Chapter 57 - The Quest Begins...

Fidgeting the black stone nothing short of a riverside pebble, Adam felt an intense desire to exclaim that the world somehow doesn't seem to fit the sage's standard. Yet he kept mum and only nodded in reply.

"Also, that stone can act as a teleportation portal. You can use that feature once a day. Remember to keep it in the storage ring. I'll send over a few hundred bottles of potions as soon as I dilute the High-tier ones."

With a faint smile, the earthling could only agree with his instructions.

The warmth of morning had transformed to the heat of the noon. The breeze caressing nature and woods were the only relief in the prickling temperature.

"... when you're going to different kingdoms, make sure to follow their rules. Though the Guild system and ranking criteria are the same throughout the continent, there might be some indigenous adjustments. Money is in gold, silver and copper denominations. So you'll have to register yourselves as an adventurer and complete missions to gain wealth.

Secure some low tier beast cores before visiting the Alchemist Guild. High-rank alchemists are exponentially expensive to refine beast cores above D-tier.

Starting your adventure from the kingdom alliances lying south to the preserve would be beneficial to you. Later, you can depart to empires after comprehending the social and economical stratifications."

The old man instructing Adam on every minuscule detail that he needs to take care of. Sage gave primary emphasis to his demeanour.

"You're a berserker and level 31 at that. Your interface tells that you rely on unarmed combat more than spear and sword. All this information literally means that you're quite brave to jump into a fight without regard for cost or consequence.

So creating an unwavering demeanour is essential. Your face must never display emotions unnecessarily. And when you do, people must be alarmed. The pure bruteness must be evident in your exterior and movement."

Ok.

Adam could only bob his head in acknowledgement of this advice. Sometime before, Endevil also suggested tempering his heart and mind.

[Adam, do you want to be emotionally strong and able to handle anything or a heartless sociopath?]

'No thanks. I choose life.'

Unaware of the telepathic conversation between the armour and its master, Trevor went on speaking ceaselessly.

After ten minutes, the sage concluded his speech with strict instruction to conceal Adam's connection with the preserve. He also added that the disclosure of such delicate information would impede his quest and create suspicion of his identity.

After conversing about a few trivial matters, Adam rose from his seat and bowed at the sage. Words couldn't express how delighted he is to have the sage dissolve his concerns.

"Hahaha... you're exaggerating things. It's my responsibility to guide someone who helps me."

Adam bid farewell without delay and turned around to leave when the mansion entered his peripheral vision. Fathoming the vastness and extravagance of the construct, he felt the need to appreciate its beauty whenever he sees it.

As he walked out of the gazebo, Little Bu walked to Adam and lowered his torso.

"Walking all the way to the grassland border will take a few days, even at your current stats. So, Bu will take you there."

The sage's voice rang in his ears from the gazebo. Accepting the assistance, Adam climbed on top of the dragon. With a leap, both were airborne.

Sou~

A few minutes? Meh, a few seconds!

That's all the time that Elder Dragon Bulwark took to traverse from the core area to the grassland!

"Th-Thank you, B-"

Blargh~

The light speed agility of the dragon was more than what Adam could ever handle. Thus he threw up on top of Little Bu as soon as he landed on the ground.

"What the?"

The slimy liquid created a discomforting sensation and the beast shook its torso at once. When the pungent smell accompanied the uneasiness, the repulsion was quick and powerful.

The earthling who was dizzy and barely sitting stable, plummetted on the ground on all four.

"Why the hell would you go that fast?!"

Raising his torso on his knees, Adam wiped the trail of vomit on the corners of his lips and yelled. His calibration was still disoriented and he clutched his head.

Watching the lower lifeform squirming and yelling at his benevolence, Bulwark's brows tensed up.

"How would I know that you're such a weak whiner?"

Without sparing another glance, the dragon whipped its head and disappeared into the distance in the shape of a streak of light.

"Arrogant lizard." Lying on the grassy plain, Adam saw the fleeting figure of the beast and muttered. Expelling a mouthful of air, he tried to stand up but stumbled and fell again.

[Adam, I believe that you hurt the dragon's pride.] Endevil's nonchalant voice declared.

The earthling's brows loosened. 'Me? How?'

When did I hurt its pride? It was one pummelling me with no compromise!

"Dragons are known to be one of the strongest beasts that could harness the power of space and time. An ascended dragon can easily overpower deities with pure brute strength alone.

This power should be able to shatter even the finest-crafted and sturdiest artefacts, but Deity Of Doom survived. No matter how much it thrashed, I remained unscathed.

This broke its domineering spirit. It felt like becoming powerless and disintegrating in front of a mortal. This experience hurt its pride.] The armour's voice explained the situation in detail.

Adam remained horizontally inclined on the grassland, fortified from head to toe. Eyelids closed and back pressing on the ground, the human slouched and before slipping into slumber.

As the heavenly body of illumination travelled across the sky, the exhaustion and fatigue accumulated over time slowly dissipated with the light of the day.

***

Meanwhile...

The Aquila Empire was preparing to be chaotic with celebration.

"Release the seal, open the gates!!!"

The guard standing over one of the tallest watchtowers on the walls roared with such force that his throat almost leapt out of his mouth. Contrary to the panic that should be accompanying the yell, excitement and agitation were brimming on his face.

Kadhum~

A deep and powerful boom reminiscent of a giant metal block kissing the ground under the effect of freefall emerged with a wave of a dust cloud. The shockwave swept across the sea of people but it dissipated before the end could be found. These residents of the empire had anxiety written all over the face.

The seal, unscathed by the violence of time and tide, slowly retracted its arms and began to move. Maybe it was due to the decades-long hibernation, it produced a violent creak as it squirmed.

The colossal doors that towered almost 20 metres tall began to open up!

"LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR! LONG LIVE THE HEROES!"

"HAU!"

The enormous chunks of metal had only parted by an inch when the crowd and soldiers began to exclaim. As the gates opened with an indescribable grandiose elegance, they saw the silhouettes of people on horsebacks.

"Hau!"

"Hau!"

"Hau!"

As the armoured mounts leisurely paced forward, the extravagantly decorated individuals were revealed with the background of dusk.

Receiving the respect of the commoners, the ten-person convoy proceeded like an unstoppable entity.

"Behold the deeds of the heroes!"

A sudden roar emerged from the back of the pack and the surroundings were startled. With shock, the heads turned to see an enormous flying wagon full of beast corpses and mutilated remnants.

Gasp~

The surprise was immediately replaced by awe and the collective echo of the gasps produced resembled a fleeting breeze flowing with vigour.

The shadow cast by the vessels intimidated the crowd and they dispersed immediately. By the time the commotion died down, it was already dark.

***

[Adam, it's time we start to move.]

The mechanical voice was frail but it had a compelling aura. It simply jolted the earthling out of his peaceful siesta.

"Yawn...is it night already?" Staring into the darkness around him, Adam asked himself as he stood up.

'Status.'

With a mental command, the interface appeared.

/◄▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫►\

▹ Name: Adam (26/M)

▹ Race: Zoomorph

▹ Level: 31 [2,099/19,840]

▹ Class: Berserker

▹ Innate Skill: Auto-Healing

▹ HP: 9,999/9,999

▹ MP: 81/81

▹ STR: 118

▹ AGI: 74

▹ INT: 43

▹ A.P: 12

▹ Magical Arts: ---

▹ Martial Arts: Unarmed Combat (D), Spear Mastery (E), Axe Mastery (F), Sword Mastery (F).

▹ Skills: Scotopic Vision (passive), Sprint (passive).

\◄▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫►/

'Endevil, the rise in HP, Strength, Agility and Intelligence are the effects of the fusion, right?' Starting at the screen, Adam asked after remembering the sage's words.

[Yes.]

'Then you are be able to regulate the extent of fusion, right?'

The consciousness fell silent for a few seconds before speaking, [Got it.]

After a few seconds, the values in the interface began to fall. The HP value dwindled by one-tenth of the actual value whereas the STR and AGI was sliced in half. The correction in INT value seems to be random.

After depositing the 12 Attribute points to expand the mana reserve size, Adam heaved a sigh and dismissed the interface.

"Endevil, where to?"