knowledge

in the dark embrace of a hidden cave, a party faces of with their main foe. a large humanoid monster with dry, flaky and scarred green skin. clad in a large fur two large tusks from its upper jaw show themselves as it releases an ear breaking roar. its chest bulges out and its skin looking more leathery than before. its emerald green eyes brightening up the dimly lit cave.

'its calling for back up, lets finish it up!'

the well armored group slowly approach it but one dark cloaked individual speeds up in front of it and lashes out a flurry of slashes at its already bleeding body with his daggers and, in one fell swoop, severing its mangled head from body.

'huh, ken? how?'

'no time, I can already sense the horde approaching, lets get ready'

from the darkness of the cave ahead, stomping and loud screeching are heard by the team. the woman positioned ahead, the leader, lifts up her large longsword cowered in green bioluminescent blood and yells.

' we are ending this... here!'

'EXP!' they all shout after her.

the battle is fairly long and gruesome with heads flying of grotesque and miniature bodies of the goblins that came at the team. the cave rumble with action that steadily came to a halt with the last goblins being hacked away

the group huddled together to celebrate their rewards. new gear and spells, level increase among the abundance. the woman and dark cloaked person speak while the group discusses.

'how did you...'

'kill it so easily. first of all it looked easy but it wasn't. secondly, I received some information on the goblin lord before we came here'

'hmm'

'don't worry, I didn't have to pay any hefty amount. the site i use gives very accurate and detailed info on several beasts. i just happened to be lucky enough to stumble upon it'

' hmm. okay, which one is it'

' I think you've have probable heard of it.'

' really'

' hack for noobs'

'oh. I didn't think that they gave info above the e-rank level'

'it gives more than that, about d rank so far.'

'mmm. that's good, maybe I will try it out. how much do they charge'

'oh just fifty credits every three days of subscription'

'what! I thought you said it was not hefty'

'depends on your understanding of the word'

'huh, my money is not unlimited'

'well mine isn't as well but the benefits are worth it. lets hurry up and leave this crappy place.'

incidents similar to these flew over the place. certain novice awakened would be ahead of others on the same caliber because of the more precise and useful information that they gathered from the site. thanking their stars for who ever it was that gave them such a lead. not everyone sat idly by while the source of such knowledge could be in their grasp. several groups and organization were on the prowl for any leads that might get them to the direct source of the information. at any means means necessary.

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Erin shot up from his bed and prepared himself for school. In truth he was not actually going to school but he had to make it look that way. He packed his freshly washed tracksuit in his bag after clearing away any space in order to fit some stuff later. Keeping his card well secured this time, a hidden zip in the largest compartment in his bag. to make sure there would not be a repeat of what happened before. it was almost half past six in the morning and so he would have some extra time. after wearing his uniform, he set out to the kitchen to see his mother before leaving. she was initially surprised as Erin usually woke up around this time at week ends only and to add to this, he was also already prepared for school.

'what's the special occasion, got a test today'

'huh... sly bitch how did you guess'

'just a mothers intuition'

''which is pretty shitty'' Erin thought behind his cringed smile.

'well food is ready, I packed a little extra sausage and grinded a bit more oranges for you. enjoy but don't eat it soo early.' Brenda said, handing a green lunch bowl to Erin. he accepted it, stuffing it into his black bag a before stepping out.

' yes, yes. I will just get an apple from the fridge... you did get some'

' yeah, only the red ones though'

'what! I only like the green ones,' Erin said in a dissatisfied tone, glaring and pouting at the Brenda who just stared back. their auras, daggers shooting at each other.

' stop being a bitch about it'

' tsk' Erin looked at her with contempt before walking away.

' what, you are giving up so easily. '

'no! arguing with you is waste of time'

the was a brief and serious silence that suddenly enveloped the tiny kitchen.

'pfft, hahaha!' the two of them laughed out loud before wheezing for air.

' I will see you later mum'

'bye son'

Erin left the kitchen after taking the apple from the mini fridge, taking a turn to the hall and walking out. Brenda just continued to mock him silently before returning to the dishes. she had returned very late yesterday to find Erin asleep and Emma wide awake. A rare occurrence indeed. he appeared to be exhausted and no matter how much she tried to wake him, he just would not budge. 'what was he doing that got him so tired' she thought. She had already figured out that he was lying about the test and had assumed that because of their situation, he decided to put more effort in.

'hah, he is already growing up', she said sniffling.

Erin made a few stretches before heading out onto the road. he had already confirmed from the windows that his mother was not visible and so he was free to depart. by now, she had trusted him to go to school and back and without fail he had done just that. her care would therefore be in ill will if she checked on him. their neighborhood was completely safe and Erin had concluded that with his current strength, the average man would find it impossible to beat him. he checked his bag once more before he begun sprinting. he was not going at his max speed but he found that he was almost twice as fast compared to before. easily drifting past places he would have ordinarily paused for breaks.

' I'll make it there in less than 30' he thought with a large grin plastered on his face.

almost arriving, he stopped in an alley way before changing into his tracksuit. he could almost expect the reaction from most people had he gone in with the uniform which made him shudder with embarrassment while he packed his partially sweaty uniform in the bag. he was still wearing his running shoes and thus there was no need to change anything else. he picked out his card and walked the way there. he was self conscious because of what happened before. it was around the same time and everything looked the same but at least this time he was prepared. he walked into the shop, seeing the two guards from before and greeting them. even the chilly air he felt from before as he opened the glass doors was the same.

'it'll be different this time'

his heart was pounding with anxiety and excitement and with each step it got painfully stronger. he looked around, examining the area once more. he could see the shop attendant in the counter who eyed him a bit before returning to the customer in front of her.

' I think she recognizes me'

he walked first to the armor area, a large isle where armor hanged from wooden racks, searching through the plethora of protective garments of all sorts. some shiny and bulky, others light looking and sturdy. from his general assessment it seemed you either had to go hard or go home. the price tags under them ranged from the ten thousands to the hundreds. he got discouraged just from looking around. his measly 8750 dollars dollars could not pay for any of these.

I thought the earlier section were the least expensive, are all the cheap ones out.

he sighed looking around when he finally caught a glimpse of his ideal choice, the cheaper choice. a single, nearly emptied shelf containing a variety of cloaks to light chainmail armor.

'hehe'

he lunged at to a black leathery full armor in front of him, grabbing and feeling it with excitement. even though it was hardened it still felt flexible enough to move freely in. the full black also gave it a cool look. he wondered why no one took such a good looking armor but his question was soon as answered when he checked the white hardcover price tad hanging beside the short sleeve.

' 4334 dollars' his expression still remained calm. many newbie adventurers would not enough money not to mention that this thing looked fairly weak. even Erin had his doubts but it soon changed when he used his 'analysis' skill to check its stats.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------light grade lesser nether lizard man armor

grade: F

gotten from the secondary layer skin that the nether lizard man posses.

agility: +5

strength: +3

percentage of artifact unlocked: 50

possible percent unlock: 50

would you like to unlock the rest of its full to increase its net value?

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Erin was impressed by the stats but the winner of the surprise contest was the message under it. if it was 50 percent and the stats were already this high, would double that make it twice as stronger. he managed to contain his excitement in order not to alert the other customers who were passing by. he left the hall with the armor and went to the next one, a weapon isle. there were several dozen bladed weapons kept on racks as far as he could see.

he analyzed them all interest, noticing the cameras that were made partially visible sticking out of the wood. he ignored them and kept looking on although the feeling that he was being watched followed him around. the type of weapon he wanted was a retractable short sword. a short sword that could shift its blade into its hilt and shoot out with a whip of the handle.

it sounded expensive but was surprisingly cheap (not really you bastard). ranging from 1000 to 2000 dollars. he hoped that they were not sold out as he gulped looking at the empty racks ahead. he encountered different swords of similar characteristics but they were too expensive for him to handle. he still had to buy some healing potions after all. he finally found one in the midsection of a sword rack, nearly all depleted. there were just two hanging there and had he come later, he would have missed it. he sighed in relief as picked one from the rack and tested it out. it was just a black curved hilt that was longer than the average with just a slit on where the blade should have been placed.

he flicked his wrist while holding it out and a blade stuck out from the slit of one side of the hilt. a sudden burst of energy ran through him which took him by surprise. he admired its flat and shiny yet sharp nature before checking its stats.

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blade formed from flattened teeth of a dire wolf.

grade: F

strength: +3

agility: +3

percentage of the artifacts full power unlocked: 85

percentage unlockable: 15

would you like to unlock the rest of the weapons potential to increase its value?

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Erin smirked seeing the status page. he brushed the screen away and proceeded to head to the counter. seeing everyone possessing a cart he felt left out and stuck out like a sore thumb. speedily approaching the short line in front of the store attendants office behind the marble counter. he eagerly waited until it was his turn, thinking about all the opportunities that unveiled themselves to him. using his gear that he attained, he could climb the strength rankings in the testing ground and soon get registered as an adventurer. he could join the silver guild association since their offer still stood and he could use it. with the resources he would be not doubt supplied there, he could easily get stronger.

he chuckled to himself, thinking of his luck. he almost ignored the store attendant and walked away, thinking he had already paid. he snapped back to reality and turned back to the shop attendant laughing nervously. the brunettes beauty simply scoffed at him before accepting his products. she sized him, checking the young boy out. she was not interested in him but she only doubted if he could pay. she wasn't even sure he was an awakened but if he couldn't pay up, she wasn't afraid to refuse him no matter how many times he begged. she was initially suspicious when he placed a credit card in front her, thinking that he might have stolen it from his parents to pay for this stuff.

' you do realize that this armor only works on awakened'

' um yeah, and i am'

' are you?'

'yeah.. i can show you my status screen if you like'

he conjured it up, consciously allowing the woman to see the purple holographic screen for a brief period before disabling its visibility. any awakened could choose to keep their status screen invisible to others or make it visible at will of which he had been doing the former until a second ago.

after that, she asked him about the card and questioned him about anything else that seemed suspicious to her. he was able to get pass her and finally but the healing potions he nearly forgot about earlier. he got three small bottles worth 400 dollars each and a mana replenishment potion which costed him an extra 500. he was nearly broke from the purpose and he still had more to do with it which made him sob inside as she swiped the card over the scanner, finalizing the purchase. he consoled himself having invested 7083 dollars into a worth while cause

he had a change of 1167 dollars which would be sufficient for his plans. he would have had more but the fee the hackers charged was too much and only now did he regret their 60- 40 agreement.

'well, I will make it up hunting monsters'

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spread out in different cafes spread out all over regalia city, a life changing discussion on a specific someone was coming to a close.

' we should contact him now, we have protected him for a while so he should lend us a helping hand'

'yeah, we have too much to lose if we don't do it soon'

' no one has been able to find him yet but someone eventually will'

'hmm. I suppose. he would be caught and arrested by now if it wasn't for our assistance.'

'then its settled! boss will be so happy after we give him the good news'