(Jake's PoV)
Earth Bears and Fire Tigers, very difficult to kill and I have to kill ten of each. This rank up quest is very problematic but I can't back down if I want to reach the stage where no one can hurt me again.
I lost two of the three people that I ever cared even before I could get to know them better. Even Joseph died early because of the accumulated stress on his mind and on his body.
Joseph isn't that old to die at that time, atleast not according to the present standards.
Yes, before all this supernatural entered Tarro, it can be said that Joseph lived a long life but not in the present world.
Many die young in Tarro because they were killed either by monsters or other humans, not of old age.
There are many benefits by leveling up and becoming rankers. Though not all knowledge is out there. It was known fact that ranking up can increase lifespan.
How much?
I don't have much idea about that but Rank-1 would live 100 years, while Rank-2 would live upto 150 years, which is the rank of Joseph. When he died he was only 98 years and that means he didn't even properly live the full lifespan of a Rank-1 hunter.
I knew why Joseph was so stressed. He was afraid all his living life after my parents died because of that bastard. He knew that bastard is the reason my parents died, but could do nothing about that.
I think that frustrated him to no end. Moreover, he was afraid for me, fearing what that backstabber might do to me.
I hope things were different but they were not. I would avenge their deaths one day and to do that I need to reach a higher rank than that bastard. Also, to make sure that no one backstabs me, I need to be at a stage that no one can.
So, it matters not whether the quest is difficult or time consuming, I would complete no matter what.
---
Once I returned to New Bastion, I took two a few quests that require materials found in the regions I am going to complete my Rank-1 quest.
Seeing that the two regions are in different directions, I chose to hunt Fire Tigers first. So I chose quests that are available in the region where it was known that Fire Tigers like to roam around.
Earth Bears had to wait for another day.
The monsters in that Fire Tigers living region would keep me occupied for most of the day. I mean, I have to travel there and return too. It consumes a lot of my time but there is almost nothing I could do about that.
---
I was able to retun to the New Bastion by the end of the day. It was not easy to fight those Fire Tigers by the way. Their fire attacks has burned much of my clothes. Luckily, these are just common clothes. So the loss was not much but the fire burned me a lot even with having Fire Resistance.
The thing was that skill is very low and Fire Tiger's power is very high, making it a moot having such a skill. I should keep that in my mind while facing the Elemental Based monsters, even if I have a resistance against that element.
Resistances would only work in tandem with their rank and the rank of the enemies. If the rank of the enemies is higher or if their skill power is higher, then the weak resistance would do nothing.
Well, they do something but it would be negligible. Only when I have the resistance that can nulllify the attack of the enemy can I face them fearlessly. So, I need to find a way to enter the dungeons and upgrade the resistances and get new resistances as soon as possible.
Even though there are some complications, I completed half of my quest and the quests that I got from the New Bastion. In the process I gained a lot.
Well, there was no level up as that would only be possible after I complete the rank-up quest but that doesn't mean that I gained nothing.
Due to my blessings, I got increase in all my stats, two new skills and also two skill upgrades. Let's see my new status panel and determine whether I gained or lost anything during this hunt.
"Status"
--
Name: Jake Black
Player: White Falcon
Race: High Human
Trait: Blessings of Artemis
Class: [Huntsman, X-Class]
Innate Skill: [Marksmanship, X-Rank]
Unique Skill: [Spectral Eye, X-Rank]
Level: 20
Heath Points (HP): 74,250
Strength: 275
Stamina: 270
Speed: 260
Intelligence (INT): 130
Energy Points (EP): 545
EP Recovery rate: 65 points/hour
Skills: Rage Rush (E), Stone Skin (E), Hard Claw Slash (E), Hard Claw Block (E), Earth Sense (E), Fire Bolt (E), Wind Blade, Earth Tremor (E), Fire Claw Slash, Fire Ball.
Passsive Skills: Fire Resistance (E), Earth Resistance.
[Fire Claw Slash: Create claws made of fire to slash your opponents. Energy Points consumption dpends on the attack power required and the time the claws are active.]
[Fire Ball: Attack your opponent using a ball of fire. The attack power depends on the Energy Points consumed.]
[Fire Bolt (E): Casts a bolt made of fire element at the opponent. The energy required depends on how powerful the bolt is supposed to be. The Energy Points consumed is reduced by 5%.]
[Fire Resistance (E): You are now less vulnerable to fire-based attacks than before but that depends on the attack itself.]
--
Yeah, all my stats increased this time, though the improvement is not uniform. Nonetheless I am happy about the changes in my panel.
Anyway, that's all for today. I need to return home and rest for the day. Tomorrow morning I need to hunt those Earth Bears and complete my Rank Up quest. I need to reach level 60 as soon as possible as matter of fact.
I had accumulated a lot of EXP after I reached level 20 but I know that there would be a drastic change in the requirement of EXP for every level up after every rank up. So may be I would reach level 21 or 22 at max by the end of tomorrow.
It would be a long journey to reach level 60, as there is another rank-up at level 50. I wonder what kind of difficult quest would I get.
Let's complete this now and worry about that later.