Someone was sitting in golden armor against a wall. They approached the body and Max grabbed the helmet. Revealing a skull underneath. Dead for a long time. There was a necklace around the neck.
'Could this be the Hero King?'
They didn't know who this was and they decided that Max would take the necklace and Carsius would take everything else. Only the chestplate was damaged, but he still took it.
Max looked around again and saw an object.
A sword.
Golden, had beautiful carvings and was light. He checked the description.
[Hero King's Sword Virtonia]
Attack Power: 400
[A masterpiece created by Virtonis' great blacksmith Ronnal two hundred years ago. There are people looking for this.]
[Passive Ability: Vitalizing Absorption]
[You absorb the aura of monsters and enemies you slay. A normal mundane monster restores 2% and any boss monster Elevated and below, including mini-bosses, replenish 100% of your aura. Awakened and Elevated monsters replenish 10% and 20% of your aura respectively.]
[Passive Ability: Echo]
[For every aura attack you send from the sword, a weaker one follows it. Dealing 50% of the original's damage.]
[Passive Ability: Aura Absorption]
[This sword can absorb the aura of mundane and Awakened beings, instead of dispersing it after a block or parry if the aura load in the weapon didn't reach the limit.
[Kill 1000 monsters with this sword for a reward!]
"Carsius, may I have this sword?"
"Sure, I already have a great one."
"Thank you so much."
Max checked out the necklace as well.
[Hero King's Necklace Lilana]
[A masterpiece created by Virtonis' great craftsman Tirenat two hundred years ago. There are people looking for this. Wearing this item gives you a passive Ability.]
[Passive Ability: Heroic Energy]
[Your and your allies' stats are increased by 10% when fighting any boss monster. People are more attracted to you. Your words and your presence encourage your allies.]
And that was it for the corpse.
Max looked around and saw more dead bodies lying around.
Unfortunately, the skeletons and the equipment they had were almost completely pulverized.
Only the Hero King was intact, suggesting that he had killed the original titan but died after.
The mysterious man grabbed the armor parts and the two decided to head back. The expanse went further and beyond the corpse of the Titan, but the duo wasn't in the best condition to check out what else is there, if there is anything.
"There probably won't be any snakes attacking us in the tunnel."
"Probably."
In the end, the duo safely got back to the Dividing River. Carsius told Max to catch a fish and he sat down after drinking water from the bright river.
Max dived down and opened his eyes. It was incredibly clear and he could see fish a dozen meters away from him. All of the fish swam away from the player and he chased them after enhancing his body. It was frustrating. He caught them much slower than Carsius did.
While the fish was being cooked, the man spoke up.
"Alright, I'll teach you how to develop your sixth sense. Put simply, you have to connect with your soul more."
"Huh?"
"For example, your dreams is your soul speaking to you. A way to train connecting with your soul is remembering what you were dreaming about. This takes long to master, just so you know. But it's good to start."
Max nodded in understanding.
"Your soul is energy, and your energy is aura. It's pretty simple."
"Meditation can also help. It helps you focus and be present in the world instead of wandering in your mind. Only works with dream reading. You don't need to overdo it."
"Alright. Thanks."
"Do you remember what I told you to do for me?"
"Of course."
The fish was cooked and the two started eating it. It was a different one from the previous.
Once they were done, they decided to sleep on the hard stone.
Before the player fell asleep, he decided to check the messages.
"Oh wow. Oh wow."
"What is it?"
"Nothing, sorry. Just thought of something."
He doesn't know if he'll be able to sleep after this.
Twenty level-ups?
Max leveled up twenty times and received a title for it as well.
[Hyper Level Upper]
[You are the first player to level up twenty times in an instant!]
[You gain 20% extra EXP permanently.]
Other titles were also earned.
[Pioneer]
[You are the first player to defeat an Epic boss monster! Defeat more special boss monsters for more rewards and titles!]
[All stats +30, +20% EXP gain permanently.]
[Hero King's Shadow]
[The Hero King died with the Titan. The Titan was overtaken by a parasitic monster when it was dying from its core being damaged by the Hero King. You have prevented something horrible from gaining even more power to the point of being a colossal threat similar to the real Titan the Hero King killed. You are a hero.]
[All stats +25]
[Fearless Slayer]
[You have slain a monster on a similar level to a main boss monster with less than five companions. You are fearless and supremely capable!]
[All stats +20, Passive Ability: Heroic Mind]
Max decided to invest his new stat points.
Strength: 104(+105)
Agility: 100(+125)
Constitution: 151(+75)
Aura: 100(+150)
Max put 50 each in Strength and Constitution.
[Your Strength has...
[Your Constitution has..
'I didn't receive a notification about my stat points all surpassing 200. I didn't seem to "reach a new state of being" yet.'
Max was fully in his thoughts.
'In any case, I feel much more powerful, I will have to spend some time getting used to this drastic increase in power. Plus I'm also famous now. This was completely not what I expected.'
[Super Regeneration]
[You have inherited the Passive Ability of the Parasite! Your regeneration is greatly increased. Your limbs can grow back while you sleep. Bleeding is greatly reduced.]
'Wow. Losing a limb is permanent in this game. This is awesome.'
[ Super Echolocation]
[You have inherited the Passive Ability of the Parasite! Your hearing has become advanced. You can locate objects and living beings precisely with sound. You rely less on vision. Your hearing range increases greatly. These effects only work when you close your eyes or when there is no light. You can hear motion to the point that it becomes like a third eye.]
[Heroic Mind]
[You are a brave hero. Your Aura increases by 10% when fighting a monster above the level of field boss.]
'Jackpot.'
Max managed to fall asleep soon after.
***
"I wish we can recruit him. But there's no way to communicate with him...He's weak now but in the future..." The girl said.
"He'll catch up to us soon. I'm sure of it." The brown-haired handsome man, Priam, said with absolute confidence.
"Will he catch up to you?" The blonde asked.
Priam smiled.
"We'll see."
"I don't like that answer, y'know? At least say no!"
"Haha...Relax. Look at me. Do you see any worry on my face?"
"N...no." She blushed when she made eye contact with him.
"Then why should you worry?"
"Okay..."
***
The young player woke up and saw Carsius sitting, staring at the river.
"Good morning." Max said.
"Morning."
He drank water and washed his face, then sat next to the robed man.
"I'm going to go leave now. Thank you for your hospitality and for your help."
"I'll stay a few days more in this cave and then leave as well. Might check out the third tunnel and the cave expanse."
"Be careful." Max said.
"Don't worry about me. Just relay that message to Lovrin."
"I will." Max got up, picked up his sword and said goodbye to him.
"By the way, if I don't meet Lovrin, I will find you and kill you. I left a part of my soul on you, I can track you at any time."
Max looked back at the mysterious man and nodded his head.
The light of the sun assaulted his eyes and he was blinded for a few seconds.
He didn't miss the desert heat at all.
'Come to think of it, should I even finish the last quest?' He thought.
'I'll just go back to town and if I stumble upon the monster while going back, I'll kill it.'
And so, he started his thirty kilometer journey back to his friends.
'This is going to be tiring.'
Max equipped his Pointer that always showed him the direction he had to go in to reach a human settlement.
He buys it at every city he stays in so he can come back to it. They're made with a special metal that is infused with the aura of the creator and are attracted to them.
This means that all the sellers of Pointers have to stay in the city they're selling in.
'Can't wait to see my friends.' He said with a wide and proud smile on his face. He had done something beyond crazy.