"Celestina, it's been a while." Gary nodded and remarked.
The girls immediately exchanged hugs and pleasantries.
"So what's the occasion?" Celestina leaned forward at the party. Her query made the four frown.
What occasion?
It took Gary a second to catch up on what she meant and he replied, "We came to ask your help."
Staring at the confused demeanour of Celestina, Walter added, "We met a wanderer on our way back. We spoke for a brief moment before we separated..."
Walter cleverly constructed a whole new scenario where the four of them met Adam by coincidence and the latter gets astray.
"So, this person Adam got lost, eh?" Celestina had some doubts regarding the authenticity of the narration, but she kept mum about it. She quickly pulled one of the reception's cabin and pulled out a paper. "Follow me."
The adventurers tailed her to another table where there was an old hunchback sitting on the chair. Celestina quickly briefed the situation and the old man nodded before turning to the crowd. "Who can help me sketch his face?"
Theo volunteered as he stepped forward. "I shall."
The next fifteen minutes went by as the dwarf assisted the old man as the former guided the latter of Adam's facial features. The black hair and short-trimmed thick beard of a 26-years-old were unmistakably Adam's prominent features.
After illustrating the 'lost', the hunchback pocketed a gold coin from Gary before they walked back to the reception. Celestina took the image of Adam extended to her into her hand.
This is Adam?
He's a typical late-teen.
After registering the image with a quest, Celestina walked back to the desk from the notice board.
"We'll be taking our leave then."
Since the four successfully registered Adam's missing as a quest, there wasn't anything they need to do.
"Back to Lenart, I assume?" Celestina probed while staring at their backs. The response was a thumbs-up, indicating that she was right.
Swanhild was the kingdom lying most closer to the Prime Celestial Preserve. The three other nations, Lenart, Jehudah and Gwilherm, along with Swanhild, lie in a zigzag manner to each other. Together they controlled a vast amount of land lying south of the Prime Celestial Preserve.
But that doesn't mean that their alliance was the only one in the south.
Several kingdoms decorate the land beyond their control. Some stand independent, while some join forces with others to form allies. Rarely, there has been news that two or more nations are rebuilding their entire framework to give birth to empires!
Following Gary's footsteps, the trio walked towards the blacksmith guild and the alchemy guild to restore their expended resources. Then their legs travelled to the royal teleportation platform located inside the inner wall of the kingdom.
***
While the sun was setting in the overworld, the temporal flow in the Stygian Realm was totally chaotic. The gloomy moon hanging overhead was depressing as well.
Slash!
"is that it?" Adam's concerned voice rose.
Aaron was fuming with anger. "What? You want more?" His face was red in agitation.
Thrusting his blade to a demon's corpse, the knight commander murmured under his breath as he walked away from the spot. It was clearly an ominous sign and the earthling was perplexed.
'Why is he so angry?' Scratching his head in confusion, Adam couldn't find guilt on his side.
Isn't it rude to get angry at someone who fought with you?
Nevermind.
Attributing his frustration and sudden stirring to the times he spent in the prison, Adam walked to inspect the demon corpses.
"So these entities have similar anatomy with humans and other races." Tearing apart the flesh and disclosing the position of bones, Adam came to conclusion.
From the account of Aaron and the other survivors, Fiends possess extraordinary sturdiness and resilience. Their bones have an increased density than that of the races. Yet their internal organs are slightly more delicate than usual.
Chronicles of evolution, Adam chuckled.
Picking another corpse, Adam identified the optimum way to strike a fatal blow to the enemies.
"So when I jabbed, the slightly larger gap between the ribs allowed the strike to penetrates the cage and hit the heart." Rubbing his chin in acknowledgement, the earthling continued to study the deceased.
The three or four hours that went past by was nothing short of a survival ride through an apocalyptic world from Aaron and his fellow prisoners. And of course, you guessed it, the reason was Adam.
In an effort to raise his level, the earthling ended up killing too many demons that the absence of sufficient individuals raised alarm. This event put the others in a pickle and they too were forced to battle against these unnatural savages.
The primitive race solely depended on their brute physique of 2 metres and crimson-red hairless skin. The hardships of surviving in the unpleasant climate had forged their skin to be nothing short of tempered glass.
If necessary, they can be as hard as a bulletproof vest.
But beneath the layer of epidermis lay a thick layer of flesh. The lack of strength and impenetrability was compensated by the dense sheets of meat over one another. Under these layers of protection was the skeletal frame.
After inspecting more than a dozen carcasses, Adam came to a judgement.
"The arid and oppressive climate of Stygian Realm is what made the skin tough. But the flesh under the veil hadn't acquired any hardness yet. Instead, the bones are larger and tougher than what meets the eye.
The position of heart and brain have no changes from a typical overworld resident. But they have grown much more delicate and sensitive. A precise strike at these points can disable the enemy"
But...
The most difficult thing to deal with was not the hard skin or the dense bones but the being itself.
The difference in strength between level 45 Aaron and an otherworldly fiend is hardly discernable. But the disparity was evident when Adam fought. His speed simply couldn't catch up with these abnormal brutes.
"Status." After catching a glimpse of the rescued prisoners summoning the Art of Ascension, Adam came to remember that unique magic bestowed by the sage.
/◄▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫►\
▹ Name: Adam (26/M)
▹ Race: Zoomorph
▹ Level: 19 [82/7,600]
▹ Class: Berserker
▹ Innate Skill: Auto-Healing
▹ HP: 577/577
▹ MP: 68/68
▹ STR: 41
▹ AGI: 42
▹ INT: 19
▹ A.P: 5
▹ Martial Arts: Unarmed Mastery (D), Spear Mastery (E), Axe Mastery (F).
▹ Magical Arts: ---
\◄▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫►/
At once his eyes narrowed.
'I can understand the rise in HP. Braving through more life-and-death situations can increase them. But this...' The perplexion was visible on his face.
Even if he had hunted all the demons by himself, there was no way that his level could jump up by three.
Level 16 + level 17 + level 18 = a total of 18,000+ XP!
How the hell did I collect so many points?!?!
Wait a minute.
Adam's flabbergasted, inflated eyes quickly relaxed as he considered other possibilities.
Is the sage trying to help me? But he had already taught me the Arcane Glyphs.
What if the program he gave me is faulty? That kind of mistake might be possible if he weren't a sage.
"... I should ask him when I see him again, rather than making up pointless assumptions." Declaring in his mind, Adam stood up and walked to where Aaron and Thalia were.
Yes, the elf soldier's name was Thalia.
The sound of footsteps alarmed the crowd but their guards were relaxed as they saw Adam. If not for the high-tier healing potions from his storage, none would have made out of the prison cell alive.
"How is everyone doing?" Skimming over the faces of the rescued and resting, Adam asked Thalia, to which she took a moment to count the heads.
"All 18 individuals we found are safe and alive. Other than the loss of limbs prior to their escape, there are no difficulties."
As Thalia spoke, Adam's eyes caught the sight of a couple of dwarves and elves who had one of their legs and hands chopped off. Those who exhibited extraordinary will power would face the same fate, Thalia conveyed.
And just as their exchange came to an end, Aaron came running at them. His breathing and pace were quicker than usual.
"Spectres roaming into the area. I think they detected our presences."
Unlike Fiends, Spectres were a bunch of ethereal spirits born in the atmosphere of the Stygian Realm. They don't copulate and they don't sleep. They can levitate over the ground and can possess soulless bodies.
Absolutely impervious by the physical attacks, the only way to deal with these malevolent souls are magic.
But...
"We don't have a single mage with us. We do have an augmented but he cannot take down even one ghost."
That was the problem.
The combat class was broadly divided into two; mages and militants. Dealing with magical attacks, mages have a reputation of being versatile from shooting down opponents from far away and casting AOE skills at close range. Being more respected than the militants, the consequential arrogance and rarity was not a miracle.
"How far are they?"