Chapter 195 – Into the Ancient Battlefield Once Again
Entering the Imperial capital once again, Fatty submitted Lin Xi’s letter. With it, he got permission to visit the Imperial Palace and meet Grand Magus Laurent.
“Such a serious force of malediction and misfortune.” Laurent was shocked upon seeing Fatty at first glance, and he stood up to meticulously observe him.
After a long, long while, Laurent said, “There’s a way to resolve this, but…”
“But what?” Fatty loathed when these sorts minced words. If it weren’t for the fact that he needed a favor here, the elementalist would’ve definitely let this guy have a taste of his fist.
“If you want to solve the root of the problem, the best thing to do is give up everything, start over, and learn holy magic with me. After three months, you’ll definitely be capable of dispelling any evil force,” stated Laurent.
“Is there any other way?”
“Yes, but that method requires various materials as well as a great deal of my energy.”
Fatty carefully considered the prospects. Holy Magus was unquestionably a hidden cla.s.s, but he still preferred Elementalist. Not to mention, it’d definitely affect his gameplay if he had to start from level 0 again.
“What are the materials? Is there a way to supplement your energy?”
Laurent revealed a smile at these questions. Obviously, he was antic.i.p.ating Fatty asking. “Holy Spirit Stone, Suns.h.i.+ne Gra.s.s, Ghost Spirit Liquid, Unicorn Horn…” Laurent immediately rattled off seven or eight items, all of which were required for a holy attribute cla.s.s.
Finally, he took out a scroll and unfurled it. In an instant, an aura wrapped around Fatty.
“I used a high-rank holy scroll to suppress the evil forces within your body; it should make it easier for you to retrieve the materials. You can now do as you please without worry, but you must gather all of the materials within three months; otherwise, the scroll’s energy will run out, and the force of misfortune and malediction will explode. The consequences will be dire. Remember that,” he proclaimed emphatically.
Fatty was speechless. Apparently, this dude had prepared everything well in advance and had been waiting for an unfortunate fellow like Fatty to help him collect the materials. However, regardless of the credibility of Laurent’s words, if a condition was made, Fatty was naturally inclined to accept it.
Among the materials, the only one the elementalist recognized was the Holy Spirit Stone. In the past, for the “Sealing the Crack” mission, Fatty had specifically gone to the Ancient Battlefield and surmounted grave danger just for a single Holy Spirit Stone. If it wasn’t for the rogue mentor Sallip giving him several of those stones as compensation after their conflict, that mission would have been left incomplete even now.
“So, time for another trip to the Ancient Battlefield.”
Fatty didn’t dawdle after making up his mind. He walked around the capital to replenish his supplies, then entered the Ancient Battlefield once more.
The Ancient Battlefield hadn’t changed at all and was gloomy as ever. As far as the eye could see, a gray fog and an invisible pressure weighed upon the heart. The footsteps of monsters echoed in the distance, adding even more to the ghastly atmosphere.
With no hesitation, Fatty Stealth-ed his way in. He evaded several powerful bosses along his route until he arrived at a familiar place—the tombstones at the depths of the map.
Clink clink, tw.a.n.g tw.a.n.g… The elementalist had already caught wind of noises from quite a ways away. And, he was immediately delighted. An old friend!
As expected, Fatty found a small figure with a bag slung across its back in the graveyard. Squatting before a tombstone, the figure swung a pickaxe. However, upon hearing footsteps, the figure looked up to see the smiling elementalist approaching, and it immediately grew frantic.
Fwis.h.!.+ The Graverobber resolutely tossed aside the pickaxe, rose, and fled like lightning. Its extremely quick speed wasn’t something Fatty could match. Instead, he walked over to pick up the abandoned pickaxe. He was stunned to see that it was a Silver item.
Soil-Rotting Sharp Pickaxe
Level Requirement: 30
Attack: 1 – 2
Function: Turns the hardest earth into the softest of sand. Suitable for digging soil.
Notes: The professional tool of graverobbers.
Seeing as the grave was valuable to a Graverobber, it definitely had to have something good inside. Fatty caressed the pickaxe handle and nodded his head approvingly. Then, he summoned Wheat and started to dig.
The Soil-Rotting Sharp Pickaxe was much better than the Blacksmith’s Tool, as one would expect of a professional graverobber’s tool. Although Fatty had dug less than ten minutes, he’d already carved out a huge hole. Inside, the grave’s height, width, and length were all roughly five meters, and a coffin lay at the bottom. There were no other special burial objects.
“Forgive my offense,” Fatty apologized to the coffin, clasping his hands before his chest, and he pushed at the lid.
Creaaak… Even after an untold number of years beneath the earth, the coffin was still hard and solid. Fatty hacked, heaved, and pried until, finally, the lid opened a small crack. Dots of white light slipped through the crack from inside the coffin.
“Heh, the lid slides.” After prying open a crack, it was much easier for Fatty to pour out a bit of strength and slowly push it open the rest of the way.
Whoos.h.!.+ A white light shot out, illuminating the entire grave, and Fatty jumped back in surprise.
After making sure that nothing else was out of the ordinary, he walked over to check the interior of the coffin.
Inside lay a corpse dressed in full armor. The head was covered by a helmet, so it was impossible to tell the occupant’s gender and age. The white light seeped from the covered head, possibly from an object held in the mouth.
Holy Spirit Stone! Fatty recalled that the Graverobber he’d met last time had, indeed, dug up a Holy Spirit Stone from a grave. Overjoyed, the elementalist reached out to pry off the corpse’s helmet.
Schwoom! With the helmet off, a white column of light beamed from the grave into the sky. The slightly opened mouth of the corpse revealed a small stone sparkling with white light. The warm glow that lit up the grave originated from this gem.
Indeed, a Holy Spirit Stone.
Pinching the jaw open with one hand, Fatty went for the stone with the other. Just as he snagged the stone with his fingers, a hand suddenly appeared on Fatty’s wrist, and the corpse opened its eyes. Swis.h.!.+
Bang! Kicking a foot against the coffin, Fatty leaped away to escape the opponent’s grasp. The Holy Spirit Stone flew from his hand.
Klack… Klack… The snapping of bones rang out. The corpse’s hands grabbed at the coffin’s edge. With a bit of pus.h.i.+ng, it stood up.
Fatty wrinkled his brows a little and tossed out Appraisal—
Undying Fighter
Level: 55
Attack: 140 – 165
Defense: 150
HP: 3500
Skills: Capable of all warrior skills under level 50.
Notes: A brave warrior who died on the battlefield. The soul cannot rest in peace due to being demonized by demonic miasma. Thus, a Holy Spirit Stone is inevitably used to seal the soul.
A level 55, demonized, Silver-tier Fighter! Fatty hastily retreated, eager to leave the grave.
“Roaah!” The Undying Fighter let out a loud battle cry, and a greatsword suddenly appeared in its hands. Despite signs of corrosion across the blade, the sword flashed with a golden light as the Fighter raced toward Fatty.
“Wheat!” Fatty called out. Heeding his summons, the rat popped from the underground.
Bang! The Undying Fighter was suddenly frozen in the midst of its dash with its two hands still brandis.h.i.+ng its sword overhead. As expected, Wheat had used Petrification.
“Good job!” Fatty praised the rodent and nimbly exited the grave in a few steps.
As he wielded the Sharp Pickaxe, Fatty mumbled, “Oh dear, you can’t blame me for this. Who told you to be demonized?” Patch after patch of soil was flipped into the grave. After a short while, the grave was tightly buried anew.
“What a pity this Lord Fatty is here for a mission. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind exchanging blows with you.” Fatty shook his head and set his eyes on the other tombstones.
Without a Graverobber to point the way, the elementalist wasn’t as lucky as last time. He wasn’t even halfway through digging up a grave when it just collapsed, and a monster completely clad in black reared from it.
The creature was also armored to the ears. It held a half-meter long s.h.i.+eld in the left hand, a black battle-axe in the right, and its body emitted waves of cold air.
s.h.i.+eld Warrior
Level: 58
Attack: 145 – 170
Defense: 155
HP: 4500
Skills: All skills available to a s.h.i.+eld Warrior.
Notes: A brave warrior who died on the battlefield. The soul is remains to guard the demon seal for all eternity.
Not giving Fatty time to finish reading the full appraisal, the s.h.i.+eld Warrior swung its battle-axe in a half arc, going straight for Fatty’s head. The elementalist nimbly dodged the axe attack and sprang at his opponent. As he thrust the Elemental Sword toward the enemy’s throat, the blade turned into a cold streak.
Clank! The sword was blocked by the s.h.i.+eld, leaving only a white mark on the surface before withdrawing.
–130
The low damage displeased Fatty. Only a-hundred-something damage? Clearly, this monster wasn’t going to be an easy opponent.
Boom! When the s.h.i.+eld Warrior blocked Fatty’s attack, a Howling Bullet had the chance to slip through and go for the creature’s chest. Upon impact, the bullet exploded, and blood splattered beautifully.
–230
It was actually higher than Fatty’s damage. Fatty pondered a bit and understood. Evidently, the warrior’s magic defense was low.
“Wheat, it’s all yours!” Fatty shouted, then vanished.
Wheat stomped its front paws, casting Scatterstone Rain from underground to attack the warrior’s lower body. While the warrior’s s.h.i.+eld was big and able to block the majority of attacks from the surroundings and above, it was powerless against attacks from the ground.
“Graaaaah!” The s.h.i.+eld Warrior screamed and walked forward. It s.h.i.+fted its battle-axe, prepared to kill Wheat in close combat.
Bam! Fatty’s image flashed by. The s.h.i.+eld Warrior was temporarily stunned on the spot. Ambush: success!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Seizing the chance, Fatty bypa.s.sed the s.h.i.+eld and directly attacked the warrior’s body again and again. The monster’s health plummeted by a third in less than ten minutes.
Whoos.h.!.+ The battle-axe swung again. More than a dozen axes appeared above the gleaming edge of the blade and screamed toward Fatty. The s.h.i.+eld Warrior simultaneously rammed its s.h.i.+eld heavily against Fatty, like a solid wall. The two skills of a s.h.i.+eld Warrior: Shadow Wheel Axe and s.h.i.+eld Strike.
Clank, clank! Fatty barely managed to parry two of the axes before one grazed past his chest and wiped out a fifth of his health.
“Earthwalk!” Fatty shouted in panic. His body flashed and disappeared on the spot. With a small explosion, the rest of the axes blew a deep hole in the ground.
However, while the warrior was still casting skills, Fatty appeared behind it. Swip! With a flash of green, Deadly Poison was successfully executed.