“I’m going now, Grandma,” Lux said as he hugged Vera. “I’ll come and visit as often as I can.”
“Mmm,” Vera hummed as she lightly patted her adopted grandson’s head. “I’ll always be here waiting. Be safe, Lux.”
The red-headed teenager reluctantly took a step back as he looked at his grandma’s gaze filled with affection. It was the face that had watched over him all these years and showered him with love and tenderness.
In his past lifetime, Lux had no goals in life. This time around, he had two goals in mind. The first one was to help save the world from destruction.
And the second, goal was to make his Grandma proud of him. He wanted her to know that all the sacrifices she had made for him all these years were worth it. More than anything else, he wanted the world to give Vera the recognition she deserved.
And for that to happen, he must return to Elysium. Back to the world that held the secrets on how Solais could be saved from its predetermined destruction.
“Take care, Grandma. I love you,” Lux said as he pressed his fist over his chest. “Open, Heaven’s Gate!”
Lux turned into particles of light and disappeared.
Vera smiled as she placed a hand over her chest. She was very happy that her grandson was doing well in Elysium. She knew that this parting wouldn’t last forever, for in time, the little Half-Elf—who she had raised since he was a baby—would return to her side once more after he grew tired from his adventures.
——
Leaf Village…
After returning to Leaf Village, the first thing that Lux did was to visit his Blacksmith Master, Randolph.
He had already returned Blood Moon to his Master’s custody because the mission had ended. However, Lux was thinking if he could borrow it again for a short period of time to accomplish a great undertaking for the village.
Although he didn’t want to rely on the Mythical Weapon for help, the mission he planned to accomplish was impossible to complete without it.
However, just as Lux entered the business district of the village, several familiar faces ran towards him with smiles on their faces.
“Big Brother!” Colette called out as she happily jumped at him with her arms opened wide. Th link to the orign of this information rsts n ovl(ꜰ)ir(e).nt
The Half-Elf had no choice but to catch the adorable little girl who seemed to have become more lively after spending a few days back home.
After the battle in the Kobold’s Nest, Colette and her friends returned to Solais in order to see their families. This was a very natural custom for Dwarves, especially after managing to survive a near-death experience.
After swinging the little Dwarf round and round a few times, Lux placed her back on the ground and lightly patted her head. Colette, on the other hand, grabbed hold of Lux’s hands and held it firmly in her two little hands.
“Big Brother, I have thought about this for a long time. You have risked your life a few times to save me, and for that I am very grateful,” Colette said with a serious expression on her face. “That’s why, in order to repay you, will you please… marry…”
Lux gulped because Colette was looking at him with a flushed expression on her face. The Half-Elf waited with bated breath as the little dwarf finished what she wanted to say.
Matty, who was watching this scene, immediately became alarmed. He then gave Lux the “I’m going to kill you if you marry Colette!” glare, which made the red-headed teenager have the strong urge to slap him.
“Will you please… marry… my Big Sister?” Colette pleaded. “That way, you will be part of our family!”
“Eh?” Matty, who was about to draw his sword, ready to hack Lux into pieces, stopped midway. He then looked at Colette and patted his chest in relief before glaring back at Lux, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face.
“Marry your Big Sister?” Lux blinked once then twice in confusion.
“Yes!” Colette nodded her head. “My Big Sister is very beautiful! She has many suitors, but if I help you, your chances of marrying her will be very high! Don’t worry, even if you are not a dwarf, I will vouch for you!”
Lux wanted to scratch his head using his left hand, since his right was firmly held by the excited little Dwarf who was looking up at him with sparkling eyes.
“… I’ll think about it,” Lux replied in helplessness. He felt that if he rejected Colette’s offer right away, the little girl would throw a tantrum and pester him until he said yes.
“Good.” Colette smiled. For now, she was satisfied with Lux’s answer. After going back home, she had told her parents and her sister about how Lux had saved them inside the Kobold’s Nest.
Colette’s parents and older sister were quite surprised because they understood how difficult it was to fight against a horde of Kobolds inside their nest. Because of this, the little girl’s father even prepared several gifts to repay Lux for saving his daughter’s life.
“Big Brother, this is for you. This came from my Family. It’s a thank you gift for saving our lives.” Colette procured a silver ring from her magic bag and gave it to Lux. “Please, accept it.”
Lux didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted the silver ring from Colette’s hands. Right now, he wouldn’t reject any goodwill that would help him become stronger in Elysium.
When the Half-Elf glanced at the contents of the ring, he found twenty Rank 2 Beast Cores and a blue bow with intricate designs.
Out of curiosity, Lux took out the bow from the storage ring to give it a closer look.
“It’s a good bow,” Lux said as he held it in his hands. Right now, he didn’t have the ability to appraise things because he still hadn’t learned the skill yet, but it was not a problem because he had the Elysium Compendium.
Any item that could be found in Elysium was recorded inside the Mythical Item that Lux had acquired through Gacha.
After summoning the compendium in his hand, the information for the bow appeared, and Lux wasn’t able to stop himself from whistling after reading its contents.
—–
< Heartstriker: Bow of the Forest >
Weapon Type: Longbow
Rarity: Unique
Requirement: Dexterity 80
– Damage: 125 – 160
– Increase Range Attack damage by 20%
Passive Skill: Shot to the Heart
< Shot to the Heart >
– Deals double damage if your attack hits the heart area of your target
– This ability works with normal and skill based attacks.
——
“Thank you, Colette,” Lux said with a smile. “This is just the thing that I need.”
“I’m glad you liked it, Big Brother!” Colette smiled back.
She was quite happy that Lux liked the gift that her father had prepared for him. Although she hadn’t seen Lux use a bow before, she believed that since her Big Brother was a Half-Elf, he was blessed with the ability to use a bow perfectly.
What the cute little Dwarf didn’t know was that the reason why Lux was happy was because he was looking for a weapon to give to his Skeleton Hunter, Ishtar. With Heartstriker in her possession, her long range attacks would be even more deadly.
Matty, Helen, Axel, and Andy also gave Lux various gifts that came from their family. Although they didn’t present Lux with any weapons, all of them gave him ten Rank 2 Beast Cores, which made the Half-Elf very happy.
“Are you angels?” Lux asked as he accepted the Beast Cores with gratitude. “The last time I checked, today is not my birthday.”
“Hah? Did the Kobolds clobber your head on our return trip?” Matty snorted. “This is just our family being grateful to you for saving our lives. Mark my word, this won’t happen ever again. I will never, ever, be placed in a situation again where someone else needs to rescue me!”
Colette, Helen, Axel, and Andy all nodded their heads in agreement. Their experience inside the Kobold’s Nest wasn’t a good one. Because of this experience, they wanted to become stronger. The next time a similar situation happened, they wouldn’t be as helpless as they had been previously.
Lux could understand what they were feeling because he also thought the same. As long as he could become stronger than his enemies, then he wouldn’t have to worry about being placed into a dangerous position.
“Big Brother, what are your plans for today?” Colette asked. “We planned to look for the Carbuncle in the Aspiration Plains. Would you like to join us?”
“Carbuncle?” Lux frowned as he returned the bow to his storage ring.
The Carbuncle was the Alpha Beast of the Aspiration Plains. It was the Lord of the Horned Rabbits and a Support Type Monster that healed and buffed its allies in battle. Of course, when put to a pinch, this meter-tall beast was capable of attacking its enemies with physical and magical attacks.
It was also very fast, which made it a difficult adversary for a party whose members still hadn’t stepped into the Apostle Rank.
The reason why Colette proposed to attack the Carbuncle was due to Lux’s performance in the Kobold’s Nest. After seeing Diablo’s strength, as well as the other skeletons under the Half-Elf’s command, she was very confident that they would be able to beat the weakest of the Alpha Beasts of Leaf Village.
Colette’s offer was very tempting, and Lux also knew that they were indeed capable of challenging the Carbuncle. However, the plan he had in mind must take precedence. Now that the Riders of Norria had a non-aggression pact with the Kobolds, who had resorted to banditry in the past, their hands were now more free to handle some tasks that they had set aside beforehand.
One of these tasks was dealing with the mosquito infestation that was still happening in the Figaro Gardens. Lux wanted to deal with this menace, before the Riders of Norria were dispatched to the scene.
As long as he could borrow Blood Moon from his Master, Randolph, again Lux was confident that his skeleton party would be able to decimate the mosquitoes that had forced the Adventurer’s Guild to prevent everyone from entering the Figaro Gardens.
“There is something that I need to do first, but I’ll probably be back within three days,” Lux replied after organizing his thoughts. “If you can wait till then, I will be more than happy to challenge the Carbuncle with all of you.”
“Okay!” Colette readily agreed to Lux’s proposal. “Let’s fight the Carbuncle in three days. This is a promise. Right, Big Brother?”
Lux nodded. “I promise. I will return in three days and fight the Carbuncle with all of you. Also, I won’t fight with any of you for the monster drops. All of you can have it.”
“Big Brother, you are the best!” Colette grinned as she gave Lux a thumbs up.
After talking about a few more things, the group parted and went to deal with their own business.
Lux resumed his journey to his Master’s workshop while time was still on his side. He hoped that before the Riders of Norria arrived, he would be able to finish the task that he had set out to do.