[Shadows(II)!]

[New Quest: Shadows(II)!]

[Description: You have found the location of the Root of Darkness in the town center, against the Church of Amelia. You have also found the information related to the summoning of the Goddess of Curse, Miraka, which is going to happen in 6 hours from now, exactly at dusk. The array contains more information about the summoning process.

Grade: Epic!

Difficulty: Impossible

Objective:

-Find information about the Array that is going to summon the Fallen Goddess!

Rewards:

+2 All Stats

+5 Free Attributes

+5000 Exp!

+Skill: One way out!

Remark: There is light in the shadows. There are shadows in the light too.]

While the pain was a lot… the reward, especially the [One Way Out!] was more than enough to freshen me up. Was it because of the difficulty?

[One Way Out!] was a skill that allowed you to combine all the stats in one, shifting the other stats to 0 for a limited time. It was a double-edged sword but was an excellent one, nonetheless.

[Dexterity: 19 -> 30]

Putting all my free attribute points in Dexterity, I then moved out, picking up the dual blades from Mira's grip. Jumping out of the room, I reached the bottom, this time pretty much with no injuries.

And without any further ado…

[Frenzy!]

I began running. This time to the center of the town.

I could feel myself being chased. A welcomed improvement compared to being watched no matter how fast I was.

Walking through the alleys, I jumped from one point to another, using parkour with my increased Dexterity, it was easy to move through the obstacles in between the streets. While it was fun, I was more concerned about the Array in the center of the town.

Frenzy ended after 20 seconds from the start, but with the speed I was running, I reached a point where the Summoning Array was visible about 500 meters away. It was like a big magic circle at the center of the town. The dark clouds were especially dense at its center.

"Almost there," I mumbled as I kept running… however, the one who was chasing me… I could feel her getting closer to me… and after a few seconds…

[You Have Died!]

[Game Over!]

[Loading from last Save Point!]

[Loading Complete!]

I woke up again as I got ready again. This time, once again, using [Frenzy!]

But when I reached the near spot where [Frenzy!] ended and the Array was visible.

[Battle Zone!] I locked onto the Array as I activated my skill and began running even faster than before.

As expected, I reached the Array, placed on the ground. It was a red-coloured Array made up of blood… probably of the people of this town. Looking at the it, I did not know what to do with it…

So..

-BOOM!!!

I used all my strength to hit it as hard as I could, breaking the stones that formed the array.

[You Have Died!]

[Game Over!]

[Loading from last Save Point!]

[Loading Complete!]

"Let's do this the other way," I decided as I used [Battle Zone!] this time, locking on the Array that I knew existed in the center. I couldn't see it, but since I have seen it before, locking on it was possible.

The problem, however, was…

-Thud!

After going completely blind, I ended up hitting the wall on my first try.

[Loading Save Point!]

I tried again. Failed again.

[Loading Save Point!]

Made through the first turn. Hit the wall on the second.

[Loading Save Point!]

It was like a puzzle game for me, as I tried over and over as fast as I could.

Using [Mana Zone] wasn't an option since even the air was polluted with dense mana. Everything was pretty much dark no matter where I looked. All I could do was try and try. All I did was try and try.

And after over a hundred tries…

'Finally,' I smiled as I reached the Array, turning my [Battle Sense] off.

Looking around, I found the area rather bland, with nobody around. Except for the blood Array, the entire area was rather empty… too empty, in fact. My eyes looked at the Array as I questioned myself if I should go destroy it?

"So. You have found the Array of Summoning, huh? Congratulations are in order, I presume," an old feeble voice came from the dark alley opposite to where I came from. An old lady in her late 60s, walked out of there as she looked at me with a rather calm look.

[Name: ???

Class: ???

Level: ???]

"I guess so. Grandma… you sure someone as feeble as you should be walking out alone on these lonely streets? You might get robbed, you know?" I joked as I put my dagger in. Letting my guard down.

I still can't fight these monsters. I need information… as much as I can have.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! You don't need to be so cautious about me. The one whom you should be worried about is yourself, young one," she spoke with a gentle and calm smile.

"I guess so. We should all look out for ourselves first. What do you think this Array is for?" I asked, feigning ignorance a little. She looked at me and then covered her face as she spoke,

"It's just a children's drawing on the streets. Pay no heed to it."

Well. Doesn't seem like I am getting any information by pretending to be an idiot here.

"Is that so? I almost thought this was an Array of Summoning for the Fallen Goddess Miraka. Phew! Almost had me there," I wiped a fake sweat as I looked at the granny with a bright smile, making her cautious of me.

Her eyes, previously calm, now were narrowing at me.

"Who are you?" She asked as she looked at me with a slight glare.

"I am… Batman," I spoke in a serious low pitched voice as I moved closer to her. One step at a time, not worrying about death as of now.

'Let's measure her powers for this turn. We can get the information, the orthodox way later,' I nodded in my mind as I just got an idea that would help me finish the quest fast.

But for now… let's gauge the old lady's power.