"The ancient Hero of Light, Alton, primarily resided in Elenora." Lumi began explaining. "Not Elenora, as in this town. But rather, this giant ecosystem."
It was a foreign naming system that those from Earth weren't used to. The vast majority of places in Masteria had the same name for both the area and the most important city within.
So Elenora referred to both the town they were in and the surrounding miles and miles of magic forest.
Lumi gestured upwards. "Way up deep in the forest there is a hidden magic formation concealing his old home. And within that home is one of his personal laboratories."
"We shall depart now." Merath stated. "Tell me where, lead the way and I shall take us there."
Lumi nodded. He understood well that there was no need for anything like walking. Not with Merath around.
I've been going about this wrong.
A sudden thought came to Lumi.
I prepared well for Masteria. I made detailed plans and guides for myself. I mapped out which players to contact, and even proactively talked with some. I helped Gabriel start training, and even got used to dodging again.
Yet if it wasn't for Lena, I would have gone to get the class myself, without using the information to my advantage. I have the information on important events. I don't necessarily have to say them all at once, looking like an insane person.
When it comes to smaller things, I can make others act on my behalf. This connection I am forming with Merath is the most impactful thing I've done this life.
Then when I'm trustworthy, I can give out information that otherwise nobody would believe me with.
Thank Lena for having me come with her.
"To begin with," Lumi stated, "I remember that it is within an area overrun with Darkuna. This would be following the main hunting path north upwards of Elenora, past the Slimes, Dornas, and taking a path west past the entrance to Teth, further north upwards into the natural stopping point before the peak of the forest."
"You even know about Teth." Merath noted. "Interesting." He lightly raised his staff, and in a flash, they found themselves far away in the exact area Lumi had specified.
Lumi gazed around. The first thing he saw apart from the terrain were Darkuna.
They tend to range between Levels 25 to 30. I could farm these guys to level 30 later, depending on how things go.
Darkuna were strange creatures. To begin with, their skin was thick, pitch black, and bumpy. They were shaped like a tuba, one laying on its back. At the end where a tuba would expand outwards such that sound comes out was a massive eyeball. Coming out from the four corners were four limbs it used to move around. Each one was shaped like a hand, so each could be crawling around with four hands.
"Disgusting Creatures." Merath stated plainly, raising his staff. A bright ball of light formed, which began to float upwards until it was overhead. Suddenly, countless beams shot out, each one tracking its own Darkuna. They immediately stopped moving, dead, the only outward injury being a clean line through the head.
"Gather." Merath continued, raising his hand. Each Darkuna instantly had their parts harvested, then teleported somewhere. Afterwards, he glanced over at Lumi expectantly.
Okay nevermind, I guess I won't end up farming here. Or maybe I still will. Monsters will reappear in this area soon enough, the Dark One will make sure of that.
"Great Merath, it's somewhere around here." Lumi replied. "For the exact location, I have to look around."
Merath simply nodded.
Lumi stepped forward, his eyes scanning the expansive lands of the forest.
They sat on an expansive, thick floor of logs, planks, shrubbery, and many other unnamable plants. Enormous thick trees served as the foundation, whose trunks began thousands of feet below them and extended upwards for many hundreds more.
Lumi took a moment to familiarize himself with the landscape. It had been years since he's been here, and it wasn't a place he had burned into his memory. He had remembered the verbal description of the location, but not the visual exact.
To him, it looked like any other place in Elenora right now.
He stared upwards into the spiraling bridges which led further up. He activated Nimble Feet and began running upwards on the path.
"Not here… not here…" Every turn of the bridge, he'd gaze outwards off the bridge. He faintly remembered that the entrance was at the same elevation as one of the turns on the bridge, right next to it. The entrance was shaped like an arch made of vines.
"Maybe he-" His idle talk was interrupted as a strong sense of danger overtook him. He immediately leapt to the side just a millisecond in time as a Darkuna had lunged out of the vegetation straight towards his throat.
Lumi quickly took a glance at the enemy level.
[Darkuna - Level 28]
He instantly did what any sane man would do.
"Merath!"
"MERATH HELP!"
The Darkuna eyed him for a moment, startled by the yells. After short consideration, it grinned maliciously. It began to raise its front right claw.
Lumi immediately leapt to the right.
Having already prepared an attack, the Darkuna shuffled awkwardly as it considered lunging, realized it can't claw in that direction anymore, then had to put it down and lift its left claw instead…
Lumi lunged his body to the left instantly.
The singular eye on the Darkuna opened wide. Even the monster's mouth opened in shock.
Darkuna: Why is my prey dodging before I do anything???
Lumi had locked onto the one fatal weakness of a Darkuna's bodily structure. Unlike a human, its shoulder joints didn't possess a ball and socket joint. It was entirely incapable of clawing outwards to its side, only clawing inwards.
"Merath! I'm being attacked! Help!" Lumi yelled out one more time, to no avail. He grit his teeth.
I must be being tested.
With that he went silent and gripped his sword, staring the Darkuna down.
The monster didn't quite have the mental capacity to understand why, but it felt humiliated! Its feeble prey had stalled it long enough. "WROAAAARRR!" It charged forward, its gaping mouth wide open to take a chunk out of its prey.
As soon as it did so, Lumi jumped upwards, causing the Darkuna to maliciously grin. Its prey had fallen for its trap!
It leapt up with its hindlegs, ready to take a devastating bite out of its prey, only to suddenly feel a sharp sting hit its eye as Lumi stabbed in, using it as leverage to shove himself out of the attack, leaving the sword there and causing the Darkuna's attack to entirely miss.
"RARAA!" The beast roared in agony as blood shot out of its eye.
Lumi landed back on the ground, his eyes never leaving the Darkuna for a moment. Even having used the enemy's strength and momentum against it, he would have dealt minimal damage if he had hit elsewhere.
He merely had his initial five points in strength after all.
Every Darkuna was fiercely protective of its singular weak point. Without outsmarting one, it was not so easy to attack, even if you had the appropriate power expected to fight one.
"ROAR!!! WOAGAHHHH!!" The Darkuna flailed around, moving its claw up to get the intrusion out of its eye!
Slice~
In its panicked attempts, it only managed to drive the sword further in, twirling it around and turning its own giant eye into mush.
It must have hit something vital, because soon after…
[EXP +44]
The reward was not at all comparable to the risk. It was a pitfall many players would fall into, attempting to hunt greater and greater beasts, only to realize much later that there isn't a special reward for beating enemies with a significantly higher level than you.
Lumi shifted his gaze behind him, though he saw nobody, and spoke. "How was that, Merath?"
Merath's form appeared before his gaze, and he spoke with light mirth. "Oh my, you seem to have encountered a rogue Darkuna I missed. My apologies."
Lumi knew he had no need to excessively fawn or carefully choose his words. He only had to avoid the one thing Merath hated. His time being wasted. So he replied simple and to the point, "A magician of your caliber, it would be an insult for me to believe you didn't hear me."
Merath lightly smiled. "Perhaps you should have used the communicator."
"Hah!" The joke made Lumi give a genuine chuckle, then he waved it off, "You are much more approachable than what people think. Regardless, did you get what you wanted?"
"Yes." Merath replied, his expression turning serious once more. "Watching that fight gave me the information I was hoping for."
He then turned to the side, gesturing off the bridge and into the untamed wild. "As for the home of the Hero of Light, Alton, I found it. His skill and power is evident just by the seal alone. It evaded my sight until I was this close to it."
"You can sense it?" Though it was a question, Lumi had half-expected it. "I admit, I hadn't remembered the location exactly. This saves us the time."
"Indeed." Merath replied, and took his first steps forward. "Let us go in, then."