[New rune has been gained: Stealth-I.]
[Stealth-I: Hide the target from creatures with less than 100 points in perception. The effect decreases the more perception someone has over a 100.]
Arthur gained this rune after he killed the undead knight, which was a high-tier monster, by himself. It had a long explanation, but its effects were simple with clear limits.
If someone had less than 100 points in perception, they wouldn't be able to see Arthur. If someone has over 100 points, then the effects start wearing off the higher their perception is.
This would help Arthur if he ever needed to avoid the nuisance of being spotted by both humans and monsters. Of course, for someone with Si's perception, there would be no effect at all. However, this rune was still at its lowest tier. He could work to evolve it further.
It was a moral dilemma as to what he would do with Juan's body. He can either try to return it to his family or stay out of it. In the end, Arthur decided he couldn't explain how he could defeat such a monster. Furthermore, he didn't think his story would like how it ended for him.
After that, he burned the body to ashes. He couldn't leave it here in case another parasite tried to control it. No human deserved to live forever as an undead, not even Juan who had tried to ditch him at that time. That didn't mean Arthur mourned him, it was just basic decency.
Arthur's current level progress was now 23% even after defeating the undead knight. However, it was expected given that more monsters would be needed to level up the higher his level became. He grabbed the core of the undead knight and absorbed it.
[Your mana has increased by 1.]
[Your mana has increased by 1.]
[Your mana has increased by 1.]
This was a hefty sum given how hard it is to accumulate mana the stronger he became. That's why there were very few powerhouses in the world.
Arthur would need to go back to the city for two days. The competition was fast approaching and he needed to be done with it to guarantee his enrolment in Jerano. After that, he would be cramming runes until his ability evolves as well.
For now, he decided that he would keep on hunting. Before that, he used the Stealth rune on his body and felt his presence weaken. As he sprinted and passed some skeletons, they didn't even notice his existence.
He killed them all with his fire rune. It was no longer a hunt but a one-sided massacre. Unlike the earlier platoons, the rest of the skeletons in the valley of the dead were scattered, making them harder for Arthur to kill.
Nonetheless, his progress in levels kept rising and so did his mana. Sadly, he couldn't absorb the essence from the undead. That's why his other stats didn't rise at all. On the other hand, his mana rose explosively.
This had to do with the fact that the undead had more mana than normal monsters. Monsters converted mana to attributes they employed like strength or agility. For the undead, their core was their everything.
Arthur found a group of five skeleton twin-bears. Maybe this style was rather popular among parasites or maybe this was a club of some sort, but Arthur had no mind of studying their behaviors. As he drew near, one of them turned his way in confusion.
This parasite, or undead, ability to perceive things was higher than its peers. That didn't stop Arthur from dashing into their midst, raising his arms, and flailing wildly as a fire tornado engulfed the five monsters.
The one with high perception walked toward Arthur, covered in the flames that he had survived. It clawed in an attempt to behead Arthur but a barrier rose to block the attack.
"Don't struggle against death, this isn't your world, to begin with." Arthur punched at the bear's torso, splitting it in half with a loud crack. The monster swayed before it fell.
The rest of the monster also kept trying to rearrange their bones, connect them using mana, and survive the flames. However, Arthur gave them no time and took away their cores.
[Your mana has increased by 1.]
[Your mana has increased by 1.]
[Your mana has increased by 1.]
…
The notification kept rolling as Arthur left a trail of bones as he passed through the valley. As he killed another human-spider, the sweet message of leveling up arrived.
[You have leveled up.]
He now had 19 Legacy Points and 3 Stats points. He threw the stats points to agility and felt his body become lighter and more responsive. His level was now 27, three levels away from hitting 30.
A day has passed since he entered the valleys of the dead. In a day, he managed to level up twice. Arthur had no plans on stopping here and kept going forward.
More than one person wanted him dead or enslaved. Even though Jizo has mentioned that Arthur was valuable to the seven families, he knew that the guardian meant valuable as a tool.
'I need to become stronger.' Arthur crushed another skull. 'Stronger.' He split a skeleton in half. 'Stronger than anyone.' He burned a platoon to the ground.
The monsters were endless. As he fought more and more, Arthur realized that if the wilderness was only a fraction of the other world, then humanity had little hope of surviving.
The undead kept coming his way. He kept coming their way. It was a battle for his world and to grow stronger.
He leveled up to 28 after two days of killing the undead. He stopped when he saw something in the distance. In the brightly lit gray sky, a rope of smoke flew upward.
'Humans?' Arthur frowned. 'Why are there humans so deep into the valley? Can it be a guild?'
Arthur didn't find it odd, just annoying. He didn't want to collide with other humans in this place. Luckily, he had brought his mask before he came here from the company.
He took out the mask that had horns and fangs like a demon. Arthur wanted to look like a goblin, but Ruby's version of a goblin differed from his.
'Goblins are a bit cuter than this,' He thought as he looked at the mask before wearing it. He didn't plan on colliding with them, but simply scouting the place.
Using teleport, Arthur teleported to a high steep ground of the mountain range. He then peered ahead as he looked at the source of the smoke.
It was a large camp with people wearing armor and a few vehicles lying about. There was a large tent surrounded by several smaller tents and a fire has been started. The area was cleared of any monsters in a radius of a few hundred meters.
There were almost fifty people in the camp. As Arthur studied them, he found that most of them wore armor or robes. This was a giant group of awakeners with a clear objective: hunting the undead. Arthur didn't miss that a few warriors were wearing golden armor with a reflective surface.
'A guild?' Arthur wondered. He kept scouting the camp as he tried to know which guild this was. It was a few minutes later that the curtains of the tens moved and a group came out. Arthur realized that these people were the camp's leaders by how the others behaved around them.
As he studied the faces one by one, he found someone familiar. Arthur couldn't remember where he had seen this person before, but he knew that they have met somewhere. He was a young man with a pig-nose and chubby jowls.
"Oh, it's the pig from the runes association exam," Arthur remembered and muttered out loud.
As if hearing his words, someone in the group turned his way. He saw a slight commotion and realized he had been spotted. He saw a flash of light and reflexively threw a barrier, only to see it break down the next moment.
A Magic Gunman.
Arthur used his teleport rune without any hesitation and fled the scene. He couldn't fight a whole guild on his own, no matter how much stronger he became on his own.
If Arthur wanted to flee, then no one can stop him as long as he had his teleport rune. After a few teleports, he was out of the valley with no chance of them following him.
'I've already run out of time. It's not because I'm scared of these people. Yup, I'm letting them go.' Arthur mocked to himself as he returned to the goblin village. As he walked back, he thought about the latest events.
'Juan became an undead. The guild the pig father ran is also here. However, there's no news in the media about the bizarre behavior of the undead. There's not even a mention of an undead overlord.
Is someone trying to conceal the news from the public?'
Arthur had some suspicions. An undead overlord was a powerful existence, but it also meant powerful artifacts, a core, and a powerful skill.
