Ghandilva the Elder of Baran Village was in a dilemma. The Village home to five hundred households. Baran Village had once been a peaceful village in the southern province of Rosenheim Kingdom. It has been invaded by lizardmen as of late. The villagers had dispersed, while some of the women had been taken captive.
"I'd like to hear where this seed comes from," Weed said.
Ghandilva's colorless eyes shone with the light of hope.
"Would you help us when I tell you what I know, Master?"
"Please don't insult me, sir. Whether you speak or not, I will help your people. When innocents are held captive by evil monsters, how can a fellow man leave it alone and go his way?"
"Oh!"
Ghandilva was struck by a surge of excitement. While everyone else dismissed his plea for help, here was a Good Samaritan who offered his sword for the rescue.
"Darius-nim declined my request… because all I could offer in return was this seed," Ghandilva said.
Certain that Darius was already out of earshot, Weed said carefully, "Who would weigh the value of a good deed? It is utterly irresponsible."
"The world still has a few good men left."
Weed's eyes casually turned to Ghandilva's clenched fist.
"By the way, what is this seed?"
"Oh, this. I don't know what life it bears."
"Don't you even know where it came from?"
"The seed has been passed down in my family. My ancestors told me to guard it zealously for it is invaluable. I have vowed to give it to a fine warrior in return for a favor."
Everything clicked as if two puzzle pieces in a fog fit together. But it was still a fifty-fifty risk.
Was it the seed to show Weed the way to the City of Heaven, or just a plain seed of some nameless plant?
Among countless professions, there are gardeners and farmers. Unsurprisingly, they are too few to find anywhere.
"Will you rescue my people, Master?"
Ting
The Calamity of Baran Village
Baran was a peaceful and lively village till the Eastern Border was ravaged by hideous monsters.When the lizardmen raided the village, Ghandilva the Elder didn't have enough time to save all his people. He escaped, taking only the young. The adults decided to stay behind to stall for time.
The wicked lizardmen captured the resisting adults and, instead of beheading them, enslaved them in a stronghold in the Western Valley.
Rescue the parents of the children. As time is ticking by, the lizardmen will show no hesitation in killing the villagers one after another.
Difficulty Level: D
Reward: A Nameless Seed
Number of Captives: 55
A quest with D level difficulty. It was equal to the Punitive Force quest.
Weed had an A level quest that was to succeed Zahab's will, but it was still far beyond his capabilities. To his dismay, however, it took up valuable space in the quest window.
This quest was more difficult than anything that Weed had ever done. But he read the quest's descriptions over and over, skipping the difficulty level part; parents in distress.
The memory of Weed's parents ceased when he was eight years old. Since then he could summon only the darkest hours of his life when the loan sharks had bullied him.
"It was the only legacy left to me."
Still, Weed missed his father and mother. He would pay any price to bring them back to life if possible.
As the would-be savior was deep in thought, Ghandilva fretted and asked, "I suppose you're not satisfied with the reward?"
"…"
"Once my village is restored, we will pay back your debt over time."
"No, it's fine. It is more than I could ask for. I will finish the quest as soon as possible."
You have accepted the quest.
"Thank you, Master. The lizardmen headed toward the valley in a mountain west of my village. I will await you with good news."
When Ghandilva left, Weed's teammates came over.
"Weed-nim, what just happened?"
"Did you accept the quest?"
Pale and Surka gazed at Weed in disbelief. He had just accepted a new quest that would reward them with a mere seed.
"No questions asked. Catch up to the guy, and accept the quest I just got."
Weed was the de facto leader of the party.
His teammates reasoned that there should have been some logic behind Weed's insistence, so they walked to Ghandilva and asked for the quest, which he eagerly gave them.
"I'm with Weed-nim."
"I also want to offer you my bow in rescuing the villagers."
Your party accepted the quest.
The rest of Weed's party accepted the quest, but they wondered what the whole point was.
Pale shook his head.
"I can't understand why you gave up the punitive force quest and instead picked this quest after we came all the way here."
"It will present a great opportunity if I'm not mistaken. Whether I'm right or not, this is still better than fighting the lizardmen alongside the troops."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Suppose we fight the lizardmen with the punitive force. At our levels, we can't gain much in terms of experience and fame."
They agreed with Weed. Their levels were far lower than those of Darius and his minions. They were originally interested in search and destroy missions that would take place after the troops drove the lizardmen out of town, so the large-scale battle meant little to them. Sandwiched amid two hundred other users at higher levels, Weed's party was, at best, more of a liability.
"I have a hunch that we'd be better off switching to this quest," Weed said.
"But the difficulty level is D… Don't you think it's too difficult for the five of us?" Surka asked.
"Don't worry. I have a plan," Weed said.
"Okay, Weed-nim. We're with you," Pale said.
Weed decided to accept Ghandilva's quest, and with his party, broke away from the ranks. Soon, two men came over to the deserters.
They were Becker and Dale, denarions of the Rosenheim Army.
"Commander! Where are you going?" Dale asked.
"We are getting closer to destroy the lizardmen," Weed said.
Weed answered fatefully, "My teammates and I are leaving to liberate the villagers, fathers and mothers of homeless children, from the lizardmen's stronghold."
"Quite a difficult mission!"
Becker was startled by Weed's statement. Dale looked disbelieving.
"Will only five of you penetrate the depths of their stronghold?"
Dale sized up Weed's party. He concluded that they appeared weaker than he. He banged his chest and offered his service.
"Commander, we want to support you in the mission" Dale said.
"Yes, Sir. Our commander will allow us to join you when he hears of your heroic act" Becker said.
The friendship that Weed had built with them worked that time again.
There are some unjustifiable events that are definitely rejected by soldiers, regardless of their loyalty, such as a perfidious mutiny or the mass killing of innocent villagers. Charisma and good relationships cannot motivate them unless it is supported by the leader's fame or a just cause.
In the eyes of the denarions, it was regarded as a heroic act that Weed volunteered to rescue the villagers. As it was also largely associated with the original punitive force quest, they felt justified in helping him.
After a moment of silence, Weed said, "I am more than grateful to hear that from you, but I can't accept your service. You are currently dispatched to win over Baran Village under Darius-nim, aren't you?"
"But…"
"The fewer the people for this mission, the better! I ask you to do your best in your place. What if we succeed in bringing back the parents, and find there is no place to stay for the families?"
"Aye, Commander."
Becker and Dale were persuaded and gave in.
Two hundred foot soldiers from Rosenheim Army would make it easier to set the captives free from the stronghold of the lizardmen, especially as all the denarions used to serve Weed.
The quest would be less burdensome if he had accepted their support. His strong charisma could turn them into a formidable force.
The downside was, however, that Darius would take notice of it.
Weed and his teammates deserting from the punitive force of three hundred users and two hundred soldiers could go unnoticed, but the disappearance of a great number of soldiers would surely reach Darius' ears and move him to find out why.
Weed and his teammates headed for the mountain west of Baran Village described by Ghandilva.
The Western Mountain had a gloomy demeanor.
A humid fog arising from waterfalls in the valley created the best conditions for the lizardmen.
"I can tell their territory extends way over here."
Pale the ranger had improved his vision and observation skills to optimize the merits of his class. They were mandatory for rangers, which were given to intercept enemies at a distance, and to analyze diverse landscapes.
He was concentrating on the ranger's passive skills, such as Multiple Shot and Penetration. It was the most popular tech path up to the second transformation of the ranger class.
Meanwhile Weed, whose class was sculptor, superseded others in sword mastery, thanks to his sculpture mastery and Zahab's Engraving Knife.
"Yes, I think the lizardmen crossed the Eastern border and camped here," Weed answered shortly, studying the landscape. The valley was wider than you would think.
They trod in fear that lizardmen could surprise them from the surrounding forest.
Finally, they encountered lizardmen warriors. The reptiles resembled giant lizards on two feet with slippery, greenish skin. No less than level sixty.
"Eew, gross," Romuna remarked.
Weed could not disagree with her. Monsters in general were repulsive and unsightly.
Yet they hardly scared him.
"I'll just use the same trick as I did on the goblins," he said to himself.
The lizardmen's levels were ten higher than those of the goblins, but they were handicapped by living in the field since monsters in lairs, or at night, were stronger by half. However, those lizardmen were not stronger than goblins.
Weed equipped himself with the hard iron sword, instead of the bow. He had been so busy with cooking meals and selling statues, away from the battlefield, that his body was itching for blood.
"Now I can try one of the sword techniques."
Imperial Formless Sword Technique!
The five movements recorded in the skill books were as follows:
The First Form:
Mana Consumption: 300
With splendor, you strike an enemy three times consecutively.
As the skill develops, the number of strikes and damage rises.
The Second Form:
Mana Consumption: 400
You sneak behind an enemy in a flash and strike his back.
The Third Form:
Mana Consumption: 600
You destroy an enemy's weapon by improving attack power five times temporarily.
The Fourth Form:
Mana Consumption: 1000
You aim at an enemy's vulnerable spot in a dance-like motion.
The Fifth Form:
You harmonize with your sword.
Concentrate all of your mana and explode into a single point.
Mana is consumed to zero, and if the amount of mana is below 2000, your life will be reduced as well.
The single footstep technique was an active combat skill to dodge an enemy attack by seven swift steps.
Weed nicknamed each form in the sword technique individually.
The first form was named Triple, and the rest Backstab, Power Break, Sword Dance, and Sword Kaiser, respectively.
Weed's mana totaled 940 points thanks to the Emperor's Tablets. He could execute the skill Triple three times, Backstab twice, and Power Break only once.
Moves beyond the third form were out of the question because his mana could not sustain them. He could activate the fifth form, Sword Kaiser, without mana, but it was too adventurous to gamble his life on a single attempt.
He labeled the footstep from the skill book as Seven Celestial Footstep. It alone consumed 100 MPs. Fortunately it lasted at least a minute once it was activated.
"Let's see what I can do."
Weed had not fought once since he learned the Imperial Formless Sword Technique.
"In broad daylight, they are not as strong as they're supposed to be," Weed said to his teammates in a low voice. "The lizardmen are empowered to their full extent in swamps, but they're far weaker in a valley. I'll go first and fight them."
Monsters that are adapted to a dry climate, such as poisonous scorpions and sandworms, prevail in the desert.
Finding a home in swamps, the lizardmen are weakened in the open, as in this case.
Still, his teammates were surprised.
Weed had just suggested they assault the stronghold of the lizardmen.
They had been following him to this point, but they counted on him to have a scheme to overwhelm the lizardmen, who outnumbered them.
"Wa—wait a sec. Can we really just get into their stronghold?" Pale asked.
"Yes, why not?" Weed said.
"But this quest has a difficulty level D…" Pale said.
"For the difficulty level D, at least eight hundred lizardmen are encamped over there. Am I correct?" Weed said.
Pale nodded dumbly at Weed.
"Eight hundred give or take."
"I'm sure that was exactly the case when we accepted Ghandilva's request. But don't count out Darius too soon. He's helping us out."
"Darius is helping us out?"
While Pale shook his head in puzzlement, Weed distributed tiny flasks to his other teammates.
"What's this? Isn't it a potion?" Romuna asked.
"This is a drink I brewed right before we left the Citadel. I bought empty flasks from a pharmacy at a cheap price," Weed said.
"Why are you giving them out now–" Surka said.
"Drink it first, and you'll see," Weed said.
Weed gulped down the drink.
You drank Brandy of Vitality
Effects:
+100 Life
+10 STR
+5 DEX
Decreases your sense of pain in case of an injury.
Weed's teammates emptied the flasks and looked stunned.
"Can't believe this brandy did…" Irene said.
Surka had recently reached the legal drinking age, so she was particularly susceptible to alcohol. Drawn to the fragrance of the brandy, though, she drank it to the last drop and found the pleasant sweetness rather magnetic.
"It's not brewed for long enough, so the effect is limited. The upshot is, though, you can drink it with meals without hangovers," Weed said.
Weed, who had finished drinking the brandy, was already moving toward where he presumed the lizardman warriors were stationed.
* * *
Darius counted himself lucky.
If not, he could not have been assigned to such a rare quest of the punitive force.
The punitive force quest bound to Baran Village.
It could elevate his reputation to a higher dimension. A high level of fame was accompanied by many benefits, and quests were no exceptions.
He could meet distinguished figures in key positions that he would have been denied otherwise, and easily win high-risk, high-return quests.
With five hundred troops under his thumb, Darius already viewed himself as some sort of an army general.
The punitive force led by him finally arrived in the vicinity of Baran Village.
The wooden fences, which had been set up to keep monsters out, had collapsed, and every door of every home was broken.
The troops looked at the scene from over the hill. There wasn't a single monster to be seen in the village, but they were yet to relax.
Darius asked one of his comrades. "Parros go scouting the area."
"Okay. Stay here and take a rest until I get back."
Parros was a thief. With dexterity and observation skills heightened to the maximum, he swiftly slipped in the village.
An hour later, he returned, panting, and reported, "There are hundreds of lizardmen hidden inside! They're waiting for us to come closer."
"They want a dog-fight."
Darius' eyes gleamed icily. Obviously, the lizardmen, outnumbering his troops, were inducing them to a full-scale melee. On the other hand, he also welcomed it.
In the confusion of the moment, Darius and his minions at the highest levels among the troops could score the most kills, and as a result, get the biggest credit out of it.
"It they want it that way, let them have it…" Darius said to himself. "My fellow warriors, charge Baran Village now!"
The troops stormed the village. Suddenly, the lizardmen hidden in the houses crashed out.
Roar
"Humans!"
The lizardmen, who were basically muscular reptiles, held a shield in one hand and swung a blade in the other.
Most users were shocked.
Darius had not informed them that lizardmen in camouflage were hiding there.
Beheading a lizardman warrior, Darius grumbled to himself under his breath, "I don't need the weak. All I want is the strong who are loyal to me. So why share experience and fame with these weaklings?"
Darius used these inconsiderate tactics on purpose, at great risk of heavy casualties, solely because he was concerned that his share of EXPs and fame would be reduced if they were equally distributed amongst three hundred users.
The soldiers in Rosenheim Army followed Darius from behind.
Their commander was Sir Jovantes.
When the knight realized they were trapped into a melee, surrounded by lizardmen who were leaping out from all directions, he shouted, "Stand your ground! Form a circle by platoons, and fight back!"
Platoons of ten soldiers began to build circular human fences, the signature battle formation for Rosenheim Army. The platoon leaders were denarions, such as Becker and Hosram.
"Going into defensive formation"
Taking defensive formation"
"Same for us"
Almost all of the denarions who had been educated by Weed made the same decision. Defense comes first!
Only Becker stood out. "Let's go get 'em!"
The Rosenheim soldiers who were forming defensive circles distracted and lured lizardmen into a honeycomb formation.
They locked down the enemy, who charged into a maze of endlessly twisting passages.
In and out of the defensive circles, Becker and his ten troops emerged from nowhere and butchered lizardmen who got lost.
* * *
When Weed approached the lizardman warriors, they let out their usual aggressive shrieks.
"Human!"
"Foolish humans! You come to die!"
The five lizardmen warriors charged toward him, brandishing their blades.
The level of each lizardman was low, but it was compensated for by their number. If Weed was encircled by them, he had to face each of them in front and back, on the left and right, plus an extra one.
Weed was confident, though.
He had raised forty points for strength, dexterity and vitality for a month in the Training Hall.
If you heard about it, you would think it was a simple thing to do. Then, you would wonder why no one else did the same thing. With higher stats, it's much easier to hunt monsters. Calmly take another look.
It takes one month.
You have to strike a scarecrow for one whole month. Can you seriously tolerate boredom and physical hardship?
If you do it for twenty hours a day, it will add up to six hundred hours within a month.
You should repeat the same action continuously in pain, which feels as if your muscles are being squeezed, and even professional athletes cannot go that far.
Professional athletes in general spend no more than five hours a day in focusing their bodies and their sweat on exercises.
What Weed had been through one-hundred-twenty-days-worth of exercise; equaled to an average athlete.
From a different angle, it's equivalent to working out for an hour every day in a fitness club for two years without skipping anything.
Who would sacrifice so much in order to raise forty points for three or four stats?
That Weed finished the course in only one month exemplifies how persevering he was.
He also had the sword technique that he had not tried before. He rather welcomed the lizardmen.
Weed and Surka were standing on the frontline to confront the charging lizardmen.
Given that their party lacked a warrior or a knight, those two had to play the role of leaders in a close fight.
"Eh, well, Weed-nim," Surka said.
"Yes?" Weed asked back.
"If I die, please save yourself."
Surka looked pessimistic in the face of the five lizardmen.
"Don't worry, Surka-nim. If any of us goes down, I'll be the first. I will attract their anger as I used to," Weed said confidently.
"Weed-nim, you're a sculptor. Oh, by the way, what's your level?" Surka asked.
"Sixty-eight"
Weed briskly plunged into an opening in between the lizardmen.
"Watch out!" Surka said.
His sudden action threw his teammates into utter confusion, but he was composed.
"Seven Celestial Footstep!" Weed cried.
He confidently activated the footstep technique that he had named, a skill to dodge enemy attacks with seven eccentric, unpredictable steps.
Charging forward, he suddenly disappeared right in front of a lizardman, and emerged on the right of it the next second.
"First form, Triple!" Weed cried.
Weed moved dizzyingly and swung his sword. Three silhouettes struck the lower, middle and top part of the lizardman's body at the same time.
Pierce
The lizardmen were stronger than goblins. Their body had the flexibility of reptiles, and high speed.
Their attack power wasn't impressive, but what was terrifying was their greenish skin. The thick skin had a spectacular defense of its own, and they were even wearing plundered armor that they had looted from other races, which made them difficult to deal with.
Moan
Damaged by Weed's skill, the lizardman cried heavily in pain. It lost 80% of its life to near death.
Mana consumption for Power Shot, Pale the ranger's signature skill, was twenty-five points.
Compared to it, Weed's skills were mana drains.
As a single attack cost three hundred mana points, it yielded critical damage.
Surka, right beside Weed, watched the whole scene unfolding.
She had gone through a number of battles with him. Since he killed the wolf and saved his teammates selflessly, he had been the leader of their party. Next time they met him, though, he had said he converted to a sculptor, and started cooking.
The whole thing was incomprehensible enough, and it seemed that his combat ability had not vanished.
I don't know what skill it was, but it was awesome, anyway, Surka thought.
She felt as if three swords pierced the lizardman almost at the same time when Weed used Triple.
"I can't lose to him!"
Surka punched the lizardman that Weed had already attacked. She wanted one of them down for now.
The lizardman had fallen, stunned by his Triple, so it could not avoid her punch.
"Yon-han-kwon!"
ince the enemy had a higher level than Surka, she used her best skill to begin with.
Clenching her fist, she threw five jabs in a row.
It was a basic –yet the most popular — combat skill for monks.
Her expertise rating in Multi-fists was already a striking 65%.
Pabababak!
The lizardman that was hit on the chest and the solar plexus turned into a gray flash.
"What the?"
Surka was petrified for a while, though she was in the middle of a fierce battle.
"It was stunned. But why did it die so quickly?"
In stunned mode, a monster is unable to move, and is damaged twice when hit.
Still, Surka felt cheated that a lizardman at level sixty was easily knocked out by her punches.
The other lizardmen were not idling away, either. When their comrade was attacked, they roared in fury.
Four blades were flying toward Weed almost at the same time, cutting off every possible option for dodging.
His body rocked like a reed in a wind. Three of the blades barely skinned his head, leg and shoulder.
The last one that he could not dodge cut into his side, leaving a lengthy wound, but the damage was lessened by threefold.
You lost 350 Health Points (-350 Health)
One of many penalties for the sculptor class is that they are not allowed to wear heavy armor made of iron.
Defensive gears made of non-metals are typically weak in defense unless they are made of special materials or enchanted with a permanent spell.
Though Weed was wearing a basic leather jacket that he had bought at a giveaway price from a second-hand store, a single strike on him would be deadly.
"Engraving Knife Technique!"
Weed's sword, enveloped in a translucent flash, sailed toward one of the lizardmen once again.
It was targeted at the neck this time.
Pierce
It was another one of Weed's signature skills that was aimed at a vital spot with great timing!
Critical hit!
The engraving knife technique, ignoring the enemy's defense, dealt great damage to the lizardman.
The only flaw was that it consumed an enormous amount of mana. Had it not been the case, he would have used it every time.
Along came Romuna's spell.
"Fire strike!"
A pillar of flame split into four fireballs in the air, and struck the lizardmen.
The side effect of the spell was to push the enemy back temporarily – technically speaking, 'bashing' – giving leaders a precious break to catch their breath.
"Fire arrow!"Pale held the lizardmen in check with arrows. His arrows contained the element of fire that was fatal to them.
"Healing Hand!"
Irene quickly regenerated Weed's diminished life. Then, she cast a spell of holy blessing.
"Freya's protection upon Weed. Protection from the Holy Spirit. Strengthen Weed against evil powers. Bless!"
Holy blessings empower defense and strength.
There are countless types of spells designed to boost various attributes. A shaman's voodoo art speeds up and increases strength and dexterity temporarily. A holy knight's aura over an entire party is deemed effective, too. But it is ultimately a priest or priestess's blessing that beats all in the field of buffs.
If you fight for a long time under the influence of a blessing from a priestess, you will feel almost powerless without them.
Once Irene finished what she was originally assigned to do, she pitched into Weed sharply, "Weed-nim, you were pushing too far this time."
Weed nodded apologetically. In truth, he had fought a lizardman unprotected on purpose to experience their strength.
Moreover, he had been interested in figuring out how much damage the Imperial Formless Sword Technique could deal.
The outcome surpassed his expectations.
Each and every one of the combat skills that Weed knew at that time demanded an unsustainable amount of mana. He could not afford a prolonged fight because his combat skills simply consumed more mana that he could ever maintain.
But the skills were the most dominant in a small-scale battle. They created his full attack power until his mana ran out, anyway.
When the amount of usable mana increased, in accordance with level ups, and the mana consumption for sword-related skills dropped, thanks to his better expertise rating in sword mastery and handicraft skill, the Imperial Formless Sword Techniques would shine.
However, in the eyes of Weed's teammates, he just looked reckless.
They didn't know that his level was sixty-eight, and they had a prejudice against the sculptor class, thinking he was weaker than his counterparts.
The defense of a sculptor is undeniably pathetic. Except for spell-casting classes, the sculptor class was one of the most vulnerable ones.
Instead, Weed had the Engraving Knife Technique, and since his conversion, the effect of sculpture mastery had been fully blended into his unrivaled attack power.
A fragile sculptor.
Though the future was yet unknown, Weed was more of a damage dealer than a stronger sword warrior for now.
He smiled at Irene's buffs as his strength had risen by twenty percent, and he felt clad in comfort.
You lost 230 Health Points (-230 Health)
Weed let one of the lizardmen strike him again. He was damaged much less due to the holy protection of Irene. It showed that she had raised her expertise rating in the skill meanwhile.
That's what I love about party plays.Priests and priestesses are respected and valued everywhere for their distinct ability. Regardless of their expertise rating in skills, any party is eager to invite them.
Irene, who had sharpened her skills diligently to overcome her low level, was the most necessary asset in hunting monsters.
The bandage skill that Weed had learned only worked between battles, incomparable to a priestess's Healing Hand right on the spot.
After reproaching him, though, Irene gave a small smile."But it's just like you, Weed-nim, to charge at mobs."
Weed never turned his back on monsters coming to get him – because they were those lovely EXPs!
Except for monsters that he found it too difficult to face at his current level, Weed enjoyed jumping into a herd of monsters and creating a bloodbath at once.
While moving his arms and legs like crazy, he felt the wind of freedom. He collected EXPs, leveled up, picked up items and upgraded his skills.
Each step was so much fun, and the goal was always worth every drop of his sweat and blood.
Previously, in The Continent of Magick, and even now, Weed was always the first man to engage with monsters at the sight of them.
"Triple! Backstab!"
As soon as his mana was regenerated, Weed triggered his combat skills. It was his priority to raise his understanding of them.
Consumed mana was being refilled, anyway.
You failed to activate the skill!
Since his expertise rating in many combat skills was virtually close to zero, he often failed to activate the skill. When the sword techniques didn't arrive, he was stunned into immobility for some seconds.
Weed counted on his teammates and persisted in trying out his combat skills. He felt comforted to know that someone was always behind his back.
His unassailable attacks took care of the lizardmen in the blink of an eye.
"..."
When the battle was over, his teammates looked at Weed in a daze. Their tension had been high at the thought of confronting five lizardmen, but it ended even before Surka or Pale came forth in any serious way.
"Weed-nim, that skill…"
"It's like a cheat key."
Pale and Surka complained almost at the same time.
"Uh, well…" Weed said.
"You leveled up so much. I don't think you need us," Romuna asked.
"That's not true." Weed shook his head. "It drains me of at least three hundred mana points. That's for the weakest movement. So I can't use it more than three times in a row."
"Really?"
Weed waited for the shock to sink in.
"I only have two hundred and thirty mana points total. This means I can't even try it once. Then, Weed-nim, tell us how much mana you have so you can use it three times?" Pale asked in disbelief.
"A little over nine hundred," Weed said.
"Oh my goodness"
Pale looked shocked.
Romuna the mage and Irene the priestess had around five hundred mana points.
Their mana points were rather above their level, but the incredible amount of mana that Weed claimed to have made their jaws drop.
Weed briefed them on what had happened to him. His quest in converting to the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor class was simply beyond any conventional wisdom.
A user selects his primary class by level five on average, and here was a man who converted to the sculptor class, ignoring all preconceptions, at level sixty-eight and after weathering numerous trials.
Pale sighed, "You were not just a sculptor, but the Moonlight Sculptor. A hidden class. I didn't know you were that celebrity sculptor in town."
"Celebrity?" Weed asked back.
"We heard some guy was making statues and selling them downtown. We wanted to buy some, but we were short of cash," Irene said.
Irene looked at Weed with yearning eyes. It was unmistakable what she wanted from him.
"I wasn't really trying to hide it from you, but, anyway I'll make a statue for each of you later."
"Thank you, Weed-nim!"
"Same here"
"I'd like to have one if you don't mind," Pale said.Weed promised to make a statue for every teammate in his party.
"Now we have enough rest. Let's go and kick some more asses. This quest has a deadline, so we'd better finish it before it's too late."
"Sure."
Weed continued steering his teammates through lizardmen on the way. In most cases, Weed started with critical damage to the enemy, and Pale and Surka picked up where Weed left and finished them off quickly.
Romuna was responsible for eliminating one or two lizardmen in the distance if there were more than the others could handle.
The rest were taken down by Weed and Surka while the other teammates rested to recover some mana points.
Their coordinated combat tactics were well-practiced.
Lots of foxes, wolves and bears had fallen, leaving fur and meat behind, and now the victims had switched to unsuspecting lizardmen.
The pace was much faster than when Weed had hunted on his own, and by contrast with the Clean-up Operations in the Lair of Litvart with Rosenheim soldiers, Weed and his teammates were synchronized in a party system, which meant that earned EXPs were collected and fairly distributed among them.
Weed didn't need to try to give the final blow to a dying enemy. Had he stood idly, he would have received a minimum share of EXPs due to his small contribution, but that wouldn't be like Weed.
"Wow! These reptiles are richer than they look, aren't they?" Surka exclaimed at the sight of the items dropped by the slain lizardmen.
The booty included a steel gauntlet and breast armor. Besides that, they obtained a ring.
Mana Ring:
Equips: Increases maximum Mana. (+3% Mana)
It was the first time that the party had ever seen an accessory like a ring.
"Who's going to take this?"
At Surka's words, everyone looked at each other, but the mana ring ended up in Irene's possession since they agreed that the battles would be safer as the priestess had more mana to support the others.
The rule for splitting spoils in the party was whoever picked up an item kept it. A rare item often changed hands according to the general will, but miscellaneous items otherwise destined for a grocery store were open game.
It sounded like a very unreasonable rule, but they found it acceptable given the nature of their party.
Once they began to fight, they went all the way to the end.
Since they decided to penetrate into the stronghold of the lizardmen, the battle would not be over until they killed the last lizardman standing.
If they had chosen someone to take charge of item storage, it would easily exceed the weight limit for how much he could carry.
That was why they let anyone gather items up to their weight limit.
Weed and Surka, who were active in battles, were usually the last to pick up an item, aware that when they could not carry anything else, the battle was as good as over.