After lunch with the rest of the party, Dagon visited Mary. She'd told him to visit her for a possible rank change, and he'd almost forgot after making a fortune the day before.
He followed Mary to the shining orb just like when he'd first registered as an adventurer, imbuing his magic into the orb.
His stats were instantly seen in the air above. They hadn't changed since the last time he checked after the goblin raid.
[Dagon]
[Health: 13/13]
[Stamina: 13] [Strength:11]
[Magic: 15] [Agility: 7]
[One-handed sword proficiency: 25%]
[Longbow proficiency: 53%]
Mary took a minute to write it all down before speaking up.
"Congratulations, it seems I was right. You're now a C rank adventurer." Mary handed Dagon a new adventurer card as she spoke, it seemed she was prepared for this.
"What determines rank, if you don't mind me asking," Dagon questioned as he accepted the card.
"The level of your 4 base stats. An average of 5 or lower is considered D rank, 10 is C rank, 20 is B rank, 35 is A rank, and 50 is S rank. The levels of S rank are determined differently, but that's something you can learn about another time."
"Makes sense," Dagon thought.
"Thank you."
After receiving his new rank, Dagon spent the rest of the day planning ahead. The increase to C rank had only motivated him to work harder.
Dagon spent the next 2 weeks with nothing but training on his mind.
The training was even harder this time. He was left with no spare time in between sessions, but he didn't mind. The training kept him focused, and helped him improve at a faster rate.
Every morning he would now sprint 5 miles before sword training. George had given him a new set of moves to practice along with the dual swords. It looked more like he was dancing with swords in his hands, but much more complex.
The session after lunch consisted of a workout that'd make the olympians back home cry, followed by a long sparring session with either George or Raj.
To top it all off, he used magic all throughout the day, except for the sparring session. This was the main reason his training had increased so much so fast. Using magic in his body and swords like a power booster allowed him to preform at a much higher level, so it was only right to train even harder.
The training was tough, but the results were worth it.
At the end of his 2 weeks, Dagon decided to try something new. He wanted to try some solo missions. Training was great at improving his stats, but real battles were the best training of all. They provided much needed experience for a beginner like himself.
After studying the job board, he found one he liked.
Collection of Dextria root in the Forest of Umbria. He was familiar with the forest, and some of the beasts inside, already. The roots were found under the Dextria tree, a tall dark tree looking much like an oak except for the streaks of red running up it. This tree was located deep in the forest, at least 4 miles in.
Instead of hiring a carriage, Dagon planned to run there. Since this was a training mission, it was better to continue his regimen as best as he could in the process.
He left in the afternoon, using magic to sprint as fast as Usain Bolt the whole way. He arrived just before nightfall. A full days trip had become only a few hours.
He practiced his new sword training before making camp and heading to bed.
When morning arrived, Dagon entered the forest. He wasn't as cautious as last time he'd entered these woods, moving deeper into the forest at a fast pace.
He still was on the lookout for any prey, but he didn't search for them.
It took him a couple hours to reach the deeper parts of the forest. The sunlight didn't shine through as much here, and the plants around him seemed to be a darker shade.
He had to slow down when he reached this point of the forest, as he'd never been this deep before. He also had to search carefully for tree he came to find, while staying alert to any enemies around him.
After another hour of searching he finally found the dextria tree. It really was tall, the tallest tree he'd ever seen. The trunk was 5ft thick in diameter, with red streaks going up into the branches.
The roots protruded from the ground within 10 feet of the tree, making this job seem incredibly easy. If not for the possible dangers in the forest, this mission wouldn't need an adventurer.
Dagon pulled his blade out and got to work, hacking away at any root he could find. He had no shovel, so only the roots protruding from the ground were possible to collect.
He finished his work within 10 minutes, and stuffed all the roots into his storage, before heading deeper into the woods. He was already here, might as well collect as much as he could.
He was on his 5th tree when he heard the sound of a twig snapping in the forest behind him. Dagon instantly turned around, getting into stance as he did so.
There, 20ft behind him, was a large bear. It was bigger than the average bear on earth. The size of a small car. It crept close to him, ready to fight.
Dagon lit the swords ablaze. He stood his ground until the bear reached him. When it was only 6ft away, the bear pounced.
Dagon swiftly jumped to his left. The bears massive paws landed right where he was just standing.
It turned around the face Dagon before swiping his right paw again at his face.
Dagon stepped sideways to dodge the strike, and swung down on the bears paw.
—Swishh!
His blade sliced off his arm. Blood splattered all over the forest floor.
The bear jumped back as it growled in pain. Blood still oozing out of his now missing arm.
It ran full sprint at Dagon, wanting to end this fight as quickly as possible now.
Dagon quickly circulated his magic to his feet, leaping to his right. He rolled on the ground before jumping back up into stance.
The bear gave him no time to pause, as it quickly adjusted itself and began sprinting at him again.
Dagon switched up his tactics. Instead of jumping away this time, he leaped up. He spun his body midair, the blades whirling in a circle around his body.
He came down right on the beasts head.
—Slice!
The bears head was cut clean off. The power in his swing plus the momentum from the spin made the cute incredibly easy.
Dagon wiped the blood off his blades before storing the bear away.
He'd already reaped 5 trees worth of roots, and now one giant bear, so he had more than enough for today.
He was surprised to have only ran into one monster on his trip, but any experience is worth it.
Dagon ran home through the night, not stopping for any rests. His body was becoming stronger, adjusting to the harsh training he'd endured for this long.
When he arrived at Harkon, he could only sleep. It was too late to turn in the findings of his mission.
He waited until morning to visit Mary.
"Good morning, Dagon. How'd the hunt go?"
"Well enough, I found 5 of the dextria trees, so I have plenty of roots on me."
"Excellent, how many roots are you willing to sell?"
Dagon was confused at this question. Mary could see the confusion on his face, so she spoke up once again.
"Dextria roots are the main ingredient for many potions. They have natural properties that help increase stamina, so most hunters save some for themselves."
Dagon's face lit up. He wasn't aware such things were possible in this world. The ability to raise his stamina without the hard work seemed like a miracle, but he knew there had to be a catch.
"Why doesn't everybody do this then?" Dagon couldn't help but ask.
"Well, besides them only growing in the deeper parts of the forest of Umbria, they only work to a certain extent. The higher the stamina, the more dextria root that's needed to raise it. After a certain point, it's no longer possible to use the root for growth. At this point, the root is used to recover stamina instead."
This made perfect sense, as it would be a cheat if it could infinitely raise ones stamina
Dagon thought for a moment for his reply.
"May I study these for awhile before handing them in?"
"Without proper care, they can only last a couple days, so be sure to come back before then," Mary said as she nodded her head.
"As for how to use them, you only need to boil them before eating. It's very simple, but every time your stat raises one, be sure to wait at least 24 hours before consuming them again. Your body needs time to digest them, or they won't work as well."
"Thank you, Mary. I'll be back tomorrow."
Dagon went straight to jack to sell the bear afterwards. He made 15 silver off the corpse, before buying a large cauldron for 5 silvers. He took his spoils to his room right after to test the results of the dextria root.
Although Mary told him they'd only last a couple days, she wasn't aware of his storage ring. He took out all of the roots he'd collected yesterday to count.
After a couple minutes, he concluded that he had a total of 56 roots on him. He kept out 10 of them, before pouring water into his cauldron. Dagon lit his hands ablaze, and placed them on the bottom of the cauldron. The water instantly started to heat up. It wasn't long before it started to boil. He kept one hand on the cauldron, and used the other to put 5 roots in.
Once the roots were boiled, he waited for them to cool down before trying them.
The first root didn't seem to bring about any changes, so he started on the second. He continued this process until he finished the 4th root.
A message popped up in his head, and he didn't ignore it like usual.
[Stamina has risen to 16]
Only 4 roots for a whole point of stamina. Dagon was pleasantly surprised. Even if it took many more roots for each point, he could potentially upgrade his stat into the twenties if he ate enough.
He put the remaining 6 roots away in his storage ring, before leaving his room. He had 24 hours to kill, so he might as well train in the meantime.