"Big Brother, over here!" Colette called out to Lux as soon as he appeared at the Northern Gate of Leaf Village.
"You guys are a bit early," Lux said with a smile. In order to prevent making the children wait, he had come half an hour earlier from their appointment.
However, it seemed that he was not the only one who thought of this because everyone else had already gathered, with the addition of one more Dwarf boy in the party.
"Big Brother, let me introduce you to our Ranger, Robin," Colette said with a smile. "He wasn't able to accompany us yesterday because he was finishing a quest for his Job Class Promotion."
Lux eyed the young Dwarf with short dark-brown hair and hazel eyes, who was looking back at him with a frown. There was a hint of disapproval on Robin's face, but Lux had long been used to this kind of expression from the Dwarves in Leaf Village.
Only Colette, and the other children that had explored the Dungeon with Lux, treated him like a friend.
"Nice to meet you. Just call me Lux," Lux commented.
Robin gave the Half-Elf a brief nod before averting his gaze. Clearly, he wasn't interested in getting friendly with the new addition to their party.
"Now that we're all here, let's go to the Figaro Gardens," Colette stated. "My acquaintance told me earlier that there are several 'Red-Striped Predator Mosquitoes' wandering around in the middle areas of the Garden. Although we can fight them, it is best that we avoid them if possible. If any of you see one, alert everyone in the group so we can withdraw as fast as possible."
Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.
The Red-Striped Predator Mosquitoes were one of the most annoying monsters in Figaro Garden. All of them were a foot tall, and were known to always travel in groups.
Their bite had a mild paralyzing effect, but it was not strong enough to completely render someone immobile. The problem was that, since they traveled in groups, the effect of each bite would stack. If someone were bitten more than six times, the paralyzing venom would take a hundred percent effect and render the victim completely paralyzed.
After that, they would have no choice but to watch in horror as these bloodsucking monsters drink their fill until they slowly lose consciousness due to blood loss.
There was a saying in the Figaro Gardens.
If the mosquitoes didn't kill you, the other bugs will.
Unconscious prey was a welcome meal to any insects that lived within the garden, that had already claimed countless lives, since the world of Elysium had opened to the world of Solais.
After traveling for fifteen minutes on foot, all of them finally arrived at their destination.
Lux was mildly surprised when he found out that the Figaro Garden was actually a place where giant plants grow.
For a brief moment, he even thought that he had shrunk because of the sheer size of the flowers around them.
"It's like a forest of flowers," Lux muttered as he followed behind Colette's group.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Colette asked with a smile.
"Yes, but I can also sense the danger in the surroundings," Lux replied. "I feel as if we will be attacked at any moment."
As if waiting for that cue, a meter tall Ant suddenly came out of the grass beside the Half-Elf, which made the latter jump back in fright.
Colette, Matty, and the rest of the group laughed after seeing this funny scene.
"Damn, that almost gave me a heart attack," Lux said as he pressed his hand over his chest.
The Ant that had crawled out of the bushes created a clicking sound with its mandibles as if trying to communicate with them.
Lux did his research and read the information about all the monsters in the Figaro Garden. The Ants in the garden were considered pacifists and simply minded their own business as they scavenged for food.
They would not actively attack anyone, and they were also known for carrying wounded Dwarves back to Leaf Village if they stumbled upon them while they were foraging.
Because of this, the people in Leaf Village would always warn the Foreigners to never attack or, worse, kill the Ants because no matter how docile they usually were, once they were attacked, they would retaliate.
If someone killed one of their members, they would attack in swarms and hunt down the offender all the way to Leaf Village. Anyone who committed this taboo would not be protected by the Town's Guards. They would be left to their own fate.
As the Ant tried to communicate with Colette and her friends, more Ants came out of the bushes carrying berries and other food stuff. They walked past the Dwarves as they headed back to their nest.
Some of the Ants were even kind enough to offer berries to the Dwarves, which they politely declined.
Lux watched this scene with great interest because this was the first time that he was interacting with the Ants of Figaro Garden.
"I see." Robin nodded. "Thank you for the warning. We greatly appreciate it."
The Ant clicked its mandible a few more times before leaving the group of Dwarves to go back to its nest.
After the Ants disappeared, everyone looked at Robin in askance. He was the only Ranger in the group with the skill called Beast Empathy, which allowed him to understand the language of monsters on a basic level.
"They said that there are several Dwarves fighting against the Alpha Monster, roughly a kilometer in that direction," Robin said as he pointed towards the East. "The Ant also warned that dozens of Red-Striped Predator Mosquitoes are loitering around the Northern area."
Colette frowned because according to the rumors, the location of the Unique Weapon that they were searching for was said to be found in the Northern area of the garden. However, the presence of over a dozen Predator Mosquitoes was extremely bad news for them.
Although they weren't as strong as a Rank 1 Monster, their sheer numbers and potential threat was more than enough for the little girl to reconsider their options.
"For the time being, why don't we head to the East?" Colette proposed. "Since the Ant said that several dwarves are fighting against an Alpha Beast, it must be the Graduation Ceremony of Leaf Village."
"Graduation ceremony?" Lux asked. "What Graduation Ceremony?"
Helen, the party's cleric, patted Lux's arm in order to get his attention.
"Big Brother, the Graduation Ceremony is when the Dwarves challenge any of the Alpha Monsters after reaching the Apostle Rank," Helen explained with a smile. "For us Dwarves who go to Elysium, this is our Rite of Passage to becoming full-fledged Warriors."
"I see." Lux nodded in understanding. "Since this is a special occasion, why don't we go and observe their fight against the Alpha Monster? This will allow us to prepare for our own Graduation Ceremony before we leave Leaf Village."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and immediately walked towards the East.
Lux didn't think that this so-called Graduation Ceremony was out of place. In fact, he even thought that it was a very sensible thing to do. After breaking through the Apostle Rank, they would formally be known as true Warriors, and fighting an Alpha Beast was a good way to test their mettle before advancing onto their next journey in Elysium.
Alpha Beasts were Peak Rank 2 Monsters. Although fighting them one-on-one was almost a suicide mission, fighting them as a party was doable.
As they neared the territory of the Alpha Monster, they noticed that several dwarves were also headed into the same direction that they were.
Graduation ceremonies were quite popular among the Dwarf children, and they all thought that it was a good opportunity to see just how strong an Alpha Beast was from a distance.
Soon, sounds of metals clashing against each other, and shouting reached their ears.
In a wide clearing, a group of six Dwarves were fighting against the Alpha Monster of the Figaro Garden known as the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis.
A single glance was enough to tell Lux that the Dwarves had the upper hand in the battle.
"Amazing," Lux muttered. "Their teamwork is amazing."
Lux watched in awe as a Shield Warrior, a Swordsman, and a Spearman, took turns in keeping the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis from attacking their rear fighters.
At the back, Two Mages fired spell after spell, while the Shaman erected a healing ward that passively regenerated the Health of everyone in the party.
Whenever the Terror Mantis changed target and attacked the mages, the Shield Warrior would use a Taunt Skill to force the monster to drag its attention to him.
Once they had successfully shifted its attention, the swordsman and the spearman would unleash a barrage of attacks at the Alpha Monster making it shriek in pain.
—--
< Red-Eyed Terror Mantis >
– Figaro Garden Apex Creature
– Rank 2 Alpha Monster
Health: 8,560 / 40,000
Mana: 2,250 / 10,000
Strength: 100
Intelligence: 50
Vitality: 100
Agility: 150
Dexterity: 100
Skills: Fury Slash, Gust, Berserk.
—--
After the Health Points of the Terror Mantis was halved, the color of its body immediately turned red. This signaled the start of its berserked phase, which was also the most dangerous moment for the Dwarves who were currently facing it with their amazing teamwork.
The Dwarves watching from afar clenched their fist in excitement because this was the turning point in the battle. All of them could feel their blood boiling as they watched the amazing display of skills in front of them.
While the battle between the berserked Terror Mantis and the Dwarves were about to reach its climax, a buzzing sound reached everyone's ears.
All the Dwarves in the area unconsciously shuddered because this sound was very familiar to them. Anyone who had been exploring in the Figaro Gardens for a long time was very familiar with this sound because it was the sign that a swarm of Red-Striped Predator Mosquitoes were headed in their direction.
"Everyone retreat to the South!!" the swordsman of the Dwarf party, that were facing off against the Terror Mantis, shouted. He was the leader of the group and knew more than anyone else how dire their current situation was.
After issuing his order, his party immediately disengaged their battle with the Red Terror Mantis and hurriedly retreated. However, the Berserked Alpha Monster had no intention of letting them get away that easily.
The other Dwarves, who had been observing the battle, also ran as if their pants were on fire. Lux's and Colette's group were among them and everyone's faces were grim.
As they ran away in haste, Lux glanced behind him and saw a dark cloud headed in their direction. The sound of buzzing wings became stronger as the Predator Mosquitoes drew near.
The Half-Elf had no doubt in his mind that if any creature were unfortunate enough to be overtaken by the swarm of mosquitoes, the only fate that awaited them was turning into a dried husk with all of their blood sucked out of their bodies.