Azimuth: The Elden Throne

This is the Bonus chapter for 100 power stones of this week.

Enjoy!

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Dale left the Guild again, opening his Status as he did so.

[Player: DareDevil (Dale Houston) Attainments: Body Reformation; Eclipsed;

Level:18 (78.9%)

Class: Heavy Spearman

Character Status:

Strength: 88(103); Constitution: 88(113); Dexterity: 88(103); Mental Power: 61(76); Reflexes: 61(76); Mana: 36(51)

…

]

As he read his status, Dale nodded, pleased.

'The XP scaling is really fast, with all of the quests I did in the past hour or so, I only leveled from 17 to 18. If I were to compare, this quantity of XP would've been enough for me to Level up at least from Level 5 to 8.'

'But oh well, such is an MMO, when you fall into this genre you ought to be prepared to grind.'

'Unless you're rich and have money to burn in place of your time, but that will have to be seen in the future as currently, the game has no direct ways of converting real-world money to power.'

'Of course, paying others outside is still possible...'

"..."

He looked around and saw his target, a broken fence surrounding a house.

Dale approached it and started to inspect it…

"... Sigh."

'These quests are starting to get on my nerves.'

'Fix this, clean this, do this, move that... Time and time again...'

'They are more like chores than quests. And with the XP ratio becoming inefficient, the time for me to find another option is fast arriving.'

'If I wish to keep my Leveling speed that is.'

"There are many other Quests in the Guild, but to do them, I'll have to start going out soon."

His expression became solemn...

'But even if I could...'

Dale started to break the fence, separating the rotting wood from the good wood…

This simple action gave him time to think and reflect...

'In the first place, why am I so afraid of going outside?'

"..."

'It's because of the nature of a Hardcore player…'

'It was already beyond my pay grade to enter the Catacombs, but if I were to enter the forest, a potentially harder and more brutal area without any information...'

'That would be nothing but reckless behavior.'

"So I need information before proceeding."

'I'm sure there may be some sort of event tied to the forest, if I can just trigger it, then I would be introduced to that area without needing to go out of my comfort zone too much.'

'Of course, to grow strong, to become rich, one has to leave their comfort zone eventually, a kid eventually grows into an adult...'

'But it seems too much to consider such things when the game hasn't even been released for one Real-world day...'

'However, my Stats should be above what someone would need to raid this zone, right?'

'Yet, on that same note, my combat power is nowhere near what I should have.'

'That old man proved it to me.'

'My skills are lacking, my technique is off the place, my combat sense is barely passable, and I know nothing about my surroundings…'

'I shouldn't undervalue myself much, but overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer...'

'So what do I do? I can't stay like this forever, doing small chores for meager XP and a bit of Reputation, people with larger balls will eventually appear, and even if they die, through 1000 deaths they'll eventually succeed.'

'The only redeeming point these simple Quests have is their sheer quantity, but even when I do multiples of these, one after the other, it's still barely passable.'

'Worse, I get super tired both mentally and physically when I'm done with them.'

'I really need to set my sight onto something else... And soon, otherwise, this advantage that I have will be quickly lost.'

'I am sure there are better things to do, better ways for me to get XP and Reputation at the same time… And that must lie outside.'

'There are several other contracts in the Mercenary Guild that can only be completed by going outside, and I should be able to do them.'

'Without a doubt, hunting a higher level monster will reward me with a lot of XP and items…'

"... I'll have to ask them after this."

'Testros and Misgurd, perhaps even that old lady. They definitely know a lot about the creatures outside and how to deal with them.'

'My body isn't invulnerable, what if I am ambushed by a creature and hit in the neck? That may be game over even if the creature is much weaker than me.'

'So I can't just rush fearlessly into the forest…'

Shaking his head in disappointment, Dale continued to repair the fences…

…

/Later that day…/

Dale could be seen sitting at a table together with Misgurd and Testros.

The two were extremely focused on their conversation and they were even a bit tense…

"So, let me see if I got that right… You want to start going outside?" Misgurd asked as he crossed his arms

"Yes, I can definitely do more if I go outside… I can't stay every day fixing fences and clearing the rubble from the roads…"

"Please, don't be offended by this, it's not that I think I am over such a minor job…"

"We understand, there is no need to continue." Misgurd replied as he raised his left hand

'I am surprised he even lasted this long already, no one ever did those punny jobs anyway, not even the other punks...'

"So first, we are talking about being OUTSIDE and not simply helping in the farms right?" Misgurd asked Dale as tapped on the table

Dale nodded.

"I would say that you are definitely strong enough, but being strong enough isn't enough to be out there. Trust me in this." Misgurd said as he looked at Testros

"Kid, in this place, if you receive a heavy injury, how are we supposed to fix you?" Testros said as he raised a question

"The problem isn't the normal animals that inhabit the forest, but the creatures from beyond the wall that made their way past it due to its lack of repair."

Misgurd nodded and said:

"What is the reason behind most retirements amongst mercenaries? It's a debilitating injury, preventing them from continuing their work."

"Few actually end up retiring due to old age or simply because they want to."

"And it doesn't need to be that serious. A simple cut too deep in the leg can mean the end of your career if it heals badly…"

"See these scars? I was lucky they healed well, otherwise I wouldn't be able to even raise my sword."

"And in this place boy, a cut is the last of the things you can get." He said as he looked deeply at Dale, showing the scars on his arms <subtxt> red.cm </subtxt>

"... I understand…"

'As a HardCore player, I can understand this concept, it's not just about surviving every encounter, but being able to continue playing effectively afterwards.'

'It's about managing my character... Me, in a proper way.'

'But I have potions and other things I bought from the market, they aren't super effective due to them being low-level items, but they are enough for now.'

'As long as I don't lose a limb or get completely mangled up, I should be able to recover… With time.'

'And that is something I lack right now, and it's the very same reason why I am asking this of them... All because I also lack time…'

'How unsettling…'

Seeing his expression, Testors let out a sigh.

"It seems you are still not convinced."

"Let's say we agree…"

"Testros…" Said Misgurd

"It's just a what-if Misgurd, listen to me first."

"Let's say we agree, what happens?"

"First comes the teaching. We would help you in understanding the forest and its environment, which is a must that even some kids know, although kids would learn how to avoid getting too close to it."

"From dangerous plants and creatures to beneficial ones, after all, if you are already risking yourself being there, might as well pick up some items along the way, right?"

"To be honest with you, meeting any dangerous monster is rather rare during the day, but that does not mean the forest is free of dangers."

"Venomous animals and insects are everywhere, poisonous plants litter the ground, and knowing how to avoid them is the basis of the basic."

"What are we… You going to do if you get bit by a Blue Spear Snake in the middle of the forest? Walk back to us?" He asked with a thin smile, making Misgurd smile as well

"What is a Blue Spear Snake?" Dale asked as he raised an eyebrow

Misgurd replied:

"It's a rather common type of venomous snake whose head is fully blue while its body is green, it normally camouflages itself in the Hugu Trees, the ones with the blue stripes and blue leaves since it's easy to remain out of sight there."

"Their bite can send you to sleep within half a minute for over half an hour, it's barely enough to kill a child but on Humans, it sends us to sleep very very quickly… And sleeping in that forest isn't very wise."

"In the past, we used to process its venom into sleeping medicine..."

Testros nodded and continued:

"Apart from teaching you how to avoid and identify dangers, we would need to teach you how to deal with them too."

"As we said before, you may have the necessary strength, but you aren't currently capable of using it effectively."

"And fighting in a forest environment isn't simple, just another thing on your way for you to deal with…"

"To be honest, I would've sent you to the forest regardless after some time as part of your training… Since it's the perfect environment for you to train in."

"However, it's too soon."

"It may be true that the forest has many rare ingredients and materials that can be used to make healing items and potions, something we need desperately, it doesn't remove the danger factor."

"We can't allow you in there yet with the expectation that you'll find healing materials for whatever injury you receive."

"Even then, it's also true that the last time we had a decent potion done was over several years ago after Dudencell died... May his soul rest in peace."

Dale didn't recognize the name…

"Who was Dudencell?"

'I smell a Quest.'

"A very proficient alchemist, he could transform a simple every day Iron Apple from the forest into a Tonic and that is the reason why most of the young adults between the ages of 16 and 30 are so physically fit." Misgurd replied with a sad smile

"It's all because of Dudencell and his many tonics and potions that we managed to last so long…"

"But after his death and the fact that his son was very very young at the time of his death, we hadn't had a proper healing item in years as he didn't share any of his knowledge with the younger generations."

"I see… It's been years now though, has no one tried to fill in the gaps by continuing his job? Or did we lose all of his recipes?"

Misgurd and Testros looked at each other with helpless smiles.

"The recipes are still there, the problem is that they are far from being easy to do." Replied Msgurd as he dropped his head with a frown

"We already lack materials to do those items, much less train someone to a decent level. And that takes hundreds of mistakes and sets of materials…" Continued Testros

"His 'son' is also overly kind, more so than 'he' should."

"After his father's death, he tried his best to improve while using the least amount of materials possible, but this extreme dedication has caused his health to deteriorate and now he is barely capable of walking outside of his own home."

"And despite all of this, he still performs his alchemy, trying to improve the formulas and his skills in order to continue his father's work…"

"It's just a shame that he is very pessimistic and tends to view all of his works as failures, stopping us from consuming them."

"Isn't that... Bad then?" Dale asked with a frown

"Oh no, please, don't take this as a bad thing, it may look like he isn't doing much now... But he is trying his best every day."

"Ah… I see it now."

'So, if I understood it correctly, they have an alchemist… Which is already a surprise, but a welcomed one.'

'However, he is pessimistic and also a bit of a perfectionist, and even if he is capable enough to brew potions, he won't distribute them because he wants to protect everyone from a potential failure...'

'Pretty stupid but not completely out of the line since in this place, if someone falls ill it may as well be over for them...'

'So he is always trying, always perfecting his own work… The problem is that the Village doesn't have a lot of time or resources to spare.'

'But that is a self-destructive personality and way of life as he is not only depriving the villagers of items, but he is also compromising his own health by being a shut-in.'

'Not only that, from their description, he is nothing short of a parasite, consuming resources but showing no results… Worse, he may be close to dying if their descriptions are accurate.'

After sorting out his thoughts, Dale asked:

"I can understand about the alchemist, but he isn't really connected to me being able to go outside right?"

'It's a problem I will have to resolve eventually though…'

"That is where you are wrong, kid." Misgurd said with a smile

"With a decent alchemist, it may be possible for everyone to go back into exploring the shallow parts of the forest like in the old days of Dudencell."

"We would have potions to heal minor injuries, antidotes to poisoning, and previous useless items like poisonous mushrooms would have a proper use now..."

"At the very least, I would feel much better sending you to the forest to complete these contracts… Until then, I can't really show you my support until this old guy here approves." He said as he pointed at the silent Testros

"And as he said, I won't let you in there at least until you finish the basic course. Don't even try going out on your own unless you want a beating." Testros replied with a heavy face

"..."

'Can I treat that as a form of worry?'

"... Alright, I can understand your points." Dale said after a momentary silence

"But… What if the village recovers its potion and materials supply?" He asked as he looked into their eyes with a smile

"In that case, I see no problem in raising the training program another notch and introducing periodic forest expeditions from time to time." Testros said with a smile

"In that case…"

Dale raised his left hand and opened his inventory, ready to impress the two out of their minds…

…

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Notes

* Constitution: 88(113)

88 + 15 -> 103

103 X 1.1 = 113.3 so I rounded it up to 113

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