"What kind of artifacts are we talking about?" Joe asked with caution, and when Arthur told him they were low-ranking ones, he sighed in relief. "Then why me? I know you can find others in Kera city." That was Joe's second question, and it made sense.
"I'll be spending a lot of time here with Kira as I can't take it into the city as a mount yet. Furthermore, I'll be hunting in these areas. I also wish to stay anonymous, away from the hustle and bustle."
"Is that so?" Joe nodded in understanding, as a lot of mercenary staying here wished for the same. "So are you going to be staying at my tavern?"
"On most days at least. I still have a lot of business to take care of in the city. I'll also count on you for any mana cores or monsters' part to be sold."
"Sounds good to me, let's make some money. What's your name, by the way?" Joe nodded and reached out his hand, and Arthur shook it.
"Call me Aldo."
It was a distrustful thing to use a fake name, but Arthur felt like it was necessary if things came to worst. Since Joe owned a tavern that dealt in mana cores and monsters' part, he was licensed to buy and sell these items without going through any legal matters. Most mercenaries disliked such things, so the government made it easier for them. Although this would allow for unsupervised hunting, they encouraged this due to some areas where monsters that escaped the dungeons couldn't be reached in time, like mountain range Rovero.
Joe was also fine with Arthur using a pseudonym, making this a lot more comfortable to Arthur. The two discussed the ratio, the delivery, payments, and other finer details until it was the afternoon and Joe treated Arthur for a meal.
Arthur couldn't stay in the mountain range for long, so he planned to head back toward the city after asking Joe to take care of Kira. Sensing no danger and being offered food, the wolf stayed next to the pub obediently. Even more, it was reassured by Joe's mount existence as it started following it. Arthur and Joe laughed at the two wolves forming a little pack of their own, and Arthur went home.
His body was still injured, but finding Kira took priority for him. Even if it was a lot weaker now, Arthur wouldn't forget the bond they shared in the trial. If he couldn't find the giant Kira, he needed to take care of this one until it matures.
After he was back home, he sat on top of his bed as he opened his legacy.
[Scholar Guardian's Legacy]
[Level: 15 (16%)]
[Strength: 67]
[Agility: 64]
[Stamina: 58]
[Perception: 50]
[Mana: 65/65]
[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (20%), Useable Runes: 10]
[Skills: Lesser-Mana Breathing Skill (F), Poison Strike (F), Camouflage (F), Earth Manipulation (E), Bladeless Wind Slash (E), Shadow Swap (E)]
[Insignia: The Breaker.]
These were the stats he absorbed while hunting with Hazel, Miko, and the bastard Jin. He also remembered that when he absorbed the Dark Queen, the legacy told him that he absorbed Dark Essence but he had no idea what that was. His legacy didn't show it, so it is probably something he can't use yet.
"That's it?" Self-ridicule was the most intense feeling Arthur had as he felt this was not enough. Did he end the trial just for these gains?
'Shut up. Don't be conceited.'
The trial gave him the chance to grow so much stronger in a short amount of time. Even if Arthur's life was at stake, he still acknowledges that no real strength came from playing it safe all the time.
His strength, agility, stamina, and perception increased by two or three times than they were before the trial. He also gained five skills plus many runes from the trial alone. There was also the matter of his new legacy rune, Dark Essence, and insignia that he had yet to understand. Speaking of the former, Arthur read its description for the first time.
[Release: Legacy rune that releases the limits of the human body and burns all of the user's mana for short-duration amplification of physical stats. The duration and the amplification percentages depend on the user's physical body and mana. A backlash may occur if the body isn't strong enough.]
It had a lot of explanation unlike the Absorb rune, but it was simple to understand. It was a berserk rune, with a few tweaks here and there.
First was the amplification. Arthur had witnessed his powers after using the rune first hand, and he could easily beat up 'the genius berserk' to a bloody pulp. The second was the duration, as this was a short burst of power that couldn't be used for long. The third was the release of the limits, and this was the reason for the insane increase of power.
Limits were there for a reason. They were there to protect you against using too much power and ending up hurting yourself or even losing it. They determined the amount of power you could use without hurting yourself, and everyone's body was designed that way.
Lastly was the use of all of his mana, as Arthur would be rendered extremely weakened by this. He had to thank the Restore-I that he also used at that time to supply him with mana, resulting in the blue hues he released.
This rune was extremely powerful, but it was also extremely risky to use. However, if Arthur wanted to face a final boss, this rune would be a godsent gift for him.
In any case, he still had the other two things he needed to figure out. The first was the dark essence he absorbed from the queen and the second was the insignia. He didn't know if these made him stronger or not, but he needed to be careful as he studies about them. After all, he obtained both by unorthodox means.
Arthur lied down to sleep, deciding to rest before going to the academy tomorrow. Tomorrow was the last weekday and he wanted to solve Oren's issue and arrange the meeting with his club members.
The last few days flashed in his mind, and he was suddenly worried about Miko, Yuran, and Hazel. He had no idea how they were doing, but he knew Hazel's last name from the time Jin called her. He made a mental note to look it up later on as he drifted to sweet sleep.
***
The next day at the academy was boring, to say the least. There were a few lectures here and there, and Arthur trained a bit using the virtual machines. He realized the academy only served to boost his knowledge, so he decided to go to the library and read later on. Other than that, however, the academy was only a channel he used to participate in the national exam that would be hosted in Jerano college.
"Text me his name, it's time for me to deal with this." Arthur sent a message to Oren, who bough his new phone yesterday. Arthur used a bit of his money to buys his mother and little brother a phone each since it was inhuman to them until now to be left like this. His hands were tied, however, as he lacked the money to buy them until now.
He wanted Oren to send him the name of the girl's older brother instead of waiting for him to make a move. Arthur wanted to have some words with him and beat him up a little, that was all.
He closed his phone when he reached the club room, placing his hand on the door's handle. Before he could enter and apologize for not coming the past few days, an explosion erupted from the club room that flung the door wide open, barely missing Arthur who dodged in the nick of time.
"Dammit, it's another failure!" Ori cursed as he threw his long hair over his head, revealing the dark circles under his eyes. Jia and Ellen were also there and were charcoaled as if they were in a comic, with Jia's blond hair standing erect.
"What's happening here?" Arthur asked in wonder, looking at what looked like a glove on the table.
"Oh, Arthur? You haven't escaped?" Ori calmed down and looked at him with amazement, and Arthur found himself slightly embarrassed by the comment.
"Sorry, I was really busy."
"Haha, I'm just kidding. Ellen told us that you didn't attend classes as well. Come on in and help us, this is driving us crazy!"
"What are you trying to do?" Arthur walked, feeling intrigued by the club's activities once again. They seemed like they were always up to something interesting, and Arthur was more than willing to help.
"We're trying to make a fireball glove, but it's failing miserably! We need to integrate the artificial rune to the material, but it's causing a fireball to explode instead." Ori sighed as the other two stood up and started cleaning themselves.
"Okay, can I see the mana paths?" Arthur felt slightly excited as the notion of studying a new rune, and Ori nodded.
"Of course, I'll transfer it to your Runic Bracelet."
"My what?"