Despite the pain surrounding Noah, he grabbed hold of Krall, and [Charged]. They summoned strength from god knows where as they bolted for the shimmering blue shield of the hub. Noah looked to the side, but couldn’t see the rogue.
Noah didn’t bother taking in the glimmering sight of the hub, instead, he rammed right through it with an agonising breath.
It was hard, and smooth. It felt just like polished glass under his touch, and even though his body was dirtied with wet soil, and blood, there wasn’t a single mark placed onto the barrier.
Then finally, the System notifications he had been waiting for entered his mind as he collapsed onto the floor. Before he read them, he glanced at where he saw the person who dared to try and steal his reward–only to break out into laughter.
It was a damned leaf moving behind a shadow. Underneath it, was a beast laying in wait for any intruders to its area.
Noah shook his head at his paranoid mind, then delved into his System.
The hub area has been reached.
| You are the first person to reach the hub and will be awarded a World First Title.
| Time left remaining in mission: 30:21:08s
| Calculating mission completion rate…
| Mission completion rate: B-
| Granting additional rewards.
| World's First Title - Solo Spearhead: You are the leader of the Otherworlders, and you are doing it alone. Your effort at the great risk of your life has not gone unnoticed. Claim a spot in the Hub as your own, oh great Spearhead. +10 to all Stats, +5% to a Stat of your choice.
Wow. Noah couldn’t help but gaze at the new title in wonder. Plus ten to all Stats was great, but it was the percentage increase that made his lips twitch.
Out of all the title rewards, percentage increases were the most coveted as they often were either the most obscure, or the most difficult to obtain.
Having the choice, adding it to Willpower was the most logical choice thanks to [Monstrous Allegiance]. Not only would it strengthen Krall from the Will Stat, Noah himself would be able to share in the physical Stats. With that in mind, he chose to add it to Will.
Willpower has increased by 5%.
Just as Noah was getting over the excitement of his new Title, the wall of the hub area suddenly gave way. Noah felt his entire body stumble forward, it happened too fast for him to catch his fall as he slammed into the plush grass.
He seethed in pain from the impact against his ribs, then simply lay there, not out of comfort, although it was pretty damn comfortable–but it was from exhaustion.
Tirelessly fighting and worrying about betrayal, along with the wounds he had suffered from the fights before. His right arm lay limp, still out of its socket. Blood trickled from the re-opened wound on his back, and don’t even get him started on the insufferable internal pain.
Krall took out a health potion from his body and was about to place it to his lips but stopped.
A warm feeling took hold of Noah’s body and a pale blue light that almost looked like wind swirled around him. In a matter of seconds, all the wounds on his body were restored.
Jumping to his feet, Noah swung his arms around in exaggerated arcs. There was no pain. Nor the incessant clicking from the dislocated shoulder. He wondered why, but he didn’t have to wait long for the rest of the System notifications to come through.
You have made it to the Hub for the first time. All wounds will be restored. Note: Limbs will not be returned.
| The barrier will only remain for the first week, after that the hub will be susceptible to monster attacks.
Good to know, nothing is safe forever huh? Noah fell back onto the soft grass as the hub barrier instantly restored itself.
Additional rewards: Extra experience, Grace coins, Uncommon Arm Guards, Rare Helmet, Epic Housing Ticket.
The extra rewards caused his eyes to sparkle as they fell to the ground. The Uncommon Arm Guards looked exactly as he had imagined spartan armour to look like–same with the helmet. It was slender and it dipped down to protect the neck. There was also a black plume attached to the back of the bronze helmet.
Awesome. Noah loved spartan movies, so being made to look like one was an added bonus.
You have gained an Uncommon piece of armour - Level 15 - Arm Guards: System granted Arm Guards.
| +5 Constitution, +4 Str
You have gained a Rare piece of armour - Level 20 - Helmet: System granted Helmet.
| +10 Constitution, +5 Strength
Well it was rather boring, but that’s what System created equipment was often like. It was why Sponsored equipment wasn’t worth more than its Otherworld counterparts.
Next up was the Epic Housing Ticket.
You have gained an Epic Housing Land Ticket: The purple ticket allows the user to secure a large piece of land within the Hub. Note: This is only for the plot of land, the user will have to create their own housing through the crafting menu, and gain any relevant resources.
A house? Why the hell would I need a house? Noah thought. It would be good for shelter, he supposed. But he recalled the previous words when he had just reached Level ten. Houses had a trophy collecting room, although he guessed it would just be vanity, but what if the houses had some special features?
He would have to investigate further. Noah just hoped the process to create it wasn’t so steep. The best way was to check.
Noah thought of the crafting menu and instantly a new screen popped open within his vision.
Houses of different tiers and levels showed themselves to him, but his eyes popped at the insane costs they had. A Rare house cost fifty-thousand Grace Coins, but that wasn’t all. It also had material costs like certain types of wood and metal. There was even a fame requirement from sponsors.
He vehemently refused to even take a glimpse of a Legendary rated house.
Taking a look at a more moderate house; an Uncommon one, the cost wasn’t… too bad. five-thousand Grace Coins, twenty-five units of Bridgewood–whatever that was–and fifty Common house nails.
Noah glanced through the Grace Shop, but there was no wood or Common house nails. So we need to trade for them? It seemed to be the case. That meant he had to wait until the others had settled within the hub and began Levelling up their professions for extra Stats.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Thankfully Woodcutting and Smithing were two of the more common Professions people tended to take.
There were also rooms that one could construct as extra add-ons. Such as rooms for training both physical, and magical, Professions, extra storage, and even teleporters. Although those were exorbitantly priced.
Of course there was also a room for tamers, and the description instantly made owning a house worth it for him.
Room of Beginner Tamers: A room where one can house their tamed monster. No one wants beasts tearing up the furniture, or drinking from your toilet. Provides a 5% damage boost to tamed monsters.
He attempted to look at the upgraded rooms, but they were all blanked out. Taking a well educated guess, he would most likely need to first obtain the house, and buy the extra room. However, despite the meagre damage boos it granted, he was excited. If that was just the first room, then he could only imagine what the upgraded rooms would be like. Maybe it would even grant him an extra taming slot?
Noah thought about the extra rooms further and found a freezer room. It would be perfect for storing rare fish. Noah added it to the list of rooms he wound need to build, but first he needed a house.
Next up was the notification about his battle with the femora.
You defeated a - Level 29 Femora.
| Extra experience is rewarded for fighting an enemy above your level!
| Bonus Experience rewarded from being the first to reach the Hub!
You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 21 -> Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 23
Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 21 -> Krall level 23
Two off from reaching the next Class evolution. I wonder what mission I will have to go through to obtain it? Noah remembered when they had scoured through the previous broadcasts. Once one reached the theoretical milestone of twenty-five, they had often gone on a tough mission at the risk of their lives.
Some were easier, others were brutal.
Peter believed he would have a difficult task ahead of him at Level twenty-five, and he wasn’t wrong yet, so Noah believed him. Once was a chance, twice was coincidence, three times and more is a pattern.
Despite the thought of having a difficult trial ahead of him, his blood boiled. It was hard to keep his feet still as the sole of his foot practically itched at the progression he was making. With the Levels, came the Skill upgrades he had received from fighting the high Level Femora.
Shrouded Presence Levelled up, granting the shadow he could exude to increase in size by a small amount. Then there was also Strengthened Body that increased his durability, Shield Proficiency that reduced the impact he received against physical attacks, Thrust increased damage, and Spear Proficiency granted the same. Although the amounts it increased it by was minimal, it was still an increase.
You are being watched
| Akrum, the Mounted Terror has sponsored you.
| Grace Coins added.
| Lenid, the Monster Hunter has sponsored you.
| Grace Coins added.
| Srussea Corp. has sponsored you.
| Grace Coins added.
| Ekralo, the Beast Tamer has sponsored you.
| Grace Coins added.
| Nathan Kayne, the Master Fisher has sponsored you.
| Grace Coins added.
| Uncommon bait x10 added.
| Kromlin, the Eldritch Being has sponsored you.
| Grace Coins added.
| Alissa, the Blood Witch has sponsored you.
| Grace Coins added.
…
Noah almost shit himself at the number of sponsors assaulted him all at once from the System notifications. They just kept going. He reached fifteen before he just stopped counting. The vast majority of them granted him Grace Coins, and only Nathan Kayne had given him some items which were gladly welcome.
With all the Stat gains from the new Title and Stats, Noah was excited to see the progress he had made–and the Grace Coins that awaited him.
Krall - level 23
Name: Noah - level 23
Race: [F] Human
Titles: Volunteer, Kobold Hunter, Trailblazing Tamer, Path of Greatness, Level 10 Vanguard, Lone Completionist, Fishing Enthusiast, Giant Slayer, Solo Spearhead
1st Pathstone: [ Dexterity ]
Skill: Mounted Combat - Level 2
Skill: False Step - Level 2
Skill: Shrouded Presence - Level 2
Skill: Power Shot - Level 1
Skill:
2nd Pathstone: [ Might ]
Skill: Thrust - Level 3
Skill: Strengthened Body - Level 3
Skill: Overpower - Level 1
Skill: Charge - Level 2
Skill:
3rd Pathstone: [ Attacking Tamer ]
Skill: Monstrous Allegiance - Level 1
Skill: Tamer’s Bond - Level 2
Skill: Kill Command - Level 2
Skill: Unbreakable Reins - Level 2
Skill:
Path: [ Mounted Tamer ]
Bloodline: [ Locked ]
Profession: [ Colossal Fishing, Level 8 ]
Skill: Powered Reel - Level 1
Skill: Fish Eyes - Level 1
Skill: Monster’s Delight - Level 1
Skill:
Skill:
Basic Skills:
Weapon specialist - level 4
Boxing - level 2
Identify - level 2
Pickpocketing - level 2
Intimidation - level 2
Sneaking - level 4
Animal Taming - level 4
Shield Proficiency - Level 2
Spear Proficiency - Level
Strength: 74
Dexterity: 45
Constitution: 63
Willpower: 69
Magic: 15
Mana: 14
Perception: 19
Grace Coins: 12482
The amount of Grace Coins almost floored him, well it would have if he wasn’t already laying on the floor. It was an absurd amount, but he was glad for it.
This was just the beginning and he needed all the supplies he could scrounge up.
Although Noah was safe now, it wasn’t the time to relax. He had to keep forging ahead. His start wasn’t the best considering the Pathstones he had obtained, and he was certain others had far better than him–so he was forced to keep going ahead. Relentlessly.
Taking a breath to gather himself, he bought an upgraded backpack that was more durable, and had more storage than the last. It also had a quiver that dropped down to attack to his waist for rapid access. Other than that, he bought a handful of Uncommon bandages, potions, and healing paste. They were for different occasions, and he would use the others depending on the wound he received.
Noah also bought some more arrows to replenish his stock, he only had one arrow left. So it came at a good time.
There was no need for food or the like as he could just hunt/fish his own supply, but he did buy more sunblock, and other basic survival supplies.
That left him with around eight-thousand Grace Coins. He could have saved the rest for a ten-thousand house, but it was a waste. He had to wait for others to catch up to gather the resources needed to build it.
Now that he was ready to leave, he just had to check one more thing–the Challenge Log. The System had mentioned it would give him a mission to hunt a monster, the more powerful it was, based on the challenge rating, he would get an equivalent reward. It was perfect for him.
Just as he was about to open it up with a command, the barrier to the hub shimmered.
Someone was entering.