As Ryan slowly rose to his feet, countless notifications started ringing near his ears.
[Quest Completed - Kill two Abyssal Apes
+4 Strength]
[You have gained 8 points in subsequent battles. Would the King like to update his stats?]
Despite the mental fatigue, he mumbled a yes, and the AI manifested a screen. This time, however, another report was appended to it.
[Since you have killed an Abyssal Creature, each of your stats gets a +1 increase and you gain 2 extra points.]
Reading the first part brought joy to his face. Slowly, he collapsed to the floor, overwhelmed with relief.
[Stats Info
Strength - 18
Agility - 15
Speed - 15
Luck - 15
Charisma - 15
Mana - 8/55
Points - 10]
"Maybe the luck isn't so bad," He muttered, attracting the attention of both Pierre and Ian. The two were quickly perplexed at seeing their King talk to himself.
"Did the flames take too much of his sanity?" Ian questioned in a low voice.
"I think we were both watching him." Pierre whispered back, "Besides, the toll must have taken out of him; let him rest."
Ian shrugged, then he strolled towards the now collapsed beast and examined it.
Having had a change of heart, Ryan allocated five points to mana, three to his luck, and two to both speed and charisma.
The next part of the tab showed.
[New Spell
One Blast - Allows you to concentrate 80% of your mana into a single attack and land very devastating blows on opponents.
Cost - 80% of Mana (Can probably only be used once during a battle)
New Skills
Luck Changer - Use a little bit of your luck to switch a situation to your favour.
Cost - 5 Luck
Cooldown - 30 minutes
Swirling Spin - Allows its user to spin while in mid-air.
Costs - 3 Agility
Cooldown - 10 Seconds]
He was a little impressed with the new arrangement, and while reading through the texts, he held the urge to laugh at the First spell.
If he concentrated on an opponent and was unlucky enough to see the opponent elude that attack…might as well consider himself cooked in that scenario.
So he left it as it was and moved to the Skills section. Reading the description behind the luck changer was like a tiny ray of sunshine on a long, rainy day, but after reading its details, he frowned at the Skill called 'Swirling Spin'.
He hardly recalled swirling and spinning during the battle; affording to be dizzy would have been worth it.
Regardless of how lamentable it was, he ended up choosing both skills to add to his arsenal and skipped the spell.
With recent observations, he realized that he'd gained two of each stat every hour, along with three mana points. Using eighty percent of that would cost him around two or more days to fully regain it.
Almost two days ago, he was almost assassinated, and now, two days later, he walked into an exceedingly strange creature because he wanted to gain more experience in fighting for himself.
At least the rewards were worth it… he hoped.
After pulling out from the pool of vexed thoughts, something clicked in his head, and he glanced at his wrist.
The mark had vanished.
He scanned the nearby bushes and, after a long time, concluded there was no one around.
'Seems I'll have to discuss with Esteria on whoever that priestess was.'
He stood up, feeling invigorated as he strode towards the other two when he spotted a faint glowing object swirling around the grass.
Curious, he turned, taking notice of its full form. A shadowy, black orb whirled above the surface.
Ian and Pierre were still glued to observing the grotesque, torn form of the Spider Monkey, so he took the chance to inspect the item.
[Item Info
Name - Rare Shadow Ape Essence Orb
Element - Nature
Description - Formerly a green, lush, vibrant orb, now corrupted by the power of the Shadow Lord.]
'Will I be possessed or something?'
[A chance exists if the King chooses to absorb.]
Deciding to put the questions aside, Ryan cautiously picked up the item and willed it to disappear. For now, the current priorities were to get out of this wretched place, gather the soldiers, and return to Red Heart City.
Inside the thick forest, two soldiers hung tight around their brotherly arms, their faces oozing with sweat, their eyes quivering at the sight of a blood-soaked soldier with eyes wide open in utter disbelief.
Behind the body, and lurking around the trees, an Abyssal Ape stared at them with its haunting gaze. Their hearts raced as it scattered the soil with its legs and pounced towards them.
A menacing-looking jaw opened as it neared them with its spear that dripped with blood.
Suddenly, Pierre appeared in front, raising his sword to cast an attack.
Yellow light glowed from behind. In a matter of seconds, a sharp, pointed yellow spike pierced into the creature's chest, killing it instantly.
"You almost bested me. Phew," Ian said as he dramatically swept non-existent sweat from his face.
Pierre handed him a glare before facing the trembling duo with an outstretched hand. The soldiers stared at him and, upon seeing the calmness in his eyes, their tense nerves subsided.
"W-who are you, Sir?" One of them questioned as he grabbed his hand.
Pierre pondered it a little before giving a response, "Nameless."
A loud chortle burst from the sides. Pierre rolled his eyes at a laughing Ian before looking back at the two, "We'll guide you back to the rest."
"T-thank you, Sir," One solider replied as he frighteningly reached for Pierre's arm.
Unfortunately, that single act had earned the King's guard a jealous partner.
"I'm the one who saved you, why are you thanking him?!" Ian grumbled, "And Nameless? sounds befittingly silly. Fire Fighter seems to be a better name."
Pierre scowled at the Chanter's comment, "What gain do you get from this habit of yours?"
The latter shrugged at his question, taking huge steps as he retreated back into the darkness.
~~~
While sitting atop the plain, Ryan was patiently awaiting the crack of dawn when the System suddenly gave him a notification.
[Rictor has sworn allegiance to you. Loyalty increased by 3]
[Pierre's loyalty increased by 5]
The news made his eyes shrink back with surprise. He didn't remember doing anything specific to earn Rictor's loyalty, so why?
Moving on, he did feel that Pierre's loyalty made sense, but was promptly reminded of the notification he had received when fighting monkey crab.
[Pierre's advancement is incomplete.]
What did they mean by incomplete? Was there a technique or something?
He decided that he couldn't answer the question. He moved on to the next pending matter.
Reports had flooded in that there were 3 Rare Beasts, but the one he and Pierre fought happened to be stronger because of the dark arts.
Bertha, the infantry commander, had beaten the less dangerous one.
Hearing the reports filled his mind with questions. Why was that Spider Monkey in particular the one wielding some shadow lord's powers?
In fact, who was this shadow lord? Why was he not included in the book?
In the end, his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden weeping from the corner.
A female soldier had fallen beside a pile of bodies, tears streaming from her cheeks as she grasped the cold, silent hands of one among the dead.
There were many who had come to the area; a few were already beginning to tear up, while others were busy helping the injured to cover their wounds.
The sound of slow, thumping hooves sounded across the plain, causing the King to turn his neck to spot a group of cavalry soldiers.
As they drew closer, he noticed the clear shell of what they were before they departed. Many of their horses had become muddled with blood. Some of the riders even bore deep wounds with scars.
Injured soldiers were placed at the very top of their steeds' backs, led by other riders who carried on dreaded, weary looks.
Aria's steed led the front, carrying the Captain with her white flowing cape. A part of its material was already charred, torn, and bloodied.
"Sire," The Captain greeted with blood smeared over her face, yet he could still sense a strange radiance on her despite being upon a tired and battered horse.
He mentally attributed it to a Lancer feature before throwing out a question, "Did the Kobolds do this much damage to your unit?"
"Two of them were exceptionally dangerous, one happened to have quite the experties in manipulating fire. The other was a rare with the power to command its beasts using its roar."
Ryan's brows furrowed at that statement. Not only did his side face powerful enemies, but with Aria's case, it seems some other divisions might have done the same.
Thorns Forest was no joke at all.
While being deeply engrossed in his thoughts, Aria focused her eyes on the group of soldiers behind him.
Sensing the gloomy atmosphere, she let out a weary sigh. Even with the proud look she kept, the sadness in her eyes was crystal clear.
Such was the state of war. Except now it seems the monsters have enhanced their difficulty.
She raised her head, spotting the columns of dust rising from a distance.
The rest of the expediting army was coming; it was now time to return.