Noctis easily cleared nine floors without much difficulty.
He noticed a few different Game Guardians at the opening of every stage.
He dared not do anything foolish in front of them, knowing full well that they can permanently eliminate a player from the game, or else tamper with the floors and make it harder for the players they disliked to clear stages.
He’s now on the 10th floor of the Novice Stage and currently fighting with the mini-boss of the 10th stage, a human-sized troll wearing prehistoric clothes, and carrying a spiked mace.
He scanned the surroundings.
He’s in a forest, with tall trees around him.
“Dragon Dance 14th Form”
He chanted, as he nimbly avoided yet another tree that the troll uprooted through magic, and sent flying like a spear towards his direction.
Tsk, this won’t do. This troll isn’t the dumb type that he always encountered while playing RPGs. So, this is the smart troll his brother and father discussed.
Noctis thought as he avoided a huge rock that came flying through the air and nearly hit him in the back.
This troll has to have some sort of weakness, he thought as he wracked his brain on what he remembered about Norse myths.
Then he remembered that he has in his weapons collection a pair of daggers with the symbol of a crucifix emblazoned on the handle, and enchanted with dragon-thunder.
Trolls are said to be angry with anything that is connected with Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church.
They are also said to be deeply fearful of the thunder element, as Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, hunted trolls whenever he saw or come across them, and smite them with his hammer Mjolnir, with thunder crackling in the sky.
He did a quick read on what’s written in the system.
“Hybrid Forest Troll Variant
It is a shapeshifter and much smarter than the ordinary forest troll, and more dangerous.
It has the ability to channel powers from nature and understands human speech.
Its true form is only revealed when pushed to its limits.
It’s weak to thunder, and items with the mark of Christianity in them.”
Noctis avoided a falling log that nearly fell on his head.
“Is that all you got, human? What a boring opponent. “
The troll taunted him, then sent a swarm of angry hornets with their stingers at the ready, flying straight at Noctis.
However, Noctis came to the battle prepared.
He chanted a dragon fire spell.
“Oh Orochi, the Dragon god, enchant this fire to burn the hornet swarm.”
Black flame materialized in Noctis’ right hand.
He flung the fire into the advancing hornets, burning them to a crisp.
A buzzing sound could be heard as the hornets flew frantically in the air before they dropped dead to the ground.
It left the troll shocked.
“What the fuck? How did you do it, you puny human?”
The troll asked, obviously shocked.
“You sure are a dangerous troll, more dangerous than your dumb cousin, Mr. Troll. It’s a pity that in the end, you are just an NPC about to be defeated by a puny human.”
Noctis smiled a cold and dangerous smile.
“Enough with playing around. Let’s end this fight and get serious, Mr. Troll.”
Noctis added while still smiling, his eyebrows raised.
“Oh Orochi, the dragon god, grant me the power to burn down the entire forest.”
After Noctis finished chanting, the entire forest started being engulfed in black flames.
The troll tried to drench the black flames with water that magically appeared out of nowhere, to no avail.
“This is not ordinary flame but enchanted dragon fire, much stronger than ordinary red fire. Your ordinary water has no effect on it unless it’s blessed by the gods. I hope you enjoy the sight of your burning forest.”
Noctis gloated at the sight of the troll getting angry.
After the entire forest is burned down, leaving only a few smoking trunks and stumps, with the smell of smoke covering the whole area, the troll lost all reason, went berserk with blood red-eyes, and revealed its true form.
The troll grew bigger until it became an ugly, lumbering giant carrying a spiked mace.
It started swinging the spiked mace it carried on the ground in an attempt to squish Noctis to death.
‘Dragon Dance 20th Form”
Noctis became faster and faster, turning into a speeding blur so he can avoid getting hit by the giant troll’s deadly spiked mace.
So, this is the troll variant’s true form. Without access to the powers of nature, this troll is no different from its cousin and more dangerous. This troll variant is also weaker in its true form, as it got a reduced ability to think, and is somewhat dumb. Noctis thought.
A pair of daggers with the symbol of a crucifix and enchanted with dragon-thunder materialized in both of Noctis’ hands while he’s running around.
“Dragon Flight First Skill”
He found himself gliding in the air with ease while dodging the troll’s spiked mace.
“Dragon Dance 30th Form”
Noctis’ speed quickly increased, and he closed the distance between him, and the giant troll.
“Dragon Slash 15th Form”
Noctis got close enough to the troll’s body to inflict double damage on the troll.
The troll grunted in pain and got paralysis as a side effect from the thunder enhancement on the dagger.
The mark of the crucifix made caused the troll’s entire body to emit smoke.
The dragon-thunder enhancement slowed the troll down to a great extent and paralyzed the troll.
Noctis can see the troll rapidly being drained of HP in the system.
The troll disengaged from the fight and started to run to a neighboring forest.
“Are you thinking of retreating to regain your energy, eh, Mr. Dumb Troll? No, you don’t.”
“Special Holy Skill Activate: Holy Rain”
The skies darkened, and it began to rain hard.
Magic runes with the cross in the center of the runes appeared in the sky, immobilizing the troll with celestial magic.
When the downpour came into contact with the troll’s skin, the troll screamed in pain.
He then went on to deliver a killing blow to the troll.
While the troll is transfixed in place, unable to move because of the effects of triple damage, Noctis began to chant.
“Oh Orochi the dragon god, grant me the power to smite the troll with thunder.”
The sky darkened, and the rumbling of strong, crackling thunder could be heard.
The thunder struck the troll hard with such a force it closely resembled Thor smiting the giants with his hammer Mjolnir.
The troll vanished and gradually faded from existence, leaving behind a spiked gold mace good for offense, a full set of armor that greatly boosts defense, and a pendant that greatly boosts nature-based spells.
He put the three items on his inventory.
He found no use for them, as the spiked gold mace with a long handle is better suited to berserker-type warriors, the full set of armor for tanks, and he might as well give the pendant to Takara, as she’s a battle mage.
“Hey, Takara, let’s meet at the Auction House beside the Blacksmith on the 10th floor of the Novice Stage after you’re finished doing what you’re doing. I got some unused stuff I need to sell, and I also got something for you.”
He hit send.
He then looked at the Notifications on the system.
“You leveled up – Level 10
You leveled up – Level 11
You leveled up – Level 12
You leveled up – Level 13
You leveled up – Level 14
You leveled up – Level 15”
“Your mastery of the active system skill Special Holy Rain reached 15 percent.
Your mastery of the passive system skill Celestial Rune Magic reached 15 percent.”
“Your superior performance has landed you in the top 1 rank in the top 15 ranking for Novices.”
Noctis exited the system notifications and proceeded to the next stage.
Rebecca Hudgens, the elite vampire player, is on the 12th floor of the Intermediate Stage.She’s chasing an elite orc spy of the Necromancer Guild that she caught exchanging information with an elf she just killed on the spot.Good thing there are a few elite vampires around in that place to take care of the training, security, and welfare of the vampire initiates, or else those elite players who belonged to the enemy would have wrecked the place, and laid waste to their plans without a second thought.She thought to herself.Those damn beasts these fucking orcs ride on are extremely fast. Good thing I got superspeed as an ability, and I can turn into a large bat. I need to close the distance fast, or this orc will escape.She thought as she turned into a bat and increased her speed to catch up with that of the fleeing orc.A few hours of a wild chase up and down the floors of the Intermediate Stage happened before she finally cornered the elite orc, who stopped to rest in an inn on t
Rebecca Hudgens, the elite vampire player, reflected on her actions earlier as she made her way back to the territory of the vampires.She did what she had to do to remove the threat to the vampire initiates.She couldn’t stand the likes of Inuk the Clever, who only thought of saving their own skin, although she uses just the same methods as the half-human orc she left to die.She didn’t want a repeat of what happened in the past.The memory was like a bitter stain that she found hard to erase, no matter how hard she tried, or what she did to forget.She still remembered that day, as if it just happened yesterday.She was still a newbie vampire who just passed the vampiric initiation.The ancient war between the werewolves and the vampires still raged on that day, and everyone was on high alert.She didn’t know back then that the vampire-werewolf war was instigated by the goddess of death, Morrigan, to prevent the vampires and the werewolves from rallying to the side of the dragon god
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While Beleth ate and drank in the wide, expansive garden grounds, he thought that he was alone.He is proved wrong when he sensed something invisible prying around. He sensed a gumiho named Gyeo-wool lurking around. "Gyeo-wool, I know you're there. Show yourself." A young-looking lady, who wore an attire that looked like it came from the early Joseon era, came into sight. A cold and chilly atmosphere filled the entire garden, and snow started to fall gently. "Lucky for me that these plants are magically enhanced and cold-proofed, or else they would have melted when you are around, my dear." Beleth said softly, gently caressing the gumiho's cute face, while caressing her bright red hair. "What do you care about more, your plants, or me? This is the only time I've managed to sneak my way into your castle again. You know Lilith's temper." Gyeo-wool whined. "You, of course, my dear. These plants are easy to replace." Beleth soothed Gyeo-wool. "Since when were you here, Gyeo-wo
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On the 17th floor of the Intermediate Stage of RPG Fantasia, players quickly left the 15th floor, as they heard that forces of 3 Game Administrators will battle it out on the 15th floor anytime today, and they didn't want to get involved, or else get caught in the aftermath. The players knew that without the Nobility Badge, they stood no chance of intervening in the upcoming battle, and if they attempted to do so with their average stats, they'd get eliminated from the game right away, forever. In the dangerous world of RPG Fantasia, where alliances and balance of power might shift at any time by any means possible, it was like walking on a thin wire that might snap with one single mistake. You have to tread carefully and try not to anger Game Guardians, Game Administrators and elite players, for elite players with a Nobility Badge treat ordinary players as just mere cannon fodder at their disposal. Anger a Game Administrator, Game Guardian or even an elite player as an ordinary,
Morrigan is at her castle, inspecting the quality of the new shipment of modified Egyptian weapons sent over by Anubis, th, witchy brews sent by witches under Hecate's orders, and a witch's spell-book containing witchy spells sent over by witches under Hecate, accompanied by her male assistant named Ryuma Ochima. "What's up with the other two Game Administrators lately? I can sense that today's batch of shipments aren't high quality, and can only be used by the non-elite soldiers at best. Something is fishy right here, Morrigan. The three of them are up to something funny. "Ryuma held out a witchy tome for Morrigan to inspect.Morrigan accepted the witch tome, opened it, and read a sample spell written in the demonic tome out loud. " Oh Hecate, the one in command of the witches, I invoke you to grant the sword of an ordinary soldier the magic of darkness to smite down the soldiers of the light." " That's a basic spell used by the ordinary witches. What was Hecate thinking when sh
Methis sat at the table in the VIP area of an Inn somewhere in the Legendary Stage, with Hades and a young female hybrid vampire player named Etsu Yahiro. Etsu noted that there was an awkward air of silence and unease as the two Game Administrators from the Minority Faction didn't see eye to eye with each other. "Ahem. Now that the three of us are here, let's sort out the misunderstanding between the two of you, alright? This can't be allowed to go on, or else it will develop into a civil war, and the Majority Faction will take advantage of this." The young and sexy vampire cleared her throat, and began to speak. " Hmph. "Both Hades and Methis said together in unison, looking down their noses at the attire that Etsu wore. " I don't see anything wrong with what I'm currently wearing, you ancient, outdated oldies." Etsu sharply remarked, annoyed by the way the two Game Administrators looked at her attire, as if they were judging her because of that. "Now that I got your attentio
After the auction officially ended, Iona,Kaori and Noctis met up in the Inn of the 10th floor at the Novice Stage,while Yuusei went back to his spot in the VIP Corner of the Blacksmith shop to reconsider . They sat at a VIP table in the Inn, busy eating a meal of oven roasted chicken, while drinking expensive cider. "I believe you didn't invite us to this meal for nothing, and for free, Lelouch. You even took extra precautions to place a shield barrier around us that prevents the others in the VIP section from overhearing what we're talking about. Who are you? What do you want? Why did you help me and my sister earlier? "Iona asked Noctis while she was slicing a piece of chicken with her fork and knife." Just call me Zero instead. As for who I am, well, both of you will know when the time is right. Straight to the point. I see. What if I told you that I know exactly who the entire Assassin Guild is planning to face off against right now, and I got better quality items and weapons
"The Last Item to be auctioned off today is the Nemean Lion's Fur Coat. The starting bid is 30 million gems." Yurika announced from the stage of the Auction House. "I bid 40 million gems for this fur coat." Noctis looked around to see an elite orc player bid for the fur coat. Let's see how this develops. The Orc Guild belongs to the Majority Faction, and his brother used to clash with, and often kill Orc players from the Majority Faction for trying to get into his way. The Orcs are strong, muscular and tanky, with great defense, attack power and strength, but they are slow due to their size, so the speed stats of the fur coat will be just a minor boost. Noctis thought to himself. "I bid 100 million gems"An elite goblin player from the Goblins Guild countered. The goblins also belong to the Majority faction. They are said to be extremely rich, hoarding a lot of gold and jewels in their headquarters. They specialize in sneak attacks and setting up ambushes, making the most use
With Esumi out of the picture, and having successfully rescued Kaori, the half-sister of the elite. player Iona, Noctis outsmarted the Necromancer Guild Leader. "Thanks for helping me obtain the mace, and helping to look out for my sister, Lelouch." Iona chatted with Noctis. "It's not a problem, Iona. I have a question, though. Why did you bid for that mace, when you're not even a fighter class? The weapon isn't compatible with you. And why did you let your sister fend for herself, with zero support, when you could have at least backed her behind the scenes since you got a Nobility Badge? "Awkward silence filled the air for a few minutes before Iona managed to reply back through the message function of the game system. " I wanted to get back at Esumi for disrespecting my sister upfront. So I decided that I might as well spoil his plan for the 100th time again. And as for why I let her fend for herself with zero support, it's because I want her to get stronger. How? She has to get
A few hours passed inside the Auction House. Noctis observed the situation inside the Auction House getting more tense and awkward, with the excited players bidding at absurdly high prices in an attempt to obtain semi-legendary class items. It's a wonder they can hike the value of so-so items that high. I'm not surprised. Dogs always fight for scraps, not the whole meal. Noctis thought to himself, totally unimpressed by the items being auctioned off. "It's a wonder that fights don't break out inside the Auction House. I can already sense that the tension is about to break the fragile peace inside from here." Noctis remarked while observing the whole scene. "Simple. If a player attempts a fight inside the Auction House, he'll be an open target to the other players inside the Auction House. If a player attempts to start a fight, they immediately get ejected out of the Auction House if they aren't attacked first. "Oshe replied to Noctis. " Now that all the auxiliary items have no
Yuusei and Noctis went inside the Auction House together, wearing their disguises. They went to the counter of the Auction House, and presented the three legendary class items to the sexy and attractive girl wearing a tight fitted adventurer's clothes that exposed her flawless skin and sexy body who is seated behind the counter. The girl's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the three items. "The mace, pendant, and coat are normally items dropped by minibosses after they die. To think someone managed to change the class from Rare to Legend class. This will definitely cause an uproar among the elite players. Are these the items that you want auctioned off? "The girl asked with a questioning glance at the two. " Yes it is. I'm Tabito, the one who changed the class of these items, and the person here beside me is Lelouch. Here is the initial payment of gems. "Yuusei introduced both himself and Noctis to the girl, while he placed a pouch full of gems at the counter right in fro