Noah sat within his house as the kids were huddled up together on the floor. They were fast asleep. Showing a slight smile, Noah could only imagine what they had gone through, and now they had found a safe place–they were out for the count.
He felt a bit bad since he didn’t have any furniture, but it was a pointless expenditure. At least for now, anyway. However, his mind had already shifted gears. There was so much to prepare, and gaining knowledge was the most important right now.
Finalising his purchase, Noah grabbed the System Manual in mid air. It had a brown leather cover, and the words were stamped onto the front. Flipping it open, he was met with a wall of words that caused a small pain to emerge from his brain.
Damn studies. Just reading a book brought forth horrible memories being stuck in the classroom, but he took a nervous breath, and started to read. After all, it couldn’t be worse than fighting otherworldly monsters, right?
The book detailed many things, but the things he was most interested in were the information he needed right now. Bloodlines. Pathstones. Expansion. Firstly, he decided on the former as it was at the forefront of his mind like a brand. He couldn’t escape the feeling of what had occurred.
“Bloodlines are linked to the soul. Like DNA, they are unique to the individual, and they range from F rank, all the way to the fabled S rank. But it isn’t cut and dry as the rank may suggest. Not all are made equal. For example in F rank, one may have a bloodline that increases the effectiveness of drying laundry, while another has a bloodline to increase their combat effectiveness. It entirely depends on who they are as a person. In total, it uncovers who they are deep-down, and allows one to better follow their path when unlocked.”
When unlocked. Noah thought as he flicked over the page in haste. He began reading and his brows shot up in surprise, only for them to deflate the next moment.
“To unlock a Bloodline is no easy feat, and for those not under a noble family lineage, the method is lost to all. The only way is to think about who you are deep down, and perform actions befitting oneself. Only then will you have a chance of unlocking your Bloodline.”
Thanks for nothing. Noah grumbled. Not because the information was useless, but due to it being difficult to quantify. No-one truly knows himself, or at least Noah didn’t.
Noah pinched his chin in thought. Just who was he? He liked being free, to act the way he wanted to act without any restrictions.
Or maybe it was dog training? The day he met Hank, his pet dog, was one of the highlights of his life. Experiencing life, foraging for food, and stealing toys from people's gardens to give him. Those were things that brought him happiness. Then he gazed at Krall. At first, he didn’t feel anything for him, as he was nothing but a monster that attempted to take his life, but now it was different. Much like Hank, he was a part of him, or even more so because of his Skills–and Monster Shard–that connected them.
Or maybe violence was his true path? He didn’t enjoy hurting people exactly, but he did love the thrill of a good fight.
Shit, or maybe it was looking after kids? He did enjoy that, after all. Noah could only imagine him awakening his Bloodline to something related to baby-sitting. However, he shook his head. No, that sounded more like torture than anything.
So what could it be? Noah sighed. He was getting nowhere. All he could do was just act how he wanted to act in a straightforward manner. If people got offended, then tough shit. He had a Bloodline to unlock.
He then looked at the Pathstone section, but most of it was what he already knew. The only thing that interested him was a section in which it mentioned that people with extraordinary talent and Achievements could defy the will of the soul, and skip ranks. Like he had done with [Shadow of a Monstrosity]. Although he was sure it wasn’t because of those things.
However, the latter did peak his interest. Achievements. The letter ‘a’ was capitalised, so it obviously meant something more than the original meaning of the word would leave him to believe. After searching for a while, he stumbled onto the housing section of the System.
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Houses were a much bigger part of his strength than he originally thought. Before, he thought it was just a safe place to make some Stat, or power boosting rooms, but it was much more than that. The houses could be transformed into manors, estates, villages, towns, cities, and so on. And each upgrade granted the owner a unique title befitting his position.
They could tax their people, see who entered their land, sent out missions to their people, wage wars on other settlements, and much more. Of course, he had no desire for all of that, but it was something to be aware of. It seemed like he needed to do more preparation after all. Since his house could bypass the taming restrictions of his current Class, he needed to protect it.
But he was most interested in the Achievements. It was the hall that he could enter through the teleporter in the centre of the room. It detailed all of his achievements so far during his time in Ruaturn, but it wasn’t just for show. It had another use–and it was a big one–and that was because he was shocked to discover there were Level limits.
Noah had to take a mental step back, before continuing. The Hall of Achievements were the thing that allowed one to break through the Level limit, and continue on their journey. How did one break through? Well, it was all related to what the person had done in life.
Things such as, but not limited to, killing higher levelled monsters, exploring–whether that be on land–or in dungeons, catching an epic fish for his profession. Basically anything that could be considered a challenge. After one had obtained a few of those, and if it was worthy of being an Achievement–they could finally break through to the next Level.
Advancing wasn’t the only benefit. The better the Achievements one accomplished during their life, the better their Class evolutions would be as well.
Noah had obtained his Rare Class–Phantom Lancer. At first, he believed it was because he had the corresponding stone, and that was indeed one of the reasons, but another was due to his Achievements with mounted combat/taming.
The only limit that it had detailed was Level one-hundred. Other than that, it said there were more restrictions, but it failed to say when they would be.
Noah took a breath and took a break from the book. His vision was turning blurry as he read the words, and they all began jumbling up together in a hectic mess. He couldn’t retain his concentration, so he stood up, and did a few exercises to jumpstart his mind. Krall stood up at attention, thinking he was playing some sort of game, while Thraz peered at him through the window in confusion.
He ignored them all and nestled his vision back to the words. There was just one more section he had to get through and that was all about Expansion, or more familiar to him–cultivation. It also continued off from the restriction part of the System.
Just like Ekralo had said in his letter, Expansion was a vital part of anyone's strength. It was an addition to the System, and even some people entirely relied on Expansion alone to reach the top of the food chain.
It revolved around gaining understanding into different subjects, or concepts, and creating shards, like the elements were a simple example. Or obtaining an understanding of monsters, and a Shard would form in Noah’s case. Then, the shard would allow the user to absorb Expansion Energy into their body to fuel the Shards.
It was quite complicated to Noah, but it just meant the Shards were a battery, and they had to charge them to use them. The longer one charged them, the bigger the battery would become. However, to expand it required constant attention, and one would have to actively sit down, and concentrate.
Noah’s brain was about to explode as he extracted himself from the book, and threw it into his bag. For now, he was done with it.
By this point, his hands were itching. His legs twitching. He wanted to move, to explore, and fight. But there were more things to think about. He couldn’t wander around aimlessly, besides, he had a target to aim for. Noah recalled the stone wall back in the fort. The word of power, the map, and the words ‘Bloodline’ written across it.
They were breadcrumbs, and he wanted to find out just how tasty they were. However, the location left him stumped. The only thing that worried him was that he would just be wandering aimlessly into the jungle. There were no landmarks to make sure he didn’t get lost. He could mark the way himself, but it was less than ideal as anyone could intentionally make their own, making him lost.
With a sigh, Noah gazed out the window. The sun was already hiding behind the horizon. The sharp orange shone through as the yellow turned shy. The sun was setting and since his house was on the only hill in the Hub, he could see people leaving, and entering–mostly entering as it was getting late.
Maera and her knights were now seated beside Declan and the others. Noah didn’t know if they had formed a clique together, but he didn’t care. People could team up with whoever they wanted as their lives were on the line. No, the only thing Noah cared about was information.
He waited a while longer, and soon the orange gave into the darkness. Before it was swiftly rekindled with flickering light. People were starting their fires as the smell of cooked meat wafted throughout the Hub.
However, the only thing Noah wanted to consume was their words. Keeping Krall within the house, he used [Shadowed Presence]. Only the whites of his eyes glanced behind the curtain of shadows as the door opened.