Chapter 25: Underground Adventure

Walking in the forest, Arthur experienced the feeling of being on his own again. As he surveyed the surrounding using his rune, he found no monsters nearby. All alone in the forest, he crouched down and put his hands on his head.

"Why did I do that?"

He felt embarrassed about what just happened. He was barely eighteen and never got to kiss a girl before. That's why he was impulsive this time. Furthermore, he wished he didn't run away after leaning forward like that.

'This is not the time.' Arthur shook his head and stood up. He needed to get stronger and fast. Primitive creatures were no longer a threat to him as long as they weren't in a group. This meant he could hunt freely here while being careful.

After absorbing the mana core Hazel gave him, his mana rose by another two points. With his hunt from earlier, his stats now looked like this.

[Scholar Guardian's Legacy]

[Level: 6 (56%)]

[Strength: 26]

[Agility: 28]

[Stamina: 22]

[Perception: 14]

[Mana: 9/10]

[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (6%), Useable Runes: 7]

[Skills: Lesser-Mana Breathing Skill (F), Poison Strike (F), Camouflage (F)]

Using a mana core that he got from an unranked monster, he raised his stamina to 22 earlier. The areas he was lacking in now were only perception and mana. However, he didn't have any means to raise them right now. Although he tried absorbing mana cores from unranked monsters, they weren't enough to give him any boost in stats.

He knew that getting stronger was not instantaneous, he also felt quite fortunate. Most of these awakeners would awaken at an early age. They would then spend their time getting stronger or have evolved their abilities. As Arthur's ability was linked directly to his knowledge of runes, he had no means to train his ability currently.

He needed to rely on his legacy to gain more runes. It seems they were given randomly or maybe there was a pattern he didn't know yet. He knew that leveling up was more about runes than about stats, although the bonus stat was quite nice as well. However, as his stats got higher, the bonus stats point proved less useful.

As Arthur kept walking in the forest and thinking about this and that, he heard a wolf pack howling in the distance. As he was sure he couldn't handle them, he decided to sleep on top of a tree tonight. Although it was out in the open, he doubted he could find a place that was monsters-safe in this trial grounds.

Arthur climbed a tree and lied down on a thick branch. Luckily, the trees in this area were all gigantic and there was enough room for him not to fall, as long as he doesn't move that is.

As the moonlight shined down, Arthur hugged his sword as he listened to the forest breathing. The howls of the wolves in the distance got nearer. They were still a distance away so Arthur wasn't too worried about it. He looked in their direction and could see the wolves pack running in a certain direction. In their lead was a giant wolf that was quite intimidating. As they were a distance away, Arthur couldn't see how it looked very clearly. However, the mere size of the creature proved that it was not your average joe monster.

The wolves disappeared from his sight and only their howls remained in his ears. He felt quite sleepy after such a long day and he wanted to sleep. However, as he was about to sleep, the earth trembled and many leaves in the forest fell. Arthur opened his eyes as he heard the powerful howl of a wolf along with the sound of battle. It seems the wolves pack were fighting. After a short moment, the forest resumed its quietness and Arthur finally fell asleep.

Early the next day, Arthur woke up to the sounds of birds chippering away. He stretched after a good night of sleep before standing up and surveying the forest. As the light of day illuminated the dark forest he saw yesterday, he marveled at the beauty of nature. Breathing fresh air, Arthur felt more adventurous than ever. He wanted to explore.

Since his body was stronger than before, almost triple his previous strength, he was entering the realm of superhumans. With a powerful jump, he leaped from one branch to the other. He felt like a ninja as he traveled through the forest.

He saw all kinds of monster packs as he traveled, but he didn't engage them. First, he plucked out some fruit to have his breakfast as he enjoyed the scenery and the wildlife in the forest. There were many species of monsters that he didn't know about since he was uneducated. Some lived in swamps having humanoid figures and crocodile jaws while others were winged resembling legends of the wyvern. Luckily, he used his camouflage skill and the trees to stay hidden.

Arthur descended on the ground and used his Detection rune to look for nearby monsters. Strangely, he picked multiple strong life forces from underground. As he looked below, he didn't see anything odd. Furthermore, these life forces were approximately thirty meters underground. They moved in what seems to be underground tunnels.

"Are these underground monsters?" Arthur wondered. Judging by the lifeforce, most of them were primitive monsters. As he started following the tunnels, he saw they diverged several times. He looked around for anything resembling an entrance and found a mountain close by. If there was a cave or an entrance, it would be there.

His guess was correct as he noticed more tunnels when he neared the mountain's steep end. He then began climbing and looking through the terrain for an entrance and found one after half an hour of looking and using the detection rune.

"Is this a monsters' nest?" Arthur wondered as he looked inside the cave. It was dark and damp and seemingly going downward forever. After some thoughts, he felt this would be a good opportunity for him. He wouldn't need to worry about the monsters that descended from the tower with each round and he would be able to hunt effectively. Even though his stats won't increase after absorbing some of these species, he wouldn't mind gaining some mana cores to absorb.

With resolution steeling his mind, he descended the cave while keeping the Detection rune active. Although he could make the outlines with his increased perception, he still needed the rune to avoid being ambushed or meeting powerful foes. As he sensed in a 50 meters radius, Arthur found some primitive monsters close by. They were in a tunnel on the left. As he approached the tunnel's entrance, he had his back against the wall as he surveyed the surrounding. The monsters were giant with ants' bodies and humanoid heads like those of goblins.

On the monster's head, there was a gem embedded in its forehead. The gem seemed to be a mana core and was glowing red. Arthur has never seen such a monster before so he grew hesitant if he should stay.

Judging by the monster's lifeforce, it seemed to be only a primitive tier. They worked in groups as some opened up new tunnels while others moved the rocks away. Those that opened the tunnels had a red gem in their forehead, while the nimble ones clearing the way had a blue gem.

What fascinated Arthur was the way they dug through the cave. They impaled their legs into the wall and mana rose from their red cores. The soil in that wall would loosen and fall off. The blue-gem monster would then harden the fallen soil before picking it away. It seems that these two worked together to break down the soil and harden it thus digging effectively.

It seems to be an innate skill of the monster, as they were able to change the soil's structure using mana. After much thought, Arthur decided to start his hunt. These monsters looked like they were only for digging, so they were not that much of a threat.

Arthur waited for one of the blue-gem monsters to move away from the rest before he lured it. They worked in pairs of red and blue and others were digging other tunnels. As Arthur threw a rock near the monster, it turned its humanoid and ugly face toward the place the rock landed at. Arthur kept luring it into his place and the monster kept coming closer.

After it was finally within striking range, Arthur slashed at its neck from his hiding spot. The monster was frightened and tried to defend but Arthur's attack took it by surprise and a deep wound was inflicted on its neck. However, it wasn't dead yet as it started screeching and dodging his attacks.

The red-gem monster noticed the commotion and was heading his way. The blue-gem monster used the mandibles protruding from its neck and impaled them to the ground. The soil began to gather and harden at a visible rate and the monster threw it at Arthur. It seemed this was their means of fighting. Arthur couldn't dodge due to the narrow space and struck the soil – now a rock – with his sword. It felt like he was striking against steel but he was able to fend it off. Arthur had no time to waste and used his Force-II rune to restrain the blue-gem monster against the wall. His mana drained visibly as he used a higher tier rune but he proceeded to quickly finish it off. After more rounds of fighting and his protection rune breaking, he finally killed the monster.

Arthur readied himself for the red-gem monster as it arrived just as he finished off its friend. He was in for another battle.