Ajax woke up and went about his usual morning routine; he then left the inn and went to the adventurer guild; he needed to get a quest so he could earn gold coins.
The mission boards were full as always, and there were missions ranging from F to S difficulty. He decided to take the C-class mission, which was to hunt the pack of silver mane wolves, but before embarking on his mission, he decided to visit the Grand Library in the capital first.
The capital was near his mission, so he decided it was better to visit it first since the mission didn't have any time limit. Fortunately, he had the sigil of house blaze; otherwise, he would've had to pay a gold fine.
The capital was a large place, with many tall houses, and the streets were busy. There were many carts with intricate designs made of gold and other expensive minerals.
He asked a few residents and found his way to the library; however, the library wasn't open to just anyone; you had to pay at least one silver to enter.Ajax's purse only had three gold coins left, and 10 silver coins were worth one gold coin.
He grudgingly paid the fee and entered the library. The library was big and filled with books to the brim. The library was separated into sections, some for alchemy, blacksmithing, herbal medicine, and many more.
His objective was to learn about this world, so he went to the history section. The history section was very big, and there weren't many people there. Ajax chose the basic ones, like maps of this region and other regions surrounding it.
This place was apparently called "the great kingdom of Cignus." It has a very long history, both dark and good. The village he resided in was named Nero Village; that village worshipped the grand primogenitor of water.
"System, what are the rankings of abominations?" Ajax asked the system
[The rankings of these creatures are as follows]
[Fallen, Awakened, Predator,Terror, Nightmare,Demon, catastrophe,Legendary, mythical, grand Calamity,World ender, Devourers,Gods, Primogenitors,Grand primogenitors,Grand gods,Primordial chaos]
'That many? So the Litch that killed me barely scratched the food chain? looks like I have to train myself harder after all.' Ajax thought.
All of the kingdoms and villages worshiped a specific primogenitor or god; these beings fed on their worship and in exchange provided protection.
Right now, the Cignus Empire also worshipped the grand primogenitor of water, also known as Vepo. Primogenitors had complete control over their elements. These elements chose them and given them their blessings making them have absolute control of their respective elements.
While reading, Ajax sensed someone approaching; before the person touched him, he grabbed the hand without looking. To his surprise, it wasn't a man but rather a woman.
Standing in front of him was a petite girl with silver curly hair, a pointy nose, and aqua-colored eyes. Ajax had never met anyone more beautiful in his life, not even the awakened celebrities.
He immediately let go of her hand as it was considered rude; also, he felt the hidden presence of people in the shadow.
"May I ask who you are?" Ajax said. The girl was genuinely surprised to hear this question.
"You do not know me..." The girl asked in a curious tone. For Ajax, her voice was melodic, and it almost felt like a lullaby. 'Where the hell did this girl come from?' Ajax thought.
"Excuse me for my rudeness, but I really don't know who you are." Ajax spoke. The girl looked at him curiously and appraised him from toe to head.
"Uh, you know, it's kind of rude to do that to a person you just met," Ajax said. "Oh, I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that I've never seen anyone who doesn't know me. " The girl said it in an apologetic tone.
"Sure... sure... sure..."Ajax said. The girl regained her composure and finally introduced herself. "My name is Dioni Lifeblood; how about you?" She asked.
'Lifeblood... Doesn't that sound familiar? Have I heard that before?' He thought. "My name is Ajax Harbinger; can I help you?" He replied.
"Oh, it's nothing at all."I was just curious about what you were looking at." She said. "Oh, this," Ajax said, holding up the book about the empire's history."I was just gathering knowledge about the empire of Cignus; I'm a wandering adventurer, and I like learning about new things every once in a while."
They conversed for a while; the girl was pretty nice and friendly, so she and Ajax got along pretty well. Sadly, she had to go, and she said that if possible, they'll meet again here next time.
Ajax left shortly after she went; his mission was waiting. While traveling, he recalled the information he had gathered about silver mane wolves. Their skins were made of silver and were hard to pierce, but that's not the worst part. Silver mane wolves travel in swarms and never hunt alone, making them very difficult enemies for new adventurers.
After arriving, Ajax scouted the area and discovered wolf tracks; they appeared to be heading north, so he maxed out his [Void sense] and followed their trail.After following the trail of the wolves, he found himself at the entrance of a village.
"Oh no don't tell me... Fuck!"Ajax cursed. He coated his legs and dashed as fast as he could; inside the village, screams erupted, and he could see the villagers barricading themselves from the wolves.
Ajax brandished the abbyssal axe and immediately launched seven [void waves]. The wolves were cut into pieces; the others saw this and immediately circled Ajax. "It seems they noticed my attack piercing their skin, so they're taking me seriously now," he thought.
Soon, 3 wolves pounced at him; however, he was faster, and he immediately decapitated all 3 of them and cast 3 void waves. The wolves dodged it, but the ones that didn't notice were killed.
The wolves howled angrily and pounced at him again. Ajax used the Void Shield and bashed the incoming wolf, erasing its head with the corrosion in the process. The wolves slowly backed away, and after noticing that they weren't a match, they called for their leader.
The alpha of the wolves appeared; it was two times taller than the normal wolves and twice the size of Ajax; its mane had traces of electricity; and its claws would occasionally spark.
The alpha suddenly vanished, leaving lightning in its trails. Ajax was caught off guard and barely dodged the claw attack; unfortunately, it managed to wound him.
Note from the author: I'll add a system message for buffs and such.
[Alpha wolf inflicted with rank 2 corrosion!]
Lucky for him, his [Void skin] was rank 2, so the cut was very shallow, not to mention it backfired on the wolf. Ajax smirked and coated his legs with [Void Armament], then disappeared from his location and caught on to the lightning wolf.
Ajax threw multiple "Void Waves," forcing the wolf to change trajectory multiple times. With this move, he managed to slow down the momentum of the abomination, and immediately he used "Void Shield," trapping the wolf inside with him.
The wolf looked around before finally standing its ground; it knew that it couldn't run wild anymore. Ajax and the Alpha wolf had a staredown before they both charged at each other. Ajax coated his hands and forearms before engaging; this move gave him the edge because he had more power and durability.
Ajax and the wolf traded blows nonstop; the wolf was being pushed back, so it howled angrily before covering itself in lightning, changing its silver mane to a blue one.
[WARNING: Alpha Wolf has entered berserk mode!]
[The alpha wolf's stats increased by twofold!]
Ajax saw this and cursed under his breath. He immediately recalled his Void Shield and blocked the continuous barrage of the alpha wolf. Unfortunately, Ajax couldn't stop everything; the wolf's attacks left lightning trails.
'Shit!' Ajax cursed. Ajax felt the horrible pain of his skin cracking every time it was hit by a lightning bolt. The wolf wasn't doing any better either; multiple parts of its body were corroding and disappearing at an alarming pace.
The wolf didn't care anymore; it seems that it lost its intellect and was solely relying on its instinct. Ajax discarded the [Void shield] because it was draining his astral energy way too fast; he took the blows of the wolf head on and disregarded his defense.
Ajax hit the wolf in the arms, legs, and torso. The wolf, on the other hand, clawed Ajax's arm, torso, and left eye. The fight was brutal as blood and gore flew everywhere, and with his last remaining astral energy, Ajax used [Void Manipulation] and formed 3 spikes under the wolf, impaling it.
[Congratulations! The host has killed a "demon (+)" ranked "Lightning Wolf."
As the wolf died, its body slumped down, hitting the void spikes. Whenever the body touched the void spikes, that part just vanished and got erased from reality.
Ajax breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the message, soon enough the adrenaline washed away and he immidiately felt all the injuries in his body. He fell on the ground and his vision blacked out.