Chapter 59 | Level 14, Obsidian Bear
[You have leveled up to Level 14!]
[You have gained one point in every attribute, and two free attribute points.]
Alicar also checked his attribute points at that moment as he hadn’t used them throughout his leveling.
[Attribute Points: 8.]
’Nice,’ he thought, a grin spreading across his face.
With so many attribute points, Alicar would grow much stronger after allocating them, though he hesitated on where to place them.
Constitution would mainly affect Platinum Body, making him even more resilient to damage.
Spirit would affect Elemental Attack and Six-Elements Affinity, boosting his magical power significantly.
And Strength would affect Demonic Arts, increasing the physical damage of his strikes.
Only Agility seemed to be the outlier in this scenario, though Alicar wasn’t dumb enough to believe that he wouldn’t acquire a skill in the future that relied on speed.
Also Agility was the main thing that determined whether he could dodge an attack or not in combat.
After all, if an enemy’s attack was overwhelming enough to get past Demonic Guard and Platinum Body, then Alicar would die if he didn’t dodge it in time.
Faced with that kind of choice, Alicar was about to hesitate for a while until he heard David’s voice cut through the air.
"Everyone takes their own corpse," David urged the others, his voice firm and practical. "That way no need to fight over the loot."
That meant Leon could get four, Alicar would get five since he killed five, and the other three got two each except David who had three.
All the others simply stored the corpses in their Storage Rings to be able to sell them later, with only Alicar taking the time to butcher all of them for the cores.
"Why are you doing this?" David asked as he approached Alicar, his brow furrowed with curiosity. "The association will buy out the cores too, you know?"
"My Storage Ring is too small to get the corpses in it," Alicar lied smoothly, his voice calm. "So I just take the cores."
"Damn, I guess that’s why you wanted the bounties on those monsters, heh?" David chuckled, shaking his head.
"...Yeah," Alicar replied, not bothering to correct him.
While the others were busy talking, Alicar grabbed all five E-Rank cores and consumed them one by one, acting as if he was putting them in his Storage Ring.
Fwoosh!
[+1 Evolution Point.]
He now had 4 EP, though he didn’t immediately use them as he didn’t know which skill to use it on, perhaps saving was also a good way to evolve a future skill when he needed it the most.
Either way, he stored two of the wolves corpses since he could, but not anything else as his storage ring didn’t allow it.
And the group continued like that, killing some monsters and their synergy working extremely well together.
"Alright, we’re entering a territory where some Strays have been found," Sera whispered to the group, her voice low and cautious. "Be careful."
And right as he finished his sentence...
BOOM!
An explosion erupted, but not under them, as it wasn’t a trap, instead, it was from a distance, making the group look at each other with tense gaze.
And a few seconds after that...
BOOM!
Another explosion occurred, this one powerful enough that Alicar felt the shockwave ripple through the air even from this distance.
"There is no way in hell we’re going toward that," David mumbled, his eyes wide with fear. "Let’s change routes."
"But the route we picked is the one said to have the least monsters and traps," Sera mumbled, her voice uncertain. "I think we should just wait it out!"
"What if its just another group of awakener?" Leon chimed in, his voice hopeful. "I mean, there’s bound to be others here, right?"
"Yeah," Alicar replied, though he wasn’t entirely convinced.
Alicar hadn’t forgotten about the two Strays who attacked him, especially Daniel, the name of their leader, he’d make sure that they paid for what they did, not only to him, but likely to other awakener previously.
Either way, after deciding, the group started to move forward, but the closer they got to the explosion, the stranger the atmosphere became.
The trees around them were scorched and blackened, their branches twisted and broken, the ground littered with craters and debris.
The air was thick with the smell of smoke and ozone, a clear sign of intense magical battle.
And as they cautiously approached the source of the explosions, peering through the undergrowth, they saw a small clearing.
Inside it, a singular man was fighting a massive level 23 rare-rank monster, the creature towering over him like a mountain.
[Obsidian Bear Lv.23]
[Rank: Rare]
The beast was covered in thick, black fur that gleamed like obsidian, its massive claws razor-sharp and its beady eyes burning with primal fury.
"Holy shit...!" David gasped as he saw the monster, his face pale with terror. "That thing would likely wipe us all out if we fought it..."
Alicar also knew that it was much stronger than the Goblin Commander, which Alicar still believed he couldn’t defeat at his current level.
And yet that man was, by himself, fighting this monster and holding his ground.
The monster seemed to be in extremely rough condition, its body scorched and missing one of its arms, clearly having been worn down over time.
While on the other hand, the young man seemed completely fine, his expression neutral, unbothered by the atmosphere around him.
ROOOAR!
The Obsidian Bear let out a deafening roar and charged at the man, its remaining claw swinging with devastating force.
But the man simply sidestepped with fluid grace, his body moving like water, and launched a massive fireball that struck the bear square in the chest.
The explosion sent the creature stumbling backward, its fur blackened and smoking.
The bear tried to swipe at him again, but this time, the man didn’t even bother dodging.
The claws passed right through his body as if it were made of flames, leaving him completely unharmed.
The man followed up with another fireball, then another, each one more devastating than the last.
Finally, with one massive blast, the bear collapsed to the ground, defeated.
Only then did Alicar come back to his senses and use his ability to peer deep into the man’s soul.
The soul of the man was completely red and orange, as if made of living fire, a perfect reflection of his class and element.
[Name: Valerius Phoenix]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 23]
[Vessel Potential: Excellent.]
’I see now,’ Alicar immediately understood as he saw the young man’s last name. ’The Phoenix family, huh.’