Chapter 90: Searching for the runes

"Welcome, players"

Lucias greeted the first batch of humans in front of him with a friendly smile on his face, numbering up to 100,000.

All of them had different expression and emotions visible in their eyes. Some were excited, but most of them had fear in their eyes from experiencing death multiple times during the tutorial.

The tutorial is similar to the tutorial that Lucias recieved in the past when he first recieve his gift from the creator. The tower was divided into 3 floors, each with a different boss that they have to kill to continue. The monster that they faced was also the same as what Lucias faced in the last albeit, a bit weaker than what he truly faces in the past as he knew that they will break if he did that.

The first batch was supposedly more than 350,000, but due to the violations of the rules by those players. They were immediately eliminated without mercy. 

They were the first batch since they were the first humans to finish the tutorial ahead of the others. Lucias expected that some of them will break both mentally and physically due to the trauma, pressure, and stress brought by the sudden change in their environment, but to his surprise, only 2% of the population broke when he expected it to be higher.

The instinct to survival that they obtained and sharpened throughout the tutorial helped them stablize their mind and body to adapt to their current situation. The most redeeming aspect of humanity, their ability to easily adapt to their environment.

"Now then, I already recieved the reports regarding your qualities so once point my finger at you, I want you to either create a line or line up depending on my instructions"

Lucias said while all of them dazedly glanced at his direction before nodding their head in response.

"You, create a line"

He said as he started dissecting their group one by one. Creating 10 groups that all had different number of humans within the line. All of them had a nervous expression on their faces as they didn't understand the purpose of Lucias by grouping their entire group into clusters.

"Good"

Lucias praised as he looked at the neat groups thay were formed infront of him before a layer of thick mana covered their entire body, causing all of them to yelp or screm in response due his sudden action.

"Calm down, I'm just bestowing a suitable job for you. For the first group, you'll be given the job [Enchanters] due to the skill flexibility that you've shown during the tutorial. [Enchanters] are more well rounded type of job since their skills could generally work for every professions. Even though your skills are limited, your ability to comprehend and master skills outside your class will be a bit easier than the others"

Lucias said as the layer of mana finally died down, causing all of them to dazedly look at their status as they saw 2 new skills and 1 an affiliate title in status window.

[Skill: Mana Manipulation (lvl 1/100)]

[Skill: Enhancement Magic (lvl 1/100)]

[Title: Jack of all trades, master of none]

"..."

They remained silent as they looked at their title and skills. Even though they were quite happy with the skills given to them. The title made their mood sour as it told them that they couldn't master any skills, but they can learn any skills that they want.

"For the second group, you'll be given the job [Apprentice Fire Mage] due to the excellent mana capacity and destructive nature that you all have. Being a mage is one of the most powerful jobs of the mage class but it is also one of the most expensive and dangerous to cultivate. Remember to not use your magic in close spaces or else your deprive everyone from oxygen"

He said as the entire group was covered by a layer of mana, causing all of them to close their eyes in ecstasy due to the warmth that his mana was giving them.

[Skill: Mana Manipulation (lvl 1/100)]

[Skill: Mana Sense (lvl 1/100)]

[Skill: Fire Magic (lvl 1/100)]

[Skill: Fire Manipulation (lvl 1/100)]

[Title: Pyromancer]

All of them looked at their skills in excitement before trying out their skills in moderation to avoid harming the others by accident.

"For the third group... You'll be given the job [Crusader] due to your outstanding performance in close quarter combat and bravery. The main reason why you were able to obtain this job is your practice of faith to the Biblical God that helped you obtain a slight amount of holy magic in your body"

He said as bright yellow light suddenly enveloped each of their bodies.

[Skill: Holy Magic (lvl 1/100)]

[Skill: Swordsmanship (lvl 1/100)]

[Skill: Blunt Weapon Master (lvl 1/100)]

[Title: Knights of the Holy Light]

The series of notifications rang in front of them, causing all of them to smile excitedly as they started checking their new skills.

"For the fourth group... You all are a bit... on the weaker side compared to everyone here. You're magical talent is considered average and your physique is the weakest compared to everyone here. You don't have any talent in professions in the hunter class... The best job I could give you is [Apprentice Support]. This class is mainly focused on strategic mastery when it comes to combat since its skills mostly contains binding, debuff, and buff skills that is great when your in a team. Supports earn more exp when in a team compared to going solo. Of course, you could increase your constitution in this 12 years. Support skills when combined together with other offensive skills of your own is extremely deadly in the battlefield"

He said as the same scene from before repeated before he glanced at the 5th group in front of him.

"All of you have shown excellent potential in magic and skills in long range combat, but it was more leaning towards the use of guns rather than using other ranged weapons. So you'll all be given the job, [Apprentice Arcane Sniper]. This job is extremely rare and is one of the jobs that requires large amount of merit points to properly cultivate due to the special mana imbued weapon that this profession uses. Arcane Snipers can imbed different spells and effects on their bullets, and unlike other ranged class, Arcane Snipers are more proficient in [Stealth] and [Presence Concealment] skills"

He said as he continued to give the remaining 5 groups their respective jobs, mainly [Apprentice Swordsman], [Apprentice Blacksmith], [Gourmet], and [Scout], while explaining their weaknesses and strengths compared to other classes, causing all of them listen to him attentively as it could teach them on how to cooperate with other groups in the future during collaborative missions.

"As you have noticed, some of you has an [Apprentice] attached to your jobs. It just means that most of the skills that you can learn are limited, but your job can advance or even evolve into a rare job after you reach a certain requirements. Each breakthrough will give you a substantial increase in your strength, and will give you new skills that you could use. For example, the [Crusaders] can advance into [Palladins] once they reach a level 500 and maxed out the proficiency of all of their current intial skills"

He explained before one human from the [Apprentice Swordsman] group suddenly raised his hand. 

"Is it impossible to give those advanced jobs?"

He asked causing Lucias to smile in response.

"No, or else you'll head would explode from the large amount of information that the job would directly implant in your memory. Right now your bodies are still aren't able to handle that burden so we had no choice but to limit your jobs like this"

Lucias explained causing all of them stay silent while most of them nodded in understanding.

"Since you all have your jobs now, go straight to the entrance of the dungeon. Your guide will lead you there, and each of you will recieve intial equipment to use before entering the dungeon that complements your current jobs. Do your best for the upcoming tests and we'll support you however we can as long as you can abide with out rules. We kind to those who respect us, but were ruthless to everyone who mocks us. So don't get prideful once you obtain enough power. It is still important to practice being humble, am I clear?"

"Hai!"

All of them said in unison as their guide suddenly appeared beside Lucias. Wearing the uniform that was given to them to show their status as a guide.

"Also, I forgot to mention this during the conference but, you'll occasionally switch members each week so that all of you can be flexible when working with different people. I recommend that all of you buy the [All Language Comprehension] skill book first in the store to avoid any miscommunication"

He said before glancing at all of them one last time with a soft smile on his face.

"Then, I wish all of you good luck"

Timeskip

"I'm leaving this place to you, Sephie. While I'm gone you'll be my substitute as the faction leader in the meantime..."

Lucias said while glancing at Sephie with a serious expression on his face. Standing infront of a large dimensional rift that leads to one dimension where 2 of the runes are located.

"I'll try what I can, Lucias-sama"

She said as she read the lists of names of the second batch of humans that passed the tutorial, and scheduled to recieve their respective professions from the mythological gods of their faction. 

"I already assigned the first batch of humans their respective professions. Just follow what I did and divide them by the similarities in their skills and abilities during the tutorial to make it easier for us to grant them their jobs. Don't do it one by one or it will take forever, do it by cluster and it'll be much easier to do"

Lucias advised causing Sephie to obidiently nod her head in response.

"... Then, I'll be off... Take care of the faction and the girls for me"

Lucias said before entering the dimensional rift without hesitation without looking back at Sephie who was waving her hand at him to wish him goodbye.

As soon as he stepped inside the rift, he suddenly fell as he stepped on nothing but air, causing him to frown before looking down from the sky.

"I forgot that the headquarters is located above the sky..."

Lucias muttered as he calmly looked around at the world that he was at. 

Below him was a large circular town surrounded by dense forest and mountains while the the far from the town was an abandoned mansion where a sudden explosion suddenly took place as large crimson magic circle covered the sky above the mansion.

"Hmm..."

Lucias hummed as he watched a young girl wearing a wizard like robe and hat fall on the ground like she was unable to move while the boy beside her carried her on his back to bring her back to the town.

"Should I conceal myself or not?"

Lucias muttered as he glanced at the town below him while he fell from the sky.

"It's better not to, Lucias. It's much easier to negotiate once they know about your strength and capabilities"

The 'creator' adviced inside his mind, causing him to grin in response.

"I guess you're right"

-with Issei-

"Shit shit shit shit!!"

Issei repeated cursed as he quickly hid beneath a rock to save his life while running away from a 3 meter tall orc that was chasing him with their large iron clubs in hand.

"L-Lucias-sama, didn't send me here to die right?"

Issei muttered before holding his breath to avoid being located by those giant orcs.

[Skill: Presence Concealment has been acquired]

The notification rang as Issei immediately spammed skill points on the skill while holding his breath, causing a wave of pain to invade his head as countless information suddenly impaled his mind, but he immediately bit his lips to avoid alerting the orcs hunting him down.

"Ha.... Ha.... Ha.... Ha...."

He panted in exhaustion as his presence completely dissapeared, causing all of the orcs to frown in confusion as Issei's scent suddenly dissapeared.

"Ddraig, can you cast [Boost] without making any sound?"

Issei asked causing the crimson gauntlet in his arm to illuminate with green light.

[I don't know. I have never tried it before]

He answered causing Issei to click his tongue while watching the orcs leave his location.

[You're strength is completely lacking compared to them, Partner. We'll die at this rate if this continues on]

"I know... but I can't die here"

Issei muttered before carefully walking out of his hiding spot. Looking at all sides to ensure thay he wouldn't get ambushed by those monsters.

"Do they even have any weaknesses?"

[... Orcs have unmeasurable strength and durability. The only way that we can kill them is by poisoning them]

Ddraig answered causing Issei to frown before glancing at the two ordinary weapons in his hand.

"I only have a shotgun and a sword. How can I poison them with this?"

[Partner, didn't you recieve a skill from his majesty?]

Ddraig asked causing Issei to helplessly smile in response.

"It requires me to understand the chemical and physical structure of the item... This makes me regret not taking my studied seriously before..."

Issei muttered while observing his surroundings. The first floor of the dungeon was held in a spacious and large cave where orcs and high goblins were a common monster. Even though he expected to not make any progress and just decided to take things slowly, the orcs suddenly hunted him everyday for the past few months, causing him to make no improvement except for the slight increase in his stamina and agility because being continuously chased around by his enemies.

"The only thing I remember is H2O and that's it..."

He said with a wry smile on his face, causing Ddraig to sigh in response.

[Partner, you know the chemical composition of water... Then just poison their water source to weaken them. They have villages so I'm sure that they gather water from the stream that we passed by before... You don't even need to drink or eat to survive because of your constitution... We won't make any progress like this]

Ddraig said in a tired tone, causing Issei to guiltily smile in response.

"What should I turn it into?"

[Use nitrogen in the air and bond it with the Hydrogen and Oxygen in the water using your mana... and create Ammonia... Your skill doesn't require you to manually reconstruct the atomic structure of the item... You just need to understand its structure and imagine it...]

"... How did you know this?"

[His majesty gave me a few pointers that he said "could help us"... At first I really didn't understand why he gave me this but now... I understand why...]

Ddraig answered as Issei arrived at a stream close to the territory of the goblins to make sure that their plan would work. Goblins have weaker endurance and tolerance compared to orcs so targeting them first was the right choice to experienment a bit in using his skill.

"So... I just need to imagine it?"

[Yes]

Ddraig answered causing Issei to close his eyes while submerging his hand in the water. Placing all of his concentration in using his skill.

He then imagines the structure of the atoms of water, before following Ddraigs instructions, causing his mana to quickly drain from his body.

[Be careful not to make contact with the water when you have open wounds, you'll poison yourself if that happens]

Ddraig said Issei started forcefully creating chemical bonds among the atoms, causing a slightly pungent smell to immediately cover his surroundings.

[It's a success]

"... How?"

Issei asked out in confusion, fully knowing that he just randomly bonded atoms without much care due to his lack of knowledge.

[I don't know, Partner...]

Ddraig helplessly said since he only knew a bit based on Lucias words.

"!!"

Issei immediately hid himself in the corner as he noticed a dangerous presence closing in on their location, but thanks to his new skill. His presence was quickly hidden from the monster. 

There he saw a single goblin carrying a basket in his arms. The goblin first looked around his surroundings before carefully scooping water from the stream using his basket before quickly leaving.

[Follow him]

Ddraig said, causing Issei to obidiently follow the goblin in the dark while he carried a basket of water in its arms.

A few minutes later they arrived at a fairly large village filled with hundreds of goblins, causing Issei to cautiously look around while following the goblin from before.

"... Will this really work?"

Issei whispered but earned no response from Ddraig.

The goblin then poured the basket of water in a large container of water close to the entrance of their village where most of the goblins took water to use.

[Partner, let's wait here for a while]

Timeskip

"..."

Silence devoured the entire village in the night, no sound can be heard within a large radius from Issei's location except for the occasional shrieks of pain that echoed from house to house.

[Partner...]

"..."

Issei remained silent before walking inside the village without hesitation and what greeted him made him freeze in his place.

On the ground of the village where hundreds of goblins, weakened to the point that they couldn't move from the ground. Due to their persistence to live, they used all of their mana to resist the poison flowing in their bodies, but failed as all of them fell to a coma while some directly died on the spot.

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

Countless notification rang inside his head while he dazedly stared at the goblins in front of him.

[Partner, you already know what to do]

Ddraig said causing Issei to hesitate, but remembering the hardship that this goblins made him go through, his sympathy slowly died down before pointing his shotgun on the unconscious goblins on the ground.

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[Title: Goblin Slayer has been obtained]

Countless notification continuously rang in his head as he one by one shot the goblins dead with his shotgun, while continuously supplying the gun with mana to form the bullets of the gun.

Minutes, then hours have passed until all of the goblins died in his hands, causing Issei to close his eyes as the blood of his victims covered the entire ground and walls of the houses.

[This is the law of the supernatural world, partner. It's either we kill or get killed. Sympathy is not needed when facing beings of the supernatural world]

Ddraig said as he tried to comfort Issei.

"I know"

Issei muttered before walking towards one of the villages to find supplies and weapons to use.

[Take all of their weapons. We might have some use for it in the future]

Ddraig said as Issei walked from house to house, plundering all of their items before arriving at the Village Chief's lodging.

"..."

Issei tried to push the door but was met with a resistance from the other side of the door, causing him to smash the door to pieces.

"... So he died from poisoning, huh?"

Issei muttered as he gazed at the large corpse blocking the door before entering his home without hesitation.

He then took everything that could be proven useful for him in the first floor and started searching around the second floor for anything useful.

"What's this?"

He said as a blueprint fell down on the floor, causing Issei to pick it up to look what is inside.

[What is it, Partner?]

Ddraig asked while Issei stared at the blueprint with a light smile on his face.

"A blueprint for a ballista"