The Gate led Isaac in the middle of a clearing, with a tree line circling the area.
Looking down, Isaac nodded his head, "I really thought I'd be naked. Does this mean I can bring anything here? How about bringing something out?"
He had plenty of questions, but Isaac knew no one would be able to answer them, so he just let it go. Looking around, he saw no one, and with a shrug of his shoulders, he brought out an iron sword from his Armory and placed it on the ground upright.
The sword obviously fell its pommel pointing west.
Isaac picked up the sword and head west.
He was not in a hurry. He already made the blunder of going headfirst on unknown dungeons and areas in his younger years. The ending was, of course, him almost dying.
Walking for about an hour and a half, Isaac already saw a lot of new objects.
'What's this plant? Silver Dragon Grass? What's that fruit? Gale Severing Fruit?’ There were a lot of things to be discovered. As a Scholar was naturally curious about many things.
He wanted to have a taste, but he didn't dare put one in his mouth, 'They might be poisonous.'
While Isaac was busily waking through this Forest filled with wonder, his senses alerted him of the danger lurking nearby.
A dangerous presence was eyeing him. He wished to prepare himself, but without any warning, like an arrow leaving the bow, three [Giant Rats] pounced at him with lightning speed.
With a body half a meter big, these kitchen nightmares were known to be mobs found in the sewers and occasionally on Forests like this.
Isaac can strike them all down without a problem.
He was just about to summon an ordinary sword when he noticed something amiss.
These beasts were not the same as he had encountered before.
With their fangs showing, their desire was clear, tear Isaac to bloody pieces. If it was any typical day, Isaac would have swatted these bastards away like flies, but instead of keeping his arrogance, he became apprehensive.
[SKILL] Great Armory — SUMMON WEAPON — [Wings of the Thunder Bird]
His metallic wings surfaced, and with lightning coursing through his body Isaac moved behind one of the Giant Rats and delivered a swift chop to the neck!
BOOM!
The Giant Rat he attacked was sent crashing into a tree. He was about to focus on the other two but what was supposed to be a dead rodent stood up with an even nastier glare.
A broken smile surface on Isaac's face, and as he finally decided to observe their levels, his face became twisted, "What the?"
[Giant Rat of Vadol Forest Lv. 98 – (Normal)]
'It's even stronger than the Vagabond of Occalipse Kingdom?'
Swoosh!
Sharp wind passed him by, and blood dripped from the newly formed cut on his face.
Swoosh!
And another appeared on his left torso.
'Tch, I don't know any active healing skills.'
[PASSIVE] High-Regeneration (Active): a massive increase in regeneration capability.
'I'm going to drag this wounded body to battle now.'
[SKILL] Great Armory — SUMMON WEAPON — [Tundra Gauntlet]
"I can't hold myself back with these guys." Others would laugh at you if you waste energy on mobs like Giant Rats, but seeing the situation, Isaac deemed it necessary for him to fight with all that he had.
[Elemental Lv. 17] (Exclusive Class)
SKILLS:
* Conqueror of Frost Lv. 8(Exclusive Transcendence Skill): become the embodiment of Frost (consumes a lot of stamina).
Isaac channeled his power and then changed his form, "Come at me."
GRRRRRRRAAAAA! The Giant Rats darted forth like arrows aiming for Isaac's head.
Ice Wall x3!
Three walls of ice appeared in front of him to protect himself from these Giant Rats.
The first was torn down like paper; the second ended with the same fate; the third was about to be destroyed like the rest when Isaac manipulated its form and turned its surface to spikes!
SPLAT!
One of them was caught in the trap; the other two maneuvered their bodies mid-movement and jumped to the side.
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Their fangs became golden, they lunged forward, and Isaac dodged!
BOOM!
The ground was sunk; the power it showed was devastating. The Giant Rats moved again, this time faster than before. They managed to bite a chunk of Isaac's flesh.
The Giant Rats used the nearby trees as platforms and bounce back and forth, their speed increasing by the second.
Grabbing the wound on his torso, the pain was almost unbearable.
It was as though he was once again young, fighting against his first monster.
His heart beating wildly and his body getting hotter at the challenge against the beings he once called useless mobs!
Isaac trembled, "Good! GOOD! Try and kill me!" his excitement skyrocketed.
BOOM!
With enthusiasm filing his expression, Isaac went to face his enemies using not only brute strength but with tactics. He scoured his mind searching for ways to kill them; finally, after a long time of slumber, his Primary Class got to show its usefulness.
[World Scholar Lv. 97] (Exclusive Class)
SKILLS:
* Battle Minded (Exclusive Passive Skill): You have become focused on combat.
* Hunter's Instinctual Knowledge (Passive Skill): Your decision-making is now being affected by your Instinctual Knowledge by several folds.
* Supreme Combat Tactician (Passive Skill): assisting in the Scholar making Tactics
Isaac, the strongest man from Arcadia, is known to be a Great Adventurer, the greatest even.
He had saved many and killed just as much.
His exploits have been told to millions, but he was known most for his desire for combat. Like a Berserker who wants nothing more than to experience pain and deliver pain, Isaac was a Savage.
But he was not just some simple berserker; no, Isaac was also a Scholar who had delved into several fields of study. At first, Isaac only read books to seek ways to make his young and fragile body stronger, but soon after becoming strong enough to train in martial arts, Isaac studied tactics, strategies, history, records of Raids, and so much more.
This led to him growing to become an intellectual fighter, thus granting him the moniker of Savage Scholar.
With his fist hardened by the Gauntlets of Tundra, when he clashed with the Giant Rats, an explosion occurred. The ice encased one, but it just broke free the next second.
However, Isaac noticed something changed.
'It slowed down.' The ice affected the rats, and knowing this, Isaac deactivated the Conqueror of Frost.
"Conqueror of Lightning and Thunder!" his skin was back to normal, but his hair and overall aura became as sharp as lightning.
ZOOM!
He moved quickly, the ground lacerated, and then he reappeared near the still fast Giant Rat. With his Tundra Gauntlets, Isaac smiled, "ICE CAGE!"
The same thing happened, the cage was weaker than before, and the Giant Rat escaped just as he had thought.
But that didn't matter. The frost had already affected its movements.
'Damn, I wish I have control over the Wind Element right about now. I haven't mastered so even if I use it, it will only turn into a problem. I better make do.'
Isaac's thoughts emerged. He stopped his movement for a moment and made himself look vulnerable. The Giant Rats rushed him.
GRIAAAAAAAAA!
He deactivated the Conqueror of Thunder and Lightning.
Despite the rodents being only a few meters away, Isaac's smile never went away.
"Icicle Hell!"
He pounded the ground with all that he had!
Dozens of icicles sprouted from the ground; the Giant Rats all moved to the side and dodged them. They could normally have avoided them all, but the two were skewered to death because of being slowed down.
Blood splashed on Isaac's face.
'Haa… haaa... that was fun…' he laughingly thought to himself, "Though I wish it was longer. I didn't get the chance to use my other weapons. I've only been using these two for a long time; the other three would get jealous. I wish there were more enemies."
Rustling entered his ears, it was not the wind, but someone or something was nearby. This made Isaac excited and apprehensive at the same time.
He unknowingly got ready to fight; he was prepared to slay the first one to appear, "There you… are, haha… crap, this is bad."
A stiff laugh came from Isaac. Around him were about three dozen Giant Rats, attracted by the blood and commotion.
Without a lick of shame, he turned tail and ran away. His prayer was answered, but this was too much.
The number of Giant Rats numbered at over a dozen. Isaac didn't even check. He was too busy running away to care.
"Conqueror of Thunder and Lightning!"
Lightning lacerated the grasses!
He flew up, but the Giant Rats got to him, they latched on his leg and then body! His body that was not used to aerial combat fumbled. His body moved to the side, and then, he fell.
'There's too many of them!'
Keeping the wings away, the only thing he had left was his legs. Every step that he took shook the air. The loud roar of thunder echoed as though a storm was coming to destroy the World.
Moving his eyes around, Isaac knew he needed to get away from these trees. This is the territory of the Giant Rats. They have the advantage here; the trees were their platforms, the bushes, and leaves their hiding place.
Isaac was nothing more than a sitting duck to them.
Isaac kept running, and running, and running until he stopped.
"Huh?"
He didn't give up on life. It was just that the Giant Rats stopped coming after it.
"How curious."
Turning around, he saw the Giant Rats not crossing a certain line, as if there was a wall between him and them. Isaac approached them closer.
Inches away from him was the tide of Giant Rats that made him bleed.
'What the hell?'
The Giant Rats couldn't pass an invisible wall.
He didn't know what the hell was happening, but if he's safe here.
'The Giant Rats can't cross this place... Does this place have something special with it? Well, I'm safe here.'
Then that's all that matters. Isaac turned his back on them and wandered about. He wanted to find somewhere to tend to his wounds.
Isaac walked and walked until he stumbled upon the center of another clearing where someone looked at him with curious eyes.
"Hey there, you a new guy too? Or are you returning from your World?"
Isaac was left speechless. In the middle of the clearing, he found a person.
Isaac was taken aback, but after a few moments, he just responded, "…um, hello there? Yes, I am new here."
It was a man around the same age as he. It was a big person who was built like a rock. His skin was darkish brown and his sclera black, while his pupils were possessed the magnificent color of Crimson.
This man had been observing him since his arrival. Since Isaac stumbled upon this haven.
"A Newbie, huh, so you're like me, though I've been here for a month. But that's still new, right? Where you from? Oh, where are my manners? My name is Kartari Zelor, but my friends call me Tari, you can call me that. I'm from the World of Dratius. It's a nice place. Oh yeah, I'm a Greater Archdemon, by the way. How about you?"
"I see, thank you for that information — I'm Isaac, a human from Arcadia… um, you okay?" Isaac asked the friendly Tari.
Surprised, Tari looked at himself and just laughed, "Oh, I'm fine. Don't mind it." He said despite being tied upside down to a pole… under the sun... naked.
"Also, am I fine? That question should actually be asked to you; after all, you look like a mess, brother."
Isaac looked down and found his body riddled with injuries. Blood flowing out of his wounds, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." The shock of seeing someone as odd as Tari made him forget about his injuries for a moment.
And now that he remembers them, Isaac fell, on the ground — dying.
Tari looked at him and, seeing the pool of blood, "He'll be fine." He said with a smile.