What everyone had initially considered to be an ordinary day suddenly became one of the darkest moments in history. Waves of bodies carried by anguished comrades streamed out of the Dungeon endlessly.
The citizens of Elyon all stopped to watch, petrified at the sight in front of them. Their beloved adventurers were returning with their best friends within their arms, tears flowing down their once confident faces.
Ash walked amongst the defeated emerging from the Dungeon. He struggled to carry Brock, dragging his companion's feet as he used his neck to support him. Julius stood slightly behind, still unable to utter a word.
He had entered the Dungeon in hopes of getting stronger and getting accustomed to his new partner, but all he had done was watch helplessly as people were slaughtered around them. Julius looked to the side, seeing a kid staring at the crowd with awe.
The boy was unable to understand the gravity of the situation. All his eyes could see were heroes returning from combat against the forces of evil. Julius averted his gaze in embarrassment.
He was weak. He was a failure to himself and his family.
Julius followed Ash back to the medical ward alongside hundreds of other adventurers. He could hear the frantic voices of the healers as they rushed around the ward, attempting to aid everyone that was coming in.
One of the nurses rushed up to Ash's side.
"Ash, are you alright?" she asked, helping the dark-haired adventurer lay Brock on a bed.
"I'm fine. Please look after them," replied Ash. He was clearly injured, but even the nurse couldn't argue that his state was a lot better than the majority of the adventurers being brought to the ward. His wounds would have to wait.
"You should go see Zane, Ash. He's been busy dealing with this sudden catastrophe, but I'm sure he'll be relieved to see you're okay."
"I will."
With that, Ash turned back and faced Julius.
"What do you want to do, Julius?"
People of all kinds of races stormed around Julius and Ash. It felt as if they were frozen in time, locked in place by Julius's silence. His answer would break them from this illusion, but he could not answer.
What could they possibly do now? The Dungeon was fighting back, and for the first time in centuries, there had been countless deaths across all floors. Julius considered the different possibilities, but deep down, he knew what he desired the most was strength.
To achieve that strength, he needed to become someone who deserved it.
"Let's go help survivors. We were lucky to not get too injured. As long as we can move, we can do something!"
The world around the two boys synchronized with their thoughts as Ash smiled proudly. He approached his teammate, sticking out his fist.
"Yeah, you're right. And when we're done with that, let's get stronger. I'm done being weak." said Ash. Julius bumped his fist against Ash's in agreement.
"Yeah!"
——
After a brutal 72 hours of aiding survivors of the cataclysm, Ash and Julius were finally able to return to the guild to rest.
"Take this," whispered Ash with an exhausted sigh, offering a small card to his partner.
"What is it?" asked Julius with an equally tired voice.
"Parties are allowed to have living quarters within the Guild's residential area. We're technically supposed to have taken the rank test, but Zane managed to just get it for us. This is your entry card."
"Oh, thanks-"
"You don't have to stay here if you already have a place. It's just a possibility. I'm going to my room. Take care, Julius."
Ash dragged his feet up the spiraling wooden stairs, making his way to his private quarters. He was too lazy to check whether or not Julius was showing his card to the receptionist. All he could think about was resting and forgetting about the tragedy he had just witnessed.
His body ached from his physical injuries as well as a lack of sleep, and his mind was beginning to think about the most random of things to distract him from the pain.
Ash crumbled onto the bed without observing the rest of his room, letting his mind go blank as he closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.
[You have 3 attribute points available for distribution.]
[You have 1 skill point available for distribution.]
"You can't even give me a break when I'm sleeping?" scowled Ash. He became fully aware that he was dreaming, sensing that his physical body was still fast asleep under the veil of night.
"Don't you desire power, young Moon?" asked a deep voice, one that Ash recognized all too well.
"Fuck off…" whispered Ash as he focused his attention on the screen.
[Host: Ash Moon]
[Level: 2]
[0/110 Experience]
[Rank: Soldier]
[Health: 105/105]
[Strength: 2]
[Stamina: 2]
[Magical Power: 1]
[Essence: 11/11]
[Agility: 2]
[Perception: 1]
[Attribute Points Available: 3]
[Skill Points Available: 1]
Ash understood the system relatively quickly, realizing that he could improve certain attributes with the attribute points he had available. He visualized certain values increasing, and the screen reacted.
[Strength improved | 2 —> 3]
[Agility improved | 2 —> 3]
[Magical Power improved | 1 —> 2]
All the attributes were rather straightforward. This allowed Ash to narrow down what he wanted to improve on the most, that being his strength, his speed, as well as his magical potency. If he could improve in those three areas, he would grow stronger at an exponential rate.
"So what's this skill point?" asked Ash.
"You may put the point wherever you want on the skill tree," responded Draegan.
A new window appeared before Ash, revealing the panel Draegan was referring to. It showed a tree diagram displaying various hexagons, each hexagon representing one skill. The boy noticed one of them was already lit up, and when he brought it up, it revealed the following:
[Shadow Punch: Level 1]
[Cost: 2 Essence]
[Channel the power of Shadow into your fist to deliver an empowered blow.]
Ash closed the tab, looking at one of the hexagons that were not hidden with question marks and reading what appeared.
[Shadow Step: Level 1]
[Cost: 1 Essence]
[Enshroud yourself in darkness and dash in a certain direction.]
"Done," announced Ash, putting the point into the skill without hesitation. Then again, it was the only skill he was able to unlock.
"So I could only get this one?" asked Ash, slightly confused. If he was given so much freedom with this tree diagram, how come he was forced into putting the point into this ability?
"You may also use skill points to upgrade existing skills. I assure you, every upgrade is worthwhile, and will significantly improve the spell," explained Draegan. The Great King was unusually compliant, but Ash knew his growth benefited the Shadows.
"I see. Well then, that's all I need to do, right? Can you let me sleep and forget about everything that's happened? These past few days haven't been the best."
"That is all. I suggest you focus on getting stronger, young Moon. If you don't, I will begin forcing you to do so."
"Right, you can leave now."
Ash felt his awareness drift off. His eyes closed mentally, and he was plunged once again into the silence of sleep that soothed his physical and mental pains.