[ Notification ]
/Stamina has been completely replenished
/Coma state terminated
Amadeus slowly opened his eyes, finding himself still atop the bear. The first thing he did was scan the area with his mana sense, but strangely, no monsters were around. He then looked at the bear's body.
"It seems like the trouble you caused has made other monsters fear your smell," muttered Amadeus, realizing that if it weren't for the bear's dead body, monsters would have eaten him before he woke up.
"Anyway, Crown, since when do I forcefully lose consciousness?" Amadeus asked angrily. The Crown replied confidently, "Instead of being grateful, you're complaining. If the system didn't put you into a coma, your heart and every muscle in your body would have exploded."
Amadeus then climbed down from the bear and touched it to start looting. A red light covered the bear's body before it disappeared completely.
[ Notification ]
You have acquired the following crafting items:
-Elite monster hide x2
-Elite monster bones x15
-Elite monster claw x4
-Elite monster core x1
"All I got until now from killing monsters were hides and bones, but I didn't get monster cores," said Amadeus, intrigued by the new material. "You see, monster cores can be acquired from monsters of the Delta level and above," explained the Crown.
"Delta level? Now there's also a monster ranking?" Amadeus asked, annoyed. The Crown coughed and said, "Let me explain."
Monsters are separated into six levels:
6-Delta
5-Elite
4-Predator
3-Apex
2-Primal
1-Godly
Amadeus stood silently for a while, examining the monster's ranking. He then smiled and said, "There are four levels higher than the bear. This will be interesting." He looked at the battleground, reminiscing about his battle with the bear.
"Then what can I use monster cores for?" Amadeus asked, holding the elite monster core in his hand after retrieving it from his inventory. "They can be used to increase your stats, but which stat will be random," said the Crown.
"Let's give it a try," said Amadeus. A red mana stream started emanating from the core and entering his body. After a few seconds, it stopped, and the monster's core, which was glowing with mana, turned dark and then disintegrated.
[ Notification ]
/Elite monster core has been consumed.
/Stats have increased:
STR = 22.5 -> 35 / 9999
DEF = 13 -> 26 / 9999
/SKILL ACTIVATED [ Godly Body ]
STR = 225 -> 350 / 9999
DEF = 130 -> 260 / 9999
"Great, now there's another way to get stronger," said Amadeus, excited by the new information. "Note that monster cores won't increase your level, and the higher your level, the less effective the monster cores will be," added the Crown.
"So I can't use them as a main source of power," said Amadeus, disappointed. Then he looked at the sky, which was right above his head, and said, "Let's go, we've been away from the quarry long enough."
Amadeus started running back to the quarry while keeping an eye out for any mana surges. After a while, he reached the quarry gate and said to himself, "It seems there aren't any more elite monsters nearby."
He knocked on the door, and someone shouted from above, "Open the gate, it's Master!" The gate started to open, and Bertram, with a worried face, came running to Amadeus.
"Master, where have you been? You've been gone for two days. We were really worried something bad happened to you," said Bertram. "I was in a coma for a whole day. Losing my stamina is much more dangerous than I thought," Amadeus thought to himself.
He started walking, ignoring Bertram's worried chatter. Suddenly, he stopped and said, "Bertram, I appreciate your concern, but in the future, I will be away for more than two days, so stop doing this."
From behind Amadeus, a scream could be heard, "You're back!" The voice belonged to Avice, who came running and jumped to hug Amadeus, but he caught her before she could and gently put her on the ground.
Amadeus continued walking, leaving Avice and Bertram behind. After a while, he reached his room, where Ember was meditating. "What are you doing?" asked Amadeus. "What do you think? I'm meditating," replied Ember.
"Get up, we have things to talk about," said Amadeus. "Sure, let's start with where you went for two days after we made a contract," said Ember. Amadeus then explained what happened with the bear.
Ember stood silent. "What's wrong?" asked Amadeus. She replied, "That's impossible." Amadeus, confused, asked, "What's impossible?" Ember replied, "This place is the safest land in the dead region where delta-level monsters rarely appear, and you're telling me an elite one appeared."
"That's what happened," said Amadeus. He then looked at Ember's confused face and said, "Are you hiding something?" Ember tried to deny it at first, but after a few seconds of Amadeus's cold stare, she explained how their battle, where she used a lot of mana, might have attracted monsters to this place. Specifically, she believed her Phoenix breath was the main reason for this.
"And after the blood rage of the bear, which used all its mana in an explosive last stand, most likely he won't be the last monster we will see," added Ember.
Amadeus sat on the table and said, "That's just great." Then he looked at Ember, who still had more to say, and said, "Just spit it out." Ember replied, "I was waiting for you to come back to tell you, but after what you said, I thought it might not be the right time."
Ember explained how Viscount Nerian would most likely send more people to the quarry, and they would be stronger than Ember and would have a greater number than the group she came with.
"Stronger than you? I thought you were a big shot," said Amadeus. "I am strong, but not strong enough, and if I were, I wouldn't be here talking to you," said Ember with a serious tone.
Amadeus then stood up and started calculating the situation. People stronger than Ember, whom he barely defeated, and monsters on the same level as the bear that put him in a coma state. It meant if he survived the people or the monsters by some miracle, the other would easily destroy him.
"Sigh... this situation is bad no matter how you look at it," said Amadeus. He decided to hold a meeting to find a solution.
After a while, Avice, Bertram, the old man, the people he trusted the most among his followers, and Ember were all in his room, sitting around a table, with Amadeus standing at the end.
Avice, Bertram, and the old man were worried about the urgent matter. Amadeus started explaining the situation: the strong monsters and the people who would come to take back the quarry.
"That's the situation, and for that, I need your ideas," said Amadeus. Ember suggested finding another place since they wouldn't bother looking for them as long as they got the quarry back. Bertram added that because the dead region was full of mines and quarries, taking over another quarry might solve the problem.
The old man disagreed, explaining that the closest quarry was very far and in a dangerous part of the dead region, where monsters like the ones they were trying to escape from lived, and the soldiers protecting the quarry would be much stronger.
Avice agreed with the old man, explaining that most of the followers were weak and wouldn't survive the journey. If they were attacked, protecting everyone would be impossible.
The discussion extended for a few more hours without solutions. Amadeus, silent the whole time with his hands on the table, finally said, "That's enough. Tomorrow we will continue the discussion. I hope you find better solutions by then."
Amadeus walked outside, leaving everyone behind, and climbed to the top of the quarry. It was already nighttime. Amadeus stood, looking at the place with his hands behind his back, thinking.
Even if he dodged this problem now, it would likely happen again. He would have to fight strong people who could destroy cities with a single strike, and the more followers he had, the harder it would be to protect them. Right now, he was still too weak.
Amadeus looked up at the dark night sky and said, "I need a safe place where I can rest and put my followers without worrying about their safety. But where could such a place be?"
Suddenly, the dark night sky was illuminated with a red glow. When Amadeus looked down, he saw a pillar of red light coming from somewhere. Confused, he said, "Now what's that?"
The Crown, with a serious voice, said, "Hurry, we have to get there fast. You will understand everything once we arrive." Without a second thought, Amadeus jumped from the quarry and started moving towards the pillar of red light.