Chapter 170 Expedition: The Green Abyss Part 6



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[Player: DareDevil (Dale Houston)

Attainments: Body Reformation; Eclipsed; Massacre of 100; Culling Blade; Forged Heart amidst desperation; Minor Enlightenment; Heart Gate Open; Great Warrior 

Level:49 (61.3%) 

Class: Alma Conqueror 2.5%

Character Status:

Strength: 148(331); Constitution: 148(331); Dexterity: 148(331 -> 447); Mental Power: 123(313); Reflexes: 123(303); Mana: 148(328 -> 656)

Soul Power: 10(70)

Prime Origin: 38(93)

Skills:

Slot 1-> Spear Technique 5-Star (Neutral)/ Mana Conduction 4.5-Star (Neutral)

Slot 2-> Close quarters Combat 3.5-Star (Neutral)

Slot 3-> Stable Emotions 3-Star (Passive)

Slot 4-> Spatial Awareness 2-Star (Passive)

Slot 5-> Fighting Spirit 4.5-Star (Active)

Slot 6-> Anomalous Status Resistance 1-Star (Passive)

Slot 7-> Vital Heart 1-Star (Active)

Slot 8-> Confluence 0.5-Star (Neutral)

Slot 9-> Prime Source 1-Star (Neutral)

Slot 10-> Land Raptor 1-Star (Passive)

Temporary Skills: Many...

Current Effects:

Aspect of Might -> All Stats +15

Physical Training -> Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity +3

Molded Heart -> Mana Ratio = 2

Heart Gate -> Mana +50

Fused Tripodial Mark -> Strengthening of the Fallen (Minor) All Stats +5*2=10

Body Reformation -> Natural Healing and Stamina recovery speed has been greatly increased

Blessed by Ju-Arkesios -> Constitution +20 while within a 25Km radius of any of her Temples (Not active)

Simple Ration made of multiple Nuts-> Stamina recovery Rank Up (3 hours 52 min…)

Robust Forest Explorer Set -> Base Move speed while in a forest environment does not go beneath base walking speed.

While in a forest Base MS +1.5M/s, +35% Resistance to all forms of negative effects, Rough terrain does not hinder you, Camouflage 1-Star is always in effect, and Small Venomous and Poisonous critters will avoid you.

Accessories effects:

2 Rings -> +60 to all Basic Stats; +30 to Soul Power and Prime Origin

2 Bracelets -> +45 to all Basic Stats; Dexterity Ratio = 1.35

2 Earrings -> +40 to all Basic Stats

1 Colar -> +10 to Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Reflexes, and Mana; +20 to Mental Power

+5 Soul power

Inventory (+)

]

/Chomp…/

Silently following Muddan, Dale took a bite of his protein bar, the ration made by Illia for their journey.

It was rather tasty, even if Dale wasn't a few of nuts in general.

'... Level 49…'

'This is it, the last Level before I start receiving three Stat points every Level.'

'This is the pivot point when a Hardcore player starts to severely out scale everything else, as it's also the point where I received pretty much the same amount of Stats as a Standard player would gain in 100 Levels.'

'Everything from here would be increasing the gap between us as whatever they can gain externally to add onto their Stats, so can I.'

'And I don't know if it's related, but the progress rate for my Class has finally started moving in a noticeable way, being now 2.5%.'

'I have read the story of the Alma Conquerors multiple times, so I have an idea of what I have to do somewhat, growing stronger naturally being the first one.'

'So for now, I can leave this progress bar untouched.'

'Apart from that, nothing much has changed in my Status, which is quite a coincidence.'

? , ? ? ? ? ? ?.

'From when I was Level 39 to now, I received exactly 20 points from Leveling ten times.'

'And my Main Armor set gave me exactly 20 points to all Base Stats.'

'As such, given how I didn't remove any of my Accessories, all of my Stats look the same as they were before, with the exception of Strength and Consitution which were both affected by the Ratio modifiers of the Armor.'

'But the base values remain the same.'

'This isn't bad though, it just means that 10 Levels equate to the Stats I receive from a Relic grade Set of Armor, which is quite a lot.'

'That's how it usually is with Leveling, eventually you just outgrow the strength of an item and you then need to seek something more meaningful.'

'The Southern Imperial Armor I use may be good for now, but after 20 more Levels? Will it still be good?'

'Though that is subjective, I'm not exactly the best person to evaluate an item's worth given I had close to no problems wearing anything I ever got my eyes on.'

'There will surely be something better one day, but it'll take a while for me to find a full set of gear above Relic grade or of aa better quality.'

'I already know of a good set of armor, but I would have to rob the Commander's body again and even then, the chance of the armor set being repaired is close to 0.'

"..."

As he looked at the multiple flowers and plants on his way, Dale smiled.

'I really grew quite a bit… But I can't let myself be fooled.'

'Level 49 isn't the halfway point, it may not even be a tenth of the journey ahead.'

'For all I know, Level 100 may not even be the end.'

'With all these monsters I'm fated to clash with, whats to say there won't be one even a Level 100 HardCore player is unable to defeat?'

'Regardless… Enough about that.'

Dale looked at his Skill Slots.

'They're all filled up now… All 10 Skill Slots.'

'I'm not really concerned about it since I can switch my Skills at any moment… But it's a bother that my last Skill was occupied by a passive one.'

'Not that I'm complaining, a Skill is a Skill…'

'Though in the situation I gain something better and end up needing it…'

/Shake…/

Dale shook his head lightly.

'There's no point to rely on something that may not even happen, I was trying all this while not to rely on the powers of my Skills anyway.'

'And I shouldn't be too greedy, things come when they do.'

'The important thing is that I won't hesitate to grab onto opportunities I can properly visualize.'

'But at the same time, I shouldn't bet on luck that I'll gain another Skill in similar circumstances.'

He suddenly stopped his string of thoughts, remembering something else:

'Now that I think about it… In the previous game, there was an End Game mechanic called Layering.'

'Since players would end up gathering dozens of Skills as they progressed through the game, there had to be a purpose to them.'I think you should take a look at

'Most players would end up grinding blank Grimoires to then pass their useless Skills onto to them before selling them in the market, there was even an entire business centered around that.'

'Players would grind basic Skills such as Slash or Identify and then sell the Skills or move them to newbie players, bigger Guilds did this quite a bit.'

'The only downside of the latter was its price, it was quite expensive, but it was necessary because some low-level content was excruciatingly hard even for middle-stage players.'

'So the only way for them to find out the secrets of such content was by making low-level players stronger, it was a necessity unless an Irregular existence with broken Skills, Items, and Techniques appeared..'

'Many interesting things came from that…'

'Either way, I wonder if such old methods still work… But considering what I found in the tutorial zone…'

'It likely still works or some aspect of it still remains.'

'Because if that is a mechanic tied to the rules of the world itself, then it'll likely still exist, but if it was something dictated by the System, then I imagine its creators are the ones that control the final word.'

'Like how some rituals still seem to function while some others failed partially, but all passed some degree of a reaction.'

'Nevertheless, I have no Skills suitable for Layering, not that I would be able to do it in the first place.'

'Even my two Passive Skills that improve my mentality wouldn't be suitable for being layered atop each other.'

'If just because they were similar… If it were that easy…'

'Well, it wouldn't be bad to gather as many Skills as possible, even if they're meant to rot in the Skill inventory for now.'

'One day mayhaps…'

/Shine.../

Dale's spear suddenly flickered with red light.

'This again...'

'I don't know what this thorn is, but hopefully, it doesn't blow up in my hands.' Dale thought as he looked at the spear's tip

'Previously it grew after the clash with Muddan, now it changed as it was stimulated by a beast's blood, just what is this?'

'It feels ominous...'

Just as Dale wondered why the spear shone in red light...

/Sliter…/

/Stop…/

"..."

Muddan and the others slowly came to a stop as they found their path blocked.

/Psss…/

In front of him, a long creature slithered on the ground, its body wider than Dale and its body so long he couldn't tell where it ended.

He could only see its head, rising from the ground as it looked at Muddan with a pair of bluish eyes.

(Image? One day lol)

[Megamaxis Najarla

Challenge Level: 145-155

*Elite Variant*

*Elite Boss*

*Unique*

Affected by:

#Vitality Outburst

]

There was no need to say anything, this was an incredible monster.

Its mere presence made the forest around it silent as everything, from insects to mammals went into hiding so as to not attract its gaze.

/Sha sha sha…/

Seeing that its path had also been blocked, or perhaps already knowing they would be there from afar, the snake stared at Muddan, trying to identify what he was.

Food? Prey? Enemy?

/Cru cru cru!/

After a good minute observing him, the Snake puffed something beneath its head, and a massive dewlap unfolded, covering the entire path in front of them.

It had many different colorful markings, some bright and others so dark that it was honestly… Disorienting.

The snake also made a strange puffing sound, it looked weird but it was very loud.

And due to its size, each time it did so, Dale and the others felt a weak hammering in their chests.

"Grr…"

But Muddan remained unperturbed and confident.

Still, he didn't move much.

Not due to fear, as Muddan could hunt it if necessary... But out of necessity.

Right now, they couldn't continue to waste their energy hunting everything on their way, they needed to move forward with the least amount of stops as possible.

Muddan knew that the snake's actions weren't one of distress or anger...

It was a probing response.

Depending on how he acted right now, he could end up triggering a combat or prey response from the snake, making it attack them.

Nothing bad would happen given their strength of course, but if they kept going like this, their speed would be cut in half, or worse, they may not be in top condition when something really dangerous blocked their path.

Every day in the forest was one day less for the tribe to prepare, so he had to make a choice.

That was why he raised his head, maintaining eye contact with the snake at all times.

"..."

/Psss…/

After a small staring context, the snake eventually moved to the side, sliding away as it retracted its dewlap, turning to the left as it continued on its way to do who knew what.

But ten seconds passed… Twenty… Thirdy… Finally, after a minute and twenty seconds, the end of the snake was finally seen as if vanished in the bushes.

"... That was a long boy." Dale joked as he tried to lift the mood

'Would it be hard to hunt a snake?...'

'Given its unusual shape, I guess it would be a battle of speed and reflexes.'

'Who would land a hit first?'

'Also, even if the snake gobbled me up... If I gathered all of my Mana...'

'Though it would be best to avoid being swallowed up... By anything for that matter.'

"It's a Najarla… You don't see them in these shallow parts of the woods." Tina replied as she crossed her arms, she seemed rather impatient

"We're still in the shallow parts?"

"In a technical sense, we're at the border."

"But these types of animals live deeper down where the environment is more suitable for them to live."

"This includes the Opicus bird we saw earlier, they're not from these parts."

"Just look at the ground, the snake demolished all trees on its way just to be here, it's spending multiple times the energy it would spend deeper down just to move."

"It would never be here unless it was forced to… And that's not exactly a good sign, there aren't many things out there that can hunt an adult Narjarla."

"... Guess we'll find that out soon." Dale added as he looked at Muddan who resumed his previous pace

By following the path of the snake, they could now move much faster and cut down a lot of time, and by the looks of it, the snake came from the depts of the forest, exactly where they wanted to be.

So even if its path wasn't a straight line, Muddan was confident it would be much faster then sticking to a set path.

It was a true blessing in disguise.

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Notes