Everyone capable enough to fight joined the battle after they witnessed how tenacious Xavier was. They watched him kill tens of Kobolds from a safe distance until Pauline and Linsey noticed that Xavier was injured and needed their help.
Pauline charged out of the hideout and smashed a few Kobolds without paying attention to her safety. She felt miserable for joining the fight too late and hesitating to immediately jump into the battle with Xavier. Xavier didn’t have to charge at the Kobolds and risk his life. He didn’t owe Pauline and the other survivors anything.
However, instead of folding his arms and staying behind as a casual bystander, Xavier dashed toward the Kobolds with no hesitation. It was stupid to face so many Kobolds alone, but it was also a sign of bravery to help needy people. He was willing to risk his life to protect the survivors in the hideout.
Fireballs whizzed past Xavier’s head as he got up. Linsey tended to his wounds and stepped aside as he sprang into action. Simultaneously, a young man emerged from the shadows beside a War Kobold. A dark blade emerged from the darkness and cut through the War Kobold’s neck, killing it instantaneously.
The young man disappeared in the shadows and reappeared several meters to the right. He killed another Kobold before vanishing into the shadows once again.
Haste has been cast upon you. Your Agility increases by 20% for the next 300 seconds.
Brute Strength has been cast upon you. Your Strength increases by 25% for the next 250 seconds.
Second Acceleration has been cast upon you. Your Agility increases by 30% for the next 180 seconds.
I can work with that.
A corner of Xavier’s lips tucked upward. He was exhausted but returned to the battlefield nonetheless. His battle was not yet over.
Xavier kicked the ground with great force and propelled his body toward a group of War Kobolds. He activated various Cards simultaneously and brandished the Onyx Blade.
It was time to reap more Soul Essences and Card Shards.
**
After the others joined the battle, Xavier's pressure decreased drastically. He had a much easier time dealing with the War Kobolds and other Kobolds. Many Card Holders sustained injuries, but nobody died. Linsey continued to mend the wounds of the severely injured, even if that left her exhausted.
Xavier observed the battlefield with Judgement, but there were no more danger hues. He relaxed visibly and only now checked the notifications he’d received during the battle.
[Proficiency of Spell Mastery reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Minor Physical Resistance reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Breathe reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Breathe reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Lesser Danger Sense reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Shadow Blade reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Energy Blade reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Thunder Step reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Stun reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Stun reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Elemental Aegis reached 100%. Level Up!]
Fighting masses of powerful monsters is genuinely beneficial. No wonder Leyla and the others have grown so fast while I didn’t improve much.
It didn’t make much sense to Xavier before, but he finally understood why Leyla and his parents had been urging him to advance to Stage-1. Fighting powerful monsters who’d evolved twice or thrice made it much easier to harvest Soul Essences, Card Shards, and Card Levels.
Since he advanced to Stage-1, most of his Cards leveled up much faster than before. He didn’t struggle much against most monsters that would have killed him a few days ago, yet his Card level increased just as fast against the same enemies.
His Cards’ level was not the only thing that improved. The Foundation Orb improved even faster now that he fought like there was no tomorrow.
Foundation Orb
[Star of Vitality – Novice 79/100]
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[Star of Strength–Novice 50/100]
[Star of Agility – Novice 99/100]
[Star of Dexterity – Novice 54/100]
[Star of Perception – Novice 30/100]
[Star of Energy – Novice 99/100]
[Star of Wisdom– Novice 60/100] – [+5] [+2%]
Xavier felt much stronger, but seeing the improvements in his Foundation Orb was more impactful. His Foundation Stars improved significantly after stagnating for so long. It was pleasant to see that two Foundation Stars were also about to reach the Basic Rank. Xavier would upgrade them as soon as he returned to Haven. He eagerly awaited the bursts of power from upgrading his Foundation Stars to the next rank.
But he had something else to take care of first.
Xavier turned to Pauline and the other survivors. Some of them were busy looting the Kobolds’ weapons and armor, whereas others talked to each other in a whisper.
The fight had ended, and thankfully, they had no casualties. Xavier wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand and bent down to clean his blades with the clothes of the now-dead Kobold Shaman. He tried his best to ignore the whispering, but his hearing sense could easily pick up the conversation.
He only acted so as not to pay attention, but the words reached his ears. Now that he had proved his point, they were all in a dilemma of what to do about his offer. He caught Pauline glancing at him while cleaning his weapons, but she quickly looked away.
Her expressions were not that hard to read either. She was the group leader and was slightly worried about their exposure. Xavier knew the strengths and weaknesses of their small survivor group. Their hideout was also exposed to a stranger, so they do not have many options if Xavier tries to backstab them. He could understand them to a certain extent.
But he did not want to intervene in their discussions. He had said and done enough. Now, the decision was in their hands.
Thus, Xavier continued cleaning his weapons and sat on the ground, leaning on a small rock jutting out of the ground to rest. Mentally, he started a countdown. If the group did not decide in ten minutes, he would just leave.
His gaze scanned through the group, trying to see if there were more familiar faces. Logwood was a neighboring town, so he was sure he would come across more people he knew. It had just been too dark and crowded in the cave.
But now, as everybody ventured outside the hideout and began grabbing weapons and whatever they could lay their hands on, he noticed a few more familiar faces. The Card holder who had been jumping through shadows was definitely a boy from school though he could not recall his name.
Xavier’s mental countdown was ticking as Pauline and the others were huddled together and trying to come to a decision. It would be risky to travel with the entire group at once since they had some sick and injured people.
After some back-and-forth, Pauline and others agreed to travel to Alsburg and take a look at the settlement. They trusted Xavier a bit since he nearly died multiple times to help and protect them. The trust was hard-earned, and he knew that his mother would freak out upon seeing him covered in cuts and bruises again, but it was worth it, in Xavier's opinion.
Pauline turned around, cleared her throat, and approached him.
“Thank you for helping us. We are truly grateful. And about your earlier offer…” She paused to scratch her temple and wondered how to frame her sentence.
“...I and four others would come with you to look at Haven.”
Xavier got up from the ground and dusted his hands, “Let’s go.”
She blinked. She had not expected him to jump up and be ready to travel, but she nodded and looked back at Linsey reassuringly.
“We will be back soon.”
Staying true to her word, Pauline and her small group returned from Haven to the cave in four hours. Xavier guided them through a relatively secure patch that ran through the open grounds they had emptied off monsters a while ago.
Pauline and the others were quite pleased and relieved to visit Haven, and their words of comfort and hope were enough for the rest of the survivors to want to shift to Haven, too.
Xavier was back the next day, along with his father and a few others, who would divide the large group into small groups of ten and safely take them back to Haven.
They came up with two routes to Haven: a shorter but risky one that would be used to transport the sick and injured with strong Card Holders and fighters, and a longer one to carry their belongings.
It took them two to three days before everybody was safely transported to Haven. Despite their preparations, they did run into a few monsters, but those were killed before they could cause the travelers any harm.
Silvia and her mother welcomed the survivors openly, ensuring they settled in quickly. All in all, Xavier was pleased with the success of his mission. They had more combatants now, and he had also managed to save more people from dying a horrifying death.
After several days, Xavier finally found some time for himself. But he didn’t have enough time to upgrade his Foundation Stars. Instead, he was thrown into a few fierce battles, which increased the Soul Essences that had accumulated in his Card Deck.
Unique Class Deck
Tamer’s Desire
Stage-1 Card Holder
Connected Cards: 27
Total Card Slots: 35
General Cards 25
Class Cards 10
Innate Ability: Soul World
Stored Soul Essences: 67
He returned to his room half-excited and half-somber. It would have been great if Glut had been by his side. However, it was not like the Ember Sparrow was slacking off or that he was far away. Glut was evolving in his Soul World, and it was impossible to be any closer.
I really can’t live without Glut anymore. Is that because of my Class, or is it impossible for me to be alone anymore? Maybe I’m going crazy.
Xavier chuckled lightly. He removed his clothes and spread a blanket across his bed before sitting cross-legged on his bed. Upgrading his Foundation Stars’ rank was as far from a clean task as possible.
But that was fine. Xavier was pretty good at handling dirt.
“Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Agility!” He willed the system.
Integrate 1 Soul Essence into the Star of Agility
99/100 → 100/100
[Requirements to upgrade the Star of Agility have been met. Please seek a safe place before the upgrade will commence.]
[Star of Agility [Novice] has advanced to the [Basic] rank. Congratulations.]
The instant the messages popped up before Xavier, he was assaulted by insufferable pain.