡¯t move in set patterns anymore¡­ but that didn¡¯t mean that they could move beyond their biology, much in the same way human beings couldn¡¯t bend their joints backwards. These limits were what Shaun learnt when it came to the ¡®common movement patterns¡¯. For example, Goblins joints were slightly more flexible than a humans, but they were more brittle as a result as well, meaning that a Goblin could pull off some attacks humans couldn¡¯t do, but their arms could break while doing so, meaning most Goblins would be hesitant to do so. They limited their own ability out of fear of pain, but like most cornered animals, when it came to a choice between pain and death, they¡¯d pick the first option every time. Shaun warned his team about this after they killed most of the Goblin group, the rest running away in fear after realizing that Shaun¡¯s team was not injured and destroying them. Such a situation had not happened to Einherjar, not because Einherjar were weaker than Shaun¡¯s team, but because Michael had been injured. That one injury got the Goblins to try and attack, and made them more reluctant to run away because Michael might heal in the time they ran away. A wounded prey was easier to hunt than a healthy one, so would you let something you want to kill run away when it was already injured? Or would you run away from it? It was simplistic logic that resulted in the huge amount of Goblins that Einherjar killed. Were Michael to have not been injured, they would have maybe killed only two thirds or a half of the Goblins, the rest all escaping into the paths. ¡°No one hurt?¡± Shaun asked, a rhetorical question, but he¡¯d nonetheless appreciate an answer, as shown when his team all nodded, except for Oliver who was picking up the Soul Stones. ¡°Hey Shaun, I got a question.¡± Oliver said as the Stones vanished into his inventory, leaving Shaun with a raised eyebrow, motioning for Oliver to continue speaking. ¡°Floor eleven had Goblins, just like floor one and two. So why is it that we get less experience here?¡± Oliver¡¯s question was relevant, and had Shaun thinking to Arthur. Shaun¡¯s eyes did not work on abstract things other than skills and levels, so he didn¡¯t know much about the soul like Arthur did, considering his eyes were made for that. ¡°We do actually get more experience from the Goblins here, but compared to the effort we put in, the experience is less, is that what you mean?¡± Shaun asked to clarify, having Oliver nod. With the original Goblins, they put in an effort of one and got experience of ten. With these intelligent ones, they put in an effort of five and got fifteen, to put it into perspective. Until recently, the effort required to defeat a monster usually matched how much experience one would receive, but now it seemed a bit mismatched. ¡°According to Arthur, our Soul expert, the souls of the original Goblins were clear, meaning they had no personality, no knowledge, and no life experiences so to speak.¡± Shaun said as they stood still, not daring to walk around while speaking, lest they attract enemies. ¡°Souls like those are easier for ours to absorb.¡± Shaun tried to think of a way to better explain, comparisons worked best to explain things like this. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s take this to be your soul.¡± Shaun found a solution and removed from his inventory a plastic bottle of grape flavoured drink. ¡°Your soul has colour and flavour. Then there are clear souls, which can be considered water.¡± Shaun then removed a bottle of water and placed it next to the grape one. ¡°Water is the basis of all flavoured drinks, and so can easily connect to all of them.¡± And then he began to remove a few differently coloured drinks¡­ No one bothered to ask why he had so many. With how often he drank alcohol, they could be chasers or even just something to sip on before he got to ¡®properly¡¯ drinking. ¡°Now there are the new monsters, which have coloured souls. Their souls have colour and flavour of their own.¡± Shaun said, taking a red one, the water, and the purple grape bottles, separating them from the others. ¡°Now taking in experience is like mixing the drinks to make more. You can add water to any drink¡­ the result would literally be watered down, but let¡¯s pretend, for the sake of the explanation, that it became whatever it was mixed with.¡± Shaun said with a sigh as Oliver stared with interest. Everyone was, but they all knew the concept already¡­ the explanation was still interesting though. ¡°But mixing two very different drinks is different from mixing in water, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s a limit before the result begins to no longer look the same colour, or begins to taste bad.¡± Shaun said, pouring the drinks into different bottles and showing the mixtures for the example. ¡°And then you remember Soul Stones, which, according to Arthur, are the left over remnants of a soul after whatever it had was absorbed into us?¡± Shaun smirked as he pointed. They followed his pointing finger to the bottles. Ignoring the grape flavoured drink, the water was nearly completely gone while the red drink had way more left. He had used two purple bottles, and mixed the red with one of them, and the water with the other. Both were still purple if a bit different in hue, but still notably purple¡­ but the amounts were all different. ¡°Huh?¡± Oliver looked to the water, then the purple bottle with water mixed in. Then he looked to the red bottle and finally the purple bottle with red mixed in. ¡°Wait¡­ so the purple is us¡­ we need to keep it purple. The other stuff is the souls of the monsters we fight¡­ Oh, I get it.¡± Oliver said finally, leaving the rest of the team sighing. Shaun¡¯s brother wasn¡¯t stupid, but he had his areas where he needed a bit of assistance, usually involving abstract thoughts. ¡°When we kill a clear soul Goblin, we absorb more of its soul, and get tiny Soul Stones. But when we kill an intelligent Goblin we absorb less of its soul and get bigger Soul Stones.¡± His explanation was met with a nod from Shaun. ¡°Yes. It isn¡¯t quite as simple, but that explains it quickly.¡± Shaun left out the ¡®weight¡¯ of a soul having a factor on experience gained as well. A soul with colour gave more power for less so to speak. It was the same way that a piece of gold and a piece of plastic the same size would weigh differently. But that would take quite a bit longer to explain, and Shaun didn¡¯t feel like continuing the explanation. They kept moving, not daring to venture too far into the floor due to the night time, the light making it harder to see and easier for their enemies. And yet, in spite of that, Shaun¡¯s team was still much more powerful. ¡°Photon Spark!¡± Shaun was glad no one could see his face due to the brightness of the spell, a metaphorical star in the night as it shot towards three Goblins grouped together. Having to say the name of a spell aloud to use it was annoying and embarrassing¡­ he liked anime, but the idea of calling out your attacks screamed idiocy to him. Needless to say, Shaun was hoping to one day find out how to shoot off spells without speaking, or at least increase his elemental manipulation to the point it was indistinguishable from proper spells. The spell impacted the front-most Goblin barely a second after it shot off, and Shaun didn¡¯t bother to check the results as he attacked a closer Goblin with a knee to the face, cracking its skull as he stabbed another. The reason he didn¡¯t check the result was because the combined spell was explosive, to put it lightly. And because it was so bright that the light would temporarily blind everyone that looked at it. Huh¡­ that actually meant that the spell being called aloud was necessary, because if Shaun didn¡¯t say it, his comrades wouldn¡¯t know what he was about to do, as most of his spells looked the same until impact. It had to do with the strangeness of his unique skill, which made all his spells colour coded by rank. Rank one spells were all white until impact. Rank two spells like Photon Spark were light green, despite it not being a wind or wood spell. But yes, the result of the spell hitting the front-most Goblin was that it died, a hole punched through it and then the spell exploded into a ball of light and sparks burning the Goblins into nothing. It was awesome, adding effects to the spells beyond their basic ability. This one exploded on contact, but then Shaun controlled his magic to make it so that it first punched through one, and then exploded. He did this by generating the spell and coating it inside a shell of elemental manipulated light, the shell pierced while the interior spell registered the hit, but can¡¯t explode. Then as the combined attack exits, the outer shell fades, allowing the spell to finally explode. If Shaun were to actually explain how he did such a thing, there was no doubt that everyone in the world would tell him that his magician class was well deserved if he could come up with that. Of course, he didn¡¯t explain the idea; everyone else in the group just thought it was a trait of his combinable elements. And despite treading the path of a magician now, Arthur would find no use for such a concept because his Spells were not offensive or defensive, but supplementary. Shaun¡¯s powers were growing to become destructive, while Arthur¡¯s were growing to make his body faster and stronger. ¡°Every magic user has a path they walk on, and it is theirs alone.¡± Shaun considered, though none in his team heard him as the final group of Goblins died. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. We won¡¯t be levelling up tonight.¡± Shaun¡¯s statement was met with nods as they moved back to the stairs, meeting a stray Goblin occasionally, said Goblins looking slightly injured showing that they were Goblins that ran away during the fights. Without a group assisting them, they were even less prepared to fight Shaun¡¯s team, and were vanquished with little fanfare. It was in such a quiet, moonlit forest, that Shaun¡¯s day ended, for midnight had arrived. They left the Dungeon and Shaun went to his room, the Guild-master¡¯s office¡­ His ¡®day¡¯ was over. Now it was Einherjar¡¯s, as it will be until the death of either Chronos¡­ or Einherjar. Shaun hoped the latter was the survivor of that conflict. Chapter 11- Lightning ¡°Okay. Floor thirteen, here we go. Here¡¯s hoping that the Goblins are gone.¡± Arthur¡¯s words were heard across the table, and anyone close enough to hear probably got whiplash from how quickly they looked at the table Einherjar sat at. The majority of Adventurers were actually around floor eight and seven, around level twelve or so. This was barely a week after having slain Blade in the Dungeon. There were many, many reasons for this, from limited time, bad fighting skills, being forbidden from entering the Dungeon, and so on. The last one was something Shaun enforced on anyone who caused trouble in the Guild more than once¡­ being blacklisted set back everyone from the rest of the group by a large margin. There was a boom of people getting blacklisted due to the realization of their power at some point¡­ everyone gets a bit cocky when they realize that they¡¯re stronger than the average human. Then they think they can swagger around and cause trouble¡­ Not likely. Shaun set them straight, easily, and then gave them a length of time in which they could not enter the Dungeon. Some tried to evade this blacklisting by going to a different Dungeon entrance and the guild there. This didn¡¯t work, as Shaun was extremely high up in the hierarchy of Guild-masters. It was kind of obvious in hindsight; considering he was the highest levelled Guild-master in America¡­ he was the Head Guild-master in all but official title. So yeah, because of all these oddities, the average level of Adventurers were lower than Arthur or Shaun¡¯s teams, not to mention that their levels didn¡¯t match the floors they reached correctly¡­ This was more a case of Arthur and Shaun both believing in being over-levelled. Truly they had similar thought processes when it came to games¡­ no wonder they disliked each other. So with them being above floor ten, it was obvious that their team was hilariously strong. Some passed it off as empty lies, others took it with a grain of salt. Their team didn¡¯t care though. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m tired of fighting those things¡­ assholes.¡± Emilia¡¯s statement was accepted without care¡­ Yes, it was Emilia who cursed, not Matt. The Goblins were that bad. ¡°Well, if they are gone, you know we¡¯re going to be fighting more Forest Wolves right?¡± Michael asked, and while he was a bit concerned, the only one who showed any concern about those enemies was John. ¡°Forest Wolves aren¡¯t dangerous because they are bestial enemies, their intelligence is much lower than the Goblins. They even give more experience because of it.¡± Considering other Adventurers might be capable of listening in, Arthur decided to use the more common term instead of Soul. It was easier to understand for everyone, even if that technically wasn¡¯t what it was. ¡°They have simple attacks, sure they¡¯re fast, but the only things they do is claw at you, try to bite you, and maybe jump on you. If you can stop all three, they¡¯re weaklings.¡± Alice said after taking a sip of some energy drink. They really were getting addicted to those¡­ ¡°They behave just like real wolves, just a bit faster. Nothing I¡¯m not used to.¡± Emilia said with an innocent smile¡­ her words, on the other hand, caused a bit of a record scratch in the minds of everyone who heard it¡­ They moved past it. Emilia was strange, and knew odd things about hunting. The idea of this woman killing wolves with nothing but a knife was something her teammates could believe, but no one else who saw her would, given her kind disposition. ¡°Well¡­ okay, so the wolves aren¡¯t as much of a problem as they could be, I get it. John, you¡¯re just going to have to get used to being attacked by wolves from time to time.¡± The resident black guy looked offended. He probably wasn¡¯t given his idea of humour, but they got the idea, he wasn¡¯t happy with the idea of having to protect himself from wolves. This had nothing to do with Matt¡¯s ability to block the wolves really. They were easy to defend against, but¡­ the amount, and speed of the wolves, were factors against Matt being able to defend John reliably. Blocking one or two wolves were easy, but wolves are pack animals. Never had they encountered a literal lone wolf, they were always in groups and always had the same light green/white colouring. The largest group they encountered in the twelfth floor was comprised of ten wolves. Michael and Emilia handled one wolf each, Matt kept three occupied and Arthur and Alice fought two each. That was the plan until the fight started at least¡­ ¡°Hey, Arthur¡­ your magic, you said you can toggle it, between on and off right? How long can you use it for?¡± John asked, as a magic user he was understandably curious on this new branch of magic. Magic was mostly defined as single or multi targeting magic, and then separated into attack, defensive or support magic, for a total of six groups. Arthur¡¯s magic would count as single supportive, except that most magic had limits on usage per day, such as John only being able to use Heal ten times a day, or Recovery five times, determined by a certain amount of Wisdom, with Intelligence determining the strength of the spell. Arthur¡¯s spell, Lesser Spark Step, on the other hand, had no limits on usage beyond how much magic he had, and Intelligence seemed to have no effect on the spell. ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯d say it takes about thirty per cent of my current Mana per minute, so I can use it for about four or so minutes.¡± Arthur¡¯s statement was indeed surprising, as no one had known about his limitations. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit.¡± John, the resident magic user other than Arthur called out, and even Arthur nodded in agreement. Arthur¡¯s swordsman class didn¡¯t help with magic but for some reason boosted Wisdom, so he studied magic, sharing his findings with John who likewise did the same. John was the laziest one on their team, without a doubt, but he worked in other ways. A fight, for them, never lasted long, and this had to do with how their stats were rising continuously, making them stronger and faster. That fight with the ten wolves was over in about a minute and a half, and that was only because it was the first time they fought such a large group of enemies. Arthur killed the majority of those wolves due to that spell, Lesser Spark Step. ¡®Lesser¡¯ was a worrying addition to the spell name considering that would normally be followed by dropping the word, and then adding ¡®Greater¡¯ to the beginning¡­ meaning this spell was not complete. Arthur¡¯s speed when it was used was insane, though he claimed that if his Dexterity was too low then he¡¯d be incapable of precise movements while using it. That was the only thing that made that spell acceptable. ¡°Okay¡­ we get it, Arthur¡¯s lightning magic is bullshit. Let¡¯s go to the Dungeon and see it in action again. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s bad for our leader to be strong.¡± Arthur pointedly looked at no one. He was still a bit embarrassed for suddenly being placed in the leadership position of his team. They stood and left for the front desk where Ellie was waiting for them, the line in front of her being shunted to the left where another secretary was standing. There were multiple lines now, the Guild being improved on little by little as time went on, and this Guild was popular due to its closeness to Times Square and Broadway. Arthur and his friends didn¡¯t quite get what was so amazing about the place despite seeing the New Years Eve Ball Drop every year, as they grew up near it. Tourists liked it though¡­ With all the popularity this Guild had, as well as Shaun being its leader, this section of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was being considered to be the Main Branch after a while, according to Shaun. Slowly but surely more people were being brought into manage the Guild building and talk to Adventurers, everyone being given a certain time-limit to check stats and then enter. Arthur and his team obviously had preferential treatment though, as Ellie was the first secretary of this branch of the Guild and therefore she was the most known one. Customer service hoped for familiarity to bring customers back again, kind of like McDonalds and their plan to cater to children, then the children grow up, remember their time there fondly and bring their children. In this case it was just getting more and more people lining up by Ellie than the other secretaries, who were still learning the ropes. But when Arthur¡¯s team came, everyone had to move¡­ it still irritated many people who were standing in line, but their team didn¡¯t care, beyond Arthur getting a bit irritated at the stares. ¡°Ah, Einherjar, going into the Dungeon again? Remember the deal with the boss okay?¡± Ellie reminded them and Arthur nodded. They logged their time and went to the entrance, though as they left Arthur glanced at someone paying for a nine page booklet filled with A3 pages, the USA equivalent was roughly eleven and a half inches by sixteen and a half inches. That was a rough measurement. Again, Arthur grew up with the Imperial system but he wanted to work abroad originally, it led to him learning the Metric system by necessity, and he liked it. Besides, even drug dealers used Metric. Seeing the printed words on the booklet had Arthur give a brief laugh as they entered the room with the access panel. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Matt asked as Arthur thumbed towards the door in reference. ¡°I saw someone there buying the first Area Atlas.¡± They all chuckled a bit at that, with the exception of Emilia who was a bit awkward about it¡­ understandable, given that they were the maps she drew. It was mentioned by Shaun, but a complete map of a floor was worth a lot to those who hadn¡¯t completed the floor yet, even better considering Arthur worked with Emilia to mark different paths to the stairs, as starting from the sixth floor there were multiple paths to them. They would have put markers on which monsters were where, but by floor eleven, such things wouldn¡¯t matter, as the monsters roam around instead of waiting in one spot for Adventurers. ¡°I think they sell them for five dollars per floor, fifty dollars total¡­ and for each sale, they give us twenty per cent. That¡¯s ten dollars per sale, which amounts to every six people. You¡¯re earning a lot huh, Emilia?¡± Arthur joked and Emilia looked a bit awkward at the mention of the money. Mostly because she refused to accept it for herself, saying she wanted to share it with them, and help pay their debt to Dante who forged their current equipment. That was already done by now actually, to their surprise¡­ You could earn a huge amount of money in the Dungeon if you went in every day. And considering the Dungeon was in fact just one large bridge, Babel, their map was being sold world-wide. There were a country or two which refused, stating that they had their own maps, but it was being shared all over. They couldn¡¯t keep people from sending copies all over the internet though, but at least some appreciated the work put in and bought the booklet. No doubt some of those buyers actually had the maps on their phones, but at least there were any at all. They stopped joking with Emilia long enough for Arthur to set up the team once more, taking a moment to check his stats.
Arthur Clive
Level: 24 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (39/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 125%) Sword Sage I (46/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (32/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (28/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental I (26/100) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 32 Dexterity: 39
Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 41 (51)
Endurance: 25 Vitality: 32
None of his skills had levelled up unfortunately, but he was comfortable with that due to his stat growth. Sure he disliked putting points into Intelligence and Endurance, but he really needed those stats.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Emilia had more Endurance than him, and she was a Thief. As a Warrior class, that could not stand. He could accept losing out to his comrades in certain stats if that was their specialization, the only one he refused to accept being beaten in was Wisdom. It was his most important stat with his Lesser Spark Step, and as it was, he regenerated five per cent of his Mana per minute. He had no idea what the average for that stat was, but Arthur was pretty sure he had one of the highest values for it in the world if even John had about the same base points. With his Tactician Skill, Arthur had to have the highest Wisdom stat around. Selecting to teleport to the Forest of the Maiden, the door flashed and the Einherjar walked into the tenth floor. As they had begun to do, they paused to take in the view, feel the sun-kissed breeze and appreciate the beauty of the place. It was odd that a being that ordered the deaths of over one billion people would have such a beautiful place included in his reign, but even Hitler had a pet dog he cared for. They stepped into the eleventh floor, ready to try out the thirteenth floor as soon as possible. Within three hours they found themselves at the thirteenth floor¡¯s beginning, looking around wearily. The concept of danger had been hammered into their skull during their movements through the eleventh and twelfth floor, especially with Goblin Assassin¡¯s. Wolves didn¡¯t so much as ambush as they believed in executing a blitzkrieg, attacking violently and as quickly as possible. By now, Einherjar had turned exploring a new floor into something they did on basic instinct. It was something they could do while barely paying any attention except for when fights occurred. They also made sure to take as many paths as possible, because knowing which path was the correct one was something they wouldn¡¯t know until they took the paths. At one point they even hoped that there would be treasure chests or something down some of the paths¡­ they were quickly disappointed because there was no way the Dungeon would be that kind to them. Fair the Dungeon may be, but helpful it was not. Arthur was adamant that it was still a possibility if one considered that all the Areas existed inside of Babel, and the creators of Babel might have left things they created around inside it. But things like that, if they survived to this modern era and being in Hell, would definitely be way too valuable to appear in the first Area, let alone the first ten. So it was a ¡®maybe, but if so, not now¡¯ on getting treasure chests of any type. Also, it was very quick, but the Einherjar were certain that wolves were the only enemies on the thirteenth floor. They had barely been moving for half an hour and had already killed over thirty wolves, they always appeared with at least three, to nine at max currently, but by the end of the floor that might change. It was the same with Lanterns and their variations of Squire, Knight, Archer, Brute and Hero. The last one was a Demon Lord though¡­ but he did admit that he wasn¡¯t the strongest of the Lantern race until he started to burn his life-force to increase his strength, so there was likely another variant Arthur¡¯s team hadn¡¯t encountered yet. ¡°There are so damn many wolves¡­ I think I¡¯ll never be able to look at dogs the same after we get through to floor twenty.¡± No one argued against Matt¡¯s complaint, because likely they would be capable of destroying a crowd of wolves each by then. At level twenty three, they could all kill two wolves each with the exception of John who could survive a fight against one until someone killed it. Arthur still maintained his one level lead due to his Dagger of Hunger letting him level up faster. Everyone maintained that he was unfair because of it, and the fact that his Cloak he wore was an extra Anima. Sometimes they collected the Soul Stones after the fight and found one or two more than they should be, and they considered this to be the Cloak skill Arthur had, Rags to Riches. Between his Dagger and his Cloak, Arthur got more experience, and more gold for each kill, it was like everyone was playing a game on normal while he was working on easy. Again, the members of Einherjar all considered it a bit unfair, but no one complained beyond basic envy. They were a team. If one of them was strong, it made the team stronger, so it was something to be happy about, not to get jealous. ¡°We¡¯re coming up on a group of wolves¡­ it¡¯s large, there are like fourteen wolves.¡± Michael said, as their scout he was to inform the team about enemies ahead of time, but only if he saw them. There were times where they hid from basic vision, in which case Arthur and Emilia were the ones to look around using their own methods, Emilia by looking for tracks, and Arthur cheating by looking for their souls. Again, he considered it ¡®okay¡¯ while his friends considered it cheating. They called it ¡®protagonist syndrome¡¯ when a person had this many special skills¡­ Lightning Elemental, Sword Sage, Soul Sight. One was Rare, the other two were Unique Skills. The idea of one person having two Unique Skills got Shaun to look at Arthur with a twitch in his eye when he found out. ¡°Fourteen¡­ Michael, how many can you kill from here?¡± Arthur asked, as Michael drew back his bowstring, activating Focus. ¡°Two, but it¡¯s better to expect one and an injury.¡± Michael was honest with his ability. There were some Adventurers with no set party who just grouped together in the morning with whoever was available, these people sometimes formed permanent teams, but before they did so they were called Freemen. Gender discrimination in the name aside, there was a problem of some of them bragging of their skill, and then not being able to match up to their boasts. If they were lucky, situations like that resulted in an injury¡­ the more common result of lying like that was death. Arthur and Einherjar typically didn¡¯t think much on it due to their power, but there were plenty of deaths in the Dungeon, to the point that Shaun was considering making a ¡®noob class¡¯ for Adventurers to teach them how to fight, decision skills and more. Some of those couldn¡¯t be learnt until in the Dungeon though, and the Guild was still busy picking up employees, so they would be immediately understaffed in the case where they tried to do that kind of class arrangement. ¡°Hm¡­ alright, we can take them¡­ if I used LSP, I can take out five.¡± Arthur wasn¡¯t bragging¡­ if anything, he was underplaying his ability when using that spell. There exists a dangerous website where, once one enters, they never leave¡­ It¡¯s called TVTropes, and contains commonalities in television, games, basically most forms of media. One of the ¡®tropes¡¯ on the website is ¡®Disc one nuke¡¯ and that spell qualified as one, being overpowered for the beginner areas¡­ Before entering the thirteenth floor they encountered ten wolves at once. While the wolves were split to allow for everyone to face at least one except for John, the result was that Arthur ended up killing his ones within barely twenty seconds and then going to go help Matt, and so on. By the end of it, Arthur had killed six of the wolves. And he had levelled up after that, so his ability would be slightly better now too. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s six or seven wolves out, leaving the other seven or eight for Matt, Emilia and Alice¡­ Matt will definitely be taking three, Alice can handle three too, Emilia, two.¡± Michael offered, and Arthur nodded, agreeing with the statement. Arthur was now the leader of the Einherjar, but he wouldn¡¯t forget to take in the opinion of his comrades¡­ if he just ignored their opinion there was no doubt they¡¯d get pissed at him, and the same likewise. ¡­Didn¡¯t they ignore his opinion when they made him leader? ¡­It was a catch-22 situation, so he decided to ignore it in exchange for signalling for Michael to take the shot. The first arrow of flame punched through the eye of one of the wolves, killing it instantly. They would have to go there to get the Soul Stone after the fight. Immediately the wolves turned to stare at their group, growls collectively rising as they charged towards the Einherjar members. Matt stood in front, a frown on his face as he readied his shield. Just behind him stood Arthur, who was taking a deep breath, taking a moment to close his eyes and focus on the lightning within his soul. And then, through activation of the Lesser Spark Step, the lightning in his soul moved outward. The change was instantaneous for Arthur, the clarity of his vision increasing, however the other details began to blur, a literal tunnel vision situation, slight sparks of lightning shooting off of his boots and his hair spiking from the lightning. His Dagger in his left hand, and Soul Flame in the other, he clenched his fists before loosening his grip. Within the world of the spell, Arthur felt a combination of everyone moving slowly and himself moving too fast, clearly showing that the spell was flawed as if it truly worked as it should, he would not get the latter feeling. The first of the wolves dodged past Matt, instead trying to strike Arthur behind Matt, the jaws of the wolf aimed to perfectly strike the neck of its prey. Unfortunately for the wolf, such an action opened its own neck to its ¡®prey¡¯ and thus allowed Arthur to use the broad side of Soul Flame to knock the head of the wolf out of the way. In the same instant, the Dagger of Hunger flashed out, stabbing into the throat of the wolf and ending its life. A wolf had already attacked Matt at this time, the wolves acting almost like a wave of water, washing between the gaps of their formation to attack each of them separately. It might have worked, if Arthur didn¡¯t move slightly away, and then activating Void to summon as many wolves as possible to him. He managed to jerk three out of the way, drawing their attention as they changed directions to attack him. Void was a Crowd-Control Skill, or CC for short. That brand of spells was normally left for tanks like Matt or wide area magicians. Against an enemy with intelligence, the spell wouldn¡¯t attract much more attention than weariness, and would only be used to cause an enemy to stumble, giving Arthur¡¯s comrades a clear opening to attack. Against wolves though, they took it as a challenge, following that adage of animals taking the path of least resistance when moving. If moving towards Arthur was easier, then they would do so, it wasn¡¯t like they were planning to leave him alone and not attack him. Two were dead, three were occupied by Arthur at current, and unfortunately John had two with him. Matt, Emilia and Alice each had two, and Michael was trying to kill one¡­ The training they did was paying off here. They had asked Shaun for a place to train a bit, and Shaun had shown them that the Guild had actually had a basement included at some point. Shaun admitted that he was planning to have any training/ sparring sessions there in the future, and that Arthur¡¯s team was free to use it when it was empty. During their training, one of the things they picked up on, at Shaun¡¯s request, was that Michael learns how to fight up close. ¡°Even the military possesses guns and long-range weaponry¡­ so why do soldiers need to train in hand-to-hand? Sometimes the enemy is too close, sometimes you don¡¯t have ammunition, sometimes you are caught off guard and don¡¯t have time to draw your weapon. Learn.¡± Shaun¡¯s monologue got Michael immediately interested with how he had at one point wished to join the military, and so Shaun began to spar with Michael. The result was that Michael was capable of fighting using his bow as a close-range weapon of sorts, using it as a blunt weapon to create space with his enemy before attacking at range. And if he couldn¡¯t do that, he could choke an enemy out with it, or even dodge long enough to shoot the enemy with his bow. Shaun was hoping to one day get Michael to the point where he fought even better up close than he did long-distance. Michael, as an archer, felt conflicted on the matter, but admitted that it would have its perks. It¡¯s a bit of a side note, but this training would actually have an effect on Michael¡¯s future growth, far into the future, and he would be both thankful and annoyed at the results. But that¡¯s a story for another time. Even as the three wolves charged at Arthur, he felt the surge of power. He had used Lesser Spark Step multiple times, and the first time was indeed a rush¡­ But as Arthur used it, he felt it. The potential, the energy within him wishing to burst out in a violent wave, untamed, incapable of being controlled, he felt it within his core¡­ Arthur was a methodical fighter, if he could win in one hit, he would. If he could win without getting hit, he would. If getting hit would be better, he¡¯d reluctantly do so, as long as the attack wasn¡¯t something that would result in his defeat. But¡­ just this once¡­ he felt the urge to run wild. To let this feeling of power flow freely without limit¡­ he wished he could. He didn¡¯t have the Mana to do such a thing for long¡­ but for a moment, he didn¡¯t care. He didn¡¯t want to. As the lead wolf attempted to bite at his thigh, Arthur gave into the feeling at last. Barely noticing it happening, Arthur allowed Soul Flame to slip into his inventory, using the suddenly free right hand to slam his palm onto the head of the wolf, crushing it into the ground. The other wolves didn¡¯t let him do this without worry as they attacked as well to help their pack member. Arthur registered the attacks approaching and instead of moving out of the attack range, he increased his grip on the skull of the wolf as he raised his hand. With a strength stat of over thirty, Arthur was six times stronger than the average adult male. The average adult male could lift roughly seventy one kilograms in a deadlift, the equivalent being one hundred and fifty five pounds. This weight was adjusted by factors such as training, condition and the weight of the person doing the lifting. With the Dungeon, all Adventurers start off from the same point, a woman with five points of Strength was just as strong as a man with five points. So going by the ¡®six times stronger¡¯ attitude, Arthur could lift almost half a metric ton from a deadlift position. Swinging a wolf into another wolf was something difficult, but possible. One of the attacking wolves was surprised to find its entire body flung away from the force of having a similarly sized wolf thrown at it. This left only one wolf close enough to attack Arthur, it¡¯s claws aiming for Arthur¡¯s shoulder due to his kneeling position. Arthur saw this and raised his right arm, summoning Soul Flame was something easily done in comparison to trying to swap armour in the middle of a fight, and the blade appeared, slashing at the front legs of the wolf and removing the limbs. The wolf¡¯s howl of pain distracted the other ones for a moment, giving Arthur¡¯s teammates an opening to attack back while Arthur plunged the Dagger of Hunger into the gap of flesh created between the neck and jaw bones. The wolf died instantly, leaving Arthur to turn and move towards the two wolves, both on the floor as he concentrated the already dense aura of Lightning he had into his right leg, kicking forward. Arthur and Shaun, for all that they had similarities in personality, were pretty much opposites in other terms. Arthur was a warrior with a minor focus on magic, especially in regeneration. Shaun was a wizard with a minor focus on physical ability¡­ as much as he wished he could have a set up similar to Arthur. Their stats gained from their classes were also ¡®opposite¡¯ if one looked closer. And amongst the most mundane of opposing things¡­ Arthur was right footed, while Shaun was left footed. Carrying on with actually important information, the force of this kick broke the ribs of the wolf it impacted, killing it instantly when its heart was crushed from the force, such a kick wouldn¡¯t have done so without the added force of the lightning. The other wolf lying on the floor was clearly looking with Arthur with fear now as Michael had killed his own wolf, now helping John. Emilia and Alice had both killed one each, busy with their second, and Matt was still feeling a bit annoyed against three¡­ he was a tank, strong as he was, he wasn¡¯t exactly an offensive based fighter. Arthur barely spared the scared wolf a glance as Soul Flame carved through its neck¡­ He aimed for that a lot, he noted¡­ but it made sense, it was an obvious weak-point of almost every living creature¡­ especially given how separating a head from the body usually killed something. No doubt they¡¯d eventually find something that such thoughts wouldn¡¯t work on, but for now it was fine. Arthur turned, rushing towards Matt to help him out¡­ Lightning. When one thought of lightning, what did one imagine? Loud booms, stormy skies, and a sudden brightness, burnt into the eyes as it vanished. Lightning¡­ a flash of brilliance and power, fading into nothing. Arthur considered this¡­ and felt a smile come onto his face. He was mistaken from the beginning¡­ while he did not think his pursuit of always having Lesser Spark Step active was false, he was incorrect on his vision of the element itself. An explosion of power, a brilliance that could not be matched by any, and vanishing after that fleeting moment, nature¡¯s vary own firework. So was the power he had to put in. Now that he was focusing on how lightning was, he felt it, the undulations of his own energy, falling and rising like the crests of a wave. Sure, he had kept LSP active for about two and a half minutes by now, so his Mana was decreasing, but he felt it¡­ If he had to describe it, Lesser Spark Steps energy felt similar to how one would think an alternating current worked. Now feeling the pulses, Arthur attempted to move in time with the pulses, stepping forward as it ascended, and it was slight, but there was an increase in his speed¡­ He arrived at the first of the new group of wolves with a spark of electricity flitting from his person as the wolf looked to him while snapping its teeth at him. Arthur did not simply allow it to bite at his arm without reprisal, and swung his arm towards the wolf to its surprise, slightly injuring himself as its head was knocked to the sky. Taking the chance, Arthur felt the energy rise once more, and decided that it was enough for now, he had immersed himself in the feeling for long enough, he¡¯d be thinking on it later, but for now, he had to stop. So with that rising energy, he struck out with Soul Flame, the fire burning in the spine of the sword suddenly sparking out with lightning as it pierced the wolf. The energy as Arthur shut off Lesser Spark Step was to the point that the lightning leapt off of the blade, blasting towards the wolf behind his target and stunning it long enough for Matt to bash its skull in, the third of the wolves being killed by Emilia striking its neck with her Bloodletting Daggers. With that, their largest group fight ended, leaving them all huffing in exertion, Arthur even just directly falling to his rear as he sat down. It was a ¡®short¡¯ encounter, barely four minutes total¡­ but it was enough to tire them all out with how they had fought. ¡°We¡­ can¡¯t fight like that forever.¡± Arthur was quick to notice as he removed a bottle of water from his inventory, everyone else doing something similar. ¡°That was¡­ difficult. No injuries, but we¡¯re way too tired after such a fight¡­ I thought Endurance was supposed to prevent this?¡± Alice complained, and it was Emilia who responded. ¡°It¡¯s not physical exertion. Physically we¡¯re actually fine, just slightly short of breath¡­ but mentally, we¡¯re exhausted after the focus we put into that fight.¡± Emilia admitted, and they could see her point. Already their breathing was evening out, showing her words to have truth in them, and the reason they felt mental exhaustion was also slightly obvious¡­ Their fear. Not a lot of people experienced it in their lives, but going through a scary situation resulted in a faster tiring rate. The reasons weren¡¯t quite clear to them, but it made sense. They were stronger than the wolves, but they weren¡¯t so strong as to be above human nature when it came to fearing animals capable of killing them. It was the same reason why, in a four or five minute fight against Blade that lasted barely four or so exchanges they ended up all tired as heck, and Arthur seemed to have even passed out. They didn¡¯t know why he did, but they assumed it was because he was tired. Only he knew he had met the being that granted him power¡­ ¡°¡­We¡¯re going to need to get past that.¡± Easier said than done, but everyone agreed. ¡°You do that.¡± Except John, getting half-hearted glares as he alone relaxed on the side, his mental strength higher than theirs only by the fact that he wasn¡¯t actually a fighter¡­ yet¡­ They¡¯d make him fight¡­ not now, but they would. ¡°The thirteenth floor is likely going to be full of wolves¡­ that¡¯s annoying, but we¡¯ll work through it, bit by bit like we always do.¡± Arthur¡¯s statement was met with smiles and nods¡­ They continued for another two hours on the thirteenth floor before returning to the surface, understanding that they had much to improve on. More than they knew.
Arthur Clive
Level: 25 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (41/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 125%) Sword Sage I (53/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (21/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (29/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental I (62/100) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 33 Dexterity: 39
Intelligence: 26 Wisdom: 44 (55)
Endurance: 26 Vitality: 33
Chapter 12- Lore ¡°Dire on the left!¡± Arthur¡¯s shout drew Michael¡¯s attention as the archer moved his hands, firing off an arrow at the much larger wolf which was a step or two away from lunging at Alice. It was now two weeks since having killed Blade, Einherjar was currently on the sixteenth floor, and they were facing slight issues when it came to the Dungeon. Namely the floor sizes¡­ it was increasing. This meant it was taking longer to go through a floor, even though they were getting stronger to the point where they could easily move through the enemies. Going by the rules of fairness, larger floors with weaker enemies, or smaller floors with stronger enemies seemed to be the rules that would be coming up¡­ Maybe¡­ There was always the possibility that it would eventually end up that the strong enemies would appear on larger floors in large numbers. That actually sounded reasonable, and therefore it was a possibility. The fight they were busy with ended shortly, and Arthur rarely used his Lesser Spark Step during it. During this week he had begun to study the fluctuations in his magic when using the spell, and Arthur found his power to increase slightly¡­ His Skill Mastery was increasing quite a bit due to this, and he had talked to Shaun about it¡­ reluctantly. Shaun claimed to understand what he was talking about, and that it wasn¡¯t a confirmed phenomenon just yet, but if Shaun had to call it something, it would be Skill Enlightenment. It wasn¡¯t something that would work on a whim, and could only be done by gaining greater understanding of a Skill, especially if it occurred during battle. Shaun admitted that he had done something similar with his own Unique Skill, and that it was reasonable to assume others could do it as well, but only if they achieved this ¡®enlightenment¡¯. The result of this was that after a week of training with it, Lightning Elemental had levelled up to level two, and gave Arthur the option to use the ¡®basic¡¯ Spark Step. He didn¡¯t use it though. Not because he couldn¡¯t, but because it wasn¡¯t reliable yet, in comparison to Lesser Spark Step. Lesser Spark Step currently consumed about a quarter of his Mana per minute after adding a few points to Intelligence, while the basic version consumed double that. And the boost given between the two was also double¡­ which led to a situation where Arthur tripped over his own feet and crashed into a wall when he tried it alone. The main reason he didn¡¯t use the basic one, his Dexterity stat was not suitable for the spell yet¡­ Maybe if his Dexterity stat was around seventy, or eighty? So no, Arthur was trying to get used to fighting without those spells for now, because he was quite frankly losing out on training his Sword Sage Skill or Duel Wielding. Soul Sight got training all the time, but it was notably levelling up quite a bit slower than before¡­ Arthur guessed that it was the difference in levels, as well as rarity. Tactician was levelling up faster than Soul Sight, ignoring the fact that Soul Sight needed more points to do so, and it was the same for Duel Wielding. Who knew when he¡¯d master Soul Sight¡­ it was almost like the first level he gained in it was a freebie. The end of the fight was met with tired breaths and leaning on whatever tree was not past the runes on the floor. Starting on the fifteenth floor, they had begun to notice differences in the runes¡­ namely the runes which determined where the path was were a glowing red, easily noticeable on the forest floor. But on the fifteenth floor they had encountered a wall of blue runes, and after stepping past it, they found out what it was¡­ it was a stereotypical safe-zone. It made a bit of sense, with the monsters capable of roaming around, a safe zone was a necessary thing when it came to resting. Until they found it, they had been resting with look-outs to ensure someone would be capable of fighting while the others put away their food and drinks. ¡­No one dared to bring up the need to use the bathroom in the Dungeon at times. Whatever was left seemed to just disappear apparently, but¡­ It was disgusting to think about, so they usually ignored it. ¡°Where¡¯s the nearest safe-zone?¡± Arthur asked Emilia who pulled out the fifteenth floor map and looked around it for any sign of a safe-zone. ¡°It¡¯s further ahead, on the second possible left turn.¡± Emilia offered, and Arthur nodded, flashing Soul Sight to make sure no enemies were in the immediate vicinity. The second Dungeon Area, the Forest of the Maiden, had much more variety in monsters when compared to the first Area. So far, the main enemies seemed to be wolves, but there were also small foxes which could use illusion magic, and a squirrel or two capable of shooting off wind attacks. Thank whatever being that designed magic that wind magic wasn¡¯t actually invisible, but shown by a green glow. If it was invisible, wouldn¡¯t that be too suitable for assassins? There was also an occasion or two where the six members of Einherjar all heard a loud roar, which, after later checking, sounded like a bear¡­ After watching a certain movie filmed in a winter setting, no one in Einherjar felt like dealing with a bear at current. Luckily the roars seemed to be from far away, almost like a hint at what they would eventually be facing. There were also plants that attacked them, one resembling Venus flytraps and a flower which somehow made them get hurt easily if they smelt its pollen. Both actually counted as monsters. Arthur suppressed his wonder at how environmentalist people would take having to fight such plants to live. Would they just let the plants kill them? Probably not, they¡¯d fight back, and then they¡¯d have to kill the plants and they would be hypocrites. Shaking off that strange thought, Arthur and his team moved to the safe-zone to relax for a bit before continuing on their journey. They had already guesstimated where the stairs were, and today they were just making sure of that before turning around¡­ maybe checking out the seventeenth floor for a moment. One thing Arthur could appreciate, and he was certain the rest of his team appreciated it just as much as he did, was the fact that going from floor to floor in the Dungeon took at max an hour, to as little as twenty minutes. The only reason they took two to four days per floor was because they were busy searching for the stairs, once they found them, it only stood to reason that their speed would increase once they knew the shortest path. All this meant was that after finding the stairs, they would be capable of moving from the eleventh floor to the seventeenth in about five hours or so, less if they ran, more if they had bad luck with encounters. Already they found themselves coming out of the Dungeon in the late afternoon instead of early afternoon like they used to, another hint to the growth of the Dungeon¡¯s floors Arthur was dreading that one day they might need to resort to camping in the Dungeon if they wished to continue¡­ Arthur did not like camping, at all, in case it wasn¡¯t clear. After settling down in the safe-zone, which somehow had tree stumps as seats and tables, Arthur took it as a chance to start thinking. He was thinking back to his encounter with Blade, and the words spoken by the powerful swordsman Demon Lord¡­ ¡°Hey, the Demon Lord of this forest, she¡¯s Blade¡¯s lover, isn¡¯t she?¡± Arthur asked in reminding, the group considered it before nodding, recalling the words of the now empty Demon Lord. ¡°Yeah, or rather, he claimed to love her but it is still unknown whether there¡¯s reciprocation to those feelings.¡± Alice offered, and they considered it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually, isn¡¯t that a bit of a hint to the lore of this place?¡± the word got Michael and Matt stumped for a moment while John spoke up. ¡°The backstory? Why do you want to know the backstory of the tower? I mean, it¡¯s not like people need to know the backstory of a game to enjoy what happens in it.¡± John offered, and Arthur shook his head. He denied the idea John had, of knowing nothing about what was going on and fighting just to fight. Arthur wasn¡¯t like that. He needed a purpose to walk into battle, and while killing Chronos was currently universally acceptable as a reason, he needed¡­ no, more accurate to say he wanted more. Like John said, you don¡¯t need to have more, but Arthur was the kind to want more. ¡°No, you don¡¯t need the backstory¡­ but I want to know more. Blade had emotion, he had feelings, he was¡­ a person. We killed him, but I¡¯d like to know more about the man before we move on.¡± Arthur admitted, the weight of having killed Blade resting upon his soul¡­ Looking at his own soul the day after killing Blade, it was obvious in its own way. His soul gave a vague sensation of ¡®sword¡¯ now, after killing the Demon Lord, and Arthur had a feeling that it was because of the Sword Sage Skill, a Skill he only gained after killing Blade. The Skill would be the weight of what Arthur did to Blade, proof that the Demon Lord was more than the current soulless husk he was. Arthur did not feel regret for killing the Demon Lord, he felt regret for not truly knowing the ¡®man¡¯ before killing him. For as I learn of my enemy, I come to love them as they love themselves. And then I destroy them. Ender Wiggin had a point, even if Arthur possibly butchered the quote¡­ Knowing your enemy was the key to many a battle, but learn too much of your enemy and you begin to sympathize. This is why, in war, propaganda was usually sent out, claiming the enemy was coming for the soldier¡¯s families, the enemy was possessed by demons, the enemy was the source of all evil in the world.Stolen novel; please report. It¡¯s easy to kill a monster. It¡¯s hard to kill a man. ¡°Let¡¯s move out, I want to have an idea of the enemies on the seventeenth floor before we turn around.¡± Arthur ordered as they finished eating, moving out of the safe-zone and moving along towards their destination. While Einherjar were in the Dungeon, Shaun was in Manhattan Upper West looking at a corpse with a frown on his face. ¡°How many does this make since Red Sky Day?¡± Shaun¡¯s question was to Roy, the ¡®archer¡¯ of Shaun¡¯s team as the man looked at the corpse, notably staring at the knife wound to the skull and the metallic spine. ¡°We¡¯re over one hundred and twenty six for now¡­ that we know of. This guy is approaching Luis Garavito in known kills.¡± Roy offered with a frown on his face. The Beast, Luis Garavito had a known kill count of one hundred and thirty eight, with a suspected amount of anywhere from one hundred and seventy to three hundred¡­ The person killed was a ¡®known¡¯ drug dealer, and while that would normally supply a motive of some kind, Shaun was well aware that it didn¡¯t matter. To the killer, it didn¡¯t seem anything mattered except age. Everything about the victims was random, from gender, to jobs, to personal history, the only consistency was that any victim was over the age of eighteen¡­ A killer with morals? Not targeting children or teenagers seemed odd, but as it was NYPD was at least glad they wouldn¡¯t have to stumble upon the dead body of a child. In that regard, Shaun was glad to be dealing with this serial killer instead of the Beast of Columbia, whose victims were only young boys below the age of sixteen, many of which were found to have been defiled¡­ Disturbing as this Adventurer serial killer may be, he was easier to stomach than the other. ¡°He or she has been targeting drug dealers and gangsters more often recently though¡­¡± Grey offered while looking at the list of victims, more than one John Doe or Jane Doe appeared in there, the bodies too mangled to identify. ¡°That is true¡­ of the last thirty deaths, more than half were ¡®gang-related¡¯. Maybe it¡¯s a clue that this guy is beginning to try and muscle his way into the crime circle?¡± Shaun considered out loud before he snapped his fingers to get the attention of the nearest policeman. ¡°Hey, I want standard procedure with this one, and I want you to get me someone with ties to the drug-dealers, I want to confirm a few things.¡± Shaun¡¯s words were met with a nod from the officer as he and the two members of his team walked away with him. Shaun was glad they respected his authority¡­ the Bureau and the police force butt heads so much in media that some police officers joined thinking that was normal. ¡°You¡¯re working on that hunch?¡± Grey asked as the got to Shaun¡¯s car, a Ford GT¡­ he had an abnormal love for the vehicle, and would extol on the Ferrari-Ford rivalry any time. ¡°Sure, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s a truly bad idea when it comes to looking for a criminal. Beyond saying something outlandish like ¡®there were fifty people to kill this one guy¡¯ everything should at least be given a bit of consideration.¡± Roy answered Grey¡¯s question, he wasn¡¯t getting in the car with them. Roy had his own life to live; having retired from the service¡­ but like many a marine he was still a soldier, ready to answer the call. In his case, the call came at two in the morning a week after Red Sky Day from Shaun, but nonetheless, he was willing to listen¡­ At a reasonable time in the day of course, Roy ignored Shaun until later that day. Roy was a human, not a super-being that got called at two in the morning to fight monsters and said ¡®sure¡¯. Dante was the odd one for accepting such a call in Roy¡¯s opinion. Roy walked away while Grey got into the passenger seat of the Ford, and they drove off, still talking. ¡°It¡¯s as Roy said, any reasonable idea is to be considered. If the killer is muscling in on drug dealers, then it could be that he or she is selling their own drugs and wants to eliminate the competition.¡± Shaun offered as he turned down to one of the main roads heading towards the Guild. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that result in a gang-war or something similar?¡± Grey was sadly uninformed in these matters due to being raised spoilt admittedly, so Shaun sighed. ¡°Normally that would be the case, and I can¡¯t immediately discredit it, but they don¡¯t have an enemy to attack, the killer hasn¡¯t revealed himself yet.¡± Shaun said as they waited at a traffic light. ¡°Wait¡­ if he hasn¡¯t revealed himself yet, then why did you ask to interview a contact?¡± Grey¡¯s question was had Shaun look away in thought. ¡°I asked to talk to someone with connections to find out if the killer maybe got a statement out without us knowing, or if the killer is targeting specific dealers, and if so, why?¡± Shaun yawned slightly as he swerved through a bit of traffic, leaving Grey grabbing at the door to stabilize himself. ¡°So it¡¯s just to get a bit more basic information, not to get anything concrete just yet?¡± Grey asked and Shaun nodded, and that was when the phone began to ring. Hearing the Presidential March song being played had Grey raise an eyebrow as Shaun reached for the phone, accepting the call. ¡°Clayton, I¡¯m driving, it¡¯s not a good time to be calling me.¡± Grey¡¯s eyes widened slightly before calming down¡­ he was already aware of Shaun¡¯s friendly relation with the president, but it was another thing to hear him talking to the man. Also, Shaun¡¯s sense of humour was bad. Incapable of hearing the conversation, Grey just looked around, trying to piece together what was happening based on Shaun¡¯s responses. ¡°Really? Well, I¡¯m sure we can arrange a meeting¡­¡± Shaun¡¯s expression was open but Grey didn¡¯t know the man well enough to know what could cause those expressions on Shaun¡¯s face. Except for exhaustion, almost anything could cause that to appear. ¡°¡­Clayton, tell me you didn¡¯t just say that?¡± Whatever the president was saying had Shaun¡¯s eye twitching, a funny reaction to be sure, but anything that could cause him to look like that¡­ ¡°Clayton, regardless of my skill as a bodyguard, I¡¯m not helping you in that.¡± Shaun seemed irritated by now before sighing. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll arrange for the meeting. Ignoring that, what have you found out about Project Pennhurst?¡± Grey knew nothing about the latter part of the conversation, and even the first half only spoke of a meeting¡­ But judging from Shaun¡¯s serious expression, this Pennhurst thing was important, very important. ¡°Not much huh, only news that it was supposedly disbanded decades ago¡­ that¡¯s like something out of a movie honestly, though if you were to believe Clements it would be a book.¡± Shaun complained aloud as he finally pulled up next to the Guild. ¡°Well I¡¯m currently at the Guild headquarters, judging by the time, the Champion will be exiting the Dungeon in an hour or two, I¡¯ll tell him your message then.¡± Shaun said, getting out of the car while Grey was already moving towards Dante at the doors of the Guild. ¡°Alright, see you then boss.¡± Shaun ended the call with a tired sigh¡­ All he wanted to do was retire, maybe become a psychiatrist so he could talk to people about their problems instead of focusing on his own. Unfortunately for Shaun, his retirement was cut off a month before it was meant to happen due to Red Sky Day. Sometimes the call finds you instead¡­ Back inside the Dungeon, Arthur and team Einherjar were turning back to head to floor ten due to their levels increasing. And because finding the fastest path between floors was already complete. Already, Arthur estimated that they could head from floor ten to floor seventeen in two hours or so instead of the whole day it was currently taking. Of course, that meant that on floor seventeen they¡¯d have to either leave two hours early or have two hours less to explore the place, not counting time heading back. Logistics, it was an issue everywhere. ¡°Hey John, mind if we talk a bit?¡± Arthur asked, taking a breather while the other four members of their team fought some wolves. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Arthur blinked at the confusing answer before shrugging and taking it as an approval, as in ¡®I don¡¯t mind talking¡¯. ¡°I was wondering about Spells and wanted to talk to the only other person in our team involved with Spell Skills.¡± John sighed, already knowing that Arthur was going to be asking or telling him things that would make his head hurt. ¡°Okay, so what¡¯s the issue?¡± John truly hoped it was only one thing at this point. ¡°You had a choice between two Spells, like I did with my own, I was wondering why we¡¯d be given that choice instead of just getting all of the Spells or something.¡± Arthur¡¯s question was one that John had thought on before. The first Spell he gained, Heal, was automatically chosen given that he was a healer. The second Spell was a choice between Recovery which John chose, and a spell called Area Heal, the name said it all. Now John normally would have chosen Area Heal, as it was ¡®cheaper¡¯ than casting a Heal on each individual person, but John had taken Arthur¡¯s warnings to heart on the future danger of the Dungeon. And besides, why would he be given an option to erase bad ¡®status effects¡¯ if those didn¡¯t happen? Clearly there was a bit of foreboding in that option¡­ Considering the first Goblin they fought on floor eleven, John felt his choice in Spells was correct. ¡°So why not just allow us to learn both?¡± John repeated the question back to Arthur as he thought and then John shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure on that man. For all we know it could just be a way to keep everyone different.¡± John¡¯s words apparently were the right thing to say, given how Arthur smiled while nodding. ¡°I see, yeah, that makes sense actually¡­ think about it, the LEV¡¯s seem to create uniqueness for everyone when it comes to the things it grants us.¡± The conversation had drawn attention from the rest of Einherjar by now, though Michael was still on lookout. He had a habit of attacking Goblin Assassin¡¯s first once they got into their area ever since the sneak attack. No one blamed him. ¡°The LEV¡¯s give us Stats, Elements, Animae, Skills and obviously Levels.¡± Alice added, using the common term of LEV in replacement of the annoying term ¡®contract¡¯. For that was what the LEV was in truth, as much as everyone tried to ignore it. Chronos himself gave them the LEV in exchange for the promise to try and kill him. Those who showed greater ability would be given greater rewards in the form of levelling up and so on. That was just one way of looking at it, but it was a fact that the LEV was a contract between the Adventurer and Chronos. One gave power, the other gave the promise of a fight, and thus the contract is sealed. ¡°Yeah, and if you think about it, with all those things, it¡¯s impossible to find someone with the exact same ability as you.¡± Emilia stated, looking to her own left wrist and staring at the glowing lettering. ¡°Some might have the same stats, the same element, the same skills, the same level, and even a similar Anima, but having everything be the same is impossible¡­ it¡¯s culturing diversity.¡± Matt¡¯s words were oddly profound, leaving all of them quiet and in thought. They were interrupted by a group of Goblins and cut their previous discussion from their mind until later¡­ for now, they fought. Once more leaving Einherjar inside the Dungeon, in Manhattan¡¯s Chinatown, Eddie was vomiting in a trashcan. It was understandable given what his new ¡®boss¡¯ was doing in the room with the owner of the building. ¡°Now I¡¯m certain you wish to actually keep the fingers on your other hand there instead of in your mouth. Now, if you don¡¯t answer my question, I¡¯m going to put your fingers back in there, and make you swallow them this time around.¡± Oh god his boss was vile, who did that? Who¡­ oh it was horrible. It was not the worst the man had done in Eddie¡¯s presence though, Eddie knew the man could do much worse, such as the time he pulled a ¡®Nobunaga¡¯ and turned someone¡¯s skull into a metallic cup, while the brother of the previous owner of the skull watched him drink. ¡°I said I¡¯ll talk, I told you!¡± the tortured victim screamed, unable to be heard beyond the walls of the room due to Eddie¡¯s own Anima, Silent Room. Self-explanatory, spreading five metres in each direction was a spherical area in which no sound could escape, and if necessary Eddie could focus effects, such as preventing Spells from being used, or silencing his own footsteps. An excellent Anima for an Assassin, or a witness to torture apparently. ¡°Oh¡­ that you did. Just realized, sorry, I was a bit out of sorts there. So again, tell me who is your supplier, where they live, and who you sell for.¡± Eddie shook his head as he stayed looking away from the torturing. His vomiting incident was due to accidentally looking at the boss forced the man¡¯s own middle-finger into his mouth to silence the victim. ¡°It¡¯s Bruce, Bruce from Brooklyn, he gets me product, I sell it, I give him ninety and he lets me keep ten, he lives near the Brooklyn Bridge!¡± Eddie winced, already knowing what his boss would do. The scream confirmed that Eddie was getting used to the things his Boss did¡­ that sounded like a bad thing. ¡°Okay, okay, that¡¯s nice, you told me your supplier and who you sell for is the same person, that¡¯s good information. Then you told me the general area he lives in, I can use that. But I doubt he¡¯s the only fucking Bruce there now is he!¡± Eddie winced as he began to hear choking sounds and gagging¡­ Auto-cannibalism¡­ that¡¯s a new disgusting thing his boss tried. ¡°Well, Eddie, this one is done, let¡¯s go, I¡¯m sure if we get someone from there we¡¯ll figure things out.¡± Eddie nodded, unwilling to against his boss as the body was left tied to the chair, the spine converted into metal as the boss removed his knife from the drug dealer¡¯s throat. ¡°Yes Sir Mister Mourn.¡± A strange surname, more than likely a fake one, but apt¡­ All the man left in his wake was mourning families for his victims, or was Eddie reading into it too much? Either way, that¡¯s another victim¡­ How many was it so far? Eddie lost count after three hundred.
Arthur Clive
Level: 30 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 12.5% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 2% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 9 Wisdom per use a day. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 2.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 15% (total 130%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 4% of enemies drop two times the loot.
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (54/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 130%) Sword Sage I (131/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (32/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (38/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental II (7/200) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 40 Dexterity: 44
Intelligence: 30 Wisdom: 52 (67)
Endurance: 30 Vitality: 40
Chapter 13-The President of America ¡°¡­You¡¯re being serious, aren¡¯t you?¡± Arthur¡¯s question was met with a singular raised eyebrow from the Guild Master named Shaun Fife. ¡°Serious as a heart attack. You were well aware that we¡¯d be having you attend a United Nations meeting, why are you so surprised by this?¡± Shaun¡¯s question was met with nods by five of the other six people in the room. ¡°You have a point, but why would the President want to meet me so early? And here, for that matter?¡± Arthur got to the meat of the matter with his final question, leaving Shaun scratching his head and looking around his office. ¡°Is there something wrong with my office? Should I get a refund from that cleaner?¡± Shaun tried deflecting the topic but given the blank stares from the six members of Einherjar, he clearly wasn¡¯t getting it right. ¡°Okay¡­ to make a long story short, President Clayton is an Adventurer geek.¡± That got a serious of slow blinks before the statement registered, drawing noises of confusion from the six. ¡°No joke, the President likes video games, anime, comics, all that, though he obviously doesn¡¯t mention it often¡­ who¡¯d take someone like that seriously in his job?¡± Shaun admitted, leaving out that he was the one to get Clayton interested in those things¡­ And to think it all started because Shaun got pissed at the man for not knowing what a Dragon Ball was. ¡°So¡­ what, because of how the Dungeon is similar to a role playing game in mechanics, he is interested in it?¡± Matt asked, wondering after considering how serious the President always looked in the videos of him¡­ It was difficult to connect that image with one of a nerd struggling on a level in a game like Etrian Odyssey or Disgaea. Those were two of Matt¡¯s favourite role playing games, despite their numerous issues. ¡°Not just interested, the President also occasionally goes into the Dungeon just because he can¡­ It¡¯s annoying because that means that his bodyguards have to be Adventurers of equal or higher level¡­¡± Shaun sighed in annoyance, letting the Einherjar members know how irritating that must be from the point of view of a bodyguard. It¡¯s hard to protect someone when they¡¯d willingly walk into a den of wolves, literally in the case of the second Area of the Dungeon. ¡°Okay, so the President is making your jobs harder, and he¡¯s a nerd, still doesn¡¯t explain why he wants to meet with us so badly.¡± Michael cut to the point, and Shaun nodded, inwardly admitting that he hadn¡¯t actively said why Clayton wanted to meet them. ¡°Well, as mentioned, Clayton likes video games, and he likens the Dungeon to a video game with high stakes. Considering you are the highest levelled people he has access to, he kind of looks up to you all as Adventurers.¡± These words got odd grimaces from each member of Einherjar¡­ It was like working for a rich CEO, and then being captain of the football team said CEO was on at the same time. Indeed, as citizens of America the President was the ¡®leader¡¯ or ¡®face¡¯ of America, but when it came to Adventurers, only the strongest could lead¡­ Looking at it from the view point of an Adventurer, the meeting made sense, the man had the chance to talk to a stronger Adventurer team and get advice and he took it, not only that, but it also might give the man a chance to talk to Einherjar about the U.N meeting. ¡°Yeah, a bit of a whiplash in authority there, but you¡¯d get used to it. In a Dungeon I order the President around as a fellow Adventurer, but outside, I¡¯m one of his soldiers. Not that I enjoy going into the Dungeon with Clayton.¡± Shaun sighed as a knock on the door resounded. Opening the door was Dante with a yawn, signs of how tired he was of the nightly Dungeon runs he and Shaun did. Shaun had permanent panda eyes at this point. ¡°The President is here.¡± Dante said, opening the door wider and allowing another man to walk in. He was immediately recognizable as Clayton Andrews, the President of America, one of his more noticeable traits was that he was of American Indian descent. Which made no sense at times to Arthur¡­ he had grown up knowing them as such, but he did have to wonder, if they were ¡®Native American¡¯ then wouldn¡¯t that just be ¡®American¡¯¡­ you wouldn¡¯t call an Arab a ¡®Native Arab¡¯ would you? However, Clayton¡¯s outfit was very different from what he normally wore for interviews, namely that he was wearing comfortable leather armour and had two tomahawks latched on his lower back¡­ It set a tone for the meeting immediately, this wasn¡¯t President Clayton, but Adventurer Clayton. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all, I¡¯m sure you all know me, but I am Clayton Andrews.¡± Clayton extended his hand to Arthur, showing that he already knew who was in charge of the team, and likely whatever information Shaun had on them at Clayton¡¯s disposal. ¡°Likewise, I¡¯m Arthur Clive, leader of Einherjar. This is Michael Grave, our archer and scout, Alice Grave, our warrior, Matt Jacobson our guardian, John Collins our healer, and Emilia Vasilievna, our assassin.¡± Arthur admitted without fanfare, introducing each member of Einherjar, said members nodding at their names being called. ¡°Again, I¡¯m really pleased to be meeting you all¡­ sorry about meeting you all with little to no warning; I don¡¯t get a lot of time to myself these days.¡± Clayton¡¯s complain was stated as he scratched his short black hair absently, inadvertently letting Arthur see that the President was a level twelve, likely due to being busy as he just mentioned. ¡°It¡¯s alright mister President, you are our boss in a manner of speaking.¡± Arthur surprised his friends with how calm he was treating the meeting¡­ If they knew how Arthur was internally worrying beyond measure, that surprise would likely drop¡­ but Arthur was a surprisingly good actor when he needed to be. ¡°Ah, you can call me Clayton, after all, I¡¯m not in a suit right now.¡± The man joked, showing he had seen through the reason why Arthur was so comfortable with him. ¡°Alright then, Clayton, what is it you wanted to talk about?¡± Arthur asked, Clayton taking a seat on a chair next to Shaun¡¯s own¡­ A roller chair at that¡­ Arthur loved those, and judging by how Clayton immediately smiled and began turning back and forth, he liked them too. No one really hated those things unless they weren¡¯t on one. ¡°Right, well, I wanted to talk about the Dungeon a bit with you Arthur, if it isn¡¯t too much trouble. I¡¯m someone who likes theories, be they anything from ¡®the sky is blue¡¯ to ¡®aliens built the pyramids¡¯ I like hearing them.¡± Clayton¡¯s smirk said something dangerous was about to be stated. ¡°And given what I know about the second Area of the Dungeon, I have reason to believe you have a few theories on the Dungeon by now, I got a few of my own just from hearing about that place, the Forest of the Maiden right?¡± Clayton asked Shaun who nodded¡­ after looking up from his phone. The man was playing Tetris while everyone else talked¡­ ¡°Right, well, firstly, I wanted to mention two distinct possibilities, and hear your thoughts on them, as well as any thoughts you possibly have.¡± Clayton¡¯s question got a nod. ¡°Good. Firstly, on the concept of Areas, with ninety nine areas and Hell itself as the one hundredth, we have one hundred Demon Lords or Bosses including Chronos himself. My theory is that each Area could possibly be a world on its own.¡± Clayton¡¯s smirk showed his surety, leaving Arthur with a narrowed gaze. ¡°I won¡¯t discredit that idea, but what gives you that certainty that it¡¯s correct Clayton?¡± Arthur was starting to realize the nature of this meeting as it went on, Clayton was deferring to Arthur¡¯s expertise, meaning Arthur had the ¡®weight¡¯ to talk to the President like this. Surprised at being called out like that, but quickly recovering, Clayton removed a sheet of paper from his inventory. ¡°Partially, it¡¯s because of what we know of how travelling in the Dungeon works, despite moving up or down through ¡®floors¡¯ you end up in a different part of the same Area. At this point we¡¯re lucky the Adventurer Cards still register those parts as ¡®floors¡¯.¡± Clayton said, showing an image on the paper¡­ A badly drawn one of someone walking up stairs from floor one only to still be in floor one, just somewhere else¡­ still, it got the idea across, even if it used stick figures. ¡°And secondly, it¡¯s because of that Forest of the Maiden. It had a day and night cycle similar to Earth¡¯s, but after checking, we can¡¯t recognize any of the stars at night, we can¡¯t even find the North Star.¡± Clayton¡¯s second fact got wide eyes from Arthur who palmed his forehead. ¡°That does make sense, we¡¯ve never journeyed into the Dungeon at night though we may start doing that eventually¡­¡± Arthur paused looking to Shaun for a moment. ¡°Unfortunately we can¡¯t prove this until the third Area, and only if the third Area is open like the Forest. At that point, we could compare the skies of the Forest and the new Area, and we¡¯d know for sure.¡± Arthur¡¯s glance to Shaun, and the nod from the Guild Master showed that they understood each other. Arthur would try and open the third Area, Shaun would go in at night and compare, using this data, they¡¯d be able to determine whether this was just a guess or the truth. ¡°Hm, proof first before the decision is made, I like it¡­ still, if it is true, then we must also consider the implications, we already know there are ninety nine Areas and then Hell¡¯s Throne. That¡¯s at a minimum ninety nine worlds of resources.¡± Clayton knew the weight of those words well, as did everyone else in the room. The Earth was almost damaged beyond repair in two thousand and nineteen, with an estimated twelve years left before said point, and human civilization started more than a few thousand years before. ¡°Not quite, compare Area one to Area two, the Forest clearly had wood and animals to hunt in some manner, but the first is just a series of tunnels¡­ there will certainly be more Areas with little to no resources¡­ the only thing those places would offer would be free space, and considering we had a population problem¡­¡± Arthur¡¯s use of the word had was important when considering Red Sky Day. Their population was now roughly five billion and dropping slowly with every Adventurer that died¡­ though a baby boom in a couple months could be expected. People who survived Red Sky Day¡­ well, it was a similar situation to what happened with people who nearly die in a disaster. You get a new outtake on life, then you realize you don¡¯t have as long as you think to have a child, or something to that effect. There was some psychological thing about it, Arthur wasn¡¯t quite sure on what it was though. ¡°I get it, having people live in these new Areas would be a nice way to spread the weight of humanity around¡­¡± Clayton considered before shaking his head. ¡°Wait, wait, we¡¯re getting side-tracked, I had another theory I wanted to share with you¡­ namely, it¡¯s about the Dungeon and how it came to exist, well¡­ it was clearly created in some manner, right?¡± Clayton tried to bring them back to the other topic of conversation and managed to succeed. ¡°Yeah¡­ if it ties in with your previous theory, that means that some being or group of beings was capable of messing with space in such a way that they could travel between planets searching for something.¡± Arthur palmed his face, unknowingly getting Emilia and Alice behind him to point and mimic him to make fun of him. Arthur was way too serious at times, and they were trying to get him to relax more. ¡°Exactly, the other proof of these beings are the runes lining the floor of Area two which creates the Dungeon paths. Someone had to have placed them there.¡± Clayton added, getting a nod from Arthur. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve thought about it myself, and while it could have been Chronos, I doubt it¡­ So far we¡¯ve found two runic patterns, one which prevents anything from entering or exiting its boundaries, and another which allows us in, but keeps monsters out.¡± Arthur added, speaking of the red and blue runes respectively. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s another field of study we¡¯ll be starting up soon, after all, if it was possible to create our own field of runes, wouldn¡¯t a portable safe-zone be possible?¡± Clayton¡¯s question drew a wide smile and nod from Arthur, who hadn¡¯t thought of such a thing before¡­ Arthur actually considered that to be a failing of his, considering he was normally the one to bring up things like that¡­ But between Clayton and Arthur, Clayton was clearly better at exposition.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°If it is, that would be a huge help to Adventurers, especially considering the very real possibility of the Dungeon increasing in size to the point that staying overnight would be necessary to travel through an Area.¡± Arthur added, a possibility Clayton clearly wasn¡¯t aware of, judging by how his eyes lit up in consideration. ¡°I see¡­ yes, that does make sense. It would also explain the necessity of an Inventory, to hold travelling supplies while maintaining the ability to move freely in a fight.¡± Clayton offered while the other people in the room began to understand what was happening¡­ ¡°I guess Arthur finally ran into someone just as interested in those obscure things¡­¡± Emilia offered as she and the others watched Clayton¡¯s back and forth conversation with Arthur. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go get some drinks while these two keep talking.¡± Everyone agreed with Michael¡¯s suggestion, walking out, including Shaun who followed along, still playing Tetris. The moment they were all gone, Clayton and Arthur¡¯s expressions paused, realizing that there were no people listening. ¡°So, is there a reason you didn¡¯t want the other members of your team to hear this part of the conversation?¡± Clayton asked, noting that Arthur had signalled Michael to take the others away. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯d rather I was the only one to mention this possibility to you, but what¡¯s your stance on killing living creatures?¡± Arthur asked, confusing Clayton for a moment. ¡°Uh, for the most part it¡¯s wrong unless in self-defence, but killing is a case by case thing.¡± Clayton admitted as Arthur stared at the president. ¡°Tell me something, on average, how many monsters do you kill in a Dungeon dive?¡± Arthur¡¯s question was seemingly random getting a shrug from the president. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m pretty sure that my team kills over one hundred monsters by the end of the second or third floor, and we got up until floor eight recently¡­ again, I¡¯m not certain on the path of this conversation.¡± Clayton tried to get the answer out as Arthur sighed. ¡°Clayton¡­ before the Dungeon, would you consider someone who kills one hundred living creatures a day normal or even remotely acceptable in any profession other than a butcher?¡± Clayton paused, realizing the implications. ¡°Wait¡­ are you implying that the Dungeon affects our morality in some way?¡± Clayton asked as Arthur nodded. ¡°That is exactly what I¡¯m saying¡­ though not to a huge extent, being an Adventurer changes how we perceive the idea of killing an enemy.¡± Arthur said, leaning back in his chair. ¡°It lowers the inhibitions, less reluctance to slitting the throat of a creature, less guilt over blowing up a wolf¡¯s skull. Of course, logically we know not to attack other humans, but given this lack of caring¡­¡± Arthur led getting a sigh from Clayton as the president of America palmed his face. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that Adventurers as a whole, including myself, are the least reluctant killers in the world currently¡­ but if that is the case, then why do we not have riots and Adventurer warlords popping up in Africa for example?¡± Clayton asked, hoping to pick the brain of the top Adventurer for an answer. ¡°Well I think the reason why is two-fold. For one part, the current status quo is acceptable, we go into the Dungeon, kill things, get stronger, and get paid for it. It¡¯s simple and works for almost everyone.¡± Arthur paused while considering the other part. ¡°As for the second reason, it¡¯s because of power. Adventurers are stronger than normal humans¡­ but we aren¡¯t stronger than a country.¡± Clayton realized the essence of the matter. ¡°Reluctance to face something bigger than themselves¡­ even you, the strongest Adventurer, can¡¯t stop bullets or survive fighting the army.¡± Clayton¡¯s words drew a nod from Arthur who agreed. ¡°Yes, but we also need to consider that possibility, at some point we Adventurers wouldn¡¯t even need armour to block bullets, and would be capable of such magic that we could fight back¡­ in that case, the only deterrent would be a stronger Adventurer.¡± Arthur added, and the two agreed, with how Adventurers were shaping up, eventually they¡¯d be walking city destroyers, especially if the level limit was much higher than one hundred like Arthur suspected. ¡°I see¡­ in that case, I can only think that the Champion Program is the correct way to go.¡± Clayton¡¯s were spoken aloud, but clearly not in conversation with Arthur, leaving Arthur to send Clayton a questioning glance. ¡°Oh, I believe you were told about the idea of Champions being representatives of countries right? Well, I was one of those who agreed on the idea, but mostly because I saw it long-term.¡± Clayton added, leaving Arthur thinking about it for a moment. ¡°¡­As Shaun mentioned, the Champions are there to be the first line of offence against the Demon Lords as well as Chronos, and with the reveal of the monthly attacks, should we fail, the Guild Leaders are to mount a defensive response all over the world¡­¡± Arthur was clearly just thinking aloud, leaving Clayton a moment to his own thoughts. ¡°One of the reasons you all want a Champion to be separate from the Governments¡­ it¡¯s to prevent hoarding, isn¡¯t it?¡± Arthur¡¯s question got a smirk from Clayton. ¡°Yes, by having an ¡®unaffiliated¡¯ Adventurer be the one to kill Chronos and thus become the Ruler of Hell, no one country can hold all those resources. Of course, assisting said Adventurer is acceptable, but the Champion Program does more than just give you good deals for armour and weaponry.¡± Clayton added with a sigh. ¡°The Champion Program is also to protect you Champions from external manipulation from any Government. I can¡¯t force you to give America a huge amount of resources without the other countries going on my case. M.A.D in a manner of speaking.¡± Clayton explained, the Mutually Assured Destruction was the way to prevent wars so far, and now with new ¡®weapons¡¯ everyone needed to keep each other in check so no battles would be waged. ¡°You also can¡¯t force me to fight for the country should we be attacked by another country, as my only enemy is Chronos and his Demon Lords.¡± Arthur added with a pointed look getting Clayton to raise his hands defensively. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t, besides, I have Shaun for situations like that. He¡¯s lazy and odd, but very effective.¡± Clayton admitted with a chuckle, and Arthur had to agree, Shaun was only a floor or two behind Arthur in regards to how deep in the Dungeon they were. ¡°Is there another reason you agreed to the Champion Program though?¡± Arthur asked, not quite believing that it was as simple as it appeared, getting a frown from Clayton. ¡°¡­I do have a personal reason for agreeing. I don¡¯t want Shaun to be the one all the weight falls on.¡± Clayton admitted, getting a raised eyebrow from Arthur. ¡°Shaun was my CO in the military when I joined, he and I saved the life of the other more than once, and I trust him¡­ but take it from someone who has seen war, it hurts.¡± Clayton said, an aging sigh falling from his lips. ¡°Shaun is my friend¡­ I don¡¯t want him to have to deal with any more responsibility than he has to. If it weren¡¯t for him wanting the job, I would probably keep him away from the Guild Leader position too.¡± Clayton admitted getting a smirk from Arthur. ¡°I get it¡­ To keep Shaun from this problem, you wanted a scapegoat?¡± Arthur¡¯s question was rhetorical as Clayton smiled. ¡°Glad to see you understand. I look out for my friends Arthur, and between you, who I¡¯ve only met today, and Shaun, I¡¯m obviously going to work with my friend first.¡± Clayton said, standing with Arthur, as clearly their meeting was over to an extent. ¡°Loyalty is an admirable trait Clayton, it also lets me know that you aren¡¯t a bad person, as long as I don¡¯t do anything to threaten you and those you look out for of course.¡± Arthur returned as they exited the room, looking for Einherjar and Shaun. Finding them near the small ¡®bar¡¯ in the building, the president and Arthur walked over¡­ It wasn¡¯t a proper bar seeing as no alcoholic drinks were served, but it certainly looked like one. No one wanted to drink alcohol before going into the Dungeon¡­ though Shaun was working on getting alcoholic drinks for those exiting. Dante was firmly against that idea on the belief that Shaun would never leave the bar. ¡°So, you finished your conversation? Anything we should know?¡± Matt asked as Arthur looked to Clayton. ¡°Nah, not much more happened since you guys were gone. I still need to know about when the U.N meeting is taking place though.¡± Arthur added, looking onto his conversation partner for the past twenty or so minutes. ¡°It¡¯s planned for the seventeenth, three days from now. As for dress code, well, wearing your Adventurer outfit would be acceptable, if not, we can arrange suits and dresses.¡± Clayton offered, looking at the members of Einherjar as Arthur considered. ¡°Eh, I like suits, I¡¯d be fine with those. Everyone else?¡± Arthur looked to his partners who all nodded, Alice and Emilia agreeing on the basis of getting dresses obviously¡­ though Alice rarely if ever considered wearing dresses, preferring jeans and other loose pants. ¡°Great, Dante will make arrangements for your clothes. You¡¯ll need to take your own transport there though.¡± Clayton added, knowing from what he¡¯s heard from Arthur that Arthur would actually be against getting a lift¡­ John raised his hand, as did Michael and Alice, those three not having their own transport methods, silenced by Matt elbowing John and Emilia twirling the keys of her BMW. There, transport was sorted. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll be meeting at nine, but be there around half past eight to go over everything, okay?¡± Clayton asked, and the six Adventurers nodded, getting a smile from Clayton. ¡°Good, everything is sorted for now¡­ there is one last thing I forgot to mention though.¡± Clayton said, thinking to himself before nodding and pointing to Shaun. ¡°Shaun, you haven¡¯t made public the Kingdom system yet?¡± Clayton asked as Shaun notably looked away from the questioning eyes of the President. ¡°¡­No, I haven¡¯t. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s entirely necessary, right?¡± Shaun¡¯s question was met with a blank stare from Clayton as Shaun began to sigh, realizing that his argument was ignored. ¡°Right, Shaun, you should eventually get around to making that public. Anyway, Arthur, as you heard, we were talking about the Kingdom system, Kingdom¡¯s are basically the guilds from games, it¡¯s a step up from the six man teams, and Kingdom¡¯s can hold a huge amount of people, but the minimum is twelve.¡± Clayton¡¯s words got wide eyes from Arthur, the others not quite getting the idea. Oh, they understood that more teams could be formed, and that Kingdoms were gatherings of two or more teams, but they hadn¡¯t grasped the reason why Arthur was palming his face yet. ¡°So what you¡¯re telling me is that at some point the Dungeon gets big enough, or dangerous enough, that Kingdoms would be necessary. There would be little to no other reason for the existence of such a thing, considering we can just meet up outside the Dungeon and decide to work together.¡± Arthur added, and Einherjar collectively groaned. Arthur had the bad(?) habit of making predictions as to what would happen in the Dungeon, and then having those predictions come true. ¡°I was thinking the same thing, perhaps we¡¯ll start to consider the Demon Lords as ¡®raid bosses¡¯ at a certain point. Another reason I brought them up is because they are kind of restricted.¡± Clayton chuckled nervously, looking to Shaun to explain. ¡°Currently, Kingdoms can only be formed by those with a level higher than ten. For every ten levels, another ¡®team¡¯ can be brought into the Kingdom, not counting the original team. As such, with a level over thirty, you should be able to form a Kingdom out of four teams, or twenty four people.¡± Arthur looked a bit awkward at that, getting confused looks from Clayton and Shaun while the Einherjar members laughed. ¡°Arthur doesn¡¯t have a lot of friends¡­ I doubt we¡¯re going to be forming a twenty four man Kingdom randomly.¡± Michael offered, getting nods from Clayton and Shaun. ¡°Yeah¡­ if I didn¡¯t force him to, I doubt Shaun would have even tried to gather members for a Kingdom.¡± Shaun rolled his eyes, Shaun having his own twenty four member Kingdom. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re hoping I¡¯ll reach a high enough level to bring every Guild employee into my Kingdom¡­ an impossibility, but Clayton has dreams.¡± Shaun sent a small glare to the President who just ignored the look. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re giving you the option¡­ we don¡¯t really let people know about this because of the level ten limitation, and because we don¡¯t want a group we don¡¯t know about.¡± Clayton¡¯s words reminded Arthur of their conversation held away from the other listeners and Arthur nodded, understanding his thoughts. ¡°If ever you run into a team that interests you and you want to give them the offer, creating a Kingdom just involves going into the entrance room with two full teams and having someone over level ten denote themselves as ¡®King¡¯ to the podium. Oh, and naming the Kingdom of course.¡± Clayton reminded, because of course, if teams needed a name then obviously a Kingdom would need one. Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine at the option of people having to kneel towards the ¡®King¡¯ to join a Kingdom¡­ that sounded terrifying, and he was so glad that was not what happened. ¡°For Kingdoms, we¡¯ve found that if the teams of one Kingdom enter the Dungeon from the same point, they can run into each other during their Dungeon runs, helping each other. Of course, the experience would only go to the team that gets the final hit in a fight though.¡± Clayton warned for Arthur and his group¡¯s sake. ¡°Well that makes it a bit interesting¡­ what about Demon Lords, have you seen what happens when two teams enter the Demon Lord chamber at the same time?¡± Arthur asked, thinking about the possibility. ¡°We¡¯ve confirmed that even if the teams entered from different Dungeons they¡¯d enter the Demon Lord room at the same time, even if the teams weren¡¯t related¡­ of course, it is possible for both teams to face the Demon Lord together and in this case the experience is shared, or for the teams to take turns.¡± Clayton¡¯s explanation cleared up that confusion, and Arthur was glad that they had the presence of mind to check that out¡­ how annoying would it have been to find out about that by surprise? Arthur could just imagine it¡­ ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty much all we really needed to talk about here¡­ you all are free to head into the Dungeon now you know?¡± Clayton offered as Einherjar collectively stood after a moment to finish their drinks, nodding to Clayton in greeting. ¡°Thanks for the conversation, I needed to voice some of that¡­ I¡¯ll be seeing you on Monday?¡± Arthur offered as he shook Clayton¡¯s hand. ¡°Definitely, see you then, Champion of America.¡± Clayton half-joked as Arthur scoffed, walking away to the Dungeon Entrance after signing in with Ellie. ¡°So, how is he?¡± Shaun asked as the six Adventurers stepped into the Entrance room, Clayton sitting next to his friend. He was so thankful that most people didn¡¯t recognize Clayton in his current getup. ¡°Interesting, and he looks deeper into things than most people¡­ he seems like the type who would look at a fire and ask ¡®why does it burn¡¯ and so on.¡± Clayton¡¯s comment drew a nod from Shaun. ¡°Yeah, constantly thinking and looking to understand, seems fitting. Otherwise, he¡¯s a bit¡­ odd, in his personality.¡± Shaun offered, Clayton shrugging, taking a sip of some juice. ¡°Eh, I didn¡¯t catch it, he acts like you but less sarcastic. And without the drinking problem.¡± Clayton joked as Shaun glared at his long-time friend. ¡°You know I can only drink here¡­ if I drank at home then Sera would kill me.¡± Clayton openly laughed at that admittance, agreeing with Shaun¡¯s statement, Sera was not to be crossed. She liked drinking almost as much as Shaun, but given the passenger in her stomach, drinking was a no-go for¡­ ¡°Hey, how far along is she anyway? And any idea on whether or not she¡¯s going to have a boy or girl?¡± Clayton asked, having not actually asked about his friend¡¯s child, due to a combination of forgetfulness and being too busy. ¡°She¡¯s seven months along, we¡¯re leaving the gender as a surprise. Though if it¡¯s a boy I name him, if it¡¯s a girl then Sera will.¡± Shaun said, Clayton gave his friend a mock worried look getting Shaun to scoff. ¡°What, I can name him just fine.¡± Clayton didn¡¯t trust that, Shaun was the same guy who wanted to name his dog ¡®Tim the Terrible¡¯. Said dog was a massive pit-bull by the way. ¡°I¡¯ll believe that when I see you give a normal name to anything. I still remember you trying to buy a hearse so you could say you rode with death.¡± Clayton¡¯s words drew laughs from Shaun who still thought it was a good idea. Both of them knew that Shaun¡¯s habit of ¡®bad names¡¯ was on purpose, as Shaun only made suggestions like those in the presence of people who would stop him. ¡°Good times¡­ see you Monday, boss.¡± Shaun said, standing with Clayton as Clayton nodded, giving each other a quick fist bump. ¡°See you Monday Shaun.¡± Clayton walked outside, the armoured car waiting to take him away¡­ He had his own Dungeon time to think about after all.
Arthur Clive
Level: 31 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (57/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 125%) Sword Sage I (141/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (36/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (44/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental II (10/200) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 41 Dexterity: 45
Intelligence: 31 Wisdom: 54 (67)
Endurance: 31 Vitality: 41
Chapter 14- The Six Champions Looking in the mirror, Arthur had to admit that Dante was pretty good at sewing¡­ Well, technically the suit he was currently wearing was armour, the only reason Dante could make it. While on the outside it was a suit, the inside layer of the suit was partially bullet-proof, and due to it being armour, like all other armours created by a Blacksmith, the suit was auto-fitting. Meaning that, despite having a physique that didn¡¯t quite allow him to fill out a suit, Arthur dared to think that he actually looked pretty good¡­ Hearing a knock on his door, Arthur called out that it was open, and in walked his mother and younger siblings. ¡°Arthur, you look funny!¡± Arthur gave a small sigh and smile at his sister¡¯s look, the little girl trying to climb his frame, only being incapable of ruffling the suit due to the same auto-fit function that allowed it to always appear pristine. Arthur¡¯s little brother, Dennis, just laughed at the sight, eventually deciding to run up to Arthur¡¯s legs and ¡®roar¡¯ at Angelica¡­ He hadn¡¯t been sitting with his siblings as much as he used to, which made sense considering Arthur was always running around with his team of Einherjar¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t you two supposed to be in school?¡± Arthur asked aloud, more directing the question to his mother who just smiled. ¡°I¡¯m keeping them at home today, we¡¯re going to be watching the live coverage of the meeting.¡± Julia walked over, looking over at Arthur¡¯s hair before straightening out his lighter green tie¡­ Julia wondered if Arthur was aware that the shade of green was really close to Emilia¡¯s eye colour, and then discontinued that line of thought¡­ Arthur wasn¡¯t dense, but he had trouble identifying his own emotions. It was ironic, Julia considered. Her son had the ability to look at people and somehow understand how they felt within minutes of meeting them, and it was difficult to lie to him¡­ But his ability to understand emotions did not extend to himself, and he had trouble identifying what he was really feeling at times. Not only that, but occasionally he¡¯d mix up what he was feeling for something else, for example, being incapable of figuring out if what he felt was either love or just admiration. But he¡¯d figure out eventually, Julia was sure of it. ¡°Well, way to ruin my feelings today, you know I hate crowds.¡± Arthur frowned, getting a giggle from his mother, the laughter slowly dying out. ¡°¡­You know I wish we were all here today to watch.¡± Julia added and Arthur felt his frown slip into neutrality as he looked to the sad face his mother had. ¡°¡­Right¡­ well, I¡¯m going to be late if I don¡¯t leave now. I¡¯ll be back after the meeting, I¡¯m going to spend the day here.¡± Arthur said, putting down his giggling siblings after both attempted to see who could get to his shoulders first. His height made the race a short one in his opinion¡­ His stats really helped him out here in his opinion, it was laughably easy to carry the two now that he had eight times the strength of a typical grown man. ¡°Alright, and don¡¯t worry so much Arthur, remember, they want you. You don¡¯t need to do anything to earn their respect when they were the ones to approach you.¡± Julia said, catching onto how Arthur didn¡¯t want to acknowledge the previous line of questioning. They all walked out, Arthur¡¯s father was busy playing some FIFA as Arthur got ready to walk out, getting a nod from the man¡­ Arthur was well aware that it would be difficult to get much else from Markus until his game was done. Arthur and Markus both enjoyed games, though Markus was firmly amongst those who enjoyed sports games. It was enough for both Arthur and Markus, that nod though¡­ Julie still couldn¡¯t quite understand the relation Arthur and Markus had, but the two of them could. ¡°I still wish you¡¯d hug your father.¡± Arthur¡¯s scoff was reflexive at this point. Just because it was never said, he and his father both knew they loved the other, and would do anything for the other. It was just something that shouldn¡¯t be questioned truly when it came to families¡­ again though, Arthur and Markus would never tell each other the words ¡®I love you¡¯ but they knew it. They¡¯d never hug it out either¡­ but that was just their thing. ¡°Drive safely.¡± Were the last words Julie said before Arthur exited the house, looking outside and seeing some children tossing a baseball between them further up the road. Smiling at the sight, Arthur manipulated his inventory, depositing his helmet in his hands, as well as his gloves. How he loved the inventory¡­ granted, it created a feeling similar to walking underwater if too many things were stored, but the higher the Strength stat, the less it mattered. Getting on his bike, Arthur revved for a moment before pulling out the drive-way¡­ and seeing the children pausing to look at him, he decided to show off a bit, pulling away in a wheelie¡­ Thank you Dexterity stat¡­ once upon a time that would have been impossible. Leaving behind impressed children, Arthur moved to the main streets, heading for the U.N building. After a few minutes, pulling up in the parking lot of the U.N building, he parked his bike next to his friend¡¯s cars, noting his friends waiting. After taking a suitable moment to just stare at Emilia in a flowing white sundress, and then wondering how suitable that was for such a meeting, Arthur removed his helmet, placing it back into his inventory. The gloves stayed on¡­ he liked his gloves. ¡°Surprisingly I¡¯m the last one here¡­¡± Arthur said to himself after greeting everyone, John scoffing in response. ¡°That is pretty bad, you live the closest of all of us¡­ not to mention that Matt and Emilia had to make detours to get us.¡± John reminded and Arthur rolled his eyes. ¡°Eh, you¡¯re all early in my opinion. See?¡± Arthur gestured to his phone, removed from his inventory, showing the time to be 08:27. ¡°...How does your phone have the correct time when time is frozen inside inventories?¡± Alice asked, ignoring that they all really were early, and focusing on something that was messing with her. ¡°Ah, my phone¡¯s GPS is connected to the clock. So depending on where I am on the world, my phone would always have the right time. Of course, in the Dungeon it doesn¡¯t work.¡± Arthur reminded why they had someone wear a watch inside the Dungeon instead of running around with their phones out all the time. ¡°Makes sense I guess¡­ here comes Shaun.¡± Emilia offered as Alice nodded, seeing the Guild Leader walking over, for the first time ever they witnessed the normally lazy alcoholic in a pristine suit (absently Arthur noted that the suit was Armani of all things, Arthur always wanted one¡­ given by the smirk on the Guild Leader¡¯s face, he somehow knew this.) ¡°Well, hello Einherjar. I see you all got your outfits for the day. Come on inside.¡± The strongest American soldier motioned for them to follow, which the six did without complaint. ¡­well, there were no complaints but Arthur sure was staring at the suit in jealousy. ¡°¡­It¡¯s tailor made by a Smith that Armani hired. I could wear this into the Dungeon.¡± Shaun¡¯s smirk was half bragging but Arthur also registered the other important thing Shaun was saying. ¡°Armani hired an Adventurer to make defensive clothes?¡± Alice asked, catching onto the important information. ¡°Yes, and they aren¡¯t the only ones. Many companies are hiring Adventurers with relevant skills to boost their market range, such as people with a skill related to cooking being hired to work at restaurants, and so on.¡± Shaun added as they stepped into the U.N building entrance, looking around for a moment before following Shaun. On occasion they¡¯d pass someone wearing a suit, some were clearly foreign dignitaries, others were also just as clearly either Adventurers or Guild Employees¡­ It was a weird thing that Arthur was beginning to do, feeling the power of other Adventurers at a simple glance, Soul Sight only occasionally activating to verify his suspicions. Arthur had the strange feeling that what he was doing was kind of important. ¡°What does that mean exactly, beyond the super-bullet proof suits and amazing food?¡± Michael asked Shaun as they walked, Arthur keeping his thoughts to himself. ¡°Basically, certain markets, especially clothing, will eventually be heading into Adventurer territory with their products. Clayton said something about Adventurer-line clothes.¡± The words were said half-jokingly but that really was what they were, equipment for Adventurers made by name-brand companies, boosting the revenue of said companies as well as creating jobs for Adventurers with odd non-combative skills. ¡°I wonder if we¡¯re going to see people wearing greaves by Adidas or something¡­¡± John wondered, and unfortunately it wasn¡¯t much of a joke given that Shaun was standing in front of them with a literal suit of armour made by Armani. ¡°By the way, this suit cost almost thirty thousand, and it¡¯s just a prototype. It¡¯s also a ¡®basic¡¯ suit, no diamonds or anything crazy like that.¡± Arthur felt his soul float away at the idea of spending that much money on a suit, even if it was defensive enough to probably be only slightly damaged by a point fifty calibre bullet. Granted, the suit didn¡¯t change the fact that such a shot would probably really, really hurt whoever was wearing it at the time, but given it was for Adventurers, at some point the owner would probably be more durable than the suit itself. ¡°Where the heck do you get the kind of money for that?¡± Alice asked out of surprise, remembering that even her current Dungeon equipment didn¡¯t cost that much, and she could only afford it because everyone agreed to pool their money together. ¡°Remember, I¡¯m the Head Guild Leader of America, the same Guild that pays you a large amount of money for stones left behind after killing monsters, which I also do.¡± ¡­Right¡­ An athlete can be rich, but the person signing their cheque was the truly wealthy one¡­ the money wasn¡¯t all Shaun¡¯s, but clearly he made much more than they did¡­ He probably didn¡¯t even pay for his equipment given the maker was his teammate. ¡°Okay, despite needing to give you that information, we¡¯ve gone off tangent. Clive, let¡¯s talk about your role in today¡¯s meeting.¡± Shaun said as they entered a closed room, granting the group privacy. ¡°Einherjar as a whole just needs to be present, much like any other Adventurer will likely have all their teammates with them. The team leaders on the other hand, will be logged as the strongest Adventurer of the country in question, and given a seat during the conference.¡± Shaun explained looking over the group. ¡°Clive, I¡¯m not certain how much you know about the United Nations, but there are essentially five permanent members, the five being China, France, Russia, the UK and our US. These five have the unofficial biggest say in the room, regardless of politics.¡± Shaun¡¯s words were no snub to the United Nations, but it was the truth. Many of the smaller countries had citizens who dreamed about going to them, or heard of their might. That¡¯s just how it was. ¡°That being said, Adventurer-wise the layout is slightly different and more varied. Without a doubt you are the strongest Adventurer, but there are five others near your level.¡± Shaun warned Arthur, who nodded in understanding. ¡°One of your rivals is from Russia, the same one who is also their Head Guild Leader¡­ another is from the U.K though her family is apparently from France, making that an internal talk between those two groups to discuss who she represents.¡± Arthur sighed at the mention of politics¡­The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Then again, he was in the U.N building. Of course politicking would happen. ¡°Another is from Japan, their country was quick to adopt the Guild and Adventurer system, most likely due to how quite a few of their media has desensitized them to the strange.¡± That was putting it lightly, what some of Japan might take as natural, others would be confused. Arthur shivered at the idea of a hotel which was essentially a large amount of boxes. He did not like enclosed spaces that much, and the thought of not being able to get out would likely drive him insane. ¡°The Japanese boy is the youngest rival you have by the way, he¡¯s still in the tenth grade.¡± Not as eye opening as it would seem, as far as Arthur was concerned, as Alice was a member of their team only due to testing out a bit early. ¡°Then there is a Saudi Arabian Adventurer who refuses to give his name¡­ annoying as that is, we¡¯ll just move on. The last Adventurer of roughly equal level is an African man who is in a team with members from other countries, apparently creating a coalition.¡± Shaun explained as he placed his hands in his pockets. ¡°Those five are your rivals as an Adventurer, though I don¡¯t think I need to remind you that there exists others of roughly equal strength.¡± Shaun¡¯s warning was unneeded. He was a warning enough about how Adventurer¡¯s weren¡¯t the only people when it came to supernatural strength, Guild members could be strong too. Anyone with a LEV/Contract could be strong, but not all people who had them were Adventurers, was what Shaun was implying. ¡°Now there¡¯s obviously a discrepancy between the countries and their adventurers, as Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Japan aren¡¯t as big as the USA, Russia and the UK¡­ and China and France¡¯s adventurers aren¡¯t up to your par.¡± Shaun took a moment to yawn, stretching a hand for a cup of suspicious coffee¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a Irish coffee. Mostly coffee though. I just added some whiskey in to make myself talk a bit more.¡± Shaun¡¯s words got confused looks while Dante stepped into the room. ¡°Shaun is actually an introvert and hates talking to people he doesn¡¯t know or care about. Drinking apparently helps him ignore his annoyance enough to talk civilly with others...¡± Dante clearly looked like he believed none of what came out of his own mouth, but nonetheless delivered the message. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t expect that.¡± Arthur admitted, looking to the Guild Leader with a raised brow. He was under the assumption that Shaun was naturally that calm and casual with others, but apparently that was only under the influence¡­ Thinking of it like that, Arthur could not recall ever meeting a sober Shaun. ¡°As I was saying, there¡¯s a bit of annoyance from France and China, who both do not have Adventurer¡¯s equalling you. France might make a deal with the UK about their top Adventurer, but China is apparently facing quality with quantity, as they have the highest amount of Adventurers above level ten in the world.¡± Arthur nodded at Shaun¡¯s words, understanding the population in China being able to make that possible. ¡°So considering everything, the main voices in the meeting today would be us, the Russians and the UK, with France, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Japan coming in next after that. Also, apparently the six Adventurer countries have a nickname amongst the others, the Big Six¡­ in Adventuring of course.¡± Shaun added after a sip of his coffee, looking to the top Adventurer. ¡°Not much will be decided today though¡­ today is just to introduce each country and their top Adventurer, show who is the strongest, and then arrange for a show of human unity in some way.¡± Shaun admitted while standing from the table he had seated himself upon. ¡°There will be more discussions throughout the week, possibly lasting as long as an entire month, but you won¡¯t be needed for those. Discussions like these aren¡¯t so simple as to be concluded in one evening after all.¡± Shaun scoffed at the idea¡­ Negotiations might happen as well, regarding sharing of information and the occasional exchange of money for said information¡­ And with how the participants were all representatives of countries, the negotiations definitely couldn¡¯t be simple. For the rest of the time leading up to nine, Shaun explained the nuances behind the meetings, having been to one or two, in addition to hearing Clayton complain about them more than once. By nine, Einherjar all understood how the day would be working as they filed out; moving to the meeting room calmly¡­ entering it was a different matter though. There were about one hundred and ninety countries in the world, but at this current meeting only about one fifty were represented, the rest all going through their own internal issues preventing their appearance¡­ Columbia was one such place, what with their president being assassinated, his body found¡­ defiled, in many a manner. Not only that, but many members of their government were also finding themselves suffering the acute lack of breathing known as death. No one had stepped forward to claim responsibility for the deaths, but with all the deaths and the sudden uprising of the Columbian cartels, everyone was assuming it was related to them, possibly a Thief-type Adventurer working for them. This was just one of the countries who were impacted negatively by the advent of LEV¡¯s and their superpower-wielding owners. Some benefited, others despaired¡­ much like life really. Thanks to Shaun¡¯s quick lesson on the U.N¡¯s layout, Arthur recognized the man standing in front of everyone to be its current President of the U.N General Assembly. Apparently powerful countries were not allowed to have that position, of which Japan was included, which made sense considering it was consistently in the top five when it came to economy, exports and military might, despite not being allowed to declare war¡­ Shaun apparently wanted to move there one day¡­ clearly that plan was axed for many reasons. Looking at everyone taking their seats, Arthur felt himself getting nervous about the crowd¡­ he¡¯d like to ignore them, but he was one of the people left standing¡­ The only people standing were Adventurers, the strongest of their country. The Guild Leaders were all seated (though Arthur noted a lack of said position over at the U.K position) and everyone was well aware that the U.S was the country of the ¡®Strongest Adventurer¡¯¡­ Meaning that one of the standing members of Einherjar was the current ¡®strongest human¡¯ and thus the stares from the other Adventurers in particular was powerful. Some opening words were said, things which Arthur tuned out, catching a smile from Clayton who was well aware that Arthur didn¡¯t want to be in his current position. It was only after all the opening stuff was done that Clayton suddenly spoke after signalling his intent. With all the silence, as well as the assistance of speakers and a microphone obviously, Clayton was heard very well¡­ ¡°As you all know, I am Clayton Andrews, President of America. I am an Adventurer.¡± Clayton¡¯s statement got wide eyes from some, others nodded, and even more others just waited¡­ But most importantly, his words immediately added weight to his presence in the eyes of Adventurers in the room. Arthur understood, by making himself a part of their ¡®group¡¯ he¡¯d garner more interest from the key members of the assembly taking place today. ¡°Today we gathered to begin discussions on the Dungeon, Adventurers, and everything associated with those topics¡­ to better do so, we have invited many Adventurers, those who dive into Dungeons, to have a say in this opening meeting¡­ And of course, we all know which Adventurers we brought.¡± Clayton said, gesturing to the members of Einherjar standing behind him. Michael, Matt and Emilia seemed to bask in the attention while Alice and Arthur were trying to spontaneously learn Stealth. John only lightly activated it by reflex. ¡°We representatives have all brought the strongest known Adventurers of our country, a summit of the strong essentially. We have asked the top Adventurers to appear before us to inform you of a program we of the U.N wish to implement.¡± Clayton said, nodding to Shaun, who sighed. ¡°By suggestion, we wish to propose an initiative called the Champion program. In essence we wish to create a figure for Adventurers to look up to.¡± Shaun motioned for Arthur¡­ Arthur hid his annoyance as much as he could as he stepped forward, away from the anonymity his team offered. ¡°By creating a ¡®Champion¡¯ we create a goal for other Adventurers to achieve, as well as having a representative for the majority of Adventurers in said country. The Champion of the United States of America is this man, Arthur Clive, level thirty two Linked Swordsman.¡± Shaun¡¯s words resulted in a tiny level of muttering between groups, realizing who Shaun was. ¡°Mister Clive here is also the first person to slay a Demon Lord.¡± Oh Shaun, after throwing Arthur under a metaphorical bus, he felt fit to let the bus go over once more, just to be sure. Immediately a hand was raised from a Japanese youth, and given how his team seemingly gave him space, he was apparently the Japanese Chosen. ¡°Hello, my name is Ichiro Kazuto, Gust Swordsman, level thirty. I just wanted to ask senior Clive about the fight against the first Demon Lord, as well as the rewards.¡± Ichiro was being glared at by the Japanese representative, but they all seemingly understood his habits already¡­ Arthur admired the fact that the boy was willing to put up with the stares long enough to ask that question though¡­ then the stares turned back to him¡­ and clearly they all wanted to know. Looking to Shaun, Arthur was handed a microphone as he began to think about it. ¡°The fight against Blade, the Demon Lord, was not¡­ difficult, but it was dangerous.¡± Arthur started, trying to find a point to explain from. ¡°Blade, unlike the current iteration inside the Dungeon, had the ability of speech and clear intelligence.¡± That got surprised looks, though no one spoke, not wanting to interrupt the tale. ¡°Upon meeting Blade, we spoke. He informed us of the structure of the Dungeon, as well as some background information on both Chronos and the next Demon Lord.¡± Arthur had asked Shaun about whether or not the other countries knew about this, and apparently they were handed files for this very moment today. ¡°We fought, Blade¡¯s fighting style was essentially hit and runs combined with high swordplay, according to Blade, he had sacrificed his durability for extreme strength, which explained why he could not remain in combat for a long period of time.¡± Arthur explained, getting a nod from some of the other Adventurers¡­ Notably, those Adventurers all felt a bit stronger than other groups¡­ ¡°After defeating Blade, we received his Soul Stone, the sword he used, and I¡­ one of my Skills, Swordsmanship, evolved into a Unique Skill.¡± Arthur admitted, not wanting to give away the information, and also internally knowing that Sword Sage was not actually a reward for killing Blade, at least not in the normal sense. Summoning Soul Flame to show it to the crowd, Arthur paused at the worried looks he was getting¡­ Ah¡­ he was in a place where weapons were not allowed¡­ right¡­ Nothing was done as Arthur placed the weapon back into his inventory though. ¡°Wait, so that means that getting the last hit on the Demon Lord awakens a Unique Skill?¡± Another man asked, the Russian ¡®Guild Leader slash Champion¡¯. ¡°That¡­ is something I¡¯m not sure on. I happened to gain a Unique Skill after killing Blade, but I also had a relevant Skill beforehand. So it might be a matter of compatibility.¡± Arthur would not admit the truth to anyone in the room, about that strange scene he saw upon killing Blade. That was something unnaturally private for Arthur, even if it was short and felt like an out of body experience looking at himself talking to the back of someone whose figure was blurred. ¡°I see, so if the killer of the Demon Lord possessed a Skill related to the Demon Lord, it might change rank¡­ pardon my late introduction. My name is Albert Ivanov, Vein Magician level thirty one, the Chosen of Russia.¡± The man, Albert introduced himself and from there they all began to introduce themselves. Indeed, as Shaun mentioned, there were only five others with levels above thirty, and including Arthur they were: Arthur Clive, Linked Swordsman, level thirty two, Chosen of the USA. Ichiro Kazuto, Gale Swordsman, level thirty, Chosen of Japan. Albert Ivanov, Vein Magician, level thirty one, Chosen of Russia. Sheikh (real name unkown), Dust Guardian, level thirty, Chosen of Saudi Arabia. Loyiso Nanda, Shaman Healer, level thirty one, Chosen of South Africa (despite being from Mozambique). And Jade Ainsworth, Wire Assassin, level thirty, Chosen of the U.K (sharing with France until France gets their own Chosen of equal level). With these six, Arthur knew that few others would ever reach them¡­ With the Chosen all introduced and recorded by the other countries, the Adventurers were free to leave, including Einherjar and Arthur, thankfully. Exiting the building, Arthur found himself face to face with an overly excited Asian teen¡­ in other words, the Japanese Chosen, Ichiro. ¡°Ah, senior Arthur, I was waiting for you! I wanted to introduce my team, Spicy Chicken.¡± Arthur just stared at the Japanese teen for his words while the teammates of said Chosen all sighed in unison. ¡°He chose it before we had any input.¡± A girl said, clearly the second-in-command much like Michael was for Arthur as she hit Ichiro in the back of the head. ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s certainly among the more interesting names I¡¯ve heard. My own team is team Einherjar, named after the Norse warriors who fight in Ragnarok.¡± Once Arthur explained the origin of the name, Ichiro began to frown. ¡°Aw, now I wish I came up with that one.¡± Ichiro said, really casual about everything and Arthur was actually kind of thankful for that, rather than deal with the stuffiness still going on inside the building. ¡°Still, we¡¯re both Swordsmen right, is yours a Unique or Rare class?¡± Arthur asked, kind of fishing for information but at the same time genuinely curious. ¡°Rare, it gave me a Magic Skill for Wind as you can guess¡­ oh, let¡¯s talk shop, is there a Guild nearby?¡± Ichiro¡¯s smile was neigh infectious as the group of twelve moved to the Guild to talk more. Arthur and Ichiro found their teams easily capable of communicating, talking about the Dungeon and how both teams were actually on the same floor, and their classes, including how one of Ichiro¡¯s team members was a maker of enchanted objects much like the Adventurer Cards. The Class of said person was Artificer, and he used a certain amount of Soul Stones to enchant an object with an effect. Depending on the effect and object, the amount of Soul Stones would differ. ¡®Strong¡¯ objects such as a sword could hold stronger effects, but would require an equal amount of Soul Stones, and weak objects, such as a piece of paper, could barely hold one weak effect, but cost only one or two Soul Stones to create. It was fun for Arthur talking to Ichiro¡¯s team, but at some point they had to meet their Dungeon quota for the day, so the two teams bid farewell as Einherjar went inside the Dungeon. ¡°He¡¯s an interesting guy¡­¡± Ichiro said as he and his team left the Guild building, the rest of his teammates nodding. ¡°He knew a lot about the Dungeon, and he has a higher level, not to mention that despite being a Swordsman he could discuss combat strategies for each of us¡­¡± Ichiro¡¯s second in command, Miya Tanabe, noted with a serious tone. ¡°Yeah¡­ he¡¯s probably like me with RPG¡¯s, researching each possibility and planning to them. It¡¯s kind of scary that he¡¯s using that logic IRL.¡± Ichiro added, his joviality still there, but his smile wasn¡¯t quite as jolly as before. ¡°But it¡¯s clearly working¡­ Ichiro, what do you think we should do?¡± Miya asked her classmate, said classmate turning around and smiling as he placed his hands behind his head. ¡°Nothing, in fact, let¡¯s accept his advice as it is. We improve ourselves and move forward, until we overtake him. That¡¯s all there is to it¡­ that being said, let¡¯s go get something to eat.¡± The members of Spicy Chicken sighed as they followed their strange leader. It was the day after the U.N meeting that Einherjar learnt of the united front plan. ¡°You¡¯re going to team up with those teams and kill the Demon Lord.¡± A pin drop could be heard for how quietly Einherjar reacted. ¡°¡­A Raid group?¡± Arthur asked, getting a nod from Shaun¡­ ¡°Crap.¡± Arthur¡¯s words were not eloquent, but they summed up the situation where six groups of people who had their own methods had to work together¡­ it was going to be horrible.
Arthur Clive
Level: 32 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 12.5% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 2% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 9 Wisdom per use a day. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 2.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 15% (total 130%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 4% of enemies drop two times the loot.
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (64/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 130%) Sword Sage I (148/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (46/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (47/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental II (13/200) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 42 Dexterity: 46
Intelligence: 32 Wisdom: 56 (72)
Endurance: 32 Vitality: 42
Chapter 15- Agent VS Killer Shaun was currently, very, very annoyed. The decision the U.N came to for showing unity as a race was for the six strongest teams to form a Raid Group and battle the second Demon Lord together. Clearly, Clayton was against such an action, but most of the other members of the Assembly believed it was a necessity and pushed the idea forward. Planning the battle was something those Adventurer teams had to do together, however all six groups had their own issues. The Russians were slightly distrusting of the Americans, the Brits were composed of insane people and their leader, the Saudi Arabians disliked Russia, America, and the British due to previous transgressions by all three countries. For the other three, the Japanese were comprised of school teens, the African¡¯s had a team set up that had one wonder how they got so far, and the Americans were reluctant to work with another group due to knowing there would be issues. And seeing as Shaun was the Guild Leader of the country where all six teams were currently in, it was up to him to make sure the battle was a success. Currently, he was meeting with trouble. ¡°Hello, Agent Fife¡­ we meet again¡­ I noticed that our British friend is missing though.¡± Trouble¡¯s other name happened to be Albert Ivanov, the Guild Leader and Champion of Russia. Shaun was well aware of his Russian counterpart, having met each other more than once over the years, along with that annoying Seer Clements. ¡°He refused to come to America at this point. Said something about a vision instructing him to take a certain flight, eat a taco, and then use the restroom on said flight.¡± Shaun was still wondering about that whole situation. ¡°¡­Are you telling me he was involved in that incident where the waste refusal on that flight dropped and landed on a building that just so happened to host some terrorists in the middle of planning their next attack?¡± Shaun had much the same expression on his face when he heard that Agent George Clements of MI5 somehow took out a terrorist cell with a heap of shit. Literally. ¡°Anyway, moving on. We need you to work with the other five top teams and kill the next Demon Lord. Given that you¡¯re a military man, I can assume you¡¯re willing to work past your dislike to play nice?¡± Shaun¡¯s question was rhetorical, given by the scoff sounding out of Albert. ¡°Of course, though¡­ I¡¯m curious Fife¡­ why are you not also the Chosen of America? I do not know you as a weakling.¡± Albert¡¯s words were respectful but at the same time, they both knew that Albert¡¯s respect was limited to Shaun. ¡°I¡¯m spread thin as the Guild Leader already, I have a kid on the way in the next few months, I help out the President with his tasks and Dungeon Dive myself. Not to mention that Clive kid is actually higher levelled than I am.¡± Shaun admitted, leaving Albert looking at the American agent with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Well, congratulations on the child, know the gender yet?¡± Albert asked, leaving Shaun to shrug. ¡°No clue, I¡¯m hoping for a boy, less hassle. If it was a girl I¡¯d have to viciously harm any boy that talked to her.¡± Shaun admitted half-jokingly as Albert gave a small chuckle in agreement. ¡°True, I haven¡¯t had any children but I¡¯ve heard quite a few complaints. But still, that Clive guy is level thirty two¡­ he any good?¡± Albert¡¯s question was loaded with suspicion¡­ Obviously he was fishing for information, but Shaun didn¡¯t really care. ¡°In human to human combat, not that good. But as an Adventurer, he has an excellent mind for it. Constantly thinking about possibilities and ways to better his exploration of the Dungeon.¡± Shaun admitted that, at least as an Adventurer, Arthur Clive did deserve the title of the best, at least for now. And if Arthur¡¯s swordsmanship Skill kept increasing, he¡¯d eventually reach the point where he¡¯d be able to fight against other human beings yes¡­ though most would worry about whether or not Arthur would be capable of such an act mentally. Shaun notably considered Arthur capable of harming his fellow human beings, easily. Arthur liked to play peacekeeper from what Shaun understood, however that did not equate to weakness¡­ Once Shaun heard from Grey about a time when Arthur was being robbed¡­ instead of panicking or handing over his things, Arthur waited until the person came close enough to quickly hurt them. Regardless of Arthur not being strong (this was before Red Sky Day after all) the act of fighting back shocked the robber into leaving, knowing that Arthur would fight back was a drawback. Granted, the mere act of aggression messes with other people, and a previously compliant person suddenly being aggressive and attacking would be a shock to anyone. But hearing the story, Shaun understood that it wasn¡¯t that Arthur was incapable of harming other beings, but that he only acted under certainty or when it was a last resort¡­ But he did act. And that was the difference between one who fights and one who runs. ¡°From what I hear, he contributed the Soul Theory as well as his team being the provider for every complete map your country has of the Dungeon... he''s worth it then. I¡¯ll follow his lead, but if I were to be a higher level¡­¡± Albert warned as he stood, walking away from the tired Agent. ¡°Alright¡­ one down, four to go¡­¡± Shaun already felt tired just thinking about dealing with the other teams¡­ Unfortunately for Shaun, his day was about to get a whole lot worse. ¡°Sir, we found another body with its spine turned into metal¡­ however there was now a message left behind.¡± Agent Grey walked into the room with his words, indicating the urgency of the matter. ¡°Well, what was the message?¡± Shaun asked as he stood, walking out with Grey following him. ¡°The killer wrote that they want to meet you sir, at this location.¡± Handing over a note, Shaun looked at the address and mentally matched it to his map of Manhattan. ¡°This is at Central Park isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s not a lot of ambush and escape options from there¡­ and yet they still wishes to meet me face to face, meaning it¡¯s either a trap, they will leave behind another message, or they are that confident in their escape¡­ probably the latter, serial killers are typically either egotistical or shy away from confrontation, and give this note, the killer is one of the ego-centric ones.¡± Shaun analysed quickly, with Grey taking notes while following. While Grey wasn¡¯t around often in the Guild, he was essentially Shaun¡¯s secretary and prot¨¦g¨¦, hence why he was told to take notes of anything worth knowing, which was a lot according to Shaun. ¡°Sir, should we set up the confrontation? According to the note, they will be there in about twenty minutes.¡± That was another worrying thing to Shaun, the killer was quite certain that they would find this body and note at this exact moment to give Shaun ample time to get to the meeting point. They were either compromised, unlikely given the strict criteria for entrance to the Guild, or this killer had some way of estimating their movements and planning accordingly¡­ This killer was an intelligent one¡­ the ¡®confident¡¯ tag was firmly tacked on in Shaun¡¯s mind at this point. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, I doubt this killer would show themselves without having some defence against snipers and containment, in fact, given that the killer is an Adventurer¡­¡± Shaun paused. ¡°This killer might have, with the assistance of their Metal Element, reached the point of bullet-proof skin.¡± Shaun opened the door to his Ford GT without opening the other door for Grey, instead rolling down his window. ¡°Grey, keep our people away from the area, I doubt I will be fighting the killer at this point.¡± Shaun was pretty certain of this fact¡­ A killer like this would rarely if ever get caught while they were prepared. As Shaun was approaching a meeting point decided by said killer, he knew there would be no element of surprise on his side. Within five minutes Shaun¡¯s car was parked at the outskirts of the park, walking to the point in the park designated by the killer¡­ According to the instructions, Shaun was to meet the killer at a bench overlooking a pond, and finding such a place, Shaun sat down, waiting, though not without paying close attention to the area around him. Ten minutes after sitting down, Shaun noted a man walking to the bench, wearing a hoodie, faded jeans and sneakers, the man looked like someone who had something to hide¡­ Except that the hood was not on, and he was even waving calmly to Shaun, letting Shaun know exactly who he was. ¡°Hello there, it¡¯s an honour to meet you mister Guild Leader of America-sir.¡± The man¡¯s tone was whimsical at best and mocking at worst as Shaun nodded to him. ¡°Yes I am, and you must be that serial killer going around turning the spines of your victims into metal.¡± Shaun replied in a deadpan, getting a chuckle from the killer. ¡°Yeah, I wanted a calling card that made me unique from the other guys, and I figured using something only available to Adventurers would make it obvious. Do I have a nickname like those guys on cop shows?¡± the killer asked, taking a seat next to Shaun without care¡­ Though Shaun wasn¡¯t that stupid, he could tell the man was always in position to escape, even considering the reach of Shaun¡¯s Sword of Light. As he was about to activate Hunter Eyes, the man suddenly had a knife in his hand. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that, I¡¯d like to keep my abilities private¡­¡± Shaun consciously kept his eyes from accessing his Anima, and the knife vanished from the hands of the man. Judging from the weapon, the man was a Thief Class Adventurer, meaning his Dexterity would probably rival or exceed Shaun¡¯s around the same level¡­ Movement speed was determined by a combination of Dexterity and Strength, with Dexterity determining accuracy and Strength the force with which a person moved¡­ If they both attacked at once, at this close a range Shaun would definitely lose out. ¡°Very well¡­ and no, in real life we don¡¯t give nicknames to every killer we come across, though some call you the Adventurer Killer.¡± The man¡¯s smile turned into a frown. ¡°That¡¯s boring, I mean, I¡¯ve killed Adventurers but they¡¯re not my only targets¡­ then again I¡¯m sure it was meant to call me an Adventurer, right?¡± the man¡¯s smile reappeared and Shaun nodded, not comfortable with this situation at all. No one would look at this man and think ¡®killer¡¯. His smile was surprisingly genuine, and other than his strange grey eyes, there was nothing odd about the man that would draw the eye¡­ Not only that, but this man had something about him, something that attracted the eye and got people to pay him attention, Shaun could tell when some people walked past, unable to hear the conversation, but glancing at this killer without meaning to.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He was charismatic¡­ and possibly insane, a horrible combination. Okay, I can tell, you don¡¯t really want to be around me, I can understand that, I¡¯m the ¡®bad guy¡¯ and you¡¯re the ¡®good guy¡¯. So I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re wondering why I called you out?¡± the man asked, waving at a blushing woman and her friends began to giggle about the wave¡­ Really charismatic apparently. ¡°Of course I am. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that we are in a public place and I don¡¯t know your abilities, I¡¯d be attacking you.¡± Shaun admitted, not really wanting to deal with this killer for longer than he had to. ¡°Sheesh, you¡¯d think I killed someone you knew¡­ did I?¡± Again, Shaun was thrown by how open this man was being with his emotions, he was genuinely curious on whether he murdered someone Shaun knew. ¡°No, you did not. Nonetheless you are an enemy to the current status quo.¡± Shaun admitted that this man, despite his irregularities, would have been an excellent asset¡­ If it weren¡¯t for the man killing innocent people of course. ¡°Yeah, I get that. Well, I honestly called you out to just do an exchange of introductions really, and another minor thing.¡± The man stood, stretching as he did so before twirling to face the still seated Shaun. ¡°I am a being without a name, though I have been called patient twenty three, and on occasion ¡®boss¡¯. I was part of a secret government super soldier program known as Project Pennhurst.¡± The words of the killer got wide eyes from Shaun, the killer smiling as he clapped. ¡°That¡¯s a nice expression, I love surprises. Though that reaction also lets me know you¡¯ve heard about it before¡­ whatever. I am the strongest of the survivors of that place.¡± This changed a lot¡­ Shaun had gotten confirmation on what Project Pennhurst was a few days ago from Clayton, who had found the files¡­ It was an absent thought made by Theodore Roosevelt almost a century ago, but discarded as inhumane¡­ then the first World War occurred and suddenly it was much less inhumane compared to the enemy, and as such as started up by President William Howard Taft as a last resort. The idea was that, at the time of its initiation, psychopathic individuals were stereotyped as wanting to hurt both themselves and other people, and while today that thought was considered incorrect, at the time, that was the belief of many. The absent thought Theodore Roosevelt had was that if ¡®psychopaths¡¯ wanted to hurt people, why didn¡¯t they go hurt the enemies of their country. Again, it was an absent thought, immediately retracted by ¡®Teddy¡¯ due to how inhumane it was to force those with instabilities to be soldiers. Again, the first World War changed that idea, and thus Pennhurst was created, an asylum for the insane, hiding that it was training psychotic soldiers to be dropped into enemy land and allowed to kill as much as they wished. Pennhurst continued its ¡®training¡¯ even after Taft left the Oval Office, and did so up until nineteen eighty seven, where the public face of Project Pennhurst was given intense scrutiny and found to be torturing and treating its patients inhumanely. The public face of Pennhurst was shut down, however the training for ¡®super soldiers¡¯ continued¡­ At least, until the day before Red Sky Day. That was the last report given before all communication ceased. Clayton was disgusted upon finding out this information, but it was not openly shared with every president, and was treated as a last resort. And now this killer claimed to be a Project Pennhurst soldier, the strongest even¡­ ¡°That¡­ is some worrying information. Why are you telling me that though?¡± Shaun asked the killer, ¡®patient twenty three¡¯ why the man felt the need to share this information with Shaun specifically. ¡°I said that I¡¯m the strongest survivor, not the only survivor. There are others who escaped with me on Red Sky Day, survivors who follow me¡­ essentially, I¡¯m going to be stepping into the world of organized crime with a group of newly super-powered people who enjoy hurting others.¡± The man¡¯s words got a glare from Shaun, the killer raising his hands almost in a placating manner. ¡°Easy there¡­ sure, we kill people, but we have standards, no children, and I¡¯ve actually set a limit on how many people they¡¯re allowed to kill in a week.¡± Shaun didn¡¯t quite know how to explain to this man that everything he was saying was only digging the hole deeper. ¡°I still haven¡¯t heard a reason why you told me this.¡± Shaun added, the man stepping backwards as Shaun stood, maintaining a certain distance from each other. ¡°I wanted to introduce myself to a ¡®rival¡¯ of sorts, and figured that now as the perfect time to do it¡­ one last thing though.¡± The man looked to the pond while thinking. ¡°I am the leader of the Pennhurst survivors, and we have a bone to pick with America. We¡¯ll be gunning for you, that president, anyone high in government¡­ and even that Chosen.¡± Shaun looked at the man, who was no longer smiling as he finished. ¡°¡­Do you really think I¡¯ll just let you walk away?¡± Shaun asked, noting that there were less people in the vicinity as he summoned his Sword of Light, his Hunter Eyes activating at the same time. ¡°No, but I¡¯m a bit confident in escaping.¡± Shaun could immediately see why as the killer summoned that same knife with the serrated back, a top hat appearing on his head¡­ Shaun¡¯s Hunter Eyes were not working correctly on this killer, but Shaun did get five bits of information. One, the killer possessed two Anima. Two, the killer¡¯s dagger was one of his Animae named Razorback and did heightened damage to humanoid beings. Three, the top hat was the other Anima, named Killers Fashion, it increased all of the stats of its owner by a small percentage. Four, the killer¡¯s stats, from highest to lowest were: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Endurance, Vitality and finally Wisdom. Five, the killer was¡­ level thirty seven. ¡°How the hell are you that highly levelled?¡± Shaun¡¯s concern was very real, considering he was level thirty one, the highest bar Arthur until now, and yet this guy was five levels higher than Arthur? ¡°Well, you guys can¡¯t monitor every single Dungeon entrance¡­ I also, unlike Adventurers and you Guild employees, have no reason to exit the Dungeon for too long¡­ I¡¯m especially thankful for those ¡®safe zones¡¯ as they finally allowed me to sleep without needing to create a tripwire.¡± The implications were severe, this man practically lived in the Dungeon bar trips to the surface to get supplies and manage his followers¡­ Thinking quickly, Shaun established that his opponent had about forty two more stats than himself, not counting the boosts to his stats. It was a bit of a gap, but Shaun could work with it, as he rushed forward, stabbing out with his sword, finding himself blocked by Razorback. From there it was a bit of a blur, there was a lack of time to think in the middle of the fight due to the speeds they were operating at, but Shaun held himself surprisingly well against the stronger killer. Though neither was really paying attention, the area around them was now definitely vacant, something which could be attributed to the sudden appearance of weapons, the knowledge that they were LEV-holders, or perhaps the occasional missed magic attack which rent gouges into the earth around them. The battle was a short, but violent one as both Shaun and the killer degenerated from using only sword/dagger wielding and start including punches, kicks and grabs as they attempted to maim the other, and it was only after throwing the killer more than a few metres away that Shaun had a moment to catch his breath. ¡°Wow! What a rush! I¡¯d love to continue this little dance, but¡­¡± taking a pause in his words, it allowed Shaun to hear the police sirens approaching as he cursed under his breath¡­ he told Grey to keep everyone away, but he supposed that there was a limit. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be meeting again¡­ I¡¯ll be waiting, oh how our blood will sing!¡± The killer laughed a wheezing laugh as he vanished his equipment, turning to run. Shaun prepared to give chase, only for a person to suddenly appear next to the killer, grab his shoulder, and disappear¡­ ¡°A teleportation Anima? It probably doesn¡¯t have a lot of range considering no one is over level forty¡­ either that, or it has a limited amount of uses in a day.¡± Shaun wasn¡¯t sure which one it was, as it didn¡¯t matter, the killer was gone. Seeing the police officers running closer with pistols in hand, Shaun allowed his sword to disappear, allowing the tension to leave his body as he dropped to the floor. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s going to bruise¡­¡± Shaun was not looking forward to the pain he¡¯d be feeling until he got to Ellie for healing¡­ The killer hadn¡¯t landed a single hit with that blade of his, but neither had Shaun, somehow the only attacks they allowed to get past their defences were the punches, kicks and grabs, knowing that the first one to get cut would be at a disadvantage, but also knowing that they could power through bruising¡­ Shaun was regretting it currently, but at the same time was glad that he now knew the face of the enemy, even if said enemy claimed to not have a name. Seeing the police begin to recognize him as they stepped forward, Shaun sighed, knowing that explaining what happened was going to be a pain¡­ It would be an hour later that he was healed, taking time off from work to relax at home with his wife rather than do anything else¡­ That was the plan at least¡­ ¡°So you go gallivanting into the Dungeon with your friends all night, work all day, leave me alone for days at a time, and can only seem to stop at home for more than an hour after getting into a fight with a serial killer?¡± Shaun kept quiet, knowing that the being before him could smell fear¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t smell fear, it¡¯s just written all over your face.¡± See, no one else seemed to be able to do that, only Sera¡­ then again, maybe that was why he fell for her in the first place¡­ ¡°Oh¡­ come on in, I¡¯ll make some of your favourites.¡± Sera turned and walked into the house with Shaun following behind, locking the door behind him¡­ He was pretty sure that he was still going to be scolded, but at least he¡¯d have good food while that was happening. Meanwhile, in another part of the city, the serial killer was heaving a sigh of relief as a healer finally fixed his bruises. ¡°Boss Mourn, why did you do that?¡± Mourn looked to his second-in-command, Eddie with some thought before looking at the ceiling, a smile on his face. ¡°All warfare is based on deception Eddie¡­ this whole incident was a case of me deceiving my enemy.¡± Mourn was well aware of why he did what he did¡­ People who knew Mourn thought that he was insane and did things without rhyme or reason, but he did have his reasons¡­ They were his alone to know, but that didn¡¯t make them non-existent. ¡°I got that, but to do this meeting you had to reveal a few things about yourself¡­¡± Eddie wasn¡¯t wrong, Shaun Fife, the Guild Leader of America, now knew Mourn¡¯s level and Animae, and given what they knew of the Hunter Eyes, they probably knew Mourn¡¯s stat configuration roughly. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s alright. What I revealed aren¡¯t stationary things, they can change¡­¡± with his words, Mourn snapped his fingers, his face morphing to his true face, his hair colour changing¡­ A Class Skill of the Faceless Thief Unique Class, Face Change. ¡°The only true unchanging thing I let that Fife guy know is that I am from Pennhurst.¡± Eddie knew very little of the place beyond that Mourn was raised and taught how to fight within that place¡¯s confines, and that it used to be an Asylum for the insane. ¡°I suppose that would have gotten out eventually¡­ and they don¡¯t have enough information about Kyle¡¯s teleporting ability to do anything about it¡­ so we managed to trick our opponents and gain some information while providing almost nothing.¡± Eddie was working for Mourn against his will, but at this point Eddie was probably never going to be considered innocent again. ¡°Exactly¡­ Oh how interesting things are going to become soon¡­¡± Mourn began to laugh as he contemplated his plans, ignoring the movements of his followers as they moved around. The next day, Einherjar entered the Guild Building only to be called over by Dante, who was strangely not at the door. ¡°Einherjar, good morning¡­ I wanted to let you know that we¡¯ve already confirmed the agreements from the Russian, Japanese and the U.K teams. Saudi Arabia is still on the fence and the South Africans are kind of difficult to track down.¡± Dante informed as if reporting, getting some odd glances from the six friends. ¡°Hi Dante, I thought Shaun was supposed to tell us these things though?¡± John asked the ¡®doorman¡¯ of the Guild as Dante sighed. ¡°Well, he would but¡­ yeah, he did mention that. Shaun mentioned that serial killer to you all before, correct?¡± the team nodded, recalling the information vaguely, about a serial killer with a LEV and a Metal Element. ¡°Yesterday Shaun encountered the killer and they fought, due to the situation, Shaun has taken a leave from work for a week or two.¡± Dante admitted, getting wide eyed looks from the team. ¡°Is he okay?¡± Alice asked, thinking about the Guild Leader who, while strange, was a nice guy, to everyone but Arthur at least. ¡°He¡¯s fine, mostly bruising which was healed yesterday. Apparently the killer is really strong, but doesn¡¯t fight as well as Shaun.¡± Dante admitted, walking with the team as they came up to the counter to sign-in for the day¡­ Slowly but surely the Guild was becoming faster at handling Adventurers who wished to enter. ¡°¡­Wait, so the killer is in the level thirties?¡± Matt asked, having caught on that the killer rivalled Shaun in battle. ¡°¡­This bit is being kept highly classified, but Shaun managed to use his Hunter Eyes on the killer to find out a few things¡­ for one, the killer has two Animae, not to mention the killer is actually level thirty seven.¡± That number had the Einherjar collectively tense as they looked amongst themselves. ¡°¡­You mean to say that there¡¯s actually someone still higher levelled than Arthur, not to mention that said person is a serial killer?¡± Michael¡¯s question was said with almost painful neutrality as Dante nodded. ¡°Unfortunately yes. The killer has expressed interest in attacking America as a whole, thus he has been ¡®elevated¡¯ in status from serial killer to potential terrorist¡­ The killer also referred to themselves as ¡®patient twenty three¡¯.¡± Those words had Einherjar a bit confused as they nodded at Dante in thanks for the information. Walking to the podium and creating team Einherjar, Arthur paused for a moment, just thinking for a bit¡­ Selecting the Forest of the Maiden, the group entered the second Area all thinking about what was explained to them just before they entered¡­ No one noticed Arthur¡¯s clenched fist, or his heightened aggression against the monsters they fought¡­ Arthur was the Strongest Adventurer... but that title wasn¡¯t as secure as he thought¡­ He didn¡¯t like that.
Arthur Clive
Level: 32 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (65/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 130%) Sword Sage I (152/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (47/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (54/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental II (14/200) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 42 Dexterity: 46
Intelligence: 32 Wisdom: 56 (72)
Endurance: 32 Vitality: 42
Chapter 16- To slay a Demon Lord… again. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re all here¡­ Hi there, I don¡¯t know all your names, and I apologize for that, I¡¯m bad with names, especially with people I¡¯ve only recently met.¡± Arthur¡¯s greeting was a bit plain considering what was about to happen, but maybe that was a good thing. Something overly dramatic and complicated was not really necessary anyway. ¡°As you are all aware, today we take on the second Demon Lord as a united front. Personally, I don¡¯t see the point of that, and I¡¯m sure most of you agree with me, but hey, we need some good public relations.¡± Everyone in the room agreed begrudgingly¡­ The incident five days before with Agent Shaun Fife fighting an Adventurer serial killer was well known now, though the public was unaware of who the assailant was or what he had done, it let them know that Adventurer criminals exist. There was of course a sudden uprising in people who were demanding that only government sanctioned people become Adventurers, and that all current Adventurers be closely monitored to prevent such a person from appearing again. The six Chosen teams in the room all knew that it wasn¡¯t that simple, for the person who fought with Shaun was not a registered Adventurer, and that much like other people, Adventurers could do both good and bad things. An Adventurer attempted to say as much on the internet, however they were immediately shot down with comments about how ¡®maybe so, but the problems are certainly bigger when both sides can toss trees at one another¡¯ and thus the Adventurer was ignored¡­ The only real option was either silence, or proving that Adventurers could do good as well. So, now more than before, the six teams of Chosen had to work together to ensure that Adventurers all over the world would not be labelled as sub-human. No pressure. It was with this knowledge that Arthur stepped into the Podium room with the intent to calm the teams down if they weren¡¯t already calm. At the Podium, everyone made their teams and linked their LEV¡¯s, the Podium was apparently allowing the creation of their ¡®Raid Group¡¯ due to how it was six teams of six. Naming their Raid Group as ¡®Chosen Six¡¯ for simplicities sake. Each person had a moment to check their stats and confirm some things, and once more Arthur was reminded that he could for some reason see what others could see when they were busy with the Podium. Everyone else claimed that they could see only a light, but Arthur could actually read the stats and information of others if he looked. At this point Arthur was pretty sure that the reason for that was his Soul Sight Skill, if he could see the Soul then reading some writing had to be easier. Though everyone¡¯s status was in their first language, meaning that there were some Arthur couldn¡¯t read even if he wanted to. He didn¡¯t want to read others status¡¯ though, instead focusing on his own.
Arthur Clive
Level: 34 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (78/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 130%) Sword Sage I (164/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (52/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (59/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental II (17/200) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 45 Dexterity: 50
Intelligence: 32 Wisdom: 60 (78)
Endurance: 32 Vitality: 45
He was already close to levelling up when he heard about the fight between Shaun and the serial killer, and hearing about that person¡¯s strength had Arthur move towards levelling with renewed purpose. The result was levelling up two times in those five days, a pretty fast pace given that they were busy on the nineteenth floor and already above level thirty. Not only that, but given the fight, the Chosen knew they¡¯d have to work together and it was decided that the Raid Leader would be Arthur due to him being the highest levelled amongst the group and leader of the only team to face an intelligent Demon Lord. Of course this meant that he got access to the (abridged) stat sheets of the other teams and could plan accordingly. Shaun¡¯s words of ¡®the African team makes no sense¡¯ weren¡¯t wrong either¡­ They had one Warrior who liked talking about car games, and an Archer which used magic in conjunction with his shots. The other four members of the team? All healers. How¡­ well, it was a given that this was real life, there was no rule saying a healer couldn¡¯t swing around a great sword, but¡­ Arthur decided to ignore Loyiso¡¯s choice in weaponry and how it grated against his sensibilities as a gamer, and spoke to the group after everyone was done. ¡°Alright, my team will be handing out maps so that everyone knows where we are going and which paths we will be taking. Said paths will be marked on the map.¡± As Arthur stated, each team got a map-booklet from one of the Einherjar members. ¡°We have mapped the entirety of Area two from floor eleven to nineteen. Until encountering the Demon Lord, I¡¯m hoping that we can battle in rotation, so everyone can see how the others fight.¡± Arthur¡¯s words once more got nods, it was an understandable measure if they were to work together. ¡°Of course, I understand some of you might not like showing others your fighting styles so to get the ball rolling, my team Einherjar will be acting first. Whoever goes second will be decided after the first encounter.¡± Arthur selected the Forest of the Maiden from the fast travel selection and then turned once more to the collective of thirty five people. ¡°By the fifteenth floor I hope we¡¯ll be able to start working together in a fight. As we move, we¡¯ll develop signals to work together.¡± With that said, the teams moved out. Stepping out onto the eleventh floor, Arthur was glad that Shaun asked the question of ¡®what if we both end up on floor ten at the same time, would we run into each other¡¯ and got them to find the answer. The results of their tests was that yes, they¡¯d run into each other, but if they entered from different Dungeons then they¡¯d only encounter each other on the tenth floor and nowhere else. This had Shaun theorizing that Demon Lord rooms were ¡®open to all servers¡¯ and the other floors were ¡®private servers¡¯ using gaming lingo. Entering the same Dungeon was considered going into the same private server, though you¡¯d only run into other teams from the tenth floor onwards. It was an interesting thing, only adding to Arthur and his view that the first nine floors were the ¡®tutorial-level¡¯ as they even prevented other people from messing with you while you journeyed. The Raid Group moved in their original teams, with Einherjar at the forefront of the group due to the offer to fight first. There was a very light muttering of conversation from time to time between teams and occasionally kept within teams, but they were all cautious¡­ after all, each group had made it to the nineteenth floor, they knew what to expect. Their encounters were simple ones really, something each group was glad for as they began to realize what a boon it was to have more people around than just their own team, now capable of fighting in rotation each team got more rest between each fight. The first encounter against some Goblins was kind of interesting as the five foreign teams began to stare at Einherjar, or more specifically Arthur. After recovering from the flinch caused by the appearance of Arthur¡¯s Dagger of Hunger, the other teams stared at Einherjar¡¯s teamwork with interest. Michael called out that he had seen the Goblins, getting a signal from Arthur to pause, asking confirmation on the amount of enemies. After being told of the five Goblins, Arthur nodded, signalling for Michael to take the shot. The first arrow signalled the fight, the Goblin hit dying in one hit as his brethren ran forward in an attempt to attack Einherjar. One of them was met with Matt¡¯s shield, the spikes on the shield could be used for more than just breaking weaponry, as proven when one spike drove into the Goblin¡¯s skull. When he moved, the Goblin¡¯s suddenly limp body moved with the shield, adding a bit more bulk and mass to defend with¡­ a pretty disgusting tactic, but it worked and Matt sometimes did it by accident. ¡°Not again!¡± Such as now. Another Goblin attempted to attack Matt, who guarded without even looking at the Goblin approaching him from the side, his Spatial Recognition Skill allowing him to track where everything was within his sphere of influence. His decision was right, as the Goblin outside of his vision was attacked by an almost flying Emilia, and given her knives she was practically a buzz-saw as she removed its head from its shoulders within seconds. As for the Goblin going for his shield, Alice was there, wielding a war-hammer with a smile on her face. As a side-note, Alice was the member of their group that spent the most on weaponry, understandable as she needed to have a diverse pool to choose from to make full use of her Anima. No one looked at that Goblin after seeing Alice take the swing, they expected the creature to have died in that moment. As for the final Goblin, it attempted to run away, only for Arthur¡¯s hands to spark, focusing his Mana to one hand as he swung his hand out as if swinging a tennis racquet. With a strange buzz and zap, the ball of electricity landed on the Goblin¡¯s head, burning the little creature¡¯s skull to the point where its body vanished leaving a Soul Stone behind. Everyone in the large group of Adventurers knew everyone else¡¯s stats and elements, so no one was surprised about the Lightning element, instead finding interesting how quickly and accurately he took out the Goblin. ¡°Alright, with the exception of John who rarely joins in the fight, that¡¯s one Goblin for each member of Einherjar. Any thoughts?¡± Arthur asked the other group after walking over to pick up the Soul Stone. ¡°One. How many times can you launch off attacks like that?¡± Albert asked while ignoring Ichiro¡¯s raised hand as he asked his question. ¡°Well I¡¯m working off of feel, but I think I can launch about fifty of those disregarding my regeneration.¡± Indeed Arthur couldn¡¯t fine tune how much mana he used exactly, but that attack he just launched used about two per cent of his Mana. ¡°So it¡¯s two per cent of your Mana¡­ what about regeneration?¡± Albert was a Magician Class, clearly he was interested in magic. ¡°Eh, I regenerate about eight per cent every minute¡­ why are you all looking at me like that?¡± Arthur was not aware of how high his regeneration (Wisdom) was compared to others. Albert, the highest levelled mage class, has about forty Wisdom, and Loyiso who was the highest levelled healer had about sixty almost seventy Wisdom after considering whatever Stat Skills he may possess. The idea that a Swordsman had so much Mana regeneration was really messing with their preconceptions. ¡°That¡¯s the highest Wisdom amount I¡¯ve heard of.¡± Loyiso was honest, getting nods from those who agreed, which was pretty much everyone else. ¡°Well thanks, I need the regeneration to use my Magic.¡± They could practically hear the emphasis on ¡®magic¡¯ in Arthur¡¯s tone, he was talking about a Magic Skill that provided Spells. To them, it meant that he either had a ¡®normal¡¯ spell that required Wisdom for uses, a Spell with the tag, ¡®seven Wisdom per use a day¡¯ would have Arthur capable of firing off the spell eleven times a day with his Wisdom count after boosts. Another option was Area Spells, they were rare but Albert had one, which scaled damage to Intelligence and area of effect (AOE) to Wisdom, with a set amount of uses a day which would only increase as the Spell Skill itself increased. Or, he had a Spell which used Wisdom as the basis of its effectiveness, most boosting Spells were like this, with Intelligence instead determining their uses. And finally there were Toggle Boost Spells, or TBS for short. They were not as rare as Area Spells, but TBS allowed its user to activate a Boost Spell and maintain that boost for so long as it drained Mana. Jade, the Chosen of the U.K actually possessed one, not that she let others outside of her team know of its existence, but she did have one, so she knew it was an option¡­ And also, Arthur emphasized ¡®regeneration¡¯ which made Jade reasonably certain it was a TBS that Arthur had. ¡°It¡¯s an impressive showing¡­ let¡¯s continue.¡± Albert said, moving forward with his team, Osobyy, the Russian word for Special. From there the rotation began, with it starting with Einherjar, then Albert¡¯s Osobyy. Then it was Sheikh¡¯s team, Salibi, which meant Crusaders in Arabic, which was sadly ironic to Arthur. Following Salibi was Jade¡¯s Camelot, which Arthur could admit to himself would be his first choice for team name before he remembered the term Einherjar. Then there was Ichiro¡¯s team with the unique name. Arthur laughed every time he imagined them introducing themselves as Team Spicy Chicken. And finally there was Loyiso¡¯s team, Ubuntu, the name was nice, meaning ¡®humanity to others¡¯ or ¡®I am who I am because of who we all are¡¯. It was a surprisingly meaningful term originating from South Africa¡­ Arthur liked it. With the rotation, everyone got a chance to witness everyone in a fight, though they all knew they were keeping at least one thing secret from each other, it would help in the Raid. Albert¡¯s team moved as a unit, no one moved alone, and without exception they were all capable of hand-to-hand combat to some extent, as demonstrated when Albert destroyed Forest Wolves with his bare hands. The others in his team did have weapons, but they were all still soldiers. For Sheikh¡¯s team, they felt like juggernauts with how Sheikh would tank a hit and then his team would step in destroying whatever enemy he attacked, it was a team revolving around the tanker. Then Jade¡¯s team was similar to Arthur¡¯s except they had two Archers along with a mage and healer, then a tanker and Jade, with Jade being their main source of physical damage as she cut her enemies apart using one of her Class Skills. Team Spicy Chicken went in the opposite direction of Jade¡¯s, with a tanker, three Warriors, a mage/artificer, and their healer¡­ A healer was a necessity in all high rank teams, without one a Dungeon dive would end quickly. Ubuntu took everything a bit too far in regards to healing though, with four healers. The reason they have so many healers was apparently so that there was always a safety net to continue hunting. And they were also proof that John could in fact learn to fight, and John not fighting was just his personal choice. Arthur let John do that though¡­ he was still working with John on a certain idea they had. This rotation carried them through to the nineteenth floor where the Raid Group worked together to take down a Red Grizzly, the equivalent of the Lantern Brute for this Area¡­ and the source of the bear roars they were hearing on other floors. Red Grizzly¡¯s began to appear starting from floor seventeen, and only alone or with other Red Grizzly¡¯s, the most fought in a group were four. Arthur also absently noted that the Areas had their own ecosystem, as evident when they encountered a Red Grizzly eating a Forest Wolf. But now seeing the stairs leading to the twentieth floor, and the second Demon Lord, the Raid Group rested for ten minutes as they got ready. ¡°Alright, before we face this Demon Lord, I will share what information we know about them. For one, they are female and probably the maiden the Area name refers to. It is known that she was with Blade romantically and beyond that little is known, though given the Area, we should assume a plant or tree based enemy.¡± Arthur warned, and the group nodded, though some wondered why Arthur remembered the ¡®romantic¡¯ part. The group rested, they moved towards the stairs¡­ Once more, Arthur found himself in awe of how the Dungeon could be so dangerous yet so beautiful. The stairs were always something that Arthur paused to admire, no one really knew why though they could agree that somehow the Dungeon managed to make them nice. The stairs to the new Area had swapped to purple gems littering the walls and ceiling, the stairs themselves seeming to be made out of a long pale grey stone of some kind as they walked down, noting the stairs had inscriptions on them, but unable to read them. Finally exiting the stairs, the group found themselves within a forested area¡­Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. However the idea of beauty was gone from their minds, the forest was decaying, the trees slightly rotted and grey, the area lined with tombstones and graves¡­ The only exception to the situation was a lone willow tree in the centre of the graveyard, underneath which a woman sat, making a flower crown. Hearing their steps, the woman looked up, a slight widening of her eyes the only proof that she registered their appearance as she stood, dusting off invisible dust from her dress, and stepped forward into the light. Her appearance was admittedly beautiful, but something about it kept Arthur from feeling more¡­ It was like staring at a lush valley of trees in the rising of the sun, the crisp breeze bringing feelings of freedom and serenity. That was it. She was beautiful in the same way an untouchable painting was beautiful. ¡°Ah¡­ I have visitors. Welcome to my grave¡­ I suppose I can be referred to by you warriors as ¡®Willow¡¯.¡± The woman was clearly referencing the tree she sat under originally as Arthur stepped forward, as the representative of the Raid Group¡­ Though clearly some like Ichiro had to be reminded to wait. ¡°Greetings Willow. My name is Arthur Clive, the de-facto leader of this group of warriors¡­ I was also the one to slay Blade. You have my condolences.¡± Arthur admitted, and Willow smiled a forlorn smile. ¡°Of course¡­ You all could only meet me due to his vanquishing after all¡­ I regret not seeing my love on last time, but I do not fault you for his death.¡± Willows words drew a surprised look from Arthur as she laughed demurely. ¡°Sorry but that might be a bit of a lie. He was my love, and knowing he was hurt makes my heart ache¡­ and knowing you are the one to have hurt him makes me dislike you a bit on principle. But knowing Blade, he did not hold it against you.¡± Willow¡¯s words drew a nod from Arthur as his expression calmed. ¡°He said as much¡­ nonetheless, I did not enjoy taking his life. He mentioned you to me and... I don¡¯t know, I just felt like I had to deliver his last message.¡± Willow looked surprised at Arthur¡¯s words as Arthur looked at her in her eyes. ¡°His last wish was to be with you, under your tree once more¡­¡± Arthur felt the words spill from his lips, but only after they were uttered had they registered¡­ How did he know that? Rather, how could Arthur say this with such confidence, with such¡­ understanding? ¡°You¡­ Ah¡­ I understand now. Well, you are certainly an interesting existence compared to your compatriots¡­ Ah, it¡¯s that Dagger of yours.¡± Willow looked to Arthur¡¯s Dagger of Hunger with a sly smile. ¡°Ah my love¡­ you have returned, somehow¡­ I¡¯ll be with you soon¡­¡± Willow seemed to be speaking out loud, not actually aiming her words at any of the group, her eyes taking a far off quality¡­ and her skin began to change, growing dull and grey as she spoke. ¡°But first¡­ I suppose I must test the worthiness of this warrior¡­ Come, Arthur Clive.¡± Willow began to fade, her skin becoming frail and almost like¡­ it matched the trees around the willow tree. With a sudden gust of wind, the body of Willow evaporated into dust, flying against her ¡®namesake¡¯¡­ and suddenly the tree began to move¡­ It was first a simple shaking, then it began to clearly move unnaturally, even in the wind, then two of its branches swung down suddenly, pushing into the ground as its roots came out of the ground, the ground closing as it stood upon its roots. The ¡®arms¡¯ expanded, becoming intertwined with other branches to add to its girth, gaining stubby ¡®fingers¡¯ while the roots coiled around each other, forming into two growths which could be called legs. The long, thin leaves of the tree began to recede in areas while growing longer in others, until the leaves were concentrated ¡®behind¡¯ the tree, creating a long tail of ¡®hair¡¯. And finally, the bark near the top of the suddenly incredibly human-shaped tree morphed, changing into a face¡­ a face which did not move, despite the sudden sound of words. ¡°I am the second of the ninety nine Demon Lords under the command of Chronos, Elder Treant and Keeper of the Kingdom of the Dead, I am Willow¡­ Intrigue me.¡± The words over, the second Demon Lord clenched her fists the face morphing into a grimace as it screamed, a horrible scream, terrifying just about everyone in the room as she began to move. ¡°Scatter!¡± Arthur called out, and everyone moved, not considering direction just yet, so long as it was away from the massive humanoid tree¡­ Everyone except for Matt and Sheikh who looked to each other with a glance before standing firm¡­ Clearly the two of them had the same thought, to see the strength of the Elder Treant and convey how much damage each of the group could take. When Willow swung her massive arm, one could almost see the moment the two Guardians had the same thought. ¡®I regret this choice¡¯ It goes without saying that both of them flew off the moment the impact hit them, the hit forcing both Sheikh and Matt into the air and flying into some nearby dead trees, causing said trees to snap due to their brittle nature. ¡°Get those two a healer, try not to get hit!¡± Arthur didn¡¯t even need to hear the estimations those two had. Matt and Sheikh both focused on Endurance. There was no way that they weighed a small amount at this point, and yet both were hit flying? Yeah, Arthur was reasonably sure that getting hit by a truck would be a good estimation on how much getting hit by Willow would hurt. Arthur was one of the few who caught the moment John seemed to vanish, most likely using the tombstones as cover as he snuck over to Matt and Sheikh to heal them¡­ unfortunately, the other healers weren¡¯t aware of this, so Arthur had to stop them. ¡°We got a healer there, leave them! Anyone with a Fire Element or Lightning, we need some damage here!¡± Ranged combatants such as Michael began to attack, making sure to stay near the edge of the natural arena of trees. Willow did not accept such attacks so simply, turning to the ranged Adventurers and roaring¡­ Then there was a strange bit of light around her ¡®face¡¯ that seemed almost like a magic circle, and wooden stakes flew off in the direction of the Adventurers as if the Demon Lord was firing off a machine gun of some kind. ¡°Hit the deck!¡± Michael called out immediately, waving his arm to create whatever defence he could out of his Element. The stakes were barely defended against, and Arthur frowned as Albert appeared next to him. ¡°My Element is Wood, is it alright if I get the last hit?¡± Albert asked as Arthur frowned, looking to the Russian with a look of slight indignation. ¡°If you can, go for it, I don¡¯t think we have the luxury to decide that though.¡± Arthur warned, and Albert¡¯s eyes widened for a moment before he gave a tight smirk. ¡°I see agent Fife wasn¡¯t wrong about you¡­ come on, we need some advice here.¡± Albert said as Arthur nodded, looking to his comrades¡­ They really needed a communication system of some kind... for now, shouting would have to work. ¡°Everyone, she¡¯s a Wood Element, probably has high defence and health, slow attack, capable of long ranged attacks and can only move fast under momentum!¡± Arthur shouted, summarizing what they learnt in the few exchanges already made with the massive Demon Lord¡­ Rather, Arthur was beginning to wonder how strong Willow was¡­ and whether or not she was actually supposed to be fought with six people or more. Whatever the case was, Arthur had already formatted a basic plan. ¡°Guardians, stick to one or two ranged fighters, defend them from the stakes! Melee fighters with confidence in their speed, stay in range of her attacks, dodge as much as you can! Slower melee fighters, take advantage of openings for hit and run attacks! Healers, rotate between the ranged group and the melee fighters where necessary! Let¡¯s all make it out of this!¡± At this point, Arthur still didn¡¯t think he was suited for the leadership position¡­ he still had the belief that he didn¡¯t have the charisma or ability to be one¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Arthur charged forward, not noticing the stares he was getting. What Arthur did not realize, yet, was that sometimes those things weren¡¯t always necessary. With a roar, Willow swung a massive hand towards Arthur, swinging almost as if trying to give him an uppercut, only for Arthur¡¯s body to be enveloped by Lightning as he moved with renewed speed. Sometimes, all a leader needed to do¡­ was to take the first step. Stepping to the side, it was as if a bus was driving by just next to his face, his breath laboured, and his eyes wide¡­ and yet, Arthur felt it was the right moment, stabbing out towards the arm with his Dagger of Hunger, Soul Flame appearing in his hand as he cleaved into Willow¡¯s arm, getting a scream from the Elder Treant. ¡°Follow his lead!¡± Albert called, barely noticing the awe on all of the other Adventurer¡¯s faces. This, this was why agent Shaun seemed so adamant that Arthur be the leader of the Raid Group, because somehow, despite how he sounded, despite how unreliable Arthur appeared at times¡­ When things got bad, he was always amongst the first to move. A person like that was someone you could not help but follow, someone who you could not help but look at for guidance¡­ Up until that attack, the Raid Group was not quite sure of Arthur being the ¡®Strongest Adventurer¡¯ and felt that maybe he had only attained the title out of luck¡­ But following that, Arthur had acquired the (occasionally begrudging) respect of his fellow Adventurers. The fight continued with Albert¡¯s shout, and everyone was whipped into a flurry of movement, no one staying still as everyone began to operate to their best. Thief-type Adventurers such as Jade and Emilia, along with Arthur, Ichiro and Albert, were among those who were constantly swarming Willow, keeping her from focusing intently on the ranged combatants lest she suffer a stronger blow from one of the closer combatants. Heavy Warriors, such as Loyiso (who should have been a Healer) and Alice were on rotation, aiming for heavy, crushing blows when Willow was next to incapable of turning and suddenly hitting them, each of them jumping out of combat after one heavy blow. Incidentally, Alice¡¯s weapon for the battle was a battle axe that was probably slightly larger than the ¡®human limit¡¯ size wise. Arthur, in the midst of the flurry, realized that Alice was probably thinking of woodcutters as she attacked, given her stance which reminded him of a batter in baseball. The ranged fighters made sure to limit their attacks, for if they attacked too much Willow would begin to focus more on them than those close to her. ¡°Our attacks are a bit too thin.¡± Jade called out to Arthur during a swap, and Arthur couldn¡¯t help but agree¡­ the bark of Willow was defending her, not to mention that all her was formed of twisted and connected branches and her¡­ Trunk. That was the answer. ¡°Melee, aimed for joints, ranged, aim for centre mass!¡± Not everyone understood why Arthur called out for that attack pattern, though some immediately began to try and understand. Willow, unfortunately¡­ was intelligent. Sure, she was currently roaring and rampaging like a mindless monster, but she was not stupid¡­ she could understand everything they were saying. She immediately seemed to focus on Arthur, roaring at him, as Arthur prepared to dodge the stake shots. Instead, the magic circle appeared at his feet, surprising Arthur as roots shot from the ground, wrapping around his ankles, holding him place as Willow began to move. Willow had three advantages. One, she was capable of rational thought, and unlike Blade could use magic as a result. Two, she was extremely well armoured¡­ And three, due to her size and strength, Willow couldn¡¯t be kept from moving in a certain way, only distracted, but if she forced herself into one particular direction they couldn¡¯t exactly stop her. And this situation made use of all three advantages. Arthur hadn¡¯t been aware that Willow could use a ¡®stun¡¯ type ability, that she would immediately catch onto his plan and try to remove him before he could explain it, or that she¡¯d ignore all attacks to crush him¡­ Willow was in front of him by the time he had cut through the roots, swinging in a wide sweeping attack that was certain to hurt him quite a bit¡­ Instead, Arthur felt his mind focus as he sighed. Suddenly, for just a moment, it felt as if time had stopped¡­ Arthur looked to the left, seeing the arm approaching, and looked back to the face on Willow¡¯s trunk. Spark Step¡­ not the Lesser version, but the Basic version. Of course, it was not like time actually stopped, or that Arthur was now suddenly untouchable¡­ but there was always that rush of speed the moment he activated it that it felt like such to Arthur. No doubt said rush was about to vanish, but Arthur didn¡¯t mind¡­ he just needed to move. It was a horrifying moment for all watching the attack as Emilia screamed out his name, but for Arthur himself, it felt as if he was moving in a swamp, his body incapable of moving at the speeds he was processing the world around him¡­ It was an incongruence fuelled by how Arthur¡¯s Strength was not high enough to make full use of his speed, but his Dexterity was now approaching the point where the Spark Step could be used for a bit¡­ Unfortunately the Spark Step would wear off in a minute, maybe two minutes at max, despite how it would feel twice as long to Arthur. Moving with the arm, Arthur immediately knew he could not outrun the swing from his current position, instead taking a step or two before leaping off of the ground, tucking into a near-ball shape with his feet facing the gigantic hand of Willow. Shutting off Spark Step, time flowed correctly once more, and as the arm was about to make contact, Arthur kicked off, using the arm as a springboard as he flipped, crashing into a tree¡­ It looked worse than it was, though Arthur still felt pain in his legs, he knew with his Vitality he¡¯d be up in a moment, even if no Healer got to him. ¡°Arthur, you okay?¡± Matt was already there though, having been guarding the Healers from any of the ranged attacks Willow launched, guarding his leader from further harm. ¡°I¡¯m alright, bit of a pain in my legs¡­ I actually have an idea for taking out Willow though.¡± Arthur said, waiting for his legs to feel marginally better¡­ ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡± Matt was a brilliant teammate, despite how abrasive his attitude was to those he did not know. ¡°If I build up some charge using one of the Spark Step spells, I can launch off a Lightning attack larger than what I¡¯m normally capable of.¡± Arthur reminded Matt, getting a nod. ¡°I¡¯m thinking that, if I use such an attack, I can create an opening to her weak spot¡­ I¡¯m going to need a solid minute to build up charge though.¡± Arthur himself had almost forgotten about this technique, as it was rare that he built up enough charge to use this attack¡­ Helping Arthur up, Matt smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry man, do what you need to do¡­ that overgrown bush won¡¯t even be able to touch you.¡± Matt said, turning away from Arthur as the Wall of Steel flexed his shoulders. ¡°Everyone! We need a minute, keep her shut down by any means necessary!¡± Matt shouted, stepping forward, no one really knew that it was Matt who shouted, what with him having been kind of quiet for the whole trip. But at this point, they knew they had to trust everyone in the group. That, and it was established that the only people who would shout any orders were team leaders and or people with information from said team leaders. ¡°Arthur¡­ are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Emilia appeared next to Arthur, both of them looking towards Willow who actually tried to step on that South African warrior, who just rolled out of the way¡­ All while screaming what was likely obscenities. ¡°Jou ma s¨¦ poes!¡± that, that had to be a curse of some kind. ¡°I¡¯m okay, John healed me¡­ Don¡¯t worry Emilia, I¡¯ll be fine¡­ if you want to help, get some of the fighters to focus on Willow¡¯s face.¡± It was another obvious weak point¡­ Then again, the obvious weak point for all living creatures was their skull. ¡°Got it, we¡­ I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Emilia¡¯s correction didn¡¯t go unnoticed. Arthur stared at her blue eyes for a moment before looking away. This was definitely not the time to talk about that. Emilia left, and finally Arthur was alone¡­ Maybe, he wasn¡¯t sure about John, who was constantly using his Sneak Skill to be wherever he needed to be without being targeted by Willow. Ignoring that, Arthur focused on that feeling, summoning Spark Step once more instead of its Lesser variation, mostly because he could build charge slightly faster with the better version. Feeling the pulsing energy, Arthur began to move, somehow the Spell actually gathered energy more when he moved¡­ He guessed it was somehow actually converting kinetic energy into electrical charge, but he wasn¡¯t sure¡­ there were rumours of devices being made to do that, but Arthur would definitely find it funny if he achieved it through a ¡®magic spell¡¯ by accident. Arthur¡¯s movement was erratic, and anyone seeing him running would see the sparks flying from his form as his hair spiked, but despite how irregular they were, no one could claim he was slow as he ran. As he did so, the other team leaders had all approached Willow now, knowing that the fight would soon finish if the leader of Einherjar was to be believed. The first to attack was Jade, her Anima being sharp wires which she could attack with in a manner similar to a certain butler with a monocle. She was definitely not as strong as said butler, but she had the potential for such strength, as she controlled the wires to slice into where Willow would have Achilles tendons had she been an actual human, getting a roar in response to the pain. The next to attack was Loyiso, taking his massive sword and swinging it at one of Willow¡¯s arms which was lowered due to her attacking another Adventurer¡­ and after accumulating damage, it was Loyiso¡¯s attack that tore off the arm, leaving Willow to focus on attacking Loyiso. Willow attempted to use the restraining attack on Loyiso, only for the vines to be cut by Sheikh who actually lept at Willow¡¯s chest, driving the giant tree Demon Lord back a step, giving an opening for Albert and Ichiro. ¡°He¡¯s going to get the last hit, isn¡¯t he?¡± Albert said sarcastically as Ichiro chuckled. ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s okay, he¡¯s the main character of this fight after all.¡± Ichiro said as they both had their attacks ready. Using a Spell Skill, Ichiro focused Wind onto his blade creating a tiny whirlwind as he slashed, cutting a gouge into Willow¡¯s ¡®face¡¯. Following up on Ichiro¡¯s attack, Albert summoned his weapon, a spear, as he stabbed upwards, channelling a Spell of his own as roots tore from the ground, a literal ¡®spear of roots¡¯ as it hit Willow in the face, damaging it even more as Willow swung her fists, roaring once more. She was about to attack when she saw it¡­ a blue light approaching¡­ involuntarily looking at it, taking her attention off of her opponents, she saw him approaching. Having discarded Soul Flame into his inventory, Arthur Clive was dashing forward, his dagger tucked close to his body as he rushed, barely noting Matt kneeling while holding his shield above him. Ah¡­ so this is him. Approaching Matt, Arthur jumped, placing a foot on Matt¡¯s shield as Matt pushed off, propelling Arthur even further. This light is Arthur Clive¡­ Arthur flew against Willow who was leaning back from the force of the previous hits, as he held his dagger in two hands. ¡°Good bye, milady.¡± Willow¡¯s wooden face actually held a small smile as a voice sounded out. ¡°Good bye, knight.¡± And with that, Arthur stabbed into Willow¡¯s forehead, simultaneously releasing the electric charge he had held up to that point, and activating the Dagger of Hunger¡¯s Void skill to further increase damage. This is the Devourer. It took barely a moment within the whole fight, but a practical explosion sounded out, the death knoll of the second Demon Lord. And once more, Arthur did not even notice as his consciousness faded. Waking up to his name being called out, Arthur looked around everyone as Michael explained to Albert that this happened the last time they fought Blade as well¡­ ¡°Ah, Arthur¡­ glad to see you¡¯re awake¡­ let¡¯s go.¡± Albert showed the teleportation podium, standing right where Willow¡¯s tree/body once stood. Standing with some help from Emilia, Arthur stumbled slightly before walking over to the podium with some help.
Select Area:
Dungeon Entrance Forest of the Maiden Kingdom of the Dead
Selecting the Dungeon Entrance, Arthur¡¯s group walked through the shining door that appeared, emerging into the Dungeon Entrance room where agent Shaun Fife awaited them. ¡°Welcome back. Thank you.¡± Was all he said as the Adventurer¡¯s all felt some relief¡­ yeah, their fight was over, at least for today¡­ Going to sleep that night, Arthur felt himself dreaming, dreaming of things he should not know. Ah¡­ once more you return before your appointment. Once more, you slay a mighty foe. Am I to be rewarded once more? No. This reward is not suited for you¡­ but you are most certainly a greedy one. I have to be to grow further. That you do, that you do¡­ don¡¯t worry. You will be rewarded¡­ but unlike before, it will not be evident¡­ What do you mean? Rather¡­ well, I guess it would be appropriate to call it a ¡®seed¡¯. As long as you fight, as long as you live, as long as you survive¡­ it will bloom someday. So it¡¯s a possibility. Yes¡­ now then, awaken once more.
Arthur Clive
Level: 36 (D-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning
Personal Skills
Tactician II (86/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% (total 130%) Sword Sage I (184/200)- Any bladed weapon deals 20% extra damage Soul Sight II (72/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding II (63/100) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental II (31/200) - Use supplementary lightning spells
Stats
Strength: 47 Dexterity: 52
Intelligence: 35 Wisdom: 63 (81)
Endurance: 34 Vitality: 47
As a Bonus, the stats of the other Chosen will be included. However, these stats are all from before the fight against Willow, and only show what Arthur knew of them¡­ which in some cases isn¡¯t much (looking at you Sheikh).
Albert Ivanov
Level: 33 (D-Rank)
Class: Vein Magician- Grants one stat point to Intelligence and Vitality per level Gives Vein Booster (Unique) Skill
Anima (Skill)
Not Given
Primary Element: Wood Secondary Element: Darkness
Personal Skills
Parallel Computation II (62/100) - increases Intelligence by 15% Vein Booster II (48/300) ¨C Use Stat Boosting Spells
Stats
Strength: 30 Dexterity: 30
Intelligence: 60 (69) Wisdom: 44
Endurance: 30 Vitality: 60
Ichiro Kazuto
Level: 33 (D-Rank)
Class: Gale Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Gives Swordsmanship Skill and Gale Arts (Rare) Skill
Anima
Sky Cutting Katana
Primary Element: Wind
Personal Skills
Quick Reflexes II (75/100) - increases Dexterity by 15% Gale Arts II (48/150) ¨C Use Wind Spells to boost melee abilities Swordsmanship III (2/200) ¨C Use Stat Boosting Spells
Stats
Strength: 60 Dexterity: 60 (69)
Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 25
Endurance: 42 Vitality: 42
Jade Ainsworth
Level: 32 (D-Rank)
Class: Wire Assassin- Grants one stat point to Endurance and Dexterity per level Gives Wire Arts (Rare) Skill
Anima
Silver Strands
Primary Element: Mind
Personal Skills
Quick Reflexes II (62/100) - increases Dexterity by 15% Dagger Arts II (21/100) ¨C Use Daggers skilfully Wire Arts II (63/150) ¨C Use Wire-shaped weaponry with ease.
Stats
Strength: 33 Dexterity: 50
Intelligence: 41 Wisdom: 40
Endurance: 42 Vitality: 39
Loyiso Nanda
Level: 32 (D-Rank)
Class: Grand Healer- Grants one stat point to Wisdom and Strength per level Gives Healing Scripture (Rare) Skill
Anima (Skill)
Not given
Primary Element: Earth
Personal Skills
Tactician II (41/100) - increases Wisdom by 15% Hero¡¯s Strength II (2/100) - increases Strength by 15% Healing Scripture II (21/100) ¨C Learn healing Spells, lowers Mana costs Great Swordsmanship II (63/100) ¨C Use great-swords skilfully
Stats
Strength: 60 (69) Dexterity: 24
Intelligence: 40 Wisdom: 59 (67)
Endurance: 34 Vitality: 30
Sheikh (real name not given)
Level: 32 (D-Rank)
Class: Dust Guardian- Grants one stat point to Endurance and (Not Given) per level Gives (Not Given) Skill (apparently Rare though)
Anima
Fortress Shield
Primary Element: Not Given
Personal Skills (None were given, Arthur guessed these, and as such he doesn¡¯t know what level Sheikh has them as, or if he has them)
Shield Arts- decreases Damage taken when blocking Stand Strong- Increases Endurance by 10-15%
Stats (Not Given)
Chapter 17- Aftermath ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s something different.¡± Shaun¡¯s words were putting it lightly as he and the members of Einherjar stared at the desk in front of them. It was the twenty fifth of February, two days since the fight against the second Demon Lord, Willow, and after taking one day off for resting, today Einherjar returned to the Guild¡­ Coming with them, was their spoils of war from the battle against Willow. Each of the team leaders received something for their efforts, Sheikh received a pair of (wooden) gauntlets, Jade some (wooden) greaves, Loyiso a (wooden) shield, Ichiro a (wooden) chest-plate. They all got armour pieces which they could use to some extent, thankfully¡­ the odd ones out were Albert and Arthur. Albert was apparently awarded for his contributions with a new skill, Forest Guardian, a Unique Skill similar to Arthur¡¯s Lightning Elemental, just a bit better given the ranking. It destroyed the view of ¡®get the last hit¡¯ but it did reinforce the idea of ¡®kill the Demon Lord and the most suitable person would get a Unique Skill¡¯. Most likely it was limited to people who were fighting the Demon Lord, and what kind of Skill probably depended on the enemy, seeing as Albert could now do the long-range stake shot skill. As for Arthur, his reward was a bit stranger, even when considering the Unique Skill. ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯re going to be a father.¡± Dante piped in with his own comment, staring at the egg on the table with fascination. Indeed, Arthur¡¯s reward was an egg.
Name: Familiar Egg
Requirements: Arthur Clive only
Hatches into a Familiar, a monster that grows alongside its owner, the Familiar will be decided based on its owner.
Well, it also detracted from the idea that someone could steal the egg, but there was still the question of what would appear from the egg¡­ ¡°What if something huge comes out?¡± Alice asked, getting a shake of the head from John. ¡°That¡¯s not likely, we wouldn¡¯t get something ¡®game-breaking¡¯ so early.¡± Arthur wasn¡¯t quite sure on that given that he had two Unique Skills¡­ and he doubted this is what that being meant when it said ¡®seed¡¯. ¡°Yeah, I doubt it¡¯s going to be huge, not to mention that it will definitely obey me so we¡¯re safe.¡± Arthur said, reaching out to touch the egg and hatch the Familiar. Touching the egg, Arthur felt Soul Sight activate sub-consciously as he witnessed a sort of¡­ string, of some kind, connecting from his chest towards the egg¡­ connecting from his soul. The once empty egg began to form a soul of some kind, shaping itself in front of Arthur¡¯s eyes as it wriggled and writhed¡­ And then the egg cracked open peacefully, revealing the form of Arthur¡¯s Familiar. ¡°It¡¯s a cat. Cat¡¯s don¡¯t come out of eggs.¡± Shaun complained from the back as the small kitten looked up to Arthur, and Arthur began to feel a presence in his mind. Master¡­ owner¡­ comrade. It was vague feelings, but recognizing them as the feelings of the cat in front of him, Arthur smiled, reaching out with a hand as the tiny black fur ball of a kitten rubbed its cheek against his finger. ¡°Aw, that¡¯s so cute!¡± Emilia and Alice could both be heard cooing over the kitten, and Matt and Michael could both agree it was adorable. ¡°It¡¯s satan incarnate¡­ besides, I¡¯m the black guy on this team!¡± John complained, making the kitten stare at him for a moment before it seemed to hiccup, a small blast of fire heading for John making the healer dodge out the way. ¡°Well, that¡¯s interesting.¡± Arthur¡¯s voice definitely showed his intrigue as he stared at the kitten, wobbling out of the egg where its rear was finally revealed, showing two tails instead of the usual one. ¡°Huh¡­ a two-tailed cat? Then it¡¯s definitely a monster of some kind¡­¡± Matt said as Shaun spoke out. ¡°There are quite a few variations on cat-monsters, especially those with two tails, but the most notable cat stories would be the Nekomata which have a tail that splits as they grow old.¡± Staring at the agent, Shaun shrugged. ¡°I enjoy mythology. Disregarding the Nekomata, there was also the Bakeneko, but those were more like normal cats that somehow got magic¡­ that kitten might be a Nekomata, though you might want to see if using that podium in the Dungeon Entrance room would let you see its stats.¡± That was an interesting idea, and as one the group of eight plus the kitten moved towards the Dungeon Entrance, getting a glance or two for carrying a cat into the room. Placing the kitten by the podium, words began to appear on it for Arthur.
Familiar Registered: Nekomata Name your Familiar
Well, seeing as he couldn¡¯t call the cat ¡®Nekomata¡¯ Arthur began to consider a name as he noticed a white spot on its chest. ¡°Huh¡­ a black cat with a white spot on its chest¡­ disregarding the two tails, she looks like a Cait Sith¡­ got it.¡± Turning to the podium, Arthur entered her name. Sidhe.
Familiar named: Sidhe As you increase in rank, your Familiar will change to accommodate your growth, meaning it will always be the same level as you, your Familiar may change races as it grows.
That last bit was some interesting information, as Sidhe¡¯s stat sheet came up afterwards.
Sidhe (Owner: Arthur Clive)
Level: 36 (D-Rank)
Race: Nekomata- Grants an extra Element and one point in Intelligence per level
Elements: Fire Wind
Stats (35)
Strength: 2 Dexterity: 2
Intelligence: 37 Wisdom: 2
Endurance: 2 Vitality: 2
Unlike humans, it seemed that Sidhe would only earn one stat point per level disregarding the one point to Intelligence gained from her Race¡­ Not only that, but Sidhe possessed no Skills and her base stats weren¡¯t five but two. This might change as she grew, but most likely she¡¯d never reach Arthur in pure stats or Skills. Assigning her points, Sidhe¡¯s stats now appeared:
Sidhe (Owner: Arthur Clive)Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Level: 36 (D-Rank)
Race: Nekomata- Grants an extra Element and one point in Intelligence per level
Elements: Fire Wind
Stats
Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 37 Wisdom: 25
Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
It was extreme, but Arthur wanted to let Sidhe be a magic-user for now, taking into consideration her low stats and already high Intelligence. Showing her information to everyone else in the room, everyone began to have their own thoughts. ¡°Familiars will probably become important later on if you¡¯re lucky enough to get one¡­¡± Shaun considered, staring at the little cat with undisguised interest. ¡°Still, she¡¯s really weak as she is right now, so how is she going to be of much use to us in the Dungeon?¡± Michael asked as Arthur summoned his Cloak over his shoulders, then looked at the hood he occasionally used¡­ ¡°¡­You think I can carry a kitten in that hood?¡± Arthur asked, as he got Sidhe from Emilia and Alice who were petting the little two-tailed Familiar. Placing the cat in his hood, Arthur found the weight negligible as Sidhe mewled cutely. ¡°So¡­ she¡¯s basically like an extra magic user for our group, at least for now¡­¡± Michael said contemplatively while Arthur moved a bit, checking how well Sidhe was placed. She seemed to be clutching to the hood, understanding Arthur¡¯s intentions instinctively. ¡°Yeah, plus I can send instructions to her mentally¡­ it¡¯s like heavily focusing on a single thought, then Sidhe can follow through with it. For example¡­¡± Arthur paused, closing his eyes as Sidhe meowed twice, three times, and then let loose a burp of fire facing towards John. The fire went out before it could hit the healer obviously, but John was still surprised. ¡°Huh, so you basically have a portable turret with you. What happens if you use Spark Step while Sidhe is in your hood though?¡± Alice asked, looking at the little kitten with worry. Activating Spark Step, Sidhe simply blinked and tilted her head. ¡°So, it seems that she doesn¡¯t get the boost but she also wouldn¡¯t be hurt even if she touched the sparks going off of me.¡± Arthur explained finally as Shaun nodded. ¡°Good, we saw what a Familiar does, and it probably changes depending on the person. Awesome, now go into the Dungeon already, I got paperwork.¡± Shaun waved them off as he walked away with Dante following him. ¡°So¡­ how was the response to the second Demon Lord being defeated?¡± Dante asked as Shaun looked back to his second-in-command. ¡°Not good. While there was some sentiment that Adventurers aren¡¯t all that bad, it didn¡¯t have an immediate effect¡­ the only thing we can do is hope that the bad news of that serial killer dies down.¡± Shaun admitted as he stepped into his office, looking at the desk¡­ and immediately a scowl appeared on his face. ¡°What are you doing here, Cardinal?¡± Shaun¡¯s question didn¡¯t even move the man on his seat. The man was nicknamed after the predominant colour he wore, cardinal. If you told him it was red, he¡¯d get angry¡­ The man finally seemed to take note of Shaun, blinking at his appearance before he stood up. The Cardinal wore a suit, apparently crafted by a blacksmith as the man wore it into the Dungeon, claiming he chose the colour to hide blood. Raising his hands as if gesturing grandly towards the heavens, the man spoke. ¡°Praise be unto the divine monkey and his army of baked potatoes, for I have finally appeared in person, I, the amazing, Cardinal Geo- wait. That name was already taken by that other anime character¡­ well, Cardinal Clements works okay.¡± The eccentric Guild Leader of the U.K said with a bow towards his fellow Guild Leader. ¡°¡­We¡¯ve met before. Remember, back in the U.N Blue Beret¡¯s? I was your superior officer, and we worked with Albert against some terrorism in Russia?¡± Shaun had to make sure that Clements hadn¡¯t suddenly lost all memory of that time. ¡°What, of course I know that, but the audience didn¡¯t, now you have an even more strange background.¡± Shaun figured that he¡¯d just sigh in annoyance before getting back to his question. ¡°Hey, you won¡¯t change the subject, why are you here? All the Adventurers returned, so why are you here?¡± Shaun¡¯s question got a sigh from George. ¡°Well, I¡¯m here to talk to you¡­ and to look for Felicity. One of my men had to stand in for her during the Demon Lord fight, hence why she wasn¡¯t with her sister.¡± Shaun had wondered about that, having known that Jade Ainsworth¡¯s sister, Felicity Ainsworth, was George¡¯s romantic partner. Though they refused to call each other ¡®boyfriend and girlfriend¡¯ or anything but ¡®Cardinal¡¯ and ¡®High Priestess¡¯. Shaun was pretty sure the Church had their share of annoyances with George. ¡°Now that¡¯s a rude thought. Do you know how hard it is to deal with the Pope demanding I renounce my title of Cardinal? I did not pick this colour to only be called ¡®red¡¯ after all!¡± George¡¯s insanity was strange, and Shaun felt himself wondering at his colleagues personality change. George used to be quite the angry guy, well working and serious at times, but he was, in his own way normal. Now he was replaced with this insane jester who could somehow see the future. ¡°I like that term, insane jester¡­ might keep it. Anyway, let¡¯s get serious for a moment, I¡¯m here to be a walking plot device after all.¡± George¡¯s jolly expression did not change, despite his tone shifting, another sign of his insanity. ¡°I am here to talk about that serial killer, that one you fought and the cause of this sudden weariness of Adventurers.¡± Shaun was intrigued, nodding to show he was listening. ¡°Firstly, you should by now understand that the man is from Pennhurst, the latest and final patient twenty three. The man is important.¡± George walked out from behind Shaun¡¯s desk to talk in the middle of the room. ¡°You know me as a Seer. You know that I see the future, but there are actual rules to said future. I cannot change everything, and certain things I am allowed, such as telling you that the serial killer doesn¡¯t look like that.¡± George pointed at the picture on the wall, getting a raised eyebrow from Shaun, a question. ¡°The serial killer¡¯s class allows for him to manipulate his facial appearance, as well as hair colour. What he showed you was just one of many ¡®faces¡¯ the man possesses.¡± Shaun froze a bit at that, scowling as he walked over to the picture and tearing it down. ¡°George, is it possible for that man to copy anyone¡¯s face?¡± Shaun asked, George looking confused for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m quite certain that there is someone with a similar face in existence, the world is like that after all, but if you are asking if he can infiltrate your Guild, that¡¯s an impossibility.¡± Shaun¡¯s sigh of relief was palpable in the room as George stretched with a mocking smile on his face. ¡°Besides, that serial killers destiny isn¡¯t to be caught, let alone die at your hand¡­ he¡¯s an important being.¡± George¡¯s expression finally changed, glaring at Shaun. ¡°Listen monster. You are not to hunt down that man. Between the two of you, he is more necessary to the defeat of Chronos.¡± Shaun glared at the ¡®cardinal¡¯ for his words, but before he could even complain George began to speak. ¡°Shaun, I know you don¡¯t buy into the whole ¡®seeing the future¡¯ thing, I get it¡­ but that serial killer is vital to the defeat of Chronos.¡± Being called by his actual name had Shaun calm down slightly as he stared at George. George always referred to him as Fife or Shaun, it was only once the man gained the ability to see the future that he began to call Shaun a monster. ¡°¡­Will that serial killer take out Chronos?¡± Shaun asked, much calmer than he was just a moment ago. ¡°It¡¯s a possibility¡­ I see three futures.¡± George admitted, making Shaun wonder how seeing the future worked, all Seers and Oracles claimed to intake the information differently, such as Felicity Ainsworth who claimed to see moments in time, but not how those moments would occur. She also saw her wedding to George apparently. And while she questioned the presence of monkeys and penguins, she accepted it as is. Shaun had to wonder how George, the (willingly) accepted head of all Seers and Oracles in the world, saw the future. ¡°The first future is the one in which Chronos wins. Chronos goes on to devour all of humanity and getting bored about the futile resistance he faces. The last thing I saw in this timeline was you killing Chronos as he appears on Earth, at least after Chronos stabs me through the heart.¡± George¡¯s admittance that there was a future where Shaun would kill Chronos was intriguing but worrying. ¡°The second future is the one in which the serial killer gets Chronos. That serial killer decides to continue Chronos¡¯ mission and destroy the Earth due to circumstances, and with his strength from killing Chronos, faces no opposition other than you.¡± A second future in which Shaun would kill ¡®evil¡¯. And the third future is where someone else kills Chronos. This future has you and this person work together to further the human race on a dimensional level¡­ So can you see why I call you a monster?¡± Shaun could, begrudgingly at least, understand. Three possible futures¡­ and Shaun was actually an important part of all three? Shaun wasn¡¯t one to exaggerate his own abilities, but he didn¡¯t think he was that important to the timeline of Earth. ¡°That third time-line¡­ who is it, who kills Chronos?¡± Shaun asked, thinking to a certain Chosen who was currently in the Dungeon. ¡°It¡¯s not who you¡¯re thinking of¡­ The champion of that path is a unique being that can only appear under certain circumstances. That third path is what I am aiming for.¡± Shaun rolled his eyes. ¡°George, if you are trying to ensure the third path, why not eliminate the serial killer, it would increase the possibility of the third isn¡¯t it?¡± Shaun asked, getting a shake of the head from the crazy Seer. ¡°It isn¡¯t that simple. The first path will take place the moment we erase one of the other two. Think about it like this, the only way to prevent the first path is to ensure the second and third can occur.¡± George explained, making Shaun confused at how that worked. ¡°Okay, the only way we can kill Chronos inside the Dungeon is if the serial killer and the other one are both alive¡­ but at the same time, we want to try and make that ¡®champion¡¯ the killer of Chronos. How do we let that ¡®champion¡¯ win?¡± Shaun asked, getting a mocking wag of the finger from the cardinal Seer. ¡°No, no, no, Shaun, you are not entitled to that information, despite your importance. It¡¯s one of those plans, those ones that only work because the audience doesn¡¯t know about it?¡± George¡¯s words got Shaun a bit more annoyed once more¡­ Really, why would a plan only work so long as only one person knew of its existence? Wait¡­ ¡°What about the other Seers, the other Oracles, do they know about this?¡± Shaun¡¯s question was left floating in the air as the door had a knock, opening to reveal the other reason George was here. ¡°Dear, I got the banana, blindfold, paddle, rope, and candles. We can talk about your safe word later.¡± Felicity was a curious one, Shaun thought, having met the woman only once before. Felicity wore glasses, partially covering her bluish green eyes, and had fiery red hair, much brighter than the auburn of her younger sister, and quite frankly the woman appeared like the stereotypical hot secretary/librarian. The issue came when one realized that no matter how intellectual they might appear, all Oracles and Seers were insane to some extent, and were hardly understandable. ¡°Yes dear, don¡¯t forget to find the racoon we used last time.¡± George responded with nary a gap, leaving Dante and Shaun to both feel a bit squeamish as what kind of picture George and Felicity were painting for them. Shaun honestly considered it a waste of a truly beautiful woman¡­ he was married though. ¡°Oh, and to answer your question, mister Fife, all Seers and Oracles know the three path prophesy, though most of us find it difficult to get the same information dear possesses.¡± Felicity admitted, fixing her glasses onto her face, somehow creating that glare¡­ That had to have been done with the woman¡¯s Light magic. It had to. ¡°Oh, and Felicity and I were referring to our blind table tennis date. The bananas are lunch, we play while blind and the candles support ambiance. The racoon was the judge.¡± Somehow that was even stranger than the alternative. ¡°And the rope?¡± Dante dared to ask, Shaun looking to his second in command as if Dante had just shot them both in the foot. ¡°Oh that¡¯s for when we role-play fifty shades.¡± The shiver was most certainly involuntary, but Shaun was sure he¡¯d do the action willingly too. ¡°Okay, too much information¡­ Is that all, George, Felicity? Are you two leaving now?¡± Shaun asked the strange couple getting a nod from both as they looked to some unseen thing. ¡°For one last message from the supreme typewriter in the sky, this book is complete with seventeen chapters and its prologue, look out for the ¡®deleted scenes¡¯ chapter called ¡®Bonus Book one¡¯ coming up next before the start of book two.¡± Shaun blinked at the words, wondering who the heck the two were talking to. ¡°With that, we bid you adieu until book two, in three¡­¡± ¡°Two¡­¡± ¡°Who the heck are you two talking-¡± ¡°One!¡± Bonus Book one Team Spicy Chicken, and why Ichiro focuses on Dexterity Ichiro was psyched, really psyched about going into an actual Dungeon! Sure he didn¡¯t really have the physique for it, given his current chubbiness, but from what he heard people with high Dexterity have slimmer bodies¡­ He already had a Class that affected Dexterity growth, and a Skill for it too¡­ he¡¯d make that his ¡®max¡¯ skill. He was pretty sure he didn¡¯t need all that much Endurance anyway. ¡°Ichiro, focus.¡± Ichiro felt the glare of the class president at the side of his head, but he just chuckled at the glare¡­ The president of his class, Miya Tanabe, was a neighbourhood friend from his childhood, and she was always harping on him about his otaku ways and how he would never succeed with only anime knowledge. Ha, showed her, with a Dungeon, levels, Skills, magic, Ichiro was perfectly suited for this new job and immediately announced his intention to be an Adventurer. This roped her in by default, saying that she couldn¡¯t expect Ichiro to survive for long without someone keeping him in check, and so she joined his team, dragging along with her three of her friends, and Ichiro¡¯s fellow otaku who became an Artificer, creating a six man team. Though Ichiro was quite certain that Miya was a tsundere based on just this¡­ ¡°Oh trust me, I¡¯m focused.¡± Ichiro said, walking up to the Dungeon Podium, waiting for it to synch their LEV¡¯s together. Following the burning sensation, Ichiro looked at the podium, which was asking for a team name. ¡°Hey, wasn¡¯t there supposed to be a team-¡± Before Miya could question anything, Ichiro decided to act¡­ for the LOL¡¯s. ¡°Team Spicy Chicken!¡± He shouted, and with that, the future Japanese Chosen team had their fate decided¡­ no one would ever take them seriously with a name like that¡­ As a side note, Ichiro was once into Kendo before discovering Anime, which resulted in his fat appearance as he no longer exercised, instead focusing on buying new merchandize. The unexpected use of Spark Step. ¡°Arthur, Arthur, you have to come with us.¡± Arthur turned from his position at his computer to look over at his father¡­ who was painted green with elf like ears and carrot shoes. ¡°¡­Is that¡­ cosplay? Why?¡± Arthur asked, looking over to his mother who was wearing a blue wig. ¡°There¡¯s a convention nearby¡­ come on, let¡¯s just dye your hair yellow for a bit, and we can go.¡± Arthur desperately hoped his mother wasn¡¯t planning what he thought she was planning.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. In about an hour he was at a convention occasionally activating Lesser Spark Step to spike his hair back. The lightning added to the effect¡­ he won first place by the way. What Matt does with his spare time *Censored* And thus Matt went home. That one time Michael was high ¡°Yo¡­ hey Arthur¡­ Yo man, listen¡­ could you make some coffee man?¡± Arthur looked to his best friend with a sigh, already smelling what had happened. ¡°Sure, any requests?¡± Arthur looked to Michael who blinked blearily, his eyes a bloodshot red. ¡°Man¡­ man¡­ I want¡­ I want¡­ two coffees with my sugar.¡± Arthur blinked, trying to translate. ¡°Oh wait¡­ how about¡­ three forks of creamer.¡± Arthur just blandly stared at his friend before leaving to the kitchen. Michael sobered up quickly once he tasted coffee with salt in it. Why there was salt in Michael¡¯s coffee ¡°Did he really just say that?¡± Arthur heard Alice ask as he turned to see Michael¡¯s sister on her phone, looking up from the device with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Yes he did. Got a solution?¡± Arthur asked as Alice¡¯s smile turned a bit sinister. ¡°Yes¡­ let me make his coffee.¡± Skill Confusion ¡°Hey Arthur?¡± Arthur turned to his healer John. ¡°Yeah John, what¡¯s up?¡± Arthur turned back to his game, hoping that the boss didn¡¯t hurt him too much. ¡°One of my skills is saying that I need Wisdom to use it¡­ does that mean it¡¯s going to take the Wisdom?¡± John¡¯s question actually caused Arthur to pause long enough to die in the boss fight. ¡°¡­Well, I can get there again. Listen, John, when it says required Wisdom, it¡¯s referring to how many uses you will get. If it says you get two uses, plus one use every five wisdom, then if you had fifty wisdom you could use the Spell twelve times a day, get the idea?¡± Arthur asked, getting a nod from John. This is for any confusion on those Spell Skills, because I was asked twice for clarification, so I¡¯ll just add this here. The reason why Agent/Cardinal George Clements is not included more often. ¡°AIEEEEEYOOOHEAOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYO!¡± ¡°For the last time, that is not, a mighty eagle noise!¡± ¡°YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITON!¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t even a word!¡± ¡°I do not care for your oblongascity Marvin.¡± ¡°Why the heck do I deal with you? ¡°You deal with me because I pay you obscene amounts of money to be my straight man.¡± ¡°Do you have a skew one?¡± ¡°Yes, I call him Olivia instead of Oliver.¡± ¡°That was rhetorical.¡± ¡°Your mother¡¯s rhetorical!¡± ¡°That was not an insult.¡± ¡°You want me to get worse!?¡± ¡°Oh god no.¡± ¡°Gott ist tot.¡± ¡°Stop quoting Nietzsche.¡± ¡°How the heck did the divine marshmallow know how to spell that?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t, spell check helped.¡± ¡°Marvin! You didn¡¯t tell me you were a Seer!¡± ¡°I was joking, you retarded¡­ never mind.¡± ¡°I resent that, I am not a never mind.¡± ¡°Yet you do not resent being called a retard?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± And such conversation would be repeated ad infinitum. And for the record, typing oblongascity confuses autocorrect so much it has no alternative spellings for it. What Chronos does in his spare time Deep, within the depths of Hell, there was a throne, and seated upon this throne was a being of immense power¡­ A being of immense power who happened to be lounging over the armrests of said throne while finishing his Sudoku. ¡°I knew conquering Hell would be worth it, it¡¯s the only place where you find Hell difficulty Sudoku after all.¡± The devil himself hummed the funeral march as he ticked off another number. "...I wonder when those human''s are going to get here... so boring..." B2 Prologue- Machinations ¡°¡­s ¡­boss? ¡­boss? Boss!¡± Waking up slowly, Mourn looked over to his second in command with a shallow glare. ¡°What is it?¡± Mourn sat up slowly from his lounge chair, staring at the worried blonde. ¡°Boss, you said I had to wake you when the fourth Demon Lord was killed.¡± Mourn blinked, remembering everything more clearly now. He was Mourn, his first name wasn¡¯t really necessary, and his followers called him either Boss or Mister Twenty Three. Mourn was a Contract Holder with Chronos, the Ruler of Hell, among many other humans who also held the same Contract known as the LEV. The Contract was that the holder would attempt to kill Chronos, and while he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to try, Mourn could only assume attempting to protect Chronos in some fashion would result in consequences. To strengthen the abilities gained by the Contract/LEV, one needed to fight and kill other beings, most typically monsters in the Dungeon, which in itself was a gateway between Earth and Hell where Chronos lived. Much like an RPG, the LEV would grant boosts in power when enough monsters were slain, designated as levels, though how that worked was unknown to Mourn. In addition, you could tell a Contract Holder from a normal human by the fact that a Contract Holder would possess a tattoo of the word ¡®LEV¡¯ on their left wrist. Underneath said tattoo would be a number that corresponded to the strength (or level) one gained from the Contract. Okay, enough wondering about common knowledge, now to go a bit deeper¡­ Mourn was the equivalent of a Mob Boss in the modern climate of Adventurers (aka Contract Holders) and dealing in all sorts of crime. And this person that just woke him up, Eddie, was his extremely reluctant second-in-command of his yet unnamed criminal empire, though he was still contemplating the term ¡®Wonderland¡¯. ¡°Boss, you zoned out again.¡± Eddie said cautiously, out of fear of reprisal from Mourn, who switched moods as quickly as a person breathed. Quite often Eddie could actually find himself joking with Mourn one second, and find himself in threat of loss of limb the next, with nary an understanding to what happened. And Eddie had checked up Schizophrenia and it was definitely not what was happening to Mourn¡­This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Though Eddie should have known about mental disorders, Mourn also didn¡¯t have Split Personality or anything like that¡­ maybe? Mourn could be insane as his old ¡®home¡¯ made him out to be, but then he could turn and talk shop with their ¡®Chefs¡¯ about chemical compounds and how their drugs worked. And Mourn would understand everything and at times even mention things the Chef¡¯s didn¡¯t consider. Then he¡¯d cartwheel out the room like nothing happened. ¡°Eddie¡­ quiet for a moment. I¡¯m ordering my thoughts¡­ little by little¡­ okay. Now disorder once more¡­ there. I¡¯m at a stable level of chaos now.¡± Eddie stared at the manic grin appearing on his boss¡¯s face as said man limbered out of his lounging chair as if he were boneless¡­ The entire action was unnatural, and yet graceful, something Eddie had long attributed to being something Mourn did naturally without even noticing. ¡°Eddie, report on the different sectors.¡± Mourn¡¯s words snapped off as he himself walked away, Eddie having to follow lest he be punished by Mourn. ¡°Well, for the drug trade we¡¯ve managed to muscle in on a few independent suppliers and you have a meeting with a big time dealer of cocaine and meth soon.¡± Eddie did not manage to keep his vindictiveness out of his voice¡­ Between how Mourn tortured him until he fell ill at the thought of running away, and the fact that Mourn could actually go for other people, Eddie liked pointing Mourn at people he legitimately disliked. He wouldn¡¯t wish Mourn on an innocent of course, but if they were already annoying¡­ ¡°Then when it comes to the arms trade, with all the weaponry you procured from your victims we managed to get a stable start, we are using one of our clean guys to start up a gun-shop legitimately.¡± Mourn nodded, finally getting into the kitchen. Making himself some milkshake, Mourn motioned for Eddie to continue talking. ¡°Arms trading will probably swap back to older weaponry considering the Dungeon and Blacksmiths, so knowing this; we managed to recruit about five or so Blacksmiths.¡± Eddie¡¯s bit of foresight got Mourn to lessen the amount of abuse he sent his way. Mourn wondered if Eddie was realizing what was happening to his mind, becoming dependant on Mourn¡¯s approval, and should the opposite occur the pain would get Eddie to realize it was much better to have Mourn happy. Not to mention that Mourn rewarded Eddie based on said results, using money, lighter drugs, and the occasional woman in Mourn¡¯s employ. Most of those women were psychotic and dangerous to some extent, but there were a few more down to earth which Eddie hung out with. Mourn also considered that Eddie might actually start a relationship one day, in which case Mourn would quit with the latter reward. ¡°And finally, in terms of the group in general, every member has broken the level ten barrier, with the average level being around fifteen.¡± Mourn scoffed slightly, ignoring his own milk mustache. No one would dare call him out on looking funny, though one or two might point it out. Eddie didn¡¯t dare, knowing that Mourn actually wanted someone to point it out. It was good as volunteering to be a torture victim. ¡°That¡¯s pitifully low considering who we are challenging¡­ but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± Mourn complained with a sigh, looking over the warehouse he was currently staying in. ¡°Eddie, we need to get everything ready¡­ In the long term, our enemy isn¡¯t other gangs but those people who are deemed the strongest¡­ the Chosen.¡± Mourn was a strange one, if he did something, he aimed for the best¡­ If he was going to be a Contract Holder, an ¡®Adventurer¡¯ he would be the strongest, indisputably. Eddie felt sorry for the Chosen¡­ especially the American one. B2 Chapter 1- Down the Rabbit hole ¡°Arthur Clive, the strongest Adventurer in the United States¡­ is currently at an arcade?¡± Arthur cursed his enhanced senses as he lined up the cue stick. Indeed, what the Adventurer said was true, Arthur, the strongest Adventurer (or at least, the strongest known Adventurer) was playing pool at an arcade with his team of Adventurers, Einherjar. Arthur, the leader of the team, was a level fifty eight swordsman, though his magic stats were pretty high as well, and he was in charge of researching the Dungeon. Michael Grave, the second-in-command and archer, Michael was level fifty seven (like everyone but Arthur was) and in charge of food, though originally he was the leader of Einherjar, he still looked out for each of the members, and could be trusted to keep everyone alive if Arthur was busy. Matt Jacobson, the tank and defender of the team, he was¡­ honestly, no one knew what he was in charge of as he seemed to just hang around threatening anyone who messed with the team, and generally being a pretty rude guy. Alice Grave, younger sister of Michael and the warrior of the team, she was in charge of making sure everyone had their drinks of choice, tea, coffee, energy drink, whatever else. John Collins, the healer of the team and resident black guy, he kept morale from dropping too much and looked out for Adventurer news and rumours (even if Einherjar was the source of most accurate information) to tell everyone else. And finally Emilia Vasilievna, the thief of the team and Arthur¡¯s maybe girlfriend¡­ neither of the two were admitting to anything, despite doing couple like things. Oh, and she was the cartographer for Einherjar, the map-drawer of the team, and with Arthur the two of them worked out the best and fastest routes to the next floor. And like the fan said. All six were at an arcade playing pool on two different tables. Poor etiquette to have two tables for one group, but the arcade owner recognized Arthur and said it was fine. No doubt everyone else would recognize Arthur and make the same thought. Adventurers were the new ¡®celebrities¡¯ of the world as they were essentially super powered soldiers or heroes to children, and Arthur was well known as the strongest one, the Chosen of America. For Adventurers, he was a goal to reach for, for those who weren¡¯t Adventurers, he was the face of the group and fought at the ¡®front-lines¡¯ every day. It was rare, but once in a while someone would try and conduct an interview with Arthur in person, to which he refused, citing that he was not much of a talker, and that he¡¯d instead respond to messages. Which he did. His E-mail account was well known and anyone could message him with questions and it was up to him to answer, and he found it easier to deal with them in this way. Not only that, but under urging from his ¡®kind of¡¯ boss, Guild Master Shaun Fife, Arthur and his team had twitter accounts made for them, not that Arthur went on often. He disliked social media, but found E-mails acceptable because it was more of a two way street instead of a highway. ¡°Oh, and look, there¡¯s their mascot, Sidhe.¡± Another fan murmured as they saw the cat seemingly appear from nothing as it landed on Arthur¡¯s shoulder, lounging around his neck as he took his shot. Missed¡­ he was average when it came to pool unfortunately. And his opponent was Michael. The ¡®sniper¡¯ of their team. Arthur was losing quite badly, and they all lost to Michael at least once. The black cat with a white spot on her chest was indeed Sidhe, Arthur¡¯s Familiar, a sort of soul animal given to him by killing one of the strongest beings in the Dungeon, a Demon Lord. Demon Lords were fought every ten floors, with every ten floors being one Area of the Dungeon, that made it one Area to one Demon Lord, kind of like boss characters in a video game. Four of the estimated ninety nine Demon Lords had been defeated already; the first Demon Lord named Blade, the second Demon Lord named Willow, the third Demon Lord Despair and the fourth, Guldan the Goblin King. The latter was the vilest of the four for reasons known to any Adventurer that entered the second Area of the Dungeon. And of the four, three of them were killed by Arthur, with only Guldan being killed by the Russian Chosen Albert Ivanov. There were many reasons Arthur was considered the greatest Adventurer in the world, and part of it had to do with his ability to view the Souls of others, the source of the power granted by the Contract, or LEV, was Souls. People talk about how physical health affects mental health, and the Contract allowed spiritual growth to affect the physical, though the spiritual growth was caused by killing monsters and melding their Souls to that of the Adventurer. Arthur could actually see this, and also increase how much Soul he gained when he killed something due to his abilities. To point, the LEV granted a few boosts to the user. The level, which increased physical and mental abilities (though the latter was negligible no matter how much they were increased) and effected the ¡®grade¡¯ of the Soul. Magic, like shooting fireballs, was another thing the LEV granted, though there was a difference between manipulating magic and using a spell. Said difference was Skills which allowed the Adventurer to do things beyond the norm in some manner, such as Arthur¡¯s Soul Sight Skill which let him see Souls, or Michael¡¯s Focus Skill which let him slow down his perception of time while aiming an arrow. And then for the final main thing the LEV granted, the Anima, Latin for Soul. It was appropriate as the Anima was an item or ability granted by your very Soul, and all Souls were unique in some manner, making each Anima unique, Anima were the cornerstones of Adventurers, and having a good Anima was usually the difference between a good Adventurer and a bad one. Arthur was one of the rare group that had two Anima (or Animae) and one allowed him to gain more Soul when he killed his enemies, the Dagger of Hunger. His other Anima, less mentioned but no less important, was the Cloak of Will, which increased his overall defence to attacks as well as granting one or two other abilities, such as being able to teleport within three metres of his current position. So considering that he had the highest level, two Animae of good ability, and a Skill that allowed him to more easily understand the mechanics of the Dungeon, obviously he used these advantages. Sidhe, right, this started with talk of Sidhe and how she was Arthur¡¯s Familiar. It was unknown why Sidhe was the Familiar Arthur gained using that egg, but he had heard that other people were starting to do something similar. Some would tame monsters from the Dungeon, such as the Forest Wolves which roamed the second Area, and there was one or two others who got a Familiar that were known of. But Sidhe was special, because she was Arthur¡¯s, and Arthur scratched her cheek as he got out of the way for Michael¡¯s victory. Their break at this arcade was because they had been rushing through the Dungeon, and while Einherjar was still the ¡®strongest team¡¯ they were tired. So a rest day was needed, even if they usually rested every Sunday, they felt they needed a proper day to hang out as a group. ¡°Man, it¡¯s nice to watch, but it¡¯s terrifying when he¡¯s going against you.¡± John whispered from next to Arthur as they both watched Michael somehow sink three of his in one shot. There were people who could do such things after some practice, but they usually didn¡¯t happen during an actual match¡­ Michael begged to differ. ¡°We should get him into a tournament¡­ anyway, I know we promised to not talk shop but¡­¡± Arthur started off awkwardly, catching John leaving his immediate vicinity as Arthur sighed. He was a bit¡­ uptight, at times due to the Dungeon. He was so used to talking about it, or being in it, that he was beginning to lose sight of being normal. It was kind of fine given his occupation, but he really needed to figure things out before he tried to talk to the others. Walking away from his loss, seeing that it was now Emilia versus Michael, Arthur went over to a vending machine, thinking about what to get. Energy drink was his go-to, but it got a bit repetitive at times¡­ and it was addictive so Arthur was trying to cut down a bit. A bit. With his high Vitality stat, he was in doubt that he¡¯d ever experience heart problems, especially if the stats kept rising¡­ but Emilia expressed her concern and Arthur was willing to try. It¡¯s easy to deny the opinions of others, it¡¯s harder when you like them, and when their opinions are logically good for you. Arthur stepped to the side subconsciously, realizing that someone was going to buy a drink after him, as he turned to look at the other. A side-effect of sorts to Arthur¡¯s Soul Sight, was that he could tell when he was around an Adventurer, and how strong they were to an extent. He couldn¡¯t give accurate estimations, but he could compare their power to his own, getting a sense of ¡®weaker¡¯ or ¡®average¡¯. As the ¡®strongest¡¯ he had never met someone ¡®stronger¡¯. The boy to his left was an Adventurer, probably a year or two younger than Alice, and¡­ he was looking at Arthur for a moment, narrowing his eyes. Arthur had no doubt that he¡¯d be recognized in a moment, but Arthur took that moment to narrow his eyes at the boy, categorizing his power as ¡®weak, but not as weak as most¡¯. As a person with a level close to sixty, Arthur¡¯s definition of weak was anywhere under level thirty, with average being around forty five to his own level.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. So this boy (and despite the narrow age gap Arthur felt justified in calling the other a boy) was between level thirty and forty five, but closer to thirty. Not a lot of casual Adventurers were around that level, but also looking at the boy, he couldn¡¯t be out of school yet¡­ Arthur had left his college after Red Sky Day, feeling that his education took a backseat to fighting against the enemy of humanity, likewise with Emilia and John only popped in for tests and assignments. But school-level people weren¡¯t really allowed to skip school to go into the Dungeon, the Guild workers would stop them anyway¡­ so this boy having such a level was likely due to him going into the Dungeon during weekends with friends. Going into the Dungeon is allowed by schools but only for select periods and it was never past Area one, Area two if the group had someone around level thirty in it¡­ ¡°Excuse me, but are you Arthur Clive?¡± the boy finally recognized who it was drinking a Sprite from across him and Arthur stopped drinking to nod slowly. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s my name¡­ but what¡¯s yours?¡± Arthur usually didn¡¯t like talking to others, as it felt too awkward for him, given how picky he was with his friends¡­ but he also couldn¡¯t really talk to said friends about the Dungeon at current. And while Arthur could be left alone for long periods of time and still be fine, he wouldn¡¯t shy away from conversation when offered it. ¡°Ah, sorry, Drew Simmons, I¡¯m an Adventurer like you¡­ though I guess that¡¯s not quite right.¡± The boy, Drew, said as he scratched his head, the slight glow of his LEV tattoo drawing the attention of Arthur. Level thirty four, respectable for a normal Adventurer, but for professionals like Arthur it was a bit low. A professional could be identified by being in the same Area as Chosen like Arthur, or at the very least entering the same Area as the Chosen would fight the Demon Lord. Drew could probably fight in the beginning floors of Area three, maybe to the end of said Area if he and his team fought smart and rested constantly. But he couldn¡¯t handle Area four just yet, let alone Area five. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m still in school so getting more Dungeon time is difficult, I¡¯m lucky enough to have defeated the Second Demon Lord two weeks ago.¡± Arthur agreed, the boy was lucky, Willow was tough, even as a now mindless husk she was dangerous. No Demon Lord was without their danger, though arguably the first, Blade, was the least dangerous as he could only target one or two people at a time and he was very weak defensively. ¡°That is kind of impressive¡­ so, is there a reason you called out to me, or did you just want to introduce yourself?¡± It sounded abrasive, but Drew could apparently see that Arthur was just asking the question for the sake of asking it. ¡°Oh, sorry, yeah, I actually wanted to ask some advice, about Adventurer stuff, if it¡¯s okay with you.¡± Drew said, and Arthur looked back to his friends¡­ they were oddly protective of him, despite him being arguably the strongest of the group. In other words, they would worry if he didn¡¯t say where he was going¡­ Sending a message to his friends using his phone, Arthur walked off with Drew, knowing they¡¯d see the message soon enough. Sitting down, with Sidhe on his lap, Arthur looked to Drew who had taken a book out of a bag with a pen in hand. Taking notes, okay, so it was possibly the serious type of advice. Arthur could appreciate someone who took notes of what he wanted to know. ¡°Right, first thing I wanted to ask was about levels, if it¡¯s okay with you, I¡¯d like to know how my team compares to yours.¡± Arthur blinked at the question thinking for a moment. ¡°If you¡¯re all the same level, then my team is about twenty levels higher than yours.¡± Arthur said in a straight forward manner, getting a wide eyed look from Drew who nodded, writing down something quickly. ¡°But as for strength, I wouldn¡¯t know as our teams are not at the same level, perhaps your team has better synergy than my own, maybe if we were the same level your team would be stronger¡­ we won¡¯t know unless that ever happens.¡± Arthur was honest, he maintained his hold of the title of strongest Adventurer by virtue of being the highest levelled. Well, that, and he had a huge amount of stats for someone of his level, but still. ¡°Thanks for that¡­ okay, I wanted to ask about the Areas next, I¡¯ve read your Theory of Dungeon Space, so I get that floors are in fact different places in one Area, my question is¡­ how do the stairs work?¡± Arthur frowned at the question, looking at the younger Adventurer for a moment. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know that, the Dungeon is¡­¡± Arthur was about to explain a secret only he really knew, but was it really necessary to keep it a secret? Not necessarily, but if certain groups were to find out it could cause trouble¡­ Arthur looked to Drew once more. ¡°The Dungeon is a sort of string. Think of it like a string with beans on it, and each bead is an Area. Then, cut each bead into ten pieces and the stairs would connect those pieces.¡± Arthur looked down to Sidhe with a smile as she started to lean her ears to Arthur¡¯s fingers. He was so glad that the cat somehow never left hairs on him. ¡°My theory is that the stairs are a kind of necessary gateway. Going through ten gets you enough ¡®energy¡¯ to enter the next Area. And once you¡¯ve made a path, it¡¯s easier to get there the next time, hence why we can simply jump to a new Area once we leave it.¡± It made sense in a strange way, and it wasn¡¯t a big realization, but Drew was writing in a flurry. ¡°Sorry to ask, but you don¡¯t really seem like the studying type, so what¡¯s with the notes?¡± It was starting to confuse Arthur, especially considering that Drew looked like some stereotypical high school guy that played around, they even met in an arcade. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not smart really, I got into school on a sports scholarship¡­ eventually I figured that if I just worked harder than others, I¡¯d eventually get better results.¡± Drew said, tapping his pen against the note for a moment. ¡°I guess it¡¯s a habit by now.¡± Drew shrugged, and Arthur nodded with a small smile on his face at that. He could understand more than anyone expected¡­ Arthur was always told that he was smart, his family said it, his teachers said it, his friends said it¡­ But Arthur never really considered himself ¡®smart¡¯ as much as he thought that he was good at ¡®understanding¡¯. Comprehension, so to speak, he understood things a bit faster than others, but he still had to put in effort to know what he did. That was, in Arthur¡¯s opinion, the difference between a normal person, a ¡®smart¡¯ person and a genius. A normal person took a while to understand and a while to apply. A smart person was quick to understand but still needed a while to apply what they knew. A genius could be shown something and immediately apply it to what they knew. Arthur was a stickler for this kind of thought and would always argue his point, regardless of how his friends said that he was downplaying his ability. For the rest of Einherjar, it was annoying that Arthur was so humble. Virtue it may be, but without pride in his ability he wouldn¡¯t take it further. People work harder for things they take pride in. ¡°Oh, um, right, side-tracked here¡­ I wanted to ask, I¡¯m a Swordsman with shielding abilities, is there any advice you could give me about that?¡± Arthur was beginning to liken this conversation to an interview¡­ at least he knew the answers for the majority of the questions. ¡°It depends on how you want to fight, as the LEV allows you to become anything you want to really, within certain limitations. I¡¯m a Swordsman myself, but I¡¯m good with magic.¡± Drew looked to Arthur with admiration at the admittance of his magic skill. ¡°The way I see it, you could focus in Strength and Endurance to become a tank with countering abilities, or, you could focus equally on Strength and Dexterity, becoming a skilful fighter who uses his shield to parry instead of full on block.¡± These were just two of the possibilities Drew had, but depending on his previous stat layout¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve been fighting with Strength and Dexterity as my main stats, then Endurance, and Vitality after that. Intelligence and Wisdom each get a point every two levels.¡± It was a slightly equalized thing, six stats, two levels earned one ten points, not counting the two given by Classes every level. With ten points, two going into Intelligence and Wisdom, then two into the other four stats, it seemed balanced in some way¡­ if Drew had a mage class focusing on Intelligence and Wisdom all his stats would probably be equal by now. Eh, but diverging from that stat layout was fine, Arthur didn¡¯t have a set boost to his stats that he went with, other than constantly upgrading his Wisdom and Dexterity, the rest were all based on his feelings at the podium when he levelled up. He didn¡¯t focus on Endurance that much though¡­ felt little need for it when he recovered quickly and rarely got hit in the first place. ¡°I see, I suppose it would work out¡­ I got to go again, but it was a nice talk, Drew right?¡± Arthur stood, seeing that in the distance his team was finishing another match of pool, so he¡¯d be on next. ¡°Yes, thanks for the talk sir¡­ by the way¡­¡± The boy started to look a bit nervous for this next bit, and Arthur looked over to the boy with a raised eyebrow in question. ¡°I, um, that is, there were rumours that you were going to be starting your own Kingdom? It¡¯s not important that you answer, but I wanted to know if the rumours were true?¡± Arthur sighed at the question, not truly wanting to think about it. Shaun, the Guild Master of the United States of America, and annoying ¡®boss¡¯ of Arthur, had made public the Kingdom system and how to do it¡­ and that immediately got people wondering. Kingdoms were groups of six man teams such as Einherjar, and the amount of teams was determined by the highest levelled member of the Kingdom (i.e. the King) with two teams available from the beginning, and an extra team for every ten levels a person had, like three teams if you were level ten or higher. So theoretically Arthur, at level fifty eight, could have seven teams of six in his Kingdom. And yet, the only team Arthur worked with was Einherjar. There were many reasons why he didn¡¯t make a proper Kingdom, but the most basic explanation was that Arthur was kind of shy. And he didn¡¯t want to work with people he didn¡¯t really know¡­ there were even people he knew in high school trying to contact him for a chance to join his ¡®Kingdom¡¯. Not that Arthur cared that much, if he wanted them to join his Kingdom he¡¯d message them, not the other way around¡­ not to mention there was a very select amount of people Arthur still spoke to from his high school times. Anyway, as mentioned, the Kingdom system was public, and obviously everyone wanted to be in the ¡®best¡¯ Kingdom. And the ¡®best¡¯ had to be the one with the ¡®best¡¯ Adventurer, right? So Arthur was bombarded with requests to join a Kingdom that didn¡¯t even exist yet. ¡°I¡¯m going to be making a Kingdom, but not quite yet¡­ and anyone I select, well, it¡¯s not going to be a big ceremony to join.¡± Arthur admitted to the younger Adventurer with a frown, getting a nod from Drew. ¡°I understand, I figured I could just try asking. There isn¡¯t much harm in asking something.¡± Drew shrugged, admitting that he was really just taking a chance, and wasn¡¯t expecting much from it. For Drew, it wasn¡¯t a matter of pride, but that realistically Arthur would pick stronger people if he wanted to, or at least that¡¯s how Drew saw it. Walking back to the pool board, Arthur got ready to play, waiting for a moment to let Sidhe appear draped across his shoulders¡­ difficult to take a shot when the weight appeared in the middle of said shot. ¡°Hey Arthur, where were you?¡± Michael asked from the other board, looking away from Emilia taking a shot to ask his best friend what happened. ¡°Got a drink, spoke to an Adventurer about some questions, considered making that Kingdom everyone kept asking about.¡± Arthur summed everything up before he started off his game against Matt. ¡°Ah¡­ interesting mix. We going to be having new teammates?¡± Michael asked as he got ready to take his own shot. ¡°Not right now at least. If we¡¯re going to be making a Kingdom, we¡¯ll be doing so at a later date. But the Adventurer seemed interesting, despite him being a high school kid.¡± Arthur admitted, ignoring the glance he got from Alice at the admittance of Drew¡¯s age group. She was supposed to still be in high school after all, even if she tested out early. Then again she was a bit more mentally mature compared to the average high school teen these days. ¡°Well, you know we¡¯ll go along with your choice, you¡¯re the boss after all.¡± Matt added, and Arthur shrugged, currently not considering the Kingdom after all. ¡°I know, and thanks for that. That being said, I¡¯m stripes.¡± And the games continued for the day, team Einherjar just relaxing for a bit before they continued their battle against the Dungeon¡­ just a relaxing day in the life of Arthur Clive, strongest Adventurer. Though he wondered if letting Drew know that the Dungeon was actually the Tower of Babel was a bad thing¡­ eh, he¡¯d keep it a secret for a while longer. Arthur had bigger things to worry about.
Arthur Clive
Level: 58 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 17.5% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 3% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 7 Wisdom per use a day. Dagger- Feed- Absorb a magic attack from an enemy to be used against them. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 3.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 25% (total 145%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 6% of enemies drop two times the loot. Cloak- Blink- teleport up to five metres away from your current position, costs 10 Wisdom per use a day.
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician III (113/150) - increases Wisdom by 20% (total 145%) Sword Sage II (132/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight II (267/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding III (141/150) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (15/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes II (47/100)- Increases Dexterity by 15%
Stats
Strength: 71 Dexterity: 91 (104)
Intelligence: 52 Wisdom: 95 (137)
Endurance: 52 Vitality: 71
B2 Chapter 2- The Ruined Kingdom It was a mystical place¡­ an island, when viewed from above, surrounded by dark seas and grey clouds, the entire island had its skyline dominated by a massive citadel, spanning a huge area. This, was the fifth Area, The Ruined Kingdom, and where Arthur¡¯s team was at current in the Dungeon, having killed the fourth Demon Lord a day or two ago. It was the third of May, and Arthur was finding this island to be strange¡­ Unlike the third and fourth Areas, there was a lack of runes on the floor. See, in the Dungeon, disregarding the first Area, the rest of the Areas had runes covering the floor and other areas, red in colour if nothing could pass, and blue if Adventurers could pass but monsters could not. Those runes were suspiciously absent as Einherjar appeared from the stormy beach of the island, and yet despite the dark clouds and gale like winds, there was no rain hitting them as they looked across the place. ¡°Alright, from what Ichiro messaged me, this place has few monsters but they are all dangerous, and unlike other Areas, this place actually has traps." Arthur warned as they moved off the sand of the beach and onto the grey dead grass of the island proper. Ichiro was one of the other Chosen, he was second or third after Arthur in strength and he was the Chosen of Japan, a friend of Arthur and they messaged each other frequently (kind of like pen pals) about the Dungeon and other things, usually anime. Ichiro and his team was the group to kill the fourth Demon Lord first, having been in the Ruined Kingdom for the past four or so days. Not long enough to have any concrete opinions on the Area, though they were on the forty second floor, meaning they had a bit more experience. In the Ruined Kingdom, they were given a wide area to explore, and once one found a door with green runes on it, opening it would show the stairs to the next floor. It was unknown if that was a constant, but the information was worthwhile. Moving away from the beach, the goal was to head for the citadel, the main section of the fifth Area, and Einherjar moved, summoning weaponry and equipment. Within a moment, the armour covered their bodies, a mishmash of leather and steel, with Matt being the most heavily armoured and John having the least due to him being a healer and not a fighter. Arthur¡¯s own armour was steel only on his chest and gauntlets, every other portion was leather to provide ease of movement, and then covered by his cloak, which amazingly enough never stopped Arthur from moving freely. It never blocked his vision, he never tripped on it, the cloak flowed around him at his will, showing clearly that it was an Anima, and not some random cloak. ¡°Alright, look out okay, so far no groups of enemies were seen by Ichiro, but whatever enemies appear would need at least two of us to kill.¡± Left unsaid was that Arthur, with his stronger Skills and higher stats, could possibly kill such an enemy alone. The beach had only one exit, disregarding the possibility of climbing the nearby cliff sides, there was one entrance, and moving through there, they found themselves on a grassy path, two enemies appearing before them. The Ruined Kingdom¡¯s basic monsters were these, the Wraith Soldiers, semi-undead in that they looked rotting and were probably dead, however they moved as well as any living being, even better considering their flexibility and speed. They were also durable, though the two in front of them seemed to shy away from Arthur and his Dagger of Hunger. It was a common reaction that all undead beings had to the Dagger, for even if the living feared it, the undead feared the blade even more, especially considering Arthur figured out that the Dagger was literally eating souls. And an undead could, theoretically, be considered a soul remaining tethered to a body. Undead also gave more ¡®experience¡¯ compared to other monsters. The split attacking was simple, with Michael and John staying back, Alice and Matt moved towards one, Emilia and Arthur going for the other, already used to the fighting styles of the other. Matt and Alice worked best together, with Alice dealing huge damage with her variable weaponry, and Matt defending her during her attacks and recovery. Emilia and Arthur on the other hand were quick and hit and run fighters, by fighting together, they constantly cycle in attacks while dodging the attacks of the enemy, though Arthur did notably more damage than Emilia with his weaponry. Then with John and Michael, Michael was to send assistance via arrows to whichever group needed it, and keep enemies from approaching John who would need to heal others. Depending on the enemy the splits would be different, but these three basic groups worked out well in most situations. Arthur, activated his Lesser Spark Step ability, his signature Skill really, boosting his speed as he dashed forward, blocking Emilia from the sight of the bigger Wraith Soldier, seeing the enemy about to swing. Lashing out with his off-hand weapon, the Bone Blade, Arthur parried the strangely curved blade of the Wraith Soldier as Emilia ducked under Arthur¡¯s arm, slashing into the side of the Wraith Soldier, spilling golden blood as she moved to its back. The Wraith roared in pain, turning and slashing at Emilia who simply hopped back out of the way, leaving the monsters back open to Arthur. A mistake, as Arthur stabbed forward with his Dagger of Hunger, aiming for just next to its spine as his blade pierced straight through its chest, giving him a chance to activate the ability Void. Void allowed the Dagger of Hunger to act as if it were a weak black hole, and when stabbed into a creature, it crushed the creature, typically killing most creatures. The Wraith was not as weak as most creatures, a chunk of flesh vanishing into golden motes as it roared, trying to attack Emilia again, ignoring the pain in its back as Arthur stared with wide eyes. Right¡­ this enemy was a bit more extreme than what he was used to, as Arthur focused some of his mana to his Dagger, slashing through the neck of the Wraith, decapitating it, and ending the fight. Looking over to Matt and Alice, the two were finishing up with Alice cleaving off the head of their Wraith with the weapon dropped from Guldan, the Goblin War-blade. ¡°Any thoughts?¡± Arthur looked to his comrades as he thought about the fight. ¡°They hit surprisingly hard for ¡®normal¡¯ monsters, though they can¡¯t break through my defence.¡± Matt, the tank of the group, had the highest defence in the world bar none, his Endurance was his highest stat, even Demon Lords couldn¡¯t really get through his defence entirely. ¡°They also seem to ignore injuries, moving as if they didn¡¯t get hurt.¡± Michael noted, having fired an arrow or two into the crowd to contribute to the battle. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a common trait of undead, but unlike most undead these guys can actually be aggro-ed.¡± Arthur warned, and that was true, hurting an undead usually did nothing to them until they died, and they¡¯d go for the same enemy constantly. The only exception was Despair, the Demon Lord of the third Area which dropped Arthur¡¯s current sword. Arthur, as a dual wielder, used the Dagger of Hunger in his left hand, and a sword in his right, swapping as necessary while fighting¡­ he couldn¡¯t equip two swords though, because of said Dagger. Skipping that digression, Undead of typical intelligence were single minded in their attacks against one living organism at a time, whichever got their attention, but smarter ones could recognize which target was better, or what hurt them. ¡°So they have intelligence, understandable given their fighting styles.¡± Matt complained, as their enemy had more time to move compared to Arthurs, and the Wraith was actually capable of flips and according to Ichiro one even did a ¡®matrix dodge¡¯ as they fought. They could have the thought of dodging injuries, so they knew injuries were ¡®bad¡¯. Not a huge amount of intelligence, but they had some. ¡°According to Ichiro, the Wraith¡¯s are the only enemy for this floor, but at their highest they appear in a small group of four or five at max.¡± Arthur warned and the rest of Einherjar nodded. From their previous fights they now only really considered a group of six or more monsters to be a ¡®crowd¡¯. Monsters appeared in different amounts depending on their strength, with weaker monsters gathering in crowds and stronger monsters only working with smaller amounts. Wraith¡¯s counted as a ¡®stronger¡¯ monster. ¡°This place is kind of interesting though¡­¡± Arthur said, holding out his hand to help John up a ledge, with how the Ruined Kingdom was, it was like a platform game of some type, with them having to jump across gaps, climb, and at one point Arthur even did a wall run. It was much easier with his high stats than it would be without. Throughout this exploration was encounters with strange birds attacking them while travelling, and when there was enough space, the Wraiths would appear, guarding areas before they could pass. ¡°Yeah, mapping this place would be kind of pointless, huh?¡± Emilia asked, and as a cartographer for the group she really did have little to no job in this Area, it was a straight line (metaphorically) to the stairs. ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess this is a sort of prelude to different types of Areas?¡± Arthur said, and his words drew a sigh from the rest of Einherjar and a shake of the head from Emilia, already knowing what kind of thoughts were going through Arthur¡¯s head. Arthur was the main expert of the Dungeon, and while some would think that was a given with his title of ¡®strongest Adventurer¡¯ it wasn¡¯t that simple, the rest of Einherjar knew less about the Dungeon despite being in the same team as their leader. This was because Arthur liked questioning things about the Dungeon that others took for granted, or simply don¡¯t care about, such as the runes, how the Dungeon was actually connecting worlds, how levelling up worked, Arthur knew a bit about everything. The mind-set of ¡®why¡¯ is how Arthur got those bits of information, and it was only supplemented by the fact that he was good at theorizing plausible situations involving the Dungeon. The only problem with this was that Arthur rambled while theorizing, it was difficult to follow, even for Alice and Emilia who were up there in intelligence along with Arthur. Matt, Michael and John were by no stretch idiots, but they were average intellectually, rather leave that to those who were good at it. ¡°Okay, Arthur, this is one of your moments where what you are thinking is a bit too far, think a bit more, tell us the results, please don¡¯t tell us how you got to your conclusions?¡± Alice warned, getting a nod from Arthur. He wasn¡¯t oblivious to how he sounded when he started making his guesses. He was under the assumption that the Dungeon floors would remain a constant ¡®maze¡¯ with monsters roaming freely, and they would only be allowed in certain areas, with a safe zone occasionally, up until this Area, that was the case, but now that was different. This Area, at least so far, had only one path from the goal to the end, and included terrain traversal and enemies placed along the path, erasing the ¡®exploring¡¯ part of the Dungeon, and emphasizing the fighting while adding the trickiness of getting from one point to the next.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. For now, Arthur referred to such an Area, at least in his head, as a Platform Area, with the usual Dungeon type of exploring to be a Labyrinth Area. But if there were two, who was to say that there wouldn¡¯t be more types? Maybe there would be one where they were required to solve puzzles to continue, ones where the entire Area was open to explore with ways of differentiating floors? Again, all guesses, but who knew with Chronos and his Dungeon¡­ after all, before this, they were always ready to rush forward, looking through all the paths to create a map of the Dungeon. Now they simply had to move forward while killing things in their way. Much simpler, even if the enemies were stronger than usual. Coming across three Wraith Soldiers, Arthur paused in his thoughts to attack, handling one alone with Michael taking his place in a team with Emilia. The fight was over soon, and Arthur once more confirmed that Wraith Soldiers seemed to dislike going after him¡­ They¡¯d definitely hit back, but if they could attack the others instead, they¡¯d rather do that. It was probably some aspect of the Dagger of Hunger¡­ intriguing how certain Anima had more effects than what was known. ¡°¡­Arthur, I actually only noticed now, but are you constantly keeping Lesser Spark Step active?¡± John asked from his position at the back of their group while Arthur sparked slightly. ¡°Yeah, it gives much lower experience to the Skill Level than the basic variation, but with my current Mana regeneration I can keep it up indefinitely.¡± Arthur admitted with a smug smirk. He had invested into Wisdom, the stat that governed Mana Regeneration per minute, where most would go for a mix of Intelligence and Wisdom, or focus on the former. Arthur had done so under the knowledge that every ten points in Wisdom was one per cent of Mana regenerated every minute, and knowing that his magic was one of his strongest points¡­ Well, he wanted to make sure that he could constantly use magic without end¡­ he was getting there, with his current stats he could regenerate almost fourteen per cent of his mana per minute, while Lesser Spark Step consumed about six to eight per cent of his current Mana. The exact number was odd, so Arthur worked off feel. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit. And the basic version?¡± Michael was blunt as he complained about Arthur¡¯s magical strength, with Arthur briefly swapping to the average ¡®Spark Step¡¯. ¡°The basic version takes up a bit more Mana than I regenerate a minute¡­ I could probably use the basic one for about an hour or so?¡± that number brought glares from everyone, and Arthur revelled in their jealousy. In all honesty they were glad that Arthur¡¯s magic was so powerful, he was their leader and his strength was theirs, and vice versa. ¡°But the real question is the boost¡­ is it constant?¡± Emilia realized something and asked, and Arthur¡¯s awkward smile revealed the issue. ¡°Well¡­ as it is, I¡¯m not getting as much of a boost from the Lesser Spark Step as I used to, probably because my level and stats have increased so much that the Lesser Spark Step is essentially obsolete.¡± Arthur admitted, thinking about it. The Spark Step series of spells all provided a boost, that was certain, but as he grew stronger, the boost was felt a bit less. When he was level twenty, Lesser Spark Step felt like he doubled his speed, but now when he was almost level sixty it felt like it was maybe just an increase of about a fifth or sixth of his speed? And overloading the spell by forcing more Mana into it, a trick that a mage in Russia figured out, simply forced the Lesser Spark Step to jump to the basic Spark Step instead. ¡°Man¡­ so you need to keep upgrading your Wisdom and Intelligence to keep the same boost from your spells?¡± Matt asked as Arthur shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, the Lightning Elemental Skill is a bit vague, and it is a Rare Skill, so I doubt that it¡¯s going to remain a small boost¡­ but like you said, you need the strength to use the Skill.¡± Arthur shrugged, thinking to his Skills. Arthur possessed the most Skills in Einherjar, and not only that, his Skills were also the highest ranked overall, with two Unique Skills, one Rare Skill and three Common Skills¡­ Lightning Elemental was the Rare Skill, and his two Unique Skills included the ability to see Souls, and Sword Sage, which boosted all his bladed weaponry. Skills were ranked based on how long they took to level, with Unique taking the longest, but in exchange for taking so long, they¡¯d definitely provide large boosts, with Rare being in-between Unique and Common. Taking into account his multiple Animae, high stats, and powerful Skills, Arthur was pretty secure in his strength¡­ If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he knew there was someone stronger than him out there, someone who managed to fight Shaun to a standstill. And Shaun was roughly the same strength as Arthur, meaning that Arthur was worried for his chances against said person. Said person was a serial killer, known for now as the Adventurer Killer, and he was dangerous and clearly against the U.S, having threatened the President, the Guild, and Arthur as the Chosen. Even back when they first learnt of his strength he was five levels higher than Arthur, who knew if that gap closed or widened, but Arthur had to get stronger. Thinking of that, Arthur and Einherjar walked forward, accepting that Arthur¡¯s magic could now be continuously activated. Arthur also took the opportunity to use his main Unique Skill, Soul Sight, on the next batch of Wraiths, looking at their pale gold souls, screaming in pain¡­ Arthur hated looking at Souls, and yet he couldn¡¯t stop looking for advantages, looking for information¡­ he knew that one day he¡¯d probably learn something that would ruin everything, but until then, he¡¯d just move past his dislike for their souls¡­ It took an entire hour to move down the path, taking into account travel time and they soon found themselves in front of a huge stone door with green runes covering it. Opening the door, the stairs were there. ¡°Huh, this Ruined Kingdom place might be the fastest Dungeon Area yet¡­¡± John noted, for if the entire place was one straight shot to the Demon Lord, then they could theoretically just keep rushing to the Demon Lord, and given that they were stronger than they needed to be for this Area¡­ ¡°Well, that¡¯s if the passages don¡¯t get longer, and if the monsters don¡¯t get much worse.¡± Arthur warned, they couldn¡¯t get complacent, even if they were much stronger than the monsters in the Ruined Kingdom. Having walked down the stairs and onto the forty second floor, they found themselves coming out on the other side of the door with green runes, once more proving that space in the Dungeon was strange. It proved even stranger when they looked forward, finding a circular platform, almost like a fifteen metre wide arena, with a being floating atop it, blocking the path to stairs heading to the citadel that they could see since entering the Area. The being floated, covering in straps and cloth coverings which appeared Middle Eastern in appearance, face covered by wrappings leaving only glowing gold eyes visible. Getting ready to fight, thinking this was an enemy, the being instead looked to the Citadel, and then back to them. ¡°Travellers¡­ how long since we¡¯ve had guests¡­¡± Hearing the being speak was a surprise, and immediately put the group on guard, every being capable of speech in the Dungeon typically tried to kill them shortly afterwards, so they were right to fear. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you are quite late though¡­ this Kingdom is ruined, and worthless¡­ but if you are just passing through¡­ well, I wish you luck.¡± The being raised its hands in a shrugging motion. ¡°You will need the luck to survive the absurdities of this place¡­ I take my leave, knowing that we will likely meet again.¡± The being spun, bursting into black feathers, gone from the vision of Einherjar, leaving the team a bit wide eyed. ¡°¡­Do we continue?¡± Arthur asked, as Michael¡¯s face pulled into an awkward grimace. ¡°¡­Leaving after that kind of cut scene would be kind of¡­¡± Michael¡¯s admittance was agreed to by everyone else, it was like pausing a game just before the last boss and coming back later to finish it, or pausing a movie just before the last action scene. It left a strange dislike in their minds. ¡°Well, it is only ten¡­ we¡¯ve got time.¡± Arthur shrugged, agreeing that for once, they wouldn¡¯t turn around once entering a new floor, as strange as this place was. They¡¯d only stay until about three anyway, considering time needed to return. Not to mention that¡­ now that they thought about it, team Spicy Chicken (Ichiro¡¯s naming sense with atrocious) didn¡¯t mention encountering that being¡­ Possibly because Ichiro wouldn¡¯t want to say any ¡®spoilers¡¯ or because that being never appeared before them, who knew¡­ ¡°Still, that¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve encountered a being that spoke before the Demon Lord, it¡¯s interesting.¡± Arthur said, ripping the Bone Blade out of a Wraith¡¯s skull as it dissolved into golden motes of light, leaving behind a Soul Stone, the ¡®currency¡¯ Adventurers used. ¡°I won¡¯t deny that it is, but you are a bit biased when it comes to how interesting something is in the Dungeon.¡± Michael¡¯s smirk conveyed that he was joking, and Arthur got the message as they laughed about it. ¡°Maybe he was the boss, or he¡¯s a mini-boss?¡± Emilia offered, picking up Sidhe from the floor as she walked over to Arthur. Sidhe occasionally jumped out of Arthur¡¯s hood to run around doing her own thing. At first the group worried for the cat, but she seemed to rarely be noticed by the enemy even then. Only John disliked the cat, but that was because the cat seemed to growl at him every once in a while, occasionally even sending weak attacks at him. They never really hurt, but still, John was weary¡­ And they also said it was because John was worried that Sidhe was going to take over his position of token black teammate. The racist comments were accepted given that John was usually the one who instigated them. ¡°Who knows, maybe not all beings in the Dungeon are violent? It¡¯s a stretch, but hey, it might happen eventually.¡± Alice offered, and the group as a whole shrugged while moving on. While Einherjar was in the Dungeon thinking about its oddities, Shaun Fife, the Head Guild Master, was talking to Clayton Andrews, the current president of the United States of America. ¡°Shaun, I¡¯m telling you, going naked is the only way to have enough speed to kill the Elder Dragon.¡± It wasn¡¯t a very important conversation given that the topic was a certain game where dying was normal, but Clayton sure was enthusiastic. ¡°I¡¯m not denying that, but wouldn¡¯t swapping to light armour do the same thing, I mean, the difference between almost no weight and some weight is next to nothing in that game.¡± Shaun was arguing back that simply wearing light armour was a solution. ¡°Maybe so, but carrying three plus ten Greatswords would already take up a lot of weight.¡± It was an argument that was going on for a while, and at some point the other people in the room began to ignore them in favour of talking about more serious matters. ¡°Are you certain about this?¡± Dante, Shaun¡¯s second-in-command, asked as he looked to the notes handed to him. ¡°Positive, the Dungeon has some sort of mental effect on those who enter.¡± The other person was Grey Vincent, Shaun¡¯s prot¨¦g¨¦ in terms of being a government agent (of some kind) and the person Shaun typically sent on surveying missions. ¡°From the list¡­ lowered aversion to murder, some exhibited signs of addiction to the feeling of levelling up, and not only that, for some reason the Dungeon acts as a universal translator, allowing everyone to be understood within?¡± Dante asked, and Grey nodded. ¡°Yes, we tested it, even deaf people could hear once within, and the blind could see.¡± That drew wide eyes from Dante, and managed to pause Shaun and Clayton¡¯s talk to look over to the younger Agent. ¡°I¡¯m not sure on why the translating feature is there, but I believe that I can explain those phenomena.¡± Shaun said, thinking back to Arthur. The leader of Einherjar was the lead researcher on the Soul, for it was now a quantifiable thing, especially to his unique eyes, and thus many a theory had been submitted by Arthur, none capable of being disproven, and each having small cases of proof in the favour of said theories. ¡°According to one of Arthur¡¯s Soul Theories, the reason we get stronger by levelling up is because our Soul is increasing in size, and somehow this has an effect of our Soul ¡®bleeding over¡¯ into the material world, resulting in increased strength and speed.¡± Shaun reminded, the other three members of the conversation nodding, having read those theories themselves. ¡°What wasn¡¯t mentioned, only implied, was that the Dungeon increases this effect by a certain magnitude, which is why inside the Dungeon we are stronger than we are outside.¡± It was something more negligible the stronger you got, and at level fifty six, Shaun found himself as strong as a level forty Adventurer when outside the Dungeon. ¡°Okay, so the Dungeon increases the effect of the Soul on reality, at least when inside it. You think that this boosted effect allows people to see and hear inside it?¡± Clayton asked curiously, thinking about it himself. ¡°Possible, if we consider the Soul as a sort of supplementary thing to the physical body, could a person see or hear through their Soul? Could the Soul translate language automatically?¡± that latter part could even explain why people in the Dungeon heard others in their native languages. ¡°That is intriguing¡­ but this also raises questions on why people think murder is acceptable after Dungeon diving¡­¡± Dante warned, and Grey shook his head in response to the statement. ¡°No it doesn¡¯t, within the Dungeon killing a monster is something natural, but outside people still show aversion to murdering a living creature such as a dog or cat.¡± Grey said, and Shaun frowned, raising a hand to cup his chin. ¡°Like the whole seeing and hearing thing, it might be something unique to the Dungeon, and everyone always enjoys improving themselves so that explains why people get addicted to levelling up. As for the murdering thing, who knows why the Dungeon makes it easier.¡± Shaun shrugged at the last bit, leaving it for Arthur Clive to look for, Shaun wasn¡¯t a researcher for the Dungeon and Soul like that one. Even if Arthur wasn¡¯t an Adventurer, he still could have made a living by giving speeches on his discoveries¡­ better as an Adventurer though. ¡°Well, that bit of research is something to be thankful for¡­ that being said, Shaun?¡± Clayton gave his best friend a pointed look as Shaun sighed, knowing why. ¡°As you know Shaun, you don¡¯t really have much of a choice in the matter. We will handle logistics hear in America, but you are going out of country soon.¡± Clayton didn¡¯t dare send Shaun immediately, not when his child was about to be born, otherwise Clayton would be killed. By Sera, Shaun¡¯s wife, Shaun wouldn¡¯t even get a chance to move. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Grey asked, he and Dante were both out of the loop for this one given how they didn¡¯t quite understand what was going on. ¡°Oh, Shaun is going to, along with five other Guild Leaders, infiltrate Columbia in an attempt to figure out what is going on in the country.¡± Clayton warned, and the agents looked at Shaun who shrugged. ¡°Suicide mission essentially, infiltrating a closed off country with only five others. Love it.¡± His sarcasm was ignored. Shaun might be in trouble soon if he didn¡¯t figure things out. But that story was for another time.
Arthur Clive
Level: 58 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician III (113/150) - increases Wisdom by 20% (total 145%) Sword Sage II (132/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight II (267/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding III (141/150) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (15/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes II (47/100)- Increases Dexterity by 15%
Stats
Strength: 71 Dexterity: 91 (104)
Intelligence: 52 Wisdom: 95 (137)
Endurance: 52 Vitality: 71
B2 Chapter 3- Emotional and Physical ¡°Arthur, could you help your sister with her homework later tonight?¡± Arthur looked up from his computer to look at his mother, Julia Clive, who was standing at the entrance to his room. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be back around five as usual¡­ oh, and could you buy chicken strips for dinner?¡± Arthur asked as his mother nodded with a smile, walking away from his door as he turned back to the computer, seeing Sidhe sleeping on his desk. It was the ninth of May, six days since starting the fifth Area, the Ruined Kingdom, and Arthur was a bit more aware of that Area of the Dungeon now. The Ruined Kingdom was not a ¡®straight shot¡¯ to the next stairs unlike what they first assumed, but it clearly had much less paths compared to previous Areas, not only that, but all the monsters seemed stronger than they should be. The Ruined Kingdom really was interesting to look at in Arthur¡¯s opinion, it was dreary, but it also contained hints of what a beautiful place it might have been, lost to the ravages of time and decay. The enemies they encountered were also varied, at one point they encountered these shadows that seemed to grow out of the ground, throwing knives and appearing at close range to stab out at team Einherjar, they were weak defensively though. Then there were these assassins who were next to impossible to hit, it took Arthur grabbing one out of irritation and throwing it before they realized that grabs could work on the assassins. In order, they were Wraith Peons and Wraith Assassins, and they were only on floor forty three after six days¡­ it took time to move through the Ruined Kingdom after all. As he sat at his computer though, Arthur was reading multiple forums about the Dungeon, and another internet tab was dedicated to the Adventurer Killer as a topic. Arthur was still weary of the stronger Killer, knowing from reports from Shaun that the Killer was going to be aiming for Arthur at some point¡­ But Arthur also couldn¡¯t find it in himself to care for too long. It was always in the back of his head, he even placed little reminders for himself such as the aforementioned internet tab to remember that someone was after his life¡­ But that was something Arthur always had trouble doing, maintaining an emotional state for a period of time longer than a few hours was nigh impossible to him, he¡¯d always revert to his standard boredom or curiosity after a while. There were also the cases where he started feeling a bit¡­ violent, for lack of a better way to explain it. Arthur was quite good at ignoring those urges by now though, everyone got angry once in a while over little things, Michael even suggested that he might be stressed out and need a break now and then. Arthur used said breaks to play extremely violent video games and relax¡­ better than the alternative of attacking other people. Granted, being an Adventurer and going into the Dungeon to fight monsters and level up was much more interesting than fighting imaginary monsters for imaginary levels, but Arthur wasn¡¯t going to be going into the Dungeon alone for any extended period of time. In all truth, he felt that he would actually be able to survive in the third Area alone, but facing Despair alone was another story¡­ he didn¡¯t feel up to task for facing even Willow alone. ¡°Time to go¡­¡± Arthur mumbled to himself as he checked the time, pausing for just a moment to check out his emails, seeing a few new ones¡­ He didn¡¯t really go on social media, though he did have an Instagram account and Facebook account, he didn¡¯t like going online and having hundreds of people he didn¡¯t know messaging him. Even with that in consideration, he had over fifteen million followers on Instagram, and the only things he really posted on there were anecdotes on the Dungeon and answering questions about skills and stats. Arthur felt he was essentially at a point in-between celebrity and athlete with how people gave him attention¡­ he was more like some obscure athlete that only a few people knew. Made little sense to him as he was never the most confident in his looks¡­ he had never considered himself ugly, but Arthur always placed himself firmly in the ¡®average¡¯ category. He just wasn¡¯t one of those people you¡¯d recognize walking down the street unless you looked twice or thrice. ¡°Send, send, send, deny, okay.¡± Arthur was quite the fast typist on a keyboard, and after responding to some technical questions, Arthur was off on his motorbike, but not before tossing his younger brother Dennis into the air and greeting his father who was glued to the television waiting for news on soccer. Arriving at the Dungeon, as usual Arthur walked inside, greeting the doorman, Dante Vasquez, and waved at the man¡¯s sister who worked behind the counter of the Guild. Arthur would then take a seat at the new ¡®bar¡¯ while waiting for his team, or whoever got here first would keep their seats. When it was first made, there were people who tried to actually force Arthur or other members of Einherjar to leave for them to take a seat¡­ That stopped after a few people got warnings from the Guild, or beatings when the Guild decided to just let Einherjar take care of themselves. There was also a board on the other side of the Guild which had requests from the crafting guilds or other Adventurers for items which could be retrieved from the Dungeon. Team Einherjar hardly if ever completed any of those ¡®quests¡¯ due to being busy journeying far beyond where most of them were for, the deepest into the Dungeon quests required would be around the third Area at best. To put it into gaming lingo, Einherjar was working on the story-centric main mission and those quests were side missions. In addition, near said quest board was a wall for any ¡®achievements¡¯ of Adventurers who frequent this particular Guild building, it was constantly dominated by one piece of paper in the middle claiming the Guild as the one which Einherjar used. There were a few other ones, but the most common ¡®achievements¡¯ were for when an Adventurer team slays a particular Demon Lord for the first time. And finally there was the Guild Ranking, which was accessed using the Adventurer Card issued to each Adventurer as their identification, it also kept track of furthest floor, level, team, and they were working on adding a ¡®monsters killed¡¯ tally, but it was apparently unfeasible at current without a complete bestiary. For the record, Einherjar dominated those rankings as well, with Arthur¡¯s name right at top of the lists for ¡®highest levelled¡¯ ¡®furthest ventured¡¯. Those two weren¡¯t always the same, as some ¡®grinded¡¯ on one Area for a while, being higher levelled than they should be for their floor, Einherjar did that to a certain extent by accident due to needing to figure out what was the correct path to the stairs. ¡°Hey Arthur.¡± Arthur looked up and smiled as he watched Emilia walk over to the table, setting down an apple juice for him while she had her own orange. He hated orange juice, mostly because of the pulp¡­ and even when it was removed, he was sceptical. ¡°Hey Emilia, you¡¯re here a bit early.¡± Arthur observed, as he had arrived at the Guild much earlier than the actual meeting time. He just used the extra time to laze around while reading things on his phone, so he was usually the first person to the Guild for team Einherjar for this reason. ¡°Yeah, I got dressed a bit earlier than expected so I figured I might as well come here¡­ though I didn¡¯t know you sit here for this long.¡± Emilia said while checking the time as she glanced back to Arthur who shrugged. ¡°I like having time to think¡­ about what, I never know until I start.¡± Indeed, for this day it seemed Arthur was getting lost in thoughts about the Guild in general, and his thoughts would just jump from one topic of the Guild to the next. ¡°I can understand that¡­ though you¡¯re zoning out again.¡± Emilia added as Arthur chuckled, acknowledging the statement as she apparently walked past to get to the bar to get those drinks. No actual alcoholic drinks were sold unless a person was not going into the Dungeon for a while by the way. ¡°Sorry. You know I don¡¯t mean anything by it¡­¡± Arthur felt bad about it, his habit of ignoring the world around him when he dropped into thought¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he did this even in the presence of others, even around his friends¡­ and Emilia. Emilia was¡­ something more, to Arthur. Saying she was a friend wasn¡¯t saying enough, but¡­ Arthur really wasn¡¯t certain about relationships, having never dated a girl and never truly liking someone enough to pursue a relationship. There was a case of a girl that confessed to him, but he had felt that dating at the time wasn¡¯t something he was ready to do¡­ He was of the opinion that dating casually to test the waters wasn¡¯t something he could do. There was a term online, Demi-romantic described Arthur, he wouldn¡¯t enter a relationship unless it was with a girl he was already friends with¡­ Case in point, the only women he ever felt any sort of ¡®maybe we can date¡¯ feeling was with Emilia, another friend from high school and to an extent, Alice. Alice was a friend, Arthur wasn¡¯t going to be doing anything there, his friend from high school didn¡¯t really keep in contact, even now with his new fame, and well¡­ That wasn¡¯t to say that Emilia was his ¡®last choice¡¯. She was brilliant. She made him laugh, they could be with each other for hours without tiring of each other, they liked similar things in books and movies, and they truly cared for each other. Her being beautiful was a non-factor to Arthur, who cared more for how nice a person was when compared to their looks. You could be the most beautiful/handsome person on the planet, if you had a horrible personality, Arthur wouldn¡¯t want anything to do with them, that¡¯s just how it was. ¡°I know you don¡¯t mean anything by it, and besides, it gives me an excuse to get lost in my own thoughts too.¡± Emilia giggled as she took a sip of her juice. ¡°¡­Emilia, go out with me.¡± It sounded like a statement, but it had Emilia actually choke on the orange juice for a moment as Arthur looked to her, and she in turn stared at him with wide eyes and a new blush. ¡°Uh, um¡­ excuse me?¡± Emilia asked, just to clarify what she had heard at that moment. ¡°I basically asked you to go out with me. As a girlfriend.¡± Arthur didn¡¯t quite understand where this sudden calm came from, but he was quite appreciative of it. Some say emotions are like a circle. You go so far into the emotion that you end up right back at apathy, and that was the case now, Arthur¡¯s mind finally saying ¡®fuck it¡¯ and blurting out the first words that came to mind. ¡°¡­That was awfully direct and not expected from you¡­ don¡¯t you usually edge around situations which could mess with a status quo?¡± Emilia asked with a raised eyebrow, leaning forward as Arthur leaned in just as much. ¡°I gave up. I stopped thinking of excuses to not ask and just decided to ask. If you say no, I¡¯d understand, we could still be friends hopefully¡­ if you said yes though, I¡¯d be very happy.¡± Arthur¡¯s statement was punctuated with a small smile, leaving Emilia with a smile of her own. ¡°¡­I¡¯d like to go out with you, though you¡¯re picking time and place.¡± Emilia leaned back, exchange over as simply as that, leaving Arthur blinking as he slumped in his chair. ¡°¡­I made it such a big thing¡­¡± Arthur mumbled to himself as he considered the oddity of the situation. It was a few minutes later that the other members of Einherjar walked in to see an amused Emilia and a despondent Arthur. ¡°So¡­ what happened to him?¡± Michael asked as he thumbed towards Arthur, leaving Emilia to smile at Arthur attempting to meld with the table. ¡°He cracked.¡± Emilia said, and that left the entire group looking at Arthur, and only one seemed to immediately jump to the correct conclusion. ¡°He finally asked you out?¡± Alice asked Emilia, getting wide eyes from the rest of the group. ¡°Yeah¡­ it was weird and just a quick ¡®yes or no¡¯ question, but he did. He¡¯s like this because of how easily I agreed and moved past the topic.¡± Emilia¡¯s smile, unseen by Arthur due to him blinding himself with the table top, hinted that she had purposefully withdrawn so neutrally. ¡°Women are scary.¡± John said, looking at the mighty ¡®strongest Adventurer¡¯ lain low by a woman who was better at the ¡®it¡¯s only weird if you make it weird¡¯ tactic. In a social situation, it was rare to find a man that won using that tactic against a woman¡­ New thing to celebrate aside, the group entered the fifth Area of the Dungeon once more, rushing through the forty first floor to the forty second floor in record time. The forty second floor had its first half similar to the previous floor, a straight line, starting with a huge staircase into the citadel entrance. The entrance then split into three paths, two of which led to dead ends, and a third which led into the forty third floor. All three paths were long enough to waste almost a day searching completely and thus Einherjar had their time wasted going down said paths. Emilia was also inwardly complaining that the money made off her maps was going to be pointless in this Area as no map was needed beyond ¡®pick this path¡¯. If there were paths with many branches like previous Areas maybe the map would be needed, but in this case it wasn¡¯t. The attacks, while dangerous, were monotonous due to how long a period there was before battles, back in the second Area there would be a fight every two to ten minutes, whereas now there was only a fight every fifteen to twenty. It was frustrating and confusing to think that where once any one of them (bar Matt) would shy away from conflict, now they were getting annoyed at not having enough. When they entered the forty third floor, the layout was back to a normal Dungeon, though unlike those there were identifying factors to know where they were to an extent. Coming through the doors to enter the forty third floor, Einherjar moved forward for a while, going only where they hadn¡¯t before to complete Emilia¡¯s map, minimal though it was due to the small amount of paths. They soon turned a corner and found themselves facing a group of all Wraith creatures, three Wraith Soldiers, two Wraith Assassins and a single Wraith Peon. Peons, weak as they were, still caused problems in the middle of a fight by distracting them, or at least attempting to. That didn¡¯t last long with Michael being a better long range fighter than all the Peons. ¡°Six-six, Michael on Peon, Matt, you can survive the longest against two Soldiers, deal with them until we support.¡± Arthur ordered as he rushed an Assassin, Emilia rushing on of her own while Alice dealt with the final Wraith Soldier. One might wonder, Arthur was capable of fighting a Wraith Soldier without even getting hit, though he still got injured from time to time, wouldn¡¯t he be able to handle two of them? Maybe he could, but Wraiths, at least the ones of the fifth Area, could all think logically, if they weren¡¯t hitting their opponent, they¡¯d simply go for another, easier target. John paid for this when a Soldier moved away from Emilia and rushed the Healer, causing the Healer to dive out of the way lest he find a sword in his gut. Matt, being a more stationary combatant, could stand strong against their attacks and keep their attention for much longer with his insanely high Endurance stat. Arthur guessed that at level fifty seven, which everyone in Einherjar was, Matt had an Endurance stat of about one hundred and forty when counting his Endurance stat boosting skill, Stand Strong, which was the same level as Arthur¡¯s own Tactician Skill. There were six Stat Boosting Skills when one considered each stat, and the two rarest ones were Tactician and Regenerator, which worked for Wisdom and Vitality respectively. The next rare grouping was Stand Strong and Computation, which was Endurance and Intelligence, and the two Skills for Strength and Dexterity were the most common, Hero¡¯s Strength and Quick Reflexes. Arthur was pretty sure that there was something more there, but he wasn¡¯t in a position to know said things. Michael, having heard Arthur¡¯s order, immediately notched an arrow, activating one of his personal skills, Hawk Eye, which enhanced his vision in exchange for making him tired, and Focus, an Anima Skill which slowed down his perception of the world while aiming.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Seeing the Peon as it twirled its knives ¡®slowly¡¯ Michael waited for barely a moment, wincing internally at the pain he felt stabbing through his eyes and skull. Using Focus was one thing, but combining Skills in an overlapping fashion placed stress on Michael¡¯s body, though he was getting better with it, capable of lasting longer in this state, he was far from being able to keep it up for an entire fight. Instead, he just used either many average, non-Skill assisted shots, or a single powerful one. Peons had a low enough defence that he could afford a single powerful one¡­ Furthering his mental focus, Michael activated the basic skill of his Anima, Longbow of Skill, which allowed him to make an arrow purely out of an element. Other archery Animae usually allowed for unlimited ammo, but it typically was purely physical until imbuing the arrow with mana was used, for Michael it actually cost no mana and happened naturally. Also, as Arthur had learned, when the combined base stat total of Intelligence plus Wisdom increased above one hundred, one would gain another element to use. Arthur wasn¡¯t sure on how the next Element was chosen, though he estimated that it might be going in a descending order of what personality traits a person possessed. For Arthur, that was Lightning, for Self-loathing, and then Darkness for Suspicion. For Michael it was Fire for passion, a drive to act¡­ and his second element was Light. For his ability to trust without question in those he believed in. Was it any wonder that whenever a ¡®man of the cloth¡¯ became an Adventurer their element was typically Light? Michael quite enjoyed Sunday school in his youth. Focusing the arrow to be Light, as it was elementally strong against the Wraiths, Michael aimed, activating another Anima Skill of his called ¡®Nimble Fingers¡¯ which doubled Dexterity for one shot, it had a seven minute cool-down. Then he activated one more Skill, Power Shot which increased the penetrative force of his attack, it was associated with his Archery Skill. Then, angling the arrow just slightly above the centre of the Peon¡¯s head, Michael let loose. Even with a wounded expression, Michael felt a smirk coming on, thinking to (what he believed to be) the motto of snipers. One shot, one kill. For Emilia, her Bloodletting Daggers were unfortunately not living up to their name, being blocked time after time by the Wraith Assassin she faced, they were annoying¡­ They were also ridiculously easy to face, it was just tedious. They fought, learning the patterns of Einherjar fighters, and then when Einherjar fighters stepped out of that pattern they floundered. A rare case of a Dungeon monster fighting like an Adventurer, only some Hobgoblins in the fourth Area acted like that. This was a problem though, as Einherjar members were most certainly not mindless automatons, they could recognize when their tactics weren¡¯t working and adapt¡­ and that would suddenly surprise these Assassins and leave them open to being violently killed. They were also pretty weak physically, even John could shove one away and he was the weakest in the group physically. He and Arthur were still working on that project to give him some feasible firepower, but it was coming along slowly¡­ John needed more Wisdom (the stat) to make it work. Anyway, Emilia waited for the Assassin to go for the kill, and that¡¯s when she moved, dismissing her Bloodletting Daggers to the surprise of the Assassin. Emilia stretched out, grabbing the Assassin¡¯s wrist and twisting, tripping the Assassin as she did this, this caused the Assassin to practically flip and fall to the floor while Emilia summoned her Daggers once more, stabbing through the Assassin¡¯s skull. That was another down. Alice, facing against a Wraith Soldier, found her case a bit more difficult than Emilia¡¯s given that the Soldiers hit much harder than the Assassins, and they dealt with surprise better, and were more durable¡­ Really, they felt more like the late Area enemies such as the Forest Bears Einherjar faced in Area two. But Alice felt she could handle it, with a bit of planning. Alice¡¯s Anima was a Skill, which allowed her to use any weapon as if she had a rank three Skill in its use. Unfortunately compared to other Anima, hers gave less benefits, such as Arthur¡¯s, his gave four or five Skills each, and she still had only two. She had two powerful and useful ones, but still. Alice was using an axe and shield, having requested an axe with a hammer point on the other side to have both ¡®slashing¡¯ and ¡®striking¡¯ damage options in one weapon. It also had a pointy end for ¡®pierce¡¯¡­ she liked a diverse damage option, and the only way her current weapon would be more diverse was if it could change lengths for the handle. Alice was hoping that would be an option at a later stage for Blacksmiths to use. Anyway, Alice was the ¡®weapon expert¡¯ for team Einherjar by default, though she could not defeat Arthur in swordsmanship she could compete with spears, axes and hammers, even her fists counted as a weapon to her Skill, and Alice used these facts to her advantage as she faced the Wraith Soldier. The Wraith Soldier was quite dangerous to anyone facing them for the first time, they hit surprisingly hard for something so thin, and they had the sense of mind to block attacks coming at them and chase after easier targets, add onto that their deceptive speed and they were powerful. To Alice, they were just a chore, as she blocked the slashes of the Wraith Soldier, turning her shield to deflect most blows, dropping to a knee when a heavier blow came to better resist being thrown back, and waiting for her chance to hit back. Finally there was an opening and Alice could flex her strength, realigning her grip on her axe, she swung while spinning away from a blow, aiming for the arm of the Wraith Soldier. The Soldier dodged some of the hit, keeping its arm in place, but it was clearly damaged and screamed at Alice in anger¡­ Alice ignored it, used to the sound by now, and then the Soldier swapped sword hands, attempting to attack Alice, but it was clearly much worse with its off hand, and Alice capitalized on it. Moving forward with her shield, she managed to catch the Soldier¡¯s bicep with the top of her shield, keeping it from completing its swing, and then she used her shield as a blunt force, smacking the monster in the chest with the shield, making enough space for Alice to attack, bisecting the monster from head to toe with her axe. Alice had a good idea of how a shield was to be used thanks to Matt after all. Speaking of Matt, he was facing to Wraith Soldiers at the same time, something even Arthur couldn¡¯t really do. Matt was the only one in their team with the Endurance and a strong enough shield to block such attacks, as Wraith monsters actually got stronger together. It seemed that every Wraith monster, or at least the Ruined Kingdom Wraith monsters, could apply teamwork to their actions and get better in a team. Hence why, despite being able to kill Wraith Soldiers without getting hit, Arthur could not deal with two at a time¡­ Matt could on virtue of him never getting hurt. He got hit, for certain, but he felt no pain when he placed his Shield of Immunity between himself and his opponents. Even better, his Shield had a nice amount of spikes covering the front, they looked like decorations, but they were most certainly not. Others viewed a shield as something to hide behind and Matt would agree¡­ but a shield could also be an arrowhead, used to pierce forward, and that¡¯s exactly what Matt usually used it for. A shield charge done with a shield with spikes on it was horrifying for those hit. Matt was amazing to see in action, the two Soldiers taking turns slashing at him, never hitting each other and always attacking with such a tempo that trying to get a hit in would require a resolve akin to ¡®eye for an eye¡¯ as it would only be a sacrificial blow. Matt was the kind of person who was extremely spiteful when slighted, and he was patient as the enemy railed on him, waiting as he learnt the tempo of the blows, an important skill for any combatant was recognizing how your enemy attacked, and it was especially important for shield users. Matt focused and moved, stepped forward, surprising the two Soldiers as he shoved his shield forward at one of the Wraith Soldiers, showing his back to the other. Obviously an enemy showing its back was a vulnerability, so the Soldier attacked, stabbing forward with its scimitar, only to be met with a metallic ringing noise as it bounced back from the recoil. Matt¡¯s element was Metal, and he was a defensive fighter, so long as he didn¡¯t run into an enemy with a Lightning element like Arthur, he¡¯d be nigh invincible if he used it to coat his skin as he did now, completely ignoring the attack by the other Soldier. He couldn¡¯t move as quickly like that though, so he only activated at the moment of contact, despite not even looking at the Soldier. He could do this because of his Rare Skill, Spatial Recognition, which allowed him to track things within a certain area of him, Matt once explained this to be like ¡®looking down at a battle field while being in it¡¯. It was disorienting and actually hurt Matt mentally to use it for too long, but like his ¡®metal skin¡¯ trick, he could use it for a moment with almost no drawbacks. Matt didn¡¯t even look back as a sparking Arthur practically flew into the Soldier behind him, taking advantage of the moment it was parried by Matt¡¯s metallic skin to land a decisive blow. Matt, knowing that his back was covered, attacked the Soldier in front of him by slamming his shield into its torso, the blades on said shield hooking into its flesh when he twisted his grip on the shield. With the Wraith Soldier screaming on his shield, Matt stepped forward, tripping the Soldier as he and the Soldier fell, with Matt landing atop the Soldier, said monster dropping its blade from the pain as Matt raised his weapon, a large hammer, and then he smashed its skull in. ¡°Well¡­ that encounter is over¡­ everyone pick up the drops?¡± Arthur asked as he looked at Matt, ignoring the fading Wraith Soldier behind him. Picking up the Soul Stone, the only consistent drop item, Matt handed it over to Arthur who kept all of those items to himself. John would later help Arthur with the splitting of the money, both checking over the work of the other, and that was how Einherjar earned most of their money¡­ It was also how Einherjar was only comprised of people inching onto the ¡®millionaire¡¯ title. Adventurers, especially Chosen, earned a huge amount of money; it was a cushy job if you survived. Their team kept progressing through the Ruined Kingdom, killing more Wraiths before coming across a slightly larger room, and floating within was the being they encountered the first time they entered the Ruined Kingdom. ¡°Ah, travellers, we meet once more¡­ you travel further into the depths of this place, this Ruined Kingdom¡­¡± The being of shadows covered in black bandages was still eerie¡­ Though inwardly every member of Einherjar could admit it looked awesome. ¡°Of course we do¡­ we wish to slay Chronos.¡± Arthur responded, getting into his ¡®leader of men¡¯ persona, as the rest of Einherjar called it. This persona was used when dealing with people who didn¡¯t know him in a personal stance, he typically spoke like this to other Adventurer teams or Demon Lords when the group encountered the latter. ¡­In private Emilia once admitted to Alice that Arthur was quite likeable when he got like that. ¡°Chronos¡­ oh Chronos¡­ The Ruler of Hell¡­ he had slain the ruler of this place¡­ oh where have you gone?¡± the spectre seemed to no longer look at Einherjar as it held its head in its hands before bursting into black feathers like before. ¡°Where have you gone, oh Ruined King?¡± Arthur and his group looked at the remnants of the being and looked to each other. ¡°¡­I vote we call it the Crow Spectre.¡± Arthur said, and thus an argument onto the name of the being started as Arthur and his friends turned around, noting that the door to the next floor was just a bit in front of their current positions. Meanwhile, on the surface¡­ ¡°Boss¡­ are you sure?¡± Mourn looked over to Eddie with a raised brow, indicating how confused he was at Eddie¡¯s questioning. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ so far, we¡¯ve only been doing crime that wasn¡¯t really seen, drug dealing, weapon smuggling, so on and so forth, but this will get us on the map.¡± Eddie simply stated facts, facts that Mourn could agree with, and Mourn looked to the ceiling. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah it will. But Eddie, I¡¯m only a crime lord now. My end goal is much more important¡­ recognition is important.¡± Mourn said leaning back in his swivel chair with a smirk, looking over the six masked people, all standing next to a bullet proof van, each holding guns and possessing glowing left wrists. ¡°If I am to challenge the world, if I am to challenge the centre of the modern world¡­ I need to be more than just ¡®some criminal¡¯.¡± Mourn snapped his fingers and his men rushed into the van, pulling away to go rob a bank. ¡°If I am to challenge the world, I must be feared.¡±
Arthur Clive
Level: 60 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 20% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 3.5% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 6 Wisdom per use a day. Dagger- Feed- Absorb a magic attack from an enemy to be used against them, limited to Elements you possess. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 4% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 30% (total 150%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 7% of enemies drop two times the loot. Cloak- Blink- teleport up to five metres away from your current position, costs 9 Wisdom per use a day.
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician III (135/150) - increases Wisdom by 20% (total 150%) Sword Sage II (138/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight II (272/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (3/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (19/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (4/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 75 Dexterity: 92 (110)
Intelligence: 52 Wisdom: 100 (150)
Endurance: 52 Vitality: 75
Michael Grave
Level: 58 (C-Rank)
Class: Bowman Surveyor- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Grants Archery Skill and Hawk Eye Skill
Anima
Longbow of Skill
Anima Skills
Elemental Shift- Grant your arrows magic damage based on element Focus- perception of time slows down with bow string drawn back. Nimble Fingers- Double Dexterity for one shot, seven minute cool down Skill Down- enemies hit with your arrows lose 5 Dexterity for a minute; stacks for a max of five stacks, stacks renew duration.
Primary Element: Fire Other Element(s): Light
Personal Skills
Hawk Eye IV (35/200) ¨C Enhanced vision, drains stamina Archery III (142/150) ¨C increases accuracy with ranged weapons Hero¡¯s Strength III (87/150) ¨C Increases Strength by 20% Quick Reflexes III (37/150) ¨C Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 100 (120) Dexterity: 100 (120)
Intelligence: 60 Wisdom: 50
Endurance: 59 Vitality: 58
Notes: Michael possesses no Rare or Unique Skills, hence why his Skills are actually higher levelled on average compared to Arthur.
Emilia Vasilievna
Level: 58 (C-Rank)
Class: Hunter Thief- Grants one stat point to Dexterity and Intelligence per level Gives Tracking Skill and Dagger Arts Skill
Anima
Bloodletting Daggers
Anima Skills
Shred- increases damage dealt to animal-type enemies, occasionally causes Bleeding Armour Piercing- chance to bypass armour, weakens blows to flesh after bypassing armour though Bloody Mary- life steal effect granted against living creatures, at 7% of damage dealt converted to health. Cutback- as long as one Dagger is held, you can throw the other and summon it to your free hand, range is limited to 10 metres.
Primary Element: Water Other Element(s): Mind
Personal Skills
Quick Reflexes IV (3/200)- increases Dexterity by 25% Dagger Arts IV (12/200)- Increases Dagger-type weapon damage Tracking III (31/150)- Allows tracking of wounded enemies, can be used to map areas, but is not designed to do so. Martial Arts III (141/150)- increases damage dealt without a weapon. Regenerator II (83/100)- increases Vitality by 15% Aquatic Defence- Grants Water based defensive spells
Stats
Strength: 84 Dexterity: 84 (105)
Intelligence: 80 Wisdom: 60
Endurance: 60 Vitality: 60 (69)
Notes: Emilia has more pre-Dungeon experience with knives, tracking, martial arts and even a necessity for quick reflexes. Why she needed to know those things, is a plot point.
John Collins
Level: 58 (C-Rank)
Class: Shade Healer- Grants one stat point to Wisdom and Intelligence per level Gives Sneak Skill and Light Scripture Skill
Anima
Enhancing Arts
Anima Skills
Hard Hitting- lets someone deal five times damage on their next attack Tempo Accel- Increases movement and attack speed by 25%. Protected- Increases physical defence by 20% Grounded- Reduces knockback effect of enemy attacks by 5%
Primary Element: Mind Other Element(s): Metal, Water
Personal Skills
Sneak IV (54/200)- grants the ability to erase ones presence Light Scripture III (148/150)- Grants Healing Spells, lowers Mana cost Computation III (2/150) ¨C Increases Intelligence by 20% Staff Arts II (61/100)- increases spell effects by 20%
Stats
Strength: 65 Dexterity: 52
Intelligence: 112 (134) Wisdom: 96
Endurance: 52 Vitality: 52
Note: despite being an Intelligence/Wisdom focused combatant, John will never possess more Wisdom than Arthur due to how it is Arthur¡¯s focus stat.
Matt Jacobson
Level: 58 (C-Rank)
Class: Wall of Steel- Grants two stat points to Endurance per level Gives Spatial Recognition (Rare) Skill and Shield Arts Skill
Anima
Shield of Immunity
Anima Skills
Bulwark- ranged attacks against team are redirected towards the shield Spikes- Parrying a weapon might result in its destruction
Primary Element: Metal Other Element: Earth
Personal Skills
Stand Strong IV (3/200)- increases Endurance by 25% Shield Arts IV (7/200)- decreases Damage taken when blocking Spatial Recognition III (11/300) - Allows tracking of all things within a fifteen metre radius, causes headaches with long use Lightened Load III (103/150)- Weight of carried items lowered by 15% Quick Response II (2/200)- The more enemies you face, the better your reaction speed becomes.
Stats
Strength: 62 Dexterity: 62
Intelligence: 62 Wisdom: 62
Endurance: 119 (148) Vitality: 62
Note: Matt is an especially good tank, in fact, globally he is considered an equal to Sheikh in regards to suitability as a tank, but when it comes to pure defence, Matt is better, when needing to do other actions, Sheikh is better.
Alice Grave
Level: 58 (C-Rank)
Class: Martial Berserker- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Gives Pain is Gain Skill and Hero¡¯s Strength Skill
Anima (Skill)
The World is a Weapon- grants use of any weapon as if holding a rank III skill of that weapon type The World is a Shield- grants use of all defensive skills to the point of rank III World of Magic- Lessens mana cost of elemental manipulation by a small amount
Primary Element: Darkness Other Element: Wind
Personal Skills
Hero¡¯s Strength III (138/150)- increases Strength by 20% Pain is Gain III (17/150)- The more damaged, the more powerful the user becomes, causes intense anger Calm Mind II (152/200)- Keeps a person calm and collected Quick Reflexes III (91/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20% Dark Juggernaut II (24/200)- Grants Darkness based Supplementary Spells
Stats
Strength: 87 (33) Dexterity: 88 (31)
Intelligence: 65 Wisdom: 65
Endurance: 65 Vitality: 65
Note: Alice has a Skill based Anima, and it¡¯s a slow growing one, but she does have as many Skills as Arthur does, not counting Anima associated Skills. Arthur has ¡®three ranks¡¯ of stats, from Wisdom and Dexterity, then Strength and Vitality, and finally Intelligence and Endurance, but Alice has ¡®two ranks¡¯ in Strength and Dexterity, with everything else below that. B2 Chapter 4- Falling upwards ¡°The thing about humans is¡­ what?¡± Eddie blinked at the sudden departure of the subject his ¡®boss¡¯ was taking, having started off really serious but then¡­ ¡°I mean, there are a whole lot of ¡®facts¡¯ about humans but there are also contradictory statements that are also true at times? That¡¯s confusing, like there¡¯s one that says ¡®humans triumph over adversity¡¯ but there¡¯s also one that says ¡®humans, like animals, take the path of least resistance¡¯. I think the latter forgot to mention that humans are also the only animals that do that mentally and physically.¡± Eddie found Mourn to be a strange man, especially when he started talking so strangely¡­ Mourn, at least to the rest of his men, was an insane dictator incapable of thinking clearly, but Eddie was quite aware that Mourn was smarter than he appeared. It was just that¡­ sometimes Mourn got into talking about topics far beyond what Eddie felt was suitable for casual conversation. Then again, Eddie had never had a truly casual conversation with Mourn. ¡°Boss, what are we doing here?¡± Eddie asked, looking over the strange thing Mourn was building¡­ Mourn had a Metal Element with a secondary Fire Element, using both Mourn was actually creating rarer Metals and moulding them into things like bracelets, necklaces, even rings. ¡°Well I¡¯m trying to make jewellery to get some starter money for other projects. As for you, you¡¯re here to keep me company. Don¡¯t go doing anything dumb either.¡± Mourn warned. Eddie cautiously took his hand away from the bracelet he was eyeing a moment ago¡­ Eddie quite liked things which could be sold for a nice amount of money. He got in trouble quite often for stuff like that when it came to his old family¡­ ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the added Gold and such devalue it?¡± Eddie asked, looking at the jewellery from a safer distance while Mourn scoffed. Eddie was quite good at Economics and Mathematics actually. ¡°Outside of the Dungeon there isn¡¯t enough Mana to create piles of gold, and even then, creating anything other than iron, steel and metals of that level is difficult even for me. I can only make small amounts, what you see is the result of a few weeks of working on it.¡± Mourn said, gesturing to the small box of stuff. It would probably be worth quite a lot, but for the amount of time put into that work it seemed a bit disproportionate. ¡°And besides, a few hundred grams of Gold wouldn¡¯t saturate the market, it would require much more to do that¡­ I have no doubt that the costs of lots of stuff will fluctuate when Adventurers start messing with different market groups.¡± Mourn was also good at economics for someone who was only able to research such things for about four or five months. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right¡­ I¡¯m going to go out for a bit.¡± Eddie said, moving away from his forced boss. ¡°Get me something sour.¡± Mourn had an odd taste when it came to things he liked to eat, usually dealing with sour and spicy stuff. Eddie nodded as he left, knowing that if he didn¡¯t follow the orders of his Boss he¡¯d be hurt, usually involving a light application of torture techniques¡­ And yet, Eddie didn¡¯t leave Mourn. No one in the warehouse followed Eddie, instead nodding at him in ¡®respect¡¯ for his position of second-in-command, and Eddie was out of there. If he were to run away from Mourn at this moment, he¡¯d probably succeed. But he feared for his life, he didn¡¯t believe that he could stay running from Mourn in the case that Mourn decided to hunt him down. Fear did that to people, it kept them from making the most rational choices on the belief that those same choices would lead to their deaths. Eddie, whether he realized it or not, was so scared of the possible repercussions of betraying Mourn that he didn¡¯t even contemplate it anymore. No, there was only a small group of people that could possibly influence Eddie enough to get him to betray Mourn at current, and that would include his parents and his younger brother. His parents he would listen to out of respect and belief that they did in fact care for him enough to tell him the best choice¡­ And his brother? Well¡­ Eddie feared his brother a bit more than even Mourn. Mourn was psychotic in his actions but deep inside he might not actually be that bad, just putting on a fa?ade for the world around him. With Eddie¡¯s younger brother, he believed it to be the opposite¡­ putting on the appearance of a normal being when deep inside his brother was more of a monster than Mourn pretended to be. Between a sane man acting the monster, and the monster pretending to be sane, Eddie believed that the latter was obviously more terrifying. Eddie paused on the sidewalk in contemplation, some guys working near the warehouses walking past as he realized something¡­ It had been a long time since he thought about his brother¡­ Eddie continued walking, his pace now a bit more subdued as he remembered that terrifying being¡­ Eddie found his relationship with his brother to be an odd one. He hated his brother and his brother hated him, but both would prefer the other over a stranger. If Eddie saw someone he didn¡¯t know messing with his brother, he¡¯d get involved. If his brother saw something happening to Eddie, Eddie would get help. Both had their own reasons, but Eddie was under the belief that his brother kept him safe so that he alone could torment Eddie¡­ Eddie stopped people from messing with his brother out of a sense of responsibility. No one deserved to deal with that being¡­ Who knew if that was the correct way to view their relationship. Eddie walked into a nearby shop while still thinking about his younger brother. His younger brother was not normal by any stretch of the word¡­ sure, he looked relatively normal, but he didn¡¯t act at all normal even when he was a child. Eddie¡¯s brother would hurt people, and do it in such a manner that no one would be able to actually say it was him, frequently doing such things to Eddie. Except that with Eddie, he never went physical, only messing with Eddie with words and actions that would never result in his injury. Oh but that child would promise it¡­ promise that someday, he would hurt Eddie, in an extremely violent fashion. And he¡¯d promise these things all while doing something like killing a pigeon he caught. Eddie still, somehow, cared for that brother though. After buying a drink and a chocolate, Eddie walked away from the shop thinking about going for a walk. He had sour sweets in his other pocket. Walking, Eddie looked around, taking in the changes to Manhattan since Red Sky Day with some vague sense of interest. With his current lifestyle, what others did didn¡¯t matter so much anymore, but it was now interesting in the same way a foreign country having a protest was. People could be seen walking around in groups of six, showing off their wrists to each other, other places had someone demonstrating some ¡®superhuman¡¯ feat which was now possible with the powers granted by levelling up¡­ Of course, there were also conspiracy theorists who believed that every Adventurer was now damned and would be punished by God. Well, Hell existed clearly, so Eddie was sure that the Almighty existed as well¡­ but unfortunately, the majority of humans were immediate gains focused. If you were told you could either earn one hundred dollars right now, or one thousand dollars in ten days, many would find the one hundred dollars a bit more intriguing. The other group that preferred the one thousand had the leeway of time or already having enough money that they¡¯d be fine waiting. Being an Adventurer was a necessity to face Chronos and the Dungeon, otherwise humanity would be stuck dying slowly to the demons and monsters sent by said being. Either take Chronos¡¯ offer of power and have a fighting chance against his forces, or reject it and die. The naysayers were all on the ¡®reject it and die¡¯ side even if they didn¡¯t know about the latter part of that statement¡­ that or they ignored the other part of that statement. Looking, there were even Adventurer Celebrities now, including the elusive Chosen of America¡­ That person was interesting to Eddie for many, many reasons, one of the least of which was Mourn¡¯s interest in the powerful Adventurer. Otherwise there were also celebrities who became Adventurers, though that was a small group, one of which included a certain wrestler who kept talking about how people couldn¡¯t see him. There were also people who were trying to get cameras to work in the Dungeon so that people could actually start YouTube videos about the Dungeon, a sort of tutorial video thing. Cameras currently didn¡¯t work, no technology more advanced than a watch worked really, but people had hope. Eddie just couldn¡¯t understand what made Adventurers so interesting¡­ he was one, a powerful one technically, but he was forced into being one by Mourn, so¡­ yeah. Even something nice can be ruined when a person is forced into doing it. Sure, Eddie had power now, as a level sixty he was in the top echelon of Adventurers, but he still feared Mourn, who was above even that group¡­ Eddie¡¯s Anima, Silent Room, was a pretty boring ability, and many of the people who obeyed Mourn questioned its usefulness, though Eddie knew it was good. No sound could escape the area around him, or he could even prevent Spells from being cast as long as he knew who was casting and had an equal amount of mana. That last bit also meant that Eddie needed to have a large mana pool to even make that ability effective, which was counter-productive for an assassin type fighter like him. ¡°Hey sorry there, I think you dropped this?¡± Eddie was surprised anyone would talk to him, as he turned looking over at the person who spoke. Eddie was lucky he didn¡¯t have any food or drink in his mouth otherwise he might have spat it out. ¡°Uh, are you okay?¡± Eddie looked at the blonde woman with a bit of trepidation, knowing exactly who she was. ¡°Uh, yeah I¡¯m fine¡­ oh thanks, that would have been embarrassing.¡± Eddie said, noting that he had dropped a shopping list that was now in her hands. Really, the one time he forgets to put a shopping list in his inventory, it falls out of his pocket and is picked up by the thief of Einherjar, Emilia Vasilievna. Beyond that position, Eddie was also well aware of who she was related to¡­ even then, being in contact with the American Chosen, well, she was dangerous to be near. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ve made mistakes like that once or twice before myself.¡± She seemed a bit awkward about that, but she was surprisingly genuine¡­ Eddie wasn¡¯t quite sure how he expected this girl to act, but this was probably in the lower range of expected compared to the other options. Considering he was the second-in-command of Mourn, and she was a member of the strongest team in America¡­ well¡­ His boss wanted to kill her boss. He was the only one who knew that between the two of them though.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°I think it happens to everyone once in a while¡­ anyway, thanks again, hope you have a good day.¡± It sounded overly formal for Eddie, though Emilia seemed to not notice as she nodded, walking away. ¡°¡­Doesn¡¯t she have a car? Where is she walking?¡± Eddie wondered aloud after a moment, looking back to the woman with confusion¡­ Mourn would kill Eddie if he realized Eddie let a chance like this go to waste. On the other hand, Mourn would never need to know¡­ ¡°Nope, not dealing with that today.¡± Eddie said firmly, pushing his hands in his pockets and walking away, absolving himself of any involvement with that situation, pausing as he heard someone shouting from¡­ somewhere. Meanwhile, with Emilia, the reason she was walking instead of driving as she would normally do was because she had decided that today would be a nice day for a walk. Though she could do without whoever was randomly shouting. Yes, she was that happy after Arthur showed an interest in going out with her, finally. Really, she had felt she wasn¡¯t at all subtle with her intentions given her always being around him back when they were studying together, hanging out with him on their days off¡­ Heck, if Emilia could find an excuse to be with Arthur in just about any setting she would probably have taken it¡­ within reason of course. But as she got to know Arthur, she couldn¡¯t help but think that Arthur was surprisingly genuine¡­ it was hard to find someone like that these days. When Emilia first came to America aiming to study, and get away from her family in Russia, she was a bit lost. Her childhood was¡­ sheltered, to say the least, and as a result Emilia was lacking a bit in common sense, and what little she did have were from movies. So suffice to say she was poorly prepared for real life. Stepping into her University classes for the first time, well, it was very different from life up until that moment, different people had gone up to her asking about her name, phone number, and all sorts of stuff. Emilia had disliked those people immediately, likening them to the ¡®friends¡¯ her parents tried to get her to play with. Emilia eventually figured out that said friends were the children of her parents workers¡­ and that they were asked to be nice to Emilia and cater to her whims. Yeah¡­ Emilia came from wealth. So with your only friends being those forced into interacting with you, and realizing over time that people who cater to your every whim were usually after something, Emilia closed off from her family, and that led to her moving to America. And then, in her first class, as mentioned, she was crowded by people. Kneejerk reaction she had was that they were out to get something from her, be it money, an easy lay, or whatever else they could think of. Politely declining, Emilia decided to sit as far away from other groups as possible¡­ only to find someone already had that idea. Arthur Clive was the only person who hadn¡¯t really gotten up to introduce themselves, and made no effort to put himself out there like the other University students. Emilia felt it was a bit confusing, but nonetheless sat next to Arthur for an entire semester. There was no love at first sight at play here, Emilia could admit to herself as she walked past a few warehouses while on her reminiscent walk. Arthur was quiet, and wouldn¡¯t open up to anyone he didn¡¯t know by name, while Emilia was withdrawn due to expecting everyone to want something from her. So two quiet people sat next to each other for a few months, barely interacting beyond borrowing stationary from each other, slowly but surely talking more and more as classes went on. By then Emilia could have gone to hang out with any of the other cliques in University, but instead stayed near Arthur after he saw she was writing in Russian. It was a simple conversation where he asked if she knew Russian, she responded that she was a native Russian, and he admitted to wanting to learn the language at some point. That was pretty much all it took for the two of them to start talking. And Emilia quite enjoyed talking with Arthur every day since that first strange conversation. Arthur was just¡­ so confusing, but at the same time so genuine. He would shy away from making statements, like a true politician, but whenever he was certain of something he¡¯d stubbornly defend his opinion, usually with facts and statistics backing him up. And if she proved him wrong? Then he¡¯d just apologize for being in the wrong, acknowledging when he was wrong¡­ though sometimes he¡¯d just use the ¡®agree to disagree¡¯ card, that was rarely used. And, well¡­ Arthur turned out to be Emilia¡¯s first real friend, in her opinion at least. And slowly, but surely, it became something more. Even if she was asked, Emilia wouldn¡¯t be able to say exactly when she began to like Arthur as more than a friend, but at some point she could just look at him and think ¡®hey, I think this person could make me happy¡¯. Not all love stories were like in the movies or books, some were just simple from beginning to end. Well¡­ ignoring the other parts of their lives, Emilia was certain that her ¡®love story¡¯ would be pretty boring. Which was fine with her. After knowing Arthur for over a year, he had brought her along to meet his friends, Michael, John and Matt, with Alice at school at the time. And after meeting Michael and hearing of Michael¡¯s history with dating, Emilia was firmly of the opinion that ¡®boring is best¡¯ when it regarded dating. Seriously. Getting threatened by the girl¡¯s mother for sitting next to her, dating long distance, and a case or two of being cheated on¡­ Emilia was surprised that Michael was still holding out hope for there being a special someone out there for him. The only thing that Emilia was wondering about was getting her parents approval¡­ her mother was aware of her feelings for Arthur, mothers were amazing like that, but her father¡­ Her father had already offered to send a bomb to Arthur¡¯s house without even having met Arthur, just on principle of him being a friend of Emilia while also being a boy. If he was to find out Arthur was going out with Emilia? She¡¯d have to worry about getting her old training gear out from storage¡­ Perks of having ex-KGB bodyguards growing up, they tended to teach some awesome things, some things which weren¡¯t exactly legal unless you were a soldier fighting for your country. Though they hated being called ex-KGB¡­ she just remembered them as ¡®Boris¡¯ and ¡®Boris¡¯. It was a joke her father played so that she¡¯d always remember their ¡®names¡¯. Even when their faces and statures changed, they were still both Boris. Her father liked old American movies too¡­ but they gave him a strange sense of humour. Hearing a ringing noise, Emilia reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. She had no need to worry about getting robbed, not ever since she became an Adventurer anyway, sketchy neighbourhood or not. ¡°Hello?¡± Emilia answered, walking to head out of the docks, ignoring the cursing she heard from one warehouse¡­ Though the cursing seemed to be someone complaining about jewellery being made incorrectly¡­ ¡°Hey Emilia, it¡¯s Arthur, listen, about that date, I, um¡­¡± Emilia stifled a giggle as Arthur began to stammer, trying to find his words. Much like when Emilia had to force a straight answer from him, he was struggling to say something he wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d agree with. He always got like this when he would talk about things not usually spoken about or things where he had different views than most. ¡°Arthur, relax¡­ relax. You know I don¡¯t like fancy stuff, and you hate it even more than I do. I¡¯m sure whatever you have in mind would be fine.¡± Emilia¡¯s calm reassurances were everything Arthur needed, as she could hear his stammering cut off when she spoke. Whenever he got nervous, or just needed someone to listen and talk to, Emilia would always be there, much like he¡¯d be there for her¡­ it¡¯s just that her problems mostly revolved around her family and Arthur, strongest Adventurer or not, wasn¡¯t quite ready for that. ¡°Right, right¡­ sorry, it¡¯s just, I want our first date to be special, and to be honest I¡¯m clueless.¡± Another thing Emilia liked about Arthur, he could admit his faults. Arthur was not an alpha male most of the time, he had his moments such as when they were in the Dungeon, but otherwise he just had this feeling of ¡®I accept things as they are¡¯. Emilia was quite used to seeing the ¡®alpha dog¡¯ personality in her father and some of his workers, it just got less appealing as time went on. Besides, if Arthur was too much of a ¡®take charge¡¯ man then she¡¯d have much less say in cases like the current one. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be perfect you know? Besides, I¡¯m happy spending time with you¡­ anything more is just icing on top.¡± Emilia tried to explain her thoughts to Arthur, who just hummed in agreement on the other side of the phone. ¡°Alright¡­ how about we go bowling, I know a place thanks to Michael¡­ and I¡¯ve never really been good at bowling given that I used to have trouble with the weight.¡± Emilia could relate. She was actually pretty good at bowling as long as she used a ball of the correct weight, but if she used one too heavy¡­ yeah¡­ That wasn¡¯t really an issue anymore given that they were Adventurers. The only reason they weren¡¯t banned from such places was that Adventurers only had super strength if they focused on it. People with high Intelligence stats were beginning to mention that they could slow down their perception of time a bit if they focused too¡­ lots of quick reaction speeds there, though without the Dexterity and Strength to move at said speeds it was kind of pointless. ¡°I think I¡¯d be happy with that, got an idea for the date?¡± the double meaning was accidental, and Arthur wasn¡¯t going to mention it thankfully. Besides, he was one of those people who burst out laughing at the silliest of puns¡­ Emilia would usually end up laughing because he was laughing though. ¡°I was thinking during our day off next week, I can come pick you up with the bike?¡± Emilia quite enjoyed that bike of Arthurs, and he was surprisingly good with that bike¡­ ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine¡­ I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± Emilia added, knowing that Arthur hated calling people actually, so she helped ¡®end his misery¡¯ so to speak. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± And with a click, the phone call ended¡­ yeah, regardless of whether or not he liked talking to someone, Arthur disliked talking over a phone through a method that wasn¡¯t text. The only time he called people was for things he felt required a certain level of emotional investment, such as this date, or letting someone know bad news. ¡°Ah¡­ guess I have something to look forward to.¡± Emilia said to herself as she walked out to a different section of Manhattan. Going back a few minutes, to the moment where Emilia and Eddie crossed paths, a man stood on a roof looking at the encounter¡­ He was more than a mere man, standing in his crisp dark red suit, looking with his eyes that saw more than mere mortals could, he was the (self-proclaimed) Hokage of England, the (self-proclaimed)Cardinal Agent¡­ He was- ¡°George Clements!¡± The man beyond men stepped back a bit, just in case the two he was watching were to take note of his presence, not willing to influence their days. ¡°Must you have an outburst every few minutes?¡± the (self-proclaimed) Cardinal Hokage looked to his second in command and unofficial minder, Mike. ¡°It¡¯s an essential character trait- squirrel!¡± George¡¯s head snapped to look at something in the distance that Mike was quite certain was not a squirrel. But dealing with George¡¯s new found insanity- ¡°I resemble that!¡±- every day was difficult if one didn¡¯t learn to just accept what happened around the (self-proclaimed) Hokage. ¡°I wonder if ¡®self-proclaimed¡¯ is my other character trait this chapter¡­¡± See, it was difficult to understand George because he¡¯d sometimes talk from a further point of conversation than the actual beginning. An example would be watching a soccer match, and having George saying ¡®and that is why marshmallows are pink or white mostly¡¯ and nodding as if he discovered some great secret. The rest of the conversation was lost to the strange mind that George had developed since gaining the ability to selectively view the future. ¡°Mike, to understand alien concepts one needs an alien mind.¡± That was a bit more understandable to Mike given that it was more of a statement than a conclusion. ¡°Right¡­ right, anyway, George, why did you think we need to be here at this spot at this time?¡± Mike¡¯s question was relevant, as unlike George, Mike was actually in his pyjamas, having flown in two days ago his internal clock was still adjusting to the new time-zone. So they made an odd pair, one man wearing a red (Cardinal!) suit while the other was wearing fuzzy slippers, flannel pyjamas and was currently brushing his hair. ¡°It was relevant to the plot¡­ yes, the plot which I have set in motion since I first gained my power.¡± George sounded uncharacteristically serious, which had Mike immediately drown out whatever George would say next. ¡°The result of my plot would be the creation of a world, which would further culminate in battles between seven or so god-like beings in a battle to determine the next Creator of Reality, while I get to be Hokage of a hidden village of Seers and Oracles before eventually training the Sword of God.¡± Yeah, Mike felt he was right to ignore George. Honestly, hidden villages, Sword of God instead of God of Sword or something like that, it all just sounded like eighth grader-syndrome. ¡°I will also die at the age of roughly two thousand four hundred and seventy three. Give or take a decade.¡± Mike just ignored such outlandish statements and waited for George to make a more sensible statement instead. George¡¯s outlandish statements such as ¡®God walks amongst men¡¯ and ¡®Death is a beautiful woman¡¯ were just as crazy. ¡°I see you do not comprehend. Very well, let me explain, one of the two that just walked past, was Emilia Vasilievna, Thief of Einherjar and she is important.¡± Mike could understand that, as a Thief himself he acknowledged her as someone with the same ¡®title¡¯. ¡°As for the other, he is a sort of anomaly¡­ compared to everyone else in this story, he fits in the least, even compared to me.¡± Mike wondered at that, knowing that George viewed reality itself as one large story¡­ With the ability to read the story, one wouldn¡¯t think of themselves as a character, but a reader, correct? It was because of this that George had begun to have sort of a¡­ disjointed sense of reality, doing things which would have embarrassed or annoyed him before without care. ¡°That other person¡­ his only real necessity is that he is a connecting point. He isn¡¯t overwhelmingly strong, he isn¡¯t truly evil or good, and he possesses no ambition beyond living.¡± From what Mike was hearing¡­ ¡°He sounds¡­ like a normal guy?¡± Mike¡¯s statement got George to pause in his observation of the man before looking back to Mike. ¡°¡­A normal person¡­ yes, that describes him nicely. A normal person surrounded by the extraordinary¡­ It¡¯s just interesting to watch in action.¡± Mike shrugged, knowing that despite George¡¯s apparent insanity, the man was actually very rational. ¡°So, you have anything else interesting to tell me?¡± Mike asked, knowing that George was done following that guy around for the day given that George had turned fully away from the direction he went in. ¡°When someone asks which is better, heads or tails, my answer is always ¡®the side¡¯. After all, regardless of heads or tails or some miracle causing a coin to land on its side¡­ it¡¯s still just a coin.¡± George¡¯s words were kind of simple, and if one looked too deep they¡¯d find just as deep a meaning in them. George liked statements like that. One of Mike¡¯s favourites was ¡®A circle has no start or end¡¯. Kind of simple and to some obvious, but it could also be used metaphorically to say that a cycle isn¡¯t defined by when it starts or ends. It was interesting. ¡°In any case, I find the interesting case of seeing many sides¡­ I see a confused person forced to adopt the persona of violence to survive, I see a person who tries to humble himself despite being great¡­ terrifying, but great.¡± George said, seemingly gazing beyond what was currently in front of them. ¡°And I see one who takes pleasure in the pain of others, finding no one to be more important than himself, and yet being forced to be normal¡­ I wonder, of the three, who is truly the monster¡­¡± George considered, leaving Mike to just shrug and follow as George started to walk down the fire escape. George was weird, but Mike didn¡¯t have to understand the weird to get along with him. Friends accepted things like that.
Arthur Clive
Level: 61 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician III (142/150) - increases Wisdom by 20% (total 150%) Sword Sage II (145/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight II (277/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (5/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (34/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (17/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 76 Dexterity: 93 (111)
Intelligence: 53 Wisdom: 102 (153)
Endurance: 53 Vitality: 76
Despite not appearing in the chapter properly, it has been a few days since Chapter 3. B2 Chapter 5- Rusted King ¡°Well¡­ this is interesting.¡± Arthur¡¯s words were said in a kind of monotone as Einherjar looked to the door, ignoring Sidhe rubbing his cheek from his shoulder. Said door leading to the fifth Demon Lord. ¡°How the heck did we end up here first?¡± John could be heard asking, even he didn¡¯t quite get how Einherjar arrived to the fifth Demon Lord before the other Chosen teams. ¡°I honestly have no idea¡­ well, the last three floors have been odd.¡± Odd was right, as once more the Ruined Kingdom proved a bit different from previous Areas. Floors forty seven to forty nine were filled with traps and backtracking as they were forced to look for switches to continue forward, and they couldn¡¯t brute force their way past the blockades because the blockades were covered with those red runes that prevented both Adventurers and monsters from passing. It was like a platform/adventurer game¡­ puzzles included. Traps were pretty scary though, as unlike in video games, getting hit with spikes would pretty much mean instant death unless their Endurance was high enough. Because of this fact, it was only the faster members of Einherjar, namely Emilia, Arthur and Alice, who would go try and move past traps to get to switches, as the one time Matt tried he ended up needing to use his magic to turn his skin into metal to prevent him from being cut in half by a trap. He was bruised even after exiting his metallic form, though luckily it faded away as they travelled due to his Vitality stat. ¡°Maybe they got bogged down there somehow¡­¡± Arthur wondered aloud to himself as they looked to the stairs before looking amongst themselves. Unknown to Einherjar, the other Chosen teams were actually trying to disarm said traps or had not quite understood what they were supposed to do¡­ as for Ichiro¡¯s team, they went in a different direction by trying to split up as they went for all the switches. It was a strange series of mishaps which resulted in Einherjar, who made the least mistakes, reaching the Demon Lord room first¡­ Were Agent George to be there, he might have said something about ¡®divine intervention for the sake of plot¡¯. ¡°Regardless, we have a shot at the Demon Lord before our competitors, obviously we¡¯re going for it.¡± Arthur finally declared, staring at the stairs for a moment in thought. ¡°Well that¡¯s a given since Demon Lords give awesome benefits for defeating them.¡± Michael reminded the group, thinking to the other Demon Lords they faced. The first Demon Lord, Blade, left behind his sword, Soul Flame, Willow the second Demon Lord left behind a staff for magic users made of seemingly her body as she was a Treant. The third Demon Lord, Despair, left behind the Skeleton Knight Chest Plate which John wore underneath his cloak, a skeletal thing that was tight but allowed free movement. Einherjar had also managed to get the Goblin War-blade, a strange claymore type weapon dropped by the soulless husk of Guldan, the fourth Demon Lord. ¡°Yeah¡­ between the items and the huge Souls they possess, killing them grants us a much higher chance of levelling up.¡± Matt¡¯s reminder had Einherjar collectively could not think of a time they hadn¡¯t levelled up after fighting a Demon Lord, though they fought each only once. Some fought them multiple times in the hopes of getting an item or more Soul, but the rewards dropped slightly each time, and it was rare to get an item after the first team killed a Demon Lord. ¡°Killing huh?¡± Arthur mumbled to himself for a moment, looking to the door with a sigh. ¡°Arthur?¡± Emilia managed to catch his look, placing a hand on his shoulder as the leader of Einherjar looked from her hand to her face. ¡°Sorry¡­ no sympathy for the enemy until they¡¯re gone.¡± Arthur reminded himself, unknowingly drawing frowns from his team as they heard his words, following behind him as he walked to the stairs. Einherjar was well aware that Arthur did not consider Demon Lords to be monsters but instead thinking beings with intelligence on par with other humans, and he disliked the idea of killing such things. It had no effect on his ability to fight though, so Einherjar didn¡¯t mind the belief. As they walked down the stairs, Einherjar took the moment to calm their minds and hearts, looking at the styling of the steps and walls around them. Arthur claimed that the stairs all seemed to be calm and peaceful places perhaps as a breather for Adventurers as they stepped through floors. So far they had yet to think he was wrong, as each Area¡¯s stairs had some form of beauty to them, even the third Area with its many undead had stairs which seemed to head into a kind of enchanting fog. For the Ruined Kingdom, the stairs were seemingly made of bronze, shiny with patterns engraved all over and vines growing along the walls, not enough to catch on any of their equipment let alone them. As someone who enjoyed antiques or just about anything that felt ¡®old¡¯ Arthur quite enjoyed the different styling in each Area. Exiting from the stairs, Arthur and the rest of the Einherjar found themselves with raised brows, looking around as they walked into a large circular hall, at the end of which there was a throne, behind it a massive door with red runes signalling that they could not pass. Of course, their focus was more drawn to the being that sat on the throne¡­ a familiar being. ¡°Ah¡­ Hello there, Adventurers¡­ no, I suppose that isn¡¯t the appropriate greeting with my current status.¡± The ¡®Crow Spectre¡¯ sat upon the throne, though it still possessed seemingly no lower limbs, just leaving a black fog below where its feet would be, staring at them. ¡°I was under the belief that you were looking for the Ruined King.¡± Arthur said, surprising a few members of Einherjar who had forgotten the mumblings of the being they had originally called the Crow Spectre¡­ ¡°I stated no falsehood. I am but a shadow of my former self. I do not consider myself the Ruined King anymore¡­ not as I am. So yes, I searched, wandering the halls of this Kingdom, searching for the me of before¡­ the me before I was sacrificed to Chronos.¡± The being was clearly the Ruined King, but also¡­ not, at the same time. ¡°Judging by your appearance, I assume the search was¡­ disappointing?¡± Arthur¡¯s question drew a glance from the sandy gold eyes of the being on the throne, and Arthur could immediately tell that, if before it was looking into space, it was now focused on him. ¡°It was. One cannot regain the past after all. But I found something else instead of what I wanted.¡± The being had been talking with Arthur this entire time, and yet it only seemed to really care now, straightening up in the chair before it ¡®stood¡¯ while staring at Einherjar¡­ no, at Arthur. ¡°I wander the halls away from other Adventurers, but you¡­ you are curious¡­¡± The being held out its right hand, a broad and powerful looking scimitar appearing in its hand. ¡°Tell me Adventurer¡­ Are you aware of the taint in your Soul, that your Soul has been coloured by others of my status?¡± Arthur notably ignored the stares of his team as they looked to his back in question. ¡°I¡­ I have my suspicions, but yes. My battles against Demon Lords change me slightly each time.¡± Arthur was aware, some of the changes subtle, others less so. His battle against the first Demon Lord Blade had resulted in Arthur gaining his Sword Sage Unique Skill, and while he seemingly did not gain any ability from Willow, he did feel that something had changed. Against Despair, Arthur gained a greater control for his Darkness Element¡­ magic users found their base element granted them a ratio of one to one with magic to output, and any further Element would be something like a two to one ratio. Arthur¡¯s Darkness Element was closer to a¡­ eight to five. Something to that effect, though no one but Arthur would notice that. As for the Fourth Demon Lord, Arthur gained nothing from that Goblin, having only fought it after it lost everything that made it¡­ a living thing, rather than a machine. ¡°Intriguing. You interest me¡­ no doubt, should you kill me, you will gain my taint as well¡­¡± This time the being held out its left hand, another Scimitar appearing as it floated forward, weaving side to side almost lazily. Einherjar was immediately combat ready, Arthur only moving slightly back as Matt stepped forward, ready to block. ¡°I am the fifth Demon Lord of the ninety nine, the Rusted King¡­ return me to my slumber.¡± And thus the fight began, with the Rusted King stepping forward and launching a cleaving blow at Matt, who had intercepted the being. Unlike Willow or the Goblin King, the Rusted King was smaller, despite how the Rusted King was stronger than the other two, Matt found it easier to stay stable against this being. ¡°Move.¡± Matt¡¯s eyes barely had time to widen before the other blade struck his shield, as if using the Anima as a percussion instrument, making Matt stagger before the Rusted King spun, the fog that made up his legs coalescing into a solid form, kicking Matt flying to the side. ¡°Matt?¡± Alice shouted in question, getting a groan letting them know that Matt didn¡¯t get knocked out from the bad landing, the Rusted King took advantage of the opening in their group to charge in, slashing once more at Arthur. It was quite clear that the King found no interest in the rest of Einherjar, only moving to Arthur, knocking away all who would approach. Einherjar wasn¡¯t so weak as to just let the Demon Lord do as it pleased though, and Michael was launching arrows of Fire and Light concurrently, not using any of his other Skills to boost his attacks as the archer knew that no major blow could be struck just yet. While Michael did this, Alice and Emilia both stepped forward, the latter hiding behind the former, stepping into the path of the scimitars. ¡°I¡­ said¡­ move.¡± Each word was punctuated with a swing of the blade, and Alice was most definitely not a tank like Matt was, having to instead parry the blows, only possible due to her Anima which allowed her to use all weaponry with reasonable skill. She was still clearly struggling, and her blade was already showing signs of wear, an impressive feat by the Demon Lord as Emilia tried to attack in gaps of the Demon Lord¡¯s form. A hit by the Bloodletting Daggers on the side of the Rusted King had the being pause for just a moment, the wound dripping golden sand before it closed, and the battle continued. Arthur was taking the moment to watch and observe, he was the leader/tactician of Einherjar after all, and once he figured things out a bit, he spoke out. ¡°He¡¯s like Blade, but more durable, his fog can form into legs for kicks, he doesn¡¯t really slash so much as cleave when he attacks, he will bounce his weapons off of your guard if it means he¡¯ll get a chance to continue the attack¡­¡± Arthur mumbled to himself, looking at Matt got ready to get back into the fight. ¡°Matt, you¡¯ll get tired quickly if you have to perfectly stop each of his blows, try and keep them from happening, Michael, aim for his head and torso, John¡­ okay, he¡¯s gone.¡± Arthur noted that their healer was once more using his Sneak Skill to go into hiding and disappear from sight. Not entirely, but it was a subtle thing, where your eyes would just happen to slide past where he was. It was useful, especially as it didn¡¯t take much to keep active, though John would get tired the longer he had to Sneak, and it made their healer much less of a target. Against thinking beings, obviously they¡¯d target the healer to make sure that Einherjar wouldn¡¯t heal, John knew this, and the rest of Einherjar knew this. It was why he vanished so often during fights, and Arthur even encouraged it. Hearing the orders snap off, Matt was there, taking a blow which was about to hit Alice and twisting as the blade hit the shield, now causing sparks to fly as it continued, unbalancing the Rusted King for a moment. Said moment was long enough for Alice to slash out with a sword, chopping at the extended arm of the King, only unlike most normal people, the blade only managed a slight cut as Alice leapt back, the common sense of an Adventurer was that against new enemies it was best to be cautious, doubly so against a Demon Lord. ¡°You all stand in my path¡­¡± the Rusted King practically growled out as he spun in place, black feathers covering him¡­ And then he reappeared in a burst of those same feathers, slashing at Alice, surprising the group at the teleportation. Alice had managed to get her shield up, a simple and light buckler, only for her to be sent flying to the side of the room and impact the wall. There was a sickening crunch when the sword hit the shield, so the group winced, knowing that her arm was probably broken. No one ran to help her though, as the Rusted King once more floated, aiming towards Arthur who was also stepping forward now. It helped that John was near invisible and probably healing Alice at the moment, so Arthur had to distract the Rusted King. ¡°Why are you aiming for me this much?¡± Arthur asked, stepping forward and swinging his Dagger of Hunger against the approaching scimitar, the sparks going off of his form signifying that he was using Spark Step, or at least one of its three available variants. ¡°You do not realize how terrifying you are, do you?¡± The words got Arthur to draw a blank surprisingly as his eyes lost their focus. A child, staring at him, bruised with blood trickling from his mouth and kneeling¡­ fear in his eyes. Afraid of him. Afraid of Arthur. ¡°No, I don¡¯t see what you are getting at.¡± Arthur¡¯s response, if Einherjar could hear it, was the most dead they¡¯ve ever heard his voice, even when he aimed for monotone it was never this bad. ¡°¡­So you say¡­ you must understand how strength is gained in this world of souls?¡± The Ruined King asked as the two began to attack one another, Arthur only managing to stay in the fight by shocking the King through his blades, as well as trying to parry before the King could get a complete swing. ¡°We kill, and we take a part of the soul.¡± Arthur¡¯s response was just as dull toned as his previous line, and the Rusted King¡¯s glowing eyes narrowed slightly behind his veil.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Exactly¡­ we all take of the soul when we kill¡­ but you, you take more than is given.¡± The Rusted King finally changed the tempo of the fight, twirling his blades into a sort of reverse grip, swinging upwards and almost into Arthur¡¯s chest if it weren¡¯t for Soul Flame blocking the blow. It still lifted Arthur into the air and tossed him back, Arthur only managed to land on his feet due to his high Dexterity stat. The words of the Rusted King had Arthur glancing towards his own Dagger of Hunger, aware that something wasn¡¯t quite right with said Dagger. ¡°Not only that, but you possess two manifestations of the soul¡­ that should say enough about how strange you are.¡± The King only had enough time to say that before an arrow of light approached the King. The King scoffed, knowing the arrow could be parried as he swung his scimitar¡­ only for the arrow to explode in brightness, blinding the King. Arthur was smirking as he opened his eyes¡­ a flash-bang arrow? Michael had mentioned trying something new with his arrows, and well¡­ it definitely surprised everyone the first time they saw it. They all got a good hit in when their vision returned. Taking the opportunity for what it was, Arthur had his Dagger fade away, raising his left palm and sending tiny bolts of lightning towards the Rusted King, the other members of Einherjar attacking as well¡­ Alice attacked too, as she was now healed, with John still suspiciously missing. The Rusted King screamed in both anger and pain as Emilia, Matt and Alice all hit, and the King found two swords going where lungs would be in human anatomy, and stabbed in both sides. The King spun, vanishing, leaving the three stumbling after being wrenched to the side, Einherjar looking for where the King had vanished to. They found him easily when he appeared near the throne he sat upon before the fight began, wobbling unsteadily as he fell back into the chair, staring at them. ¡°I see that I am still weak¡­¡± the King¡¯s statement was said with a huff of pain, and Arthur could only think one thing. It couldn¡¯t be this easy. ¡°I suppose I can¡¯t let myself die¡­ not like this at least.¡± The King¡¯s wounds slowly closed, his voice still sounding pained despite the lack of any visible wounds, and then his scimitars vanished¡­ The Rusted King then grabbed the armrests of his throne, and seemed to pull¡­ then a clicking sound was heard. What happened next was, while awesome, also terrifying, as the throne the King sat upon seemed to make a few clicking noises¡­ and then the spikes hit, piercing through the body of the King, keeping his arms and chest in place, shocking Einherjar. From the wounds of the King flowed golden sand, leaking onto the throne which began to make creaking sounds. ¡°Michael, shoot, now!¡± Arthur warned, not wanting to be idle as the King clearly did something dangerous, and his second-in-command was quick to launch a fire arrow¡­ Only for a shield of runes to appear, drawing a curse from Arthur¡­ of course Chronos managed to add a transformation sequence that couldn¡¯t be interrupted. The runes were only there for a moment before vanishing, but that was enough as the throne morphed, the carvings in the throne now having golden sand flowing through them as the throne no longer looked like a seat¡­ now it looked¡­ ¡°A golem¡­ you¡¯re shitting me.¡± Arthur¡¯s curse was both surprising and understandable as they stared at what was essentially a metallic hulk. This one wasn¡¯t green, though it may be angry as the sand flowing finally reached its empty black eyes, pooling there in a golden stare as its jaw moved. ¡°Now you see why I am the Rusted King¡­ I searched for immortality, hoping to rule my kingdom for eternity¡­ the result was that I cursed all of my subjects and myself into becoming pseudo undead¡­¡± the Rusted King¡¯s voice was now much deeper and notably metallic, which made sense. The Demon Lord was also correct in that his moniker was now easily understandable given the rusted copper/bronze which made up the golem¡¯s form. ¡°My subjects became mindless puppets, obeying my will¡­ and I immediately regretted my actions¡­ I tried to kill myself, as penance for my actions. I¡¯m certain you¡¯ve heard of an ¡®iron maiden¡¯ before.¡± Those of Einherjar who understood what he meant blanched as the Rusted King curled his massive fingers into a fist. ¡°I failed to kill myself even then¡­ the golden sand that flowed through my veins instead flowed through the metal that killed me, clinging onto life even when I wanted to die¡­¡± The Rusted King then looked from its hand to Arthur. ¡°Then Chronos came, and put me out of my misery¡­ only for me to wake up after a time, in my original undead body¡­ now, I once more see a chance to gain eternal slumber¡­ hopefully this time, I won¡¯t be awoken.¡± The golem form of the Rusted King stretched, its back straightening as it looked down upon the members of Einherjar. ¡°Your name. If we are to battle, I will have your name.¡± Arthur felt it was a bit late for introductions, but nonetheless spoke back, in his commanding tone. No one really caught the blush on Emilia¡¯s face. ¡°I am Arthur Clive, strongest Adventurer, and these are my comrades, and we are Einherjar!¡± Arthur shouted back, and the Rusted King seemed to somehow smile even with a metallic body. ¡°Excellent. Come, Arthur Clive¡­ kill me.¡± The Rusted King¡¯s words said one thing, but his actions said another as the golem leaned forward, jogging towards them¡­ Well, jogging was the operative term. Something that big moving at that speed was more like having a slower truck heading for you. Understandably, no one, not even Matt, stood in the King¡¯s way as they all jumped out of the way, not willing to risk a head on collision with what had to be more than a few tons of metal. The Rusted King, despite lowering his speed in exchange for what had to be strength, was still intelligent, once he had seen Einherjar jumping out of the way he leaned further down, shoving a hand down, creating sparks as he twisted, now facing the original spot where the throne was. Arthur momentarily had a lapse in his concentration upon seeing the Demon Lord essentially pull a one eighty break turn, and could only think that the throne was terrible¡­ because he had contemplated sitting on it after the fight. Yeah¡­ that would have ended horribly. Back to the fight, the King aimed for the closest enemy, swinging a backhand at Matt who dropped to a knee, his skin shining with metal as the Rusted King found his arm bouncing back from the blow. Matt had also been knocked back a bit, but much less than Alice was when she got hit¡­ by his normal form¡­ Arthur had already finished a basic analysis of the enemy and shouted out the info he had gleaned. ¡°He¡¯s slower but hits harder, obviously, but I also doubt he can teleport like before!¡± Arthur¡¯s words were based on the fact that the Rusted King ran at them instead of just teleporting towards them. Arthur could be wrong, but the idea of something that big being capable of instantaneous movement was terrifying. ¡°No idea what other things it can do, but be careful!¡± Arthur reminded that even slowed down, the Rusted King was still a Demon Lord¡­ ¡°Good leadership. You would have made a fine general.¡± The King complimented as he aimed a hand at Arthur, a glowing circle of sand appearing at the palm of the metallic golem, making Arthur¡¯s eyes widen as he dived out of the way. His choice was correct as a massive stake pierced where Arthur was standing just a moment ago, still connected to the Rusted King as the spike retracted, making its hand seamless once more. Arthur was internally complaining about the unfairness¡­ the Rusted King wanted to die but also seemed perfectly fine killing the person he wanted to kill him. Maybe it was a Demon Lord thing? Willow hadn¡¯t wanted to fight either¡­ Arthur would have thought all giant Demon Lord¡¯s to be pacifistic if it weren¡¯t for Guldan being a murderous rapist, according to Albert at least. Regardless, the group now knew that the Rusted King could summon spikes, likely from anywhere on his body and not just his hands. It could just be his hands, but better to think the worst while hoping for the best. ¡°Quick too¡­¡± The Rusted King said, seeing the sparks flittering off of Arthur¡¯s body, letting the King know what Arthur¡¯s element was¡­ And immediately Arthur wondered if maybe Lightning was an unfair element to bring to such a fight? Experimenting, Arthur launched a few smaller bolts at the Demon Lord while making sure his magic reserves were still acceptable, only to see the Rusted King¡¯s metallic body spark slightly. No, Lightning was not truly a good element here¡­ Arthur had forgotten most science classes as he was actually pretty bad at chemistry, but he was pretty sure that copper was extremely good at conducting heat and electricity¡­ and bronze was mostly copper in the first place¡­ he might shock his friends. Maybe they could have overloaded the metallic form if there were multiple lightning users, but as it was, doing so would be nigh impossible. ¡°If I still had a beating heart that probably would have worked.¡± The Rusted King spoke true, the reason Lightning was so effective against most monsters offensively was because running electricity through a live creature usually caused spasms and muscles to lock, stunning then while burning them internally. With no biology, lightning was a bit less damaging, let alone the tiny bolts Arthur was throwing around due to his lacking reserves of mana. His mana regeneration was very high, but gaining ten per cent of one hundred was obviously less than ten per cent of a thousand. Clearly, Fire and Lightning were not the answer¡­ Jumping back and allowing Emilia and Alice to step in and attack, Arthur watched while trying to think¡­ he had already figured out the abilities of the Rusted King, but¡­ The Rusted King was now basically a walking slab of metal¡­ tough, durable, damaging it would be difficult¡­ Silver-lining was that it was bronze. Bronze was kind of tough depending on the composition, though modern steel typically beat bronze if it was a ¡®sword vs. sword¡¯ situation. This was not such a situation¡­ Arthur eventually decided to screw the technical stuff and use video game logic. That being: ¡°Use blunt weapons, smash him to pieces!¡± Arthur¡¯s call was met with more than a few blinks, but then Alice and Matt smirked, Alice swapping out her current one handed sword for a war-hammer. For the record, she hadn¡¯t used the Goblin war-blade because she needed a shield at the time. As for Matt, he either used a short sword or a hammer when fighting, though Arthur was thinking about asking him to swap to a spear¡­ he could even get inspiration from Spartans if he did that. But Arthur¡¯s war cry did have a bit of truth to it, it was probably easier to dent the metal than cut straight through it anyway. While Arthur¡¯s call got that done, Arthur looked to Michael, who caught the look, raising a brow. ¡°Michael, I need you to use fire, consistently. Don¡¯t care about where you hit, but I need you to hit that thing as much as you can as fast as you can¡­ bronze has a lower melting point.¡± Arthur got a nod from Michael as the arrows started to fly. Arthur once tried checking the temperature of Michael¡¯s fire arrows and they typically burnt at about two hundred or so degrees Celsius, about three hundred and ninety degrees Fahrenheit. While Bronze melted (typically) at around nine hundred and fifty Celsius, this would at least help a bit¡­ or it could make the golem impossible to touch and hurt them all, but hey, they handled damage better with higher Endurance, burning or freezing counted as damage too. Or so Matt said as he stood in a short sleeved shirt in early spring. Arthur unfortunately did not have a blunt weapon, feeling that it was pointless to give the swordsman a hammer, especially since he wouldn¡¯t get the boost Sword Sage gave his every action¡­ Maybe he¡¯d try doing what knights did in that other video game, grab the blade and use the pommel as a hammer¡­ probably best done with gauntlets on though. But for now, Arthur simply swung Soul Flame, adding the innate fire damage of the blade to the already growing temperature the Rusted King was operating at. ¡°This is uncomfortable.¡± The King claimed as the metal slowly reddened, still attacking the group as he sent another stake at Alice, giving Arthur a chance to actually cut the stake off¡­ The metal then fell to the ground, vanishing, making Arthur smile a bit¡­ maybe that¡¯s what they were supposed to do, counter the stake attacks to weaken the total mass of the enemy? It sounded like it would take too long, so their original plan continued, up until the moment where a huge amount of magic circles began to cover the Rusted King. Then there was a scramble to get out of range or in a blind-spot, the King doing a decent imitation of a porcupine while Arthur focused on his magic. Feeling the ebbing and flowing of his magic, Arthur activated Greater Spark Step, focusing on his energy as he prepared a killing blow, much like the one he used against Willow¡­ This one would need to be slightly different of course, as the Rusted King¡¯s form was much denser than the Treant they had fought back then¡­ The Rusted King had noticed the growing sparks as the stakes retreated back into the reduced and dented mass of the golem, and a hand was raised to stop the focusing Arthur¡­ Only for a sword to clang against the raised arm, making the spike miss as the Rusted King widened his golden eyes, turning to stare where the sword came from¡­ And slowly, the form of John appeared in his vision, focusing on the sword which began to slowly float. ¡°A mind mage¡­but multiple magic?¡± The Rusted King¡¯s question was answered by a quiet meow, the form of Sidhe appearing on John¡¯s shoulder. The two still disliked one another, but Sidhe would always be the same level as Arthur, even if she didn¡¯t fight with Einherjar. As a result, she was currently level sixty one like Arthur¡­
Sidhe (Owner: Arthur Clive)
Level: 61 (D-Rank)
Race: Nekomata- Grants an extra Element and one point in Intelligence per level
Elements: Fire Wind Mind
Stats
Strength: 8 Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 62 Wisdom: 38
Endurance: 8 Vitality: 8
And her third Element was Mind, like John¡¯s. Sure, she was still pitifully weak in regards to her physical stats, but when it came to the magic based ones, she could do almost as well as Michael¡­ Despite only getting one free stat point per level, with a dedicated stat point to Intelligence. ¡°A familiar¡­ how careless of me¡­ I hadn¡¯t even noticed.¡± The Rusted King heard a slight popping noise, turning to look back as Arthur who had his Dagger of Hunger floating between his hands, sparks shooting off of it. Arthur had tried this trick once or twice, and he was quite certain he¡¯d get it right eventually¡­ now he was at his peak, and a bit stronger than the last time¡­ Besides, it wasn¡¯t like a real rail-gun. It still shot forward at an extreme speed though, the Dagger acting like a buzz saw as it impacted the chest of the Rusted King, making the giant stumble back from the unexpected force. And it was during this stumble that Arthur ran forward, jumping while aiming both feet at the handle sticking out of the Demon Lord¡¯s chest, his body still sparking with lightning. ¡°I¡¯m too old for this¡­¡± the Demon Lord said as the kick connected, the blade blasting even further into his body as he landed on his back. The Dagger of Hunger was now sitting in his chest, likely piercing his real body¡­ and Arthur stood upon the Demon Lord, staring down at the enemy. ¡°That you are. Do you have any last words?¡± Arthur asked, out of respect for the being that respected him. ¡°Just a few¡­ you remind me of him.¡± The Rusted King¡¯s final words were met with no reply, a silent acknowledgement that he could continue. ¡°Charismatic at times, violent at others, so, so lost¡­ not only that, but your ability to eat souls¡­ yes, you¡¯re just like Chronos.¡± Arthur¡¯s eyes widened as a frown set itself upon his face. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Arthur denied, only for the golem to chuckle. ¡°Sure you aren¡¯t¡­ Chronos wasn¡¯t human after all.¡± And with that, Arthur had heard enough, using his connection to his Dagger to activate the Void ability of his Dagger¡­ And much like when he had killed the other Demon Lords, he blacked out. You are a repeat visitor¡­ can¡¯t you wait until your appointed time? Must you challenge the powerful over and over again? I suppose that was the wrong question¡­ No? What would the right question be? Why do you need power? I have answered this before, have I not? You have. But answers can change. Why do you need power? To protect my friends and family. I no longer feel that is quite correct. To destroy my enemies. That is also not quite right¡­ Why must I answer these questions every time? It¡¯s just the way it is. Why do you need power? Am I not allowed to ask you questions of my own? No, you are not¡­ but I answer nonetheless. Why do you need power? Will you keep repeating that question until I answer? Yes, yes I will. If you would just keep quiet, I would stop asking¡­ after all, you do not need to answer immediately. Why do you need power? ¡­ You are learning. Now find your answer. I¡¯ll wait. Arthur blinked as he fell into a crouch, his Dagger appearing in his hand as he looked around the room, realizing that he blacked out again¡­ though for a much smaller duration this time around¡­ And that was a good thing, he didn¡¯t quite want the rest of Einherjar to notice the pattern of him losing consciousness every time he killed a Demon Lord. ¡°Yeah!¡± a cheer went around the group as Matt shouted, and indeed, killing a Demon Lord was cause for celebration, delaying the attack on humanity while edging closer to killing Chronos, it was in all ways a good thing. Sure, it was getting more difficult¡­ but they were getting stronger. Einherjar looked to their leader as he walked to the podium in the centre of the room, turning to them for a moment. ¡°We¡¯re getting everyone a blunt force weapon along with piecing and slashing. Other than that, I¡¯m happy. Let¡¯s go.¡± Pretty simple speech¡­ But they were happy with their leader like that, watching as Sidhe jumped onto his shoulders with a meow. Meanwhile with Shaun, the guild-master sat glaring at two criminals from behind one-way glass¡­ The two were speaking, but it was what they were saying that was the issue. The Adventurer Killer¡­ had apparently had a gang, not just support. Shaun had only one word to say. ¡°Shit.¡±
Arthur Clive
Level: 62 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician IV (3/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% (total 155%) Sword Sage II (154/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight II (290/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (17/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (45/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (36/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 78 Dexterity: 94 (112)
Intelligence: 53 Wisdom: 104 (161)
Endurance: 53 Vitality: 78
Note: John was using Sneak while Sidhe used an illusion (Mind attribute) to further hide their presence. Then John used another ability that will be further mentioned in the next chapter¡­ suffice to say John will not just be remaining as a healer, after seeing Loyiso fight. B2 Chapter 6- Changing pace ¡°I need a break¡­¡± Jack¡¯s statement was met with piteous groaning and muffled screams and tears. Granted, this was because he was torturing a few people who were trying to be a bit smart with him, but it was the essence of the matter. ¡°Boss?¡± Jack turned from his current position, straddling a chair while he carved a unicorn into the skin of another person¡¯s back. ¡°Yes Eddie, what is it?¡± Jack could admit that he probably made a mistake or two with his second-in-command by accident. Torturing Eddie, for one, was a mistake. Now that Jack knew the man more, he figured that Eddie would have actually been more compliant had Jack used a carrot and stick method. ¡­in a way, Eddie was given a carrot and stick method¡­ just that Jack beat the shit out of him before making him reliant on the carrot, in this case said carrot was funding for whatever vices Eddie had, from smoking to the occasional line of cocaine. And that was the other part to why torturing Eddie was a mistake. Sure, getting Eddie in line would probably always require a bit of violence, but there would have been less required had Jack known about such drugs and vices. But that was life, filled with mistakes and learning experiences, sometimes the two were even the same thing. ¡°We managed to make a psychiatrist ¡®go missing¡¯ like you requested, he¡¯s three rooms over to the right after exiting this door.¡± Jack nodded, going back to his art for a moment. After completing a convincing bit of artwork featuring a unicorn with wings of a sort, Jack left the trail of wounds to scar over while he walked away, cleaning his hands before pulling on some gloves. Jack had developed a bit of a cleanliness streak, though not to the point of being a germaphobe, he hated having dirt on his hands¡­ ironic given his chosen profession had notoriously ¡®dirty¡¯ hands. Finally walking into the specially made room, Jack raised one eyebrow¡­ well, it was exactly as specified. The room was made to look like a stereotypical psychiatrist office, complete with that weird couch/bed that patients lied down on, even a potted plant or two. The only real oddity was that the psychiatrist was chained to a chair, which was then drilled and fastened into its current position on the floor. The psychiatrist also seemed quite worried, clipboard in hand with a pen. ¡°Ah, hello there¡­ do you have a name, or should I just call you the Boss?¡± the man, while notably terrified, also seemed quite good at keeping calm¡­ It was understandable given that psychiatrists had to deal with all sorts of people, and if they ¡®triggered¡¯ a violent character that would be bad¡­ Jack considered himself quite a violent character¡­ if of a different breed then his role model. ¡°Jack. It¡¯s the only name I¡¯ll really answer to.¡± Jack admitted, walking over to the couch while closing the door behind him, flopping down onto the couch. Jack had asked for a psychiatrist to be kidnapped, not to torture, but to talk to. Eddie was alright, but he was quite scared of Jack and would never answer truthfully. This psychiatrist didn¡¯t know enough to truly fear Jack, only knowing that Jack was a killer and in charge of this operation. ¡°Well Jack, I am admittedly a bit confused on why I am here¡­ but judging by my placement and yours, am I correct in thinking that I am to act as your psychiatrist, therapist maybe?¡± Jack wasn¡¯t truly aware of the distinction¡­ Although, thinking about it, a psychiatrist identified mental traits and ¡®defects¡¯ while a therapist helped? Knowledge of one probably helped the other, so regardless of this man¡¯s old job, he should be able to do a bit of what Jack wanted. ¡°Bit of both I guess? I¡¯m not admittedly sure on what¡¯s the difference but I need someone to talk to that isn¡¯t involved with my criminal project, and yet also can¡¯t run away when I talk about violent things.¡± No doubt, if any of Jack¡¯s men were to hear him talk like this they would assume their boss had been replaced by someone. When Jack spoke to those under his command it was usually with faint pangs of insanity interlaced between his words and actions, disturbing his own men into fearing and respecting him. Eddie was the only one Jack really got a bit philosophical with at times, but again, Eddie wasn¡¯t really suited for that kind of role. ¡°I see¡­ if I may, I¡¯m pretty sure that if you spoke to anyone a year or two younger than yourself using hypotheticals, they might have been open to talking with you¡­ but with me there is no need to hide things so it¡¯s a positive I guess.¡± The Doc¡­ that didn¡¯t seem like quite the right name, but Eddie was calling the man that for now. ¡°Correct Doc. Not to mention I don¡¯t really need to put up an elaborate act in front of you. But I suppose I wanted someone to talk to about me and my head.¡± The ¡®Doc¡¯ began to take notes on that little clip-board of his, if one ignored that his ankles were chained to the chair the man would look respectable. ¡°Alright then, do you perhaps have a starting point of discussion to work onwards from?¡± the Doc¡¯s question had Jack think about it, really think about it. ¡°Well I guess we should start from the beginning¡­ I don¡¯t know my real name, nor do I really know my birthday.¡± Jack started, getting a few blinks from the Doc, and then a nod showing the man was indeed listening. It was much better than speaking out loud or to Eddie. ¡°The reason for that is that I was placed in a secret government facility for something known as Project Fool. And yes, I know it sounds like the plot of a bad movie.¡± Jack waylaid the man before the Doc could say anything against the truth. Really, Jack might have had limited access to media (more like none at all) for most of his life, but he did spend a lot of time on the internet since escaping that place. ¡°I will admit to it sounding farfetched, but I will not deny your statements unless you are saying them with exaggerated tells. Sarcasm, in other words.¡± Jack could respect and understand that. ¡°Project Fool is¡­ well, I don¡¯t know the specifics because I burnt that hellhole to the ground during Red Sky Day, but it was held at a place called Pennhurst Penitentiary.¡± The widening of the Doc¡¯s eyes said the Doc recognized the name. Jack had also searched the name on the internet, finding out the history of the place¡­ The place was roughly as bad as the internet definition, but with purpose. ¡°You have my sympathy.¡± Was all the Doc had to say on the matter while Jack continued, being thankful to just have someone listening to his words. ¡°Thank you. Pennhurst was a horrible place, and it¡¯s the only place I remember up until Red Sky Day, I grew up there, under the guidance of Project Fool.¡± Jack started, reminiscing a bit while he had the chance. ¡°I wasn¡¯t the only member of Project Fool, in fact, I was the twenty third of the most recent generation of Project Fool patients¡­ I hated the place.¡± The Doc likely only knew about Pennhurst but didn¡¯t really know about why things happened. ¡°In Pennhurst, between bouts of pain and agony, were lessons. The lessons were not always academic in nature, and more often than not were actually lessons on hurting others, it¡¯s why I¡¯m so skilled at ending the lives of others.¡± Jack admitted with a bit of annoyance at that being his main skill set. He was proud of his skill, but he did not want only one skill¡­ It¡¯s why he enjoyed making jewellery and the other habits he gained since leaving Pennhurst. ¡°That¡¯s quite the worrying bit of information¡­ were you okay with hurting others?¡± Jack thought about it, trying to think back to how he acted as a child, some of the memory understandably foggy¡­ and unwanted. ¡°I don¡¯t think I was, at the time. I recall being punished for losing against other children, or going easy on them... but that was before.¡± Jack could admit at least this much now, as the Doc paused in his writing, looking at Jack with a raised eyebrow. Seeing the unasked question for what it was Jack breathed a sigh, looking at the ceiling where a fan was swinging slowly. Huh¡­ that shouldn¡¯t have actually been there¡­ maybe they had an electrician guy or something? ¡°I was a passive child, I did my best in training, I think, but I could never apply my lessons until I met my role model, the first patient of the new generation of Project Fool.¡± That got the Doc¡¯s attention quickly as he nodded. ¡°Tell me more.¡± It was actually a question, because this man was in no position to make demands¡­ though that smile¡­ Doc Cheshire might be his nickname from now on. ¡°Well, he¡¯s the man that I call Boss¡­ or at least I did.¡± I started, a bit wary about this doctor now, despite how he seemed compliant. Next time, if there is a next time, I pick the doctor. Shaun reached for his glass of alcohol with a vengeance, and for once, Dante did not stop him¡­ In fact, Dante even joined in, though unlike Shaun, Dante decided to partake in gin while Shaun decided that for the day he was a vodka man. And as usual, there was nothing mixed in with his alcohol. Shaun was a hard-liquor man, and if anyone mixed anything to his alcohol he would probably viciously murder them for ruining his drink. The only mixed drink he had enjoyed, as far as he could recall, was a mix of vodka and an energy drink¡­ odd combo. ¡°So¡­ we going to talk about it?¡± Grey asked, only allowed into the room for this discussion because he was the¡­ third-in-command? There wasn¡¯t actually a title for it, but Grey was the person in charge after Dante and Shaun, and an old friend of the members of Einherjar. He was unfortunately a bit separated from said team of Adventurers due to mistakes made during his teen years, but as far as Shaun was concerned it was just something childish they¡¯d grow out of eventually. Besides¡­ in their line of work, growing out of shyness was important, Shaun used to be quiet and a bit skittish around other people until he joined the military. FBI wasn¡¯t strictly military, but the idea was the same, shooting people with a chance of getting shot at. One did it in warzones, the other did it in ¡®peaceful¡¯ places. ¡°Grey, that¡¯s kind of the reason for this meeting remember? Rather¡­ boss, what are we going to do about this?¡± Dante asked, gesturing to the file on the table as Shaun opened it, leafing through it. ¡°Well, for one, we¡¯re going to need to up the production of LEV-using police officers, they¡¯re first responders to things like robberies and assaults, it would be pointless if we sent them to their deaths.¡± Shaun said as he looked at the statistic. Across the country, there had been over thirty seven bank robberies in one week. By today? Almost two hundred. The enemy, and yes Shaun felt justified in considering this group an ¡®enemy¡¯ rather than just thugs and mobsters, was slowing down recently, robbing every bank would just cause havoc on the economy really, and someone amongst the enemy had to have realized that. Each hit did not take extreme amounts of cash, but there were noticeable amounts, not once was a robbery taking less than one hundred thousand, with the worst taking about seven hundred thousand. Not as much as it was in the movies, but sustainable and reasonable¡­ not to mention that because they never broke over a million the robberies were not getting as much focus as they should have been¡­ After that first week it became really obvious what was happening though, and news outlets were beginning to discuss the ¡®crime-wave¡¯ going throughout America.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Yeah, I suppose having super-powered first response units would be better than sending a non-Adventurer or low levelled one against higher levelled ones¡­ but what about training time?¡± Grey asked, knowing particularly well how training was, having been dragged out of Quantico before he could become a fully-fledged agent. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can really do about that bar sending higher levelled Adventurers with weaker ones to power level them, but then it becomes an issue of needing said higher levelled Adventurers, we got a few in government such as ourselves but we can¡¯t be expected to walk five green Adventurers through the Dungeon daily until they finally break level thirty, which seems like a reasonable level.¡± Shaun added, pouring himself another shot as he spoke. Grey and Dante both frowned at the idea of having ¡®newbies¡¯ follow them around in the Dungeon, even if the newbies were part of law enforcement and knew how to take orders. ¡°There¡¯s also the fact that different branches of government militia rarely work well together, FBI doesn¡¯t always play nice with the PD, and the CIA is focused outwards, so they probably won¡¯t be of much help in the first place¡­¡± Arthur swirled his vodka around in his glass for a moment. Dante set down his own glass, not really wanting another shot as he thought about the issue¡­ and then looked to Grey before looking back to Shaun. ¡°What if we outsource our problems?¡± Dante asked in a moment, causing Shaun to pause mid-sip. ¡°Outsource? Like merc-work? That could work¡­ but unlike us, if we bring in non-government people to do the training then we¡¯d have to pay them for their efforts, Adventurers could make quite a lot of money in higher Areas, so having them give that up to work in the first two or so Areas with people they aren¡¯t used to working with¡­¡± Shaun mentioned as Grey piped in. ¡°Maybe we could pay them what they¡¯d normally be earning from the Dungeon every day, so their earnings still equal out?¡± Grey¡¯s suggestion was met with a shake of the head from both Dante and Shaun. ¡°No, that wouldn¡¯t work because Adventurers still need to level up, fighting in a place far below your level would slow down your levelling, another reason why it would be difficult to outsource¡­ maybe if we paid enough to make them think it was worth having to play catch up later¡­¡± Shaun paused for a moment, looking to Dante. ¡°What if we put Roy and Oliver on it? Roy retired to go live with his family and Oliver¡¯s a civilian, so he would have free time¡­ as for other cities, have them put up a request for Adventurers over level thirty to train specific people to an ¡®acceptable¡¯ level in exchange for their daily average earnings plus twenty or thirty per cent.¡± Shaun said, Grey nodding as he wrote that down, usually he acted as the gopher for Shaun¡¯s orders¡­ ¡°Okay¡­ and we leave Ellie here?¡± Dante¡¯s question was more of a request, considering he didn¡¯t really want his sister to be involved with the rest of the situation. ¡°That¡¯s up to her Dante, though knowing Ellie she won¡¯t really want to be involved, medic and all. That leaves the three of us to work on the crimes.¡± Shaun said, finally downing his glass as he contemplated the bottle, instead closing it and putting it away. ¡°Yeah¡­ the crimes¡­ what were they calling themselves again?¡± Dante asked, with Shaun tapping the side of his own skull in thought. ¡°Something stupid, like Wonderland, though their boss might have been joking when he said it, everyone in the group seems to have taken it seriously.¡± Shaun felt like cringing at the name, it sounded so¡­ childish. ¡°Well we¡¯ll have that as their name for now¡­ anyway, the members of Wonderland are quite difficult to take down non-lethally, we only managed to figure who they are because of how diverse their roster of members is.¡± Shaun said, reminding the two of their interrogation of some captured drug dealers and bank robbers. ¡°Yes, from what we¡¯ve managed to figure out the members of Wonderland are mostly two-bit thugs and semi-professional criminals¡­ but then you got their leadership, which is a bit¡­ unstable.¡± Dante reminded, and Grey frowned in memory. ¡°Right, from what we¡¯ve found the boss refers to himself as ¡®twenty-three¡¯ or mister Mourn, whether that¡¯s an alias or not, we are unaware.¡± Grey said, turning to Shaun. ¡°Not to mention his face-changing ability¡­ and all lieutenants in the group seem to be people broken out of prison or other psychiatric institutions¡­ people who are a bit more dangerous than the rank and file.¡± Grey added and Shaun sighed, recalling the information the president managed to get him. Shaun was quite thankful for his authority on American soil, he could only take orders from the president himself, and could exercise authority roughly equal to the vice-president. This was only so long as Shaun didn¡¯t do anything bad with said authority, but Shaun didn¡¯t really want for much beyond information and a pay-check. ¡°Right¡­ Pennhurst and Project Fool¡­ I¡¯m well aware that the government has quite a few under the table projects that could be hold-overs from previous administrative orders, but this, a Project that has been around since a bit before WW one?¡± Shaun seemed incredulous within reason¡­ you hear about things like that in movies but in real life? ¡°If we are to possess mentally ill people who wish to harm others, why not let them harm our enemies¡­ how did such a thought lead to a century long project aiming at unstable super soldiers¡­¡± Shaun had reviewed what little information they had managed to find about the situation, as well as finding Pennhurst himself. The place was destroyed, understandable given Red Sky Day, repairs took quite a while even with help from civilians and newly discovered Earth and Metal magic from those allowed into the Dungeon, but this place was abandoned that day, and reviewing the notes in Pennhurst showed some terrifying results. ¡°Morally it¡¯s sickening, but from a tactical viewpoint¡­ someone gave up their morals to come up with this idea and actually used it in WW two for a bit, sending periodical attacks on their borders, and if they could get through, cities.¡± Dante noted, having read the report after Shaun, though Grey still hadn¡¯t been given clearance to read it, they could talk about it with him. Loopholes. ¡°Whatever the case, the leader of¡­ Wonderland¡­ happens to be one of those soldiers, and now that he¡¯s free without orders, I can understand why he¡¯s so set on attacking America as a whole¡­ currently he¡¯s just a gang boss but his motives would equate to terrorism¡­ then again, one man¡¯s terrorist is another man¡¯s freedom fighter¡­¡± Shaun said with a complain, and Dante and Grey could both understand where Shaun was coming from. If Mourn let the media know about why he was attacking America? He¡¯d get sympathisers instantly, people questioning how the government could let his treatment continue, situations like those are polarizing and being on opposite sides of an argument is enough to make people attack one another¡­ ¡°Luckily for us it doesn¡¯t seem like Mourn is ready to do anything like that, and as long as we don¡¯t let him know about it we should be fine.¡± That was a definite; never let your opponent know of a weak spot in your armour. ¡°So we¡¯re going to be taking the fight to Mourn¡¯s soon, launching our own attacks¡­ but we can only do that with the correct information¡­ until then, we need a response force while the police are being trained.¡± Dante reminded¡­ And Shaun responded with a sigh, placing his hand over his face. ¡°We happen to know a team of Adventurers that are strong enough to bounce back from having time missing from the Dungeon, remember?¡± Grey and Dante considered their boss¡¯ words before realizing who he was talking about. ¡°Einherjar, would they really¡­ I mean, killing their opponents is a real possibility¡­¡± Grey was reluctant, but ignoring his words, Shaun looked to Dante in question. ¡°It¡¯s a possibility, the only issue is that they don¡¯t have training in non-lethal takedowns¡­ if we give them that info, and remind them to try non-lethal first, we could legalize them with your authority Shaun.¡± Dante agreed, knowing that Einherjar was one of the strongest Adventurer teams in the world, if not the strongest¡­ And that was even after considering that unlike other teams they didn¡¯t go every single day and they went in to the Dungeon with only doing one floor every one or two days. Other Adventurer teams took longer to venture past one floor, while levelling up slower, due to a combination of many reasons, such as Emilia Vasilievna being capable of mapping, their team being ideal when it came to all-round capability, and their leader being who he was. ¡°Sir¡­ I must add that I¡¯m against this.¡± Grey added, looking at his two superiors who stopped their contemplation to look at the younger agent with raised eyebrows. ¡°Oh? I can understand wanting your friends to stay out of danger, but isn¡¯t this their decision?¡± Shaun asked, fishing for information as Grey bit his lip before affirming his resolve. ¡°Can sir recall, there was a time when you asked me about this team and I answered with our previous affiliation¡­ as well as mentioning how Arthur is¡­ violent.¡± Grey reminded as Shaun paused¡­ then leaned back a bit, staring at Grey with his eyes flashing green for a moment. ¡°¡­You¡¯re worried that Clive will enjoy hunting down bank robbers?¡± Shaun cut to the heart of the matter as Grey nodded, taking a deep breath before he spoke up again. ¡°Yes, sir. Arthur is a deeply violent person, but like I said, he has remarkable control over such tendencies¡­ but when he has to hurt others, he does so with no hesitation¡­ that¡¯s not normal.¡± Grey¡¯s words reminded the two senior agents of a few¡­ questionable people they had known in the past. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure there¡¯s a term for that beyond apathy or shell shock.¡± Dante added, thinking to reports of veterans from the world wars saying how their fellow soldiers died so often at their side that at some point they just became numb to the pain¡­ ¡°But that isn¡¯t quite right is it? Apathy is the lack of caring, but doesn¡¯t Clive care about his team, at the very least he cares about Vasilievna.¡± Shaun reminded that said person was actually dating someone at the moment, and Grey just sighed, running a hand through his hair. ¡°But that¡¯s the thing, Arthur can care¡­ but he can also just as suddenly not care. With others you can¡¯t help but sympathize, we train to hit someone without flinching because when we see others in pain we feel a bit of it ourselves, synaesthesia¡­¡± Shaun nodded at that, still thinking about Grey¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re saying that Clive can somehow ignore it? He can just hurt someone without caring¡­ you¡¯re right there, that¡¯s a worrisome trait¡­ he has capable control, but you¡¯re worrying about him taking it too far if given permission?¡± Shaun clarified once more as Grey nodded. ¡°Yes sir. I¡¯ve even asked him once, and while I thought it was a joke at the time, I still remember the words.¡± Grey suddenly shivered as if feeling a cold breeze in the room. ¡°I would kill so many people, if only I wouldn¡¯t be caught. The only thing keeping Arthur from hurting others is that there would be repercussions. Remove them and¡­¡± the idea was there. ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ I¡¯ll train him myself. Dante, you deal with the rest of the group, but let me deal with Clive myself.¡± Shaun warned, and his two subordinates nodded. ¡°Oh¡­ and by the way, someone talk to Collins about that trick with the floating sword, telekinesis with Mind magic? Really, it¡¯s acting like the force or something¡­¡± Shaun complained with a sigh. ¡°Yes sir. So, are we going to go patrol for a bit?¡± Grey asked, trying to lighten the mood after dropping that bomb on the group. ¡°Grey, you suck. Let¡¯s go.¡± Dante blandly said, as he stood, Shaun taking a moment to stand himself as all three reached into their inventories, removing bullet-proof masks created by Dante as well as their equipment of choice. Stepping outside, Ellie saw them with their masks with a raised eyebrow before sighing. ¡°Just be careful you three. Grey, use your second Anima if it will help, please.¡± Ellie warned and Grey nodded with a salute, which would have been funny seeing as it was a superior saluting a lower ranked officer¡­ Seniority said that Grey was lower ranked though. ¡°I will¡­ I might not use it that often, but it¡¯s not like I hate using it.¡± Grey¡¯s second Anima was kind of a secret considering few ever saw him using it, but that was the brilliance of a trump card. ¡°And bro, no collateral damage, your Anima is dangerous in a wide area.¡± Dante rolled his eyes in response to his sister¡¯s warning, his own Anima was dangerous, certainly, but it wasn¡¯t like he could use it with a gun¡­ His Anima only worked on his own body and on blunt weapons, hence why he used a hammer. ¡°No need to say anything, my wife complains every day I leave the house.¡± Shaun cut Ellie off before she could say anything to him about this outing, the girl scoffing as she moved back to the till to deal with the Adventurers¡­ She was one of the senior members of the Guild and was to be feared, so Adventurers were quick to listen to her instructions and obey, she usually got done with them quickly. The only exception being Einherjar, Ellie was practically their personal secretary¡­ Only because the other secretaries were fans and shy about dealing with the top team in the country, and Ellie couldn¡¯t give a shit. The top three members of the Guild left after a moment, filing into Dante¡¯s car instead of Shaun¡¯s, Dante¡¯s smirk as he revved his generation six Ford mustang. Dante was still waiting for the next edition to get that one instead¡­ his car was also one of the reasons why Dante was actually a friend of the Cardinal Agent¡­ The Cardinal Agent who was currently standing next to their car, leaving Shaun scowling beneath his mask as he rolled down the window to talk to the man. ¡°Clements, why are you still around?¡± Shaun asked, it was an honest question given that George was supposed to be back in England, he worked there after all. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m just setting things up for a few future events, nothing major¡­ by the way, monster¡­¡± Shaun sighed, once more being insulted to his face by the crazy agent. ¡°I heard, through the voice of the shoe that flies in the sky, that you are going to be out of country for a while in a month or so.¡± After translating and editing the sentence Shaun nodded, accepting that George was just trying to explain that by seeing the future he knew Shaun was leaving the country. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll be seeing you there¡­ a few other Guild Leaders were ordered to check out that situation as well, and I¡¯m part of that group. Albert won¡¯t be joining us though, he¡¯ll be too busy competing against Arthur Clive.¡± That was news to Shaun, why wasn¡¯t he- A hum and ping signalled a message being received, and checking his phone, Shaun looked at the message from Clayton saying exactly what George was telling him. ¡°As usual, your timing is impeccable. So I suppose we¡¯ll be working together in a while¡­ that still doesn¡¯t say why you aren¡¯t back in England.¡± Shaun added with a huff. ¡°All the action is happening over here though¡­ the only thing I get to do at home is figure out new ways to mess with Jade about my relationship with her sister.¡± George complained as a man ran behind George, huffing slightly. ¡°George¡­ you asshole¡­ you just set off that chain reaction and walked away¡­¡± The man, clearly one of George¡¯s subordinates, was pitiable considering he somehow had feathers in his hair, tears in his clothes and one shoe looked a bit burnt¡­ How that happened, no one wanted to know. ¡°Sorry Mike, I forgot you weren¡¯t important. And hey, at least I caught the thief right?¡± George asked while Mike growled. ¡°Yes, but if anyone found out you released that chicken, and set it on fire, then we could be in serious trouble, this isn¡¯t even our jurisdiction!¡± Mike was complaining, and Shaun just blandly stared at George¡­ then forced Dante to drive away quickly. ¡°Come on Mike, I feel like taking an enthusiastic walk.¡± Mike paled at the words of his friend/boss, rushing to stop the wannabe Hokage before he did something that would get them kicked out of the country. ¡°George, the last time you took a walk you engineered events so that a terrorist group would end up tarred and feathered, and besides, the Prime Minister said you aren¡¯t allowed on those walks anymore.¡± Mike tried to calmly talk to the Cardinal. ¡°Eh, the higher ups are wet blankets. Never mind, I¡¯m going to go get Felicity an anti-tank cannon. Bitches love cannons after all.¡± The Cardinal said, removing a wide brimmed hat of the same colour as his suit from his inventory, placing it on his head. ¡°George, George was that a reference? George, what are you talking-¡± ¡°Cut the chapter!¡±
Arthur Clive
Level: 63 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician IV (11/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% (total 155%) Sword Sage II (162/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight II (295/300) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (29/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (58/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (43/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 79 Dexterity: 96 (115)
Intelligence: 54 Wisdom: 105 (162)
Endurance: 54 Vitality: 79
B2 Chapter 7- Wide eyes It hurt. It hurt quite a bit, Arthur could admit, as he felt the imprint of a boot etch itself onto his stomach, sending the Chosen of America flying backwards as he rolled into a sitting position, groaning and trying to keep his breakfast down. ¡°Stand up. You¡¯re higher levelled than I am, you should be doing alright.¡± Arthur scoffed at the words of Shaun, said scoff doing violent things to his wounded stomach before calming down. ¡°Level has nothing to do with technique¡­¡± Arthur protested as he stood, his Vitality kicking in and allowing him to breathe easier, sword facing Arthur while his Dagger of Hunger was in his off hand. Arthur was surprised when the next time he entered the Guild he was met with Shaun and Dante asking Einherjar to assist them in being a task force in response to Adventurer crimes much like how there was anti-terrorist task forces. Originally Arthur would have probably said no, but the rest of Einherjar considered it a possibility in exchange for the offered training. Even Arthur could see the benefits in being trained by Dante and Shaun, the two soldiers had a better idea of combat than Einherjar did, and Einherjar was specialized in monster slaying in the first place, if they were to help combat Adventurer crimes they needed to learn to fight Adventurers. The only two sour points to aforementioned deal was that Shaun was Arthur¡¯s trainer, saying that Arthur needed special attention compared to his teammates¡­ And that Arthur didn¡¯t want to fight other people. No, that wasn¡¯t quite correct¡­ He didn¡¯t want to hurt other human beings because Arthur was lost on ¡®how much is too much¡¯ when it came to hurting others. Even before gaining a LEV this was Arthur¡¯s concern when it came to fights and why he rarely if ever got involved in a fight¡­ Winning a fight was easy; all it required was to make the other fear you, one decisive blow, to let the thought sink in. The thought that ¡®hey, this person I¡¯m fighting is serious, they really want to hurt me¡¯ and that causes a person to give up much quicker compared to someone who has resolve. Shake their resolve and end the fight right there. Arthur never went further than that because going further would be a challenge to his ability to hold back. Shaun¡¯s sharp green eyes signifying the use of his Anima turned off after a single flash, both Arthur and Shaun having to remember to not use their visual abilities on the other, both finding the other too disturbing when seen with said abilities. ¡°I know what your issue is¡­ it¡¯s weird, honestly, but at least as a combatant your problem is simpler.¡± Arthur nodded, his body beginning to spark with his Spark Step activating. ¡°For the majority of humans, when faced with adversity they run, or they freeze¡­ there¡¯s a small amount of people that would fight¡­ you¡¯re part of the latter, but worry about overly harming those you would fight.¡± Shaun said with his own sword coming up as they both began to move. No words were to be said while sparring, but in-between short bursts of combat they could converse¡­ while fighting, that was a big no-no. Their blades locked, and instantly Shaun launched a kick towards Arthur¡¯s shin, leaving Arthur to disengage and twirl to dodge said kick¡­ Originally Arthur considered taking the blow and attacking through the pain. He gave up on that after the first few times of being kicked so hard he flipped once or twice. Endurance was looking more and more like a good stat to invest in considering that stat governed weight in a combat situation, Matt could barely be moved at all when he dug in, the only times where Matt¡¯s defence wasn¡¯t entirely perfect was against Demon Lords, especially those much larger such as the Rusted King¡¯s second phase. Not only that, but Arthur¡¯s Strength stat was lower than Shaun¡¯s, only seemingly matching the Guild Leader in strength due to the level difference as well as Arthur¡¯s higher Dexterity stat. During the whirling motion Arthur struck out with the Dagger of Hunger, recalling the advice he was given to make only light slashes or ending blows with his Dagger. It made sense, even if his Dagger was the ¡®strongest¡¯ weapon he had, it didn¡¯t have range¡­ though Arthur wondered about that. What if they fought a giant monster, how would they cut through it, death by a thousand cuts, or a technique to cut further into the enemy, there were all sorts of- ¡°You keep losing focus.¡± Arthur heard as Shaun raised his left hand, grabbing Arthur¡¯s forearm and using that as leverage to throw the younger fighter across their sparring room. Arthur winced at the uncomfortable feeling in his shoulder from being manhandled like that before twisting in mid-air to land softly upon his feet. Again, stats had some awesome effects. ¡°Sorry¡­ I just keep thinking about the Dungeon.¡± Arthur admitted, and Shaun sighed, dismissing his sword which Arthur was certain was another Anima, making Shaun one of those people with multiple Animae¡­ People who contemplated ending their lives¡­ not that Arthur knew that bit of information, with Shaun issuing an order to classify that information¡­ It would certainly change how people look at these people who have ¡®bonus¡¯ abilities. People with two Animae were not extremely rare, especially in America where suicide was one of the leading causes of death¡­ and it¡¯s pretty likely that for every few that think of it, there¡¯s at least one that would carry it out. Those with one Anima on occasion complained about ¡®unfairness¡¯ but they were eventually ignored when people noticed that having two Animae didn¡¯t automatically mean stronger, and everyone with two Animae had issues. Of course, it was also a bit hard to make the argument that two Animae was not a boost when the ¡®strongest¡¯ Adventurer had two, Shaun considered as he looked at Arthur. ¡°I get that the Dungeon is your focus, but we need to move that to this. Rather, we really need to work on controlling your strength.¡± Arthur winced at that, looking at Shaun who rolled up his sleeve showing a slowly healing bruise. Said bruise was caused when Shaun tried to provoke Arthur with a fight or flight response to nearly dying. The result that Shaun was launched into a wall by a kick aimed for his skull, only his guard kept Shaun from having a concussion or getting knocked out, maybe even worse. And ever since that attack Shaun had been trying to get Arthur to do it again, to disappointing results. ¡°You hold back too much, or not at all¡­ we¡¯re looking for a point in the middle reaching the point of being able to ¡®almost¡¯ kill. But you¡¯re having issues with this, why?¡± Arthur looked away at this question, knowing that Shaun wanted an actual explanation. Shaun had looked into everything he could for one Arthur Clive, finding no hint of a reason why Arthur would think like this¡­ why Arthur would scare others into not fighting him, for their safety. Arthur was strong, Shaun was well aware that despite being more skilled Arthur could likely fight Shaun to a standstill, Arthur having a slight advantage between the two¡­ And yet Shaun hadn¡¯t lost a single spar between them? They had already been doing this for almost a week, before Einherjar entered the Dungeon, and after, for an hour each time, hoping to get Einherjar ready quickly. The other members of Einherjar were having much better results in Shaun¡¯s opinion, Michael and John especially, the first because he could easily aim for crippling blows instead of killing, and John because his weapon was blunt, and his strength stat low. For Matt and Alice, they were a bit overboard in their attacks, but none that would outright kill someone unless said attacks hit someone in the head¡­ though they¡¯d definitely have a broken bone or two. Emilia was an outlier in that she seemingly knew how to fight with her knives to disable in the first place, oddly comfortable sparring against Dante which further got Shaun questioning who Emilia was. Emilia was Russian, and comes from a rich background of some kind¡­ knowing from Albert, the Russian Chosen/Guild Leader about the country and its system, Shaun was beginning to entertain the idea that Emilia either had military family members, or her family was on the other side of the law. Either way, she was here, helping to fight the enemies of humanity as a whole, she still sparred with Dante like the others, but she needed less overseeing. So with those members of Einherjar¡­ Arthur was handling the training the worst. But Shaun had the feeling that it would be like this from the get go, hence why Shaun was the one training Arthur, and the rest were getting training from Dante instead. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t give a specific reason as to why, it¡¯s just¡­ an instinct? That if I tried to truly hurt someone, something will go wrong.¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t quite understand that. People either reacted violently, or sheepishly, Arthur had all the makings of someone who reacts too violently to things, but was willing himself to do nothing. ¡°I get that, trained fighters don¡¯t always just step into a ring knowing that they can hurt the other person, but¡­ we really should have had some progress by now.¡± Shaun complained for a moment before sighing. ¡°Whatever, go into the Dungeon, we can talk again when you get back out. How close are you to the Demon Lord?¡± Shaun asked Arthur who was sighing in relief at not needing to fight anymore. The fighting was doing wonders for his Skills, but you wouldn¡¯t level up unless you¡­ killed something. Arthur looked away, careful to not show his expression at that thought. ¡°Around halfway through the area. As expected, poisonous enemies have started to appear, though apparently Vitality as a stat negates poison to a certain extent. Prolonged exposure would still lead to being poisoned, but with a high enough stat you could take more.¡± Arthur spoke from personal experience there, as if that stat was ranked for Einherjar he¡¯d be in the upper half with Alice, Michael and himself. Matt was such a tank he barely needed any Vitality, John wasn¡¯t a physical fighter even if he could now levitate a sword for a while to use, and Emilia shouldn¡¯t get hit in the first place. ¡°That would be irritating, scientists are still having trouble with those fruit you gave us, though we are starting to test using the wood element of magic to replicate it. If we get it right, then we should have a supply of fruits that can negate just about any type of poison.¡± Unsaid was that such a creation would be a major boon, and seriously expensive for such properties. At some point through the sixth Area Einherjar had been given a fruit as a drop from an enemy, checking it out revealed it cured poisoning¡­ which immediately got Einherjar to assume that poison was a key thing in Area six. So far every time the Dungeon did something, it was for a reason, being given a way to cure poison in a new Area? They couldn¡¯t have been more blatant unless they had a neon sign saying ¡®get poisoned here¡¯. Disregarding that, the fruit, called a Green Core, was amazing. A Cure-All, at least in regards to poisoning? High ranking individuals in politics, business, science, all sorts of important people would want such a thing because even if poisoning was such an outside-context problem in the real world, it was still a possibility.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Heck, Shaun himself tested one of the fruits after ingesting enough hemlock to almost entirely shut down his nervous system, then being fed a bit of the fruit and feeling fine. That was terrifying feeling everything in his system shutting down, but at least Ellie was around to heal him in case it didn¡¯t work out. It wasn¡¯t worth a whole lot, because anyone who reached the sixth Area would be able to find such a fruit, but for being the ¡®finder¡¯ Einherjar would be given a bit of a bonus at some point. They had already paid back their equipment given by Dante after all. ¡°That¡¯s great, maybe add something to the noticeboard that the sixth Area has poison, with a picture of the fruit. If your people can start growing them, maybe make it mandatory to take a few with when people start approaching the sixth area.¡± Arthur¡¯s idea had merit and Shaun nodded, watching the highest levelled adventurer walk away. As Arthur walked out into the main foyer of the Guild he saw the aforementioned noticeboard, which had a whole lot of advice and info, vetoed by the Guild of course in case someone gave nonsensical advice. There was someone who recommended fighting Willow with Wood magic to make her grow so big she¡¯d slow down, but that was obviously a lie meant to be a joke¡­ But if someone actually followed it, they¡¯d be making said Demon Lord stronger rather than weaker, and someone might die from such a situation. It was a joke, and anyone who thought about it would realize how crazy an idea it was, but¡­ well, no matter how much faith you have in the human intelligence¡­ as Einstein said, human stupidity is infinite, not intelligence. So such a note was taken down and the person who said it was given a warning, the noticeboard now had said warning right above it, saying that false statements will be met with a fine, or after repeated offences a ban for a certain amount of time. And you can bet that if someone was banned from this Guild, they were banned from every Guild in the country, seeing as the Head Guild Master for the entire country was Shaun. It was because of Shaun, and that Arthur only really used this entrance, that this Guild was the most popular one in the country. ¡°Hey Arthur, come on, we were waiting for you.¡± Emilia grabbed Arthurs hand, pulling him towards the other members of Einherjar as Arthur looked at their linked hands. With a small squeeze, Arthur let go as soon as they ran into the other members of the team, with Emilia giving a small smile, knowing that Arthur wasn¡¯t comfortable with public displays of affection. It always brought a bit of a chuckle/giggle from the members of Einherjar and some who managed to catch the actions whenever they occurred. Stepping into the Dungeon Entrance room, Arthur paused for a moment to sigh while the other members of his team went up to check their status before entering the Dungeon. Arthur himself went up, knowing that he¡¯d see some improvement in his Sword Sage Skill, as well as Quick Reflexes and Dual Wielding. Skills improved faster when used against a monster, making Arthur think that a portion of the Soul taken from a monster was used to upgrade whatever Skills were used to kill said monster, but it was once more just a theory. A lot of Arthur¡¯s theories were public, and couldn¡¯t be disproven when there was a lot of proof that they could possibly be fact, not theory. But the main concern in Arthur¡¯s opinion was that one Skill of his that always caught his eye whenever he saw it improving by any significant value. Soul Sight was his Unique Skill, something that gave him the insight to better understand how the Dungeon worked, as well as to better understand people he met. Granted it was a breach of privacy¡­ but he didn¡¯t care much.
Arthur Clive
Level: 67 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician IV (31/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% (total 155%) Sword Sage II (198/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight III (14/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (56/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (71/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (86/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 84 Dexterity: 100 (120)
Intelligence: 56 Wisdom: 115 (178)
Endurance: 56 Vitality: 84
As usual, Arthur had an extremely high Wisdom Stat for someone who had no business doing magic, and he was quite proud of it. But again, the real improvement was Soul Sight¡­ it had changed once more. The first time it got better, he could start to make out more details in the souls of others, seeing bumps and grooves, patterns almost. At this point, he still saw those grooves, but he also began to see strange visions when he looked at other people, nothing enough to stop him, but a short flash, almost like a picture. He¡¯d get them from time to time when looking at his teammates with Soul Sight, seeing them training with Dante, making Arthur wonder if his Soul Sight was beginning to actually let him see their memories. He denied that option the time they took a day off and he used it on Emilia and saw a vision of her drawing a map. It wasn¡¯t just memories really, he was seeing flashes of his teammates doing something¡­ something in particular. He was seeing them use Skills¡­ meaning that he could now, vaguely, guess as to what a person had as a Skill. Though it wasn¡¯t very accurate, and he¡¯d also begun to guess that he¡¯d only see the last Skill used, because the next time he used it against Emilia he saw her blocking a hit from Dante, using her bare hands. She had the Martial Arts Skill¡­ It was helpful, but also vaguely pointless as he wasn¡¯t fighting other Adventurers. And that was around the time Shaun offered him that deal. Now Arthur was beginning to wish he didn¡¯t have another Skill that made it easier to fight other human beings. But the blood would flow so nicely¡­ Arthur flinched away from the podium, getting odd looks from his team as he took in a deep breath, selecting the sixth Area to teleport to. He wouldn¡¯t talk about that. Not with his friends¡­ not with anyone. Now, little boy, pay attention, this is how you sever an artery. No, it wouldn¡¯t do to delve into those memories. ¡°Arthur, are you okay?¡± Emilia asked as they walked out into the Throne Room of the Rusted King. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll be fine, just thinking.¡± Arthur shook off the concern as he led his team. That was a good thought, leading, he¡¯d think about that. Leading his team was¡­ interesting, for Arthur. He hadn¡¯t originally wanted to be team leader, despite all the advice he gave to Michael he hadn¡¯t really thought that he would be a good team leader. For one, he was usually a bit soft-spoken, if he was in a group of people they usually spoke over him, it wouldn¡¯t do to have a leader who couldn¡¯t hold the attention of his followers. For another Arthur was scared of being held responsible. When he did something, he¡¯d take responsibility for it¡­ but he didn¡¯t want to let down someone who believed in him. So for a long time he refused all such positions, maintaining that people shouldn¡¯t have faith in him. You say that because the last time you led someone- No, nope, not thinking about that. Leadership, right, keep thinking about leadership. ¡°Arthur, Arthur, we going with the usual plan?¡± Michael spoke out, seeing a plant moving around with vines and a Venus-flytrap for a head as Arthur nodded. The Man-Eater Venus was a higher rank monster in the Sixth Area, they could handle it easily despite it being the equivalent of a Lantern Brute for this Area. Nodding absently to Michael, Arthur considered that it had been many weeks since he last thought about those enemies, getting lost in thought was a good way to avoid things. But you can¡¯t avoid everything No, no he couldn¡¯t, but he could try, and so he did, fighting the Man-Eater Venus without even focusing on the creature. At least it wasn¡¯t as bad a fight as the Poison Oak around floor fifty five, those things were horrible to fight for any prolonged period of time, and what was worse was that they gathered in large groups. At least Michael liked burning them. Where was he, ah yes, faith¡­ he didn¡¯t want people to believe in him only for him to let them down. Arthur would never admit it to anyone, even under duress, but Arthur was a bit¡­ stunted, emotionally. His friends already figured he was shy or something, though they hadn¡¯t made the leap to ¡®muted emotions¡¯ or something as drastic. But Arthur could rarely find himself to care for others, if he knew them for long periods of time then he would care, but much like the time he almost broke someone¡¯s arm inside the Guild Hall, he could be uncaring. Arthur knew what would happen when he stopped caring, and that got Arthur to try and care so much¡­ But it was difficult, oh so difficult to care for people other than his friends and family. It was why he was so against fighting humans, why he was so against the training Shaun was putting him through¡­ You know, slippery slopes and all that¡­ ¡°Arthur, you¡¯re being a bit absentminded, you sure you okay?¡± Finally it was Alice who spoke up, looking at Arthur who was staring at the dropped Soul Stone with a blank expression. ¡°Yeah, just thinking. Soul Sight evolved again recently, I¡¯ll get used to it, but I¡¯m going to be a bit out of it. Don¡¯t worry though, I can still fight.¡± Arthur finally decided to give a little half-truth there. He was thinking, but not about Soul Sight, though the rest of the information was true, he had implied that it was Soul Sight disturbing him¡­ implied that it wasn¡¯t those awful memories coming up once more. You¡¯re so mean when you call them awful¡­ ¡°Oh, okay¡­ so we just do the usual things, right?¡± Michael added, and Arthur looked to his second-in-command, his blank expression changing slightly. ¡°Michael, you lead for today. Like I said, I¡¯m a bit out of it, better to have someone who is actually focusing lead the team for a bit.¡± Arthur said, making Michael blink before he shrugged, and the team moved on. It was a bit difficult to truly focus his thoughts, and Arthur knew he¡¯d need to stop for a while¡­ meditating or something. He did that sometimes, ignoring the ¡®new age hippy¡¯ vibe it had it was pretty relaxing when he did it. They kept going though, with the rest of Einherjar making sure to look out for Arthur and make sure he was really still in the fight¡­ He still fought, quite well, but ignoring moving around and fighting Arthur was very, very silent¡­ Much like he was whenever in a crowd of people he didn¡¯t know¡­ they had thought he stopped doing that, but if it was relaxing to him, they¡¯d let him do that. They slowly worked their way up to the fifty fifth floor, deciding to turn around there instead of continuing¡­ It was pointless to continue as they knew where the stairs were, and Arthur couldn¡¯t fight with half his mind focused at that point. Walking back to the teleport point, and exiting the Dungeon, they looked as Arthur just stared at his own status page with a frown, eventually the other members of Einherjar looked to each other, each of them nodding as they understood they weren¡¯t going to be leaving their leader like this. ¡°Come on Arthur, let¡¯s go somewhere.¡± Emilia poked Arthur who blinked at his girlfriend for a moment before looking at the faces of his teammates. As one they looked to him with a bit of concern in his eyes and Arthur looked away with a huff of humour. Concerned, about him¡­ that¡¯s what friends did¡­ did Arthur do that? He did, to an extent¡­ he tried. That was enough, right? It¡¯s not. ¡°Right, right¡­ we going to leave the cars and such here?¡± Arthur asked as his friends smiled. ¡°Sure, a bit of a walk.¡± Matt said, giving Arthur a light hit on the shoulder as he walked past, the rest of the group moving as Arthur was pulled along with Emilia. And thus the group set off, on a magical journey of self-discovery, accompanied by each other, with a background music soundtrack of some Wiley and later some Logic. Arthur was appreciative of the music as they just walked around the block basically, head bobbing to the music as they walked¡­ Though he notably felt a bit uncomfortable when a certain song came on, a song named after the National Suicide Prevention Line¡­ no one caught it though. But he was notably a bit more relaxed when they ended up at the Guild again, with Arthur sighing in relief. ¡°I¡¯m okay now¡­ thanks.¡± Arthur¡¯s friends would joke about it, but right now they felt that it would not be appreciated in the slightest, so they just kept quiet. Arthur left, using his motorbike to end up at his house, taking a moment to ruffle his sisters hair and blow a raspberry on his younger brother¡¯s stomach, greeting his mother and father before he ended up in his room. Arthur sat down on his bed, looking across from his room, thinking, being a bit calmer about his thoughts¡­ Though seeing the empty bed across from him kept him from having calm thoughts¡­ wondering where that elder brother of his was at the moment. Meanwhile, across the city Eddie was forced to dodge a hit from his boss after he almost sneezed on Mourn. Arthur sighed, lying down, only after putting on a song to meditate to he got lost in his thoughts once more¡­ Arthur had to think¡­ he was the Chosen of America, the hope of humanity¡­ so why was he such a horrible person? Are you really horrible? No one thinks of themselves as horrible No, it was possible to think of oneself as horrible¡­ after all, Arthur had hurt people, he knew that was wrong. You¡¯ve hurt plenty, what¡¯s a few more? Arthur had hurt many. But he didn¡¯t hurt people anymore. But it was so much fun, you enjoyed it. Arthur probably did enjoy it. But he also knew that he shouldn¡¯t enjoy it. So what if you enjoy it, you know that you aren¡¯t quite right in the head. He probably wasn¡¯t¡­ no, he definitely wasn¡¯t. Opening his eyes, Arthur looked to his nearby full length mirror, and for a moment his eyes flashed purple. And deep inside his soul, the whispers echoed as his horribly cracked soul grinded on itself as he stared with wide eyes. Arthur was sure¡­ no normal human had a soul like that.
Arthur Clive
Level: 68 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician IV (32/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% (total 155%) Sword Sage II (206/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight III (23/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (67/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (73/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (92/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 85 Dexterity: 102 (122)
Intelligence: 56 Wisdom: 118 (182)
Endurance: 56 Vitality: 85
B2 Chapter 8- Expansion ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve decided.¡± There were a few eye rolls until Michael sighed, asking the question on everyone¡¯s mind. ¡°What was decided, Arthur?¡± Michael asked while looking to the leader of Einherjar who was blinking at the question before the man seemed to recall that other people didn¡¯t know what he thought. Good for them, they shouldn¡¯t want to know what he thought. ¡°I¡¯ve decided that we can¡¯t put off bringing in more people, we really need to create a Kingdom.¡± The words drew a pause from the group collectively as they looked at their leader. They were currently on a safe zone on the fifty ninth floor, a week away from the end of June, and approaching the sixth Demon Lord¡­ Unfortunately the first team to reach the Demon Lord was the British team, meaning that they¡¯d be fighting an ¡®automaton¡¯ version of the sixth Demon Lord. Those versions of the Demon Lords were weaker, and gave weaker experience, also didn¡¯t give any Skills and were much less likely to drop an item. Some people even ¡®farm¡¯ Demon Lords to get specific items, though it was rare that Einherjar would even consider that, though they did ¡®farm¡¯ Despair to get another sword like Arthur¡¯s, instead they got the chest-plate that John wore. It wasn¡¯t worth the effort to farm a Demon Lord unless they were much stronger, and even then, any equipment dropped by the Demon Lord would probably much too weak by that point. Speaking of Demon Lords, which reminded Arthur of the fifth Demon Lord, the Rusted King¡­ the ¡®boost¡¯ gained from that Demon Lord wasn¡¯t readily apparent for Arthur, but Matt apparently gained a Spell Skill finally, all defensive spells of course. Arthur noted that one person in particular would get a tangible reward from the Demon Lord, but Arthur, if he landed the killing blow, would always get a bit of something even if the reward didn¡¯t suit him. Alice¡¯s Dark Juggernaut Skill might have also came from killing Despair, now that Arthur thought about it¡­ he didn¡¯t need to know everything about his teammates, though it would help, and their Spells weren¡¯t always necessary, such as Alice¡¯s Dark Juggernaut Skill which let her get a bit stronger with each successive kill, or Matt¡¯s Spiked Wall Spell. Still, it was not too much of a train-smash to not kill the sixth Demon Lord, the Poisonous Thorn was a Wood-element Demon Lord so it was likely that no one in Einherjar would have gotten a concrete reward, and it couldn¡¯t talk so it wasn¡¯t adding much to the ¡®plot¡¯ of the Dungeon. The first Demon Lord loved the first and burnt himself out to defend her, the second loved the first and surrendered after his death, the third wished to progress among the Undead but was defeated by Chronos, and the Rusted King was devoured by Chronos after Chronos found the golem form of said King. The Demon Lords that Einherjar missed probably had their own stories, but Guldan was a Goblin, they were horrible disgusting things as a rule of thumb, and this new Demon Lord couldn¡¯t talk, Arthur wasn¡¯t interested in their stories. ¡°I wonder when I should release that information¡­¡± Arthur wasn¡¯t sure if he should make that public knowledge, considering that most people would like to vilify their opponents, and while Despair was definitely a bit evil, given his name, the rest¡­ The first, second and fifth Demon Lords were all victims of Chronos¡¯ lust for battle, much like the rest of humanity. ¡°Arthur, explain, you didn¡¯t want to add people to our team before, what changed?¡± Michael cut off the strange tangent that Arthur was headed for before Arthur could once more get lost in thought, bringing back the leader of Einherjar. ¡°Oh right, I¡¯ve recalled that little bit of information the Dungeon taught us. Anything that is mentioned is probably necessary. So if there is a Kingdom system, it¡¯s probably necessary for some reason, even if we can¡¯t see the meaning right away.¡± Arthur reminded, and then they thought about it. It was kind of true, even if they didn¡¯t want it to be, even John¡¯s ability to cure poison was immediately necessary in the second Area, recalling that Michael had got hit by a knife covered in unmentionables, without poison removal he could have gotten some horrible disease from that¡­ more like he definitely would have. And then in the current Area, poison removing fruit dropped from a monster, then the next floor had poison monsters. ¡°But why would the Kingdom system be necessary¡­ unless the Dungeon starts requiring more than six people to travel through it?¡± Alice offered as she thought about it. ¡°Maybe, maybe not, I doubt it would be necessary, but the Dungeon does make a habit of having things be easier one way than another.¡± Arthur offered, reminding them that they could have ignored the poison fruits and have John not get the ability to remove poison. It would be much more difficult and they probably would have died, but they technically could have made it through without those things. Technically, but honestly no, who would take that risk? So in the same sense, there would probably come a time where they would need more helpers, but could choose to continue without them. Rather have and not need, than to need and not have. ¡°Okay, so you want us to increase the members of our group, make a Kingdom, we¡¯re still the Einherjar though¡­ but who would we get?¡± Matt offered, rolling his left shoulder to regain a bit of feeling in it after blocking using his left arm so often. ¡°We could hold interviews? I mean, it¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have a template from businesses already, we work, we earn money, we¡¯re picking people to work for our ¡®company¡¯ right?¡± Emilia offered, getting a pause from the group before Arthur groaned out loud. ¡°Right¡­ it could be that simple really. I recall someone that interested me so I could get into contact with his team, but interviews is a possibility.¡± Arthur admitted reluctantly. They were all friends before becoming Einherjar so they didn¡¯t really think of Adventuring as a job, even if it was their primary income at this point. Banks were probably having a field-day trying to consider loans to Adventurers when the income of an Adventurer increased over-time but there was a chance of death so the Adventurer wouldn¡¯t be able to pay¡­ But for some Adventuring teams it really was basically a business, even if Einherjar hadn¡¯t hoped onto the train just yet, many others were already treating Kingdoms as such. ¡°Well, I got the idea after I saw that suit Shaun wore for the U.N meeting, and recently I heard that actors and actresses are entering the Dungeon for stats, you wouldn¡¯t exactly need a stuntman if you could shrug of real bullets right?¡± Emilia added, the members of Einherjar slowly realizing that they had also seen proof of what Emilia was saying. A certain Matrix actor was one such ¡®celebrity Adventurer¡¯ and that one South African actress, the main character of that spy movie with the quote ¡®manners maketh man¡¯ was another, even musicians were getting in on it, Arthur recalled a comment by a rapper who had a famous song named ¡®Earth¡¯ on one of his Soul Theory posts online saying he¡¯d like to talk to Arthur about it if Arthur was ever around. Arthur was quite happy about the last one, that rapper was funny; even if most of his friends didn¡¯t know him until that Earth song was released. ¡°Huh¡­ Adventurers are kind of celebrities too, right? Why haven¡¯t we gotten any sponsor deals yet?¡± Michael asked, getting a cough from Arthur in response. ¡°Well, it might be partially because we¡¯re well known as ¡®America¡¯s Adventurers¡¯ not to mention never reaching out for talk about sponsorship.¡± Arthur added, thinking on maybe making his Email account a bit more accessible. Only Adventurers seemed to message him, questions about the Dungeon really, but he never really hinted at anything more than a business relationship. He was a private guy in the first place; he didn¡¯t like being in the public eye, but that was being a bit selfish considering his teammates might want more. ¡°Right, guess we¡¯ll start that up too. I might even get us a PR guy.¡± John joked, though it was probably not entirely a joke considering he had quite the network of contacts out of the whole of Einherjar. Other graphic designers, sound engineers, accountants, aforementioned PR people, he worked with a lot of people on side projects to make advertisements for them, so it made sense that he¡¯d know quite a few. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with all of that, but heads up, fight.¡± Arthur interrupted the conversation as their weaponry was all prepared. After getting out of the Dungeon, the group understandably went to Shaun to talk to him about the plan to get more members for Arthur¡¯s non-existent Kingdom. ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re finally considering something I told you a few months ago?¡± Shaun was understandably a bit annoyed/confused at why Arthur was having the sudden change of heart only now. Explaining his mind-set just had Shaun shake his head with a sigh. ¡°That¡¯s more of an excuse than a reason¡­ but alright, the Guild is kind of your patron so we¡¯ll put up flyers on the Guild notice board. Any particular requirements?¡± Arthur hummed in thought, looking to his teammates if they had any suggestions. ¡°Only women-¡± John was summarily ignored as the remaining five members of Einherjar considered who they would like to fight with. Einherjar was¡­ unfortunately kind of elitist, so they didn¡¯t socialize with other teams that much, despite the Guild being a place where socializing Adventurers was the norm. ¡°Well¡­ there¡¯s no major requirement actually.¡± Michael offered, getting glances from the other members of Einherjar. ¡°Well obviously they need to get to our level or near it, but we¡¯re the highest levelled team in the world if you were to believe social media, we¡¯re not going to find many people above level sixty.¡± That was a good point, anyone above level sixty was likely employed by the Guild or already a member of Einherjar. Most Adventurers were only in the thirties-forties, this was because there were more Adventurers signing up little by little, so that was the average. But Adventurers could be split into those who were part of the first wave, Einherjar being a leading example of this group, the first groups of Adventurers were all in the lower fifties or so. Then there were the newbies who were somewhere between level one and twenty. The rest of the levels was just a zone of ¡®average¡¯ Adventurers. ¡°Good point, so we should resign ourselves to getting someone lower levelled than us by around ten levels at least.¡± Arthur admitted, and Shaun just sat staring at the meeting that was taking place in his office. Obviously, the Einherjar were kicked out of the office moments after this realization by Shaun, and they sat at the open area of the Guild, everyone sitting with some drink. Not that alcohol worked quite right for Adventurers really, people with high Vitality scores, such as Arthur, found it difficult to get drunk actually. Alcohol was technically a poison. ¡°Continuing, ten levels lower at minimum, but what about the maximum, I doubt we¡¯ll be happy with people who are level ten or lower, I mean, then we¡¯d have to basically spoon-feed them equipment and help until they got strong enough, and that would leave their Skill levels behind.¡± Alice reminded, and the discussion continued. Einherjar was also being stared at occasionally by other Adventurer groups, especially the newbies who were looking at them like celebrities¡­ Well, Einherjar were celebrities but only really to other Adventurers after all. ¡°I¡¯d say level thirty for the maximum gap between us and them, with a bit of advice and some extended Dungeon time we should be able to get them to at least the fifties in a month or so.¡± Levelling was not exactly constant, and it was in fact slowing down quite a bit for Einherjar. The only reason it didn¡¯t seem so bad was because they were also constantly fighting stronger and stronger enemies but where before they could level up once or twice a day, they¡¯d now level up once every two or four days depending on how many enemies they encountered. But if Einherjar brought the newer Kingdom members with to a high area, and worked with them, well, they¡¯d level up fast. ¡°Okay, so anywhere above level thirty¡­ how many are we looking for anyway?¡± Matt offered, and once more the group ignored John¡¯s suggestion of getting many, many girls into the group. It might have sounded chauvinistic to someone who didn¡¯t know John, but he was just messing with them, and they didn¡¯t mind the jokes, it kept them from getting too serious. ¡°Well if we add too many at once then we won¡¯t be able to really work together, so¡­ maybe six? I mean, there are Kingdoms with like thirty people already, so having twelve of us total is fine right?¡± Arthur put down his beer with a frown. He didn¡¯t actually like alcohol that much even when he could get drunk, it was why he rarely drank¡­ ¡°So a full team basically¡­ that seems like it would work out, swap teammates around kind of like how superhero teams have different members for different situations.¡± Surprisingly nerdy comment by Emilia aside (they all watched Anime, Emilia was a fan of a certain rubber pirate) they got the idea. ¡°Yeah, about that¡­ I actually recall someone asking me about a chance to be part of our Kingdom¡­ I¡¯m just trying to recall his name.¡± Arthur admitted, and the rest of the group tried to recall if Arthur ever mentioned such a person. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a day a month ago where we went out and you said you spoke to someone about Adventuring stuff? We were playing pool, you had just gotten your ass kicked by Michael, remember?¡± Emilia¡¯s words, while factual, brought a smile to Michael¡¯s face as Arthur¡¯s head made contact with the table they were seated at. ¡°Yes, I recall. Everyone lost to Michael. Ah, Drew Simmons was his name.¡± Arthur sat up as he recalled the name of the aforementioned Adventurer, remembering that the boy/teen was in high school. ¡°Alright, Drew Simmons, what level was he a month ago?¡± John asked leaving Arthur to explain his conversation with Drew to the group, as well as Drew being level thirty five back then. ¡°Well he¡¯s already met the requirements if you¡¯re just looking at that, and if he has five dedicated teammates then that is a whole team in one go¡­ got a way to contact him?¡± Alice offered and Arthur shrugged, leaving the rest of the group to sigh. Right, Arthur was good with technology but hated social media somehow. ¡°Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, there will be something he¡¯ll be on, let him know you want to meet up and have it happen.¡± Michael explained in the end, leaving Arthur to stare at his second-in-command with a dull look for a solid minute. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go on any of those things. Someone else do it, I¡¯m not doing it.¡± Arthur leaned back, downing his beer and leaving it at that. Arthur was damn stubborn at times, so recognizing this as a fight no one wanted to fight, Michael sighed pulling out his phone and going online. Another issue with being an Adventurer, being in the Dungeon meant spending a lot of time without an internet connection, this resulted in Adventurers experiencing a strange disconnect from ¡®current¡¯ news. Not that Arthur cared for much of current news, knowing that the world wasn¡¯t going to explode tomorrow was enough for him on most days. The only news he actually cared about was stuff related to books, anime, and games, and now Adventuring stuff after Red Sky Day. ¡°I¡¯ll get on that, might as well.¡± John admitted with a sigh, knowing that he had to talk to some of his network anyway, so might as well send the invitation to this ¡®Drew¡¯ while he was online. ¡°Okay, so we¡¯re going to be getting six new members unless we have issue with this guy¡¯s team, or he¡¯s a free Adventurer.¡± Alice leaned back with her statement, looking at her own beer with a shrug before drinking it. Underage she may be, but considering Ellie, the government worker, was the one that handed it to her after they ordered their drinks, she didn¡¯t care. Besides, Vitality stat. ¡°Good point, but let¡¯s wait until we find out whether he¡¯s a free Adventurer or not before we look for other options.¡± Arthur reminded with a raised eyebrow, getting an exaggerated ¡®backing off¡¯ motion from Alice, getting laughs all around. ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s leave the talk of recruits and publicity alone for a while, let¡¯s talk about anything else. I¡¯d like to talk Skills, Stats and all that, but if you all don¡¯t want to¡­¡± Arthur was being¡­ oddly considerate today. Normally he¡¯d just talk about Skills and Stats regardless of what the rest of his team wanted, not to say that nothing else was spoken of, but that was part of the only topic Arthur spoke out on.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Anything to do with Adventurers was something that Arthur knew very well, enough to discuss for hours about almost any topic related to Adventurers. ¡°I¡¯d rather not but it is a bit necessary, been a while since we shared after all.¡± Michael admitted with a frown, getting sighs all around. Typically everyone was left to their own devices when it came to their Adventurer Status, the only shared info was really their levels. It was already enough to worry about your own Stats and Skills, worrying about another¡¯s was complex, though Arthur always found time to do so. It came with being the leader and always theorizing strategies. ¡°Alright, alright, everyone got their notes on their status?¡± Matt asked, removing his own piece of paper as everyone dropped them into the centre of the table. Einherjar didn¡¯t exactly care enough to notice that anyone close enough to hear what was being said, which was many an Adventurer with their enhanced abilities, was trying to sneak glances at those pieces of paper. Their stats and skills were the subject of intense discussion online, considering they were the ¡®strongest¡¯ team gossip and contemplation was natural, the only concrete things known about the team was that their levels were approaching seventy and their Classes. Roles in the team were still being guessed at, though obviously Arthur was the leader. Seeing these status pages would give people more info, and might inspire certain stat builds. There was a website where people could anonymously upload their status and ask for advice, get criticism and all that. Understandably it quickly devolved into talks of ¡®hax¡¯ or ¡®garbage¡¯ when referring to the stats of others because no one¡¯s stats or skills were truly the same. And no one mentioned Animae because they were private information. The first page they looked at was Matt¡¯s, knowing it was simple.
Matt Jacobson
Level: 69 (C-Rank)
Class: Wall of Steel- Grants two stat points to Endurance per level Gives Spatial Recognition (Rare) Skill and Shield Arts Skill
Anima
Shield of Immunity
Anima Skills
Bulwark- ranged attacks against team are redirected towards the shield Spikes- Parrying a weapon might result in its destruction Unstoppable Wall- Shield bashes are more effective and cause bleeding.
Primary Element: Metal Other Element: Earth
Personal Skills
Stand Strong IV (47/200)- increases Endurance by 25% Shield Arts IV (38/200)- decreases Damage taken when blocking Spatial Recognition III (31/300) - Allows tracking of all things within a fifteen metre radius, causes headaches with long use Lightened Load IV (3/200)- Weight of carried items lowered by 20% Quick Response II (53/200)- The more enemies you face, the better your reaction speed becomes. Steel Guardian I (23/100)- Grants use of defensive Metal Element Spells.
Stats
Strength: 73 Dexterity: 73
Intelligence: 73 Wisdom: 73
Endurance: 141 (176) Vitality: 73
¡°As expected, Matt is probably going to become immortal at some point.¡± John joked, and Matt was pretty smug about his defence. That smug smirk replaced to a look of fear as he looked at the knife pierced into the table where his hand had been a moment ago, taking a moment to stare at Emilia who was looking oddly innocent despite throwing a knife into the table. ¡°Did you just¡­¡± Matt slowly asked, no one else seemed to care that much as Emilia shrugged. ¡°What, it¡¯s a normal knife, not an Anima or a Blacksmith forged weapon, you know it can¡¯t pierce your skin even.¡± Emilia shrugged while Matt just gave her a dull stare in return. ¡°Yeah I don¡¯t appreciate knives being thrown at me just because they bounce off.¡± Matt realized he had said something wrong when Emilia started smiling, and Arthur started covering up his chuckles with his hand. ¡°You just admitted that you know they bounce off! Who threw you with a knife?¡± Emilia was really interested in this apparently as Matt realized that he did kind of admit it by accident. ¡°A¡­ close friend¡¯s dad threw me with a knife while I was jumping out his daughter¡¯s window a week ago.¡± Matt admitted, trying to put it a bit gently. Which was uncharacteristically nice of Matt. Normally he¡¯d say something to the effect of: I ploughed this guy¡¯s daughter and he tossed a knife at me. Rather than that, the question was ¡®what does Matt do with his free time¡­ that this sounded normal for him?¡¯. Moving on, they looked at Alice¡¯s status next after Matt pocketed his status page.
Alice Grave
Level: 69 (C-Rank)
Class: Martial Berserker- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Gives Pain is Gain Skill and Hero¡¯s Strength Skill
Anima (Skill)
The World is a Weapon- grants use of any weapon as if holding a rank III skill of that weapon type The World is a Shield- grants use of all defensive skills to the point of rank III World of Magic- Lessens Mana cost of elemental manipulation by a small amount
Primary Element: Darkness Other Element: Wind
Personal Skills
Hero¡¯s Strength IV (22/200)- increases Strength by 25% Pain is Gain III (56/150)- The more damaged, the more powerful the user becomes, causes intense anger Calm Mind II (189/200)- Keeps a person calm and collected Quick Reflexes III (121/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20% Dark Juggernaut II (65/200)- Grants Darkness based Supplementary Spells
Stats
Strength: 105 (132) Dexterity: 105 (127)
Intelligence: 74 Wisdom: 74
Endurance: 74 Vitality: 74
Arthur, as usual, found Alice¡¯s status to be brilliant, he was beginning to think he had OCD when it came to having numbers balanced out like this. ¡°It¡¯s still a shock when we remember that you¡¯re a berserker¡­ but you never go into ¡®rage mode¡¯ like other berserkers or get angry.¡± Michael said with understandable fear given this was his sister. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you know the secret, I¡¯m always angry.¡± Alice said with a serious look, holding it for a moment before every member of Einherjar laughed, Arthur¡¯s shoulder shaking as he slumped forward onto the table. ¡°Oh god the reference, the reference!¡± Arthur groaned out as they laughed a bit more, breathing sighs all around as they calmed down after that joke. They weren¡¯t the only ones laughing, anyone who was listening in, aka most of the other Adventurers, had to keep themselves from spitting out their drinks at the reference to big mean and green. ¡°I¡¯m hoping that when we find Chronos I can call him a puny god.¡± Alice just kept it going, drawing more laughs from her friends¡­ It was nice, joking around like that. Honestly the joke wasn¡¯t even that funny, but sometimes it didn¡¯t have to be to get such a laugh. They¡¯re the laughs you live for really. After recovering, Emilia offered her status page up next, telling Arthur straight away that he¡¯d be going last.
Emilia Vasilievna
Level: 69 (C-Rank)
Class: Hunter Thief- Grants one stat point to Dexterity and Intelligence per level Gives Tracking Skill and Dagger Arts Skill
Anima
Bloodletting Daggers
Anima Skills
Shred- increases damage dealt to animal-type enemies, occasionally causes Bleeding Armour Piercing- chance to bypass armour, weakens blows to flesh after bypassing armour though Bloody Mary- life steal effect granted against living creatures, at 8% of damage dealt converted to health. Cutback- as long as one Dagger is held, you can throw the other and summon it to your free hand, range is limited to 10 metres.
Primary Element: Water Other Element(s): Mind
Personal Skills
Quick Reflexes IV (47/200)- increases Dexterity by 25% Dagger Arts IV (73/200)- Increases Dagger-type weapon damage Tracking III (62/150)- Allows tracking of wounded enemies, can be used to map areas, but is not designed to do so. Martial Arts IV (18/200)- increases damage dealt without a weapon. Regenerator III (12/150)- increases Vitality by 20% Aquatic Defence II (39/200)- Grants Water based defensive spells
Stats
Strength: 100 Dexterity: 101 (126)
Intelligence: 95 Wisdom: 70
Endurance: 70 Vitality: 70 (84)
¡°¡­I really, really want to know what kind of life you¡¯ve lived before you moved to New York.¡± Arthur admitted and Emilia actually looked a bit uncomfortable at that line of questioning. She relaxed when Arthur placed a hand on hers, giving a small smile. ¡°Don¡¯t got to explain it, but you have to admit its a bit weird, martial arts, daggers, and you knew how to track before we even went into the Dungeon.¡± Emilia was once more a bit sheepish about admitting things, but no one actually asked her anything, just letting her know what they knew. At this point the other members of Einherjar assumed she had military family members who trained her, simple, easy explanation, Michael had family members in the military after all, and he was quite the gun-nut. Emilia¡¯s reluctance to speak about it said that their assumption was wrong, but they weren¡¯t going to force anything from her. Ironically, despite being the thief/assassin archetype of the group, Emilia didn¡¯t have the highest Dexterity of the group¡­ that title belonged to Michael, who tossed in his status next while Emilia removed hers from the table. Emilia¡¯s abilities as a thief/assassin were brilliant though, so it didn¡¯t really matter that much in the long run. On the other hand, Michael didn¡¯t really seem like he had the highest Dexterity of the group at all with how he only really had the option of ¡®moving¡¯ ¡®shooting¡¯ and ¡®moving while shooting¡¯. He was wondering about using the bow as a close range weapon though¡­
Michael Grave
Level: 69 (C-Rank)
Class: Bowman Surveyor- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Grants Archery Skill and Hawk Eye Skill
Anima
Longbow of Skill
Anima Skills
Elemental Shift- Grant your arrows magic damage based on element Focus- perception of time slows down with bow string drawn back. Nimble Fingers- Double Dexterity for one shot, seven minute cool down Skill Down- enemies hit with your arrows lose 5 Dexterity for a minute; stacks for a max of five stacks, stacks renew duration.
Primary Element: Fire Other Element(s): Light
Personal Skills
Hawk Eye IV (107/200) ¨C Enhanced vision, drains stamina Archery IV (46/200) ¨C increases accuracy with ranged weapons Hero¡¯s Strength III (132/150) ¨C Increases Strength by 20% Quick Reflexes III (96/150) ¨C Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 126 (150) Dexterity: 126 (150)
Intelligence: 62 Wisdom: 52
Endurance: 70 Vitality: 70
¡°Always, always, so simple, but it¡¯s effective¡­¡± Arthur complained, wishing his own status page was that simple. It wasn¡¯t really the status page itself that was simple, it was Michael¡¯s lack of unique/rare Skills, and his Anima was extremely useful to the archer of the team. ¡°Sorry if I¡¯m boring, but if it works, it works.¡± Michael shrugged, downing another beer, reminding Arthur that Michael was very pragmatic when it came to combat, unlike Arthur who wanted certain things to be a bit flashy, such as magic or his swordsmanship. Sure, cutting out the needless flowery actions made the fight faster, but Arthur still found himself twirling and flipping from time to time when they fought certain enemies. Quite a surprise given Arthur wasn¡¯t always the most athletic of people. On the other end was Michael, who pretty much just did his three things, if an enemy got close enough to disrupt his shots, someone was not doing their job right. Michael was quite good at handling himself at close quarters with that bow according to him though, having practiced with Dante along with the rest of Einherjar, Dante didn¡¯t exactly make it easy to hit the ¡®doorman¡¯ with an arrow. ¡°Hey, nothing against the basics, they¡¯re important after all¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ it makes it seem like you don¡¯t have any uniqueness.¡± In a sense Arthur was right, but at the same time everyone in the team knew that it didn¡¯t matter whether he was right or not. Michael didn¡¯t have some super move, or rare Skill, but his basic attacks were pretty strong overall in the team, he did more damage than anyone else in one hit except maybe Arthur and Alice when they used their magic Skills. There was a good reason that Michael was their Archer even when he didn¡¯t have any rare or unique Skills.
John Collins
Level: 69 (C-Rank)
Class: Shade Healer- Grants one stat point to Wisdom and Intelligence per level Gives Sneak Skill and Light Scripture Skill
Anima
Enhancing Arts
Anima Skills
Hard Hitting- lets someone deal five times damage on their next two attacks Tempo Accel- Increases movement and attack speed by 30%. Protected- Increases physical defence by 25% Grounded- Reduces knockback effect of enemy attacks by 10%
Primary Element: Mind Other Element(s): Metal, Water
Personal Skills
Sneak IV (113/200)- grants the ability to erase ones presence Light Scripture IV (47/200)- Grants Healing Spells, lowers Mana cost Computation III (79/150) ¨C Increases Intelligence by 20% Staff Arts III (38/150)- increases spell effects by 20% Mind Over Matter I (42/100)- eases the use of Telekinesis using the Mind Element.
Stats
Strength: 70 Dexterity: 70
Intelligence: 126 (151) Wisdom: 110
Endurance: 65 Vitality: 65
Ah, the Shade Healer, John was the secret weapon of the team in the sense that people tended to forget he was around during a fight¡­ And with his new Mind Over Matter Skill, he could make swords float around him for his use. He wasn¡¯t at the point of being able to try swordplay though, he¡¯d never be able to really use that ability to defend against blows, at current it was all he could do to send one or maybe two swords flying at the enemy point first. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for the day you can call ¡®Gate of Babylon¡¯ while fighting¡­¡± No one but Arthur caught the reference unfortunately, the other members of Einherjar didn¡¯t know about the King of Heroes after all. ¡°It was an interesting idea, though I got to ask, why did you say swords, instead of say, hammers, axes, spears, anything else?¡± John asked, thinking to his newest ability. Sure, he followed Arthur¡¯s advice and used swords, but John was a bit curious on how Arthur got to thinking swords were best. ¡°Well it looks cool. Firing off spears just isn¡¯t as awesome as having swords floating around you.¡± Arthur¡¯s blunt admission as to the why of his choice had been swords. No one begrudged him for it, swords were heroic and all that. ¡°Plus swords have a bit more versatility to them in comparison to most weapons, you have to admit. In thrusts they are beaten by a spear, in powerful slashes they are beaten by axes and in blunt blows defeated by hammers, but swords can do all of that well.¡± Some of what he said was complete nonsense, but Arthur was the only one who would know that. People did have an unfortunate tendency to believe him when he spoke after all. Finally, Arthur slid his own status page out onto the table.
Arthur Clive
Level: 70 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 22.5% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 4% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 5 Wisdom per use a day. Dagger- Feed- Absorb a magic attack from an enemy to be used against them, limited to Elements you possess. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 4.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 35% (total 160%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 8% of enemies drop two times the loot. Cloak- Blink- teleport up to five metres away from your current position, costs 8 Wisdom per use a day.
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician IV (41/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% (total 160%) Sword Sage II (213/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight III (27/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (72/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (80/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (104/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 88 Dexterity: 105 (126)
Intelligence: 56 Wisdom: 120 (192)
Endurance: 56 Vitality: 88
¡°That Wisdom stat is nonsensical.¡± The first note to the absurdity that was Arthur¡¯s status page. Arthur didn¡¯t feel like it was that amazing, given that it was his and he never really felt proud of anything he himself did bar video games. But he also acknowledged that, as far as anyone else was concerned, Arthur¡¯s stats were absurd. His Tactician Skill certainly was good at the fourth rank, there wasn¡¯t anyone with a Skill in the fifth rank around so he was good there¡­ But others didn¡¯t have his Cloak. Arthur¡¯s main Anima was the Dagger of Hunger, he admitted, his Cloak didn¡¯t exactly get a lot of focus despite always being on him inside the Dungeon. But his Cloak was arguably as good as the Dagger, if not better, what with it boosting his Wisdom, defence, and the drop rate of enemies, and the teleportation? Plus with his latest Wisdom total, he could use his Anima Spells much more often; being able to instantly escape/enter danger twenty four times a day was awesome. So with his Cloak¡¯s boost and his Tactician boost, his Wisdom got an extra sixty per cent to it. So despite having less Wisdom that Matt had Endurance, after boosts Arthur¡¯s Wisdom was higher than Matt¡¯s Endurance. Then again if Matt had his Endurance boosted to the same point as Arthur¡¯s Wisdom, Matt would really be bulletproof. ¡°Okay, okay, ignoring the Wisdom stat that gives you, what, almost twenty per cent of your Mana per minute¡­ meaning you can go from zero to full in five minutes¡­ your Skills.¡± Ah, the other elephant in the room, so to speak. ¡°I count two Unique Skills, one Rare Skill, two Stat boosting Skills, honestly the only Common Skill you really have is dual wielding. Six Skills is a lot, and half of them are better than Common.¡± Emilia checked on the page, some nearby listeners choking on whatever they were drinking at that information. The average amount of Skills depended on level, around level fifty the average amount of Skills would be four or five, and at their levels six Skills could be considered okay¡­ But having two Unique Skills and a Rare Skill was venturing into ¡®unfair¡¯ territory. Many of the Adventurers in the Guild had never even seen a Unique Skill, and there might be one person in every team with a single Rare Skill. Hearing this, it was becoming a bit obvious why Arthur was considered the ¡®Strongest Adventurer¡¯. ¡°Okay, okay, I get it, my status page is nonsensical, moving on¡­¡± Arthur knew there was another bit of nonsense in that he had two powerful Animae compared to most Adventurers, but his team knew well enough to not leak that information. Oh Einherjar was well aware of people listening in to their conversation, it was a measured choice really, after their discussion in the Dungeon. Einherjar was mysterious because information wasn¡¯t known about them beyond names and Classes, but getting more information might make Einherjar more popular actually. And if they were more popular, getting a media presence and recruitment would be easier, especially later on. And none of the shared information was truly bad, yes, people now knew that Arthur had two Unique Skills and a Rare Skill but no one knew what Skills they were, it was like knowing your opponent had a gun, but not which gun it was. You could prepare to face a shotgun and end up getting sniped from a distance, so in that sense, even if someone on the wrong side of the law was sitting in the Guild to take information to those people robbing banks, they wouldn¡¯t have any actionable information to give. ¡°Well, now that we¡¯ve all shared a bit, let¡¯s get going, I¡¯ve got food waiting for me at home.¡± Arthur said with a smile as he stood, the rest of Einherjar agreeing as they stood. The bottles were left on the table for the server to get later, though Arthur had to be stopped from time to time when he tried to help clean up¡­ cleaning was a job for a reason, let the cleaner do their job. There was a bit of silence and then a cacophony of noise as the Adventurers burst into discussion, many pulling out phones and sharing the information they overheard. By the end of the hour, many, many people would know of some of the oddities that made Einherjar the best Adventurers in the world. Including a man with many faces, who sat looking at his phone with a narrowed gaze¡­ ¡°Arthur Clive huh¡­¡± Jack Mourn flipped Razorback in thought. B2 Chapter 9- A Meeting ¡°¡­Wait, you were being serious?¡± Arthur looked at the boy seated in front of him, and then notably leaned to the side to look at the five nervous teens behind him, and then Arthur turned his head to look at the boy once more. ¡°Well obviously, you wouldn¡¯t have even been allowed in here if it was a joke.¡± Arthur¡¯s sarcasm was perhaps a bit too on point, given that Drew Simmons and his team all flinched collectively. Their flinch was met with a sharp slap to the back of Arthur¡¯s head, leaving him rubbing his head while looking up to Emilia with a kicked puppy look. ¡°Be nice, you called them here.¡± Emilia warned with a shake of a fist in Arthur¡¯s general direction. On a whole that skit got the six teens much more relaxed than they were a moment ago, a necessity given that they were to be ¡®co-workers¡¯ not ¡®employer and employee¡¯. Arthur was the ¡®leader¡¯ not the ¡®boss¡¯ of the group, much in the same way a captain was not a general. Adventurers were all considered equals until levels were counted, and right now levels weren¡¯t being mentioned. After all, Drew Simmons was someone who didn¡¯t bother hiding his level, the forty eight was respectable for someone who was level thirty four in their previous meeting roughly a month and a half ago. Arthur¡¯s group had collectively grown around eleven to thirteen levels, whereas Drew Simmons seemed to have levelled up fourteen times in that timeframe¡­ Maybe if they put him in higher Areas he would level up more explosively? Arthur¡¯s need to have everyone¡¯s levels be the same was going to be taking a hit soon, and Arthur felt himself sniffle a sob at the thought of the equilibrium being messed with. Really, why did Arthur¡¯s little ¡®OCD¡¯ have to be about having numbers being equal? And preferably even? ¡°Uh, sir?¡± Drew was understandably confused why the ¡®strongest Adventurer¡¯ was suddenly looking between Drew¡¯s left wrist, his own, and then the beautiful Russian¡¯s and then suddenly making a sudden sobbing noise. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Nothing at all. Let¡¯s talk a bit about this whole thing, as you can guess, this is a recruitment interview.¡± Arthur¡¯s words got wide eyes from all the teens in the room, who were glancing between each other¡­ Only Drew kept his gaze squarely on Arthur, getting a nod from the Einherjar leader¡­ it was a good trait on the boy, Drew¡¯s posture was one that his team looked towards. Arthur would know, he wasn¡¯t allowed to freak out unless it was to lighten the mood, freaking out would mean that his team would be worried, confused, or panicking along with him. Not an ideal situation at all to say the least. ¡°Thank you for the opportunity sir.¡± Drew was really respectful though¡­ Arthur wanted to make a face every time he was called ¡®sir¡¯ but he held it in¡­ at least the boy reverted to informal speech when surprised, such as when Arthur walked in and sat down in front of him with Emilia trailing behind him. ¡°I¡¯m hoping for a mutually beneficial arrangement, so I think there aren¡¯t really any thanks necessary when you¡¯re helping me just as much as I¡¯m helping you.¡± Arthur admitted before looking to the other teens that froze, noticing his gaze. ¡°I¡¯m saying this ahead of time, I¡¯m bad with names, I might forget yours from time to time, and I apologize.¡± Again, the group of teens felt a sense of incongruence between their image of Arthur Clive, and the genuine article¡­ This could very well be a good point to the saying of ¡®don¡¯t meet your heroes¡¯. ¡°Uh, okay¡­ how does this work exactly?¡± Drew tried to bring the topic back to the original reason why he and his team were sitting in a private room within the Guild. Drew hadn¡¯t even known such a room was in the Guild, let alone wonder at how easily Arthur arranged for its use¡­ Most Adventurers didn¡¯t exactly have such a casual relationship with the Guild after all, with most it was just a business, not something to rely on¡­ On the other hand, Arthur could ask concessions from the Guild and get what he asked apparently, the lady at the counter, Ellie, even delivered the message to Drew and his team to enter this room ahead of time. Drew could only wonder at why Arthur was treated so nicely by the Guild¡­ beyond the high level of his team, Einherjar. ¡°Oh, right, recruitment¡­ to put it simply, there isn¡¯t much doubt that we could take on all six of you, let¡¯s start this off there.¡± Drew and his team nodded, and Arthur checked a piece of paper on the table between them. ¡°Let¡¯s see, the only real thing we wanted to check was that we could in fact work together¡­ you see, we honestly don¡¯t care much for whether you have a Rare Skill, Unique Skill, a super powerful Anima, none of that is as important as whether or not you can ¡®slot in¡¯ to the group, so to speak.¡± There was some understandable confusion at Arthur¡¯s words, so Emilia coughed, drawing attention to her. ¡°What Arthur is trying to say is that teamwork is more important than individual skill. If you are weak, we can help you become strong, but if you can¡¯t work with us then it¡¯s pointless.¡± Emilia clarified, leaving the six teens to sigh in relief. Really, except for Drew, Arthur knew none of their names, and that would have to change at some point¡­ ¡°We¡¯ll figure that out in an easy way. We will ¡®trade¡¯ teammates for a day. I will go with myself, Emilia here, and our other teammate Matt.¡± Arthur then gestured to Drew. ¡°Now, knowing that I am a swordsman, Emilia is a thief, and Matt is a guardian, who of your team would you recommend to complete a six man team?¡± Drew and his teammates didn¡¯t even consider this request unreasonable, even though most Adventurers would find it as such. A team of Adventurers were a tight-knit crew unless they were a gathering of ¡®free¡¯ Adventurers who team up with whoever was available¡­ but even then, free Adventurers rarely stay ¡®free¡¯ for long. Splitting them up without their input was sure to get a team mad at you, but once more, the difference between Einherjar and other teams was apparent¡­ Had it been anyone else asking Drew to split teams, Drew would have refused immediately¡­ but the opportunity to fight with the best Adventurer and his team was worth the annoyance. ¡°Well we can separate me immediately, I¡¯d love to watch you in action but having a team with two leaders isn¡¯t going to work if our orders clash.¡± Drew¡¯s separation of himself drew a smile from Arthur who motioned for Drew to continue. ¡°Our tank, Carlos, shouldn¡¯t join your team if you have a tank, one dedicated tank is enough for a team on average, though I¡¯ve heard of teams with more¡­ I also help with the defence if necessary by the way.¡± Drew added, the aforementioned person of Latino descent raising his hand to let Arthur and Emilia know who they were talking about. If the name wasn¡¯t a dead give-away¡­ but that¡¯s like expecting Wandile to be a big African guy. It¡¯s just slightly on the side of racist. ¡°Also, thinking about it¡­ you all will need a healer, a ranged fighter and maybe an extra vanguard?¡± Drew seemed to have made his decision as three people stepped forward from the group. One was a large blonde guy who Arthur immediately labelled as ¡®jock¡¯ in his head, Arthur would bet money on this guy having done a sport before Red Sky Day. Probably football, the American version¡­ he looked the type. Another was a smaller black haired boy who could possibly be in middle school, or simply short, and going by his raising of his staff he was likely a healer. And as for why Arthur considered the boy the healer, that was because the last person to step forward was a girl holding a bow with curly brown hair, an archer was the obvious choice. If she were anything other than an archer, Arthur would eat his hat. Not that he had one, but the meaning was there. ¡°Okay, I suppose these are the three you recommend. As you can guess, you¡¯ll be getting Einherjar¡¯s healer, archer and our vanguard berserker.¡± That last bit got a look of fear from Drew and his two left over teammates, understandable really¡­ Berserkers, in general, were kind of like grenades being carried around by teams. You just tossed them in and stood back, but if they went off near you bad things would happen. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our berserker is an odd one out of the group really, she rarely gets mad.¡± Arthur wouldn¡¯t explain Alice¡¯s strange Skills to the group but instead let them figure things out while they journeyed. ¡°O-okay¡­ um, is your second in command, Michael Grave, going to be leading our team?¡± Drew asked, and it was a valid question considering that just about any member of Einherjar could leave and make their own teams easily. ¡°No, you¡¯ll be leading your six. Michael, Alice and John will be following your orders in general, but know that if you do anything they disagree with they will let you know.¡± Arthur was pretty sure that they¡¯d return fire with violence¡­ His friends were all pretty violent people, even if some like Michael and himself resorted to it last¡­ Matt especially would be quick to it. ¡°Right, right¡­ um, which Area would we be operating in, I mean, we¡¯re still in Area four, nearly at the Demon Lord room, but¡­¡± Ah, Arthur could understand the worry, but, recalling their levels to be forty eight compared to Einherjar who were all level seventy by now. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, technically speaking you could win a fight in Area five at your current level, though you would be in more danger¡­ but with your higher levelled teammates, you¡¯ll be fine in Area six.¡± Jumping two Areas seemed insane to the younger Adventurers, but Emilia nodded in agreement to Arthur¡¯s statement. Three level seventy Adventurers with three Adventurers almost level fifty in their current Area¡­ doable, Einherjar were ready to attack the Demon Lord room, and they only did that when Arthur felt they weren¡¯t progressing fast enough in their current Area anymore. By all rights, that was an extremely slow method of progressing, and yet, because Arthur started Einherjar on doing that from the first and second Areas, by the time they got to other Areas they breezed through easily until the Demon Lord room. It was kind of like being an overqualified worker for their job really. Their high levels were good for them, because if they had to fight in an Area suitable for their level they¡¯d probably be in Area seven or eight by now, much further, but they¡¯d also have a much higher chance of dying. ¡°So knowing who your teammates will be, Area six. We¡¯ll all be operating there, but uh, we won¡¯t be using the same Dungeon entrance, so as to ensure that we don¡¯t meet up with each other while in the Dungeon.¡± Arthur scratched his cheek at that with a bit of a chuckle as stood, motioning for Drew to stand up as well. ¡°So just to be official about it, and because this is actually how Kingdoms are formed¡­ you are all going to have to kneel for a moment.¡± Arthur seemed really embarrassed about this, and Drew didn¡¯t blame the man. From what little interaction they had at that arcade, and here, Drew had determined that Arthur was pretty lax when it came to details and formalities, and didn¡¯t actually enjoy them that much.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. That, and kneeling wasn¡¯t really something someone did in the twenty first century unless they happened to meet one of the rare royals still around, and even then most didn¡¯t go through that anymore. So after that bit of awkwardness, the group of eight people exited the room, all now a member of Arthur¡¯s Kingdom. He was quite tempted to name it Camelot for the pun, but he was vetoed by Emilia who demanded he name it something sensible. In the end, Valhalla was used, matching with the naming theme they had already been using, and Drew¡¯s team was named Jotun, after the giants of Norse mythology. Mostly because at least half of their members were tall as heck, and Arthur was spiteful like that, not that Drew and the others caught the meaning, leaving Emilia to sigh and palm her face at Arthur¡¯s naming sense. Besides, Valhalla? The realm of the Gods¡­ and where dead mortals go. Was he implying that they were dead or going to die? Really, Emilia wondered about her boyfriend sometimes. ¡°Hey, over here!¡± the eight Adventurers turned their heads to a table in the Guild proper, seeing the other four members of Einherjar seated in waiting, all four standing to meet them halfway. ¡°So, these are our new teammates huh. Michael Grave, this here is John Collins, our healer, Matt Jacobson our guardian, and my sister Alice Grave, our berserker. Hit on her and I murder you.¡± There was a beat of silence before Michael started laughing after his intro, leaving the newer team, Jotun, to laugh nervously. Michael was actually joking; he didn¡¯t need to protect Alice from anything given that she could probably hurt anyone near her easier than he could. ¡°Nice to meet you all. I¡¯m Drew Simmons, leader of this team, I¡¯ll be working with you today¡­¡± Drew started off strong and then looked back to Arthur nervously before Arthur chuckled, letting Drew know it was fine. ¡°Oh, so we¡¯re doing the split? Who is with who?¡± Michael asked, as Drew stepped forward with two of his teammates. ¡°Well, uh¡­ Arthur, said that you, your sister and John were to join me and my two teammates here, Carlos and Vanessa, tank and magician respectively.¡± The Spanish guy and the second girl of the team nodded as they stood next to their leader, and Michael looked to the group before turning to Arthur. ¡°Level forty eights, Drew himself is a traditional knight-type swordsman unlike myself.¡± Arthur answered the unasked questions as Michael nodded, turning to Drew with a smile and outstretched hand. ¡°Glad to be working with you. I¡¯m a good scout, so we¡¯ll be talking a lot as we move through the Dungeon, I pass on information, you give out orders.¡± Drew nodded, still a bit confused on being allowed to give someone like Michael, who was really famous as the second in command of Einherjar, orders. ¡°On that note, Emilia, Matt and I, we¡¯ll be working with the other half of Drew¡¯s team, who I still have yet to get the names of¡­¡± Arthur stared at the three as they realized they had to introduce themselves. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Brandon, I¡¯m a Fighter, a bare-hand fighting Class, my Anima is a pair of gauntlets.¡± The stereotypical jock answered, though Arthur caught a hint of this guy being a bit sceptical¡­ Brandon said nothing but Arthur knew he didn¡¯t exactly cut an intimidating figure for someone over level seventy¡­ but appearances have nothing to do with strength when it comes to Adventurers, if a child was level fifty they¡¯d easily defeat a grown man of level ten. Arthur would have to get Drew to talk to this guy, as that line of thinking had to be cut before he got used to judging by appearances¡­ After flashing his Soul Sight and causing Brandon to flinch in confusion on why Arthur¡¯s eyes flashed purple, Arthur looked to the short teen, the healer of Drew¡¯s team. Arthur felt kinship when he realized that the healer would probably match Arthur¡¯s height by the end of high school. ¡°Miles, healer, anima is a staff that increases effectiveness of healing spells.¡± That was a brilliant Anima whereas John could ¡®buff¡¯ his teammates as well as heal; Miles could heal better than John would at that level¡­ versatility, or mastery of one, jack of all trades or master of one in a sense. Miles also concisely gave all necessary information as simply as possible, as if throwing it out there¡­ meant Arthur could be quick to move onto the next person, and if he fought like he spoke, he¡¯d do whatever had to be done, as quickly as possible. ¡°Ah, my name is Emma, I¡¯m the archer, and my Anima is a Skill for using a bow.¡± Michael subtly twitched at that, but he didn¡¯t need to worry about being replaced or anything like that, he was damn strong for his Class, and there were some things that weren¡¯t clear just using a status. ¡°Got it, I will remember your names¡­ eventually.¡± Arthur¡¯s words had the three sighing tiredly already, leaving Emilia and Matt to fist bump each other from behind Arthur, leaving the teens unable to see the action. ¡°We¡¯ll split up, talk later.¡± Arthur then turned and walked out, Emilia and Matt talking to the three new members of Einherjar while following their suddenly overly eccentric leader. ¡°¡­Is he always like that?¡± Drew asked pointing as the other group left the building, looking for a nearby Guild building. ¡°Nah, he¡¯s moodier than a girl on her periods.¡± Alice¡¯s words drew a stop as everyone looked at her, and there was a beat of silence. ¡°What, I have every right to say that. His moods swing a lot, and you guys caught him on a ¡®happy¡¯ swing.¡± Alice said while turning and walking to the entrance room, Michael patting Drew¡¯s shoulder while nodding in agreement. They hadn¡¯t even noticed John vanishing into the entrance room when Arthur¡¯s half of the group left. Drew sighed, following Michael and Alice while Carlos and Vanessa followed their leader, wondering what they got involved in. So, looking forward one hour- ¡°So, how¡¯re you all holding up?¡± Michael asked with a smirk that had the tired half of their team groaning in complaint. They were in Area six, fighting through the Area had left Drew, Carlos and Vanessa seriously tired, especially the former two, as they were front-line fighters. ¡°This, is, awesome¡­ and tiring¡­ ow¡­¡± Drew gasped out, hoping that John would heal their pain, only to see the healer of the group yawning and lying down in the safe zone they found. Found, because Michael neglected to mention that only Arthur and Emilia remembered every single route they took and the best ones out of them. So unfortunately for Drew, they were only on the third floor of the sixth Area, floor fifty three total¡­ and even then Drew had already levelled twice in one single day, leaving Drew excited for finally reaching level fifty. Carlos and Vanessa were just as excited, though for different reasons, Carlos was in awe of Michael¡¯s skill as an Archer, as an Archer and a front-liner had to work together to fight generally, with the Archer waiting until the front-liner held the enemy in place before firing. Michael would fire, whether Carlos was in position or not, and he would hit his target, Carlos was starting to wonder if his role was pointless before deciding to get better, to the point where he wouldn¡¯t be a hindrance. Unfortunately, Carlos wasn¡¯t aware that Michael just fought like that. Michael didn¡¯t care for ¡®convention¡¯ when it came to being an Archer, if he could shoot, he would, and he wouldn¡¯t stand still either. If he could kill everything while standing still, he would, but if he had to move to get a clearer shot, he would. And as for Vanessa, she was surprised by this one line: ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a magic user? Never worked with a magician before¡­¡± As far as Vanessa knew, just about every team had a magician, it was normal, because magic was an important ability to have, many a monster resisted purely physical attacks, and many people found themselves subconsciously imbuing their attacks with Elements to get damage by some monsters such as Slimes. Granted, Slimes had extremely low ¡®health¡¯ and so died the moment they got hit with a good bit of magic, but the idea was there. But then Vanessa found out that Alice had a magic Skill, and told that Emilia and Arthur both had magic Skills, even if they weren¡¯t ¡®offensive¡¯ like her own. A melee fighter having a magic Skill? That was strange for Vanessa, but apparently it worked for Einherjar, the more powerful team not needing a magic user when they had Arthur. Michael¡¯s words, agreed to by Alice and John who stated that despite being a swordsman Arthur could probably have been a magician without worrying. Vanessa was a novel experience for Michael, Alice and John, having never worked with a dedicated magician before. John didn¡¯t count; he was a healer who could lob swords at enemies, not giant blasts of fire or light. So the three younger fighters were happy because of how strong they could become working with Einherjar, and the three Einherjar members found the three interesting. Carlos was interesting because his Anima was two shields which had bladed edges and could slot together to make a larger one, the Einherjar members had never heard of such an Anima before. Vanessa, well, as mentioned, she was a magician, enough said there. And Drew was kind of similar to Arthur¡­ There were notable differences, Drew was slower in a fight, but he could likely take a hit better than Arthur would, as evidenced when he managed to block an attack from a Vine-Hound, one of the lower ranked enemies of the sixth Area¡­ Lower ranked, but they did hit hard, they died quickly though, making them lower ranked, they kind of looked like their name suggested, a wolf/dog made out of vines, its eyes two red flowers and its mouth filled with thorns, they commonly attacked by charging and knocking Adventurers with their heads or biting. Arthur wouldn¡¯t even be there to take the hit, instead dodging and attacking in return, but Drew could actually block such a hit whereas Arthur would just have to either dodge or take the damage. Arthur recovered quickly due to his high Vitality stat, but defensively Drew was just better. That was combat, but when it came to leading, the differences came out a bit more. Drew was less¡­ precise, when it came to his leadership, but it wasn¡¯t bad, just different. Arthur would give specific instructions to a person, after learning what the person could and could not do of course. Drew would ask a person to ¡®handle¡¯ something, leaving it up to them to figure things out, giving advice if necessary. Arthur learnt about his teammates and worked around their limitations, while Drew forced his team to be quick thinkers, both worked actually, and while one could say that Drew¡¯s method was better, or Arthur¡¯s method was better¡­ ¡°Arthur lets us grow at our own pace, Drew pushes forward¡­ Arthur only asks for what he knows we can do, Drew can ask for unreasonable things though¡­¡± Michael muttered to himself in thought, knowing that he would have to explain all this to Arthur soon. Speaking of Arthur, his team were doing a bit better than Drew¡¯s. ¡°You should pick up a martial art and not just rely on the Skill, I have the Sword Sage Skill but I still look up instructional videos.¡± There was a wince from Brandon. ¡°Standing still will get you killed, move around more. If Matt wasn¡¯t our tank you wouldn¡¯t have such leisure in this Area.¡± There was a wince from Emma. ¡°Keeping out of a fight is important for healers that aren¡¯t Loyiso, I suggest moving around more, learning to defend yourself, or picking up the Sneak Skill as soon as you can, John can help you out there.¡± And a final wince from Miles. ¡°Shame, shame¡­ I¡¯m glad we got out of this early.¡± Emilia mock-whispered to Matt who was not even trying to hide his laughter. Their team was on floor fifty five, two whole floors higher than Drew¡¯s half of the group, and the three mentioned were a whole three levels higher than they were before entering this place. ¡°Arthur¡¯s quite the taskmaster, but you should listen to his advice. It¡¯s rare that it¡¯s wrong.¡± Emilia finally felt a bit too much pity and let the three know that Arthur was really just trying to help them out, not pick on them. ¡°Thanks¡­ he¡¯s a bit¡­ intimidating, in a fight.¡± Emma added, noting a Poison Oak walking a bit close, and Arthur having his weapons ready. In all honesty, the three weaker members of the group didn¡¯t even need to do anything, Matt and Emilia both watching as Arthur began to spark with electricity, his hair spiking back as he vanished. At about two hundred Wisdom, Arthur went from nothing to full Mana in about five minutes¡­ an absurd rate, even for a dedicated magic user. And with that rate of regaining his magic, what did Arthur do? Use the ¡®Basic¡¯ Spark Step consistently. Back when he had about fourteen per cent of his magic regenerated per minute he could hold it for about an hour or longer¡­ now he could keep it up for just about forever. It took maybe fifteen, sixteen per cent of his Mana per minute? The Greater version took about twenty four per cent of his Mana per minute¡­ so he could use it for about twenty five minutes at max. It was better to use the Basic Spark Step, saving the Greater Spark Step for emergencies. When Arthur reappeared, he was in front of the Poison Oak, swinging the sword he got from Despair, Black Remorse¡­ The sword was Arthur¡¯s go to weapon except for the Rusted King fight, having swapped to Soul Flame mid-fight after figuring out that Fire would make the Rusted King easier to hurt. But eh, the sword wasn¡¯t as interesting as Blade¡¯s was, stronger, but not as interesting¡­ Arthur could only use it when he reached level forty seven anyway.
Name: Black Remorse (Sword of a Death Knight)
Requirements: Level: 47 Swordsmanship Skill (or some alternative) Strength: 50 - Dexterity: 75
Offensive Ability: C Passive: Dark Damage added to attacks (C-)
Continuing, Arthur swung, the Poison Oak screeching in his face with its poisonous breath as Arthur growled. The sword hit, and the treant monster found itself missing an arm, and Arthur ducking under its retaliatory swing, easily moving within the cloud of poison before his Dagger of Hunger struck deep into the wooden face on its trunk¡­ ¡°Void.¡± And with a crunch, the face vanished, as if wiped from existence, leaving the body to disappear and leave behind a Soul Stone, as well as a Green Core, which were both quick to vanish into Arthur¡¯s inventory. Arthur walked back, his cloak once more hiding his armour and leaving him plain and unassuming¡­ None of the newer members of the team would ever think Arthur weak. Never. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s turn back. Our newbies have already stocked up on two levels too many.¡± Arthur added, looking to Emilia who smoothly handed the map to Arthur, who looked up before looking back at the map. ¡°Alright, this path has the least monsters on average, let¡¯s go.¡± Whatever the odd methods were, both Einherjar and the newly named Jotun knew that they would be strong under this man¡¯s leadership. This scary, scary man who was so unassuming would lead them well.
Arthur Clive
Level: 72 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness
Personal Skills
Tactician IV (62/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% (total 160%) Sword Sage II (229/300)- Any bladed weapon deals 30% extra damage Soul Sight III (35/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding IV (96/200) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (97/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes III (124/150)- Increases Dexterity by 20%
Stats
Strength: 90 Dexterity: 107 (130)
Intelligence: 59 Wisdom: 122 (196)
Endurance: 59 Vitality: 90
B2 Chapter 10- Flowing TIme ¡°Well, I suppose I should be surprised, but I¡¯m actually not.¡± Arthur admitted, looking at the Guild Master sitting across from him. ¡°Yeah, I mean, we did let you know he¡¯d be leaving for a while¡­ you see the baby pictures?¡± Dante Vasquez, acting Guild Master of America, asked, showing a picture on his phone to Arthur, leaving the head of Valhalla/Einherjar looking at the baby¡­ Shaun Fife¡¯s child, the Guild Master was only to remain in America until the birth of his child before being shipped off somewhere¡­ Columbia, if Arthur remembered correctly. Granted, Arthur was told this information a week or two after killing the Rusted King, and it had been two months since then. Far, far away in the land of Columbia, George cursed the heavenly potato for giving him wrong information on timing, before he got cuffed upside the head by Shaun for giving away their location. But that¡¯s to be explained another time. It was now early August, and Einherjar had moved on to Area eight, Jotun currently working their way through Area seven, and Einherjar was still in the lead of the Chosen luckily. After the media craze about Einherjar ¡®opening their borders¡¯ and allowing another team to join them, many hopefuls tried to put themselves forward, only to be refused, Einherjar would find those who they wanted to work with¡­ This only added onto the ¡®elitist¡¯ outlook that seemed tagged onto Einherjar¡¯s image with the media. Hearing a soft meow, Arthur barely reacted beyond scratching the chin of Sidhe who had magically appeared on his shoulder¡­ As normal. Really, Arthur wondered about this cat of his, vanishing and reappearing when it suited it¡­ Though he saw her every day, there were days where he only saw Sidhe in the morning and then before sleeping. ¡°His child is cute. Clearly they look nothing alike.¡± Arthur admitted as Dante laughed in agreement. Little Caleb didn¡¯t really look like his father. ¡°So¡­ am I supposed to help with the bank robberies now? I was told that I was free to ignore everything until he left and well¡­¡± Arthur was still against fighting his fellow humans, but a deal was a deal, and he stood by them. ¡°¡­I¡¯m well aware you don¡¯t want to. Shaun might force you, but I won¡¯t. I¡¯d really appreciate the help, but fighting is not for everyone.¡± Arthur clenched a fist, barely registering Sidhe licking his cheek before Arthur sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with the other members of Einherjar first. We¡¯re going Dungeon diving, we¡¯ll talk about this while in there.¡± Arthur let the doorman-turned Guild Master know what was going on while walking out. ¡°So, boss man is away yeah? Any idea when he¡¯s coming back?¡± Michael asked, waiting for Arthur outside the door and falling into step alongside his best friend. ¡°No clue, from what it looks like, it¡¯s dangerous¡­ so knowing how scary Shaun is, I¡¯d give it three months and then some.¡± Arthur admitted, not knowing the depth of how bad things were in Columbia. ¡°Hey he¡¯s not that- okay, I can¡¯t say it without laughing, Shaun is scary.¡± Michael¡¯s laughter drew a chuckle from Arthur. ¡°Yeah. Also, saw the baby pictures, his kid looks nothing like him. So his son actually looks good.¡± Arthur¡¯s words drew a laugh from Michael as they approached their team. Greeting Ellie, Einherjar walked into the Entrance room, everyone checking stats, finally Arthur walked to the podium¡­ only for Sidhe to place her paw on the podium screen.
Sidhe (Owner: Arthur Clive)
Level: 85 (C-Rank)
Race: Nekomata- Grants an extra Element and one point in Intelligence per level
Elements: Fire Wind Mind
Stats
Strength: 11 Dexterity: 11
Intelligence: 86 Wisdom: 50
Endurance: 11 Vitality: 11
Laughing at Sidhe¡¯s curiosity on her stats, seeing as she was quite smart, Arthur lifted her into his cloak¡¯s hood before checking his own status.
Arthur Clive
Level: 85 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 25% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 4.5% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 4 Wisdom per use a day. Dagger- Feed- Absorb a magic attack from an enemy to be used against them, limited to Elements you possess. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 40% (total 170%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 9% of enemies drop two times the loot. Cloak- Blink- teleport up to five metres away from your current position, costs 7 Wisdom per use a day.
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (32/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 170%) Sword Sage III (46/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (122/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (3/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (269/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes IV (184/200)- Increases Dexterity by 25%
Stats
Strength: 115 Dexterity: 127 (158)
Intelligence: 64 Wisdom: 136 (231)
Endurance: 64 Vitality: 115
Arthur nodded in satisfaction for a moment, also a bit annoyed at not having gained another Skill at level eighty¡­ But then again, what would he get? He¡¯d really like a stat boosting Skill, but you couldn¡¯t exactly pick the Skill you¡¯d get, it wasn¡¯t up to him. How his next Skill was decided was something Arthur really, really didn¡¯t know, but given his knowledge of the Soul, he figured it was probably something about ¡®what he knew, what he did, and what he wanted to do¡¯ all coming together to create a Skill. On the other hand, wanting more was nice, but Arthur was also aware that he really shouldn¡¯t be looking for more Skills when he already had so many. From time to time he¡¯d forget he had the Blink ability, and the ability to absorb enemy magic and send it back (based on magic used and his own magic ability) was something Arthur also forgot on occasion due to never really fighting Lightning or Darkness using enemies¡­ he only got the ability a while after fighting Despair after all. ¡°So, after you¡¯re done admiring your numbers, get the gate open.¡± Alice rushed Arthur who sighed before opening the options for teleportation, selecting the seventh Area. ¡°Ah, the Sky Lands¡­ it¡¯s still scary.¡± Arthur said as they walked through the glowing door, exiting to a floating island ringed with red runes around its edge, winds fiercely blowing around Einherjar. It was quite beautiful actually¡­ and scary. The Sky Lands were truly terrifying to Arthur, who wasn¡¯t really afraid of heights but¡­ well, anyone would feel scared if your only way to move from point to point was hopping across floating islands. The Floating islands were floating so high in the sky that when Einherjar looked down off the edge of an island once they just saw a huge expanse of blue. That, and a massive dark blue mass swimming within that blue¡­ it was so huge that Arthur had first thought it to simply be a deeper section of the ocean until it moved. Whatever that thing was, Arthur was not dealing with it, ever¡­ once more Arthur felt thankful that Chronos, evil warmongering devil that he was, had the state of mind to know that it was necessary to keep that thing from Adventurers. So with death guaranteed if one was to fall off the islands, it was kind of obvious that Arthur was terrified, up until they noted that physically falling off of the islands was an impossibility¡­ Sure, crossing the islands by jumping was a necessity, but those gaps had winds blowing harshly to the point where an Adventurer, if they had the balance and centre of gravity for it, could walk across the nearly solid wind. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go, we¡¯re two floors from the Demon Lord, and I want to be away from this place.¡± Arthur said easily, John nodding his head in agreement as he also disagreed with the heights. ¡°Whatever, I kind of like the breeze¡­¡± Alice added, which was understandable given that her second magical Element was Wind. Darkness was the element of suspicion, of caution, whereas Wind was the Element of free thinking, of precision. It sounds like a strange combination, but Arthur could see how it suited someone like Alice. With another Element to use, especially a ¡®basic¡¯ Element like Wind, Alice¡¯s ability with magic jumped by a huge amount, using Darkness, Light or Mind magic took the most Mana, whereas the basic four Elements took the least. So now she could use more magic, having the option of less, but powerful, or more but weaker. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Arthur focused, his Dagger of Hunger appearing in his hand along with Black Remorse, and instantly his friends noted the change in the air. ¡°Yes.¡± They answered as one as they moved through the gate to the sixty first floor. For the past month or so, when Arthur entered the Dungeon, he had seemed to¡­ change, kind of. It was the face of someone determined, though Arthur went through his highs and lows when it came to mood, this was a long period of¡­ focus. ¡°Michael, three to the left, you should be able to get rid of two of them. Alice, handle the last one. When they¡¯re hit, it should lure over another enemy that Emilia and I can handle.¡± Arthur commanded the moment he saw three (ironically flightless) birds. The Zephyr Birds, capable of Wind magic, the birds were quite dangerous when Arthur and the others first arrived as they were faster than the enemies they were used to¡­ The birds focused their magic around their bodies, boosting their speeds, and using their actions of flapping their wings or kicking out to send out bursts of wind¡­ So while the rest of Einherjar was figuring it out, Arthur responded in kind, activating Spark Step, the greater variation, and mimicking their fighting styles.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Alice and Emilia figured out their own imitations, Alice getting it first what with an example right in front of her, and Emilia having very precise control over her magic. Matt, Michael and John felt no need to speed up, for Matt, he didn¡¯t need to get faster, he just needed to read the enemies better. Much like how some athletes know what their opponents are doing before it happens, and move to intercept, Matt just had to figure out which movements resulted in what attacks. Matt was damn good at doing that, and the only person in Einherjar as good as him at reading enemies was Arthur himself. Michael, hearing the order, had his bow out and two arrows notched at once, his Archery Skill giving the ability to do something which was typically viewed as a non-combative skill. Firing two arrows wasn¡¯t normal understandably, but so were many of the things Adventurers were capable of. At this point Einherjar barely batted an eye when one of their number did something ¡®impossible¡¯. And as for why John didn¡¯t need to move faster, if he ever had to run, something was wrong, especially when most of the time enemies didn¡¯t know he existed. The two arrows were released, John¡¯s presence fading as Matt slid forward, shield aimed at the birds, waiting for the assault as the sneak attack hit. One of the birds found an arrow through the eye, killing it instantly, and another instead raised its wing, blowing the second arrow off course, drawing a click of the tongue from Michael in annoyance. ¡°Don¡¯t mind, continue.¡± Arthur ordered, raising a sparking hand as his Dagger vanished for a moment, waving his arm and sending jolts of electricity at the two birds dashing at them at extreme speeds. No one expected the electricity to do anything beyond maybe stunning the birds, and they were right, for all that he was actually closer to a wizard than a swordsman, Arthur¡¯s magic wasn¡¯t that strong. Instead it was nigh unending with his understanding of his own regeneration rates and control over how much Mana he¡¯d use. So being pelted by the bits of electricity, the birds were running at them at high speeds while dodging from side to side, allowing the bolts to go past them, leading up to a kick sent at Arthur. Instead of hitting Arthur, the first bird found its kick intercepted by Matt, whose vicious grin alongside the bird¡¯s squawk of pain, let them know he probably hit the bird¡¯s foot with one of the spikes on his shield. The second bird had jumped over Matt, recognizing that Matt would be dangerous to attack, and aiming for Arthur, only to be kicked in the side of the head by Emilia. Arthur felt a frown on his face as Matt and Emilia fought the two birds, killing them as quickly as possible as three more Zephyr birds ran over from a nearby floating island. ¡°Alice, you got one? I¡¯ll get the other two.¡± Arthur asked, getting a confused nod from Alice as the two of them moved towards where the birds would land on their little island. Alice intercepted one of the birds easily, using two swords against the bird while the other two rushed Arthur. ¡°I¡¯m getting a bit tired of being protected like that¡­¡± Arthur mumbled to himself, knowing that none of the other members of Einherjar would be able to hear his statement. Every member of Einherjar had a role they had to play, yes, and so Matt guarded everyone, that was fine. Arthur always felt a bit babied when his other teammates did something to protect him though¡­ He knew it was wrong to get mad about being helped, so he kept quiet, but it didn¡¯t change how he felt about being unable to simply cut loose without one of his teammates attacking his enemies. Arthur was beginning to consider going into the Dungeon alone, but then recalled that he¡¯d probably look back to his thoughts in this moment and call himself dumb. He knew he¡¯d probably be regretting by the time they left the Dungeon today. One of the birds slashed out with a wing, and instead of meeting the surprisingly tough wing with his blade, Arthur slid, his boot impacting the birds foot and causing it to flip forward with an indignant squawk of pain. The second bird attempted to attack Arthur as he slid, leaving Arthur to smirk as he flipped his Dagger in his hand, stabbing into the ground and arresting his movement. The attack would have still hit Arthur¡¯s leg if Arthur hadn¡¯t rolled his legs into the air before spinning his legs, wind-milling and hitting the bird¡¯s leg, much like the first this bird was forced to flip, this one sideways as Arthur spun into a standing position, lashing out with his sword and lopping its head off with a spark of Lightning. The first bird was standing by now, angrily rushing at Arthur while flapping it¡¯s wings, sending blades of wind which Arthur couldn¡¯t see¡­ But even if he couldn¡¯t see the actual blades, he could see the beginning of the attacks. Just from that, it was enough to know where the blade would be going after that point, if one saw the start of a strike, the ending should be obvious. So weaving through the lines which should hold the air blades, Arthur dashed forward, the Dagger of Hunger, reappearing in his left hand, throwing it at the bird, interrupting its next attack, forcing it to deflect the Dagger or be hit in the head. Arthur smirked at the reaction, as with his extreme speed he was already in front of the bird, stabbing into its throat violently as he summoned his Dagger into his hand once more. So after ending the life of the bird with the Dagger of Hunger, Arthur looked at his comrades, noticing each of them ending or having already ended their own enemies, meaning they could keep moving. ¡°Alright, gather the stones, let¡¯s continue, we¡¯ll be taking the path with the least encounters on average until the eighth floor.¡± Arthur added, no one arguing against the order¡­ Why would they, fighting more when they had quite a few floors to go through was dumb if they wanted to conserve energy. The fights through the Sky Islands weren¡¯t truly difficult, just different in that the group was used to fighting balanced opponents, average in speed, average in strength, average in durability. Once in a while they¡¯d find something like the old Lantern Brutes, high durability and strength, but extremely slow¡­ Most of the creatures in the Sky Islands were on the opposite extreme, their durability and strength were overall low but their speed was top tier, and with the use of magic their attack ability was high. In other words they were fighting a whole lot of bird type monsters who fought similarly to a mix between Arthur (the magic) and Emilia (the speed). Except the birds were much weaker than either member of the couple, any of the members of Einherjar bar John could kill two of those birds in a straight up fight¡­ On the other end, the birds were also dangerous, at floor seventy five Alice got hit by one of the birds and the gash that appeared on her arm probably wouldn¡¯t have looked out of place in a car crash. Used to gore as the group was, seeing one of their own injured was nerve wracking every single time, even if John had her healed up with a single word, it showed that the birds died easily, and they¡¯d probably kill just as easy. ¡°Try that shit again!¡± Matt roared at a bird as it struck his leg with one of those wind blades, the injury being an extremely thin cut, reminding the group that Matt was difficult to even injure in the first place. That particular bird died in a horrific manner. Other than the Zephyr birds who were the staple enemies of the Sky Islands, there was also large hummingbird like enemies who shot bullets of wind at the group from a distance, pestering them in the middle of their fight with the Zephyr birds. And the ¡®heavy¡¯ hitter of the Sky Islands was a baby wyvern. A ¡®wyvern¡¯ was a dragon without forearms, essentially having wings instead of arms, so Arthur explained the terminology. Wyverns were ¡®lesser¡¯ dragons, not as intelligent, not as powerful be that magically or physically, though in common fantasy books wyverns were typically a mount for aerial militaries. When Michael asked why dragons weren¡¯t used instead, Arthur just laughed at his face and asked Michael why ants didn¡¯t just tame elephants. Analogy complete, the group fought through wyverns easily¡­ Baby wyverns, that was an important note, as these wyverns couldn¡¯t fly, instead using their wings as massive clubs, using their long, flexible necks to turn their heads into flails and to bite from unpredictable angles, along with their tails, even baby wyverns were quite dangerous¡­ Michael now understood that yes, dragons were even scarier. A baby wyvern was already the size of a small house ignoring its wing span, at about three metres tall, and about five, six metres wide with its wings expanded, both wings being two or so metres long each. Covered in natural armour, scales, and faster than its body expected, wyverns were dangerous¡­ ¡°So knowing that, it¡¯s likely a fully grown wyvern would be the boss¡­ I think.¡± Arthur guessed with a shrug, knowing that knowing what the boss would be was an impossibility. No one would have expected the Demon Lord of the Ruined Kingdom to be a golem as there was no hint to that being a possibility. ¡°A full grown wyvern¡­ and these are babies? Plus the adult ones can fly¡­ shit.¡± John complained, kicking the dead body of the wyvern even as it vanished into nothingness, leaving behind a scale and its soul stone. ¡°Eh¡­ balance dictates that an enemy that can fly, should fly forever instead of landing where it can be attacked¡­ so it might be that it can¡¯t fly forever, or that it takes more damage in the sky, who knows¡­ but at the same time¡­¡± Arthur didn¡¯t need to finish that part of his sentence. They all knew that he was going to mention how this was reality, even if the Dungeon was game-like, even if they had levels, stats, skills, this was still reality. It didn¡¯t matter if Arthur was level nine thousand, if his head blew off he¡¯d probably be dead. So they¡¯d have to see what would happen when they got to the Demon Lord. Finally finding the way to the seventy ninth floor, and entering it, Arthur asked John to check his watch. ¡°It¡¯s about three¡­ the maps are getting bigger so we spend more time moving even when taking the shortest route huh?¡± John frowned realizing they still had to go back, with their enemies all ¡®re-spawned¡¯. ¡°Yep. I don¡¯t know when, but at some point we¡¯re probably going to need to stay overnight inside the Dungeon¡­ that¡¯s going to be annoying.¡± Arthur sighed, and the group agreed, that would be horrible. With safe-zones they could actually take naps, but safe-zones were not on every floor, and they weren¡¯t always on the path to the next floor, one time in the seventh Area they found a safe-zone in the opposite end of the map from the exit of the floor. The safe-zone was further than the stairs to the next floor, and they only found it first because they had gone the wrong way while mapping the floor. If a safe-zone could be found, they could, in fact, stay overnight¡­ For other Adventurers it might be a problem, as Adventurers who enter from the same entrance can encounter each other within the Dungeon. Arthur was actually mildly surprised that no one had committed a crime in the Dungeon yet. Or no one has noticed¡­ Arthur paused for a moment before turning back to the stairs and climbing back up. ¡°Come on, tomorrow we rush here. We need to fight the Demon Lord in the next three days at max.¡± Arthur ordered, shuddering at the reminder of his odd mind. Ooh, ¡®reminder¡¯, that¡¯s a new one¡­ The group knew something was wrong with Arthur, and he wasn¡¯t surprised they noticed, he wasn¡¯t exactly subtle with his flinches once the voice started up again. You really should stop flinching¡­ it looks weak, it makes you look¡­ delicious. Arthur had the feeling that it wouldn¡¯t go over well with his friends if they knew he had started to hear a voice in his mind talking about ¡®being in charge¡¯ and so on. Though Arthur was reasonably certain that the voice was just messing with him when it spoke about eating him. Sure¡­ let¡¯s go with that. The journey back was punctuated with occasions where Arthur would be slow on the draw, still killing his enemies, and yet his eyes looked like they were looking beyond what was there¡­ Arthur could only let his friends know that it wouldn¡¯t prevent him from fighting, and that he was working through it. You know, I was pretty surprised myself when I found this¡­ I haven¡¯t had a conversation partner in a while. Arthur had originally thought that the voice was¡­ well, something internal. He still thought it was actually some of his violent thoughts made vocal¡­ I mean, a conversation partner I hadn¡¯t eaten¡­ or defeated¡­ but I¡¯ll beat you eventually too¡­ or will you kill me? Then there were things like that. He had never resorted to cannibalism, and unless his violent thoughts had delusions of being extremely powerful, this wasn¡¯t actually him. This was something else. You¡¯re finally accepting that I¡¯m not what you think I am? Well, you¡¯d be really surprised if you found out what was going on¡­ your emotions will be delicious once you do. And like that, Arthur suddenly felt drained, falling underneath a shot from one of those hummingbird enemies, named Boom birds for the booming noise when their attacks hit. Recovering easily, Arthur¡¯s dagger blurred into the air, hitting the bird in the skull and killing it instantly as Arthur¡¯s group kept moving, still confused by why Arthur looked like he had lost consciousness for a while. Ha, if you had died from that then this talk would have been worthless¡­ I can¡¯t devour it all, surprisingly, but suddenly having a lot of your emotions missing must be weird. Arthur begrudgingly agreed to the words of the voice¡­ Having his annoyance, fear, anger, and determination vanish on him left off key, feeling like he was undergoing a panic attack of some sorts before he started to breathe heavily, recovering from the odd occurrence. I wouldn¡¯t really know though, I don¡¯t have emotions other than the want for more¡­ the need to devour more. And I suppose envy¡­ I¡¯ve never felt envy before now. Arthur couldn¡¯t muster up sympathy for the voice, somehow draining his emotions like it was, whatever it was, it was debilitating¡­ And why was it in his head? Is it really me in your head? Or did you consider it was vice-versa? That sounded like some mind-trip that surprisingly had Arthur rolling his eyes. I¡¯ll be back again, and we¡¯ll talk again¡­ I like these talks. Also, when you complete the First Fold¡­ well, you¡¯ll know it when it happens. Arthur felt the presence vanish, and breathed a sigh in relief, noticing Michael¡¯s hand on his shoulder. ¡°You alright again?¡± Michael asked, concern in his eyes as Arthur nodded with a sigh. ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t know what it is but¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to go away anytime soon.¡± Arthur admitted with a frown, and everyone looked worried¡­ But they also knew, sad as it was, Arthur wouldn¡¯t tell them what it was. Arthur was one of those guys, he didn¡¯t exactly look strong, but emotionally he was¡­ but in that same sense, when he was disturbed by something, he tried to handle it by himself. Arthur was still learning to be open with his emotions, keeping his problems away from his friends to deal with it alone, saying that it was his problem to sort through. Emilia was helping, reaffirming certain things Arthur was uncertain about himself, and helping him figure other things out¡­ But he wasn¡¯t yet at that point. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready. Come on, I think we levelled up.¡± Michael said, getting a smile from Arthur as they used the fast travel to exit the Dungeon once more¡­ Levels had a way of making Arthur happy anyway, though the only reason he was levelling up was because he had levelled up two days ago.
Arthur Clive
Level: 86 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (34/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 170%) Sword Sage III (48/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (123/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (8/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental III (271/300) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes IV (192/200)- Increases Dexterity by 25%
Stats
Strength: 116 Dexterity: 127 (158)
Intelligence: 64 Wisdom: 138 (234)
Endurance: 64 Vitality: 116
No major change, and yet Arthur was really hoping that his Quick Reflexes Skill would rank up by the next Dungeon dive¡­ Though it would probably only be ranking up in two days or so. ¡°What about Jotun, we got any updates from them?¡± Arthur asked, Michael checking his phone as they exited the podium room, looking for any messages. ¡°Nothing yet, they stay in the Dungeon even longer than we do, they¡¯re busy catching up after all¡­ but they should be close to level sixty five?¡± a jump of about seventeen levels since their meeting, a month to level up seventeen times was respectable. It wasn¡¯t as crazy as Einherjar, let alone Arthur who levelled up faster than his comrades, but it was considered high class. ¡°That¡¯s good, once they equalize with us we can have two teams searching for the stairs to the next floor instead of just one.¡± Arthur¡¯s smirk made some of the nearby Adventurers scared¡­ Most images of Arthur on social media had him looking serious, rare was he laughing or smirking, but his smirk was¡­ predatory, in some way. Leaving the Dungeon after all was said and done, Einherjar split up, along with splitting their earnings from the Dungeon, Arthur looking at his motorbike for a bit before shrugging and walking away. As if anyone would steal his bike even if he left it there. Firstly, the Guild would viciously harm anyone who tried. Then any ¡®patriotic¡¯ person would defend Arthur¡¯s property as he was the face of the American Adventurer scene, he wasn¡¯t quite at that level but he was incredibly important to ¡®America-centric¡¯ people. And finally, Arthur himself would hurt anyone who did something that dumb. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you going to be using your bike today?¡± Arthur blinked in confusion before looking at the guy sitting on a wall. ¡°Don¡¯t feel like it. I need the walk to clear my head.¡± Arthur said, not recognizing the voice of this person¡­ ¡°I see. Well, I hope you have a nice walk man.¡± The guy stood, walking away while keeping his hands in his hoodie pockets¡­ Arthur hadn¡¯t actually seen the man¡¯s face¡­ suspicious was a heavy word on his mind, and Arthur was tempted to chase him down, instead leaving the man as he walked away. The man walked away from the Guild, walking into an alley and pulling out a phone, using the quick dial option. ¡°So¡­ how was he?¡± the man in the alley shuddered at the voice, looking to make sure no one saw him as he teleported to the roof of the building next to him. ¡°He¡¯s getting stronger¡­ Boss, I know your plan but¡­ are you sure?¡± the teleporter asked, hearing Mourn chuckling on the other side of the phone. ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure¡­ no kid, I¡¯m just talking to a friend.¡± The teleporter blinked at the unexpected segue, then realized that Mourn was probably talking to someone else. ¡°I¡¯m certain. If I achieve my goals here, then we¡¯ll have the leeway for our plans¡­ and if we have that strength, he¡¯ll probably be our biggest obstacle. Watch him.¡± The teleporter grunted in affirmation, the phone disconnecting¡­ Mourn was scary, even when he was in a different country¡­ The teleporter wondered how Columbia would be afterwards¡­ B2 Chapter 11- Wyvern Slayer ¡°So you¡¯re going to be killing the Demon Lord today, I wish you luck.¡± Dante said as he finished maintenance on Einherjar¡¯s equipment¡­ The benefits of knowing the higher ups, especially when the higher up was a Blacksmith, Dante was willing to do this maintenance without pay, as he grew in Skill thanks to doing the work in the first place. ¡°I¡¯d say we don¡¯t need luck but that¡¯s a lie.¡± Arthur responded easily, taking the sword from Dante and vanishing it into his inventory. Arthur really needed to get a new sword, but Dante¡¯s skill as a smith wasn¡¯t to the point where he could make a sword as good as Black Remorse, though he could make one as good as Arthur¡¯s first Demon Lord weapon, Soul Flame. Until then, Black Remorse was the best weapon Arthur could use along with his Dagger of Hunger. ¡°Yep, Demon Lords are assholes. I expect a report afterwards, along with the usual selling of the maps if you want?¡± Dante asked with a pointed look as Arthur shrugged while walking out of Dante¡¯s workshop, glad to be out of the heat. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know about the Demon Lord, but you know the maps are Emilia¡¯s.¡± Dante chuckled, already knowing that Arthur would never go above his team¡¯s head when they were involved in something. No further words were said as Arthur met up with his team, each of them having already checked their own stats while waiting¡­ Arthur noted that Sidhe wasn¡¯t with them today, unless she was hiding, but Arthur couldn¡¯t feel her presence. Arthur didn¡¯t mind, his familiar was a cat, two-tailed it might be, but cats worked at their own pace, if Sidhe wanted to help she would. On the other hand, if Arthur really needed Sidhe¡¯s help, like with the Rusted King, then he¡¯d call for her and she¡¯d be there. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve already assumed that the Demon Lord was going to be a wyvern, let¡¯s go already, I plan on playing some games when I get home.¡± That brought a smidge of surprise from the other members of Einherjar, even as they followed Arthur into the Dungeon door, finding themselves in the seventh Area. ¡°¡­Now that I think about it, when last have we played video games¡­¡± Michael muttered to himself, really having to think about it, and coming up short. ¡°Well with the Dungeon being game-like, maybe you just felt that you¡¯ve had enough of games for the day?¡± Emilia joked, dodging a swat from Arthur as she giggled. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s the reason. Pull the other one, it comes off.¡± Arthur¡¯s sarcasm was rare these days as he usually enjoyed being upfront, but having the chance to be sarcastic, he took it. ¡°Games are for people who have time to waste really¡­ if you have no time to waste, games aren¡¯t for you.¡± Matt added in one of his serious moments, glancing around the nearby islands. The islands weren¡¯t all flat, some had hills, some were large, some were small, some had trees or crumbling walls and pillars, meaning that one couldn¡¯t always see the enemies hiding behind objects. ¡°Hey I like games, and I have no time to waste¡­ but yeah, games are for people who don¡¯t have other things to do in the moment.¡± Arthur started off strong but then realized that he couldn¡¯t really argue against Matt¡¯s words, they were kind of true. If playing a game was his source of income, then yes, gaming is important, but Arthur liked playing games offline, as long as the game had some form of progression he¡¯d enjoy it. It was why he liked being an Adventurer so much, being able to see his progression and increased strength numerically, and being able to concretely state ¡®I was that strong, now I¡¯m this strong¡¯. ¡°So rather than doing other things, you want to waste an afternoon away? I approve, how about we have a gaming night after this? We could do a sleepover or something?¡± now some might be confused¡­ These are grown men and women, talking about a sleepover like little kids¡­ Well that¡¯s because Arthur and the others didn¡¯t really care about how that would be seen by others, if they wanted to hang out through the night playing video games that was their business and no one else could say anything. ¡°Michael, that is a great idea, but at whose house? With my parents and my siblings I¡¯m out.¡± Arthur mentioned, even if his parents would have let Michael sleep over¡­ He was pretty sure his parents would draw the line at one or two people sleeping over, and Einherjar had five other members. ¡°My apartment is a bit small for that¡­¡± Emilia glanced away nervously, reminding Arthur that he couldn¡¯t recall ever seeing Emilia¡¯s apartment¡­ She said it was small, so they¡¯d believe her. Even if she had a great car, wore designer clothes everywhere except into the dungeon and never seemed to have money problems, they¡¯d believe she had a small apartment. Trust worked like that. Even if she was lying, they¡¯d trust she had a reason. ¡°No.¡± Matt didn¡¯t even bother giving a reason, just straight out saying that his friends weren¡¯t going to be at his house, understandable, he lived with his parents who were extremely lenient with their son. Matt was actually quite spoilt, but he didn¡¯t act like it often, so in respect for all that his parents did for him, he never brought his problems home¡­ they were disappointed in him for a while, but he was still spoilt regardless. His friends were noisy enough in a group that they counted as a ¡®problem¡¯ when in his house. ¡°I¡¯m poor.¡± John was giving a nonsensical excuse given that every member of Einherjar knew exactly how much money John earned from Dungeon diving every day. They got the same amount after all. And even then, money wasn¡¯t really an issue with friends, but John seemed to have issues with his own apartment¡­ he had moved out of his college¡¯s accommodations, but he was still working on a budget apparently. You kept your money by not using it. ¡°That leaves us. Sure, we have the space, since the rest of the family moved.¡± Michael seemed to think about it for a bit. Arthur really did miss his friend¡¯s family, even if Michael and Alice weren¡¯t there Arthur was always welcome in their home¡­ Arthur was quite surprised when he visited one day expecting the two to be there, and instead only finding the rest of the family¡­ He was sitting at their table eating lunch uncertain of what had just happened, with Michael and Alice walking in half an hour after the food was gone. But after the surprise that was Red Sky Day, the family had moved with the exception of Michael and Alice, the two living off of money sent to them until they started Dungeon diving with the rest of Einherjar. They had stayed because they didn¡¯t feel comfortable leaving their home. ¡°That¡¯s decided, Matt, you handle drinks, Emilia and I¡¯ll get food, John, you going to go with Matt?¡± even in party planning Arthur wanted order, getting a roll of the eyes from the healer. ¡°Right, right, I¡¯ll make sure we get the strong stuff for you.¡± John said, knowing that Arthur only drank stronger drinks except for absurd things with alcohol contents like fifty or ninety proof. ¡°And obviously we have venue. Arthur, Emilia, don¡¯t do anything Matt would do.¡± The two shared a blush at the insinuation while Arthur picked a path to go to the next floor. ¡°We haven¡¯t¡­¡± Arthur started before shutting up, knowing that he shouldn¡¯t say such things to his friends, though there was a surprising stare at Arthur and then Emilia. After questioning how the hell Arthur could have such a beautiful girlfriend and not sleep with her, and finding all answers strange and yet understandable, Einherjar moved on, they had a boss fight to complete after all. Entering the Dungeon at about half past eight, it was around two that they found themselves in front of the stairs to the Demon Lord ¡®floor¡¯ and walking down after preparing themselves for a battle. ¡°Hey Arthur, before we fight for our lives, you keep an ear on the ground for innovations for Adventurers, any news on support items?¡± John asked, as this was an important part of his role being the support unit of Einherjar. ¡°Potions are still being worked on, though some weaker ones have been created, they¡¯d heal large cuts on low level Adventurers but would barely fix a paper cut on Adventurers with high Constitution such as Matt.¡± Matt smirked. ¡°Unlike healing spells, potions don¡¯t work on normal humans either, they only work on Adventurers, meaning they probably require Mana inside the body to activate.¡± Arthur added on, making John nod in agreement. He was the healer after all, his position wouldn¡¯t mean as much if items could replace him¡­ even if items weren¡¯t as certain as he was. ¡°Ichiro¡¯s Enchanter is still working on creating an escape item to quickly leave the Dungeon, but he claims that he¡¯ll probably have a breakthrough by the next rank¡­ if he does get it right, that would probably be the most expensive item for sale.¡± No one could deny it, the option to quickly leave the Dungeon was near priceless. With the way Adventuring currently worked, Adventurers needed to be able to fight to a floor and back, lest they die. Rushing through floors would only leave Adventurers killed on the way back, which was why Einherjar always returned to the surface after finding a new floor. With an escape item, an Adventurer team could rush as far as they could, without worry for tiring, and the moment they couldn¡¯t go any further, just use item and be outside the Dungeon. With that last bit, they stood, about to enter the ¡®arena¡¯ and Arthur looked to the Einherjar and nodded, they already knew the idea on how to fight if it really was a wyvern they¡¯d be fighting. Walking out into the arena, the group found themselves looking at a ruin¡­ Well, ruin would be relative, it looked well maintained bar a few patches of moss, and it looked kind of like those speaking areas the Greeks used for their political assemblies. And in the middle of the arena was, in fact, a wyvern... a fully grown one, resting. And atop it was an armoured being, an evil looking spear leaning on his shoulder as he sat on the wyvern. ¡°Oh? Finally, opponents¡­¡± the being seated on the wyvern stood, slamming his spear against the wyvern loudly, making the beat roar in annoyance, moving from its resting position into a standing one, the man standing on its back. The fully grown wyvern was about five metres tall at minimum, and its wings, from what Arthur could see, were probably somewhere around three and a half metres when stretched out, and its body was maybe three, four metres wide, its legs angular but its body bulky, its tail waving behind it slowly. The more worrying part about this whole situation was the man walking along the wyvern, standing on its head now. ¡°Lord Chronos said that it was likely that enemies would be approaching soon, and he sure delivered¡­ oh yeah, greetings and all that¡­¡± the armoured being fiddled with its helmet, unclicking some strap, removing the helmet. Einherjar felt themselves all take a breath upon seeing the human staring back at them with spiky red hair and pearly teeth locked into a grin, though those teeth looked a bit too predatory to be normal. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be exuding some aura of a Demon Lord, that majesty¡­ screw that, I¡¯m a fighter, not some ¡®lord¡¯.¡± The man said, holding his helmet under his armpit, other hand holding his spear which was pointing at Einherjar, specifically Arthur who stood in front. ¡°I am Gerard Sky-wing, Wyvern Slayer, and I am the ninth Demon Lord of Babylon.¡± The man then heard the growl of his wyvern, getting him to look down, stomping his foot slightly. ¡°This overgrown lizard is actually the only wyvern I spared, Scar is my mount¡­ he is also more intelligent than the usual wyvern.¡± The beast below his feet seemed to preen at the praise, showing that yes, it was in fact intelligent despite being a wyvern. ¡°I am Arthur Clive, leader of the Einherjar and strongest Adventurer. I take it you understand what will be happening?¡± Arthur said, his dagger appearing in his hand, Black Remorse in his right. ¡°Of course I know we¡¯re going to fight, that¡¯s the only reason I accepted this position! I love to fight! Fighting is all I¡¯m good for!¡± Gerard roared, the wyvern roaring in agreement with Gerard, opening its wings slightly, letting the group see the tears in its wings¡­ no wonder it was named Scar.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Before we fight though¡­ just for personal curiosity, what happened to this place, before Chronos happened?¡± Arthur asked, Gerard pausing in his laughter to look at Arthur, a deep look on his face. ¡°Huh, you sure knocked the wind out of my sails there¡­ well have you seen the deep blue below?¡± Gerard asked, and the shivers Einherjar felt got Gerard to nod, seeing they knew. ¡°Well that thing inside there is so powerful its sheer presence forced our planet to become a ball of water with the land floating above it. It is a beast of water, and so rejects all other things.¡± Gerard looked around, shrugging. ¡°So life adapted to the air, the sky islands, humans too¡­ of course, we were under threat by things like those Zephyr birds, and the Boom birds and more monsters that lived back then¡­ but wyverns were our main problem.¡± Gerard then lifted his helmet, looking into where his eyes would sit when he wore it. ¡°We were in trouble, humans could grow strong, but there was a limit¡­ then I found Scar here, about to be killed by a rival wyvern.¡± Gerard surprisingly knelt, patting Scar¡¯s head passively. ¡°I knew he was a monster, I¡¯d be glad if a wyvern died¡­ but he fought back, and I must admit, it was inspiring, he couldn¡¯t fly and yet he fought back? I decided to help him on a whim.¡± Gerard then smirked, and the wyvern¡¯s lips curled, showing razor shop teeth in an imitation of a grin. ¡°We ended up killing that wyvern with the two of us working together¡­ and then I went back to my home, a hero, Gerard the Wyvern Slayer!¡± Gerard raised his helmet to the air, turning it and placing it on his head once more. ¡°It was a lie. I mean, I¡¯m strong, don¡¯t get me wrong¡­ but a wyvern was not something I could kill alone at the time. But I accepted my role, and Scar and I fought¡­ and fought.¡± Gerard held his spear out to his side, dropping backwards onto a saddle on Scar¡¯s neck, the wyvern lowering its neck so that Gerard was glaring at them from only a slightly higher position. ¡°And then the lie became reality. Before lord Chronos appeared, I was finally able to really kill a wyvern by myself¡­ then he came and obliterated me, devoured me like I was nothing.¡± Gerard added, his anger palpable as he pointed his spear at Arthur. ¡°So this was your home and Chronos destroyed it¡­ I¡¯m sorry for your loss¡­ but.¡± Arthur felt his Mana course through his veins, the sparks spreading along, drawing a wide eyed stare and grin from Gerard even if no one could see it. ¡°The past no impact on our current fight.¡± Arthur said, and the unseen signal was felt, Matt sliding in front of Arthur, everyone getting into formation without further word. ¡°You¡¯re right! Let¡¯s go, Scar!¡± the wyvern dashed forward, roaring as the best swung its wing at Matt, who was smirking even as the rest of Einherjar moved to the opposite wing. ¡°Fuck off!¡± Matt roared in return, his skin turning silver for a moment as he bent a knee, attacking the wing with his shield. There was a loud bang, a roar from Scar and a curse from Matt as the wing bounced backwards and Matt stumbled backwards, even his insane ¡®weight¡¯ unable to stop the attack of such a massive creature. Unstoppable force, meet immovable object. ¡°Holy shit he¡¯s good.¡± Gerard said in surprise, but he was only looking at Matt from the corner of his vision¡­ The majority of his focus was on the other members of team Einherjar, Michael moving towards one of the pillars while launching arrow after arrow at Gerard, hoping to tie the actual Demon Lord down. Gerard¡¯s spear lashed out, the end looking like a jagged saw with a point rather than a blade, each blur knocking an arrow away, getting a curse from Michael. Arthur didn¡¯t mind, whether Michael hit the Demon Lord or not, Arthur was certain that Gerard wouldn¡¯t die so easily. From the story, Gerard was human, and without the assistance of Chronos¡¯ Contract, he managed to become strong enough to kill a flying version of the very beast he rode on. Clearly Einherjar were growing faster at an alarming pace compared to humans on these other dimensions¡­ but none of Einherjar could kill Scar alone, let alone a flying version of that wyvern. No way would Gerard die from one arrow. Heck, even John, who had the lowest constitution of the team, would probably take a few hits from Michael to die so long as no hits got his head. That wasn¡¯t saying that Michael was weak, it was just that being hard to kill was a hallmark of a strong Adventurer, low Constitution or not. Arthur had no doubt that Michael was going to get mad at some point and do something to increase his damage output by a huge amount. Gerard watched Arthur approach with interest, readying his spear, and stabbing out, and Arthur didn¡¯t dare block, instead twisting, lashing out with Black Remorse against Gerard¡¯s chest. While the Demon Lord¡¯s chest shook back from the impact, there was only a tiny line showing that Gerard just got hit by Arthur, and Arthur narrowed his eyes. Arthur didn¡¯t have much more time to focus, having to twist in mid-air to prevent himself from having a hole in his chest, the air pressure from the attack actually pushing Arthur back a bit, leaving Arthur staring with wide eyes as he landed. Scar wasn¡¯t still either, the wing closest to Arthur being swung to hit Arthur and hopefully also take Matt out in the process, and Arthur cursed as he acted. Instead of running away from the blow, as some ought to do, Arthur ran towards the massive wing sweeping towards him, dropping into a slid and holding his sword upwards, catching on one of those tears in Scar¡¯s wing and stretching out the tear. The beast roared in pain, shaking its wing upwards, catching Arthur¡¯s blade and dragging Arthur up and into the air with wide eyed surprise. In all honesty, were it not for the fact that they were in a fight, every member of Einherjar would have been laughing. The wing slammed back down, aiming to clap Arthur against the ground, but Matt was there, standing with his shield aimed upwards to block the winged blow. ¡°No!¡± Gerard shouted, the wing pulling back to its resting position quickly, drawing a click of the tongue from Matt as Arthur rolled away after landing with a thud. Had Scar actually hit Matt¡¯s shield, he would have found quite a few new wholes in his wings given that Matt¡¯s shield had spikes on it. So instead Scar swapped attack avenues, turning to face away from Matt¡­ and Scar was a creature with a tail. That tail knocked Matt flying even after he prepared, surprising the tank as he crashed into a pillar with a quiet grunt before he dropped to his feet, shaking his shoulders and running back into the fight. Arthur, realizing that his role in Demon Lord fights¡­ really wasn¡¯t attacking first, stepped back. Arthur¡¯s role in Demon Lord fights was usually being the last to attack, and identifying a way to defeat the Demon Lord. He was getting quite good at analysing his opponents on the fly, so with a bit of space, not enough to be knocked off the flying ruin, Arthur looked at Scar and Gerard with narrowed eyes. ¡°Armour, damn powerful, spear attacks are either quick and light or slow and so heavy they could probably punch into Matt¡­ mounted fighter, but can fight well without wyvern too.¡± Arthur first broke down what he knew of Gerard, mumbling to himself as Scar found its side attacked by Alice with a spear¡­ Spear. Looking at Gerard¡¯s armour, Arthur noted that it was similar to the scales on his mount, even if it was layered close enough to still appear like solid piece, it was scale mail. His mount and Gerard had the same weakness, and looking to the helmet Gerard wore, Arthur winced at how he was going to be ending the fight. Even if it was disgusting. ¡°Okay, ignoring that, Scar¡­ can¡¯t fly¡­ tail, wings, legs for stomping, can¡¯t turn well actually despite attacking Matt¡­ stay away from mouth, obviously¡­ that can¡¯t be it.¡± Arthur looked closer, knowing that there was no Demon Lord without some hidden mechanic. Even Blade had a hidden mechanic, even if his was detrimental to himself in that he super-charged his physical abilities in exchange for low durability. Now for one, Gerard clearly wasn¡¯t using Mana just yet, so Arthur had no idea what his element was, though Arthur was a bit hesitant to say Fire based on his hair and temperament. Fight junkies were stereotypically fire or lightning, and the man had red hair, it was a classic. For the other, Scar¡­ the pillars. Scar was large, so large he couldn¡¯t escape this encirclement¡­ and he couldn¡¯t fly¡­ so how did he get in and out back before Chronos? Only answers were, jumping, which was impossible, a wyvern¡¯s legs were digitigrade, they seemed to bend backwards though that bend was actually its ankle. Arthur whispered a quiet thank you to National Geographic before continuing with his breakdown. The wyvern just couldn¡¯t jump over these pillars, it didn¡¯t have the room to jump forward like that, and jumping upward would be painful for the wyvern¡­ Arthur at least thought it would be. And then seeing Emilia flip over a massive wing, Arthur saw the tiny claws where the wings would typically start curving¡­ Baby wyverns didn¡¯t have those, but adult wyverns apparently had claws, which they could use to grip things. And the pillars had a lot of markings on them, artwork, grooves¡­ handholds. Arthur ran back in with a shout. ¡°Alice, keep using the spear, maybe even a rapier if you feel like it, Michael, aim at the wyvern!¡± Arthur started, the two mentioned narrowing their eyes before nodding in understanding. ¡°Emilia, stabs, not slashes, aim for its wing joints, Matt, you know your job, just watch out for Emilia¡¯s landing zones!¡± The next two moved into action, attacking Scar as well, and Arthur made sure not to say anything to John. He was at his best when left to his own devices, and most Demon Lords never noticed him anyway¡­ Arthur was wondering, how high ranked was John¡¯s stealth Skill at this point? ¡°Aiming for Scar instead of me? Ha, seems you all think it will be that simple, divide and conquer?¡± Arthur had actually been hoping for this¡­ Watching Gerard leap off of Scar¡¯s neck, landing in front of Arthur, both hands on his spear, and the wyvern focusing on everyone but Arthur, Arthur carefully kept his smirk from forming on his face. ¡°Oh¡­ I know it won¡¯t¡­ but that¡¯s the fun, isn¡¯t it?¡± Arthur appealed to Gerard¡¯s fight junky nature, getting a chuckle from the Demon Lord¡­ As sparks began to fly off of him, leaving Arthur staring with wide eyes as Gerard vanished. Arthur cursed as he spun away from a blow, then jumped backwards to dodge another, noticing that he had in fact gotten hit, his cheek having a burning gash on it and his chest plate having a miniscule dent right in the centre. Like Gerard, Arthur was sparking. ¡°Oh, you also practice the same kind of magic as I do? Well come on then, I want to savour this before it¡¯s gone!¡± Gerard rushed forward and Arthur dashed back, his sword blurring to try and swat Gerard¡¯s strikes away, sometimes succeeding, sometimes finding his wrist paining instead as Arthur was forced to face someone with his same magic. ¡°Oh that¡¯s bull-¡± Alice was interrupted when Scar screamed in anger, Emilia stabbing her daggers into Scar¡¯s leg, the creature lifting its leg and shaking Emilia off, turning to strike its attacker and meeting the nigh unbreakable shield that was Matt. ¡°Kill wyvern first, then complain!¡± Michael shouted, infusing his arrows with Light rather than Fire, thinking that wyvern¡¯s were more inclined to like Fire than hate it. Using piercing attacks, the group actually found Scar¡¯s defences to be much weaker, not as impenetrable as they thought. Baby wyvern¡¯s had no scales, only leathery skin similar to cows, meaning that slash attacks still worked, but with scales, piercing damage was the way to go, aiming for the many, many tiny gaps in that armour. The beast was bleeding in short time, growling and snarling at its enemies while its master chased Arthur around the arena¡­ then Gerard noticed what was happening and let loose a sharp whistle. Scar¡¯s animalistic, yellow eyes widened, its pupil narrowing to a vertical line as it moved forward, moving towards the pillars as it did so. ¡°What the heck?¡± John whispered to himself after healing Arthur¡¯s piling up wounds, staring as Scar dipped down for a moment. ¡°It can crawl along the pillars, Michael get ready!¡± Arthur¡¯s words surprised his own teammates, getting a barking laugh from Gerard who feinted an attack, getting Arthur to misstep for a moment. ¡°Surprised you figured it out!¡± Gerard¡¯s words must have been a trigger, for Scar climbed up the side of the pillars, staring at the nearby enemies, jaws snapping out to kill Alice or Emilia, knowing by now to not hit Matt on purpose. Both of the girls jumped back, Matt rushing from the side and slamming his hammer into Scar¡¯s skull, causing it to buckle a bit before it drew back to the safety of height. Piercing, and blunt force worked apparently¡­ though blunt force probably only worked on sensitive places like the stomach area and the head. Arthur didn¡¯t have time to focus on that, as he finally stopped running, surprising Gerard when Arthur instead buckled forward, his Dagger lashing out at the spear, his sword, stabbing forward at great speeds. There was a crack and a curse from Gerard as he got hit in the shoulder of his off hand, his other hand swiping with his spear to create distance between him and Arthur, who jumped back the moment his attack struck true. ¡°Damn it that stung¡­ wait¡­ oh shit you have Blade¡¯s swordsmanship, no wonder that first hit actually left a mark on my armour.¡± Gerard cursed, grabbing his left shoulder, the armour cracked and slight amounts of blood leaking from the cracks. With a pull, crack and wince, Gerard reset his shoulder, even if it still hurt he could at least use it again. ¡°Thanks, I try. Now come on. My team is getting ready to end this, I think you¡¯re ready for it to end too.¡± Gerard widened his eyes, looking at his hands, noticing the sparks fading slightly¡­ and looking to Arthur, his spell was still going strong. ¡°Ah. You have more magic than me¡­ then I guess this is my last strike.¡± Gerard then held his spear, right hand near the base of the haft, his left hand towards the tip, sparks leaving Gerard and condensing instead on the blade of his spear. Scar, noticing what was happening, roared mournfully before turning to look at the other ¡®four¡¯ members of Einherjar, and pulling itself closer to the columns. ¡°Fuck.¡± Matt cursed, realizing what was about to happen and getting Alice and Emilia to step back, if Matt wasn¡¯t shouting, it was serious, and then the final exchange occurred. Scar leapt, attempting to crush or bite Matt and those he guarded, either or¡­ Gerard thrust out with his spear, a bolt of lightning travelling perpendicular to the ground instead of from the sky, heading straight for Arthur¡­ Matt activated his Metal Skin ability even as an arrow sped straight towards Scar¡¯s left eye¡­ and a sword flew towards the other. Arthur saw the build up for the attack, and his Dagger of Hunger was in front of him¡­ Scar screamed in pain as its eyes were forced shut forever, blinded as it was, it tried to attack Matt, biting just slightly too early to remove his arm, leaving it to instead crash into Matt, it¡¯s whole body surprisingly slowing down and stopping just there. Gerard watched with wide eyes as his attack, meant to pierce Arthur and kill him, was sucked into the vicious fang-like dagger Arthur used in the fight, Arthur¡¯s smirk appearing in full force. Alice and Emilia, taking the chance produced by Matt, John and Michael, attacked Scar¡¯s neck, cutting deep, a slow, but fatal blow. Arthur added his own Mana to the volatile mix within his Dagger of Hunger, thrusting outwards at Gerard, his own attack being sent back at him and even stronger than before. Scar felt the pain of having its neck slit, and its eyes blinded, and knew it would be dying now, and instead of thrashing, kept still¡­ it had died once before, and it didn¡¯t mind dying again, even as it tried to nudge Matt¡¯s shield even more. Gerard couldn¡¯t stop the bolt from hitting him, being able to take in another¡¯s Mana and send it back even stronger, it was impossible for most¡­ As Gerard felt his muscles seizing up, his eyes wide as he watched Arthur dash forward, hand coming up to grab Gerard¡¯s helmet, other hand holding the dagger aimed at his eye, Gerard thought back to his last fight before now¡­ Chronos had taken his magic and redirected it as well¡­ and when the Dagger struck true, and Gerard felt a part of his soul leave him, he realized that Dagger was really similar to Chronos. That insatiable hunger¡­ Gerard smirked as he died. He had a good fight, and the two who defeated him might kill each other¡­ Gerard could see it happening with Arthur¡¯s ability being so similar to Chronos¡­ Whichever of the two died, he¡¯d fight them in the afterlife, if there was one. He was Gerard sky-wing, the Wyvern Slayer after all! Though he really felt sorry for Arthur¡­ the beast in the ocean was also devoured by Chronos after all.
Arthur Clive
Level: 88 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (42/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 170%) Sword Sage III (54/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (128/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (18/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (45/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (0/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter I (0/100)- Increases damage against previously killed enemies.
Stats
Strength: 120 Dexterity: 129 (167)
Intelligence: 65 Wisdom: 140 (238)
Endurance: 65 Vitality: 120
B2 Chapter 12- Expo-sition ¡°Arthur? Arthur! Wake up!¡± Arthur groaned, rolling off his bed and onto the floor in a heap with his blanket, hearing his mother sighing from the door. ¡°Come on Arthur, breakfast is ready for you, didn¡¯t you say you were going to be busy today?¡± Arthur sat up with a sigh from the floor, nodding, getting his mother to leave the room while closing the door behind her. ¡°It¡¯s another day¡­¡± Arthur stood, getting dressed and looking at his phone for any notifications. Yeah, today was a busy day, Arthur was being told, in no uncertain terms, to talk to Adventurer teams along with Einherjar, by the president of the United States himself, Clayton Andrews. Arthur would be getting paid for his time, thankfully, along with each member of Einherjar, for what was basically a ¡®convention¡¯ of Adventurers. The hosts, the Guild, were providing venue, namely the Javits Center in a surprising turn of events¡­ Arthur questioned the safety of putting a huge amount of super-humans in a building primarily made of glass, but figured that the Guild would be paying for everything, it wasn¡¯t his business. The biggest thing that would be happening at this Adventurer Expo was the free conversation between Adventurers of different tiers, and the sharing of combat tactics¡­ Matt was especially happy about the combat tactics part, as it would be done through actual fighting. Healers like John were on call to heal people after a fight, and a fight didn¡¯t always have to happen, but it was likely. Adventurers didn¡¯t have to be calm, rational people, as proven by how Matt was one, and if Matt ever met someone like himself there would probably be a fight right there. Arthur refused to wear his combat outfit because that would imply that he planned to fight someone or accept fights. Subtly denying the possibility of a fight, Arthur instead wore the suit he used for the U.N meeting, still wanting an armoured suit like the one agent Shaun wore to the same meeting. Arthur really liked Armani. He¡¯d see about buying a suit when he felt like it, Shaun¡¯s one cost about thirty thousand dollars but Arthur was starting to earn about a thousand a day with his Dungeon dives. It was extravagant and wasteful, but Arthur liked suits, he didn¡¯t care about the latest fashion most of the time, instead he just liked comfort, and suits. He could look homeless, if he was comfortable he was happy. But if he wanted to be taken seriously, he¡¯d dress the part. Arthur remembered the many arguments he had with his parents over his clothes when they¡¯d want him to wear one thing, but he¡¯d wear something else instead. His clothes reflected how he felt about himself. If he wore professional clothes, he started to feel serious, if he wore shorts and a sweater he¡¯d start feeling lazy. It¡¯s just how he was. ¡°Ah, a suit again? You look nice.¡± Julia said, placing the plate of sandwiches in front of Arthur, his coffee placed next to the plate as he sat down at the dining room table. His siblings were thankfully at school today, he didn¡¯t think he could handle them after play fighting with them for most of the night before. Dennis and Angelica were hyper little children, Dennis being more loud, and Angelica being more physical, the little tomboy she was. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m wearing the suit so no one thinks about fighting me there¡­ I don¡¯t like fighting other people.¡± Arthur said, looking into his coffee for a moment, searching for his own reflection before taking a sip. His moment of introspection had him miss the concerned glance from his mother before she looked back to the stove with her own breakfast on. ¡°I heard that the last Demon Lord was a human¡­¡± Arthur paused mid-chew, before continuing, wondering why his mother was stating that in such a blunt manner. ¡°Yes, yes he was¡­ Gerard Sky-wing the Wyvern Slayer. He was the Demon Lord we defeated to get into the Lost Temple.¡± The eighth Area, the aforementioned Lost Temple, was interesting¡­ but they were talking about Gerard now. ¡°Did¡­ did that disturb you?¡± Arthur realized at this point that he was going to be a bit emotionally drained even before he got to the expo. ¡°Yes? No¡­ not really, but¡­ I don¡¯t want to hurt other people. On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t really human anymore, he was now a Demon Lord, even if he was human before.¡± Arthur said, looking up from his plate and seeing his mother staring at him. ¡°Arthur¡­ you¡­¡± his mother bit her lip while looking away for a moment before sighing. So that¡¯s where he got it from. ¡°Arthur, you know that you¡­ have issues. Issues which you don¡¯t really mention to others?¡± Julia asked, and Arthur took a sip of his coffee, his expression carefully neutral. ¡°Mom, are you talking about my reactive attachment disorder?¡± Arthur asked, giving a pointed look to his mother who paled a bit before taking a deep breath. ¡°Yes, to some extent. You know the symptoms. You grew up showing the inhibited signs¡­¡± Arthur sighed, not liking to have his issues shoved in his face like this¡­ But after long periods of talking to people, and reading about other people¡¯s experiences, he started to accept that there would be people trying to help him by doing things like this. ¡°Emotional detachment to most situations. Withdrawn. Resistant to comforting, hyperaware of surroundings but refusing to show reactions to said surroundings.¡± Arthur recalled the inhibited signs before looking to his mother. ¡°Then there¡¯s the dislike of touch and physical affection¡­ most of the time I hate it.¡± Arthur said, thinking to times where he was even brushed against and his annoyance. ¡°The control issues¡­ is it any wonder that you micromanage everything, and that your friends eventually gave you command of your team?¡± Julia added, and Arthur breathed in deeply, thinking about what he had done when Adventurers started to appear. Research. Confirm. Advise¡­ though his advice was actually orders, weren¡¯t they? His friends allowed him to command because his commands were correct, but if he was wrong and they refused, would he accept it so easily... probably not. ¡°I have anger issues that pop up from time to time. I remember attacking someone because they insulted you¡­ I get unnecessarily violent against Dungeon monsters from time to time¡­¡± Arthur added, knowing what his mother was moving towards already. ¡°You struggle to show genuine care and affection.¡± Arthur¡¯s mother didn¡¯t even need to give an example there, as Arthur thought of mistakes he made regarding that part of his life¡­ even knowing that Emilia liked him, he hadn¡¯t known how to react to that until he eventually just gave up and asked her out¡­ and that was a tame example of this issue. ¡°And an underdeveloped conscience. That¡¯s what you were building towards, weren¡¯t you?¡± Julia felt like crying as she looked at the bland face of Arthur as he said that last bit. ¡°Arthur¡­¡± Julia looked at her son with worry, the whole story playing out in her mind. ¡°Mom. I don¡¯t blame you or dad for my issues. Others might, but I don¡¯t. I¡¯m messed up, but you try and correct those mistakes.¡± Julia held in a sob at the mention of ¡®others¡¯ knowing exactly who Arthur was talking about. ¡°But¡­ but if it weren¡¯t for us¡­¡± Arthur finished his breakfast, taking his plate and cup to the sink, putting his dishes inside before walking over to his mother and giving her a hug. It was awkward, stilted and Arthur moved away much too quickly, but it calmed Julia down enough for her to smile even as her eyes felt ready to cry. ¡°That¡¯s behind us. I¡¯m working on my issues. I don¡¯t want to fight people because you taught me that it was wrong, that I shouldn¡¯t hurt others because I wouldn¡¯t want to be hurt like that.¡± Julia nodded as Arthur looked at her face, a small smile on his face before he walked away. ¡°Don¡¯t worry mom. It might be false, but at least I care.¡± That was an odd sentence, and it wasn¡¯t truly helpful, but it was better than nothing. Arthur had killed Gerard without even noticing that he had just killed a human being, up until the part where Gerard¡¯s body faded away. Looking at his motorbike, Arthur had his helmet summoned into his hand as he thought. Killing another human being¡­ felt dull. It didn¡¯t excite Arthur. It didn¡¯t make him worried. He just acted like it did. Acting was something Arthur was very good at doing when people expected him to care. It was difficult to get Arthur to care. Once he did, he would stay caring, but it was a long journey to that point. Emilia took a year of small conversations before Arthur really considered her as anything more than that person he sat with in class. Arthur¡­ felt like he cared. He thought he cared. But anyone he saw on the street? Why should he care? Arthur drove down to Hell¡¯s Kitchen trying to recall the location of the centre¡­ And then realized what a pun it was that the Adventurer Expo took place in Hell¡¯s Kitchen. Regardless, Arthur found the parking space for the venue, parking his bike and leaving his keys with a wide eyed security guard as he walked towards the building. Some people were already standing around, many wearing Adventurer clothes, armour, cloaks, some even had weapons out until someone would tap them and said weapons would vanish, either into inventories, or being dismissed Animae. Yeah, weapons weren¡¯t to be shown off here, everyone was still civilized. Some who were near Arthur noticed him and seemed confused, others knew he was immediately apparently, and went wide eyed as they stepped out of the way. The people who did the latter were quite rare, and Arthur actually recognized most of them as Adventurers who went to the same Guild that he did. Some of them, who interested Arthur, found themselves surprised when he¡¯d actually talk to them at the Guild, asking them questions and giving information in return for answers, sometimes just to satisfy his curiosity. But here and now, Arthur politely moved through the crowd of people who seemed confused on why this guy in a suit was moving through their midst, eventually most caught on that they had to step out of the way. Maybe because he was the strongest Adventurer, maybe because he was a member of the Guild who were notorious for looking like members of the M.I.B. Arthur fit both looks right now. ¡°Ah, there you are, where are the rest of your team?¡± Dante asked as Arthur walked up, reaching out with a hand to shake leaving Arthur looking at the hand for a moment before accepting the greeting. ¡°No idea, they know when they¡¯re supposed to get here. By the way, it costs like a couple hundred thousand dollars to rent this place out¡­ does Clayton really have so much money to throw into his hobby?¡± Dante and Arthur both had a bit of a laugh, knowing that Clayton probably wanted the expo to happen just because he liked Adventurer things. ¡°Point, you don¡¯t need to know where your team is. We¡¯re getting ready to open the doors, but we¡¯d like you to just check things before we do so.¡± Dante said, opening the doors and letting Arthur walk in. Arthur spared one last glance at the crowd outside, many confused on who he was but many more were starting to realize who Arthur had to be based on that conversation. Looking around, Arthur checked the stands, seeing clothing, weapons, armour, shields, all sorts of things on sale, map booklets as well, reminding Arthur that Emilia was getting quite a bit more money than the other members of Einherjar thanks to her selling her maps. There were many people running the stands, other than the Adventurer unique items there were also the usual things, food stands, places to buy drinks, a bar or two, and looking at the back, through the glass of the building, Arthur could see an area set up for a fight. There were then places that Arthur knew about, strong and well known Adventurer teams would each be given a place to talk, Einherjar being given the biggest area by virtue of being the most popular team. The second most popular team was Jotun thanks to their affiliation to Einherjar, but Jotun wasn¡¯t actually the second strongest team, they weren¡¯t even the fifth. Jotun politely refused to be at the expo though, stating that they wished to have strength befitting their connections and popularity, taking the day to go into the Dungeon instead of being at the expo. Other teams also denied going to the expo that were invited actually¡­ ¡°Ah, so you are the great Arthur Clive¡­ I thought you¡¯d be taller.¡± Arthur carefully did not grind his teeth at the insult to his height, turning to see a man decked out in Adventurer armour. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but you have me at a disadvantage, you know my name, but I don¡¯t know yours?¡± Arthur noted, trying his best to sound polite instead of annoyed, getting a chuckle from the vaguely Mexican man. ¡°Ah sorry, Pablo, leader of the Seis Espada, the second strongest team in America¡­ though I guess we¡¯re far behind you huh?¡± The man, Pablo, raised his left hand, letting Arthur see the number eighty three under the word ¡®LEV¡¯ on the man¡¯s wrist. Arthur honestly wasn¡¯t surprised by Pablo¡¯s strength. Arthur currently stood at level ninety, politely showing his own wrist in response, leaving Pablo to look begrudgingly impressed. ¡°Not that far. I take it you¡¯re moving through Area seven? Once you¡¯re in Area eight you¡¯ll likely be around level eighty six, maybe seven?¡± Pablo looked at Arthur, looking confused by the presence Arthur exuded. Arthur understood, most people meeting him for the first time since his rise to fame found him disturbing to meet as well. There was little to no arrogance, Arthur held back his aggression and tried to be civil. It made the one posturing, such as Pablo, feel like no matter what they did, Arthur would just calmly look past it. It was a lie of course, Arthur was a very aggressive person, be that passively or physically, but he kept quiet about that, keeping that part of himself for the monsters in the Dungeon. ¡°You don¡¯t act like I thought you would either¡­ the strong really are different eh?¡± Pablo said, stretching out his right hand for a handshake. Arthur really didn¡¯t want to touch someone he didn¡¯t know, but it was polite, and so he stretched out his hand, taking the hand of Pablo. ¡°I¡¯d like to think that I fit in when I need to.¡± Arthur said, narrowing his eyes and smiling slightly, activating Soul Sight and flashing his eyes an eerie purple. Pablo¡¯s hand subconsciously tensed, the handshake over before he realized, looking to see Arthur¡¯s eyes being normal, that predatory feeling missing¡­ ¡°By the way, I like the name of your group, Six Swords? Though I guess you aren¡¯t all swordsmen, it sounds good.¡± Even the way he talked changed after the handshake was over. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah¡­ I¡¯m a warrior, and since I¡¯m the leader we named ourselves like that.¡± Pablo said, feeling a cold sweat at the back of his neck as he looked at the shorter man in a suit. ¡°Fascinating. I hope we can talk after this expo, though I doubt I¡¯ll have time¡­ maybe another time?¡± Pablo still felt cold shivers, keeping as still as he could. ¡°I live in San Fran though, I¡¯m only in the area for this expo before we head back.¡± Pablo said, unable to keep the relief he felt out of his voice. Yes, he¡¯d be gone in a few days¡­ gone from this city, the realm of this monster in front of him. ¡°Such a shame, well, I need to look around a bit before my team gets here, I hope to hear good things from your team, Pablo.¡± Arthur then walked away, hiding his left sleeve as he walked.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Pablo stayed rooted to his spot for almost a solid minute before someone shook him and asked him to move as he was blocking the path. ¡°Fuck that¡­ I was trying to compete with that? Ah, I¡¯m stupid¡­¡± Pablo scratched the back of his head as he walked back to the area given to his team¡­ They knew he had left to look for Arthur Clive. He¡¯d let them know that Arthur Clive was to be left alone. Just because the monster was sleeping didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t dangerous. Rather let it sleep. ¡°Wonder why that guy looked so worried?¡± Arthur hadn¡¯t even realized what he did, activating Soul Sight the way he had just to check Pablo¡¯s strength. Pablo¡¯s soul was interesting, he apparently had quite a few points in Strength and Dexterity, Arthur doubted that the man used a shield, though it was a possibility, his Endurance value wasn¡¯t high enough to take advantage of a shield. As for his Anima, Pablo seemed to have a sword based Anima, hence the use of a sword¡­ as for his top skill, he was a swordsman, and his Anima was a sword, three guesses and the first two don¡¯t count, it was swordsmanship. Much lower in strength than Arthur¡¯s own Sword Sage, but Pablo¡¯s Skill level felt like either a low five or a high four¡­ either way, Pablo was pretty strong, though¡­ He¡¯d never be able to compete with the top six Chosen. Arthur, Ichiro, Albert, Sheikh, Loyiso and Jade. Arthur was level ninety, the others were all level eighty eight at minimum and Arthur was pretty sure Ichiro and Albert were probably also level ninety, maybe eighty nine. Pablo¡¯s eighty three was respectable, and after a few days of extending his time he might be able to equalize with these Chosen¡­ But Arthur recalled the way his Soul seemed fluid¡­ up until he looked at it. Then it froze, and Pablo started to look nervous. If just being looked at by someone stronger did that to him, then Pablo wouldn¡¯t be able to fight true Demon Lords. Such a shame too. Arthur was unaware that, with his Dagger of Hunger being a large part of his soul, and his recent acquisition of the Hunter Skill, he had a¡­ predatory aspect to himself. Arthur would eventually get that under control, but right now people he looked at with Soul Sight would instinctively flinch under the vision of a predator. ¡°So this is all satisfactory sir?¡± one of the people working at the expo asked him as Arthur looked at the stage provided to his team with an awkward look. It was way too large to just have six people standing and talking¡­ but apparently they thought Arthur¡¯s ego was big enough that it had to be contained on such a stage. The sarcasm didn¡¯t care for who the target was, even the user of the sarcasm was a victim. ¡°Sure, we didn¡¯t need that large of a stage, but it works.¡± Arthur said, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket while the woman walked away. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ oh, status update from the others, useful information for the expo¡­ should we post these?¡± Arthur considered, knowing that there was someone out there who would probably fight Arthur, that serial killer¡­ And knowing Arthur¡¯s stats would be a benefit for that serial killer¡­ but only if Arthur¡¯s stats remained the same. He¡¯d be getting stronger, and so would that serial killer, so it currently didn¡¯t matter. So yes, Einherjar could be showing off their status pages for all to see¡­ except for Soul Sight. That¡¯s something that he refused to share with anyone but a select few. Within the next half an hour Arthur basically just lingered around until the expo opened, his team appearing bit by bit until the expo opened. ¡°Man this is going to be annoying¡­ Arthur, you sure I can¡¯t¡­¡± Matt looked over the crowd, only for Arthur to narrow his eyes at Matt. ¡°No, you can¡¯t go pick fights. And if you¡¯re going to fight, you¡¯re our tank, just block a few hits, show you¡¯re invulnerable, and leave.¡± Arthur warned, knowing that if Matt actually fought¡­ Sheesh, it wouldn¡¯t be pretty. Much in the same sense that Arthur refused to fight seriously because he knew it wouldn¡¯t be nice if he fought either. ¡°Damn it. I¡¯m going to go look around the shields and laugh at them.¡± As if any shield could be better than Matt¡¯s, his grew more durable as he levelled up. ¡°I¡¯m going to check if there are any weapons I don¡¯t have in my collection.¡± Alice also walked off, Michael following behind her as he didn¡¯t really have anything else to do. ¡°Hey Arthur, let¡¯s go check out the magic section.¡± Emilia said, Arthur sighing as he followed her. John had vanished before Matt did by the way, that Sneak Skill was surprisingly overpowered in the hands of a Mind mage. It was the only reason John was so good at hiding, being able to make an illusion of his absence, along with Sneak, and the only way one could find John would be to use a Skill, such as Matt¡¯s Spatial Recognition Skill or Arthur¡¯s Soul Sight. The Einherjar actually enjoyed the expo, though Arthur felt that it was just a resting period between situations¡­ ¡°Life does not consist wholly of good experiences or bad, it is a strange mixture of the two.¡± Arthur mumbled to himself as he prepared to walk onto the stage a few hours later, his friends walking out before him as he focused, taking a deep breath. ¡°Welcome, I, am Arthur Clive, Chosen Adventurer of the United States, and these five are my teammates, and together we are Einherjar!¡± Arthur greeted with the microphone, getting claps, a cheer or two. Arthur looked quite different from his teammates, they all wore their Adventurer clothes while he stayed in his suit, refusing to leave it for the day. Regardless, everyone saw Arthur, and he was pretty sure everyone would know his face after this. The U.N meeting was televised, yes, but it wasn¡¯t like Arthur spoke for long there, and only people who watched that would have any idea of what he looked like. ¡°Today, like many of the other teams invited here, we of Einherjar will be answering just about any questions you ask us to the best of our ability. Personal questions may be answered but more likely than not we¡¯d rather you keep the questions restricted to the Dungeon and Adventurer topics.¡± Arthur added, Michael raising his own microphone with a nod from Arthur. ¡°Okay, to start this off, everyone will get a chance to ask questions, if not, everyone has been given pieces of paper to write questions on and drop in a question box later. Please write a contact method on the question, otherwise your question will be answered anonymously on one of our forums.¡± Michael added and Emilia added the final bit. ¡°So, raise your hand, and a question can be answered, each of us members of Einherjar will be answering so we can only help six people at a time, please be understanding in that regard.¡± And immediately hands were raised. Arthur sighed, getting to work as he pointed at someone whose hand was raised. ¡°Hi there, I¡¯m a spear user, I¡¯d just like to ask if that¡¯s a good weapon, I don¡¯t really hear of top tier Adventurers using spears and¡­¡± the ginger asking the question had Arthur feeling a flashback to Gerard¡¯s bright red hair for a moment before he blinked. ¡°Each weapon has their own benefits, your weapon should be good at piercing damage, not so great against smaller enemies but if the enemy has a weak-point, spears are usually good for picking them off. Just last week my team and I fought the seventh Demon Lord, and piercing attacks are really important there.¡± Arthur¡¯s answer drew a smile from the man as he sat back down¡­ And then Arthur had to point at another person, answering more questions. This was going to go on for a while. There were quite a few people asking personal questions like ¡®are you dating one of the girls in your team¡¯ and ¡®how do you feel about religion¡¯ and things like that, most of which Arthur denied answering, though he had heard Emilia confirm her relation to Arthur to someone else¡­ Well, her prerogative, he didn¡¯t feel like saying it. Other than that, they eventually got to the point where people asked for the status page of Einherjar members, and to save the trouble, the massive screen on the stage showed all six status pages in table form after that question was asked. Arthur had some time before the questions were asked after all. Some reactions were funny, others seemed impressed or sad, either or.
Michael Grave
Level: 89 (C-Rank)
Class: Bowman Surveyor- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Grants Archery Skill and Hawk Eye Skill
Anima
Longbow of Skill
Anima Skills
Elemental Shift- Grant your arrows magic damage based on element Focus- perception of time slows down with bow string drawn back. Nimble Fingers- Double Dexterity for one shot, seven minute cool down Skill Steal- enemies hit with your arrows lose 5 Dexterity for a minute; stacks for a max of five stacks, stacks renew duration, Dexterity removed from enemies get added to yours.
Primary Element: Fire Other Element(s): Light
Personal Skills
Hawk Eye V (62/250) ¨C Enhanced vision, drains stamina Archery V (24/250) ¨C increases accuracy with ranged weapons Hero¡¯s Strength IV (172/200) ¨C Increases Strength by 25% Quick Reflexes IV (139/200) ¨C Increases Dexterity by 25% Sharp Eyes II (178/200)- critical hits deal 20% more damage
Stats
Strength: 163 (203) Dexterity: 163 (203)
Intelligence: 80 Wisdom: 80
Endurance: 80 Vitality: 80
Michael¡¯s status page got quite a few stares, as he had only one Rare Skill¡­ there were many people who had no Rare Skill, but many more who had none. And Michael used to be part of their number, getting a laugh from the Einherjar. ¡°See, so Michael¡¯s status page shows that Rare Skills aren¡¯t a necessity to be strong, up until level seventy Michael didn¡¯t even have one.¡± Arthur told someone who asked him about the importance of Skill differences. ¡°On the other hand, Skills are important, and Ranks between Skills and rarity differences are also important¡­ but not the end all, be all of fighting.¡± Arthur admitted. Most wouldn¡¯t believe him due to his own ¡®slightly censored¡¯ status page behind him showing that he had at least one Unique Skill, a few Rare Skills and like two normal Skills. But using Michael¡¯s status page, Michael who was his known second in command, Arthur managed to alleviate the worries of some of the Adventurers in the crowd. ¡°Emilia, Emilia, is the Regenerator Skill difficult to get?¡± Emilia made an exaggerated wince at the question of a girl in the crowd¡­ Girls gravitated towards Emilia and Alice most of the time¡­ with some of the others going towards Michael and Matt. They were both tall and good looking so it was kind of obvious what was going on there¡­ ¡°It¡¯s¡­ not easy. It¡¯s very painful. I got hit the most while learning to dodge after all.¡± Emilia said, pointing to her own status page.
Emilia Vasilievna
Level: 88 (C-Rank)
Class: Hunter Thief- Grants one stat point to Dexterity and Intelligence per level Gives Tracking Skill and Dagger Arts Skill
Anima
Bloodletting Daggers
Anima Skills
Shred- increases damage dealt to animal-type enemies, occasionally causes Bleeding Armour Piercing- chance to bypass armour. Bloody Mary- life steal effect granted against living creatures, at 10% of damage dealt converted to health. Cutback- as long as one Dagger is held, you can throw the other and summon it to your free hand, range is limited to 13 metres.
Primary Element: Water Other Element(s): Mind, Wind
Personal Skills
Quick Reflexes V (37/250)- increases Dexterity by 30% Dagger Arts V (46/250)- Increases Dagger-type weapon damage Tracking III (98/150)- Allows tracking of wounded enemies, can be used to map areas, but is not designed to do so. Martial Arts V (29/250)- increases damage dealt without a weapon. Regenerator IV (4/200)- increases Vitality by 25% Aquatic Defence III (6/300)- Grants Water based defensive spells
Stats
Strength: 120 Dexterity: 165 (214)
Intelligence: 110 Wisdom: 90
Endurance: 77 Vitality: 77 (96)
She was still scary, her Dexterity was really high¡­ not as much as Ichiro though, Arthur recalled his was around two fifty?
John Collins
Level: 89 (C-Rank)
Class: Shade Healer- Grants one stat point to Wisdom and Intelligence per level Gives Sneak Skill and Light Scripture Skill
Anima
Enhancing Arts
Anima Skills
Hard Hitting- lets someone deal eight times damage on their next attack Tempo Accel- Increases movement and attack speed by 40%. Protected- Increases physical defence by 35% Grounded- Reduces knockback effect of enemy attacks by 20%
Primary Element: Mind Other Element(s): Metal, Water, Earth
Personal Skills
Sneak VI (231/300)- grants the ability to erase ones presence Light Scripture VI (6/300)- Grants Healing Spells, lowers Mana cost Computation V (31/250) ¨C Increases Intelligence by 30% Staff Arts IV (53/200)- increases spell effects by 40% Mind Over Matter III (16/300)- eases the use of Telekinesis using the Mind Element. Tactician II (94/100) - increases Wisdom by 15%
Stats
Strength: 91 Dexterity: 85
Intelligence: 150 (195) Wisdom: 150 (172)
Endurance: 85 Vitality: 85
John¡¯s status had quite a few people staring in confusion, realizing that their healer was more of a ninja than a healer¡­ also, some hadn¡¯t realized there were six people on the stage.
Alice Grave
Level: 88 (C-Rank)
Class: Martial Berserker- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Gives Pain is Gain Skill and Hero¡¯s Strength Skill
Anima (Skill)
The World is a Weapon- grants use of any weapon as if holding a rank IV skill of that weapon type The World is a Shield- grants use of all defensive skills to the point of rank IV World of Magic- Lessens Mana cost of elemental manipulation by a small amount
Primary Element: Darkness Other Element: Wind
Personal Skills
Hero¡¯s Strength V (233/250)- increases Strength by 30% Pain is Gain IV (187/200)- The more damaged, the more powerful the user becomes, causes intense anger Calm Mind III (201/300)- Keeps the user calm and collected Quick Reflexes V (2/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Dark Juggernaut III (174/300)- Grants Darkness based Supplementary Spells
Stats
Strength: 142 (184) Dexterity: 141 (183)
Intelligence: 89 Wisdom: 89
Endurance: 89 Vitality: 89
Alice, the calm berserker she was, had people look between her status page and her and fear for their souls. A large portion of men suddenly paled, and Arthur had the vague feeling that they had been considering Alice until they noticed her status page. Alice was left giving a narrowed glare at said men knowingly.
Matt Jacobson
Level: 89 (C-Rank)
Class: Wall of Steel- Grants two stat points to Endurance per level Gives Spatial Recognition (Rare) Skill and Shield Arts Skill
Anima
Shield of Immunity
Anima Skills
Bulwark- ranged attacks against team are redirected towards the shield Spikes- Parrying a weapon might result in its destruction Unstoppable Wall- Shield bashes are more effective and cause bleeding. Immovable- when blocking, knockback effect is reduced by 25%
Primary Element: Metal Other Element: Earth
Personal Skills
Stand Strong V (248/250)- increases Endurance by 3% Shield Arts V (162/250)- decreases Damage taken when blocking Spatial Recognition IV (28/400) - Allows tracking of all things within a twenty metre radius, causes headaches with long use Lightened Load V (218/250)- Weight of carried items lowered by 25% Quick Response III (274/300)- The more enemies you face, the better your reaction speed becomes. Steel Guardian II (198/200)- Grants use of defensive Metal Element Spells.
Stats
Strength: 93 Dexterity: 93
Intelligence: 93 Wisdom: 93
Endurance: 181 (235) Vitality: 93
And the second strongest member of Einherjar was definitely Matt, regardless of what others thought, the members of Einherjar knew it to be the truth. Matt¡¯s Endurance made him nigh impossible to damage unless you had a Strength stat of about one fifty above, and that was before his shield got involved. Arthur could defeat Matt in a fight because their Elements made it that Arthur could bypass Matt¡¯s defence slightly, and Alice could damage and dodge Matt¡¯s attacks but she¡¯d tire out before he¡¯d stop. Arthur also noted that there were whispers from the women in near Matt about how ¡®he looked dangerous, and he could protect you, and he was part of the strongest Adventurer team so he had money¡¯¡­ Poor girls. Matt was a person who was just as likely to take advantage of them as they were to take advantage of him. If you were honest with Matt, he¡¯d be honest with you. if you tried to take advantage of him? Ooh¡­ shame. Arthur knew his status page drew the most stares though. Why wouldn¡¯t it? He was the ¡®strongest man¡¯ and they¡¯d like to know how they measured up compared to the top. Many found themselves confused though, and Arthur didn¡¯t blame them, finding a non-healer with a Wisdom stat that high was an impossibility. Actually, even healers didn¡¯t have Wisdom stats as high as his was.
Arthur Clive
Level: 90 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives ---- -----(Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
Dagger- Devour- Increase Soul Gain by 30% Dagger- Rend- Damage to living beings increases by 5% Dagger- Void- can create a minor gravitational pull, 3 Wisdom per use a day. Dagger- Feed- Absorb a magic attack from an enemy to be used against them, limited to Elements you possess. Cloak- Defence- lowers damage taken by 5.5% Cloak- Wise One- Increases Wisdom by 45% (total 175%) Cloak- Rags to Riches- 10% of enemies drop two times the loot. Cloak- Blink- teleport up to five metres away from your current position, costs 6 Wisdom per use a day.
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (63/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 175%) Sword Sage III (60/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage ---- ----- III (134/500) - ------ ------- ------ --------- Dual Wielding V (31/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (51/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (17/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter I (19/100)- Increases damage against previously killed enemies.
Stats
Strength: 123 Dexterity: 132 (171)
Intelligence: 66 Wisdom: 143 (250)
Endurance: 66 Vitality: 123
Obviously the Soul Sight was censored, and some asked about it, but Arthur maintained that it was a personal thing. And then the expo started going towards its end, surprisingly no fights breaking out between Einherjar and other people¡­ And then someone in the crowd raised their hand. And Arthur pointed at them. ¡°Sorry to ask this, but I figure you¡¯d know more than most¡­ but is it true that the Dungeon is a singular thing, and that the Soul is quantifiable?¡± Arthur blinked looking at the person with tired eyes. Should he? Arthur was well aware that there was no reason to keep this a secret¡­ he also felt it shouldn¡¯t be known. Then Arthur realized that he just didn¡¯t care. ¡°¡­Yes. The Dungeon is in fact the biblical Tower of Babel, moved to Hell and reconverted into a gateway between Earth and Hell. Going down into the Dungeon is actually going closer to Hell. The Soul is quantifiable in your status page. By increasing your level, you increase your Soul¡¯s strength, and your Soul starts to affect physical reality.¡± There was a sudden quiet. A pin-drop could be heard in this kind of atmosphere. Silence. The loudest sound. And then chaos. Arthur smiled. B2 Chapter 13- ‘Evil’ Moves Dante heaved a sigh as he signed off on some more paperwork, knowing that there were going to be many, many people coming to talk to him. Arthur Clive had done something a bit annoying two weeks ago at the Adventurer Expo, revealing what the Dungeon actually was, and confirming that the Soul was what was being altered by levelling up. There were a few people recording the event, even though it wasn¡¯t allowed there would always be people who did so¡­ and so within a few minutes the video of the Einherjar question and answer session were online. It had more than a few million views within the first few hours, and the comment section was filled with religious people decrying that Adventurers were fools for walking into Hell, people who refused to become Adventurers thinking themselves smart for not doing it, and Adventurers questioning whether or not they were in the right. That was the majority, but there were a few people who argued against things, Adventurers who reminded that Hell was practically on their doorstop, having already attacked them on Red Sky Day, if they didn¡¯t take the fight to Hell, were they going to just stand still and take the hits? ¡°You know, these groups have always existed¡­ it¡¯s just they needed a reason to come to blows.¡± Dante looked up at Grey Vincent, the current second-in-command of the guild. Dante actually blinked for a moment in actual surprise, realizing that yes, he was actually seeing Grey before he gestured to the seat in front of him. ¡°Well, this is a surprise¡­ you¡¯ve been missing for a while, I haven¡¯t been hearing from you.¡± Dante admitted, wondering what Grey was doing for the past month or two. Dante hadn¡¯t been told anything except for Shaun saying that Grey was handling a suspicion of Shaun¡¯s. ¡°Sorry, Op-Sec demanded by the boss. I came back after hearing that he was shipped off to Columbia because his orders were that ¡®if I am not in country, you are to return and let Dante know what you were doing¡¯.¡± Grey¡¯s really bad imitation of Shaun aside, Dante nodded, accepting the orders as they were, operational security was important to maintain in battle¡­ ¡°There are spies, aren¡¯t there?¡± Dante asked, getting a nod from Grey as he pulled out a bottle of some gassy drink or other. Dante was a fitness guy, those drinks weren¡¯t really good for you so he tended to stay away from them on most days. ¡°Yeah, there are¡­ and not just here. I¡¯ve been abroad for the last two months, I¡¯ve checked out Britain, Germany, Russia, Japan, South Africa, Australia and Brazil before I ended up back here.¡± Dante blinked at that, only now noticing the black bags under Grey¡¯s eyes. No wonder Grey was slouching in his seat, changing time zones that frequently would mess with you. ¡°¡­I¡¯m a bit worried to ask this, but of the spies you¡¯ve identified¡­ who are they working for?¡± Dante asked, having a worrying feeling with the question. ¡°Jack Mourn. The serial killer from last time.¡± Dante cursed under his breath, looking at the papers on his desk in thought. He knew that serial killer was dangerous, the Adventurer Killer was the most prolific killer since the Beast of Columbia, Luis Garavito, and that he was muscling in on the drug-trade¡­ There had been sightings of someone with the skills to be the Adventurer Killer, and considering he could apparently change his face it was probably him¡­ But he had been suspiciously absent for a while¡­ the last heard of him was two weeks before Shaun went to Columbia. Columbia which was well known to work with cocaine and marijuana. The drug trade that Jack Mourn had been muscling in on. The suspiciously absent Jack Mourn, the quiet Columbia, the spies in numerous Guilds and Governments across the world¡­ ¡°Grey¡­ have you considered that the Adventurer Killer¡­ is in Columbia right now, with Shaun?¡± Grey blinked, his eyes red from lack of sleep widening as he realized what that would mean. ¡°It¡¯s the calm before the storm. Shaun and the other Guild Leaders were sent there to try and quell the civil unrest going on in the country, but with all the bad things happening there, they wouldn¡¯t have time to notice a few¡­ extra people. Such as Jack Mourn.¡± Dante added, and Grey had a sip of his drink. ¡°Columbia is a large place, there¡¯s little chance of them encountering one another if the Adventurer Killer is actually there¡­ but they will have to come to blows.¡± Grey added and Dante knew what he meant. Shaun, Clements and the other Guild Leaders were there to bring order, while Jack Mourn was likely trying to take advantage of the chaos to secure recipes, man-power, and raw material to start his own drug production. As Grey implied, there was no certainty to Jack Mourn being in Columbia, but it was too enticing a target to not be hit by the Adventurer Killer, who had made it clear he was going to be a part of the drug trade sooner or later. Sooner, rather than later was the idea apparently. Even if Mourn himself wasn¡¯t there, someone working for him was likely there. ¡°This is bad. Shaun is strong, he¡¯s on par with the Chosen and in a straight out fight would defeat most of them, but the Adventurer Killer was a few levels higher than Arthur the last time they encountered one another. I doubt the gap was closed so easily.¡± Dante added and Grey recalled that Arthur, an old¡­ ¡®friend¡¯ of his, was level ninety two weeks ago, meaning the man was likely level ninety four or five by now. The Adventurer Killer¡­ was probably level one hundred. More if Arthur¡¯s idea of ¡®three to five hundred¡¯ was accurate. Arthur seemed to firmly believe that level four hundred would be the highest, others were sceptical but could find it in themselves to believe his words. Even six on one, a level difference of ten was dangerous, Shaun only tied with Mourn because Shaun was abnormal, his teammates would have to step up their games if they were going to help Shaun¡­ That, and Mourn wouldn¡¯t be alone, last time he escaped with the help of someone capable of teleporting or invisibility, probably the former and not the latter as Shaun mentioned seeing no signs of movement such as pressed in grass. So Mourn would have assistance from other Contract Holders, the term used for people with LEV¡¯s but were not Adventurers, such as most Guild Members, the police, or in this case, criminals. These other Contract Holders would be of unknown level, but Dante doubted they would be beneath level seventy; they wouldn¡¯t be much help to Mourn if they were lower than that. The Guild Leaders would just have to deal. Dante wasn¡¯t involved, being in America as he was right now. ¡°I guess I can¡¯t really worry at this point¡­ what are the spies doing by the way?¡± Dante asked, curious as to this matter, and Grey sighed, palming his face. ¡°Nothing. They¡¯re doing absolutely nothing. They¡¯re even productive members of the work force.¡± Dante blinked¡­ how were they spies then? ¡°The problem is that they all get money paid into their accounts ¡®anonymously¡¯ every month, beyond what they should be getting. Then I remembered what Mourn¡¯s ability is, to change faces.¡± Grey added, and Dante realized how he figured out they were spies. ¡°They¡¯re paid to do their jobs, and Mourn can actively replace them at their jobs for a day or two¡­ this way, they can¡¯t feed Mourn false information, and Mourn is within striking distance if he needs to assassinate a Guild member¡­ do we have any spies in our Guild here?¡± Dante asked quickly, and Grey shook his head. ¡°No, this is one of the Guilds with no spies¡­ I think it¡¯s because Shaun¡¯s the one in charge here. Everyone who works here knows that Shaun runs a tight ship, no one would accept Mourn¡¯s offer.¡± The other part unmentioned was that Mourn would be cautious around Shaun. Shaun was level thirty one when he encountered the level thirty seven serial killer, and yet both walked away injured having a draw in their battle. Not only that, but Shaun¡¯s Hunter Eyes let him see information about people, he subconsciously activated them from time to time, especially when he was mad. All it would take was Mourn walking past while Shaun was angry and Mourn would be ousted as the Adventurer Killer, even if he was hiding with a different face. So Mourn was cautious enough to know that he wouldn¡¯t be able to act freely in front of Shaun, but crazy enough to attack everywhere Shaun was not. A dangerous combination¡­ insanity honed by caution made Mourn an annoying enemy. ¡°For now, we should have a respite from Mourn while he is missing¡­ the bank heists have slowed to almost a complete halt, with most robberies happening elsewhere.¡± Dante noted. ¡°Yeah, that leaves our response teams to be ready, and we can hold off on calling in Einherjar for now¡­ but when Mourn returns, they¡¯ll have to step up to the plate too.¡± Grey warned, knowing that no one really wanted to include Einherjar, even though it would be a necessity at that point. For all that they were strong, Einherjar were still technically civvies and they had no business being part of the law enforcement of the country. Not to mention that Arthur was a bit¡­ unhinged, in regards to hurting people. Sometimes he¡¯d be adamantly against doing anything with hurting another being, other times he¡¯d just give a bland look as someone got hurt in front of him. Grey and Dante hadn¡¯t had access to Arthur¡¯s medical history, nor did Shaun, little to no one knew about Arthur¡¯s R.A.D which would have cleared up a few things. It wouldn¡¯t change who Arthur was, it would just make it more understandable for other people. ¡°Who knows when the Columbia mission will be done, and whether or not Mourn will work on Shaun¡¯s schedule? Instead of worrying about that¡­ Arthur certainly dropped a bomb on the world.¡± Dante said, looking at the laptop screen to his right, updates on arguments, forums and the video itself showing. ¡°That he did, but Arthur never really cared for how other people would react to the things he did, even if he knew they were reacting.¡± Grey pointed out and Dante sighed, knowing that Grey really had warned them of Arthur¡¯s habits beforehand. ¡°All these arguments about religion, spirituality, discussions on the soul, and Arthur¡¯s just taking a backseat to this even though he started it.¡± Dante¡¯s main complaint was this. Arthur showed up the day after the expo walking into the Guild like nothing had happened, gone into the Dungeon with both Einherjar and Jotun, apparently showing them the ropes in the next Area before the weaker team got there. And even with Dante¡¯s complaints, Arthur just shrugged with a small smile on his face, saying- ¡°It was going to be found out eventually. Secrets like that aren¡¯t kept unless everyone who knows it dies.¡± Dante couldn¡¯t argue against the statement, and Arthur went on to add that people would have figured it out eventually, Arthur¡¯s theories on the soul and the Dungeon were available for public viewing even if they weren¡¯t announced, and the person who asked the question at the expo clearly knew a bit. ¡°Fact of the matter is that Arthur can afford to take a backseat, as he has been answering many questions before they could even be asked to this point.¡± Grey added, lifting a printed copy of the now publically known Arthur¡¯s Tome. The actual name was just ¡®Thesis on the Soul and Dungeon¡¯ but people apparently preferred the ¡®mystery¡¯ in the current known name. ¡°You¡¯re saying there would have been more questions, complaints and arguments if it were not for this?¡± Dante asked, looking for confirmation. ¡°Probably, I mean, many of the arguments and questions are simply answered with ¡®look in the Tome¡¯ and then silence¡­ makes you wonder if Arthur was planning this, but knowing him, he wasn¡¯t.¡± Dante nodded.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Arthur was smart, and apparently a brilliant tactician if his Skill was to be believed, but Arthur couldn¡¯t have predicted this from the time he first stepped into the Dungeon. ¡°I guess we¡¯re just going to have to leave Arthur alone for now¡­ he¡¯s the face of Adventurers world-wide, so even if we wanted to complain they¡¯d probably boycott us for messing with him.¡± Dante leaned back in his chair, sighing. Spies, Columbia, Arthur, the Dungeon, bank heists, Dante had a lot weighing on his mind¡­ and that was when his sister walked into the room, carrying a stack of papers. ¡°Sign. Also, Einherjar has something really important they want to talk to you about.¡± Dante blinked at that, realizing that Einherjar were back from their Demon Lord fight. Einherjar had mentioned they were going to fight the eighth Demon Lord the day before, the eighth Area being small but filled with strong monsters and the occasional traps. ¡°I¡¯ll sign these when I get back.¡± Dante walked away, wishing the papers would burst into flames before he got back into the room. Fire might be his Element, but even he couldn¡¯t do that without magic and letting people know who did it. So Dante walked out and looked to Arthur¡¯s team, expecting to see smirks, smiles, general contentment with defeating a Demon Lord¡­ Instead, Dante saw confused looked and Arthur frowning as he walked closer to their table. ¡°Einherjar.¡± Dante greeted the collective with a nod, sitting down and looking at Arthur, a page already in his hand with a pen to write notes about the latest Demon Lord. Arthur had his own notes with more details, even backstories to the Demon Lords who would share theirs. The seventh one had a backstory out of some fantasy novel honestly. ¡°Dante¡­ we need to talk about something¡­ it¡¯s worrying.¡± Arthur¡¯s statement had Dante set down the pen, knowing that this next part was probably going to be ¡®off-record¡¯ even if he¡¯d verbally share it with others. ¡°Alright, I take it the Demon Lord fight went oddly?¡± Dante recalled Einherjar¡¯s reaction to the Wyvern Slayer as they came out of the Dungeon looked oddly numb for having won a fight. He found out afterwards that the Demon Lord was once human and realizing they fought to kill a human was disturbing. Arthur landed the final blow though, and he was really the only one to fight the Wyvern Slayer, the Demon Lord weaker than his rank would suggest in exchange for having another monster with him, his own Wyvern. John also mentioned that even if Arthur didn¡¯t notice it, he had boosted Arthur during said fight, explaining why Arthur was capable of defeating Gerard like that. ¡°Odd is putting it lightly. The eighth Demon Lord was the Dead Sun, apparently from what I¡¯ve managed to put together when he was alive he was a priest of the sun, not a typical Undead because he could use Fire and Light magic.¡± That did sound odd for an Undead, but they were still learning the rules to such things, if there were any. Rules were practically being rewritten as they were being jotted down anyway. ¡°It was not that difficult really, for an Undead it was weak against Lightning and Darkness magic oddly enough, I take it that the Lightning is usually damaging to Undead and the Darkness was because of its role as ¡®Dead Sun¡¯.¡± Arthur added, then explaining its appearance. Large, muscular, wearing clothes similar to old Aztec cloths and headdresses, it was a physical fighter as well as a magic user, able to buff itself, attack with Light and Fire, and being really strong. its defence wasn''t high though, as a result of it being an Undead most likely¡­ had the Dead Sun been alive it probably would have been much stronger, as Undead were weaker than when they were alive with the exception of few, such as Despair and Liches. So¡­ from what Dante was hearing, they essentially fought Aztec Hercules as a zombie. Of course the world was so strange now. ¡°Okay, this happened, what was the issue then, the oddity?¡± Dante asked, and Arthur shared a glance with Michael, and then Emilia before licking his lips and sighing. ¡°Dante, we weren¡¯t the first to kill the Demon Lord.¡± Dante blinked, and then just stared. ¡°Dante, you know my abilities, I can see the souls of those I face and that thing was empty. A husk. Even the Undead aren¡¯t husks. Bland, grey or black souls yes, but not empty. Not hollow.¡± Dante leaned back in his seat, feeling his breath hitch in his throat. It was a defeated Demon Lord? A ¡®Hollow Lord¡¯ as termed by a few Adventurers online? But who could have killed it? The Guild¡¯s all know, that one is to inform the others of their discovery of the Demon Lord¡¯s floor, the stairs to the fight, and yet there was no call? The next closest should have been the Japanese, Ichiro was getting really close to the stairs only to find out Arthur beat him to it¡­ and now they find that someone beat even Arthur to this Demon Lord? ¡°...I see¡­ you all go home, rest for the day¡­ I¡¯m going to make a few calls, I¡¯ll let you know what I find.¡± Dante added, and Arthur maintained a steady stare at Dante, though he looked away when Dante met his eyes. That was a habit of Arthur¡¯s, who disliked looking into the eyes of others except when trying to convey his honesty. ¡°¡­You think it¡¯s foul play?¡± Dante huffed for a moment, hand resting on the table as he looked at the notes he took on the Demon Lord, the Dead Sun. ¡°I¡¯d assume, Japan was really close themselves, who is to say if they might have just kept quiet and stolen the victory?¡± Dante asked with a raised brow, only to get a shake of the head from Arthur. ¡°No, it¡¯s an impossibility. The Japanese Guild¡¯s may think like that, I can¡¯t say I know that group, but I know Ichiro, the Chosen of Japan. I¡¯d say he is a friend. He hates tricks, cheating, he¡¯d be upfront about it with us, if only so he can brag to me.¡± Dante hadn¡¯t really known of Arthur¡¯s friendship with the Japanese Chosen, but that did eliminate Japan from the list of culprits. ¡°Okay, so it wasn¡¯t Japan, maybe Russia, the U.K, Africa, Saudi Arabia, one of them? Trust between countries is a given, but at some point things were going to go wrong.¡± Dante asked and Arthur leaned back into his seat, looking oddly smug. It was a weird look on Arthur. ¡°Maybe, just maybe Russia would have done it, but I doubt it, Albert hates us but he has worked with me before, and from what I hear, he has worked with Shaun before, would someone who has worked with Shaun do something like this?¡± Dante frowned, already picturing how the conversation was about to go. ¡°Then, as for Africa, that¡¯s a bit false, South Africa is the main home of their team members. Loyiso is also an upfront guy, spiritual, unless he has been making a persona the whole time, I doubt he¡¯d lie either.¡± Dante just sat quietly, waiting. ¡°Sheikh is too proud to cheat, he wants to defeat me and the other Chosen in fair competition, to prove to all that he is better. Cheating would undermine his goal.¡± And one more¡­ ¡°As for Jade Ainsworth¡¯s team, that crazy George is their Guild Leader. Enough is said there.¡± Indeed, George was really supportive of Arthur¡¯s position as ¡®Strongest Chosen¡¯ going so far as to say he was a fan¡­ Then again, George also claimed that Arthur was going to be nigh immortal and that George¡¯s descendant will be in a threesome with some Sword God and Jade Ainsworth. But the idea was there, George was a bit too unstable to do something like letting the U.K team rush ahead, even if he was also in Columbia, the Guild in England would never disobey his orders for fear of his reprisal. ¡°Alright, so that¡¯s the Big Six, what about the other countries?¡± Dante asked, playing his role in letting Arthur figure out who it could possibly be that killed the Demon Lord. ¡°Now that¡¯s a funny suggestion. Nothing against the other countries, their Chosen are all around level ninety too, Scandinavia even has a level ninety two team who call themselves the Vikings¡­ but do you really think they¡¯d try something like this?¡± Dante actually agreed with Arthur¡¯s denial, even if he was the one that suggested the possibility of the others¡­ The other Countries, even if they have strong Adventurers, wouldn¡¯t dare try to be unlawful about their victory, because when it came to Adventurers, messing with the ¡®Big Six¡¯ countries in Adventuring was simply not done. ¡°If it isn¡¯t the countries, then that leaves someone unaffiliated with the Guilds and Countries¡­ shit.¡± Dante cursed, and Arthur nodded, the other members of Einherjar looked quite confused. Emilia on the other hand had a blush and looked impressed. Huh¡­ Dante had a glance between her and Arthur for a moment before shrugging. ¡°There¡¯s only one person known who could have done it. I don¡¯t know if there are any other people like him¡­ but the Adventurer Killer, wasn¡¯t he like five levels above me back when I was level thirty?¡± Arthur reminded, a few members of Einherjar getting wide eyes. ¡°Yeah¡­ so the most likely, and most annoying option, according to Occam¡¯s Razor.¡± Dante added, and Arthur nodded. In Columbia, Mourn sat, flipping his dagger in his hand, sitting on the roof of a building, thinking¡­ aching. His wounds from his fight against the Demon Lord ached slightly, but he was healing fast¡­ his Vitality stat was a bit low, but still high enough for him to have some measure of regenerative ability. ¡°Hey Boss, you up here?¡± Mourn heard from behind him, looking over his shoulder to see the door to the roof open, and out walked Eddie, holding two cups of coffee, the steam wafting off of them as he walked over, closing the door with his foot. Mourn didn¡¯t say anything, just watching as Eddie came closer, placing the cup next to Mourn and standing, staring into the sunset with his boss. ¡°¡­Eddie.¡± Mourn said, his voice tired, leaving Eddie to look at Mourn from out the corner of his eye. Eddie was also injured, just like Mourn was, understandable as the two of them were part of the group that fought that Demon Lord, and Mourn had no healer available to him. ¡°Boss?¡± Eddie ¡®asked¡¯ in return with a small smile, getting a roll of the eyes from Mourn as he accepted the cup, his dagger having vanished in the middle of his next toss. ¡°I¡¯m tired Eddie.¡± Mourn said, still staring at the sun and refusing to look at Eddie. ¡°I know Boss.¡± Mourn didn¡¯t show any reaction beyond taking a sip of his coffee, licking his lips¡­ that was damn good coffee. ¡°Since when?¡± Mourn asked, because if Eddie truly knew what he was talking about¡­ ¡°About¡­ a month, two months after we met? Not your fault really.¡± Eddie said, finally getting a reaction as Mourn turned his head slightly to look up at the still standing Eddie. ¡°Explain.¡± Mourn added, and Eddie hummed in thought. ¡°My younger brother is similar to you. Or is it that he would be your opposite?¡± Eddie seemed confused on how to explain, shaking head before continuing. ¡°My brother is¡­ messed up, to put it lightly. I¡¯m honestly scared of him, because I know he could hurt lots of people with how he is.¡± Mourn was intrigued, having never heard of Eddie¡¯s sibling before. ¡°On the other hand, I know it¡¯s not really his fault¡­ things happened that made him like that. I don¡¯t blame him, I blame those who put him in those situations.¡± Eddie then looked to Mourn. ¡°You¡¯re similar. Something happened, and you were expected to act one way¡­ and now you stay acting that way, instead of trying to stop.¡± Eddie said, and Mourn looked down, seeing two children playing with a soccer ball in the street, both noticing Mourn and Eddie and then waving. Mourn waved back with a small smile, and Eddie chuckled. ¡°See? You¡­ I can¡¯t say you¡¯re not bad. You scare me. But you can be nice. You have that choice.¡± Mourn¡¯s smile turned into a frown instantly, looking to the sun. ¡°I don¡¯t. Have a choice, I mean. I¡¯ve been hurt for a long time, and I¡¯ve been expected to hurt others for so long I don¡¯t know anything else.¡± Eddie tilted his head, taking a sip of his coffee. ¡°I think you do know what to do¡­ I mean, what we¡¯ve been doing since we got here is a bit¡­¡± Eddie started, getting a look from Mourn who was taking a sip of his own coffee. ¡°I know. I figured I¡¯d give it a try. I doubt it will work but¡­¡± Eddie looked to his boss, really looked at the man¡­ and then turned back to the sun. ¡°Let¡¯s hope it works out. Though admittedly¡­ is the reason you have to do what you do our company?¡± Eddie asked, and Mourn sighed. ¡°Here you go get insightful and then you ruin it. It¡¯s kind of obvious isn¡¯t it Eddie? Just, just¡­ go inside, go sniff some cocaine, feed the dog, do something.¡± Eddie chuckled. Mourn was just about ready to torture Eddie again, but instead he took a deep breath. Torture wasn¡¯t going to calm Mourn down right now¡­ Mourn looked at the sun, knowing that this was just a moment of calm he could use¡­ after this, it was back to the job¡­ The job he was starting to hate. Especially because of the competition. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ the cartels, the military, the other killers, small time gangs, the Guild Leaders¡­ I got a lot of competition.¡± Mourn said, propping himself up and standing at the edge of the building with his cup of coffee, finishing it before tossing the cup behind him. The sun slowly set, and as it did, Mourn¡¯s face morphed, taking on a different shape, his disguise for the day. ¡°They say the measure of a man can be seen in the calibre of his enemies.¡± Mourn said aloud, stretching for a bit before placing his palms onto the floor, stretching out one leg behind him in a classic runners pose. ¡°I¡¯m a great man I guess.¡± Mourn mumbled, a leather jacket appearing over his upper body, and a short blade with a serrated back appeared in his hand. And with a push, Mourn was gone, having jumped a few buildings away, his strength allowing him to traverse Columbia at high speeds, especially alone. Inside the building Mourn just left, after feeling the boom of Mourn¡¯s departure, Eddie sat down his cup in a sink, picking up a bowl of porridge, and then walking away from the kitchen. ¡°Hey, the Boss leave?¡± Eddie looked over to the woman with a raised brow. She then shook her head, sending her black hair flying about for a moment. ¡°Dumb question, right. You going to feed the dog?¡± Eddie felt awkward about the term but nodded, getting a sigh from the woman. ¡°When you¡¯re done, get back here, I have an itch that needs scratching.¡± Eddie¡¯s eyes widened, and a smile was on his face immediately as he walked away. He had a reason to rush now after all¡­ even if she was a crazy chick that tried to kill Mourn, they were¡­ sort of dating now? Friendly associates with benefits? Who knew? Eddie wasn¡¯t going to complain, walking to the door and opening it to reveal the old chained up man lying in what was likely a puddle of his old piss. There was no spoon with the porridge, only the bowl itself, as Eddie placed it on the floor, sliding it over to the old man who looked up to Eddie with narrowed eyes. ¡°Eat up, Monster of the Andes, the Boss doesn¡¯t want you dead just yet.¡± The old man spat at Eddie, who made sure to dodge, the spit punching about a centimetre into the wall behind. ¡°Oops, forgot to put up the silencing field¡­ that¡¯s no more magic out of you.¡± Eddie added, and the old man huffed, thin and reedy, his moustache grey and thinning. Pedro Alonso Lopez, the Monster of the Andes, claimer of three hundred odd murders of young girls¡­ the serial killer had been missing for a while, up until Red Sky Day. Soon after that event, he went to Columbia and killed the President¡­ the very man that threw Columbia into chaos sat here in this room, prevented from moving thanks to Mourn and Eddie¡¯s new paramour. ¡°Maldito bastardo.¡± Eddie shrugged, not having an idea on what the man was saying, instead closing the door behind him and whistling as he walked away. He had some¡­ matters, to attend to. In America, Arthur clenched his fist in knowing that out there, someone was stronger than him. In Columbia, Mourn moved through the night taking the lives of those who would dare go against his goals. On the wrist of the Monster of the Andes was LEV with the number ninety eight. On Eddie¡¯s wrist, it was ninety three. On Mourn¡¯s? EX three. Level one hundred and three.
Arthur Clive
Level: 95 (C-Rank)
Class: Linked Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Wisdom per level Gives Soul Sight (Unique) Skill
Anima
Dagger of Hunger Cloak of Will
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (87/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 175%) Sword Sage III (93/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (164/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (58/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (80/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (38/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter I (62/100)- Increases damage against previously killed enemies.
Stats
Strength: 130 Dexterity: 142 (184)
Intelligence: 67 Wisdom: 152 (266)
Endurance: 67 Vitality: 130
B2 Chapter 14- Exceeding Power On a mountain spewing lava from time to time, there was the noise of fighting. The growls of beasts and roar of the Salamanders that roamed this land were fierce and, pardon the pun, fiery¡­ both literally and metaphorically, as Arthur dived out of the way of one of those flamethrower attacks. ¡°Emilia, we¡¯re waiting!¡± Arthur shouted, a burst of fire rushing towards him as he lifted his arm, a wall of Darkness blocking the heat and allowing Arthur to Blink to the back of the Salamander, stabbing into the back of its neck with his Dagger and sword. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not that simple you know!¡± While it would sound like they were arguing, Emilia and Arthur were really just making conversation as they fought the monsters in the Ninth Area, the Blazing Volcano. ¡°Lover¡¯s quarrel later, kill monsters now!¡± Alice shouted, blocking a blow from pile of rocks and fire glued together, a ¡®Magma Soldier¡¯ before she thrust out with her spear, ending its life. ¡°I¡¯m never going to get used to this.¡± Drew complained as he and the other members of Jotun fought two Salamanders and three Magma Soldiers themselves, Einherjar had been dealing with five and seven respectively, now four and six. It had been two weeks since the confusing situation of the Eighth Demon Lord, and Einherjar were rushing through the Ninth Area, now knowing that they were facing more than just the other Chosen. Since the fight with the Eighth Demon Lord, and confirming that Jotun members were now in the lower eighties in level, Einherjar had actually been going into the Dungeon alongside Jotun, making their Dungeon dives faster. There was, admittedly a downside to this arrangement, in that Skill Levels were increased through using the Skill multiple times. There were a limited number of enemies, and so Skills levelled up slower after the enemies were divided among members. The upside was that they all received the same ¡®experience¡¯ and so Jotun were levelling up rapidly in comparison to Einherjar. Since entering the ninth Area, Jotun were now in the upper eighties while Einherjar members were all around level ninety seven or eight in some cases. Arthur himself was level ninety nine¡­ and closing in fast on that long awaited one hundred. It was the reason why they were rushing through the Dungeon right now actually, Arthur felt that the hundredth level was a major milestone and thus, very important. Knowing that his hunches were rarely if ever wrong, Einherjar and the newly indoctrinated Jotun agreed that getting Arthur to level one hundred was something worthy of being done as soon as possible. Jotun had been sceptical about Arthur¡¯s ¡®hunches¡¯ up until Arthur managed to simply look at them (with the help of Soul Sight of course) and tell them their specialties, magic types, Anima, and weakest stat. Confirming that it was a ¡®Skill¡¯ of Arthur¡¯s, Jotun believed his hunches. Not that Soul Sight had anything to do with such hunches though, but it was a good excuse. So after calming down the suddenly terrified members of Jotun, Einherjar got them to simply accept that awesome things would be happening at level one hundred. So here they were, on floor eighty eight. The collection of Einherjar and Jotun, known by their Kingdom name of Valhalla, were running around looking for the stairs to the next floor, yes, but they were doing so in the worst possible way. ¡°Do you know how difficult it is to map an area we just ran through! Kill everything so we can go back and I can confirm this!¡± Emilia was typically soft spoken and kind, so hearing her shouting like this, one could tell the type of stress being heaped on Valhalla¡¯s shoulders. As Emilia shouted, they had been running through areas, the moment an enemy was found, instead of moving past if capable, they ran towards the enemy for a fight. The result of doing this was their current fight against almost twenty enemies at once, and yes, it was difficult¡­ but not the end of everything. ¡°Alright, stop playing around.¡± Arthur demanded, his voice suddenly softening as sparks began to dance around him, warning his teammates about what Arthur was about to do. ¡°Erase them.¡± Arthur ordered, a buzz in the sparks around him occurred, the Salamander he stood one was already dead and evaporating, leaving Arthur to drop to the floor¡­ yet the lightning that surrounded him remained. ¡°Yes Master.¡± The Lightning itself buzzed, the buzzing forming into disfigured words before the Lightning blasted towards Jotun¡¯s Salamanders. ¡°Leave the Salamanders to the Elemental, face the Magma Soldiers.¡± Arthur commanded as the members of Valhalla moved, attacking the Magma Soldiers as a group. After Alice killing one, along with Drew and his team ending the lives of another, there were only ten left, basically meaning one Magma Soldier for each member if the healers were left out of the fight, as usual. Not that John or Miles weren¡¯t helpful in a fight beyond just healing, the two could use magic and were capable of fighting well, especially Miles as he had a primary Water affinity compared to John who unlocked Water as his third. All the monsters in this Area were fire based after all, and Water users such as Emilia would be especially good in this Area. The Salamanders were stronger than the Magma Soldiers, and yet they were nothing before the Lightning Elemental, even a lesser one like the one Arthur had summoned. Reaching the fourth rank in his Lightning Elemental Skill had allowed Arthur to actually do what it said on the tin, summon a Lightning Elemental to support them in a fight¡­ The downside was that it ate a huge amount of Mana, even more than the Greater Spark Step that Arthur considered his greatest spell¡­ And Arthur would also be incapable of using Lightning Element magic while the Elemental was away from him, even if he had the Mana he wouldn¡¯t be able to use other Elements. Then for the upsides, the Lightning Elemental was as fast as Arthur when he used the Greater Spark Step innately, and it was extremely powerful against living creatures such as the Salamanders. Against the Magma Soldiers who were essentially weaker Elementals themselves, the Lightning Elemental was worthless as a combatant though. Against the Magma Soldiers, Arthur moved first, lashing out with the Dagger of Hunger, stabbing it into the ¡®skull¡¯ of the Magma Soldier, dragging it closer before he used his new sword to pierce through its heart where its core resided.
Name: Solaris (Sword of the Sun)
Requirements: Level: 83 Swordsmanship Skill (or some alternative) above rank two Strength: 110 - Dexterity: 95
Offensive Ability: C+ Passive: Damage lessened from Fire and Light Elements (C+)
Despite how it appeared, it wasn¡¯t actually a drop from the Dead Sun, instead it was a sword made by Dante using the Soul Stone of the Dead Sun and a few other rare materials. The Magma Soldier died with nary a scream, dropping its Soul Stone behind, leaving Arthur to watch the rest die at the hand of his teammates. Emilia¡¯s water covered Bloodletting Daggers caused the Magma Soldier she hit to hiss and sputter with steam, groaning in pain as she wrenched at the core, killing it with a good hit. Alice on the other hand, was using the weapon dropped by Gerard, Scar-Fang to simply strike with her full force at the core of the Magma Soldiers. In truth, they had quite a bit of defence around their core, they were similar to the old Lantern grouping of monsters in that regard, except that Magma Soldiers had stronger defences in front of their core instead of weaker. Lanterns were made of metal with glass protecting their core, Magma Soldiers were made with fire (oddly not burning Adventurers until they attacked with said fire) and rock, the rock protecting the core and being their hands and feet. That didn¡¯t stop those with high Strength stats or powerful weapons from easily breaking through said rock with a hit or two, as shown when Alice practically drilled into the chest of her Magma Soldier, raising it into the air as it was impaled, vanishing and dropping a Soul Stone. Right¡­ she was a berserker, even if everyone seemed to forget that from time to time. Michael took out his Magma Soldier in a relatively simple manner, stepping backwards, and letting the monster approach him before he ducked, spinning and tripping the thing. As it lay on its back, Michael stepped on its chest, aiming down and executing it, his arrow of Light piercing through its armour with a bit of difficulty judging by the frown on Michael¡¯s face. Matt was almost as ruthless as Alice, rushing his own enemy and shield bashing it in the chest over and over, not even giving it a chance to do anything as its chest cracked, and then the shield user delivered the final blow easily. His hammer was best suited for breaking that thing in the first place, so even if he hadn¡¯t used his shield he probably could have done something. Then from the Jotun side, Drew dashed forward, shield held out in front of him, and then suddenly lowering his stance just as the monster took a swing at him, ducking under the blow, Drew slammed his shield into its ¡®legs¡¯ and pushed up, flipping the creature behind him with a grunt of effort. It was well placed for a similar execution to Michael, leaving Drew breathing heavily¡­ he was tired after getting to this point, understandably. His teammates weren¡¯t faring much better, tired much like he was, but they were still able to fight Magma Soldiers who weren¡¯t as smart as humans. Brandon, the Fighter of Jotun used his bare fists and had started learning boxing and muay-thai under Arthur¡¯s orders, striking quickly at the chest of the Magma Soldier, knocking it backwards and making the creature stumble before he aimed for the stomach of the monster in an uppercut. While not recommended, it was possible to bypass the armour by moving through the fiery areas of a Magma Soldier¡¯s body¡­ Doing so had understandable repercussions involving burning sensations or damaging your weapon, so most of the time no one bothered doing this, instead hitting straight through into the core. Brandon, the jock guy, had armour covering his fists and could do this with minimal damage to himself, grasping the core and squeezing it, killing the Magma Soldier. It still annoyed their healer, Miles, to have to check for burns after this action though. Vanessa, the magician of Jotun was luckily a Water Magician, meaning that she had free rein of the area, with a bit of focus and the muttering of the name of the Spell, her Magma Soldier was now nothing but rock after getting hit with very cold water, incapable of moving, the core shattering from the change in temperatures and killing the creature. Emma, the archer of Jotun, was still trying to gain strength in comparison to Michael, who she was now dead set on imitating. Unlike Michael, Emma¡¯s Anima was a Skill, not a bow, though luckily she didn¡¯t need arrows, which summoned themselves with Blacksmith made bows. She did struggle with Elements though¡­ But in Emma¡¯s favour, her Element was Metal, so when she did infuse her Element into her arrows, they tended to¡­ punch through everything unless blocked by a powerful enemy. With one arrow, the chest plate of the Magma Soldier was gone, shattered into the wind, leaving Emma ample time to use her Element to create a blade, thrown accurately at the core of the Magma Soldier. Another difference between Michael and Emma, Emma¡¯s ability to use her Element in a fight compared to Michael was better, Michael either attacked with his legs, or his bow, nothing else, while Emma would use her Element to attack with blades. Anima did not allow other weapons to be equipped above them, Arthur could not use two weapons unless one of them was the Dagger of Hunger, and it was why Michael never bothered to get anything for close range. But Emma¡¯s blades weren¡¯t technically ¡®weapons¡¯ they were ¡®magic¡¯ and thus allowed. In this sense, Emma was starting to suggest moves for Michael to do with his own magic of Light or Fire, and he was teaching her how he fought, minimal movement and always attacking. It was apparently working. Carlos, the tank of Jotun was another interesting character, Arthur had considered that a shield was technically a weapon, especially with how Matt used the spikes on his shield when he bashed someone, but Carlos shields were awesome. Two ¡®half¡¯ shields with blades on them, they could be slotted together if Carlos took the classic ¡®peakaboo¡¯ boxing stance, creating a large hexagonal shield. When they weren¡¯t slotted together, the half shields could rotate into the direction Carlos demanded, allowing him to use the shield¡¯s freely as blades attached to his arms. Even better, they technically weren¡¯t in his hands, so Carlos didn¡¯t actually have a limitation on weaponry if he chose to use some. Not that he did, his shield¡¯s bladed edge was quite sharp so he was alright¡­ Carlos attacked the Magma Soldier, his left arm coming up to block a heavy strike against his shield, Carlos standing strong because of his high Endurance stat, and his other arm came up with the blade of the shield being used to pry the chest piece of the monster off, revealing its weak-spot for Carlos to strike. Arthur did note that Carlos, defensively, wasn¡¯t as good as Matt (no one was) nor Sheikh (a more realistic goal) but Carlos was able to more fluidly attack compared to those two. Matt remained the greatest tank in the world in Arthur¡¯s eyes though. Arthur had competition as a magic swordsman from people like Shaun or even George to an extent, but Matt¡¯s only competition was Sheikh. Sheikh was strong, no doubt, but he couldn¡¯t block as well as Matt could. Michael also could be considered the greatest archer that Arthur knew of actually¡­ though the leader of the Mongolian strongest team would disagree, if Arthur actually met the man. Side-track in his thoughts taken, and the Magma Soldiers defeated, Arthur looked to the final encounter between the Salamanders and his Lightning Elemental¡­ The smell of heavily cooked flesh was wafting from the Salamanders as they attempted to breathe fire at the Elemental, the only way they could harm the powerful magic, but it was too fast to be hit by such obvious attacks¡­ In fact, the Lightning Elemental moved around so erratically that the Salamanders would occasionally hit each other instead, and the Lightning Elemental would take the opportunity to attack whenever their mouths were open and fire didn¡¯t spew out¡­ By sending a bolt of Lightning into their mouths and cooking them from the inside. ¡°Is it just me, or does your Elemental have your subtle sadism?¡± Michael commented as the humans of the group gathered, watching the Elemental attack before they¡¯d join in¡­ If it wasn¡¯t done by then, there were originally seven Salamanders and now there were only two left. ¡°I deny that claim. By the way, I¡¯m running low on Mana, let¡¯s get them.¡± Arthur pointed out, as the Lightning Elemental seemed to flicker, realizing that its time was at an end as it popped into nothingness, leaving a few sparks in the air that vanished along with it. The encounter had barely taken three minutes, and yet Arthur was at about¡­ twenty per cent of his Mana. About sixty, seventy per cent of his Mana taken in three minutes, disregarding his regeneration, and factoring in that Arthur was not at full capacity when he started that Spell¡­ Arthur was really going to start putting points into Intelligence¡­ that, and his Endurance. He really didn¡¯t want to be a ¡®jack-of-all-stats¡¯ though¡­ He¡¯d be alright in three minutes anyway, his Mana regeneration was now at twenty six point six per cent of his total per minute. He could go from full to empty, and he¡¯d be back to full in less than four minutes. It sounded quick, and it really was damn quick if Vanessa, John and Miles were to be believed given their use of magic¡­ But as a close up fighter, Arthur operated in seconds. With his speed Arthur could launch almost as many attacks as there were seconds in a minute, and each would be powerful. When in a fight, their perceptions of time were also beginning to slow down, their focus that high, meaning that a second would start to feel longer. And they weren¡¯t anywhere near their limit in their growth yet. At some point, even regenerating one hundred per cent of his Mana per minute would feel to slow to Arthur, he just knew it.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The last two Salamanders were pitifully easy to slay with twelve people facing them, even if two were ¡®non-combatants¡¯ majority of the time. ¡°Alright, gather up the spoils, we¡¯re getting out of here¡­ my level up is done.¡± Arthur smirked as he said this, letting the group know of his excitement as they all smiled in agreement. ¡°You got it boss!¡± Brandon said, rushing over to go pick up the item drops, leaving Drew chuckling¡­ He was well aware that Brandon didn¡¯t quite respect Arthur when they had first met, and Arthur had picked up on that. After Arthur started messing with Brandon and being a bit stern, Brandon was respectful to Arthur now¡­ a bit too respectful for a casual work-relationship, but in the Dungeon at least it fit. It also helped that Arthur helped pick up the items himself. Most of the items were carried by Matt due to his Lightened Load Skill, and the group began the journey to the entrance. Funny enough, the stairs in the ninth Area were really weird, Valhalla found themselves walking ¡®up¡¯ stairs only to end up further ¡®down¡¯ on the volcano that was the ninth Area. More ¡®space-time fuckery¡¯ as Arthur put it gently, to get to their current ¡®floor¡¯ they had walked down quite a few flights of stairs and yet they were closer to the top of the volcano than ever. Really fun. Not to mention that Arthur still liked the stairs, he always claimed that the stairs between ¡®floors¡¯ made him feel calm for some reason, and the group had to admit that, for something as simple as stairs they always got attention. Walking ¡®up¡¯ the last flight of stairs, the stairs obsidian and the walls covered in lava creating writing and images, the ceiling being open to a sky dropping ash that seemed to dissipate before it could hit anyone. Finding themselves in the room where they once fought the Dead Sun, the group moved towards the fast travel podium¡­ Jotun had yet to fight the Dead Sun actually, but at this point they felt that skipping a Demon Lord wasn¡¯t really a train-wreck considering their boosted growth. Arthur had even admitted that once Jotun was around the same level as Einherjar he¡¯d be thinking about more people to bring into Valhalla. Emilia slapped him on the head when she reminded that saying it like that sounded like he was saying he was going to go kill people to take them to heaven or something. Using the fast travel, Valhalla exited to the Dungeon Entrance, coming across a team about to use the Entrance themselves, staring at Valhalla with the ¡®deer in headlights¡¯ look. ¡°Ah. Pardon us, go ahead.¡± Arthur said, motioning for his teammates to get out of the way while the team of Adventurers stared, before the leader eventually remembered that they were going into the Dungeon. It was rare for teams to go in at night, but it wasn¡¯t unheard of, some Areas such as Area six actually had unique monsters to face at night, not that Einherjar fought such groups. Information on ¡®night¡¯ monsters usually came from Shaun and his team instead of Einherjar thanks to their schedule. Also rare, but not an impossible occurrence¡­ was walking out of the Dungeon and finding a team waiting to enter it. This wasn¡¯t the first time for Einherjar, though it was a first from Jotun who were also a bit confused like the team they witnessed as they came out of the Dungeon. The team soon walked in, the door of light shining as Arthur gestured for everyone to get their level ups out of the way. Also, because Arthur could see Status Pages even though he shouldn¡¯t- probably thanks to Soul Sight- he knew Jotun¡¯s Status even though he had never explicitly asked for it. They were admittedly a bit interesting to Arthur who liked learning information like that.
Drew Simmons
Level: 89 (C-Rank)
Class: Heroic Swordsman- Grants one stat point to Strength and Endurance per level Gives Swordsman Skill and the Rally Skill
Anima
Sword of Courage
Anima Skills
Brave- erases debilitating mental effects from team Gold Heart- Increases Endurance when in acting in defence of another Roar- scares enemies into a stupor for five seconds, costs 6 Strength per use a day Charge- Mana infused into the blade stays longer and has a greater effect.
Primary Element: Light Other Element(s): Fire
Personal Skills
Swordsman IV (188/200) ¨C Increases sword based damage by 10% Rally V (41/250)- Inspire your team, increasing all stats by 5% Knight Stance III (275/300) ¨C Greater use of a sword and shield combination Hero¡¯s Strength V (31/250)- increases Strength by 30% Stand Strong IV (172/200)- increases Endurance by 25%
Stats
Strength: 140 (182) Dexterity: 140
Intelligence: 60 Wisdom: 60
Endurance: 140 (175) Vitality: 106
Drew¡¯s Skills and Stats all pointed him out as a damn well balanced swordsman, he had taken what Arthur had spoken about to heart. Originally Drew had focused on Strength and Dexterity¡­ but he had brought up his Endurance to the same point as those two stats, leaving his Intelligence and Wisdom behind. Not only that, but Drew¡¯s entire Status Page wrote him out to be an extremely beneficial member to any team, his mere presence would keep his teammates from being paralyzed by fear, indecision, things like that. It probably didn¡¯t affect things that were part of a person, but allowed his teammates to act in spite of fear or worries¡­ hence, ¡®courage¡¯. Arthur really wanted to tease Drew about his class name, but he had actually lied to everyone and just said that his class was named ¡®rallying swordsman¡¯ to explain his Rally Skill. If they knew his Class qualified him as a ¡®hero¡¯ Drew would probably get really embarrassed. Arthur didn¡¯t blame him, Arthur would probably be just as embarrassed with a class named like that, at least his made little sense to anyone as a ¡®Linked Swordsman¡¯. After assigning his stats, Drew stepped away from the podium and let his teammates step up¡­ The members of Einherjar were content to wait, Arthur was always the last to see his Status Page and they were fine with waiting for the Jotun members to finish their stuff first. The next in line, after Drew, was their healer Miles, whose Stats were or particular focus to John¡­ Understandable as he was also a healer.
Miles Grant
Level: 89 (C-Rank)
Class: Brine Healer- Grants one stat point to Wisdom and Intelligence per level Gives Ocean Call (Rare) Skill and Light Scripture Skill
Anima
Soothing Staff
Anima Skills
Healing Efficiently- decreases Mana cost of healing Spells by 10% Still Pool- Mana for Water Spells can be stored for later use Healing Potently- Increases effect of Healing Spells by 10% Soothing Aura- increases Vitality of teammates by 20 when outside of combat
Primary Element: Water, Other Element(s): Wood, Metal
Personal Skills
Ocean Call IV (21/400)- Grants access to Disruptive Water Spells Light Scripture V (231/250)- Grants Healing Spells, lowers Mana cost Staff Arts V (18/250)- increases spell effects by 50% Tactician IV (162/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% Computation III (141/150) ¨C Increases Intelligence by 20%
Stats
Strength: 92 Dexterity: 83
Intelligence: 142 (170) Wisdom: 158 (197)
Endurance: 68 Vitality: 103
Miles, as a healer, would arguably be better than John, increasing the rate of healing for his teammates outside of battle, but he wasn¡¯t able to remain out of a fight like John. Their enemies, the living, intelligent ones such as Salamanders, would target Miles the moment they figured out he was the healer, whereas with John they¡¯d never know he existed. Miles was a better magic user though, his Ocean Call Spell list allowing him to do things like create a wall of water, make a burst of water hit a monster into the air, or even simulate underwater pressure for monsters to slow them down. It was, as the screen suggested, disruptive magic, it threw off the monsters in odd ways and made them confused¡­ Arthur could admit that he¡¯d like using such magic. Arthur was then told, in no uncertain terms, that he should never be allowed such magic when he was already a bit sadistic in a fight, and that magic seemed made to toy with enemies. Miles denied all sadism claims after that by the way. After Miles looked at his Status, nodding at the increase to his stats and Skills, he walked away, content to stand near a wall, keeping his Staff in his hand, leaving them all to recover faster. Miles was really a nice guy, even if most wouldn¡¯t notice him boosting their Vitality slightly to recover their stamina. The next member of Jotun to go up to the podium was Brandon, the Fighter who was now scared of Arthur to some extent¡­ Brandon was the one greatest affected by Arthur¡¯s new ¡®predatory¡¯ Soul Sight by the way¡­ In case that wasn¡¯t obvious.
Brandon Jones
Level: 88 (C-Rank)
Class: Strong Fighter- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Gives Hero¡¯s Strength Skill and Martial Art Skill
Anima
Brawler¡¯s Gauntlets
Anima Skills
Combo- consecutive hits increase damage, bonus lost if the user is hit Grapple- Grip strength increased massively Ripple Effect- attacks bypass armour slightly Rapid Fire- consecutive hits increase attack speed, bonus lost if the user is hit
Primary Element: Fire Other Element: Earth
Personal Skills
Hero¡¯s Strength V (162/250)- increases Strength by 30% Martial Arts VI (5/300)- Increases damage dealt without a weapon Regenerator IV (175/200)- Increases Vitality by 25% Quick Reflexes IV (113/200)- Increases Dexterity by 25% Magic Resistance III (214/300)- Grants 15% resistance to Magic Elements you possess
Stats
Strength: 145 (188) Dexterity: 143 (178)
Intelligence: 51 Wisdom: 54
Endurance: 104 Vitality: 142 (177)
Brandon¡¯s stats were erratic and annoyed Arthur to look at. Curse his minor OCD when it came to wanting numbers to be multiples of two or five¡­ and Brandon would only truly become a threat when he started dodging. There was a reason his Regenerator Skill was rank four.
Emma Polanski
Level: 88 (C-Rank)
Class: Ballista Wielder- Grants one stat point to Strength and Dexterity per level Grants Archery Skill and Impact (Rare) Skill
Anima (Skill)
Nimble Archer- Increase Dexterity by 25% when wielding a bow Devastation- Arrows have a 20% chance of destroying armour Ranged Fighter- 15% increase in arrow distance and accuracy
Primary Element: Metal Other Element(s): Wind
Personal Skills
Impact IV (38/400) ¨CArrows gain 20% knockback effect Archery V (43/250) ¨C increases accuracy with ranged weapons Hero¡¯s Strength V (16/250) ¨C Increases Strength by 30% Stand Strong III (112/150) ¨C Increases Endurance by 20%
Stats
Strength: 160 (208) Dexterity: 139 (173)
Intelligence: 60 Wisdom: 60
Endurance: 110 (132) Vitality: 110
After checking, Emma really wasn¡¯t related to the movie director by the same surname, but Emma was truly a different breed from Michael, Michael being mobile, striking weak points non-stop even as he moved around¡­ Emma could stand still and simply blow her enemies away though, especially if she increased that Impact Skill and her Strength Stat. Granted, her Dexterity was lower than Michael¡¯s by quite a bit, but damn, her Strength was higher than Michael¡¯s was when he was that level. After Emma was Carlos the tank of Jotun.
Carlos Garcia
Level: 89 (C-Rank)
Class: Bladed Guardian- Grants one stat point to Endurance and Strength per level Gives Shield Combat (Rare) Skill
Anima
Warrior Shields
Anima Skills
Combination- Shields can be combined into one larger shield, using the larger shield reduces knockback by 25% Spinning Blades- shields can rotate on arms to change angle of attack Boomerang- shields can be flung and will return to position ever Deflection- magic can be parried with each half-shield, ability disappears when shields are combined
Primary Element: Wood Other Element: Metal
Personal Skills
Shield Combat IV (231/400)- decreases Damage taken when blocking, increases damage when attacking with shields Stand Strong V (165/250)- increases Endurance by 30% Hero¡¯s Strength IV (197/200) ¨C Increases Strength by 25% Martial Arts III (82/150)- increases damage done without weapons
Stats
Strength: 160 (200) Dexterity: 105
Intelligence: 60 Wisdom: 60
Endurance: 160 (208) Vitality: 101
Much like Matt, Carlos had a really high Endurance Stat¡­ still lower than Matt¡¯s though, but in exchange Carlos had a much higher Strength Stat, along with his Dexterity and Vitality being above Matt¡¯s. Again, Matt was still the greatest tank in the world at current.
Vanessa Lenard
Level: 88 (C-Rank)
Class: Agile Magician- Grants one stat point to Dexterity and Intelligence per level Gives Staff Arts Skill and Wind Arts Skill
Anima
Focus Staff
Anima Skills
Channelling- by charging a spell, it may deal an extra 50% damage, charging cannot be done while moving. Recovery- Increases Wisdom by 10% Low Cost- lowers Stat requirements for Skills by 1 Change Up- Spells can be swapped during casting
Primary Element: Wind Other Element(s): Lightning, Water, Darkness
Personal Skills
Staff Arts V (231/250)- increases spell effects by 50% Wind Arts VI (22/300)- Grants general Wind Spells, lowers cost of manipulating Wind Computation V (103/250) ¨C Increases Intelligence by 30% Tactician IV (75/200) - increases Wisdom by 25% Tempo Reading III (89/300) ¨C increases team work ability, lowering chances of friendly fire
Stats
Strength: 60 Dexterity: 120
Intelligence: 189 (245) Wisdom: 150 (202)
Endurance: 60 Vitality: 60
Arthur actually liked Vanessa¡¯s Stat Page, her Tempo Reading Skill was originally an oddity until Arthur watched her fight with Jotun without stepping in himself, watching as she could ¡®channel¡¯ an attack aiming at her own teammate, but by the time the spell released the teammate would have already moved. Vanessa couldn¡¯t actually explain how she knew the timing, she just understood that she had to start her attack ¡®now¡¯ and then she would. Of course, just in case it didn¡¯t work properly, she did warn her teammates when she was attacking so that they could step out of the way if she channelled at the wrong time. With all of Jotun done, the other members of Einherjar walked up to the Podium, one by one checking their stats, Arthur not needing to look at theirs as he already knew their stats. The last time Arthur saw Jotun¡¯s stats was when they were around level eighty, so he felt a need to be informed¡­ Arthur found it odd, looking in from the outside of course, that Arthur would be so nosy when it came to his friends, but ignore two strangers shouting at each other on the sidewalk as he walked past. Eh, he struggled to care for people other than those he was connected to... that being said, it was finally his time to step up to the podium, looking at his left wrist, seeing the ¡®LEV 99¡¯ glowing tattoo¡­ for the last time. Stretching out that same hand, Arthur placed his hand on the Podium and- Ah¡­ you¡¯ve grown. Unlike the last few times Arthur had felt this sensation, had conversed with this being, he felt he could finally see¡­ not much, but he could actually see. Indeed, you can see¡­ the world is beautiful, is it not? Arthur looked at what he could, seeing the bright white surrounding himself and the being, before focusing on the being¡­ The world may be beautiful¡­ but sometimes beauty hurts. The being stood, not looking to Arthur, but looking far ahead, to something far from its grasp, let alone the grasp of Arthur whose vision was clearing slowly. That it does¡­ so, like always, the questions must be asked. How have you grown? Arthur felt his own view upon the being finally become clear and felt a lack of words to describe what the being was wearing, the closest descriptive would be a long, split-tailed coat resembling the night sky, dotted with stars and flapping in some unfelt breeze, the being having its hands in its coat pockets. I¡­ I have grown in the sense that I know more. Arthur looked upon the being, the being tilting its head, as if wishing to turn around and look upon Arthur, but finding itself incapable of it as the being spoke once more. And what do you now know? Arthur smiled a sad smile as he tried to look away from the being, but found himself incapable of doing so, left staring at the back of¡­ whatever this being was. I know enough to know that I know nothing. The being¡¯s shoulders shook, its unimaginably bright, short blonde hair catching Arthur¡¯s eyes as it chortled in silent laughter at Arthur¡¯s response. That is actually good¡­ acknowledging your lack of knowledge¡­ do you wish to know more? The being questioned Arthur after laughing, and Arthur frowned at being laughed at before thinking about the question, thinking for a while before opening his mouth. No¡­ I don¡¯t think I do¡­ knowing too much can be painful. The being tilted its head, visible from where Arthur stood, but not seeing its face. So what do you want to do with your knowledge? There is so much¡­ you could fight smarter, could lead your people better, you could create wonders with your power¡­ what will you do with your knowledge? Arthur thought to the being¡¯s words, before closing his eyes and smiling gently, at the most peace he had been since that dark voice had begun whispering violent suggestions to him. I¡­ I want to¡­ understand what I do know. Rather¡­ I want to understand you. The being froze at Arthur¡¯s words, the wind unfelt dying out, as the being turned, making Arthur freeze¡­ out of fear, at the being¡¯s missing face, only showing a large inhuman grin and nothing else, the shark-like teeth in the grin a deep blood red Knowing me huh¡­ I don¡¯t think you should do that¡­ but so be it. And with that, Arthur gasped as he came back to reality, feeling John healing him as the rest of Valhalla stood nearby in worry as he looked to his status¡­
Arthur Clive
Level: 100 (B-Rank)
Class: Melding Sorcerer- Grants one stat point to Strength and two stat points to Wisdom per level Gives Soul Melding Skill
Anima
Starving Cutlass Coat of Recovery
Anima Skills
Cutlass- Hunger- Increase Soul Gain by 10% Coat- Generator- increases Wisdom by 10%
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (131/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 140%) Sword Sage III (141/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (208/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (114/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (143/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (93/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter II (145/200)- Increases damage against previously killed enemies. Regenerator I (0/50)- increases Vitality by 10% Soul Melding (1%)- Approach Unity
Stats
Strength: 135 Dexterity: 150 (195)
Intelligence: 70 Wisdom: 163 (228)
Endurance: 70 Vitality: 135 (148)
¡°Arthur, what the hell man?¡± Michael shouted in worry as Arthur gasped, the burning in his lungs slowly evaporating his legs buckled, only able to keep himself from falling when he gripped onto the podium to stabilize himself¡­ Rather, Arthur could actually remember what happened when he ¡®passed out¡¯ this time¡­ he¡­ he couldn¡¯t remember what had happened the previous times, but now, it was clear. That being, without a face and a dangerous grin, speaking to Arthur¡­ as if guiding his Soul¡­ rather than that, instead of addressing the concerned glances being sent Arthur¡¯s way by the members of Valhalla- ¡°I¡­ I understand, just a bit more¡­ Soul Melding¡­¡± Arthur looked upon the skill in both worry and anticipation, as the Skill was clearly unlike his others, it¡¯s description being really vague and instead of a Rank, this one only had a percentage, the percentage currently reading at one per cent. Breathing in deeply, Arthur stood, stabilizing himself as he turned to his team, looking at them all as he smirked. ¡°I¡¯m alright¡­ it was¡­ similar to Awakening, that¡¯s all.¡± Arthur admitted, drawing wide eyes as Arthur focused on himself, feeling his weakened Mana regeneration¡­ Instead he summoned his new Animae, his coat appearing on his frame, a short tail at the back while hugging his upper-frame, the coat being black with dark blue accents¡­ And his Dagger¡­ no, Cutlass, appearing in his left hand, short, and slightly curved, but larger than the Dagger once was¡­ and just like the Dagger, it caused the spines of those nearby to shiver at the feeling of a predator stepping into the room. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine.¡± Arthur said with a smile that unnerved his team. Arthur would find out the next morning, after looking in a mirror¡­ that his eyes were now an eerie yellow. B2 Chapter 15- Like Clockwork ¡°Contacts?¡± Emilia asked, looking at Arthur who was sitting opposite her within the Guild, a certain two tailed cat resting on his shoulders, meowing as it turned invisible. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s apparently too unnerving for most to talk to me with my eyes being yellow of all colours.¡± Arthur replied with a frown as he drank some water, waiting with Emilia for their teammates, checking that yes, he still felt Sidhe around. It had been a month since Arthur reached level one hundred, and since then his teammates had all reached level one hundred themselves, with the exception of Jotun who were all around level ninety eight. Much like Arthur, the members of Einherjar who reached level one hundred found their Animae changing, losing all previous abilities, but possessing greater growth potential in exchange. Matt¡¯s shield grew in size, now it was a tower shield, but it had lost its spikes, the reduced knockback effect when blocking and the increased effectiveness to shield-bash attacks. What it did have now was an enhanced ¡®Bulwark¡¯ effect, now calling magic attacks as well as arrow attacks, making it seem like the abilities the new Animae would get were better versions of the original ones. Emilia¡¯s two daggers were now two straight edged blades without hand-guards looking like the Japanese ¡®tanto¡¯ which had Emilia looking at her blades with a frown realizing they didn¡¯t have the serrated edge effect like they used to have. They, unlike her original Anima, actually gave her a health steal effect right from the beginning. John¡¯s Enhancing Arts were now Aura Orb, an item Anima that summoned an orb that floated around John. It¡¯s base ability was that he could use it as a focus for his magic, and if he actually aimed a healing spell at the orb, it would become a weaker heal over an area instead of a strong, focused heal on one person. Alice and Michael actually had the more interesting changes out of all the Animae, Alice¡¯s a bit more so than Michael¡¯s. Michael¡¯s Anima was still a bow, yes, but it was slightly larger, with a spike at both ends of the bow allowing Michael to stab anyone getting close to him¡­ More accurately, the spikes were actually designed to anchor the bow before firing arrows, and doing so would increase their damage apparently. Ironic that the mobility Michael prided himself on would be considered a hindrance to his max firepower, but he would work with it, as it intrigued Arthur seeing Michael get what was essentially a ¡®great-bow¡¯ as his Anima. Alice, surprisingly, instead of keeping her Skill based Anima, gained a weapon¡­ a great sword with one ability, size change, allowing it to shrink to the size of a bastard sword, or increase size to ¡®what the heck is that a slab of metal¡¯ size. The latter size had Arthur, Michael and Matt staring at the plain, unadorned blade in awe with whispers of ¡®guts¡¯ under their breath. Of course, Emilia, Alice and John all didn¡¯t understand the reference, but that wasn¡¯t their fault, Emilia and John weren¡¯t introduced to it and Alice was only now awakening to the berserk way. ¡°I actually liked the colour, kept catching my eyes. But enough about that, today we¡¯re in for quite the fight.¡± Arthur nodded, feeling a slight amount of worry for his team. In the month since reaching level one hundred, Arthur was proud to say that his team would be the ones to face the tenth Demon Lord, instead of Ichiro who stole the march on the ninth Demon Lord just a day before Valhalla found the stairs. So, out of nine currently defeated Demon Lords, Einherjar had defeated five of them, one going to the British team, one to the Russians, another to the Japanese now, and another which mysteriously died before a fight could occur¡­ Though it was an open secret to the American¡¯s at least that it was likely the Adventurer Killer and his group that killed the eighth Demon Lord. ¡°We¡¯ve missed out on the last two Demon Lords, which was unfortunate, but we¡¯re going to be facing the tenth Demon Lord, we¡¯re maintaining our lead.¡± Arthur said in a neutral manner, not wanting to voice his worries. The tenth Area of the Dungeon, ¡®The Workshop¡¯ was disturbing to Arthur as it kept bringing back memories of Blade, the first Demon Lord. The reason for this was because Lanterns were enemies here in the tenth Area, three particular types in addition to a few odd machine type enemies. Lantern Heroes, which were carbon copies of Blade that wielded straight one hand swords instead of the katana like sword Blade used¡­ They were weaker than Blade though, objectively speaking. More durable, definitely, but just looking at their Souls let Arthur know that Blade should have been much stronger and faster, and yet they were moving as fast as Blade had been. That was making a scary fact known to Arthur¡­ Demon Lords were being limited in power. Even Gerard, the Wyvern Slayer, should have been stronger than he had been, going around and hunting full grown Wyvern¡¯s like Scar, he shouldn¡¯t have been taken out with two hits, no matter how powerful the first was and how the second one aimed for his only weak spot. Gerard should have still been able to dodge, do something, instead he had barely moved when Arthur drove his Dagger through the man¡¯s eye socket. At some point though, Arthur doubted the Demon Lords would be restricted anymore¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we found the Demon Lord¡¯s room, you want to add to their lore don¡¯t you?¡± Emilia asked with a knowing look while Arthur looked away with an awkward frown. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ not wrong. I¡¯ve just been thinking, Demon Lords are being restricted in power right? I mentioned this when we started fighting Lantern Heroes?¡± Emilia nodded to Arthur¡¯s questioning, getting the leader of Valhalla to hold his chin in thought. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find a reason for this, you know, ignoring Chronos wanting us to be strong when we face him of course.¡± Emilia nodded with a roll of her eyes, since it was well known that Chronos, the Ruler of Hell and the ¡®End-boss¡¯ was apparently a fight junkie considering he gave humanity these powers so that he could have a good fight. ¡°So I thought Chronos might restrict his own Demon Lords, but that doesn¡¯t make a lot of sense¡­ then I remembered the Earth Restriction.¡± Emilia blinked at that. ¡°The ¡®Earth Restriction¡¯? Are you talking about how using magic on Earth is more tiring than using it in the Dungeon, how we¡¯re actually a bit weaker on Earth than we are in the Dungeon?¡± Emilia asked, wondering when that effect gained a title. It probably gained a name just now knowing Arthur. ¡°Exactly. What if Demon Lords are also affected by it, but it¡¯s worse for Demons than humans? We are from Earth so the restrictions don¡¯t affect us as badly, but the closer they get to Earth, the more restricted they get?¡± Emilia actually thought about it for a moment. ¡°That¡­ makes a lot of sense actually. It would explain why successive Demon Lords are stronger than previous ones, if they all hold the title they should all be in the same sphere of strength, it doesn¡¯t make sense to call one a Demon Lord when a basic monster in a different Area is stronger.¡± Emilia pointed out, getting a smile from Arthur. He loved theories like this clearly, and Emilia smiled seeing him like this. Soon after the started talking about this, the other members of Valhalla started to trickle into the Guild one by one, and once they were all there, they left to the Dungeon. ¡°Okay, you all should know the drill.¡± Arthur stated a few hours later, standing in front of the stairs to the Demon Lord room. ¡°Be careful, let you do the talking, blah blah.¡± Michael said with a joking smirk, getting a few chuckles from the other members of Valhalla¡­ Jotun were feeling a bit ¡®under-levelled¡¯ for the fight though, as their levels were lower than the floor they fought on¡­ Arthur had explained that there were definitely going to be a thousand floors though, and considering the max level should be four hundred, if Arthur¡¯s guess involving Ranks was correct, they would be ¡®under-levelled¡¯ for more than half the Dungeon even if they kept their levels in line with the floor. This reassurance didn¡¯t stop the younger members of the group from worrying though. ¡°Okay, okay, yes, that was the idea. This Demon Lord should be the ¡®owner¡¯ of the Workshop, the person that created the Lantern Heroes, Dragons and Destroyers along with everything in this Area.¡± Arthur reminded, getting some shivers in the group as they recalled facing Lantern Dragons and the Lantern Destroyers. The former, as suggested, had a draconic head, massive arms and claws, wings and a tail that swayed behind it as it stood on two legs. The Lantern Dragons were terrifying because of their ability to use Blink like Arthur once could, teleporting short distances mid swing. Every member of Valhalla, including even the elusive John, had gotten ¡®bitch-slapped¡¯ by one of these Dragons at least one. That was surprisingly Emilia¡¯s words. Matt¡¯s were more colourful. As for Destroyers, they seemed to be inspired by Alice¡¯s new Anima because they all carried around great-swords and had much more spiky, angular ¡®armour¡¯ compared to other Lanterns. Their ¡®armour¡¯ was actually their skin after all, making them dangerous to get near to. ¡°So considering all this, the Demon Lord might be a summoning type, but weak on his own. Then again, I¡¯ve never known a weak Demon Lord.¡± Arthur admitted with a shrug, gesturing for the group to follow him down the stairs¡­ Exiting at the top of the stairs, because of more strange space-time nonsense, Valhalla walked forward, into the room, at the end of which stood a man huddled over a work bench, welding something apparently, looking over his shoulder for a moment at the group before setting down a tool and turning fully to look at his ¡®guests¡¯. ¡°Ah. Welcome, contractors, to my humble abode. I am the Clockwork Smith, Demon Lord of this workshop.¡± The Demon Lord spoke in an oddly polite manner, slowly reaching to his welding helmet, letting Arthur speak. ¡°I am Arthur Clive, leader of Valhalla, strongest of humanity.¡± Arthur gave his ¡®standard¡¯ greeting to the Demon Lord¡­ The Demon Lord took the time to remove his helmet, the Clockwork Smith¡¯s face drawing gasps from the group, Arthur¡¯s jaw twitching as he looked upon the guise of their latest opponent. ¡°Surprised? Lots of accidents happen when you¡¯re experimenting, so I had to fix myself up a few times.¡± The Clockwork Smith stated, his metallic jaw somehow moving smoothly enough that it could almost appear organic¡­ The appearance of the lower half of his face was marred by the fact that entire area around his mouth was covered in screws and bolts, and no lips to hide his teeth, some metallic and some still a hold out from before, and one eye was mechanical. The upper half of his face also revealed that the Clockwork Smith wasn¡¯t human, dark skin, white hair, and long, pointy ears revealed the suspected race of the being¡­ ¡°You are a Dark Elf?¡± Arthur asked, interested to meet one but¡­ ¡°Oh you know my old race? At one point, yes, I was a Dark Elf, but¡­ I don¡¯t see myself as one of them anymore.¡± The Clockwork Smith stated, reaching up to his apron, removing it, and then working on the buttons of his protective overalls. ¡°Not anymore? ¡®one of them¡¯? So you think yourself as something¡­different¡­¡± Arthur started off strong but paled a bit as the top half of the Clockwork Smith¡¯s overalls were removed, showing that underneath the overall top the Dark Elf wore a tank top, revealing the extremely muscular physique not normally associated with the word ¡®Elf¡¯. That wasn¡¯t the only issue¡­ rather, the main one was that the tank top had holes throughout it, showing where bolts were placed into the Clockwork Smith¡¯s chest. There were quite a few, and in the very centre of his own chest was a glass-plate reminiscent of the Lanterns, and within, instead of seeing a fire, Valhalla saw a sphere of cogs and gears rotating, expanding and contracting, much like- ¡°A heart? You¡­¡± Arthur pointed out and the Elf smirked, somehow possible even with his mangled mouth, reaching behind him and retrieving his weapon¡­ A massive monkey wrench. Rather, how did that thing make it across worlds? And tank tops too¡­ ¡°The Dark Elves were inefficient, always going on about ¡®redeeming ourselves¡¯ and ¡®protecting nature¡¯¡­ it was stupid.¡± The Clockwork Smith said, slamming his weapon into the ground, leaving the monkey wrench standing inside the dented ground, letting Valhalla see that the wrench was actually as tall as the Demon Lord himself. ¡°The ¡®normal¡¯ Elves cast us out for being born with darker skin, saying we were cursed by the world for being against nature, we were slaves if we lived with other Elves and doomed if we lived alone, unable to survive the ¡®nature¡¯ that the other Elves protected.¡± The Clockwork Smith said, clipping what looked to be a tool belt around his waist, picking up his weapon once more.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°So I fought back¡­ against Elves, and against nature itself, creating my machines, my Lanterns, to burn both of my enemies to the ground¡­ and do you know what happened?¡± Arthur had a bad idea, recalling¡­ that Blade, the ¡®strongest Lantern¡¯ loved Willow, a Treant¡­ Blade loved Willow, who was a part of nature. ¡°You have an idea?¡± the Clockwork Smith slammed the wrench on the ground, caving in a portion of the metal as he glared at them, his one mechanical eye whirring wildly in his skull. ¡°They were all against me! The Elves feared my power, nature feared the fire of my machines, and if that wasn¡¯t bad enough¡­ the Dark Elves told me I was wrong, fighting against me. The first and strongest Lantern I ever created sided with nature against me because it somehow ¡®found love¡¯.¡± The sarcasm the Demon Lord spoke with was palpable, even as his anger did not fade from his eyes. ¡°My own people betrayed me, my own creation betrayed me¡­ so I destroyed everything. Clearly everything was wrong, everything was inefficient¡­ Everything. Had. To. Be. Fixed.¡± The Clockwork Smith then raised a fist, the entire room shaking as the metal sheets covering the walls, removed themselves, flying towards the Demon Lord. The now bare walls revealed the internals, gears, nails, screws, all sorts of mechanical materials filled the walls, creating a large groaning noise at once, in time with the very heart of the Clockwork Smith, only a few pieces remaining still. The metal that flew towards the Demon Lord snapped to his body, fusing, condensing and shifting until it formed a set of armour, the Demon Lord¡¯s mechanical enhancements still showing through the armour while the rest of him was covered with the dirty, rusty metal. ¡°So¡­ you felt you were wronged, and lashed out against the world, and when the world hit back you ended it?¡± Arthur summarized with a bland voice, surprising the Valhalla members who stared at his back with wide eyes. Arthur usually had a tinge of sympathy when speaking with Demon Lords, Arthur enjoyed trying to understand others and learning their stories, usually being accepting¡­ This was the first time they had heard Arthur being¡­ apathetic to a Demon Lord though. ¡°Of course I did. I had the power necessary to do so. Are you going to say I was wrong?¡± the Clockwork Smith, a being that killed his own planet, converting it into the metallic behemoth known only as ¡®the Workshop¡¯ asked the contract holder with narrowed eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe if I was in your situation I would have done the same thing¡­ no, I probably would have.¡± Arthur admitted with a nod, his voice still remaining in its same neutral tone. ¡°Then you understand-¡± the Demon Lord spoke with hope in his voice for only a moment before Arthur cut him off. ¡°But I also know that that kind of reaction is the wrong one. Even if I would do the same thing, I can at least acknowledge that it would morally be wrong.¡± Arthur said, looking at the Demon Lord with disgust¡­ Looking at someone so similar¡­ of course Arthur disliked this Demon Lord. He hated himself on good days, so anyone like him deserved his hate too. ¡°¡­I thought you¡¯d understand, but I guess not.¡± The Clockwork Smith placed his other hand onto his wrench, widening his stance and holding the massive weapon out behind him. ¡°Oh I fully understand. I just acknowledge that between you and me¡­ we¡¯re both wrong.¡± Arthur said with his cutlass in hand and Solaris in the other, leaning forward¡­ And then the fight started, with a burst of movement from every combatant but Arthur as the Clockwork Smith lunged forward, massive wrench being swung down at where Arthur was, intending on killing Arthur in one blow. In all honesty, it might work if the Demon Lord hit Arthur¡¯s head, but Arthur wasn¡¯t exactly going to sit still, dashing to the side as Alice appeared where he was just a moment ago, swinging her great sword to meet the Demon Lord¡¯s blow with her own¡­ It didn¡¯t work out, Alice¡¯s Berserk Blade sinking into the metallic floor with the wrench on top of it, the Clockwork smith taking his hands off of his weapon and hitting Alice in the face with a massive right hook sending the berserker flying while her sword remained behind. ¡°Alice!¡± Michael shouted in worry while firing arrows at the Clockwork Smith, each arrow being made of Fire. The tenth Demon Lord simply looked at the arrows, the flames bursting against his chest as he looked down, looking back up to Michael. ¡°Try again.¡± The Clockwork Smith tore his wrench from the ground, Alice¡¯s blade disintegrating as he did so, meaning Alice was either unconscious or had re-summoned her weapon¡­ One was a worse option than the other. ¡°How about I give it a shot!¡± Brandon shouted, his gauntlet-clad fists covered in Fire as he punched the Demon Lord in the chest, surprising the Demon Lord when he stumbled back slightly, the Jotun-fighter stepping forward and launching more attacks to capitalize on the surprise the Demon Lord felt. ¡°Shockwaves bypassing my defences¡­ correct, I am still partially flesh, so these attacks actually hurt me a bit¡­¡± Brandon launched a right hook at the Demon Lord¡¯s face, the Clockwork Smith smirking as he tilted his head, and actually gave the fist a head-butt, the impact actually sending Brandon¡¯s stumbling back and making the teen cringe as his wrist throbbed. ¡°But I am stronger.¡± The Demon Lord stated simply, swinging his wrench at Brandon, intending on taking out the jock in one hit only to be met with the unstoppable wall that was Matt. ¡°And I¡¯m tougher!¡± Matt roared in challenge, a smirk on his face while the Demon Lord widened his eyes, about to attack again only to have to jump back when Drew thrust his sword at the space where the Demon Lord¡¯s skull was just a moment ago. ¡°So it seems. This restriction is annoying.¡± The Demon Lord spoke out, drawing Arthur¡¯s attention even as he prepped his basic Spark Step. What were the odds that Emilia and Arthur would talk about the Demon Lords being under restrictions, and then in the same day fight a Demon Lord complaining about them? As a certain Cardinal ¡®Hokage¡¯ would say- one in a million for normal people, a certainty for protagonists. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering about that actually.¡± Arthur said simply as he landed in front of the Demon Lord, the Demon Lord actually letting go of his wrench as he reached into his tool belt removing¡­ Two screwdrivers¡­ this Demon Lord despite his strength, seemed to only fight with tools. The screwdrivers actually met Arthur¡¯s weapons head on, neither breaking under the force as the Clockwork Smith pushed Arthur back with his superior strength. ¡°Demon Lords should be the ninety nine strongest beings in Hell, the basic Demons in this Area shouldn¡¯t be stronger than the Demon Lord of the first or second Area, yet they appear so.¡± Arthur pointed out, lightning still sparking off of him and unnerving the Demon Lord¡­ Pocketing the screwdrivers and picking up his wrench again, the Clockwork Smith spoke, even as he ran to the open machinery around them, arrows still being sent flying at him, the Light arrows being practically ignored and the metallic ones being dodged after watching them crash into metal and get jammed inside. ¡°The restrictions we Demon Lords face is simple¡­ we are allowed to use a percentage of our power based on which Demon Lord we are.¡± The Clockwork Smith smirked, stopping. ¡°So you are the tenth Demon Lord¡­ so you have ten per cent of your strength.¡± Arthur pointed out as the Clockwork Smith chuckled, lifting his wrench, and slamming it onto a giant nut. ¡°That¡¯s about right, and the same holds true for every Demon Lord. The Demon Lord you face after me can use eleven, and the one after twelve¡­¡± The Clockwork Smith hadn¡¯t actually stopped speaking, his mouth moving but no sound coming out as his eyes widened, raising a hand to his throat and clenching his fists. ¡°I guess I can¡¯t speak out the secrets of Chronos¡­ he can¡¯t even appreciate my skills¡­¡± the Demon Lord ducked another arrow from Emma, and jumped back as a geyser of water burst from under his feet thanks to Miles, before dashing forward and punching the handle of his wrench, tightening the gigantic nut¡­ Then the whole room began to shake again, the ceiling opening and in dropped five Lantern Heroes, raising their blades and charging at the Valhalla members. ¡°Fucking Summoners!¡± Matt cursed very loudly as the shaking stopped, running to intercept the enemies along with every member of Jotun bar Carlos, Carlos running towards the Demon Lord along with Arthur and Emilia¡­ and Alice, who John apparently healed. ¡°Hey, I detest that. I built them all myself, I didn¡¯t ¡®summon¡¯ them.¡± The Clockwork Smith said, narrowing his eyes at Alice before focusing with his mechanical eye. Clearly, something odd was going on if this girl was healed after he gave her a definitive concussion, possibly broke her nose and or cheek bones, and maybe even a cracked skull. The Demon Lord had noticed a healer going against his creations currently, but there had to be another healer he was unaware of¡­ there, he noticed an odd ¡®shimmer¡¯ in the air. The Clockwork Smith didn¡¯t have much chance to focus on it and then attack, forced to block a swing from that giant sword, Alice¡¯s attack bouncing off of the Demon Lord¡¯s wrench, the Demon Lord letting go of the wrench and pulling out a large pair of pliers, knocking away one of Emilia¡¯s blades and pinching the other one, twisting. Emilia¡¯s shoulder rolled with the twist, making Emilia flip forward, only to widen her eyes as the Demon Lord kicked at her midst flip. She barely had a chance to summon some water to cushion the blow before she was kicked flying, and the Clockwork Smith grabbed his wrench, but instead of pulling it out, he used the weapon as a handhold to lift himself and kick Alice, hitting the side of her sword and sending Alice flying just like Emilia was, leaving just Arthur and the Demon Lord against each other. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to fight you anymore.¡± Arthur¡¯s face, neutral throughout most of the fight but for the worry he felt for Emilia as she got kicked away, morphed into a small smirk, even as his eyes flashed purple through the contact lenses he wore. ¡°I suppose it has to do with you wearing all that, lovely, shiny, conductive, metal.¡± Arthur responded to the Clockwork Smith with a smirk, slashing out with his sword, getting a line of Electricity sent at the Demon Lord, who raised his leg. ¡°That¡¯s a good reason¡­ but more than that, it¡¯s the way you feel¡­ you feel just like-¡± Arthur rushed, watching the boots the Demon Lord wore actually nullify the electricity¡­ rubber sole boots, of course it wasn¡¯t that easy. ¡°Chronos right? You aren¡¯t the first Demon Lord to tell me that.¡± Arthur pointed out, ducking under the wrench the Demon Lord swung, and stabbing at the glass housing the Clockwork Smith¡¯s heart watching as his attack barely nicked the glass. ¡°That predatory gaze, the hunger present in your blade, it¡¯s eerily similar. Your personalities are vastly different however.¡± The Demon Lord said noticing his Lantern Heroes were dying prompting him to jump away from Arthur¡¯s follow up strike, pulling out a screw driver and using it on a screw sticking out from some of the machinery, tightening it¡­ Another shake of the room, and a Lantern Dragon and Destroyer appeared from a door near the stairs into the room, the two Lanterns roaring as the door vanished behind them. ¡°Oh, how so?¡± Arthur said, thinking about how to end the fight, and quickly at that. ¡°You seem pragmatic, but optimistic, given your talk of understanding my reasoning but recognizing it as wrong.¡± The Clockwork Smith stated, pulling out an L-shaped lug wrench, tossing it like a boomerang of all things at a shimmer in the air. John popped out of Sneak, surprised at being detected while using that Skill as he got hit in the chest, his entire body bouncing back from the force of the throw while Sidhe landed next to the downed John. Arthur¡­ honestly forgot his Familiar was there for a while, watching the cat hiss as it ran to Arthur, the Demon Lord ignoring the cat to instead focus on Arthur. ¡°Chronos, on the other hand, never understood my reasoning. He couldn¡¯t understand why I would hate those who betrayed me, why I would hate those who enslaved and killed my people.¡± The Clockwork Smith said, looking as his Lanterns were fought, and being defeated, then looking back to Arthur, whose cat was now at his side. ¡°Chronos¡­ is above hate. Above love. Above the concepts of good and evil¡­ because none of that matters before his hunger.¡± The tenth Demon Lord raised his hand, catching the returning lug wrench, placing it on his tool belt before raising his wrench. ¡°I see¡­ so he¡¯s basically a force of nature huh? It¡¯ll be an interesting fight once I¡¯m strong enough.¡± Arthur smirked, raising his hand as he placed Solaris within his inventory, snapping his fingers. Sidhe¡¯s wide eyes narrowed, drawing into a thin, animalistic line as she growled fur bristling as her size changed, now being the size of a lion, black sparks bursting off of Sidhe while Arthur¡¯s own Spark Step swapped over to the Greater variation. ¡°But before that, my Raiju and I have an issue with you.¡± The Clockwork Smith felt fear as he looked at the lightning sparking from them, knowing that Lightning was an Element that was particularly bad for him to face. ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re so strong, why do you need all these toys to fight? Maybe you would have been more of a challenge to fight if you focused on yourself instead of these things.¡± The tenth Demon Lord remembered the words of his killer with hatred, the cocky stare while that being held an orb of Lightning above its hand¡­ Lightning was merely one of Chronos¡¯ many powers thanks to his ability to devour, but the Clockwork Smith remembered dying to that attack¡­ And now, seeing this, the Smith rushed forward, roaring, not wanting to die, or at least hoping to hurt these two. Arthur and Sidhe didn¡¯t let him take the chance, Sidhe jumping back with its two tails raising above its head, lightning arcing between them before a blast of Lightning was let loose at the Demon Lord. The Clockwork Smith threw his wrench at the attack, knowing it was metallic and could work as an excellent lightning rod, the attack was truly redirected, letting the Clockwork Smith focus on Arthur, only to find the Adventurer leader missing¡­ ¡°Surprise.¡± Arthur said from behind the Clockwork Smith, using the speed he possessed to grab the Demon Lord¡¯s arms, Arthur locking his fingers behind the being¡¯s head as he twisted, turning the Demon Lord to the side. Into the path of Emma¡¯s arrow, piercing through the glass in the chest of the Demon Lord. ¡°Argh! How dare you damage me!¡± the Demon Lord roared, pulling his shoulders forward and forcing Arthur to release him, allowing the Demon Lord to reach back and throw Arthur. Arthur landed on his back with a thud, the air being knocked out of him as the Demon Lord wrenched the arrow out of his chest, glaring at the person who led these enemies into his home. ¡°I¡¯m going to rip your spine through your stomach for this!¡± The Clockwork Smith roared, raising his hand, ready to make good on his promise, only to see the smirk on Arthur¡¯s face, even as he coughed blood. A small shame of Arthurs¡­ he got hit once and started to cough blood. Even if he was already mostly recovered, his Endurance really was low. ¡°I¡¯d rather have your heart.¡± Arthur said, and a burst of light appeared in front of the Demon Lord, surprising him as he stared into the ¡®face¡¯ of a Lightning Elemental. ¡°¡­Shit.¡± This was the last word uttered by the Demon Lord as the Lightning Elemental roared with a crackling sound, a clawed hand formed out of Lightning forcing its way through the gap in his glass casing, attacking his heart directly. With a cough of blood and oil, the Demon Lord¡¯s heart was crushed and shocked, the Lightning Elemental removing its hand and raising it to the air, roaring before vanishing, dismissed by Arthur. As he fell to his knees, disintegrating due to his death, the Clockwork Smith recalled the last thing Chronos said to him. ¡°By the way¡­ that¡¯s a damn obvious weak-point.¡± Oh it really was¡­
Arthur Clive
Level: 104 (B-Rank)
Class: Melding Sorcerer- Grants one stat point to Strength and two stat points to Wisdom per level Gives Soul Melding Skill
Anima
Starving Cutlass Coat of Recovery
Anima Skills
Cutlass- Hunger- Increase Soul Gain by 10% Coat- Generator- increases Wisdom by 10%
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (158/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 140%) Sword Sage III (182/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (224/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (140/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (171/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (132/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter II (191/200) - Increases damage against previously killed enemies. Regenerator I (39/50)- increases Vitality by 10% Soul Melding (2%)- Approach Unity
Stats
Strength: 140 Dexterity: 156 (202)
Intelligence: 72 Wisdom: 175 (245)
Endurance: 72 Vitality: 140 (154)
Sidhe (Owner: Arthur Clive)
Level: 104 (C-Rank)
Race: Raiju- Grants Lightning Element and one point in Intelligence and Dexterity per level
Elements: Fire, Mind, Wind, Lightning
Stats
Strength: 14 Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 105 Wisdom: 62
Endurance: 14 Vitality: 14
B2 Chapter 16- Triumphant return ¡°I suppose I should say welcome back, but I don¡¯t want you here.¡± Arthur said with narrowed eyes as he looked at the suited man seated across from him. ¡°And I suppose I should say it¡¯s good to be back, but with you around, it really isn¡¯t.¡± Shaun Fife, Guild Master of America, responded with nary a break in the conversation flow, taking a swig of his drink of choice on the table. Drink of choice for the day was apparently vodka instead of the whiskey the man normally drank, the man downing his shot before taking a deep breath. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that burn?¡± Arthur asked, quite liking the drink himself and knowing what breathing after a shot felt like. ¡°I like it, that¡¯s why I do it. Feels like I¡¯m breathing clean air after all the shit that went down.¡± Shaun said with a sigh, feeling like he had aged a few years in the past four months. ¡°I can¡¯t even guess, but from what I know to be very likely¡­ you met the Adventurer Killer while you were in Columbia, didn¡¯t you?¡± Arthur asked with a pointed look, the Guild Master suddenly snapping his gaze from his next shot to Arthur, a glare in his eyes. ¡°How did you¡­ no, Dante mentioned that one of the Demon Lords had an unexplained killer, and that you were guessing it to be that person.¡± Shaun said, taking his next shot before reaching for Arthur¡¯s untouched glass and downing it too. Arthur could appreciate alcohol, but time, place, occasion said that he shouldn¡¯t drink, and that Shaun needed it unlike Arthur. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you came to the conclusion that guy was in Columbia, but yes, he was, and yes, we encountered one another. It was a dangerous fight, I nearly died, he was better off than me, but had to escape.¡± Shaun said with a frown, annoyed at his loss¡­ It was understandable though, Shaun might have had a level of one hundred and one when the fight was fought, but the Adventurer Killer was level one hundred and twelve, and that was about a month ago. Now Shaun was level one hundred and six, and Arthur sitting in front of him had a level of one hundred and ten himself¡­ Shaun doubted that Mourn slowed down in his levelling, meaning that Mourn was likely an even higher level by now. Just great¡­ ¡°I see. And you won¡¯t tell me the details because of¡­ what was it again, operational security, right?¡± Arthur pointed out, giving Shaun an excuse to not talk about his harrowing experience in Columbia. ¡°Yeah. It was a shit show, it was horrible, and it made me really question a few things that I didn¡¯t want to, but it¡¯s over, for now. Columbia is stabilized to some extent¡­¡± Shaun¡¯s frown let Arthur know exactly what the man was thinking, frowning along with the Guild Master. ¡°But you couldn¡¯t capture Mourn, who was the most dangerous person in the country at the time, and that bothers you.¡± Arthur pointed out with a frown of his own while Shaun poured drinks. His bottle was almost done by the way, and Shaun was apparently barely feeling it. ¡°Of course it bothers me! Mourn was right there and I couldn¡¯t finish the job because¡­ because¡­¡± Arthur watched as Shaun went quickly from rage to confusion and a bit of sadness, wondering how that felt. Arthur always considered himself a bit dull emotionally, and swapping from extremes on the emotional spectrum was a bit too much for him, at best it took a lot to get him to feel strongly about anything except his interests. Most of the time he was stuck in apathy, even if he knew what he should be feeling and what was morally right, it didn¡¯t mean that he aligned with such things in his mind¡­ just that he was a good actor most of the time. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll leave you alone for now. The eleventh Demon Lord has been claimed by Sheikh, so Valhalla is going to be fighting on the ninth floor of Area eleven.¡± Arthur informed Shaun, standing up and leaving the Guild Master with his thoughts, slumped back into his chair as he was. It was a few minutes of looking up at the ceiling in thought, before Shaun opened his mouth. ¡°¡­Mourn escaped because I didn¡¯t understand my prey. I assumed he was a playful, charismatic monster, and just let that be the sole thing I thought of him.¡± Shaun confirmed to himself, no one else in the room to hear his epiphany as he sat up properly in his seat. ¡°¡­I¡¯m a bit compromised in regards to wanting to fight Mourn, aren¡¯t I?¡± No one answered, but Shaun knew exactly what a certain person would tell him. ¡°¡¯No shit monster¡¯¡­ surprised to say I might actually miss that crazy Seer after those months.¡± Shaun said, standing up from his seat, looking at the bottle of vodka, empty as he held it, and then tossed it into a nearby bin. Maybe he should quit that. Shaun left his room, looking to see Valhalla entering the Dungeon room, Grey appearing easily by his side as soon as no member of Valhalla could see him. Right, he had forgotten that, Grey really didn¡¯t want the members of Valhalla to know he worked for Shaun because of some asinine reason involving his old friendship with half of Einherjar. Thinking of Einherjar as part of Valhalla was easy for the mythology buff that Shaun was. ¡°Boss, something wrong?¡± Shaun looked to Grey and just staring at the agent for a few moments before sighing. ¡°Hey, what did I do?¡± Grey shouted in offence, leaving Shaun to shake his head as he walked away, hiding his smirk at getting under Grey¡¯s skin with just a look and sigh. ¡°You exist.¡± The way Shaun said it was enough for Grey to know it was a joke even if he was just giving a stale stare at Shaun¡¯s head for his words, following Shaun out of the building. ¡°Okay, in all seriousness, what¡¯s going on?¡± Grey asked, getting into the passenger seat of Shaun¡¯s Ford GT after seeing Shaun gesture for him to get in. ¡°Nothing, I just feel like eating some fast food and relaxing for a bit. I¡¯ve been stressed out for a while and I realize that isn¡¯t exactly healthy.¡± Hey, Shaun had wanted to help rehabilitate veterans suffering from PTSD, whether they knew they had the problem or not¡­ Shaun went to quite a few of those meetings, eventually stopping because they reminded him of alcoholics anonymous meetings, and he didn¡¯t want to go to anything like that. Regardless of his problems, Shaun knew enough to know that he really needed to calm down, so taking the least missed Guild worker, and leaving the Guild to Ellie and Dante, Shaun decided to take a day off. So, pulling up to a fast food chain with a certain colonel on the face of it, and ordering quite a bit of chicken, Shaun and Grey just sat, relaxing as they watched people walk by on the sidewalk, eating. ¡°¡­I wish I could have helped in Columbia.¡± Grey finally said after wiping his mouth with one of the napkins, getting Shaun to pause in his eating. ¡°¡­You helped us more going around looking for spies. Thanks for that by the way, I know going overseas wasn¡¯t exactly part of the job description.¡± Shaun said, sighing as he leaned back in his seat, knowing that eating while this conversation was going would be a bit wrong. ¡°Eh, someone needed to do it, and I suppose I was the guy you picked¡­ but you better be alright. Sera would be sad if you weren¡¯t.¡± Grey pointed out and Shaun chuckled. ¡°That she would¡­ I¡¯m glad she found you back then. If she hadn¡¯t, well¡­¡± Shaun didn¡¯t need to continue the sentence, Grey knew exactly how his life would have ended up had Sera not tore into him about his bad habits and dumped Oliver with him. Grey would have probably been in the wrong crowd, and fighting against Shaun, a terrifying prospect, if Grey wouldn¡¯t be dead already. ¡°I¡¯d be living a very different life. Actually thinking about it¡­ What happened to him?¡± Grey thought about something for a moment, getting a raised eyebrow from Shaun who was unaware of whom Grey was talking about. ¡°Who is ¡®him¡¯?¡± Asked Shaun, wondering who got such a confused look from Grey who looked to Shaun after a moment. ¡°Arthur¡¯s older brother, Eddie.¡± Shaun blinked at that, slowly turning to Grey, staring at the confused Guild worker. ¡°¡­Did you just say that he has an older brother?¡± Meanwhile, in a warehouse towards the south of Manhattan, Eddie sneezed, shaking his head in confusion wondering why he¡¯d be sneezing. ¡°Hey Eddie, you alright?¡± Eddie sniffled for a moment, making sure that it wasn¡¯t one of those disgusting wet sneezes before he nodded at Kyle, their teleporter. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine¡­ maybe it¡¯s that old superstition of someone talking about you?¡± Eddie guessed with a shrug, the teleporter narrowing his eyes at Eddie before shaking his head and walking away, leaving Eddie confused about why¡­ until he felt a sharp point digging into his spine. ¡°Oh, who¡¯d be talking about you exactly? Anyone I need to know about?¡± the feminine voice sent shivers down Eddie¡¯s spine that he did not need right now, stepping away from the knife and turning to face Laura, the woman who tried to kill Mourn back in Columbia. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know who would be talking about me.¡± Eddie said, carefully raising his hands defensively, getting a glare from the woman before she twirled her knife, the weapon vanishing as she poked him in the chest. ¡°I¡¯ll believe you. Come on, the boss wants to talk with you.¡± Eddie winced at Laura¡¯s words, following her with trepidation¡­ After Columbia, Mourn was¡­ different. Rather, Mourn reminded Eddie of how Mourn talked and acted before realizing that being open would get Eddie¡¯s trust easier. Basically- ¡°Ah, there you are! Come on, come in to my humble abode!¡± Mourn said, gesturing grandly to his meeting room¡­ The unsaid words rattled around in Eddie¡¯s head even as he stepped inside¡­ ¡®So said the spider to the fly¡¯ Walking inside with Laura, it didn¡¯t even surprise Eddie to see Kyle sitting there even though he had walked away from Eddie earlier¡­ The teleporter notably stayed away from Laura, afraid of the femme fatale though, well aware that he was the weakest person in the room. Other than Kyle, Eddie, Laura and Mourn, there were also two other people, making up the group Mourn went dungeon diving with. The first, surprisingly, was ¡®Doc Cheshire¡¯ as he was called by Mourn, the psychiatrist having been brought along to Columbia to Eddie¡¯s surprise, the man was extremely useful there, once they found out he was a Contractor like the rest of them, even if he was low level. While the man had originally been kidnapped by Mourn and their group, the man eventually began to express interest in Mourn himself, and following the serial killer¡­ By now, the Doc was loyal to Mourn, and Mourn alone, looking very disturbed and creepy when he thought no one was watching¡­ honestly, the doctor seemed a bit mentally unstable himself¡­ Maybe it was a result of Stockholm Syndrome and Mourn¡¯s questionable actions to justify himself to their followers¡­ The sixth person in the group was recruited in Columbia much like Laura was, the man didn¡¯t say his name, nor did he talk much, only carrying around a common woodcutting axe, which was actually his Anima, and wearing a medical mask. Said medical mask was black instead of the common white/blue though, and the man always began to chuckle quite loudly whenever he killed something, admiring Mourn¡¯s skill at killing, he searched for Mourn only to work for him. So the man, dubbed ¡®Axe¡¯ by Mourn, was the muscle of their group, even if unfortunately¡­ Well, with his inclusion, their group of six was complete, and Eddie wasn¡¯t really much of a gamer, but he was aware that a healer and a blocker were usually required for a group? The Doc had a healing Skill, so he was a healer, but the man certainly didn¡¯t act like one, and this Axe guy had the Endurance and Strength to be a blocker even though he attacked more than he took blows.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. All six members of the team, dubbed ¡®Wonderland¡¯ by Mourn, were attackers, violent people, who worked separately in the Dungeon despite moving together. Eddie was well aware it was a messed up group, but damn if Mourn didn¡¯t make it work. So, after the five members of the team sat, leaving Mourn to sit astride his chair, leaning his chin on the back of his chair as he looked at all of them, the Saw-Blade appearing in his hand as he spun it along his hand. There was silence, no one daring to talk without being spoken to, the fear of Mourn present in everyone in the room, even the Axe guy who seemed to fear nothing else. ¡°So¡­ let¡¯s talk. We¡¯ve been back in America for the last two weeks, let¡¯s talk.¡± Mourn said, the calm tone in his voice a warning¡­ he was angry. ¡°¡­¡± No one dared to speak, whoever spoke would draw the attention of the violent being that Mourn currently was, and Mourn looked at all of them, dropping and vanishing his weapon as he laced his fingers behind his head, pressing his head down as the sound of Mourn taking a deep breath was heard. ¡°So no one? No one wants to talk about what a fuck up Columbia was!¡± Mourn roared, standing and kicking his chair sailing through the air, it only having missed Kyle by a few centimetres as it crashed against the wall, definitely broken after the impact. No one moved, no one dared flinch at Mourn¡¯s anger, not wanting it directed at them. ¡°We were so close! We had everything! If it weren¡¯t for that bastard Shaun Fife, we would have had an entire country to work from!¡± Mourn roared, and Eddie finally moved, looking down at the table for a moment before turning his chair to look at Mourn. ¡°Boss. That would have been a bad thing.¡± Eddie said, a blade resting a centimetre from his eyeball, drawing a cold sweat from the second-in-command. ¡°Eddie, Eddie, Eddie¡­ please, explain how holding control of an entire fucking country would have been a bad thing?¡± Mourn asked, his anger palpable as the blade shook slightly, luckily not hitting Eddie¡­ He doubted he could regenerate an eyeball¡­ maybe Laura could, but not him. ¡°Boss, your end goal is the death of America¡¯s upper echelon and possibly the destruction of the government as well, right?¡± Eddie asked, the blade being removed when Mourn spun, raising his hands to the air, blade in hand. ¡°Of course it is! I hate this damn country! I want it to burn¡­¡± Mourn said, staring at Eddie with his silver eyes flashing slightly. ¡°But if you were in Columbia, controlling the whole country, you would have become too big to fight the way you best know how.¡± Eddie pointed out, watching Mourn¡¯s frown swap into a neutral look, Mourn almost looking like a walking corpse as he spoke. ¡°¡­Go on¡­¡± Mourn allowed Eddie to continue, even though Eddie knew that everything he was saying was not what Mourn wanted to hear¡­ But it was what he needed to hear. ¡°Boss, we¡¯re not exactly military, nor do we know how to run a country between us. We know how to stay undetected, and fight, sell drugs, move it around, but we can¡¯t wage war as a country, it makes us too big of a target to America.¡± Eddie pointed out¡­ He recalled his younger brother discussing this with him long ago. Even if his younger brother scared him, Eddie also cared for Arthur. ¡°And then they¡¯d be able to get rid of us with things like nukes and whatever other missiles they want to send¡­ but by being in the country, in populated areas¡­¡± Mourn realized what Eddie was saying, letting Eddie relax marginally. ¡°They can¡¯t target us without targeting civilians too, plus they don¡¯t actually know where we are.¡± Eddie added on, getting Mourn to relax as he looked to the broken remains of his chair before shrugging, deciding to just stay standing. ¡°Okay, okay, point in favour of what happened, still, we ended up needing to flee the country, and while our recruits mostly escaped, it¡¯s annoying.¡± That was putting it lightly, Eddie was well aware that Mourn wasn¡¯t actually mad about ¡®losing a country¡¯¡­ No, Mourn was mad about what happened in conjunction with losing the country. ¡°Or it could be a good thing?¡± Laura spoke out, drawing Mourn¡¯s eyes as he looked to the woman with a raised brow, wondering what she had to contribute to the discussion. ¡°We all had to flee, but we haven¡¯t exactly fled to the same locations did we? Our followers are all around now, maybe some would turn traitor, but a large amount are loyal to you for what you did for us.¡± Laura included, even if she was first against Mourn, by now she followed him out of her own will¡­ even if she was a bit sceptical of his ¡®newfound¡¯ anger. ¡°And when we fled, you made sure that a chef would be with every group that fled, and we can grow the materials required here, with a bit of help from Axe here.¡± Doc Cheshire pointed out, gesturing to the Axe wielder who grunted. Surprisingly the killer had a Wood Element, the Element of perfectionism¡­ no wonder he admired Mourn if his focus was on murdering, he probably aspired to be as good as Mourn. ¡°We can go global¡­ heck, we are global boss¡­ just give the orders, and we can start building up resources.¡± Kyle stated, the one member of the group who wasn¡¯t in Columbia, staying in America to keep minor operations running. The sixth member of the Columbian team, that dog, was dead thanks to the final battle, something Mourn was apparently glad for. ¡°Wait¡­ we¡¯re global?¡± Mourn asked, looking across the group, everyone but Axe nodding, and that was only because he didn¡¯t actually care for anything but fighting and killing. ¡°Uh, yeah, we can now start selling abroad, generating money and orchestrating crime on a major scale, not to mention the other Pennhurst Patients.¡± Eddie pointed out, reminding Mourn that he did have some really special people who left the country to different places¡­ ¡°¡­We really are dangerous huh, not just me, we are, this organization is?¡± Mourn asked, specifically looking at Eddie, the only one who was aware of everything in the organization except for Mourn, and even Mourn didn¡¯t quite pay attention, just doing as he pleased. He was smart enough to understand, he just didn¡¯t care most times. ¡°Yes Boss, we, are dangerous. We can cause a lot of problems.¡± Eddie could at least admit this¡­ even if he worried about how deep he was in this hole he dug¡­ Mourn, Laura, no one in this room knew of Eddie¡¯s relation to their most dangerous enemy, the Chosen of America, and Eddie would keep it that way. He was helping Mourn get ready to kill his younger brother¡­ But Eddie was in too deep to just leave Mourn, even without Mourn threatening to kill him for deserting, Eddie just couldn¡¯t leave¡­ Curse him for being too nice. ¡°¡­Alright then, I have an idea, a way to announce our existence to the world, showing that we are a threat, and making sure that the governments can¡¯t hide our existence anymore.¡± Mourn said after a moment of thought, snapping his fingers and pointing to Doc Cheshire. ¡°Doc, I want you to get the chef¡¯s that came with us to start cooking meth, mixing cocaine, I don¡¯t care, get some products made.¡± Mourn then pointed at Kyle. ¡°Kyle, you collaborate with the Doc, all product goes to you to be counted and sorted before being shipped to other cities where our people are, start dealing it out, make some revenue.¡± Kyle nodded, looking to the large grin on the doctor¡¯s face. ¡°Laura, I¡¯m going to need you to handle communications, I¡¯ll give you a phone with a bunch of numbers saved, message everyone on that list of contacts and tell them to prepare for orders.¡± Laura looked a bit annoyed at being ordered around, but did not dare complain, just nodding with a frown. ¡°Axe, you¡¯re going to need to wait until this plan starts for your part, but suffice to say you can kill as many as you want for this part. Just no women, or children.¡± A grunt was the reply. That guy really hated talking. ¡°Eddie, you¡¯re working with me, isn¡¯t that fun?¡± Mourn¡¯s grin was predatory, getting a nod from Eddie even as he felt worry, wondering what Mourn was about to do. ¡°Meeting dismissed, everyone head out. Laura, here, catch.¡± Mourn threw the phone softly at the woman, she caught it without much worry, walking out of the room with Doc Cheshire, Axe, and Kyle. Now in the room with just Mourn and Eddie, the sound of the door clicking closed rang out, leaving Mourn to drop into a chair like a puppet with its strings cut. ¡°Fuck.¡± That was all Mourn said, leaving Eddie looking at the man with sympathy. ¡°Things went horribly wrong boss¡­ it didn¡¯t have to be that way, but it happened.¡± Eddie pointed out, getting a look from Mourn as he palmed his face, looking out from between his fingers at the second-in-command. ¡°Of course it went wrong, at the worst possible time? I never should have even tried.¡± Eddie looked at Mourn, wanting to argue, wanting to say that Mourn¡¯s efforts weren¡¯t in vain¡­ But he really couldn¡¯t. Eddie couldn¡¯t say those efforts weren¡¯t in vain, when right at the finish line, the appearance of the Guild Masters tripped up everything. ¡°I was finally, finally going against everything I¡¯ve been taught my entire life, wanting to see if I could have been something other than what I am¡­ and I was immediately punished for even trying.¡± Eddie winced, looking at the dead stare of Mourn. ¡°Eddie. I¡¯m never going to try again. I¡¯m going to keep doing what I¡¯ve been doing until now, and hurt, hurt more and more people, lashing out. Heck, I¡¯ll even act worse.¡± Mourn said, leaving no room for argument, Eddie sighing deeply at those words. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m sorry. Circumstance made you like this, and now you¡¯re stuck like this huh?¡± Eddie asked, Mourn nodding simply, and leaving Eddie to shake his head as he stood from his seat. ¡°¡­Eddie.¡± Mourn said, getting Eddie¡¯s attention before he left the room, the second-in-command standing at the door, looking back to Mourn¡¯s slumped form. ¡°Thank you. For trying.¡± Mourn added after seeing Eddie¡¯s confusion, getting a small, sad smile from Eddie. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You have a guy who tried to muscle in on our territory down in the basement by the way. Have fun.¡± Eddie added, not seeing the frown on Mourn¡¯s face before Mourn sighed and then smiled¡­ Such a hollow smile. In England, far away from Mourn and Shaun, the greatest Hokage ever, George effing Clements- ¡°The narrative always gets a bit whacky when I¡¯m involved.¡± George complained aloud, cutting off the words flowing into his mind, and drawing odd looks from those in the room. ¡°Dear, not everyone can understand you like I do.¡± George looked to Felicity who was giving him a raised brow, reminding him that yes, he was in the presence of mere mortals. ¡°Right, sorry dear, where was I¡­ oh yes, I wanted to talk about some issues involving the great story.¡± George¡¯s confusing words aside, no one dismissed him as crazy, because crazy as he was, his words made sense in hindsight usually¡­ It was the Cassandra effect, something every Seer and Oracle underwent unwillingly, they couldn¡¯t reveal the future unless doing so would do nothing, and even if they said exactly what would happen, no one around would believe it but other Seers or Oracles. They could speak about things they shouldn¡¯t by sounding crazy, as George revealed, but that was also unlikely to be understood¡­ Though George and most Seers and Oracles really did become a bit crazy by seeing the future. ¡°Okay, the narrative just finished explaining why I talk the way I do, by the way, nice choice of underwear Mike.¡± The mentioned person just shook his head with a sigh, knowing he was the butt of many of George¡¯s jokes. ¡°He does make a good donkey, but enough of that, I need to be a bit serious¡­ war is coming.¡± George finally stated, getting gasps from around the room, even as there was a knock of a cane against tiled floor. ¡°Enough. George, given that you just spoke straight, I presume we can¡¯t do anything about this?¡± the Prime Minister asked, getting a nod from George. ¡°Exactly that, titled person without a name or description bar possessing a cane. Exactly that. Even with prior knowledge, you won¡¯t be able to do anything about this because it is part of the three paths prophesy.¡± That drew glances around the room, those in the know understanding what George was speaking about. ¡°Uh, what is that exactly? The three path¡¯s prophesy I mean.¡± Jade asked, a member of the conversation but very confused on what everyone else was talking about, even if she had heard the phrase from her sister a time or two. ¡°Ah, it doesn¡¯t really concern you much beyond you being a romantic interest of one of the three paths.¡± George waved off her concerns, and her blush because who cared if she was embarrassed? ¡°Dear, I care if she¡¯s embarrassed, she is my sister after all. Jade, don¡¯t worry about it, things will happen as they should.¡± Felicity pointed out and Jade just nodded with her blush still on her face. Poor, innocent twenty year old girl¡­ George could afford to think that of her considering his mental age was jumping by leaps simply existing with his power. ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯ll explain a bit, the ¡®three path¡¯s prophesy¡¯ is something all Seers and Oracles can see, regardless of the focus of their visions and powers, the reason is because it¡¯s a focal point of reality.¡± George said, looking to Felicity. ¡°Yes, though George is considered the leader of all Seers and Oracles by virtue of being able to see the majority of the three paths prophesy, including the possible endings to it.¡± Felicity added on, looking back to the cardinal wearing Guild Master to finish the explanation. ¡°That¡¯s mostly because the focal point of my Anima is one of the three, but that¡¯s irrelevant. Point is, the ¡®three paths¡¯ refer to three people, who will shape the world based on their actions, their actions send ripples out that affect the entire world.¡± George added, making the Prime Minister hum in thought. ¡°The three people¡­ would one of them not be that American Chosen, Arthur Clive? I hate to admit it, but he and his team hold the monopoly on the Dungeon at this stage, having killed more than half of the Demon Lords.¡± The Prime Minister asked, getting an odd ¡®so-so¡¯ gesture from George. ¡°Uh, actually not, surprisingly. Oh you were very close, but no cigar, Arthur is not one of the three¡­ and the one he is related to isn¡¯t even a thing yet.¡± George admitted, recalling that he had warned Shaun Fife of the same fact in the previous book. ¡°As for the other two, I doubt you two could admit to who those were, even other Seers and Oracles wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Jade pointed out, smart enough to catch onto what George and Felicity weren¡¯t saying. ¡°Yeah, we can¡¯t say anything about the other two, but one of them is going to act soon, and we won¡¯t be able to stop him, only minimize the damage.¡± George admitted with a frown at his own limitations. Even if he saw the future, George was limited, it was a horrible feeling, leaving the walking wrecking ball aimed at the fourth wall feeling annoyed. ¡°So that¡¯s why you could warn us, because regardless of what you reveal he is still going to cause damage¡­ for the sake of Jade, can you reveal the endings of the three paths?¡± George sighed, looking to his step-sister after the Prime Minister finished talking. Even if they weren¡¯t legally married, yet, it was a matter of time before Felicity and George got married¡­ though it would probably happen off-screen, George was sure. ¡°The first, and unfortunately most likely path, is the one in which Chronos succeeds in conquering Earth, only to be killed by Shaun Fife when he arrives. This is the ¡®Shaun Fife path¡¯.¡± That drew some wide eyes, knowing who that person was. ¡°The second path, the next most dangerous path, is that the war-bringer kills Chronos and continues Chronos¡¯ mission, destroying Earth unless he gets killed by a certain person. The ¡®Faceless Path¡¯.¡± George couldn¡¯t exactly outright say the name of the person here¡­ ¡°As for the third, the third person appears, killing Chronos, and works to further the advance of humanity on a dimensional level. Good luck sleeping with that information.¡± George said, grabbing Felicity and jumping out of a strategically placed open window. Everyone in the room just stared in horror knowing that such a person was the only person they could rely on for information to such things¡­ they were screwed.
Arthur Clive
Level: 110 (B-Rank)
Class: Melding Sorcerer- Grants one stat point to Strength and two stat points to Wisdom per level Gives Soul Melding Skill
Anima
Starving Cutlass Coat of Recovery
Anima Skills
Cutlass- Hunger- Increase Soul Gain by 15% Cutlass- Feed- Increases damage against living beings by 2% Coat- Generator- increases Wisdom by 15% (total 145%) Coat- Repel- Decreases damage taken by 5%
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (192/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 145%) Sword Sage III (209/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (239/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (168/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (193/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (158/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter III (22/300) - Increases damage against previously killed enemies. Regenerator II (13/100)- increases Vitality by 15% Soul Melding (2%)- Approach Unity
Stats
Strength: 150 Dexterity: 160 (208)
Intelligence: 75 Wisdom: 193 (279)
Endurance: 75 Vitality: 150 (172)
B2 Chapter 17- For Odin! Arthur felt a bit awkward, sitting in front of the six men in front of him, as one glaring at Arthur¡­ ¡°So that¡¯s the situation, they finally felt the need to talk to you about it.¡± Shaun said, the woman at his side scoffing at his words. ¡°Honestly we don¡¯t really find much issue with it. It¡¯s these six that have a problem with it.¡± The woman pointed at the burly men, Arthur looking to the two for help, even though he knew no help would appear. A fist slammed on the table, giving it a light crack, drawing Arthur¡¯s eyes back to the man seated opposite him, the other five standing behind him. ¡°Arthur Clive, we demand you revoke the name of your Kingdom and teams, you are not of our homeland and do not deserve to use those names!¡± the man, Edzard Hansen, was angry¡­ Arthur could understand why the Chosen of Scandinavia was angry, yes, considering the man named his team ¡®Vikings¡¯¡­ and Arthur¡¯s team was named ¡®Einherjar¡¯ Drew¡¯s was ¡®Jotun¡¯ and the two teams together were ¡®Valhalla¡¯? The naming scheme for Arthur¡¯s teams were probably really similar in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway¡­ ¡°Hey, you realize that they aren¡¯t exactly that violent right? The amount of people like these guys are pretty few.¡± Shaun said, somehow reading what Arthur was thinking¡­ Right, stereotypes and such, but Edzard was being a bit¡­ difficult. ¡°Rather, the fact that his English has very little accent, it¡¯s impressive¡­¡± Shaun stage whispered to the woman at his side, the woman sighing and rolling her eyes. She was the Guild Master of Denmark, following Edzard and his team so they didn¡¯t cause too much trouble here in America, by the way. ¡°Okay, okay, Edzard right, nice name by the way, let¡¯s talk about this calmly¡­¡± Arthur said, the man standing, palms on the table as he leaned over to glare at Arthur. ¡°Either you give up your name, or we fight for it.¡± Edzard warned, and Arthur¡¯s originally awkward smile shifted, his expression dropping at the threat¡­ At the same time his expression dropped, the other members of Einherjar walked in, looking at the Viking leader leaning over the table and glaring at Arthur, and Arthur¡¯s neutral expression¡­ ¡°Oh no, Arthur¡­¡± Emilia sighed, palming her face as she walked over, the other members trailing behind her and letting her take centre stage. She and Michael had the best chances of talking down an angry Arthur, and he was clearly a bit angry¡­ Arthur was one of those rare people who got quieter the angrier he was. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ did you just threaten to fight me if I didn¡¯t give up the name of my team? A name we built up to the point it is today?¡± Arthur asked, his voice barely wavering. Arthur might not care for fame, but he knew some of his teammates liked it, they took pride in their name, Einherjar was the most known team in the world, Valhalla the most known Kingdom in the world. Taking their name was an insult to all they had gone through wearing that name as their symbol. ¡°Arthur, it¡¯s just a name, calm down.¡± Emilia, having been noticed by Arthur, placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning down a bit to let Arthur know that the other members of Einherjar were here with him. ¡°Screw that, I say let them fight, it¡¯ll be interesting.¡± Of course, Matt would advocate battling, John and Michael nodding along like the men they were, leaving Emilia and Alice to just stare at the three with bland looks. ¡°¡­She is as beautiful as a Valkyrie.¡± Edzard muttered at what he thought to be a quiet level, looking at Emilia for a moment before snapping out of it, glaring at Arthur who she was close to¡­ Great, the guy was jealous too. ¡°I¡¯m not ¡®threatening¡¯ you. I am promising you a fight if you will not renounce your name.¡± Edzard warned, and Arthur stood, glaring at the self-proclaimed Viking with his eyes flashing purple, causing Edzard¡¯s muscles to tense up in instinctual fear. ¡°Well in that case, I¡¯ll just have to fight you then, because I rarely take pride in anything¡­ and my ability as an Adventurer is one of those things.¡± Arthur said, looking to Shaun who sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t have you try and take a name I helped build to this point.¡± Arthur said, gesturing for Edzard to follow Arthur, the man snapping out of his sudden fear and following Arthur, blaming his feelings on a Skill¡­ He would be right, yes, but Soul Sight was not used to cause fear innately¡­ it was just an aspect of Arthur that grew and showed itself more as he grew. They followed Shaun into a training area built under the Guild, used back when Shaun was training Arthur and Dante was training the other members of Einherjar¡­ Remembering that, Shaun was wondering how to get Einherjar after Mourn¡¯s people, but Mourn¡¯s gang had gone underground since Mourn left for Columbia apparently. ¡°Well, here we are. Feel free to fight as you want, I¡¯m sure a healer can fix anything bar death.¡± Shaun said with a wave of the hand, already knowing that Arthur would, for once, fight seriously against another human being. Contrary to how he acted most of the time, Arthur and Shaun did not hate one another¡­ oh they certainly unnerved the other, especially if they used their visual abilities on the other. And Arthur didn¡¯t want to fight someone who he didn¡¯t hate, or he wasn¡¯t angry at. Shaun recalled that there was only one time that Arthur got mad at him during their training, and that was the one time Arthur actually won the spar. ¡°Come, and lose.¡± Edzard declared, a straight sword with a wide base appearing in his hand, a circular shield in his other hand as he stood at the ready. ¡°You¡¯re going to regret challenging me. Just saying.¡± Arthur said with a shrug, his cutlass appearing in one hand and drawing a shiver from the Norwegian men¡­ oh right, they weren¡¯t used to the aura of that weapon. In Arthur¡¯s other hand appeared Solaris, a sword similar in appearance to Edzard¡¯s, only thinner at the base, and Arthur¡¯s long sleeved sweater being covered by his coat, drawing narrowed eyes from Edzard. Those with two Animae weren¡¯t exactly rare in the world, they were mostly in America though, and Edzard had never encountered an Adventurer with two Animae before now. ¡°Begin.¡± Shaun sighed the word out, watching Arthur fall into a stance, his cutlass held out in front of him and Solaris pointed to the floor behind him, watching as Edzard charged forward. ¡°Shame¡­ Arthur¡¯s better when he lets the enemy have the initiative¡­ countering is the main way he wins fights.¡± Alice pointed out, getting some nods from Einherjar members, ignoring the Vikings watching them from the side in confusion. The confusion was mainly in how casually the team watched Arthur fighting Edzard, just watching as Edzard swung, Arthur ducking under the blow and lashing out only to meet the shield in Edzard¡¯s other hand. ¡°Well, unless he is stronger, then he just ends the fight as soon as he can.¡± John reminded getting some murmurs starting up amongst them about Arthur¡¯s ability to fight. Arthur really was a brilliant fighter, as Edzard could now attest begrudgingly, thrusting out with his blade and watching Arthur spin, his cutlass pushing the sword to the side while Solaris struck out in return, parried by Edzard¡¯s own shield. ¡°So from what I¡¯m feeling¡­ you¡¯re level one hundred and eight right? That¡¯s actually pretty impressive, as expected of a Chosen. And your strongest Skill is Swordsmanship, your highest stat is strength, your next highest stat being Endurance and Dexterity which are the same¡­ the sword is your Anima too, by the way.¡± Edzard listened to Arthur speak in that toneless voice in the midst of the fight with sweat lining his brow. Knowing Edzard¡¯s level wasn¡¯t impossibility, his wrist showing ¡®EX 08¡¯ was not being hidden after all, but knowing his best Skill, his strongest Stats¡­ Arthur¡¯s ability to observe his enemies was high, and left Edzard feeling like a frog about to be dissected. Arthur continued with his observations, trying to look deeper, his eyes remaining purple, the pupil narrowing to a slit much like an animal on the hunt as he stared at Edzard¡¯s Soul. Souls of those who reached level one hundred were different than before, undergoing a change in quality which Arthur could attribute to compression. Arthur had once compared levelling up to ¡®adding a layer to the Soul¡¯ and reaching level one hundred would mean adding ninety nine layers to the Soul¡­ And then the soul would begin to fold in on itself, expelling impurities, none of the strength being lost as the soul became its original size once more with all the strength gained from those ninety nine layers. Levelling would once more add layers, except that now the layers had to be compressed before being added, which was why the amount of monsters needed to be killed to level up increased by a massive amount. At this point, Arthur could go an entire week without levelling even if went into the Dungeon every day. Not to mention, Soul Sight being what it was, Arthur could see the colour of Edzard¡¯s Soul, and the longer he looked, the more he saw, little by little, the small bumps and grooves revealing Stats, the shape revealing the Anima, the colour revealing magic Element- ¡°Oh, and your Element is Metal? Interesting, why aren¡¯t you using magic just yet?¡± Arthur interrupted his own observations to ask this question, getting a roar from Edzard who swung his blade, metal flowing over the blade to increase its size, Arthur being blown backwards despite blocking, skidding back on his feet. ¡°How dare you¡­ fight seriously!¡± Edzard roared, running forward, his sword now much larger after being covered in more metal, Matt¡¯s narrowed eyes showing that he was considering stealing the application for the same Element. ¡°I am. I like to understand my opponents before I crush them.¡± Arthur said, leaning forward as sparks started to gather around him, letting Einherjar know what Arthur was doing. Edzard slammed the sword down at Arthur, something that would effortlessly kill a normal human, and heavily injure Arthur if it didn¡¯t kill him, missed entirely. Arthur, contrary to his image as the strongest, untouchable Adventurer, rolled on the floor to the right, his cutlass vanishing as he did so, using his left hand to pull himself into a kick aimed at Edzard¡¯s leg, the impact buckling Edzard slightly, though he did not fall, instead twisting his sword and dragging it to where Arthur was. Arthur, seeing the blade approaching, rolled backwards, placing his left palm against the floor and pushing off to flip into a standing position, drawing an appreciative hum from Emilia. ¡°I¡¯ve never actually seen Arthur use flips and rolls like that.¡± None of Einherjar really had, Arthur rarely had his feet leave the floor, and while rolling is a valid dodging tactic, the man preferred to lean, shift or just move out of the way rather than roll around. ¡°I taught him back when you all were training with Dante, though he never showed any sign of actually taking in the lessons.¡± Shaun explained, also looking contemplative at what Arthur was doing. Rolling and flips weren¡¯t actually that game changing as the group made it seem, it was just strange, watching Arthur actually attack with a kick instead of with his swords, rolling instead of simply sidestepping, flipping away¡­ Arthur was appearing acrobatic rather than his usual stable style¡­ and no one really knew where it came from. The sparks going of off Arthur increased, his hair spiking backwards slightly, his eyes glowing yellow now that he had stopped using Soul Sight, his eyes were now naturally yellow but they had a glow when he used his magic for some reason. His cutlass reappeared in his hand, Arthur now dashing forward, his blades at his sides as Edzard glared, and, to the surprise of everyone except the Scandinavian crew, he threw his shield at Arthur, watching the American slide under it. ¡°Did he just try a ¡®Captain America¡¯ on Arthur?¡± Michael asked aloud, super confused on what he just saw¡­The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Until more metal flowed down the sword, increasing its size even more, until its width was almost as wide as Matt¡¯s shield, the blade that was once a one-handed long-sword was now most certainly a great-sword. ¡°Ah, using a shield with that would be kind of dumb.¡± Shaun pointed out, watching Edzard swing his blade at Arthur who was still sliding, Arthur responded by lifting his cutlass and digging it into the ground, using his weapon as a brake, pulling himself back and away from the dust cloud caused by Edzard¡¯s great sword. The Chosen of Scandinavia didn¡¯t pull back his blade, instead stepping forward and trying to stab Arthur, Arthur¡¯s smirk, a surprise for some, appeared on his face as he used the handle of his cutlass and his Strength stat to actually spin himself around, the only part of him connected to the ground being his hand as his foot, sparking with Lightning, kicked the side of the massive blade, sending it to the side. ¡°Holy¡­ that looked awesome.¡± Matt said with a look of surprise, Emilia on the other hand rolling her eyes knowing that Arthur probably just tried that move because he felt like ¡®looking cool¡¯ for a moment. Arthur had his moments. With the sword knocked to the side, Arthur removed his Cutlass from the ground, crossing it with Solaris at Edzard¡¯s neck, ending the fight. ¡°Well, I suppose that fight is done, though we could have been a lot worse in the Dungeon huh?¡± Arthur asked, Edzard worryingly looking at the swords near his neck and wisely chose to not nod. ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± Edzard said, the two weapons in Arthur¡¯s hands vanishing along with his coat, Edzard¡¯s own sword vanishing as he fell back onto his rear, breathing heavily¡­ Understandable, he almost died if it weren¡¯t a spar. ¡°I told him this would happen if he went through with this¡­¡± the woman, the Guild Master, complained aloud as the Vikings rushed to Edzard¡¯s side, Einherjar likewise walking over to Arthur who was strolling back to them, his hands in his pockets¡­ As if he hadn¡¯t just been in a fight. ¡°Oh? You think that Clive is that dangerous?¡± Shaun asked, referencing Arthur and getting a scoff from the woman. ¡°Oh it¡¯s well known among the countries that Arthur Clive isn¡¯t to be trifled with¡­ we know all about that status page he showed back for that Expo.¡± Shaun sighed¡­ Of course the other countries were wary of Arthur, he was at level ninety when most of their Chosen were around level eighty five, not to mention his Rare and Unique Skills¡­ His Unique Skill, Sword Sage, made his abilities with a sword unnaturally good¡­ to the point where challenging him with a sword as your weapon was a bit¡­ questionable, most of the time. If he was fighting anyone with the same stats as him, Arthur would probably defeat them in a straight up sword fight nine times out of ten. His rank three Sword Sage Skill was probably the equivalent of a rank six Swordsmanship Skill, or something like that, and raising the ability of the Skills naturally made their focus even better, meaning Arthur was becoming a better swordsman every time he did such a thing. Arthur was a sorcerer now though¡­ technically¡­ And they didn¡¯t even know that the real thing that made Arthur scary was his Soul Sight, his ability to understand anything he faced so long as it was a living (or Undead) creature. ¡°Damn it, I suppose I¡¯ve lost my honour¡­ Arthur Clive!¡± Edzard shouted after being helped up by his team, Arthur turning to look at Edzard with the members of Einherjar at his side. ¡°What is it? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re going to give up on taking our name now?¡± Arthur asked with a pointed look, getting a shake of the head from Edzard. Edzard instead looked at his team, each member nodding before he spoke to Arthur. ¡°No, I won¡¯t challenge the results. But I do need to be fair. You won this fight, you deserve a reward for such a thing, considering your loss would have resulted in the loss of your team name¡­¡± Arthur blinked, realizing that Edzard was right. In a wager, well, both sides need to offer something, and Arthur had accepted the fight before making his demand. By all rights, Edzard could have left and that would have been that, but Edzard considered doing such a thing to be lacking in moral, so he offered Arthur a chance to ask for something¡­ ¡°Uh¡­ hadn¡¯t actually thought about that¡­ let me talk with my team first before we say anything¡­¡± Arthur then walked with Einherjar a bit further away so as to get some privacy. By the way, outside in the Guild foyer, the members of Jotun sat around a table wondering where Einherjar was¡­ Ellie, Dante¡¯s sister, could have said something; she knew where they were¡­ But watching the group sitting there, awkwardly waiting for Einherjar was funny, so Ellie would say nothing. Back inside the training room- ¡°You accepted a fight like that without stating a reward¡­ Arthur, you¡¯re normally smarter than that.¡± Alice pointed out, drawing a sigh from Arthur while Michael patted his shoulder in sympathy¡­ Michael would have also made the same mistake actually, and that just made Arthur feel a bit dumber, sighing and making Michael annoyed since he had a feeling he knew why Arthur was sighing. ¡°What¡¯s done is done¡­ Luckily Edzard is actually pretty upfront¡­ surprisingly a nice guy, after you beat him.¡± Emilia pointed out, and Arthur looked to her, and then back to Edzard for a moment before looking back to her. ¡°I don¡¯t want you around him alone considering he called you a Valkyrie.¡± Emilia blinked at that, blushing a bit and punching Arthur in the shoulder. She wasn¡¯t really embarrassed by what Edzard called her, it was more the fact that Arthur actually exposed a bit of jealousy with that request. ¡°Get a room later, for now, what are we going to ask?¡± John questioned, and the group considered¡­ What could they want from those guys, it wasn¡¯t like they had anything Einherjar really wanted¡­ ¡°Meow.¡± Arthur blinked, feeling a weight resting on his shoulders, looking at Sidhe after feeling her remove her face from his cheek. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Arthur looked at the cat with confusion, and the cat only replied with a small paw on his nose before Sidhe removed it. ¡°Seriously, that¡¯s an option? I mean¡­¡± Sidhe meowed once more and Arthur rolled his eyes. ¡°I doubt it, but asking costs nothing.¡± The other members of Einherjar just looked at the interaction with a bit of confusion, having never actually seen Arthur look like he was talking with Sidhe. Understandable, they were a Familiar and her Master, they could communicate without words and always know where the other was, they grew together too. Not to mention that Sidhe couldn¡¯t actually die so long as Arthur was alive, if she was killed in the Dungeon she¡¯d simply reform in twenty four hours, appearing at Arthur¡¯s side. Not that Sidhe ever died, but there were other people with Familiars in the world. ¡°Okay, what did the devil say?¡± John asked, glaring back as Sidhe hissed at him, clawing at the air between the two of them. Their ¡®hatred¡¯ for one another was funny, but at least they could work together when they were in the Dungeon. ¡°Uh¡­ remember how we were looking to expand Valhalla?¡± there was a pregnant pause, the members of Einherjar slowly understanding the implications of the sentence, before as one they looked to the Vikings, freaking out the Norwegians. ¡°That¡¯s a dumb idea!¡± all five stated as their heads snapped back to Arthur, reminding the leader of Valhalla that yes, it was strange, but like he said, they lost nothing asking. ¡°I know it is, but hey, let¡¯s ask and see how it works out.¡± Arthur said, walking towards Edzard while motioning for Shaun and that Denmark Guild Master to get closer. ¡°So, we talked about it, and well, if you can¡¯t do this then it¡¯s alright¡­ but we¡¯d like to offer you six a place in Valhalla. The Kingdom, I mean.¡± Arthur stated, watching the six men pale even further at the idea of dying before they understood. ¡°Wait a minute, you can do that, can do that, why would you do that?¡± the woman Guild Master asked in confusion, looking to Shaun who shrugged, surprised himself at the request. ¡°Edzard did say that Arthur could make a request, and Arthur did say that Edzard was free to refuse¡­ but it¡¯s not like it¡¯s illegal to move to a different country, just difficult most of the time.¡± Shaun pointed out, the Vikings looking at each other, somehow despite not speaking they all managed to convey to each other how strange this was. ¡°Arthur, I, uh¡­ I can¡¯t speak for my entire team like that, even if I wanted to agree, not to mention my title as Chosen of Scandinavia, if I left I¡¯d be betraying my homeland.¡± Edzard pointed out, and Arthur sighed, nodding. ¡°I kind of expected a refusal, but quite frankly, other than reliable teammates, my Kingdom doesn¡¯t really need much. The Dungeon is widening, monsters are getting more numerous and stronger all at the same time. Adventuring as a six man team is difficult, and will probably be neigh impossible eventually.¡± Arthur admitted, the Vikings looking to Edzard who sighed. ¡°I understand your concerns, my team is fighting at the eleventh Area and we already struggle with just the six of us¡­ your thought of expansion makes sense¡­ but why us, why not more Americans?¡± Edzard asked, getting a roll of the eyes from Emilia. ¡°I¡¯m Russian by the way, just saying. And besides, Arthur only offers that kind of deal to people he can trust. Despite you annoying him, you also proved yourself to be capable and honourable when needed, even without being asked.¡± Emilia pointed out, getting Edzard to think. ¡°I see, it¡¯s a privilege to earn your respect, but I doubt we would be able to be Adventurers here¡­¡± Edzard pointed out, and seeing the opening, Shaun coughed, drawing attention to him. ¡°Actually¡­ it is possible, even with your concerns.¡± Shaun admitted, getting glared at by the Denmark Guild Master. ¡°Fife, you better have a good explanation for why you seem to be poaching our land¡¯s strongest Adventurers.¡± The woman demanded, getting Shaun to raise his hands defensively. ¡°Easy there Karlie, this could be beneficial for both of America and the Scandinavian Coalition.¡± The woman, apparently named Karlie, narrowed her eyes at Shaun, leaning back slightly. ¡°¡­Go on.¡± Karlie finally allowed Shaun to continue, the man chuckling a bit before coughing into his fist. ¡°Ahem. Basically, what I¡¯m thinking, is a sort of agreement between our countries based on Adventuring. We have the Vikings join Arthur¡¯s Kingdom, Valhalla.¡± Shaun pointed out, and Edzard spoke out at this. ¡°Like I said, we have family in our homelands; we wouldn¡¯t want to leave them behind.¡± Edzard started off, getting a shrug from Shaun. ¡°We can offer housing to each of you and all of your families here in America. Not like a mansion, but we can arrange things.¡± Shaun shut down that bit of an argument quickly, leaving Edzard to blink in confusion. ¡°As for ¡®betraying¡¯ your country, how about we make it that any Dungeon material you gain be sent back to Scandinavia?¡± Karlie blinked, realizing that such a thing would ease it over¡­ ¡°That still leaves out the fact that this is a race to the end of the Dungeon to kill Chronos. Disregarding revenge for the lives lost on Red Sky Day, having our strongest team work for yours means giving up on the race to the end of Hell. Why would we help America gain all those resources?¡± Karlie asked, a raised eyebrow in question when Shaun began to smirk. ¡°What if, in doing so, you secure much more resources for all four members of the Scandinavian Coalition? Heck, even if you allowed the other countries associated with the Scandinavian Peninsula such as Iceland to join in, you¡¯d still be securing quite a bit of resources for all of them.¡± Shaun¡¯s words drew a narrowed gaze from Karlie. ¡°¡­That bit of information was supposed to be secret, but I do suppose it was a bit strange trying to hide it from a modern day super soldier such as you, not to mention obvious to anyone who looked. Alright then, how would we get these resources?¡± Karlie asked, that smirk on Shaun¡¯s face still disturbing her¡­ The phrase ¡®shit eating grin¡¯ was made for moments like this. ¡°Simple, a Kingdom can gain a grand total of ten teams, for sixty members. I don¡¯t know when Arthur and his Kingdom Valhalla plan to stop recruiting, but at max, ten teams.¡± Shaun started off, and Arthur winced at the idea of having to work with that many people. He was a solitary guy, before he became so well known as an Adventurer the only people he knew on social media were people he had met face to face¡­ Heck, people from his old schools couldn¡¯t even contact him unless he reached out to them first, a rarity by the way. ¡°Now consider all the resources Hell will likely have to offer us¡­ what if I said that by letting the Vikings join Valhalla, the Scandinavian Coalition gains a guaranteed ten per cent?¡± There was a pause, and Arthur realized immediately what Shaun was getting at, speaking up before anyone else could. ¡°You¡¯re saying that each team of a ten team Kingdom gets ten per cent of Hell¡¯s resources, and that by letting the Vikings join us, America will willingly part with ten per cent of those resources once Hell is conquered.¡± Arthur pointed out, getting a nod from Shaun. ¡°Ten per cent at minimum if you¡¯ll recall. If only five teams are ever recruited then you¡¯ll all gain twenty per cent with each team, for example. As it is, joining now gets their collection of countries a third of the profit¡­ and Hell holds planets apparently.¡± Shaun reminded, and that got everyone there thinking. ¡°I see¡­ it makes sense if you think about it in that regard. Ten per cent of a hundred sounds like a little until you consider that we are counting in ¡®planets worth of resources¡¯.¡± Karlie admitted, looking at the Vikings who were contemplating. ¡°Exactly. Arthur and his teams get six more members who they can rely on, they¡¯ll be able to travel through the Dungeon in a safer, faster manner, and the Vikings guarantee their homelands profits¡­ win-win huh?¡± Shaun asked with that grin, getting a glare from the Guild Master of Denmark. ¡°You¡¯re insufferable. Tell your wife I say hi, and that I admire her for putting up with you. Edzard, come on, we need to talk to the prime ministers.¡± Karlie walked out, the Vikings following. ¡°Oh, do you guys or your families need English lessons? I¡¯m just asking in case I need to arrange anything.¡± Shaun asked just before the Vikings left, the group of men laughing at Shaun¡¯s question. ¡°No need mister Fife.¡± One of the Vikings spoke with a chuckle, much like Edzard his English had very little to no accent. ¡°As a matter of fact, all four countries in the Scandinavian Coalition speak English really well.¡± Another spoke, fluently, leaving Shaun to just stare for a bit. ¡°It is quite strange actually, especially considering this country has a different form of English from the rest of the world¡­¡± one of the others spoke, a mischievous smile on his face while one of his friends patted his shoulder. ¡°You might say that we could even teach you how the rest of the world uses it?¡± a fourth member added before the last one who hadn¡¯t spoken chimed in. ¡°Rather, it was a bit insulting that he thought we might need the lessons in the first place, mister Fife, you might want to do research on the countries you deal with next time.¡± The final member pointed out as Edzard bellowed with laughter, leaving the room. Shaun just stared, his face a bit red as he realized what he had just done, leaving Einherjar to laugh at him, Arthur especially going out of his way to even point and laugh. It was around this time Jotun stuck their heads into the room, seeing the strongest Guild Master chasing around the members of Einherjar while waving a sword around. You know, the usual. It would be later in the week that the Vikings would officially join Valhalla (the Kingdom) and enter this strange dynamic, upping the number of members from twelve to eighteen. But before that happened, Karlie had to speak to Edzard to question him on the abilities of the American Chosen. ¡°He is a monster in human flesh. But at least he is on our side.¡± Edzard¡¯s testimony did not calm down Karlie, or any of the listening Prime Ministers. It didn¡¯t calm them down at all¡­ but hey, like Edzard said. At least Arthur was on the side of humanity. It was like that old adage of how one man¡¯s terrorist was another man¡¯s freedom fighter¡­ Arthur truly could have been dangerous. Eddie, looking at the newspaper declaring the Scandinavian Chosen joining Valhalla, could attest to that¡­ his little brother was scary after all.
Arthur Clive
Level: 113 (B-Rank)
Class: Melding Sorcerer- Grants one stat point to Strength and two stat points to Wisdom per level Gives Soul Melding Skill
Anima
Starving Cutlass Coat of Recovery
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician V (223/250) - increases Wisdom by 30% (total 145%) Sword Sage III (231/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (247/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (188/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (211/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (189/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter III (41/300) - Increases damage against previously killed enemies. Regenerator II (37/100)- increases Vitality by 15% Soul Melding (3%)- Approach Unity
Stats
Strength: 155 Dexterity: 165 (214)
Intelligence: 76 Wisdom: 200 (290)
Endurance: 76 Vitality: 155 (178)
B2 Chapter 18- Wonderland The day Wonderland ¡®came into existence¡¯ would be one remembered by all of humanity. It was the twenty fifth of December, a day the vast majority of the world knew as Christmas, a holiday filled with cheer and happiness¡­ So of course, no one expected the chaos that started that morning. ¡°Move it, move it, we need every willing helper, find a Guild employee and state your level and Class and we will assign you to a suitable area, move it!¡± Dante shouted, the flurry of movement in the Guild listening as some measure of order was established, only twelve people not doing so, moving instead to Dante. ¡°Dante, I don¡¯t want Jotun involved, they¡¯re a bit young for this¡­¡± Arthur stated, thumbing to the Jotun members who wanted to complain, but found they didn¡¯t really have any moral high ground to speak from. ¡°You¡¯re all barely a few years older than them, but you have a point. You six won¡¯t be going out with the rest, don¡¯t worry, other young Adventurers aren¡¯t going to help out either.¡± Dante said, quickly snapping his vision to Arthur instead of Drew, knowing that the leader of Einherjar wouldn¡¯t just leave it at that. ¡°As for Einherjar¡­ while I honestly don¡¯t want to be involved, we¡¯ve already made an agreement, haven¡¯t we?¡± Arthur asked with a frown, getting a reluctant nod from Dante. This situation could be explained by the news showing on the TV, speaking of how mask wearing Contractors/Adventurers all over the world were attacking stores, banks, police stations, public areas, it was chaos out of nowhere. And unfortunately, America knew exactly who was causing it, even if there was no confirmed sighting of the man known as the Adventurer Killer. And to think, this all happened on Christmas of all days¡­ ¡°He chose the perfect timing¡­ damn this monster of our own making.¡± Shaun cursed to himself, looking over at all the real-time reports, fights were breaking out almost everywhere¡­ The only saving grace was that little to no guns were being used, because the enemies were Adventurers/Contractors, there was no way of telling if one of them was bullet proof or capable of deflecting them into an innocent bystander. ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve already issued evacuation orders all over, but even considering that¡­ the amount of casualties world-wide¡­ it¡¯s no Red Sky Day but¡­ this is a human action, against other humans.¡± Grey Vincent appeared at Shaun¡¯s side, Grey¡¯s Anima giving him the speed needed to do so. ¡°I know, this is horrible¡­ I bet Osama is wishing he did something this crazy when he was alive, wherever he is.¡± Well, Hell would have been stated, but considering they were being invaded by Hell¡­ Now they had to worry about internal affairs before being able to fight against Chronos? ¡°Probably sir, but I believe we found the person we need to target.¡± Grey showed pulled out his phone, pulling up a live feed of man standing in Central Park, a man killing anyone near him with a woodcutting axe and roaring¡­ He was actually roaring a word, just one. ¡°Arthur!¡± the man roared once more, and everyone who was watching this would know immediately who this man was looking for, getting Shaun to look at Grey. ¡°Get Einherjar, have them face this one¡­ I don¡¯t think he¡¯s as simple as the rest.¡± The majority of the problem causers were between level fifty and eighty, manageable by top-tier Adventurer teams easily¡­ And one of those teams were actually lying there, dead, at the hands of this one man. ¡°He must be the one in charge of this attack, in America at least. Warn the other nations, there¡¯s a singular ¡®leader¡¯ of the attack, once they¡¯re taken care of, it might scare the others off.¡± Shaun said, wishing that they could just wipe out all these murderers and thieves at once¡­ But that was an unfortunate impossibility. Terrorists didn¡¯t care for when their victims wanted to stop, they just wanted to spread their message¡­ And Shaun had no doubt, after this attack, Mourn would have a very loud voice with which to share his message, whatever it may be. ¡°¡­Understood, sir.¡± Grey moved, reluctantly but with purpose, and Shaun recalled his issues with Einherjar¡­ ¡°Well, he better move past those issues now. I will not have more people die because he didn¡¯t want to talk to some people.¡± Shaun said, having sent out orders, he picked up an earpiece and placed it by his ear, summoning his armour over his form while calling for Dante. ¡°Dante, we¡¯re going hunting, Ellie, take charge, message Roy and check his status, and then message Oliver and remind him that if he isn¡¯t at Sera¡¯s side I will personally kill him after all this is over.¡± Shaun warned, watching Grey from the corner of his eye go up to Einherjar, half the group looking at Grey with surprise before having small frowns. ¡°Alright boss, let¡¯s do this.¡± Dante said, his own armour appearing over him as they moved out, leaving the conversation inside the building to Grey and Ellie. ¡°Grey? So, you were a Guild worker this whole time?¡± Arthur asked with a frown, looking at Grey with a bit of surprise¡­ and not a lot of trust. ¡°Yeah¡­ didn¡¯t really want to show up in front of you all again considering the kind of person I was when I was last in your life.¡± Grey pointed out, scratching the back of neck and letting out a self-deprecating chuckle. He knew that he was¡­ not the easiest person to call friend, back before his encounter with Shaun¡¯s wife Sera, and he didn¡¯t blame them for the looks he was being given. ¡°Arthur, who is this?¡± Emilia asked, looking between Grey and Arthur with confusion, and Grey chuckled a bit at the question, keeping her attention on him. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ well, I used to be friends with Arthur, Michael and Alice, before I went through a lot of¡­ issues. It¡¯s nice to meet you though, Emilia, I¡¯m glad Arthur has someone in his life that looks out for him the way you do.¡± Grey said with surprising honesty as Arthur scoffed. ¡°Right, care now of all times. It¡¯s a few years late, but hey, better late than never right? What¡¯s the orders from the boss¡­ and you¡¯re definitely going to be talking with us after this day is over.¡± Arthur added before Emilia could get a bit embarrassed for the attention to her and Arthur¡¯s relationship. ¡°I came here knowing that. Head to Central Park, there¡¯s a man with an axe there, calling for you, my guess is that his job in this entire thing is to keep you busy or even kill you¡­ and considering you¡¯re known as the ¡®strongest Adventurer¡¯ it gives an idea of how strong he must be.¡± Grey warned, and Arthur actually considered it for a bit¡­ He knew the Adventurer Killer was higher levelled than himself, but his teammates¡­ that was a maybe. But with this kind of confidence, the man had to be at least level one hundred and sixteen like Arthur himself¡­ a dangerous idea. ¡°Well, even knowing it¡¯s a trap, shouldn¡¯t I spring it? Someone capable of keeping me at bay can¡¯t be low ranked in this group.¡± Arthur pointed out, and while the words could admittedly sound arrogant, it was arrogance based on facts. The amount of people at Arthur¡¯s level or higher in the entire world could probably be counted with less than ten fingers, even if Arthur was included in that count. Arthur was modest most of the time¡­ now was not a time to be modest. ¡°That¡¯s what we were thinking, enemies near him seem to be keeping a distance from him and sending him glances, they don¡¯t even care for each other but they care what he is doing, so he must be high up. We¡¯re hoping that fighting him off might stop the fighting, at least here in New York.¡± Grey said, getting a shake of the head from Arthur, even as he gestured for his team to follow him. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee it would work, I even doubt it would¡­ but the alternative is worse, huh?¡± Arthur said with a tired frown, and Grey winced realizing that Arthur knew exactly what the alternative was. If defeating that axe-user wouldn¡¯t end this ¡®invasion¡¯ here in New York, then the alternative was that they¡¯d have to hunt down every single enemy and kill/contain them individually¡­ The amount of damage they¡¯d do then would be far, far too much. But still, they had to try¡­ The other option was much too painful. Standing above the Empire State Building, Mourn stood, laughing at the signs of fires and destruction across the ¡®big apple¡¯ and Eddie standing at his side with a frown, on his other side Doc Cheshire stood. ¡°Burn, burn away you ignorant bastards!¡± Mourn roared, even if no one could hear him, it was cathartic to scream like this and have the ¡®listeners¡¯ actually experience pain. ¡°Mister Eddie, you look a bit down, is there something wrong?¡± The Doc asked with that creepy grin on his face, Eddie looking to the man with a frown before looking back to Mourn and sighing. ¡°Lots of things are wrong Doc, and not a lot of right things either. I¡¯m against what¡¯s happening.¡± Eddie said simply, Mourn sparing Eddie a glance before he continued looking across the wide expanse of the concrete jungle. ¡°Your disapproval was noted and ignored Eddie, stop bringing it up.¡± Mourn said with a frown on his face, the frown shifting very quickly into a smile when a few booms went off nearby, a building actually crumbling in on itself. ¡°Whoever did that deserves a raise! Do we even pay most of our workers though?¡± Mourn asked in mock concern, Doc Cheshire holding his chin as if in thought. ¡°I do believe you pay them boss, they air they breathe belongs to you after all.¡± The Doc was hopeless, drawing a roll of the eyes from Eddie, very disturbed that the therapist that they kidnapped ended up becoming a basket case when associated with Mourn. Or maybe the man was always an oddball and being allowed to do as he pleased with Mourn resulted in the current situation? Who knew what it really was but the Doc, and he seemed a bit loopy right now so his word couldn¡¯t be trusted entirely. ¡°How is Axe doing by the way, I hear he killed one of the top ten teams in this city?¡± Mourn asked, pulling out a phone and looking up some ¡®live update¡¯ website for information regarding ¡®the Axe wielder in Central Park¡¯. ¡°If he did, they were probably weak¡­ his main target is the Chosen after all.¡± The Doc pointed out while Mourn heard Axe scream for ¡®Arthur¡¯ with a chuckle¡­ Axe rarely spoke after all, the man did have a damn scary voice and appearance though. Mourn got a lot of¡­ business deals, very quickly with Axe at his side. Mourn was terrifying, but he didn¡¯t always look the part. Axe on the other hand really scared everyone. It showed that despite his stoic nature and lack of speaking, Axe was quite smart. He immediately feared and respected Mourn while others seemed to think that he could be messed with, and yet they left Axe alone. Basically, others were idiots to try and go against Mourn, Axe was smart enough to see that such a thing would be detrimental to his continued existence. ¡°Oh yeah, Arthur¡­¡± Eddie said, looking away with a frown, and then facing where he knew Central Park to be¡­ He was a member of Wonderland, the second-in-command¡­ but he was also a Clive. Between Axe and Arthur, Eddie would much rather have the latter survive their encounter¡­ Then again, they both might, if Axe lost and Arthur hadn¡¯t forgotten the morals Eddie tried to teach him¡­ Eddie felt that he had failed, before he left home, but maybe Arthur would remember it¡­ Eddie doubted his parents would have taught Arthur properly¡­ they were only good for hurting Arthur after all. ¡°Ah, I think that¡¯s them, use the binoculars.¡± Mourn said with the hint of an insane grin as he wore a pair of binoculars, looking at Central Park¡­ Eddie sighed and pulled out binoculars of his own, looking down at the park with a frown¡­ He really hoped his younger brother survived¡­ Arthur was scary, and a monster to Eddie, but he didn¡¯t deserve what happened to him. Stepping out of the SUV given to their team, Arthur assessed the situation, noticing many people fighting all around, some even attacking dead bodies¡­ The stench was the most annoying thing, Arthur determined, ignoring John puking nearby at the sight of someone being continuously stabbed despite being clearly dead. None of the members of Einherjar truly waved off what was happening, all looking at least a bit sick¡­ with the exception of Arthur, who was just busy taking in information. He considered feigning sickness if he and his team ever saw something like this and decided that yes, that sounded like a good plan, rather than have his team catch on that something wasn¡¯t right¡­ Sparing a glance for Emilia, Arthur gestured for the group to follow him. He¡¯d have to talk to Emilia someday soon¡­ considering they were dating she deserved to know Arthur¡¯s irregularities. If she decided he was too much trouble after that¡­ well, he wouldn¡¯t blame her. ¡°Oh god, why would people do things like this¡­¡± John complained, still coughing a bit as he followed the other members of Einherjar, his Sneak Skill still active even if he spoke¡­ though talking meant anyone who could hear him immediately knew where he was. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I need to be the one to say this¡­ but don¡¯t question it.¡± Arthur said, well aware of the hypocrisy in his words when he was the most curious member of the group, drawing his team¡¯s looks from the bad things happening all around them. ¡°The enemy believe what they believe. Their beliefs were apparently enough to do what they¡¯re currently doing. You believe they shouldn¡¯t, they believe they should. That¡¯s enough of a reason to fight.¡± Arthur said, aware that his words might sound odd¡­ But they weren¡¯t any less true. People could fight over anything, and people could also kill over almost anything. Arthur was well aware of that. Einherjar grew quiet as they moved, no one daring to come near Einherjar and provoke them lest they get themselves killed/knocked out before their job was done, and likely also knowing that Einherjar were to be left alone for their leader, the Axe-wielder. And walking forward into one of the many open areas in the park, Einherjar found their target waiting, the man standing up from his previous position of being seated on the grass.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The man was large, matching Matt and Michael for height, possibly being even taller than them despite their roughly two metres of height¡­ though he was definitely larger when it came to physique, the man was muscular as heck¡­ Michael was a thin guy, and Matt was only slightly better despite his position as a tank, but this guy with the axe was practically a muscular wall, wearing a tank top, baggy pants and boots, the original colours of those bits of clothing were lost to the copious amounts of blood splattered around, drawing more winces and disgust from Einherjar. ¡°You called me. I¡¯m here.¡± Arthur glared, switching into his ¡®Dungeon persona¡¯ which he used against Demon Lords¡­ demanding respect, and expecting it, or else. ¡°¡­¡± the man did not speak, or if he did it was muffled by that face mask he wore, only the upper half of his face visible, much like the Clockwork Smith¡­ Arthur hoped this guy wasn¡¯t disfigured by his jaw like the aforementioned Demon Lord. Instead of speaking, the man removed a phone from his inventory, swiping and letting the phone ring before it was picked up on the other side. ¡°Hey there! How¡¯s my favourite Adventurer doing, well I hope? Great¡­ I take it you¡¯ve all met Axe? Before you ask, I don¡¯t really know his real name.¡± A voice came from the phone, the voice¡¯s tone confusing the members of Einherjar. It went from excited to a more mild tone before what sounded like genuine confusion, a bit of mood-whiplash considering the scenery with that voice suddenly ringing out. ¡°I take it you¡¯re the leader of this guy¡­ no one actually told me anything, but I have a good idea of who you are. Adventurer Killer right? Mourn?¡± Arthur spoke aloud, raising a brow in question as chuckling rang out over the phone. ¡°See, see, I knew he¡¯d catch on quick, as expected from one of my main targets¡­ yes, I, am the Adventurer Killer. I am Jack Mourn, leader of this little group of mine. I call them Wonderland, cause I like stereotypes.¡± Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes with much willpower, an insane person naming their group ¡®wonderland¡¯ after the Lewis Carroll books? As Mourn said, stereotypical¡­ and a way to paint a pretty strange children¡¯s book as something darker, still, stereotypical. ¡°That¡¯s a really dumb name. The group I mean, your name sounds like it¡¯s a fake, but I never put much stock in names.¡± Arthur admitted with a shrug, the members of Einherjar just listening to the exchange with confusion. ¡°I know, but I named us on a whim and it stuck. No one¡¯s willing to argue after I tore out the larynx of the last person who spoke out¡­ I think it was a larynx, going to need to check a biology book to be sure.¡± The casual discussion about tearing someone¡¯s throat out was disturbing, but Arthur knew that it was just Mourn attempting to freak him out. ¡°So, Jack, if I can call you that, why do this? Why attack the world like this when we are supposed to be united in a fight against Chronos¡­ why target me?¡± Arthur asked, confused. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯d mind, Arthur, but I really thought that Head Guild Master of America would have clued you into my hatred, but I suppose that man is a secretive one.¡± Mourn sounded a bit strange, as if¡­ annoyed, with Shaun. ¡°He knows? Shaun knows why you¡¯re doing this? And he didn¡¯t tell me.¡± Arthur added aloud for the benefit of Mourn and the other members of Einherjar as a scoff was heard from the other side of the phone. ¡°Oh he knows alright. You see, Jack Mourn is a fake name, given to me by the one person I admire. I doubt he remembers though.¡± Jack said with a self-deprecating laugh, leaving the members of Einherjar silent as they listened. ¡°Before I was Jack Mourn, I was simply ¡®patient twenty three¡¯ of the Pennhurst Project Fool. A top secret program designed to train suicidal, mentally unstable soldiers to be dropped into enemy countries and wreck-havoc before being gunned down.¡± Mourn¡¯s words drew wide eyes from the Einherjar members, including Arthur¡­ Michael and Matt were probably feeling a bit vindictive of their conspiracy theories having some credit to it now, but ignoring that, such an admission was unbelievable. ¡°I was trained to kill as many as I could before dying. I was tortured, day in, and day out to force me to hurt others and someday, it stopped bothering me. I started to¡­ enjoy it.¡± Mourn¡¯s quivering voice had near-sexual undertones to it, prompting a wave of disgust from the Einherjar members¡­ Well, all of them except Arthur who just accepted the words at face value, not bothering to look into whatever Mourn was trying to get them to think. The way Mourn was speaking, he was painting the narrative to his liking, so Arthur instead focused on the ¡®facts¡¯ of the conversation. If they were lies, he could confirm that later, but the other bits, Arthur discarded immediately as irrelevant. ¡°Get to the point.¡± Arthur pointed out, and Mourn giggled, giggled over the phone. ¡°Oh alright¡­ so anyway, after being tortured for a few years, and training, I finally found a chance to escape¡­ or rather, was given a chance to escape by the esteemed Chronos.¡± And there was the crux of the issue. ¡°Red Sky Day. You used it to escape?¡± Arthur asked, despite knowing the answer instinctively. ¡°Of course I did. Everyone was dying, my room was unlocked, and you think I¡¯d stay there? Stay in that cage that hurt me every single day? I relished in the freedom¡­ and then realized that I wasn¡¯t free.¡± The undertone of violence entered Mourn¡¯s voice towards the end, and while the members of Einherjar were a bit confused on what Mourn meant¡­ ¡°You weren¡¯t free¡­ because the people who started the situation weren¡¯t dead? The government wronged you, and if you appeared as is, you¡¯d be silenced. You had no reason to believe otherwise.¡± Arthur said, somehow knowing this¡­ Why was he sympathizing so much with Mourn at this moment? ¡°¡­Yeah. The government that ordered that project be done is still around. And the other countries already messed with my plans in Columbia.¡± Mourn said the country¡¯s name with venom in his tone, a hatred for the country that went beyond what Arthur understood. Understandable, Arthur was not there for whatever happened in Columbia, but from what Shaun hinted at, it was bad on all sides. ¡°So this is you lashing out. Getting revenge¡­ why target innocent people then? You don¡¯t strike me as stupid, a stupid man would have been caught already.¡± Arthur pointed out, silence coming from the phone held in the Axe-man¡¯s grasp. ¡°¡­Maybe it is stupid. But everything I do has purpose. Axe.¡± The man holding the phone straightened subconsciously, letting anyone observant enough note the man¡¯s obedience to Mourn. ¡°Get ready to fight. If you can, kill Arthur. If not, Kyle will retrieve you before you die. Know that the moment you are done, the attack is done.¡± The large man¡¯s eyes narrowed, his weapon appearing in his other hand. ¡°I don¡¯t hold any personal vendetta with you Mourn¡­ but considering that you called me out and want to kill me, I guess we will have to fight.¡± Arthur said, his Coat and Cutlass appearing, his teammates summoning their own Animae and equipment. ¡°That we do. One last thing before I go, there¡¯s someone who wants to talk to you.¡± Mourn genuinely sounded confused at this part, Arthur wondering who Mourn was with, feeling nervous at the prospect. ¡°¡­Hey Arthur. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± Arthur¡¯s mind blanked, knowing exactly who was speaking from the other end of the phone. ¡°¡­Eddie?¡± Arthur asked, half of Einherjar going wide-eyed knowing the name, Matt and John being a bit confused on who that was. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me. Sorry for being such a bad brother¡­ I mean, I¡¯m impressed, you¡¯re strong, the face of Adventurers all over the world, fighting against Chronos¡­ I¡¯m proud.¡± Eddie¡¯s voice rang out over the phone, the Axe guy looking at the phone with wide eyes of his own¡­ ¡°What¡­ What are you doing with Mourn? Why are you there?¡± Arthur shouted the last bit, surprised and admittedly a bit worried¡­ He hadn¡¯t heard from Eddie since seven years ago, when his brother moved out after a large argument with his parents¡­ Arthur had always been a willingly ignorant person¡­ yes, he was curious, very, but only with things that brought him enjoyment¡­ Things that he knew would hurt, or disturb him, Arthur would willingly ignore with not a hint of hesitation¡­ And the fight between Eddie and his parents was one such case of ignorance. Arthur only knew that they were screaming at each other, Arthur staying with Angelica so that she didn¡¯t cry, he didn¡¯t know what the fight was about, what was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, but Eddie left that night. And now, the first time in years Arthur hears from Eddie, and he is with Jack Mourn, the Adventurer Killer¡­ the man aiming to kill Arthur. ¡°I¡¯ve been in a bad situation these last few years¡­ Mourn got me out. Or further in, depending on your view. I work for him. He¡¯s my boss.¡± Arthur almost felt like he got physically hit at that point¡­ His elder brother, one of the few that Arthur trusted, was working for Mourn? ¡°Well this is a surprise¡­ I didn¡¯t know Eddie was related to you Arthur¡­ that¡¯s intriguing! I mean, one of the greatest threats to my plan just happens to be the younger brother of my second-in-command? This is just priceless! It¡¯s like a movie!¡± Mourn laughed, his voice softer than usual, probably because he wasn¡¯t holding the phone, but everyone heard it¡­ The members of Einherjar all looked at Arthur, and he couldn¡¯t look back to them, waiting for an answer. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re with the people trying to kill me.¡± Arthur said finally, waiting on a reply from Eddie, wanting to hear what justification his brother could possibly have for his actions, as the second-in-command of Mourn¡¯s operation. ¡°That I am. I¡¯m not going to be personally involved in any encounters with you though, I have that kind of leeway. For what it¡¯s worth though, I hope you win this fight.¡± Arthur felt a bit of tension leave his body, understanding immediately. ¡°Okay. I can accept that¡­ hey. Did you know you have another younger brother?¡± Arthur asked, picturing his brother¡¯s reaction to the statement¡­ probably wide eyes and a bit of excitement. ¡°What, when did that happen? What¡¯s his name?¡± Eddie asked, and Arthur smiled, knowing now, that his brother¡­ well, his brother was, as he said, in a bad place¡­ But he wasn¡¯t a different person. Eddie was still Eddie. ¡°His fourth birthday is coming up in a few months, his name¡¯s Dennis. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be happy to meet another older brother¡­ not that we can do that just yet.¡± Arthur smiled a bit, and then sighed, frowning as he looked at ¡®Axe¡¯. ¡°Yeah¡­ maybe when this is all over I¡¯ll go visit. Bye Arthur.¡± Eddie said, the phone clicking off. After a moment, the phone vanished into Axe¡¯s inventory, the man rolling his head as he raised his weapon, leaning forward aggressively. On his left wrist was ¡®EX 17¡¯, two levels higher than Arthur and three levels higher than most of Einherjar¡­ Not a train-smash, though it was bad. Activating Soul Sight, glaring at Axe¡¯s soul, Arthur raised his Cutlass, Solaris appearing in his other hand. ¡°Attack.¡± That was all Arthur said, Axe roaring as he rushed forward, the ground around them bursting as roots grew around, trying to entangle Einherjar¡¯s legs, the six spreading apart to avoid being trapped. ¡°Strength-Endurance based fighter, his Strength is very high, his Endurance is probably three quarters of Matt¡¯s!¡± Arthur shouted, the members of Einherjar frowning at the picture painted by that Stat layout¡­ Matt¡¯s Endurance was damn high, even half of his Endurance was higher than Arthurs at least, this guy had to have an Endurance score of about a hundred and fifty, his Strength even higher than that. Combine that with him growing roots to try and hold them in place, the man was a Wood-Element magician, which seemed neigh impossible¡­ ¡°His Vitality and Dexterity are really low, like ¡®imbalance the Soul¡¯ low! He won¡¯t be healing from whatever injuries we give him immediately!¡± Arthur shouted out, and the group smiled. An enemy with a clear weakness, that being the finesse of his attacks and his healing ability? Sure, it would be hard to hurt him, and getting hit by him would ensure extreme pain¡­ But¡­ wasn¡¯t that just like most human sized Demon Lords? ¡°Rah!¡± Axe roared, uncaring if they knew his weakness or not, stomping on the ground making a log with a sharpened point burst from the ground at an angle aimed at Emilia, the Russian thief rolling backwards, the attack going over her head. Axe took advantage of his change in the terrain, running along the log and then kicking off of it, launching himself at Michael, the archer firing an arrow at the man¡­ And for once, instead of the arrow being deflected, it actually hit him! And Axe responded with another roar and kick to the chest, knocking Michael flying backwards, the burn mark on his shoulder only slightly inconveniencing the insane killer. Ah, not dodging because he was durable enough to take the hit, Michael would have to remember that after his sternum felt better. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s my brother you just kicked!¡± Axe turned, wide eyed as he saw the giant blade coming for his waist, just barely raising his axe to try and counter the attack, but still being knocked skidding back¡­ Right, high Endurance made it easier to stand your ground, it¡¯s why Matt barely got knocked around anymore. Alice stepped back, making her blade shorter and using the flat to block Axe¡¯s retaliatory strike, the berserker of Einherjar being sent back much further than Axe was from the same attack, and while she would have gone back to attack again, while stumbling back her foot caught on a root growing out of the ground¡­ Taking advantage of his tripping of the female warrior, Axe charged forward, raising his axe up and preparing to swing down into her skull, only for a Lightning covered foot to kick Axe in the face, the killer stumbling back from the unexpected blow, leaving Alice with enough time to roll to a standing position. ¡°He¡¯s a bulldozer, uses magic similar to Miles! Matt, could use your help!¡± Arthur called out, the tank nodding, sliding between Arthur and Axe, the killer growling, a Venus-flytrap appearing from the ground and biting into Arthur¡¯s arm, making the Chosen wince in pain before cutting the plant, glaring at Axe. Their battle, while short so far, had attracted attention, the people on Axe¡¯s side stopping their actions and watching the fight now, a crowd watching, some even having phones out. Arthur¡¯s team didn¡¯t have the freedom to care though, Axe growling and rushing at Matt was taking up their attention, the killer slamming his axe at Matt¡¯s skull, the member of Einherjar smirking and raising his shield to block. When his weapon was stopped, and Matt wasn¡¯t sent flying, Axe was genuinely surprised, his eyes widening as Matt shoved his shield upwards, unbalancing Axe even as Axe glared, a thorny vine growing from the ground and wrapping around Matt¡¯s leg, trying to dig into his skin but only barely scratching him. Invulnerable, your name was Matt¡­ someday. Not yet. But he was damn close among people of similar levels. Axe stumbling back, and Matt held in place until he forced the vines off, Emilia dashed forward, slashing at Axe¡¯s chest, drawing two lines of red as the man roared, swinging his off hand to try and hit Emilia, the Russian dodging just barely. The serial killer roared once more, stomping his foot, spears of bamboo shooting from the ground to stab each member of Einherjar, all the melee fighters blocking or cutting the bamboo before it could hit them¡­ ¡°Michael, John!¡± Alice shouted, realizing that the two long range fighters were also being targeted, Michael just barely deflecting the bamboo with his bow, and John stumbling back as a growling Sidhe clawed at the bamboo. Luckily Sidhe was used to looking out for John during fights, at least when the cat was involved, the cat vanishing after blocking the attack, using its Mind Element to fade once more, John scrambling and activating Sneak once more¡­ It wasn¡¯t much help though, so Arthur called out. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, he attacked you even when you were invisible!¡± Arthur shouted, and the invisibility of the two vanished, John frowning even as he held out his hand, two swords appearing at his side, floating even as he ran away from Axe, making sure to stay facing the killer after what just happened. ¡°Argh¡­¡± Axe groaned, cracking his neck before narrowing his eyes, staring at Arthur and the other members of Einherjar¡­ So understandably Axe was surprised when Arthur burst with Lightning, the Element practically flowing off of him as his eyes glowed an eerie yellow that it did now whenever he called upon his magic. ¡°One last attack!¡± Arthur shouted, the serial killer cautiously taking a step back, yet still being surprised when Arthur¡¯s Cutlass appeared, digging into his side and making the serial killer wince, a the cut bleeding a bit as Arthur twisted, spinning Axe around and kicking the man off of his blade. The man stumbled back only to take two whole swords to the legs, the blades bouncing off after punching a centimetre or two into Axe¡¯s thighs, leaving the murderer growling in annoyance. That wasn¡¯t the only ranged attack though, Michael launching an arrow after stabilizing his bow, and Axe staring at the arrow with wide eyes¡­ surprised, because by the time he noted the arrow, it was already at his head. ¡°Invisible arrow, motherfucker.¡± Michael was still sore, literally and metaphorically, after getting kicked by Axe, and so the understandably vindictive Archer¡­ shot the murderer in the eye with a Light Arrow. And the Anima Skill, as mentioned, Invisible Arrow. An arrow that was invisible until a moment before impact, an assassination tool to get a definite first hit before a fight even began¡­ It was used to extreme effect here, the attack blasting against Axe¡¯s left eye as the man roared in pain, stumbling back and buckling from the pain in his legs, then knocked on his ass by Emilia and Alice kicking him from the back of his ankles. Now all this, was extremely painful, even for a person with a high Endurance stat¡­ and Matt only made it worse when he actually ran, jumping forward with his shield, hitting Axe and pressing the man into the ground before rolling off of the murderer with his massive shield, the man groaning in pain as Matt stood, pointing at him with a smirk. ¡°Get fucked!¡± War-cry complete, Matt raised his arms into the air, the gathered crowd murmuring. ¡°Axe was beaten, everyone scatter!¡± Someone screamed, the crowd breaking into a run the moment that shield hit Axe, Einherjar looking around angrily but unable to really give chase, regardless of level differences, there were too many for them to be able to stop all of them¡­ Police cars and Guild workers were running around taking down a few, some using magic to capture the Wonderland gang members, leaving Einherjar to stare at Axe¡­ That was when a man appeared, masked just like the other people, except his mask had a grin painted on it, unlike the others with their bland single colour masks, his hand on Axe¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout this¡­ but we still need this guy.¡± The man said, Arthur¡¯s eyes widening as he tried to send a bolt of Lightning out, the man vanishing before Arthur¡¯s attack could reach him. ¡°Damn it, they got away.¡± Arthur said what all of Einherjar was feeling¡­ They had fought, and everything was going to be ending now, Axe¡¯s continued stand had ended, and so had all of the other Wonderland attacks by Mourn¡¯s own admission¡­ But looking at the dead bodies¡­ the smoke coming from different parts of the city¡­ and knowing that they only caught pawns in Mourn¡¯s organization? It was a sour pill to swallow. The next day, the newspapers came out with many headlines, ¡®Red Christmas¡¯-¡®Arthur Clive: target?¡¯-¡®Thousands dead, how did this happen?¡¯-¡®Adventurers must be regulated¡¯¡­ The headline on the newspaper Arthur read was simple and to the point, a plea from the masses. ¡®What do we do now?¡¯ Arthur found he didn¡¯t have an answer.
Arthur Clive
Level: 115 (B-Rank)
Class: Melding Sorcerer- Grants one stat point to Strength and two stat points to Wisdom per level Gives Soul Melding Skill
Anima
Starving Cutlass Coat of Recovery
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician VI (9/300) - increases Wisdom by 35% (total 150%) Sword Sage III (251/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (247/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding V (220/250) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (235/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (208/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter III (60/300) - Increases damage against previously killed enemies. Regenerator II (81/100)- increases Vitality by 15% Soul Melding (3%)- Approach Unity
Stats
Strength: 157 Dexterity: 167 (217)
Intelligence: 78 Wisdom: 206 (309)
Endurance: 78 Vitality: 157 (180)
B2 Chapter 19- Vow ¡°This could have been avoided!¡± Shaun calmly stood, looking at the guy screaming in anger while trying to prevent his eyes from rolling¡­ It was the thirty first of December, six days since the attack caused by Wonderland, and things were still not right, and Shaun was being a bit annoyed now in this private meeting. Really, Clayton sat there looking at Shaun as if saying sorry with his eyes alone¡­ but officially, Clayton should just sit there, otherwise there would be accusations of nepotism. Not that there weren¡¯t already such accusations being thrown around regarding Clayton appointing Shaun as the Head Guild Master. Shaun was a retired veteran staying at home and studying when Red Sky Day happened and he was called back in by Clayton, theoretically someone else should have been chosen but instead Shaun was called in. ¡°Please, explain to me how this could have been avoided, General.¡± Shaun asked, the older military man glaring at Shaun in unrestrained anger. ¡°You knew about the existence of this threat, you even faced him, if you had just made everything public instead of keeping quiet-¡± Shaun slammed a fist on, and through the table, leaving the man¡¯s red face to begin to pale, understandable when he was still a normal human to Shaun¡¯s super powered Adventurer status. ¡°Going public with this is the last thing we would have wanted five days ago. Before then, if the Adventurer Killer so much as peeped in the direction of the media our country would be gutted!¡± Shaun shouted, lifting his hand out of the table. ¡°We could have claimed he was lying, change blame¡­¡± the general spoke and Shaun rolled his eyes, looking to Clayton with annoyance. Clayton shrugged, his hands tied for this meeting while Shaun looked back to the general. ¡°Are you stupid? Even if we lied, and the majority believed us, there would be sympathizers, and we can¡¯t exactly fake evidence, if anyone looked at Pennhurst today they¡¯d find evidence of people living there about a year back.¡± Shaun started, the general still confused getting Shaun to groan in annoyance. ¡°Mourn wouldn¡¯t need to be believed in by everyone, but every person who would believe would be another person on his side. With one interview, Mourn could have polarized this country worse than the political parties ever did.¡± Shaun pointed out with a curse under his breath. The general didn¡¯t seem to understand¡­ Public opinion was powerful, and anyone could believe anything. If Mourn got even a tenth of America to side with him, to sympathize and advocate for him, the man would gain traction, people who have issues with America would be free to back him as their ¡®poster boy¡¯ for proof that America wasn¡¯t the bright beacon of freedom everyone thought it was. Shaun was under no illusions that America was as amazing as some said. The ¡®land of the free¡¯ had tons of problems, ranging from having the highest incarceration rate, the highest percentage of suicide cases, racism, sexism, the United States wasn¡¯t the squeaky clean place some thought it was, even if these things weren¡¯t common knowledge or seen every day. Oh it had its perks, Shaun knew, it was actually pretty easy to survive in America, and if you worked you could thrive even, in this regard the United States were among the top countries in the world¡­ But again, the United States was a massive controversial pool of events and views, and Mourn¡¯s one could mess with everything. ¡°¡­What if you had just shared this information with the military, we could have done something.¡± The general finally added, looking a bit subdued after Shaun¡¯s outburst, and Shaun sighed, realizing that he was starting to get through to the general. ¡°I highly doubt that, the military is being slow to adopt the idea of going into the Dungeon to become strong, which is understandable but stupid. It would have taken maybe twenty soldiers to kill one of Mourn¡¯s people, and they¡¯d take out those twenty too most likely.¡± Shaun¡¯s words were the unfortunate proof. The abilities of Adventurers outside of the Dungeon were weakened, yes, but a level thirty Adventurer could probably lift a car. Not to mention that Adventurers higher than level one hundred, such as Shaun or Arthur, were even less restricted than they should be. It probably had to do with, as Arthur claimed, the ¡®quality¡¯ of stats increasing with levels. Like how if two Adventurers had the same Strength stat, but different levels, the higher levelled Adventurer would be stronger than the other. Regardless, a normal human couldn¡¯t face an Adventurer, and guns only helped so much when Adventurers were used to dodging arrows from Goblins since Area two. Arrows weren¡¯t nearly as fast as bullets, but you learnt to dodge out of the line of fire early on or die¡­ or get poisoned, either or. ¡°So you just let innocent people die? Who are you to decide what my soldiers can and can¡¯t do?¡± the general asked, Shaun giving the man an ¡®are you serious¡¯ look. ¡°I¡¯m a soldier myself, so I know, I¡¯ve experienced it. And even if I told you all, how was I supposed to know Mourn would do this? I knew he was out there, but I didn¡¯t know what he was going to do.¡± Shaun started, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair¡­ which was getting to be a bit long. He¡¯d need a cut soon. ¡°If I told you without any certainty of his actions, it would be pointless. We¡¯d be scrambling to prepare for something but not even know what we were preparing for.¡± Shaun added with a sigh, Clayton clapping to draw attention from Shaun and the general. ¡°Good analogy there Shaun, general, yes, you are correct that information should have been shared, but as Shaun stated, it was minimalist information and not actionable.¡± Clayton¡¯s words calmed down the left over tension in the room, the two other men sitting down, looking to Clayton for advice. ¡°Instead of pointing fingers and wondering what we could have done, we need to figure out how to move on from here, and work on recovering from this drastic terrorist act.¡± Clayton pointed out, getting nods from the two men. ¡°Wonderland, strange as their name is, is now considered by many to be the most dangerous terrorist group in the world, and they¡¯re public knowledge now¡­ not to mention the video.¡± Shaun pointed out, reminding Clayton and the general that a video was given to news groups around the world, to be played at once all over the world¡­ It was a video from Jack Mourn himself. No matter what the man said now, it would mean next to nothing considering the deaths attributed to his name¡­ Even if Mourn revealed all of Pennhurst¡¯s secrets, no one would trust him, even if Mourn blamed America for everything¡­ Okay, hopefully Mourn didn¡¯t do the last bit, but Mourn¡¯s actions afforded him no goodwill all over the world and very few people to no one at all would like him. ¡°Release a statement immediately. State that Mourn is the result of subversive actions taken within the American Government to undermine the authority of the President.¡± Shaun clenched his fists at that¡­ Clayton truly held no blame for Mourn¡¯s situation, having been unaware of it until they were tipped off by the cardinal Guild Master¡­ But for Clayton to so quickly wash his hands of any involvement, clearly the man was a politician. Not to mention that, by speaking ¡®before¡¯ Mourn, Clayton was attempting to make anything Mourn said be ¡®retaliatory¡¯. ¡°As for infrastructure, channel some funds into the relief measures, set aside a portion for funerals and such, let it be known that we¡¯re looking for donations for such things, I¡¯m sure a few celebrities and other people like them would contribute.¡± Clayton added, and Shaun nodded, knowing he¡¯d be the one sending the information to the vice-president. ¡°Okay, how has Valhalla been?¡± Clayton asked now, and that drew an odd look from Shaun. ¡°Arthur¡­ is alright¡­ people are happy that Arthur fought the leader of the attack and managed to stop it all, yes, but he also revealed that Mourn¡¯s second-in-command is his own elder brother, Eddie Clive. The situation is¡­ complicated, to say the least.¡± Shaun pointed out, the two other men palming their faces. ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that Wonderland¡¯s main target is Arthur Clive, and the second command of that terrorist organization is Arthur¡¯s brother, and that Arthur is likely to want his brother to be¡­ left alive and let free after this?¡± the general asked, getting a shake of the head from Shaun, surprising the president and the general. ¡°Arthur has stated that he wants his brother to be alive after all is said and done, but he also understands that even he doesn¡¯t have enough leeway to keep his brother out of jail.¡± Shaun could see the distaste of the idea on Arthur¡¯s face when this was discussed, but Arthur was adamant. His brother would suffer the consequences of his actions, and Arthur would even be willing to fight his brother, he just didn¡¯t want his brother to die. ¡°He is pragmatic, that¡¯s a respectable trait¡­ that might get Arthur some annoying press coverage though, if that fact was to come out.¡± The general spoke, and Clayton hummed in thought. ¡°Whether it does or not, Arthur won¡¯t lose much of his reputation, he has a good reputation thanks to Arthur¡¯s Tome, and his actions in stopping the events of Christmas.¡± Shaun pointed out, Clayton clapping his hands. ¡°Let¡¯s stop discussing that¡­ Arthur, and by extension, Valhalla, will be fine. Let¡¯s get to work; we have things to do before the video is played.¡± Clayton stood, the two other men in the room standing and following the president out of the room¡­ At Arthur¡¯s house, at the same time as the meeting was happening, Arthur¡¯s parents sat on the couch, looking up as Arthur paced in front of them. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting now for a week, and now I¡¯m expecting an answer.¡± Arthur said, looking at his parents with confusion in his eyes. ¡°What were you arguing about with Eddie, the night that he left? Why does he hate you?¡± Arthur asked, his mother and father looking at each other with sad eyes for a moment. ¡°Arthur, that¡¯s between Eddie and us-¡± Markus spoke, trying to prevent this from happening, only for Julia to place a hand on Markus¡¯ own hands, preventing him from continuing. ¡°Markus¡­ we can¡¯t really keep it a secret¡­ especially not with Mourn out there.¡± Julia pointed out, and Markus leaned back into the cushioning of his couch, a deep, sorrowful sigh escaping the man¡­ He looked like he had aged a decade from before Arthur¡¯s questions to now. ¡°You¡¯re right Julia¡­ I just¡­ I don¡¯t want our mistakes to be pushed in our faces again.¡± Markus said quietly, Arthur looking at his parents, confused, but willing to wait, seeing that they were getting ready to explain things. ¡°¡­Arthur, your problem, R.A.D¡­ you know what is the usual cause of it, right?¡± Julia asked pointedly, Arthur nodding. ¡°Of course, usually it has to do with how a child was raised, being moved around between families a lot, neglectful parenting¡­ but, you didn¡¯t do that¡­ right?¡± Arthur asked with a frown¡­ Julia didn¡¯t answer, instead looking down at her lap, quietly shedding tears as Markus sat up, hugging Julia to his side. ¡°Arthur¡­ we never wanted to. The moment we could, we tried to raise you right, but¡­ but we failed you before.¡± Markus pointed out, Julia looking up to Arthur. ¡°Arthur¡­ we definitely failed you¡­ and Eddie knew.¡± Julia said with pauses as she sobbed¡­ Arthur just looked at his tired father, his crying mother, and felt confused, not knowing why the two were reacting like this¡­ But even if he was trying to ignore it, even Arthur couldn¡¯t do that¡­ he couldn¡¯t ignore that Eddie had left¡­ Eddie left their home because he knew, he knew what Julia and Markus Clive had done to Arthur. ¡°You see¡­ your mother and I, we worked for the government, more specifically the military. We never told you that part, only telling you what we did, that being a psychologist and a physician.¡± Markus gestured to himself and his wife in turn at the mention of their jobs, Arthur nodding with a confused frown on his face. ¡°You¡­ you did mention what you did, but not who you worked for¡­ I just assumed it was a hospital.¡± Arthur¡¯s guess normally wouldn¡¯t be wrong, a medical profession worked in the hospital or in a private practice. Normally, that was the case. ¡°And we didn¡¯t say otherwise.¡± Markus confirmed with a nod, pausing, wondering how to explain this next bit¡­ ¡°The fact is¡­ we were involved with one of those ¡®top secret¡¯ operations you see in the movies these days.¡± Arthur blinked, wanting to laugh it off but¡­ Well, Hell invaded, an army of criminals led by a serial killer attacked many major countries all over the world, and one of Arthur¡¯s friends was bulletproof. And that last bit was the least surprising thing. ¡°It was¡­ well, has Guild Master Fife spoken to you yet about where Jack is from?¡± Arthur ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. ¡°No he hasn¡¯t, even though¡­ wait¡­ I never said Mourn¡¯s first name was Jack.¡± Arthur bluntly stated, looking at his parents with some heavy suspicion¡­ Jack Mourn¡¯s full name was not known publicly. Even the video set to be released in an hour or two was only labelled ¡®from the leader of Wonderland¡¯. What was released was that the man went by the alias ¡®Mourn¡¯ and that was it. So how did his parents know Jack Mourn¡¯s full name? ¡°Oh you didn¡¯t need to¡­ we know Jack very well after all. Including you.¡± Markus said, no longer trying to hide anything, or deliver the blows softly¡­ Clearly, it wasn¡¯t working so well, so Markus just decided to do as most did with Band-Aid¡¯s¡­ and tear it off quickly. ¡°¡­Explain. Clearly.¡± Arthur said in return, staring at his father with what felt like anger¡­ but like Markus, Arthur decided to stop moving around the issue. He usually did such things as a courtesy to others anyway. ¡°Jack Mourn, patient twenty three, was an¡­ asset, to the project we were working on. It was named Project Fool, and it was designed to turn people with an ¡®innate disposition of violence¡¯ into weapons against other countries instead of our own.¡± Markus said, running his hands through his sobbing wife¡¯s hair. Julia was clearly in no condition to be talking about this, so instead Markus took it upon himself¡­Stolen novel; please report. Besides, he thought, it would make it easier for Arthur to hate Markus compared to Julia this way¡­ just this once Markus hoped that Arthur ¡®shot the messenger¡¯ so to speak. Julia already felt like breaking down at the mention of Eddie, she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle being hated by another of her children. ¡°That sounds inhumane.¡± Arthur pointed out with a bland expression, even if he truly was surprised by the revelation, he just wanted to get to the point, to understand why. ¡°Oh it was¡­ training the patients in the use of weapons, how to kill efficiently¡­ and torturing them into compliance if they didn¡¯t do it willingly.¡± Markus admitted, even as Julia went very still in his arms¡­ She hated being reminded of what they were once a part of, even if the two of them were never directly involved in the torture or training, they were part of the staff. ¡°You said Mourn was patient twenty three. So there were twenty two others?¡± Arthur asked, only kept calm by his desire to learn the truth, with a helping of deep breaths. ¡°That¡¯s not exact¡­ for example, Mourn was patient twenty three out of forty two. And Mourn wasn¡¯t the first patient twenty three.¡± Markus added on, sighing before continuing. ¡°Project Fool has actually been in play since the first world war, done in secret from everyone¡­ even the president.¡± Markus frowned at that bit, Arthur narrowing his eyes. ¡°But if it was a section of the government in charge of it, wouldn¡¯t the president be let in on it?¡± That was a valid concern, and Markus nodded in agreement. ¡°The presidents weren¡¯t all in on it, I¡¯m not sure when the presidents stopped being informed of Project Fool, but I¡¯m certain president Andrews wasn¡¯t involved¡­ I believe the head of Project Fool got a bit¡­ greedy, and hoping that the more peaceful presidents wouldn¡¯t suddenly cut the project, they stopped being informed of anything.¡± Arthur wanted to deny it, but realized he couldn¡¯t. Such a project was outlandish enough, but knowing that they tried to subvert the president¡­ well, that wasn¡¯t so farfetched when compared to the rest of the situation¡­ Maybe the president would have noticed money used to fund an unknown project, but if the person in charge bribed the people watching the flow of money, then it¡¯s a possibility. It wasn¡¯t like Clayton was an accountant himself. ¡°Alright, I can believe that. So Mourn was the twenty third patient of the latest iteration¡­ but how am I involved?¡± Arthur had a sneaking suspicion, but he really didn¡¯t want his suspicions to be confirmed. ¡°¡­You see, we worked on the¡­ ¡®batch¡¯ of patients before the last one, so we know how Project Fool transitions from one batch to the next¡­ they send out the patients to countries with possible plans against America¡­ even if there is no concrete evidence, just a suspicion.¡± Markus then sighed, motioning for Julia to sit up. He truly did want to keep his wife from this... but she¡¯d also want to be involved, if only for her own sense of guilt. Even if it was just her being here, it was enough. ¡°Then, after hearing about the results, we change something and gather the next batch, maybe one batch will be only males, the next batch might only be from a certain race, going back a few decades¡­ as for the latest and final batch we worked on before leaving¡­¡± Markus sighed, looking at Arthur¡¯s yellow eyes. He missed his son¡¯s original brown eyes¡­ ¡°The last batch of patients were to be children. Orphans who no one would miss, dropped into the project and raised to be killers.¡± Arthur actually managed to feel disgust at the idea, even someone with an ambiguous sense of morals such as he knew that children were to be protected. Arthur was largely a being of logic, and even logic said that children were to be cared for. ¡°That makes no sense.¡± Arthur said finally after schooling his expression back to neutral from his mixture of surprise and disgust, his father nodding. ¡°That¡¯s what the majority of the staff said, but the director wouldn¡¯t listen, he wanted to use children, and so it would be¡­¡± Markus nudged Julia, the woman drying her tears as best as she could before she looked at her second-eldest child, hardening her gaze. ¡°When we received this order¡­ your father and I refused, threatening the Director with going to the media, the president, anyone that would listen to us.¡± Julia finally said. Arthur blinked slowly, processing the words, and then mentally acknowledged that his parents were a part of bad things, but they seemingly did not agree with what was being done¡­ Seemingly. Before this talk of children being involved, Julia and Markus probably didn¡¯t even care that much. ¡°We felt that, as parents, we couldn¡¯t just watch as children were forced through what adults cried and screamed at¡­¡± Arthur understood the thought, empathy drove the two to act, making the connection with those children and their own, Markus and Julia wouldn¡¯t want their children to go through it, so why should other children go through it? If there was one thing Arthur liked about his parents, it was that they weren¡¯t hypocrites. ¡°But I doubt it worked out that well, considering this story doesn¡¯t end with ¡®and so the Project was stopped¡¯.¡± Arthur pointed out, knowing very well that the Pennhurst situation ended on Red Sky Day from Mourn¡¯s own admission. Arthur could believe that, prisons were hit hard too, and while many criminals were killed during the situation, some probably escaped. ¡°To put it lightly, it didn¡¯t. We got threatened in turn by the Director for our actions, told in no uncertain terms that if we tried to speak out, well¡­ we would have lost everything, including you and Eddie.¡± Markus added, and then Julia frowned. ¡°We were then further threatened¡­ to bring in a child to Project Fool. To bring in either you or Eddie.¡± Arthur sat back in his chair, feeling a pressing feeling on his chest¡­ Well, getting the wind knocked out of you probably felt similar, Arthur noted a bit detachedly even as he repeatedly took a few deep breaths¡­ His mother immediately stood and moved to the kitchen, his father sitting and waiting while Julia went to get a glass of water for Arthur¡­ He looked like he was hyperventilating, maybe even a panic attack, though Arthur would never admit to anything like that, they¡¯d just treat it like one and get him some water, let him breathe. After Julia returned with a glass and a jug of water, filling the glass and letting Arthur down the water with a gulp, Julia sat down, waiting for her son to speak. ¡°¡­I get the idea.¡± Arthur finally said, his breathing slowing slightly as he slumped in the chair. ¡°¡­Eddie¡­ Eddie was old enough to know that what was happening was bad¡­ but you were too young, unable to understand. The choice wasn¡¯t even really a choice, as Eddie wasn¡¯t part of the right age group for the Project.¡± Markus said with a sigh, and Arthur very, very carefully, set his glass down before he threw it at something. Just because he didn¡¯t remember any of this, just because he didn¡¯t know about it before now, did not mean he wouldn¡¯t acknowledge it¡­ he was wronged, and he felt angry about it. ¡°So¡­ I was a part of Project Fool, you called it. Why don¡¯t I remember?¡± Arthur asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice and sadly failing¡­ it was hard to hide it from his parents. ¡°¡­Due to the situation, you were raised within Pennhurst, the facility Project Fool was based out of. You were the first confirmed child involved with Project Fool of the new batch, so you were dubbed ¡®patient zero one¡¯ and the training began.¡± Markus started, and Arthur realized it would be another story to explain everything. Arthur could understand, he quite liked books himself so he knew that background information was needed to make sense of certain things. ¡°Eventually, the children were gathered and brought in one by one, until one day the twenty second child after you was brought in, patient twenty three.¡± Arthur nodded, understanding that to be Jack Mourn. ¡°Now, the training in Pennhurst was relatively simple¡­ train to use weapons, and more importantly, attain the mind-set that others were to be killed.¡± Markus started, and Julia frowned, looking away. ¡°You¡­ took to it well. Where the other children cried or complained you simply did as asked, attacking the training dummies as requested, keeping still when physical check-ups were being done¡­ and then you started taking to it a bit too well¡­ you started to actually enjoy it.¡± Julia added, and Arthur frowned¡­ He knew he didn¡¯t have the most stable morals, and that he was only really a functioning member of society thanks to being taught right and wrong from his parents¡­ But it seemed that Arthur was one of those people. Those people who were a step away from hurting everyone around them, and only kept from doing so by the knowledge that they shouldn¡¯t. People who are one excuse away from violence. Arthur was one of them¡­ not much of a surprise to Arthur, but knowing that he showed such signs even at such a young age bothered him. ¡°Then, a bit after the fortieth patient was brought in, you were all finally allowed to interact with one another¡­ by sparring. You were particularly violent with the other children Arthur¡­ and we couldn¡¯t even tell you otherwise, only able to be with you during check-ups¡­ At some point you stopped referring to us as ¡®mommy¡¯ or ¡®daddy¡¯.¡± Julia added, her eyes watering a bit and Arthur just listened to this¡­ Hearing stories about yourself that you don¡¯t know about was odd, but this was messed up. ¡°At some point, you and patient twenty three were put against one another¡­ and you came out quite victorious, you actually almost, almost killed him, luckily one of the other staff members managed to get him resuscitated after you choked him into unconsciousness.¡± Arthur made a pained expression at the way his father was speaking¡­ Then again, this was the simplest, quickest way to let Arthur know the story. He¡¯d react fully when everything was said and done. ¡°When he woke up, you went up to him and declared him your friend¡­ it was a bit odd, but from what the doctor stated, you said- I killed him but he got up, so he¡¯s my responsibility. You were an odd one even then.¡± Markus said with a dry chuckle, and Arthur couldn¡¯t even muster up the ability to do the same in turn. Arthur now knew well enough that such a child was strange. ¡°Strangely enough, patient twenty three didn¡¯t mind being your friend, and the Director was willing to let the two of you interact in training beyond spars¡­ he started to call you ¡®boss¡¯ after hearing one of the staff referring to the Director as such even.¡± Now that was a scary thought¡­ Mourn had all his people refer to him as ¡®boss¡¯. He was just bringing what he learnt in Pennhurst out with him¡­ even the violence. ¡°And then you got a joint check-up with Julia¡­ and she heard you two referring to each other as ¡®boss¡¯ and ¡®patient twenty three¡¯ and well¡­ Julia got involved.¡± Julia looked away from Arthur¡¯s imploring gaze at Markus¡¯ words, then looking back again. ¡°¡­A name. I told the two of you that names are important, to make one unique. Names can be shared, but a designation was important. It didn¡¯t stick until I mentioned that patient twenty three was not the first one.¡± Julia added, and Markus nodded, looking to Arthur. ¡°Jack. You named him that, with a bit of help from your mother. She thought ¡®Jackie¡¯ was an odd name unless on an Asian man.¡± Julia puffed out her cheeks a bit and Arthur chuckled. His father deserved the punch in the shoulder from Julia after he tattled on her like that. ¡°To be fair, other than him, I mostly hear it on girls. Shortening it to Jack seemed fine.¡± Julia added, and Arthur smiled, realizing that this bit of joviality was enough to get him to relax a bit more. Arthur struggled to understand his own emotions at the best of times, the only ones he identified with any certainty was anger with its various shades from annoyed to murderous, and ironically confusion. ¡°What about the surname, Mourn?¡± Arthur asked, and Julia looked over to him, taking her eyes off of Markus for the moment. ¡°That was a reference to his ¡®death¡¯. When someone dies¡­ you mourn them. He died, and so he was ¡®mourning¡¯ his own death. He came up with that bit.¡± Arthur blinked at the explanation¡­ Clearly, he wasn¡¯t the only odd child in Pennhurst at the time, even if he was the most¡­ eager, for their lessons. ¡°Anyway, after gifting him a name, you two were still pretty close¡­ you even sparred a few more times after that¡­ and you were beginning to change Arthur. You were becoming more like Jack, less willing to hurt others so easily, at least with Jack.¡± Markus added on, a frown coming across his face that had his wife nodding. ¡°On the other hand, Jack was getting a slight bit more violent¡­ not much, but he was improving, even if he disliked going out of his way to fight.¡± Julia added on, remembering that child¡­ Jack Mourn, when he was a child at least, hated to fight unless to defend himself. ¡°Jack was good for you¡­ and then it happened again. You almost killed him, three years into the Project.¡± Arthur frowned¡­ ¡°And this time, you fully understood what that meant¡­ and you shut down¡­ again, he was saved, though this time he needed stitches and to make up for the blood loss¡­¡± Markus said with a frown, and Arthur blinked, wondering... ¡°Then, you tried to kill yourself.¡± Arthur¡¯s eyes widened, with his face paling at that blunt admission¡­ If he saw Dennis trying to kill himself, Angelica¡­ the picture was just wrong, horribly wrong. ¡°You managed to miss your heart, nicking your lung¡­ surgery was performed, your heart restarted with an ECG, and you were saved¡­ but the Director refused to have you as part of Project Fool anymore, saying that we, all of us, were free to leave, so long as we never said anything.¡± Markus said, Julia nodding with watery eyes. ¡°He, he said that a self-destructing weapon was worthless¡­¡± Julia said with clenched fists and a frown on her face, and Arthur couldn¡¯t recall ever seeing his own mother that mad before¡­ Well, this ¡®director¡¯ seemed like someone who needed to be hated¡­ if he wasn¡¯t dead or ¡®vanished¡¯ after Red Sky Day. ¡°When you eventually recovered, and were brought back home¡­ you didn¡¯t remember anything. Eventually we managed to do some research and narrowed it to selective amnesia¡­ anything to do with Pennhurst, Jack, Project Fool, your training, forgotten.¡± Arthur looked incredulous at this, even if he was aware that he didn¡¯t have those memories¡­ That seemed a bit contrived. ¡°I know, we were a bit sceptical as well, amnesia is a real thing but selective amnesia like this was a bit odd so we researched it¡­ Pennhurst as a whole was traumatic, combined with a lack of oxygen to the brain while you were¡­ dying, and then getting shocked with an ECG would induce enough factors to result in a selective amnesia case.¡± Arthur would check that out himself, just to be certain but¡­ ¡°So¡­ Jack Mourn and I¡­ we were friends¡­ and I almost killed him, twice¡­ and now he¡¯s trying to kill me¡­ karma huh?¡± Arthur said self-deprecatingly. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m going to go to my room¡­ I need a while¡­ a long while to deal with this.¡± Arthur said, his parents nodding as he poured himself another glass of water, gulping it down. ¡°¡­We were always going to need to tell him.¡± Markus said to Julia as she sighed tiredly¡­ She was also probably tired from crying¡­ Julia was just a person who cried often, but once she was done, she got to work. ¡°¡­Put on the TV. The video¡¯s coming on.¡± Julia said finally, and Markus just nodded, standing up to go get the remote. The TV was put on, and the channel changed, the announcer on the news station explaining the source of the video¡­ and then it began to play. ¡°Hello world¡­ I. Am... Batman.¡± The figure on the screen said, his voice deep and serious up until the final word, drawing a bout of laughter from the man on the screen as he spun around on a swivel chair. ¡°Oh, I hope I got the whole world with that one¡­ but in all seriousness. Hi. I¡¯m Jack Mourn, and I, am a serial killer.¡± The vicious grin on Jack¡¯s face¡­ Markus and Julia felt sad looking at the boy¡­ remembering a time where that person could smile, and actually mean it. ¡°Boss¡­ things are going to be big after this.¡± Eddie said, looking at Mourn¡¯s back while Mourn was looking at the live reactions to the video playing all over the world right now¡­ In the meeting room for the six members of Wonderland, only Eddie and Mourn sat¡­ ¡°Of course they are. I was willing to keep things quiet, but then Columbia happened¡­¡± Mourn said, standing and stabbing his evolved Anima through the table in anger. ¡°I will never forgive this country. I will never forgive the government, and I will certainly never forgive that bastard Guild Leader¡­ Shaun Fife.¡± Mourn cursed¡­ Eddie saw the good part of this¡­ Arthur wasn¡¯t really hated, even if he was being targeted. It was an odd quirk of happenstance¡­ Eddie did not know of Pennhurst, only that Arthur was hurt because of his parents. Arthur did not know of Pennhurst or Jack Mourn because his amnesia. Jack Mourn did not know the name of his ¡®boss¡¯- Arthur Clive. Through missing information, none of the three knew their connections¡­ In the end, all that Eddie could do was look at the clock, slowly moving forward towards twelve, and the new year¡­ Far away, in London, ignoring the television, was a great man, a warrior of legendary proportions, clad in his cardinal suit, he, was- ¡°Shut up narrative! For I, Hokage George, am here to speak!¡± There was no noise inside the room, Jade having sunk back into her couch in surprise while Felicity just sighed, placing a cup of tea down. ¡°Dear, stop arguing with the narrative and get to the point. Jade, you might want to go into another room, you won¡¯t be able to watch that video in here.¡± Felicity pointed out and Jade just stood, cautiously sliding away from her sister and her¡­ boyfriend. Crazy Seer¡­ ¡°Now that she¡¯s gone¡­ let¡¯s talk a bit more naturally.¡± George said, watching until Jade¡¯s room door closed, George sitting down much more calmly than before, Felicity as well sighing. ¡°It¡¯s annoying having to act and sound insane in front of others.¡± Felicity added, and George nodded, removing a small silver flask before taking a gulp of the alcoholic contents. ¡°You should drink a bit more. Having a mild buzz always lets me get away with it¡­ and if not alcohol, there are alternatives.¡± George pointed out with a look, getting Felicity to roll her eyes, fixing her glasses slightly. ¡°I¡¯m not one for smoking. Besides, aren¡¯t we supposed to do our purpose for this point?¡± Felicity asked with a raised eyebrow, George snapping his fingers and nodding. ¡°Right, yes, that, will do¡­ ahem, attention, all who look into the mystic space bubbles¡­ yes you, you know who I¡¯m talking about!¡± George¡¯s shout echoed into Jade¡¯s room, getting the girl to shake her head exasperatingly as she put on a pair of headphones. ¡°Dear, I think they get it.¡± Felicity said, calming down the Cardinal Guild Master. ¡°Just making sure. Ahem, this has been the second instalment from the frustratingly fast fluttering flying fish, and due to the odd nature of the following instalment, it¡¯s apparently necessary to let you all know some things.¡± George said, still speaking to the air. ¡°The third instalment is a ¡®recap¡¯ of events, it¡¯s important and unavoidable, so unfortunately you¡¯ll have to deal with it.¡± Felicity added onto George¡¯s incomprehensible statements. ¡°That being said, this is George and Felicity, letting all of you know that this is the end of the second instalment, we hope you return for more¡­ and if you don¡¯t¡­ are you not entertained!?¡± George screamed to the sky with his hands clenched into fists. ¡°Dear, stop the references for a moment and just say the lines.¡± Felicity brought George back into ¡®normality¡¯ for a moment, getting a nod from the frequent fourth wall breaker. ¡°Alright. With nineteen chapters, plus a prologue, this book is complete, this book is lacking in a deleted scenes chapter, but let¡¯s hope it gets worked on at a later date. And with that bit of information¡­¡± George held out a hand to Felicity, the red-head standing easily, keeping their hands together as they reached out to something only they understood. ¡°We say good bye, and we hope to see you again in book four! In three¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the right book number by the way.¡± ¡°Two.¡± ¡°From our perspective at least.¡± ¡°One!¡±
Arthur Clive
Level: 116 (B-Rank)
Class: Melding Sorcerer- Grants one stat point to Strength and two stat points to Wisdom per level Gives Soul Melding Skill
Anima
Starving Cutlass Coat of Recovery
Anima Skills
No Change
Primary Element: Lightning Other Element(s): Darkness, Mind
Personal Skills
Tactician VI (21/300) - increases Wisdom by 35% (total 150%) Sword Sage III (264/500)- Any bladed weapon deals 40% extra damage Soul Sight III (259/500) - Allows insight beyond mortality Dual Wielding VI (4/300) - Greater use of two weapons Lightning Elemental IV (251/400) - Use supplementary lightning spells Quick Reflexes V (224/250)- Increases Dexterity by 30% Hunter III (73/300) - Increases damage against previously killed enemies. Regenerator III (6/150)- increases Vitality by 20% Soul Melding (4%)- Approach Unity
Stats
Strength: 158 Dexterity: 169 (219)
Intelligence: 78 Wisdom: 210 (315)
Endurance: 78 Vitality: 158 (189)
Author Note So I just got informed that the first part of Einherjar (book 1) was pirated onto Amazon... Which is admittedly a bit flattering, this was good enough to be stolen? On the other hand, it''s free to read here, I don''t think I''m done editing and formatting it yet even, and when I did make it for sale, I was planning on having book one be free to read at least (though download costs are another thing) I''ve been working on this story and its setting, it''s characters since I was in the ninth grade, and I''m in my fourth year out of school, having all that time and effort stolen? I''m quite angry. That being said, I''ve at least finished putting book 2 up for people who actually just read and enjoy it. Book 3? That''s probably only going to be released after I''ve gotten book 1 and 2 to sell properly, thanks to whoever that person was. So for all the readers who actually enjoy this story I''ve had in my head for so long, sorry, but it''s probably going to be a while until this book is updated after today.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. That isn''t to say I will stop working on it, but until I''m certain my already finished works are protected, I''m not going to be giving more of my work to parasites who steal the work of others. For the record the copied form is on Amazon as ''End of Days''. I''ve already sent an E-Mail to Amazon about it, but I''m... financially unable to be online as often as I would like, so it could be a while before I can even reply/receive anything. Until next time, and may it be soon -10-Bit.
Hi, final edit to this Author Note: End of Days has finally been removed from Amazon (insert your choice of fanfare here) This also means that I can finally upload Einherjar onto Amazon as my own personal work, and continue to upload it on here starting from book 3 when I next start. I''ll be completely honest and say that I havenothing for book 3, I was busy with a different book 3 (Tartarus) and what with Einherjar being stolen, I didn''t really want to continue working on it until I was certain that everything was alright for me. When I start uploading book 3 this Author Note chapter will be taken down and replaced with the prologue of Book 3. *in other news for anyone that cares, I''m going to be putting Tartarus book 1 and 2 up here to read for free within the next month, so if anyone is interested in reading them, that''s just a notice ahead of time...