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▹ Name: Adam (26/M)
▹ Race: Zoomorph
▹ Level: 12 [23/3,120]
▹ Class: Berserker
▹ Innate Skill: Auto-Healing
▹ HP: 198/198
▹ MP: 50/50
▹ STR: 33
▹ AGI: 14
▹ INT: 8
▹ A.P: 14
▹ Martial Arts: Unarmed Mastery (E), Axe Mastery (F), Spear Mastery (G).
▹ Magical Arts: ---
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The sage and Adam stared at the screen and skimmed through the information displayed on it. While the old man stroked his beard in contemplation, he noticed the creased brows on Adam's face.
"Wondering about the class 'Berserker'?" The reply was a nod.
"The class of a person is determined by the action course of the person. If one concentrates on casting spells, The class will be Mage. If the person further pursues the realm of magic, many different classes can be unlocked in the future.
The same goes with Militant. Dealing with brawl and close-combat, the door later opens to a diverse variety of classes. The Berserker is one among the rarest class in the category. It primarily deals with savage and unrefined combat methods, intended to kill the opponent rather than disarm.
Since a major portion of your battles till now are unarmed and no opponent is left alive, the Art of Ascension determined your class as a brutal fighting category.
Actually, it's a blessing in disguise. Your identity as a berserker will help you in veiling the existence of Arcane Glyphs even if you are to use them in battle. Naturally, the blame will be shouldered by someone who is a mage-related class."
The sage clarified the doubt and Adam's brows rose with comprehension. Nodding in an understanding of the evaluation criteria, Adam's eyes resumed to skim along the lines.
"Can I allocate the points now?" Adam probed about the Attribute Points.
"Of course, you can. But like I said, once done, it's forever." The elder spoke while gesturing at the five attributes.
Adam quickly began to derive a conclusion from his understanding. After a few minutes, he deposited all of his points to increase his MP limit.
'That should do.' A smile of content crept up his lips as Adam took a glance at his updated system interface.
"A wise choice." The elder spoke in a delightful tone. "The existence of Auto-Healing demands a larger mana reserve. Whenever a bruise or scratch occurs, your mana will be consumed without your consent."
The corners of Adam's lips curved upward as he found the sage's analysis an exact copy of his.
"Oh, and before you depart..." The elder quickly displayed unrest as his hands began to run over his robe, trying to locate the picket. After a few seconds of searching, the sage pulled out a ring from the inner pocket and rolled it towards Adam.
"This is an artefact called the Space Ring. It's a Treasure grade object. Forged from a bizarre metal with properties rivalling that of the Tombstone, this ring can store non-living objects in a finite space. This way, you can avoid carrying your burden like a vagabond."
Adam picked up the seemingly ordinary ring and scanned its nook and corner. He couldn't find anything as the sage described and frowned in confusion. Raising his eyes in puzzlement, the sage saw his expression and instructed, "Drip a drop of your blood on the ring."
Without hesitating, Adam bit his forefinger and squeezed out a drop of blood. It fell on the ring and vanished instantly. At once, Adam could feel a strange connection with the ring.
"Now, probe your consciousness into the ring." Witnessing the rookie catching up quick, the sage further advised.
"Ok." Wearing the ring on his finger, Adam focused his consciousness on the ring. The next second, he saw himself standing inside a closed room. The space was large yet finite.
There were a few tiny piles of Mana Stones, weapons, potions and herbs inside the space. They were all placed separate and isolated from each other. Adam knelt near each pile and checked the contents.
A few minutes later, the earthling retracted his consciousness from the ring. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the sage sitting with a contented grin.
"You catch up on things quickly.
Inside, you should have seen a few things from my collection. I am bound to this gazebo and can't move outside of it. So I hope they are useful for your adventure.
Now, focus and pull out something from the ring."
Sage leaned on his armrest and spoke solemnly. Adam nodded and closed his eyes before concentrating on the ring. Soon enough, a mana stone came out of the ring.
"Hmm...not bad. Your control is a bit off and needs practice.
The stone you pulled out is a Pure Grade one. Though it is normally used to fuel machinery and vessels, it also has another use beneficial to you.
The Mana Stones of grades Pure and Treasure are incredibly rare and houses exponentially pristine and vast amounts of mana. This surge of purity enables any person skilled in mana manipulation to exploit it's pressure and push the limit of the mana reservoir. Mages and Militants will take about an entire month completely consume the stone in your hand.
But the lack of an ethereal entity in your body is a blessing in disguise. It is the damage the mana tide causes to one's soul that prevents the sudden absorption of the energy, hence the long period of about a month. But this limitation is non-existent to you, Adam. Yet, it will be painful nonetheless."
"Ohh..." Adam was learning new things each passing second and his awareness regarding mana and magic grew. He silently fidgeted the fist-sized red crystal in his palm.
"The colour of the Mana Stone determines the elemental inclination of the crystal. The one in your hand, a red mana stone, houses fire attribute mana which is an excellent choice for fire magic related mages and militants. Blue is water, green is nature, aquamarine is ice, yellow is lightning, brown is earth and colourless is wind attributed.
The colour of the crystal helps to identify the region of origin. Blue crystals could form inside water bodies while crimson red stones are found near the volcanoes and so on."
Finally, the elder waved his hand and the teapot refilled the cup at last. Finding the steam rising from the tea impressive, the elder enjoyed the aroma with a long inhale.
Adam was staring at the old man's weird fetish with odd countenance. As soon as he sensed the latter's gaze scanning his face, the former retracted his bewilderment.
"Try to absorb the mana in the crystal. Don't rush and you must channel the energy throughout your body."
Adam resolved his heart and placed the stone in between his palms. With a thought, a massive tsunami of force began to flood every pores of his body. Under the tension of this untamed sensation, an expanse of cracks began to appear on Adam's skin. His bones were not spared from this ordeal.
Suppressing the pain with every ounce of determination, the chaotic storm was slowly directed through every tendons of the body. A burning sensation was what left when the energy surge rippled across the tissues. The bones which was automatically repaired was crushed under the stress with a searing irritation.
***
Meanwhile, the grassland dictating the boundary of the outer section of the preserve was drenched in crimson.
"Fall ba..."
A soldier's agonising cry was abruptly eliminated when an Ice Jaguar clawed his head off. The blood-curdling scene shattered the last thread of the army's morale and they scattered like a masterless herd.
Roar!!
At least 22 kingdoms were waging war with the beasts guarding the preserve. The immense population of diverse savage beasts was a sight to behold, and a wave to avoid. Not a single soldier was successful in crossing the three hundred metres long meadow alive.
"King, we cannot defeat these beasts in numbers anymore." An army commander came rushing towards his king. His helmet was torn and the armour had sustained serious damage. When he knelt down before his king, he coughed a mouthful of blood and staggered before falling unconscious, eventually into the grasp of death.
"Don't reserve anything. We must push through the defence of the beasts!"
With a roar, the king let out his verdict. His cold eyes were fixated on the face of the deceased army commander and there was a raging storm brewing in his heart.
After a moment of hesitation, a dozen of soldiers vanished from the king's sight and came back with several eerie-robed old men.
"Unleash without holding back. We must acquire the sage's treasures." Hearing these words, the group of 17 black robed people bowed to their king and walked to the warfront.
Soon, poison and paralysing most began to spread over the crimson grassland.
***
By this time, the crystal held in between Adam's palms had crumbled to dust.
Kyu...kyu...kyu...
A Snow Swallow came darting at it's maximum speed and landed on the table with a troubled heart. It chirped repeatedly as if reporting to a higher official.
"I see..."
The sage's words had a uncomfortable gravity in it. Adam saw the old man's brows knitting and caught the scent of an infuriating stampede of invaders.
The bird flew away the direction it came. But this time it was calm and collected.
The elder went into a trance of contemplation and the seriousness looming over his face was grave.
"Adam, I believe our meeting has come to an end."