Travelling back to the Forest
On the trip back to the Sea of Trees, Astur is going over her many new changes, from using the large influx of EXP from completing the quest to recruit Asterion and the Warband, to the several new quests she has received.
Having gained 100,000 EXP from completing the quest 'The Journey of 1,000 Years for Peace - 1', Astur used her Free Experience to level up all her Classes both Sub and Main as much as she could, leaving her with 24,279 EXP. Her Alchemist Class reached its max level at 20, while her Subclasses, Apothecary and Scholar, capped out at level 15. Upon reaching the max level for her Classes, Astur was given three special quests, one for each of her Classes.
[Quest: To be an Accomplished Alchemist (Class Advancement Quest)]
[Description]: Create 5 items of at least 'Rare' grade. All items must have a quality rating of 60 or higher. All items must have at least 2 traits. Items with a grade higher than 'Rare' will count as 2 items. Cannot use items that have been made before this quest has been issued.
[Submittable Items]: 0/5
[Rewards]: Will obtain the 'Skilled Alchemist' Class.
[Failure Penalty]: Will forever be locked out from advancing further. (Applied upon quest rejection as well).
--
[Quest: Path of Medicine (Class Advancement Quest)]
[Description]: Treat the illness of 5 people of at least level 30.
[Patients Treated]: 0/5
[Rewards]: Will Obtain the 'Skilled Apothecary' Class.
[Failure Penalty]: Will forever be locked out from advancing further. (Applied upon quest rejection as well).
--
[Quest: Path of Knowledge (Class Advancement Quest)]
[Description]: Inspect 3 people who have reached the pinnacle of strength on this planet. Read 3 books from at least 1,000 years ago.
[Submitable People Inspected]: 0/3
[Submitable Books Read]: 0/3
[Rewards]: Will Obtain the 'Wise Scholar' Class.
[Failure Penalty]: Will forever be locked out from advancing further. (Applied upon quest rejection as well).
With a bit of time, the Advancement Quest for the Alchemist Class can be completed easily. As for the Apothecary Advancement Quest, this is also not too hard to complete for Astur. If she is really in a hurry she could easily get a few people sick and then treat them. But Astur finds the Advancement Quest for the Scholar Quest to be somewhat difficult. At first glance, the Scholar's Advancement Quest is the simplest, needing to only view the status of a few other people and read some books. The problem lies in the conditions for these people and books. Finding an intact book from at least 1,000 years ago isn't easy, many have been destroyed over the years, making them difficult to obtain and this doesn't even include the issue of counterfeits. And searching for three of the strongest people in the world is also no easy feat. But Astur thinks that Asterion might qualify and she intends to try inspecting him again once their caravan stops for a break.
As the night descends, Astur's stolen car and the several dozens of transport vehicles of the Warband come to an empty out of the way area so the group can set up camp for the night. As they gather around various campfires, Astur takes a quick glance at Asterion to view his status again with her upgraded version of the Scholar's Eye of Insight that she received for levelling the Scholar Class to the max. Astur wasn't too surprised since she had a feeling that Asterion would qualify, but she is still glad that he counts towards the number of people she needs to inspect for her quest.
[Asterion, the Warden, Level 80]
[Health]: 87,975
[Stamina]: 68,390
[Mana]: 5,730
[Qi]: 48,862
[Strength]: 1,710 +(323)
[Vitality]: 1,955 +(343)
[Endurance] 1,954 +(337)
[Intelligence] 498
[Mind] 573
[Agility] 412 +(102)
"Damn, this old dude is stacked!" Astur thinks upon seeing Asterions full status for the first time.
But as she continues to go through it, Astur also finds that Asterion has several very strong skills. Some of which are beyond overpowered.
[The Relentless Vanguard (Passive)]: When leading armed forces, Asterion and all his followers gain a 50% damage boost to all of their attacks. This bonus is increased to 70% when leading a charge. Additionally, the movement speed of Asterion's followers won't exceed his.
[The Radiant Guardian (Passive)]: When leading armed forces, Asterion and his followers gain 50% damage reduction from all sources. This bonus is increased to 70% when leading the rearguard to secure a retreat.
[The Unstoppable Goliath (Active)]: This skill is only usable if Asterion is alone while in combat. This skill is only usable if there are at least 100 fresh souls within a 50-kilometre radius of Asterion. Asterion absorbs the nearby lingering souls, increasing his size and all his stats. Increase size by 1 metre per 100 souls and increase all stats by 100% per 100 souls.
When looking at his skills, Astur can't help but be convinced that Asterion is at the level of a main character, especially when considering his fourth personal skill…
Meanwhile, the players are having their own discussion.
"I gotta say, I was rather shocked to see how all of the Warband just accepted how the Warden chose to sweater fealty to our Forest Goddess. Just who is this guy anyway, I don't know much about him but he should be important if Astur was specifically looking for him?" Nero asks.
"Did you not pay any attention to the details surrounding the quest?" Blaze asks.
"Of course not, I was only trying to finish it as quickly as possible," Nero says.
"Same," Woden says.
Listening to them, both Blaze and Dahu Lu shake their heads as they think, "This is the problem with pro players."
"The Warden is a hero amongst the Mystic races of Vopal. We players don't have the option to select one of the Mystic races as our starting race, but it can be randomly given out if you choose to randomise your start. Our resident streamer should have done so," Dahu Lu says.
"Yeah, but it should be noted that the name Mystic isn't the proper name and is just what the other people of Vopal call them. In actuality they are Demons, at least this is what I was told. But back to the topic, most of the Non-Demon NPCs are racist towards Demons and are often persecuted and discriminated against. The Warden actively stands goes against those who would harm other Demons for no reason besides race. He believes that someday all the people of Vopal can live together peacefully with no discord between each other," Blaze explains.
"I spoke with his subordinates previously and they also have the same views of peace as their leader. From what I was told The Warden often uses his own body to defend his allies even if it means an injury to himself. The man is the definition of righteousness, I'm honestly not surprised that his followers agreed to follow him even after he said announced his plan to follow Astur. I'm sure in their minds, the Warden wouldn't submit to just anyone and for him to follow someone else they would have to truly have the respect of the Warden. He already announced that Astur would push their dream into reality, so the action of his followers aren't too surprising," Dahu Lu says.
"Say, did you guys accept the quest rewards from Astur's quest yet? What did you get from the Summon Card?" Blaze asks.
Woden looks at Nero for a moment as he considers whether or not to share information about his Summon Card in front of a rival in the competitive scene.
Nero on the other hand doesn't hesitate to say, "I was a bit unlucky, I got somewhat useless skill, I can't even use it."
Nero then opens a public display for the other players to look at.
[Astur Kojuuin - Illness Discernment 0/8 (Summon Card)]
[A Summon Card for one of Astur's skills. Can accurately identify common ailments the target is afflicted with and come up with proper treatment methods]
Since Nero showed his Summon Card, Woden decides it's fine if he shows his as well. Though this is mostly because he can see that Blaze is streaming and it wouldn't look good if Nero shows his while Woden doesn't.
Mimicking Nero, Woden also opens a public display.
[Astur Kojuuin - Focus and Analyse 0/5 (Summon Card)]
[A Summon Card for one of Astur's skills. Your next damaging attack has an 11.5% increased chance of penetrating any defence, causing a critical hit]
"C'mon man! That's so much better than mine," Nero says with a sigh before questioning Blaze, "What about you, my dear sister?"
"I actually haven't accepted my rewards yet, I'll open the public display so the rest of you can see in real-time what I get," Blaze says, as the two pros, as well as Dahu Lu and his brothers all, look in with anticipation.
[Randomising…]
[Randomising complete]
[Astur Kojuuin - Young Body of the Ancient Demon of Infinity 0/3 (Summon Card)]
[A Summon Card for one of Astur's racial skills. For 10 minutes the user gains the following effect, damage received from all sources is reduced by 15%]
"..."
With the exception of Astur, all the other non-players are looking at the group of players wondering why they're seemingly staring at the air in silence with looks of amazement. But they quickly dismiss them, having gotten used to the strange ways the players act.
"Of course you get a strong ability… damn streamer buff," Nero says, looking at his sister with an envious look.
Dahu Lu places his hand on Nero' shoulder and nods, "Just be glad you even had the chance to get a Summon Card from Astur. My quest from her didn't even have one for a reward."
Although he's acting understanding, Dahu Lu is actually thinking, "I wonder if summon cards drop if I kill them. They're players so they'll just come back after dying anyways."
But Dahu Lu doesn't go any further as he sees a message from Astur on his phone written in bold letters, "Don't even think about it."