Chapter 10: The Power Of Deception And The Power Of True Might 2
2414 Words
When the day of the second training session arrived, everyone was surprised when the structure of their new training turns out to be a complete opposite of the kind of training that they were expecting.
Far from the hellish 24 hours that they’d endured during the first session, the second day was surprisingly composed of handicraft and survival lessons where for 12 hours, from sunlight to sundown, Bart teaches them the arts of weapon repair, cooking, and survival.
“In every battle, once the bloodshed ended, recomposing yourself and ensuring your survival automatically becomes your main priority. Therefore, it is essential that each one of you possessed the appropriate skills to accomplish that especially in cases where either you are on your own or none of your allies has the skills to rejuvenate you back to your prime.”
Everyone understood and accepted the importance of what Bart imparted and done their best to do well.
Ding!
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New Skill Acquired
Cooking [Passive: Beginner Level 1 (0.00%)]
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New Skill Acquired
Repair [Passive: Beginner Level 1 (0.00%)]
Enables you to repair weapons and armors.
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New Skill Acquired
Scavenging [Passive: Beginner Level 1 (0.00%)]
Enables you to identify and utilize ingredients from nature.
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New Skill Acquired
First Aid [Active: Beginner Level 1 (0.00%)]
Consume 4 Mana to restore 10 Health.
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Deidre doesn’t know about the others but within the 12 hours training timeframe she managed to register all the skills taught by Bart. And using these additional new skills paired with the Blitz and Ambush Strategy that she constructed for the party, their grinding and levelling up expeditions had been so much simpler.
But that’s not all. The upgrades didn’t allow itself to stop there. When the 3rd and 4th training sessions ensues, Bart offers to them a variety of high quality weapons and instructed them to pick one which they believe is best suited for them. Once that’s done, Bart teaches them a new Active skill appropriate for the weapon they acquired.
Deidre picked the Bow and Arrow and she gained the skill Double Strafe as an end result.
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Skill Alert: Double Strafe
Double Strafe [Active: Beginner Level 1 (0.00%)]
The fired arrow will increase into two and hits with double attack damage plus 10% multiplied by the skill level.
Mana Cost: 50
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Deidre was delighted with these progresses which further fuel her desire to claim the final reward of the Apprenticeship Quest.
Almost two weeks had passed in game time and so far, things are still going according to plan. Deidre is now Level 37, and with an exception to one disciple, the rest are around Level 32 and 33. She’s only 3 levels short in meeting her goal.
But hold on a second!
One might be wondering how she was able to surpass the levels of the other disciples despite being the second lowest level user during the start of the training.
Deidre smirked. The answer to that lies on the ring she’s wearing.
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[Ring of Victors]
A ring that was once wore by a Mighty Commander.
Type: Ring
Durability: 30/30
Requirement: Leadership Stat
Equipped: When Leading a Party, (+20%) EXP gained multiplied by the total number of Party Members
Restriction: Members of the Party must not exceed 10.
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She purchased the Ring of Victors in the internet right after she created her Eternal Empire account. It had cost her a fortune but the additional EXP bonuses it provides whenever she’s leading a party was all worth it.
When she formed the party with the disciples, lead them to victories, and ensure their survivals, it was all for the sake of utilizing the maximum effect of the ring. And at the same time, she quietly hinders their growth, ensuring that when the end of the quest transpired, the one standing at top will be none other but her.
However, despite the smooth sailing of her plans, Deidre would sometimes find herself experiencing unease, a tiny pinch in her stomach that’s tips her off that something is definitely not right. And that unease always point to the same disciple every single time.
Grimm.
Supposedly, she should not be minding herself about him. He was stuck at Level 1, the lowest level in the game when the training started. There’s nothing admirable among his skills, gears, and weapons. His performance on the trainings are all so-so, not below standard but not outstanding as well. And unlike her, his intimacy with the other disciples are near to nil, thus, making it impossible for him to request any support from them. In the end, due to these inadequacies of his, he was secretly treated like a trash by the rest of them, placing him in the lowest position in the party where his growth is hindered not just by her but by all of the other disciples.
Surely, she’s really not supposed to be feeling anything like this towards him. And yet….and yet, he’s the only person among the eight of them that can make her feel anxious and its enraging her because she can’t tell why.
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‘Your life is mine!’ Grimm exclaimed inside his head and dashed towards to the gigantic lion that is also on its way to bulldoze him.
For three weeks, Grimm explored and forest day and night with a primary goal of completing the Night King Essence and find the Old Hermit. And through sweeping the forest and encountering thousands of monsters of different race, he was able to confront and defeat four out of the remaining seven special monsters aka Minibosses that held the Essence Fragments.
The battles were of course always a matter of life and death. The White Savage Boar, the Red Eyes Midnight Tiger, the Four-Armed Red Kong, and the Blue-Horned Horned Bat had superior might and abilities in comparison to the Black Cait Sith and their Rally Skills enables them to surround themselves with subordinates that increase their capture difficulty. But over time he managed to raise his levels, develop his skills and thanks to Bart who provided him a new sword and a set of new gears as their trainings progresses, along with the constant increase in his INT stat and maximum Mana, he finally able to utilize the power of the Nine Headed Naga Strike.
When Grimm first used the sword technique, he was utterly overwhelmed by the extent of its power. Just one strike, eight additional attacks will follow where each attack will inflict 70% of the original damage that he exacted. That effect sent chills down Grimm’s spine. It was the kind of devastation that not even a Class C can just shrug off.
The only downside though is the large Mana consumption.
Twice. That’s the maximum times that Grimm can use the skill, and that only applies if he won’t use his Mana on something else. So with his current stats, the usage of the Naga Strike is then restricted in a form of a Finishing Attack.
Fortunately, that’s not an issue to Grimm. He mostly counts on his smarts and guts that the new skills simply serve as extensions of what he already have. Also, he’s more comfortable in making the most out of all of his abilities instead of practicing a complete reliance on the flashy and extravagant skills provided by the game.
With that kind of methodology and mindset, Grimm continues his hunt and had fun doing the quests and fighting every monster that he encountered. So now, five out of the eight special monsters had already been conquered. And once he’s done with this lion, it’ll be 6 out of 8.
Ding!
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You Identified a Special Monster!
Name: Three Headed Sabertooth Lion
Race: Beast*Feline
Level: 75
Attribute: Earth
Health: 2,453/9,000
Mana: 500
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For identifying a Special Monster, your Intelligence had risen by 5 points (+5INT)
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Oops! He got excited and almost forgot to identify the special monster. He’s suffering from Mana shortage so there’s no way that he’ll pass the +5 Intelligence bonus.
Ding!
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A New Effect has been unlocked after Intelligence exceeds 200.
(+15%) Mana
(+10%) Mana Recovery Rate
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Grimm ignored the new notification and focuses his attention in unleashing his final attack. “Nine Headed Naga Strike!”
Eight astral swords materializes around Grimm and after successfully landing the s***h on the Three Headed Sabertooth Lion, the astral swords flew and simultaneously inflicted their respective damages.
The beast let out a final prideful roar as it collapse lifeless to the ground.
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Your Level has risen
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However, it’s no time to rejoice yet. Though the Three Headed Sabertooth Lion was defeated, the battle is far from over.
ROAR!
Nine furious Sabertooth Lions emerged from all directions and instantly surrounds Grimm.
Name: Three Headed Sabertooth Lion
Skills: *Earth Burst (Active), *Giga Claws (Active), *Triple Impact (Active), *Growl (Active), *Call of Vengeance (Special)
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It was the effect of the Call for Vengeance, the unique Rally Skill of the Miniboss that automatically activates the moment that it lost its life. And compared to the Rally Skills that Grimm encountered when he fought the prior Five, this one has a very distressing additional effect. These Sabertooth Lions summoned by the final cry of their King are all under the Berserk state, where by sacrificing all their thoughts for defense increases their Health, Speed and Attack by up to 50%.
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Name: Sabertooth Lion
Race: Beast*Feline
Level: 60
Attribute: Earth
Health: 5,000 (+2,500)
Mana: 100
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With these enhancements, it’s no exaggeration to say that the Three Headed Sabertooth Lion had revived and multiplied itself through them.
But instead of dreading, a grin was found on Grimm’s expression as he rushed forward.
He had spent more than three weeks in this forest. During that time, he had killed thousands of monsters and experienced countless of battles while putting his life on the line. It will take more than just a few steroid pumped oversized lions to intimidate him. And also, the Three Headed Sabertooth Lion and his minions are not the only one that has a few tricks to show off. Aside from the Naga Strike, Grimm had also gained and polished some new neat skills through the mentorship of Bart.
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Magnum Impact [Active: Beginner Level 5 (13.20%)]
A Sword Attack with an increased Attack Damage of 10% multiplied by the Skill Level. The enemy can be knocked back up to 5 meters. If that enemy hits another enemy, this secondary target will receive half of the damage inflicted to the first target.
Mana Cost: 100
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Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery [Passive: Beginner Level 8 (91.18%)]
Perfect Feint
Send a brief illusionary projection of an attack or movement towards the enemy’s senses to conceal the true nature of your next move.
Cooldown: 5 seconds
Restrictions: One target at a time.
The target should not be further than 10 feet from you.
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Kicking Mastery [Passive: Intermediate Level 5 (60.11%)]
Kickscythe
Enables you to turn your kicks into projectile attacks inflicting 60% of your original kicking damage.
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Combining these three along with the Eyes of Knowing to form a battle sequence that utilize both defense and attack while targeting the enemy’s weakness, the crazed Sabertooth Lions, despite their doping were not even considered a match for him. And in the end, this so called retaliators sent by the defeated Three Headed Sabertooth Lion were all turned into butchered cattle by Grimm.
When the last Sabertooth Lion fell, Grimm gathered and packed the loots and leisurely explored the full extent of the new territory.
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When the search for the Old Hermit still ended in a failure after the exploration at the Sabertooth Lions’ territory, Grimm finally understands the true nature of the Stolen Book of Monsters quest.
Despite being a tracking quest, the Stolen Book of Monsters quest has a difficulty rank that’s almost in par with the Recover the Essence of the Night King quest which is a mission that requires him to defeat eight powerful monsters.
At first, Grimm thought that the rank was due to the dangerous environment of the forest. However, after thinking about it all over again, he realize that even with all the potential dangers that can be encountered inside the forest, it is still an exaggeration to give such difficulty on a simple tracking quest. And after sweeping the territories within the forest and still not found the Old Hermit, Grimm finally cracked the true significance behind the D difficulty of the quest.
The home of the Old Hermit that he’s searching for is located at the area that Bart called as the Final Glade. Its the deepest part of the forest and the last area before reaching the mountain ranges that separates the Kingdom of Komina from the Kingdom of Liones. But in order to reach there, one must first pass the valley that serves as the only entrance towards the Final Glade. However, that valley is the territory of the strongest monsters in the forest.
The Garurus.
A group of silver furred wolves that are as large as the Dusk Panthers, stronger than the Sabertooth Lions, faster than the Cait Siths, and sturdier than the Midnight Tigers.
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Name: Garuru
Race: Beast*Canine
Level: 66
Attribute: Earth
Health: 7,777
Mana: 0
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Grimm had confronted them before. Their valley was just beside the territory of the Midnight Tigers. So after his successful conquest against the tigers, he headed to their place next. And though they are considered as the strongest in the forest, handling them in battle is no difference from the Sabertooth Lions. However, it’s a different story once their Leaders got involved.
Yup. Leaders.
The remaining 2 bearers of the Essence Fragments are both from their race and one of them is a Boss type.
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Name: Were Garuru
Race: Beast*Canine
Level: 80
Attribute: Earth*Fire
Health: 12,000
Mana: 500
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Name: Galgix
Race: Beast*Canine
Level: 95
Attribute: Earth*Fire
Health: 18,000
Mana: 1,000
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Though they are special and unique monsters with crazy high stats and superior skills, if Grimm can fight them one at a time, he is still capable of handling them especially that he is familiar with their movement and attacking patterns. However, these two never leave each other’s sides and always fights together making it impossible for Grimm with his level to effectively fight them both at the same time.
These circumstances are what forces Grimm to flee his first battle against them. Though they are both incapable of using Rally Skills, their teamwork and synchronization suggests that they don’t have to.
‘I was Level 45 when I first fought them, I’m 63 now. Though I got stronger, it’s still impossible to win if I can’t separate them.’ Grimm mused, trying to find a solution. ‘Back then, the Magnum Impact and the Perfect Feint weren’t available yet but I don’t know if they can make any difference.’
Grimm sinks deeper into his thoughts. This is the final obstacle for both of his quests. So of course, it is expected to be this burdensome. But just like his previous plights it is not without a solution. Every obstacle in life regardless of how simple or complicated is just an equation waiting to be solved. He just needs to find the appropriate formula.
Titing!
At that moment, a huge exclamation point appeared in Grimm’s head. But at the same time, it also brought a wry smile on his face. “Seriously?”
‘This game must be playing jokes with me.’ Grimm alleged. ‘Why is it that every time that I am in a pinch, the only solution will always require me to ransack the training ground’s supplies?’
- Writer
