It was hard for him not to grin like an idiot. He looked at the results of his hard work, gleaming armor, weapons, and accessories that had all been improved to a considerable degree. These achievements of his were the accumulated hard work of a week of hectic schedule between the long enchanting and his sword practice. His Enchanting skill had jumped to level three, and his Swordsmanship shot to level six. But among the successes, his Mana Sword skill has not escaped the prison of penalty. Yet he did not despair as what was left of the numbers, it wouldn’t be long until he achieved the entirety of the Mana Sword skill.
He brought up his status and glanced at the new ‘him’.
Name: Zachary Gardwin
Level: 15/50
Species: Human
Title: The First of the Underdogs
Class: -
HP: 3210/3210
MP: 2900/2900
SP: 110/110
Strength: 25(+1)
Vitality: 11(+1)
Defense: 18(+1)
Agility: 21(+1)
Perception: 21(+1)
Intelligence: 20(+1)[+1]
Spirit: 11(+1)
Charisma: 8(+1)
Point: 0
Skills: Phlegmatic Will(Lv.Max), Living with the Pain(Lv.Max), Value of Water(Lv.Max), Dominion of Satiety(Lv.Max), Swordsmanship(Lv.6), Arcane Cooking(Lv.1) Mana Sword(Lv.1), Identify(Lv.3), Enchanting(Lv.3)
He stood there proud, nodding with a smug grin. His line of sight fell on to Intelligence as his enchanting experiments had bagged him another three points to Intelligence for further understanding the knowledge behind Enchanting. But the biggest haul of all was the massive jump in numbers for both HP and MP. An additional boost of two thousand and five hundred was not a small number. He reminisced about the pain he went through for the whole week to get those numbers and it was worth it. Although the gains in the last two days lessened a bit, they were still reasonable enough to go through the torture.
But something just couldn’t get any better. His heavy eye bags were getting prominent with each passing day. The lack of sleep was starting to take a toll on him as his eyes every now and then kept drooping down, sending him back to the nightmare. He tried to resist, but drowsiness was a hard opponent to beat. This lack of sleep was the reason for most of his failed enchantments these last couple of days, but despite that, he pulled through with sheer concentration to the successes he made. Nonetheless, he had to find a solution to this. If not, things would get a lot worse in the near future.
Zach rubbed his eyes and made his way down the stairs. He walked through the dark narrow path and arrived back in the underground room with the moon replica. He looked around and nothing had changed. Despite having a blast training his skills, he still thought he had been here way too long, and for him who yearned for more levels, he stagnated for far too long.
He walked to the spot where there was a door on the wall, but now it was just an empty wall. His fingers touched the rough surface of the wall and even after using Identify, he had no way of finding the door to lead into the sanctum of the Moon Priest.
“What brings you here, my Chosen’s friend?” that voice could never be any familiar to his ears. Zach turned and saw the beauty his eyes had forgotten. If he let his desire run rampant he would have taken a shot at this Fallen who called herself Bulan. Truly a beautiful woman.
“How long until her trial ends?” Zach asked.
“Soon,” Bulan replied.
“Does soon mean a week later or is it any minute now?” Zach asked.
“Why so hasty?” Bulan questioned. Her holographic image walked around with elegance with the long dress dragging on the floor. “Have you not enjoyed the treasure you found here?”
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The spoke of treasure quaked his heart. She knew was the first thing that came to mind, and it made sense though since she did proclaim to be the one controlling this domain.
“I apologize if I took what should not be taken,” Zach said. Deep down he hoped she wouldn’t take them back, especially his Enchanting skill. Since he didn’t know what the limit of a Fallen could do, he hoped she couldn’t take the effort he had poured over the last week.
“Fret not, male human. What you see as treasures are nothing in my eyes,” Bulan said.
“Even the weapons of your previous Moon Priest?” he asked.
“Those are just mere items and could not be compared to the power given to my Moon Priest, and soon to my new chosen one,” Bulan said. “What you see here is just the greed of my previous warriors branching further from what a Moon Priest should do. If they didn’t dabble in such time-consuming skills, they wouldn’t have brought themselves to extinction.”
Zach sensed a bit of lament in Bulan and he found it odd though. From the history books, this enclave had numerous accolades from wealth to extraordinary achievements on the battlefield, but from the look of it, Bulan didn’t seem impressed by it.
“It seems you question why I’m not proud of the previous generation,” Bulan said.
Zach slightly sighed. “Let me guess, you can also read mind?”
“There’s no need for such things. I’ve lived long enough to see through that expression of yours, and you’re hardly incapable of hiding it,” Bulan said.
“I’m that bad, huh,” Zach said.
“Better than most, but worse than few,” Bulan said.
“Then I take it as a compliment,” Zach said. “So, is there any way of hastening Savreen’s trial? Because I still have a dungeon to conquer after this.”
Bulan did not answer. She walked closer and stood before him, towering with her holographic height. Her eyes peered down from above as if trying to see right through his soul, and he couldn’t even look away. Those mesmerizing eyes were hard to look away from as if they had trapped him in place.
“I see there’s more to your hastiness,” Bulan said. “So what is it, male human? Why do you yearn so much to get out of here? Your levels are high enough, while your skill sets are…”
There was a pause, and the look on her elegant face turned to that of a shock. Yet she was quick to return to her usual elegance. “You’re more capable than I thought,” Bulan said.
“I know it's presumptuous of me to say this, but isn’t it rude to peek?” Zach asked. Not like he hadn’t done yet to others before.
“Then you should have a counterspell to hide it,” Bulan said. “One advice I can bestow upon you to a stranger is that information is the key to your upcoming days. So you have much to learn Zachary the Classless.”
Bulan was not wrong. In whatever era, world, or dimension, information was the key to winning anything. Be it war, or anything in general.
“Since we’re talking about it, you wouldn’t mind gracing me with such skill, oh. Lady Bulan the most beautiful?” Zach took his shot.
He saw a frown and it was definitely a failure coming at him.
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, and let me remind you of this, I still remember what you did at the gate of my domain,” Bulan said, and she definitely had a grudge against him.
“Sorry bout that,” Zach said. Despite being casual about it, he was a bit in a pickle here. His haggling attempt had brought ire to a powerful entity that could erase his whole being from existence. “But can you blame me though? I don’t have much of a choice considering an unknown gate that can talk is a bit suspicious don’t you think.”
“Cease your worry of death, human. I’m not that irrational as a Q…” she stopped as if her tongue wouldn’t work. “… as a Fallen I’m not that irrational like the others.”
He saw pain as Bulan referred to herself as a Fallen. Well, it might be his imagination, but he figured it was along that line.
“Can I ask you something though? About the war,” Zach said.
“Speak.”
“What’s the main purpose of this? For us who are forced to do this, and you, a Fallen or whatever title you originally had,” Zach asked.
“Your question is good, but the answer you seek cannot be utter,” Bulan said. “Even for me, speaking the truth would not let the sky stay still.”
“So you’re telling me there’s someone more powerful than you?” Zach asked.
“There will always be someone more powerful,” Bulan said. “So rather than worrying about the unknown, it might be preferable to do what you can at the moment.”
Zach glanced at those eyes again as he understood the meaning behind those words. He gave a slight nod. “Thank you for your gracious advice,” Zach said.
He thought things through and said them out in the open. “To tell you the truth, I’m worried about my friends and family. Even with the time difference, I’ve been here almost two weeks, and I fear for their safety.”
Bulan slightly smiled. “Two weeks here might be less than a day out there,” Bulan said.
“But anything can happen in a day,” Zach replied.
“A caring man. A rarity even through eons,” Bulan said. She spoke as if kindness in a man was a novelty.
“Again, thank you for the compliment, my lady, but isn’t that common sense?” Zach asked.
“Not when up against power, Zachary the Classless,” Bulan said. “The temptation of absolute power is not something easy to resist, for men and also women alike. The world you knew will not be the same when this power exists as people change and so will the men and women of this world.”
It pained him to admit it, but Bulan was right. His head dropped down, staring at the floor, thinking about what to do if his family and friends fell into such temptation.
He felt a gentle touch on his chin. Warm, and embracing like the sun. He looked up and saw Bulan. She was smiling like an angel, different from her usual cold demeanor.
“Have I not told you to cease worrying about the future, and focus on the present?” Bulan said.
He sighed again. “You did. But I guess I’m worrywart,” Zach said, smiling.
“Will you do me a favor, Zachary the Classless?” Bulan asked.
“Oh,” Zach said, raising one of his eyebrows at her. “So all those sweet words and that dastardly beautiful smile are to trap me into doing your bidding? Touche, Lady Bulan.”
She made an annoyed face at him as if the jig was up. “A kind man, but still with a rotten tongue,” Bulan said.
“Could you blame me?” Zach asked, shrugging his shoulders with his palms up.
“Nonetheless, I’m asking because of your heart and not your tongue,” Bulan said, returning back to her usual elegance.
“So what is it?”
“Protect my chosen one until she’s out from the Prelude realm,” Bulan said.
“And the reward?”
“I will give you the thing you yearn the most,” Bulan said.
“And that is?”
“Sleep, Zachary the Classless. I will give you the ability to sleep again.”