Chapter 97: Freedom
Zac looked down at the slain beast, very satisfied with his new axe. The swing almost fully decapitated the monster, and he swiftly cut the last pieces off with another swing, bringing the progress in his class quest to 1. He realized that he didnt really need to use Dao of Sharpness on an enemy of this level, his new axe alone was sharp enough on its own.
Since it was only an F-grade item he had been afraid it wouldnt be too strong in the beginning even though it was a Spiritual Tool. But he quickly realized that he was worried about nothing. Its edge was far sharper compared to his old axes, and it had no problem accommodating his power.
As Zac looked down on the weapon he was surprised to see that the minks blood wasnt dripping off the weapon, but rather got absorbed. He already knew from before that Spiritual Tools needed to absorb various materials to evolve, but he didnt expect one of them to be blood. Unfortunately, the axe didnt co with an instruction manual of what it wanted, and Zac could only try various things.
He already knew that it didnt want Nexus Crystals, which was sort of a relief. After so hesitation he broke off an incisor from the animal and pushed them toward the teeth on the axe, but nothing happened. It looked like he wouldnt have to go around ripping teeth out of his foes like so dented dentist to feed the Spiritual Tool.
Next Zac started looking around the area for anything that looked valuable since Ogras said that strong beasts sotis built their nests close to so natural treasures, as living in its vicinity would help the beast grow faster. Since the beast was clearly stronger compared to other monsters in the area there should be sothing of value here.
As he looked around he was once again astounded by the amount of cosmic energy his body naturally absorbed now. It almost felt like a torrent entered his body to restore his missing energy. He would have to ask around later about whether that was due to reaching E-rank Race, or if it was due to sothing else.
Even after looking for an hour he couldnt find any treasure, and he could only return with a frown. It appeared that his high Luck couldnt help him out in every scenario. Zac was soon back at where he left the deer-human and found him still fretfully walking about, seemingly unable to decide whether he should follow or go back. As he saw Zac approach he sighed in relief and approached.
My friend! It is good that you are okay. Luckily it seems the beast was awa- he said, but his words got stuck in his throat as Zac took out the carcass of the beast from his pouch and let it fall down on the ground with a deep thud. Next he took out the decapitated head and placed it to the side of the body.
This should be the mink you were talking about, Zac simply said.
The Ishiate hunter blankly stared at the carcass lying in front of him.
You can take the head as evidence if you wish. Can you help
skin it? The fur of the monster was extrely soft and luxurious, and itd be a waste to leave it. But with his self-taught skills he was afraid hed ruin it. Normally hed want to take the at as well, as the stronger the beast was the more delicious its at would often be. However, it seed that this monster had eaten quite a few humans and beastn, so it felt pretty disgusting to eat its at by now.
Ah? Yes, certainly! the hunter said and quickly got to work after grabbing a skinning knife from a pouch on his back.
May I ask.. Is that a Cosmos Sack youre using? he tentatively asked as he glanced at Zac.
Yes, why? Zac asked. Selas shouldnt have actually seen the pouch as it was fastened to his girdle beneath his cloak, but there obviously werent many ways that one could make a huge corpse appear from nowhere.
Do you have any more? Winterleaf Village would love to buy one, wed offer a competitive price.
I only have one with
at the mont. But Ill see what I can do next ti I pass by, Zac answered, not wanting to commit. He did have a couple of them lying around at his camp since looting them from the demons, and there were quite a few of them waiting up on the mountain tops. But he wasnt sure whether selling them was a good idea or not.
What about the entrance token to the event? Zac asked. He already received the map imdiately after killing the beast, but there were still rewards to reap.
Selas once again reached into the sack on his back, and took out a smaller pouch. He opened and inside were two tokens. They appeared to be made out of stone and were almost as large as a palm. Zac imdiately saw that these things were sothing made by the System, as the tell-tale fractals completely covered them.
Zac fiddled with his token a bit before he imbued it with cosmic energy and a stream of energy entered his mind. He could quickly discern that this was the real deal, and the only thing needed to enter this so-called treasure hunt was this badge. As long as it was in your possession when the event started you would be teleported there. There was no ownership or restrictions at all, making the item a hot potato.
He wasnt worried for himself, as he felt that there were very few people who were able to snatch sothing out of his hands. But his eyes turned to Selas, who tensed up from the glare. But soon he resud working his knife on the carcass.
Please keep it a secret you got it from . Very few people know it's in my possession and it needs to stay that way for the safety of Winterleaf Village.
Zac simply nodded and said no more. Soon the beast was skinned, and Selas held up the large pelt.
Its done, but it needs to be properly treated as well, the hunter said.
Could you help
with that as well? I need to visit the human settlent before I head back to my hotown. I will be back to your village in a few days,
Of course. Their town is that way, Selas answered and pointed east. I would say be careful, but I feel that it is not you whos in danger, he added as he glanced at the large head next to him.
Zac wryly smiled and turned to leave.
Oh and Zac? Thank you, he heard from behind, and only answered with a wave. There were obviously multiple anings to those two words.
As Zac walked he sighed slightly and shook his head. The hunter was clearly afraid that Zac would kill him to take the second token as well. And Zac knew that many might have done just that. Zac didnt even consider it, as he had no real use for another token. Even if he quickly found his sister it wasnt sothing that he would want her to possess.
Just owning it ant having a bullseye on ones back. And even if you survived and went there, the competition would likely be extre. The most powerful and ruthless people gathered at one spot, competing for great treasures? It would likely make the battle at the monkey mountain seem like a day at the spa.
He wasnt too keen on going himself, and certainly wouldnt send soone he loved there. Of course, he also knew that going there might be the best opportunity to get a real sense of the situation in the world and get so power-ups. If people from all over the world gathered, soone might even be from his hotown.
Becoming the strongest or whatever wasnt really his goal, and he simply fought to survive so far. He hoped that his visit to the human settlent would give him so answers to what was going on. If not he would try again next month. He only had a few days to spare, after all, and needed to get back to Port Atwood sooner or later.
As he walked he took in a fresh breath of air. It finally felt like he had so control over his actions after months battling. He constantly found himself pushed into one situation after another, putting him in a constant reactive state. But now he had full freedom, at least for a few days. The fact that he would have to get back soon ruined the mood a bit for him, but at least for now he relished the feeling of just adventuring.
He took out a crystal from his pouch as he walked and imbued it with so energy. A window opened up with a rough map inside. It was black and white and didnt contain a lot of detail, but it did cover a large area and marked the towns. He saw Winterleaf Village the closest, and he currently was heading toward Fort Roger.
Both of the towns had crystals next to the na, and after so confusion, he realized it ant that they probably possessed Nexus Nodes or Nexus Stations. Nexus Stations were lesser versions of the Nexus Node that gave access to the class system, but needed quests to unlock the town managent systems.
Apparently there were differences between the nodes as well, where he got a throng of options, whereas most of the towns only got the bare essentials. Nexus Stations were extrely common though from what Alyn told him, which made sense as people needed to get their classes sohow. Alyn didnt explain how they appeared, as they generally had been around for thousands upon thousands of years on their ho planet.
That Winterleaf Village possessed a real Nexus Node was clear to Zac, but he doubted that anyone in the surrounding towns knew that. At least not for now. From his impression of the small village, he felt that they werent careful enough. They really lucked out that Zac, and not soone else, walked through that portal.
Zac hadnt inspected anyone out of politeness, but he never felt any sense of danger from any one of them, aning that they shouldnt have been too strong. Of course, they were strong enough to both get a Nexus Node and gather enough money for a Teleportation Array, so they were no slouches either.
They were even open about possessing the entrance tokens before they even knew him, which seed crazy to Zac. He had a feeling that unless they wisened up theyd end up in dire straits. Possessing too many valuables was a cri in troubled tis after all. If it was the old him Zac wouldnt have felt anything was wrong, but Ogras had started to rub off on him.
Zac kept walking, and out of habit started using [Axe Mastery]. It felt like the trajectories were slightly changed to accommodate for his new weapon, making Zac once again marvel over the skill. It was also the first ti he properly used the skill since it reached Late mastery, and as he expected it better incorporated his Dao Seeds into the mix.
What surprised him was that it actually even incorporated the Dao of Trees. Until now that Dao Seed remained unused in battle, but the guidance system showed him its usage. Every now and then it told him to imbue his free hand with it as he used it for grabs or blocks. Zac wasnt sure what the exact use was, perhaps except that it improved the resilience of his arm, enabling him almost to use it as a shield. However, he still felt that a low mastery seed was too weak for that kind of usage at the mont.
Zac kept moving throughout the day and the next, unceasingly using his skill. It was almost addicting to be able to once again use Nexus Crystals to restore his missing energy, especially now that it apparently only took a fifth of the ti to absorb the energy contained in an F-Grade Crystal.
The hunter said that the town was four days away, but with Zacs huge attributes and speed it went far quicker. Finally, he reached his destination, Fort Roger. And as he looked upon the ramshackle town with its weak fortifications he felt that the description of Selas didnt do the town justice.
It was much worse.
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