After lunch, Vera led Lux and Eriol on the Western outskirts of the valley.
Every now and then, they would come across common monsters like the horned rabbits, foxes, wild cats, boars, and other beasts that would gaze at them in the distance.
Although some of these creatures were aggressive by nature, Vera's presence, as well as that of the White Hippopotamus, Sophie, who had shrunk its size to a half a meter tall and a meter long, made them feel threatened.
After walking for an hour, they finally arrived at their destination.
Lux frowned because he could hear grunts, screams, and howls coming from the trees in front of them. In fact, some of the trees were even shaking because their residents had been alerted of their presence.
"This is the territory of the Barb Tailed Jester Monkeys," Vera said. "They are just common creatures, but they are notorious for their ability to accurately throw things like rocks and fruits at their enemies.
"What I want you to do is hunt ten of them. If you can do this, I will allow you to go to Elysium. However, if you fail, you will not talk about going to Elysium for a year, and continue your training at home. Do I make myself clear?"
Lux nodded. "Okay, Grandma."
Lux was surprised by his grandma's sudden change of heart. He thought that she would prevent him from going to Elysium completely if he failed her test, but she merely said that he should continue to train at home, which was already a good compromise.
"Good luck," Eriol gave Lux a pat on the shoulder as a form of encouragement. 'Still, his grandma made things a little difficult for him to pass the test. Although it is not impossible, Lux has to be resourceful if he wants to clear this trial."
"Don't worry," Lux said with a smile. "I got this!"
Lux took a deep breath before taking a step forward. He was holding his sword, Tranquility, and paying close attention to the Monkeys, who were jumping up and down on the branches of the trees as they continued to scream at him.
Just as Lux was thinking about what to do next, he heard a dull ringing sound in his head. What followed next were rows of text that appeared in front of him, as if they were being carved into the air.
—--
< Special Quest: Vera's Trial >
– Your grandmother asked you to defeat 10 Barb Tailed Jester Monkeys in order to gain her permission to enter Elysium.
< Rewards >
– 5 Free Stats Points
– 10 Body Constitution Points
– 10 Skill Points
—-
'A Quest?' Lux stared at the image in front of him in disbelief. 'What is this? Some kind of RPG Game?'
Although Lux was confused about what was happening, he decided to put it aside for the time being because he needed to focus on the task at hand.
After walking fifty steps forward, the two-foot-tall Monkeys became more agitated as they started jumping from tree branch to tree branch while increasing the decibels of their screeching noises.
Suddenly, a nut that was as big as a human's fist came flying in his direction. Lux had already raised his awareness to its limits because he understood that the Monkeys were wild creatures, and their temperament was on the aggressive side. Because of this, he was able to dodge the nut that was thrown at him with ease.
The monkeys seemed to find his dodging amusing, so they all started screeching and clapping their hands like spectators at a theatrical performance.
It was also at that moment when Lux saw several Monkeys raise their hands in the air in the act of throwing something. Lux's body stiffened when he realized that the Monkeys were now going to attack him for real.
As soon as this thought came to his mind, several flying projectiles, namely fruit, wooden sticks, and rocks, descended on him like rain.
The red-headed boy rolled over to his right side, and hid behind a tree in order to shield himself from the barrage of projectiles that were being aimed at him.
The monkeys then started to jump from tree to tree, in order to encircle Lux and attack him from all directions.
"S-Sh*t!" Lux cursed loudly as he narrowly evaded a rock, that was as big as his head, that had been thrown from his left side.
"Diablo! Help me!" Lux ordered as he summoned his named creature to battle.
A White Skeleton appeared in front of Lux and slashed at the fruits that were being thrown at its master. Unfortunately, its movements were not that fast, and several of the fruits hit their intended target.
Lux saw a couple of numbers pop up above Diablo's head, which he assumed were damages that the Skeleton received from the projectiles thrown at him.
—-
< Diablo >
Health: 6 / 15
Attack: 3 - 10
Attack Type: Ethereal Damage.
—--
Lux was alarmed when he saw that Diablo's Health Points had decreased by more than half and knew that he wouldn't be able to beat the Monkeys in his current situation. Because of this, he decided to take a strategic retreat and ran like his pants were on fire.
Diablo ran after its Master and used its body, and weapon, to shield Lux from further attacks that came from the Monkeys.
Only when Lux had escaped to his Grandma's side did the Monkeys stop their attacks.
Vera's glare was more than enough to scare them silly, and the Monkeys decided to stop attacking the red-headed boy who was hiding behind her back.
Eriol chuckled at Lux's comedic performance. Although he didn't have high hopes for him when it came to being able to beat a pack of Monkeys, he still believed that the red-headed boy's decision to retreat was wise.
Vera, on the other hand, knew that her test was a bit unreasonable. Her true goal was to see if Lux would faint during an intense situation like he usually did. Although she was standing far away, Vera had already made preparations to deflect any attack that would prove lethal to her grandson.
What she wanted to teach Lux was that there were times when he would find himself in a disadvantageous situation when he entered an unknown territory for the first time.
The Beginner's Zone might seem like it is a safe place for twelve-year-olds, but the truth was, it was a place where they would hone their survival instincts. Several children often died in the Beginner Zone because they became too confident in their meager abilities.
These kids would go to places where monsters lived together and try to eliminate them, only to find themselves vastly outnumbered, and fighting with their lives on the line.
Although these deaths were unfortunate, the adults could only blame themselves for not teaching their kids properly before they entered the Elysian Fields.
This was Vera's way of teaching Lux that the place he wanted to go was a very dangerous place.
A place where he could lose his life any moment if he was careless in his actions.
"Do you want to call it a day?" Vera rested her hand on Lux's shoulder and looked at him with tender eyes. "Don't worry, you can still try again tomorrow. I will give you one week to complete this test, so there's no need for you to hurry."
Lux pondered for a bit before shaking his head. "It's still too early, Grandma. I want to give it another try."
"Very well. Just be careful."
"Yes!"
Vera smiled and lightly ruffled Lux's hair. She really thought that her grandson would faint earlier, but after observing him for a while, she could tell that Lux didn't lie when he said that his fainting habit had been fixed.
Since that was the case, she was even more curious about how her grandson would clear the test that she had given him.