“Hnng…” Arthur grumbled as he slowly opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing a little but he didn’t feel any sort of pain other than that. Even his body didn’t feel sluggish or slow as he expected it to be.
“What the hell happened?” Slowly standing up, Arthur rubbed his eyes as he looked around him. “… I’m back in the forest.” He muttered.
He curiously looked around him only to realize something. Right next to him, a massive stone structure stood menacingly above everything else. His eyes slowly widened as he immediately recognized the pillar.
“… The Lesser Pillar?” He muttered, a little shocked. Then, his eyes quickly moved toward the corner where he noticed many notifications he hadn’t checked yet. Opening them quickly, the very first thing he saw made him realize what happened.
[You have died.]
[You have lost 1% of your experience points.]
[You have lost your 2 items: Ethereal Black Breastplate, and Blood Hero’s Ring.]
“…” Arthur stood there completely silent for a moment. His expression was blank and his eyes were a little wide. Then, he slowly moved his hand up to his hair. “I died, huh?” He asked himself as if he didn’t believe it.
It took him several seconds before sighed. “Oh well, I guess that was to be expected. Coming out of that battle alive was damn near impossible. In the end, we both killed each other, didn’t we?” Scoffing inwardly, Arthur looked up at the pillar again. “The good thing is, it seems this pillar is far more than just a map. It seems to be a spawn point whenever someone dies. At least… I wasn’t sent back to the village.”
Although Arthur was displeased with this death, he still didn’t feel too bad about it. After all, he had killed a monster that was a dozen levels or more stronger than him. It was an amazing achievement that he had never done before.
‘Well, without their help, I would’ve never had a chance.’ At that moment, Arthur’s expression darkened.
“I’m at least one day far away from them on horse’s back. Even more, now that I don’t have my horse. Tsk, this is bad.”
This wasn’t only a massive loss of time for him, it was also a massive loss of time for the others. That is of course, if they waited for him.
“Like hell, they would. They had already done what they wanted to do. The most optimal thing to do is to just leave. They don’t even know that I’m considerably closer than expected. Oh man…” Rubbing his temple, Arthur sat down. “What should I do now? I mean… There are really two options here. I can either go back to the village and find another group to travel with, or I can continue on my own.”
Both options made Arthur frown. The first one was obviously not good because it wasted his time and could also potentially make him miss his appointment with Nina and Miro. It will also hinder his progress in the game.
On the other hand, the second option was also bad because not only was it very risky and dangerous to travel this forest alone, but he also had no idea what lies beyond it or if he could even face such danger alone.
It was a difficult choice. But, surprisingly, it didn’t take Arthur long to decide what to do.
“I should just continue. I cannot waste more time. If I’m destined to move alone, so be it.” He clicked his tongue and stood up again. He knew that he could very much regret this choice very soon, but he didn’t want to just leave it up to assumptions whether he could make it or not.
But, before he could do any of that, he opened his notifications again to check what he gained from killing Lykean. “This better be worth it, ga-”
Before he could even finish the sentence, Arthur’s face froze completely.
[Ding!]
[You have defeated Lykean, The Child Of The Azure Flame.]
[You have gained +700% experience points.]
[You have gained +10 strength, +10 agility, +10 Mind, +10 Presence, +10 Health, +10 Stamina.]
[You have leveled up 7 times.]
[You have gained +14 Extra Points.]
[You have acquired a new ability: Frost Flame.]
“Holy!!” The boy blurted out. “Seven levels?! And +10 in all my stats?! This is ridiculous!”
The cheer and excitement he felt at that moment was huge. Not only because this was by far the biggest evolution he had gone through, but also because it instantly pushed him leagues above in terms of power.
“… No wonder I’m not feeling sluggish now. I’m charged with power! Hahaha! I feel invincible!” Flexing his arms, Arthur grinned. “Maybe, I can pull this off.”
Feeling over the moon at that moment, his low morale suddenly skyrocketed again. Things were fine after all, and there was no need to be terrified of what could happen.
“What is this new ability I got though? Frost Flame?”
[Frost Flame (Level 1): A weaker form of Azure Flame. Inflicts frost on target depending on their resistance. Requires mana to activate.]
“Oh, a weaker version of that blue flame? Interesting. That sounds very useful.” Arthur rubbed his chin as he read the description. “I can definitely make use of this in many situations.”
Arthur was already aware of how much status effects like poison, frost, and several others can affect a battle. Frost for example can slow down the enemy and also make them open for more damage and attacks.
Having such a flame to use could be extremely powerful depending on the situation.
“Ok, this was definitely worth the death. Screw the armor, I have gained a lot of good stuff.”
Although the armor was very useful, Arthur knew he could get way better items when he reached the capital. He only had to bear with it for a while.
After that, Arthur finally put that away and opened the map. “So I can definitely get back on the road and move on the same path. Perhaps if I hurry, I might reach them quickly. But, I shouldn’t really bet on that too much. They must’ve already started moving.”
With that, Arthur finally moved out of the forest back to the road.
“Let’s see what +10 in stamina and agility does.” Stretching his arms and legs, he took a stance before dashing forward at full speed. “Woah!!”
Almost instantly, he was taken aback by the sudden burst of speed he gained at that moment. It was so quick that he almost stumbled and fell on his face. But, he quickly regained his balance.
‘I’m moving way faster than I expected, hahaha!’ Smiling as he left the wind smack his face, Arthur dashed through the path almost as fast as a car. The scenery around him shifted so quickly. Each step he took crossed several meters with ease.
As he ran, Arthur’s expression slowly returned back to normal. For some reason, as the excitement waned down with every passing minute, he started feeling a small bitter feeling in his heart.
He couldn’t describe what that feeling was exactly, but it certainly was there. One thought came to his mind.
‘I would’ve wanted to continue traveling with them, man. That was… a lot of fun.’ He mused.
He couldn’t lie and deny that traveling with Isla and her friends had been such a blast so far. They had only been together for a few days and yet he had a lot of fun during them. Getting to know them and having those light conversations while fighting back-to-back made him experience something completely new.
‘I wonder what it is…’
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
