Arthur dragged his tired body through the thick snow, making his way back to the settlement. Even though he had already drunk three stamina potions to recharge, he still felt quite tired after the trip he had.
His mind was still thinking about that encounter and what he saw. He could not get it out of his head and will probably never be able to forget it. After all, that deep horror he experienced could’ve never been any more real.
On the way, Arthur came across several groups of wandering deer. The monsters noticed him too and immediately charged at him, intending to dissect him to pieces. After all, Arthur looked quite injured and tired.
However, what happened after that was simply… amazing.
*Swish* *Swish*
Like a ghost, Arthur vanished from their vision, appearing right behind his target with his sword in his hand. A moment later, the deer’s head fell off its shoulders cleanly before the entire body crumbled down.
“Fuuh…” He exhaled. Looking back at the dead corpses, Arthur clicked his tongue. “It’s not the time for you, idiots. Read the room.”
In a matter of seconds, Arthur had killed 6 deer and it was not even close. After all, this Arthur wasn’t the same Arthur of a few hours ago. After fighting those Lake Spirits and killing countless of them, he had gained a lot of stats and levels, pushing his power even further.
Although the increase wasn’t completely ridiculous, the mechanism of powering up in the game changes at that level. At first, increasing stats was considerably easier since the enemies were weak but at the same time, each point didn’t have a huge effect since the level of power was still marginal.
However, as the player grows stronger and stronger as the stats become harder to obtain, naturally, each point will start having a stronger effect. Arthur did not know if this was a real mechanic implemented in the game or if it was simply his feeling, but he didn’t care.
‘As much as I’m traumatized from that lake… This trip had been really fruitful. For a first day in the tower, I’m satisfied with my progress.’
Gaining several levels, leveling up some of his skills, gaining more knowledge and experience, and more importantly… Seeing something that gave Arthur a huge slap in the face.
That giant was perhaps the single most important moment for Arthur in the entire game. Facing something so overwhelmingly stronger that he had no other choice but to run for his life gave Arthur a wake-up call. The boy was starting to get too comfortable in the Divine Realm and he was starting to take things as a silly joke.
However, that was far from the truth. The Divine Realm was a horribly dangerous place and Arthur hadn’t seen that yet. This giant was simply his very first encounter with a monster truly of a different league.
‘It’s the first goddamn floor of the tower, man… If this is the kind of creature I come across on the lowest floor… Then…’ He slowly looked up at the sky. ‘What is waiting for me above?’
Just the thought of it sent chills down Arthur’s spine. He had to slap his face a few times not to remain in that state.
‘This is why I’m far from ready to tackle down huge tasks. I’m still far too weak for that. This is my first day in the tower so I must work hard. Really hard!’
With that in mind, Arthur saw the settlement gates up ahead. He had finally reached his destination after walking slowly for a while. Stopping in front of the gates, he rested his hand on his sword and wiped the blood off his face.
“Open the gates!” He yelled.
Immediately, he saw two guards peek at him from above the walls.
“State your name!”
Find your next adventure on empire
“I’m the Gifted One! Just open the door!” He replied.
After taking a second look, the two guards were taken aback before they quickly walked away.
A few seconds later, the gates opened and they walked outside.
“Show us your identification document again, please.” The guard warily approached Arthur as if he was still suspicious.
‘Huh? Can’t he see that it’s literally me?’ Arthur exhaled a small breath before he pulled the scroll out. He didn’t bother to argue back as he was too tired to do that.
Reading through the scroll, the man nodded his head. “Welcome back, sir. We apologize but this is a routine check to make sure everyone who enters the settlement is truly who they claim they are.”
“Huh? Are t-“
“Please, go ahead.” The guard cut him off and then headed back inside.
‘… Very weird if you ask me…’ Assuming that it was just a safety measure, Arthur walked inside the settlement. The time was still not night so the settlement was active. But, the first thing Arthur did was head back to the chief’s office. He had something to talk about with that man.
***
“Ah, a good, steamy coffee on a cold day. Nothing is better.” Logus muttered as he set down his cup on the table and looked at the window silently, taking a well-deserved break. He had been working since last night non-stop.
Being the chief of the settlement required him to sign a lot of paperwork. From shipment of goods like food and clothing into the tower, to signing approvals of weapons and raids into the different parts of Frozen Peak.
He also had to plan along with the mercenaries for their expansions in the future and their plans to completely control the first floor. Even though this particular floor was the easiest and least dangerous, it was still not fully under the control of the empire.
‘Sigh… I want to sleep.’ Logus thought to himself as he closed his eyes for a moment. ‘Just a few minutes to take a nap won’t harm nobo-‘
At that moment, the door to the office was kicked open, startling the man out of his dazed state.
“Huh?! What?! Where?!”
Looking up, he noticed someone standing in front of the table.
“S-Sir?! Y-You’re bac-“
“Cut the crap, Logus.” Arthur replied coldly. “Did you send me to the lake to kill me?”
“What? Excuse me?”
“I almost died because of your advice!” Arthur clicked his tongue angrily.
“… I… What? I really… Can you please explain to me what happened? I’m really confused, sir.” Logics adjusted his glasses and tried to calm him down. He noticed that Arthur had many traces of blood on his body, indicating a really brutal battle. “Do you want a cup of coffee?”
“No! Explain to me what the hell is that creature I saw in the lake.”
“Creature? What creature?”
“A giant monster sitting on a goddamn stone throne!” Arthur replied. “Wait, why am I even explaining that to you? You should be the one telling me about it. That thing almost killed me!”
“…”
For some reason, Arthur noticed a very confused look on Logus’ face as if he heard something weird.
“So? What is that monster?”
“… Sir? Uhm, I don’t know if you’re really ok or not but… Nothing lives in that lake… It’s completely dead.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3