Elegy For An Epilogue

Cecillia sat on a large stone, light amusement on her face as she watched Blackie bite into the fallen aohr. The wolf was far more excited now than during the fight as it hungrily tore through the creature’s flesh. Oddly enough, it hadn’t gone anywhere near the troll’s corpse, but thinking it over, Cecillia wouldn’t either. She did wonder though what was so special about the land turtle meat that the wolf had even sectioned off pieces like a butcher would.

Shaking her head, Cecillia opened her bag and took out one of the pieces of bread. She unwrapped the carefully tied bundle and took a small nibble from the bun. The taste was alright, but the texture was gritty. Compared to last night’s meal, they wouldn’t even be in the same room, but she was more than happy.

Cecillia let out a satisfied sigh and laid back on the rock. The sky was blue with little clouds, and the sun had agreed with her that it was indeed a cheerful day. She took another quick bite from the bun before deciding to open up the backlog of notifications..

[Defeated (Troll - Level 29)]

[For participating in killing an enemy twenty or more levels above your own, you receive bonus experience.]

[For killing an enemy with the assistance of one or more other beings, you receive reduced experience.]

[Congratulations! You’ve leveled up two times! Displaying levels gained…]

[You are now level 10!]

[You are now level 11!]

[Updated Available Stat Points: 60]

Unfortunately, she had only gained two levels this time, but the troll was already on the verge of death. It would be surprising if she had gained any more after all that hard work the aohr had put in.

“Still… isn’t that a scam. I was only level five,” Cecillia grumbled.

Whether the system was being unfair with its judgment or not, what was there that she could do? She had essentially gained six entire levels for free, or rather with minimum effort and the opportunity likely wouldn’t come again. Perhaps she was wrong though, the being that had given her information about the forest had said the creatures were limited to level 25 and below. Cecillia assumed that it had to do with the strange event that Laen had talked about.

“I’ll have to ask them about it.”

Taking another bite from the bun, she raised her body with the support of her elbows. There were still more notifications, but they weren’t meant for her. Blackie noticed her gaze and rolled over on the ground before returning to its meal. Sadly for the wolf, she would not allow it to finish the entire thing.

“Let’s see…”

[Your contracted companion has assisted you in defeating one or more foes. Displaying level ups…]

[‘Blackie’ is now level 9!]

[‘Blackie’ is now level 10!]

[Skill: Stealth is now level 9!]

[Skill: Night Slash is now level 6!]

[Skill: Night Slash is now level 7!]

[Displaying updated status…]

[Contract Information]

[Species: Twin-Tailed Wolf]

Name: Blackie

Bond: Cecillia Black

Level: 10

Health: 1200/1200

Stamina: 727/950

Mana: 240/500

Skills:

(Passive) Minor Regeneration Lvl. 3

Night Slash Lvl. 7

Stealth Lvl. 9

“I’m higher level than her now,” Cecillia noted.

A lot has changed since the first time she had seen the wolf’s status page. Every resource pool Blackie had was raised by a significant amount to the point where it eclipsed her own. Especially the level of its skills, and truth be told, Cecillia was feeling a pang of jealousy at this point. She closed the wolf’s page and stuffed her cheeks with the rest of the bun as she opened up her own status page.

Name: Cecillia Black

Age: 19

Class I: Cryomancer

Class II: [Locked]

Jobs: Cook, Tamer

Level: 11

Afflictions: Mana Corruption, Divine Seal (XX)

Health: 209/230

Mana: -/-

Stamina: 55/100

Available Stat-Points: 60

Strength: 30

Constitution: 23

Endurance: 10

Agility: 37

Wisdom: 18

Intelligence: 22

Soul: 0

Basic Skills:

— Identification Lvl. 0

Class Skills:

— Cryomancy Lvl. 0

— Ice Manipulation Lvl. 0

With sixty available stat points to do whatsoever she pleased, Cecillia was quite content. That is until she saw the numerous zeros displayed next to the few skills she had. A bitter feeling flowed through her, to the point where she almost didn’t catch the line below ‘Cryomancy.’

“Why didn’t I get a notification?” she questioned aloud.

Then again, if she did get a notification that blared into her mind about how she unlocked a skill that wasn’t even usable. Would she have preferred it to be that way?

Cecillia released a sigh and dumped half of her available points into Endurance. The effect was immediately clear. Her body was filled with a copious amount of refreshing energy. It was as if she had just injected herself with pure adrenaline, but nope, it was completely natural.

At forty points, Endurance was now her highest stat, and the total maximum of her stamina was raised to four hundred.

Stamina: 220/400

Other than that, Cecillia figured it would be for the best if she saved the rest of her points. Although she soon paused before closing out of the status page. There was just one thing left that she had to do…

[Are you sure you want to allocate seven points into Constitution and three points into Agility?]

“Yes,” Cecillia confirmed.

[Your updated attributes will be displayed…]

Constitution: 30

Agility: 40

With that, her maximum health had been raised to three hundred, and her agility now matched her endurance. She felt a little quicker, but the increase in health was more substantial. Satisfied with the results, she finally closed out of the page.

Cecillia shook the crumbs off her hand and hopped to her feet. Peacefulness had returned to the Elendar Forest, with the only remaining sounds being Blackie’s ravenous ingestion of the Lesser Aohr. Her gaze trailed onto the wolf, and she narrowed her eyes, not understanding where the food even disappeared to.

“Oh what the hell.”

In the next moment, she joined the wolf with her dagger. Her goal was the manacore within the creature’s body as she soon had to worry about finances. Something as large as this would have to have a core of equal size to support its body right? And with that thought in mind, the arduous task of digging through flesh began.

As the job continued along its way, Blackie had joined her in the process and she began thinking that maybe it had been the wolf’s goal the entire time. By now she was drenched in the creature’s blood, but her clothes were already filthy from earlier so it wasn’t too big of a deal. As for the smell, it really wasn’t all that bad. Compared to the monsters she had fought back on earth, this was on the tamer side.

Another five minutes passed and the pair finally reached the Aohr’s heart. When she placed a hand on the organ, the feeling returned was warm. But there was an ever-so faint thumping from within, which was probably the item they were looking for.

Slicing into the heart, Cecillia halted her blade as she felt contact with something solid. She pressed against it again to confirm that it wasn’t some kind of mutation and started to carve out the organ. The squelching noises echoed as she reached her arm in and extracted the monster’s core.

[B Grade Core (Level - 31)]

[Origin - Lesser Rhoa]

Like the Saber Fanged Mountain Wolves, the core was spherical in shape, but much larger. It was about the size of her closed fist and its beauty made the previous cores seem dull in comparison. Within the translucent object, a light swirled and pulsated. Cecillia remembered it to be the essence of pure mana itself and a shiver ran down her spine. What had happened last time was still fresh in her mind, and with the devastating power just underneath her fingertips, she was slightly hesitant.

Gently setting the sphere on the ground, Cecillia placed her backpack in front of her and prepared to put the core inside. Until suddenly, Blackie rushed in and seized the core within its jaws.

“Don’t!”

Cecillia’s eyes widened and a flicker of panic crossed her face. She didn’t know what would happen if Blackie cracked the core, or even consumed it, but it wouldn’t be good. She reached for the wolf but Blackie leapt backwards to avoid her outstretched hand.

Cecillia stared at the wolf blankly and sighed when she saw the stubborn look in its eye.

“If you die, it’s not my fault. Alright?” she warned.

Crossing her arms, she stood there helplessly as Blackie’s twin tails swished. The wolf’s expression was innocent as it held the gaze of its master and as it gave her one final, mischievous look, it tossed its head back. Cecillia watched as Blackie swallowed the core whole, even seeing as the sphere pressed against its throat before the lump disappeared with a gulp.

Her heart froze for a moment as she expected an explosion of some kind to occur, but after a couple seconds, nothing had happened. Another second passed, then five more. Still, nothing.

Only until thirty seconds had passed did something occur and Cecillia’s eyes narrowed. Blackie’s fur started to ripple, its body exuding a faint pressure as it convulsed. There was a glow beneath its skin that flickered, and its tails stiffened.

A hollow sound was released from its jaws and its stomach bloated from the sudden influx of energy. Cecillia was about to shake her head in annoyance, but soon, Blackie seemed to stabilize. The wolf returned to normal, with the same disobedient look on its eyes as if nothing had happened.

Blackie released a gentle growl and approached its master, rubbing its snout against her legs. Cecillia let out an exasperated sigh and bonked the beast on its giant head. The impact itself wasn’t hard, but Blackie recoiled as if she had shot the wolf with a gun.

“Don’t act cute with me,” Cecillia narrowed her eyes. “Just what did you do now Blackie…”

Opening the wolf’s status page, one of her brows was raised as she laid her eyes upon the contents.

[Species: Twin-Tailed Wolf]

Name: Blackie

Bond: Cecillia Black

Level: 14

Health: 1600/1600

Stamina: 999/1250

Mana: 480/700

Skills:

(Passive) Minor Regeneration Lvl. 3

Night Slash Lvl. 7

Stealth Lvl. 9

“You gained levels?” Cecillia asked.

Blackie, unable to understand her words, could only loll its tongue out of its jaws. Cecillia stared incredulously at the wolf and shook her head. Instead of saying anything else, she strode over to the troll’s body as Blackie followed. It was much easier to locate the core and within a few seconds, she had extracted the item.

[C Grade Core (Level - 29)]

[Origin - Troll]

The core was smaller and less impressive than the aohr’s, but if what had happened, happened again… Cecillia was at a loss for words and tossed the core into the air. Blackie leapt for the sphere and its jaws snapped shut around the item. The same process where its stomach bloated, pressure release, yadayada occurred and she once again checked the relevant part of its status.

[Species: Twin-Tailed Wolf]

Name: Blackie

Bond: Cecillia Black

Level: 16

Health: 1800/1800

Stamina: 1220/1450

Mana: 580/800

Cecillia pursed her lips as she stared at the happy Blackie. Sure being able to gain six levels in an instant was cool and all, but it irked her that it came so easily. There weren't even any signs of a potential side effect. No, it was just straight, pure levels.

At least it was her companion that had gained strength, which meant that she was stronger as well. And to think about it for a second time, Cecillia supposed it was just how monsters in the wild got stronger. By consuming the cores of those who were defeated.

“Come on, Blackie. There’s still a lot to do,” Cecillia gave a strained smile.