Chapter 139

PHA – Chapter 139 – Naming Is an Unavoidable Hurdle in Life

Learning taboos was indeed a challenging task. However, thanks to her extraordinary talent, Alice still managed to learn one out of the eleven unique taboos inside the Nature Shrine to an entry-level within half a day.

Meanwhile, so long as Alice could guarantee that she could cast the taboo, even if it was just barely, she could slowly improve her mastery over the taboo after she left the Elven Forest. Hence, instead of investing more time into mastering the taboo, Alice promptly moved her focus to the other taboos.

Speaking of which, what time is it now?

When Alice pulled out her phone and saw that it was already noon, she realized she needed to go back and have lunch. So, she hurriedly set aside the book in her hand and made her way to the one-way teleportation array meant to transport users out of the Nature Shrine.

However, Alice couldn’t help but turn to look at the unconscious elven guard captain after taking a few steps. According to Lalu, Filia should be incredibly strong. Her great talent and the long life she had lived had allowed her to stand toe-to-toe against the demons’ Four Heavenly Kings during the Seventh Hero’s era.

It should be known that the Seventh Hero’s era dated back over a thousand years. After such a long time had passed, Filia’s strength should have made significant improvements, right? Maybe even Flaman and the other Heavenly Kings would have difficulty beating her now.

So, if an elf of such caliber was turned into a weapon, what kind of weapon rating would Filia receive?

Out of curiosity, Alice walked up to Filia and placed her right hand on one of Filia’s legs. Since Alice had already put Filia to sleep, the elf naturally couldn’t put up any form of resistance. So, Alice’s right hand recognized the sleeping elf as a weapon that could be wielded and promptly relayed the weapon’s information to Alice.

…

[Weapon: Mana Rich Elven Knight – Filia]

[Quality: Epic]

[Effect: Mind +1200, Control +1200, Mana +1500]

[Additional Effect:

Hundred Refinement Sword (Passive Skill. Your swordsmanship proficiency is maxed. Destructive power when using a sword is doubled);

Nature’s Blessing (Passive Skill. You can create nutrition for your body through absorbing natural light. Your perception toward mana is increased significantly);

Hero’s Gaze (Passive Skill. You receive the attention of the Hero’s remnant soul. Minor increase in luck.)]

…

So she’s stronger than Catherine?

Alice was a little surprised. Originally, she thought that Filia should be roughly as strong as Catherine. However, it would seem that Filia was much stronger than Catherine.

However, it made sense after Alice thought about it. Even if Filia wasn’t as talented as Catherine, the elf had lived for over a thousand years. The strength she had accumulated over the years was more than enough to put her above the geniuses of the other races. Moreover, Filia still looked very young, so Alice guessed that the elf should have no problems living past two thousand.

Unfortunately, despite having lived for so long, Filia was still no match for the cheat-like existences known as the Hero and the Demon King. Alice still remembered that even when Aird had just awakened as the Hero, she was already considered an Artifact-grade weapon, and her stats were all in the five-digit range. Aird was on a completely different level when compared to Filia.

However, rather than Filia’s numerical stats, Alice was more concerned about one of Filia’s passive skills.

Hero’s Gaze…? What does it mean by the Hero’s remnant soul?

When Alice saw this skill, the first thing that came to her mind was Kristine, the previous generation’s Hero who had survived until now in the form of a soul. However, after putting more thought into the matter, Alice felt that the remnant soul mentioned here should be different from Kristine’s intact soul. Moreover, why did the skill say that she was receiving the Hero’s attention? Could there be a Hero’s remnant soul here?

After all, this place was the Nature Shrine. So, it was entirely possible for a remnant soul to exist here.

Immediately, Alice let go of Filia’s leg and started touching every movable object in the room with her right hand. She didn’t spare even the items that looked like offerings on the table.

However, even after molesting every object in the room, Alice didn’t find anything special. Most of the objects she touched either received a Garbage or Fine rating. Out of all of these items, the best one would be the staff inserted on the ground in the middle of the room.

…

[Weapon: Primal Elven Staff – I’ve Decided]

[Quality: Epic]

[Effect: Mind +1000, Control +1000, Mana +2000]

[Additional Effect:

Nature’s Blessing (Passive Skill. You can create nutrition for your body through absorbing natural light. Your perception toward mana is increased significantly);

Forest’s Love (Passive Skill. The power of your mana is doubled when you are in a forest. Your enemies will receive the Forest’s Curse when they are in a forest.)]

…

When Alice saw the staff’s name, she guessed that the naming of all weapons in this world had to be done on the spot. Meanwhile, the first person to have wielded this staff probably wasn’t aware of this rule and ended up speaking unnecessarily, which resulted in this staff gaining such a silly name.

However, this Elven Staff had an edge over the Hero’s Sword in that it wasn’t a Law-grade weapon. In other words, its name wasn’t a part of the world’s laws. So, the users of this staff wouldn’t have to yell out its true name when using it. They could even advertise a false name to others.

In fact, there was a high possibility that nobody was aware that this staff’s true name was “I’ve Decided.”

Regardless, the Elven Staff was currently held in place in the center of the hall by many green crystals. When Alice casually tried to draw the staff and found that it refused to budge, she guessed that the elves didn’t intend on releasing the weapon for now.

Alice had also tried to touch the pile of green crystals, and the result she got was very simple.

…

[Weapon: Plana Crystal Appreciated by the Elves]

[Quality: Trash]

[Effect: Mana +2]

[Additional Effect: None]

…

Seeing that the green crystals had received a Garbage rating, Alice guessed they were only good as a paperweight. She could probably draw the staff from the crystals with some physical persuasion if she wanted to.

However, Alice didn’t have any use for the staff for now. Not to mention, there was no saying if there was an alarm set up on this staff. It’d be terrible if she alerted the entire elven village after drawing this staff.

Looking at the additional effects, this staff doesn’t seem like it is carrying the Hero’s soul, either.

Alice frowned as she carefully scrutinized her surroundings. However, she was certain that she had already physically violated every object in the room. Yet, she still hadn’t found out where the Hero’s remnant soul was hiding.

That leaves me with only one possibility.

After thinking so, Alice looked down at the unconscious elf on the floor, her mind concluding that one of Filia’s possessions must be hiding the Hero’s remnant soul.