Sandstorm, at the secret place on the coast of the Dark Continent - Phelatust.
"Hmm? Has the new era started?" - He acts as a sloth, leisurely takes down his shabby hat which is placed on his face and throws it away.
"Interesting..." - Then he leaves the dark cave and disappears inside the far away sand particles.
"Another day,... haiz…"
"Wah!" - Kura instantly woke up from his long dream with a bad interface. He heard something, he heard someone say that to him in that dream, however he can't remember who he was.
"What's wrong?" - Hazen strongly kicks the door, with a frowning face; it's sure that he just woken up by this guy.
Kura: "Oh… nothing."
*Kek - kek - kek* - Creepy sounds, of course, come from Torun's room.
He frowns, "What is this quality of door bruh?"
Kura is surprised, he wonders why they look too tired, "What did you guys experience?"
Torun pretends that he is really drained by the last fight as Hazen, because for some reason he can't let them know about his true power.
Hazen continues the dialogue, "Why did you scream? You need a mommy to save you from a nightmare huh?"
Kura replies with nothing but just a provocative face, "I dreamt that you wanted my beauty."
"Shut the f* up, that's gay bro."
*Clap - Clap* - The earl announced to them to have a quick breakfast before their training.
Kura: "Oh, forgot to ask him."
Torun slightly puts his hand on Kura's shoulder, "It's not time for that, Kura, he also denied my questions last night."
Kura: "I see, but I wonder how your fight was."
Torun shows a green face, "Come on bro, you do not want to have something like that in your life, I promise."
Hazen: "Oh, did you jump everywhere and spam one spell over and over?"
"Shut up, nothing is better than a mastered strategy, okay?" - He replied.
Then they moved to the hall and consumed some food for a good day. Perhaps they do not like this kind of western food too much, however it isn't that bad.
Furthermore, after checking their own bodies, they both came up with the same claim - this food really supplied them with a lot of pure energy.
Pure energy* is a kind of energy existing in this realm. It is a kind of life force flowing inside each creature living in Aurorize. However, to exchange it for life force, they really need a long term process of consuming this rich energy food for the adaptation of their bodies.
* Life force is a specific unit of energy which determines how long is one person's life span. Which means Kura, Torun and Hazen can live longer. This is cheating.
"Do you feel that?" - The earl asks them gently.
"Yes, my lord, it's our honor to be here and enjoy this food." - Kura also replies gently, he still thinks that the earl who is sitting in front of him is a threat willing to kill all of them just because of an action of rudeness.
*Fuhahaha* - "Yesterday was my instant test for you all, don't be that honorific. We don't use those rituals frequently here." - The earl slightly immerses in his glass of wine.
Then Kura starts with another question, "What are we going to do right now?" - he is aiming straight to the earl's purpose. Surely he isn't here just making a nonsense dialogue.
Then the earl slightly puts down his drink, he unleashes the massive aura outside - forcing three of them to move back two five meters.
"I give you two months, do everything you can until you are able to stand still beneath this pressure. From 5 AM to 2 PM, you can train with Uruta on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday you guys will deal with Elya. Sunday is a free day, you can challenge me or take a rest, whatever."
He rapidly announces everything at once and sends them to the back yard of the castle after a finger snap.
"What are you aiming for, Daluka?" - It is Elya, she appears in the darkness and sits on the table after a second.
"Don't worry Elya, I won't commit the taboo."
"... It's up to you. But don't you worry about the future? About the promise of Edel?
The earl leisurely enjoys his wine, then he puts it down and looks at Elya who is still sitting there with a worried face, "Don't worry, I won't force him to step in that fate. Until he is ready, I won't let him know the truth too."
The earl promises with all his sincerity, being an echo from the past isn't a comfortable mission.
He wonders,... he wonders about if the final consequence might change differently from the prophecy.
"Edel, perhaps… I will not be able to keep our promise. That child must step on his fate by himself; it was decided by the moment I looked in his eyes, he has a strong mind and a blazing heart. My dear, perhaps… it is my fault, however, I won't let him die before my death comes."
Under the scorching sunlight, his hand slowly puts down the pen. He has a diary, it has started since Edel's death as a way he expresses all the emotions inside the cold heart. Time never waits, also life always changes; the moon and sun keep playing in the sky so he needs to keep moving ahead.
But he is hesitating, as if there's something missing.
"Even though the cost might be this old life, whatever, it's my pleasure to meet you again, my dear."
This promise isn't the first one of the earl, nor the last one, however it is an anchor for him to keep clinging to in this forever life.
"My dear…" - He closes the book and the silent thought fades away, he smiles while looking at the big portrait of a pretty woman on the wall.
It's quite shabby and the style does not belong to this era, surely the seal of the past. She is also smiling, as if she was alive, her eyes shining a moonlit sky.
"If you were alive, I think he would desire to meet you, Edel."
The earl slowly puts down the diary, his hands slightly rub its surface as a hesitation and a reluctance to leave it here.
*Haha* - His voice clangs silently and deeply, "Seems like my life has changed."
The door is opened and closed again, and the sun has hidden away from the sky, leaving there the moonlight weaving into the clouds above.
"It's still beautiful as ever…"
He leisurely walks in the hallway, coming back to the coffin where he sleeps.
But he won't be able to know it, his wife, his treasure - Edel Cylia - is still following him step by step. However, she is just not in the same dimension as him.
"Don't worry, my dear, he has his own decision. And you don't need to worry about my selfish promise for the future."
Her smile shines nicely, as if it is a sunlight - a discordant piece of the moonlit sky - expressing throughout the night.
"I love you."
*Crack* - As a fighter and striker, Hazen is forced to punch to the oak trees until they are broken down by his fists. Of course, no Aura allowed.
Torun is drained by Elya, she forces him to move all the ten orbs around non-stop while she is maintaining her zone. Obviously the purpose is reducing the density of mana in the air, giving him a scarce resource of mana particles.
Elya: "Hold it for five more minutes, control them wisely."
Torun frowns and smiles at once, "Aight."
Kura doesn't know which part he would train first, Uruta always leads them to strengthen their physical bodies first and Elya prefers mana reserve. Torun matches Elya because his power is related to spells and magic, Hazen's purpose is becoming an unstoppable striker.
Their decisions are all suitable for themselves, but Kura is considering his potential of being an Aura user. He knows his eyes are special but the book of prophecy mentioned about his death if abusing them frequently.
After all his goal is fulfilling all the desires written in that book, he wants to help his grandfather do it by himself.
"What are you wondering?"
Kura: "Good afternoon, my lord,..."
He doesn't know how to answer that question, the book of prophecy is a secret that his grandfather told him not to reveal to others.
"Don't worry, I know what you're worrying about. The book of prophecy isn't supposed to tell the future. It's just a record of a forgotten past,..." - His eyes lie on the moon, as if he is looking to a witness of this world.
Kura is surprised, he temporarily can't determine its meaning of "forgotten past."
Kura: "How can you…"
"I'm the author."
Everything comes to the silence, *whirr - whirr*, the empty hill is stirred up by the Fall cool winds. Kura opens his eyes wide, he tries to remember what he just heard two seconds ago.
"You…", his speech chokes in the throat.
The earl slightly puts his hand on Kura's shoulder, "If you feel lost, just remember about your grandfather, about his lessons."
Kura is surprised again, he feels something in those red eyes, a relative feeling.
"So start at boosting your physical power first, then trying to determine which elements that you are blessed and bound to. I suggest you not to use the Cylian's Eyes, you haven't awakened yet, it would drain your life force to the bottom after abusing it."
"So the food, you gave the chance to refill my life force, didn't you?", Kura asked.
"Of course, so tell me, what are you going to do right now?"
"I'll train my fists." - His eyes shine a determination, as the beginning, that fire has been lightened up again after a snow storm.
Day 2 of training, Torun kept moving at his special training and Hazen just did the same. But Kura chose not to join them, he trained by himself.
Starting with lifting some rocks, without the boost of Aura, Kura could endure a pressure of one ton and lift 700kg. His mission on the first day of training was really easy, 5000 times lifting rocks and 2 hours of stance with 800kg pressure.
Result: they were both drained in the night.
Day 3 of training, they both did the same things. Over and over again until day 19, they are now thriving with an incredible speed. Through almost three weeks, no one of them tried to challenge the earl's power, they were all aware that the winning chance was pitifully low.
However, they are not discouraged just because of that difference in power; Torun's dream is still shining beyond while Hazen's secret is reminding him about the final purpose and Kura's desire is waiting to be fulfilled.
How could they give up just because of that little pressure?
Day 20, Torun was required to control those ten orbs and move them with different trajectories. His mana reserve had increased five times since 19 previous harsh days, so Elya aimed to strengthen his reflex as a mage.
Of course, during a match, there would be no guarantee for the enemies to fight with him equally. Elya must be sure that some days he can confidently beat at least 3 mages at his level during the fight.
Elya: "It's still superficial, move it faster!"
Hazen was allowed to use his Aura at that moment, but his true problem is finding out the true blessed element.
He felt that his strikes at the first match with Uruta hadn't been strong enough as a full power unleashing of the blessed element.
So basically he could determine that he wasn't bound in Amplification, and about Manifestation, he had no idea.
Uruta: "Human's standard of Manifestation Aura users is about creating some temporary items with a specific duration and durability. Now try to materialize for me a basic knife, as fast as possible and do it again with the best durability which you can give it right now. It's like concentrating Aura into your fists, but do it on the knife."
*Whirr* - His Aura hasn't been increased since the beginning, but via the brutal train of Uruta, he is now able to control it easily as pie.
Hazen: "Seems like it's no longer that hard for me."
Kura was the most special one in that team, he had no trainer, but his strength development was the most incredible here. Cylian's physique is different from human's, with the 84.500 kcal diet every day, Kura can maximize himself without gaining wounds.
Furthermore, he weighs 800kg already, with a special density in both bones and muscles, he looks very balanced, as a standard human teenager. His muscle density even helps him to throw his fist with 10^6 N power at peak.
It's not a joke to say that Kura can beat a 800kg Orc with his pure strength.
Let's make it clear, we will use an Orc as a standard unit to compare these guys.
First, an 800kg Orc can pull out 5 x 10^5 N in its max energy output. Even though it has the same weight, the details determining the force are also based on the speed to throw a strike and how much N each cm^2 muscle can mobilize.
So basically Kura = 2 Orcs right now.
Hazen's maximum energy output without Aura is around 7 x 10^5 N, however he can use techniques and fighting style to withdraw with Kura in a fight. Physique is important, but if they are not too different in total strength, nothing is impossible.
And, 800kg Orc is the Elder Orc, it's a rare monster which can only be found in rank 4 dungeons as elite monsters or rank 3 dungeons as boss.
These guys are cheating for real.
On the contrary, Torun is still focusing on mana and spells, he can't duel directly Hazen or Kura in strength, but exploding them until they die is still possible to him.
Even though he can only cast three spells at once and 10 spells are the total currency of him, Torun qualifies to be a cyan-level mage.
Due to Elya's explanation, mages in human society are divided into seven different ranks.
Start with white-level mages or be known as immature mages, the scale is around mobilizing mana around their bodies to cast 3 level 2 spells at once.
Next is cyan-level mages, beside the great scores in tests, they must be able to cast at least 5 level 3 spells at the same time if they want to rank up to another higher level.
The third rank is violet-level mages, actually if you are at this level, you can apply to guilds and receive an official hunter medal without participating in the test.
*Hunter medal: it's a specific way to determine if a person is a hunter or not.
*Hunters: they enter dungeons as a daily work. Basically they are cleaners of human society, dimensional rifts are just the frequent events and dungeon breaks are normally the daily battle fields for them.
Back to the mages, to rank up from the violet-level, they are not required about the specific power. They are required to have some feats.
Standard:
+ Serving military for two years with great evaluations or special nomination from a marshal or at least three generals in their terms.
+ Clearing at least 3 rank 4 dungeons and a rank 5 dungeon. (If they are going to do it with a team, the requirements will change to 10 rank 4 and three rank 5 dungeons.)
+ Clearing a dungeon break rank 5 (highest credit).
Alternatives:
+ Transferring credits from guilds as a rank A Hunter.
+ Inventing useful inventions (items, machines or spells) and assigning them to The Tower of Mages.
*Tower of Mages: It's a remnant of an old era, where every mage desires to visit once in their lives. It's also one of the top forces in this great continent, at the same level as The Holy Council or The Hunter Council.
Consequently, after violet-level is golden-level. Of course, to rank up, they are required to have more feats and credits.
Credit system: For each rank of dungeon, they come up with a specific amount of credits for who participates in clearing it. It changes due to the situation that if they do it individually or not, their ranks and their contribution for each dungeon.
Furthermore, to limit the high rank mage from abusing lower rank dungeons to farm credits, they are limited to clear lower rank dungeons with the specific times in a specific period of time.
Disobeying the rules will increase the limits on them or even prohibit them from clearing lower rank dungeons. The worst case is ranking them down temporarily and increasing rank-up requirements permanently.
Torun: "Hey, was there any case that a mage can use both Aura and mana at the same time?"
This idea just came up in his mind two seconds ago, he knows that the veins inside himself aren't enough to mobilize them both at once, but what if he can?
Elya smiles, she punches ahead with her green Aura while mobilizing the mana surrounding her to form a tornado shooting straight to Torun.
She is also blessed in Emanation as Torun, so basically she is the perfect role model for him to learn.
Elya: "As I said, we are bound together, right?"
He also smiles, and seems like he is still far from the peak of this world. He notices that he won against Elya just because she was bound in 20% power. The claim that he could beat her in 40% was such a superficial thing, he smiles and gets back to the training course.
Torun: "Hey, but what is lying beyond golden-level mages?" - He asks with a curiosity inside his eyes.
"Crimson, crimson-level mages. With 60% power, I can surpass them with my pure techniques." - She looks pretty proud of herself.
Torun smiles, "Oh? I will beat you after I rank up as a Crimson Mage." - "Don't cry if you lose to me."
They just like that, until the sun hides from the sky and leaves there the moonlit clouds above their heads. Torun knows what he needs to do, so does Hazen.
They both approach the earl with the new power.
*Whirr* - He unleashes his Aura outside, this is a kind of technique - Release. It's not the same as releasing Aura as Emanation element users, it's just a basic technique helping Aura users to threaten enemies or distract them in some seconds.
Consequently, after 20 days of fast training, they both feel no fear beneath that pressure anymore.
*Clap - Clap* - He claps his hands, it seems like 2 months are just too long for them to achieve this level of power.
"Now, hit me with your strongest strike." - He orders them to experience their essence for 20 days.
"Concentrate all your power, shoot it at me."
Hazen steps forward, he uses 2.35 seconds to materialize a spear and starts accumulating his Aura into it. After 5.18 seconds, he leaps toward the earl with his strongest strike, to maximize his stabbing damage, nothing is better than a spear with a sharp top.
*Clash* - His spear clashes straight to the Aura protection of the earl, he pushes it forward with all his strength.
To be specific, he is now pulling out 100% his maximum energy output with Aura boost. Which means this strike worthes 5 times 800kg of Orc's strongest punch.
However, the top of the spear can't even move forward a centimeter after meeting the shield. After 3 seconds, he gives up, this is just overwhelming.
"Not bad. I will talk to you later." - Then he looks at Torun, who is casting a spell with all the mana particles surrounding him, with a signal to start his performance.
Torun's face is dipped in his sweats, "Hold on, just a second."
He raises the pressure on the small orange orb in his hand, compresses it into a smaller size and wraps it inside his dense Aura.
*Bang* - The shockwave it creates even blows away all the roadblock on its way. The yellow line stretches out in the air with a massive heat at the center of the orb - waiting to explode.
Torun smiles, "This is my artistry."
In his surprise, the earl mobilizes his Aura into his right hand and catches that orb as catching a fly.
*Boom* - It does not create a big explosion, but when the earl opens his hand, there is a minor burn on it.
He smiles, "Good, you can use this skill as a final shot. Teaming up with a mage and a healer who can help you accumulate more mana particles or buff your energy output. The damage will be massive I believe."
"Hey? Why do you guys challenge him without letting me know?" - A voice comes from the open gate of the castle.
In the darkness, he steps ahead, under the moonlight, he steps another step. Obviously that's Kura, who has trained until the night every day.
He just completed 1200 times dead lift with 770kg and a two-hour stance beneath pressure of 1.2 tons. He tried to upgrade his durability to another level and immersed in training until he saw the moon above his head.
And now he witnesses his two companions betraying him and doing the challenge without any announcement or reminder.
Kura glances at them, "Nice work, next time I will break your legs first."
Because of hard training, his body is drained right now, however it's still far away from falling asleep for Kura. Because he has something to do right now.
*Whirr* - When Kura unleashes his Aura, the atmosphere is instantly dyed in a color of pressure.
Perhaps it is the blessed physique of Cylians, Kura hasn't trained Aura for a total of 19 days, but the daily rich protein and calories diet helped him self-synthesize the pure essence inside his body for the whole process.
To be honest, Kura is the strongest of the team right now. He raises his hand, materializes a chain equipped on his finger and shoots it straight to the earl with an incredible speed.
*Smack* - Even though the earl can easily catch it, he rates it as strong as Hazen's spear strike.
However the true matter is the whole process didn't even take him a second totally - which means he can knock out Torun and Hazen almost immediately without leaving them a chance to reflex.
Kura recalls his chain, he just found out another way to train his Aura 24/7 - materializing the chain no matter the situation.
And guess what, he even does it with ten chains totally, each is bound into each of his fingers.
"Seems like you are really addicted to training, aren't you?" - The earl laughs.
Kura also smiles, "Not really, but I know that I need to be stronger to ask you that question."
In the witness of Hazen and Torun, he walks back to the bathroom with a thumbs down.
This is a direct provocation to both Torun and Hazen.
Hazen: "Uruta, I think I need to beat his *ss."
She smiles, finally she waits for his 100% focus successfully.
Torun says nothing, he only looks at Elya with a smile, "Will you?" - "of course."
Competition is the inevitable element of a team development, this is also what that earl aims for.
*Fuhahaha* - "My guys, do your best to be stronger. I'm waiting for the true strongs."
Kura slightly walks back to his room after cleaning himself, he realizes that the next meal will be up to 100.000 kcal if he wants to train with a new pressure and maintain the ten new chains on his fingers.
Kura sighs, "What a day!"
His eyes close while the moonlight lightens up his room, this is one of his hobbies. Witnessing the theme of his room change per each period of time really gives him pleasure.
Kura: (I wonder who you are.)
And so on, another time the moon and clouds float on the sky and another night has come.
To be honest, their lives are really chill while compared to other outsiders, they have a place to live, eat and sleep for free.
Don't you believe it? Aranta and Paragon are the true symbols of survivors in this realm.
Dungeon rank 3 - Black Spider Cave.
They are living in Empire Cala, at the center of the Great Continent. So basically they must maintain at least 70.000 gold coins or 120.000 ACs monthly to live leisurely in this expensive and luxurious place.
Aranta and Paragon have nothing but their own Aura and outstanding physical power, Hunters are the most suitable job for them in general.
And their purposes, they are aiming to apply to The Hunter Council. The Tower of Mages just ignored and also they do not want to join The Holy Council. It's a complicated topic to discuss and compare, whatever, they are here and play a role of cleaners - clearing all the spiders in the dungeon.
Because I'm such a nice guy, I'm here to show you the Monster Index whenever the characters find out about any new species.
+ Black Spiders: found in shadow biomes in dungeons from rank 1 to rank 4.
- Identity: Eight sharp legs; twelve red eyes and usually assemble as groups of 6 to 12 individuals.
- Passive: Dark Resistance I; Fire Vulnerability II; Night Vision I; Speed lv1.
- Skills: Spider Webs (stun lv1); Poisonous Shot (poison lv1) and Poisonous Stab (poison lv2).
=> Avr.Danger: B
And they are clearing the Spider Cavern in dungeon rank 3, which is one of shadow biomes, with 80% monsters are Dark Spiders.
Paragon frowns, "Hey Aranta, back your ass to work."
*Crackle* - Ah yes, during clearing a rank 3 dungeon which is determined as a danger rank B- in their current strength, Aranta really makes a campfire here.
Aranta: "No? I've tolerated enough, it's time to relax you know."
"Okay deadass whatever."
From Paragon's experience, each rank 3 Spider Cavern dungeon gives him around 62 - 78 Dark Spiders and 20 other monsters - including Phantom Bats and Night Owls.
Which means he can make a profit of 496 - 624 spider legs, 744 - 936 red eyes and 124 - 156 poisonous fangs as a main source of income. Furthermore, some bat wing skins and owl feathers are valuable too, however they must consider the tax for guilds and empire.
They care not about gaining some more money, but they do care about the % of tax they will pay. Earning more 1000 Acs but raising 1.5% in total tax isn't a good deal, you know.
The economy has changed since outsiders were well known as a third party in society beside governments (empires, kingdoms,...) and big forces (Hunters Council; Holy Council; Tower of Mages).
They weren't considered official citizens, so they had to pay a specific amount of money to the local government if they wanted to live in their territory.
To be honest, The Tower of Mages wanted to make outsiders their monopoly resource by contracts and benefits.
However, due to the scarce supply, The Hunters Council and also The Holy Council didn't let them have that chance. After two months, they both came up with a compromise - no one would be allowed to exploit, plunder and have a monopoly on them.
So, why were outsiders so sought after?
Let's get back to the core of problems, outsiders are creatures coming from lower dimensions. So they are basically downtrodden beneath the higher realm's volition. However, it's only a temporary issue, after adapting with those limits, they are even stronger than a standard human in this realm.
The explanation hasn't been solved yet, but the mages of The Tower did discover that inside outsiders' bodies, there is a special essence. They believed that it had to be a mark distinguishing them from the native humans.
For the in-depth information, The Tower of Mages didn't let others know. They had paid a big amount of ACs just for analysing about 100 outsiders, showing obviously their demands of analysing. If they couldn't have a monopoly on outsiders, they would do the same thing on the information about them.
The three forces have fought each other for almost 300 years since the new Saint appeared. They just wait for the new turning point to put an end to everything.
Nevertheless, Paragon and Aranta care not about that complicated political struggle. They just know that they need to pay a lot of taxes after finishing a dungeon.
Let's see, hunters must get permission from guilds or The Hunter Council to enter dungeons.
Haven't I told you about dungeons? They are the dimensional rifts appearing in the continents as threats for humans, but also a chance for others to make profit. The Hunter Council had been created just for solving these problems, then they expanded into many guilds scattered around The Great Continent to be on track for any new dungeons.
Divided into 13 ranks due to the density of mana in the air, obviously they can exploit many benefits inside them. As what Paragon and Aranta are doing, materials from monsters are the common resource; furthermore, if they are lucky, they can find some veins of mana stones or special ores used for forging.
As usual, Guilds must pay 40% of their profits for The Hunters Council as fees, so where do their profits come from?
Of course from the dungeon cleaners, 15% of their profits after cleaning dungeons are turned in as fees for sure.
The three big forces have their own decision on which kind of dungeons will be bought by them, this is one field that they are fighting on. After being bought with a specific amount of money by The Hunters Council, dungeons are passed into the nearby guilds for the next steps.
The Hunters must pay 30% of that money for a chance to enter and clear the dungeons. Whatsoever, even if they fail or succeed clearing it, they must turn in 15% of the total profits. If they choose to consume all the items in dungeons, they must pay 5% more of the dungeon price.
Hunters aren't allowed to withdraw if they are able to clear a dungeon without a special reason. That's against rules of guilds and laws of the local government.
So what do we have right now?
Paragon and Aranta were required to pay 30% of the dungeon price, and they are going to turn in 15% of their total profits.
Now it is the tax of the local government, beside the yearly fees to maintain the citizen cards, they must turn in 10% of their profits monthly.
The range is from selling items, materials and services to running businesses on their territory.
This rank 3 Spider Cavern dungeon took 1000ACs from them at the start, after calculating, Paragon has cleared this dungeon with 600 legs (40% weight) and 900 eyes (0.5% weight) and a Dark Spider is about 80kg.
So generally they are carrying around 2.43 tons, the maximum weight allowed without fees is 500kg (changed due to ranks); for each 500kg more, they must raise the tax by 1.5%.
So their final tax rate is now 19.5% of their total profits.
Finally, hunters/cleaners can choose which dungeons they are going to enter. Spider Cavern is only recorded as a B- danger, but the total profits are rated as A tier. There's no doubt that Spider Cavern is one of the best dungeons for hunters to farm.
This is not their first time doing this kind of job, guilds have no problem buying those materials. But the prices are set as the standard on the market, they also have no problem with hunters if they choose to sell it for others.
No one surely wants to sell their items with lower prices than the standard, and even if they earn more money from selling those items for others. It just means that the guild is going to have more money from fees, whatever.
600 spider legs worth 21000 ACs or 12250 gold coins.
900 red eyes worth 45000 ACs or 26250 gold coins.
After reducing 19.5% as fees for guild, 53130 ACs remain, 10% more for Empire Cala, 47817 ACs are sent to their account. With 213700 ACs in total, they can pass this month in Empire Cala leisurely.
In other words, they only need a day to clear 4 rank 3 Spider Cavern dungeons to have a month of leisure.
But it doesn't mean that others can do the same. Humans are the weak creatures in this ecosystem, the majority of newbies in this job aren't able to use their Aura or mana. They can't also use high rank items due to their high requirements.
In short, humans are sucked. Some rich families even train their new generations at a young age to just help them unlock their veins to mobilize lesser Aura or mana. However, life isn't equal, some of them can unlock those features as a normal thing and have outstanding powers at the beginning.
These kinds of humans are called "geniuses" instead, they can do everything with ease. This big difference even makes Paragon wonder about a curse. He hasn't met some other fantasy game creatures like Elves, Orcs or Dragons, but he's sure that with this base strength, humans are just only equal to goblins.
Aranta chews a bit of the crocodile grilled thigh meat, "Perhaps that's why The Tower of Mages paid a lot of money just for analysing us."
Paragon also orders a cup of beer, "All the information came from them, how do we know if it's true or not? Furthermore, we are not considered normal humans in general, so just trust no one."
Aranta: "But aren't we going to find back our power? And your system…"
Paragon slightly drinks another sip of beer while cutting the roasted beef, "Yes, Aurorize is known as the highest dimension, there must be no doubt that we are going to fight some overwhelming creature."
"But…" - He slams the wooden cup on the table
Paragon: "According to my experience, we are in a safe zone."
"Oh? What is that?" - Aranta keeps eating, but starts to look at his companion with curiosity.
Paragon: "In other words, we are not allowed to access other higher monsters yet. Even elves, the common human-like creatures usually appear in any kind of fantasy novels or games. We haven't met them yet."
*Chewing* - Paragon: "I have a hypothesis that we are in a separated place only for humans, or at least some friendly creatures. And the dungeons are the efforts of others to enter this safe zone via those dimensional rifts."
"No? I played nothing that is called 'games' in my world, but based on that logic, it's just a simple speculation. The separated zone is quite logical, but about the purpose of dungeons, isn't it too impossible?" - Aranta puts down his food.
Aranta: "Furthermore, to mention about creating those complicated private rooms and spawning it in this Great Continent. Isn't it a godlike level?"
Paragon: "How about the Outer Gods? Yujin mentioned that they were around 10% their power, especially Primordial Gods such as Chaos and Tartarus, they were allowed to fight with 1% authority in general."
"This is complicated, we haven't known about their purposes besides killing Yujin yet. Moreover, if they want to enter this Great Continent, isn't it easy work?" - Aranta negates his companion's ideas.
Paragon: "Game rules, they must be limited by the game rules."
Aranta: "So it comes back to the problem that we're making speculations. We have a lack of information about those overwhelming beings, furthermore, if their goal is entering this society, what would the benefits be?"
Paragon knows nothing about that case, and seems like he needs to find Yujin to get the answer.
Paragon: "Perhaps we need to rank up as soon as possible."
Aranta: "Tomorrow, they are going to employ some cleaners."
Paragon: "Wait? Aren't they going to make the Hunter Contest?"
Aranta chews his food again, "Welp, they will do them both. But we don't want to waste time, do we? Just apply to the Cleaners Engagement instead of doing the Hunter Contest."
*Chewing* - Paragon: "Oh ye whatever, we just need a Hunter Medal."
*Chewing* - Aranta: "Of course."
The Holy Council - Northern Branch - Golden Table: the monthly secret meeting of Golden rank Knights of the council.
Aetheria is overwhelming the atmosphere, he lets no one have a chance to decline or ignore. He looks around, slowly, and stops at the opposite girl.
Aetheria: "Haven't you guys selected the candidate? I told you to let my guy take that authority, what's wrong?"
"Oh ho? What's wrong, 'what's wrong'?" - *Whirr* - The Golden Knight marked 7 ruminated the same thing.
His Aura expands throughout the secret room as a threat, "Say that again."
*Crack* - Another Aura instantly clashes with it, collides and even leaves there an incredible pressure crushing the silver table in front of them.
"Let my guy be the next Silver rank Knight, can't you hear it clearly?" - Aetheria doesn't even give a glance at him.
His name is Baluka, who has been trying to depute his little brother to this position without any limit or consideration.
"No one will give a sh*t about the loser who can't even grab a sword and kill a monster in the battlefield." - Aetheria gives out no mercy, it isn't the first time they have a dirty conversation like this.
*Crackle* - Baluka has already cast three fire spells aiming straight to Aeth, who is sitting with a regal manner, but then, he stops those three fire arrows at the distance of 2cm from Aeth's head.
He mocks, "Oh? What's wrong with you? Can't even block that simple attack?"
"If a loser like you had a chance to defeat me, you would not stop and try to protect your pitifully small self-esteem as a brat under the dark and cold sewers."
*Clash* - Baluka rushes straight to him with a great sword in his hands. This side character has a past living under sewers in the slums; he has tried very hard to rank up to this level, that's why he's abusing it to carry his little brother.
Sad backstory, and ambitious dreams, those are good details to develop a character, aren't they? Whatever, Aeth doesn't have the same thoughts, he cares not about the weaks, everyone has their own positions and powers. So it means nothing to bring them out of their zones without any affordable abilities to qualify the new masteries.
*Crash* - After a flash, he is sent flying back, crashing straight to the column behind his own seat.
Realizing the possible next movements, three guys instantly appear around Aeth to push him back to the shiny chair.
"Aetheria, that's enough." - He has a black hair, slightly hiding his two eyes. His collar is even high enough to block his mouth - making his voice quite weird. Furthermore, his fashion is quite strange, full black with skull detail at the back.
Welp, nice clothes for a Golden Knight in The Holy Council.
*Crack* - His hand suddenly feels an unstoppable pressure - *Vsh* - Those two guys rapidly pull out their powers to restrain Aetheria.
Saying that his strength was the median inside the group of Golden Knights was just a lie that Aeth admitted to Ian before.
"Aeth, just calm down. I have no trouble with your guy, but he just joined us for two days. How can I accept that rapid request?" - The one who enters this dialogue was a girl, the girl sits on Aeth's opposite side from the beginning.
"Luna, I won't say it again. Throw away your little thoughts, your sister is also not allowed for that position. I know what you are aiming for, but can she really beat Ian in a fight? We no longer need some nerds to place in the library, The Hunters Council and The Tower of Mages have moved on their plans, what are you waiting for?"
Aetheria unleashes more Aura, it even overwhelms all the room inside its strong violet color. It's been four years since the last time he used his power to force everyone to accept his demands. But this time is an outlier, The Holy Council must change for the up-coming era. Especially at the middle part like them or Silver rank Knights.
*Crack* - The fifth Aura has participated in this messy problem, he is called "The Sloth", obviously because of his laziness.
Aidan: "C'mon guys, it's just a small problem. Just give him a silver medal, that's all, why are you all too aggressive for just a medal?"
"Shut up!" - Luna yells straight to him. That surprised everyone, but furthermore her eyes were full of tears.
"How can you say that? My sister needs Althyst potion III to save her life." - The rules do not allow a person to buy Althyst potion twice in their terms.
* Althyst potion: The legendary potion which can only be compounded by rank 5 alchemist.
Especially the level 3 one, they require professional experience and a rank 7 alchemist to make.
Different from the big three forces, alchemists also have their own union. However they care not about economies and politics. All the bonds between them and the big three forces are trading.
They create a specific amount of potions for each force to require them back a mission. Selling potions of bought materials and sending some rank 3 - rank 7 alchemists outside for practical experiences.
That's why the official alchemists in the big three forces are very few, let alone to find them in public or far from the Empire Cala.
Obeying the rules between supply and demands, the price of legendary potions are surely very high. Ironically, both Aetheria and Luna want the same thing on the market.
Althyst potion III can restructure the base of a person 25% - eliminating the inner wounds or even some specific curses.
However, it also has another usage, by drinking directly, a strong enough guy can exchange all of that energy directly to their own Aura. By using it in this way in early life, a person can hold in their hands an incredible potential - which will send them flying high in future.
Even though Ian is 25 years old already, it's still suitable for him to strengthen his Aura in this way. Whatever, Aetheria has a lot of money to foster care of Ian until he dies.
He knows that Ian is the special one, who can reach the level of Saint in future, with an ability to touch the space as a blessing. Aeth believes that Ian will be one of the strongest humans after twenty years.
Luna has no special background, she is just a normal girl with a kind heart inside her chest. However, she is still able to climb to this level. For seven years of contributing to The Holy Council, she has saved as much money as possible just for her final goal.
Her first Althyst potion was an accident; she needed to use it to win the duel for her current authority, but it also took away her chance to rescue her elder sister earlier.
Aetheria: "Sorry, but I have no intention to give up buying it."
Luna is crying, "Please, this is her last year already. She can't wait any longer."
"I told you I wouldn't. I'm only aiming to develop my guy; your reason is very emotional, but it might change nothing in my decision. I have no clue about it, if there must be a fault for this issue, just blame it on the scarcity of the Althyst potion." - Aeth doesn't even give her mercy. He isn't cold-hearted, but he has no duty to take care of a stranger in his life.
Her tears slowly drop down, but her eyes still open wide, Luna looks straight to Aeth with determination.
"So I just need to pay more right?" - Her voice is quite overwhelmed.
Aetheria: "Don't behave like I'm forcing you. It's just basically the money issue, why…"
"Why do you make a girl cry, bruh?" - A strange voice echoes from the hallway.
Following it, the pressure of Aeth is instantly recalled inside his body. Surely that guy is Ian, but the problem is the potion in his left hand.
"Aeth, I just got this from my friend. What is it?" - Ian asks with pure curiosity. There is only one guy that he can believe in - Aetheria - who is in the secret meeting.
Aeth looks at him, beside the Althyst potion in his hand, he focuses on how Ian can enter this place.
Ian: "Why are you just looking at me like that? I just persuaded the guardians to let me in."
"Okay, next time just wipe out all the blood on your right fist before saying that kind of sh*t." - Aetheria acts as a friend instead of a superior.
Then his eyes move down to the potion, "Oh? Seems like I no longer need to waste my money for you this time."
"Huh? What did I miss?" - Ian replies with a surprised look.
"Well, nothing. Just save that potion until we finish the next stage, I promise to give you a new strength." - Aeth throws a promise and takes that Althyst V potion.
Ian: "Wut?"
Aetheria: "Don't worry, I just have no faith in you totally. To avoid the case that you would bring this treasure to sell with 1000 gold coins, I'll save it for you. Now get back to our training."
Ian is confused, "Wut? You haven't answered me yet." - "None of your business in general, back to work."
"Wait, but why is she crying?" - Ian asks the last question, it's been years since the last time he saw a girl cry in the past.
Aetheria slightly looks back at Luna, he stops for a second then moves on pushing Ian back to the training zone, "No longer my fault."
That's the signal of giving up buying the Althyst potion III, also the hands taking away the biggest nightmare inside her chest right now.
"Thanks!"
"Huh?" - Ian replies in his confusion.
"Thanks." - Luna said it again and Ian still does not get it.
Ian: "What's wrong with you guys?" - Then he goes away to escape this weird atmosphere and dialogue.
Then he comes back, "Ah Aether, solve the problem for me." - This time he really leaves.
Leaving this place and leaving there a mess in total.
Aetheria: "Welp,..."
He looks back to the secret room, unleashing the pressure outside. This time it even overwhelms everyone in the room. To be honest, they were able to move last time, but now they are only allowed to stand still or sit down.
"If you know my name, you know who I am. Keep everything as your little secret, otherwise…"
*Haha…* - He strokes his hair, "You surely don't want 'it' to happen, am I right?"
This meeting has 7 of 12 Golden Knights who are absent, they surely care not about this kind of time wasting. That's why Aeth used his power and pressure to force everyone here to obey him.
The Holy Council isn't kind as you know. At least in the middle part, the competitions between Silver and Golden Knights are very harsh.
We have 12 teams of 12 Golden Knights, under each team are 50 Silver Knights. So basically in this branch, there are around 744 knights with specific medals and over 3000 lower knights.
Especially in the Golden Table, it almost separates into two sides. Excluding idiots like Baluka and neutral third parties like Luna, there are obviously two opposite sides.
There are at least 6 of those absent 7 knights on the same side, they are aiming to run this branch as a business like guilds instead of protecting citizens or royalties.
Actually Aetheria has no problem with it, however the true issue is those guys. The problems would be "who will lead this branch" if that case were true. He knows that one swallow does not make a spring, he needs support from other guys.
His side now has two guys in the darkness and Ian. After the conversation, he has determined that Luna and Adam (black-skull-boy) are safe to persuade. The sloth is quite unpredictable and Baluka is just canceled out.
Obviously if there's a conflict, they can declare a war in general and fight to win. However, their superior from higher branches will be here soon, of course, Aeth does not want to mess everything up.
Ian: "So you are trying to boost me to enter the competition for balance, right?"
"Yes, nice observation, now get back to work and stop lying there as a sloth." - Aetheria throws to Ian a wooden sword. Their lesson today is basic sword techniques.
*Clang* - A familiar sound echoes around the northern branch of The Holy Council, it's the signal of a dungeon break.
Aetheria: "Ian, clear it."
Ian: "Sure, but only me?"
Aetheria: "Ye, what's wrong?"
As so, Ian keeps on his credit grinding journey.
The location of the dungeon break is at the biggest lake near the singularity #333 - where Ryun was last found.
Aeth throws a ring straight to Ian, "If you meet a Silver Knight, he would be called Ryun. But be careful, I authorize you to kill him whenever he acts abnormally ."
Ian: "What's wrong?"
Aetheria: "Singularity isn't a normal dimensional zone, if a guy was lost and found after two days. He would be infected already."
Ian curiously looks at his superior, "What do you mean 'infected'?"
"Check his interface, focus on arms and legs or any strange behavior and signal. If you determine that he is no longer a human, just kill him." - Aeth replied, calmly.
Then he points to the ring in Ian's hand, "Keep it, I carved 3 runes on it already. It would be useful to keep your sanity safe. If it doesn't work, just take out all the items inside and explode it. I will be able to appear in ten minutes."
Ian: "If it's that serious, why don't you come with me?"
That's a sharp question, "However, I need to deal with some guys there."
*Whirr* - Being noticed, three Golden Knights instantly shift themselves straight to Aeth's front and Ian's rear.
*Clash* - The violet Aura rapidly expands outside, buying Ian time to escape the iron claws on his shoulders.
"Don't come back until you finish the mission. Keep in mind my guidance." - Aeth slightly takes out a saber and points it straight to them.
"Finally, you all can no longer wait, right?" - His violet Aura even stretches more and more, dying a corner of the firmament inside its color.
Athens: "Don't be ridiculous, Aetheria." - He also unleashes his Aura, directly clashes and balances the atmosphere.
He has short cyan hair with a standard uniform of The Holy Council - an usually formal guy.
Aeth looks at the guy behind Athens, "Valh."
"We have come up with a compromise. Sorry, Aether." - He replies, his red hair slightly sways in the wind.
"I see. Seems like…" - Aetheria unleashes all his power outside, his eyes open wide - glancing straight at each guy there.
"We need to talk for a little bit, don't we?"
Of course, to be here and have the second secret meeting, they have already mobilized the specific force to solve the dungeon break.
Obviously the terrain around the dimensional rifts also tell a part of them. Due to the location at the center of a lake, so basically it will be a water biome.
However there are around three water biomes that have the same expression like this one, and one of them is "Venomous Cave" which is also included in water biomes and venomous biomes.
"Thankfully with this acid density, it's around rank A- danger." - A yellow-haired female knight announces.
Obviously she is a leader - Silver Knight - of a hundred-knight team. Her intention is training her guys to be stronger; that's a very common goal as a leader, isn't it?
However, there isn't only her team, but also two more. Once led by Ryun - who is still missing - they are here to find back their leader without any permission. According to military rules, they will be captured for two years, but they care not. Northern Branch is still a new organization, if they finish everything without any mess, they would be safe.
And the last team is led by Hamet, also a young girl and Ryun's sister. There's no doubt that she is the supporter for the illegal participation of that non-leader team here.
Hamet looks at her team with an unshakable determination, "Whenever you guys haven't found him, just do it over and over again. I want to see him today."
"Yes ma'am." - Even though they do not want to waste their time, it's the special requirement of their leader - especially the youngest daughter of Duke Larin. Obviously they can't go against her orders even just an inch.
*Crack* - First signal, when the rift starts to create some crack sounds, the atmospheres of two dimensions are going to be balanced and interwoven - which means if it's the venomous biome, it will release some light acid in the air right now.
Observing that, Laryn - the yellow-haired leader - instantly orders her guys to determine the density of that acid.
This first stage is called "Gate Opening", lasting for around 2 to 5 minutes based on the ranks and terrains.
The second stage is "Invading" - when the monsters and the air inside the dimensional rifts start overflowing into the world with a specific amount and density.
*Uah* - "So what is the last stage?" - Ian leisurely stretches and approaches them with a wet training uniform - surely he just finished his course and runs straight to here without any preparation.
*Sigh* - "Ian, next time just clean up yourself first." - Laryn complains.
"Nah, I will do it after finishing this dimensional rift." - He cares not about it.
Ian: "So what is the situation?" - He looks at Laryn and waits for the answer.
She also looks at him, "Don't look at me like we are really friends."
"Okay whatever, if you meet any guy called 'Ryun', just tell me later after I clear this rift." - Ian doesn't joke, he takes away the black tight shirt and the white coat.
Seeing that, Laryn instantly tries to stop him by acting instead of persuading. It's just been two days since the first time they met, but she has no faith in him that he will listen to others, except his superior - Aetheria.
However she can't even catch up with his speed, and within a second, her body is put inside his arm.
"What are you doing? We declared that the next fight will be in the next month, why are you in such a hurry?" - Ian complains.
"Shut up! Where are you going?" - Laryn escapes from him and takes the device in her guy's hands.
"Look! It's 3.41 already, the acid in the air inside that dungeon might melt your body to liquid." - She points straight to the device and puts it close to his eyes.
Ian slightly puts it aside, "Oh c'mon, my Aura isn't here just for fun."
"Stop saying nonsense, don't you really think that you can cover your body inside your Aura yet? And even if you could right now, would you be able to maintain it for hours? The difference in time concept between two different dimensions is just a basic thing that I believe you've already known right?" - Laryn still tries to stop that stubborn guy.
This is rank A- danger or even A+ if there's a variable. Especially this kind of venomous biome, it would be fine if the world is waiting for them behind that rift is "Toxic Swamps". However, if it's "Venomous Cave", it's no longer good. That's everything she wants him to know.
"Oh? Aight, just let me in." - Ian surely cares not.
Laryn instantly gives up after hearing that superficial reply, "Alright whatever, I will report to your superior that this is your choice."
"Oh don't worry, this idea is his."
Laryn instantly gets stunned by herself, "Okay, I can't understand you guys. Do as you please."
Finally he escaped from those jaws of woman, he turned backward and went straight to the rift.
"Yo." - Another girl puts her hand on his shoulder.
"Oh c'mon, let me alone." - Ian really wants to kick their ass instead of behaving kindly, however the rules of the military do not allow him to do that to superiors. Don't forget that in this period of time Ian is still a normal knight under sir Aeth.
"Okay ma'am, how can I help you?" - He isn't an idiot, he knows that this girl isn't a normal leader due to the absolute obeying of her guys. He might get cooked if causing a mess here, so it's just better to behave well instead of acting arbitrarily.
"I heard that you mentioned 'Ryun', right?" - She looks at him with a seriousness in her eyes.
"Oh yes, sir Aetheria told me that name. Finding him is just a side quest. May I ask you a favor if we are looking for the same goal?" - This is the most polite style of Ian, it's the reward of 2-day-fast-training of Aetheria.
Can't believe that they really spent over two weeks just walking straight to this branch without learning anything of rituals.
"You don't need to keep those cumbrous rituals, just make it simple. Yes, I'm looking for my big brother - Ryun Ponyagrad." - Hamet explains her situation.
"Alright, perfect. I'm looking for him too, if you find him, just keep him in your sight, record all the behaviors. If he acts abnormally, tell me, I'll solve the problem." - Ian slightly lets her know about his mission.
"Can I ask for the reason?" - Hamet curiously looks at him.
"I don't even know, Aeth–, sir Aetheria just gave me a mission to track him." - Ian surely won't let her know about his true mission. No one will stupidly allow others to kill their big brothers with any excuse or reason.
Hamet isn't dumb, she knows that this guy in front of her eyes is lying blatantly. However, she can't go against sir Aetheria's intention. Even though she isn't the direct inferiority of Aetheria, the Silver Knights are mentioned to obey The Golden Knights; if there's no special case, she can't disobey one of them.
"Alright, good luck." - She drops an end in this conversation and turns back to her position.
"You too." - Ian knows that she wouldn't be honest if the worst case became true.
Nevertheless, Laryn is still here, she might not let him down.
And about other normal knights, they have no wonder about his actions. Since they saw sir Aeth directly promoted him to be a member of their team without any explanation, they knew that this guy wasn't ordinary.
*Crack - Vrroom* - This is the first time Ian's ever entered a dungeon. He has no experience at all, but the bunch of Aura inside himself just be there and "say" that he should abuse it wisely to crash into any kind of challenge.
*Vsh - Pop* - He feels warm everywhere on his skin, it was a venom shot of a huge dark green serpent.
Data: Toxic Serpent
- Passive: Dark/Water Resistance II; Fire Vulnerability II; Holy Vulnerability III; Poisonous II (red level); Poison Immunity II; Speed lv4; Durability II.
- Skills: Poisonous Shots (poison lv2); Body Crash; Poisonous Swamps 2 (poison lv2).
=> Avr.Danger: A-
In the scale for normal humans, poison level 2 is rated as red level - which decays and melts all their bodies into liquid. However Ian isn't a normal human, his Aura protection just negates everything.
Ian: "Well, nice try."
Then he mobilizes a part of his Aura into the eyes - basic Aura technique: Sight - allowing the users to look through objects.
Ian: "Oh wow, 3 snakes and 2 chameleons. Nice beginning."
Data: Scaletail Chameleon
- Passive: Invisible III; Water Resistance II; Fire Vulnerability I; Holy Vulnerability III (+225%); Poisonous II; Poison Immunity II ; Speed lv3.
- Skills: Hallucinatory Fog III + Toxic Fog IV (poison lv3 + strong acid).
Ian knows what he needs to do right now. Scaletail Chameleons are targeted immediately; they are not strong but the fog that they release also isn't harmless. These kinds of monsters usually hide away human sight and non-stop raise the acid density in the air in order to kill cleaners slowly but inevitably.
He concentrates everything on his right fist, he knows that this kind of biome will drain everybody by time. So the key is clearing this dungeon in the fastest way. If you ask me how?
Space Breaker - Ian swings his fist ahead; it reaches the concept of space, touches and impacts it in a very short period of time - crushing it to pieces!
*Crack - Bang* - Space contains everything lower than itself inside - there we have basic elements, air, water,... So in short, if Ian breaks the space, he indirectly breaks everything it holds inside.
And the shockwaves of that process can even oscillate for miles from the start. In other words, Ian really has an ability to clear any kind of low to middle rank dungeons without any support.
Nevertheless, this world is built on balance, everywhere the shockwave passes through remains nothing but a mess. He must be very lucky to loot any intact materials or items after using Space Breaker.
*Whirr - Bang - Bang* - Of course, it works like Chrono Rift of Paragon. The damage and destruction are determined at the start - how seriously he breaks the space.
And this time, it cleared everything in front of him in 2.3 miles range, consequently, nothing remained.
"Oopsie…"