Sweat ran down my face in streams and my chest heaved haphazardly as I tried to catch my breath. As the adrenaline died down, I could feel the now throbbing pain emanating from my hands in full effect. With post-battle clarity kicking in, It was disappointing that a Limestone Armor as frightening as that yielded the same amount of experience points as the previous ones. As my eyes drifted down what remained of the hallway, the spiral staircase seemed further away than when I arrived, hidden behind a veil of shadows. The remaining Limestone Armor stood against the walls unflinching, armed with myriad weapons that glowed gingerly under candlelight like statues. Moving my attention to the armor that lay beneath me, the specs of monochromatic lights grasped my attention as they shimmered like ephemeral snowflakes.
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Essence detected within Limestone Armor corpse.
Consume Essence?
YES NO
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As the familiar display appeared, I followed the now standard procedure, causing the armor to turn to ash.
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+10.0 Essence
+0.10 Mastery
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Moving toward the castle entrance, I sat down, leaning against a partially destroyed wall as my dantian went to work recovering my demonic energy. I felt much stronger than when I arrived at the castle, but surprisingly, the battles have not decreased in difficulty. Despite not using the Demon's Rage skill, my strength stat is almost double what it used to be. Pondering the previous battles, it was clear that even with an increase in stats, many factors can determine the outcome of a fight. It was becoming clear that experience was one of the most significant. Staring at the remaining 15 lustrous Limestone Armor, I began to wonder if I was wasting too much time in the dungeon trying to gain first-hand combat experience. I wanted to be strong enough to rescue any survivors, but at this rate, there won't be any left. As doubt slowly began to creep down my spine, Ember interjected, disrupting my stupor.
"Now is not the time to be clouded by doubt. You are pitifully weak, even after receiving the inheritance. Upon analysis of your memories, there are indications of spell craft and cultivation among the men that attacked your village. You were lucky to be pursued by mere grunts and not true warriors. Regardless of the methods, you will leave this dungeon and return to your village. For now, continue to persevere, what must be done will be determined when you return."
What Ember said was quite cold, but it was not wrong. For now, I'll see what advantages I can gain from fighting enemies of different builds with a variety of weapons. When I return to the village, it won't be a one-on-one fight and I doubt anything would give me the time to recover my energy after every altercation. Dusting myself off, I hopped off the ground and began to stretch. There's no point in overthinking it. There are enemies right here in front of me to defeat before stepping forward.
As I approached the sixth Limestone Armor, I couldn't help but tilt my head in curiosity. The armor towered above 2 meters, with arms so long that its knuckles hovered centimeters above the ground. It was lean with a smaller oval-shaped helmet that had five diamond shape protrusions where the visor lay. On its back lay, two crystalline hatchets crossed in an x-like formation. Engraved chainlinks coiled around the arms and elongated neck, before forming convoluted circular designs. Despite the crystal clear surroundings, the intricate formations appeared hazy.
Looking beyond the Limestone Armor before me, a similar haze could be seen when trying to examine the remaining armor. From this distance, the Limestone Armor appears to be like the very first. I couldn't help but wonder who constructed the castle and Armor in such an otherworldly manner. Unsheathing my daggers, I called forth my individuality before stepping into striking distance of the elongated Limestone Armor.
Name: Niko Godspell Level: 1
Race: Fledgling(Can Evolve) Fatigue: 35
Title: N/A
Aspect: N/A
HP: 310.0/400.0
EXP: 20.0/1000.0
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Demonic Energy: 100.0/100.0
Essence: 20.0/10.0
Soul Sea 100.0/100.0
-
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Strength: 15.0^ Vitality: 16.0^
Agility: 11.0^ Intelligence: 7.0^
Sense: 10.0^
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Remaining Points: 0
Remaining Essence Points: 25
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[PASSIVE]
Aurora's Inheritance LV: 1 (Mastery 0.5/100.0)
—Essence of Limestone Armor 50.0/100.0
Ancestral Physique LV: 1
Demonic Sight LV: 1
[ACTIVE]
Demon's Rage LV: 1
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Oddly, my fatigue was quite high, despite resting and recovering my demonic energy. Calling out to Ember I asked, "What factors are used to determine fatigue level, and what happens if It hits 100?" Ember's voice resounded systematically as it replied,
"Fatigue can be accumulated by consecutive use of skills or energies, mental stress or instability, and strenuous activities. You have been fighting, stressing your dantian nonstop since stepping through the castle chains, and have tested the functions of Essence not once, but twice. The previous fight required a more sophisticated implementation of demonic energy and was also physically taxing. Not to mention you are constantly at odds with your own choices, questioning if you're doing the right thing or not. Although consuming Essence can provide some relief to fatigue, it is not an all-cure that can be applied routinely. It would be in your best interest if you value your life and those you care for, to never let your fatigue hit 100." Ember sounded extremely cryptic at the end, causing me to take a step back from the elongated Limestone Armor.
"You didn't explain what exactly happens when the fatigue hits 100? Does that mean I will die?"
The silence was all that echoed back after asking for more details. It seemed that Ember was not going to budge when it came to finding out what would happen once fatigue hits 100. I could only heave a sigh as this would require me to take additional time to recover after each confrontation or risk finding out the consequences of fatigue the hard way. Taking a final glance down the hall at the spiral staircase, obscured beneath a veil of shadows, I stepped toward the elongated Limestone Armor. I'll rest after dealing with this one.