NOVEL WEB Ch. 9
It had been a long time since Zyrus had fought alongside someone. As he became stronger, those who followed him in his earlier days were buried in their graves one by one. As for his new followers? It would be stupid to trust his back to them.
However, he knew deep down that it was his own weakness. If he was careful in recruiting from the start and taken better care of his subordinates then he wouldn’t have to worry about such things. Things were different from the past. He was no longer ignorant about the workings of the sanctuary.
“H-hey Zyrus, what’s wrong with him?” Lauren asked in a frightened tone. She spooked as Kyle was fighting without paying any heed to either him or his surroundings.
*Thrust*
-100
Exp +165
Zyrus kicked the dead corpse and looked at Lauren, who was apparently trying to gain aggro from the snakes Kyle was fighting against. He was unsure whether to call her brave or stupid.
“He’s getting feedback from the sanctuary. In simpler terms the sanctuary has recognized his achievement and is now giving him the relevant knowledge to create a skill. He’ll be back to normal in a few seconds.”
“Oh, I see.”
“If you’re that free then deal the killing blows from now on.”
“Okay!”
‘Well, she sure is quick to recover,’
Zyrus was overall quite satisfied with the duo’s performance. He also guessed why he didn’t know about them before regression. Getting injured was equivalent to death if you didn’t have any means to heal yourself.
It was fortunate that they had the crude HP potions this time around. Zyrus incapacitated the last snake and strode towards Kyle who was panting for breath. Just as he had spoken earlier, Kyle was back to normal.
“Drink it.”
“Thanks. Wouldn’t you need it as well?”
“Few can injure me enough to warrant the use of a potion. And against those who can, recovering 10 HP would be useless.”
Zyrus wasn’t speaking empty words. From the start of the tutorial to now, his HP gauge had always been at full capacity. Afterall, he’d be a moron and not a former monarch he was having trouble against low level mobs. Of course, he didn’t plan to play safe all the time. Taking calculated risks was rewarding in its own way.
“How should we distribute our SP?” Kyle asked once his face became less pale. Lauren was also approaching them with her hands full of poison essence.
“Stuff it.”
“Ahem. Sorry about earlier,” Kyle squirmed as Lauren had shoved a bottle full of HP potion in his mouth. After drinking three potions in row it was doubtful if he would be able to taste anything for the next couple of days.
Zyrus started counting the poison essence they had gathered so far and answered Kyle’s previous question. There was also something he wanted to inform them before the boss fight.
“Focus on Vitality for now. Your next priority should be ranking up that skill while being careful.”
Kyle's recovering injuries proved how important vitality was. Zyrus knew about the skill the latter had received even without looking at the status screen. It was pretty straightforward. One consumed their own HP to deal ridiculous damage, and with every kill their HP regen rate would increase by a bit.
The fundamental reason behind the spiked damage output was the [Piercing Damage] stat. Thus, investing in the strength stat was inefficient at the start.
“I’ll do that.”
“What about me!”
Zyrus was pleased by the fact that they followed his advice without asking for explanation. He didn’t mind sharing his knowledge; however, trust and loyalty were a must for the upcoming events in the sanctuary. He pondered for a bit as Lauren’s skill was rather unique since it focused more on utility.
She could use up to 10 knives and retrieve about half of them with a 60 sec cooldown. The range for retrieval was equivalent to her level.
Although it didn’t look as strong as Zyrus and Kyle’s skills, it had its own advantages. She could continuously throw knives at 6-second intervals.
“Divide your SP equally between intelligence and agility; you’ll need sharp reflexes and quick thinking for a rapid-fire attack style. Just like him, focus on ranking up the skill.”
“Oh, mine’s a D rank one. I should rank up to C fast enough.”
Zyrus shook his head and informed them on what he intended from the start,
“There are different ‘stages’ in every skill. They change according to the type and rarity of the skill. Some skills require Stage 9 of the current rank before going up to the next rank, while others only need one or two Stages.
There are three ways to rank up a skill in the sanctuary. One is by acquiring more knowledge on your skill by combat and practice. Another method is by doing quests, using special terrain, or an item to increase the learning speed. In essence it’s a powered-up version of the first method. It saves time, and progress is guaranteed unlike the first method.”
Kyle and Lauren perked up their ears as Zyrus was about to conclude his dialogue. The last options were usually the best.
“Apart from those two, there is an easier, more efficient method to rank up your skills. EP, or Enhancement Points. They can push your skill to their next stage with a single click. They are similar to SP but easier to acquire. Apart from achievements you can also get EP by killing boss monsters and some event rewards.”
Zyrus let the other two digest the new information while he took out the stone kettle and poured himself a cup of tea. The scene looked jarring with all the snake corpses scattered around the island.
…
Not everyone had the leisure to drink tea and chat about skill improvement. Hajin choi was one such example.
“They are freaks!” Hajin cursed as he glanced at the other battlefield. Though it was more apt to call it a slaughterhouse.
As if one weirdo who looked at everyone as if they were worms wasn’t enough, there was now another one who fought like a bloody maniac.
Even if someone told him that the girl was normal now, he wouldn’t believe that.
“Birds of a feather flock together eh, no wonder they didn’t have to take in these hot potatoes.”
He looked at the discarded level ones who had joined his team and let out a sigh. The third wave was almost over, but he had suffered too many casualties.
“Would you like to make a deal with my humble self, Sir Sparklepants?” Zyrus shouted from the other island.
“Who? Me?” Hajin was more surprised than offended. He didn’t expect the other side to be the communicating type.
“Do you see anyone else wearing golden pants?” Zyrus kept teasing him as he was still annoyed by the fact that Lauren got the drop, every fucking time.
This had nothing to do with Hajin Choi, but so what?
Besides, it was quite accurate to call him ‘Sir Sparklepants’ at this moment.
The midday sun’s light was reflected in the clear lake water. Thanks to the clear sky the islands were without many shadows. One could imagine how glaringly bright a golden plate armor must be in such a situation.
“What deal?” Hajin retorted in a serious tone.
“About the final boss,” Zyrus laid out the bait and called him over.
Hajin Choi hesitated a bit but finally decided to walk over.
“Look, we don’t have much time, so I’ll be blunt here.”
Hajin nodded in agreement, urging the latter to continue
“How about we cooperate to kill the final boss? We’ll divide the corpse equally and as for the last hit, leave that to our own capabilities.”
“Aren’t I on a losing end in this deal?” Hajin questioned with a frown. It was pretty damn obvious which side would get the last hit.
“You are,” Zyrus answered in a matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t care either way.
Hajin felt like kicking against an iron board as he stood there awkwardly. He knew that the trio in front of him was as much as, if not stronger than his entire group of dozens.
“What about them?” Hajin gestured at the third group, who, at the same time, were looking in their direction. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were thinking.
“He’ll deal with them.” Zyrus pointed his almost broken spear at Kyle.
“Are you sure? They have at least 20 men who are at level 3.”
Hajin was convinced of Kyle’s strength, but looking at him now, it would be difficult for him to walk, much less fight against a group of people.
Zyrus maintained a disdainful look at Hajin without speaking a word. Facing a gaze that seemed to say, ‘What a country bumpkin!’ Hajin had no other choice than to nod with a sigh.
“Great. Leave the rest to me,” Zyrus shooed the future ‘Divine shield’ away and opened his status screen. He had to prepare for the boss fight as well.
Status:
[Name: Zyrus Wymar]
[Race: Human]
[Class: None]
[Level: 4]
Exp: 4620/5063
[Title: None]
[Achievement: First Blood in tutorial, Goblin Slayer, First step of the Spearman…]
[Talent: None]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Vitality: 9]
[Intelligence: 10]
[SP: 12]
HP: 90
Crit rate: 10%
Crit damage: 100%
[Basics of Sojutsu]
[Basic Spear]
ATK: 30
[Basic Armor]
DEF: 50
Currency: 76C
[Goblin’s Blood essence x1]
[Keliodus serpent’s poisonous essence x13]
[Stone Kettle]
After killing more than 30 snakes he stopped getting any Exp from them. On the bright side, Kyle and Lauren had collected a whopping 13 poisonous essence beads!
‘And I’ll level up after killing the boss.’
Zyrus was looking forward to reaching level 5. The red-eyed man had told him that he could return to Earth once every 5 levels. He was curious as to how the time difference between both worlds would work.
‘I have a lot of studying to do as well… maybe the boss will give me a clue? It seems immortal from a certain perspective.’
His only job on earth was to learn more about the powers of his previous life. It was quite embarrassing for him who was named ‘Void Monarch’. Although the sanctuary gave powers with ease, it had its flaws.
It was impossible for one to know about their fundamental powers without any source of knowledge. In Zyrus’s case, he was undoubtedly an expert in using void and space magic, but his expertise lay in the application of magic and not the theory itself.
After mulling over for a few seconds Zyrus used 2 SP on strength and closed the window. This much was enough for the start. The rest would depend on his further observations.
*BOOOOMMM*
An earthshaking rumble sounded across the lake as a spatial crack appeared on the central island.
*HISS* *HISS*
“OH GOD—“
“Wha-WHAT is that?”
The Keliodus serpent revealed its majestic form, a ten meter of coiled menace. Its seven heads hissed in a unique pitch, sending shivers down everyone’s spine. No one was able to move under the heavy pressure exuded by the area boss.
Except for one.
Zyrus glared back at the seven pairs of eyes that contained a predatory gaze, and with his almost broken spear in hand, he charged ahead to meet it head on.