MISS; MISS; -7,488; MISS; -7,488; MISS; MISS; MISS!
Adrenaline was pumping through his body, causing his perception of everything to slow down. It felt like his entire body had become a live wire. Energy flowed through him as he attacked the [knight golem] over and over again.
-7,488 ; -7,488; -7,488; MISS; 7,488; MISS; MISS; -7,488; -7,488; MISS; MISS; MISS; -7,489; -7,488; -7,488!
Even with all of the attacks he launched, he only did about -60,000 points worth of damage, which was nowhere near enough to beat the [knight golem]. He did not give up, however, and continued to attack.
-7,488; MISS; MISS; MISS; -7,488; MISS; MISS; MISS!
[Blood Sacrifice] soon ended. Adam spun to the left as a spear slammed into the ground. The attack had enough force that he pitched forward, but he shoulder rolled across the ground, came back up, and downed a [low-grade health potion] as he ran away from the [knight golem].
While waiting for the cooldown time on [Blood Sacrifice] to end, Adam kept on eye on Kureha, who was waiting in the rear to be of some use. Titania was next to her, but he wasn’t worried about her since she could fly. He continued to move across the chamber, until his skill’s cooldown time ended and the [knight golem] was standing in front of a column, and then called out to his fox yokai companion.
“Hit it with magic, Kureha!”
Kureha once more unleashed two attacks. [Thunder Bolt] and [Fireball] slammed into the [knight golem] in quick succession, knocking off just short of -10,000 points of damage. More importantly, the [knight golem] fell into the column, which cracked apart underneath the incredible force and sent the giant creature sprawling onto the stone floor
Adam once more ran up and activated [Blood Sacrifice] and [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms] to attack. Just like last time, he attacked the core.
-14,967; -44,928; -134,784; MISS!
“Haaah… haaaaaah… haah…”
Adam stepped back as the crystal cracked and the eyes of his enemy went dim. The two massive hands slackened and the spears rolled onto the ground with the dull sound of stone grinding against stone. His shoulders heaved as he stared warily at this monster as though expecting it to return from the dead, even though its health had reached zero.
Ding!
[You have defeated two [knight golems]! Items dropped: x2 [Golem’s Sacred Stone], x2 [Golem Spear], [Golem Gauntlets], and 30,400 gold coins. +200,000 experience points! +20,000 ability points! +10,000 Reputation!]
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have leveled up! You are now at level 12! +300 HP! +10 MP! +5 SP!]
Ding!
[Congratulations! Titania has leveled up! She is now at level 14! +200 HP! +2,400 MP! +10 SP!]
Ding!
[Congratulations! Kureha has leveled up! She is now at level 11! +60 HP! +440 MP! +10 SP!]
Several screens flashed across the air, making several announcements about how he, Titania, and Kureha had leveled up. While Titania was used to this, Kureha was not and stared at the screens with curiosity.
Once he was sure the announcements were finished, Adam accessed both his and Kureha’s status screens. He added his status points to his Strength, then added Kureha’s status points to her Constitution. He wanted to shore up her defense and give her more health in case they ran into an enemy that could get past him and attack her.
Adam also decided to upgrade all of her current skills to level 5. This was the max level these skills could have. Even after maxing out each skill, Kureha still had plenty of AP leftover.
Not only was he able to upgrade all of Kureha’s attacks, but Adam was also able to upgrade [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms]. Once Adam was done allocating status points and ability points, he took a look at his and Kureha’s stats.
It looked like their stats were growing a bit more, but it was still far from what Adam wanted. He could probably one-shot any enemy with health below +12,000 now, but he wanted to have even greater strength. At the same time, he wanted Kureha to be so powerful that her A.O.E. skills could one-shot multiple enemies with health at least around +10,000. Right now, the best she could do was -1,700 damage when [Song of Vigor] wasn’t activated. That wasn’t enough to fight mobs, though he believed there wasn’t a player alive that could withstand her magic at present.
Out of curiosity, Adam also decided to look at Titania’s stats since he couldn’t control those.
Name: Titania
Class: Guardian of the Spear
Lvl: 14
SP: 0
AP: 28,620
Experience: 39,650/409,600
Strength: +10
Constitution: +100
Dexterity: +10
Intelligence: +230
Speed: +50
Physical Attack: +10
Health: 800/800
Hit-rate: 20%
MP: 15,400/15,400
Movement: +250
Comprehension: +10
Physical Defense: +200
Magical Defense: +300
Dodge-Rate: 20%
Magic Attack: +380
Luck: +1
Skills:
Skill Name: Song of Refreshing Rain
Description: A song that Titania can sing. When sung, this song will constantly replenish +10 HP of all party members for as long as it is being sung.
Current lvl: 5 MAXED
Ability: Indefinitely heals +30 HP every one second for as long as Titania is singing.
MP Cost: 50 MP per second
Cooldown time: 0 seconds
Skill Name: Song of Vigor
Description: A song that Titania sings to increase the strength of her companions. When sung, this song will increase the Physical Attack and Magic Attack of every companion.
Current lvl: 5 MAXED
Ability: Raise the Strength of all allies 300%.
MP Cost: 50 per second
Cooldown Time: 0 seconds
Skill Name: Song of Valor
Description: A song that Titania sings to increase the defensive abilities of allies. Defense and Magical Defense doubles for as long as this song is being sung.
Current lvl: 5 MAXED
Ability: Doubles Defense and Magical Defense stat of all Titania’s party members by 300%
MP Cost: 50 per second
Cooldown Time: 0 seconds
Skill Name: Scan
Description: Titania can scan any enemy regardless of level and send that information to all members of her party.
Current lvl: MAXED
Ability: Reveals an enemy’s stats. Can only be used on one enemy at a time.
MP Cost: 100
Cooldown Time: 0 seconds
“You maxed out all your songs,” Adam said.
“Of course,” Titania muttered as she fluttered her wings and landed on his shoulder. “I maxed out [Song of Vigor] first since that is the skill you prefer I use. It’s also one of the biggest reasons you’ve been able to defeat opponents you have no right beating.” She eyed him like he was some kind of monster. “Of course, that ridiculous ability to dodge enemies and your broken skills are two more reasons.”
Adam shrugged and decided not to let himself be bothered by her accusing tone or gaze. Instead, he looked at the new items he had acquired. There were three of them.
Item Pouch:
Item Name: Golem Gauntlets
Item Type: Armor
Grade: 2-star
Use requirements: Can be equipped by any combat class level 20 and above.
Description: These gauntlets are made from the remains of a knight golem. They have been imbued with incredible magic powers that raise defense, constitution, resistance to physical damage, and the elements.
Abilities: Defense+200; Constitution+250; -10 speed; 20% resistance to slashing damage; 30% resistance to fire, earth, wind, and darkness damage.
Item Name: Golem’s Sacred Stone
Item Type: Enhancement
Grade: 2-star
Use requirements: Must have magic staff with cryst
al slots.
Description: This is the magic stone used to power the knight golem. It can be added to staffs for the Priest and Mage classes to increase Intelligence, MP, and Magic Attack Power.
Abilities: Intelligence+150; MP+500; Magic Attack Power+250; -10 Speed
Item Name: Golem Spear
Item Type: Spear
Grade: 2-star
Use requirements: Can be equipped by any spear-wielding combat classes above level 20.
Description: This golem spear was born from the dying magic of the knight golem. It has incredibly destructive powers, but it is also very heavy.
trength+200; Physical Attack+500; Piercing Damage+10; Speed-10
Adam sighed when he saw that none of the new items he received were what he would have called useful. The two items he would be interested in equipping required a level of at least 20. He was currently at level 12, meaning they weren’t useful to him now. What’s more, both of them decreased his Speed by -10. Even if he could equip them, doing so would put his Speed at -14. He didn’t know what that would do. Was it even possible to have a negative stat?
Since all of the equipment he got was useless, Adam turned toward the large double doors and walked over to it. As if the doors could sense his arrival, or perhaps sense the defeat of the two [knight golems], they opened with a dull creak all on its own.
Legendary Hidden Class!
“Giant moving statues, doors that open on their own, evil spider women… whoever made this game really went all out,” Adam said as he walked past the door.
Kureha yipped at him like she didn’t understand and Titania tossed him one of those looks, the kind that said she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure it was worth the effort, from where she sat on his shoulder.
Adam ignored their looks and observed his new surroundings.
On the other side of the door was not a corridor but a large room. Adam looked at the columns that were set up in a circle around a small garden. This garden featured a lot of grass that possessed an odd glow, like it contained magical power or was perhaps bioluminiscent, and was releasing softly glowing motes of light that danced through the air. A variety of colorful flowers also swayed like they had a life of their own. There were pink ones, blue ones, yellow and orange ones. It was no surprise to Adam that he did not recognize any of them.
He wasn’t well-versed in plant biology.
Knowing what kind of flowers existed and their meanings wouldn’t help him kill people, after all.
And even if it did, he wasn’t sure any of these flowers existed in real life.
“Look, Adam! That’s the [Panacea Flower]!” Titania pointed at the largest flower sitting in the very center of the garden.
It was bigger than all the others. It looked like an inverted bell. The bulb of the flower was about the size of his head, making it easily one of the biggest he’d ever seen. Only a few plants located deep within tropical rain forests like the ones found in Africa and South America ever became this large.
As he walked up to it, a gentle fragrance drifted into his nose, making him take a deep breath, causing his shoulders to unconsciously relax. It was like the scent of the flower had a calming effect on his mind. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time.
Adam walked up to the flower, careful not to ruin the other flowers, and stopped. He furrowed his brow and looked at Titania.
“Sooo, how do we remove this? Is it safe to just pluck it by the stem?”
Titania crossed her arms and likewise furrowed her brow. She slowly nodded after another moment.
“I believe it is safe to just pluck it. That storage pouch of yours should be capable of keeping it frozen in time.”
Adam sighed in relief and reached out to pluck the [Panacea Flower], but just before he could touch it, a soft and withered voice, like the rustling bark of an ancient tree, came from behind him.
“Young wielder of the Spear, I have been waiting for your arrival.”
Blood boiling, adrenaline pumping, Adam spun around and adopted a combat stance, dominant foot forward, spear pointed at a forty-five degree angle toward the ground. He narrowed his eyes and readied himself for combat, but he paused upon seeing who… or maybe the better word would be “what”… was standing behind him.
“What the… heck?”
Adam couldn’t decide if the figure behind him was a person or an apparition. They were decked in full plate mail, a vile obsidian color with gleaming runes painted a startling crimson. The runes pulsed like veins being pumped full of ichor. They felt evil. A repulsive energy emitted from the chest plate, gauntlets, and greaves adorning this figure’s body. The vicious helmet covering the person’s head similarly held repulsive runes glowing the color of blood. Sickly yellow eyes flashed within the slitted black visor.
What really got Adam was not the person, however, but the fact that they were floating about a foot off the ground.
“What exactly are you? A ghost?” asked Adam.
“That is not a ghost,” Titania corrected. “He’s a soul remnant.”
Adam made a face. “There’s a difference?”
“Of course there is!”
A raspy chuckle like the soft growling of a rabid dog emitted from beneath the helmet. Perhaps it was because of the helmet, but this man’s laugh had a metallic quality.
“The young fairy is correct,” he said, then went on to explain himself. “Ghosts and apparitions are the souls of those who have departed their fleshly coil, but they cannot die because of their unfinished business. This undying regret keeps them alive and eventually turns them into foul creatures that attack the living.”
“And that is different from you?” asked Adam. “Are you not here because you have lingering regrets?”
The dark knight shook his head. “I do not have any lingering regrets, but I do have a duty that I must fulfill. Also, I am not the soul of someone who died with lingering attachments to this world. I am merely a fragment of the original soul. I split this fragment of myself off before dying in the hopes that it would eventually meet the next wielder of the Spear. Ten thousand years have passed, several wielders have come and gone, and now I have finally met you.”
“Ten thousand years…” Titania muttered as her eyes suddenly widened. “You are the original wielder of this spear! You’re the one who split the continent into five!”
“Ah. So there are still some who remember my deeds,” the knight said, though it didn’t sound like he cared one way or the other.
“Hardly,” Titania snorted. “I only know because I became the Guardian of the Spear. I doubt there are many who remember you. Even my Fairy Clan has long forgotten who you are. We only know of the vile man who challenged the goddesses and split the world.”
“Challenged the goddesses?” The dark knight tilted his helmeted head. It was a curious gesture, like something an innocent boy would do when he was confused, but it looked… wrong coming from a man decked in repugnent black armor. “Is that what people believe happened? I see the people of this world truly have forgotten about what happened ten thousand years ago.”
“And what happened ten thousand years ago?” asked Adam.
He glanced at Kureha by his side, but the little fox yokai didn’t seem bothered by this man’s presence. She was just looking at him curiously, like he was an oddity but not dangerous. Since animals often had a stronger danger sense than humans, he was inclined to believe this knight was not dangerous, despite his unsightly appearance.
“That is part of the reason I have remained here for so long,” the knight said. “It is to explain the circumstances that gave rise to my birth, or rather, to explain the birth of that weapon you now clasp firmly in your hand.”
As the knight paused, Titania crossed her arms and glared at the man like he was the most suspicious person she’d ever met. Well, Adam couldn’t necessarily blame her. He did look awfully suspicious.
“I was born to a simple family,” the knight began. “We lived on the
outskirts of a small village. We were poor but happy. I had a wife and a child, and we worked on a small wine vineyard that had been in my family for many generations. One day… all that changed.”
“Let me guess…” Adam crossed his own arms. “War came to your village?”
“Yes.” The knight chuckled mirthlessly. “I am not surprised you understand where this is going. I smelled the blood on you the moment you entered through that door. You are correct. War came to my village, but it wasn’t just my village. The entire world had become embroiled in war as conflicts happened all across the continent.” He paused again and changed subjects. “Tell me, do you know how this world and its many races were created?”
Adam was startled by the sudden change, but Titania snorted and answered the man. “The world was created by the four goddesses. Gaia, Goddess of Earth, created the world. Aqua, Goddess of Water, created life. Stella, Goddess of the Sun, created the sun and light under which all life lives. She created justice and law. And finally, Luna, the Goddess of the Moon, created the night so the people of this world knew of rest and would learn to appreciate the light. She was also responsible for the leveling system that governs our world.”
The knight nodded. “That is indeed what the people of this world are taught these days… but what if I told you everything you just said is a lie, a complete and utter fabrication? And what if I said holding that spear in your hands has made you the number one enemy of the goddesses?”
“I would say you have lost your hold on sanity,” Titania said with scorn, her nose wrinkling as she turned to Adam. “The goddesses would never harm the wielder of the spear. This is their weapon!”
“Ha!” The man barked with laughter. “Their weapon? No, dear fairy. This spear was never theirs. The four goddesses were unable to destroy this weapon after I died, and because it was so powerful, they decided to use it for their own purposes. They would seal the weapon away until there was a need for it, and then they would have some unwitting buffoon come along, become its wielder, and send them off on an impossible quest. They might use this spear and its wielders, but it is not theirs and it never has been.”
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