18th of Junious, 1503
Current time: 04:48:07
Neoma now laid in his bed, looking up at his status window while being rolled up in his bed sheets. A small yawn escaped past his lips as he was deciding on what to invest and what not to. On the way back from the cave to the palace, the time got halved. Turns out, climbing down a mountain is way easier than climbing down, and doesn't require as much energy and stamina.
'Hmm… I should really start investing in my intelligence stat. So 70 points to reach level 10… The rest should go to my strength. Or my weapon mastery? No, I should worry more about the balance of all my regular stats first. I need everything to get at least one qualitative change.'
Neoma sighed inwardly as he reached his hands up and gently rubbed his eyes, trying his best to stay awake. He was completely exhausted because of the trip. Plus, we can not just dismiss the stress and shock he had to go through. Emotions did drain him as well.
'Okay… So 70 points to the intelligence stat. Then I should invest into the agility one. This one works well with my speed… For strength, I can make up by hitting the enemies really fast. Next would be stamina. That one truly is quite troublesome.'
After deciding on his leveling up plan, Neoma invested 70 points into his intelligence stat, raising it to level 10, and used the rest of the points, 80, for his agility stat.
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Name: Neoma
Species: Human
Strength: lvl. 3
Durability: lvl. 4
Speed: lvl. 11
Stamina: lvl. 4
Agility: lvl. 10
Intelligence: lvl. 10
Weapon mastery: lvl. 2
Type of Magic: Anti-magic
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Before Neoma could close his eyes and doze off to sleep, the blue screen with white text appeared right in front of him again.
'Alvis should have something like 'reading mode' or 'night mode'. Ugh, why is it so bright…'
The youth frowned as he squinted his eyes, feeling the bright blue light hurting his eyes.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
Congratulations!
Your intelligence stat received a qualitative boost!
Your IQ has been raised to approximately 150!
You'll be able to quickly figure out complex situations and find logical solutions!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
Neoma read the entire message and another sigh escaped past his lips. He hummed softly as he thought about it.
'I kinda get how Alvis is able to raise my strength and speed. After all, these are just my physical qualities. But how is he able to improve my thinking skills? Can he alter how my brain works?'
However, before he could come to any conclusions, a blue screen appeared right before his eyes once again, blinding him for a moment again.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
Congratulations!
Your agility stat received a qualitative boost!
Not only has your physical agility been improved, but also your mental agility!
You're now as agile as a sailfish!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
'I will give it to him… Alvis does come up with very creative ways to compare my stats to various scenarios and animals.'
Without thinking too much about it, Neoma slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. He needed those 3 hours of sleep before his training.
...
18th of Junious, 1503
Current time: 09:26:55
'Why didn't my alarm clock go off… Alvis should've just woken me up instead!'
Neoma grumbled inwardly as he stood before Juno in their private training grounds. He could see that his mentor was quite upset about him arriving some time after their lessons were supposed to start.
"You're late… By 25 minutes."
The dark haired elf frowned slightly at the human before him. Neoma, with his now boosted agility and intelligence, replied without taking any second longer to consider his words.
"I'm late because I had a nightmare. I just couldn't get out of bed because of how exhausted I was. To be fair, I am quite tired even now."
Neoma replied with a sigh escaping past his lips. What he said was partially true. He did have a nightmare that night. He saw a powerful dragon dying in a cold cave. If it wasn't for him volunteering as a paramedic back on Earth, he wouldn't have been able to mentally handle the wounds which he saw on her body.
And of course, he was extremely exhausted even now. The whole trip had taken quite a lot out of him. It drained him both emotionally and physically.
Juno began to hum softly as he thought about his student's situation. Soon, a mischievous smile appeared beneath his bandages.
"That's perfect. Usually, you aren't able to fight in this world in perfect conditions. You must learn how to fight when you're tired, sick, or injured."
The dark haired elf told Neoma as he was nodding slowly at his own words.
"Sigh… But I don't even know how to fight properly even with perfect conditions. Shouldn't I first learn to fight when I am feeling okay and am completely ready?"
Truly, he wasn't in any mood right now to fight. He just wished to go back to his room and sleep in. Maybe have some warm tea and a few biscuits to make his sleeping more enjoyable.
"We'll have to train today either way. I'll just give you a longer break so you won't complain all day. Oh, and His Highness will make a public statement about you today during the Grand ball."
"Grand ball?"
Neoma asked curiously as if he didn't know what it was.
The Grand ball wasn't a dangerous event which happened in the beginning of "The Elven Hero". It was mainly just a part of the story which introduced a new character who followed Kyros and joined the main cast of characters. She was Duchess Einar. She often spent time with the king and helped him fight the Church of Inferno. Many people were assuming that they'll end up marrying because of their statuses and how close they were.
"It's a ball where only the high ranking elves of Aekodora gather to have fun. Well, that's what everyone says, but it's actually more of a time and place when they gather to exchange important information and plan out the future of Aekodora. The royal family, nobles, and administrators. This time, you'll be going as well since you're going to be the main topic of interest in this Grand ball. Some wish to meet you before making a decision."
Juno explained as he looked down at the white haired human.
"I see… They need to decide whether I'm a threat to Aekodora, right? They don't completely trust and agree with His Majesty's decisions to keep me here and train me?"
Neoma asked curiously even though he was pretty certain that he came to the correct conclusion about what had happened and what's the main purpose for this Grand ball.
"Precisely. The citizens of Aekodora idolise you and see you as their hero… Even though both His Majesty and I do trust you and can tell that you won't cause any harm, not all nobles and administrators believe that it's gonna be the best for Aekodora.
"Also… Orion's father, Fachnan, will also be participating in this Grand ball. He's one of the 7 administrators of Aekodora working in the palace. He might be targeting you because you defeated his son."
Juno warned his student as he spoke about the ball. Neoma slowly nodded before a sigh escaped past his lips.
"But I don't have to go all alone there, right? It is still a ball, so I can invite anyone I want as my partner for this event?"
The human asked to make sure. Though, he already knew this was allowed. He just couldn't let Juno figure out that he knows so much about this kingdom and how it works.
"Uh, yes. You are allowed to bring someone else with you. But is there even anyone you wish to bring?"
Once the dark haired elf finished speaking, he felt a shiver run down his spine. He could sense that something bad was gonna happen. Right at that moment, he saw a smile forming on Neoma's lips.
"Of course there is. Sir, I wish to bring you to the Grand ball as my partner."
Juno's eyes widened upon hearing the human's words.
"Me? Why do you want to bring me to the ball?"
He couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"Why? The answer is quite simple. I wish to bring you to the Grand ball because I need protection. As I can imagine, I'll be surrounded by many powerful elves, and who knows how many of them will be on my side. Plus, besides you, there's no one I'm close to. And… I assume that Bian will be coming with me either way, just as my personal servant."
Neoma explained as he looked up at his mentor. He could hear a heavy sigh escaping past Juno's lips.
"Fine… I suppose I'll accompany you. Hmm, this is going to be my first Grand ball. Ah, for you as well."
The elf agreed to attend the ball with Neoma.
The human continued to smile at him.
"It's tonight, right?"
"Yes."