Waited till the new week for timeskip. Don't forget those power stones!
Some fun facts for you all:
I can actually use Reverie's quartz gacha for Mc's quartz reward boxes. It just takes a bit of grinding to get.
Another one is shining pom bait shows you the exp required for each level. Mc's new stats were based off this.
For now, even though Reverie can give lost quartz in the gacha, I will only make these available through lost quartz boxes here. The UR quartz boxes will only give UR quartz, SR only gives SR quartz, etc.
Down the line, I am thinking of giving MC's weapon a quartz-eater like ability, thoughts?
*
One to two hours later.
A man sporting black scruffy hair wielding a rapier could be seen laying on his back, sweating and letting out puffs of hot hair. A look of accomplishment could be seen his face.
At the same time, three other female figures could be seen gathered around, with two of them moving their respective weapons one last time. At the same time, the three Magic Knights started to struggle in place, only to start glowing in a purplish light. After that, the three slowly vanished from existence, leaving traces of blue-purple aura behind. Once the three Magic Knights were defeated, I started to hear notifications sound off in my mind.
[Ding! Magic Knight Ashurei - Lv100 has been defeated. Due to current Party settings, Player Naoto has received 100% experience.]
[Ding! Due to fighting an enhanced monster, bonus experience has been received. Now calculating...]
[Ding! Calculation complete. Rewarded experience: 10,000.]
[Ding! Player Naoto and his party has defeated Magic Knight Ashurei x3. Total rewarded experience: 30,000.]
[Ding! Due to title [Harem Seeker], three girls have been detected in Player Naoto's Party. Now recalculating total rewarded experience...]
[Ding! Calculation complete. Player Naoto has received 39,000 experience.]
Seeing these notifications, a smile appeared on my face. However, they didn't stop there. I continued to receive a few more once experience points came.
[Ding! Player Naoto has reached Level 7...]
[Ding! Player Naoto has reached Level 8...]
.
.
.
[Ding! Player Naoto has reached Level 18.]
Looks like I reached Lv17 from us defeating those three Ashurei alone. Unlike their Infernal Castle counterparts, they were quite agile. Not only that, these ones could fire off their Saber Beams from any point on their bodies' crystals, and more than once at a time. If I had to relate this battle, it was like a flashy light show. Either way, they were enhanced monsters and gave quite the experience.
But that experience wasn't the end. I soon heard more notifications. This quest was the only quest for Vermillion Trials: Phase 0, so the notifications followed.
[Ding! Player Naoto has successfully cleared Vermillion Trial: Phase 0. Instant Trial]
[Ding! Player Naoto has received 50,000 experience. Otherworldly Slayer title has been granted. x3 Quartz Box (UR) has been placed in your inventory.]
[Current inventory: Weapon Box x3. Lost Quartz Box x1. Quartz Box (UR) x3.] (A/N: I had mc decide on the lost quartz from the wolf quest)
[Ding! Experience gain has been detected. Title, [Harem Seeker] has been triggered. Three girls have been in Player Naoto's party. Experience gain now recalculating...]
[Ding! Player Naoto has received 65,000 rewarded experience.]
And immediately after receiving those notifications , I started to see my level rise even more.
[Ding! Player Naoto has reached Level 19...]
[Ding! Player Naoto has reached Level 20...]
.
.
.
[Ding! Player Naoto has reached Level 29.]
With that, the experience notifications stopped. Seeing this result, I couldn't help but suck in a cold breath of air. From doing one adjusted battle and one quest, I rose all the way from Level 6 to Lv29. The level grind has officially begun. I did see the maximum limit was Level 250, which matched Reverie's cap, but hopefully there will be ways to go beyond that.
Unfortunately, I could not revel in this feeling for long, as I soon heard one more notification sound off inside my mind, which brought me back to reality.
[Ding! Due to Plyer Naoto clearing the Instant Trial for Vermillion Trials: Phase 0, temporary construct will now begin its destabilizing process.]
[Ding! Once the destabilization has been completed, time will resume flow.]
"Oh...", I uttered. As I did, I saw my body begin to shine brightly. My mana wasn't the trigger this time, but the Gamer System. My body started to leave particles of light behind.
"Naoto?', Aurelia asked, seeing my body deconstruct itself.
"Looks like your look was temporary after all.", Ein surmised. It didn't take long for this process to complete. In the next couple of moments, the scruffy black haired man vanished, only to be replaced by a little boy sporting violet short hair wearing a fancy robe. That boy was of course, still me.
In the next moment, all of us stopped moving, only to see the area around us inside the barrier crack like a mirror, only to shatter into pieces. I could take a guess this is how time would resume. The four of us found ourselves not back in Valflame Palace, but right behind it, just where the figure of the Magic Knight used to motionlessly lay. It was then I felt something.
I was able to stand back up after recovering my stamina for a bit. But what immediately drew my attention was enough for me to quickly walk toward it. To be precise the front of the statue of Emperor Dreichels.
A transfer node of sorts could be seen in a circular fashion. However, it's node was not emitting any blue aura, it just looked like an old piece of stone right now. This was in fact those same transfer nodes which could be seen in the Old Schoolhouse which allowed easy transferring between floors.
"Hmm, I guess this is where this continues...", I couldn't help but utter, currently seeing the inactive transfer node.
"Continues? Are you saying there's more to this?", Ein asked, quickly reaching my side. Roselia and Aurelia followed her.
"You heard His Majesty and my father earlier, didn't you? This is only the beginning. But I guess it's come to a halt for now.", I said, shrugging my shoulders.
[Ding! Player Naoto's level is currently insufficient to enter the Proving Grounds. Vermillion Trials Phase 1 has been restricted.
Required Level: 100.]
Seeing this notification appear suddenly, I blinked.
Well ain't that just peachy.
Guess it's still a ways off, eh? Is the Gamer System basically telling me I have to grow and live out my life some more? Reaching Level 100 through my own strength is still a while off...
However, that thought only lasted for a moment as one of the imperial guards quickly reached our ears.
"Hey! Even though the events already ended Dreichels Plaza is still a restricted area for tonight!", One of the imperial guards yelled, not realizing the fight that just took place. To them, it was as if we appeared coming from the other side.
"Wait a minute, I recognize that insignia. Isn't this the child who just had earned the rank of a Duke by His Majesty? Your Excellency, what are you doing here--eh?", Another guard tried to ask.
Sure enough, hearing that me get addressed as Your Excellency is definitely something I'll have to get used to in the future, and maybe likely how Prince Olivert is addressed as His Majesty...
"And what in blazes is this thing?", A third guard said, seeing this inactive stone device, cutting that thought short.
"You needn't worry. Do not tarry on your duty.", A fourth voice said, which caused us some surprise, more to the few guards than us.
"G-General Osborne!", One of the guards exclaimed.
"Right away, General.", Another guard said. They quickly stopped their questioning seeing father enter the scene from Valflame Palace, and I'm glad he did. They quickly went back to their posts.
"I take it it's been done? It only lasted a moment from our end, but I could only assume an outside force took a role in this."
"Yes, father. This is the entry point to the Proving Grounds."
"Good job, my son. This test is rightfully yours to take, but for now, we can only wait. I am glad you came out safe.", Giliath said, only to approach my side, giving me a pat on the head. This made me happy. I mean, sure it was weird for Giliath to do something like this, but currently, we were in a time where he hadn't turned crazy yet.
"Hahaha.", I said, giving a laugh.
I guess that's a wrap for now. This quest could only be put on hold. Giliath soon let us return inside the Palace, and delivered the results to His Majesty. He became relieved seeing nothing further would happen for now, but the thought of the Divine Knights slowly appearing again remained a thought in his mind.
Where they went, turmoil would soon follow as they say. This is likely one of the preludes that will lead to the Great Twilight, but I could only assume for now. (A/N: CSIII)
All we could do was resume our daily lives.
We stayed our last night in Valflame Palace under the glistening moon and starry skies.
Ein was the first to depart early morning. She said she would go back to Emerose City to drop by at the orphanage. This was the Aster House, which was a Church-sponsored orphanage. The same one Kevin entered and was currently living in as he continues his training as a squire. I told Ein to give my regard to Kevin. And after her visit there would she return to the Holy City in Arteria.
She happily accepted that and even said the Church would give me a warm welcome should I ever enter Arteria.
As for Aurelia, she simply concluded this as the end of her current field study, and returned to Thors, ensuring that one day, the two of us would have a proper duel.
She even spoke something insane that if I came out victorious, she would wait for me to come of age and give me a marriage proposal. I mean, I wasn't against that, but down the line I would have to tell her I have my own plans of creating a harem...
As for my Master, Roselia, she didn't even stay the full night before she returned to her village, Eryn. She knew I had her talisman, so when I was ready, I would travel to and from her village to continue training Magic.
It was just Giliath and I by the time we bid Prince Olivert and his family goodbye. The other Generals, nobles and Governor Regnitz returned to their respective duties. Our villa was about one to two hours away by orbal car, just off the outskirts of Trista.
And of course little baby Alfin pouted at our departure, but Giliath said he could make arrangements once Princess Alfin was old enough to walk that she could come over to play. Elie had already started to come over every so often, but one more wouldn't hurt, right? And besides, we couldn't really turn own the ruling figures of Erebonia now, could we? Haha!
Kasia and Rean welcomed our return with heartfelt hugs and a home-cooked meal. Despite only being gone for a little bit, it felt as if a lot of time had passed already, but that feeling is how a trip is well spent.
I had nothing else planned for the moment besides letting father know I had my own intention to reach out to find a suitable instructor for learning the way of a rapier, to which he actually approved. He learned of who I wanted, the Sword Fox, and he did his magic to cordially extend an invitation.
As for me, once I was back at our villa, my schedule became more jam-packed.
Studies would include Zemurian History and Politics. And now, I had two more subjects added into the mix, which was Orbal Science thanks to me receiving a combat orbment, and Etiquette, thanks to me becoming a Duke. Father had pushed Etiquette away up to now, when I was set to learn it at a later time.
As for my combat training, Father would show me his Hundred-Form Military Combat and the way of the sword. My daily quests resumed as a result to improve my basic stats and stamina. On top of that, I started practicing Magic, and the proper way to wield my rapier.
In the meantime, Elie would find herself playing with me and Rean, enjoying the villa to our fullest extent. Further down the line, Elie was introduced to Princess Alfin two years later and this group of three playmates grew into a group of four. Every so often Prince Olivert would drop by, especially after Princess Alfin started coming here.
Prince Olivert gave us a surprise stating that he had officially enrolled in Thors Military Academy and would not be able to see us as much. And to add to that, Aurelia successfully graduated.
This happened when I turned five years old, with Elie also being five and Rean being four. Life was going quite well, and I was rapidly growing in both body and mind.
And just like that, in addition to these two well spent years, another year went by in a blink of an eye. Three whole years have now passed since I began the Vermillion Trials, with me becoming six years old.
To mark it on the calendar, the year was now S1192. Only ten more years would be when Sky begins.
Unfortunately, as much as I am waiting for this to begin, I had my own worry with the growing tension between Erebonia and Liberl.
S1192 donned the fated year of the Hundred Days war.
A clash between two titans, the Blood and Iron Chancellor against the Divine Blade.
The banner of war was looming on the horizon.