[Your Aura has reached 300 points!]
[You have unlocked a Passive Ability: Advanced Aura Manifestation!]
[Passive Ability: Advanced Aura Manifestation]
[You can manifest bigger and more complex forms of aura. Example: Aura Weapon]
"Oh, I got...Advanced Aura Manifestation." Said Max as he stood on the head of a red furred field boss monster.
"Huh? Even I don't have that." Eliyah said. "Just how high is your level, Max?"
"It's not the level, but the titles I got."
"Wow."
Max already had the ability to do things like sending out aura projectiles and reinforcing his friends with aura since his aura surpassed 100, but the projectiles were useless because he used a weapon imbued with aura and reinforcing his friends would weaken him as the main damage dealer.
"Hmmm. Let me try a sword."
He willed the summoning of a sword that looks like Virtonia.
"Hmm. I lost 4% of aura because of just this. Even my aura slashes waste less."
Max sent the aura sword that levitated at a rock. The aura dispersed once it pierced the rock, leaving behind a hole in the rock.
Even the firing of the sword wasted 1% of his aura.
"Now let me try piercing with my real sword."
He did it without imbuing Virtonia. Only his body was enhanced with aura.
And the hole was bigger and deeper. Not by much though.
So the aura sword's piercing power is about the same as Virtonia's would be if Max didn't enhance it with aura.
"Not bad."
He could do much more than just summon a sword.
On the way to Rinea, he experimented with various things and concluded that the ability had its uses, but that it wasn't going to be used too much.
It was still limited. Perhaps as the stat rises the possibilities will increase.
It consumes quite a bit of aura and aura is a precious resource. Extremely precious.
It slowly recharges and if you run out of it in dangerous combat, that's most likely a death sentence.
It takes hours to fully recharge it if it's nearly fully consumed. Consuming aura potions will help but it simply isn't enough to reduce the preciousness of the resource.
Once a player loses 90% of aura, he gets various symptoms that make him weak and sickly. At this point, a player needs to stop using aura for combat. So that it can be used for his mind and body's well-being.
Going below 1 percent is going to your death.
Every player received a notification from the game system about aura and its importance for your health and life when they first used it.
"It's the twin mountain pillars. We're here." Eliyah said.
"How long did it take us? 15 days?" Thomas asked.
"Something like that." Manuel answered.
"Well, we've still got a dozen days to go. Let's have some well-deserved fun!" Thomas said excitedly.
The road went straight to the edge of the cliff and then down into the city.
The squad stood at the edge, looking at the city below.
"It's beautiful." Max said.
The glowing blue sea, the clear weather, the beautiful buildings that remind you of old Mediterranean towns.
Colorful houses, packed close together, with red roofs. The ships docked at the port. The people.
And the surrounding cliffs and natural pillars.
The town is shaped roughly like the letter U, around the sea that pierces the south shore of the continent, into the town's land.
Flying monsters flew high above. Either friendly or fearful of humans.
"Let's go eat Rinea's specialty guys." Thomas said.
"You know it?" Max responded
"Yeah, their horned fish! I heard NPCs talking about them even in Trianca."
"Alright."
Max had plenty of time to spare before having to find Lovrin.
This is where the squad will stay for at least a week.
***
"Make me a sword with these poisonous shards."
The tall blacksmith with a bald head looked at it.
"That'll be 750."
"Deal." Max paid up immediately.
Money wasn't a problem because he sold a lot of drops from monsters he killed. Hides, claws, tails, horns, etc.
There were few things that he actually needed among those drops, one of which is the poisonous shard.
He got it from the flower field boss in the desert he was in.
"And I also want you to insert this into my sword."
Max showed a gem to the smith.
"Is that a..."
"Yes, an attribute gem."
"Hm, how did you even get it? You don't look like a noble."
"Found it on a corpse."
"Okay...Well you chose the right guy. I've already done this for a few warriors that found them."
Max knew this NPC was good. He heard from quite a number of people about his skills. He even rejected to work under the royal family and nobility. Wishing to remain independent and in his hometown.
"Can you tell what attribute will this gem give?"
The blacksmith looked at it carefully.
His face betrayed his inability.
"I'm afraid not. I've never seen this one."
"That's fine. As long as you can insert it."
"This will be expensive. 3000."
Max took out six 500 currency papers. It was most of the money he had from the many drops he gained and sold.
***
The gem insertion didn't take long. Only 15 minutes. Max wanted to stay and wait.
"It's done."
Max grabbed the sword and immediately checked its description.
Besides the previous information, he saw something else.
[Attribute: Chaotic Energy]
[This weapon now carries the energy that destroyed most of the old continent. It is a chaotic energy that inflicts random effects upon a hit.]
Old continent, huh. Max thought.
That's the secret area Max is thinking of exploring in the future.
"Thanks. When can I come for the poison sword?"
"Come tomorrow morning."
"Alright thanks."
Max exited the shop.
In front of him was a wooden railing and a view of the port below.
He leaned against the railing and admired the scenery around him.
The port was a means of trade between Rinea and the island in front of it, and also the port towns along the coast.
Using a ship is far faster and safer if you want to reach other coastal towns. Fishing is also a major factor.
The food here is mainly seafood. Fruits and sweets are imported.
I should go to the springs and relax. The player thought.
And then...
Boom!
Max collided with a woman carrying two boxes.
The woman said something Max couldn't understand and had a worried expression on her face.
Max was silent and staring at her stupidly.
Then the woman decides to speak another language, guessing that the tall man in front of her was a foreigner.
"Oh. I'm so sorry." She said.
Max could understand this.
Even though her apology was said in a computer generated language that was nowhere to be found in the real world, Max knew it.
Because the knowledge of the language was installed in his brain when he turned up the game.
Though not all languages in the game were known to him. The developers deemed it unecessary. He knew Virtonian, which was spoken everywhere on Floor One. This woman just used it now.
And that's the only in-game language that he knows. Which was weird. He couldn't go to another floor clueless about the language there.
Max concluded that a new language will be installed after he enters Floor Two.
"It's fine, don't worry. My fault."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, let me help you.'
What the fuck is wrong with me? Am I actually stupid?
Max couldn't believe he couldn't see the imminent collision.
"Where do you want to carry this?"
"Just down there. I'm making a store there."
"Oh? What for?"
"Flowers!"
"Oh. Aren't you worried about people stealing the boxes from your hands?"
"Oh, no. I'm actually a mage." The beautiful girl with long brown hair said. She had a white flower with a dark blue ovule on the side of her head.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I used to be an adventurer."
"Oh, same. I mean, I'm an adventurer now."
The two of them walked down the wide wooden walkway on the side of the cliff, beside various stores, cafes, restaurants and other things built on the cliffside.
"Right here." The woman stopped walking.
"I'll open it." Max said.
He held the heavy box in one hand and used his other to open the door.
Inside, was a normal-looking room with a door leading to another in a corner.
There was a counter, presumably for transactions and that was it.
The man and the beautiful brown-haired woman with vibrant blue eyes set down the grey boxes.
"Thank you. In return, I can inspect your aura to see how strong it is, if you want."
"Oh, you don't have to." Max said politely.
"I insist! I'm interested." She said.
"Uh, okay."
She grabbed his hand with her both hands, which caused Max to feel a little bit of butterflies.
She closed her eyes...
...
Then her eyes opened wide.
"Amazing...You must be someone important!"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you a high noble?"
"No. I'm not. I'm just a commoner."
"You must have slain a great number of monsters to become this strong."
"You could say that."
"What's your name?" The girl asked.
"Max."
"I'm Berlona. If you want, come by here during daytime and I'll buy you a nice drink."
"Haha, okay." Max smiled.
With that, the player left the store.
She was pretty. It's also been a couple of days since I genuinely smiled. He thought with a smile.
***
"Five misses in a row..." Thomas said and sighed.
He was on top of a cliff he flew up to, practicing archery.
The pretty young man was trying to shoot down birds in the sky.
Some distance away from the city of course. You don't want the arrows falling down on the citizens from the sky.
"I'm getting better though. I have to be. For the time when I get to the second floor..."
***
"Ugh, you're pretty strong." A knight said fearfully.
"Anyone else wanna spar?"
"I will!" A red-haired man answered Manuel's question.
Manuel asked to spar the town's guard that weren't on duty at their training ground, intending to hone his skills.
They used training weapons that cause minimal damage.
"Don't think I'll be as easy as the rookie you just lectured!" The red-haired knight said playfully.
"Alright!"
The two men fought with spears fearsomely.
***
"Mmmm..."
Eliyah was relaxing at the famous hot springs of this town.
"Is this your first time here?" A woman asked him.
"Yeah." The long haired man answered.
"Where are you from?"
"From another world."
"Your hair certainly makes it believable, hahaha. Who even has purple hair?!"
He was already holding two women in his arms.
He fully intends to fulfill his supressed desires.
All that time on death row made him hungry!
The squad's next few days were sure to be as uneventful as this one.