You received 2000 experience points.

  You completed a trial. Please choose between the csses: Primal Archer (Barbarian, Bowman), Druid, and Priest (Dark Priest).

  You obtained the Primal Archer css.

  You improved the Health Regeneration parameter.

  You unlocked the Aptitude: Fury Marksman.

  You unlocked the skill: Savage Shot.

  You unlocked the skill: Hunter’s Rage.

  Fury Marksman: Gain bonus experience when fighting as your health decreases.

  Savage Shot - Fire an arrow with primal force, piercing through enemies and dealing increased damage based on your proximity to the target. If within melee range, the arrow causes a concussive bst, knocking enemies back. Cost: 25 Mana.

  Hunter's Rage - Enter a berserk state, increasing attack speed, movement speed, and stamina regeneration by ten percent for a short duration. Using melee attacks or shooting arrows during this state further increases critical hit chances. Cost: 100 Mana and it sts for thirty seconds.

  The fight against the giant frost spider had been easy, too. A volley of explosive arrows and shock arrows made sure that the monsters never had a chance against me.

  Making the choice for Alissandra was easy too, and Roswald didn’t lie about the fact that she would have at least one good option. I still couldn’t deny that her build was getting weird, though. Earth mage, now a priest and cleric. As much as I was curious about her future thanks to that, I couldn’t help but consider my new css.

  ‘My survivability increased, and this css fits me really well with its functions and skills. While I can’t afford to get hurt since I have to protect Gcien and Alissandra, I am mainly a solo fighter and getting hurt was normal for me against the toughest enemies. The skills consume mana too, so I can make amulets for them…’

  “Awoo! Awoo!”

  Gcien approached while trying to hand the basket to Alissandra. It was about dinner time for her, so it would be troublesome to feed her while moving.

  “Do you want to hunt in the next section by yourself? Perhaps you should stick to this one…”

  “Awoo!”

  “Fine, suit yourself. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you beforehand.”

  I began to work on looking after Alissandra. I was starting to get used to that, but it still felt weird. Looking after a kid that wasn’t mine… in any case, the surrounding temperature was slightly increasing. It seemed that the bosses affected the environments of the byrinths quite a bit.

  “The mana levels here are getting weaker, from here onwards, at least on the third section. We can assume that every hour here will dey the break for one hour.”

  “... I see, I guess you are indeed a half beastkin.”

  “What makes you think that I am?”

  “You aren’t short and rge like a dwarf. When you talked about the elves, it felt like you were talking about people not close to you. Nimir also had instincts when it comes to sensing mana within a dungeon. That also would expin why you helped those guys so easily.”

  “Your assessment is half correct. I helped them to learn about their situation for more information, though.”

  In a world like this, knowledge was also power. People would be able to predict all sorts of things if they know what is happening in other pces. In any case, this made me wonder if the empire was still letting people obtain battle sves… they should be aware that letting those masses keep happening again and again would only come to bite in their asses ter. Not like I cared if that causes the downfall of the empire.

  “By the way, you know what the empire had been doing in the Elven nd, right? What do you want for that kind of information?”

  “All the csses that can be obtained in the dungeons and byrinths of this nd.”

  “You sure are asking a lot… I can give you that kind of information if you tell me what you have seen while you were in that part of the world and in the dwarven territory too.”

  “All right, deal.”

  I told him what I knew while he marked on my map the csses that could be obtained in each dungeon and byrinth. I wasn’t surprised by the fact that he knew all that.

  “I see… it looks like the empire indeed got a powerful tool.”

  I didn’t know how keeping that information to myself would make things more convenient for me, so I told him about the cirvoyant. I could have asked for more information in exchange ter. Besides, the more people can get in the way of the empire, the better it would be for me. Still, I didn’t tell him that this cirvoyant had a hard time seeing events that I was involved in.

  “The empire might not be lying about working to make sure that this rift won’t destroy most of the world, but they sure will take advantage of it once this issue is over.”

  Roswald was considering their options, clearly thinking about their next moves. The rift was a pressing issue, one they couldn’t ignore, but letting the Empire dictate the course of events wasn’t a good outcome. The Empire had too much influence, too much control, and if they were allowed to call all the shots, it would leave everyone else at its mercy.

  He realized that they couldn’t deal with this problem alone. The logical solution would be to form a coalition with other nds that also opposed the Empire. While such alliances were never simple to forge, they could create a powerful counterbance to the Empire’s dominance. With shared goals and resources, the coalition would stand a much better chance of protecting their interests and shaping events on their own terms.

  The potential rewards outweigh the risks. A coalition would give them leverage, resources, and perhaps even a stronger voice in whatever came next. If Roswald could pull it off, it wouldn’t just make things easier, it might actually tip the scales in their favor. And that was a future worth fighting for.

  “We will have to move fast… the empire is already too advanced with its pns. It is good that you are insane when it comes to byrinth exploration speed.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Putting some sense into those guys will be hard, but the leaders of the free cities will understand the necessity of an alliance with the guys outside. The guys in the North will be difficult, but the beastkin should be easier to convince. It is a good thing that I helped Vincent, Raul and Nimira back then. Hehehe.”

  “Your true colors are slipping up.”

  “I was just kidding. Are you pnning to head to Felyndor once we are done with this? Using your vehicle will be useful for this kind of job.”

  “No one said that you could enter it and I am definitely not heading there anymore for a very long while. Before you ask, I don’t have to tell you where I will go.”

  “Even though you will have the biggest chances of finding someone to look after Alissandra there? In the st few years, Vincent managed to change a few things there, since he managed to overthrow those who sold him and his friends as sves. That is why the refugees of the Skarnash Tribends managed to stay there.”

  “Your tactics to control me are useless.”

  “I guess you are worried about seeing Nimira after all these years.”

  I let out a sigh… not as much as worried as thoughtful about if she had become someone that can rely on her own strength and decide things for herself. herself.

  “You should make some friends there. You already have some there, right? Your reputation won’t be as bad there.”

  “I don’t have friends there. I have some acquaintances and someone I looked after for a short while. You should give up on selling me this trip when it is clearly for your own interest.”

  “You have a point, I suppose.”

  I finished warming up Alissandra’s food and then gave it to her… I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Her mother should be the one doing this while feeling happy, not me feeling awkward. I couldn’t help but think about her father as well… I at least knew mine, despite the fact that we couldn’t see each other eye to eye and while I had his blood, I couldn’t consider him my father.

  ‘It is like our lives are overly dramatic Mexican Novels…’

  We both didn’t have any real pces for us in the world… We both didn’t know one of our parents and our homend wanted to hunt us like vermin. Still, I shook those thoughts from my head. I didn’t want to think too much about this and change my goals… I wanted to explore the world and get stronger to be able to defend myself. I couldn’t stop now and think that I could be someone else’s parent.

  After eating, Alissandra eventually fell asleep, and I put her back in her basket. It was time to move again, and I had to be more deadly since the next monsters should be stronger, but I couldn’t make a lot of noise and wake her up.

  I rubbed my chin while thinking of what I should do… explosive arrows were not good. Shock arrows could do some damage, but the shocking sound would cause some noise. Arrows enchanted with wind would do a better job, or perhaps I just had to keep spamming Power Shot and make my iron arrows pierce the skulls of the monsters.

  ‘I didn’t want to use my cursed arrows, but I don’t have a choice… they will ignore most of the defenses of the monsters.’

  I created some of those and then nodded in satisfaction… Come to think of it, Gcien had yet to return after spending more than one hour away. She was another one who was becoming too unruly tely.

  “Let’s get going.”

  “Already? I didn’t even have time to take a nap.”

  “If you had stayed quiet instead of saying nonsense, you would have had plenty of time to rest.”

  I ignored Roswald’s compints and then headed to the third section. Before long, I was able to see the new monster there… I frowned at their appearance. Standing about two to three feet tall, they have thin, wiry bodies seemingly carved from ice. Their frosty skin reflected light, and that made them appear ghostly in the byrinth. Their jagged, angur forms give them a sharp, menacing look, with spindly arms and cw-like fingers… they were ice imps.

  WritingMachineGun