Ark realized it was kind of ironic but not completely out of character for him to jump into the fray to help his fellow friend. It was a stupid decision for Adam to come to a place which he knew he was unprepared for but Ark could not blame him. Adam had a natural heroic instinct ingrained into his very mind. He was like the definition of a classic hero. His body would move before his mind could even react and that sometimes lead to this kind of predicament.

Ark thought that the end justified the means. If Adam was unharmed by the end of the attack of the Wendigo then it was all that mattered. Ark was already prepared to get grievously injured while he was fighting the beast. Ark knew he was under leveled for that kind of encounter. It was simply not a matter of experience or knowledge. It was about Ark’s own stats. If his speed and Agility were lower, he would get hit. No matter how much he tried to dodge.

It was the exact same thing that happened. Ark could dodge most of the time, predicting the attacks of the Wendigo, but a few times, the Wendigo would move unpredictably and that was how Ark got injured. In his mind, Ark could see every single move the beast would make but in reality, Ark could only hang by thread desperately trying not to die. The swords he had bought yesterday were of top quality. That had cost him a total of over 50,000 coins. For Ark though, every expense was worth it when it came to preserving one’s own life.

Ark was probably one of the few people who had complete knowledge of every single monster inside the Tower. There was a huge database inside his kind, which told him exactly how they functioned. It was not because Ark had used a card to amplify his brain processes. It was also not because he had a card that acted as a database. The first time Ark had been to the first floor of the Tower, he had realized how unprepared he was for a life full of hardships.

That was the beginning of his journey. For almost three years, he had continuously gone to the library to devour every single piece of information about any of the beats he could find. The information was not compiled anywhere, scattered amongst thousands of books. There was one thing different about Ark though. A trait that he was the most proud of, was perseverance. He had persevered against all odds and he had come out of the whole endeavor brimming with knowledge and a complete encyclopedia to boot.

The same was true for people too. Like monsters, Ark analyzed every single opponent he faced. In his life, he had come across countless humans who were extraordinary. He had also come across exotic fighting styles which would render anyone dead within moments. Thankfully, most of them were allies and Ark’s encyclopedia of knowledge continued to increase. Only knowledge did not make all ends meet though. Ark had to do something extra.

The practical experience was when Ark’s time truly came. With his vast knowledge of monsters, he had a definitive edge against all of them. Ark exploited every single opening he could find and always came out victorious. In a fight between a human and a monster, it was death if you lost. Ark was never the best swordsman, nor was he the best wizard. He was average at everything he did but that was a blessing in disguise. Ark could do anything he put his mind to

The situation was the same with the Wendigo. When Ark had first seen it, human instincts had naturally kicked in and Ark had panicked in a critical moment. But when Ark had taken a deep breath and opened up his encyclopedia, he could see every single opening. Every single trick the Wendigo had up its sleeve. Ark had made all his calculations in the time it took incense to burn. He had concluded that he would not be that grievously wounded and would be able to defeat the Wendigo all the same.

Ark had not taken into account that Adam too would be there. As soon as Ark had felt Adam’s presence, his breathing became ragged. He could not lose a single person let alone a precious friend. In an already decisive battle, Ark made mistakes and he paid for it dearly. Still, Adam was only one variable. As long as Ark could attract all the aggro of the Wendigo, he would be able to kill it. Ark already knew its weak points after all.

That had not happened. This was the second variable Ark had not taken into account. It seemed that the Epic “ruler” card was more delicious to the Wendigo than Ark’s legendary card. In a certain frame of mind, it made sense too. Ark’s card was a thousand men strong but a ruler who could protect seemed much more delicious than that in a Wendigo’s mind. In the Tower, the monsters ate up stories after all. Sometimes it was a single characteristic that determined to whom the most aggro was directed.

Stolen novel; please report.

Still, Ark had somehow managed to kill it. The antlers of the Wendigo were a particular weak spot and so was the region near his face. It was the place Ark focused more on the entire time and it paid off in dividends. Ark slowly got up from the admittedly soft cushions and saw his surroundings. Someone had taken him and laid him down on top of the train. It seemed that Ark also had a change of clothes. He was wearing a shirt with a floral pattern instead of his original bloodied and torn robes.

If Ark had to guess, then it was almost midday by the time he had woken up. Ark did not feel as much pain as he had thought he would. The reason soon became apparent when Ark saw his notifications. He was disappointed when an achievement about him killing a Wendigo did not come up. Ark was pretty sure after the second scenario was over, he was going to get a massive prize. It was something he deserved after all.

[You have leveled up 15 times]

[Your Constitution had increased by 28]

[Your Arkana has increased by 2]

[You have 15 unallocated stat points]

Wasn’t the stat distribution supposed to be random? Why was Ark getting almost all his stat point increases to Constitution? It seemed the stat distribution by the Tower was not as random as he had thought. This was probably also the reason, why Ark was not feeling that much pain. His Constitution or health had increased by almost 30 points. It was a given that Ark should be healthier than a horse. 2 points increase in his Arkana was a nice cherry on top.

The thing that surprised Ark the most was that he had 15 unallocated stat points. Every time someone leveled up, they would get two-point increase in any of their stats randomly. If the person who leveled up was extremely lucky they would also get a single unallocated stat point which could be used independently. It was almost unheard of to get 15 unallocated stat points after 15 consecutive level ups. Ark was very happy with the results. He put all of his stat points into Arkana as well.

Killing a Wendigo should net him that much at least. It was a huge boss monster after all. Ark was not sure whether he would be able to gain 15 levels at once if he fought every single of the jackal-like creatures head-on. He would have probably got 5 level ups at most. Ark could not emphasize enough that gaining consecutive level ups was a big deal. The requirements for level ups increased exponentially. If he killed the same Wendigo in his current level, Ark was doubtful whether he could gain 2 level ups.

It was all a vague concept anyway. The Tower determined what one’s level was. There was no exp bar to gauge one’s own progress. Ir was only their achievements and stories that determined how powerful someone really was. Ark was pretty sure that the horde that was going to come that night could be easily defeated by him. The only reason he had struggled that much against the Wendigo was because it was a special case. Most of the time, the monster he would mark would be transformed into an ordinary boss monster.

Ark lay down again and saw the ceiling of the subway station. It was then that he heard someone climb up the train. The person stood there for a few minutes before lying down alongside Ark.

“I am sorry…” Adam’s once cheerful voice could not be heard anymore. Instead, it was a morose tone

“Adam…You have nothing to be sorry for. If I was in your place I would have done the same thing…”

“But you almost died because of me…how could I ever”

“Buy me a drink sometimes then. Adam, we are friends, right? Don’t worry about it”

“Even so…it does not sit right with me…”

“Don’t worry about it that much…you are a good man…you will be strong someday”

“Yeah! I will fight with you on the last day…I need to make some preparations”

“Are you sure? You don’t have any combat card though…”

“I do now…just I need some time…to process all these. Ark, you are my friend too. I have decided something just now”

“What is it?”

“I will become strong not someday but as soon as I can…All these talk about protecting people and I can’t even…” Adam did not finish his words

“I understand. A ruler needs to be strong after all…” Ark understood all the same

“I am sorry Ark but please endure for just a single day more. I will bet my fortune that you will be surprised”

“I am counting on it then” Ark laughed

Adam was going to become strong. For the first time, Ark too felt that Adam had something to prove to the world. Maybe Ark was using him as a judge, who would tell him whether he was strong enough or not. Ark was ready to do that for him. He was certain Adam would be much stronger from then on. It was something the Tower wanted too.

The two men stayed there lying on top of the train for a bit longer. The sixth of the horde monsters was going to Attack. It was going to be the same routine all over again. Ark would have to kill a boss monster. It was as simple as that. After five days of continuous fighting, it had become boring and stale. Ark was excited at the prospect of fighting the seventh horde though. It was there that he would be able to see Adam’s growth and it was then that Ark would get all his rewards.

The end of the second scenario was not too far away now.