Return to the Village

['Physique' has increased 40 >>> 45]

['Strength' has increased 40 >>> 45]

Opening his eyes groggily, Arthur woke up to joy-inducing notifications. It seemed that his hard work had paid off! 

He was now closer to the quest requirements. His fight with the Cerberus was the exact reason he was so fixed on raising his stats, he couldn't rely on the bookmark 'Rise of the Nobody Soldier'. It was a great that his class allowed him to use such a unique skill, but the drawbacks were just as huge. 

If there were to be even a basic beast around, even that could have killed him in his exhausted state. He had to get stronger. Strong enough to fend off his foes without relying on his trump card. 

Getting up, Arthur patted the dust off his clothes and stretched his sore muscles, going through a sequence of moves that helped boost his natural body recovery. After finishing his yoga moves and stretches he happily strolled forwards. 

'Time to see what is behind those doors.' he smiled, walking onwards. But before he headed towards the large double doors, he walked towards the now dead beast, dissecting the beast to look for a beast core. 

'Thought so. The physiology of these beasts are similar but aren't completely the same to the beasts found on Earth.' Arthur gave up his search, walking towards the large double doors, pushing them forward. 

They were not as heavy as Arthur had thought. As the doors opened, he was finally met with the interior of a small storage room. There was tonnes of gold surrounding the place; this immediately disappointed Arthur, but he wasn't quick to judge. He walked around looking for anything interesting till he arrived in front of a giant chest. 

Smashing the lock, he was able to pry the lid of the chest open.

'Are these potions? There only seems to be 2 types here. I'm guessing the inheritance was left by an Alchemist. Why didn't he at least leave some recipes.' Arthur thought to himself, before he picked up flasks filled with strange coloured liquid. If only he had an 'inspect skill' he could know what these things were. 

As he continued to study the flasks, he even opened some and smelled them causing him to be surprised by their fruity aroma. 

After he had done so with all of them he was happy as he had gotten what he wanted. 

[You have gained a New Skill: 'Inspect' (E)]

['Inspect' (E) - User will be able to get information regarding objects and living things once they channel mana to their eyes. This skill can be upgraded with repetitive usage and will upgrade according to the User's strength.]

'Finally, the general skill that all Hunters have and most awakened. Thank you system! Now back to these potions!' Arthur's eyes gleamed, as he smiled with excitement. 

He immediately looked at the orange-coloured potion first, then the blue-coloured potion after. 

[Strength Potion (46% Purity) - This crude potion is an experimental creation made by the mad scientist Franky. His goal was to be able to make potions that would permanently boost a Demon Hunter's overall strength. Drinking this potion has a 46% chance of granting the User +1 in the 'Strength' Stat.]

[Mana Potion (37% Purity) - This crude potion is an experimental creation made by the mad scientist Franky. His goal was to be able to make potions that would permanently boost a Demon Hunter's overall strength. Drinking this potion has a 37% chance of granting the User +1 in the 'Mana' Stat.]

'I'm almost speechless of how lucky I am. Is this called being the main character??? Blessed by the plot. I have gained Plot armour! Hahahahaha!' Arthur laughed heartily, counting a total of 10 potions of each of the strength and mana potions. 

Although the probabilities were low, this was a completely broken way to raise his stats. Hunters would be foaming at the mouths, if they could get their hands on these and find a way to mass produce them. 

'Hope I don't throw up from all of these. Let's go!' He grabbed the flasks one by one, chugging them one by one. He grimaced at the bitter taste of the potions but he persevered through the ordeal.

['Strength' has increased 45 >>> 48]

['Mana' has increased 10 >>> 14]

[Mana Core Tier has increased Tier 1- >>> Tier 1]

Burping loudly, he sat down on the floor, checking the notification of his stats going up.

'Not bad. Not bad. First time I've managed to increase my mana somehow. I really need a Cultivation Method. That reminds me, I need to get back to the village. The attack should be happening in a few days.' Arthur grabbed another spare good - looking sword and strapped it to his back, before heading out of the inheritance ground. 

As he sprinted through the forest, it was still night time, for some reason he had an ominous feeling and this time he decided to trust his guts. It had not proven false yet after the past few events. 

'I can smell smoke. The village it's burning!' Arthur cursed in his mind, leaping up and climbing a tall tree to the top. 

From his vantage point atop the towering tree, Arthur's heart sank as he beheld the billowing plumes of smoke on the horizon. The village, once bustling with life, now lay engulfed in flames, a tragic sight that stirred a sense of urgency within him. He wanted to leap down and save as many as he could, but instead, he stayed, analysing the situation in front of him. 

'This isn't meant to happen yet! Why does the plot never stay the same? Hopefully it's just been hastened slightly.' With determination fueling his actions, Arthur scanned the landscape, searching for any signs of survivors or sources of the inferno. 

Finally spotting the dark eerie figures that held a striking resemblance to the Xandarians, the blue-eyed boy's body froze subconsciously. The mighty presence of those beings was ingrained in Arthur's head. He was powerless before them.

'No. They may look similar but they're much weaker, I can sense their mana pressure from here. The thing I feared has happened once again. Even still, Elizabeth must be on her way, if she doesn't then this whole plot will be ruined. She is a key role to the plot. Will I be stuck in this world if I don't finish the story?' His thoughts started to rush through his mind, but he pushed the worries to the back of his mind. 

'I sense 8 of those beings from here, they seem to be searching for something. They're each moving in pairs. A pair North, one East and two South, nearest to me. Should I take them on?'

At the end Arthur stayed hidden, keeping an eye over the demonic dark figures' movements. It only took them a few hours to completely flatten the village. That's when the heroine arrived at the scene accompanied by her knights. 

Elizabeth Rosario - Known as the Holy Princess. She possessed a warm presence. With flowing, blonde hair framing and piercing sapphire eyes, her gaze held a depth of wisdom beyond her years. She clutched the Golden mace in her hands, getting ready for bloodshed, a complete opposite to her holy appearance.

Clad in armor adorned with symbols of light and wielding weapons forged in righteousness, the knights alongside Elizabeth charged in towards the 8 demonic beings. 

Far in the distance, a dark flicker descended from the shadowy canopies above, silent as the night itself. 

With a chilling presence that seemed to pierce the darkness, a pair of ice-blue eyes gleamed with an otherworldly luminescence.

'Let's begin this hunt.'