Zectas Volume I: Enigmatic Village of Nanahuatl
Author: John Nest
Date: 2014-11-29 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Science Fiction; Virtual Reality; Magic; Adventure
Description: At 18 years old, Nash Smoak maintains three jobs. He works as an assistant to the cook in a small diner, he is shadily hired as a construction worker, and works as an attendant at a game arcade. Nash needs to take on those jobs in order to support his two brothers and sickly Grandma. Ever since the tragic accident of his parent's death. He took it upon himself to support his family. After being worked to the bone, Nash found that sacred place, his paradise of relief, the Virtual Reality World of Zectas. However, his only sanctuary was destroyed when a group of high level players used him as ba
Publisher: Lulu.com

ZECTAS VOLUME ONE

The enigmatic village of Nanahuatl

This book is dedicated to my wife and three sons.

A special thanks to Vaanouney, ExperimentBL626, Fireutsie,
and you, for enjoying Zectas.

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 - A world made for me.

Chapter 02 - The birth of a legend.

Chapter 03 - Agriculture is a dangerous field.

Chapter 04 - The history of Jackal & Hide.

Chapter 05 - River Monsters.

Chapter 06 - The Realization.

Chapter 07 - Power and Humility.

Chapter 08 - Secrets of Nanahuatl Village.

Chapter 09 - It started at the Diner.

Chapter 10 - Destination: Coatl City.

Side Story - Solo Adventure on Mount Gliseloc.

Character Status Window.

A world made for me.

Skyscrapers are truly a marvel of the modern age. With its majestic height towering over the land. From on top of such a high place you can almost feel like you're a God.

On an unfinished skyscraper approximately 800 meters from the ground stood a young man on top of a hanging metal beam that is still to be connected to the main structure.

"This is really exhilarating! The work is really difficult and dangerous but still with a view like this, it feels like I should be paying them rather than getting paid myself."

Nash Smoak is illegally employed at the construction site and as such the other workers take advantage of his unfortunate circumstance. They gave him the dangerous tasks of attaching unstable beams at the top most part of the skyscraper.

At 18 years old he has maintained 3 jobs. From 4am to 7am he works at a small diner. From 8am to 5pm he works at the construction site. From 6pm to 11pm he works at the arcade as an attendant.

Nash is forced to take on this harsh schedule in order to support his 2 brothers and his sick Grandma who took them in after the accident...

When Nash was still 12 years old, their parents went out to celebrate their wedding anniversary. On the way to the restaurant a 16 wheeler truck lost control and swerved right into their car. Killing both of their parents instantly. It was an unfortunate accident. No one was to blame.

Nash's grandmother took all 3 of the brothers in. She was nearing the retirement age so supporting 3 growing boys would be really difficult. Nash was aware of his situation. Even though he was currently hurting inside he knew that he has to be strong for his family.

He didn't want to be a burden to anyone. He wanted to help out as much as he could. So he studied hard to become a scholar at school easing the expenses even if a little.

He started doing odd jobs here and there. Any job that a 12 year old could get he would do them. From newspaper routes to dog walking to cleaning gardens. Of course most of these jobs were given to him because the people in his neighborhood wanted to help him given his situation and all.

Unfortunately his Grandma got sick and the insurance wouldn't cover her illness. She's retired now so there is no longer any stable source of income except for her pension that could barely cover the rent and food expenses.

Nash wants his 2 brothers to go to college although they are still aged 13 and 10. He wants to prepare the needed funds so that no matter what course they plan to take he can afford them. Even at the expense of him stopping school and having to manage 3 jobs.

Working the 3 jobs is really draining and having no outlet for relaxation is dangerous even for those who have the kindest of hearts. The manager of the arcade grow fond of Nash and knew why he was working so hard. He asked Nash to come to his office.

"Nash, I've noticed that you've grown a little bit weary lately. That's why I've decided to lay you off from this job."

"But sir?! I need this job to support my family. Did I do something wrong? Whatever I did I'm sure I could learn from my mistake and avoid doing it again."

"Nash, you truly are an honest and kind hearted young man. But I'm afraid that taking on 3 jobs is too much even, for you. You need to find some form of relaxation and some sort of hobby that will help you deal with the stress."

"Have you heard about 'Zectas'?"

"Yes Sir. Of course I have, I mean who hasn't? That's what's been on the news for the past few months. It's the cutting edge VRMMORPG."

"Well I've received one pod and I'd like you to play it. That's why I'm firing you from being our arcade attendant and hiring you as our blogger for Zectas. You can just post your experiences inside Zectas via the video feed feature within the game."

Nash couldn't believe what he just heard. He also longed to try playing out ZECTAS as well. With all the hype and all, who wouldn't want to play the game. However there was no way he could afford such an expensive game.

There was also the mystery why there was a specific age restriction for the game. Wouldn't the company making the game lose a lot of potential players, missing out the younger kids and those older kids at heart?

The manager had the pod delivered to Nash's home. The ZECTAS installers have already done the initial set up and all that was needed was for Nash to use the pod.

This is Nash's first time playing a VRMMORPG he hasn't even played an MMORPG on a desktop before. He wanted to do some research first before jumping into the game.

Nash found out the basic things about the game. There are attributes that would determine your performance on different actions.

~ Basic Stats: (The player can choose to increase these stats by distributing stat points.)

Strength
- would determine your attack damage for melee weapons and the maximum weight that you could carry in your backpack.

Agility
- would determine your movement speed, attack speed, as well your dodge rate.

Dexterity
- would determine your hit rate as well as damage for range weapons.

Vitality
- would determine your health and add some basic defense points as well.

Intelligence
- would determine your attack on magic spells as well as your mana points.

~ Event Stats: (These stats will only increase/decrease by certain game events.)

Luck
- would determine your chance to make a critical hit and interaction in certain Game Events.

Charisma
- would determine your interactions with NPCs and certain Game Events.

Leadership
- would determine your ability to lead NPCs and boosts given on anyone in your party that you are leading.

Fame
- would determine your accomplishments within the game this also increases intimacies with NPCs

Those are the basic attributes that everyone in the game started out with. There was also talk about other hidden attributes that you may get as you fulfill certain game requirements.

Nash continued reading on other basic information about Zectas.

~ Abilities

Abilities can be categorized as passive and active.

There are 4 levels of each skill.
Beginner, Intermediate, Advance, Master
Each of these levels have 10 sublevels.
As you reach the 10th level you then proceed to the next main level.

~ Items

Items can be categorized as:
Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique, Legendary, Epic

The attributes and the prices increases with its rarity.

The explored lands of Zectas was that of only 30% of the Zectas world and this was all in the central continent.

The Mictaztl Kingdom (Northern Kingdom)
Cities:
* Mezco
* Motoc
* Monatl
* Mahui

The Matotl Kingdom (North Eastern Kingdom)
Cities:
* Maxotoc
* Marooc
* Mintl
* Mohutl

The Chanmotzl Kingdom (North Western Kingdom)
Cities:
* Chatzo
* Chantza
* Chanteo
* Chanoatl

The Thayotl Kingdom (Eastern Kingdom)
Cities:
* Tezca
* Tocca
* Tonaci
* Tlazo

The Vitzytl Kingdom (Southern Kingdom)
Cities:
* Vectas
* Votl
* Vona
* Vlahui

The Vizzu Kingdom (South Western Kingdom)
Cities:
* Vizcatl
* Vozhua
* Voonatl
* Vlatec

The Thanotl Kingdom (South Eastern Kingdom)
Cities:
* Thasca
* Tacitl
* Tacacci
* Thalzoc

The Chayotl Kingdom(Western Kingdom)
Cities:
* Centzo
* Centza
* Centeo
* Coatl

Nash also found out about jobs, races, alignments. There are so many choices that he wondered how long it would've taken to create such as a complex game like this.

Nash only wanted to find out about the absolute basic things in the game. He wanted to try discovering the many features this rich VRMMORPG has to offer.

After reading about the basics of the game Nash finally decided to step into the pod. He lied down attached the head visor and he closed the pod with excitement.

Nash was enveloped in a bright light. He saw his body from the outside. It was like an out of body experience. He then suddenly heard a voice.

"What is the race that you have chosen?"

"Dark Elf please."

Immediately his skin took on a dark purple color. His ears started to sharpen. And his clothing was changed into a ragged shirt and ragged shorts.

"What is your desired user name?"

"Nash please."

"I'm sorry but that user name is already taken."

"Hmm... then how about Smoke then please."

"What city would you like to start in?"

"The city of Tezca in Thayotl Kingdom (East Kingdom) please."

"You have been registered as Smoke. Please remember that you can only have one account in ZECTAS"

Smoke then awoke besides a fountain that appears to be the center of a small village. He thought that with all the hype about how the big the world of Zectas is that a city would be bigger than this small hamlet.

An elderly old man took noticed of Smoke and approached him.

"Good day, Young dark elf. It is rare to see some one of your kind in our humble village."

"Good day to you as well sir. Is this the city of Tezca?"

"No no no. This is the humble village of Nanahuatl. We are but a small mining village. The great city of Tezca lies far east of here. In the Kingdom of Thayotl across the great lake of Orshere. Our village belongs to the Kingdom of Chayotl (West Kingdom). The nearest city would be the city of Coatl."

"If you're brave enough to face the forest and the mountains it may take you only 60 days. I know of a safe route that uses the plains and fields towards the city of Coatl. Let me indicate it on your Map. If you travel by foot it would take you around 100 days."

+ Discovered Forgotten Village of Nanahuatl

A forgotten village. It used to be a small coal mining village. Most of its residents left right after the coal mines incidents. This village has a population of 35.

+ For discovering the forgotten village your fame has increased by 500.
+ You can gain more fame by registering this village in any of the main cities.

After receiving the system notification the Village of Nanahuatl was indicated on Smoke's map. He then found out just how far he is from the city of Coatl. Smoke was glad that at least he had a path to follow to avoid any dangerous monsters.

Smoke was dumbstruck at how this could have happened. He was sure that he clearly said that he wanted to start in the city of Tezca. How could have the game bring him to the opposite kingdom of where he wanted to start in?

"Is it safe to travel towards that City of Coatl?"

"Well there are extremely strong monsters inside the forest and on top of the mountains that are really dangerous but if you stay on the route I indicated in your map you should be relatively safe. There are only horned rabbits, armored armadillos and some stray dire foxes on the fields and plains. But I warn you don't even try taking on a dire fox. Those things are 10x stronger than horned rabbits."

Smoke then decided to check his equipment in his backpack. All he had inside his backpack was 1 piece of small meat, 10 loaves of bread, 1 basic knife.

Smoke then decided to check on his stats.

"Status Window."

Character Name: Smoke

Race: Dark Elf

Alignment: Neutral

Level: 0

Money: 0 Zec

Fame: 500

Job: Novice

Title: None

Pet: None

Life: 100 HP

Mana: 100 MP

Dexterity: 10

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 10

Leadership: 1

Charisma: 1

Luck: 999

Atk Speed:25

Move Speed: 20

Attack: 1-2

Defense: 5

Magic Resistance

Fire: 10%

Water: 10%

Earth: 10%

Wind: 10%

Black Magic: 50%

Equipment Effects

* None

Skills Effects

* None

Smoke expected the basic stats to be 10, he also understood that the magic resistance was from him being a dark elf but he didn't realize that it would be 50% resistance for black magic. However what was confusing was this incredibly huge Luck stat. As he suspected from a stat named Luck that fortunate events would be happening to the user. He did just gain 500 Fame right at the start of his game but would would you call being spawned at a remote village as a starting point lucky?

Smoke equipped his basic knife raising his attack to 3-6. Well at least with this maybe he could manage to take on those horned rabbits towards Coatl City.

"Thank you for that information sir but I guess I should head for Coatl City."

Smoke knew that he had to go to Coatl City because it was only in the main cities where you could get a Job Change. He decided to start his journey and went out of the safety of Nanahuatl Village.

As he stepped out of the village he immediately saw the edge of the forest and noticed that there was about 2 kilometers away from the field. There were some cute and cuddly horned rabbits along the field and noticed that they were just passively digging burrows on the vast field.

Smoke took out his knife and tried attacking one horned rabbit. He stood behind its back and tried to stabbed its body. The horned rabbit immediately noticed this and stepped to the side and attacked him with its horn.

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -5

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -7

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -4

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -4

Smoke was rattled by the sudden system notifications and the pain that he felt from each attack. It was not the pain of being actually hit by the horn but something like being hit by a pin.

He started running away from the horned rabbit trying to regain his ground before attacking.

- Attacked by horned rabbit. Backstabbed! You've taken damage. Health -15

- Attacked by horned rabbit. Backstabbed! You've taken damage. Health -18

- Attacked by horned rabbit. Backstabbed! You've taken damage. Health -14

- Attacked by horned rabbit. Backstabbed! You've taken damage. Health -18

Instead of trying to regain his fighting stance Smoke decided to run for the village instead. His health was dropping ridiculously fast. These monstrous horned rabbits are amazingly fast. They should be called little speed devils.

Once he stepped inside the safety of the village a magical barrier blasted the horned rabbit away. The horned rabbit didn't receive any damage and went back towards the hole that he was digging.

Smoke was breathing heavily glad, he was glad that he could run fast enough to escape. He checked his health he only had 37 health remaining a couple more attacks and he would've died.

He sat down and rested he noticed that when sitting down the regeneration rate is slightly higher than just standing up. He continued resting for about 10 minutes waiting for his health to regenerate completely. After having full health again he found the nerve to try facing the 'monstrous' horned rabbit.

Smoke realized that there was no other way to kill the horned rabbit but to have dual exchange blows with it. He readied his knife once again and headed out to the fields.

Smoke spotted another horned rabbit digging a hole. He thought to himself that they must be either looking for food or making burroughs to sleep in.

Without hesitation he drove his knife towards the body of the horned rabbit anticipating the possibility of it dodging. He finally struck it's body.

+ Attack hit horned rabbit. Damage 6.

Smoke noticed that a life bar appeared on top of the horned rabbit and indicated that it had an hp of 30. 5 more strikes and this guys dead.

The horned rabbit got a lot of hits on Smoke as well.

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -2

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -2

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

Not cowering to the pain of being attacked Smoke continued on stabbing the horned rabbit.

+ Attack hit horned rabbit. Damage 6.

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -1

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -2

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

+ Attack miss horned rabbit. Damage 0.

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -2

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

+ Attack miss horned rabbit. Damage 0.

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -2

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

+ Attack hit horned rabbit. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 10.

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -2

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -2

- Attacked by horned rabbit. You've taken damage. Health -3

Critical Hit? Wow that had amazing damage. A few more hits and I can finally have this horned rabbit as my first trophy.

+ Attack hit horned rabbit. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 12.

The horned rabbit fell dead on the ground. The body slowly faded away leaving a rabbit foot as loot.

Smoke opened his status window in order to check how much experience he got from killing the horned rabbit. He had mixed feelings when he saw that it only gave him 30exp.

"Well at least I've gained some experience. Another 200 more horned rabbits and then I can finally be level 1."

Smoke proceeded on his way towards the city of Coatl. After playing for 3 hours he noticed that it was already night time and he surmised that 1 hour in the Real World would be 4 hours inside ZECTAS.

Smoke also spotted armored armadillos and tried attacking them. He found out that their HP was 80 and no matter how many times he hit them even on critical hits all he could manage to do was a damage of 1. The armored armadillo would however attack him for 1 or 2 damage points.

After killing the armored armadillo it gave him 50exp. He then decided to avoids armored armadillo since it took a much longer amount of time just to kill one.

He sometimes saw a dire fox here and there but knew that it was beyond his level. So he decided stay away from those.

After playing for almost 6 hours he checked his map. He was only 20 kilometers away from Nanahuatl village.

"I guess it would take me more than 100 days to reach the Coatl City then."

Smoke didn't mind though he was enjoying the game so far. He noticed that by anticipating the movements of the horned rabbits he could somehow manage to dodge some of the horned rabbits attacks.

After playing for so long he felt that his body was some what sluggish even though his health was above 80%. While sitting down and resting. A system notification popped up.

- Satiety: Hunger has conquered your body. Thirst has conquered your body.
Agility   reduced by 75%
Strength  reduced by 75%
Dexterity reduced by 75%

"Hmm. Even in ZECTAS people still get hungry and thirsty."

Smoke tried eating a piece of bread and noticed that it somehow increased the satiety bar. He also tried drinking the small stream that was near him at the moment. He was glad that he found it because he felt the real feeling of thirst as well.

"The world of Zectas feels more than just a Virtual reality. It really feels like I'm in a different world."

So far Smoke had earned 1200exp from hunting the 'monstrous' horned rabbits, found 5 rabbits foot and 2 pieces of rabbit meat.

Smoke decided to call it a day and went to sleep.

In the morning Nash woke up and started making breakfast for the whole family. Prepared his younger siblings' lunch for school. Woke them up and told them that he will be heading out to his first job at the small diner. He needed to keep the 2 stable jobs that he has left since the manager at the arcade didn't mention just how much they will pay him for posting his game plays on ZECTAS.

Nash also thought that it would most likely be less than the amount he got as an attendant at the arcade. He doesn't mind though because he knew that it was just the manager's way of trying to give him a chance to relax.

In the diner he started talking to the cook about his experience inside ZECTAS. He told her about how everything felt real there. Maybe this was the reason for the mysterious age restriction. Since everything would feel real the player who is too young or too old could be placed in a traumatic situations. Just imagine what you may feel when dying inside the game. That could cause the ZECTAS company some serious lawsuits.

After working at the diner he took a quick a nap and headed out to the construction site. He was assigned the usual assignment of welding together the top most beams of the skyscraper.

As Nash was standing on top of the unfinished skyscraper. He felt the longing to go back into ZECTAS he couldn't wait to start his new 3rd job of being a player in ZECTAS.

Before logging in to ZECTAS he had to make sure though how much he was gonna get paid and how often he should post his videos. This also troubled him since he was still a beginner in the gaming world he wondered if his videos would gather much attention.

The arcade manager assured Nash that no matter how many views his videos may be he will still have the same salary as an attendant of the arcade and also if the videos do make some revenue he would get a percentage of that as well. With this Nash looked forward to playing ZECTAS once more without the fear of losing his regular income.

Nash readied himself to enter the pod that would usher him to the wondrous world of ZECTAS and with his usual excited feeling closed the pod.

Smoke awoke to the place where he had logged off previously. He then smiled and readied himself to take on the challenge of the monstrous horned rabbit once again.

With the drive to get to Coatl City faster Smoke started to concentrate more anticipating the attacks of the horned rabbit. He got to the point where he could take out a horned rabbit without being hit at all.

"This will greatly decrease the time needed while resting to regain my HP."

Smoke continued slaughtering the horned rabbits. After his 200th kill it happened...

+ Level UP!

You have 10pts of stat ready for distribution.
Your HP has increased by 100.
Your MANA has increased by 100.
Fame has increased by 1.

"Wow! My hp and mana practically doubled and there is even an increase in fame as well. Level ups are really amazing. For a sure one shot one kill strategy, I think I'll use 5 points on STR and 5 points on DEX. I can manage dodging the horned rabbit's attack on my own now anyway."

Smoke enthralled by his first level up continued forward at a faster pace than before. He could now deal with the cute cuddly horned rabbits in 2 to 3 hits on average all thanks to his high crit rate.

On the third day of playing Zectas, Nash's energetic smile could be seen once more. Everyone around him was happy for him. His grandma asked him what changed and he answered that being in ZECTAS felt like he was in a world that was made for him.

After killing so many cuddly horned rabbits Smoke had gotten a big head. He was now level 2. Smoke's HP was now 300. He also decided to proceed with the 5 STR and 5 DEX stats.

Smoke thought that he can take out a dire fox now. He took out his beginner knife and went behind a dire fox. Stealthily he got closer to the dire fox. He immediately drove the knife with all his might towards the neck of the dire fox.

+ Attack hit dire fox. BACK STABBED. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 35.

The dire fox immediately snapped right back at him and started biting him for all his HP.

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -26

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

The life bar of the dire fox indicated that it had a life of 400 HP. He need at least 14 more hits at his maximum critical damage in order to kill this dire fox!

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

With his experience from dodging the horned rabbits He somehow managed to dodge some of the attacks from the dire fox.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

+ Attack hit dire fox. Damage 8.

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -26

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

Learning his lesson from turning his back from the horned rabbit. Smoke knew that if he started running it would mean certain death. He decided to face this dire fox head on. Even if it means death.

+ Attack hit dire fox. Damage 7.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -22

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

After the dual exchanges with the dire fox it was clear what would happen next, Smoke knew what was coming. Even after knowing that the fact that he was gonna die he gave his last remaining strength into attacking the dire fox.

+ Learned Ability: Suicide Attack
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (10/1,000)

Deals 5x your maximum Critical Damage on your Enemy.
Ability can only be activated when you have less 10% HP remaining
Using this ability would KILL the user.

Nash got out of the ZECTAS POD. Dazed by the influx of the system messages. He had gained a level but lost a level as well. He also gained a new active ability SUICIDE ATTACK. He wanted to try spamming out the skill to increase its level but with the penalty of not being able to log in for the next 24 hours seemed to much of a drawback. This skill could really be considered as the last ace in the hole.

Since Nash couldn't log in anymore he decided to start uploading some of his game videos on their Arcade site. Since the site was mostly about Arcade games and had only a small window about ZECTAS he thought that people would most likely just think of it as another ZECTAS promotional banner. After uploading his fights with the horned rabbits and the dire fox Nash went to sleep.

Nash got up early as usual and did his daily routine of preparing breakfast and lunch for his brothers and Grandma. With that done he headed out to to the diner. He enthusiastically told the cook about his first time dying in ZECTAS. About how it kinda hurt but felt like more like falling in your sleep and actually falling out of bed.

Up on top the unfinished skyscraper Nash pondered about what to do next in ZECTAS. He wondered where he would respawn again. Would it be the site where he died? Would it be in Nanahuatl Village? Or maybe in the City of Tezca where he originally wanted to start in.

Smoke awoke besides a familiar fountain but this time there was no friendly old man that greeted him. This village truly feels like a ghost town now that only a few people are left. He checked his items and equipments once more. He decided to check on his Status Window as well. He found out that He really did go back one level and was now level 2 again with 10 attributes ready for distribution. He decided to stick with his 5 STR and 5 DEX allocation.

Smoke knew that the dire fox was really well beyond his level, at the moment his only targets are the horned rabbits and the armored armadillos. He decided to continue slaughtering the cute cuddly horned rabbits since it was faster killing them than the armored armadillos.

Smoke groaned at the idea that he needs to travel the same distance that he had travel in the last 3 days but he smiled when he also remembered that it would be faster now that he has gotten use to the attack patterns of the horned rabbits.

No longer needing to rest to recover his HP. Smoke now only rested when ever he felt hungry and thirsty and this doesn't really happen until after 6 hours of non stop slaughtering of the horned rabbits. He indeed got further today than he did on his first day and gained another level. Smoke was now level 3. Satisfied with his level up he went to sleep with a smile.

Nash awoke and did his daily routine. He wished that the hours he was away from ZECTAS would run faster. He wished that the time difference between ZECTAS and the real world was reversed. He wished that he would only need to spend 6 hours in the real world and spend the rest of the 18 hours inside ZECTAS.

Smoke once again started hunting his favorite cuddly horned rabbit. He suddenly noticed that he didn't get as much exp as he did before. He expected to get at least 30exp with each horned rabbit killed but now he only got 28exp. He thought that this must be the game's way of saying to move on to another creature since you've already hunted enough of this creature. An experienced gamer would have thought that it was because he had leveled up that's why the horned rabbit now gave a smaller amount of exp.

Smoke endured his field towards Coatl City it has been 10 days since he restarted his journey. He checked his map he was impressed with his progress. He had already travelled 40% of the way. He then realized that it would take less than 100 days to reach Coatl City. Maybe that old man was talking in ZECTA days. Of course that was it! That old man said 100 days, and since that old man is an NPC naturally he would count a day using ZECTA time.

Smoke laughed at himself for such a simple blunder. He was relieved that after a couple more days he would finally reach a main city and then would be able to properly start the game of ZECTAS. He would take on quests, find a job, he could learn magic, he could explore dungeons, he could finally get upgraded items. There are a lot of possibilities to look forward to once he would reach Coatl City.

After another 5 days Smoke had travelled 60% of the way. The experience that he would get after killing a horned rabbit was now 1 exp. He had killed over 9999 horned rabbits. His backpack was filled with rabbits feet, and plenty of small rabbit meat. He was glad that he invested on STR and DEX. He was now level 9.

Smoke saw his favorite horned rabbit. On a whimsical coincidence he needed just 1 exp more point to level up. He swiftly dispatched his 10000th horned rabbit.

+ Learned Ability: Agility of the Horned Rabbit
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

After killing 10,000 horned rabbits you have learned its secret to moving so fast.
Ability gains experience as you use it in attacking, dodging, and moving at fast speeds.
Agility: +10

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the horned rabbit.

+ You've killed the horned rabbit.

+ You've gained 1 exp.

+ You've gained a level.

As the body of the 10,000th horned rabbit started to fade away Smoke found an unusual loot. Examining the weird looking bunny ears, he picked up it.

+ Acquired rare head accessory: Lucky Bunny Ears.

Smoke decided to inspect these lucky find.

Lucky Bunny Ears (Head Accessory)

The God of good fortune will look after the wearer of this head accessory.
Luck: +100

Smoke was so pleased with himself. The God of good fortune really must be looking at for him. Not only did he receive a great passive ability. He also found  a rare Head Gear.

"Status Window."

Character Name: Smoke

Race: Dark Elf

Alignment: Neutral

Level: 10

Money: 0 Zec

Fame: 510

Job: Novice

Title: None

Pet: None

Life: 1,200 HP

Mana: 1,400 MP

Dexterity: 60

Strength: 60

Agility: 10 (+10)

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 10

Leadership: 1

Charisma: 1

Luck: 999

Atk Speed:26

Move Speed: 22

Attack: 65-75

Defense: 5

Magic Resistance

Fire: 10%

Water: 10%

Earth: 10%

Wind: 10%

Black Magic: 50%

Equipment Effects

* None

Skills Effects

* Agility of the Horned Rabbit (Agility + 10)

"BWAHAHAHA tremble before your master horned rabbits. Wish I could find another dire fox. I haven't spotted a single one ever since I got to level 7."

Smoke was so happy with so many great things happening to him in the game. That he didn't notice that he was being watched by a group of other users. The party headed towards Smoke.

As the party reached smoke their leader called out to him.

"Good day to you my friend. I am called Tristan. A quest has guided us into these remote lands from Coatl City."

"Our ranger spotted you from a distance and mentioned that there was a novice here so far out of any main city. I thought that once you get a job you can no longer wear the novice's attire. Did you happen to take a hidden quest of a tailor perhaps and he rewarded you with these novice's attire?"

Smoke was jolted out of his maniacal laughter.

"Umm no. I didn't take any hidden quest. I'm still a novice myself. I haven't had the opportunity to get a job change."

The other players were shocked at this revelation. Normally once you start in any of the main cities you have to have a level of 15 and then get a job change in order for you to be allowed by the guards to step out of the city.

Once you start the game an NPC would be giving you novice quests on how to move about in the world of ZECTAS. This is from levels 0-5. From there you would be instructed to start training against scarecrows. This is from levels 6-10. Once you reach level 10 you can then apply for any of the basic jobs. You would need to take on the job quest which would get you to level 15. A dedicated player could get a basic job change within 24 hours if he played it straight without stopping.

After you get a job change then and only then will the guards allow you to walk out of the city's premises. Once outside you will then notice horned rabbits, armored armadillos and some dire foxes. These creatures are there to give the user a first hand experience of attacking moving targets. Of course all of these creatures are dealt with in a single hit. No matter what job you would choose.

Horned rabbits are so many that they are mostly used for area target skills. Armored armadillos are farther apart from each other so that they can be use for sequential target practice. The seldom seen dire fox cannot only be spotted from a distance and often runs away quickly when it senses any user, they are used as long distance target practice.

Everyone in the party knew about these facts. That's why they thought that something was wrong with this guy. He could be a bait by another party and try to lure them into a trap. Tristan was extra doubtful than the rest of his party.

"I see. Well then can you perhaps tell me your name and your level?"

"Sure. My name is Smoke I'm still at level 10 at the moment. I'm currently heading to Coatl City for a job change."

Hearing this Tristan was sure that this guy was a bait. He started to look around their surroundings trying to check for any signs of this bait's party. He then suddenly thought that he could reverse the situation and use this guy as bait for their party's quest.

Tristan whispered his plans to the rest of his party.

"What good fortune then. We are heading towards Coatl City right after we finish this quick quest. Would you perhaps like to join us?"

With the keywords 'good fortune' Smoke smiled. This truly felt like his day. He agreed to join them. He was however not invited to their party since there was a huge level gap between them. A party requires the person with the highest and the lowest level to be only be 10 levels apart.

Tristan then proceeded to introduce the rest of his party. There was the Ranger Damien, The Wizard Veiz, The Priestess Aurora, The Dancer Trisha, The Assassin Bones and their leader The Royal Knight Tristan. All of them have advance jobs. Except for Tristan, he has an advance hidden job.

You can get an advance job after you fulfill the quests given by your basic job's NPC or encounter a hidden NPC or Event that would grant you an advance hidden job.

"This way Smoke. We have to enter that forest on the right of this clearing."

Smoke didn't mind that they were gonna enter the forest. After all he was with together with a party of high level players. He was sure that they knew what they were doing. As the group entered the forest. There was a system notification.

- Entered the forest of Maneator

- Monsters inside this forest are highly aggressive.
- Suggested level for entering this forest is 60.

Further inside into the forest a huge set of antlers was heading straight for them. The Ranger Damien took out his Long Bow and the Wizard Veiz pointed his staff at the stone deer. Immediately they fired their range attacks towards the monster. The stone deer fell down dead after taking both attacks.

The Priestess Aurora started casting buffs on the whole party. Smoke wondered if she would include him with the buffs. She however did not cast any buff on Smoke at all. Smoke then guessed that since he wouldn't be involved in the attack that it would just be a waste of mana to use buffs on him.

The group moved following the point indicated in Tristan's map. They continued to encounter stone deers, iron owls, and rabid wolverines. All of them where killed instantly.

In the center of the forest was a clearing with a cave that sort of looked like a house. Huge boulders were piled on top of each other making the walls of the cave. The entrance looked like the ones found in stone henge that formed the mathematical symbol π.

"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

A deafening scream came out of the cave and in an instant it came out! The king of this forest the Maneator! It was a huge minotaur. It could easily be over 3 meters tall. Its golden mane covered the area from its head to its back. Its nostrils flared, you could see slight embers coming out of its nose as the Maneator breathed angrily.

Without delay The long range duo of Damien and Veiz started attacking the Maneator. The Maneator took the 2 shots with ease. The life bar of the Maneator displayed a colossal (295,227/300,000 HP). Both of their attacks only manage to do 0.01591% damage on this monstrosity.

The Assassin Bones leapt towards the Maneator and activated a skill that manage to make 10 hits damaging the Maneator for 1% of his total HP. However the Assassin just stood still after executing the skill. The Maneator slowly raised its right arm and slashed Bones for a damage of 45,230.

Bones' life bar immediately appeared revealing (11,974/57,204). One more hit and Bones was a goner. Tristan appeared out of nowhere and stood in between the Maneator and Bones. He swung his gigantic 2 handed sword and manage to push back the Maneator for about 10 meters and dealt 12,463 damage.

The Priestess Aurora casted High Cure on Bones but it was only for 30,000 HP. While the Dancer Trisha continued dancing making her party's attack speed to increase and casting time to decrease.

Veiz and Damien continued on their long range attacks during the melee confrontation and dealt 3 blows each.

The Maneator now had (223,534/300,000 HP). Tristan's high level party managed to do 25% of the Maneator's total HP.

The Maneator was 10 meters away and was being constantly bombarded with range attacks. It suddenly lifted both of it's arms in the air and screamed once more.

"ROOOOOWWWWWWWAAAAAARRRRARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Tristan's party and Smoke included were stunned for 2 seconds after hearing the shout. In the interval of 2 seconds the Maneator's HP gradually started to increase.

"DAMN IT! THE MANEATOR HAS A REGEN ABILITY!"

The Maneator dashed for Tristan. It raised it's right arm and slash downwards. The Maneator's claws were met with a gigantic sword. Tristan somehow manage to block it's slash but less than a second later, the Maneator's left claw came and slashed Tristan from below. Tristan flew up into the air for about 7 meters.

As Tristan was about to smash into the ground he was pummelled down even faster by 2 gigantic hands clasped together. The Maneator stopped attacking Tristan as he received a gigantic earth lance that forced him to take a couple of step backwards.

Tristan took a total damage of 75,234. Tristan's life bar displayed (78,176/153,410 HP). He knew that this was a lost cause. They still weren't strong enough to handle the Maneator. He thought that after spending the last month training and levelling up that they could take it down now.

Tristan got angry at Veiz at Damien. Those two were suppose to be their Damage Dealers. They even requested to postpone this quest for a month in order for them to level up. They are both level 65 but they only manage to do that much damage. Tristan took it upon himself to execute his escape plan. Allowing everyone in the party to survive.

"EVERYONE RETREAT! HEAD FOR THE EXIT!"

Smoke stood in a daze. He still couldn't believe the high level fight that he saw. He couldn't believe how huge the gap was between him and Tristan and between Tristan and the Maneator. There really is always someone stronger...

Smoke then saw Tristan running towards him. He thought 'ahhh I guess his gonna pick me up, seeing that he has such a higher movement speed than me.'

As if on queue to his thoughts Tristan picked up Smoke. Tristan however didn't bring him to the exit with him. Instead he threw Smoke into the path of the rampaging Minotaur right behind them.

Smoke fell right in front of the Maneator. The Maneator stopped and stood still. Smoke collapsed on the ground, he craned his neck to look at the face of the Maneator. The Maneator let out another shrilling scream.

"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The Maneator held Smoke up like a Doll. Carefully it started breaking Smoke's left hand. It was careful not to kill Smoke instantly. The Maneator is an intelligent monster. It knows just how much damage it should inflict in order to torture it's victim.

Smoke saw Tristan and the rest of his villainous party run towards the exit of the forest. Smoke was scared. How long before the Maneator kills me?!

The Maneator took great care of his new found plaything. It started breaking Smoke's right knee cap. Then his left leg. Then his left shoulder blade.

Smoke was in complete agony. How can such a sadistic monster exist in ZECTAS. The Maneator's torture continued on for more than 3 hours.

During Smoke's torture he was given plenty of time to think. He had never been this angry before in his entire life. How could he have been so naive?! What made him trust that smug looking Tristan in the first place. There was no way he can get revenge on Tristan in the near future. Similar thoughts kept running through his head over and over again.

Smoke was so frustrated. If only I can play this ZECTAS 24/7. I would grind till I'm dead. I would grind my levels and I would grind my skills until I'm strong enough to pay back Tristan and his cronies. I'd kill them till there levels are ZERO. After that I'd bring them here and throw them in front of Maneator to be a plaything. Even after all that it still wouldn't be enough to satisfy my anger.

Smoke's torture continued some more until finally Smoke's total HP was only 10%. He reached for his beginner's knife and used his last option for escape.

"SUICIDE ATTACK!"

+ You've dealt your MAXIMUM CRITICAL BLOW x 5 on the Maneator. damage 938.

- Using the suicide attack skill You've killed yourself.

- You lose 1 level!

- All The stats that have increased on the last level up will be rolled back!

- Because you have DIED You cannot log in to ZECTAS for another 24 hours!

The Birth of a Legend

Nash burst opened his pod. BAANG! His body was covered in cold sweat. Both his hands were shaking in anger. He felt like he was going insane. Why would anyone subject a human being to that kind of torture.

Nash relived the past few hours. It was his first time meeting other players in ZECTAS. They looked like a group of decent individuals. They spoke to him in a friendly manner, they even offered to take him to Coatl City using a faster route. Nash believed everything they told him. How could he have suspected that they would just use him as an escape goat?

Nash tried lying down on his bed. He tried looking for something that could take the pain, the anger, the humiliation away.

There was no way to stop the emotions that filled his heart. He wanted to kill every last one of them. He wanted to make them suffer a hundred times more than he had suffered. He would make them pay!

Originally Nash didn't want to read too much information about ZECTAS since he was hoping to explore everything by himself. However due to recent events, he decided to look at the forums.

There he found out that you can't leave a main city until you get a basic job. There were also NPCs all over the city that would give quests to guide you on how to play ZECTAS. Basically a player would be level 15 with a basic job in order to step out of the city.

As Nash continued reading the forums he noticed that there was no talk about the abilities displayed the horned rabbits. The forums even stated that the armored armadillos are used as sequential target practice. How could that be? Even when Nash hits the armored armadillo for critical damage it was still always 1.

Nash decided to upload his latest video feed from ZECTAS but decided to end it as soon as he killed his 10,000th horned rabbit. For some reason something in him decided to skip the part about acquiring the ability: Agility of the Horned Rabbit and the loot: Lucky Bunny Ears (Head Gear).

After uploading the video feed. He noticed that there was an insanely high number of hits on his video blog about ZECTAS.

The video feed on his 'first attempt of attacking a horned rabbit' but instead turned into 'trying to run for his life from a horned rabbit' had 523,365,872 views and had around 62,341,786 comments.

This discovery distracted his angry heart for the moment. With this many views there could be a bonus waiting for him from the Manager. He decided to read some of the comments.

ZectaChampion: This is guy is hilarious! I don't know how he manage to take more than 1 shot at the horned rabbit but it's really funny.

Dark_AvEngER: He could be using a cutting edge video editing tool but it looks exactly like ZECTAS video feed. What ever it is this guy is doing its still hands down funny.

mRuleUAll: Pfft... I thought this would be a useful strategy guide or something what with all the views and all, turns out to be just some joker trying to get hits...

FastInFastOut: Mmmmeeee....

cutey4you: I like it I didn't know that horned rabbits could move that fast. I'll try it out if I can somehow manage to hit one and not kill it as what usually happens.

CrazyKillaZ: This guy is the bomb! I'm not sure how to do this myself. Wish he would share how.

Dark_AvEngER: I think this guy is just using some video editing tool. I tried using the lowest attacking weapon possible and even had my friend cast curse on me to have a negative attack damage. But I still killed the horned rabbit.

cutey4you: Uhuh, I think so too, tried hitting the horned rabbits too still killed every last one of them. I tried upto 100 times but nothing...

TriTank: What an Idiot!

Nash's angry heart snapped out once more! The comments continued on and on about how funny he was.

"These idiots think that I'm some kind of a joke?! I'll show them. I'll show all of them!"

Nash made a mental list. A list of people to kill. He realized that they may have different user names in ZECTAS. So he changed his mental list to EVERYONE in ZECTAS.

Nash logged off from his desktop and paced around his room. His room was to small to hold such a fast-pace pacing. He decided to go out for a jog at 2am in the morning.

Nash was trying to run his anger away. Being so angry didn't sit well with him. He kept running and running until he noticed that it was already 5am. He had ran 40km but strangely enough he didn't feel tired at all.

He just felt guilty that he missed his work at the diner and failed to give them any form of notice.

Still bursting with energy from all the anger and the hate inside him. Nash jogged towards the diner. When he got to the diner he spoke with the owner and the cook and explained to them the situation. The situation being that something came up that has riled him up so much that he totally lost control of himself, that was why he didn't notice the time. Seeing as this is the first time that this had happened. The owner and the cook didn't have any problem with it.

Relieved of the fact that the owner wasn't mad at him, he headed home to clean himself up a bit before going to work at the construction site.

His coworkers did their usual bit of assigning him the task of going to the top and expected the usual smile and nod from him. Instead Nash snapped at them saying that they should do their own work. The other construction workers were shocked to hear Nash shouting. He felt the stares of everyone at the construction site. He proceeded to the secluded cement mixer instead trying to get away from everyone.

Nash felt guilty once more. Those guys didn't do anything wrong. Sure they were passing on their jobs to him but he didn't really mind. He loved working at the top of the skyscraper but something in him was definitely off. Staring off into the twirling cement mixer. He thought of ways on how to become stronger in ZECTAS.

"If only I could play 24/7 I could grind that new passive ability: Agility of the Horned Rabbit to increase my dodge rate and attack speed. I don't think that there are a lot of people who has that ability. I haven't seen it in any of the forums."

The possibility that someone else may have discovered the same ability did pass through his mind but it was highly unlikely. Was it a bug that made him start outside of a main city? Was it a special game event? Well what ever the reason maybe he was gonna exploit it.

If after killing 10,000 horned rabbits he gained their ability. Maybe just maybe it would be the same for the rest of the monsters on the field. He wanted to jump right into ZECTAS right away and start killing those armored armadillos.

It took him almost 2 weeks to kill 10,000 horned rabbits then it would most likely take him more than a month to kill 10,000 armored armadillos. Of course this was at the rate of him only playing ZECTAS for 6-8 hours a day.

His train of thought on planning to improve his character always came down to him needing more game time in ZECTAS. Maybe I should quit working at the diner. However the pay was just right for the number of hours that he spent working there. Maybe I should quit working here at the construction site. My pay is definitely lower than the standard rate but it still pays more than the diner.

Nash usually earns around $7,000 a month. This is the minimum amount that he needs in order to pay for the essential expenses and also to save up for the college fund of his 2 younger brothers.

DING DING DING DING DING!

It was finally quitting time at the construction site. Nash grabbed his stuff and dashed off towards the game arcade center. He wanted to ask about the 'potential bonus' that he would get from the insane amount of views on his ZECTAS video feed.

As soon as he reached the building of the Game Arcade he received a text message. ~Nash, I have great news. please come to the office as soon as you can. I would like to tell you the news in person.~

Nash ran up the stairs to the 3rd floor. He took 2 steps at a time wanting to hear the great news ASAP. He knocked on the door.

"Sir, It's me. Can I come in?"

"Come on in Nash, I told you that you don't have to knock when coming in to my office. Sit down sit down."

"Thank you sir. I just got your text."

"Nash my boy, you did it! I had no idea that you were such a comedic genius. Since the launch of ZECTAS almost everyone started making their FAQS and Walkthroughs but you.... Oh you genius you... You thought out of the box. You're the new internet sensation like those cats playing the piano."

Nash smiled and nodded. Deep down inside he just wanted the manager to get on with it and tell him how much he was gonna get. While having these thoughts he felt guilty once more. When did he become all about the money? He shrugged such idle thoughts, all of that didn't matter. What's important is to get the bonus. He has big plans for that bonus after all.

"Well I'm sure you want to ask about the bonus right?"

"Yes sir. I do remember you mentioning something like that before."

"Right, the higher ups are very pleased with all the traffic that you've brought to our site and other associated sites. They told me to give you this and also to tell you to keep up the great work."

Nash reached his hand out and took the check. His smile reached from ear to ear as he saw the figures printed on the check. His bonus for being ridiculed on the net was a dazzling $20,000.00!

This is exactly what He needed in order to proceed with his plan for vengeance. Doing a quick calculation this would almost be 3 month's worth working his 3 jobs. With this he can now fully devote his time to ZECTAS.

"It's really amazing right? This will be a great help to your two brothers' college fund."

Nash felt guilty once more. The reason why he was working so hard in the first place was for his brothers but then something in him convinced him that this was an 'investment'.

After all this was the highest pay check that he has received in his entire life. In this day and age, there are professional gamers all over the world. Surely he could join that 'noble' profession.

"Nash the great news doesn't end with that pay check, the management of ZECTAS Online would like to add your video blog in the official website of ZECTAS. I presumed that you wouldn't have a problem with this and said yes in your behalf."

Most companies would want to monopolize the opportunity of gaining such a unique web content but his manager wasn't like that. Nash was teary eyed. He was so happy that his boss sincerely thought only about his well being. That's right there are still people in this world who are good after all. He almost forgot this simple truth. Somehow all his anger was pacified, but his drive for vengeance is a totally different matter.

"Have you had the chance to visit the official ZECTAS website?"

"Yes sir, I have. I've read the basics and browsed around their forums."

"Good, did you also use their in game trading system as well as their in game auction system?"

"I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to try those out."

"Well you really should because the deal from ZECTAS was that they would pay you in zecs. Of course I know that you can't convert zecs into dollars but only dollars into zecs. You could also use those zecs to buy better equipment and other stuffs in the game right? But the real reason why I agreed on their terms was because I found a simple loop hole."

Nash raised his eyebrows. It wasn't obvious to him what the loop hole was but he was curious to find out.

"There is a way for you to convert zecs into dollars. By using their auction system! You could buy expensive items inside ZECTAS using the zecs in game and then auction those off for real dollars. Simple right?"

Nash couldn't believe how simple it really was. Maybe he was also hindered by the fact that his real experience inside ZECTAS was just fighting the 'training' monsters on the fields.

Nash's meeting with his manager ended. He thanked him again for everything that he has done for him and assured him that he will keep those views in the millions. He thought that if they think his fight with the horned rabbits was funny then they better watch out for his coming fights with the armored armadillos.

Before going home he decided to call the construction site to inform him that he would no longer be working for them. The foreman at the construction was sad to hear this, he was losing his best and cheapest worker after all.

Next he called the owner of the diner to tell him the same news. The owner asked him if it was because of what happened earlier that day. Nash replied with a yes. He then continued to explain that he needed to do this in order for him to move on and grow. The owner understood and wished him the best of luck.

Nash turned on his desktop and decided to check out the trading system and the auction system that his manager mentioned. He used the login information that was given by his manager. In all the excitement the manager failed to mention just how much ZECTAS was planning to pay him for his videos.

He tried looking for his zecs credits as he explored the user interface of the trading and auction system. Finally he saw it. It was in the upper right corner of the screen. He couldn't believe the amount of 10,000,000 zecs displayed on his screen. This must be the fate's way of encouraging him to get his vengeance.

From what he understood in order for you to trade or auction an item. You would need to go to any of the main cities and look for the trade or auction NPC. Once you give them an item there will be a menu that would contain the specifics for the item.

For trading you could input the name of the user and also include a zecs amount if that is what you wanted. You can also easily do this face to face but they made this feature so that you can do asynchronous transactions. Also if the other user is located in another kingdom.

For auction you could indicate the minimum amount of money to be placed as their bid. You could also list an item for auction under zecs or under real money currency and the game would convert the money to their localized monetary equivalent.

All the items that is put up for trade or auction can be viewed from their website. Bidders and traders can also use the website to browse all of the items put up for trade/auction and trade/bid from there as well. All trade/auction actions are immediately reflected to your character in ZECTAS.

As he continued reading about these two systems he thought that there was one crucial thing that was stopping him from utilizing this feature.

"Hmm I guess I can't use it until I enter a main city. Too bad because I don't plan to enter any of the main cities any time soon."

Now that he is officially a professional gamer he needed to utilize the maximum amount of game time he could manage.

Nash researched about a unique sleeping pattern and wanted to try it out. It was called the 'UberMan' sleeping pattern or the Polyphasic sleeping pattern. This sleeping pattern indicated that you would only need to take a 20-minute nap every 4 hours. In other words he would only be sleeping for 2 hours in a day. He decided to use this sleeping pattern from now on.

Smoke opened his eyes and saw the very familiar fountain. He was in Nanahuatl Village once more. This time however he wasn't alone. He saw another familiar scene. It was the old man that greeted him on his first day of playing ZECTAS.

"Why hello again young dark elf. Last time I saw you, you were hastily heading for Coatl City. You left without even saying a proper thank you."

Smoke was confused. Sure he ran immediately towards the village exit but he was sure that he said thanks to the old man. Are the NPCs in this game senile? He would have ignored this old man if his anger wasn't soothed by the abundance of good news.

After all the only targets that deserves the full wrath of his anger was Tristan's party. It would be unwise to channel misdirected anger.

"I'm sorry if I have offended you sir. Thank you again for guiding me on the safe route towards Coatl City."

"You're welcome young dark elf, but I was thinking more along the lines of..."

For dramatic effect the old man opened his palms and slowly reached out to Smoke revealing his bony arms. This old man's body looked liked a skeleton just with skin on it.

"Something to eat perhaps? You see I haven't eaten for..... oh I don't remember how long my last meal was."

Smoke pitied the frail old man. He knew that they were only NPCs but he still felt their hunger. He took out a loaf of bread and gave it to the old man.

"Here sir you can have this. I'm sorry that I didn't notice before that you were this skinny. If I did I would have given you something to eat immediately."

The old man quickly grabbed the loaf of bread and practically swallowed it whole. He looked a contestant in an eating contest. He swallowed that big loaf if bread in less than 5 seconds.

The Old man then drank some water from the fountain. Smoke stood still watching the amazing feat that was just displayed before him.

"Thank you for sharing your loaf with me young dark elf. However at the risk of sounding to presumptuous I was hoping that you could spare another loaf? Perhaps even 2 or 3?"

Smoke wanting to see the feat performed once more gave him 3 loaves of bread. The old man took one loaf of bread and swallowed it in less than 4 seconds, then then the next in 3 seconds. It seemed like he was trying to lower his time after each attempt.

"Thank you once more my friend the dark elf. I am called Darius. If you could perhaps give me your name so that I could call you that instead of calling you dark elf?"

"Right... I'm called Smoke. I'm still a novice at the moment but even legendary heroes were once novices themselves."

"That is true. I like your optimism Smoke. So were you able to reach Coatl City?"

Smoke suddenly remembered the traumatic experience of being tortured by the Maneator he also pictured Tristan laughing at him instead of just running away. With clear anger in his voice he answered.

"Unfortunately not. I met a couple of snakes as I was about to reach the city."

"Odd, I thought the snakes stayed within the forest and not in the fields. Ahh did you try entering a forest then?"

"Yes I did. I really should have listened to your advise and stayed on the safe route that you gave me."

"Yes you should have. Although I can sense much potential in you Smoke but at the moment you're not strong enough to face the monsters inside the forests."

Smoke only nodded in agreement. True at the moment he wasn't strong enough but someday he will be. As long as he sticks to his plan. Through the tedious process of grinding every possible ability that would put him at a greater advantage. He knew that having high levels were great and all but abilities are the real deciding factor.

"I'm aware of that too but I don't plan to stay this powerless forever. By the way you're familiar with the monsters on the plains and the fields right? Can you tell me something about their abilities? Like the agility of the horned rabbit ability? Or if the armored armadillo also has an ability that you can learn?"

Darius looked troubled. He was fidgeting as he answered.

"I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with that ability that you have mentioned. I didn't even know that you could learn abilities from monsters."

Smoke was sad. He had hoped to get some kind of confirmation about his theory that if he kills 10,000 armored armadillos he would learn a new ability.

Well there was no other way to know for sure but to try it out himself. Smoke bid farewell to Darius as he told him that he needed to start his training.

Smoke spotted his target. taking out his knife he dashed towards the armored armadillo. He noticed that his dash was significantly faster than before. Once he reached the armored armadillo he let out a barrage of attacks.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

- Attacked by armored armadillo. Miss damage. 0

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

- Attacked by armored armadillo. You've taken damage. Health -2

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

- Attacked by armored armadillo. You've taken damage. Health -2

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

+ Attack hit armored armadillo. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1.

- Attacked by armored armadillo. Miss damage. 0

Smoked noticed that he managed to make 3 attacks for 1 attack of the armored armadillo. The armored armadillo's attack also misses a lot more now. His agility of the horned rabbit ability showed its true splendour.

Smoke's initial estimate of needing 1 month needs to be recalculated. Since he can now devote more than 20 hour's a day into the game it would probably be less than 2 weeks before he manages to kill 10,000 armored armadillos.

As he continued slaughtering the armored armadillos at the rate of 3 minutes each. Something unexpected happened just after just 4 hours into his hunt. He received a status message.

- Beginner knife's durability has reached 0. Beginner knife is broken!

+ Learned Ability: Knife Mastery
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

By exhausting the full durability of your beginner knife in battle you have grasped the truth about knives.

Knife Damage: +1% Increased Damage

The armored armadillo continued attacking Smoke, now that Smoke has stopped attacking the armored armadillo, it took this as an opportunity to dish out more damage. Smoke just tried to evade them as much as he can.

Unable to attack with the broken knife Smoke did what naturally came to him. He made a fist and started using that to hit the armored armadillo.

With just his fists Smoke managed to make 1 damage point. Seeing this he continued to pummel the armored armadillo. It didn't really make any difference since the damage on the armored armadillo was always 1 anyway.

After 14 hours of repetitive armored armadillo hunting. He started to feel hungry and thirsty. Since he didn't move far away from Nanahuatl Village he didn't see any rivers or stream. He then remembered that there was a fountain inside the village. Smoke then headed back into the village.

As Smoke started eating besides the fountain Darius casually strolled out of his house and sat besides him. Smoke laughed as he knew what was gonna happen next. He gave Darius a loaf of bread and watched as he gobbled the bread.

Smoke gave his last loaf of bread to Darius. Without any bread left Smoke now ran out of food. He decided to try his luck with Darius if he knew some useful information.

"Darius, do you happen to know how to use this piece of meat?"

"Meat? Well obviously you cook it and eat it."

Well that much was obvious but Smoke wasn't sure if this was possible in the game. Since he didn't have any cooking tools that he could try to use in the first place.

"You do need to have cooking utensils and cooking abilities in order to cook edible meat though. Would you like to come to my house I can cook that meat for you?"

Smoke was relieved that Darius was somehow useful aside from his entertaining act of swallowing his bread whole.

As they entered the house Smoke found it to be somewhat decent even if it looked a bit on the shabby side you could clearly see that the house was clean and organized.

"While I whip us up some yummy grub just sit down and watch this master chef cook. Just how many pieces of meat do you want me to cook anyway?"

"Well you can cook these 5 pieces. I have over 1000 pieces of rabbit meat on me anyway."

Darius suddenly stopped preparing the cooking utensils. He slowly turned around and faced Smoke.

"Smoke I know that we have only just met but I was wondering if you could give me all of those rabbit meat. I desperately need it."

Smoke was already a little annoyed at how this old man kept begging for his bread but now that he heard Smoke has a lot of meat he wants to take all of his food supply.

"I'm sure that you are hungry but surely you can't finish all of this meat by yourself. Can't you settle for 10 pieces of meat?"

"10 pieces of meat? Well that would be too little. Can you please increase that amount to maybe a 100?"

Thinking that 100 pieces of meat was a high amount but then again he wasn't gonna run out of meat anytime soon anyway so he decided to agree with giving him 100 pieces. Smoke decided to think of it as a payment for Darius' cooking the meat.

Smoke and Darius ate the delicious rabbit bbq. With Smoke's satiety satisfied he decided to continue on his hunt, he still had that unbelievable quota of 10,000 armored armadillos after all.

This arrangement continued on for 5 days. During meals Smoke and Darius would usually share in some idle chit chat. Smoke noticed that Darius' body was starting to gain some meat. Actually Smoke was expecting him to be really fat now. After eating 100 pieces of rabbit meat each day. However today Darius was silent.

"Smoke, it has been a couple of days that you have provided me with meat. That is why I feel like I can trust you with this secret."

+ Intimacy with Darius has risen to 'Trusted Friend'

You have gained Darius' trust by continuing to give him food without asking for the reason.
You can expect that Darius will share a some useful information with you.

After seeing the system notification Smoke smiled. He was hoping that something like this would happen. He was curious as to what this useful information could be.

"First I'd like to teach you the ability of cooking."

Smoke was glad he had the opportunity to learn the ability. He had read in the forums that you would need to pay an NPC 5,000,000 zecs in order to learn the ability. Some users use this as their source of income, they would open food stalls in the main city.

Both Darius and Smoke stood up and headed for the kitchen. Darius showed him how to use the utensils and how to prepare the rabbit meat.

+ Learned Ability: Cooking
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

The taste of your meals and the satiety it gives would depend on its level.
There could be possible effects depending on the ingredients that you use.
Vitality + 1

What Darius was making wasn't the usual bbq rabbit. It was instead rabbit stew. He took out some form of herbs and added it into the pot. He then motioned for Smoke to follow the same process.

Cooked: Medicinal Rabbit Stew

A stew made out of rabbit meat and green herbs
Effects:
* Increased HP regeneration for the next 20 minutes.

So this is what it meant that it could contain certain effects. The HP regen is not that long though it must be because of my low ability level.

"Now that the stew is done, I'd like you to bring the pot and follow me."

Smoke placed the pot inside the cart that was prepared and followed Darius outside of his house. They walked 5 doors down Darius' house. Darius knocked on the door and a faint 'Yes, come in' was heard.

The sight before Smoke crushed his heart. There was a family of skinny people waiting for them. Darius then proceeded to feed them. He motioned for Smoke to do the same. While feeding them Darius introduced Smoke.

Darius told them that it was he who has been providing the rabbit meat this past few days. Everyone smiled at Smoke. They gave him praises and thanks. It took all of his will power to stop from crying at such a scene.

These people are just NPCs but why does it feel so real. He told them that he would continue to provide them with food and asked if there was anything else he could do to help them improve their health.

As they stepped out of that house. Darius faced Smoke and told him that they would still need to do this at least 4 more times. As there are still 4 families in this similar situation. Smoke readily agreed and continued to follow Darius from house to house.

"This was the reason why I asked you to give me 100 pieces of meat. Truth be told after the last 5 days I have seen the improvements of their conditions but I think it would be faster if you could somehow provide more."

"I totally agree with you. I still have around 500 pieces here I'm gonna give that all to you right now. I will also continue to hunt for horned rabbit meat as well."

As Smoke said those words he recalled his current problem. He doesn't have a weapon anymore. It didn't matter when it came to attacking the armored armadillos but the damage that he did on the horned rabbits was now also 1 because he was only using his bare fists.

Noticing the troubled look on Smoke's face. Darius asked him if something was wrong?

"Well I don't mind hunting for horned rabbit's meat, its just that my knife broke and now I can only do a damage of 1 on the horned rabbits."

"Why didn't you say so. Aside from being a great cook I'm also the village's best blacksmith. Since the real blacksmith left the village I'm the only one left that could do some smithing. HEHEHEHE."

Smoke was shocked to know this. He thought that Darius was just a cook but now he learned that Darius could also do blacksmith tasks. Whats up with this old man. He sure has a lot of abilities.

"I didn't know that you could also do iron works. If I had known I would have asked you to fix my knife days ago."

Smoke took out his knife and showed it to Darius. As Darius examined the knife he concluded that it was beyond repair.

"I can no longer fix this knife as its beyond help. I do however have this."

Darius took out 2 shiny knives, one was shorter and stouter (DAMAGE: 6-8) while the other was a little bit longer it sort of looked like a short sword (DAMAGE: 4-10). Both knives had a level restriction of 9.

"You can have your pick with these 2 knives or you can use them both if you like."

"Well having 2 of them would indeed be better but I think it would be confusing to switch between 2 knives."

"Switch? Why not use both of them at the same time? You can dual wield them. Here let me show you how."

+ Learned Ability: Dual Wield
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

With this ability you can use 2 single handed weapons at the same time.
Mastering this ability gives you a slight boost in attack speed.
Attack Speed: +1

Smoke was ecstatic. He had gained another ability and this time it was dual wield! He thought that characters with dual wielding ability looked so cool.

Smoke took both knives and started trying out moves on an imaginary opponent. He felt that he totally looked like some badass assassin right now.

Darius chuckled as he saw Smoke doing such exaggerated movements. He then told him to also look for some green herbs. There were some in the plains and in the fields.

Killing the horned rabbits with a single blow was to be expected now that he has a much higher attack. He was now able to kill the armored armadillos in 1 minute. All thanks to the increased attack speed that he got from dual wield.

Amidst slaughtering the horned rabbits and armored armadillos Smoke pondered on who in the world Darius was. He has a high level ability of cooking, he knows how to do metal works, and he even knows how to dual wield. Just what kind of job does Darius have.

After 3 days of having received the dual wield ability. Smoke finally reached his 9,999 horned armadillo. He was too excited to find out what would happen on his 10,000 kill.

+ Learned Ability: Armor Break of the Armored Armadillo
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

After killing 10,000 armored armadillos you have discovered how to penetrate an armor as hard as a diamond.
Effect: Ignores 2% Armor
MP Consumption: 20 MP

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the armored armadillo.

+ You've killed the armored armadillo.

+ You've gained 1 exp.

Finally all his hard work has payed off. It has been a total of 11 days of non stop armadillo hunting. His theory about killing 10,000 armored armadillos was confirmed to be true. Too bad there was no item drop like last time.

Even if there was no item drop Smoke's spirit was still high in the clouds. Its time to move on to his next monster. The dire fox. He was confident that he could take on a dire fox now. With all his new abilities and stats.

The results of his last 2 weeks with the armadillo hunt and with helping out in Nanahuatl Village

Abilities List
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Passive]

Agility of the Horned Rabbit
Class: Intermediate
Level: 5
Effects: Agility + 200

Knife Mastery
Class: Intermediate
Level: 1
Effects: Knife Dmg +11%

Dual Wield
Class: Intermediate
Level: 1
Effects: Atk Spd +11
Cooking
Class: Beginner
Level: 9
Effects: Vitality +9

[Active]

Suicide Attack
Class: Beginner
Level: 1
Effects: 5x your maximum Critical Damage

Armor Break of the Armored Armadillo
Class: Beginner
Level: 1
Effects: Ignores 2% Armor

Smoke has also increased the intimacy with everyone in Nanahuatl Village to that of a close friend.

After such an accomplishment Smoke headed towards his new found home in ZECTAS the village of Nanahuatl. The villagers even gave him a house. It was the biggest house in the whole village it faced directly in front of the fountain.

He already considers himself as one of them. Lately he has noticed that the villagers are going out more, even if it was only just to sit in front of their houses. Then out of the blue he thought of something fun to do for the villagers.

He called everyone in the village and asked them to gather in front of his house. Slowly the villagers went to his house and saw that there were a lot of tables and chairs outside Smoke's house. When everyone was gathered. Smoke and Darius came out pushing a long grill.

"Everyone I think its about time that we start having some fun. I know for a fact that you recover faster when you're happy and laughing. So let's all enjoy our BBQ feast. Don't worry I'll still be the one to do the cooking just sit back and enjoy the show of this master (beginner) cook."

Smoke dazzled the crowd with his fast movement speed, it almost appeared like he was in 4 places at once. One second he would be putting the meat on the grill. The next he was chopping them up into bite sizes and then in almost 2 blinks he was already at their tables serving the BBQ.

This was the first time in a long time that Nanahuatl Village had a celebration and it was all thanks to Smoke.

With the BBQ bonanza over. The residents helped with the clean up and afterwards slowly headed towards their houses.

After those notifications Smoke felt a sense of belonging. These people are more than just NPCs they are already like his own family. Then a sequence of system notifications came up.

+ Intimacy with the residents of Nanahuatl Village has risen to 'Trusted Friend'

After your selfless acts of kindness everyone in the village has complete faith in you.
The villagers are prone to give favor to any of your requests.

+ Intimacy with Darius has risen to 'Blood Brothers'

You have gained the complete TRUST of Darius and now he treats you like you're his real brother.
Darius may share all of his knowledge with you.

Darius then asked Smoke if he could speak with him privately.

"Smoke, do you remember the time when you asked me about gaining abilities from killing armored armadillos. Well truth is you do gain ability after you've killed 10,000 of them."

"Oh that, yup I already know that. I just recently got my 10,000th kill."

"What? It should have taken you more than a year to kill that many but you've only been here for around 5 months."

Since time inside ZECTAS is 4x Faster than in the real world Darius counted it as 5 months. To the residents of Nanahuatl Village he had been staying with them for almost half a year now.

"Well did you also manage to kill 10,000 dire foxes? I'm sure that would be a bit more challenging considering as how rare they are in the fields and the in plains."

"They are pretty rare aren't they? I've only defeated it once but I wouldn't really call it as a win but rather as a draw."

"Alright let me tell you about this secret fox hole then. It is a bit further away it would take you around 40 days to reach there. Let me indicate it on your map."

Smoke's map became visible and a dot started blinking in the part of the unexplored territory. Good thing that there was a route indicated towards the dot. If he followed this route he was sure that he would be able to avoid any dangerous monsters beyond his level.

"If you do head there now though everyone here in the village will start to run out of food again."

Smoke did a quick calculation and it turned out that he needed around 8,000 pieces of rabbit meat in order to feed the people from the time that he was away. 8,000 pieces of rabbit meat meant like killing more than 10,000 horned rabbits at the very least.

"Yes about that problem. Do you think there is another food source that we could procure. I don't think that the horned rabbit's meat is really effective to feed such a lot of people."

"Well you could go try to look for seeds inside the Mandragora forest. But then preparing the land then raising the seeds until they are ready to be harvested would take at least 6 months."

"How about if I hunt big game animals, like the stone deer or something similar?"

"You've hunted a stone deer before? Even level 40 adventurers would have a hard time dealing with them. Ahh but you're right the stone deers high defense shouldn't be an issue for you. Now that you have the ability from the armored armadillos."

"No I haven't hunted one myself. I just happened to see one and thought that it should feed more people, after all it is way bigger than a rabbit."

The two of them were walking around the village while they were talking about other potential food sources. Then near the entrance of the village Darius noticed a hill that he hasn't seen before. He asked Smoke if he knew something about that hill just outside of the village.

"Ohh that. That's just the carapace of the armored armadillos that I've been hunting. They were getting to heavy to carry around and since there was no merchant in the village to sell items to. I just decided to throw them into that pile. Maybe they could be useful for something someday."

"With this many carapaces we could make a dam where in we could trap the fish in the river."

"That's great to hear. Leave it to wise Old Darius to come up with solutions."

"Hey I'm not that old. I'm only 150 years old."

The two of them proceeded to make the dam. It was estimated to take atleast 2 weeks to finish the dam or around 4 days in real time. Smoke didn't mind it all. With this dam finished it would mean that he no longer needed to hunt those pesky horned rabbits anymore.

After completing the Dam a system notification popped up.

Constructed: Simple Fish Catching Weir

A simple dam made to trap the fish from the river.
Effects:
* Provides fish good for 40 persons.
* Increases culture of Nanahuatl Village by 10

Assured that everyone will be able to eat fish until his return. Smoke headed out towards the fox hole.

Running at his top speed and only stopping to rest and eat. It took Smoke a mere 20 days(ZECTAS TIME) to reach the fox hole.

As he reached the entrance of the cave. He took the time to regain his strength. He ate till his satiety was full.In the moment that he stepped inside the cave. A system notification popped up.

- Entered the hidden fox hole

- Only dire foxes are found inside this cave.
- Suggested level for entering this cave is 15.

After reading the notification he understood why the level had to be atleast 15. The dire foxes all came at him at once. They attacked him from all the sides.

Good thing Darius gave him an advice. He told Smoke to fight them with his back behind the wall. In this way he was safe from being surrounded. He only needed to worry about the monsters in front of him.

The dire foxes came in groups of 5 to groups of 9. As all the foxes in the group jumped to attack him all of them fell dead on the floor at once.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 225.

+ Attack hit dire fox. Damage 90.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 242.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the dire fox.

+ You've killed the dire fox.

+ You've gained 10exp.

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 235.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 221.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the dire fox.

+ You've killed the dire fox.

+ You've gained 10exp.

By using his battle abilities (Agility of the Horned Rabbit, Dual Wield, Armor Break of the Armored Armadillo), the dire foxes were only jumping into their own deaths. It looked like the foxes were jumping into a meat grinder.

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

+ Attack hit dire fox. Damage 93.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 232.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 222.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the dire fox.

+ You've killed the dire fox.

+ You've gained 10exp.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 238.

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 240.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the dire fox.

+ You've killed the dire fox.

+ You've gained 10exp.

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

Smoke was more than ready for them. The Dire foxes were hitting nothing but air. He was not the same man as he was before.

With the continued tsunami of dire foxes it only took 15 hours of continuous hunting before he reached 10,000 dire foxes.

+ Learned Ability: Cunning of the Dire Fox
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

After killing 10,000 dire foxes you have discovered how they perceive danger and escape it.
Effect: Detects Enemy Presence from 10 meters away.

He had killed his 10,000th dire fox and gained its ability but now he was stuck. If he would step away from the wall he will surely be surrounded and killed.

Smoke decided to continue fighting until he can come up with a solution. It has been 1 hour and he still hasn't come up with an answer.

He decided to gamble on his fighting ability and stepped away from the safety of his wall. The moment his back was exposed, all the of the dire foxes surrounded him from all sides.

Surprisingly Smoke manage to dodge the attacks from the back. It was all thanks to his new ability: Cunning of the Dire Fox. Which allowed him to sense the attacks from the back.

Slowly Smoke managed to get to the entrance of the Fox Hole. He didn't even have the time gather the loot because of the relentless attacks from the dire foxes. He decided to come back again once he had acquired a basic job.

Smoke was really cutting it close inside the Fox Hole. He was starting to feel hungry and his stats were almost cut off by 75% due to hunger.

As he ate to restore his satiety he pondered on his found theories so far. The reason why the monsters of the plains did not show their abilities to users was because once they encountered them they would already have a basic job. You can switch to other jobs but you can never switch back to being a novice.

Smoke felt really special because of the rare abilities that he had acquired. Just how many users could there be who had started in a remote village outside of a main city. He made a mental note to ask Darius for some more information when he reached Nanahuatl Village.

His return journey took 19 days(ZECTAS TIME) as his movement speed increased a bit with the increased level of Agility of the Horned Rabbit.

Once he reached the entrance of Nanahuatl Village he immediately noticed the different atmopshere. There were kids playing near the fountain. While the grown ups where doing repairs on their shops.

Smoke just found out that the families left in the village had their own specific trades. There was a tailor, a tanner, a farmer, a fisherman. and somewhat decent blacksmith called Darius.

Everyone greeted him as they saw him near their shops. Smoke then stopped by Darius' house to inquire as to what caused this pleasant development.

Darius told him that the Fish Dam that they originally thought to be only as a food source gave another benefit. It encourage everyone in the village to get some exercise and use their dormant muscles. Darius continued to give him praise for his great contributions in restoring their village.

Smoke then remembered his question for Darius. He asked if the ability learned from the 10,000th killed monster would be available for all monsters. Sadly Darius told him that this was not so. The monsters on the fields and the plains were a special case.

Darius then told Smoke that he did know of a monster but it was far away in the North Eastern Kingdom of Matotl. As they talked more about monsters near the Village Smoke asked about the Maneator.

Darius continued to tell him that it was a monster bred by a dark wizard whose level was past 400. It was made to possess great cunning, endurance and sadism. It was originally placed in the hidden dungeons of Coatl City and served as a guard to the city's treasure. It somehow managed to escape carrying the key to the city's treasury.

It would take at least a party of 5 whose level was all above 80 in order to subjugate that monstrous beast. Smoke was convinced of those levels. He had personally seen the foolish attempt of a party whose level didn't even reach that.

As their conversation went on. Darius remembered that Smoke had originally wanted to go to Coatl City and he inquired what was in Coatl City that he hurriedly rushed out of the village on the first day.

"Well, I was actually hoping to get a basic job change but right now I'm in no rush to go to any of the main cities. I want to increase my abilities as much as I can. I want to get stronger so that no one will have the opportunity to take advantage of me."

"If its a basic job change that you are looking for there is a hidden basic job available here. Its also my job as well. Although I have already gotten the master form of the job."

Smoke's eyes became wide as saucers. There was a hidden basic job right here in this forgotten village. Maybe that was the reason why he was able to start here. He asked Darius how to get the the hidden basic job.

+ Quest: Hidden Basic Job of Nanahuatl Village
Job Quest
Level: C

Hidden Basic Job of Nanahuatl Village can only be accessed when you have gained the complete trust of everyone in the Village. In order to get the job you only need to get the 5 family tokens of the main families in Nanahuatl Village.

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

Smoke eagerly accepted the quest. Initially Smoke thought that this old man was nothing more than just a beggar. What with his shabby clothes and all. However Darius showed him many abilities. It looked like this old man had multiple jobs at the same time.

Even though Darius looks like some frail old man but when he taught Smoke the Dual Wield Ability it looked like he had the fighting ability of a Great General. He knows about blacksmithing, dual wielding, fishing, construction. Except for cooking the rest of these abilities are specific to certain jobs.

Smoke also wondered why he was able to learn dual wielding when he thought that it was specific to thieves and assassins only. Darius then told him that there were 3 other jobs who could learn that ability. Novice, Master Blacksmith, and his hidden Job.

"So do I just go about and ask the family heads for their family token?"

"Even though everyone here already considers you as a trusted friend it won't be that easy. Asking them for their family token is like you asking them to give up their son or daughter."

It was obvious that a job quest wouldn't be something as easy as retrieving an item and showing it to the NPC. Especially if its a hidden job quest.

"So can you tell me where I can get my first family token?"

"Of course. You can get your first family token right here."

Darius went to a closet and took out a small statue of man sitting down with his right hand stretching out as if trying to grab something. The statue looked like the famous statue 'The Thinker' only that its hand was stretching out.

+ Received Darius' family token

+ Family Token of Darius

You have received Darius' family token. It is a symbol of his hidden job. This can only be given to the person who has earned his trust as a blood brother.

Family Tokens Count: (1/5)

Agriculture is a Dangerous Field.

Nash was just doing some finishing touches on his 3rd Video upload for ZECTAS. His 2nd video was about him attacking the armored armadillos. He was doing a damage of 1 with his beginner's knife until it broke forcing him to use his bare fist for the usual 1 point damage.

He expertly edited out the part where he learned the passive ability 'knife mastery' from breaking the beginner's knife. He was hoping that the results will be just as big or maybe even bigger than the first video. Hoping that everyone would still find him as hilarious but things don't always go the way we want them to.

His second video only got 223,335,161 views less than half of his first successful video. Nash was scared about the check that he would be getting with this kind of numbers.

Fortunately Nash's manager from the game center argued on his behalf and told the higher management that it is still a really high number and it would really be unfair on Nash's part to set the first video as a standard.

Nash thought of his manager as his 2nd father because of how much he always thought about his well being. He got a check for $15,000.00 and was told that from now on they would now be following certain standards.

As such the minimum amount that Nash could get would be $2,000.00 for videos with 0 up to 5,000,000 views. For videos that would reach 5,000,001 up to 199,999,999 views would be $10,000.00. For videos that are 200,000,000 up to 500,000,000 will be $15,000.00. For videos beyond that there will be a deliberation between the higher management.

Nash didn't really understand how they came up with those numbers. He just understood that if he didn't have high numbers he wouldn't be getting any money.

He desperately needed that money since he decided to become a pro gamer. After all this was his new source of income, replacing his 3 previous jobs.

After reading the comments on the 2nd video Nash discovered that people found it redundant they even went on saying that he was a 'trick pony'. Sure it was still funny but watching the same 'comedy routine' gets old really fast.

Nash needed to quickly change his approach. Unfortunately he had no other videos to show. He could show them the forgotten Village of Nanahuatl but that would mean that the rest of the world will now about this serene little village.

It was his little piece of sanctuary that he had always been looking for. He wanted to preserve that sanctuary for as long as he could.

"Well here's hoping that they will find this video more interesting."

He uploaded his 3rd video about him entering a hidden cave. There he found hordes of dire foxes. He was attacking the dire foxes with such blazing speed and dodging their attacks as if he knew each attack was coming. The intriguing part of it all was that this novice was using dual wield. A skill thought only available to thieves, assassins and their hidden variations.

He took out the bacon from the freezer and prepared the frying pan. He brewed a fresh pot of coffee. He quickly finished making breakfast. It was still 5am but this is already much later than the time he usually prepares breakfast.

He called his brothers to join him. As Nash no longer needed to leave the house for work. He decided that for breakfast and dinner he and his brothers will eat together. The 2 younger Smoaks found this very tiring but readily agreed.

This was their own special time of the day. For almost 20 hours Nash was inside ZECTAS earning money for them. They really wanted to join in saying that maybe they could bypass the age requirement or something.

Nash strongly told them off. He has been working so hard so that the two of them will get to finish their college education. It is enough that their departed parents only have one son who doesn't get to finish college. Besides it could compromise his game account seeing as they could detect that they are related.

"So Nash, why is it that you're pretending to be so weak that you're not able to kill those practice monsters?"

"I told you Donny, it's a secret. I can't tell you the reason. Knowing you I'm sure you will tell your classmates and then they will tell their older siblings. Then I won't have enough leverage over everyone else. Do you get it now Donny?"

Donny the youngest of the 3 brothers still wanted to know how Nash does it. Everyone kept on saying that he was using a video editor but after having his videos uploaded to the official site of ZECTAS everything was cleared.

"Come on Seth, help me convince him to tell me how. I've been telling my classmates and friends that the famous novice in ZECTAS is actually my brother and they don't believe me, they kept saying that if he really was then I should know how he does it."

"Well Nash already gave you his reason right? Do you want to give Nash's secret away? Besides if they don't believe you that your the famous novice's real brother then they aren't friends worth keeping. You don't need to prove yourself to a friend. Do you understand what I'm saying Donny?"

"You guys keep saying 'do you understand Donny? do you understand Donny?' but your the ones who don't understand my situation. I feel like you've forgotten how it was like to be 11."

The three brothers laughed and enjoyed their special time together.

After breakfast Nash got back to his room and checked to see if there was anyone who noticed his latest video. It has just been 45 mins since he uploaded the video and already there were 25,789,227 views.

DetectiveRonan: I knew it. This guy has an advance hidden job of either a thief or assassin. Maybe that job had a skill to make it so that he would look like a novice.

ZEctACollegePro: He would have to be, just look at that insane atk speed. No novice could have that attack speed. His damage is also pretty high for a pure Agi build. I think this guy must be at least level 50.

247Killaz: great job on finding an advance hidden job at only level 50 I think Tristan had his advance hidden job when he was already 60.

SupahNovice#1Disciple: My master rocks! I was right and immediately shifted my job to a thief. If only he would share how he got this advance hidden job.

N00bMasTeR: Sorry to burst your bubble guys but I don't think that its an advance hidden job. I think he could just be a plain old thief or assassin. I heard that there is currently a master tailor in Mezco City of the Mictaztl Kingdom who is recruiting players to help him on a quest to hunt the Golden Lion as a reward of the quest the tailor would get the ability to make any type of leather clothing even the type that would make it look like a novice.

Dark_AvEngER: Are you for real? I'm in that Kingdom right now. I guess I'll try heading for Mezco City then.

SupahNovice#1Disciple: If what your saying is true then that would mean that my idol is not just strong but he also has allies that is also really powerful. He has been wearing that novice-like outfit since 2 months ago.

UrLogicSux: Some guys are just to dumb to see the truth. He could just have bought the outfit from that master tailor doesn't really mean that they are in a guild or something.

mRuleUAll: If you geniuses have noticed. His video has been starting to give out some more information than before. I think his next videos will be on how to get this advance hidden job. He did just show us about that hidden cave of the dire foxes right?

cutey4you: So which Kingdom is this? The landscape looks to be in the West Kingdom or the East Kingdom right?

ProfessorXectas: I think it looks to be in the West Kingdom those forests looks like the ones I've been in recently. I guess making a super novice account isn't possible after all. Since everyone is sure that this is an advance hidden job.

TriTank: You guys are just over estimating this guy. Pfft he still looks idiotic to me and Tristan had his advance hidden job when he was level 40!

Nash's prayers were answered. The comments went on and on about what job Nash has in ZECTAS. Almost all of them concluded that he has an advance hidden job of thief.

The views kept on rising. At this rate he was sure that he could clear this month's quota for expenditures and savings for his brothers' future.

"Darius, who should I talk to for my next family token?"

"Hmm well it could either be Franz or James."

"Ohh, I was hoping that you were hiding another one behind your back and say 'TADA' it's right here."

Darius raised his eyebrow as he was looking at Smoke. There are some things that you cannot joke about and one of those things is a family token.

"Right right. So Franz it is. His house is the one embedded with the big potato right?"

TUK TUK TUK

Smoke knocked on the big potato embedded on the door. There was no answer. He tried calling out Franz's name and he heard a voice calling him from behind the house.

There he saw 2 boys plowing the field by hand and 1 girl mixing some form of fertilizer into the land, while their parents Franz and Magda were clearing out the huge stones and logs that were covering their field.

"Hi Franz. Do you mind if I talk with you a bit? What are you guys planting?"

"CARROTS!. We originally wanted to plant potatoes, daikon, yam, or anything except CARROTS."

"Why such hate for carrots? I seem to remember you guys loving the carrot soup I made just recently."

Smoke forgot that in ZECTAS time was 4x faster than the real world and he has been away from Nanahuatl Village for quiet some time.

"Of course we loved them Smoke. It's just that since then we've had nothing but carrots and now we're also forced to plant nothing but carrots."

Since the Village of Nanahuatl was still recovering the only food sources that they have are some rabbit meat that are hunted by the teens in the village, some fish caught by the fish trap dam, and some carrots from the field.

Apparently it was the only root crop left available and even that was dwindling in numbers. That was why the farmer family of Nanahuatl Village decided to do what they were meant to do and started cultivating the fields.

If it weren't for the eight teens that were gathered and trained by Darius to use the bow. Then they would have ran out of rabbit meat all together.

"It's really uplifting to see everyone working together. Helping each other out. I'm glad I was made to start here in Nanahuatl Village."

"We're also glad to have you here Smoke. I mean if it weren't for you then who knows what would've happened to us."

Since the people of Nanahuatl were all NPCs they would have just stayed in their beds sick. Waiting for a player to come rescue them but Smoke felt that he really did save their lives because of how the NPCs were showing their appreciation.

"Well about that. You see Franz, I've just received my first quest and I'm really excited to complete it but it seems that I would need your help in completing it."

"If it is within my power then without a doubt I will help you."

"I'm glad to hear you say that Franz, you see I would like to ask you to give me your family token. No, what I mean to say is that please I'm begging you to give me your family token."

Upon hearing such words everyone in the field stopped what they were doing. The rest of the family members looked to Franz waiting to hear his answer.

"Smoke... umm.... you see... how do I put this.... Your certainly the savior of our village but you asking for our family token is like you telling us that you've been doing all these good deeds for all this time just so that you can get our family token."

Smoke was shocked to hear such an accusation. He sincerely just wanted to help them out. He just got this quest recently how could they say such a thing.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way Franz but that isn't my intention at all. I just really wanted to help all of you out. I just learned the requirements of the quest just now."

"Smoke, I can feel the sincerity of your words. I'm sorry for accusing you of such a dastardly act. Forgive me Smoke if I have offended you."

"That's okay but now that you've said that you cannot give me your family token I don't know how to proceed with my quest."

"Wait, I never said that I can't give you my family token. If you really want our family token then you must do an even greater act than rescuing Nanahuatl Village from starvation. An act that would put our family and our descendants in your debt forever."

Smoke was pondering how in the world he would do something like that. Why couldn't he just give him his family token. Wasn't it enough that he saved the village?

"Can you tell me how to do just that? I don't have any ideas at all."

"We maybe alive and well now. But this alone has not healed us completely. We were born to be farmers. We have been born to plant, raise, and harvest crops. That is who we are. However I can no longer enjoy the thing that we were meant to do."

So it wasn't something as heroic as slaying a legendary dragon after all. It was just helping their family get back on their feet and continue on their livelihood happily.

"That does sound truly horrible. Work without enjoyment is slavery after all. Is there a way I can help you with this problem?"

"Well if you could gather some root crops from the Mandragora Forest then I would consider that to be the most heroic of acts."

+ Quest: Gather Root Crops for the Briars
Gathering Quest
Level: D

Franz Briar has requested that you gather certain root crops for him in the Mandragora Forest.
Daikon (0/5 sacks)
Potato (0/5 sacks)
Desert Yam (0/5 sacks)
Radish (0/5 sacks)
Sweet Potato (0/5 sacks)
Bread Root (0/5 sacks)

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"Yes. I'd gladly do that. If you would have told me sooner that you had this kind of problem then I would have looked into it as well."

"Thank you Smoke. Here let me show you the way to Mandragora Forest."

Smoke felt like he was asked to go to the grocery rather than to do a quest. The map indicated the way to Mandragora Forest it was nearer than the hidden cave of the dire foxes.

After gathering some food and other necessities. Smoke started his way towards Mandragora Forest. He looked forward to entering a forest. He felt that he had become stronger. True he was still far from Tristan but he was on his way for extracting his revenge.

As soon as he was at the entrance of the Mandragora Forest he did a quick check on his items and status. His satiety was ok so he didn't need to eat just yet.

"Status Window."

Character Name: Smoke

Race: Dark Elf

Alignment: Neutral

Level:17

Money: 20,000,000 Zecs

Fame: 517

Job: Novice

Title: None

Pet: None

Life: 2,091 HP

Mana: 2,380 MP

Dexterity:95

Strength:95

Agility: 10 (+280)

Vitality: 10 (+13)

Intelligence: 10

Leadership: 1

Charisma: 1

Luck: 999

Atk Speed: 37 (+11)

Move Speed:43

Attack: 210-238

Defense: 15

Magic Resistance

Fire: 10%

Water: 10%

Earth: 10%

Wind: 10%

Black Magic: 50%

Equipment Effects

* None

Skills Effects

* Agility of the Horned Rabbit (Agility + 280)
* Cooking (Vitality + 13)
* Dual Wield (Attack Speed + 11)
* Knife Mastery (Knife Damage + 13%)

Smoke prioritized to increase his abilities rather than to increase his levels. He was most especially happy with the first ability that he got.

Agility of the Horned Rabbit was now Intermediate Level 9. It gave him so many benefits attack speed, movement speed, dodge rate. Because of its high agility bonus it made it seem like he had an extra 28 levels.

Satisfied with himself Smoke took the first steps in to the Mandragora Forest.

- Entered Mandragora Forest

- Monsters inside this forest are highly aggressive.
- Suggested level for entering this forest is 45.

Smoke thought he was practically level 45 with his agility bonus included. He confidently continued deeper into the forest.

The forest looked really beautiful. It was filled with gigantic flowers. Their colors varied from Red, Pink, White, Yellow, and Blue.

The forest floor was covered in greenery. Smoke also noticed that the floor was somewhat slippery and somehow it felt like it was moving.

-20 Poison Slimes detected.

His ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' has detected that he was already surrounded by poison slimes. They were skillfully blending with the forest.

He was lucky that he had learned such a helpful ability. As the slimes slowly moved he picked one target and attacked it.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. Damage 26.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 67.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 65.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

- Attacked by poison slime. Miss damage. 0

The life bar of the poison slime indicated that it had a total life of 1,000 HP it has a life of almost 3x that of the dire fox.

Smoke's damage on the poison slime wasn't as high as the damage he dealt with the dire foxes. He decided to use his ability 'Armor Break of the Armored Armadillo'

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. Damage 22.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

- Attacked by poison slime. Miss damage. 0

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the poison slime.

+ You've killed the poison slime.

+ You've gained 2400 exp.

+ You've gained a level.

The poison slimes give a pretty decent experience. However what was concerning was that his damage remained the same. Even with armor break his damage didn't increase at all.

While Smoke was still trying to come up with a reason as to why his damage was so low. He was caught off guard by a poison slime.

- Attacked by poison slime. You've been poisoned. Health -250

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. Damage 28.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

- Attacked by poison slime. Miss damage. 0

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

+ Attack hit poison slime. Damage 29.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 67.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 65.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 68.

+ Attack hit poison slime. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 69.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the poison slime.

+ You've killed the poison slime.

+ You've gained 2400 exp.

+ You've gained a level.

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -40

The situation was very bad. Even when the battle had already ended Smoke was still losing HP because he was poisoned. He only has 1430 HP left and he doesn't have a clear path towards the exit.

While trying to fight his way through the poison slimes he was eating the smoked rabbit meat that he had as an emergency ration. He continued eating as many of them as he could to try to raise his HP while walking towards the exit.

He somehow managed to get of the forest but he only had 500 HP left and the poison was still continuing to decrease his HP there were no signs of the poison from fading.

Smoke didn't have any form of antidote on him. If he doesn't think of something fast he was sure to die even before he would get to Nanahuatl Village.

He quickly remembered the gift that Darius gave him before setting out. It was a portable pot where he could make small meals good for 1-3 persons.

He immediately started making a fire and prepared the ingredients required for the medicinal soup that gave the residents of Nanahuatl Village some HP Regen effect.

He quickly gulped down the stew as soon as he completed the 'Medicinal Rabbit Stew' the effects had worked immediately. Instead of losing 40 HP it had become 5 HP. His 'Cooking' ability was still Intermediate Level 3 it looks like he needs to improve this ability quickly.

The HP Regen from the medicinal stew wasn't strong enough to cancel out the poison. None the less it made the needed impact that Smoke was looking for.

He continued to eat some of the smoked rabbit meat to regain his HP. The poison lasted for about 3 hours. While the effect of the medicinal stew only lasted for 20 minutes.

During the time that the medicinal stew still had its HP Regen effect. Smoke was out hunting the horned rabbits. He felt sick to the bone just hunting for the rabbits once more.

However he needed their meat in order to make more medicinal stew. While hunting for the horned rabbits meat. He noticed the carrots among the fields while he was picking up medicinal herbs and decided to pick some of those carrots up as well.

In his next preparation for medicinal stew he decided to add in those carrots. It resulted in 'Medicinal Rabbit Stew+' the effects of HP Regen was indeed higher than before. If his calculations were correct it would mean that he would only lose 3HP per poison attack now.

Smoke gathered some more of the needed ingredients for the medicinal soup before venturing back into 'Mandragora Forest' this time he was prepared for the poison attack.

Keeping track of the time when the effects of the medicinal stew would wear out was the top most priority. He made every effort not to be placed in a situation where in he would be surrounded by poison slimes like before.

Even though he was not surrounded the slimes do sometimes manage to make a successful attack causing him to be poisoned.

He decided on staying within the first layer of the forest before proceeding further in. He wanted to make sure that his HP Regen would be high enough to face any kind of monsters in the inner layers.

This was the hunting pattern that Smoke decided to use. He would fight with the poison slimes for about 20 minutes find a safe corner to make his medicinal soup and continue fighting the poison slimes after wards. Repeating this process for 10 hours until his ingredients would start to run out and then head for the exit of the forest. Hunt and gather for the ingredients for 2 hours before heading back into the forest once again.

Smoke did this for 3 days. He did notice that the breaks for needing to make the stew was longer now. Instead of 20 minutes it was now 30 minutes. This also meant that he no longer needed to hunt more ingredients.

On the fourth day he finally reached his goal of receiving +1 HP Regen even when he is poisoned. As his cooking ability increased so did the bonus to the vitality stat. It was really small at +1 vitality per level increase but that is still 1 point more than nothing.

Smoke finally felt confident to go further inside the forest. Further inside he noticed that there were almost no slimes. He managed not to get poisoned as he had already made a detailed map of safe places to pass through inside the first layer of Mandragora Forest.

On the second layer there were only the colorful gigantic flowers. He looked around everywhere and tried to sense with 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' for enemies but he couldn't feel any. His gut instinct was telling him otherwise. It told him that there was something here.

He tried to continue towards the third layer towards the center. When suddenly he felt a sharp pain coming from his back. It was a deep slashed wound.

- Attacked by orchid mantis. BACK STABBED. You've taken damage. Health -525

What was that. He turned around but couldn't see anything all he could see were the flowers.

- Attacked by orchid mantis. BACK STABBED. You've taken damage. Health -532

Smoke instinctively went to a big tree and had his back covered by the tree. The flowers were slowly moving back and forth as if dancing.

He still wasn't picking up any enemies with the 'Cunning form the Dire Fox' but he could somehow see a figure starting to form from the dancing flowers.

There it was a Giant Orchid Mantis. It stood at about 5 feet tall with long scythes for front legs. From what he could tell with his eyes there were at least 30 of them.

He came to the conclusion that the orchid mantis was somehow suppressing its blood lust causing them not to be registered as enemies.

It almost seemed like a master stealth ability. If those orchid mantis didn't move back and forth so much he would never be able to distinguish them.

Smoke was saved by his medicinal stew once more. With the decent HP Regen he managed to recover most of his lost HP.

He was doing mental battle simulations on how to face the orchid mantis. He was sure that if he could get one he could make a better plan on how to deal with the rest.

He started running towards one of the orchid mantis and got a successful hit in.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. Damage 238.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 595.

+ Attack miss orchid mantis. Damage 0.

+ Attack miss orchid mantis. Damage 0.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 580.

+ Attack miss orchid mantis. Damage 0.

+ Attack miss orchid mantis. Damage 0.

+ Attack miss orchid mantis. Damage 0.

- Attacked by orchid mantis. You've taken damage. Health -340

- Attacked by orchid mantis. You've taken damage. Health -332

- Attacked by orchid mantis. Miss damage. 0

It revealed a terrifying fact. The life bar of the orchid mantis indicated it to be 8,000 HP and he only managed to make around 580 damage points even with 'armor break of the armadillo' and the scarriest part was that it had a high dodge rate.

If Smoke would continue fighting this monster he would surely die. He quickly headed towards the first layer of the forest and immediately went out to the leave the forest entirely.

In the safety of the plains outside of the forest Smoke was reorganizing his battle plan. If the orchid mantis would swarm him he would surely die in just 6 hits.

He needed to boost his attack damage, his chance to hit, his life and his defense basically he needed to boost everything. In order to do that he needed to level up a lot. He decided it was time to grind in some levels.

Now that he has set an objective on how to deal with the orchid mantis he continued on hunting the poison slimes. He didn't mind being swarmed by them anymore. In fact he welcomed it. Saves him the trouble of looking for them.

He just needed to make sure that he could get enough space to move out of the way in order to prepare his medicinal stew.

After spending another 4 days of hunting the poison slime Smoke's level was now 32 he placed all of his stat points on Dexterity since he wanted to have guaranteed hits rather than high damage hits that would occur only once or twice. He estimated that he needed to be at least be level 40 to have sufficient life and damage to take on the orchid mantis.

It has been almost 8 days since he started on this quest for gathering of root crops. He originally thought that this would be a simple gathering quest. He was gravely mistaken.

Smoke always checks the durability of his knives and this time it's durability was about to run out. He didn't want to have to fight using bare fists again. He knew he had to return to Nanahuatl to have them fixed. As he was about to head for the exit...

+ Gained Poison Resistance

You have accumulated a total of 168 hours in poisoned state.
Due to being poisoned for so long you've naturally gained some resistance to it.
Continued exposure to poison will increase in resistance.
Poison Resistance: 10%

He was shocked to see the system notification. So you can also gain resistance by this method. This wasn't mentioned in the forums. He was glad about this new found discovery.

He didn't really need the poison resistance because he had increased his cooking ability. Now his medicinal stew could easily over power the poison. He didn't need it but decided to increase his poison resistance once he would get back here.

Once Smoke got back in Nanahuatl Village he immediately went to see Darius to have his knives repaired. He told him about the gained poison resistance and the problem that he was currently facing against the orchid mantis.

"Orchid Mantis eyy... hmm if I recall correctly they can completely hide their killing intent, so your ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' wouldn't really work on them."

"Yup I figured that out myself. I could somehow see them with my eyes though but if I try to get close to them then another 4 or more orchid mantis would jump at me right away. If only there was a way for me to attack from a far."

"Ranged attack huh? That's not a bad idea but you would need a high amount of Dexterity in order to do some decent damage."

"Just how much Dexterity are we talking about? I just so happen to have 235 Dex."

"That's pretty good for your level. I think you can manage to use this somehow."

Darius took out a black beginner's bow with a damage (1-4) and a quiver of arrows. He mentioned for Smoke to grab the items and follow him outside.

Outside there was a newly made archery target practice facility. There were eight targets made out of straw with a distance of about 30 meters.

Eight teenagers stood closely together and proceeded to hit the first target simultaneously. All of them manage to hit the target and almost all of the arrows were dead center. They then continued on with the rest of the targets.

All eight of the targets were turned into pin cushions of arrows. The group moved with such precision and unity. These were the teenagers who had taken his place in hunting for the horned rabbits meat.

After seeing such exhibition Smoke understood how they had hunted the horned rabbits. If all of them attacked at the same time then the horned rabbit was sure to die by just one group attack. It was simple and effective.

"Smoke let me introduce to you the newly formed hunting party of Nanahuatl. I plan to send them out to Coatl City to have them get a job change of an Archer then after wards have them apply to be Hunters."

"You guys are amazing. How long did it take you to make such a coordinated attack pattern?"

"It only took them about a week. From your left you have Laernea, Sharanga, Ichaival, Vijaya, Thyrsus, Sharur, Gandiva, and Jinggu."

The young hunting party slightly bowed down their heads to show their respect for Smoke. All of them were inspired by his generosity and kindness. That's the reason why they took up the bow in order to help provide food for the village.

"Darius, I'm suppose to imitate what I just saw right?"

"More or less. Do not be too discourage if you can't perform as well as them though. This is your first time using a bow after all."

Smoke held the bow and placed the arrow, carefully aiming for the bull's eye. Everything felt natural. He rapidly release eight arrows almost simultaneously. His hand movement from taking an arrow out of the quiver that hanged on his back was so fluid that it almost looked like he was using an ability of the advance job 'Sniper'.

Everyone had their mouths wide open. They couldn't believe that Smoke just hit the bull's eye on all of the targets for all 8 arrows. All the audience could do was clap at such a display of skill.

"Wow that was really impressive. I didn't know that you had also increased your Agility by that much already."

"I did take the time to increase my 'Agility of the Horned Rabbit' to Advance Level 2, I now have Agility +360 and surprisingly enough the effects of the increased attack speed from 'Dual Wield' still applies."

"I see. So that explains why you were able to shoot so many arrows and with your high Dexterity stat you were able to accurately hit all of the targets."

Smoke also couldn't believe what he just did. He was trying to act as cool and as calm as he could in front of the young future Hunters. However deep down inside he wanted to run, jump and scream 'AWESOME! That was so cool!'.

He did immediately realize the drawback of using bow and arrows. The quiver that Darius gave him only had a capacity of 100 arrows. The good thing though is that he could fetch the arrow back but that would mean that he would need to get close to the orchid mantis once more. Defeating the purpose of his ranged attack plan.

"Darius, this is really a great help but I'm afraid that I will quickly run out of arrows before I can manage to kill 50 orchid mantises."

"Hmm... I think I have one more thing that could help you out. Everyone return to your practice while I talk with Smoke inside."

Once inside Darius headed to his back room and quickly returned with a glowing red stone. The stone was emitting some heat it was about 6 inches long and had a rectangular shape.

"This is an ember stone. If you use this to sharpen your weapons they will gain some fire damage. If memory serves me right plant monsters are really weak against fire. You also mentioned that your damage against the poison slimes was small even with 'armor break of the armored armadillo' right? The reason behind that is that slimes have a unique ability to endure pure physical attacks. So by adding an elemental attack you will get to see some amazing results."

"So I could use this to sharpen the arrows making them into fire arrows! Darius you really are brilliant!"

"That too, but you could also use them on your knives. The job of enchanter can cast elemental attributes on weapons using this method you could get a similar effect. However weapons that are empowered by the ember stone can only hold its fire attribute for 10 hours. You would need to sharpen them again after that."

"But can't you just craft me an enchanted weapon then, that is embedded with the ember stone?"

"I could if I was a master blacksmith. Alas I am not. But if you seek an enchanted weapon with elemental attributes I seem to recall a dungeon in this Kingdom that had a sword imbued with the power of lightning. It's suggested level of entry is around 200 if I'm not mistaken."

"Right! Using the ember stone is really practical and useful. I think I can somehow manage with just these items."

Darius taught Smoke how to sharpen the knives and arrows using the ember stone. He was given a thousand arrows, it took about 1 hour to sharpen all of the arrows and the knives.

With everything in place Smoke set out again to face the most dangerous grocery pick up he has ever experienced.

In front of the entrance of 'Mandragora Forest' Smoke proceeded with his new ritual before hunting. He sharpened his knives and arrows using the ember stone. He was slowly getting the hang of it that he decreased the time to 50 minutes.

Smoke tried attacking the poison slime with his fire empowered knives and was very pleased with the result...

+ Attack hit poison slime. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1143.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the poison slime.

+ You've killed the poison slime.

+ You've gained 700 exp.

The poison slimes weren't giving such high xps anymore. Smoke planned to finish the quest within the 10 hour limit set by his fire weapons enhancements.

Smoke already saw the entrance towards the third layer of the forest before so going back there will be a lot quicker. He just needed to wipe out all the orchid mantises that would block his way.

As he entered the second layer, the layer of the orchid mantises Smoke switched to his bow and arrow. He began shooting all of the flowers in sight. Regardless if it was an orchid mantis or not he was planning to wipe all of them out.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1143.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1121.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1122.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1145.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1103.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1128.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1115.

+ Attack hit orchid mantis. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1151.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the orchid mantis.

+ You've killed the orchid mantis.

+ You've gained 4000 exp.

+ You've gained a level.

Smoke continued on picking off the orchid mantises one at a time. Once he saw the figure of the orchid mantis there was no escape for it. All the orchid mantises did was sway back and forth. As if trying to be a flower being blown by the wind.

Since his arrows hit practically at the same time there was no chance for the injured orchid mantis to react. It would fall dead to the ground after the 8th arrow hits it's body.

At first the orchid mantises continued to stand their ground away from Smoke trying to hide within the flowers. Despite that the dead bodies of the orchid mantises started to stack up around them.

As they saw that they were dying one by one at an alarming rate, their movements changed. The orchid mantises were enraged. The stealth that they were so proud of was no longer working for them.

Instead of dancing back and forth waiting for a chance to attack. The orchid mantises rushed towards Smoke they came at him eight at a time. Just the right number for Smoke's attack speed.

The orchid mantises were running towards a rain of arrows, falling to the ground at around 5 meters away from Smoke. From all the scattered dead bodies of the orchid mantises, it looked like there was an invisible force field that stopped them at that distance.

After almost 4 hours of non stop fire arrows the orchid mantises near the area were no more. He had gained a total of 3 levels and added them all to his Dexterity. Smoke quickly picked up as much fire arrows as he could, as he only had less than 6 hours left of fire empowerment.

All he could gather was 400 pieces of fire arrows, the rest of the arrows were buried under the pile of orchid mantis carcasses.

Smoke finally reached the center of Mandragora Forest. It was a clear field somewhat similar to the Maneator's Forest but instead of a cave there was a sole rickety tree at it's center. It was a huge rickety tree.

However the things that Smoke focused on were the root crops that were scattered all around the tree. He quickly took out his sacks and started collecting all of the root crops that the quest had required.

As he was about to complete the needed number of sacks for the potatoes. He felt a root grab him. It took hold of his feet rendering him immobile, unable to move the spot.

The next thing that Smoke saw was a huge wooden hand swatting him like a fly. He was thrown against a big tree still within the boundaries of the 3rd layer of the forest.

- Attacked by Tree Ent: ReenTe. You've taken damage. Health -3000

The rickety tree was a colossal Tree Ent it was the boss of this forest. It had used its root to grab hold of Smoke stopping his movements. The Tree Ent was very very very slow. He needed an immobile target in order to successfully hit it. He does however have a high attack power.

Smoke only had 693 HP left. In his excitement to finish the quest quickly he forgot to make the medicinal rabbit stew. He thought about eating something to regain some of his health but decided not to. Even at full health it would only take 2 hits for the Tree Ent to kill him.

The magic number being TWO. Smoke wasn't going to give him another shot. He was going to wipe the floor with this boss. Luckily the Tree Ent stayed at the center of his forest and continued to use it's roots into trying to capture Smoke.

Smoke felt the  roots coming at him from all directions but he could easily sense them with 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' and dodge them within a hair's breadth.

While dodging he was also hitting the Tree Ent with his fire arrows.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1493.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1511.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1499.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1523.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1511.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1502.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1499.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1493.

The Tree Ent's life bar indicated that it had a total of (197,969/210,000 HP) Smoke had more than enough arrows to deal with this boss.

Smoke was very careful not to get caught by the roots. The Tree Ent only needed one hit but Smoke was too fast for him.

The Tree Ent was slow but it's roots were not. They moved like fast whips making sounds as they break the empty air that Smoke was making them hit.

Smoke headed towards the left side of the Tree Ent. He maneuvered carefully towards his goal while continuing his rain of fire arrows. It took him 15 minutes to reach his destination but he finally reached it. The back of the Tree Ent was exposed!

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2239.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2179.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2211.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2123.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2209.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2200.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2215.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2228.

Smoke unleashed his fire arrows with his maximum speed. He was able to do a 10 volleys of 8 arrows for each attack. The life bar of the Tree Ent showed that it only had (63,243/210,000 HP) left.

The whole forest floor of the 3rd layer started to shake. The roots buried deeply underground started to rise and were slowly heading towards it's source, towards the Tree Ent. The thick roots were forming into an impenetrable root barrier.

Smoke saw that the life bar of the Tree Ent was also gradually increasing. It was using a regenerative ability. His fire arrows did no damage at all when it hit the thick roots. Realizing the situation he quickly adapted and switched weapons.

He dashed with everything he had towards the forming root barrier. He was aware of the thinner roots that were still targeting him and was also planning a way to get past the forming thick roots.

Barely making it in time, the root barrier was finally done but Smoke was already inside before it was completed. He swiftly drove both his knives deep in the back of the dying Tree Ent.

The regeneration ability that the Tree Ent had activated was disrupted as Smoke started his blitzing knife attacks. The Tree Ent's roots were desperately trying to grab him. It could feel that it was on its last few minutes of life.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2121.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2179.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2099.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2103.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2119.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2120.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2137.

+ Attack hit Tree Ent: ReenTe. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 2098.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the Tree Ent: ReenTe.

+ You've killed the Tree Ent: ReenTe.

+ You've gained 90,000 exp.

+ You've gained a level.

+ You've gained a level.

+ You've gained a level.

As the body of the Tree Ent started to fade away, it left behind a precious loot.

+ Acquired rare amulet: Heart of ReenTe.

Smoke excitedly inspected his first BOSS loot.

Heart of ReenTe (Necklace)

A rare amulet with a red mana stone at its center. It is the precious item of the Tree Ent as it was it's way of regenerating his rickety body sustaining him to last these past 500 years.

Equipment Ability:
*Regeneration (Active)
+ you can cast regeneration on yourself to last for 2 hours at a rate of  2%Max HP/sec and at the cost of  4%Max MP/sec
+ this is a channelling ability, once interrupted the ability will be cancelled.
+ once you've used the item you cannot use the item again for another 6 hours.
*Increased Vitality (Passive)
+ you gain 30 vitality points when you wear this necklace.

After inspecting the amulet he quickly equipped it and activated its ability 'Regeneration' he saw a faint green light and felt a soft hot wind covering his body.

With his health fully rejuvenated Smoke finally got to do his original quest. He started gathering the needed root crops.

Before leaving the Mandragora Forest, Smoke decided to gather some of the mandragora flowers that were scattered all over the 3rd layer. He thought that these flowers must have some amazing property after all a whole forest was named after it.

On the way out of the forest in the second layer. Some of the orchid mantises were respawning since Smoke had already destroyed most of the flowers that served as their camouflage there was no place for them to hide.

He switched back to his bow and arrows and quickly dealt with the 50 orchid mantises that were blocking his way. Among the dead carcasses he found another loot, it was their deadly scythe like front legs.

Making sure to pick up all of the loot before heading towards the first layer. Smoke didn't even bother with the poison slimes since he wanted to return to Nanahuatl Village as soon as possible.

Instead of taking his usual path towards Darius' house Smoke headed towards Franz's house. He brought out a lot of sacks filled with different kinds of root crops. Franz was ecstatic, he was worried since Smoke took so long. Franz hurriedly gathered every member of his family to greet Smoke.

+ Quest Completed!
Gather Root Crops for the Briars

You have gathered all the root crops. The Briar family can now continue their growing the fields with smiles on their faces.

Reward:
* Briar's Family Token
* 10,000 Exp

"In the presence of all the members of the Briars, I Franz Briar turn over our family token to Smoke."

Franz took out a small wooden rake and wooden plow intertwined together and gave it to Smoke.

"As is the custom. Smoke you are now the official clan head of the Briars. We will follow your will no matter what it is."

+ Received Briar's family token

+ Family Token of the Briars

You have earned the family token of the Briars and as such you are now their new Clan Head. The Briars are a family that has been said to be inborn farmers. Of course this is all self proclaimed.

Family Tokens Count: (2/5)

+ Intimacy with the Briars has risen to 'Blood Brothers'

You have completed the 'Important Quest' that Franz Briar has given you and for that they are eternally grateful.
The Briars will now follow your will as their new Clan Head.

"No wonder you were so hesitant to give me your family token. My dear Briars as your new Clan Head I promise to treat you with the respect that you just-fully deserve and also swear to never abuse my authority."

The quest proved more difficult than originally expected but it did result in a lot of wonderful things. Smoke was now level 43 and more powerful than ever.

He excitedly headed towards the next family token. The family of Hide.

The History of Jackal & Hide

The recovering village of Nanahuatl looks serene and calm. The old broken doors were now replaced with new ones. The trees and the bushes in their respective yards were trimmed. Signage on the different establishments were being put up again.

The fountain at the center of the village was painted with immaculate white. The agricultural fields maintained by the Briars were plowed and planted with root crops. Kids and grown ups could also be seen playing near the fishing weirs that was constructed with armored armadillo carapace.

Although conventional commerce has yet to return because of the shortage of zecs the residents just got by through trading of items and services. Of course there are a lot of residents who give out their services for free, like Darius who has taken on a group of teenagers under his wing teaching them the way of the bow.

Yes, things were looking up for everyone in Nanahuatl Village. Yet amidst all this happiness two individuals were secretly having a meeting. A meeting of the dubious kind. The members of this secret meeting were the clan heads of the Jackals and the Hides.

Earlier that week Smoke just arrived from Mandragora Forest. After completing his quest and receiving his 2nd family token he immediately headed for the house of James Jackal the clan head of the Jackal family.

James is an elderly man but did not look frail at all. If Smoke didn't know that James' job was a Tailor he would have thought for sure that this NPC was a Warrior.

"Why hello there young hero. I have heard that you took on the Briar's quest of gathering root crops? I expect that you've returned here telling him that it is impossible to defeat that guardian tree ent? Or perhaps you've come here looking for reinforcements to aid you on your quest?"

James Jackal was smiling but somehow Smoke felt like he was being questioned for the crime of the century. Smoke also felt odd because just before accepting Franz's quest James was very pleasant to talk to.

"Well I was lucky enough to have completed that quest. Darius was also a big help giving me a bow and the ember stone."

"What?! You managed to defeat that ReenTe?! He had such an immense health. How many people did you take from the village to help you? Did you hire some mercenaries?"

"No no no. I was fortunate enough to have defeated ReenTe by myself. Although if ReenTe did manage to hit me one more time, I would have surely died."

"I see. I see. So what can I do for you then Smoke, slayer of ReenTe?"

"Well I don't know if you've heard but I've received a quest from Darius and as such I've started collecting the family tokens in Nanahuatl Village."

Smoke felt really awkward. He use to speak comfortably with James. In fact next to Darius it was James Jackal and Howard Hide who were really friendly towards him.

"Yes I've heard. So I suppose you want our family token now as well?"

"Yes I would like to humbly ask you for your family token. I know that it is a very precious item but I'm willing to do anything in order to get it."

"Anything? Be careful of the things you say Smoke. I might take you up on that offer."

"Please if you could tell me what could be enough compensation for your family token. I'm sure that what ever you say will be a fair deal on my end."

"Very well, come here by the end of the week and we will talk."

"Alright then, see you by the end of the week and thank you for listening to my request."

Smoke then headed towards Darius' house. Darius was packing a lot of food and other necessary items for the long journey towards Coatl city. He was sending the 8 teenagers to become archers. They have also been instructed to find the advance job variations from the archer job.

"Wow that's a lot of stuff and you've prepared all 8 bags. I'm sure those eight will make you proud Darius."

"I know. I'm sure they will do great. Maybe even become legends in their own right."

"I bet. Anyway I wanted to show you some of the loot I've gathered."

Smoke took out the items from his bag. The scythe like front legs of the orchid mantis, some kind of green squishy balls from the poison slime, and the questionable mandragora flowers.

"Wow this is quiet a haul. Just how many do you have of these items?"

"Well I have 5,000 pcs of green slime balls, 2,000 pcs of mandragora flowers and just 500 pcs of front legs of the orchid mantis. I only managed to bring 500 pcs of the front legs because these things are heavy and carrying any more made me encumbered."

"Of course these things are heavy. These front legs can be crafted into weapons. I think if crafted well one mantis blade can be as much as 10,000 zecs."

Smoke not having the opportunity to browse the items sold in the main cities had no idea if it was cheap or expensive. He only nodded his head in response to Darius' enthusiasm.

"That sounds impressive. What about the other items can you tell me something about them? Especially the mandragora flowers. I thought that they might be a used as medicine or something."

"First these green slime balls are called poison pellets these things are the source of the poison from the poison slimes. These mandragora flowers however are not medicinal plants as you have thought earlier. This things are dangerous. You see this plant induces hallucinations and nightmares. It was a good thing these flowers were not crushed during your travel or you would've been one of its victims."

"Ohhh, and here I thought I was gonna add it to the medicinal rabbit stew. Good thing that I showed it to you first then."

"Well I do have a container for some dangerous things like this. Wait here while I get it for you."

"You sure do have a lot of useful stuff Darius."

"Well with my job you tend to get a lot of things. Some of them maybe nice, others maybe useful, but most of them are just junk."

One of the perks of Darius' hidden job was getting a lot of useful items. Smoke was so excited to get the hidden job. If only the other clan heads was just like Darius and would give him their family tokens without the hassle of quests.

"I see. I can't wait to have the same job as you do Darius. It really sounds intriguing. Can you tell me the name of your job again?"

"Of course I can tell you. My job is that of a ..... hey wait a minute. You're trying to trick me into giving out my job without completing the quest. That was quiet sneaky of you Smoke."

"Damn, I thought for sure you were gonna tell me. Aren't you suppose to tell me everything you know and answer anything I ask?"

"It's good to have some mysteries in life Smoke. Once you've completed the quest you will know what 'our' job is. So have you spoken to James or Howard yet? Have they given you their quest?"

"Yeah about that, I spoke to James and he told me to come talk to him after a week. It also felt strange and awkward talking to him. Does it have to do with me completing Franz's quest?"

"That is an intelligent guess and most likely correct. We can't know for sure, unless you ask him yourself."

"I guess that means I have one week to do something else. Right about the mantis blades do you think you can manage to craft them?"

"Why yes of course I can. However with this much work I feel like I should be getting paid. You are my dearest friend and all but I have to make a living as well. Would it be alright with you if I charge you 500 zecs each for these mantis blades?"

"You're only gonna charge me 500 zecs for an item that can become 10,000 zecs? That sounds a bit to harsh to me. I think 5,000 zecs each would be a fair price."

"But at that price that would amount to 2,500,000 zecs do you have that kind of cash?"

"Yeah I have some saved up zecs besides didn't you tell me that I could sell those off for 10,000 zecs once your done crafting them into mantis blades? At that return that investment is cheap."

Smoke having no need for zecs at the moment wanted to help out Darius in the most subtle way. Darius had been a great help to from the very start of his ZECTAS life.

"Wow that is really generous of you, thank you Smoke. Ummm.... I know that this sounds presumptuous even when you've already increased my pay but perhaps you can give me an advance payment. Not that I don't trust that you can't pay me or anything it's just that I have some need of zecs ASAP."

Classic Darius, Smoke remembered the time when he was still giving Darius his loaves of bread. This guy when you start giving him something he just wants to keep on asking for more.

"Sure I can pay in advance."

- You've transferred 2,500,000 zecs to NPC Darius

"Thanks Smoke. I'll get on crafting this blades right away. Just after I.... finish my own mini quest. Well if you'll excuse me."

"Of course, go right ahead. I'll try to look around the village as well. I want to see all the improvements."

As Smoke left Darius' house he saw him putting the zecs into different money pouches. It seems like he was gonna give the zecs to his future archers, as pocket money for their trip to Coatl City.

"That's Darius for you alright, he may seem like a needy greedy guy but deep down inside he just wants to help people out."

Smoke toured the whole village and was amazed at all the changes. Nanahuatl Village didn't look run down anymore. Everyone was busy with something, he tried offering them help but was politely declined.

"Well I guess I should try hunting some monsters or something."

Smoke tried the forest nearest to the village. The forest was filled with stone deers. Smoke remembered that this was the monster that greeted him in the forest of the Maneator. He was curious to find out how he would fare against this monster now.

Taking out his bow and arrow Smoke swiftly fired 8 shots in rapid succession. Each making 1000+ damage points. After hitting the stone deer the life bar appeared and indicated that it had only 7000 HP and then fell down dead.

Smoke was happy with himself he was able to take out the stone deer in one volley of arrows. It did take Damien and Veiz, the range members of Tristan's party just 2 hits making them have damages of around 3500 each but Smoke's rapid fire, more than made up for the lower damage.

After spending a couple of hours hunting the stone deer, Smoke decided to do some experimentation on his abilities and items. He wanted to try the deer meat that he got from the stone deer. He prepared a dish following the recipe of the 'medicinal rabbit stew' and it came out as 'medicinal deer stew' which gave a much higher regen. He then activated the 'Heart of ReenTe'.

"Well time to test out this perilous theory."

GULP

Smoke ingested a poison pellet. Immediately he took damage that was almost 3x the amount of the poison attack that he got from the slime.

- poison continues to lower your life. Health -115.

If it wasn't for the 'medicinal deer stew' and the 'Heart of ReenTe' he would surely be dying right now. Instead he was still gaining +10 HP as regen even with the poisoned status.

Smoke continued some more experimentation with his abilities and equipments. On his 5th day of experimentation his awaited event finally happened. His bow finally got broken as it consumed its last point of durability.

+  Learned Ability: Bow Mastery
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

By exhausting the full durability of your beginner bow in battle you have  grasped the truth about bows.

Bow Damage: +1% Increased Damage

"Finally! Took long enough. I expected it to be much sooner because of my increased attack speed."

Smoke happily switched out his broken weapon and used the dual knives that Darius gave him. He had thought that he would learn this ability just as he did with the 'knife mastery' ability. Everything was going according to plan. He had planned that during this one week's wait he would learn 'Bow Mastery', improve 'Dual Wield'  and then increase his poison resistance.

Smoke moved around the forests near Nanahuatl Village for a week. He had gained 4 levels and improved his targeted abilities, he had also raised his poison resistance to 40%. At that point he no longer took any poison damage from the poison pellets and no matter how many poison pellets he ate his poison resistance no longer increased. He concluded that it was the maximum resistance he could gain from using the poison pellets.

He returned to Nanahuatl Village with some feathers from the iron owl, pelts from the rabid raccoon, and meat from the stone deer. It seems it was only those monsters that were inside the forests near Nanahuatl Village.

Among his loot he found the feathers of the iron owl most useful. Darius told him that if the arrows were made using the feathers of the iron owl it would give an extra distance of at least 100 meters from his current arrows.

"Those arrows using owl feathers are great and all but I can't use them since I broke my bow. I was hoping that maybe you have another spare beginner bow?"

"Ohh... I'm sorry I don't have any spare beginner bows left. I do however have this experimental composite bow. If you don't mind its negative effects then I'd let you have this one."

"That bow sounds intriguing can you show it to me?"

Darius showed him his experimental composite bow.

Experimental Composite Bow

A bow made of out of 2 black beginner bows and other raw materials hard to decipher, because the craftsman of the bow is still experimenting it causes some of your accuracy to drop.

Damage: 4-8
Durability: (300/300)
Dexterity: -20

"Well -20 dexterity is a really big draw back, but since I placed all of my stats into dexterity then it shouldn't be much of a problem."

During the past week Darius was also paying everyone for their services and items. So zecs were now available to everyone once again. Smoke was glad that regular commerce was coming back but they were only buying and selling amongst themselves. They needed to have some kind of outer influx of zecs.

The promised date has finally arrived its been one week since James told Smoke to return. Inside James' house was another figure. It was Howard Hide the clan head of the Tanning family of Nanahuatl. They greeted him with big smiles and excitement on their faces.

"Smoke thank you for coming as promised. First of all let me apologize for the way I have treated you earlier this week. You see I was filled with jealousy, and hope. Jealous that you took on that insane quest of the Briars first. Hope that maybe if you did somehow manage to complete their quest, you could also manage to complete ours."

Next it was Howard's turn to speak. He told Smoke about the reason why it took them one week to have this meeting.

"You see, James and I are not originally from here. We were born in the noble warrior village of Condortl. Children born from this village are bred to be warriors. When we were ten years old, our Shaman Priestess told everyone in the village that we have offended the great spirit god Tlazotl. As a means to appease the great spirit god we were told to strip off all our weapons and equipments and become as pure as the day we were born. Everyone was then gathered in the center of the village in front of the newly made altar. By chance it was our 2nd day of officially becoming warriors. So naturally we wanted to test our mettle against the monsters near the village."

Howard stopped his narration as the look of pain and dread overcame his face. His body started to tremble involuntarily. James tapped his shoulder to snap him out of it. James decided to continue the explanation.

"We wanted to try our skills against the mighty mountain griffons. As we reached near the summit of Mt. Aeriloc we got a glimpse of the whole village from below. From there we saw the carnage. The Shaman Priestess was actually a  fecund lizard. They are the females of the lizard people, they have the ability to shape shift into any person that they have eaten. She trapped the whole village using the males of the lizard people, the virile lizards spewed out their paralysis spray."

This time it was James who stopped. However in his eyes you could not see fear but rather immense hatred. After regaining his composure he continued.

"The people in our village are excellent fighters. Even if the virile lizards were twice their size they could have still managed to defeat them if only they were equipped with their weapons. The virile lizards continued their sprays as they pummeled everyone. All of the warriors tried to fight but their fists could do no harm to the virile's thick leather. The virile lizards continued on paralyzing people until they caught everyone. The fecund lizard then revealed to be the matron of those lizard people and has made all of the survivors into her slaves in order to dig for the precious 'Vitalis'. A life giving gem stone said to enhance the regenerative and reproductive abilities of the lizard people."

"So after witnessing such a traumatic scene James wanted to jump off the cliff in order to go fight all of the lizard people, I stopped him and told him that we should escape and try to look for help. We tried asking all of the nearby villages but every last one of them denied us of aid. We continued wandering until we reached here, ragged and half dead. It was good old Darius that found us right near the entrance of the village. He nursed us back to health and listened to our story. He told us that we should first do reconnaissance so we can make an intelligent estimate on the help that we may need."

"Howard and I did just that. We settled in on one of the empty caves in Mt. Aeriloc and started watching every move that the lizard people took. They divided the villagers into cages with a maximum count of 5 persons per cage. All the weapons were kept in a weapon vault at the center of the village. The village now had new huts besides each cage. Apparently the 5 maximum count per cage was used as an defensive measure. Making sure that the warriors can never have the chance to regroup and attack them. The captives' cages were also kept apart from one another."

"It took us 4 months to understand how the lizard people operate. However during the 4th month we realized something dreadful. It was the incredible reproduction rate of the lizard people. In just 4 months the lizard people who attacked our village grew from 500 virile lizards into 2,000 virile lizards."

"We came back to Darius asking for help, but as Nanahuatl isn't a fighting village they could only send 100 people at best and those persons were not even warriors. Some of them were fishermen, tanners, tailors, miners, and cooks. The residents of Nanahuatl Village locked us up, preventing us from joining the battle. They said that it was no place for a 10 year old.... Sadly in the end they couldn't defeat the lizard people. If Darius wasn't there I think all of them would have been wiped out, but even with Darius there two people still died. They were Jovas Swift and Henric Peterson. The master tailor and master tanner of Nanahuatl Village..."

"The death of those two heroes drove James and I to become the master tanner and master tailor of this village. To somehow honor their valiant sacrifice for trying to save our village."

It took a few seconds before Howard continued on...

"It has been 50 years since the day Condortl Village was enslaved. We've continued looking for help but everyone always said no. Today with high hopes we ask you Smoke, will you free Condortl Village for us?"

+ Quest: Liberate Condortl Village
Liberation Quest
Level: D

In exchange for their family tokens James Jackal and Howard Hide has requested you to free their village of origin. The Village of Condortl is currently occupied by at least 10,000 lizard people.

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"Yes of course I will. I can't think of a way to liberate them right now but I won't give up until I've freed every single one of your people."

Smoke was moved after hearing NPCs' story. He was only captured for a couple of hours by the Maneator, he can't imagine what it would feel like to lose your freedom for 50 years. Even if he did say yes, Smoke had no idea how to proceed with this quest.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH SMOKE! We knew that we could count on you, with you on this quest I'm sure our people is as good as liberated."

"In our hope that you would accept this quest. We have prepared some items that maybe useful for you."

James took out a black leather suit of armor. It looked like an armor set for an archer. Smoke was so pleased to see that he would be graduating from his novice clothes.

"Normally this suit is only wearable by those with the job of a sniper. It took me 4 days without sleep to convert it to any job with a dexterity of at least 350. I'm sorry I couldn't make it any lower. I hope that you can pass this requirement?"

"Wow! What a lucky break. If I didn't train this past week I wouldn't be able to reach that requirement. I currently have 355 dexterity. So if that's the only requirement of that armor set. I'm more than OK with it!"

"I'm glad to hear that. Howard also prepared the maps and a summary of our investigations on the lizard people."

"Aside from those I also prepared this mask. It only covers half your face, but it should give you enough protection against the virile lizards paralysis spray."

+ Received ModBlackSniper Suit by James Jackal

+ Received Specialized Gas Mask by Howard Hide

Smoke examined the details of the items.

ModBlackSniper Armor Set

Originally a suit made for snipers, but has been crafted by master tailor Jackal to be usable by any job.
* Wearing the complete Set gives you a bonus of +20 Dex and +20 Vitality
* Requires 350 Dex to use.

Black Leather Body Armor:
Defense + 100
Vitality + 10
Dexterity + 5
Black Leather Pants Armor:
Defense + 80
Vitality + 5
Dexterity + 5
Black Leather Arm Bracers:
* quick item slot 2 pcs each side
Defense + 10
Black Leather Gloves:
Defense + 10
Dexterity + 2
Black Leather Shoes:
Defense + 10
Movespeed + 5

Specialized Gas Mask

Half Faced Gas Mask in order to protect you from dangerous airborne attacks. Specially made against paralysis spray from Virile Lizards.

Defense + 10
* Immune to Paralysis Spray from Virile Lizards.

After examining the items he quickly equipped them. He took out his dual knives and stood before the mirror. He can't help but admire his new look. He felt like an elite ninja assassin as he executed 16 slashes in the air in lightning speed.

This is really a great quest. He hasn't even completed it yet he already received items. Then it dawned on him, this quest must be really difficult. If something is to good to be true, then most likely there is a catch to it. He needed to know everything about this quest, imagine all possible scenarios and outcomes if he wants to have a sliver of hope of completing it.

"Thank you so much for these items. I thought that I would be stuck with my novice outfit until I get to a main city. Regarding the quest. I was wondering if we could have a strategy meeting with Darius as well. If two heads are better than one then four heads will give wondrous results."

"We don't mind at all. We would also like to explain in detail the results of all our years of investigation as well."

In that same hour four minds were melded into solving one difficult riddle. How to liberate the village of Condortl. It took them 4 hours, one would give out suggestions and plans while the other three will try to see the drawbacks and potential flaws in the suggestion. Finally they've thought of a strategy that has a 30% chance of success.

Smoke was glad that he had such reliable and wise NPCs as counsel. Even if they will not join him on this quest they had given him everything that he would need to complete it.

"Darius I'm off. If I don't make it. Well I'll see you in front of the fountain..."

"Are you really leaving after saying something so ominous? You should always think positive and say something like 'When I return I shall bring spoils worthy of a heroic general' or something along those lines."

"I find that thinking passively tends to hurt less when your expectations are not met but I'll give thinking positive a try... I will only return after I've completed the quest."

"Well that wasn't really what I was looking for, but I guess that will have to do."

Smoke headed towards Mt. Aeriloc the trip should have taken him about 70 days but he did it in 60. He avoided all encounters with monsters. He needed to keep all of his items and equipments in optimum condition for the quest.

As he reached the base of Mt. Aeriloc he looked for three trees that were slightly taller than all the others. This would lead him to the path that James and Howard took in order to spy safely on the lizard people.

Fifteen minutes passed, climbing on the path of Mt. Aeriloc he found a creature out of place in his map. 200 meters ahead was a huge griffon. He thought that their nests would be higher up in the mountain. As his gaze looked up the mountain he found that there were a lot of griffons flying all over the mountain top. This one must have started building its nest in the lower parts of the mountain to avoid competition with the other griffons.

Checking his map for alternative routes he found that he could either go higher up the mountain or down below but he would need to travel between tree tops. He instinctively chose the latter. He was accustomed to working on high places and traveling between trees shouldn't be so hard with his insane agility and dexterity.

Nimbly jumping from tree to tree it took smoke another hour to see the village. It was noon time and he could see the village clearly. The village was smaller than he had imagined. It was about 1/3 the size of Nanahuatl Village. While looking for a base camp to start his first phase of the plan he heard sounds of fighting.

It was from across the village. He quickly went to the source of the sounds of fighting but paid attention to stay hidden at all times.

On the other side of the forest from Condortl Village was a huge clearing. It was about twice the size of Nanahuatl Village and in this clearing were thousands of lizard people.

Their shacks were built hastily and offered no protection what so ever. They were being attacked by the griffons. Because of the high reproduction rate of the lizard people they had a lot of younglings. The younglings were easy picking for the griffons.

Smoke continued to observe the scene with much scrutiny. In the nursery of the younglings there were residents of Condortl Village forced to guard their future oppressors. Their purpose was more of a distraction rather than a guard since other griffons took the human guards instead of younglings as their prey.

The invasion lasted about 30 minutes. There were about 50 surviving griffons carrying around 10 younglings each and 5 dead griffons were left behind in the lizard people encampment. The lizard people started feasting on the dead griffons.

It was a mutual food cycle, because the lizard people had increased its population this also increased the food source of the griffons and their population as well.

He went back to the tree top which he had chosen to be his base camp. He saw that Condortl Village was actually empty. He tried looking for the entrance to the mines where they were digging for Vitalis. He saw that it was quiet some distance from the village.

Smoke moved closer to the entrance of the Vitalis Mines, there were around 10 entrances. When night time came the enslaved residents of Condortl started to slowly come out of the mine's entrances. There were men, women, children and old people who came out of the mines. He estimated that around 50 to 60 persons came out of each entrance.

His heart was crushed as he saw the tattered people of Condortl. They had been living under these conditions for almost half a century. He was inspired once more to complete this quest at all costs.

He spent the next 7 days observing the surroundings, confirming a few things, and continued on the phase one of their plan. He found out that the griffons attack was a daily occurrence and they always came around noon time. At night the residents of Condortl were separated into groups of 5 and stored into their respective cages.

One virile lizard was assigned to keep watch of one cage but the guards would meet near the weapon vault at the center of the village to hold a slug fest against each other. They also used this fight as a form of gambling as they placed bets on the fighters.

The village was poorly lit at night. Torches were sparsely scattered across the village. Which was one of the important factors in their plan to liberate Condortl.

On his eighth night. He proceeded with phase two. Smoke had a vague idea as to who were the leaders of Condortl. He had prepared a stealthy route towards the leaders' cages. He planned to visit them during the fist fights of the virile guards.

Smoke successfully reached his first targeted cage undetected...

"Shhh... Calm down. calm down. My name is Smoke. I'm here to free you."

"My name is Adder. Have you brought an army to kill all of these lizard people?"

"You could say that. Anyway I'd like to confirm that you're one of the leaders of Condortl correct?"

"Well I really wouldn't call myself a leader I'm still 25 and most village leaders are from the ages 40 and above but I do take the time to look after my fellow Condortlian."

"Right. That's all I needed to know. You see the army that is going to free you is actually you the  Condortlians."

"What?! You came here by yourself? How in the world do you expect us to fight them. The virile lizards have paralysis spray and we need weapons in order to do enough damage to harm them."

"I will provide you those weapons and about their paralysis spray I have something that could help somehow."

"Just how are you planning to do that?!"

"Adder, relax and listen to me. I maybe alone but this plan is our only chance for your freedom. I beg you to have faith and believe in me. I know that you just met me but I am your only hope."

"Fine! I guess we have no other choice but to give it a try. Even if it means death I would like still like to taste freedom. So let's hear your plan then."

"At noon the griffons come to attack the younglings of the lizard people right? During this time I will free you from the mines. There are only 20 guards at most. I've started digging inside the mines as well and placed some useful items for you. Once you've equipped those items rush out towards the exit and assault the guarding virile lizards. I will distract them, so they should have their backs against you. After we've killed the guards we will rush out towards the center of the village to open the weapon vault and slaughter the lizard people!"

"There are too many flaws in this plan. For one there are only about 300 adult warriors left. How do you expect us to defeat 10,000 virile lizards?"

"Well their attention will be focused on the griffons. I have also learned that there is a secret weapon inside your weapon vault that can deal a massive area damage."

"I've never heard of such a weapon. Where did you gain this information? This plan sure feels like a long shot. Well if those are all true and we could somehow access that weapon then I guess we do stand a chance against them."

"Of course now I just have to spread the details of this plan to the other leaders and we will commence the attack tomorrow noon."

"Smoke before that can I ask you to head for my wife's cage. You have to inform my wife Maxine she's located at that cage, the fourth one to your right. She's also one of the main leaders of our people she will help spread the word."

Smoke took note of the cage and nodded. He then silently ran towards Maxine's cage. The virile lizards guarding the captured Condortlians were still heavily engaged in their blood sport.

"Maxine? Maxine? Are you Maxine? I'm Smoke, I was sent by your husband Adder to inform you about our plan to escape and slaughter the lizard people."

"Escape? Slaughter? Are you insane? There is no way we could do such a thing..."

Smoke proceeded telling her the same plan that he told Adder. She began to understand the situation and saw that there was indeed a small chance that this plan could succeed. However it all heavily depended on that secret weapon inside Condortl's Weapon Vault.

"I know that this plan could work, but what about the human guards placed on the youngling's nursery? Will we just leave them to die? I cannot allow this. Please include this as you spread the plan, that I will be volunteering together with 3 others to guard the younglings. During this time the others should just concede. I’m proud of my agility. I can manage to dodge those griffons. I will find a way to get back here and meet all of you at the weapon vault."

"Wow that's quiet a noble thing to do Maxine. Alright I will inform everyone about your plan as well. So good luck for tomorrow then. I'll continue to spread the word as much as I can. I think the guards are coming back soon."

Smoke continued on to the other cages of the leaders and he relayed the 'updated' plan. Every Condortlian was excited. Not one of them got any sleep at all. They wanted to get to the mines and start looking for the items that Smoke had mentioned.

Morning finally came. As the sun rose so did the hearts of the Condortlians. They were too excited to extract their revenge. After being enslaved for so long this was the day that they had been praying for. They were escorted as usual into their respective mines.

Smoke readied himself on the platforms that he had built on top of the tree tops. He had built them to surround the entire Condortl Village. He could now move swiftly from one tree to another and gain an advantageous line of sight on the whole village. He had everything prepared. All he was waiting for was for noon to arrive.

The fated hour has finally arrived! It was noon time and the thunderous screeching of the griffons were echoed all over Condortl. The griffons could be heard heading towards the encampment of the lizard people.

Today there were only 10 guards on watch over the mines' entrances. The Condortlians came out equipped with gas masks made from the pelts of the rabid raccoons and sharp mantis blades.

Smoke learned the ability 'animal skin tailoring' from Howard Hide and James Jackal it was a special kind of tailoring that focused on animal skin/hide/pelt, there were no other passive bonus from the ability aside from being able to craft equippable items with certain effects.

Smoke had been crafting raccoon pelt gas masks on his way towards Condortl. The gas masks didn't have the immunity against the paralysis spray since he was still in the beginner stage of 'animal skin tailoring'. However Howard taught him a way to make one that would be at least 50% resistant to paralysis spray and lessen the duration of paralysis.

With those two items equipped the Condortlians felt invincible against the 10 guards. The guards tried spraying everyone with paralysis but they didn't stop and continued to hack the virile lizard guards where they stood.

Smoke pulled out 3 poison pellets from his bag and crushed them. He then threw them inside his quiver of arrows on his back. He wanted to try out his new arrows, sniping out the virile lizards that were further away from the Condortlians.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1839.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1811.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1823.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 735.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1835.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1840.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1842.

+ Attack hit virile lizard. +POISON DMG. virile lizard has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 768.

The virile lizards life bar indicated that it had a total HP of (3,216/16,000) The poison damage didn't give us much damage as the fire arrows which were a weakness to the plant monsters. However it did leave an after effect of continued poison damage.

Smoke picked another virile lizard as his target and executed 8 swift shots with an average of 1800 damage each. He continued the same pattern until he hit all the virile lizards that were far away from the Condortlians.

+ Your poison has dealt a fatal blow to the virile lizard.

+ You've killed the virile lizard.

+ You've gained 6000 exp.

Smoke went down from his hidden sniping post and headed towards the Condortlians. A few minutes later another notification.

+ Your poison has dealt a fatal blow to the virile lizard.

+ You've killed the virile lizard.

+ You've gained 6000 exp.

They have successfully killed the 10 virile lizards guarding the mines. Smoke reached Adder and the rest of the Condortlians. Adder had gathered them and waited for Smoke. Smoke stood before all of them. They were looking at him with intense anticipation. Like raging bulls waiting to be released from their bullpen.

"Today is the day you unleash all of your pent up anger! Today is the day you give them hell! Today is the day that Condortl becomes FREE!!! JOIN ME TOWARDS FREEDOM!!!"

+  In order to wipe out the lizard people.
All the residents of Condortl Village has temporarily joined your party.

The Condortlians led by Adder charged towards the center of Condortl Village rushing towards the weapon vault. They brandished their mantis blades and were protected with the raccoon masks. Just as they reached the entrance of the Village. They saw a disturbing sight.

Maxine was at the center of the village. She was commanding the virile lizards. As she saw the Condortlians at the entrance of the Village she slowly broke out of her skin and transformed into a fecund lizard. She was the matron of the lizard people.

The whole village of Condortl was overrun by virile lizards. Only the younglings were left behind at the lizard people encampment. They were snarling and screaming, waiting for their matron's order.

Adder's shock froze him like a statue. His wife was dead the whole time and in her place was a fecund lizard. How long has she been dead? Because she was moved to a different cage they rarely talked to each other the past few years , but he still loved her dearly.

Neither side made a move. Everyone was waiting for their leader's order. The Condortlians were outnumbered 20 to 1 however no one was afraid. They were waiting for this day of retribution. Live or die one thing was assured, today will be the last day of their enslavement.

As the two sides waited in suspended animation a ring of fire erupted and surrounded the whole village. From the vantage view of his built platforms on the tree tops, Smoke had set a blaze the fire trap that he built circumnavigating Condortl Village. As the whole village was engulfed in flames he let out another rain of fire arrows. The arrow's targets were special bags scattered all over the village.

The arrows hit their marks. Gray smoke started to come out from the bags. Inside the bags where dried 'mandragora flowers' which causes hallucination and nightmares. The fire kept the smoke from the mandragora flowers inside the village. Smoke then yelled towards the Condortlians.

"Quickly regroup into the 5 person team from your cages! Surround the whole village. There will be stragglers trying to escape. Kill all of them as they step out of the fire! Today justice will be served!"

Adder regained his senses as he heard Smoke's orders. He joined his 5 person team and started searching for escaping lizards.

As the Condortlians were traveling around the village. Screams of terror and sounds of fighting were heard from inside the inferno. The lizard people were fighting with each other.

The Condortlians were quick on their feet. After all this were their chance for revenge. They effectively surrounded the village in groups of 5. They were around 20 meters away from each group.

Just as Smoke predicted some virile lizards started coming out of the fire. The virile lizards coming out were almost dead and only took a few slashes from their mantis blades to die.

Smoke was firing his poison arrows in random into the black smoke that covered the whole village. After firing a couple of shots. He would jump into another platform to execute the same thing. He was trying to hit all the lizard people inside the village.

The blazing battle continued for another 2 hours. Smoke only had 100 arrows left. He would be forced to join them on the ground soon.

Adder was fighting a dying virile lizard one on one as his other 4 teammates were dealing with another one. He had just killed the lizard when suddenly the matron fecund lizard stepped out from the flames.

"Adder I didn't think I would have the pleasure to kill you."

"You wretched demon! You killed my wife! How long has she been dead?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know? What good would that knowledge serve a dead person?"

Carrying green dual knives the fecund lizard matron leaps out towards Adder. She is an exceptional fighter. Her agility is probably around 800. She continued to hit Adder for around 200 damage points.

The noble warrior tried all of his abilities and techniques but didn't hit the matron at all. He only kept getting slashed. The only redeeming thing was that the slashes were only for 200 damage.

Adder's life was now only (31,974/67,204 HP) While the matron's life bar still did not show which meant that she was not hit once since the start of the battle.

Smoke saw the death match below. He quickly went down to help Adder. Adder was desperate there was no way he could ever hit the matron. He saw Smoke coming down from one of the trees.

Adder was ready to give his life in order to kill the murderer of his wife. As soon as the matron came in to give him another slash, he released the mantis blade.

He grabbed the matron with both arms and clinched her with all his might. The matron kept on slashing Adder. Trying to get free.

Smoke switched to his dual knives and drove them deep into the matron's back.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 166.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 415.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 409.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 184.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 420.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 418.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 411.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 173.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 412.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 407.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 181.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 415.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 409.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 169.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 413.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. BACK ATTACK. Damage 175.

+ Attack hit Matron: Alteria. +POISON DMG. she has been poisoned. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 407.

At last the Matron's life bar appeared. Her life bar indicated that she has (34,416/40,000 HP) left. Her life wasn't that high but her dodge rate was insane. It is nearly impossible to hit her. If it wasn't for Adder's sacrifice Smoke would've most likely missed as well.

The Matron Alteria tried to stab Smoke but she couldn't reach him. She decided that it would be a race to see who would die first. Adder's life was only (14,974/67,204 HP). Soon he would be dead and she would be freed from his death grip.

Smoke's damage with the knives was much smaller compared to the bow because he focused all of his stats towards dexterity. He regretted making that decision now. He tried his hardest to move faster in order to kill the matron first before she kills Adder.

Adder was on the verge of death when 4 mantis blades lodged into the matron's body. She stopped her slashing attacks. She stopped moving completely.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to Fecund Lizard Matron: Alteria.

+ Your party killed the Fecund Lizard Matron: Alteria.

+ Your party gained 60,000 exp.

As the body of the Fecund Lizard Matron started to fade away, it left behind a precious loot.

+ Acquired rare dual knives: 'Tails of the Virile and Fecund Lizards'.

As the usual action for all boss item drops. Smoke excitedly inspected his second BOSS loot. Completely forgetting everything else.

Tails of the Virile and Fecund Lizards (Dual Knives)

A rare green knife said to be the symbol of the male and female of the lizard people.
Restricted to jobs based on any variations of a Thief.

Damage: 20-30

Equipment Ability:
*Paralysis (Active)
+ you can cast paralysis on each attack at the cost of 200 MP per attack.
+ paralysis does not stack
+ paralysis duration depends on the target, for a target with 0 resistance it will last for 20 seconds.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! This knife is such a great item and I can't even use it! Damn it!"

After shouting out his disappointment he embarrassingly remembered that Adder was dying. He quickly went to the gathering crowd that surrounded Adder.

"Adder are you alright? Is he stable? Are there any medics in the village?"

"Calm down Smoke. Adder is stable. He isn't bleeding to death if that's what you're afraid of. We do know how to use first aid but unfortunately there are no medics of any kind left here in Condortl."

"Well if you're sure his stable then I'm sure that Adder will be strong enough to recuperate somehow."

Smoke hurriedly climbed up the tree tops once more. He wanted a bird's eye view of the village. He wanted to know if there were any lizard people left. The fire and the smoke from the dried mandragora flowers were slowly fading away.

From the tree tops Smoke saw the inside of the village, he saw thousands of piled up dead bodies of lizard people. They had died fighting each other. He also saw some people still fighting some surviving virile lizards but he knew that they were no longer a threat.

After seeing the last of the virile lizards dead. Smoke shouted and called out to the Condortlians to gather towards his voice. Once the Condortlians were gathered. He told them that the battle is still not over.

There was still the lizard people's encampment that they need to wipe out. Around 100 people were left behind to tend to the injured. While the rest headed towards the vast clearing.

Usually seeing such a disaster would tear your heart apart but the gathered crowd only wore smiles on their faces. What stood before them was a completely destroyed encampment. The bodies of the younglings were scattered everywhere. The griffons had wiped out the encampment for them.

Only after seeing such a scene did Smoke and the Condortlians feel that battle was finally won. Condortl Village was now finally free once more!

+ For Leading the Condortlians to Freedom you've gained +10 points in Leadership

Your Leadership stat has now increased to 11 which entitles you to own a private army of 11 NPCs

The battle was officially over. Through the course of the battle Smoke had gained a total of 3 levels. The kills that the Condortlians did, gave Smoke some shared exp.

The Condortlians were gathered outside the entrance of Condortl. The village was in complete ruin. The recovering residents of Condortl were tired.

Smoke was making some medicinal deer stew in order to feed the Condortlians. There wasn't enough for all of them so he had to make them into smaller portions.

They had used all of their strength in their battle for freedom. Everyone was exhausted and were trying to regain some vitality. They welcomed the soup even if it was only a little.

After the residents has finished eating. The acting village chief came forward to call everyone's attention.

"May I ask our savior Smoke to step forward and kneel before me?"

Smoke was confused on what exactly was going on. It had only been 2 hours since they won the battle. Everyone should have been trying to recover from their fatigue and injuries.

"All of us here are now free because of one man. This man is a total stranger to us. We only came to know about him last night. But he has told me that this plan was actually made by two former Condortlians, James Jackal and Howard Hide. They were fortunate enough to escape on the night of the enslavement. Since then they tried everything in their power to free us. They asked for help among the other villages but all of the villages denied them. Except for Nanahuatl Village. I'm sure some of you may have noticed this heroic endeavor. They were a group of 100 men who tried to save us in our early days of captivity. Unfortunately they couldn't break the overwhelming numbers that the lizard people had over them. After several years later the gods has finally shown their favor towards us once again. They sent him our savior Smoke."

Smoke smiled with sincerity, he raised his hand and tried to bow down to everyone in the crowd.

"It has taken more than 50 years for their plan to come into fruition but it was all worth it. Smoke must have spent days in order to follow through with the plan. I was very afraid when I saw that the lizard people had gathered in front of the weapon vault. I thought that it was all over. We will surely die."

"The wise counsel that I got from James and Howard was that it was highly likely that there was a fecund lizard hiding within the residents. In order to keep track of potential jail breaks and other attempts of escape. If it wasn't for those two. I'm sure we wouldn't be so lucky as to be able to eradicate the lizard people."

"Such humble words coming from our savior. I'm sure there wouldn't be any objections with my next announcement. I Eldmar acting village chief of Condortl bestow upon Smoke the title 'Savior of Condortl: Honorary Chief of Condortl'. Arise Chief Smoke and greet your people."

+ Gained Title: 'Savior of Condortl: Honorary Chief of Condortl'

The title was given by the people of Condortl for rescuing them from the slavery. As such they have shown their fealty to you and will help you in anyway they can.

* +2 to all basic stats
* Intimacy with the Condortlians has increased to 'Revered Hero'
* You're now responsible for the well being of the Condortlians.
* If all the Condortlians die the title will be stripped off.

"Wow! A title, I didn't expect that at all. I don't know what to say myself. All I know is that I will do everything in my power to protect your freedom and help you rebuild Condortl Village."

Everyone cheered. They couldn't be happier for having Smoke as their 'honorary chief'. The people wanted to celebrate but their bodies refused to cooperate with them. As it was getting dark they all agreed to postpone their celebrations.

The next few days were planned on how to rebuild the village. However they could not start yet without confirming the daily attacks from the incoming griffons.

All the warriors of Condortl readied themselves. They were equipped with better armor and now some range weapons. They hid within the forest as they were waiting for the griffons to arrive.

They saw a few griffons from the horizon. The griffons were screeching as they started to land on the vast clearing. They were pecking though the debris but found nothing. After a few more minutes they flew off towards their mountain.

Seeing the griffons fly off. The Condortlians felt relieved most likely they will try to look for another food source since the lizard people has been wiped out. However they knew that they had to stay vigilant at all times.

The item drops from the lizard people were 'hard green scales' which Smoke found to be very useful. He showed everyone on how to use this as a material for their roofs. With their green color it would serve as a great camouflage in the forest. Working as a construction worker in his real life really helped him a lot on this quest.

The raw vitalis gem stones that they mined also gave some regenerative effect. These gems were all placed in the center of the village to help increase productivity since it fought off their hunger and fatigue.

Hunting parties were formed since most of the monsters in the nearby forests were wiped out by the lizard people. The hunting party would need to travel some distance in order to get meat.

A few days passed and reconstruction of Condortl village continued smoothly. Everyone had a positive out look in life. They were all 'live in the moment' atmosphere. Smoke had only experienced such a feeling when the residents of Nanahuatl Village started to regain their strength.

Smoke has also brought some root crops from Nanahuatl and asked around if there were any farmers in Condortl. Luckily enough there were still a few of them left.

As the village was starting to take shape. Adder also started to recover. As he was fit enough to walk, he went to find Smoke.

"Smoke. Thank you for freeing us. All I ever wanted was freedom. Maxine and I would've raised our children here in peace but that dream is gone now..."

"I'm really sorry for you loss. I only figured out it was Maxine when she volunteered to replace the forced guards on the younglings. That was a clear ploy in order to inform her men."

"So there never was a secret weapon hidden in the weapon vault that could defeat the lizard people?"

"Nope there was no such weapon inside the vault. The weapon was always inside your hearts. It was the bravery and courage of the outnumbered Condortlians to face the numerous lizard people."

"Yeah I guess that does make sense. We lost our will to fight and only waited for the day to be free. We didn't even try to free ourselves. If it weren't for you inspiring us I think we would've stayed that way for the next hundred years."

"I was also lucky enough to have you believe in me Adder. As I spread the word and used your name. It was easier to convince everyone to fight."

"Yeah I was ready to die in that battle. In fact the past few days I was lost. I didn't know what to do with myself."

"Don't be like that Adder, I'm sure there are still plenty of things in this world to live for."

"Aye, you're right. Seeing you and my fellow Condortlians rebuild the village enlightened me."

"The despicable things that we experienced here are not unique to us Condortlians. I am sure that somewhere else in the world of ZECTAS there are other people being oppressed and maltreated. That is why I have made my decision to serve you as my master."

+ Abaven Adder has joined your Personal Army

Abaven Adder is a noble warrior of Condortl. He was one of the next in line to become Village Chief.
After you freed Condortl he was enlightened on the path of seeking equality and liberation for everyone.
Abaven Adder has decided that the easiest way to accomplish that goal is to become your follower.

Level: 70
Job: Warrior
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: Two Handed Bastard Sword
Equipped Weapon: Mantis Blade

Abilities:

Death Grip: Able to hold on to any weapon/person until the point of death.
Self Heal: Has a natural high regeneration rate
Two Handed Mastery: Is able to equip most Two Handed Weapons

Smoke was surprised. He had thought that he had to have some sort of military rank in order to start a private army. Apparently an NPC can join with their own volition.

"Whoa! You're joining my private army? I'm glad that you feel that way. I too feel the same. That freedom should be for everyone. However I must inform you that I have an important personal mission. This mission takes precedence to everything even if I may commit acts of notoriety I wouldn't mind at all. My mission is to get my revenge on Tristan and all his men."

"Master Smoke, you said revenge right? Then they must have committed an unforgivable act that deserves just punishment. I trust your judgment and will not question them easily. I stick with my decision to serve you as my master."

"Can you perhaps drop the 'Master' part? I'm not to comfortable with it. Calling me Smoke is just fine. So as long as you feel that I have not led you astray from your path of enlightenment then I welcome you to my private army. I do not want you to feel constrained in any way."

"Thank you Smoke. I swear upon Maxine's spirit that I will serve you to the best of my abilities."

"I know that you will do more than just that Adder. Alright now that we've settled that why don't we continue on rebuilding Condortl? You are fit to work now right?"

It appears that peace has returned to the Village of Condortl. Soon Smoke and Adder will head back towards Nanahuatl to complete Smoke's quest and gain 2 family tokens at once. Just 1 more family token in order to get the 'Hidden Basic Job of Nanahuatl Village'.

As the peaceful village of Condortl was slowly being rebuilt by it's citizens. Cold yellow eyes with black slits watched them from a far. After confirming the scene, the hooded figure started running with such high agility that the hooded figure could only be seen as a blur. As the village grew farther away the hooded figure stopped.

She took off her hood and revealed the frightful face of a fecund lizard. She took out a magical golden plate from her bag. Nicked her finger tip with her knife and dropped a few drops of blood on one of the receptacles of the magical plate. The center of the magical golden plate started to change into a watery screen.

"I have confirmed it High General. The Matron Alteria and her colony of lizard people have all been killed."

"So our supply of vitalis is going to be short this month then. Well no matter, Matron Olveria's colony has started to grow and they will make up for the lacking vitalis gems. Tell me Spyteria who was responsible for their deaths?"

“It was a Dark Elf called Smoke..."

“Spyteria I want you to keep track of his movement. We will not let this grave transgression go unpunished!”

“As you command High General Lizardo...”

River Monsters

In the vast world of ZECTAS, there were two famous people who were always talked about. As their videos have grabbed everyone's attention.

One was the gallant and charismatic Paladin Lord Tristan. He became famous after he released his B level quests online.

The most famous one, was where he and his personal army of 300 NPCs took on a chain quest, that led him to one of the 12 legendary dragons. Flame Ruby Dragon Valdurath.

He had mages, high wizards, snipers, hunters, rangers, assassins, clerics, high priests, and paladins. He had cornered Valdurath into a colossal cavern. There he personally led his army from the front lines and played the role of the main tank.

He donned an open face helmet, and wore a golden mithril armor and a white majestic cape. He was armed with a golden tower shield and a holy dragonslayer sword. He took on all the damage that Valdurath dished out. As attack spells and healing spells continued to fly around them.

If you saw this legendary fight you would have thought that it looked like he was soloing a gigantic dragon. This epic battle lasted 15 hours straight. Of course in the end, it was Tristan who gave the killing blow.

After that heroic deed he returned to the Kingdom of Thayotl (Eastern Kingdom). There he was rewarded with a title and a city. He became Baron Tristan, owner of Tonaci City. He was the first and only player throughout ZECTAS to have owned a city.

Tristan's original party, from when he was still in the Kingdom of Chayotl (Western Kingdom) had broken apart. All that remained were Aurora the Arch Bishop and Bones the Shadow Phantom.

With his newly awarded title and city, Tristan decided to create a guild. The guild of DracoRicco, loosely translated it means 'rich dragon'.

DracoRicco is headed by the three remaining members. Aurora is in charge of the recruitment, the finances, and the promotions of the guild. Where as Bones is in charge of the intelligence division. While Tristan is in charge of Aurora and Bones.

Their guild quickly became famous. Everyone wanted to join in. But they had such strict requirements and such an expensive admission fee of 10,000 zecs.

DracoRicco is considered to be the richest and most powerful guild. As such everyone talked about DracoRicco and of course its leader Tristan.

The second player who had caught everyone's attention and was opposing Tristan's popularity was none other than the mysterious super novice. Although he is called 'the mysterious super novice' because he wears the novice attire, everyone has assumed that he has a unique hidden job.

At first, he lured everyone's attention by being a clown, everybody found his videos to be hilarious. He offered something fresh in the world of ZECTAS.

However, lately he started uploading some informative videos that were not found in any of the forums. His fifth video of using poison arrows and catching a whole army of lizard people with a fire trap gained a lot of popularity.

But it was his fourth video, that was most controversial. It had broken the record for the highest number of views.

It was about 'how to gain poison resistance'. Before the only jobs that had access to poison resistance were enchantress and assassins. But his latest video proved that poison resistance can be gained outside of those two jobs.

That particular video also had the highest number of comments. Most of the comments from the video was about their failed attempts of gaining the much coveted poison resistance.

Nash loved his new life. He loved the attention that he got from the users. Especially when they tried to replicate his videos.

Nash's character is a total enigma to them. He would read their failed attempts and their lamentations as they try to imitate what he did.

If Nash would have given them the exact location of Mandragora Forest then they could have easily followed his procedure. Fortunately for him, in the entire known parts of ZECTAS there was no known location of the fabled poison slime.

Knowledge is power and he had every intention of exhausting this advantage to its last worth. Gaining views was his only way of earning money at the moment.

Nash found it relaxing to read the comments section of his fourth video.

ZeusXMachina: I'm sure that it's been stated that his videos are authentic and all but still can anyone confirm if they've gained the same poison resistance?

ErcleX: How many hours do you think you have to be in a poisoned state in order to gain the resistance? I'm sure that he didn't post the whole length of the video. He was sneaky enough to just show his status window and then the next scene showed that he had gained the poison resistance.

SupahNovice-Disciple#12312312: Master please. Tell us the location of this forest... I've tried receiving the poison attack from an assassin and an enchantress but their poison damage is too high. It would surely kill me if I don't use detox. Please please please tell me where the poison slimes are?!

DetectiveRonan: To my knowledge most poisonous monsters are located in the northern Kingdom of Mictaztl. The forest there is also similar to the western kingdom. I remember that someone pointed out that the 'super novice' was located in the western kingdom so this could be a clue.

FastInFastOut: I tried getting poisoned from the trap salamander, since their poison is lesser than from the assassins but in order to counter the poison damage I had to hire 4 priests. They were charging me 1,000 zecs per hour. I spent a total of 250,000 zecs but even after all that I didn't gain the poison resistance stat. I mean Who has that kind of money?

PentaKillar: Well who needs poison resistance anyway? I mean we've managed just fine when we use the detox ability from the priests and the detox pills. So why all the fuss for the poison resistance?

AssInUrDead: Well I wouldn’t recommend gaining the poison resistance attribute. I’ll miss the fun times when I see a person not carrying detox. Let’s all drop this stupid attempt and go back to regular gaming.

Hunt4RedOctober: As an assassin I bet you wouldn’t other players to gain the poison resistance attribute. That’s like losing all the hard work you gave into leveling up your poison strike.

Dark_AvEngER: Still at least he showed us that you could get the poison resistance. If I were in his shoes I'd do the same. I would hog all that knowledge for myself. Well maybe I could share to some of my close friends and other guild members.

PurrFex: Meow!

TriTank: I know of a guild who has gained the poison resistance. Of course I would expect nothing less from such an amazing guild.

Nash knew that once he gave out his secrets, the users would drop him like yesterday's news. He needs to keep them guessing. That was the allure of his videos and he has no intention of losing that.

It's been three weeks since he broke the highest number of views and his manager still hasn't called him. He felt that it would be too forward to call him. After all their scheduled meeting wasn't for another 2 days.

He finally got the text telling him to go to the office for his check. He took a cab instead of a bus. He felt that with his new income he should indulge himself a little.

When he got to the game center he walked out calmly of the cab. He was trying to be cool, as to not reveal his anticipation in finding out his bonus. He knocked on the manager's door.

"Nash come in, come in. Please have a seat. I've given up on telling you to come to just enter immediately."

"Thank you sir. It's just a force of habit I guess."

"Well no matter anyway. How are things? How are Seth, Donny and your grandma Daphne?"

"They're great sir. Mima Daphne is regaining some of her strength back and my two brothers are both doing well in school."

"Good to hear that. So I bet you want to get down to business right? First let me tell you that I couldn't be prouder. I knew that you'd do great in ZECTAS. Are you thoroughly enjoying the game? Silly me, what am I saying? Of course you are."

"Yes sir! I haven't been this happy in such a long time. When my parents died and then mima got sick, I was afraid that I couldn't provide for my brothers. But now, I think that I can afford to send my brothers to any college that they want."

"Nash you truly deserve this. Just remember to keep your head on the ground and keep on doing the great things that you are doing."

"Of course sir. I plan to do just that."

The manager of the game center smiled and gladly gave him a check for $50,000.00. Nash was overwhelmed, that was more than double the amount that he got on his first video.

"Wow! This is so much. Thank you sir. Just thank you so much!"

On his way home. His head was filled with thoughts of paying all their loans, buying a car, buying a house. That check could serve as a down payment to a cozy house. They would no longer be cramped inside their one bedroom apartment.

Nash was currently living in a one bedroom apartment. He just converted it himself, into a three bedroom apartment. He only used some leftover materials from the construction site.

Seth and Donny would get their own room. Maybe they could even go on a vacation. Now that his mima was feeling better. On the way home Nash was smiling the whole time, he felt like he was walking on clouds.

Before going home, Nash took a detour to the supermarket. He had planned on making a luxurious dinner. He was in the seafood section picking out crabs when he saw a smiling face. It was the cook at the diner that he used to work in.

“Hey Nash. How are you? My uncle told me that you’re so busy, you don’t even come by the diner anymore. Well I guess since you’re some kind of celebrity now, with all those views from ZECTAS. That you no longer want to mingle with us commoners.”

“Hey, I’m really sorry that I haven’t visited you there lately. It’s just that I’ve been absorbed with playing ZECTAS. Don’t worry I’ll make sure to visit you there within this week.”

“Nah. Don’t bother. I also stopped working there myself. I told my uncle that I wanted to try something new.”

“Oh really? When did you stop working there and what are you up to now then?”

“Ahhh well, just about a week after you left. It kind of got boring with just my uncle and myself there. He also hired a proper cook this time. So maybe he will get some increased customers with the new flavor.”

“But your cooking is really delicious. I think he just might lose some customers now. So really what are you doing now, that you’ve left the diner?”

“Just hanging around the house most of the time. Tell me, you’re still in Chayotl Kingdom now right?”

“Yeah I’m somewhere in that Kingdom. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious, that’s all. Well I gotta run. See you around Nash.”

“Right. You take care then.”

Nash wasn’t sure of their conversation just now but decide to forget about it. He was still ‘high’ with his recent influx of cash.

Smoke opened his eyes to the entrance of Mandragora Forest. He loaned the Heart of ReenTe to Adder and told him to hunt for poison slimes. Adder's passive ability self heal plus the regen from the Heart of ReenTe compensated the poison damage from the poison slimes.

Smoke and Adder left Condortl Village, after they helped rebuild it from its ruins. On the way back they took a detour to Mandragora Forest. Everyone was trying to look for this place, Smoke enjoyed knowing that he was the only player that knew of its exact location.

He was also running out of poison pellets, so having Adder gain poison resistance and gather poison pellets was perfect. He estimated that Adder should gain the poison resistance within the next few minutes.

Adder is a very diligent NPC. He barely got any experience from the poison slimes but continued on his given mission. He had gathered 7,214 poison pellets and had gained the poison resistance attribute.

Once their self given side quest in Mandragora Forest was over. They headed immediately towards Nanahuatl Village.

The familiar borders of Nanahuatl came into view. As it so happened, Darius was near the village entrance and greeted them.

"Darius I'm back, and I'd like you to meet Adder. He is a noble warrior from Condortl."

"It is an honor to meet you Master Darius. The legendary tales of Master Darius 'Master of the Water Dragon' has been spoken in Condortl Village very often."

"Ohh Hoooo. I didn't expect you to know my old nickname. I haven't been called that in ages."

"What was that? 'Master of the Water Dragon'? Are you some kind of beastmaster or something?"

"Of course not. It's just a name given to me, due to one of my abilities. Well to be honest that is my strongest ability so I guess that’s why I got that name."

"Good. I was afraid you would've answered yes. I think that being a beastmaster wouldn't fit me. So what kind of ability is this Water Dragon?"

"It's a very useful ability. It can attack your enemies and heal your allies at the same time. It does consume an insane amount of mana but its after effects are more than worth it."

"Can you show it to me?"

"Hahaha, nice try. You just want me to show you the ability so you'd get some kind of clue on what kind of job I have. Patience Smoke, once you've completed the quest I'll show you that ability."

"Well I do only have to get one more family token, after I get the family tokens from James and Howard."

"Right so you better head on there."

Smoke and Adder headed towards the house with the door embedded with a needle and a string. Almost all the members of the clans, Jackal and Hide were gathered inside the house. Once they heard that news that Smoke had returned, they had been waiting for them.

"Howard, James, this is Abaven Adder he is like you two. He is a warrior from Condortl."

James and Howard had teary eyes. Seeing Adder confirmed their hopes to be true. Smoke has freed their village. It took more than 50 years but finally their people was free.

"Hello Adder, my name is James Jackal. I'm glad to see you here. How is everyone back in Condortl?"

"Everyone is doing great. With Smoke's help we've rebuilt the village. Also I have this is from the current village chief Eldmar. Please take this as a symbol of our gratitude for devising a thorough plan and sending Smoke to free us."

Adder gave James and Howard two leather armbands embroidered with a golden griffon. This was the symbol of a  griffon commander in the Condortl army.

James and Howard clasped the leather armbands. Each of them couldn't believe what they were holding. When they were still children they had aspired to be Griffon Commanders of Condortl.

"Thank you Adder. This is amazing, we didn't expect any sort of reward. We just wanted our people to be free."

Smoke and Adder clapped their hands loudly, in recognition to the great contributions that the two gave in freeing Condortl Village. In all this time they never gave up. It was because of their persistence that Condortl Village is now free.

"Well now that we've had our rewards. It is time that we gave Smoke his."

+ Completed Quest: Liberate Condortl Village

You have freed the village of Condortl and have informed James Jackal and Howard Hide of their freedom. James and Howard can now have some peace of mind, knowing that their people are free.

Rewards:
* Hide Family Token
* Jackal Family Token
* 100,000 exp

Howard took out a small wooden figurine of a pile of hides, one on top of another. It looked like a small tower of hides. While James took out a small wooden figurine of a needle and thread. Both of them handed it to Smoke.

Both Howard and James spoke at the same time saying.

"With this, we officially recognize Smoke as the new clan head of our families."

Except for Adder, everyone in the room bowed down before Smoke as a symbol of their allegiance.

+ Received Hide's family token

+ Received Jackals' family token

+ Family Tokens of the Jackals and Hides

You have completed the long time quest of the previous clan heads James Jackal & Howard Hide. As the everyone in the clan new of their story, they understand the heroic deed that you have accomplished.

Family Tokens Count: (4/5)

+ Intimacy with the Jackals & the Hides has risen to 'Blood Brothers'

For your heroic actions in freeing the village of Condortl,
the home village of their previous clan head.
The Jackals & Hides will now follow your will as their new Clan Head.

"Thank you everyone. I swear to be an honorable and just clan head to all."

Finally just one more family token and the long coveted 'Hidden Basic Job of Nanahuatl Village' will be his. Smoke couldn't wait. He took Adder with him immediately to Peitro Fischer's house.

Peitro welcomed him with open arms. Smoke was glad that he didn't act like James when he was asking for their family tokens before. Peitro was friendly as always.

"Welcome Smoke, welcome, I'm so happy to hear that you've freed the village of Condortl. I was still a child when they were gathering for a party to free that village. I would have loved to help. But seeing as my fighting ability is lacking I don't think I could have done much."

"Hi Peitro how are you?, by the way this is Adder. He is a former resident of Condortl and now he has joined me to be a part of my private army. I say army but Adder is the only one at the moment."

"You have a private army now? That's amazing! Well then Adder you have to be pretty reliable if you are to be an army of one. Hahahaha. Anyway let's get right to it. You guys are here for my family token right?"

"Yes we are Peitro, I humbly ask for your family token and once I have it, I swear to be fair and just as your new clan head."

"Well you're pretty sure of yourself that you will become our clan head already huh? I like that! Hahahaha. Normally I would've given you the family token. After all you have already saved this village. If only those pesky river monsters weren't in the way towards the open sea."

"River monsters? Just what kind of monsters are we talking about?"

"I should have said Sea Monsters to be precise, but those pesky murlocks have made a settlement near the mouth of the river. They attack any kind of vessel that passes their the way. Because of them my family and I can't fish in the sea. The fish that we've caught in the fishing weirs are plenty. But we are a clan of fishermen, being out in the open sea is our way of life."

"I see. No wonder you find these murlocks to be such pests. Just what do this murlocks look like? Do you also happen to know their abilities?"

"They are scaly humanoid looking people. They have gills in their heads and fins on top. They also have webbed hands and feet. They mostly come in the shade of blue or green. Depending on the color of the water that they're staying in."

"When you said murlocks I instantly thought that they would look like slime humanoids."

"No, I don't think they are related to slimes. However the females of the murlocks have gained the siren's song ability, that ability makes you think that they are beautiful. Too beautiful that you will be put in a daze. In this stunned state, their men kill you and then they eat you."

Smoke grimaced as he pictured out such a horrific scene.

"That sounds terrible. So do you have any advice on how to deal with those monsters?"

"I'm not absolutely sure but perhaps plugging your ears will help deal with the siren's song. Aside from that I guess you could fight them in shallow waters, so that they can't try to drown you."

"Yeah, that's some pretty sound advice."

"So will you do it will kill those river monsters for me?"

+ Quest: Wipe out the River Monsters
Monster Hunting Quest
Level: D

Clear the river ways towards the open sea by killing of all the murlocks attacking everyone in the river.

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"Yes. I'll make sure that you and your clan can get back into the waters of the open sea once more."

"Hahahaha! Thank you so much Smoke. I knew I could count on you. Here let me point it out in your map."

After receiving the quest from Peitro, Smoke and Adder headed towards Darius' house to prepare for their trip. Once inside they were greeted by a gathering of hunters.

Four hunters to be exact. Darius was talking to them when Smoke and Adder came in. Immediately the four hunters stood up and bowed down before Smoke.

Smoke recognized them as Sharanga, Ichaival, Vijaya, and Thyrsus. The former jobless youths of Nanahuatl Village. They were sent to Coatl City to become archers. However they've returned not as archers but as Hunters.

He was happy for them, yet somehow he also felt a bit jealous. True, it did take him a while to liberate Condortl Village. But still in that time span these youths have managed to turn into Archers and then leveled up into Hunters.

"Wow! I'm impressed. I knew that you'd turn into Archers easily but I didn't think that when I get back here you will greet me as Hunters."

Thyrsus a young blond man that appeared to be in his early 20's, spoke in behalf of his other fellow Hunters.

"Thank you for your kind words Master Smoke. It was your heroic deed that served as our guiding light. The four us wanted to return to you as soon as possible, so we chose the known path of a Hunter."

"Return to me? I didn't know that we had made some kind of promise?"

This time it was Vijaya, the young wood elf girl who spoke out.

"No Master Smoke, we didn't have have any kind of promise. But the eight of us who were trained by Master Darius, have planned from the start to join your private army as soon as we took the advance job from being an Archer."

"Yes Smoke. It was their sincerity of serving under you that moved my heart to train them. I originally wanted to join your private army as well. But there are some circumstances that forbid me from leaving the vicinity of Nanahuatl Village. Using one of the slots of your private army on someone who can’t join you in your quests would be such a waste."

"Ahh I see. That's really disappointing to hear. I was really looking forward to have you join us, to have Darius in our army would have been amazing. I just recently learned about 'private armies' during my quest in Condortl. That reminds me. Sharanga, Ichaival, Vijaya, and Thyrsus I would like you to meet Adder. He is a warrior from Condortl and the first member of our private army."

Adder stood at attention and bowed down before the gathering of Hunters.

"It is an honor to meet you all. The students of Master Darius are guaranteed to be exemplary individuals."

"It is an honor to meet you as well sir Adder. Let me introduce myself first. I'm Vijaya Sundara elder sister of Sharanga."

"I'm Sharanga Sundara. Although Vijaya likes to refer to her self as my older sister, the reality is we are actually fraternal twins. It is still in dispute as to who really is older."

"I am Ichaival Jackal. I am the son of James Jackal the village tailor. In that aspect we are somewhat related sir Adder."

"And I am called Thyrsus Fischer. As you may have guessed Peitro is my father."

Darius then clapped his hand loudly to gain everyone's attention.

"Good. Now that everyone has been introduced, let us commence to the reason why you four have become Hunters. Smoke as the first teacher of these dedicated individuals. I would like to recommend them, to be a part of your private army."

"It is my honor and privilege to accept all of you into 'our' private army. I may still be lacking in leadership but together we will grow through experiences and steadily turn into this world's most powerful army."

+ Sharanga Sundara has joined your Personal Army
Sharanga Sundara is one of Darius' students. She is one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 58
Job: Hunter
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: Hunter's Bow
Equipped Weapon: Hunter's Bow

Abilities:

Cooking Ability: Ability to cook simple meals.
Animal Trap: Able to set simple animal traps
Disable Trap: Able to remove and disable traps
Falcon Mastery: Able to control pet falcon
Scourge of the Beast: 15% Increased damage against monsters of the beast type.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+ Vijaya Sundara has joined your Personal Army
Vijaya Sundara is one of Darius' students. She is one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 58
Job: Hunter
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: Hunter's Bow
Equipped Weapon: Hunter's Bow

Abilities:

Cooking Ability: Ability to cook simple meals.
Falcon Mastery: Able to control pet falcon
Steel Falcon: Able to transform pet falcon into steel causing more damage.
Scourge of the Beast: 15% Increased damage against monsters of the beast type.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+ Ichaival Jackal has joined your Personal Army
Ichaival Jackal is one of Darius' students. He is one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 59
Job: Hunter
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: Hunter's Bow
Equipped Weapon: Hunter's Bow

Abilities:

Cooking Ability: Ability to cook simple meals.
Phantom Arrows: Able to magically increase released arrows by 3
Falcon Mastery: Able to control pet falcon
Scourge of the Beast: 15% Increased damage against monsters of the beast type.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+ Thyrsus Fischer has joined your Personal Army
Thyrsus Fischer is one of Darius' students. He is one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 59
Job: Hunter
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: Hunter's Bow
Equipped Weapon: Hunter's Bow

Abilities:

Cooking Ability: Ability to cook simple meals.
Falcon Mastery: Able to control pet falcon
Falcon Vision: Able to share the vision of the pet falcon.
Scourge of the Beast: 15% Increased damage against monsters of the beast type.

Smoke had no time to read all of the system notifications as they started to flood his view. He just assumed that it contained information similar to when Adder joined his private army.

Everyone cheered. All of them have been accepted into their hero's army. Although they were a bit taken aback when they heard that their small private army would become the world's strongest. In the back of the young Hunters’ minds was doubt but since Smoke is their leader there maybe some chance of that happening.

Smoke now has a private army of 5. However the first thing that Smoke orders his Hunters to do, was to go to Mandragora Forest in order to learn the poison resistance ability.

He went outside to the archery grounds and showed them the reason why he is sending them there. He took out a poison pellet and swallowed it. He showed them that he was now immune to that level of poison, but he didn't stop there.

He took another poison pellet and squashed it and then threw it into his quiver of arrows. The arrow that Smoke had taken out from the quiver has turned into a poison arrow.

After seeing such a feat. The four Hunter's admiration for Smoke grew even more. They now considered him almost like a god. They would surely follow his commands no matter what they were.

Next Smoke asked them if they knew how to cook. All of them said yes. Since Darius already taught them before in order to help feed the sick and the hungry.

Smoke was pleased to hear that they already had the cooking ability. He was about to show them another recipe, the 'medical deer stew+'. When suddenly a rain of rabbit meat fell on them from the sky.

"What is this? What's going on here? Why are there so many falling rabbit meat?"

Five falcons were flying up above and each one carrying dozens of horned rabbit meat. Thyrsus quickly apologized and commanded his falcon to perch onto his shoulders. The rest of the Hunters immediately followed his lead.

"I'm sorry Master Smoke. We forgot to tell our falcons to drop them properly into the container bin."

"Falcons? You guys have pets falcons? And I told you to drop that Master bit."

"Yes Master Smoke. ahh I mean Smoke. It is one of the prerequisites in becoming a Hunter. You must form a bond with an almost grown up falcon. Imprinting from when they hatch is the conventional method of gaining a pet but for us Hunters we take on a different route."

"Thank you for that explanation Vijaya. So how long did it take you guys to form the special bond with the falcons?"

"Well they would put you inside this huge cage with many young falcons hiding inside their nests. If one of the falcons decide to go near you. Then you will be officially recognized as a Hunter. Thyrsus took the longest time to get a falcon go near him."

"The only reason why the rest of you got shorter times was because you followed what I did. Who would have known that your suppose to call out your falcon's name even before you met them."

Smoke was amazed to hear the process of becoming a Hunter. He was intensely listening and understood how difficult it must have been to think of the falcon's name.

"Yeah, that sounds really hard. So how did you know your falcon's name. Or rather what did you name your falcon?"

"Naturally I gave my falcon a name that means gallant, brave, heroic and handsome. I called my falcon Thyr!"

"What?! Don't tell me the rest of you named your falcons after your own names?"

"Well after we called out our respective names the falcons immediately went down to perch on our shoulders."

"Anyway I'm impressed that your falcons can manage to hunt horned rabbits on their own."

"Of course! Our falcons are all above level 40 and most of us are almost level 60 as well."

Smoke couldn't believe his ears. He has a lower level compared to everyone in his private army. Well in a way that's still a good thing. It just means that he has gathered some dependable members.

"Good. That's good to hear. So let me go back to my demonstration before I was covered in rabbit meat."

He proceeded to show them how to make the 'medicinal deer stew+'. Since they needed this in order to overcome the poison damage from the poison slimes. He told them the number of hours they needed to stay in the poison state in order to gain the poison resistance attribute.

"Darius already taught you how to make fire arrows right? Then all you're lacking is the ember stone. Well then I'm gonna loan it to you guys. During your time in Mandragora Forest I want you to collect as much poison pellets as you can as well as the front legs from the orchid mantis."

The four left for Mandragora Forest in high spirits. Excited to gain the poison resistance attribute as well as the ability to use the poison arrows.

After they were done with their own required preparations. Smoke and Adder headed for the mouth of 'Murray River'. In order to clear the waterways into the open seas.

The Murray River is a very wide and very deep river. On an average it is around 3 kilometers wide but the widest part is at 8 kilometers. The fishing weir that Darius and Smoke constructed was on one of the wider parts of the river. Although there are some parts of the river that are shallow.

James Jackal have given them 'specialized earmuffs'. These specially made earmuffs offered no defense whatsoever. However it did drown out all external sounds. Smoke had planned to use this against the murlocks stolen ability 'song of the siren'.

Once they tried out the earmuffs, they found themselves in total silence. Smoke immediately recognized the great disadvantage of losing the ability to communicate.

He knew that he should train with Adder in using hand signals. He thought about imitating the military special forces in the real world.

Traveling along the trees in the riverbanks, they encountered some gigantic powersaw crickets. These powersaw crickets were about 3 feet tall and 5 feet in length. Smoke had felt their presence with his ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox'. He thought that this would be a great opportunity to try their practiced hand signals.

Smoke formed a fist calling for Adder to stop, next he used two fingers to point out the directions of the powersaw crickets. Lastly he motioned for Adder to head towards the enemy on right, indicating that they take out that enemy first.

Adder promptly complied. Leaping with his mantis blade he struck the powersaw cricket from above. After the first hit they immediately felt strong vibrations all over their body. The rest of the power saw crickets must have been alerted.

The struck powersaw cricket indicated a life bar of (9,112/12,000). It was desperately rubbing both of its hind legs together. This must have been the signal that alerted the rest of the powersaw crickets. Since they were using the earmuffs they couldn't hear a thing.

Smoke went to the side of the powersaw cricket and began hitting it with his poison arrows. Adder's damage was around 2,500 and Smoke's damage was around 1800. It only took them a couple of seconds to deal with their first powersaw cricket.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to the powersaw cricket.

+ Your party has killed the powersaw cricket.

+ Your party has gained 5,000 exp.

While gathering the loot. Smoke was back attacked for a damage of 200pts. The powersaw crickets had thorns on their hind legs and they would use this as their projectile weapon.

The 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' didn't detect the projectile attacks of his enemies. Smoke didn't know about this handicap. When he was fighting with the Tree Ent 'ReenTe' he was able to feel the presence of its whips. Although whips have a long range they are still considered as a melee weapon.

This was a great disadvantage of 'Cunning of the Dire Fox'. He signaled for Adder to retreat from the powersaw crickets. They kept on getting hit since their backs were exposed as they ran.

They finally reached the plains and still had more than 40% of their total HP. Smoke and Adder removed their earmuffs so they could discuss what had happened. As they removed their earmuffs they immediately heard the loud sounds coming from the powersaw crickets.

"Are those sounds coming from the powersaw crickets?"

"Aye, I think they are. No wonder we felt our skins vibrating."

"Yup. If we didn't have our earmuffs on. We would be deaf by now. So I just discovered that my detection ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' cannot sense projectile attacks. With that said, we should make sure that all our enemies are in the front. This way we can at least see the projectile attacks and somehow dodge them."

"Smoke, you want us to go back and hunt the powersaw crickets?"

"I think they'll make some pretty good practice for our silent attack pattern."

"I see, since they also have some form of sound attack. They will serve as a dummy murlock."

After regaining their health and eating some medicinal deer stew, the two of them headed back into the territory of the powersaw crickets.

This time Smoke made sure that they wouldn't be surrounded. They efficiently took down and looted each powersaw cricket.

Their target powersaw cricket would make a sound indicating their location and after a few seconds rain of thorns would come their way.

Smoke and Adder had learned the powersaw cricket's attack pattern. They would immediately hide behind some trees or some rocks.

The duo moved slowly and carefully until they had killed the powersaw crickets in the vicinity.

Sensing that there were no more powersaw crickets. Smoke signaled Adder to remove his ear muffs. They were to make camp and rest for a while before proceeding.

With their health fully recovered. They proceeded once more towards the mouth of Murray River. They were about 40 kilometers away from their destination when Smoke sensed an army of powersaw crickets heading their way.

He immediately signaled Adder to stop and locate an advantageous position. In the event where their enemy would rush them from the front. Adder was to play the role of tank, while Smoke sniped the enemies from the back.

They waited for the army of powersaw crickets to come but Smoke sensed that they were slowly declining in number. He then felt another presence of some unknown monster mixed into the army of powersaw crickets.

They slowly moved towards the direction of the unknown monster. It was a thorny devil lizard. It's about 5 feet tall and at least had a length of 8 feet. The thorny devil lizard was covered in hard thorny armor.

The thorny devil lizard were devouring the powersaw crickets. The powersaw crickets would try to use their thorn attacks but it looks like the armor of the thorny devil lizard withstood the thorn's damage.

There were about 60 thorny devil lizards. Smoke targeted the one furthest away from its pack. Using the same attack pattern. Adder leapt and managed to do a critical strike and a back attack on the thorny devil lizard.

The thorny devil lizard's life bar indicated to be (21,512/24,000). It quickly tried to take a snap at Adder but somehow he managed to position himself safely behind the thorny devil lizard's back.

Smoke took notice that the armor did not cover the lizards neck. He proficiently launched his volley of arrows as the lizard continued to snap at Adder.

The thorny devil lizard was confused with the two pronged attack. The duo managed to kill the monster in under 3 minutes.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to the thorny devil lizard.

+ Your party has killed the thorny devil lizard.

+ Your party has gained 10,000 exp.

Smoke and Adder could stand their ground against one of these monsters. But not against a pack, Smoke understood this and decided to take a detour away from the pack of thorny devil lizards.

They continued on towards the mouth of Murray River without much incident. They journeyed slowly, relying on Smoke’s ‘Cunning of the Dire Fox’ to detect any monsters.

After traveling for about 4 hours, Smoke felt the presence of a lone thorny devil lizard. Thinking that this was free experience, they silently stalked it.

The thorny devil lizard went near the edge of the river to drink some water. Adder was about to leap behind it. When Smoke grabbed him and and just barely managed to stop him from jumping. Just a split second before Adder would have jumped, a gigantic black alligator snapping turtle came out and ate the thorny devil lizard.

Smoke didn't feel the presence of the giant snapping turtle, until the last moment when it emerged out of the water. It had completely blended into the river leaving no signs of any killing intent. After swallowing the thorny devil lizard whole, it submerged into the river without a trace.

The two stood their ground in disbelief. There was another undetectable monster in the Murray River. From a safe distance, Smoke took the time to study the part of the river where the gigantic alligator snapping turtle came out from.

He noticed that the part of the river was really dark. He concluded that gigantic alligator snapping turtle had dug a hole and was only waiting for prey that would come near its hole.

Feeling confident with his theory. Smoke presumed that if they would just notice those holes then they would be safe from the gigantic alligator snapping turtle.

They continued on with caution, careful to take notice of all their surroundings. After a total of 40 days, they finally reached their destination.

An army of around 500 murlocks were out in the open. With great fortune the army was in shallow waters. Equipped with the earmuffs and the enemies in shallow waters, it was the perfect scenario to wipe out the murlocks.

Smoke signaled for Adder to proceed, while he starts shooting from behind and slowly move forward. The murlocks were shocked at the rain of arrows that arrived out of nowhere.

In the direction of the volley of arrows, ran a lone warrior who was charging at them. They quickly regrouped. The females of the murlocks immediately activated their ability 'song of the siren' and the males headed towards the warrior.

The murlocks expected the warrior to stop running. However the warrior only continued on and started slashing the murlocks that came his way. The murlocks did not notice that they have been poisoned. The murlocks that were nearing the warrior were also especially targeted with arrows.

The murlocks were confused. Normally their enemies wouldn't stand a chance. The murlocks had experienced a range attack before but once their females sang, it was suppose to mean an assured victory for the murlocks.

Smoke had this all planned out. On his first attack he would spread out his arrow attacks inflicting poison damage on all of the enemies. After that he would target the enemy nearest to Adder, leaving only enough HP to last one more hit from Adder's mantis blade.

Surprisingly the murlocks only had a little more life than the powersaw crickets. Once Smoke did a focus attack on an incoming murlock, its life bar would only indicate (2,131/14,000). Just enough for Adder's 2,200 damage.

Everything was going according to Smoke's calculation. The murlocks in the back realized that they were gonna die if they continued on fighting. Desperately they tried to escape to the deep waters but their path to escape was blocked by Smoke and Adder.

All the murlocks could do was run. After running for about 3km they saw a waterfall, the murlocks ran into the waterfall. Smoke saw that the murlocks were retreating into it.

There were only about 200 murlocks left, as the escaping murlocks were all shot down by Smoke's poison arrows. Smoke could already feel the last family token in his hands.

Adder stopped before the entrance of the cave hidden behind the waterfall. He waited for Smoke's instructions. Smoke signaled him to proceed carefully and to stick close to him. Smoke's 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' has a range of 220 meters.

The pathway from the entrance of the cave was long and narrow. It took about 10 minutes until they reached a cavernous space. The underground cavity looked like a huge spherical chamber of about 3 Kilometers in diameter. There were some small cracks from the ground above that allowed some sunlight to illuminate the cavern.

The two of them were at the upper part of the cavern. At the bottom there was a lake with a dangerous looking whirlpool. Smoke couldn't sense any enemies nearby but he saw some of murlocks besides the lake.

They saw some sort of path leading downwards. Adder took the lead while Smoke readied his bow. They covertly reached the bottom of the chamber.

The murlocks showed no signs that they sensed Smoke and Adder's presence. They were huddled near the front of the lake.

Smoke immediately did the same attack pattern. He targeted all of them with his poison arrows. Seeing the arrows fly, Adder dashed forward to slaughter the murlocks.

They were down to their last 20 murlocks when a series of water balls and a glacial spike attacked them from behind. Smoke and Adder relflexively turned their heads towards the direction of the attacks.

Behind them was a conclave of murlocks and water lamias. The monsters had been hiding from the hundreds of hidden chambers within the enormous cavern. The water ball attacks came from the water lamias and the glacial spike came from the water lamia boss. A dark blue water lamia that was about 2 meters tall.

Their numbers could easily reach 2,000. Smoke was stunned, he realized that they had been lured into a trap. He tried to rack his brain to come up with a way to come out of this alive.

Smoke's brain was trying its best to think of a solution, when his ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' indicated that a group of murlocks were rushing towards Adder. He drew his bow and targeted all of them with the intention to kill each one of them.

With Smoke's back against the conclave of water lamias and murlocks. The monsters launched their magical water attacks against Smoke.

Adder tried to signal Smoke that he was being targeted but without the ability to communicate he only managed to serve as a shield for Smoke and took on the onslaught of water balls.

Smoke knew that if he died he would only lose a level. Then after 24 hours, he would respawn again in Nanahuatl Village. However he didn't know what would happen to Adder in the event of his death. Scared of the unknown, Smoke tried his best to protect Adder's life.

Adder being a loyal warrior to Smoke, defended him without the fear of death. The water lamias were holding their ground. Relying on their ranged magical attacks. Since he was without a shield, Adder desperately tried to slash all of the incoming water balls.

Smoke finally managed to defeat all of the murlocks near the lake. As he turned to face Adder's side, he saw an incoming glacial spike towards him. It was clearly aimed for a fatal strike.

In the next split second he saw Adder's left arm try to block the glacial spike, hoping that it would somehow change its trajectory. The glacial spike cleanly severed Adder's left arm. Adder fell down backwards, and tumbled towards Smoke.

Smoke felt his adrenaline rush. He saw that Adder’s life bar was only (20,974/79,504 HP).  As he was out of ideas on what to do next. He instinctively picked up Adder and carried him on his back. He ran towards the whirlpool in lake.

He ran with all his might. Never looking back at the incoming magical attacks. Smoke with Adder on his back, gambled on the deadly looking whirlpool and dove into it.

The Realization

Since Nash started being a pro player in Zectas, he has saved up an amount of $80,000. He hasn't even touched the savings of $108,000 for his brothers' education.

Confident that he could maintain the high number of views, Nash decided to buy a house worth $400,000. He payed the 20% down payment in full and only needed to pay $6,100 a month for the next 5 years.

The family immediately moved to their new house. Their house is a detached two story house, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 toilets & baths, has a small front yard and a separate garage. Nash gave the master bedroom to his Mima Daphne, which has its own toilet & bath.

Their new house was somewhat far from Seth and Donny's old school. So Nash opted to transfer them to a closer School. Seth and Donny didn't have any problem with the move because they loved their new house.

Now each of the three young Smoaks has a room of his own. Seth was the happiest one. He was now 13 and wanted the privacy of his own room. Donny would make a mess of things and always clutter his side of the room.

The Smoaks have only been living in their house for one week. It’s just been one day since Nash failed miserably against the murlocks. When Nash got a call from the arcade manager telling him to get his check from the Game Center. His latest video upload only got around 7 million views. Which meant that his check would only amount to $10,000. This is still a pretty big amount but is no longer enough to support Nash’s expenses.

With Mima Daphne's medical bills, their daily living expenses, the mortgage of their new house, and his brothers' educational fund, Nash needed at least $14,000 a month. His latest check would mean that he would need to skip out on his brothers' educational fund this month.

He had never skipped making the monthly deposit before. But he had to make this sacrifice, otherwise they wouldn't have any food to eat.

The sixth video upload that Nash did was of the time, when he and Adder tried out using military hand signals and hunted monsters in total silence. The users got confused on what was actually happening in the video. While others continued to review the video trying to catch if there was any kind of secret that was hidden in the video.

However, the main reason why his views was so low was actually because of another video. The video was about 'Amahan', the current highest level player in Zectas. Amahan is currently at level 140, he has a hidden advance job of an Exorcist. A fighting priest that specializes against the Undead.

Amahan shared the location of the unexplored northern Kingdom of Aquilomentl. Amahan together with his elite guild the 'Decane', ventured into the uncharted lands. The moment they entered the vicinity of the kingdom, they were ambushed by a horde of zombies and ghouls but all of them were wiped out in a flash of light.

Tristan's guild was said to be the strongest in ZECTAS because of their numbers. However the 'Decane' is considered to be the super elite. 'Decane' consisted of only ten members. Its lowest level player, full support Arch Bishop 'Hilot' has a level of 130. A few levels short of Tristan who was level of 132.

Amahan's video spread like wild fire. Everyone in the Northern Kingdoms headed towards the location that he showed in his video. That video garnered the 2nd most views in all of the official videos in ZECTAS.

After making breakfast Nash called down his younger brothers to join him and their Mima. Seth was the first one to arrive at the table, while Donny sluggishly followed wearing a baseball cap. He was trying his best to hide his face.

Mima Daphne told Donny to remove his cap as they were about to eat. Donny obediently followed and showed the reason why he was wearing the cap. Donny had a huge black eye on his right eye. which caused Mima Daphne to raise her voice.

"What in the world happened to you?! Who did this?! That boy's gonna get it good."

"No Mima, don’t. I was the one who threw the first punch."

Nash was shocked to hear that Donny threw the first punch. He was enraged. Was Donny becoming a bully?

"Donny?! What could have been a good enough reason, for you to punch someone?"

"Ummm... Nash... You see... Since we got into a new school, I've been trying to make new friends. Eventually the topic of ZECTAS came up and I... I just had to tell them that the supernovice is my brother."

Nash looked at Seth, he was expecting him to take care of his brother at school. In spite of the situation Seth looked calm and didn't seem to mind what Donny did.

"So you punched a kid because they wouldn't believe you, that you're the supernovice's brother?"

"No no no. It wasn't like that. I couldn't care less if they believed me or not. Andrew and his five friends just kept on saying that the supernovice was lame, that he was stupid, that he was a joke and that he was a total loser. I tried asking them why but then they just kept on repeating the same things over and over again. I tried asking them to stop but they started circling around me and kept on repeating the same things. I don't know what came over me but I just couldn't take it anymore and I just punched Andrew in the nose. After that they ganged up on me. If Seth hadn't seen what was happening from across the yard, I don't think I would've ended with just a black eye."

"So you saw this Seth? Did you fight against those kids as well?"

"No, of course not. I just separated Donny from those gang of bullies. I didn't know the reason of their fight. But if I had known. I would've knocked out everyone one of those punks."

Nash understood that his brothers were just looking out for him. He knew that it wasn't right to start fights. But he wasn't gonna let some kids mess with his brothers as well.

"Donny, I appreciate what you did for me. But you shouldn't be throwing punches whenever someone talks bad about us. Just don't mind them. There are a lot of idiotic people in this world and you shouldn't stoop down to their level."

"Yeah, I guess. I get what you're trying to say Nash… Oh, by the way. Now that you know about the fight. I think I should also tell you that you have to go our school, to talk with our principal. I think I broke Andrew's nose."

"Good for you, Donny! That kid deserved it."

"Mima, don't encourage him. Donny, I'll talk to your principal and try to sort this out. Okay, you guys should start eating, I just need to make a phone call and this may take a while."

Nash stepped into their living room while talking to someone on the phone. Ten minutes passed and Nash finally came back to the dining table.

"All right, it's all set. Seth, Donny, everyday after school I want you to head to this address. I know this person from the time when I worked at the diner. He delivers our fruits and vegetables."

"Why would you want us to go to this place? Are you punishing us? Are you making us do vegetable deliveries or something?"

"You would think that I should punish you right? But you will know once you get there this afternoon."

After school Seth and Donny headed towards the address that Smoke gave them. It took them 30 minutes to reach the place.

It was a fruits and vegetables shop. Seth and Donny looked at each other and understood that they were gonna be busy doing deliveries for the next coming days. The two brothers entered the shop.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for Mr. Cacoy?"

An Asian man that looked like he was in his 50s greeted them.

"Mr. Cacoy huh? Just call me Cacoy. You must be Nash's younger brothers. I’ve been expecting you."

"Yup that's us. So where are we gonna make our first delivery?"

"Delivery? What delivery are you talking about?"

"Didn't Nash send us here to work as your delivery boys?"

"Nash didn't mention anything about that. I think you must have misunderstood your brother. Come follow me to the back."

The shop's back yard was surrounded by a high fence. Nobody could see what is going on back here. The backyard had 5 hanging car tires and 10 car tires mounted on each side of the wall. Seth and Donny suddenly got a creepy feeling. Cacoy led them to one of the crate boxes in the backyard.

"Nash told me that you boys got into a fight and that you were ganged up. Is that right?"

"Well it was only Donny that was ganged up, but yeah we did get into a fight."

"Your brother also told me that you boys like the comic book hero Nightwing? Is this also correct?"

Seth and Donny both looked at each other and were confused. What did Nightwing have to do with them being there, but both of them nodded their heads.

"Then let me give you a short demonstration of what you boys are gonna be learning here."

Cacoy took out two eskrima sticks from one of the crate boxes. He then effortlessly started pounding on the tires mounted on the left wall and after hitting all of the tires, Cacoy made his way across the yard, making sure that each hanging tire was hit at least 4 times.

Cacoy was giving out an impression that he was fighting multiple attackers at the same time. Some of the hanging tires were hanged in a somewhat circular formation. He stepped into that circle and simultaneously hit two tires at the same time. After clearing the hanging tires, Cacoy then moved to the car tires mounted on the right wall. The whole exhibition was done in under 2 minutes.

After completely hitting all of the car tires in the backyard. Cacoy stopped and held the eskrima sticks tightly to his side. Seth and Donny were amazed at such an amazing martial art display. They couldn't believe that a man in his 50's could still be this agile.

As Seth and Donny stared blankly at Cacoy in amazement. A man stepped out from one the other doors in the backyard. Clapping energetically as he saw the end of Cacoy's martial arts demonstration. Seth and Donny both turned around to see who it was. Nash greeted his siblings with a smile.

"So you like your 'punishment'? Before anything else, I want you to remember that violence isn’t always the answer. But there are some situations that are out of our control, in those situations I want both of my brothers to be able to defend themselves. That’s why I’ve asked Grandmaster Cacoy for help."

"I'm sure Donny is excited to learn and I don't mind learning how to be able to strike that fast as well. But are we allowed to be carrying sticks everywhere? Wouldn't that make us look like we're looking for trouble?"

"Oh Eskrima isn't restricted to stick fighting. Nash come here and let's show your brothers what I've taught you before."

Nash stepped forward and faced Grandmaster Cacoy squarely. Both of them took on a fighting pose with their fists, that made it look like they were carrying sticks. In a split second both their fists turned into a blur and were attacking each other rapidly. One fist would attack while the other would block the incoming attack. They both started moving around the back yard.

The Eskrima Grandmaster was doing some narrations and explanations as they continued exchanging blows. Cacoy was leading Nash around like a puppy. After each exchange there is a brief moment where the two of them would stop. During this moment both Donny and Seth saw that Cacoy's attack would hit Nash but just stopped before actually hitting his face. While Nash's attacks were always parried.

In spite of seeing their brother being toyed with they couldn’t help but be impressed at Nash’s quick hand speed. They wondered how long he has been practicing Eskrima. The duo’s bare-handed demonstration ended with Nash being arm locked and then forced down on the floor.

“And this is how you pin down your enemy.”

Cacoy finished the bare-handed display of Eskrima and helped Nash on his feet. He gave Nash a pat on the back and told him that he was clearly not practicing, as most of his hits were not blocked.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I’ve neglected doing my daily practice. To be honest, I only practiced whenever you came around at the diner. Hehehe.”

“Ohh, I see… Well then I won’t let that happen to your brothers. Starting today I want you two, to come here after school. After a two months of training you will be sharp enough to take down Nash and show how him how important it is to practice.”

Both Seth and Donny nodded enthusiastically. They couldn’t wait to learn from Grandmaster Cacoy.

Nash didn’t like the sound of that but he was still happy at the idea that his two brothers will have the skills to fend for themselves.

The first thing that Smoke saw was an unconscious, amputated Adder. Darius was still applying some form of salve. Mixed with medicinal herbs and other stuff that Smoke didn’t know of. The salve was suppose to close off the open wound from Adder’s missing left arm.

“Oh, you’re back. He should regain consciousness in a couple of hours.”

“Thank you for healing him, Darius. This quest was suppose to be the start of my undefeatable legend. I was so eager to get the family token, that I got ahead of myself. I didn’t think of every possible scenario at all.”

Darius only stood there in silence as Smoke spoke the truth. He took out a paper and a quill. He then started writing down some stuff.

“Darius? What are you doing?”

“I’m listing down the known assets that the murlocks and the lamias have. From there we should be able to create numerous simulations and think of the best countermeasures.”

Smoke quickly went to Darius and took the quill away from his hand.

“Please stop that, Darius. This quest has made me realize a lot of things. It made me see that the only reason I was able to free Condortl Village was because of the strategies that three of you made. Sure I was the one executing them but thinking about it now. It felt like I was following a walk thru. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate the help but I want to be able to do things myself.”

“I wasn’t implying that I would make the plan by myself you know. Just like what we did with the Condortl campaign, we will brainstorm our ideas into a perfect solution. You also gave out a lot of significant  scenarios in Condortl, don’t forget that.”

“No, It was still mostly you three that made that plan. I also got a lot of items and equipments. But this time I barely did any preparation. I didn’t take the time to carefully study the enemy. I was overconfident!”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. So how do you propose I help you? You can’t expect me to do nothing.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about what to do against those murlocks. We were lucky enough that the whirlpool led to an underground river that exited outside of the waterfalls.”

“Yeah, if you would have encountered any kind of monster, with an injured Adder on your back. It would have meant certain death for sure.”

“If it weren’t for the ‘Cunning of the Dire Fox’ I don’t think I could have evaded them easily.”

“So, do you want to share some of your ideas with me? Maybe I could throw in some in some trivial suggestions?”

“Let me come up with the strategy on my own, Darius… However, you could help me by answering my questions. Do you by any chance happen to know where I could get a lightning stone?”

“Ohhh, Lightning stones are the highest form of lightning enhancement. You could only get those from Lightning Dragons, or sometimes fossilized lightning dragon eggs.”

“You want me to hunt down a Lightning Dragon? I can’t even take down an army of murlocks and lamias. How do you expect me to go against a Lightning Dragon? I guess I have to come up with another way to drastically increase the damage of my arrows against water elemental monsters.”

“Smoke, I think the first thing you should learn, is the ability to listen. I never said that the only lightning enhancement was the lightning stone. Ahh… I think I know of a way that I can truly help you. Wait here,  I have to get a couple of things from my house.”

Darius went to his house to gather some helpful things. Smoke was wondering what he was up to.

After a few minutes, Darius returned and carefully set all of the books down on the table.

“Has anyone told you about the wondrous information that we can get from books?”

Of course Smoke knew that you could learn a lot of things from books. However, there was no mention of ‘books’ in any of the ZECTAS forums.

“From your reaction I guess no one has. Well, let me tell you that there are different kinds of books. There is a special book called ‘ability tomes’. When you touch them and you fulfill all of the tome’s requirements. There will be a prompt asking if you want to learn the ability of the tome. Once you answer yes, the tome will disappear. Then you will have acquired the ability of that tome. Ability tomes are extremely rare and expensive. Though I have one right here. Want to give it a try?”

Smoke got used to the fact that Darius had a lot of rare and unique items in his possessions. Darius picked up a thick book. The book cover had a faded color of red and had a ruby at the center. He gave the ability tome to Smoke.

+Received Ability Tome: ‘Summon Magma Dragon’

Smoke curiously inspected the ability tome.

+Ability Tome: ‘Summon Magma Dragon’

The highest form of magical attack of a Magma Arch Magus.
The summoned Magma Dragon will depend on the level of the Magma Arch Magus.
The duration of the Magma Dragon will depend on the mana reserve of the caster.
The Magma Dragon can cause immolation damage on all enemies within 500 meters.
The Magma Dragon can increase Fire Resistance to all allies to 100%.
Allies of the Magma Arch Magus can be healed through fire magic.

Requirements:
Job: Magma Arch Magus
Fire Affinity: 100%
Level: 900
Intelligence: 999
Mana: 300,000

“Wow those are some pretty high requirements. Are you telling me that you need to fulfill all of these requirements before you can gain the ability?”

“That’s right. This ability can also be learned by a Magma Arch Magus, through a special ability quest in the Fire Temple of Labestl.”

“So why haven’t you learned this ability yet? Oh, let me guess. You’re not a Magma Arch Magus are you? Whew, that’s quite a relief. I don’t want to be a Magma Arch Magus although the ability does seem useful.”

“No, I’m not a Magma Arch Magus, but the reason why I can’t learn that ability is because I have 100% Affinity with Water and that doesn’t go easily with Fire. In fact even Elementalists pick up an element to specialize in.”

“Ahh I see. So should I return this book to you then?”

“No keep it. I don’t have any use for that ability tome anyway. Maybe you can sell it, in one of the main cities. Anyway back to my point. If you would have fulfilled all of the requirements you would have gained the ability without the hassle of doing the quest in Fire Temple of Labestl.”

“Yes. I know ability tomes are amazing. I already knew that when you first described them.”

“Oh… Okay then, that brings me to the other kind of book. The ordinary kind or as I would like to call them, the knowledgeable kind. Here try this one.”

+Received Recipe Book of Medicinal Rabbit Stew

As soon as Smoke got a hold of the book. A progress bar appeared with a timer which indicated that it would finish in 5 seconds.

+Recipe: Medicinal Rabbit Stew

Ingredients:
1pc of  horned rabbit meat
2pcs of green medicinal herbs

Procedure:
Stew the rabbit meat in boiling water.
When the rabbit has stewed for a while add in the medicinal herbs.

Effects:
*Regenerates HP at .05% per second
*Lasts 20 minutes

Note:
Effects may vary depending on cooking ability.

“I see. So you want me to gain knowledge through these books. This is indeed a great help and at the same time, I will be the one responsible for making the plans.”

“The information that you acquire from these books will be stored in your 'Acquired Knowledge' window. So here are some of the books from my personal library. Also, feel free to go to my house and get any book that you may like. But let me warn you. If you didn’t finish learning the knowledge of the book but then you released it. The progress bar will restart from the very beginning.”

Smoke read the titles of the books that Darius brought. Some of the titles were;

‘The History of Ancient Zectas’

‘Elemental Stone Enhancements’

‘Military Strategies of the Meridianus’

‘Secret Societies of Zectas’

‘The History of Chayotl Kingdom’

‘Private Armies - How to acquire and maintain them’

There were a few more books on the table but these 6 were the ones that picked Smoke’s interest.

Smoke tried acquiring the knowledge of the book entitled ‘Elemental Stone Enhancements’. As he picked up the book a progress bar appeared and indicated that it would take 6 hours to finish the book.

“Six hours?! Are you serious? What am I suppose to do during that time? Just sit here in and do nothing?”

“Well as long as one of your hands is holding the book. The progress bar shouldn’t disappear. I find that it’s best to read books during long travels.”

“Yes! You’re right as always, Darius. All I have to do is hold this right, and the progress bar shouldn’t disappear?”

Smoke tried switching the book from his left hand to his right hand and the time on the progress bar stayed the same.

“Well I guess I’ll know about the other stones, that are capable of giving me lightning enchantment after 6 hours.”

“6 hours is a long time. Smoke, If you wouldn’t mind. I would like to tell you a story, about the blunders of practicing alchemy.”

“Alchemy huh? Sure, why not. Sounds interesting. Fire away, Darius.”

“Right. Some time ago, there was this novice alchemist practitioner. He had just learned the art of making golems. Of course to anyone who has learned something new, he immediately wanted to try it out. The instructions stated that he should first make a mud golem. So that in an event where the alchemist cannot gain control of his golem. The golem could easily be destroyed, as it was made out of mud.”

“And let me guess. The alchemist practitioner didn’t follow the instructions.”

“Correct. The proud alchemist practitioner thought that, making an iron golem would be much better than making a plain old mud golem. So he did some of his own modifications to the instructions. In the case of the mud golem. The alchemist would have only needed to put some of his mana into the specially treated mud. That was placed inside the transmutation circle. However, the protagonist of our story did a step above that. Instead of just using his mana. He used an ‘electro stone’. This ‘electro stone' is the most intermediate form of lightning enhancement.”

“Nice! So all I have to look for now is this ‘electro stone’ then. That’s perfect! I hope the ending of your story will be the location of a ‘electro stone’ or at least a clue to its location.”

“Are you gonna quietly listen to my story or are you gonna keep on interrupting me?”

“Ohh… Sorry, please go ahead. You won’t hear a sound from me.”

“Alright, where was I? Ahh… Yes, so the novice golem maker, used a electro stone imbued with his mana. The iron golem sprang to life. It moved slowly at first and looked so innocent. Its creator was so proud. Yet after a few seconds from when it started moving, it decided that it, preferred to trash the place. The iron golem became uncontrollable, it started breaking everything in the alchemist’s laboratory. Its creator had the ability to obliterate the iron golem, but he couldn’t find it in his heart to destroy it. Instead the foolish golem novice creator encased the iron golem. In a strong mana prison. The iron golem tried to smash his way out of the mana prison. But it wasn’t strong enough. It is said that the iron golem was placed inside the ‘Forest of Ignizoc’ where he is surrounded by the rare ‘ember sprites’. As it turns out, that iron golem is afraid of fire. So he just stays inside the middle of the forest.”

“Great! So can you please update my map with the location of Ignizoc Forest. I hope it’s near here.”

“It’s somewhere between here and Mandragora Forest. Just be careful of the ember sprites though. They usually stay away from intruders but if by some weird luck they decide to attack you, then you better get ready to be burned.”

“So Darius, when did this happen? Why in the world did you use an ‘electro stone’ to create an iron golem? Also, it’s common sense to follow the instructions especially if it’s your first time.”

“Well you see Smoke, I was really excited at the idea of making an iron maid. That’s why I tried out the… I mean. What? Who said it was me? I’m talking about one of the legends in Nanahuatl Village. It was the novice alchemist that made that iron golem. I’m pretty sure he, deeply regrets making that thing. Wherever he may be.”

“I’m sure ‘he’ does… So do you think the novice alchemist wouldn’t mind if I broke his iron golem?”

“He wanted to destroy it in the first place. He just couldn’t find it in his heart to do the physical deed. I don’t think he would mind it, you could also use the ‘electro stone’ inside its chest.”

Smoke called the hunters of his private army through his private army chat window. It was clear that Adder would need some time off before he could participate in battle.

“How are you guys progressing? I hope you guys didn’t encounter any sort of trouble there.”

“Hi, Smoke, this is Ichaival. All of us have gained the poison resistance attribute. We’re just making a path into the center of Mandragora Forest in order to gather some more Mandragora Flowers.”

“This is Vijaya. I have some great news. Since I’ve relied mostly on my twin falcons to do the attacking for me. Both of my falcons have gained the ability ‘poison beak’. They just kept on ingesting the poison pellets rather than give them to me. But don’t worry I still manage to collect a lot of poison pellets. I’m sure everyone still envies me since I’m the only who has two falcons and now they even have poison attack!”

“Sharanga here. Don’t pay any attention to her. She’s been doing nothing, just staying out of sight. If it wasn’t for her twin falcons she would have contributed nothing.”

“It’s me, Thyrsus. We should be heading back in a couple of hours.”

“Good. I was thinking of meeting you guys halfway to our first target. I want us to go hunt an iron golem in Ignizoc Forest. But I won’t be arriving in another couple of days. So just continue on collecting those items that I told you about.”

“Okay, Smoke, Copy that!”

After hunting the army of powersaw crickets and the failed murlocks’ quest. Smoke’s current level is at 61. Most of his abilities are still in the intermediate level.

Only his ‘Agility of the Horned Rabbit’ ability has reached advance level 4. Which gave him +420 Agility. He had gained quite a few levels but the sad fact that Adder lost an arm still remains.

Smoke tried out some cooking, while holding the book ‘Elemental Stone Enhancements’. He found that it was indeed doable. The timer on the progress bar for the completion of the book was now at 3 hours.

Then a brilliant idea came to him. If you only need to one hand touching the book to acquire its knowledge then wouldn’t holding two books at the same time work?

He chose the thinnest book from the collection of books that Darius gave him. It was a book entitled ‘An Introduction to Stats Part I’. He took the book in his left hand and hoped that his theory was right.

A progress bar appeared and it indicated that it would take 5 minutes to finish obtaining the knowledge from the book.

Smoke was overjoyed, This would mean that he could absorb the knowledge of two books at once. As he was heading towards Darius house to tell him about his idea on reading two books at once.

He stopped, as he faced his front door. He couldn’t get out, because both of his hands were holding a book. He tried clasping the knob with the two books,  he tried using his feet to open the door, then he tried to use his mouth. Until finally, somehow he managed to open the door, using his armpits.

It looks like there was a very good reason why Darius didn’t tell him about learning two books at once. You can barely get out of a simple room, when you ‘acquire’ the knowledge of two books at the same time.

By the time he got out of his house. The progress bar on the thin book was completed.

~ Basic Stats: (The player can choose to increase these stats by distributing stat points.)

Strength
- would determine your attack damage for melee weapons and the maximum weight that you could carry in your backpack.
Agility
- would determine your movement speed, attack speed, as well your dodge rate.
Dexterity
- would determine your hit rate as well as damage for range weapons.
Vitality
- would determine your health and add some basic defense points as well.
Intelligence
- would determine your attack on magic spells as well as your mana points.

~ Event Stats: (These stats will only increase/decrease by certain game events.)
Luck
- would determine your chance to make a critical hit and interaction in certain Game Events.
Charisma
- would determine your interactions with NPCs and certain Game Events.
Leadership
- would determine your ability to lead NPCs and boosts given on anyone in your party that you are leading.
Fame
- would determine your accomplishments within the game this also increases intimacies with NPCs

If you’ve fulfilled certain conditions. You can obtain hidden stats. These stats can also function like ‘basic stats’ where in you can increment its value by using stat points.
[ Continued on  ‘An Introduction to Stats Part II’ ]

Smoke already knew the top portion of the book’s obtained knowledge. But the bottom part of the notification window was news to him.

He just wanted to try out his theory yet he had gained some wonderful information. He quickly searched for ‘An Introduction to Stats Part II’ unfortunately it wasn’t in the books that Darius gave him.

He dashed towards Darius’ house and asked for the book. Darius told him to search in the 3rd room on the right. Inside, he saw that the books covered all the walls. The books on the shelves were from the floor to the ceiling.

After a few minutes of searching he realized that there was no way he could find the book himself. He went out to ask for Darius’ help.

“Ohh. Sorry I forgot that you don’t have the ‘Search Book Ability’. This is an ability unique to librarian job.”

Darius used the ability and the book that Smoke was looking for emitted a low yellow light. He got the book and immediately the progress bar started and indicated that it would take 15 minutes to finish.

Smoke wondered about what Darius said. He thought that if this ability is unique to librarians then how come Darius could use it. After all this time did Darius finally slip up? Did Darius finally reveal his job? Does that mean that I’m going to be a librarian?

He thought that it wasn’t all that bad. If ever his theory turns out to be true. Since most of his theories were correct. He was certain that the hidden basic job of Nanahuatl was that of a librarian.

‘A librarian with a bow'. Sounds bad ass enough. The more Smoke thought about it. The more it made sense. Darius was very knowledgeable. How could he have gotten all of that knowledge?

Of course by reading a lot of books! From these books he must have gotten the different kinds of abilities that he uses.

Although it wasn’t the job that Smoke was expecting he was still happy, he has come to admire Darius. Even if he is just an NPC. Smoke has accepted his conclusion, that he would become a ‘fighting librarian’.

Just one more minute until 6 hours have passed, since Smoke started acquiring the knowledge from the book ‘Elemental Stone Enhancements’. He couldn’t wait to find out what the book had to offer.

Classifications of Elemental Stones Enhancements

Basic Elemental Stones: (Come from the crystallized dead bodies of elemental sprites)
Stone     Enhancement
ember     - fire
dew         - water
clay         - earth
breeze    - wind
bright    - light
dim        - dark
spark     - lightning

Intermediate elemental stones: (Carried from within elemental mares)
Stone     Enhancement
pyro           - fire
aqua          - water
terra          - earth
aero           - wind
radiance   - light
shadow     - dark
electro      - lightning

Advance elemental stones: (Carried from within the elemental dragons & their fossilized eggs)
Fire Stone
Water Stone
Earth Stone
Wind Stone
Light Stone
Dark Stone
Lightning Stone

“So that’s how elemental enhancement stones are made. Now I know what to look for, in finding better elemental enhancements. Elemental mares…”

A few days have passed and Smoke has finally arrived in Ignizoc Forest. Before leaving Nanahuatl Village, he made sure that Adder was well enough to stand and helped him get accustomed to his new life.

Smoke apologized to Adder once more. But no matter how many times he says sorry, Adder also repeats the same thing. Adder also felt that he was not strong enough, to be a shield for Smoke.

Smoke and the four Hunters of his private army, have united once more. He wanted them to display their new abilities since the last time they met.

They went to one of the nearby forests, and in this forest they saw a stone deer. He asked Vijaya to demonstrate the ability of her twin falcons.

With her hands Vijaya gave a signal to her falcons. Like a releasing an arrow, her twin falcons dove into the stone deer.

+ Attack hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Vij damaged stone deer for 1528.

+ Attack hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Aya damaged stone deer for 1539.

+ Attack hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Vij damaged stone deer for 1516.

+ Attack hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Aya damaged stone deer for 1523.

+ Attack hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Vij damaged stone deer for 1536.

+ Attack hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Aya damaged stone deer for 1523.

+Vijaya has killed the stone deer.

+ Party has gained 1000 exp

“Nice that was impressive... So Vijaya, do you just watch your falcons? You just point out your target and wait until your falcons kills it?”

“Yeah! Impressive isn’t it?”

“Yes, your falcons are impressive. But you could have participated as well. From now on I want you to use your bow and arrows, and help out your falcons. If you would have used your arrows. You could have saved them from making the last two attacks. The stone deer only has 7,000 HP.”

“Oh… Okay Smoke. I’ll do that next time.”

Just as Sharanga was about to show her abilities. A pack of spined coyotes started coming out from the deeper parts of the forest.

The spined coyotes, were about two meters in length and when on all fours had a height of around one meter. They had spiny bones protruding on their backs, that looked to be really sharp.

A total of 500 spined coyotes came out.  They formed a semicircle around their party. This is Smoke’s first time encountering them, so he decided to ask the Hunters if they’ve had a chance to hunt them before.

As it turns out. This was also the Hunters’ first time encountering the spined coyotes. Smoke thought that this was a great opportunity for them, to try out some of the formations he had come up with.

He asked Sharanga to set up a perimeter of traps just in front of them. While Sharanga was setting up the traps. He asked them to send all of their falcons to the 12 o’clock, 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock directions.

All of them were equipped with their poison arrows. They fired at the spined coyotes that their falcons’ were targeting.

The moment one of their poison arrows hit its marked spined coyote. Its life bar appeared and indicated that it has (10,734/13,000 HP).

Smoke’s idea was to use the falcons in place of a tank. The falcons were very agile and took no hits from the spined coyote. Smoke’s target was the entire pack.

He aimed his arrows towards the sky. Making a high parabolic arc. Hitting the spined coyotes on the back.

In less than 30 minutes all of the members in the pack were poisoned. Since the Hunters had the ability ‘Scourge of the Beast’  they had a 15% increased damage against the spined coyotes.

Making their average damage against the spined coyotes at 2200. Except for Vijaya who spent some of her stats on Intelligence. She only made an average damage of 1100.

Some of the spined coyotes formed a train like formation and ran straight at them. With this formation only the spined coyote in the front took damage.

As the monsters drew nearer. The spined coyotes got caught in Sharanga’s traps. They were caught in some kind of bear trap.

Sharanga also kept on resetting the traps once the caught monsters were dispatched. They needed the traps as a pseudo defensive wall.

The 5 falcons were used as diversions. The spined coyotes that were leading the train like formation, were always targeted by the falcons, which caused them to deviate from the direct path towards Smoke and his private army.

The battle against the pack of spined coyotes lasted  up to 2 hours. The monster drops from their hunt were composed of  ‘coyote’s bladed spines & spined coyote’s pelts’.

Smoke and his private army of Hunters started collecting their loot, the used arrows, and the used traps. They recovered all of their arrows, gathered 500 coyote’s bladed spines and 800 spined coyote’s pelts.

He was satisfied with their performance. It took longer than he anticipated but then again this was their first time hunting together.

Checking for the location on his map. They traveled onwards in high spirits, towards Ignizoc Forest.

Darius had told him that there were only a few ember sprites remaining in Ignizoc Forest. Yet they still had to be wary of them. They are playful little critters that can change their temperament in a snap of a finger.

As they faced the entrance of ‘Ignizoc Forest’ the party rested. Shortly all the members of the party started sharpening their arrows with the ember stone.

Seeing as that 5 people sharing one small ember stone was inconvenient. Smoke decided, to start preparing some medicinal deer stew.

It took them almost 30 minutes, in order to enchant all of their arrows with fire. With all the preparations completed the group headed inside the Forest of Ignizoc.

Most of the forests in this area had poor lighting because of the thick overgrowth in trees. Yet somehow in Ignizoc Forest, you could clearly see everything.

Smoke noticed that some of the trees were emitting some low radiating light. This must have been the reason for the great illumination in the forest.

The falcons flew near them and mostly perched on top of the branches in the trees. With Smoke’s ‘Cunning of the Dire Fox’ they could detect any monster that would come within range.

As they progressed further inward. He sensed four unknown monsters. They felt really small. As they stealthily headed in the direction of the unknown presence.

The party saw 4 tiny flying red fire balls. Making different kind of shapes in the air, as an after image of light was left behind their flight path.

Upon further examination the 4 flying fire balls were actually the ember sprites. They looked like little tennis balls on fire, that had eyes and a mouth.

Smoke signaled the rest of the party to stay clear from the ember sprites. They continued with caution towards the center of the forest.

There were some stone deers that came their way and was dealt with quickly as all of the hunters fired simultaneously. Just like how they attacked the horned rabbit before. Their synchronized attack was still an amazing sight to see.

Smoke felt like he was already at Tristan’s level when they first met. However he knew that right now he was still no match against Tristan, since he was more than twice, Smoke’s current level.

They reached the center of Ignizoc Forest. As usual there was a clearing in the center of the forest. The trees surrounding the center were radiating a much brighter light than the other trees.

He signaled his private army to stop. He swiftly climbed one of the trees. He felt that the tree was extremely warm.

From on high, Smoke examined the entire clearing. He saw no sign of an iron golem. All he saw were groups of silver rocks.

At the opposite of the clearing he saw 6 red ember sprites. But this time there was a different colored floating tennis ball. 1 of the ember sprites had a dark purple color.

Curious to see a different colored ember sprite, he focused his attention towards them. He noticed that the other 6 red ember sprites were pushing the dark purple ember sprite around.

He wasn’t certain of what was actually happening, yet somehow he felt that, the different colored ember sprite was being bullied. He stood his ground and continued to observe them.

As the 6 red ember sprites continued pushing the odd colored ember sprite into the clearing. Smoke felt his anger rising. He remembered Donny being pushed around at school.

He dashed towards the group of ember sprites. The Hunters below just saw him leaping down from the tree and sprinting towards the clearing.

All of them got on their feet and started running after him. The falcons flew off from the branches that they were resting on.

Before Smoke could stop the red ember sprites’ bullying. The group of silver rocks started to move. It started to take shape. They weren’t silver rocks. But rather, it was the iron golem that Darius had built!

The iron golem was awoken by Smoke’s presence. It stood tall at 2 meters. It tried to strike Smoke down, with its bulky right hand. He dodged it with ease. The iron golem’s missed strike caused a deep hole on the ground.

The Hunters immediately let loose their fire arrows. All of them targeted the iron golem’s right shoulder joint. Each arrow making its mark consecutively.

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Thyrsus damaged iron golem for 1128

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Sharanga damaged iron golem for 1118

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Vijaya damaged iron golem for 685

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1326

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1328

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1335

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1317

Ichaival’s ability ‘Phantom Arrows’ adds an extra 3 arrows making a total of 4. The right shoulder joint of the iron golem started to loosen. It also displayed its life bar (111,763/120,000 HP).

Smoke retreated towards the opposite direction of the group of Hunters. He told them to send their falcons to distract the iron golem as they take the formation that Smoke had already planned.

As the falcons made attempts of attacking the iron golem’s head. The four hunters separated and headed to their designated locations.

Smoke and the Hunters formed a 5 point star. As they completely surrounded their target, they continued on hitting the right joint shoulder of the iron golem.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1329.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1332.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. Damage 531.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1319.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1325.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. Damage 519.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1356.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1339.

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Thyrsus damaged iron golem for 1128

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Sharanga damaged iron golem for 1118

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Vijaya damaged iron golem for 685

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1326

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1328

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1335

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1317

The iron golem was confused as the fire arrows came at him from all directions. His lifebar dwindled down to (94,476/120,000 HP).

The focus fire on the iron golem’s right shoulder started to show. Its right arm was now barely attached.

Smoke's damage was much lower compared to the Hunters'. But his attack speed was a whole different level. Even with all four of the Hunters, they couldn't match his 8 hits.

Together with his private army, they continued on their torrent of fire arrows.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1305.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1311.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. Damage 529.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1291.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1313.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. Damage 530.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1366.

+ Attack hit iron golem. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1299.

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Thyrsus damaged iron golem for 1156

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Sharanga damaged iron golem for 1109

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Vijaya damaged iron golem for 710

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1377

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1365

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1363

+ Attack hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged iron golem for 1351

The iron golem was left with (77,098/120,000 HP). It tried to run towards Smoke. It was so focused on Smoke that it didn't even notice the dark purple ember sprite that was pushed in its way.

However Smoke saw the bullied ember sprite. He stopped attacking the iron golem and tried to grab the dark purple sprite.

Sadly even with Smoke's fast movement speed. He didn't make it in time. The small ember sprite was trampled by the iron golem.

As the iron golem's feet squashed its tiny body. The monster reflexively jumped backwards. It couldn't stand the heat that the ember sprites radiated.

As it fell to the ground, its right arm finally gave out and detached itself from its shoulder. As the Hunters saw this. They switched their target to the right leg.

The iron golem had a hard time getting up. As the 5 falcons kept on distracting it. It finally got itself to sit up.

Smoke rushed towards the flattened ember sprite, disregarding the iron golem entirely. As he drew nearer he felt the temperature rising.

He sat down beside the dying ember sprite and tried to check if there was some way he could revive it.

The monster saw Smoke. It tried to grab him as he was only a couple of feet away. As it did this. The hunters focused their attacks on its head.

The fire arrow shots to the head, caused the iron golem to be disoriented. Its head just kept on spinning as it received the fire arrows.

When the Hunters saw this, they carried on the same attack. The iron golem had no chance to recover. It just sat there with its head spinning from the fire arrows damage. Until finally its last life point disappeared.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to the Iron Golem: Ferros.

+ Your party has killed the Iron Golem: Ferros.

+ Your party has gained 90,000 exp.

Smoke didn't mind the system notifications. All his attention was on the expiring ember sprite. He luckily remembered a useful information. In one of the books he learned on his way to Ignizoc Forest.

There was a way to share your current life points to another entity by permanently losing 10% of your maximum mana capacity. Your maximum life points would stay the same but the mana capacity will be permanently lost. Of course if you level up, your mana capacity will increase once more. Just as it did before.

Without hesitation he performed the procedures stated on his 'Acquired Knowledge' window. He was covered in an aura that switched colors between red and blue.

He then placed both of his palms on top of the dying ember sprite. He felt a surge of energy flow from his hands towards the sprite.

As Smoke finished the procedure. The dark purple ember sprite started to open its eyes. Smoke thought he saw a smile form on the sprite's mouth. Slowly it started to float and began to hover around him.

+ Gained Symbiote: 'Dark Ember Sprite'

The dark ember sprite is said to be a mutation of the regular red ember sprite.
As such it has 10x stronger than the red ember sprite.
Since it's the only one of its kind in an ember sprite community.
It is often found to be picked on by the red ember sprites.
It will not retaliate as it knows that it could kill the normal red ember sprites.

Symbiosis:
* With every maximum mana increase, the Dark Ember Sprite absorbs 10% of that value
* Your Fire resistance attribute has increased to 50%
* You can now actively cast Fire enhancements

The Hunters went to where Smoke was sitting. The 'Dark Ember Sprite' continued hovering around Smoke happily. Making dark purple orbits around him.

As they got closer they immediately felt the heat. They stayed about 3 meters away from where Smoke was. As he saw this. He called for the 'Dark Ember Sprite' to stop.

"Can you tone down the heat a bit? I'm the only one with 50% Fire resistance here."

The Dark Ember Sprite understood and promptly obeyed Smoke's command. Gradually the temperature started to return to normal.

"Wow what was that? Did that ember sprite just follow your orders?"

"Yeah, it did. Everyone I'd like you to meet Igniz. I've decided to name him after this forest."

The Hunters were at awe. Smoke managed to gain an ember sprite. They didn't know what the ember sprite's abilities were. But still, it looked pretty cool hovering around Smoke.

With Igniz now fully recovered, Smoke focused his attention on the red ember sprites. But couldn't find any of them in the clearing.

He went to the place where the iron golem was slain. He picked up the 'electro stone' and held it close to examine it.

Now, with the electro stone in his possession. He was ready to face the murlocks and lamias once more.

Power and Humility

Smoke and his private army of Hunters started their journey back to Nanahuatl Village. While traveling, Smoke was acquiring the knowledge from the book entitled 'The History of Ancient Zectas'. The progress bar indicated that it would need 24 hours to finish.

Before, he used to find traveling to be really tedious, but now that he has learned about 'acquiring knowledge' from books, he finds the long distances to be pleasant and therapeutic. Because the most destinations takes a couple of days, he has already absorbed a number of books.

As the progress bar for the book 'The History of Ancient Zectas' indicated that it would be completed in one minute, Smoke called for the party to stop, rest, and start preparing a meal. He wanted to be in a focused state when the absorbed knowledge window pops up.

+ The History of Ancient Zectas

During the time when the great gods 'Tlaltezin', 'Chalchizin', 'Tezcazin', and 'Cuezaltzin' left the world alone, the reptilian race being smarter, stronger, and faster than the other races ruled the world.

They had enslaved all the other races. The orks were strong but they weren't too smart. The elves were smart but they were few in numbers. The dwarves were stout, but they were simply overpowered. Many other races tried to rebel against the reptilian race, but all of them ended with the same result. They were all enslaved.

Within the reptilian race, there was also a hierarchy of power. From lowest to highest were the Lizardites (lizard people), the Chameleonese (chameleon people), the Crocodilians (crocodile people), and the Draconian (dragon people).

The reptilian race divided the world of Zectas amongst themselves. The Lizardites took the West, the Chameleonese took the South, the Crocodilians took the North, and the Draconians took the East.

The leader of the Lizardites, High General Vinceretus, wanted to rule all of the reptiles. He was sick of being the lowest ranking High General. Together with the High Generals of the Chameleonese and the Crocodilians, they planned a rebellion.

High General Muttus of the Chameleonese and High General Stultus of the Crocodilians both thought the same thing. They would use the Lizardites as bait. Once the campaign against the Draconians is over, they would just fight it out amongst themselves. Chameleonese versus Crocodilians.

With the three reptile races united, they faced the Draconian Empire. However, even with their combined forces they still couldn't defeat the mighty Draconians.

Realizing that victory wasn't possible, High General Muttus and High General Stultus defected back into the Draconian fold. They told Supreme High General Ultimus that it was all Vinceretus' doing. They were just coerced into joining the rebellion.

High General Vinceretus was prepared for their treachery. For some time he has been studying the forbidden dark arts. Using his gained knowledge, he summoned the fallen reptiles from their rebellion.

This time with his army of undead reptiles, High General Vinceretus launched a counterattack on all the three reptile races.

Their war lasted for years. But High General Vinceretus' source of power in summoning the undead was running out. He was using the lives of his people. In sacrificing 10,000 lizardites he was able to produce one blood invoker stone. Able to reanimate 100,000 conscripts of undead.

Yet because of the great world war of the reptiles, the whole population of the reptilian race decreased drastically. No matter what reptilian race it was, they were barely in the thousands.

Seizing this opportunity, the other races joined forces. They fought the weak and dying reptiles. The enslaved races were united with one goal: freedom for all.

And so the joint army of the enslaved races gained victory. This is how the reign of the reptiles ended.

+ Your total 'Acquired Knowledge' has increased your Intelligence by 1.

Smoke was thrilled. It has finally happened. He had learned from one of the books, that if you acquire a certain amount of knowledge you can gain Intelligence stats.

It takes 10 points of Intelligence before the maximum mana capacity increases. Smoke has estimated that the increase would be around 12%. Deducting Igniz's 10% symbiosis would mean that he would still gain 2%.

He had to acquire the knowledge of 50 books before he got that 1 point Intelligence stat. Yet he was not discouraged. For he has also learned from the book 'An Introduction to Stats Part IV' that acquiring a book's knowledge could be hastened if you can gain the 'Wisdom' attribute.

However, the exact procedure for gaining the Wisdom attribute still eluded him. It was supposed to be in the book entitled 'Stats and their Secrets'. Sadly, Darius' library didn't have that book.

Now that he has completed that previous book, he picked up a new one to start the process of gaining knowledge once more.

After they were done with their food, the party proceeded towards Nanahuatl Village.

Back in Nanahuatl, the Hunters returned to their homes and their families, while Smoke hurriedly looked for Adder. He went to his house were Adder was supposed to be recuperating, but he didn't find him there.

He went to ask Darius if he knew where Adder was. Darius coincidentally just stepped out of his to greet Smoke.

"Hello, Smoke, I take it that you've slain the iron golem with ease? But what's this? Is that a dark ember sprite hovering around you?"

"Hi, Darius. Yup! He's called Igniz. I've named him after Ignizoc Forest. He was squashed by the iron golem, and I accidentally made him my symbiote as I tried to save his life."

"Hmm, I've thought about making a symbiote myself. But the drawback of it diminishing my maximum mana was too much for me. You see, I'm very much dependent on Mana."

"I would guess that as well. Seeing as that you have the appearance of an ArchMage."

"ArchMage? Well I guess I do look like one. But let me tell you now that I'm not an ArchMage."

"Yes, yes, I know. I've already figured out what the hidden basic job is, and let me tell you that I like it. At first I wasn't really sure of how I felt since I was expecting a different kind of job. But then after realizing that it was the same as your job, I knew that I would grow to like it."

"Really? So it's because of me that you like the hidden job that I have to offer? Most people would reject it as soon as they hear it. I'm glad that I was able to inspire you in some ways, Smoke."

"Also, after acquiring the knowledge of countless books, I knew that I would love being a librarian."

"Librarian? What do you mean librarian?"

"You know, the hidden job. It's the hidden job of a librarian right? Drop the act Darius. I already know that the hidden job is a librarian."

"No, you've guessed wrong it really isn't. I'm not trying to pull your leg or anything, but I really thought that you had figured out what the hidden job was. I guess you will have to wait and see until you complete the quest."

"Classic Darius, always sticking to the 'You've guessed wrong' act. Well, alright, I'll play along. I sure look forward to knowing what the hidden job is."

"No, it really isn't a librarian. I don't know where you got the idea that I'm a librarian but I'm not. I just love reading books. That's why I have a decent private library."

"Okay, okay. Anyway, can you tell me where I can find Adder? I want to see if he's feeling better."

"Oh, right, about that. Adder asked me to give you a message. It states that until he has mastered his new weapon, he won't be coming back. In other words, he left the village to train."

"New weapon? What's his new weapon? When did he leave?"

"He left a few days after you did. He asked me to forge a special sword. He had already asked me to craft the weapon while I was still healing him. He also told me not to tell you what kind of sword it is. Just in case he couldn't master it. But knowing Adder, I'm sure he'll return here after accomplishing the impossible."

"I was hoping that he was well enough to join on us against the murlocks. I wanted him to see every last one of them dead. I wanted to show him how sorry I am for losing his arm."

"Well, I'm sure he knows that too, Smoke. Anyway, before you head out raining vengeance against the murlocks, I want you to meet a couple of people."

"Who? Don't tell me that Adder was just hiding inside your house all this time, Darius?"

"No, no, no, Adder went away to train. Deal with it. Just come inside and meet them."

"Oh, okay."

Once inside Smoke saw two well built men. They were part of the eight archers that Darius trained.

They look to be at least six and half feet tall. They have forest green skin and pointy ears. They also have identical faces. They looked to be elves but Smoke has never seen an elf with forest green skin before.

Smoke thought that they must be brothers just like Vijaya and Sharanga. He just realized that he didn't really remember much of the eight archers when they were introduced for the first time.

"Smoke, I'd like to re-introduce to you Sharur Attrayant and Jinggu Attrayant. After they became archers they took on the advance job of Range Siegers."

"Hello, Sir Smoke, I'm Sharur. A pleasure to meet you once again. We are deeply honored to be in your presence. We have heard of your recent accomplishments from everyone in the village."

"I am called Jinggu, Sir Smoke. We're sorry we couldn't come sooner."

"No problem, you don't have any obligations to come to me at all. Also, I wouldn't call losing miserably against the murlocks as an accomplishment. The stories you heard must have been exaggerated."

"I don't think so. Didn't you single handedly free Condortl Village? Jinggu doesn't like to talk much but both of us idolize you, Sir Smoke."

"You guys can drop the Sir. I prefer Smoke. Do you guys really think I'm great? Let me tell you that the first member of my private army lost his left arm. Because of my foolishness, we failed our first mission. So do you guys still think I'm great?"

"I'm sure that you were placed in a very difficult situation. Yet despite that, you were still able to bring back Sir Adder alive right?"

"Yes, he's still alive. But right now he's training far away . I know that he'll come back stronger. I have to be stronger too so that no one in my private army will die."

"Smoke, we are not afraid of death as long as we know it is right and just. We also know that when we follow you we will find what we are looking for."

"So, Smoke, will you accept these two into your private army?"

"It is my honor and privilege to accept both of you into 'our' private army. I'm reminded of my own brothers whenever I see brothers as brave as you two."

+ Sharur Attrayant has joined your Personal Army.
Sharur Attrayant is one of Darius' students. He is one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 68
Job: Range Sieger
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: Heavy Ballista
Equipped Weapon: Heavy Ballista

Abilities:

Cooking Ability:  Able to cook simple meals.
Armor Pierce:   Ignores 80% of target's armor
Far Sight:        Increases range by 500 meters
Spiral Pierce:    Increases the spiral rotation of the bolt and it's penetration and damage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+ Jinggu Attrayant has joined your Personal Army.
Jinggu Attrayant is one of Darius' students. He is one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 68
Job: Range Sieger
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: Heavy Ballista
Equipped Weapon: Heavy Ballista

Abilities:

Cooking Ability:  Able to cook simple meals.
Armor Pierce:     Ignores 80% of target's armor
Far Sight:        Increases range by 500 meters
Spiral Pierce:    Increases the spiral rotation of the bolt and it's penetration and damage.

"Wow, you brothers have the same abilities. Are you guys twins? Also, you guys have the features of an elf but I've never seen a green elf before. What kind of elves are you?"

"Yes, that's right. We are twins. Our mother was an elf, while the person who raped her was an ork... We are called Orkelves. However neither orks nor elves would take us in. Mother had to seek refuge here in Nanahuatl as she was shunned by the people of her village."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I didn't mean to pry. I'm sorry if I've brought back some bad memories."

"No, you haven't. Our mother was the bravest person we knew. She brought us to be respectful and strong. She loved us both with all her heart. Before she died she made us promise to be protectors of the weak and to be true to her teachings."

"I'm sure your mother would be very proud of you two. I hope I won't lead you astray. However, there may come a time where in I have to perform some shady acts. My number one priority is my vengeance against a certain person, and I have vowed to do whatever it takes to achieve that. If ever you feel that you are not following the teachings of your mother, please tell me. I don't want you to compromise your promise with her."

"Of course, following the teachings of our mother has always been our way of life. But both Jinggu and I feel the same aura that our mother emitted coming from you. Looking at you, we somehow feel at home."

"Umm. I guess I'll take that as a compliment. By the way this little guy here is called Igniz. I'm sorry for not introducing him earlier. He's a dark ember sprite. He's also my symbiote."

"Yeah, we have been wondering about him for a while as well. I thought areas near ember sprites are really hot?"

"Oh, he's mastered how to suppress his heat. Now he's just a floating light show."

"Now that you guys are done with the introduction. Sharur, Jinggu, would you two perhaps like to show Smoke your abilities?"

"Of course! Master Darius, can we please ask you to use your abilities?"

"Sure, as long as it's inside the village then I can help you."

The twins carried the same weapon as well. Two heavy ballistae. The ballistae were almost all tall as them, at around 6 feet in height and 200 pounds in weight.

Smoke was impressed to see them carrying such heavy range weapons. The ballistae looked like mini catapults. He wondered just how strong these Orkelves were.

For safety purposes, they went to one of the remote part of the village, the grounds before the entrance to the coal mines. Here, the twins asked Darius to create a strong fortress-like wall. The wall had to be about 40 meters in width.

Darius complied with their request. He used his ability 'Earth Wall' to create a sturdy wall. Afterwards, they asked Smoke to examine the wall. He found that the wall passed their requirements. It was about 40 meters in width and had a thickness of about 2 meters. He was then told to go to their side to see the target from the distance they were standing at.

When they were roughly 500 meters away from the wall, they asked Smoke to try and hit the target from there. Promptly, Smoke answered that he couldn't hit the target  since it was out of his range. He didn't bother to try.

The twins nodded at his answer. They then took out the heavy ballistae from their backs. The ballistae had a foldable tripods. They unfolded the tripod and placed the piercing bolt into the slider. The total process for setting up the ballista took less than a minute.

Seeing that Smoke was watching them in anticipation of the results, the twins released their bolts in an interval of two seconds.

Jinggu's spinning bolt smashed the earth wall that Darius built. A few seconds later Sharur's bolt completely destroyed the wall.

Each of their damage against the created wall was above 7,000. Smoke was grinning broadly as he saw the high damage.

"Wow! So that's what a range sieger is capable of! You can most definitely break down a castle wall with that much damage. But how long does it take you to reload?"

"On an average it takes about 10 seconds. But Jinggu's best time is at 5 seconds while mine is at 6 seconds."

"This is perfect! This is what I've been looking for. Come on, we have to find everybody else. I want to tell the rest of the members."

It took about 30 minutes for Smoke to explain his plan against the murlocks. After sharing his plan, he then told everyone to start doing their assigned tasks. It should take them at least 3 days to accomplish everything.

No matter what Smoke was doing inside the village, you could always catch him carrying a book with him all the time. He wanted to acquire as much knowledge as he could.

The seven party group headed towards the mouth of Murray River. Smoke led the way as he was already familiar with the terrain.

Before leaving, Smoke and his private army practiced drill exercises for silent missions. Smoke had everyone equip their specialized earmuffs made by James Jackal.

They were inside the territory of the powersaw crickets. Sensing the crickets near by, Smoke ordered the party to stop. He used Igniz's special ability and enchanted everyone's arrows and bolts with fire enhancement.

Using his hands, Smoke signaled Thyrsus to instruct his falcon to check further ahead for the locations of the other powersaw crickets.

Thyrsus has the ability 'Falcon Vision' which enables him to see what his falcon sees. After confirming the locations of the powersaw crickets, he plotted them out in the map that Smoke brought out.

As Smoke had anticipated, the powersaw crickets had distance of about 15 meters from one another. This was their defensive formation. If one of them got attacked, they would create loud sounds indicating to fire at its location.

They positioned themselves behind the blind spot of the first powersaw cricket in the outer defensive wall. Smoke and the rest of the Hunters fired simultaneously.

Because the powersaw crickets were not particularly weak against fire, the arrows and bolts enhanced by Igniz only gave them a 15% increased damage. Thanks to the the Hunters ability 'Scourge of the Beast', they also had a 15% increased damage as the powersaw crickets were classed as beast type monsters.

Their combined attack resulted in an accumulated damage of over 24,000, which gave them an overkill bonus exp since the powersaw cricket only had a maximum HP capacity of 12,000 HP.

While they dealt with the powersaw crickets in the map. Sharur and Jinggu were the ones targeting the powersaw cricket of out everyone elses' range.

The twin Orkelves followed protocol and attacked the same target. Their accumulated damage was around 14,000. Just enough to kill a powersaw cricket at once.

Employing the same strategy, Smoke and his party continued on hunting the monsters. In less than an hour, the powersaw crickets in the area were all wiped out.

After passing the territory of the powersaw crickets, they then entered the lands of the thorny devil lizards.

Here, Smoke signaled for Jinggu to join him. While Sharur joined the Hunters, Smoke divided the twin Orkelves with good reason. The armor of the thorny devil lizard was so thick that ordinary arrows couldn't penetrate it directly.

They would have needed to find its weak spot and aim there. This strategy was time consuming and needed a tank for it to be effective.

However, now that Smoke has the defense piercing abilities of Sharur and Jinggu, they could aim for the thorny devil lizards from the front.

The twin Orkelves were instructed to make the first shot against the thorny devil lizards. After an opening has been made, Smoke and the Hunters would shoot at that created weak spot.

+ Atk hit. +ARMOR BRK. FIRE DMG. Jinggu damaged thorny devil lizard for 7126.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1379.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. Damage 563.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. Damage 559.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1382.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1379.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1375.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1386.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1379.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1379.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1382.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1379.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. Damage 562.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1385.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1386.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1389.

+ Atk hit thorny devil lizard. FIRE DMG. Damage 558.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to the thorny devil lizard.

+ Your party has killed the thorny devil lizard.

+ Your party has gained 8,000 exp.

The thorny devil lizard had a total HP of 24,000. With their combined attacks they were able to dish out 25,948 damage points, enabling them to kill the armored beast around ten seconds.

Smoke checked on the progress of the Sharur and the Hunters. He saw that they were able to deal with their own target about the same time.

At this rate, the 60 members of the thorny devil lizards pack no longer threatened Smoke. The monsters tried rushing them, but the traps that Sharanga placed in advance held back the advancing beasts.

The party targeted the ones that were not caught in the trap. Moving like well trained soldiers, Smoke's private army dealt with the thorny devil lizards in under 30 minutes.

Smoke asked everyone to gather their projectiles and the loot that the lizard had to offer. He also asked Thyrsus to send his falcon in advance to look for other packs of thorny devil lizards. He needed them to hunt at least ten packs of those beasts.

As the party had finished their sixth pack of thorny devil lizards, they travelled towards the next location that Thyrsus indicated. Smoke saw a familiar scene. A lone thorny devil lizard was drinking near the black part of the river.

Immediately he told his private army to ready their weapons and wait for the monster that would come out. He had told them in their strategy meeting about the monsters that they would encounter in this quest.

Everyone knew what to expect. As the giant alligator snapping turtle came out and chomped at the thorny devil lizard. Smoke and his private army of range specialists released their projectiles at the same time.

All of them aimed for the giant alligator snapping turtles' neck!

+ Atk hit. +ARMOR BRK. FIRE DMG. Jinggu damaged giant alligator turtle for 6822.

+ Atk hit. +ARMOR BRK. FIRE DMG. Sharur damaged giant alligator turtle for 7181.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Thyrsus damaged giant alligator turtle for 1228.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Sharanga damaged giant alligator turtle for 1218.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Vijaya damaged giant alligator turtle for 705.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged giant alligator turtle for 1396.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged giant alligator turtle for 1388.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged giant alligator turtle for 1395.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Ichaival damaged giant alligator turtle for 1397.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1389.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1392.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1389.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1395.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. Damage 586.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. Damage 581.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1389.

+ Atk hit giant alligator turtle. FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1392.

The black giant alligator snapping turtle revealed its lifebar, indicating (37,767/70,000 HP).

It became angry as it took a tremendous amount of damage. It started to lift its body out of the river.

Luckily for Smoke and his group the only thing agile about this monster was its neck! Since they were out of range of the monster's neck, all it could try to do was slowly move outside of the river in order to take a snap at them.

But Smoke and his private army didn't give the monster a chance. They fired two more rounds of their arrows, and the gigantic monster fell dead.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to the giant alligator snapping turtle.

+ Your party has killed the giant alligator snapping turtle.

+ Your party has gained 24,000 exp.

They collected the gigantic shell that the turtle had left them. With the weight of the giant carapace added, they became encumbered as the thorny devil lizard's armor was also heavy. They had about 300 pieces of that monster's armor.

Smoke decided that they should proceed with phase two of his plan.

Using the thorny devil lizard's armor, they started crafting out a barricade wall. They used the electro stone on the thorns sticking out of the wall and also on their bolts and arrows as well.

After the barricade was completed, Smoke and his private army headed towards the mouth of Murray River. On the shallow part of the river, they saw an army of murlocks about 500 strong.

With Smoke signaling Sharur and Jinggu to start firing from their current position, the murlocks started falling down one at a time.

With the murlocks being weak against lightning and the electro stone being an intermediate form of lightning enhancement, the Orkelf twins dished out around 15,000 damage points each.

The murlocks only has a total HP of 14,000, making them single shot targets for the Range Siegers.

The slimy murlocks, not seeing their enemy, started using the siren's song. But the monsters saw no one coming. All they saw was their fellow murlocks falling down beside them.

The slithering monsters recognized that it was time to escape. They immediately started to withdraw into their cave behind the waterfall.

This time, Smoke didn't give chase. Once he saw that the last murlock was inside the cave, he signaled his private army to execute phase three of his plan.

Immediately, the private army broke into two groups. One group ran towards the entrance of the murlock's cave. Swiftly, they created a perimeter barricade around the waterfall.

At the same time the second group made a perimeter barricade around the river where the exit of the whirlpool that Smoke used to escape was located.

They used the barricade made out of thorny devil lizard's armor. Smoke had also constructed a mobile archer tower. On top of the tower was the carapace of the giant alligator snapping turtle. It would serve as a shield against water attacks from the lamias.

While his private army was setting things up, Smoke ran inside the cave all by himself. He gambled that he wouldn't meet any monsters near the passageway.

He strongly relied on his 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' to detect the presence of any monsters. Seeing the exit of the passageway, he got out some special arrows. These arrows had small canisters with a wick attached to them. He lit up the canisters and targeted the wall at the far side of the exit.

After firing his eight special arrows, Smoke ran outside of the cave with all his might. Since his movement speed has also increased a bit, it only took him 3 minutes to get out of the passageway.

With everything in place, Smoke sent the signal to the hunters to call their falcons to drop the special packages on top of the waterfalls. The top of the waterfalls had hints of small red smoke coming out.

The red smoke came from Smoke's special arrows. This red smoke would guide the falcons into the holes that gave sunlight into the murlock's cavern.

The falcons were trained in Nanahuatl Village to detect the red smoke and to start dropping the small bags into the holes that the red smoke was coming from.

The bags contained dried mandragora flowers. The bags would only start to burn as they got in contact with the red smoke.

From one of the books that he read, Smoke had learned about the special properties of the mandragora flower, particularly its chemical reaction against smoke made from ember stone dust.

Once a falcon had finished accurately dropping the bag into the hole, it would return to the tree where another bag filled with mandragora flowers were waiting for them. The falcons kept on repeating the process until all the bags were delivered into the hole.

Smoke stood on top of the mobile archer tower. It was situated so that it could see the exit of the cave as well as the exit of the whirlpool in the river.

He had divided his army into two groups, one side defending the exit of the whirlpool and the other defending the exit of the cave.

Everyone outside was waiting in anticipation. They have been waiting for almost 30 minutes. The smoke coming out of the holes from the cavern was now black. That indicated that the mandragora flowers were still burning inside the cavern.

Smoke was about to give a command when Igniz motioned for him to look at the exit of the whirlpool. The river started to bubble. Like a flood, the murlocks and lamias came out. Their arrows enhanced by the electro stone gave out almost 3,000 damage points.

The murlocks and lamias coming out only had about 7,000 HP left. They must have been fighting amongst themselves inside the cavern.

The electro bolts from the ballistae of the Orkelves gave an instant kill as it continued to deal 15,000 damage points.

Just a few seconds after the monsters came out from the whirlpool, a torrent of lamias and murlocks came running out of the cave.

They couldn't even touch the electro enhanced barricade. All of them were shot dead as they came stepped outside of the waterfalls.

They had been shooting down murlocks and lamias for almost two hours. The monsters coming out of the exit stopped. However, the monsters coming out of the cave continued on. So they focused their attention on the monsters coming out of the cave.

While everyone's attention was on the exit of the cave, a group of two medium sized lamias and one giant sized lamia jumped up high out of the whirlpool's exit.

Igniz was the first one to notice them, but it was too late. The three lamias targeted Smoke. They already released their glacial spikes.

Smoke was able to dodge the attacks by hiding behind the giant alligator turtle's carapace, all thanks to Igniz's warning. Immediately, he took out a bag and threw it up in the air. Igniz released a fireball, exploding the bag.

The bag was filled with yellow powder. It indicated that there was an enemy behind them or that they were surrounded.

Smoke had come up with the idea to use hand signals and smoke signals. Since they were wearing the specialized earmuffs that completely canceled out all external sounds.

The private army immediately understood. The group assigned to guard the exit of the whirlpool knew that they had made a mistake. They soon turned their attention towards the river.

They shouldn't have let down their guard. Jinggu aimed for the lamia boss.

+ Atk hit. ARMR BRK. LIGHTNG DMG. Jinggu damaged Matron: Aquaria for 6822.

The lifebar of the lamia boss indicated to be (113,178/120,000 HP).

Aided by their falcons Thyrsus, Vijaya, and Sharanga focused their attacks on one of the medium sized lamias. The targeted medium sized lamia indicated to have (19,000/30,000 HP). After another round of their attacks the first medium size lamia fell down dead.

But the lamia boss and the other medium sized lamia kept on firing out their glacial spike and water ball attacks. The four of them had a hard time getting a clear shot as they kept on dodging.

Smoke released his eight arrows dealing around 24,000 damage points against the medium sized lamia. After taking damage. the medium sized lamia looked at the direction of the source of the arrows only to see that there were another eight coming straight for him.

All that was left on riverside was the lamia boss. She was somewhat dextrous as she was able to release glacial spikes from both her hands and managed to dodge most of the attacks that they were firing at her.

Her lifebar indicated that she still had (105,211/120,000 HP) left. Smoke was furious. He thought that he could eradicate her in an instant!

He jumped from his archer tower and switched his weapons to the old dual knives. He knew that they had smaller damage since he no longer invested in the Strength stat.

Yet somehow his anger got the better of him. He wanted to get up close and personal with the monster who severed Adder's arm.

He was confident that they could still shoot the lamia boss even if he was in their way. He thought that he had to distract her long enough for her to stay in place, giving them a steady shot at her.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 426.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 434.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 443.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 428.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 426.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 432.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 433.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 441.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 422.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 433.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 441.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 422.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 448.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 429.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 445.

+ Atk hit Matron: Aquaria. +LIGHTNG DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 421.

- Attacked by Matron: Aquaria. Miss damage. 0.

- Attacked by Matron: Aquaria. Miss damage. 0.

- Attacked by Matron: Aquaria. Miss damage. 0.

- Attacked by Matron: Aquaria. Miss damage. 0.

+ Atk hit. ARMR BRK. LIGHTNG DMG. Jinggu damaged Matron: Aquaria for 6822.

+ Atk hit. +LIGHTNG DMG. Thyrsus damaged Matron: Aquaria for 2428.

+ Atk hit. +LIGHTNG DMG. Sharanga damaged Matron: Aquaria for 2418.

+ Atk hit. +LIGHTNG DMG. Vijaya damaged Matron: Aquaria for 1215.

+ Atk hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Vij damaged Matron: Aquaria for 828.

+ Atk hit. +POISON DMG. Falcon Aya damaged Matron: Aquaria for 839.

+ Atk hit. Falcon Thyr damaged Matron: Aquaria for 421.

+ Atk hit. Falcon Ranga damaged Matron: Aquaria for 411.

After the exchange, the lamia boss still had (82,905/120,000 HP) left.

Smoke retreated a bit as he tried to catch some of his breath. He wasn't used to fighting melee anymore and realized it wasn't as easy as he has remembered.

When Smoke retreated the lamia boss returned to use her glacial spikes instead of her claws that she used when Smoke was near her.

He knew that he had to go back into her space once more. He had to do it to disable her from using the glacial spikes and reduce the potential damage that she could inflict on his private army, as well as increasing the damage that his private army could inflict on her.

Smoke was about to rush into her again when he noticed that the lifebar of the lamia boss was decreasing rapidly.

+ Atk hit. +LIGHTNG DMG. BACK ATTACK. Adder damaged Matron: Aquaria for 8612.

+ Atk hit. +LIGHTNG DMG. BACK ATTACK. Adder damaged Matron: Aquaria for 8598.

+ Atk hit. +LIGHTNG DMG. BACK ATTACK. Adder damaged Matron: Aquaria for 8602.

+ Atk hit. +LIGHTNG DMG. BACK ATTACK. Adder damaged Matron: Aquaria for 8609.

It was Adder! He was carrying a really thick, double bladed sword. It looked like three mantis blades were fused together, creating one end of the sword while the other end had the same three mantis blade fused together.

At the center, where the two handles of the composite mantis blade sword were welded together,  was a shimmering stone that emitted a shade of light yellow. It was a spark stone!

Smoke couldn't believe his eyes. Adder came back stronger than ever. Adder has done the impossible. Double bladed swords were classified under Two-Handed Swords yet there he was using only one hand.

Adder was swinging the double bladed mantis sword effortlessly. He even managed to make a four hit strike with that huge weapon.

The lamia boss turned around to see who was causing the damage. The moment she exposed her back to Smoke and everyone else was the moment of her death.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to Lamia Matron: Aquaria.

+ Your party killed the Lamia Matron: Aquaria.

+ Your party gained 180,000 exp.

He sprinted to pick up the item drop of the lamia boss.

+ Acquired rare bracelet: 'Armband of the Water Lamia'.

Smoke looked back at the entrance of the cave to see if there were still murlocks and lamias coming out. Seeing as that there weren't any left he threw another bag up into the air which Igniz exploded.

The bag blew up into a cloud of purple dust, Calling everyone to gather at the mobile archer tower. While the rest of the private army were heading towards the archer tower, Smoke walked towards Adder with a big smile on his face.

He noticed that Adder was also wearing the specialized earmuffs so he knew Adder couldn't hear anything that Smoke was saying. Smoke just motioned for him to join them under the archer tower.

After gathering under the tower, the rest of Smoke's private army bowed before Adder. They have deep respect for him. They had heard the story of how he sacrificed his left arm to protect Smoke.

Smoke waited for 30 minutes to see if there were any stragglers left from the cavern. After waiting for the self imposed time, he checked to see if there was any smoke left from the mandragora flowers. From on top of the waterfalls, he saw that the smoke had already dissipated.

He then signaled for Adder and Ichaival together with his falcon to follow him into the cave. The moment they were inside the great cavern they saw that it was littered with lamia scales, murlock scales, and a few murlock spears.

Smoke motioned for them to start collecting the item drops. Before Ichaival started, Smoke asked him to attach the note to his falcon and send it outside. The note indicated that the battle was over and that the members outside should start collecting the loot as well. It took them about 30 minutes to finish up inside.

After returning to the surface, Smoke gave a quick glance at his private army to check if anyone had any serious injuries.

He then removed his earmuffs, which everyone followed. At a lost for words, he then gave a triumphant roar!

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Everyone joined in and screamed at the top of their lungs to celebrate their victory.

On the way back to Nanahuatl Village, Smoke started interviewing Adder on what he had been doing all this time and how he came up with that epic weapon.

"Well, I was thinking that I should carry some sort of shield in order to be a proper tank. But then I realized that I'm a warrior of Condortl. We don't carry shields. We wield giant swords. So I thought, why not make a sword that was thick enough to be a shield?"

"And that's how you came up with this humongous weapon? It's really impressive and where did you get that spark stone?"

"The moment I regained consciousness, I asked Darius about how to increase my damage against the lamias. He told me about the spark stones. As we were discussing things, I came up with the idea of making the composite mantis blade. Apparently, he was excited at the idea. He wanted to try making another composite weapon after he made your composite bow. He then told me to ask James Jackal about the spark stone."

"James Jackal had a spark stone?"

"Apparently. So I asked him to give me the stone, which he gladly did. Darius then started crafting this magnificent weapon. He called this double bladed sword 'BlitzTod'."

"Wow, he gave it a name. So there aren't any penalties? Like -30 Strength?"

"Nope, none at all. Aside from the Lightning enhancement from the spark stone, it even has +20 Strength."

"What?! Oh, I guess Darius must have gotten better at making composite weapons. Maybe I should ask him to make me another bow."

Home-bound, Smoke and his private army continued on their journey, listening to Adder's story on how he managed to gain the ability 'Grip of the Silver Gorilla' which enabled him to master his weapon 'BlitzTod'.

Unknownst to Smoke and his private army, there was a pair of cold yellow eyes with black slits watching them. As they faded into the far off distance the figure hiding on top of the trees removed her hood.

She took out her magical golden plate of communication from her bag. She nicked her fingertip with her knife and dropped a few drops of her blood on the magical plate.

"High General Lizardo, the trap that we've set up against Smoke has failed. Most of the packs of thorny devil lizards were killed. Matron Aquaria and her army of lamias are all dead as well."

"What?! I thought that Aquaria was more than enough to dispatch an insignificant bug like him. I thought that he lost an arm during their last fight? Did he come back with an army?"

"No, High General Lizardo. It was one of his men that lost an arm. After his last defeat he brought four Hunters, two Range Siegers, and the man who lost an arm."

"My army of lamias were dispatched by just eight bugs?! This is beginning to annoy me! Spyteria, I want you to tell me where he'll be going next. We must prepare a better trap to torture him in."

“As you command, High General Lizardo.”

Finally back in Nanahuatl Village, Smoke dismissed his private army as he headed towards Peitro Fischer's house.

Only Adder stayed with Smoke as he was about to complete his river monsters quest and gain the last family token.

"Hi, Peitro, I've come to inform you that I've defeated all of the murlocks and the lamias that blocked the river ways. You can now safely reach the sea that you love so deeply."

"Thank you very much Smoke! I knew I could depend on you. But I didn't see any lamias when I encountered the murlocks."

+ Completed Quest: Wipe out the River Monsters

You have cleared the river ways towards the open sea by killing of all the monsters attacking everyone in the river.

Rewards:
* Fischer Family Token
* 100,000 exp

"Oh, they were sneakily hiding inside their secret hide out behind the waterfalls."

"Ahh. No wonder I couldn't see them. Though it's still strange that lamias would coexist with murlocks since they mostly compete for the same food source."

"Really? I didn't know about that. Well, anyway all of the monsters blocking the river are now dead."

"Great! Just give me a couple of minutes while I gather everyone."

Smoke had hoped that he would just give him the family token instead of the whole official process of calling his whole clan.

As the whole clan of the Fischers were gathered, Thyrsus included. Peitro stomped his foot to signify the start of the family token ceremony.

"Everyone, we are gathered here today to give honor and praise to our village hero, Smoke. He has taken it upon himself to get rid of the river monsters blocking our way to the sea. As such I, clan head of the Fischers, deem him worthy to be our next clan head. I hereby give our family token to our new clan head, Smoke."

Peitro handed Smoke a small wooden sculpture of a man fishing.

+ Received Fischers' family token

+ Family Token of the Fischers

You have cleared the river ways towards the outer seas.
The Fischers deeply appreciate this heroic act.

Family Tokens Count: (5/5)

+ Intimacy with the Fischers has risen to 'Blood Brothers'

For your heroic act of clearing out the river monsters.
You open the path towards the Sea once more.
The Fischers will now follow your will as their new Clan Head.

"Thank you, everyone. I think I'm now the clan head of all the main clans in Nanahuatl. Hopefully I can guide you all to properly. Please feel correct me if you feel that I'm not doing it right..."

Applause filled the room. Everyone felt that with Smoke's guidance their village could return to its former glory or maybe even become a town or a city.

With all five family tokens, Smoke went to see Darius. Finally the long awaited hidden basic job of Nanahuatl will be his.

Darius was brimming with happiness as he saw Smoke approaching. Darius asked Adder to stay behind as they were going to a place that only the Smoke and Darius could enter.

Darius led Smoke to the house in front of the fountain, the biggest house in Nanahuatl, the house that they have given Smoke. Smoke was wondering what they were doing in his house. He thought maybe they had to get something else.

"Before going any further, may I ask you to leave Igniz behind. He is still a being with consciousness and that may cause a problem as we proceed with the ceremony."

Smoke asked Igniz to stay behind and play around the house or outside the fountain. Darius then led Smoke downstairs towards the cellar. Smoke had only been there once. He was just curious as to what was down there but saw nothing.

He did find that the cellar was not your typical cellar as it had 5 walls. The fifth wall was the one furthest from the stairs as it was completely on the opposite side.

As they entered the cellar, the walls began to glow. The cellar was illuminated by a sky blue light. Continuing further into the cellar, Smoke saw that the wall furthest from the stairs had changed. Instead of a plain wall there were five placeholders on the wall.

Darius then raised his right hand and pointed to the placeholders. Smoke understood that he should place the family tokens there.

As he placed each family token, the placeholder went down a couple of inches. It seemed as if the place holders were a lever of some sorts.

After placing the last family token, Darius pulled Smoke back a bit. The fifth wall started to shake as it began to sink down into the ground, revealing a hidden room.

The hidden room was surrounded by black stone walls. As they entered the room Smoke felt cold. At the center of the room there was an elevated circular platform that had rune carvings on its outer circle.

"Smoke, please step onto the platform."

Smoke obeyed his instructions. He was so excited to finally get the hidden job. He stepped onto the platform. As he did the runes surrounding the platform started glowing.

"Smoke, having presented the five family tokens of the main families in Nanahuatl Village. I, as the guardian of the village, find you to be a worthy person to gain Nanahuatl's hidden basic job."

Smoke thought that this was it. He was finally gonna be a Librarian. He thought what could be the possible advance jobs of a Librarian? Could it be a Scholar? Or perhaps a Sage?

But then he realized that all those jobs focused on Magical Side. He wanted a job that was more on the side of Physical Strength. He thought to himself that he'll  just have to come up with something.

"Smoke, rise into the stars and witness its magnificence."

Smoke was still lost in thought about the advance form of the hidden job when he was immediately teleported to outer space.

He was floating outside the world of ZECTAS. He saw how huge it was. He also noticed that the seas and oceans that divided the continents were not that far apart.

ZECTAS looked more like the earlier time of Earth. When it still had the super continent called Pangea, except that at the center of the continent there was a big ocean that separated the kingdoms.

He thought that this must be what they called the great lake. They should have called this the great ocean surrounded by the kingdoms.

As he was watching ZECTAS he was teleported once again, and he was made to see the galaxies. Stars and planets were passing by like flashes of light.

A lot of things came to his mind as he saw the marvelous universe. The comets, planets, and the stars. Everything was too much for words that he couldn't describe the emotions that filled his being.

He felt powerful yet insignificant at the same time. He was but a speck of dust in this infinite universe. But from watching everything he also felt like he had the power to be its protector.

A bright light flashed and he was instantly teleported back onto the platform inside the hidden room of his cellar.

"How was the view? Empowering and Humbling, right?"

Smoke thought that this virtual reality world was too real to be more than just a game, but Darius had sensibly described what he was feeling as he saw the grandeur of the universe.

"Smoke, it is with great delight that I welcome you into our brotherhood. Our brotherhood of Beggars!"

+ Job Change!!!

You have successfully changed your job into a Beggar.

HP has increased by 10,000 HP
Mana has increased by 10,000 HP

STR has increased by 20
AGI has increased by 20
INT has increased by 10
DEX has increased by 10

---------------------------------------------------
Beggars Info:
---------------------------------------------------
* NPCs will either loathe and hate you because of your appearance  or pity you and try to help you as if you were their blood brother.

* Armors and accessories will appear shabby, even if you use a mithril armor crafted by GodHand Dwarvius.

* Players get fame points by spitting on you or by feeding you, depending on their alignment.

* Players will not turn into 'Killers' if they kill you within Kingdoms that promote the killing of beggars.

* Earning Charisma is twice as hard.

---------------------------------------------------
Beggars Abilities:
---------------------------------------------------

Beggar's Adaptation:
-----------------------------------------------------
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

* Can bypass job requirement on items/weapons/abilities/quests/events
- When using the adaptation ability:
> Can only use LVL * 25% of the weapons damage
> Can only use LVL * 25% of the abilities potential
> Can only use LVL * 25% of the items potential
Where: LVL => Beginner:1 => Intermediate:2 => Advance:3 => Master:4

Beggary:
-----------------------------------------------------
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

* Can ask NPC to give gold or information.
* Success of ability depends on charisma, luck, LVL of ability, and intimacy with NPC.

Smoke was astonished at his hidden basic job. He got the hidden job of a Beggar! As he checked out his black modified dexterity armor. It now looked like a black shabby armor. He truly looked like a beggar.

Even though his armor became tattered, he was still very happy with his job. He could now equip the item drop that he got from the Fecund Lizard Matron, the green dual knives, 'Tails of the Virile and Fecund Lizards'.

He could also read the books that he couldn't read before because of specific job requirement. The possibilities were boundless.

In the midst of his excitement, Smoke noticed that there was another placeholder inside the hidden room. He wondered what it was for. His curiosity got the better of him.

"Darius, what is this placeholder for?"

"Oh... That is for the sixth family token."

Secrets of Nanahuatl Village

Filled with uncertainty, Nash finished his last modifications on his eighth video. He had been fiddling with it for quite some time since his last video only got him another check for $10,000.

His seventh video was about the time when he fought the iron golem and at the end of the video he showed the other players that he had acquired a symbiote, Dark Ember Sprite, Igniz.

This was Nash's usual plan of enticing his audience since the process of creating a symbiote was not found in any of the forums.

Unfortunately, his audience got tired of his customary mysterious videos. The appeal of finding out the secret process of gaining a symbiote was gone.

The reason being that almost no one was able to solve the riddle of his videos. Also when his videos are compared against that of Tristan's and Amahan's, those videos spoon fed the users with a ton of useful information.

Nash kept tabs on his two rivals. He found that their video posts had some kind of theme.

Tristan's latest series of posts were more like a documentary. It was about how he raised his private army to 300 NPCs. He originally started out with just 30 NPCs. They mostly consisted of Wizards, Snipers, Assassins, and Paladins.

He first visited the Academia’s advance jobs. There, he coerced the NPCs by promising them a hefty salary of 100,000 zecs per month and a bonus depending on their contribution to certain quests. He pointed out that it had to be this high in order to quickly increase the intimacy with the NPC and have a loyalty of above 50+ once they have joined the private army.

After going on various quests with these 30 NPCs, Tristan had raised their intimacies to 80+. At that range the NPC's salary could be reduced to about 25%. Of course Tristan did no such thing.

Instead he sent the 30 NPCs to the basic job centers of their respective fields. There he had them pick out at least 10 candidates to join his private army. He also instructed his NPC's to promise them 20,000 zecs per month if they were to join him.

Tristan, Aurora, and Bones together with the gathered NPCs focused on monster hunts and quests that would rapidly increase the levels of the NPCs with the basic jobs.

With the places to train plotted out, the NPCs easily got the requirements needed to get their advance jobs. Tristan instructed them to get their advance jobs and assured them a salary of 60,000 zecs per month.

Because he was the one responsible for increasing their levels their loyalties had also increased to 80% and thus they agreed to the said amount.

The original 30 NPCs still continued on with their same salary and were inducted as Captains to Tristan's private army.

From the salaries alone Tristan had an upkeep of 19,200,000 zecs. If you were to include the maintenance of equipments, food, and lodging for his private army, it would sum up to about 30,000,000 zecs a month!

Amahan and his guild the Decane were still in the newly discovered Northern Kingdom of Aquilomentl. From their last post that displayed the location of the entrance to Aquilomentl, a horde of players from the North came to the said location.

Amahan's series of video posts were about the strategic locations in Aquilomentl, places where in players would get the most experience and the expensive undead loot.

Players continued to head to the locations that Amahan had been posting from all three kingdoms of,  Mictaztl (Northern Kingdom), Matotl (North Eastern Kingdom), and Chanmotzl (North Western Kingdom).

There were guilds that had at least 1,000 of their members join in on the expedition to the north...

Merchants and Traders quickly seized this opportunity, having various Cooperatives of Merchants and Traders to establish rally points.

As the players increased their numbers the threat of the monsters attacking decreased as well. Mini-Rally Encampments were set up as the players heading to the north just kept on increasing everyday.

If you were in one of these encampments you would have thought that you've stepped into a medium sized village. The encampments had stalls from various Merchant Shops, Blacksmith Shops, Appraisal Shops, and First Aid Centers.

All of these encampments gave 2% of their profits to the Decane guild. Decane had signed a deal with the Commercial Community (composing of Merchants, Blacksmiths, Tailors, Appraisers, Alchemists, and other production jobs) to create this business opportunity.

In the main cities, the Commercial Community has a tax of 15% in all of their business transactions. Offering the Decane Guild a 2% incentive was a bargain.

Nash's eighth video displayed his victory against the murlocks and the lamias. But this time he showed the prowess of his private army.

He showcased the combination of the Range Sieger and the series of Hunter attacks as they took on the thorny devil lizards head on.

The Range Sieger is a hidden job. There were already a number of players who had gotten it but no one had really displayed its power and potential.

He was confident of his private army. He thought that with the military precision that they displayed as the army of murlocks and lamias came at them was enough to give Decane a run for their money.

Many strategies were shown in this video post, but Smoke still stuck to his plan of keeping most of his information a secret, such as the acquisition of knowledge from books, the location of Nanahuatl Village, and his job.

However, at the end of his video post he included the part where in Sharur called out his name. Before everyone would just call him supernovice. But now they would come to know him as... Smoke!

With this he had hoped that it would entice the players to start reviewing his videos once more. He desperately needed to make 200,000,000 views.

A few hours after Nash posted his eighth video a forum thread became viral. The thread kept getting comments every second. It's subject was 'Tristan vs. Amahan vs. Smoke'

MedZeusa: Tristan is definitely better than those two wannabes. So what if Amahan has the highest level. He doesn't have Tristan's private army.

ErcleX: A battle royale between those three would be a nice sight to see. But I think Smoke's level is still too low to be much of a competition. But if they bring their whole guild and private armies, there might be some challenge there.

Taguro: Each one of them hasn't displayed 100% of their full power. I'd like to see what the outcome would be if they all gave it their best.

Gon: I'm with Amahan on this one. Tristan's just displaying how rich he is. If he can't pay that private army of his he won't stand a chance. Well he still has DracoRicco for back up. But I'm confused is this just players and their private army or guild and all? What are the rules for their battle?

Alfreddix: I must say if it's one on one I'm with Tristan. Amahan's specialty is against the Undead. If he would fight against Smoke. Even with Smoke's lower level he can still take out Amahan.

BeanScent: Yeah, I'm not 100% sure about this but I think that Amahan and his Decane are just using the players as pawns in clearing up the new found kingdom. I find it really suspicious why his giving out specific locations in the map. If it's a great hunting ground, wouldn't you want to monopolize that place for your guild?

Palayden: It's Tristan for sure hands down. Those two can't even hold a candle against him.

SupahNovice-Disciple#12312312: Master Smoke!!! I still can't get over the fact that I now know your name! I'm sure that even if your level is lower than Tristan’s and Amahan’s you will find a way to defeat those two. No matter what the rules of your battle would be. Please tell us your location so we could join your guild Master Smoke!

DetectiveRonan: I'm not too sure that Smoke's level is that low either. I think he should be in the late 80s or early 90s. With that insane attack speed and attack damage. He has to be at least level 85.

PreMatureBoi: Tristan... Tristan... Tristan... Tristan...

PentaKillar: Maybe all three of them can join in an arena fight. All major cities hold arena battles right? Why not have them fight there?

AssInUrDead: For one all three of them are located in different parts of Zectas. Amahan is in the North, Tristan is in the East, and Smoke well... I don't think he is in those two places. Maybe the Western or the Southern Kingdoms?

SupahNovice-Disciple#98712587: Master Smoke... Will be victorious! Tristan and Amahan can't do anything against him.

MoneyBanks: Tristan's just insanely rich. An average player who has a level of 100+ can earn 5 million zecs in a month. That's with consistently doing C level and above quests with a mountain of loot. Tristan's last video showing that he spends 30 million zecs for his private army alone makes me raise a question. Is that what he uses the fees in his DracoRicco guild for? For Amahan, I heard from a reliable source that he gains 2% from all of the encampments in the north. For Smoke, well he's still pretty much of a mystery but I'm sure something is up with him as well.

DawnOfMonsters: I think Amahan could take on another player in PVP. I don't think he would be dumb enough to focus on just one type of monster. The world of Zectas is so vast and has many varieties of monsters. Anyway I'm sure Amahan can take on Tristan and especially Smoke.

DarkKite: I'm undecided on who would win but the fact remains that having those three fight would be a fight worth seeing. I mean I'd pay to watch those three fight.

TriTank: Tristan is still currently the only player with a City. He has the highest known members of a private army. He has taken on a legendary dragon. What are Amahan’s   accomplishments? Besides discovering some kingdom that could be discovered by anyone who would have stumbled upon it. Now for this clown of a character named Smoke. It's just so pathetic that he would try to join in on this fight.

Hilot: Aside from Tristan showing off how rich he is. Has he ever done a quest that he did on his own? I think that Smoke is a better player than him. Have you forgotten that he managed to free that village all by himself? I think the real challenge for Amahan would be Smoke and not Tristan. However in the end the only winner that I can see emerging from this fight would be Amahan!

A couple of days later, Nash received a text from the Manager of the Game Center. He was nervous to see the check. His video together with Tristan's and Amahan's had divided the viewership of the players evenly.

No, one video reached 200 million views. He had hoped that the higher management would see that, and would grant him a $15,000 check despite not reaching the quota.

He was in front of the door of which behind it would inform him if he would be able to pay for his brothers' education fund this month.

Too nervous to remember his manners, Nash immediately opened the door and entered. The Manager was surprised to see him come in.

"Oh, Nash, finally decided to skip the formalities of knocking on doors, ey?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir, I just... wanted to come in right away."

"I bet you are. Who wouldn't be excited to get their paycheck? Listen, before anything else let me assure that I tried my best to reason with the higher ups. But they just wouldn't budge."

The manager handed Nash a paycheck worth $10,000. It means he has to skip another month without depositing any money to his brothers' educational plan.

"I see, so it's still $10,000. I guess it's only logical since I didn't reach the quota. I just hoped that they would see that the competition is just tougher this time."

"Yeah, I pointed that out to them as well, but they just wouldn't give in. Anyway what have you been doing with the in game money that Zectas has been paying?"

"I've used some of them as an investment on a village that I'm staying in."

"Oh, you haven't bought game items yet and sold them online for real cash?"

"Well, I haven't actually entered any of the main cities yet. But I think it's about time that I did. I was planning on doing that in the next few days after I've gained a few more levels, increased some of my skills and finish off a monster that's been on my mind for a couple of months now."

With a determined look on his face. Nash started heading back home. He needed to get into Coatl City as soon as possible. Although he felt that with his current level and abilities he would only be easy prey for other players. He started making out his action plans for the next couple of days.

Donny held the eskrima stick just a few centimeters before Nash's face. The three brothers had been doing daily eskrima practice sessions in the morning for the past 3 months.

Donny uses too much strength in their practice that Nash has no way of overpowering him without hurting him. Resulting in his utter defeat.

As for Seth, he got quite exceptional at wielding the rubber knives that the Grand Master gave them. Nash could no longer keep up with him as well.

Six out of ten times Seth always gets to disarm Nash's rubber knife. In the same situation with Donny, Seth also uses too much force that Nash is afraid to put in more strength without hurting Seth.

Both Seth and Donny also continues to practice eskrima in the afternoon with Grand Master Cacoy.

At first Nash dominated them both. But as the weeks progressed he was beginning to see that he was slowly being left behind by the two.

Donny had clearly taken a liking to the eskrima sticks as he was seen always carrying the sticks around. Even in school he brought the sticks with him. He asked for a big bag with a secret compartment where he could hide the sticks.

Of course he never brought them out at school but he just liked the feel of the sticks as he touched them through his bag.

Meanwhile, Seth took a liking to the knives specialty. He found the practicality of the situation where a potential mugger would be using a knife.

He first started mastering the bare-handed techniques and then moved on to the rubber knives.

Nash always reminded them that if they were in a situation where they are being mugged it's still better to just hand out their items rather than risk their lives.

He wanted them to understand his intention for them to learn martial arts. It should only be used for self-defence and self-discipline. He didn't want them to become some heroic vigilantes.

Both of them promised not to go against actual muggers and to keep in mind that they are not super-heroes.

Their Mima Daphne enjoyed watching the brothers practice so early in the morning. Even if it gets really cold outside.

Nash couldn't be prouder of his two brothers. They were really serious with honing their eskrima skills and he didn't hear any problems in school either. Which only indicated that they didn't abuse their well trained abilities.

Smoke opens his eyes and starts looking for the two books that Darius gave him. He was told that those two books contained vital information that would make things clearer.

Right after he got his Beggar job. He came to know that there was a sixth family token. He was filled with questions. What exactly was his Beggar Job? Who was the owner of the sixth family token and where is it located now?

His questions were ignored. Darius told him that he will not proceed with the discussions about the 'Beggar Job' and the 'Sixth Family Token' until he has acquired the books' knowledge.

The books were entitled 'Secret Societies of Zectas' and 'The Enigmatic Village of Nanahuatl'. Each book required 48 hours in order to acquire their knowledge.

Smoke was troubled once he saw the total number of hours that the progress bar indicated. His modified polyphasic sleeping pattern the 'Ubernash' required him to take at least four 25 minutes of sleep within a 24 Hour time period.

He found that he could last at most 15 hours without taking a 25 minute nap and still function properly, without any health issues.

If he would skip this it would totally ruin his sleeping pattern, endanger his health and cause severe migraines.

In order to solve this dilemma. He did some experimentation with the behaviors and restrictions of 'acquiring knowledge'. He held the two books at the same time and started his experiment.

Both of the books' progressbar started. He sat down and waited for about 10 minutes. He double checked the progressbar and saw that both books indicated 47 Hours and 50 minutes left before acquiring the knowledge.

He then logged out of Zectas while holding both books. After a few seconds he logged in once more. He checked both progressbars and saw that it indicated 47 Hours and 51 minutes left.

His experiment was a success! Although there was a lag of about 1 minute in the progressbar but that didn't matter much to him.

His theory was that as long as the book was 'equipped' to his hand before logging out then once he would log back in those books would still be equipped. Since this was also the behavior for equipped weapons.

So the rule that a player must be holding the book at all times in order for the progressbar to continue only applies during the time that he is inside Zectas.

Smoke was in a sudden state of euphoria. Finding out new discoveries in the game was like a drug to him. He could now safely acquire the knowledge of these two books.

Now that Adder was back he could move more freely without the need of both his hands. So he decided to acquire the knowledge of the two books simultaneously.

He summoned his private army to give them some instructions. They would do this while he was still acquiring the knowledge of the books. He ordered some special tasks for the members of his private army.

Jinggu and Sharur were instructed to gain the poison resistance ability. Since going to Mandragora Forest would take too long. He instructed Vijaya to help them. With her falcons’ ability poison beak, replicating the poison damage from the poison slimes should be easy.

Sharanga was ordered to create a trap strong enough that even a mountain troll or a giant could not escape it. It also needed to have the ability to be deployed quickly. Ichaival asked if he could help her as it's very dangerous for a person to travel alone... or some similar excuse that Smoke found amusing. He agreed and had the two start working on the trap.

Thyrsus was given certain coordinates on his map. With his ability 'Falcon Vision', he was instructed to scope out the whole forest of his destination. Smoke wanted exact dimensions of the forest and locations of every possible vantage points that they could use against the master of that forest. He also told him, that no matter what happens only his falcon should enter the center of the forest.

As his private army dispersed Smoke heard Sharanga talk to Ichaival.

"You do know that the construction of the trap still happens inside the village right? The testing isn't going to happen for another couple of days. So you don't need to defend me or anything..."

"Oh, but you could still use an assistant right? Don't worry I'll be useful and won't be a nuisance at all."

The special activities that Smoke planned weren't only for the members of his private army. He also had planned a special training menu for himself.

From the last few days of monster hunts and quests, Smoke had reached level 72. However with his job change to Beggar. All of his equipment's attributes were cut down to 25% of their potential.

He thought that the penalty would only incur if there was a job requirement on the equipment. at least that's what he gathered from the description of the 'Beggar's Adaptation' ability.

However that was not the whole truth. He soon discovered that the Beggar's Adaptation would take effect all the time. Regardless if there was a job requirement or not.

He checked the bonuses that he got from the 'ModBlackSniper Armor Set' which confirmed his theory. It's bonuses were cut down to 25%. He tried out his composite bow and he only managed to do 350 damage instead of 1,400.

Fortunately, the abilities that he had painstakingly raised over the past few months were unaffected. His ability 'Agility of the Horned Rabbit' which was pinned down at Advance Level 4, still gave him +420 Agility.

His 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' which greatly increased over the last quest. Just recently rose to Intermediate Level 9 and gave him a range of 280 meters to detect the presence of an enemy.

These discoveries from his Beggar job were the basis for his special training menu. He would focus on the things that were unaffected by the Beggar job since he still didn't know much about it.

He asked Adder to join him in the nearby forests. They went to a forest that had monsters who had levels of late 50s to early 60s. The monsters were mostly rabid raccoons, iron owls, and stone deers.

The monster that Smoke was looking for was the rabid raccoon. They have high agility and very fast attack speed. They were the perfect guinea pigs for his experiment.

He stood in front of three rabid raccoons with the two books still tightly held in both his hands. He then began taunting them. Immediately the three monsters attacked Smoke.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -831

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -828

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -828

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -830

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -829

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -833

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -828

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. You've taken damage. Health -829

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

Smoke's lifebar displayed (30,214/36,850 HP). Unlike tank jobs like Knight, Paladin, or Chevalier, the Beggar job didn't give much HP boost.

He was raising his abilities 'Agility of the Horned Rabbit' and 'Cunning of the Dire Fox'. But ever since he began using the bow he never got in close range to the monsters. So he had no need to use his dodge ability often.

Adder and Igniz were ordered to keep watch for other monsters. Especially the iron owls since they have a range attack called 'feathered arrow strike'.

Igniz was quick to chase the iron owls hiding up in the trees. While Adder was busy defending Smoke's back from any potential range attacks since his 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' can't detect those kinds of attack.

He took on three more rounds from the three rabid raccoons' attacks. His lifebar became (11,214/36,850 HP). Since he did not have any ability to attack with his legs and with only 30% left of his life he called for Adder and Igniz to eliminate the monsters that were attacking him.

The three rabid racoons were killed in under 4 seconds. Adder took down two while Igniz dealt with the last rabid raccoon.

Smoke ordered for the two of them to protect him for the next 2 minutes since it took that long for his life to fully recover.

Normally when sitting down and using the 'medicinal deer stew' it would take about 10 minutes in order to completely heal.

However, now that he has found a new medicinal recipe from one of the books that he read, the recovery time has been reduced to one third.

The recipe is called: 'medicinal curry', its ingredients are potatoes, yellow medicinal herbs, fish, deer meat, coconut, jaggery, garlic, and jalapeño.

The spices are still in short supply so he can't make too many of this new dish. The effects of the dish are 1% recovery rate and 'burned status' which meant 150 damage/second. The effects also last for 30 minutes. Since Smoke has gained fire resistance of up to 50% he didn't take any damage from 'the burned status'.

He didn't want to take any unnecessary recovery periods. So he opted to try dodging just one rabid raccoon.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

- Attacked by rabid raccoon. MISS. damage: 0.

Still handicapped by the two books. Smoke just kept on dodging the rabid raccoon. 20 minutes have passed and the effects of his 'medicinal curry' had ran out. He asked for Igniz to take out the rabid raccoon.

"Time to recharge guys. Let's head out to the plains and eat some curry."

As they settled down to rest. Adder started preparing the meal. Once everything was set. They started eating. Seeing that Smoke can't use both his hands he had asked Igniz to become his pseudo spoon.

Igniz would create a small fire shield and scoop down the curry and feed it to Smoke. This made the curry a little bit hotter but he found the temperature to be just right.

"Wow, Igniz sure seems to be pretty useful."

"I know, I just asked him if he could feed me somehow and he was the one who came up with that ember spoon."

"I wish I had an ember sprite. Or anything that could replace my missing left arm."

"Yeah, about that I've been looking for books on limb restoration for humans... and I'm afraid that all I found was creating prosthetic limbs. Of course you need a specialized craftsman in order to make moveable limbs."

"I see, well I'm in no hurry to get prosthetic limbs. Although I may miss my left arm but if it weren't for that I wouldn't have been driven to learn the ability 'Grip of the Silver Gorilla'. There are still a couple of good things that came out of that unfortunate incident."

"In any case, I'll still keep on looking for ways of getting you a better arm. Okay? You good to go? Let's head back."

The experience gained from one rabid raccoon was barely visible. Yet the progressbar from the ‘Agility of the Horned Rabbit’ increased by .003% when Smoke dodge against the three rabid raccoons.

He decided to stick with dodging three monsters. He just needed to think of it as being attacked by one rabid raccoon that happens to be on three sides at the same time.

After three hours of repetitive training he gained a better understanding of the rabid raccoons' attack pattern. The damage that he gets in a ten minute time span has been reduced from 6,000 to 4,000.

It was after 12 hours of doing the same routine that he managed to drop the attacks to a measly 1,500 within 10 minutes.

Working hard really paid off. His supplies for making the 'medicinal curry' were almost running out. So he really needed to clear the three rabid raccoons without getting hit ASAP.

With the damage that low he could confidently switch to the old recipe the 'medicinal deer stew'. His ability 'Agility of the Horned Rabbit' needed just 20% more before reaching Advance Level 5.

On his second day of training, a pleasant surprise popped up. He received a system notification for his efforts.

+ Cunning of the Dire Fox has increased to Advance Level 1!

Effects:
Detects Enemy Presence from 330 meters away.
* Advance effect unlocked:
> Sensing the blood lust of attackers increases dodge rate by 10

He made a winning pose and raised both books up in the air. Now he could step up his game and try dodging 4 rabid raccoons at once.

After only getting misses from the four monsters for an hour. He decided to increase them to six. The moment he added two more rabid raccoons into the mix he started receiving damage.

However the damage was still below the healing rate of the 'medicinal deer stew' so he continued the pace at six rabid raccoons.

The progressbars on the books displayed that they would be completed in the next forty five minutes. Yet the experience bar from his 'Agility of the Horned Rabbit' remained at 96.5%.

"Well, my real purpose here was to kill time while I acquired these books' knowledge anyway. Looks like I'll just have to increase 'Agility of the Horned Rabbit' some other time. Adder, Igniz it's time to head home! Hurry up and finish these monsters."

Smoke had already estimated the travel time required for their return. Igniz was happily orbiting around Smoke once more while he was running with the two books still held tightly in his hands.

As the borders of Nanahuatl Village came into view so did the progressbars of the book came to completion.

+ Secret Societies of Zectas

* Made up of mythical races, organizations and groups. There has been a lot of hearsay regarding them but no one has been able to procure enough evidence to prove their existence. The conspiracy theory is that they have been either absorbed or were silenced by the society that they got too close to.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Societies that conquered all of Zectas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gods
- Celestial and Divine beings that created and ruled over Zectas.
> More information on the book entitled: 'Gods of Zectas'

Reptilians
- The most powerful and plentiful race at one point in Zectas.
> More information on the book entitled: 'The Terrible Lizards'

Gigantes
- Powerful giants who came close to having the power of Gods.
> More information on the book entitled: 'The Strongest Mortals'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Societies that hold influence over Zectas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardias de Tiempo
- mostly composed of the hidden job: Magical Templars. They are said to be guardians of knowledge and time. They might hold the complete history of Zectas' past present and future.
> More information on the book entitled: 'Guardias de Tiempo'

Verum de Mendicantibus
- mostly composed of the hidden job: Beggars. They are said to be the stabilizers of the world. They say that they are hiding in plain sight and are a part of Society’s elites.
> More information on the book entitled: 'Verum de Mendicantibus'

Ladrones del Mundo
- composed of branches of the thieves job: Vikings, Pirates, Raiders, Marauders. They are said to be the cruelest thieves of the world. Whenever they attack everything will be wiped out leaving only ruins.
> More information on the book entitled: 'Ladrones del Mundo'

Domitor Arva
- composed of elite individuals who have gained the titles of Kings, Imperators, Kaisers. They are said to be the rulers of the world.
> More information on the book entitled: 'Domitor Arva'

Inauditas Volucris
- composed  of HalfBeasts, and other HalfBreeds. They say that no place will accept them so they created a society of their own.
> More information on the book entitled: 'Inauditas Volucris'

Vindicabo
- composed of self proclaimed heroes, where the individuals has an alignment of: Lawful Evil/Chaotic Good/Unbiased Justice
> More information on the book entitled: 'Vindicabo'

Charognards de la Lune
- mostly composed of the hidden job: Moon Knights. They are said to be the rulers of the night. They are a special group under the Vindicabo
> More information on the book entitled: 'Charognards de la Lune'

+ The Enigmatic Village of Nanahuatl

Ordered by the 'Guardias de Tiempo'. There were six individuals who were tasked to create a village around the 'Repository of Overflowing Power', to defend it from the world. Least its powers by used for corruption.

These six individuals brought along their families. They created the remote village of Nanahuatl. It's lead founder was none other than the mighty and undefeated  'Kumbaba'. No one could tell what his actual job was. Since he displayed abilities unique to many jobs.

The 'Guardias de Tiempo' knew that no one should have access to that much power. So they chose the six most incorruptible individuals and made them its protectors.

The six clan heads disguised the repository as a modest coal mine. They hired workers to excavate coal in the top layers. While they created a special barrier to protect the forbidden power inside.

Slowly the simple village of Nanahuatl started to grow and prosper. New immigrants arrived and families started to increase in their numbers.

In time the village came to be some small laid back coal mining village. They had no clear military power but they had impressive wards and walls to protect their small village.

The village took in anyone who didn't have a home. The residents did not judge anyone that would come into their village. Travelers found the village friendly and welcoming.

As such the travelers became resident and decided to stay in Nanahuatl Village. Some of them were refugees, criminals, escaped slaves, or convicted prisoners.

Everyone was welcome. The village held a mysterious power of healing the souls of its residents. The criminals and prisoners were reformed. They became just and honest residents of the village.

Without noticing it, Nanahuatl Village came to hold 9,000 residents. The six clan heads still had control over the village but their children was a different story.

Even though the village was increasing in population, the Raiders and Marauders still overlooked them since the village didn't look to be rich.

With everything settled. Life in Nanahuatl Village continued to be calm, simple, and pleasant.

Although the 'Guardias de Tiempo' had complete faith in the six protectors, they still created a fail safe. Just in case something terrible would happen. They were very hopeful that such a dreadful day would never come.

+ Your total 'Acquired Knowledge' has increased your Intelligence by 10.

He couldn't believe what he was reading in the 'Acquired Knowledge' window. Nanahuatl Village held such a secret! Darius knew all of this all along.

His first memory of Nanahautl Village was an old run down ghost town. He wondered what terrible thing might have happened that caused the village to be such a desolate place.

The only way to find out is to ask Darius. He increased his pace and started sprinting for Darius' house. Acquiring the knowledge of those two books led to more questions than answers.

At the fountain in the village. Smoke asked Adder and Igniz to go to his house and sort out their supplies and the loot that they've gathered. He knew that Darius would ask them to leave anyway.

Smoke reached Darius' house and didn't bother to knock. He felt more familiar with him than the Manager of the Game Center, who he thinks as his second father.

"Darius, I'm coming in. You sure have a lot of explaining to do. Why didn't you tell me the truth about Nanahuatl Village? Also, the missing sixth family token, does it belong to Kumbaba? Darius? Darius? Where are you Darius?"

He had checked the kitchen, the library, and even the backyard but he didn't find Darius anywhere. He usually just hangs around his house.

The he remembered that Darius also had a cellar like the one in his house. He went back inside and rushed downstairs to the cellar.

Darius' cellar wasn't bare like his. The cellar was filled with books, potions and other equipments that he knew nothing about. Suddenly, one of the walls shifted down and Darius stepped out.

"Oh, I thought you'd be back after one more hour. I was just doing some tidying around my knowledge chamber. You know... for our 'talk'. Ahh, I can clearly see that you're flooded with questions. I told you that reading those two books would make the talk simpler."

Smoke knew that in games like these you have to fulfill certain requirements in order to activate certain events. Yet he was still pissed that Darius didn't tell him any of this stuff before. He thought that they were already close enough that he would tell him everything.

"Couldn't you have told me about Nanahuatl Village sooner? I thought that we were closer than 'Blood Brothers'? So what happened here?"

"Before everything else, let's head into my chamber of knowledge. It can't be compared to the infinite chamber inside your house but it's still big enough for our talk."

Darius waved his hand and the wall started shifting downwards. He went inside and motioned for Smoke to step in as well. Smoke kept silent and followed him with a furrowed brow.

"So, we're inside now. You better start spilling the beans on everything."

"Right, first let's step into the casting circle. Well what do you want to hear first? The sixth token or about the Beggar job? I'm guessing the Beggar job right?"

"Heck no, I want to hear about Nanahuatl Village. What happened here? What happened to Kumbaba? From the book I could tell that he also had the job of a Beggar."

"Alright, I'll tell you all about Nanahuatl Village. From the book's acquired knowledge you now know about the 'Repository of Overflowing Power' right?"

"Yeah. I'm also curious about that one. What's inside that mine anyway?"

"Do you remember the 'Vitalis' stones that the Lizardites were mining in Condortl? Well that stone is nothing compared to the essence diamonds inside that mine. Deep inside the coal mines are an endless supply of mana rich essence diamonds. Their colors vary from white, pink, champagne, yellow, blue, green, brown, grey, black, and purple. Each of these essence diamonds hold tremendous power."

Darius stopped his narration as his eyes started to stare into the far off distance. The chamber of knowledge was filled with bright lights and images.

Instantaneously, Smoke and Darius were standing in front of the fountain in the center of Nanahuatl Village. However the village looked brand new. There were plenty of smiling people. This looked like Nanahuatl Village in its prime. Smoke thought that they were transported into the past.

"These things are not real. These are just images from the past. This is what Nanahuatl Village used to look like. You see that man sitting at the porch in front of your house? That's Kumbaba. As you can see he's a Darkelf like you. These were the peaceful days of Nanahuatl Village. Fishermen would go out to the rivers and seas for days. When they return we would always celebrate by having a Village Feast with their bountiful catch. Farmers would hold festivals every harvest time. This was all Kumbaba's doing. He equipped each resident of Nanahuatl with the knowledge to pursue their passion."

Once again, Darius stopped his narration. Another torrent of bright lights transformed the chamber of knowledge. This time they were in some plain. Smoke saw two men. One was Kumbaba while the other one looked like his younger version.

"That young man is called Giro. He is Kumbaba's son."

Giro then started to make wide motions with both his hands and feet. He looked like he was executing some sort of martial arts kata.

The clear sky started to grow dark and was filled with cumulonimbus clouds. At the end of his performance. A gigantic water dragon appeared from the gathered clouds.

Just a few seconds later the ground started to rumble. This time an earth dragon emerged from the plains creating a huge gorge around the father and son.

The two dragons started to clash. Their bodies were intertwining. They were flying in the sky creating many forms and shapes. Until finally their bodies settled into a perfect circle.

Slowly the intertwined bodies of the two dragons descended. Their bodies filled the gorge with water and earth. Then a flash of light enveloped their bodies. Trees started to rapidly grow out of the gorge. The trees started to spread outward. Leaving the circle where the father and son stood unaffected.

"Giro, was very talented. He almost came close to my level. If I were to rank us it would be Kumbaba, Myself, Rendah, Giro, Demutig, Aiden, and then Humilde. Yeah, that Humilde often neglects her practice. Oh, sorry for spacing out there. Anyway, Kumbaba often took Giro out and trained with him. As the years passed his thirst for power grew out of control. While exploring their house. Giro found Kumbaba's copy of 'The Enigmatic Village of Nanahuatl'. He quickly headed for the coal mines. At first he couldn't find the entrance to the chamber that led to the barrier."

While Darius was talking the blurring lights started to show the insides of the coal mine. They were taken into a cavern that was much bigger than the one that the murlocks and lamias were using as their hideout. At the center of the cavern was an enormous cube like barrier and beside it stood a pedestal with a small wooden carving of a Darkelf squatting on top.

"Giro kept on attacking the barrier but it didn't leave any dent. He stubbornly continued attacking the barrier in secret. After about a month of fruitlessness. He came back with his father's sword 'Cylindratis'. This sword was made from the claws of the great god Cuezaltzin."

Smoke saw Giro pouring all of his mana into the Cylindratis. Forcefully he pushed the sword into the barrier. Slowly the barrier started to give. Small cracks started to appear.

As Giro took out Cylindratis from the barrier, a yellow essence diamond was found on its tip. The yellow essence diamond was about the size of a pebble. He quickly grabbed the essence diamond and absorbed its power.

Giro then discarded the empty essence diamond that had turned to a stone that looked closely like coal.

Bolts of lightning started to surround his body. He immediately felt the power surge within him. He tried moving and was shocked to see that he was as fast as the Magical Templars if not faster.

He picked up a boulder at least 10 times his size with ease. He thought that maybe he was stronger than a Gigantes. Giro was so enamored with his new found powers that he failed to see that his father was standing behind him.

"Giro, What have you done?!"

"Papa, I just wanted to be strong like you. Now I can become one of the protectors. If you still won't accept me. I could travel the world and help the weak and the oppressed. But I still need more power. I just need one more essence diamond or maybe two. Just to be sure that no one would be able to defeat me."

"You’ve been corrupted! You've become drunk with power. Can't you see what that essence diamond has done to you?"

"No, you're wrong! I'm still in complete control of myself. Ahh... I get it. You're jealous of me. You're jealous that your own son has become stronger than you."

"See?! You're even making such an insane accusation. Giro, please listen to me. It's not too late. We can ask for help from the Guardias de Tiempo. I'm sure they can do something."

"You just want to get rid of my power! I was right you're jealous that I'm now stronger than you. But you don't have to worry Papa. I'll show you that I'm still in control."

Giro teleported in front of Kumbaba and held his Cylindratis inches from his neck.

"Do you understand Papa? I'm in complete control! If I wasn't I would've sliced off your neck."

"You're the one who doesn't understand. If you were really in control then you wouldn't have pointed my sword against me. Please, I don't want to hurt you."

"You still think that you can hurt me? You still think that you're stronger than me?"

Giro steps back and sheaths Cylindratis.

"Go ahead. I'd like to see you try."

"I told you. I don't want to hurt you. Now, come on. Let's go get you cured."

Lightning enveloped Giro's whole body. He started to move but even before he could disappear his father's fist came out of nowhere and punched him so hard that he was blown against wall of the mines.

The impact was so strong that the mines began to tremble. Kumbaba waved his hands and the shafts inside the mines stabilized.

He didn't want to do it but he knew that if Giro wasn't knocked out he wouldn't go with him to the Guardias de Tiempo.

Kumbaba made some hand seals and the ground that they were standing on flattened. Next a circle appeared with magical rune encryption. The encryption read 'Adversus Aeternus Praesas'.

He then carried Giro on his back. Both of them were teleported to the address indicated in the casting circle. The temple of 'Aeternus Praesas' the medical temple of the Guardias de Tiempo.

Suddenly Darius' chamber of knowledge was filled with total darkness. Smoke immediately looked at Darius.

"What happened to Kumbaba and Giro? Why is it suddenly pitch black?"

"The Guardias' temple is beyond my chamber's reach. I'll just tell you what I know about what happened there. Kumbaba was reprimanded by the Guardias. His request for healing Giro was denied. Instead, they asked him to kill Giro."

"What?! I thought the Guardias were good guys? Can't they just heal Giro instead?"

"The Guardias only see things in black and white. If you've committed a crime then you deserved to be punished. Their penalty for taking an essence diamond is death."

"Don't tell me that Kumbaba followed their orders? He's still Giro's dad."

The chamber of knowledge began to be filled with brilliant lights once more. It showed them a dismal barren land, as far as the eye can see.

"No, he didn't he took Giro and banished him to the far off continent of Daemonestl. It was the continent of Devils and Demons. He placed the strongest illusionary spell on Giro so that the Guardias cannot find him. Afterward, Kumbaba came back to Nanahuatl. He was not quite the same after that incident. His usual happy face became sullen. Sure, he still managed to smile now and then but people could clearly see that it wasn't a smile that came from his heart."

"Wow, that's so tragic. But that still doesn't explain what happened here. Didn't Kumbaba restore the barrier?"

The chamber's dazzling lights took them back inside the coal mines once more. They were standing in front of the barrier. This time a large red devil with black wings was standing in front of the barrier.

The devil took out a Khmali sword bursting with miasma. The sword looks like it was made of a thousand devil horns. The devil let out his mana and lightning started to envelop his body. He transferred his gathered mana to the Khmali sword and lunged it into the barrier.

The sword was starting to make some dent when Kumbaba's Cylindratis broke the Khmali sword in half. Reflexively the red devil flew a hundred meters backwards.

"Nice to see you again, Papa."

"No... You can't be... Giro?! What did you do to yourself?"

"What did you expect? You left me in Daemonestl for the last 20 years. That place has nothing but wretched monsters. I .... ate what I could eat and now I've become the Emperor of that dejected continent."

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to help you. But removing the corruption of the essence diamond was beyond my power. Now, I think I understand why the Guardias wanted me to kill you. It would have prevented you from becoming like this."

"What?! You're not proud of what your son has become? I'm now an Emperor just like you Papa. Even if you neglected your duties to become a protector of the Repository, you are still their Imperator."

"I see that it's too late. I'm so sorry my son. I promise that once I take your life I will follow you into the next world."

"Papa, please... The only one dying here today is you. Did you really think I would come back here without some sort of plan? I know that you're still stronger than me. However, I've met a special type of demon in Daemonestl. They are called smoke imps. Let me introduce them to you."

Giro snapped his fingers and at once thousands of tiny black smoke imps appeared out of nowhere. The tiny monsters had surrounded Kumbaba. The black smoke imps were discharging some sort of smoke. Filling the mines with their smog like black fog.

"If your wondering if I teleported them here. Well, let me tell you that I still don't have your power of mass teleportation. I ordered these crafty little demons to come here before me. They were just hiding in the shadows of the mines. They are far from strong but their abilities make up for their weakness. For example, you weren't able to detect them at all right? They have perfect stealth. If they don't want to be seen or felt you will never know that they are there."

"So, you've become a lecturer during your stay in Daemonestl. Sadly, the time's up. I would really love to hear your voice again but not this diabolic sound coming out of your mouth. Farewell, my son."

Kumbaba activated his instant movement ability but nothing happened. He was just standing in the same spot. He started to run towards Giro but found that even his movement speed was drastically decreased.

"Papa, you should have waited for me to finish my lecture about the black smoke imps. You see, only the black smoke imps can move freely inside their fog. Even your special abilities are disabled. Although their attack power is only that of a middle level demon but inside their realm that is more than enough to kill you."

The horde of tiny black smoke imps piled on top of Kumbaba and started attacking him. He responded by placing both of his hands on the ground and with his open palms against the floor exerted all of his strength against it.

Kumbaba caused the ground to collapse. Creating a deep pit fall below. The fog from the black smoke imps was slow to descend downwards.

He jumped below and with his body out of the fog he was able to activate his abilities. Immediately he created a barrier that enclosed the whole horde of black smoke imps.

Just as Kumbaba finished creating the barrier, the broken Khmali sword pierced through his heart. In reflex his near death ability activated which created a spherical barrier around his body with a diameter of 200 meters.

Everything inside Kumbaba's barrier was frozen in time. Giro didn't know about this ability and was stuck there with his father.

But they would only be frozen for a few seconds as Kumbaba's body started to glow. The real suicide attack was now being executed.

Every single particle inside the spherical barrier was disintegrated into nothing, leaving only an empty underground cavern.

"This was how my best friend Kumbaba died. Rendah was supposed to take command after Kumbaba. But he feared for the safety of his family. He was afraid that something similar would happen to them. He left Nanahuatl Village and gave the family token to one of his subordinates. He gave it to Amon Swift the great great great great grandfather of Jovas Swift. If you recall Jovas was one of the men who died trying to help Condortl."

"Wait. If Amon Swift was that old. Wouldn't that make you at least 500 years old?"

"Yes, I lied about my age. The truth is I really don't know how old I am anymore. After that incident I created a wall completely sealing the chamber holding the repository of essence diamonds. The years went on. Demutig, Aiden, and Humilde all died of old age. All the clan heads in the village have changed. I'm the only one left out of the six protectors. The new clan heads were not told about the Repository of Overflowing Power. Since the Guardias didn't find them worthy."

"I have an impertinent question. If you don't want to answer it I'd understand. How come the rest of the protectors died and you're still alive?"

"You see the power of these essence diamonds are transferred into beings born in this world. Both you and I have some fragment of that power. This is the natural way of obtaining the power of the essence diamond. If the individual devotes himself to it. He could start to harness the power of that fragment and learn how to grow the power. Of course each individual has their own specialty. So does the essence diamonds. There are some essence diamonds that endow a person with great insight like the white and green diamond while others are given the power of healing like the red and pink diamonds. The real source of all these essence diamond is on the island of the great gods. I'm not sure how the Guardias de Tiempo got a hold of this Repository. All I know is that they are right. No one should have this power. Unfortunately no one has the power to destroy these essence diamonds as well. The Guardias used to house the repository in their temples. But no matter which temple it was placed. There was always a Magical Templar who would be tempted to obtain its power."

"Alright, but you didn't answer my question as to why you're still alive and the other protectors are dead."

"You see my fragment comes from the power of the purple essence diamond. Which gives us the ability to master time and space. That's why I won't be dying of old age."

The chamber of knowledge's shifting lights took them to Nanahuatl Village about 7 years ago.

"Anyway, The past hundred years as the sole protector has been peaceful. Until about 7 years ago. The miners in the coal mine started getting sick. I investigated the issue post haste. I found that the miasma from Giro's battle with Kumbaba remained and had cracked the barrier that Kumbaba created containing the black smoke imps. I reinforced the barrier but the miasma had already spread throughout the whole village. Families started moving out. As everyone got sick. Sadly, for the weaker families that stayed, they were killed by the poison from the miasma. The Guardias de Tiempo tried to help me by sealing the coal mines completely. That's why you can see that immovable boulder in front of the mine's entrance. Both the Guardias and myself created another barrier sealing the mine entirely. But the miasma in the village could not be removed easily. The Guardias decided to activate their contingency plan."

The whole village of Nanahuatl was engulfed in a barrier. Everything inside the village became transparent. The whole village literally looked like a ghost town. Monsters like the horned rabbit and armored armadillo started walking through the village. Smoke didn't understand what was happening.

"The Guardias de Tiempo trapped us in Limbo. Because of this the life force of everyone in the village was being drained. I knew that I had to do something to save the remaining residents in Nanahuatl. I offered two thirds of my entire being in order to feed everyone. As a result I'm reduced to this level. My current level is now only 300. We stayed in that state for a long time. Until the day you arrived. When I saw you I thought I saw Giro revived! But as I looked upon you closely I knew that you weren't him. If you remember I was barely able to move but everyone else stayed in a coma like state. It took 7 years for the poison in the miasma to disperse. If you hadn't returned and given me food. I don't think Nanahuatl Village would have survived."

The chamber of knowledge returned to total darkness. Only the light emitting from the casting circle remained.

"If you hadn't returned and fed me. I think everyone would've died. You see, I can no longer step out of the village. One of the conditions for sealing the miasma was to be within the premises of the village at all times. Before you arrived the perimeter covering the village was reduced to one third of its total land area. I couldn't fish in the river. I couldn't even hunt horned rabbits. All the food supply had been eaten. I was barely surviving on spices."

The chamber then showed Nanahuatl Village to the day that Smoke first arrived.

"After you fed me the perimeter of the village started growing again and after we fed the residents some of my energy returned to me. Although my level is still at 300 but I could feel my energy coming back. I think you know everything after that."

"I see. So, that's where the sixth family token is located and that's the whole story of Nanahuatl Village?"

"I wouldn't say that it was the whole story. But it does contain the highlights of the village. You know, after telling you that story. I feel like a great thorn has been removed from my chest. So, let's move on to the Beggar profession."

Smoke was still in a daze. He was still absorbing everything that he had just learned. Yet he also wanted to know about his Beggar job.

"Yes! Please go on."

"From the book of secret societies. You now know that there are a lot of them out there. Heck I don't even know if some new secret society has been formed. Since I've been stuck in this village. Anyway, we belong to the 'Verum de Mendicantibus' the Brotherhood of Beggars. I don't know who came up with the nickname Brotherhood when we have females in that society as well. Oh, where was I? Yes, the Brotherhood is spread all throughout Zectas. There are five levels of the Beggar profession. Right now you belong to the first level. You're a plain Beggar. The next level would be the job called Beggar Evocati. The levels are determined by the stones embedded in the Beggar belts that we wear."

Darius shifted a part of his robe and revealed his belt. He showed Smoke his Beggar belt. It held nine black stones.

"Whenever you want help from a fellow Beggar you just show him your belt. However you have to conceal your belt at all times and only show them to fellow Beggars. You can tell that person is a beggar by shaking their hands this way."

Darius held out his hands and motioned for Smoke to give him his. Darius then showed Smoke the secret handshake.

"But wouldn't a spy take notice of this and copy this secret handshake?"

Right after Smoke said those words a light emitted from Darius' body. He then took notice that the same light was emitting from his.

"Oh, the handshake was a hand seal to activate this spell."

"Yes, even if a spy were to follow the handshake this light would not appear if you weren't a Beggar."

"Awesome! Now I really feel like I belong to a secret society. So where is our HQ?"

"Hmm. That's kind of a hard question. Since we are so spread out we don't have a particular HQ. Well, we used to have one. When he was still active as an Imperator. Currently, there are just nine individuals who have the job Beggar Legati. That is the level below Imperator. Until we get another Imperator. These nine are now the current leaders of the 'Verum de Mendicantibus'."

"So how do I level up my job? What should my level be in order to get it? Do I go to an academia or something?"

"Our Beggar job is a bit different than the other professions. We don't get to go to the next level by fulfilling a certain level requirement. We get to go to the next level according to the 'contributions' that we have given to the Brotherhood."

"What kind of 'contribution' are we talking about? Is it the monetary kind?"

"Hahaha. You would think that right? Well, to be honest some of the Beggars did use their money to create enough influence to make the 'contribution'. But mostly 'contribution' means the knowledge or intelligence you have given the Brotherhood. Acts of stabilization in a place of chaos, maybe by saving a city or at least several villages of the main cities. Heroic acts that affects the whole world of Zectas."

"So, I have to become famous enough that other Beggars know about my great deeds?"

"Yeah, I guess if you put it that way. Yes that's right."

"That means I'll be stuck with 25% capacity of all equipments. Great!"

"I never said that our job would be easy, but that's how great things are. They start by being really difficult. Okay, that's it for the Beggar job. I want you to discover the rest of the job yourself. Here you now deserve to have this."

Darius gave Smoke his own Beggar belt as he had not yet received one. His belt only had one black stone embedded on it.

"What?! But that was too short. Who are the nine Beggar Legati? Are they in one of the main cities? What happens if I lose this belt? Come on, that was too short!"

While listening to Smoke begging for more information about the Beggar job, Darius' face suddenly turned serious. Smoke fell silent and stopped pleading.

"Smoke, As the sole living protector of the repository of overflowing power, I was given the authority to find my successor. I find you to be the most suitable candidate. I trust that you will not succumb to the temptations of absolute power. Therefore I ask that you help me get rid of the black smoke imps and the remaining miasma inside the enclosed mines. Will you accept this quest?"

+ Quest: Clear the mines of Nanahuatl
World Quest
Level: S

The mines has been infested with black smoke imps and the remaining miasma from Giro and Kumbaba's battle. Clear the mines of these things and reinforce the barrier protecting the 'Repository of Overflowing Power'.

Quest Reward:
Darius joins your private army.

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"Yes! Absolutely! I will not give in to that temptation. You can count on me to clear that mine out!"

Darius smiled and stepped out of the casting circle. He waved his hands and the wall leading outside opened by shifting downwards.

Smoke immediately went to the entrance of the mines. There he stood in front of the immovable colossal boulder.

He asked Jinggu and Sharur to take a break from gaining the poison resistance stat. He ordered the twins to join him as he wanted to verify something. He stepped aside and gave the signal to the twin Orkelves.

At once the twins released their flame bolts targeting the gigantic boulder. TTUUUK TUUUK. Dust covered the whole area.

As soon as the dust settled Smoke saw that the boulder took no damage at all. He went closer to the boulder and felt it with his hands.

! This is an impenetrable boulder. Only the High Magical Templar's ability 'Gravija' can remove this boulder.

He knew that a level S quest was still far from his reach. But he still felt better knowing there was a way to free Darius from being stuck in the village and have him join his private army.

Smoke has come to terms with his decreased attacking power. He had just learned from a book that there was a monster near Nanahuatl Village whose bones would make a great arrow shaft.

He had scheduled his private army to accomplish their special assignments after one week. So it was just Adder and Igniz that would accompany him.

The monster that they were hunting for this time was called a towering phasmatodea. It was located across the river from Nanahuatl Village.

Fortunately, Adder had built a canoe during the time he was mastering his double bladed sword BlitzTod. It was big enough to carry them both while Igniz just hovered above them.

They have arrived at their destination, Turremloc Forest. Since the towering phasmatodea was made of wood, their enhanced fire attacks would have doubled effects.

From the book's description, the towering phasmatodea looked like a gigantic stick insect. Whose height was about seven feet tall but had a width of only one foot.

Apparently weapons can only carry one enhancement or enchantment at a time. Efficiently, the spark stone from Adder's BlitzTod was designed to be removable. So his sword could still receive Igniz's enhancement.

However monsters could receive multiple status effects at the same time. Like being poisoned, burned, frozen, stunned, etc... these status effects can stack up.

They entered the forest of Turremloc. Immediately Smoke noticed that something was off. He didn't sense a single monster.

He ordered everyone to stop. He scanned the forest trees. From the trees he saw that some of the branches were slightly moving.

Smiling at the sight of the slight movement, Smoke ordered for everyone to get ready for battle. He let loose his volley of arrows at the branches that were moving.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 352.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. Damage 138.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 355.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 353.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 358.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. Damage 137.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 353.

+ Attack hit towering phasmatodea. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 354.

The towering phasmatodea's lifebar appeared revealing (12,600/15,000 HP)

After Smoke's first attack the camouflage towering phasmatodeas sticking to the trees started to swarm them. They were surrounded by roughly about 250 towering phasmatodeas.

Smoke asked Igniz to cancel his fire enhancement. He switched to using the poison pellets instead. He started walking around Adder in a circular manner and kept on shooting at all the monsters.

While Igniz followed Smoke's pattern and created a blazing orbit of fire around them. Adder would pick out the towering phasmatodeas that entered their circle.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Adder damaged towering phasmatodea for 5735.

- Adder attacked by towering phasmatodea. He has taken damage. Health -640

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Adder damaged towering phasmatodea for 5737.

- Adder attacked by towering phasmatodea. He has taken damage. Health -640

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Adder damaged towering phasmatodea for 5735.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Adder damaged towering phasmatodea for 5738.

+ Your party has dealt a fatal blow to the towering phasmatodea.

+ Your party has killed the towering phasmatodea.

+ Your party has gained 4,000 exp.

The experience that they were getting from the monster barely made a mark on Smoke's experience bar. But that didn't matter to him. He wasn't here for their experience. He was here for their wooden bones.

With Adder's total HP now at 89,000 the damage that he took from the towering phasmatodea was negligible. They kept the same formation for about 40 minutes until they wiped out all of the towering phasmatodea in their area.

They were able to collect 130 phasmatodea bones. This amount did not reach 1% of Smoke's target quota. So they continued further inside the Forest of Turremloc.

They continued repeating the same formation for the next 6 hours. Until it was time for Smoke to log out for his quick nap.

During the times that Smoke was out, Adder and Igniz would go to the plains or sometimes continue hunting by themselves.

When Smoke returned he found out that they now have a total of 810 phasmatodea bones. He thought that maybe he should decrease his quota from 15,000 to 5,000 phasmatodea bones.

They continued on at the same pace when Smoke suddenly detected an alarming presence. From the riverside there was about 1,000 unknown monsters.

With his 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' ability reaching advance level he could now have a better understanding of the unknown monster's size.

The unknown monster felt to be about 6 feet in height but had a stout body. Smoke was troubled. They were still in the middle of their circle fighting the towering phasmatodeas.

If they were to start running away now then they would be swarmed by the towering phasmatodeas. Smoke quickly did a rough estimate of the monsters they had to kill before making a run for it.

However, the unknown monsters seem to have understood that their presence was felt and started increasing their pace towards Smoke.

After Adder killed the last towering phasmatodea. Smoke quickly gave the signal to run opposite of the unknown monsters.

While running away, Smoke was shooting at the direction of the unknown monster hoping that he would hit one of them so that he could know what the unknown monster was.

A sound notification came indicating that he had hit a monster. He stopped for a moment to look at the unknown monsters chasing them.

Smoke saw what looked like heavy armored virile lizards. But from the name indicated at the lifebar it said that the monster was called varanus indicus and had a (79,642/80,000 HP).

Smoke felt cold sweat run down his face. How in the world can a monster mob have that much HP? He thought that only boss monsters could reach that high.

While he was running for dear life. Smoke realized that Zectas was truly too big a world to assume anything. He dreaded to imagine what the life of the boss from that monster would be.

He told Adder to run faster. But as they were running Smoke felt another unknown presence up ahead. His 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' ability never felt like this before.

A notification window popped up.

* Cunning of the Dire Fox has detected the presence of a player

Player alignment: Chaotic Evil
Player body type: Gigantic

Smoke knew that only 'Player Killers' had an alignment of Chaotic Evil. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He calculated that Adder would most likely survive against the Player Killer and escape if Smoke would sacrifice his life.

He ordered for them to clash with the Player Killer head on. In the next few seconds the unknown Player Killer came into view. The Player Killer was a gigantic WereBear!

It started at the Diner.

Sherry Levine was a love child born to her mother Laura. She inherited all of her mother's looks except for her red hair which she got from her father.

Her mother used to work as a secretary for a big time business tycoon, her father, Tad. Her parents’ love story started on one of their long business trips.

Everything would have been perfect if it wasn't for the fact that Sherry's father was a married man with two children. Her mother used to think that only silly girls would fall for married men. But her mother realized that it wasn't such a simple thing after all.

Sherry's mother couldn't leave her father until she was pregnant. Her mother asked him if he would finally leave his family for them but he told her mother that he couldn't do such a thing.

His company stocks would plummet if the business world heard that he was getting a divorce, not to mention that he would lose 50% of everything he owned if not more. After hearing her father's answer, her mother finally found the courage to leave him.

Sherry's mother decided to live with her older brother Alex. Before she left, her father insisted on giving her some money for their child. He also wanted to see their child at least once every two months, but both these requests were denied.

Sherry grew up never knowing her father. All she knew about him was his name. Her mother didn't speak ill of him but then again the subject of her father never came up that often.

Her mother's genius business sense and her uncle's restaurant connections helped them to open a diner. The diner was a hard business to start, but her mother and uncle still persevered.

Her mother never got married and only focused her time and attention on their business and on her.

Seeing such a hard working mother inspired Sherry to become a helpful and responsible child. She took her studies seriously. Although she wasn't top one in her class, she was consistently an honor student.

She found that playing with kids her age was such a waste of time. So, on her free time she stayed in the diner and helped around instead.

It took five years to turn their business into a restaurant chain. At one point they had up to eight diners. Things were looking up for Sherry and her family.

They lived a quiet and joyful life. Sherry was well loved by her mother and uncle. However, their happiness could not last forever.

When Sherry was 13 years old, her family received tragic news. Her mother, was diagnosed with an aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and was only expected to live for another three years at most.

Sherry and her mother spent the next three years preparing for the inevitable. Her mother sensing that it was almost time, called for Sherry.

On her mother's death bed, Sherry was told that since she was born, every day on her birthday, her father had been religiously putting $20,000 into a bank account under Sherry's name.

"I'm sorry it took me this long to tell you. I was just afraid that if you knew maybe you would've chosen him, since he's so rich. He offered to take you in and have you live with them but I never told you. I want you to know that I never took a dime of your father's money. Your account should have $320,000."

"Wow! That's really a lot mom, but that doesn't matter to me. I don't want that money. All I want is you. If only I could trade that bank book to spend one more day with you, I would. You don't have to apologize for anything and even if I did know about my father's offer I would still have chosen you mom. You're the best mom I could have ever hoped for."

"I'm so happy to hear you say that, but still it was wrong of me to hide that from you. From now on, I want you to spend that money for fun. It was given to you as a birthday present so go wild with it."

"Mom, can we not talk about money right now. Even if that bank account had one hundred million dollars I wouldn't care. I just want you to know how lucky I am to have you. The sacrifices that you did in order to raise me. I want you to be filled with thoughts that I'm so grateful for everything."

"How many times have I told you that you sound too old for your age? My dear, I want you to be more reckless. You're too young to be so responsible. You made my job of being your mother too easy. I'm so proud of you and I know that you will take good care of yourself. I love you so much, my, Sherry."

Sherry's mother slept with a smile on her face and passed away the next morning.

Their diner chains could not stay afloat with her mother gone. She was the magic recipe that kept those diner chains going. They slowly started selling off their branches.

Sherry offered to use the money from her bank account but her uncle Alex refused her. That money was meant for her not for their business. In the end, all her uncle Alex could save was the original diner that they opened.

Going to college was one of the things that a responsible child would do. So, Sherry went to the nearest University and pursued Economics.

After her first year she felt that college wasn't for her. The lessons were okay. She had read most of the materials from her mother's books. She met some good friends but never really made any real connections.

Something was definitely missing. She needed to clear her mind, she needed some inspiration. She decided to go back to the diner to get some fresh perspective.

Sherry asked her uncle if she could do anything in the diner and her uncle told her that she could be one of the cooks.

Helping around in the diner instead of goofing around the playground gave her a lot of skills in the kitchen. She gladly accepted her uncle's offer and was very excited to start.

On her first day as a cook, a young man who had been working as an assistant, introduced himself to her. He said that he used to be Mr. Cacoy's fruits and vegetables delivery boy.

Sherry immediately remembered him. She found him quite interesting as he was very similar to her. Instead of wasting time in the mall, he was busy doing deliveries.

Weeks passed and the two of them got quite close. She found that they had a lot of things in common. They both love their families. They're both hard working, and they both were too responsible for their age.

She grew to admire the young man as she learned that he turned down his opportunity to go to college but instead worked three jobs to support his family.

Yet one day, the young man started talking enthusiastically about this new VRMMORPG that he was playing. Sherry didn't know what that game was. She just politely listened.

Apparently it was his new third job. Sherry didn't know that people could get paid by just playing online games. She was happy for him because it was the first time she has seen him this enthusiastic about something else aside from his family.

In the next couple of days, all the young man could ever talk about was ZECTAS. Frankly, Sherry was getting kind of tired of hearing the same thing. All he was doing was fighting the same monster. She started to think that maybe they were not the same after all.

Then one day, the young man's online game made him skip work. It made him upset, enough to actually skip work. Her impression of the young man and this virtual reality world of Zectas became worse.

Arriving at the end of his supposed shift, the young man was covered in sweat. He said that he had been jogging to clear his mind.

Sherry was actually more upset than her uncle Alex but she didn't let the young man know her true feelings. Her uncle understood that this was something important to him and since this was his first time skipping work it shouldn't be a big deal at all.

Irritated that her only friend was turning into a different person, Sherry decided to do some research about this VRMMORPG called Zectas.

Seeing the screenshots blew her mind. Everything looked so real. Next she clicked on the viral video post made by some noob, that was supposed to be hilarious.

She immediately recognized the person in the video as Nash. Although he had a dark purple skin and pointy ears his facial features were still clear.

She couldn't understand why people were saying that his video was funny. From what she saw it was clear that Nash was giving it his all. Fighting this rabbit looking monster with a horn.

Sherry got angry at their comments. Why were they being so cruel? Is it funny seeing someone giving it their best? So what if he can't 'one shot' this monster. Does that give them the right to make fun of him?

Sherry understood that this video must have been the reason why Nash got upset. This game requires an enormous amount of time and even if you've given that, there are some individuals out there who will still make fun of your hard work.

Although Nash was playing this game in order to support his family, he was actually being ridiculed by other players.

The people commenting on Nash's video saw a clown trying to get views. All she saw was the hard working Nash that she knew.

While watching Nash's video, Sherry heard a knock on her door. It was her uncle Alex, it seems like Nash decided to quit his job at the diner. He also stopped working at the construction site. Evidently the thing that upset him that morning was the cause.

Hearing this, triggered something inside her. He wasn't coming back to the diner anymore. He didn't even come to tell her personally.

Yet, she also knew why he didn't come. Once Nash decides to focus on a goal, that goal will be the only thing on his mind.

He was like a horse with blinders on. He will just keep moving in a straight line towards his goal. To him this isn't just a game. It's a means of living.

Sherry didn't quite understand why everyone else could one shot these monsters. All she got from that was Nash was probably at the bottom of the food chain.

She suddenly got the desire to jump into the game and help him. It has been six years since her mother's death, she hadn't been this inspired.

Zectas' game pods costs a fortune! She would have never guess their price. The game pods' price range started from $5,000 up to $50,000. There were some feature enhancements as the price range went up.

All of the units had air-conditioning inside the game pods but the ones in the $30,000 price range and above had Silk, Linen, and Cashmere Wool as the linings inside the game pod.

While reading the physical features of each game pod she saw a blinking link that said 'latest special edition game pods'. These new game pods were priced at $100,000 they had the same look as the ones in the $50,000 price range but these ones had 'in game' enhancements.

There was a gamepad that would permanently increase all your elemental resistance by 20%. Another one would permanently increase your Strength by 100. However, the best thing this game pod had to offer was the hidden basic stat that you would get.

These hidden basic stats often act as a hybrid between two stats. One of the given examples was 'Perception' which had four sub categories, Unarmed Perception, Weapon Perception, Magic Perception, Medical Perception.

She thought that a very rich person could just buy all of these enhancement game pods and they would become the strongest person in the game. Then she read the notice. Evidently, these 'in game' enhancement game pods would only work on a game character once.

Therefore, the enhancements would not stack with one another. Only the first enhancement from this game pods will be reflected.

She decided that the only way for her to afford any of this was to use the money in the savings account that her mom left her. She remembered her mother's words that she should be more reckless and have some fun. She couldn't think of a more reckless way aside from buying this $100,000 game pod.

There were thousands of enhancements to choose from. There were 'pure' enhancements that would increase your attack speed, your dodge rate. your strength, etc... These enhancements would only focus on one stat but the enhancement increase would be high.

Then there were the 'hybrid' enhancements that would increase multiple stats but the increase of those stats were greatly lower compared to the 'pure' enhancements.

Sherry couldn't decide what enhancement to get. She was deciding on getting one of these enhancements, movement speed, dodge rate, life, defense, dodge rate & movement speed, life & defense.

She still needed to go to the bank to create an online access to her bank account since all she had was the bank book. She turned in for the night and slept thinking about what enhancement to get.

The next day, her thrifty personality still took the better of her. She decided that this $100,000 would be the only amount that she would play around with. As for the rest of her money she placed it in a mutual fund account in order to get a higher interest rate. This account also had an online access and only took one day processing if she wishes to make withdrawals.

With her $100,000 game pod on the way, Sherry was running out of time to decide on which enhancement to get. In the end she decided to go with defense & life. She wanted to be a shield for Nash and she thought that these enhancements best fits her requirements.

Sherry was enveloped in a bright light. She saw her body from the outside. It was like an out of body experience. She then suddenly heard a voice.

"What is the race that you have chosen?"

"HighElf please."

She chose a slightly different race as Nash since she thought that the Highelves could still maintain her real life looks and would make her easily recognizable by Nash. She also found that the magic affinity for the Highelves would blend well with her desired job.

Immediately her ears started to sharpened, her clothing changed into a ragged blouse and ragged skirt.

"What is your desired user name?"

She already thought about her game name in advance. Nash chose the name Smoke, she was guessing it was based from his family name. She thought she would base hers from something that would remind her of her mother. It would be one of her mother's favorite places on earth. On top of a sierra mountain.

"If it's not yet taken, I'd like Sierra please."

"That Username is available. Which city would you like to start in?"

She remembered that Smoke said that he was somewhere in the Western Kingdom so she chose a city in the middle of the Western Kingdom.

"The city of Centeo in Chayotl Kingdom (Western Kingdom)."

"You have been registered as Sierra. Please remember that you can only have one account in ZECTAS."

Sierra then awoke in the square of a big a city filled with countless players. At the center of the square was a tall statue of what looked like a female gladiator that looked like a mix breed between a lioness and a human.

Sierra couldn't believe the world of Zectas. Everything felt real. She could feel the wind in her hair the sun on her skin. She tried pinching herself. She felt a little bit of pain but not the same kind if she actually pinched herself in the real world.

There were thousands of NPCs in the square ready to teach the new players how to play Zectas. Her research indicated that there were some hidden jobs that you can get depending on the NPCs you choose to guide you.

Sierra quickly took notice of all the known NPCs as thousands of players were flocking towards them. She wanted a hidden job but she felt that none of the NPCs in the square could guide her. So, she tried leaving the square to look for that NPC.

! You need NPC guidance to leave the square.

Forced to turn back, Sierra started looking for this required NPC. She started walking and checking out the NPC guides to choose from. She noticed that once an NPC guide reaches five persons. A countdown timer appears indicating 10 minutes.

When the timer runs out the group leaves. The other scenario was when the NPC reaches 500 users, even if the timer hasn’t reached 10 minutes, the NPC gathers them and they are ordered to follow the NPC as they guide them to the stalls.

Sierra read from the forums, about the common patterns on how the NPC guide works.

First they are given a quest to try talking to a potions' shop NPC just outside of the beginner's square. The first time a player talks to the beginner potions' NPC they give that player a basic healing potion. After receiving the potion the player immediately levels up to level one.

Then for their second quest the players would be tasked to search for three NPCs out of the 100 NPC choices. All these NPCs have different basic jobs. But as an essential the three NPCs should be able to teach them how to attack, how to heal, and how to create a party.

The players gained abilities before acquiring a basic job will depend on the type of NPCs that they meet. However, one thing remains constant, the player achieves level 15 after completing the second quest and meeting all three NPCs.

After receiving the training from the NPC the players are given the possible options on what basic jobs to pursue. This is why it is important to choose the first NPC guide wisely. Because that guide will provide the list of the NPCs to choose from.

Sierra spent the next couple of hours looking for her NPC guide. She didn't want to join the hundreds of players swarming over one famous NPC guide.

After completing 10 rounds around the whole square. Sierra noticed that her satiety bar for thirst went down by 20%. Fortunately she found an old lady NPC in one of the secluded areas of the square who was giving out water. The old lady with the appearance of a priestess was serving water to the incoming NPC guides who were done with their batch of novice players.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I was wondering if I can bother you for a glass of water?"

The old priestess looked at Sierra and smiled.

"Sure, here you go my dear. I've noticed that you've been passing around the square for the past few hours. Are you looking for something? You know you can't go outside the square without a guide with you."

"Yeah, I know. I've been trying to look for a guide but none of the guides feel right. I did see one who had three players with him. But he looked like he was some sort of a Barbarian warlord."

"Oh, that must have been Baskog. You were right guessing that he was a Barbarian warlord. He put down his sword when he met his wife Lizzen. She's the Ranger about 200 meters away on your left side. Both of them became guides when they decided to have a quiet family life."

"I see. Hmm, perhaps you can help me find a guide?"

"Alright, I see no reason not to help you. What kind of guide are you looking for?"

"I want someone who can guide me to a job that has great support abilities but could also survive alone. You see I still have to travel to my friend's location and I don't know where he is specifically."

"Hmm, I think I know a couple of people who can guide you to the job that you are seeking. People around here call me Nenek. If you would follow me, I can take you to the NPCs who can help you on your path."

Sierra couldn't believe her luck. Who would've thought that the NPC giving out water could also be a guide?

"Great! I'm Sierra. Thank you so much. I thought that you were only here to give out water."

"Well, I don't often leave my post. But there are some individuals such as yourself that spark my interest."

Nenek guided Sierra out of the beginner's square. Instead of taking her to one of the potions shop. Nenek took her to an Alchemist Shop.

An ancient old man with a funny wizard hat was standing behind the counter. He looked like he was about to die of boredom.

"Hello, Zauberer. I've come with a guest. Do you have the time to teach her a few things?"

"Of course! I'm always free for Nenek and her guests. Come in, come in."

"No, I won't be staying long. Sierra, you come see me after you're done here."

Sierra nodded and thanked Nenek as she left. Zauberer then led the way to his laboratory it was filled with flasks and colorful liquids and inexplicable aromas.

"I'll teach you a really easy trick. Just follow these instructions and make a 'pure' basic healing potion."

+ Quest: Pure Potion Production
Beginner's Quest
Level: F

Follow the instructions indicated on Zauberer's book and make 20 'pure' basic healing potions.

Quest Reward:
Level up to Level 3

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"Yes, please teach me how to create a potion."

Sierra was given a quest to mix 20 'pure' basic healing potions. It took her a couple of attempts but after she completed it. She leveled up to level three and got the 20 pieces of basic healing potion for free.

+ Acquired Knowledge: Production of Pure Potions (Basic)

You can now mass produce basic potions from the pure potions that you created.

+ Completed Quest: Pure Potion Production

You've completed Zauberer's quest. You are now armed with the knowledge on how to mass produce potions.

Rewards:
* Level up to Level 3

Before leaving Zauberer told Sierra that she could mix in the pure healing potions into a flask of distilled water and it would have the same effects as a basic healing potion. Basically, one pure healing potion can make 10 basic healing potions.

Sierra couldn't believe what she just heard. One basic healing potion costs 50 zecs. Which meant she virtually gained 10,000 zecs just on her first quest.

She thanked Zauberer and went to find Nenek. She wondered why Nenek's NPC choices were not the same as the other guide's, where they would give the player a list of NPCs to choose from.

Nenek was waiting for her near the entrance of the beginner's square. Nenek saw Sierra and waved at her. Nenek then told her that she was gonna stay near the entrance of the beginner's square since she needed to give out water to the other NPC guides.

She gave Sierra instructions on how to locate her second NPC. She was to look for a weapons' master that specializes in maces, near the northern part of the city.

Nenek taught her how to use the inter-city teleportation circles. These auto-programmed casting circles are powered by energy crystals and will take an individual to any of the four districts in the city.

Sierra checked all the famous dojos in the northern district. She couldn't find any weapon master that specializes in maces. She stopped by one of the black smith shops to ask for directions.

The blacksmith didn't know of any weapon master who prefers the mace either. Sierra visited almost all the shops in the northern district the only other place that Sierra hasn't asked was the bakery.

Sierra entered the bakery but no one was there behind the counter. She heard some commotion in the pantry and decided to try seeing what it was. There she saw an elderly baker beating the dough with his rolling pin. Immediately it hit to her. This must be the weapon master that Nenek was talking about.

"Excuse me, Sir, Excuse me. I'm a friend of Nenek's. She sent me her looking for a mace weapon master."

"Ah, hi, weapon master huh? That Nenek, always tends to exaggerate things. I'm just a humble baker. But I do dabble a little bit with the mace. So, you're here to learn the ways of the mace?"

"I think so. I mean, YES! Yes I am. My name is Sierra."

"Alright Sierra, come with me. I'm known as Vico, the mad baker. Hehehehe. No, it's really just Vico. Well, come on."

Vico and Sierra went to the backyard of the bakery. In the backyard there were three training dummies. Vico gave Sierra a mace while he held one of his own.

"Are you ready to learn the ways of the mace?"

+ Quest: Ways of the Mace
Beginner's Quest
Level: F

Follow Vico's instructions. This quest is completed once Vico acknowledges your skills.

Quest Reward:
Level up to Level 12

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"I'm ready! Let's do this."

The three training dummies' sizes range from small, medium, and large. This would serve as the common monster body types that a player would potentially meet. There he showed Sierra how to use the mace against the three body types. The training dummies' eyes would light up every time Vico would hit a vulnerable spot.

"Just like that. I believe that you should just feel the mace and let it guide you towards the 'targets of light'. If you can make each dummy light up 100 times. Only then shall I acknowledge your understanding of the mace."

Sierra took up her beginner's mace and started striking at the locations where she thought Vico struck. The training dummy's eye didn't light up at all. She thought that it would be as easy as her first quest.

She read from the forums that getting out of a main city can be accomplished in less than 8 hours. But she had already been playing the game for 14 hours now.

With her satiety bar popping up indicating that it's time for her to eat. She decided to take a break and eat the bread in her backpack.

Vico offered to show her how to use the mace again while she was resting. This time Vico deliberately slowed down the striking force on each of his attacks and still the training dummy's eyes would light up.

Sierra tried to analyze what was happening. She was wasting her physical strength when she kept hitting the training dummies with such force. Then she realized that the job that she was aiming for also needed have some sort of mana manipulation.

After rejuvenating her satiety bar, Sierra took her mace once more but this time she tried pouring some of her mana into the mace. She found that she could only transfer her mana into the mace for about 2 seconds.

These 2 seconds would just be enough for her use. Carefully, she calculated the timing of the mace's point of impact on the target and released her mana into the mace.

WHOOOK!

The small training dummy's eyes lit up. She finally did it. Now she just had to repeat this 299 more times. It took her another 12 hours in order to finish the 300 hits that Vico required of her.

+ Learned Ability: Energy Mace
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

Deals internal damage to your enemy by projecting your mana into them.
Using this ability drains your mana by 5% of your maximum capacity.
Mana consumption decreases as the level increases.

+ Completed Quest: Ways of the Mace

You've been acknowledge by Vico. You can now boast that you're one of the students of GrandMaceter Vico!

Rewards:
* Level up to Level 12
* (Hidden) Mace Mastery

+ Learned Ability: Mace Mastery
Passive
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

Gained from being one of the students of GrandMaceter Vico. You now have increased damage from mace weapons.

Mace Damage: +2% Increased Damage

System notification messages were popping out everywhere! Sierra couldn't hold in her excitement. She felt so accomplished. She can't recall the last time she had this much fun.

She would've finished earlier if it wasn't for her mana running out. She discovered that she was exhausting about 5% of her maximum mana on each attack. Once her mana ran out she would just sit down and day dream that she would soon meet with Smoke. She can't believe how much she's enjoying this game world.

Finally, she understood why Smoke was so energetic when he spoke about this place. ZECTAS is truly a magical place. Sierra decided that she would devote herself to this game as well.

Sierra bade her farewell to GrandMaceter Vico. she went to the entrance of the beginner's square once more. But this time Nenek was in front of her table preparing glasses of water for passersby to drink.

Instead, Nenek was wearing an priestess' adventuring attire. She told Sierra that she would be the last NPC to guide her.

"Are you ready to experience an actual battle?"

+ Quest: Healing Hands
Beginner's Quest
Level: F

Follow Nenek into the sewers and defeat 10 sewer rats.

Quest Reward:
Level up to Level 15

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"Yes! Rats, you better run and hide cause Sierra is coming for you!"

Nenek showed Sierra how to create a party and other functions within the party. All Sierra knew about a party was that you create it with other players and that you share everything with them. Such as food, supplies, loot, and experience.

The old priestess then took Sierra to the entrance of one of Centeo's sewers. Upon entering a system notification popped up indicating that the suggested level for entering this place would be level 30.

Sierra was a bit alarmed, because her level was still 12. Nenek saw Sierra's alarmed face. She assured her that she was there to protect her.

Apprehensively, She followed Nenek into the sewers. Inside the sewers she smelled such an offensive odor. She wondered why the developers thought about adding such a foul smell. Couldn't they have lessened the reality a bit.

Taking a few steps inside the sewer summoned 10 sewer rats. Because of the monster's 'larger than expected size' Sierra thought that these monsters shouldn't be called sewer rats anymore they should be called sewer dogs.

Sensing their presence, the sewer rats instinctively started running for them. Sierra was now terrified. She didn't want to experience dying within the game at all. On the other hand the old priestess was as calm as a rock.

Nenek released a series of small bright lights which aggravated the sewer rats causing them to focus their attention on the old priestess. Sierra panicked and didn't know what to do.

"Relax, take a deep breath and focus on what needs to be done."

As the sewer rats were only attacking Nenek, Sierra picked out the sewer rat that was separated from the rest of the rats and struck it with her 'Energy Mace' ability.

+ Attack hit sewer rat. Damage 32.

- Nenek attacked by sewer rat. She has taken no damage. Health -0

- Nenek attacked by sewer rat. She has taken no damage. Health -0

- Nenek attacked by sewer rat. She has taken no damage. Health -0

- Nenek attacked by sewer rat. She has taken no damage. Health -0

+ Attack hit sewer rat. Damage 32.

The sewer rat's lifebar indicated that it had (1,136/1,200 HP)

"Why is your damage so low? Aren't you already level 12?"

Sierra was taken aback by Nenek's question. Was this really the right time to be doing this? Shouldn't they be talking about damage calculations in a safer environment?

"Huh? Yes I am. This is my first time attacking a live monster so I'm not sure why it's this low."

"Did you invest any of your stat points?"

"Oh, I completely forgot about those. Where should I put them in?"

"Well, that really depends on you. If you want to be a full support you would need Intelligence and Vitality. Intelligence so that your Healing Abilities will never run out of mana and Vitality so that you won't die easily. Everyone always targets the Healer first."

"I see, but what if I want to attack as well? I do need some attacking power since I know I'm still searching for my friend."

"Then you need to invest on some Strength and a little bit of Dexterity just enough for you to hit the monsters."

Sierra opened her status window for the first time and was about to distribute her 120 stats. She noticed an Endurance stat that she hadn't read in the forums and wondered what that stat was.

She also noticed that her Vitality stat was already at 50 while her Defense was already at 30. This must have been one of the bonuses from the gamepod.

"Do you know what this Endurance stat is? This is my first time opening my status window and I don't have any idea what it is."

"Now I see why I've taken such a liking to you. That Endurance stat is a hidden basic stat. You would have needed to increase your Vitality and Strength to 500 and your Defense to 2000 before that stat appears. So, I guess you are blessed by the gods because you have that stat even though you're still a novice."

"Okay, but what does this Endurance stat do exactly?"

"Raising Endurance increases your health points, defense points, and makes you resist stun attacks. Of course the increase from Vitality would still give a much higher increase in health."

"Nice, this must be the bonus stat that I got from my special gamepod."

"Gamepod? What's that?"

"Oh, it's just something I have back home. So should I raise this instead of Vitality?"

"That depends on you. However, in my opinion raising it early on would be very beneficial especially since you're still looking for your friend. The Endurance stat would give you the ability to do some solo adventuring."

"Endurance stat it is then."

Character Name: Sierra

Race: High Elf

Alignment: Neutral

Level: 12

Money: 0 Zec

Fame: 10

Job: Novice

Title: None

Pet: None

Life: 2,500 HP

Mana: 1,875 MP

Dexterity: 10

Strength: 30

Agility: 10

Vitality: 50

Intelligence: 30

Endurance: 80

Leadership: 1

Charisma: 1

Luck:1

Atk Speed:20

Move Speed: 25

Attack:45-68

Defense:90

Magic Resistance

Fire: 10%

Water: 10%

Earth: 10%

Wind: 10%

Equipment Effects

* None

Skills Effects

* None

+ Attack hit sewer rat. Damage 220.

"Wow, there was such an increase in damage. Stats are amazing!"

Sierra wiped the floor with the 10 sewer rats and a notification window popped up indicating that she had completed the quest and she has gained 3 more levels. She was about to open her status window when Sierra saw a drooling dog with its flesh all ripped up. By the looks of it, that dog should be dead not walking.

"Umm, what's that?"

"That's a zombie dog. There are a variety of undead in the sewers. There are zombie cats and actual zombies as well. This is perfect. This will make it easier for me to teach you this heal ability."

Nenek went towards the zombie dog and allowed the undead beast to attack her. She took some damage that ranged from 1-3 points.

"Now, my lifebar is slowly decreasing. This is the perfect time for you to heal me. It's a bit similar to how you use your 'Energy Mace' ability but instead channel your mana into a ball like object and project it out to heal me."

"Okay, let me give it a try."

Sierra spent the next 30 minutes trying to project a healing ball towards Nenek. Nenek was in no hurry since her lifebar indicated (2,982,000/3,000,000 HP).

"Perhaps if I show you how, maybe that will help you figure it out. I'm sorry I forgot to do this in the first place. It's been a long time since I've taught anyone."

Nenek slowly gathered her mana in her hand and projected it towards Sierra. Even though Sierra's lifebar was still full she still felt that her body was being filled with Nenek's mana. She also felt rejuvenated and re-energized.

Sierra concentrated her mana into her hands again. This time she tried projecting what she just felt and a healing energy ball was released from her palms towards Nenek. The healing ball healed 300 HP of Nenek's mammoth like HP.

Nenek ordered Sierra to keep on healing her until she ordered her to stop. After 3 hours a notification message appeared.

+ Learned Ability: HealBall
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

Heals allies and can cause damage against undead monsters
Mana costs: 30 MP
Mana consumption decreases as the level increases.

After reading the 'HealBall' ability she decided to try attacking the zombie dog.

+ Heal Ball hit zombie dog. Damage 400.

Because she was too close to the zombie dog, the monster switched its attack target. It was now aiming for Sierra. Nenek swiftly casted her Heal Ball and damaged the zombie dog for 50,000 HP. Nenek killed the dog instantly.

"Wow. That was amazing. This has been bothering me for a while now. But your life. Is that correct? You have 3,000,000 HP?"

"I don't know if I could call it as normal but I do know that I'm in the top 100 individuals with the highest life in the whole of ZECTAS."

"So there are other people with a higher life than you?!"

"Yeah there are a lot more and that list doesn't even include the gods and the great gods."

"Amazing!"

"Also, you should be careful when someone is tanking you. Some monsters change targets when they are attacked. I think that should do for now. Let's head back to the surface."

Back on the surface. Nenek casted a cleansing spell which removed all the foul odors on their armors. She then motioned for Sierra to kneel down, hold both her hands together and assume a praying position.

"Sierra, you have completed the requirements of taking the job of an acolyte. Will you accept this job?"

+ Job Change: Acolyte
Basic Job

You have completed the requirements of the basic job acolyte.

Accept the Job Change? [YES/NO]

"Yes!"

Sierra thought that she had to go to some academia in order to get a job quest. The Acolyte job was also one of the basic jobs that she had in mind. Then her smile turned into a furrowed brow. She was a little bit disappointed though when Nenek didn't give her a hidden basic job.

"I thought you would be delighted. Most people have to go to the Church of Centivion in order to get this job."

"But isn't that Church just in the southern district of Centio?"

"Yes it is. But still, I've spared the time needed for you to get there haven't I?"

"I guess, but I was hoping to get a hidden basic job."

"Oh. You want more power then? If it's power you want I do know of a remote village South of here that may hold that power that you are looking for. It's called Repormatl Village."

+ Quest: Immense Power of the Blood Moon
Racial Quest
Level: D

Go to the village indicated by Nenek.

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

"Alright! Will I get a hidden job once I complete this quest?"

"You'll know when you complete it. Give me your map so I can mark the location of the village."

Sierra's map was updated with the location of Repormatl Village. Nenek also gave her a shield to boost her defense.

All her needed preparations were completed. She was good to go. Yet, she felt a little dizzy. She checked her status window for her satiety level. It indicated that it was normal. Then she remembered that she had been playing ZECTAS for over 36 hours. Sierra logged out to get some sleep.

Sierra awoke at the entrance of Centio City. She was ready to go find Smoke and while she still didn't know of his location. She would increase her levels and learn more about the game.

While she was leaving the city, a party of a swordsman, an archer, and a magician noticed her and asked her if she would like to join them.

"Hi, my name is KuroKen, and this is AkaneX, and SakuraZ."

The female archer and magician waved at Sierra.

"My name is Sierra."

AkaneX went closer to Sierra to ask her a couple of things.

"I'm afraid that we don't have a healer in our party and you look you have a healing job right? We're still level 18 ourselves. What's your level?"

"I'm still level 15."

"That's perfect. Come and join us. We're gonna hunt some saber gophers."

"Where is this hunting grounds located? Is it south of here?"

"Yup, it's a few hours walk but we can hitch a ride on one of the caravans going to a village in that direction and shorten the time to about an hour."

"Nice, how much does a ride cost?"

This time it was SakuraZ who answered her.

"That depends on the distance that you're gonna ride in. But for our target hunting ground it's only 20 zecs."

"I'm afraid I don't have any zecs at the moment."

"That's okay we can cover your fare. We're really desperate for a healer since KuroKen here isn't really a great tank."

"Hey! I am a great tank. I'm gonna be a knight someday. I just need to increase my defense but I also want to have some attack since the two of you aren't online always."

Sierra joined their party and together they rode on a caravan headed south for Nalusac Village. The three of them spent most of their time talking about school and their upcoming project deadlines.

From what Sierra understood they were all classmates. It wasn't clear though what their actual relationship to each other was.

At the hunting grounds of the saber gopher. KuroKen took the lead to play the role of the tank. Their party spotted two saber gophers scurrying. AkaneX hit one of the saber gophers with her arrow while SakuraZ shot the other one with a fireball, the attacks aggravated them making the monsters rush towards them.

KuroKen was ready to intercept the the two saber gophers. The saber gophers focused their attacks on KuroKen. The saber gophers dealt 140 damage each.

Sierra immediately casted her Healball which healed KuroKen for only 300 HP. The three friends all looked at Sierra. They couldn't believe that her healing ability was this low. They expected to see at least 700 HP of healing from her.

AkaneX couldn't hold it in and just had to ask Sierra.

"Is that your maximum healing?! You said you were a healer! Don't healers give out at least 700 HP of healing?! Did you just want a free ride or something?"

"Yes that was my maximum healing. I don't know about other healers but that's all that I've got."

While Sierra and AkaneX were arguing KuroKen's lifebar was left with 30% of his total HP. SakuraZ was trying her best to kill the saber gophers quickly but at this rate KuroKen would die first before SakuraZ could kill one saber gopher.

Sierra stopped arguing with AkaneX and took our her mace and shield. She ran towards KuroKen and attacked the two saber gophers.

Sierra's attacks triggered the saber gophers to switch targets. The monsters were now focusing on Sierra. She closed her eyes and  braced for the monster’s attacks. A few seconds passed and she still felt nothing.

She opened her eyes and saw that the saber gophers were attacking her for zero damage. Her Endurance stat plus the shield was beyond the saber gopher's attack.

Envisioning herself as Nenek. Sierra continued attacking the saber gophers with her mace without using her 'Energy Mace' ability. She damaged the saber gopher for 40 points. She checked on the saber gopher's remaining life (1,200/2,400 HP).

The three of them were shocked. How could Sierra receive zero damage when their swordsman KuroKen took 140? KuroKen was the first one to snap out of it and yelled at AkaneX and SakuraZ to join in on the attack.

Since AkaneX and SakuraZ were range fighters their attacks didn't cause the gopher sabers to change targets. Sierra also kept on attacking the monsters to keep them focused on her.

KuroKen would do a slash every now and then but made sure to take a step back in order to avoid being targeted. The four of them continued on and finished the 2 saber gophers in under 10 minutes.

All four of them sat down to take a breather. After such a heated fight and a heated argument, they needed some rest.

AkaneX approached Sierra and asked for her forgiveness. She didn't know that Sierra was that kind of healer. She just assumed that she was a pure healer and not a hybrid type. Sierra understood, she also saw AkaneX sincerity in her apology and decided to forgive her.

The four of them continued hunting some more for the next couple of hours. Until finally the three classmates decided to call it a night.

They asked Sierra if she was also gonna log out soon. She said no. She still had somewhere else to go. They asked if they could register her as a friend and she agreed.

Their saber gopher hunt increased Sierra's level to 20. She smiled at her progress. She met a couple of nice enough friends. She recalls that when she was younger she didn't bother with kids her own age but now she was quarrelling with them, playing with them, and making friends with them.

She felt like her childhood was playing catch up on all the lost time that she should have been playing.

Continuing on, in a southward direction. Sierra arrived at the village of Nalusac. There she sold her share of the loot from the saber gophers. They were gopher teeth and gopher pelt.

In Nalusac Village. She met a couple more of players which asked her to join their party. She agreed but this time she knew what role to play.

Sierra kept on playing ZECTAS. The days turned on to weeks and the weeks turned into months. Her name had become somewhat famous in Chayotl Kingdom.

Players started calling her the 'Impenetrable Wall'. When she reached level 74 her Endurance stat reached 599. She noticed that it now took 3 stat points to increase her Endurance to 600.

She thought that this would mean that from stats below 600 would only require one stat point. However, now it takes 3 stat points from 600 above. She wondered until what value does the 3 stat points requirement hold.

Sierra needed some answers and asked one of her ZECTAS friends for advise. Her friend was already above level 100 and was in one of the famous guilds. Her friend's name was Magikera.

Magikera happily gave her the information she needed about stats. Evidently after 600 points everything has a different computation.

BASIC STATS CONSUMPTION OF POINTS

000-599 = consumes 01 stat pt  to increase STAT by 1
600-699 = consumes 03 stat pts to increase STAT by 1
700-799 = consumes 07 stat pts to increase STAT by 1
800-899 = consumes 13 stat pts to increase STAT by 1
900-999 = consumes 17 stat pts to increase STAT by 1

Sierra quickly took note that if a player maxes out their level at 1000, they would only have 10,000 stat points available to distribute. Which meant that they can only max out two stats to 999 and just distribute the rest of the stats up to maybe 599 so that it only consumes one stat point.

Taking note of this Sierra proceeded to invest her stat points towards Endurance. She continued towards the location of Repormatl Village. It was further than she had anticipated. She did take a very long route to get there.

But she didn't mind. She enjoyed meeting new players and NPCs. Getting some random quests and hunting monsters that were on her way to Repormatl Village.

Sierra was now level 92 she had an HP of 148,100 and a defense of 3345. It took at least the level of a semi-boss monster to cause some damage to her now. She still had the job of an acolyte since she didn't return to any of the main cities to get the job of a priest.

After seven months of playing she finally arrived at Repormatl Village. It was a night with a full moon when she arrived in this small village. She found that the village was small, when compared to the other villages that she had visited.

The village's remoteness was not exaggerated at all. It was covered by mountains and forests. If she didn't know the exact location of this place there was no chance that she could have stumbled upon it.

When one of the villagers saw her, he immediately greeted her and welcomed her in. It was a great coincidence that they were just celebrating their festival 'Blood Moon' feast.

She welcomed their offer. She was used to the hospitality of the NPCs. In most cases a quest would come up at the end of a feast. Requesting the player to vanquish some kind of monster that is harassing their village.

As the villagers and Sierra were eating. A group of three witches stood at the village's entrance. The Witch in the middle was conjuring something that caused the night sky to turn red.

The Witch had actually started to cover the whole village in a dome of blood. The other two witches were casting paralysis spells.

The whole village was encased inside a casting circle. The runes on the casting circle lit up. Which caused everyone inside to fall down.

Somehow Sierra resisted and tried to run towards the Witch. But the power of the casting circle was too much for her. She started to tumble down. She tried to move forward by crawling. She thought that if she could just reach those witches she could cancel out their spell.

Sadly, she didn't make it in time. The Witch in the middle had completed her dome of blood. Once the dome was completed. Everyone inside the village started writhing in pain.

Their bodies started changing. The sound of their bones cracking echoed throughout the whole village. Their bodies were expanding. Muscles started growing out of their bodies.

Sierra's hair started to grow into fur and started to cover all over her now muscular body. Her hands and feet started to transfigure into what looked like paws and claws were sticking out of where her finger nails used to be.

+ Transfigured into the Hidden Race: WereBear

She had transformed into a red WereBear! She still had no control over her body as she was still getting use to the body of a WereBear.

She looked at the villagers lying down and she saw that they were much smaller when compared to her. They looked like black and gray WereWolves.

The dome of red blood was slowly disappearing and a notification window popped up.

+ Quest: Immense Power of the Blood Moon
Racial Quest
Level: C

To release you and the villagers from the curse of the Blood Moon
Hunt and Kill the three Witches of Wysteria

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

Sierra quickly chose yes and ran outside to look for the witches but she found no traces of them at all. Only the casting circle that surrounded Reformat Village remained.

Sierra went back to talk to the villagers. It seems that all of them had gotten the alignment of Chaotic Evil. She told the villagers to just stay within their village.

They now looked like a threat to everyone else and will most likely get killed before given the chance to explain their situation. The villagers agreed and decided to stay within the safety of their village's forests.

It's been a month since Sierra transfigured into a WereBear. She tried going to a village but her fear was confirmed. The sentry guards immediately attacked her. The same with other players as well. After all when a player kills a Chaotic Evil player they get some of their items and zecs on hand.

Although that didn't really matter in her case since none of her equipments could be worn. All of them had been removed and placed into her backpack window which she can no longer open.

Sierra has been trying to track the Witches of Wysteria and she had a gut feeling to continue on downwards. It wasn't all bad turning into a WereBear. For one she still kept the red hair or was it now fur that her mother loved.

She can no longer access all her previous abilities but now she has gained some new abilities and her stats had greatly improved as well.

Her vitality increased by 200 which now gave her a total HP of 238,100. Despite losing her equipments her defense still rose to 4000.

She could now solo most monster packs. Since they barely did any damage and the monster pack's boss was like a piece of wood waiting to be sliced in half with her claws.

Though, there was one monster boss that she couldn't kill. It was a monster called Maneator. She was just a bit smaller than the Maneator so she thought that she could take him.

Sierra was shocked to see that the Maneator managed to harm her for 23,000 points and she could only answer back with 4,000 damage points.

She knew that if they would continue to fight she would die. So she decided to make a smart retreat. She used her ability 'Double Slash' which pushed the Maneator back.

In turn, the Maneator activated its regenerative ability. Seeing this, Sierra immediately made a run for it and escaped the devastating boss.

Sierra continued on her search until her ability 'Animal Instinct' detected a horde of large monsters heading towards her.

It's just been a week since she lost to the Maneator and she wanted to redeem her self confidence by wiping out this unknown horde.

She charged towards the direction of the horde of monsters and then she finally saw him! It was the person that she had been looking for these past 8 months. The reason why she played the wondrous game of ZECTAS.

Smoke was finally here. But what's this? Smoke had just released eight arrows and attacked her. His one handed companion jumped high up into the air and tried to slash her down with his double bladed sword.

Sierra then realized that there was no way Smoke could recognize her, in her current form. So she parried the double bladed sword with her claws, careful not to harm Smoke's companion.

"Smoke! It's me."

Smoke stopped. Adder also stopped his attack. Igniz just threw his fireball and cancelled his attack in mid-air. Smoke was stumped. Sierra understood that he still didn't know who she was.

"It's me Sherry. I'm called Sierra here in ZECTAS."

Sierra was about to continue talking when the horde of varanus indicus came into view. Smoke quickly launched his arrows against the huge lizard monsters and asked Igniz to create a firewall to slow the monsters down.

"Sierra. If you really are who you say you are, then tell me my real name."

"Nash, it's me, your brothers' names are Seth and Donny, and you have a grandma who you call Mima Daphne. We also talked in the supermarket when I asked about your location in ZECTAS, convinced now?"

"Wow! You're really playing ZECTAS. You're actually here and how in the world did you get the race of a WereBear. I didn't know there was that kind of race in the game."

"Let's talk about that later. For now let's deal with these monsters."

"No. Let's run these monsters are too strong. They have 80,000 HP."

"I think I can handle that."

Sierra stood her ground behind the firewall. Three varanus indicus were running ahead of the horde. As the three monsters leapt out of the fire. Sierra used her 'Double Slash' ability which caused one of them to be knocked back behind the firewall. The other two varanus indicus pressed on and attacked Sierra.

- Sierra attacked by varanus indicus. She has taken damage. Health -480

- Sierra attacked by varanus indicus. She has taken damage. Health -480

+ Atk hit. Sierra damaged varanus indicus for 4837.

Smoke couldn't believe what he was seeing. How could these boss like monsters only do 480 damage? Adder joined in the fray and attacked one of the varanus indicus.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Adder damaged varanus indicus for 5338.

- Adder attacked by varanus indicus. He has taken damage. Health -6000

"Adder, step back quickly. Stop attacking the monsters."

Adder retreated at Smoke's command. He was also shocked to have received such a huge amount of damage. Just what kind of defense does Sierra have?

Sierra quickly attacked the varanus indicus that was going after Adder. After hitting the monster, she quickly called for Adder

"No, it's okay. Just make sure to step back once you're done with your attack."

Adder understood what Sierra meant and continued on with his attack. They were still not done with the two varanus indicus when Smoke saw that the rest of the horde was closing in on them.

He quickly ordered for Igniz to create multiple layers of firewall before the first firewall that he created. After Igniz completed his fifth firewall, Smoke released his special arrows into the firewall creating a wall of smoke made with mandragora flowers.

All four of them focused on one of the two varanus indicus that was in their side of the sea of flame.

+ Atk hit. Sierra damaged varanus indicus for 4837.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Adder damaged varanus indicus for 5338.

+ Atk hit. +FIRE DMG. Igniz damaged varanus indicus for 2338.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 352.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 348.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 356.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 342.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 352.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 341.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 355.

+ Attack hit varanus indicus. +POISON DMG. varanus indicus has been poisoned. CRIT HIT. Dmg 350.

It took them about 4 minutes to kill the two varanus indicus monsters. Just barely enough time when they saw that the rest of horde was starting to come out of the fourth firewall.

"Sierra. Let's go. It's time to run."

This time Sierra joined Smoke as they ran in the opposite direction of the varanus indicus horde.

Destination: Coatl City.

Smoke, Sierra, Adder, and Igniz escaped into the forest up ahead, leaving the horde of varanus indicus trapped behind the infused firewalls and mandragora smoke.

A pair of sinister yellow eyes with black slits came into view as Spyteria stood on top of the trees, watching her targets escape. She was afraid to report what had just happened but she had to do it.

Taking out her magical golden plate of communication, Spyteria called her master, ready to face the consequences of her failure.

"High General Lizardo, I've come to give my report."

"Don't tell me, you've failed to capture Smoke once more? Yes, I knew it from the moment I saw your abjected face. So, tell me what miraculous feat did this, Smoke, do this time? Did he perhaps, summon a dragon? Did he conjure an army of undead? What did he do that even my varanus indicus corps couldn't catch him?"

"Well, my lord, it seems that he has been hiding a very strong ally. His friend was a red WereBear. It appeared that she was waiting up ahead of us. There could have been more of them further ahead, so, I thought it wise to save the rest of your elite varanus indicus rather than send them out to Smoke's trap. I'm so sorry for failing you, High General. If you will for my head,. I shall have Colonel Varano deliver it to you."

"Spyteria, there is no need for such a drastic action. I've come to realize that Smoke must be blessed by the god of fortune, Tezcatl. I see no other explanation why we, the supreme race of Lizardites, would lose to such a mortal. For now, I want you to continue observing his movements. I shall consult with the great shaman Talino on how to properly deal with him."

Smoke and the rest of his companions ran without looking back. After about half an hour, Smoke decided to check if they were still being followed. He wished he had some scouting ability like Ichaival's shared vision with his falcon.

He only had his 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' to rely on, this ability did not sense any monsters within its 330 meter range. He called for everyone to stop. They needed to regain some of their strength quickly.

Convinced that they were relatively safe from the horde of varanus indicus. Smoke gave his signal to Adder and Igniz to make camp.

They had already mastered the way of setting up a campfire in under a minute. Sierra couldn't stop her saliva from drooling when she smelled the 'medicinal deer stew' being cooked.

She had been eating nothing but raw food for the past month. The fish from the river was the best tasting raw food available to her. This was the reason why she based her search for the Wysteria Witches following the Murray River’s path.

Smoke prepared a dish especially for Sierra, he hurriedly made a pseudo table out of branches and rocks that were in the forest floor.

"This is amazing! I didn't know you were such a great cook."

"Wow! I can't believe such a compliment coming from you Sierra. You're the best cook that I know. Well, we are in Zectas so I guess the taste does differ a little bit. But I bet when you gain the cooking ability you'll make dishes that surpasses the boundaries of this world's tastes."

Adder and Igniz looked at each other. They've never seen Smoke act like this before. He looked like some lost puppy that just found his master.

Smoke was saying things that didn't make any sense at all. They assumed that Sierra must be a very close friend, for him to be acting out this way.

"Oh, that's right, I was enjoying your dish so much that I completely forgot. I'm still mad at you Smoke. You said that you'd come to visit me at the Diner."

"But, I thought you said not to bother? I distinctly remember that you said you were busy with something else. Oh, you were busy with playing Zectas."

"See, I wanted to surprise you, that's why I didn't tell you that I was playing. If you could only see your surprised face right now, these past eight months were worth it."

"You've been looking for me? For these past eight months?"

"No, that's not what I meant, I just meant that these past few months has been enjoyable even without you. I mean ... I've fallen in love with Zectas just as much as you... have fallen in love with it."

"Oh, I think I get it now. Something has been bugging me for a while as well, now I don't mean to sound rude but why did you choose the race of a WereBear? I saw just how powerful that race was but I don't think that the WereBear race suits you very much. I think maybe a High Elf or just Human would've been great. Any race that shows your true face would have been a better choice in my opinion."

"Stop it, now you're just making fun of me. I happen to like my red fur and this immense defensive power. Being a strong WereBear more than makes up for its... shall we say... lack of finesse?"

"So, you just chose the WereBear race when you started the game? Like when the voice in the bright light said, what is your preferred race? You just went and said WereBear?"

Sierra launched her left paw aiming to punch Smoke, he felt the punch coming but decided to take it since he knew he had it coming. The punch threw him a good distance back. Damaging him for 3,000 points.

"Smoke? Smoke, are you alright? I'm so sorry. I told you to stop making fun of me,. I'm still new to this WereBear form."

Smoke got up and sat down. He just waited for the increased regeneration to refill his lifebar.

"You were right, I did choose the High Elf race. I've been traveling for these past few months in these forests. Searching for... this village called Repormatl. I was told by my NPC guide that I would obtain an immense power from that place. Well, I gotta hand it to Nenek, I truly did receive tremendous power. She just failed to mention that it would transform me into a WereBear."

"Did this, Nenek, person trick you?"

"No, I don't think so. You see, I got a series quest. You know the kind where after you complete one quest it automatically updates and increases the quest's difficulty? What was I thinking? Of course you know what a series quest is."

"Of course, a series quest. Yup, I've gotten one of those as well. Those quests are really time consuming. Mine got to umm... Level C. So what's the current level of your series quest?"

"It's at Level C and this is just its first upgrade of the series."

"Oh... I see, and what does the quest say to do next?"

"It's really vague. It just tells me to go and look for the Witches of Wysteria and wipe them out."

"Witches of Wysteria? I think I read something about them before. They were once convicted Witches in Coatl City and were sentenced to be trapped inside the Maneator's labyrinth. I guess they must have escaped if they were the ones to put that curse on you."

Listening in on their conversation, Adder added in what he knew about the Witches of Wysteria. Since it had been one of the scary stories that the virile guards told around Condortl, saying that there were thousands of scarier monsters out there, not just the virile lizards.

"I know something about those Witches. According to one of the virile lizard guards, who liked to scare little children. He said, these Wysteria Witches go around villages and kidnap children. They were supposed to take those children into a small remote village. There they would sacrifice those children as offerings to their demon lords. The way that damn virile lizard described how they sacrificed the children was too graphic for me to repeat it without throwing up."

Smoke and Sierra were looking at Adder and couldn't imagine just what kind of horrific things those evil Witches must have done.

Sierra then nodded at Smoke as if to point out that he hasn't introduced her to the rest of his entourage. It took Smoke a couple of seconds before he understood what the nod meant.

"Right, Sierra, this is, Adder, my trusted friend and the first member of my private army, and that energetic sprite is called, Igniz, he is my symbiote. Guys, I'd like you to meet Sierra. She is my... closest friend from back home."

They all gave their acknowledgment to each other. Igniz sped his way towards Sierra, and whizzed around her. Creating a dazzling dark purple light show.

"My, Igniz, sure is friendly."

Smoke asked Adder if the virile lizard guard had more information about the Witches. Maybe, their location, or perhaps their home town?

"Sorry, but that was all that guard said."

"Don't worry Sierra, I have a gut feeling that we will find some more information about these Witches in Coatl City."

"Umm, I can't go near any of the main cities, the sentry guards automatically attack me and the other players are even worse. They try to hunt me like I'm some sort of prize animal. Of course not many players can manage to harm me but if I'm up against a guild I doubt that I could do anything against them."

"No problem, I can follow up on this lead for you. I was planning to go there anyway. I just have some unfinished business here, with one of these monsters hiding inside these forests."

"Huh? A monster hunt? Nice! I'll come along. I don't know if you've heard but people around Chayotl Kingdom call me the 'Impenetrable Wall' I can play the role of a tanker."

"It doesn't really feel right, you know, having you play tanker. Isn't it suppose to be the other way around? The man takes the hits while you fire away from a safe distance?"

"That's just sexist. Nenek, my NPC guide has 3,000,000 HP and from my understanding she also plays the role of a tanker. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, all that matters is, if you can take out the damage that the enemies have to give."

"This is also the same for us Condortlians. As long as that person can manage the front lines it doesn't matter whether they are male or female."

"Argh! I didn't mean for it to sound like that. Of course I'm okay with you playing the role of our tanker."

"Smoke, relax, I know that's not what you meant, I was just teasing you."

It had been almost an hour since the group rested. But just to ease Smoke's paranoia, he checked their surroundings again with his 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' and felt no enemy presence.

Smoke charted a longer and safer route towards Nanahuatl Village. He told Sierra that they would now head to his home here in Zectas. He told her that it's a friendly village and that she had nothing to fear there.

As they started on their way, the two long lost friends started exchanging their experiences of the game. Secret discoveries were revealed as well as hidden game information. They knew that they could trust each other completely and that they didn't have any hidden agendas.

After catching up with their experiences in the game, they continued to talk about the situation in their real lives, about Smoke's brothers and grandma, and about Sierra's uncle and the Diner.

Quaint and serene, these were the words that came into Sierra's mind when she first caught a glimpse of Nanahuatl Village. In all the villages she had been to, this was the most peaceful and homey.

"Impressed? I know that its size cannot compete against that of a main city's but this place is the best place in all of Zectas."

Upon entering the village, the residents greeted them as if they were returning heroes. Of course this was mostly because Smoke was with them, but it was also a fact that the residents here don't judge your race or your alignment. Yes, everyone is welcomed in Nanahuatl Village, provided that you won't be starting any kind of trouble.

Smoke immediately brought Sierra to Darius. He wanted him to meet her. He knew that his two favorite persons in Zectas would hit it off.

"Darius, I'd like you to meet, Sierra. She's my closest friend from back home and we just got reunited a couple of hours ago. Sierra, this is, Darius. I guess, technically you can call him my guide, but really, he's more like my closest friend here in Nanahuatl."

"A pleasure to meet you, Sierra. I haven't seen a WereBear in quite some time. I used to know this Shadow Priestess who could turn into a WereBear. Tell me, can you use any of your abilities in your WereBear form?"

"No, I can't. All the abilities that I can use right now come innately from being a WereBear."

"Well, don't you worry. As soon you as you master that form you'll become even more powerful."

"What? Sierra will become even more powerful? She's already got an amazing defense right now. I can't imagine what she'll be like once she completes her series quest."

"Don't worry, you'll also become more powerful. I've told you, I can feel Kumbaba's essence flowing from within you. I'm sure you'll be as strong as him someday, if not stronger."

"Sure, when I'll live up to 900. Anyway, Darius, I'd like to show Sierra my home. So, we'll see you later. Come on, let's go to my house. The residents here have been kind enough to give me one."

"You have your own property? Nice! Real Estate properties in Zectas are insanely expensive. I thought about buying a house myself but I decided not to. Since, I travel most of the time anyway. Do you think your house can fit me though?"

"I didn't buy it thought, the residents just gave it to me. I haven't fully explored the whole place myself but I think you should be able to fit inside."

Smoke, and his three companions entered his home. Barely fitting inside the doorway, Sierra was the last one to come in. With numerous attempts of tight squeezing, twisting, yanking and pulling. She managed to enter Smoke's house.

"Nice! It's way bigger inside. I wonder why that door is so small when you have a ceiling this high."

"I don't know, I didn't design this house. This place used to belong to the previous village chief, Kumbaba, you know the one that I told you about. But he died while he was defending Nanahuatl. Let's go to the living room, I think you'll find that it's more spacious than here."

Smoke led the way with Igniz, while Adder went down to the cellar to sort out their loot. Sierra tried her best to avoid the archway but even with her head crouched her shoulders still managed to knock back a loose support beam.

Displaying his lightning like reflexes, Smoke caught the loose support beam before it hit Sierra's foot. When he was about to place the support beam back into its original spot, he noticed that there was a piece of paper neatly rolled in what looked like a secret compartment.

+ Received Giro's Legacy

To whoever finds this note, I hope that I have accomplished great feats just like my father Kumbaba, and in turn, you who will follow in my foot steps, use this power for good.

Coordinates to Giro's secret study.
When this paper is applied to your map, you will see the exact location of
Giro's secret study.

"Wow, I think I just discovered Giro's secret stash of knowledge."

Sierra still got Kumbaba and Giro confused with each other.

"Who is Giro again? Is he the son or the father?"

"He's Kumbaba's son, evidently he just wanted to be as strong as his father, it's just too sad that he got corrupted by the overflowing power of an essence diamond."

"Well? Where is his secret hideout located?"

"Oh, I still have to merge it with my map. There, it appears to be about a two days walk from here. I think I'll check that place out later. Now, Let's get back to this monster boss that you didn't manage to kill. I have this monster boss as my next target as well."

"Hmm, This monster was just a couple of inches taller than me. So, I got ahead of myself and thought that I could take him on, solo. Yet, man what a beast. That was the first time I received such a high damage. I think even with you, me and Adder we would still have a tough time bringing that monster down."

"Really? That monster sounds really tough. Well, for my monster it's height is way taller than your WereBeast's form and it had such a powerful Strength and that Agility! A monster that huge shouldn't be allowed to move that fast."

After hearing Smoke's brief description of his monster Sierra had to interrupt him.

"No way... It can't be. When you manage an attack that knocks it back, it starts to regenerate its health?"

Smoke and Sierra stared at each other and both called out the monster's name at the same time.

"The Maneator?!"

"You met the Maneator? How in the world did you manage to survive after meeting that beast alone?!"

"Umm, I just used my 'Double Slash' ability and once he was knocked back I ran like hell."

"How much damage did you take after getting hit by the Maneator's attack?"

"I think it was above 20,000 but somehow I managed to inflict 4000 damage points on the Maneator when I countered its attack."

"This is bad... Or should I say good. If you wouldn't have told me about your battle with the Maneator I would have thought for sure that my private army and I could handle the Maneator. Yet, clearly this is not the case. That reminds me, I'll have you meet the rest of the private army later today. For now I'll take you on a tour around the house and then around the village."

"Sounds lovely."

Smoke introduces Sierra to everyone in the village. All the residents were friendly towards her. They didn't mind that her alignment was Chaotic Evil and that she was a WereBear. They simply just accepted her as Smoke's friend.

As Smoke met members of his private army, he told them that they would have an emergency meeting in the next thirty minutes, in front of his house. It will be about their upcoming mission.

"Thank you all, for coming here on time. First, let me introduce Sierra once more. She just told me some vital information about our next target. Apparently the Maneator is much stronger than I remembered. Even with all our combined strength, Sierra's included, I don't think we can still vanquish him at our current level."

Smoke stopped his speech and looked at everyone in his private army. He first spoke with the twin OrkElves.

"Sharur and Jinggu. With your poison resistance training completed, I now need you to gain a much destructive force that can somehow remove a monster's defense completely."

Next he needed to re-evaluate his current preparations and improve them drastically.

"Sharanga, I need you to make your current trap at least ten times stronger. I've once again underestimated our target. I don't want to see a repeat of what happened inside the Murlocks’ Hidden Cave."

He continued to give the rest of his private army the risky task of facing a potential mob of varanus indicus.

"Adder, Vijaya, Thyrsus and Ichaival. I need you to collect some more phasmatodea bones. We need to make better arrows, with longer range and higher damage. I've plotted a map that would give you at least five escape routes, just in case a horde of monsters comes charging at you from out of nowhere. Adder, will be the leader of this expedition. Igniz can't be too far away from me, which means you guys will have to rely on the good old fashioned ember stone."

Now that he was done giving out the new assignments to his private army. Smoke went closer towards Sierra to ask her a favor.

"I know that it took a long time for us to start playing together but I was hoping if I could ask you for a favor?"

"What kind of favor are you talking about?"

"You see, I've asked Sharanga to create a trap strong enough to hold the Maneator and I think that with your help, maybe we can somehow make that imaginary trap into a reality."

"Sure, I don't mind helping out making the trap but I'm not too sure my claws will be dexterous enough to build anything."

"Well, I was hoping that you would be okay with being Sharanga's test subject. I mean you would be a perfect virtual Maneator."

"I see, Now I get it. You're asking me to be some kind of guinea pig? Tell me this first, what will you be doing while this Sharanga person is tying me up? Will you also be watching and helping her tie me up?"

"No, of course not. I'll go investigate Giro's secret library. Hopefully, I can find something there that can increase our chance of defeating the Maneator."

"So, you'd rather be alone reading books than go out and hunt some monsters and level up together? Fine! I'll help out Sharanga whenever I'm online, but I just suddenly remembered that I'm gonna be busy with something. I may not be online as much. In fact, I have to do something right now. I'll just send you a message if I have some free time. See you around, Smoke!"

Just like that Sierra logged out after giving her sarcastic speech about how much she liked being made into Sharanga's test subject.

Smoke was about to explain a few more things to her but he wasn't given the chance. He had never seen her that angry before. He just thought that she would understand that she would be most helpful with the trap creation. After all, currently in her WereBear form, she couldn't acquire any knowledge from holding a book.

However, deep down inside this was not Smoke's true intention. From the moment he met Sierra in Zectas, he felt happy, jealous, and ashamed all at the same time.

He was the one who first started playing Zectas, yet there she was. Appearing out of nowhere all powerful and strong. She currently has a higher level than him, she has a higher life, a higher defense.

Smoke thought that maybe if he can spend some time alone inside Giro's study he can somehow catch up to her. Making them on equal grounds again.

He should have told her his true feelings but he didn't know how to say it. He made a promise to himself to tell Sierra how he really felt.

Smoke was just about to leave the village when he heard thundering hooves from far away. A cloud of dust started rising from the north east direction.

After finally coming into range of his 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' he felt that there were two persons on top of two huge monsters coming his way.

Immediately he released a flare arrow and sent a message to the remaining members of his private army left in the village. Sharanga, Sharur, and Jinggu immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed towards the source of Smoke's arrow. Darius sensed Smoke's distress signal and appeared at the village’s entrance instantly.

All of them got ready as the loud, booming cloud drew nearer. They readied their bows and ballistae. Poised to fire at a moment's notice. While Darius just stood there complacently.

The loud dust cloud stopped just a couple of feet away from the village entrance. The dust settled in revealing two gigantic stag moose easily over eight feet in height with antlers as wide as three feet.

The two riders got off their gigantic steeds and uncovered their masks giving out their faces. They were the last two archers, out of the eight teens who were Darius' students. Sharanga gave out an excited shout at them.

"Look! The trouble makers are back!"

Sharanga, Sharur, and Jinggu went out to greet them. Each of the riders got a hug from all three of them at the same time.

From the look of their clothes they looked like to have the job of a Ranger. The two arrivals bowed their heads at Smoke as he walked closer to them.

The two of them removed their head gears which caused their cat like ears to protrude. These ladies belonged to the half-beast race of Lioumereans. A race composed of Humanoid Lions, Tigers, and Cheetahs.

The female that looked like a mix between a woman and a lioness was the first one to speak.

"Master Smoke, Master Darius, please accept our apologies for our late arrival. My name is Laernea Lowe, just in case you may have forgotten it, Master Smoke."

This time it was the one that looked like a tigress who spoke.

"And I am called Gandiva Macan. We have been looking forward for this day."

"As have I, I was hoping that the two of you would be able to join us for our next mission."

"So that means you'll accept us into your private army as well?"

"Of course! After all I can't leave out Darius' last two students."

"Master Darius, thank you so much for guiding us on this path. Now we can finally be in Master Smoke's private army."

"No, no, it was all you. I merely gave you a nudge to your true potentials. I knew that despite your mischievous behavior you would be a great asset to Smoke."

+ Laernea Lowe has joined your Personal Army.

Laernea Lowe was one of Darius' students. She was one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 75

Job: Pathfinder

Loyalty: 100

Favorite Weapon: Long Bow

Equipped Weapon: Long Bow

Abilities:

Cooking Ability:    Able to cook simple meals.

Herbology:          Knowledge of herbs for healing and other effects.

Path Finding:       Reduces travel time to a destination by 30%.

Beast Tamer(Mount): Specialty to control mount type beasts for riding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+ Gandiva Macan has joined your Personal Army.

Gandiva Macan was one of Darius' students. She was one of the eight teens who stepped forward as they were moved by the heroic actions of Smoke.

Level: 75

Job: Pathfinder

Loyalty: 100

Favorite Weapon: Long Bow

Equipped Weapon: Long Bow

Abilities:

Cooking Ability:    Able to cook simple meals.

Herbology:          Knowledge of herbs for healing and other effects.

Path Finding:       Reduces travel time to a destination by 30%.

Beast Tamer(Mount): Specialty to control mount type beasts for riding.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smoke's guess about the Lioumereans' job was wrong. So he asked about the specifics of their job.

Evidently, this Pathfinder job was a hidden variation of the Ranger job. They focused more on logistics and travel rather than stealthy range attacks. But this did not mean that they couldn't fight well.

After hearing the perks of the Pathfinder job, Smoke immediately asked if their stag moose could carry a cart, that would hold the rest of the private army. This way they could cut down on the travel time between places.

"Yeah, these guys are used to dragging heavy load. We just have to find a cart or a carriage to attach to them though."

Smoke looked to Darius hoping that his well prepared friend would have just what they needed. Darius gave a smile and said that there were some old carriages available.

"They may need some minor patching up but they should be ready within the day."

Finishing up with the trivial repairs on the carriages, Darius gave them to Laernea and Gandiva to harness them to their stag moose. To hasten up the process, Smoke helped out in attaching the harnesses.

"Do these majestic animals have a name?"

"Mine is called Bilis, while Gandiva's stag moose is called Tulin."

"Nice names, from now on I consider you guys to be part of our private army too. By the way, Gandiva, can I ask you to follow this route. I've sent the other members of our private army on a gathering mission. We need to have stronger arrows to increase our damage. So they are out hunting towering phasmatodeas."

"Not a problem at all. I'll definitely catch up to them before they reach the hunting grounds of the towering phasmatodeas."

"Thanks, Gandiva, and as for you Laernea, I was hoping that you would take me to this certain location. Can you take me there within the day?"

"I think Bilis and I can get there in a few hours."

"Great, so let's all meet up here after ten minutes. Darius, thank you for these carriages. You don't know how I've hated traveling long distances. These long distances between places are such a waste of time. If it weren't for acquiring the knowledge within the books, I would've started pulling out my hair."

"Don't mention it. You know that if I can help I'll do it in a heartbeat. If you ever need anything from me, I'll be there."

Smoke felt guilty for not telling Darius about finding Giro's secret hiding place. He decided not to tell him since he wasn't sure what Darius' reaction would be.

"Yup, I know that I can always count on you."

Riding on a stag moose drawn carriage was staggering. Smoke felt like he was riding an express train or maybe even faster with all the blurring after images that he saw as they passed them by.

"This is amazing! How can Bilis turn so quickly like that? It's a good thing this carriage is well built."

"Well, stag moose have very flexible muscles. That's what enables them to do those sharp turns. If I remember correctly, the carriages built in Nanahuatl are extremely sturdy. They were made for all terrains. If we ever need to cross a river that Bilis can't cross, we can always use this carriage as a boat and have Bilis ride together with us."

On what should normally take two days to travel was now shortened to a couple of hours by Laernea's and Bilis' abilities.

Smoke told Laernea to wait by the carriage as he needed to go to this place alone. He double checked if Laernea was following his orders. As soon as he felt that she was staying put. He carried on to the actual destination of Giro's secret lair.

Following the map's direction led him to the entrance of a forest with a gigantic Montezuma Cypress tree directly in front of him. He tried to feel for some sort of entrance or hidden switch but felt no such thing.

He decided to try climbing up the tree. The branches were so wide that Smoke could easily stand on them. He felt something in one of the branches that was directly perpendicular to the tree trunk. It was a switch, which opened the hidden doorway that led to a ladder leading downward into the trunk.

Inside the tree trunk was a hidden cavern. Some form of light stones surrounding the hidden chamber lit up as soon as Smoke entered the room.

The place was very neat considering that there hasn't been anyone there for the past few hundred years. Giro's secret chamber must have been vacuum sealed because there wasn't a single speck of dust anywhere.

Hundreds of books were neatly arranged in bookshelves found in the left side of the room, while a desk and a chair were placed in the right.

On top of the desk were a few pieces of paper and a box containing some basic elemental stones. There was a dew stone, a clay stone, a dim stone, and a bright stone.

Quickly gathering all of the elemental stones into his backpack window. He started perusing the books and then he remembered that he had Laernea wait outside.

He collected the books that were on the list that was found on the table. He now had a plan on how to get stronger. Although it would still maybe take him at least two weeks or maybe three.

Smoke asked Laernea to take him to a different location. He needed to do some monster hunting of his own. The pieces of paper found on top of the desk where lists of books sorted out by levels. He took the list entitled 'basic ability tomes'. He was a strong believer of creating strong foundations before proceeding to the next stage.

The tomes on the 'basics' list were entitled, "Water Manipulation", "Earth Manipulation", "Item Transmutation", "Targeted Teleportation", and "Self Gravity Control". He found that all these 'basic' abilities were not so basic at all.

+Ability Tome: Water Manipulation

The basic form of water manipulation.
Water forms may retain their shape if the user continues to supply his mana into the form.
Strength and Durability of the Water form depends on the user's water affinity,
knowledge of the created object, and the current level of this ability.

Requirements:
Job: Elementalist
Water Affinity: 50%
Level: 75
Intelligence: 150
Mana: 10,000

+Ability Tome: Earth Manipulation

The basic form of earth manipulation.
Earth forms may retain their shape if the user continues to supply his mana into the form.
Strength and Durability of the Earth form depends on the user's earth affinity,
knowledge of the created object, and the current level of this ability.

Requirements:
Job: Elementalist
Earth Affinity: 50%
Level: 75
Intelligence: 150
Mana: 10,000

+Ability Tome: Item Transmutation

The basic form of item manipulation.
After selecting an item as its base, when you add two or more other items
it will be fused into the base item.
Item enhancements will change and will often result in a lower enhancement.
Item results depend on affinity of the items used, user's Luck and this ability's level.

Requirements:
Job: Alchemist
Affinities: Earth/ Fire/ Wind/ Water: 50%
Level: 75
Intelligence: 50
Mana: 10,000

+Ability Tome: Targeted Teleporation

The basic form of teleporation.
Requires the use of teleportation casting circles.
Maximum travel distance depends on the complexity of casting circle, the user's light affinity, and this ability's level.

Requirements:
Job: Time Mage, Magical Templar
Light Affinity: 50%
Knowledge of Teleporation Casting Circles
Level: 150
Intelligence: 300
Mana: 30,000

+Ability Tome: Self Gravity Control

The basic form of gravity control.
Enables the user to increase or decrease the user’s weight.
Maximum and minimum weight manipulation depends on the user's dark affinity and this ability's level.

Requirements:
Job: Gravity Mage, Magical Templar
Dark Affinity: 50
Level: 150
Intelligence: 300
Mana: 30,000

Each one of the ability tomes had an affinity requirement. All of them was beyond Smoke's current level which was still at 74.

Even if he did have the required level, there was still a problem with the Intelligence requirement, despite all the bonuses that he got from his acquired knowledge, equipments, and title, his Intelligence stat was still at 42. He tried checking his affinity's window.

+ Affinities

Fire: 50%
Poison: 10%
Lightning: .01%

At the moment, Fire was his only decent affinity. This is all thanks to his symbiote Igniz. He noticed that even though he only used the spark stone during the battle with the murlocks and lamias he still managed to gain .01% of the Lightning affinity. He then came to the conclusion that affinities can be gained through constant usage of an element.

Informatively, there was a footnote at the end of the 'basics' list indicating that there were certain items that can increase affinities. Most of these items would come from epic item drops from a boss mob.

Luckily, Giro indicated the location of such an item. It belonged to the monster boss called 'Cologus', the leader of the gargantuan flying lemurs. His item drops included, Cologus' Hard leather Armor, Cologus' War Belt, and an epic item drop called Cologus' Hooded Cloak.

The leather armor and war belt each gave +50 Strength and increased Earth affinity to 30%. While the hooded cloak gave +20 Strength, +20 Dexterity, 20% Earth affinity, 20% Wind affinity, and the ability to glide.

Smoke carefully went out of Giro's secret hideout and headed towards the spot where he left Laernea. He briskly told her that they needed to make one more stop but this time it was a bit further about twice the distance that they've traveled now.

"That's not a problem at all, Bilis wasn't running at full speed when we came here."

Laernea wasn't kidding when she said that Bilis had a faster speed. In Smoke's perspective everything was a blur, they must have been traveling at 200kph. Igniz sat still on Smoke's lap, afraid of the dizzying speed. Smoke thought that this must be what it would feel like to ride Japan's Maglev train.

At no time at all, they arrived at the foot of Mount Gliseloc the home of the gargantuan flying lemurs. Smoke told Laernea to head home without him. He also told her to wait for Sierra's return and ask her if she wants to join him.

Now that he only had Igniz for company, he felt his senses heightened. He was here alone on a far off place, about to face the swarms of monsters that he's never faced before.

It took two days for Sierra to go back online again. She thought, Smoke must have a pretty good reason why he asked her to do this favor.

She sent a message to Smoke, telling him that something important came up at the Diner and that it needed for her to be there personally. Smoke immediately made a call to Sierra.

"Hi, I'm really sorry about what happened during our last meeting. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want you around. Of course I want you to be here with me. It's just that I honestly thought that the most efficient and expedient way of dealing with the Maneator was to follow this plan. But seeing as that you didn't agree with it, I've sent Laernea there to get you. So, if you want to join me here in Mount Gliseloc, I'd be happy to have you here. I've sent you the coordinates of my location."

"You’re where now? Let me check my map to see where you are exactly, also who is Laernea again?"

"Oh, she's one of the newest members of our private army. She's a Lioumerean and she has this amazing stag moose that can run really really really fast. You've got to try it."

"Okay, I'll think about giving it a try later. But for now I'll have to decline your offer about joining you in... Wait, what?! I just saw your location in the map and you're too far away. How in the world did you get that far in just two days?"

"Like I said, take a ride on Laernea's carriage and you'll see what I'm talking about... Are you sure you don't want to join me? I hope you won't get busy again. I'm really happy that you're here with me playing Zectas. Although, we are technically apart at the moment. Well, I hope you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I think I do. You better get back to whatever it is you were doing there in Mount Gliseloc. I'll check on Sharanga's progress as well."

Sierra found Sharanga's workshop. Blueprints were scattered everywhere. There were also small scale models of the traps that she had been planning on. Sierra found her to be really hard working and dedicated. The two attributes in a person that she strongly admires.

"Hi, I'm sorry if I interrupted you. I'm here to help out with the trap."

Sharanga immediately gave a bow.

"Hello, Sierra, forgive me if I've caused a problem between you and Smoke. It was my inability to create a trap strong enough to capture the Maneator that made him ask you to help me. I know that you must have been looking forward to spending some time with him. But I..."

"No, it wasn't your fault. I'm sure that there's a good explanation why Smoke asked me to do this. If you're ready, shall we get started then?"

The two of them went outside to test the trap. Sierra thought that it would be best to create a battle simulation to see how well it actually works.

Sierra made a dash towards Sharanga and immediately she threw the trap at her. Sierra was still struggling with making dexterous movements in her WereBear form. She already knew how to stand still and take a hit. That was easy but making sudden movements, was a whole different ball game.

Sharanga managed to capture her inside her trap. Sierra struggled for about five seconds. She suddenly stopped moving and focused all her Strength in one go, destroying the trap completely.

Sierra hadn't felt this much excitement from fighting a single opponent since the Maneator. She realized that this must have been what Smoke meant with the fastest and most efficient way of gaining the abilities to defeat the legendary beast.

She's slowly discovering new ways to control her WereBear form while Sharanga could test her trap in an actual battle.

With Sharanga's trap now broken, Sierra gave some suggestions on how to improve the trap. The pair repeated this same process for the next couple of days.

When Laernea arrived from Mount Gliseloc, Sierra asked her if she could join the other members out hunting the bones of the towering phasmatodeas. She thought that they would have a hard time reaching Smoke's unimaginable quota.

It took eight days for Smoke's private army to return to Nanahuatl Village. But through their perseverance, they arrived from their hunt successfully.

Everyone gave it their all, in order to achieve Smoke's quota of 20,000 phasmatodea bones. After a day's rest all the other members of Smoke's private army watched one of Sierra's and Sharanga's training sessions.

As they were watching the battle simulation they also started crafting the improved arrows from the phasmatodea's bones. They wanted to be prepared for Smoke's return.

Sharanga stood in her safety zone about 200 meters away from Sierra. The red WereBear started to charge her. While the Huntress answered by setting four small traps on her path. Sierra pushed on, unfazed by the four small traps.

However, the four traps stuck to Sierra's body. After two seconds the traps joined together, which brought Sierra to a halt. The joined traps gave her an added weight of 400 kilos.

Grabbing this opportunity Sharanga threw a box which launched a steel net attempting to cover Sierra completely. She proceeded to throw five more traps on the ground.

But the traps never got a chance to capture Sierra. Before they even opened up, Sierra, freed herself from the net. She already prepared one of her claws in advance to catch the net before it enveloped her.

By maneuvering her gigantic body, Sierra managed to get out of the five trap's range just in time as the five of them merged into one and fell to the ground with a loud bang.

The charging WereBear could no longer be stopped and reached Sharanga's safe zone. The Huntress was once again defeated. But this time Sierra was breathing heavier. Even though her health bar was still full her satiety was reduced by 50%. If Sharanga's five trap system caught Sierra, she would have been immobilized.

The crowd clapped as they watched the end of the battle simulation. Sharanga was really close to capturing Sierra but now that she had grown accustomed to her WereBear's movement, she managed to come out victorious.

Adder thought out loud that if only Sharanga managed to hold Sierra for just a few seconds more then she would have been captured for sure.

"Can you repeat that? What was that again? You said something about having a few more seconds?"

"Oh, I just meant that if Sharanga somehow had another way to hold you, just in time for her five trap system to work. Then she would have won."

"Right! I think that's a brilliant idea. Why don't we try adding some of you into the battle simulation. Let me start with one more person added to the simulation. Okay? You guys alright with that?"

Vijaya was the first one to volunteer.

"Sounds interesting. Let me be the first participant."

For their second round of battle simulation Sharanga was joined by her sister Vijaya. Both of the Huntresses stayed in the safe zone. At the start of the battle Vijaya's twin falcons dove down to attack Sierra. The WereBear accurately parried the falcons down to the ground stunning them for a few seconds.

While Sharanga's falcon released the steel net trap from above and at the same time Sharanga threw her four trap system towards Sierra. Sierra answered by using the steel net to knock back two of the traps. But the other two traps managed attach themselves to her body and fused together, giving her an added weight of 200 kilos.

The five trap system that was coming in directly still failed to capture Sierra as she expertly dodge them. She had the five trap system all figured out. Sierra's charge to their safe zone continued on unopposed.

The two sisters were shocked. Sierra's movements became more precise. It was like she knew where everything was going to be. She gave a much more fluid performance than the previous battle simulation.

Sierra continued on by adding one more person into the battle simulation. She kept on winning the battle simulations until she was up against Sharanga, Vijaya, Ichaival, and Thyrsus. It was only then that she suffered her first defeat.

It took her the next two days to defeat the group of Hunters. The next stage of their battle simulation involved adding in the Range Siegers. The twin OrkElves used their Ballistae as shields to block Sierra's path. With all that restricted movement Sierra was easily caught in Sharanga's improved seven trap system.

Refusing to acknowledge defeat Sierra asked them to continue on with the battle simulation. Even after four days of getting the same result, she still refused to give up.

The six of them kept on winning against Sierra. Yet, as each day passed their margin of victory got smaller and smaller.

It's been sixteen days since Smoke started his 'solo' adventure on Mount Gliseloc and Sierra's been missing him days ago.

They were about to start another day of battle simulations when they saw something flying high up in the sky. It flew past Nanahuatl Village but it appeared to be trying to make a U turn back towards them.

The unidentified flying object kept on making spirals around the village. Slowly making its descent. It wasn't until the object's eight spiral that Jinggu spoke out.

"I can't believe it! That's Smoke!"

Sharur used his ability 'Far Sight' and confirmed that what Jinggu said was true. Thyrsus immediately ordered his falcon Thyr to fly towards Smoke. He wanted to see the sight for himself as well.

Smoke was still about 50 meters up in the air when he closed his cape and he started falling down towards Zectas.

All of a sudden the ground that the spectators were standing on started to shake and rumble. Instantaneously a pillar of earth sprang from the ground heading towards Smoke.

The top of the earth pillar started taking on an intricate shape. It looked like a stable helipad to land on. Smoke and the earth pillar were about to collide when he made his cape open up a bit which slowed down his descent making the point of contact between him and the pillar as gentle as possible.

Smoke was now on top of the towering earth pillar with a height of about 50 meters. Slowly the earth pillar started to descending. Igniz came off of Smoke's chest. He attached himself to him when they were gliding home towards Nanahuatl.

Everyone just stared in awe at Smoke's phenomenal arrival. They couldn't believe that he was flying. Just what kind of quest was he on?

Sierra waited near the base of the earth tower and everyone followed her lead. She couldn't wait to ask him what he had been doing these past few days.

"Hi Guys. Sorry it took me so long to get back. I thought I'd be able to return before two weeks but it looks like I'm off by a couple of days."

Everybody gave way for Sierra since they knew just how much she has missed him.

"So, what else have you learned aside from flying?"

"Oh, I wasn't flying. I was just falling with style. I got this epic hooded cape from the monster boss Cologus, it gives me the ability to glide. As for my new abilities. I just learned 'Earth Manipulation' and 'Item Transmutation' and acquired the hidden basic stat, 'Wisdom'. It increases my maximum Mana and Mana regeneration rate and best of all it reduces the required reading time of acquiring knowledge."

"Just that huh? Sounds like your solo adventure was pretty productive after all. Well, let me tell you that everyone here also did their best to accomplish the tasks you've given them. Sharanga, managed to make a trap strong enough that I could never break out of and everyone else managed to gather 20,000 phasmatodea bones."

"Great! I knew that you guys could do it but I thought I only asked for 15,000 bones? Anyway, what was that battle that I saw from up above? Was that some kind of mock battle?"

When Sharur heard that Smoke was watching them from way up high, he just had to ask how he was able to do that, when their 'Far Sight' ability only managed to see him when he got nearer to the village.

"Ah, yes. I forgot to mention that I also learned this melded symbiote ability called 'Telefax Vision'. Igniz shares his Mana flow into me and together we focus our Mana into my eyes. It doesn't really work well on the ground though, I'm not sure but I think that being close to the ground causes a lot of interference in our 'Mana Melding'."

In a blink of an eye, Darius came out of nowhere. He was clapping energetically.

"That was amazing! It reminded me of the time when Kumbaba was still learning his new abilities. He always liked making flashy entrances. Where did you get the ability tomes for 'Earth Manipulation' and 'Item Transmutation'?"

"Oh, I accidentally found them at my house. I knocked over this beam and a secret compartment appeared. There were a few other books as well. I'll show them to you later."

"Really? There was a hidden compartment that stored many useful ability tomes. Well, that's Kumbaba for you. He always liked leaving some mysterious things."

"I guess. Well, if you'll excuse me. Guys, thank you for such a warm welcome but if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Sierra alone. Oh, and I want you to start preparing for our hunt on the Maneator. Let's meet up at my house in about 30 minutes."

The gathered crowd nodded and respected his wishes. They slowly scattered in different directions. He then pulled Sierra to an isolated corner.

"Thank you for not saying anything about Giro's note. I didn't want to tell Darius about that yet. I know that I can trust him. In fact, he's probably my most trusted NPC in the game. That's why I didn't want to tell him about Giro's note. I wasn't sure if he would be okay with me snooping around Giro's secret study and I didn't want to lose the opportunity of gaining such amazing abilities. I thought that if I didn't tell him, I won't be risking Darius' Intimacy."

"Ahh... Now I get it. I knew you always had a good reason for doing things. However, don't make this sneaky behavior turn into a habit but you will still tell him right? By the way I forgot to thank you for making me train with Sharanga and the rest of your private Army."

"Of course, of course, I'll tell Darius about Giro's map eventually... By the way, I saw your battle simulation and you were amazing! I didn't know a bear could be that nimble."

"Correction, I'm a WereBear not a bear. Now, do you think we're finally ready to face the Maneator?"

Smoke turned to look at the backs of his private army. They were slowly moving away from him. He thought to himself that he had never seen such trustworthy backs.

"Definitely! I'm sure we can take on the Maneator and we'll do it without taking any casualties."

"Although, we still shouldn't be cocky. I know that both of us... make that all of us has grown stronger. I just hope that we'll really be able to defeat that beast without any serious injuries."

"I understand, but it's not being cocky when what you're saying is the simple truth."

Smoke, Sierra, and his private army all gathered in front of his house. They had a short update meeting about everyone's improvements. With all their equipments prepared, they rode on the Gandiva's and Laernea's carriages and headed for the Forest of the Maneator.

This was the result of their preparation against the Maneator. Smoke was now level 87, Sierra gained one level and was now 93, Adder leveled up to 86, the Hunters were all now level 82, the Range Siegers were level 84, the Pathfinders were level 81.

The Pathfinders had gained the lowest levels because they were always traveling. Delivering the other members to different locations and transporting their loot and supplies.

Smoke had the highest level increase. He gained 13 levels! His solo mission in Mount Gliseloc opened his eyes to the infinite possibilities of his Beggar job.

From his adventure in Mount Gliseloc, he transmuted a composite powersaw bow. He used Darius' composite bow as the base item and added in the legs from the powersaw crickets and the armband from the water lamia boss Aquaria.

His new bow now had an attack power of 30 which is far greater than the old one which only had 10. This was also one of the main reasons why he was successful against the gargantuan flying lemurs and their boss Cologus.

With his new composite powersaw bow and arrows made out of iron owl feathers and phasmatodea bones, he should have been able to do 2800 as a normal damage and 7000 on his critical attack but since he still had the first level of the Beggar job he can only do 700 on a normal attack and 1750 on a critical attack.

Creating a master battle plan was one of Smoke's prerequisites before engaging an enemy. Using the dimensions from Thyrsus reconnaissance mission. Smoke plotted out the entire forest of the Maneator. Including himself, Sierra, and his private army, he had a total of eleven persons at his disposal.

He divided his force into four groups. The first group consisted of Smoke and Sierra which would enter from the north side of the forest. The second group was composed of Ichaival, Sharanga, and Jinggu. This group would enter from the south. The third group had Adder, Thyrsus, and Gandiva as its members. They would use the entrance on the east. While the last group made up of Vijaya, Laernea, and Sharur would take the path on the west entrance.

The first phase of Smoke's plan was to wipe out the monsters in the outer layer of the forest. Despite the fact that the monsters in the outer layer only have a level of about 50, a potential dying member of his army trying to escape could still die if it encountered one of them.

Safety was Smoke's highest priority. He knew that there definitely will be injuries but aimed for zero casualties.

With their current levels and abilities he estimated that it shouldn't take them more than three hours to clear out the entire outer layer of the forest.

Each group started on their assigned entrances and began their first phase systematically. Smoke together with Sierra were unstoppable. They made a competition out of their clearing phase.

Smoke used his ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' while Sierra used her 'Animal Instinct' ability to detect the monsters. Each one of them killed the monsters instantly.

Sierra only needed to one hit the stone deers, where as Smoke would release two arrows to kill the same monster. However, Smoke had more kills than her because of his range attack.

This made Sierra furious. She started running in front of Smoke, charging at the monsters from all directions blocking his view.

He quickly understood what she was doing. In response, he jumped up and climbed the trees. From there his view became unobstructed.

However, during the time that he was climbing up the tree, Sierra had already moved further ahead wiping out the monsters in her way.

All the monsters that were left were the iron owls perched on top of the branches. Smoke quickly dealt with them and chased after Sierra.

At the entrance of the inner layer of the forest the final score was 151 monsters for Smoke and 104 monsters for Sierra.

"You do realize that my main role is a tank right? You should have gotten twice no thrice my kills."

"I don't recall putting our roles as one of the factors into our game? Yet, you're right I should have gotten at least twice my number of kills if there wasn't a certain WereBear blocking my sight."

The two of them bantered on as Smoke shot a purple flare arrow into the air, indicating that their side of the forest has been cleared out.

About twenty minutes later a green flare arrow lit up the sky, it was on the east side of the forest. Adder and his team had already cleared their side as well. A few minutes later two flare arrows lit up at the same time. Jinggu's team and Sharur's team both finished at the same time.

The divided army all waited for Smoke's signal to begin phase two of his battle plan. Smoke and Sierra stepped into the inner layer of the forest. There they saw the cave of the Maneator.

It had been nine months since Smoke was last here. He waited for the Maneator to come out of his cave shouting a deafening roar just like before. He waited and waited but after five minutes of waiting there was still dead silence.

"How did the start of your fight with the Maneator go again? Didn't he come out of his cave roaring?"

"No, he was out here just standing there. Staring into the sky. I thought that he looked like he was a deep in thought. I tried moving closer to get a better look at him. That's when he noticed me. We just stared at each other for what felt like hours. It didn't feel like he was going to attack me. He just stared at me."

"Are you sure? I can't imagine him being like that at all. Oh, it was a ploy right? He wanted you to get closer and then he attacked you."

"Maybe, all I remember was that once I got to those patch of yellow flowers, he came charging at me. It was like a switch was turned on which made him into a killing machine. Of course I welcomed the challenge but then realized that he was too strong to handle alone."

"Mind games huh? I knew it! That sadistic bastard. He wanted to make you think that he was all calm and passive but the moment you got into his reach he attacked you."

"Why don't you initiate phase two then?"

"Well, I originally envisioned him to jump right out and charge us. That's why the rest of our army are just waiting as well. I guess I'll be the one to yell out this time."

Smoke checked on the locations of his scattered private army. They were already to do their part of the plan. He breathed in deeply and yelled.

"MANEATOR!!! I've come for your Head!!!"

Slowly the humongous head of the Maneator came out of his cave. It sluggishly stepped out and stretched both his arms after making a huge yawn.

Smoke was furious. The Maneator was making fun of him. He has been waiting for this moment for a long time and this beast was just yawning like he wasn't a threat at all.

He readied his arrows infused with Igniz's fire. With boiling rage he released all eight arrows, aimed at vulnerable places.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1748.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1758.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1749.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1752.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1749.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1755.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1748.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 1753.

This made the Maneator's eyes blood red, hot steam was coming out of his body. The beast arched his back and bolted towards Smoke. Immediately Smoke gave his signal to open fire.

With the sudden onslaught of arrows, the beast stopped as it tried to see the locations of his attackers. The Maneator was a stationary target and continued to receive attacks from all four sides.

Smoke's private army used different kinds of elemental enhancements on their specialized arrows. Some used the poison pellets, while others used the spark stone.

Seeing this opportunity Sharanga's falcon released the net trap above the Maneator. The beast looked up to see the trap falling down and at the same time Sharanga drew in closer to set her five trap system.

The Maneator noticed everything. In a fluid series of motions, the legendary monster jumped up, grabbed the net, attacked the falcon, and before landing to the ground trapped Sharanga with her own net.

Sharanga was caught in her own net but not before she released her five trap system. When the Maneator landed the five traps automatically attached themselves to the Maneator burdening him for 500 kilos.

The enraged Maneator slashed the netted Sharanga knocking her back against the tree. Her lifebar displayed that she only had (23,620/68,850 HP) left.

Smoke immediately created layers of earth wall protecting Sharanga from any further harm and made it so that the ground that she was on would carry her outside of the Maneator's reach.

Seeing the injured Sharanga, Ichaival gained some inexplicable attack speed. He continued firing at the Maneator with all his might.

The Maneator was momentarily dazed by the added weight from Sharanga's five trap system. Everyone except Smoke and Sierra continued firing their range attacks at the beast.

Sierra charged towards the Maneator while everyone else kept on attacking. The beast recognized the WereBear and laughed. It appears to have remembered her cowardly escape.

The smug smile from the Maneator was met with two claws as Sierra used her 'Double Slash' ability against him, because of the added weights from the five trap system, the Maneator could no longer be knocked back by her ability. Yet, he received the attacks with a smile. The Maneator taunted everyone as his lifebar still indicated that he still had (212,016/300,000 HP) left.

Not minding the continued rain of arrows, the Maneator slashed Sierra which revealed her lifebar to have (219,200/242,200 HP).

With both his monstrous arms up in the air, the Maneator was ready to pound Sierra down to the ground. However, Sharur and Jinggu finally finished their super charged spiral piercing bolts from their ballistae. Two spiraling fire bolts attacked the beast from his backside.

Immediately he felt his defenses decrease. The arrow attacks now had more damage. The five falcons circling up in the air dove down, each assaulting the Maneator's head with their heads.

Sierra immediately took advantage of the distraction and she continued to use her 'Double Slash' ability. While Adder finally came up from behind and did a series of back attacks.

The Maneator's lifebar now displayed (121,440/300,000 HP). He steadied both his feet on the ground and used his Roar.

"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Everybody in the area except for Sierra got stunned for two seconds. He grabbed the stunned Adder with his left claw and teared into Adder's stomach with his right. Adder's lifebar showed (30,428/93,000 HP).

Sierra gathered all her strength and mana and used her newly learned ability 'WereBear X Slash' which finally pushed the Maneator backwards for about ten meters, freeing Adder from his grasp.

Reflexively the Maneator's Regeneration Ability kicked in. His life began to increase while a wide shadow crossed the ground swiftly.

This made the Maneator look up only to see Smoke brandishing two green dual knives, the 'Tails of the Virile and Fecund Lizards'.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 788.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 776.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 777.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 786.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 788.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 786.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 776.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +FIRE DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits Maneator: König Mitleid. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

Smoke's single attack with the green dual knives was much lower when compared to his composite powersaw bow. However, the reason why he used the knives wasn't for their damage. It was for their special ability 'Paralysis'. He also used Igniz's fire enhancement on Virile knife while he used the poison pellets on the Fecund knife.

As soon as Smoke finished his sixteen hits attack, he released Sharanga's best trap, the eight trap system. Instantaneously the eight traps attached themselves to the Maneator fusing together with the already attached five traps to his body.

The Maneator now had a total shackled weight of 1,300 kilos. His lifebar indicated that he had (101,140/300,000 HP) left. He was also suffering the status ailments of poisoned, burned, shocked, and paralyzed.

Sierra took Adder to safety, while everyone continued on their attacks. Everybody was attacking the Maneator ardently. But most especially Smoke, his strikes with his dual knives were personal. He didn't realize it but his face started to show a devil's countenance.

It wasn't until the Maneator's lifebar displayed (34,923/300,000 HP) that he ordered everyone to stop attacking. Earlier, Smoke was busy building strong earth walls from all four corners of the forest and now that the Maneator's life was almost 10%, he willed the earth walls to move in.

Smoke wanted a private audience with the Maneator. He had the beast pinned to the ground. He wasn't taking any chances. Even if Sharanga's traps made him encumbered. He still created earth shackles binding the Maneator's body, arms, legs and neck to the ground.

The earth walls finally reached their destination, creating a completely sealed chamber. To illuminate the chamber, Smoke ordered Igniz to increase his radiance.

"Welcome to my chamber. Do you know that you were the inspiration for this chamber? I grinded my levels and abilities to get here and let me tell you it's really satisfying."

Smoke poked the Maneator with his knives while he was talking. He remembered the times when he was tortured by this monster. This was his payback!

He stopped attacking as he noticed that the Maneator's Regeneration ability was not able to keep up with his stabbing.

"So, how does it feel to be on the opposite end of the knife? Do you like it? Do you like the pain?"

Somehow, Smoke's horrific torture made him believe that the Maneator was real and not a character inside Zectas. He only wanted the monster to suffer as much as he did. He was about to continue stabbing the beast when out of nowhere he heard the Maneator speak.

"You call this torture? Ha! This is nothing. From the moment I was created. I have been stabbed, whipped, peeled, and beaten."

Upon hearing the Maneator's voice, Smoke regained his senses and remembered that he was in a game. He took a step back and reevaluated everything. Was this Maneator a special NPC?

He noticed that the beast no longer had his blood red eyes and that the pumped body of the Maneator had softened, as if all his muscles collapsed. Then the Maneator continued to talk.

"I took all of their torture but I drew the line when they forced me to kill my own kind. I had to escape that place."

"What are you talking about? Weren't you created to be the guardian of the Coatl City's treasure?

"How do you know that? Everyone should only know me as the executioner in the underground labyrinth. The city officials made sure of this."

"So, what are you really? Are you a guardian or an executioner?"

"The dark creators made me to be a sadistic guardian of the city's treasure, the corrupt city officials made into a killer for amusement, and my kind, well they made me into their King."

"You are the King of the Maneators? That means there are more of you out there?"

"Yes, and since you've shown interest and have bested me. I find that I could only ask this of you. I know that you plan to kill me, but before you do, will you listen to my request? Would you free my people and help them escape out of the labyrinth?"

+ Quest: Liberate the Maneators under Coatl City.
Liberation Quest
Level: B

The Maneator, König Mitleid, asks that you free his people imprisoned
inside the labyrinth beneath Coatl City.

Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

TO BE CONTINUED ...

SIDESTORY: Solo Adventure on Mount Gliseloc.

Smoke and Laernea arrived at the foot of Mount Gliseloc. It was covered with colorful trees. The mountain was so bright and vibrant, it was as if Mount Gliseloc was the end point of a rainbow.

Mount Gliseloc was so wide that no matter how far Smoke tried to look from left or right he was met with the same resplendent view. Miles and miles of rainbow trees from the base up to the middle of the mountain. He could only see until the middle because clouds were already blocking the view to the top.

While riding the carriage on his way to Mount Gliseloc, Smoke was busy enhancing his arrows with the clay stone that he got from Giro's hideout.

He needed to have 50% Earth affinity in order to gain the 'Earth Manipulation' ability. He learned that using the elemental attacks helps increase the affinity but only by a little, still every little bit counts.

Smoke got down from the carriage and bade farewell to Laernea, he told her that once she arrives, she should do whatever Sierra asks. Laernea understood that the two of them must have had a small argument before leaving Nanahuatl village, and agreed to help Smoke out to the best of her abilities.

With Laernea gone, Smoke and Igniz readied themselves to face Mount Gliseloc. Taking out his bow and arrows, the duo entered the polychromatic mountain.

- Entered the Base of Mount Gliseloc

- Monsters at the foot of the mountain vary from passive to extremely aggressive.
- Suggested level for entering this mountain is 70.

Upon further inspection of the trees, the leaves started rustling and took flight when he touched them with his hands. The trees were actually covered with rainbow butterflies.

As he saw the rainbow butterflies floating away from the green tree, he saw a spix camaw, a bird like monster about the size of a falcon.

The flying monster was opening its jaws wide and was quickly gobbling up the flying rainbow butterflies. He couldn't see the camaw at first because its colors blended well with the rainbow butterflies.

He tried aiming for the spix camaw but only five of his eight shots were able to hit their targets. Deciding that he should get a better shot at the spix camaw if he cleared up the butterflies, he asked Igniz to create a spiraling fire orbit.

Instantly, the rainbow butterflies caught in the fire orbit burnt to a crisp. Igniz had created a clearing of about 30 meters in diameter. Smoke now had a perfect view of the spix camaw. The lifebar of the spix camaw revealed that it only had (3,554/6,000 HP) left.

Making a loud shrieking call the spix camaw alerted its kind that there was an intruder in their midst. Smoke had already detected the presence of the incoming four spix camaws.

Igniz reflexively created a smaller orbit of fire to protect Smoke while he easily picked off each spix camaw one by one. Smoke's critical damage against them was only around 428-498. He really wanted to gain one more level in order to use the 'Item Transmutation' ability tome.

Each spix camaw only gave him 8,000 exp. At this rate he needed to kill at least two thousand more spix camaws before leveling up.

There were two main objectives in this solo mission. First was to increase his Intelligence to at least 150. He needed that much in order to use the 'Earth Manipulation' tome and also enables him to acquire the hidden basic stat 'Wisdom'. Second was to increase his fighting potential. The handicap of only using 25% of anything needed to be conquered ASAP.

Wisdom requires 128 Intelligence and an acquired knowledge of 512 books. He was already good with the acquired knowledge and with 9 more levels he will also satisfy the requirement for gaining the hidden basic stat.

In preparation for the 'Earth Manipulation' ability, he had been reading books about architecture, structures, weapons, shields, basically anything that he thought he could use to build better things with the ability.

After six hours of hunting spix camaws, the setting sun from Mount Gliseloc gave a stunning view. Smoke was about to get his 2000th kill when a dark cloud came out from the side of the mountain.

The scattered caves on the side of the mountain simultaneously erupted with the same dark clouds. They looked like giant tentacles coming out of a hole.

The dark clouds were actually colonies of gigantic bats called winged foxbats, these monsters must have numbered in the thousands. They devoured the rainbow butterflies in their path, revealing the lush green trees that were hidden beneath.

Hurriedly, the spix camaws fled into the safety of their spherical nests, the ones who didn't make it were easily swarmed by the winged foxbats.

Protected by the defensive fire orbit that Igniz constantly created, Smoke was leisurely attacking the swarm of winged foxbats. Each foxbat had an HP of 15,000 but their experience was almost twice the amount from the spix camaws at 15,500 exp.

The winged foxbats avoided Smoke's fire orbit and only went after the spix camaw stragglers and the abundant rainbow butterflies. Since there were so many winged foxbats, they weren't bothered by Smoke's attack at all. For the next four hours, the dark cloud of winged foxbats continued on their flight of wiping out the rainbow butterflies in Mount Gliseloc.

With their stomachs filled the colony of winged foxbats went back into their caves. Inadvertently, changing the  appearance of Mount Gliseloc completely. Instead of its rainbow appearance, the mountain was illuminated by the moonlight and looked like a sea of green trees.

Smoke could now clearly see the spherical nests of the spix camaws on the branches of the trees. He also saw that the trunk of the trees looked like they were moving, there were brown caterpillars of the rainbow butterflies.

He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Zectas had its own ecology. Smoke's first ten hours on Mount Gliseloc resulted in one level up with fifty percent left for his next level.

He placed all ten stat points into Intelligence and took out the 'Item Transmutation' ability tome. He was giddy with excitement, now that he completed the only missing requirement for this tome.

+ consumed 'Item Transmutation' tome.

+ Learned Ability: Item Transmutation
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

Place the base item inside the casting circle and the component items in the four directions of the gods.
Effect: Transmutes component items into enhancements of the base item.
MP Consumption: 200 MP

He couldn't wait to try out his first ability from Giro's secret library. Swiftly, Smoke used his new gained ability. He created the transmutation circle that was needed in order to merge his desired objects and used five pieces of rabbit meat for his first experiment.

+ Transmutation Completed:

Result: Compounded rabbit meat.
Effects: None

His five pieces of rabbit meat melded into a slightly larger rabbit meat. There were no added effects but his Item Transmutation ability gained .0001% experience.

Smoke continued on experimenting with his new ability with different types of base and raw materials. He didn't stop until his Mana became zero.

He used stones, branches, feathers from the spix camaw, and anything else that was disposable. He needed this ability to be in the intermediate level before using them on his precious equipments.

Sticking to the same pattern as his first day of arrival. Smoke would hunt the spix camaws for about six hours and then have a merry time shooting at the great mass of winged foxbats for the next four. In between hunting the flying monsters, he would do some random item transmutations just to increase the ability's level. He did this for the next three days.

After four days on Mount Gliseloc, Smoke gained 3 levels and his Earth affinity rose to 7%. He was still far from reaching the desired 50%, but he was still happy that somehow he was getting there.

Once 'Item Transmutation' reached Beginner level 8, Smoke used one of his arrows as the base item and added in a feather of a spix camaw and a wing of a foxbat as components. The result was promising, the arrow gained an additional range of 3 meters and increased its damage by 2.

With the influx of feathers and wings, he continued transmuting all 3,000 pieces of his arrows. The worst case of the transmuted arrows was that they only increased their range by 2 meters and they retain their current damage and the best case was an increased range of 5 meters and increased damage by 4.

It was high noon and as he continued his trek up Mount Gliseloc, Smoke came across the entrance to one of the caves of the winged foxbats. It wasn't time for them to come out of their caves yet, so, he was confident that he could go in and investigate safely.

Squish squish squish.

Smoke asked Igniz to lower down his luminance so that they won't wake up the winged foxbats. After, taking a few steps inside. He felt that the ground was really slippery and squishy. It was very difficult to gain some stable footing and there was that repugnant smell as well.

Then it hit him. He was actually standing on guano, winged foxbat droppings! No wonder he felt so queasy. He was about to take the route towards the exit when Igniz's light reflected a stone that was giving out the same feeling as the clay stone that he was using to sharpen his arrows.

He went closer to the stone to investigate. It was about the size of a football, it was also very heavy for its size. He took out his clay stone to see if there would be any kind of reaction from this mysterious stone.

Straight away, the clay stone started to lightly shake. Smoke wondered just what this mysterious rock was, to make the clay stone move.

Smoke was about to take the heavy rock outside when an unusually large winged foxbat attacked him from the back. This was the boss of the winged foxbats. He was jostled forward, damaging him and causing him to drop the rock.

An eerie vibration came upon his skin. The large winged foxbat had called for his brethren to awaken. Igniz started creating his protective fire orbit, but this time the winged foxbats ignored the fiery sphere.

Each winged foxbat dove down and took a stab at the fire orbit. The monsters continued their endless clawing at Smoke's last line of defense.

Knowing that if he wouldn't take any drastic measure, he would be killed in the next few seconds. Smoke took out eight special arrows. These arrows were his brightest flare arrows.

He spread his targets and stuck all eight of them into the walls of the cave. The winged foxbats were blinded by the sudden bright light.

Smoke took this small window of opportunity. He grabbed Igniz and was about to grab the inexplicably heavy stone when the boss of the winged foxbats dove for the rock and stood on top of it.

He knew that he couldn't take on the colony of winged foxbats. So, he made a mad dash for the exit of the cave. He was lucky that the way out was relatively straight and his blurred vision was enough to lead him outside.

He was thankful that he knew that bats were not actually blind. Unlike owls, these nocturnal creatures just have poor eyesight at night hence the use of echolocation.

The winged foxes did not give chase. They still had the mysterious rock. Smoke wanted that rock even more, now that he knew it was precious to the winged foxbats.

There were four hours left before the winged foxbats would come out to feed and he planned on grabbing the rock while they were outside harvesting the rainbow butterflies.

Smoke thought that he needed a back up plan just in case things would go south inside the cave. He prepared his flare arrows, but he wanted a more solid defense. Igniz's fire orbit couldn't hold the relentless claws of the winged foxbats.

He rummaged through his inventory and found that he still had twenty pieces of armored armadillo carapace left over from the weir that he had built together with Darius.

Twenty pieces were enough to cover one side. Despite that, the winged foxbats would be coming in from every possible direction.

Smoke sat down and grabbed a book that would be finished in two hours. It was entitled 'Elementary Bridge Construction', he made a habit to acquire knowledge whenever he had some free time.

Since he was still confounded in a finding a way to make some sort of defense, he took the time to enjoy the view of Mount Gliseloc. He noticed that the rainbow butterflies' very fast life cycle was the reason why the spix camaw and the winged foxbats were thriving.

Thinking more about the food chain, he concluded that the spix camaw was below the winged foxbats but somehow it managed to survive. He wondered for a few seconds and then realized that it was because of their well built spherical nests.

The spix camaws had a safe haven from the murderous winged foxbats and that was the reason why they survived. He needed something similar to their spherical nests.

In the next hour, Smoke gathered as much branches as he could. With Igniz's help, he broke off some thick ones from the trees. He had become quite dexterous in using only one hand because his other one was still acquiring the knowledge from a book.

He piled up the gathered branches and molded each one into similar height and width. He would grab a branch and have both his knees and feet hold the branch firmly while his free hand would scrape off the excess wood.

He needed 800 pieces of wood for the skeleton of his collapsible spherical shield. As he continued working on the branches he discerned that he could not complete this spherical shield within the next four hours.

Grabbing all of his raw materials he went some distance away from the cave. He did not want to remind the winged foxbats that he had intruded their home just a few hours ago.

After acquiring the knowledge of the book about bridges, Smoke doubled his pace in forming the branches into his desired shape.

It was almost night time and the winged foxbats were about to come out of their caves. Smoke had just finished eating his dinner and was ready to face the winged denizens of the night.

Igniz made his protective fire orbit and consciously increased its thickness and heat. He was threatened from the time inside the cave. The winged foxbats did just make light work of his fire orbit.

Smoke appreciated Igniz's efforts in reinforcing the fire orbit but he was confident that the winged foxbats would ignore them like before and would only go after the rainbow butterflies.

The winged foxbats did not disappoint Smoke's expectations. The winged monsters moved in their usual fashion, completely ignoring Smoke's attacks at them.

For the past few days, Smoke managed an average kill of 300 winged foxbats on each nightly flight of the colony. He managed to increase his kills by having Igniz randomly fire flamethrowers and fireballs at the cloud of winged monsters.

As the swarm of winged foxbats ate, Smoke leisurely killed them with his earth enchanted arrows. He would have gotten a higher damage against them if he used Igniz's fire enhancement but he needed to increase his Earth affinity.

When the winged monsters' feeding time ended, Smoke retrieved his arrows and the loot from the bats. Aside from the bat wings, there were also some bat fangs, bat meat and bat claws.

With the retrieval of items finished, Smoke continued on his pressing task at hand, the spherical shield. He wanted it completed before tomorrow's sundown.

Now that he had all 800 pieces of his skeletal frame for his collapsible spherical shield, he started sowing in the bat wings to cover the gaps in between the wooden frames and the armored armadillo carapace.

The finished product was a spherical shield, that when expanded, had a diameter of six feet and a diameter of two feet in its collapsed form.

Smoke made a transmutation casting circle and placed his newly finished shield inside as the base item. He added in some feathers of the spix camaw, some sturdy rocks, and one mantis blade. He had hoped that the rocks and the mantis blade would increase the shield's defense.

His 'Item Transmutation' ability has reached Intermediate level 3. Which is why he wished that the resulting item would be better than before.

+ Transmutation Completed:

Result: A strengthened collapsible bladed sphere.
Effects:
Weight: Decreased by 10%
Defense: + 200
Durability: + 400
Return Damage: 2%

The component materials worked perfectly. The feathers reduced its weight, the rocks added some defense and his mantis blade increased its durability and even added in a bonus ability of return damage.

Proud of his crafted final product, Smoke paused for a couple of minutes to simply admire his accomplishment. When he was done praising his collapsible shield, he carefully stowed it away in the safety of his backpack window.

He only had about an hour left before dusk. Quickly, he hurriedly enchanted all of his arrows with the clay stone and waited near the entrance of the cave where he found the mysterious rock.

While waiting for the flying foxbats to come out, he wondered if he should try transmuting Darius' composite bow. After all, his shield did turn out to be quite satisfactory.

His curiosity got the better of him and he started creating a transmutation casting circle. He had used his last mantis blade on the shield. Now, he only had the legs of the powersaw crickets, the armband from the lamia boss, Aquaria, the lucky bunny ears which gave +100 luck, and the green dual knives from the fecund lizard boss, Alteria.

The dual knives were out of the question. He was left with the lucky bunny ears and the armband. Thinking that the lucky bunny ears would fetch a high price when he would sell it at auction in one of the main cities. He decided to use the armband which gave 25% increase damaged on water and ice abilities.

+ Transmutation Completed:

Result: A composite powersaw bow
Effects:
Damage: + 30
Durability: + 200
Removed: -20 Dexterity

Smoke was ecstatic! Now he was ready to face that huge winged foxbat.

Like clock work, the winged foxbats swarmed out of their caves and started feeding on the abundant rainbow butterflies.

Smoke entered the cave once more. This time, he was prepared with his trusted collapsible shield at the ready.

Finding the mysterious rock at its original spot was a bit concerning. This would mean that the alpha foxbat was still here waiting for him to grab the rock.

Immediately, he expanded his spherical shield and went inside it. Slowly he moved his way towards the mysterious rock. He wasn't even two feet away, when suddenly, the winged foxbat boss came out of nowhere and kept on clawing the spherical shield.

Igniz came out of the shield and started attacking the boss of the foxbats which revealed its name and life. winged foxbat: Chiropterra (72,149/75,000 HP). The foxbat boss was accompanied by four other foxbats and they clawed on Smoke's spherical shield as well.

The monsters flew a few feet backwards as they got hurt from the return damage of the bladed spherical shield. The boss, Chiropterra let out a shriek and the foxbats resumed their attacks on Smoke's sphere.

With the monsters relentless attacks, the durability of the spherical shield was slowly dwindling. Smoke attacked the monsters from the small gaps that he intentionally added in the shield. The gaps were wide enough for his arrows to to come out and hit the winged foxbats.

After dispatching the four foxbats, Smoke focused his attention on the foxbat boss. The beast was being occupied by Igniz.

"Igniz, two pronged attack!"

The dark ember sprite flew fast, towards the back of Chiropterra. The monster responded by facing Igniz, completely exposing his back to Smoke.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 2582.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1035.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 2582.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 2579.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 2584.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 2581.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. Damage 1038.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 2578.

Because of Smoke's massive damage the winged foxbat boss faced him which exposed his back to Igniz. This time Igniz released a rain of fireballs on the monster.

The monster flew out of his unfavorable situation but his lifebar indicated that it still had (43,509/75,000 HP) left.

Chiropterra was a beast with average Intelligence. It positioned itself behind one of the stalactites hanging on top of the cave.

Smoke tried to move his spherical shield into a spot where he could hit the foxbat boss but the stalagmites were blocking his way.

Forced to collapse his spherical bladed shield, Smoke took out his green dual knives. This would be the first time that he would use these knives in actual combat.

Stealthily, the foxbat flew to one of the stalactites directly behind Smoke's back. The monster was unaware that this intruder had an ability that could detect a monster's presence.

It wanted to attack Smoke in the same manner that it was attacked. He would plunged his claws deep into his back and impale him.

Having said that, Smoke felt all the movements of the foxbat boss. He pretended to be searching in the original spot that the monstrous bat fled to.

Chiropterra dove down at its fastest speed. It was readying its claws to attack Smoke when all of a sudden a wall of fire sprang out of nowhere. The beast passed through the firewall and received the burned status.

It crashed into the floor where Smoke stood and was pressed down even more when Smoke stood on top of its back and continued slashing his green dual knives.

The green dual knives' paralysis ability was a sure kill method when the enemy is mounted in this manner.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. Damage 314.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. Damage 315.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. Damage 311.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +EARTH DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 787.

+ Atk hits winged foxbat: Chiropterra. +PSN DMG. BACK ATTACK. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 779.

Smoke continued on his unendless attacks with the green dual knives. He wouldn't stop until Chiropterra's lifebar became zero.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the winged foxbat: Chiropterra.

+ You've killed the winged foxbat: Chiropterra.

+ You've gained 120,000 exp.

+ You've gained a level.

As the body of the winged foxbat started to fade, it left behind a precious loot.

+ Acquired rare gloves: Claws of Chiropterra.

Smoke, never losing his enthusiasm in checking boss loot items, inspected it post haste.

Claws of Chiropterra (Gloves)

A rare glove that closely resembles the claws of the monstrous winged foxbat Chiropterra.

Equipment Ability:
* Foxbat Grip (Passive)
+ You can grip solid surfaces with ease,
climbing mountains becomes a breeze.
* Earth affinity + 15%

He quickly equipped the gloves. He didn't see any claws coming out and tried scaling the walls of the caves. As he touched the wall, sharp claws came out making it really easy to climb.

In his excitement of testing out the item he reached the top of the ceiling and had both his arms stuck on high.

Curiously, his arms didn't feel tired as he was suspended. This must have been one of the claws abilities as well.

From on high he saw the reason why he was in this cave in the first place. The mysterious rock was just lying there unprotected by the winged foxbats.

He climbed down from the ceiling and went to inspect the rock. It was as heavy as he remembered. Just what was this thing that the foxbats were protecting it.

After placing it inside his backpack window, he left the cave. He had a hard time dealing with just five of these winged foxbats. If the whole colony would decide to attack him, he would be a goner in a matter of seconds.

He found a secluded spot under a tree outside of the cave. He made Igniz create a fire orbit in order to protect them from the feasting winged foxbats.

Upon inspection of the mysterious rock, he noticed that it was covered with solidified guano. He started chipping it away and found a brown heart shaped gem.

Racking his brain for what this was, he remembered that this was a terra stone. The intermediate form of earth enhancement.

He couldn't believe his luck. He surmised that a pack of terramares must have lived here some years ago. Mount Gliseloc was a great place for gaining Earth affinity. This must be why Giro's notes pointed him to this direction.

If he had gone to the other location, Lake Inonder. He surely would have gained a substantial amount of Water affinity. He applauded himself for choosing Mount Gliseloc instead. Water and Fire were opposite affinities and it would have been inefficient to raise both of them at the same time.

Quickly he proceeded to use the terra stone and enhanced his arrows and dual knives. This will surely give him a greater Earth affinity than the clay stone. He couldn't wait to see just how much the difference would be.

He experimented on one of the spix camaws and found that it did give a much higher attack when compared to the clay stone. Yet, Igniz's fire enchantment still gave a higher attack bonus, but since he was here to increase his Earth affinity he stuck with the terra stone.

He continued upwards to the next level of the mountain. After his ten kilometer hike he found that the next level of the mountain was no longer populated with the rainbow butterflies.

- Entered the Slope of Mount Gliseloc

- Monsters found at the middle of the mountain are extremely aggressive.
- Suggested level for entering the slope of this mountain is 80.

This part of Mount Gliseloc was filled with tall grass and taller trees. If the lower level was filled with a bright array of colors, this place was toned with mostly green and hints of brown.

His ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' detected widely spread monsters who were much larger than the winged foxbats below.

He took out his powersaw bow and prepared his Earth enhanced arrows by the terra stone. There were only about five of these very large monsters that were inside his range of detection.

It was almost night time. Smoke hid in the shadows of the the tall trees. Away from the large monsters, with his new found glove he easily scaled the tree in hopes of catching a glimpse of these unknown monsters.

He tried looking for the monsters in the direction where his ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' was pointing to, but all he saw where tall trees.

Abruptly, the column of winged foxbats came from below. Smoke had forgotten about them completely, because he was so focused on finding these unknown monsters.

With the winged foxbats out in the sky, the trees that Smoke was looking at started to move. The monsters leapt out from the trees, revealing to be massive flying lizards.

The massive flying lizards were about the size of adult crocodiles. Their length was about 10 feet with a girth of 3 feet. They spread their wings like scales, and gobbled up the winged foxbats, just as the foxbats gobbled up the rainbow butterflies.

Some of the foxbats would try to attack the flying lizards but their claws just seemed to slide around the lizard's body.

The foxbats were helpless against the flying lizards. On the contrary, there were only about twenty flying lizards, so the number of foxbats that they could devour could not harm the immense population of foxbats.

Smoke targeted one of the grounded flying lizards as it was still busy eating the foxbats. He launched 8 arrows and all of them hit their target perfectly. The flying lizard swirled around trying to find the source of the attack. The flying lizard's lifebar appeared showing that it had (13,852/38,000 HP) left.

While the lizard was still looking around for its attacker he tried looking up only to see the rain of earth arrows falling down on it, killing it instantly.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the flying lizard.

+ You've killed the flying lizard.

+ You've gained 25,000 exp.

These monsters gave decent exp to life ratio. He instantly leapt from to tree to tree and continued to wipe out the feasting flying lizards on the ground.

These monsters could not actually fly. They only used their scale-like wings to glide through the air, making them perfect targets once they are grounded.

As he continued on jumping from tree to tree, Smoke wiped out a total of 40 flying lizards, that were supposed to be feasting on the foxbats in the lower level of the mountain.

Because he still had some arrows left over he let them loose on the swarm of winged foxbats and only stopped when he ran out.

Now, that he was out of arrows, Smoke went down to the lower level of the mountain again to fetch the loot and his arrows.

Reaching the middle part of Mount Gliseloc was rewarding. He had leveled up once. It would have been twice if he had more arrows.

The loot from the flying lizards were lizard wings and lizard tail. Smoke collected them and used them to enhance his spherical shield. The enhancement resulted in a lighter shield with a higher durability.

Smoke took a break after gathering all the arrows and the loot. He also did some transmutation on his spherical shield, which made him famished. He was about to cook up some deer meat when he realized that his stock was running low.

He took out the bat meat and risked the taste of the bbq bat. His first chew of the bat meat gave him the impression that it tasted just like chicken.

With his satiety filled, Smoke resumed his journey towards the top of Mount Gliseloc. He was careful to stay away from the flying lizards. He could easily kill them when their backs was exposed and they were busy eating the foxbats, but it could be a totally different ball game if he would face them head on.

However, the journey up the mountain forced him to face a flying lizard. There were no other paths that he could take that wouldn't let him meet with one of the 8 foot lizards.

Choosing the one that was furthest from the rest of the flying lizards. Smoke positioned himself on top of the opposite tree that the lizard was clinging to.

He released eight arrows and quickly reloaded to fire once more. The first eight arrows hit their mark but the second eight all missed as their target disappeared from the tree.

Smoke's 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' alerted him that that the flying lizard was directly above him. Immediately, he switched to the the green dual knives and leapt towards the lizard while Igniz created fire orbits around the lizard giving it the burned status.

The flying lizards maneuverability in mid air was amazing. Although Igniz managed to inflict the burned status on it, it was still able to dodge the other fire orbits that Igniz created.

- Attacked by flying lizard. You've taken damage. Health -2500.

- Attacked by flying lizard. MISS.

It slashed him twice before receiving its death blows. Smoke's dual knives were a great asset in close quarter combat. His current maximum life was only 38,500 HP. If he would be surrounded by these monsters he would be killed in just 15 attacks.

He also couldn't rely on his spherical shield because that would only buy him a couple of seconds before its durability runs out. Then, he wouldill become a sitting duck, waiting for his imminent death.

Surprise attacks were his only advantage. If he could kill them before alerting others then his climb to the top of this mountain was guaranteed.

On his way to the top of the mountain. Smoke felt another unknown monster. This time it was very long. It was a good thing that he only felt one presence of this huge monster.

He climbed up one of the trees and slowly made his way to the direction of the huge monster. Just a few minutes later the monster came into view.

It was long fat boa constrictor. Its length was about 50 feet with a width of about 8 feet. The flying lizards stuck to their trees.

As the giant constrictor drew closer, the trees with the flying lizards started to shake. The flying lizards were trembling in fear.

Lazily the giant constrictor got in range to one of the flying lizards and in the next instant the flying lizard attached to the tree disappeared without a trace.

The giant constrictor swallowed the 8 foot flying lizard whole. Yet, it didn't seem like this huge snake was full. It went to another flying lizard and repeated the same thing.

Smoke wanted to try attacking it but he wasn't confident that he could kill such a beast. This monster wasn't his main objective in the first place. So, he decided to stay away from the gigantic snake.

Pushing forward with extreme caution, Smoke dealt with the flying lizards one by one and made sure that he was far from the giant snake's path. The next few days followed the same pattern.

On his third day, in the middle level of Mount Gliseloc, he spotted the usual flying lizard and was about to attack it when he saw a puzzling wall.

The mountain suddenly became gray. A wall of rocks and limestones appeared. Its height was well beyond one thousand meters.

A group of shadows passed through the ground. Smoke looked up and saw something flying some distance away. He couldn't see what the objects were clearer since they were too far away.

He remembered one of his newly acquired knowledge from the book entitled 'You and your Symbiote'. It said that a symbiote's energy could be melded into the user.

With the need to enhance his vision at that moment. Smoke followed the instructions in his acquired knowledge window. He had Igniz on top of his head and asked him to channel his mana into his eyes.

He felt some surge of energy circling around his eyes and slowly enhancing his vision as if it were some long distance binoculars.

+ Learned Ability: Telefax Vision
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (10/1,000)

Enhances your eyesight by 144x Magnification
Ability is most effective in high altitudes.
Magnification increases as the level increases.

The clarity of the object was amazing. It was so far away but he saw the image of the gargantuan lemur clearly. It looked muscular and flexible. There were about twenty gargantuan lemurs flying in the sky.

These monsters were the reason why he was in Mount Gliseloc. Smoke was determined to obtain the epic item drop from their boss, 'Cologus'.

As the group of gargantuan flying lemurs drew closer, everything in the forest below stopped moving. Smoke felt the presence of the giant boa constrictor. Instead of the flying lizards shaking this time it was the giant snake that was trembling in fear.

Smoke went to a higher spot to get a better view of what would happen. The gargantuan flying lemurs spread out. One by one they dove down to the earth at an alarming speed.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

The gargantuan flying lemurs crash landed into the ground. As they landed they created an aftershock which stunned the nearby monsters. The gargantuan flying lemurs were about 6 feet tall and had a muscular build. Their skin-like wings folded neatly to their sides, like a cape.

Ten gargantuan flying lemurs surrounded the area of where the gigantic snake was. Like a well oiled machine, all ten of the flying beasts dove down at the titanic snake, stunning it for five seconds. The gigantic snake's lifebar appeared showing it's name: titanoboa (130,000/180,000 HP).

In the next five seconds, all ten gargantuan flying lemurs used their wind slash attacks at the titanoboa, slicing it piece by piece.

Gone in less than five seconds, the titanoboa's meat was distributed evenly to its ten killers. Smoke tried to check what the other gargantuan flying lemurs were doing and he saw that they captured the stunned flying lizards.

Whenever a gargantuan flying lemur had food in its claws, it immediately released a gust of wind which propelled it upwards into they sky.

All twenty gargantuan flying lemurs flew up into the sky. It took them less than five minutes since they landed, before the monsters took to the sky once more.

Smoke knew that he had to climb this towering wall in order to vanquish these monsters. Before starting his climb, he prepared his meal, bbq foxbat. He also sharpened his arrows and knives.

He didn't see just how much life those gargantuan flying lemurs had but he hoped it would be less than 100,000. The chance that those twenty who came down was their entire population was slim to none.

Stretching his entire body, Smoke was getting ready for the challenging climb. Getting the 'Claws of Chiropterra' was a godsend.

- Entered the Crest of Mount Gliseloc

- No monsters are found at the crest of the mountain.
- Suggested level for entering the crest is 90.

Otherwise, this wall would have been unclimbable. Smoke climbed at a steady pace. At his current rate he would finish the climb in the next two hours.

As he got used to the pace of his ascent, Smoke wondered why the level requirement was so high when there were no monsters in this area. He thought that this place must be a preparation area.

Once he would be done climbing the towering wall he would need more than level 90 to face the gargantuan flying lemurs. Other thoughts filled his head as he continued upward.

Perceiving that he would surely die if he were to fall from this height. Smoke practiced his maneuverability on the side of this steep wall.

Equipped with the 'Claws of Chiropterra', he could slide down the wall with ease while his claws were slowing down his momentum.

He tried jumping from one spot to another and found that he could do that too. Acquiring the knowledge from those books became really useful. It forced him to train both his left and right hand.

Now, that he was ambidextrous. He could hold on to the wall with only one claw while his other hand was free to do something else.

Seeing as he could only use one hand, Smoke wished that he had a sword with a higher offense than one of his green dual knives. These knives were only useful when they worked together.

‘Beggars can't be choosers’. Smoke decided to use his green virile knife when the need to fight arises. He climbed on to about five hundred meters.

He spotted a small entrance to a cave. He asked Igniz to inspect the insides of the cave. Smoke found him to be somewhat irritating as he scaled the towering wall. The dark ember sprite was just floating around him with ease and Smoke felt that Igniz was mocking him.

Igniz gave the all clear signal. Smoke tried squeezing into the cave and found that it was actually wider inside.

He thought that this cave would be perfect as his safe-house. Thinking of worst case scenarios proved to be most useful.

Equipped with the pickaxe that he got from Franz Briar, Smoke started widening the entrance of the cave. Igniz also helped out by melting the sides of the entrance, making the earth softer.

The cave's height was almost six feet with a width of about four feet and a depth of fifteen feet. There was barely enough space to move around but this place was very ideal to Smoke.

It took him a whole day to turn the cave into his desired safe-house. After completing his mini project, Smoke started to scale the towering wall of the mountain once more.

Nearing the top of the wall, Smoke honed in on his 'Cunning of the Dire Fox' ability to check if there were any monsters within the immediate area. Sensing that there were no gargantuan flying lemurs nearby, he slowly climbed to the top of the wall.

- Entered the Summit of Mount Gliseloc

- The monsters in this area are the rulers of this mountain.
- Suggested level for entering the summit is 100.

Finally, he was at the top of the mountain. He saw that the summit was filled with a special kind of tree. Each level of the mountain had a different color.

The trees here had orange and red leaves. Their heights were taller than the tallest trees down below. Although, there were only less than a hundred of these trees on top and they were spread out sporadically.

One tree stood out among the rest. It stood right in front of where Smoke was. It was the tallest tree on the top of the mountain.

Smoke had just stood up solidly on the ground when he felt the presence of a monster coming at him fast. He looked up and saw a gargantuan flying lemur diving straight at him.

He knew that if he stood there he would be stunned just like the titanoboa. Jumping to the right and then running with all his might while getting out his powersaw bow.

"Igniz, prepare to deploy the flame trap."

THUD!

The gargantuan flying lemur landed, stunning everything withing two meters of its area. The monster looked to where Smoke jumped to only to see a rain of arrows coming straight at it.

Before the arrows arrived a fire cage was quickly established encasing the gargantuan flying lemur inside. It was shocked to see these series of attacks.

The beast knew only of one attack pattern. It would land, stun the prey, slice it to pieces, fly back up. All of these are done in less than a minute.

Yet, now this gargantuan flying lemur was the one being hunted. All eight arrows hit the beast at critical places. The damage revealed the gargantuan flying lemur's lifebar (66,961/80,000 HP).

It was the first time for this beast to be caught in a trap. It tried flying away but got burned by the fire cage. The gargantuan flying lemur looked to the source of the arrows once more only to see that another set of them were coming straight at it.

After taking another round of arrows, the gargantuan flying lemur braved the fire cage and forced its way out. It flew up into the sky.

The attached arrows and the burned status gave it a hard time flying. It couldn't control its wind element very well and was force to crash down.

On its descent to the ground, the attack of relentless arrows never stopped. There was no quarter given to this beast. It landed to the ground with only (10,921/80,000 HP) left.

Smoke came down upon the dying gargantuan flying lemur with his green dual knives. The paralysis effect from the 'Tails of the Virile and Fecund Lizards' weren't necessary. The beast died with a series of dazzling knife attacks.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the gargantuan flying lemur.

+ You've killed the gargantuan flying lemur.

+ You've gained 80,000 exp.

The loot from the gargantuan flying lemur was ordinary to say the least. It only gave lemur meat. Smoke was collecting his arrows and the meat, when he saw a group of shadows circling above him.

He felt the monsters' presence coming straight for him fast. They were executing their series of dives, stunning their prey in the process.

There were ten flying gargantuans coming down at him. As each one took its turn to dive down and stun their prey, Smoke took this opportunity and started shooting at them while running out of harms way.

THUD!

The first gargantuan flying lemur landed. It had been injured by Smoke's arrows. Smoke calculated the spots to where he should escape.

He continued shooting his arrows at them. There was a three second delay after the gargantuan flying lemurs landed before they could move again. In these three seconds Smoke would unleash his eight arrows at the beasts.

THUD!

The second flying monster landed. Smoke repeated the same procedure making sure that he was well within his desired area.

THUD!

Continuing the same pattern until all ten of the gargantuan flying lemurs landed. Igniz then lit up the whole circle where Smoke was dangerously dancing around in.

Encasing all ten gargantuan flying lemurs in an extra large fire cage, he continued targeting the one nearest to him with his arrows.

He had thought about using his mandragora smoke but decided that it wouldn't be effective. The strong winds at the top of the mountain would simply blow it away.

Igniz's fire was a different issue all together. No matter how strong the wind, Igniz's fire stayed true to its purpose.

Trapped, the gargantuan flying lemurs were enraged. They were breaking out of the large fire cage but the monsters were bumping into each other in their attempt to escape.

Smoke had just gotten his second kill of gargantuan flying lemur. When, a wind slash came out of nowhere and damaged him for 8,000 points.

Looking for his attacker, Smoke saw a terrifying figure flying up above him. This gargantuan flying lemur was about 8 feet tall and had more muscles than the rest of the flying lemurs.

This was Cologus. The king of the mountain landed with such a force that its sound rang throughout the summit. After it landed, it attacked the fire cage with double wind slashes, releasing its trapped brethren.

Cologus looked to the direction of the intruder and found that he was no longer there. It flew up and checked the immediate area and found nothing.

It ordered the remaining nine gargantuan flying lemurs to search at the side of the mountain, while Cologus called for his whole race to search for Smoke.

Taking the damage of 8,000 was more than enough to make Smoke jump to safety. He dove down, to the side of the mountain and was falling down close to the wall.

Smoke only used his special gloves when he came near the entrance of his cave. He had put up a blanket covered with sand and rock from within the cave to hide its entrance.

One would need to inspect the wall closely in order to find Smoke's secret safe-house. The gargantuan flying lemurs search ended in vain.

He knew that the king of this mountain would not be an easy opponent but these gargantuan flying lemurs had too much of a terrain advantage.

Ridiculous plans like flooding the summit or surrounding the entire summit with a transmutation casting circle came to his head but he knew that all those would be useless.

Where could he get the water to flood them? They also had the tall trees to begin with. The huge casting circle would require a tremendous amount of time and mana, well beyond his capacity.

It appeared that 'hit and run' was his only option of attack. The next day after re-enhancing his arrows and weapon. Smoke went out to climb the other side of the summit. He had hoped that there would be other caves similar to this one.

Fortunately for him there were dozens of caves on the other sides of the wall. He started looking for good caves to turn into great hiding spots. Only the first cave had a decent size. The rest of them were only about 4 feet in height or less.

He settled for the ones where he could hide his entire body completely. He toiled on for the next three days transforming the smaller caves into life-saving hiding spots.

Now, that he had eight caves that surrounded the whole mountain. Smoke went to the opposite side of the tallest tree.

Thinking that the tallest tree was Cologus' home, he thought it would be best to stay away from it. He did the same presence check and felt nothing. Using his ability 'Telefax Vision' he scanned the tree tops to look for his prey.

He found a gargantuan flying lemur lazing about its tree. He thought that with his powersaw composite bow, transmuted arrows and his 'Telefax Vision' he could hit the beast from where he was.

The distance was about 500 meters away. He realized that this was the same distance that Sharur and Jinggu used to display their Range Sieger prowess.

All eight arrows were released and traveled for quite some time. Smoke kept his guard up but continued to use his 'Telefax Vision' to see whether he would hit his target or not.

Amazingly, all eight arrows made it to their destination. The gargantuan flying lemur was puzzled and started to look around for its attacker.

These monsters were so used to being on top of the food chain that they didn't react well when they are attacked.

Smoke released another set of arrows and kept watching them. Sadly, this time none of his arrows hit their intended mark. The gargantuan flying lemur had already spotted him and was coming straight at him.

He was happy that the beast didn't think to call for reinforcements and awaited for its stunning landing gladly. The gargantuan flying lemur landed as expected and was slaughtered by Smoke and Igniz.

Smoke kept attacking the gargantuan flying lemurs from a safe distance. After he had killed four of them he had gained a level. Immediately he placed all of it into Intelligence. He was still far off from his desired amount.

Sensing that the gargantuan flying lemurs had caught on to his surprise attack. Smoke immediately retreated before the party of revenging monsters came looking for him.

Resting for at least thirty minutes, Smoke would transfer to another side of the crest after he did his usual check up on his items and equipment.

For the next couple of days, Smoke's hit and run strategy was a success. He had killed a total of fifty gargantuan flying lemurs earning him two more levels. He now had a level of 84.

Feeling that things were running too smoothly, Smoke started making dummies out of the left over components from making his spherical shield.

He started on his usual routine and climbed to the top of the wall when he immediately felt the presence of five gargantuan flying lemurs.

They had set up some sort of sentry system. Smoke proceeded to another side and found the same thing. He thought that if they were ready for him he might as well attack the big boss.

Settling in his first and biggest safe-house, Smoke started preparations for his fight against Cologus. He knew that he would eventually fight the monster, he just wished that he had gained the 'Earth Manipulation' ability before their fight.

His Earth affinity was already at 45%, just 5% more and three levels more and he would have been able to use his desired ability tome.

He readied himself for the climb. He took note that most monster boss mobs have three times or five times the HP of their normal minions.

Thinking of the worst case scenario, this would make Cologus' life well beyond 400,000 HP. He was praying that it would be far lesser than this.

Smoke brought one of his dummies and brought it to right side of Cologus' tree. It was about a hundred meters away from where Smoke first met the gargantuan boss.

He asked Igniz to hold the dummy and to wait for his signal before lifting the dummy up. Smoke returned to his original spot.

After giving the signal to Igniz. The dark ember sprite threw the dummy up. Immediately, the five gargantuan flying lemurs attacked the dummy.

The dummy exploded, damaging the five sentries for 20,000 points each. Smoke came out from behind them and unleashed his torrent of arrows.

Since their backs were exposed, Smoke got the bonus damage from the back attack. As they turned to face him. Igniz came out from where he threw the dummy and encased them in his fire cage. Once he completed that he released a firewall inside the cage and attacked them with a series of fireballs.

This was the winning pattern that Smoke came up with these past few days. He continued his onslaught of arrows and killed all five sentries.

Just as he finished off the guards. Cologus came diving down straight at him. Smoke managed to escape the monsters stunning landing.

Reflexively, Smoke hit Cologus with all eight arrows. Finally revealing the boss' life (226,400/240,000 HP). Smoke was overjoyed to see that it only had 240,000 max HP.

Following the same pattern, Igniz created his fire cage and firewall over Cologus. The monster did take some damage but it dispensed Igniz's fire cage with four wind slashes.

Knowing that every second counted, Smoke continued on attacking Cologus with his arrows while it was still trapped inside the cage. Even if it was only for two seconds, Smoke still managed to do some damage during that time.

Cologus was now free. It torpedoed itself towards Smoke. In response, Smoke switched to his green dual knives and got readied to be tackled.

Inches from Cologus' claws, Smoke managed to dodge to the left and attack Cologus with the paralysis from his green knife. The monster felt the numbness spreading to its left arm.

Igniz continued on shooting fireballs from the back causing as much distraction as possible. Despite this, Cologus didn't loose its focus on Smoke.

Cologus released a series of wind slashes, making Smoke jump to its side and eventually reaching his back. He mounted the monster boss and started slashing with all his might.

He only managed to do sixteen slashes in, when Cologus took to the skies. Smoke jumped off immediately. He was afraid to fall from such a height.

The monster was now burned, poisoned, and slightly paralyzed but its lifebar indicated that it still had (201,400/240,000 HP) remaining.

Smoke tried shooting at him from the ground while Cologus continued his wind slashes. Their ranged attacks ended with both of them missing their targets.

They both knew that they needed to kill each other face to face. Cologus hid its wings to the side and headed straight towards Smoke.

Smoke smiled as he saw the same attack. He readied himself for Cologus to land. Cologus was now just a few feet from the ground. Smoke jumped further back and released his arrows and hit nothing but air.

Cologus stopped his dive in midair and was now directly above him. He was too focus on the chance to attack Cologus that he forgot to check its actual location.

Smoke was about to get stunned when Igniz rushed himself towards Cologus, somehow, managing to knock the monster boss a few inches away.

Cologus' stunning dive was disrupted and Smoke didn't miss this chance to attack the unbalanced Cologus. Another series of arrows hit the monster's body.

The monster pretended that it wasn't hurt by Smoke's attack and pushed on towards him. Smoke switched back to his green dual knives. But this time Cologus managed to grab a hold of him and started to attack him with its claws.

- Attacked by gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. You've taken damage. Health -2500.

- Attacked by gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. You've taken damage. Health -2500.

- Attacked by gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. You've taken damage. Health -2500.

- Attacked by gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. You've taken damage. Health -2500.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

+ Atk hits gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus. +PSN DMG. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 519.

Miraculously, Smoke managed to escape the Cologus' death grip. Smoke's series of hits from his Virile knife added some more paralysis effect on the beast.

Smoke's lifebar was now only (22,550/38,550 HP). He made a mad dash towards the edge of the cliff while Igniz continued on attacking Cologus.

Diving for dear life, Smoke leapt off the cliff without hesitation. Cologus saw the flightless intruder jump and gave chase.

Igniz continued to attack Cologus, in hopes of trying to slow the monster down. Finally, a fireball to the back of Cologus' head did it.

Cologus stopped and went after Igniz. The monster released a series of wind slashes at the dark ember sprite. Igniz backed away and easily dodged the incoming attacks.

Cologus shook its head. The dark ember sprite was too small of a target. It decided to continue hunting for Smoke. It spread its wings and dove after him.

Smoke was still sliding down from the wall as he was still a few feet away from his safe-house. Cologus saw this and attacked him. Smoke's acrobatic practice on the wall was tested. He managed to dodge most of the wind slashes.

As he stood at the entrance of his safe-house, Cologus released a wind slash forcing Smoke into his cave. He received a back attack penalty from that wind slash.

The gargantuan boss sniggered. It dove in after Smoke and found a clumped up body down on the farthest wall of the cave.

Cologus used its stunning landing attack and hit the clumped up mass. BOOM! The dummy exploded, damaging Cologus for 40,000 points. The blast was so big that the cave started to shake and looked like it was about to cave in.

Smoke was actually hiding on the ceiling near the entrance. After the dummy detonated, Smoke went down and expanded his spherical bladed shield. It was just big enough to cover the whole cave and somehow managed to stabilize the cave's interior.

Igniz then created his fire cage and firewall on Cologus. With his spherical shield in place, Smoke started his deluge of arrows on Cologus while Igniz started his series of fireballs.

Cologus continued to take damage from the storm of arrows and fireballs. It tried attacking the spherical shield but flinched once it received the return damage.

Seeing as there was no other way, the gargantuan boss continued on slashing the spherical shield with its claws. There wasn't enough room for it to use its wings to create the wind slash attack.

It was a race to see which would break first. Smoke's spherical shield or Cologus' life. Because of the poisoned, burned, and paralyzed statuses. The gargantuan boss was at the loosing end in this tug of war.

The lifebar of Cologus continued to go down as Smoke and Igniz relentlessly attacked it. Their boss battle inside the cave lasted only ten minutes.

Cologus' lifebar was depleted before it could break Smoke's spherical shield.

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus.

+ You've killed the gargantuan flying lemur: Cologus.

+ You've gained 300,000 exp.

+ You've gained a level.

As the body of the gargantuan flying lemur Cologus started to fade, it left behind a precious loot.

+ Acquired epic hooded cloak: Wings of Cologus.

Smoke finally got the item that he had been looking for: the hooded cloak of Cologus.

Wings of Cologus (Hooded Cloak)

An epic hooded cloak that closely resembles Cologus' wings.

Equipment Ability:
* Lemur Flight (Active)
+ You can glide through the air in a controlled falling state.
+ If you've mastered Wind Manipulation you can fly instead of glide.
* Earth affinity + 20%
* Wind affinity  + 20%
* Strength  + 20
* Dexterity + 20

Now he only needed the next two levels to increase his Intelligence in order to use the 'Earth Manipulation' ability tome.

Smoke quickly equipped the hooded cloak, stood at the entrance of his cave and dove out. He was gliding! This epic item truly was the best.

It gave him an unrestricted view of the lower levels of the Mount Gliseloc. He started to circle around the mountain as he slowly descended.

Igniz was having a hard time floating around him, Smoke took notice of this and grabbed the dark ember sprite, placing him near his chest.

The spot was very comfortable for Igniz, and he let out a flame thrower attack in order to express his delight. Smoke felt like he was a dragon flying high in the sky.

He had Igniz stop his flame attack and asked him to meld their mana instead. He wanted to increase his new scouting ability.

His ability 'Telefax Vision' became clearer than ever. He could see that there were actually at least twenty titanoboas down below. The gigantic constrictors were just widely spread. He tried looking for the flying lizards hiding in the trees and he could see those monsters as well.

Smoke was truly enjoying his flight. Then it dawned on him. He didn't know how to land. Smoke tried picturing out how to land.

He tried closing his cape. That move only made him dive down faster. He tried to suddenly open his cape and he felt his whole body jerk up by the sudden wind resistance.

Smoke still had 200 meters before he hits the ground. As he continued on his self taught lesson, he tried closing his cape just by a little and tried opening it again. This time, the force from the wind resistance was milder.

With only 50 meters before touching the ground, Smoke decided to try crashing into one of the trees. The monsters below saw his shadow and all of them started to quiver with fear.

Finding his ideal tree, Smoke closed off his cape and just as he was a few feet away from the tree, he opened up his cape and crashed into the tree.

THUD!

The monsters awaited for the series of thuds to come but there was only one. Instead of stunning the monsters around his area, Smoke's landing stunned him.

It took five seconds before he came to his senses. He took a damage of 2,421. On reflex, Smoke checked if there were any monsters that were coming after him.

None of them went to where Smoke was. In view of the fact that the monsters in this area have been traumatized by the the sound of gargantuan flying lemurs stunning landing.

Smoke had just finished his battle with Cologus his life was still at (8,129/38,550 HP). His eagerness to use the hooded cape took the better of him, but in the end he enjoyed every second of it.

He still had two more level ups to go. So, he had Igniz light up the campfire and started cooking the foxbat meat. He also activated his necklace 'Heart of ReenTe' to gain some rapid health.

After he fully recovered. He started climbing up the towering wall once more. Only this time, he was much faster. He was no longer afraid of falling down, making his ascend at half the time.

Once he was above, he checked on his satiety bar. It was still at normal level. He decided that he could still take on at least ten more gargantuan flying lemurs before needing a rest.

The monsters on the summit recognized the scent of their boss from Smoke's hooded cape. Most of them flew away in fear.

Smoke climbed to the top of Cologus' tree. From there he sniped down all the gargantuan flying monsters within his range. He was now the new king of Mount Gliseloc.

Claiming his throne, Smoke let out his loudest battle cry.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

It took him another day in order to reach level 87. After he did, he finally got the needed Intelligence to use his desired ability tome.

+ consumed 'Earth Manipulation' tome.

+ Learned Ability: Earth Manipulation
Active
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (0/1,000)

* Strength and duration of the constructed object depends on:
the user's knowledge of the object
the user's Earth affinity
the level of this ability
* Range increases as level increases

Effect: Manipulate earth substances within 10 meters
MP Consumption: 200 MP

He spent the next few days increasing his newly acquired abilities.

Smoke, had created a platform around the crest of Mount Gliseloc. He would climb Cologus' tree and start manipulating the mountain as he flew down.

As he climbed up, he would create foot holds to give him better leverage in climbing. He also found that when he tried putting more details into his created earth objects, the experience bar of the ability got a bigger increase.

He started creating huts, and other houses. He was creating a replica of Nanahuatl Village from memory. It took him a couple of days but he finally did it. His last piece was the fountain in front of his house.

Once his 'Earth Manipulation' reached Intermediate Level 5 and his 'Telefax' reached Intermediate Level 2, he decided that it would be time to leave for Nanahuatl.

He got on a platform and had it rise up to the top of his constructed earth tower. He would start his flight home here. He estimated that it would take him two days if he maintains a speed of 140 kph.

In his last few days of gliding practice he managed a top speed of 130 kph. Yet he felt that he could go much faster than that.

From his constructed tower, he could see Mount Gliseloc's whole beauty. He was very grateful to this mountain. It increased his level by 13 and gave him great abilities and equipments.

Smoke waved goodbye to the mountain and flew off towards Nanahuatl.

STATUS WINDOW

Character Name: Smoke

Race: Dark Elf

Alignment: Neutral

Level:87

Money: 70,000,000

Fame:587

Job: Beggar

Title:
Condortl Savior (+2)

Pet: None

Life: 39,850 HP

Mana: 54,807 MP

DEX: 595(+15)

STR: 125(+7)

AGI: 10 (+422)

VIT: 10 (+44)

INT: 130(+22)

Wisdom: 10 (+2)

Leadership: 10 (+2)

Charisma: 1 (+2)

Luck: 999

Atk Speed:54(+12)

Move Speed:54(+1)

Defense:10(+53)

Composite Powersaw Bow

Wpn Dmg:35-48(1/4)

Attack: 535-548

Tails of Virile & Fecund Lizards

Wpn Dmg:45-57(1/4)

Attack: 135-148

Magic Resistance:

Fire:       60%
Dark:     50%
Poison: 40%
Wind:    15%
Water:   10%
Earth:    10%

Elemental Affinity:

Fire:            60%
Earth:         50%
Poison:      12%
Wind:         5%

Lightning: 0.01%

Equipment Effects

*Hooded Cape of Cologus
+20% (1/4)Earth Affinity, +20%(1/4) Wind Affinity,
+20(1/4) Strength, +20(1/4) Dexterity
*Claws of Chiropterra
+15%(1/4)Earth Affinity
*Heart of ReenTe
+30(1/4) Vitality
*ModBlackDexSuit
+210(1/4) Defense, +35(1/4) Vitality, +32(1/4) Dexterity, +5(1/4)Movespeed
*Beggar Belt [1 stone]

Skills Effects

* Agility of the Horned Rabbit (Agility + 420)
* Cooking (Vitality + 33)
* Dual Wield (Attack Speed + 36)
* Knife Mastery (Knife Damage + 36%)
* Bow Master (Bow Damage + 54%)

Character Name: Sierra

Race: WereBear

Alignment: ChaoticEvil

Level:93

Money: 700,000

Fame: 217

Job:Acolyte

Title: None

Pet: None

Life: 242,000 HP

Mana: 53,025 MP

DEX:10

STR:30 (+200)

AGI: 10

VIT: 50 (+200)

INT:30

Endurance: 610

Leadership: 1

Charisma: 1

Luck: 1

Atk Speed: 26

Move Speed: 21

Defense:3,063(+1,000)

WereBear Claws

Wpn Dmg:120-125

Attack: 3535-3848

Magic Resistance:

Fire:           20%
Wind:        20%
Water:       20%
Earth:        20%
Poison:     20%
Lightning: 20%

Elemental Affinity:

Equipment Effects

* None

Skills Effects

* WereBear Resistance (20% on Fire,Earth,Wind,Water,Lightning)
* WereBear Constitution (+200 Vitality, +200 Strength and Defense +1,000)

Table of Contents

- Chapter 01 - A world made for me.

- Chapter 02 - The birth of a legend.

- Chapter 03 - Agriculture is a dangerous field.

- Chapter 04 - The history of Jackal & Hide.

- Chapter 05 - River Monsters.

- Chapter 06 - The Realization.

- Chapter 07 - Power and Humility.

- Chapter 08 - Secrets of Nanahuatl Village.

- Chapter 09 - It started at the Diner.

- Chapter 10 - Destination: Coatl City.

- Side Story - Solo Adventure on Mount Gliseloc.

- Character Status Window.