Chapter One Hundred and Four

Instantly, Edward's ceiling was gone— replaced with the one he had seen when he logged out the previous day. He quickly sat up and looked around. Outside the tent, Ikarus was teleported to the same spot he was in yesterday. Edward stood up, then walked outside and addressed his dragon.

Ever since Ikarus had grown larger, he had spent more time away from Edward's side as he experienced the world during his free time. He wasn't allowed to go outside without preparations, considering it would be dangerous if some random passerby caught a glimpse of him.

"Hey, little buddy," Edward said as he stroked Ikarus's snout. He thought it was ironic that he was calling Ikarus by that childish nickname, considering Ikarus's wingspan alone was larger than Edward's entire body. Ikarus ignored the irony as he let out a low purr. Edward chuckled, then stood up and turned toward the center of the camp.

It had been a little over fourteen hours since he logged out, so Edward wanted to talk to Balaegon again in case there was any change in the plan. As Edward walked to Balaegon's tent, Ikarus followed closely while tucking in his wings.

Like always, everybody ran when they saw Ikarus approach them. This time, however, Edward was the only one walking alongside him, unlike the previous two occasions when the entire party was with him. When they saw Edward, some skeletons began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Is he the dragon's master? He looks so young!" One skeleton spoke with a loud whisper. 

"There's no way! A dragon can't be tamed— they're too prideful. I've never heard of a dragon being tamed by another individual— and a human, at that!" Another skeleton argued.

These comments were passed from skeleton to skeleton, soon drowning out the noise around Edward. After a few more minutes, Edward finally arrived at Balaegon's tent and walked inside without bothering to alert the guards of his arrival. Ikarus began to wait for Edward just outside the tent.

As Edward walked into the tent, he looked up and found Balaegon in conversation with one of his advisors— Volund. Their conversation ceased when Edward walked into the tent.

"Ah, Edward! You've arrived," Balaegon smiled as he noticed his arrival. He waved his hand, gesturing for Edward to approach. Soon enough, Edward found himself standing opposite Balaegon while they all turned to the battle map on the table between them.

"Have you made progress with finding the summoner?" Edward asked as he turned to Volund. The skeleton sorcerer sighed in disappointment as he shook his head. Volund turned to the table and stretched his arm forward. Then, as he flicked his fingers at the battle map, a light blue blanket of dust shot from his fingers and covered the table. A moment later, the blue dust hovered an inch over the table before changing colors. A third of the dust turned red, while the remaining portion turned green.

"No. We've already checked the red areas here, yet he wasn't there, so we'll focus our efforts on the green areas for now. We won't find him in a single day, though I'm confident. Our spells will eventually find him, I'm sure," Volund said as he clenched his bony fist. Balaegon leaned forward and pointed at a spot a few hours away from the main village.

"Your friends should be around this area by now. We've assembled an escort to protect them while we take the fight to the champions, so they'll be adequately protected in your absence," Balaegon said as he turned to Edward, "We've put together an escort for yourself and the young lady, as well. Where is she, by the way?"

"She should be here soon, I hope," Edward replied. He wasn't sure if Leila would log in today after what happened at the diner. There was a chance she would choose to be with her roommates, as there was little chance they wouldn't want an explanation after what they saw.

"I understand," Balaegon nodded, "Would you like to regroup with your other two friends, or would you prefer to battle the champions separately from them?"

'That's a good question,' Edward pondered as he stared at the battle map, 'While it's true that fights will be easier if we have more allies fighting with us, splitting up will allow us to cover more ground. If our main concern is to level up as fast as possible, splitting up may be a better decision. I should split the groups in two. That way, we're well protected and in smaller groups to cover more ground.'

"I'll split up from them. I'll be fine if I just take my dragon with me," Edward said as he leaned forward, "But I don't want Leila to be on her own. When she shows up, if she does, I want you to tell her to join either me or the others."

"Understood."

—

After Edward's conversation with Balaegon and Volund came to a close, Edward was directed to the east side of the encampment, opposite where Brandon and Markus were, to search for his escort party. Ikarus followed closely behind him, eager to finally get to some fighting after a few days of rest.

As they walked, Edward checked Markus and Brandon's progress and was shocked by the result.

︽

The False Immortal

Lvl: 19

Origin: Vitakinesis

—

HP: 888 > 1110

MP: 245 > 270

SP: 80

--- 

DMG: (Great Sword - 11) 15

DEF: (Plate Armor - 20) 220

—

POW: 4

AGI: 16

END: 160 > 200

WIS: 49 > 54

LUC: 1

—

Active Skills: [Perfect Provokation], [Quake], [Advanced > Perfect Heal], [Sacrifice]

Passive Skills: [Healing Aura], [Intermediate > Advanced Regeneration]

—

Gear: [Helmet of the Velociraptor], [Lava Wolf Coat], [Plate of the Velociraptor], [Gauntlets of the Velocripator], [Greaves of the Gorilla], [Boots of the Gorilla]. 

(20 Def, +11% HP, +50% Fire Resist, +23% Ice Resist, +11% Attack Speed, +12% Poise, -5% Move Speed)

︾

Edward, like always, put most of his attribute points into his Endurance stat to increase his HP— which also increased his battle potential thanks to his [Sacrifice] skill— while he put the rest into his Wisdom Stat.

He didn't choose any new skills when he leveled up; instead, he chose to upgrade his [Heal] skill twice— to the perfect level— while increasing his passive [Regeneration] skill a single time.

︽

Leapt into Luck

Lvl: 16

Origin: Tychokinetic

—

HP: 300 > 400

MP: 10

SP: 95

—

DMG: (Flintlocks - 6. Cutlass - ?+19) 25 - ?+38

DEF: (Leather Armor - 8) 88

—

POW: 4

AGI: 19

END: 60 > 80

WIS: 2

LUC: 145 > 170

—

Active Skills: [Hurried Reload], [Swift Shot], [Dash], [Stealth], [Lucky Dodge]

Passive Skills: [Fortune's Aura], [Roll the Dice], [Intermediate > Perfect Predictability]

—

Gear: [Ordinary Brown Mask], [Plate of the Velociraptor], [Gauntlets of the Velociraptor], [Pirate Cutlass], [Ring of Annoyance], [Lava Wolf Coat]

(20 Def, +11% Ice Resist, +11% Attack Speed, +50% Fire Resist, -5% Move Speed, 10% (20% in strong light) chance to be ignored by enemies. TRUE DMG = # of silver coins on opponent + lvl + 10% DMG to Merchant NPC)

︾

Brandon put most of his points into Luck, as predicted, while only saving twenty points into Endurance. Because he didn't increase his agility, his damage value didn't change, but Edward approved of Brandon's decision to ignore his Agility. After learning that his stats in Avalon would affect his body on Earth, Brandon made the correct decision when he improved his Endurance.

As for his skills, he didn't choose any new ones and instead used all three of his levels to perfect his [Predictability] skill. This allowed him to change the events of an entire battlefield to his favor— like he was blessed by the lady of luck herself— truly a terrifying ability.