Chapter 445 The Next Tier



"I wonder what's taking him so long…" Waiting by the stone platform where everyone entering Point Devann appeared on, Valyr watched multiple passersby come and go, taking note of some of their expressions from time to time. "A lot of people have serious faces for some reason."

Eventually, after waiting for a time far longer than he had expected, Zeik had come back to where he was, with the young man thinking that the former finally had the answers to his questions. However, rather than have a neutral or calm expression like he always did, Zeik instead had a slightly grim expression on his face as he looked at Valyr.

"What's wrong? Was there not any information on the site?" Naturally, after seeing the man's expression, Valyr stood up and moved closer, a slight frown adorning his face as he wondered what was going on.

"There is. Don't worry about that part," Zeik reassured him, only for his expression to turn even more grim as he continued. "However, I've heard reports from some of the merchants in the outpost of a certain sighting out in the battlefield."

"To think the rumors are true." Muttering these words to himself, the man softly shook his head as he let out a sigh. "The kingdom is definitely not going to be happy once they hear about this."

"What did you hear from the merchants?" Though he was inwardly relieved that he would be able to upgrade his title to higher levels, Valyr decided to place that thought at the back of his head for now as he focused on the other topic Zeik had mentioned. "Wait… don't tell me…"

"Julian was right in having me accompany you to this place." Hearing these words come out of Zeik's mouth, Valyr had more or less confirmed the possibility he had come up with, causing his expression to turn grim as well.

"Orcs have infiltrated the Akashic Battlefield?" Deciding to not waste time, Zeik proceeded to make his way to one of the official exits, with Valyr following behind him. Along the way, the young man picked up where their conversation had left off.

"Yeah. A group of five orcs have been seen in Point Devann's battlefields, specifically the latter sites." Nodding in response, Zeik slightly hastened his steps, prompting Valyr to follow suit. "It's quite surprising to think that the orcs appeared just as we had appeared in Point Devann."

"I was definitely not expecting Julian's words to become true, to say the least." Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders. "In any case, what's the plan now?"

"Well, since your original intention in heading to the Akashic Battlefield is to gain some combat experience, you go ahead and continue doing that." Saying these words, Zeik then told Valyr the directions to the site within Point Devann that would have the monsters he needed, which was Site 2-S.

"As for me…" Once he was done giving Valyr directions to Site 2-S, a wry smile appeared on Zeik's face. "Though I have been tasked by Julian to be your escort, as a commander of the guild's Combat Specialist Division, I'm considered one of the many protectors of the kingdom when it comes to invading foes."

"With that, we'll have to go our separate ways for now." At these words, Zeik went silent for a bit as multiple thoughts lingered in his head. After a while, he brought up a screen in front of him and began to interact with it, only for a notification sound to resound in Valyr's mind a few seconds later.

Ding!

[Zeik Verrthorne (Lvl. 89) has sent you a friend request. Would you like to accept?]

Slightly confused as to why Zeik would send him a friend request all of a sudden, Valyr looked at the man, who instantly understood what the latter was trying to ask through his gaze.

"This is so we could still maintain a sense of communication between us even though we're separated," said Zeik in response. "It'll also allow you to be up to date on the situation regarding the orcs within Point Devann. With that, if things go south, I want you to drop what you're doing and leave the Akashic Battlefield as soon as possible. Relay everything that happened here to Julian, got it?"

"You make it sound like you might die." Though a frown adorned his face, Valyr respected the man's decision, nodding as he committed the instruction to memory. "As a Rank 5 class holder, surely you won't be defeated by a small group of orcs, right?"

"I definitely have a high chance of escaping, that's for sure." Zeik laughed in response. "Either way, I won't push my luck while fighting against them."

"After all, I still have to fight you sometime in the future."

Leaving those parting words, Zeik bade farewell to the young man, faintly smiling as he waved goodbye. After that, he disappeared from the young man's field of vision within seconds, pushing his movement speed to its utmost limits to reach the orcs as soon as possible.

Whoosh!

Allowing the strong gust of wind generated by Zeik's movements to blow over him, Valyr looked in the general direction as to where his escort was heading for a while before deciding to head to Site 2-S.

"I wonder if I could be of any help to the situation…"

…

"Finally made it." Slightly gasping for air as he had arrived, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief once he had found a sea of bears appear before him, all of which had auras that far surpassed even the strongest golems that existed within Site 9 of Point Caelion. As he sifted through the bears' strengths through the use of [Greater Analysis], he thought about how the general landscape of the Akashic Battlefield confused his sense of direction.

"I should really frequent this place more often. Can't just rely on my past life's memories." Softly chuckling to himself, he thought about how he began to head in a different direction from Zeik, thinking that he was heading in a direction that would lead him straight to Site 2-S. However, what instead happened was he gradually veered away from his original course, eventually finding himself in Site 4, where some people were helpful enough to lead him to where he needed to go.

"Of course, even after being helped out by other people in the area, I still ended up getting lost." Muttering these words to himself, he thought about how he continued to veer more and more away from Site 2-S, eventually finding himself in Site 11-S, which was considered the most dangerous site within Point Devann. 

Aside from all of the monsters within the site being at the peak of Rank 4, the weakest among them was at Ancient Elite tier, with the strongest among them even having formed their own Intents. Naturally, Valyr swiftly got away from the site, thankfully stumbling across Site 2-S around 20 minutes later after reaching Site 11-S.

"Thankfully, these bears are separated from one another. If not, I'd probably be facing against a bunch of them right now." Humming a little tune as he continued to sift through the sea of bears that existed within Site 2-S, Valyr eventually found the exact monster he needed to fight against, taking in a deep breath as he took a look at its stats.

Ding!

————

[Fulgurite Bear (Legendary Elite)] (Level 60)

Class: Lightning Bear (Uncommon)

HP: 14,336/14,336

MP: 10,432/10,432

Stats: 448 VIT, 448 STR, 448 AGI, 448 DEX, 326 INT, 326 WIS, 151 PER, 135 LUK

Skills: [Fulgurite Claw Arts], [Basic Lightning Magic Style], [Intermediate Lightning Affinity], [Intermediate Mana Affinity], [Basic Spellcasting], [Basic Magical Damage Resistance],…

Remarks: Literally the definition of fast and deadly while you're up against it.

————

"The high agility is going to be a bit of a problem…" Scratching his head as he thought about how he would go about killing the bear he had chosen, a slight smirk eventually crept up onto his lips as a foolproof plan surfaced in his mind.

"Then again, I have the initiative."

Thud!

Jumping in a certain direction that would allow the Legendary Elite tier Fulgurite Bear to be within a hundred meters from him, Valyr landed on the ground with a solid thud, attracting the attention of some of the Fulgurite Bears, only to then be ignored by them soon after.

"Grooooaaarrrr!!!" On the other hand, the Fulgurite Bear he was aiming to kill had been enraged to its utmost limit thanks to Valyr's small move. Within seconds, its eyes gained a crimson red sheen as its aura ballooned to reach a level of power that the young man thought would be difficult to defeat in normal circumstances.

Whoosh!

Just like its name implied, the Fulgurite Bear swiftly closed the distance between the two of them with its high agility, with small sparks starting to form around its slightly yellowish fur. However, before these sparks could even culminate into anything…

Valyr made his move.

"[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: Blazing Vigor]."

"[Limit Break]."

"[Offense Aura+]."

"[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]."

Swoosh!

In less than an instant, Valyr's offensive capabilities rose to a level that instilled a small sliver of fear within the Fulgurite Bear. Yet even with that sliver of fear lingering within it, the bear continued to dash in the young man's direction, trusting in its newfound strength to be able to eradicate the fear it felt once and for all.

As for Valyr, seeing that the bear still remained on its path to kill him, he took in a deep breath, extending out his spear at the very moment the distance between them was close enough for the spear tip to touch the Fulgurite Bear's head.

"[Shadow Serpent Style]."

"[Strike of the Venomous Night]."

Bang!

…

…

…

Ding!

[With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]

[You have slain a Level 60 Mana Stone Golem (Mythic Elite). You have gained 990,375 XP.]

[Slaying Mythic Elite beings with your weapon, you have demonstrated that you have what it takes to upset the natural order of the world. You have what it takes to upset the balance and bring forth a new era under your strength.] 

[Due to the feat you have achieved, your title 'True Elite IV' has been upgraded to 'Slayer of Ascendants'.]