After running for several hours, Drodosis finally reached his destination. Only a preparatory knight with acolyte resources could have done it so effortlessly. He had, after all, monstrous physical attributes, for a human at least. On his way, he found three valuable fruits he would have never recognized, if not for his biochip pointing it out for him.One was a Grey Eternal Root, a treasure which could increase one"s lifespan, and it was the main ingredient for the Vitality Elixir, a treasure which could be sold for hundreds of magic crystals. However, the success rate is so low that the demand is quite inexistent, so after deliberation, Drodosis decided to eat this greyish and almost invisible root, raw as it was better than cooked in order to get the most benefits out of it. Tasting literally like wood, Drodosis ate it all, with great difficulty. He was overjoyed to receive a notification:
[Beep! Host"s physique has increased by 0.8!]
Although it was nowhere near as good as the elixir, it was still a pretty noticeable increment. One point of attribute was a huge value, and people might not realize it, but the higher your attributes were, the harsher it got to increase them. His breathing technique was already starting to have reduced effects, and if not for its continuous daily use, Drodosis would have long since reached a bottleneck.
The next treasure he picked up was a small stone, with nothing standing out. It had probably been here for centuries, without anybody noticing. Yet, after absorbing small amount of Earth elemental particles from the ground, it became a small mana generator. Although it was useless to Drodosis, who knew if it could be used to improve a golem, or create a low-grade mechanical soldier out of it? If anything, Drodosis estimated its value to be over 3 magic crystals.
Last but not least, Drodosis stumbled upon a sand shark and obliterated it with skilled dagger mastery. Drodosis wasn"t the same as before, and with his 8 points of strength, he was much stronger than the average man. Using speed and strength to overwhelm the beast, he managed to kill it without sustaining an injury, or degrade its two eyes, which could be sold for one magic crystal each.
As Drodosis arrived at the site, he was overwhelmed. Square miles of water, as if it were a small sea! He could see from the distance enormous whales, which could probably squash him to death if he was unfortunate enough to fall into the water!
Drodosis didn"t rush, and used his biochip to its limits, in order to find whatever item of value. The main reason why resources were rare wasn"t the lack of resources themselves, but rather, the lack of knowledge from acolytes who didn"t study enough, failing to recognize what had value and practical use, what didn"t.
As Drodosis started to glance at a particular sea fruit, he immediately felt fear in every ounce of his body. It was the first time he was frightened to this extent, and his body moved in an instinctive way, crouching. A man appeared out of nowhere, and his scimitar failed to kill him.
His weapon was a long and curved sword, which had a special aura of death around it. Even though Drodosis miraculously managed to dodge the strike, the aura corroded his eye, to the point that pain was becoming unbearable.
[Beep! Traces of corrosion spreading from left eye detected! Antibodies aren"t strong enough! Required treatment: Removing left eye before it"s too late.]
Drodosis, threatened by death, decided to do the unimaginable, tearing off his left eye with his bare hands. He had never felt so much pain in his life. He had been careless. Blood splashed everywhere, and despite his brain secreting adrenaline in ma.s.ses, the pain didn"t go away. Kneeling, Drodosis managed to cast a water orb spell before the second strike touched him.
The a.s.sa.s.sin had used the same attack as before, yet Drodosis couldn"t avoid it. Fortunately, enough, the scimitar blade after rotating at superhuman speed, was blocked by layers of a strange water orb which condensed all around Drodosis.
[Beep! 2 layers of host"s barrier have been destructed. Damage absorbed: 29.]
29 points of damage! The man had dealt 29 points of damage with a single attack.
Drodosis was frightened, but also thankful that he had pulled off his trick. However, he knew that with these two layers destroyed, he only had 3 layers of defence left! How could he have offended such a strong man? Killing in the tower was forbidden, but outside, it wasn"t! Dismissing these useless thoughts, Drodosis thought of a plan, quickly enough.
The shadow-cloaked man seemed to be surprised at Drodosis" trump card and decisiveness to tear off his own eye. Anyone who could survive two of his strike was worthy of praise, not to mention that his target was actually a beginner acolyte! Seeing this, Drodosis engaged in a conversation.
"Who are you? Who sent you?", Drodosis asked, while secretly casting his acid spear spell.
"I am…", the man answered calmly before realizing Drodosis" trick.
A ma.s.sive 1-meter-long spear was approaching at an unimaginable speed, as if it were a bullet. As it travelled through air, a terrifying whistling made him fear for his life. The man, knowing he couldn"t dodge, tried to cast a spell, but there were only a few dozen meters between Drodosis and him. In a matter of milliseconds, it found its target. A huge splash reverberated in the oasis, followed by the cries of agony of a man who suffered from acid liquid corroding his body. Somehow, right before the impact, a strange fluid condensed out of nowhere, protecting the a.s.sa.s.sin, although the acid spear was too strong for the fluid to be fully absorbed.
[Beep! Enemy possesses an artefact, which has absorbed 12 out of 20 points of acidic damage.]
Drodosis didn"t let his enemy recover, as two other spears were cast towards his enemy. This time, no artefact could save him. He tried to dodge, but the spear impaled his legs, crippling his movement. His screams were terrifying, proof of the pain a corrosive acid brought.
"Who the f.u.c.k is this kid?", the a.s.sa.s.sin thought, while groaning in pain as his nerves were corroded by the acid which was now spreading.
However, the a.s.sa.s.sin had gone through his share of pain in his life as well, and tried a last attempt. Yet, as he began to cast, he opened his eyes in shock as he saw a third spear coming his way.
This time, there was nothing which could save him. His artefact needed to be charged in order to be useful again, and his right leg – or at least what remained out of it – couldn"t take him anywhere, much less dodging a spear flying at 100 meters per second. This time, the spear pierced the man"s head, ending his life.
Even though Drodosis was in tremendous pain, he looted the man, as he knew he would regret it if he didn"t hurry, looking at the acidic mess corroding everything. After finding a pouch of 18 magic crystals, a defensive artefact, a book and an enchanted scimitar, Drodosis searched for a safe place to recover. After all, although he wasn"t in immediate danger, he didn"t want to encounter a sand shark while stopping the bleeding. Spotting a high tree, Drodosis climbed to the top.
However, as if he ran out of luck, three red-eyed crows who were living here attacked him, as if he were their nemesis for degrading their safe haven. Drodosis instinctively put to use his long sessions of training he endured in his childhood, unsheathing the scimitar he had just looted, he slashed two out of three crows, while the third one got away.
Although these beasts" eyeb.a.l.l.s were expansive alchemical ingredients, Drodosis was much more preoccupied by his left eye"s condition. It was obvious that there was no hope of getting back his sight without transplanting a magical beast eye of some kind.
Putting pressure of the wound, Drodosis somehow managed to stop the bleeding, and since he didn"t have anything to disinfect the wound, he bandaged it, before rushing back to the tower.
While it was true he was lucky, he felt awful. He had been carelessly confident, and overestimated himself. He didn"t know anyone with a grudge and background to hire such a strong a.s.sa.s.sin. As far as he knew, such a task would cost someone over fifty magic crystals, especially considering he came from an adept family, albeit decaying.
He had killed an intermediate acolyte, and while he didn"t know whether he was from the tower or not, he knew that this man was also a knight. He had killed someone stronger than him, but only because Drodosis managed to pull off a scheme.
After a few hours of running, Drodosis was barely conscious. The pain was unbearable. Without his biochip and his will, he would have long fell in the endless sand dune, as a prey for the neighbouring sand sharks.
"Pa.s.sword", a mechanical voice could be heard at the entrance of the Ivory tower.
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"Cultivating spirit enables men to free themselves from the shackles of fear.", Drodosis mumbled, while groaning in pain. The more time pa.s.sed, the less effective adrenaline became, and the more pain he felt. He had, after all, tore off his own eyeball.
A few hours later, Drodosis was at Old Foxy"s shop.
"How did you get that?", the old man finally asked once Drodosis" condition was finally stabilized.
"From the wound, he probably encountered some sort of swordsman", the doctor said, "but that"s none of my business."
"Here…is…your…Payment", Drodosis said while handing out 3 magic crystals.
The old man looked at him in pity. Drodosis never felt so humiliated and helpless in his life. Even the kind old man pitied him. His pride couldn"t accept that: he fainted.
Without willpower to stay conscious, it was only a matter of time before his body gave in.