5 Seclusion - Preparation
Slumbering Peak, Secret Forest.
Whoosh!
Clang!
Clang!
The sounds of weapons clashing could be heard within the surrounding of the seemingly endless forest.
At this moment, two figures could be seen running past towering trees as they clashed, separated, clashed again, and separated again, repeatedly.
One of the two figures was a black-haired handsome man with a smile on his face, holding a two-meter-long spear in his sand that seemed to be made from the rarest of metal.
The other figure was a 5-year old child who had a fair complexion that even women would be jealous, of, holding a longsword in his hand.
Although the size of the sword was bigger than him, the contrast between the child's height and the sword's length didn't look bizarre or unusual one bit!
It was as if it was only natural for this young child to wield the sword at such a young age.
Bang!
Boom!
As the two figures clashed, powerful shockwaves formed around the two, leaving the ground decimated and the trees and plants trembling.
As ripples of air burst were released in all direction, the sound of laughter could be heard from Akilles as he swung his spear from above.
"Only at Tier 0 yet already stronger than most Tier 1 warriors!"
Bang!
"Of course!" Allen shouted as he grit his teeth, parrying the attack. "How can I be qualified to be the Undefeated King's disciple if I can't be unequaled in my tier!"
As Allen replied, the ground beneath his feet shattered like a fragile glass as his feet sunk down.
Fortunately, Allen's physique has been continuously refined and enhanced due to Akilles' inhuman training and his continuous cultivation of the [Battle God's Physique], allowing him to withstand his master's godly strength.
But of course, Akilles himself was only using a tiny portion of his full strength.
Using the tactic "softness to counter hardness", Allen lowered his body and hopped sideways, freeing himself from the oppressive attack.
Right as he landed on Akilles' right wing, Allen used his weight and gravity as he spun around, brandishing his sword.
Seeing his disciples' amazing body control, Akilles nodded his head in satisfaction.
Staring at the incoming sword strike on his right side, the spear in his grasp suddenly burst into life as it struck the sword from an impossible angle.
Clang!
Sparks flashed as the two figures clashed, flickering all over the forest.
**********
____________________
STATUS
Name: Allen Cross
Race: Human
Life Rating: Tier 0
Class: None • Rank 0 (0%)
----------
Main Attributes: (Free Points: 0)
• Strength - 20
• Agility - 18
• Physique - 22
• Intelligence - 10
• Wisdom - 10
-----
Innate Attributes:
• Charisma - 30
• Perception - 20
• Luck - 10
• WillPower - 40
----------
Title:
[Child of the Plane]
____________________
Looking at his status page, Allen smiled in satisfaction. "Back in the game, I was already Level 35 when I had stats like these..."
He couldn't help but reminiscence his life back on Earth.
A few moments later, he shook his head, calming his heart. "There's no point dwelling in the past."
Shifting his gaze on the far horizon, he muttered quietly. "There are 14 years left before the Great Mana Tide comes flooding in; 14 years is plenty of time for me to grow, grow strong enough that I wouldn't have to fear anything when the calamity descends."
Clenching his fists, Allen's steady heart couldn't help but boil excitingly. "And when those calamities do come, the world then shall be my spotlight."
14 years. Allen was utterly confident that he could possess a strength that far transcended his previous Level 501 Sword Saint in these 14 years.
'But still, there's a lot of disastrous events that are only tiny bit less worse than the mana tide and the Eternal War that are about to come...' as he thought of this, Allen's eyes shone sharply. 'These events will be my opportunities that will enhance my strength to the point that it could eclipse the supreme beings of this world.'
The Plague of Chaos Source.
The Warring of Kingdoms.
The Cult of Shadows.
Berserk Dragons Assault.
The Demons Descent and the Devils' Invasion.
...
...
One by one, the names of earth-shaking events appeared in Allen's mind.
As the names of the terrifying events that shook the continent and instilled fear on all the players' hearts appeared in Allen's mind, he couldn't help but remember the extraordinary feats that he achieved at that time back ingame.
He laughed for a while before shifting his gaze on the metallic sword standing beside the Tree of Knowledge.
"I've started using the sword for a few weeks now, the skill [Sword Mastery] should appear soon which then will allow me to finally become a Tier 1 • Swordsman." as he said this, Allen stood up and started to tread towards the peak where the sacred tree stood.
Picking up the common-looking longsword beside the sacred tree, Allen closed his eyes and took a deep breath before starting to regulate his breathing.
'Since I don't know how to activate the [Sage's Eyes] by will, I can only focus and rely on my luck.' he thought.
Since Allen came to possess Sage's Eyes, even after repeated tries he couldn't activate the skill when he wanted to.
The skill only activated when Allen cleared his mind and focused himself. And suprisingly, the chance of the skill's activation was actually pretty frequent.
Holding the metallic longsword in his hand, Allen cleared his mind as he felt the surrounding nature. Raising his arm, he then started to train the fundamentals of sword-wielding, trying to further perfect his already flawless foundation.
Chop.
Slice.
Stab.
Sever.
Swing.
...
...
**********
Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
All these years, Allen remained in seclusion at the Slumbering Peak, not once did he leave this isolated place!
Not once did he slay any monsters to obtain their essence to level up. He instead simply relied on his monstrous comprehension which allowed him to improve leaps and bounds. Of course, this method was miles slower than just directly absorbing another beings' essence.
Therefore, to increase his strength, he cultivated the [Battle God's Physique] and pondered on his sword path continuously and endlessly. It was as if he was a cultivating sage that didn't want to dwell upon the matters of mortals any longer.
While it's true that this method might be slower than just directly leveling up by slaying monsters, however, this method instead perfected his foundation, body-control, combat experience, and so on to their utmost and extreme levels!
As a result, in the future, his leveling up will then skyrocket without wasting his potential one bit!
As time went on, his master left one day, without explaining why he simply vanished from this place.
Allen was saddened because of this but he didn't let it get to him since he knew his master had his reasons.
Although his master had left him all by himself three years prior to the present due to some personal matters, Allen's heart didn't waver one bit despite the solitariness and loneliness that he experienced.
Well, compared to the life he had on Earth, which tempered his heart and mind to the limit, this short detachment from the world was nothing to him.
Slumbering Peak.
Atop the tallest peak in this area was a proud ash tree that radiated holiness, spanning a shocking hundred-meter tall height, its branches covering a huge area of the Secret Forest.
Beside the trunk of the tree, a small figure could be seen, eyes closed, he was sitting cross-legged with his hands above his abdomen, as if in a meditative pose.
As the wind passed by fluttering his hair and robe, this child was as if he was one with nature as he sat on the ground, motionless.
As the child sat alongside the majestic divine tree with its branches dancing and its leaves flickering, a tranquil and beautiful scene was created.
At this moment, from the child's flawlessly sculpted face, his pair of closed eyes started to slowly open. It was as if the secrets of the world were about to unfold!
Flash!
Right when Allen opened his eyes, sparks of lightning could be seen surging within his deep eyes.
"It's time," he said as a calm voice drifted in the surrounding.
Propping himself up, the now 130 cm tall Allen walked up to the Tree of Knowledge and caressed it.
"Hmm it's time for me leave and experience the world, thank you for taking care of me all this time," he said with sadness visible in his eyes. "Don't worry though, I'll make sure to come back here and visit you often."
As if responding, the ash tree exuded a verdant light which enveloped Allen's body with warmth. It was as if the sacred tree was cheering the young man on and wishing him the best.
Understanding its intent, Allen nodded his head despite the faint teardrops on his eyes.
Plop.
At that moment, a golden-colored fruit the size of a fist fell down from one of the tree's branches, landing atop Allen's head.
"???" his initial surprise then turned into astonishment when he saw the fruit in his hand.
____________________
[Fruit of Knowledge]
• Rating: ???
• Description: Once consumed, all attributes (including Innate) will increase by 10. There is also a 50% chance to obtain a class-related skill. The skill depends on one's Luck and comprehension of the class' path.
____________________
'It's actually a Fruit of Knowledge.' thought Allen. 'Although I knew that this thing existed back in-game, I've never seen one myself.'
One must remember that back then, Allen was a Level 501 • Sword Saint, he stood at the peak of humanity! Yet despite so, he wasn't able to see even a shadow of this fruit let alone consume one.
Delighted, Allen thanked the Tree of Knowledge repeatedly while the tree continued to exude light that encased Allen.
At that moment, Allen felt a maternal warmth coming from the tree as he felt like he was being embraced by the verdant light, akin to a mother holding her child in her arms.
Enjoying this feeling, Allen closed his eyes as he bit onto the Fruit of Knowledge.
**********
[The Fruit of Knowledge has been consumed!]
[All Attributes (including Innate) +10!]
[No class-related skill has been acquired]
[You have been blessed by the Primordial Tree and have acquired the Title: Loved by the Tree of Knowledge]
____________________
[Title: Loved by the Tree of Knowledge]
• The Primordial Tree, Tree of Knowledge cherishes you and thinks of you like you are her own child.
• Nature Affinity +25
• Comprehension and Mastery of all class-related skills have been increased.
____________________
____________________
STATUS
Name: Allen Cross
Race: Human
Life Rating: Tier 1 (Main Attributes +10)
Class: Swordsman • Rank 7 (44%)
-----------
Main Attributes: (Free Points: 35)
• Strength - 71 (+20)
• Agility - 62 (+10)
• Physique - 59 (+20)
• Intelligence - 47
• Wisdom - 47
(Author: The (+stats) are from the Battle God's Physique shown below)
-----
Innate Attributes:
• Charisma - 40
• Perception - 30
• Luck - 20
• WillPower - 50
---------
Innate Skill:
• [Sage's Eyes]
----------
Title:
• [Child of the Plane]
• [Loved by the Tree of Knowledge]
____________________
____________________
Skills:
[Battle God's Physique: Level 2 (79%)]
• Physical Body is impervious to all Common weapons.
• Strength +20
• Agility +10
• Physique +20
• [Battle Trance] (Active): Increase Strength, Agility, and Physique by 100% for 20 seconds, however, you will lose your rationality for the duration of the skill. Cooldown: 1 hour.
----------
[Sword Mastery: Master Level 9 (80%)] (Passive)
• When wielding a sword, Physical Damage increases by 30%.
• Damage of all sword-related skills increased by 30%.
____________________
