Chapter 21: Goddess of Moonlight

Jundtrathep was still shocked that they had actually won against the Earth Dragon; a monster of a higher rank. With this, she realized right away that Sila was actually a lot stronger than what Alice had told her.

The experience points she had gained were very high. It caused her level to jump from 185 to 665 right away. However, the strange thing was that Sila had obtained less experience points than her despite the fact that he had been the one who fought the most.

“Big Brother Sila, why did you get less experience points than me?” honestly asked Jundtrathep.

“Oh, about that: I have one card that restricts me to receive only 10% of the usual experience points.”

‘10% of the usual experience points? He had that restriction yet he still raised his level this fast?’ Jundtrathep was impressed.

“By the way, I’m impressed at how strong Big Brother Sila is. You are able to defeat a dragon alone.”

“I always fight alone like this,” Sila replied with an expressionless face. But Jundtrathep could somehow sense sadness in his voice.

Afterward, Sila inspected the items he had gotten from the Tree Dragons. Now, his remaining item window’s space was lower than 100. The items he had gained from defeating Tree Dragons were as follows: 65 Dragon’s Roots – C Grade, 92 Tree Dragon Cards – C Grade, 30 Earth Ore, and money amounting to 250,000 silver. His current savings would be considered quite high for an individual player.

“Would you like to accept the money I had gotten? I don’t think I deserve it since I didn’t help much,” proposed Jundtrathep.

Sila waved his hand. “No need. Who told you that you didn’t help me out? Jundtrathep, if you didn’t tell me that it was weak against ice elemental attack, I would have lost by now. You even used a skill to replenish my qi. Otherwise, my qi would certainly not have been enough to defeat the Earth Dragon.”

That was Sila’s reply. He wasn’t the type of person that was stingy about money.

“Well, I guess we should find the treasures that the dragon mentioned. We may get something good if we’re lucky,” he spoke up, and then headed towards the location.

Jundtrathep didn’t say anything. But with Sila’s action, she believed she understood him more. She had a vague idea that Sila was the type of person that always distanced himself from others. If someone approached him too much, he would walk away. This might be due to some past event happening in his life.

“Wait, Big Brother Sila,” Jundtrathep called out.

Sila looked back, “What’s up?”

“Next time you can just call me Jund; that’s my nickname. My username Jundtrathep is quite too long.”

Actually, Sila wasn’t the type to care much about the name he used to call someone. But as he thought that Jundtrathep was a girl who might be concerned about how she should be addressed, he nodded.

“Okay, Jund.”

A delightful smile formed at the corner of Jundtrathep’s mouth. She felt as if she was now a step closer to Sila.

Two of them had to walk for fifteen minutes to reach the location the Earth Dragon had mentioned. It was a big tree that looked like a Bodhi tree. It was high to the point that one couldn’t see the top of the tree while being at its bottom.

Ten-meters above where they were standing, there was a big hole in the tree. More importantly, there was a light shining out of that hole. Sila presumed that the light must be from the treasure the Earth Dragon mentioned.

Sila looked at Jundtrathep’s face before saying, “Let’s go up there, Jund.”

But she shook her head, “Big Brother Sila can go alone. It’s impossible for me to reach there. You can just tell me about it when you have finished.”

However, Sila thought that they had fought together, so this treasure belonged to both of them. He wanted Jundtrathep to witness what they would obtain together.

“Then, let’s do it this way.”

“W-Wah,” the voice came from Jundtrathep’s mouth when Sila lifted her up in his arm as if he was holding a princess.

“Hold on to me tightly, okay?”

Jundtrathep’s face was blushing. She didn’t reply but nodded once.

Sila circulated Qi of Little Bird throughout his body. Then, he soared high as if he was a little bird flying up into the sky. His body precisely floated and entered the tree’s hole.

Inside the hole was a small circular room. Being here, Sila found out that the light emitted from the tree’s hole actually came from the moonlight shining through this entrance and reflecting on a strange stone at the center of the room. Its shape was like an egg, but it was three times larger than a normal hen’s egg.

‘What? Upon having a death match against a dragon, this small stone is the only reward we get?’ Sila thought.

“Ermm... Big Brother Sila.”

A voice as soft as a whisper came from Sila’s chest.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Sila bent his head down. The distance between their faces was very close. He founded that Jundtrathep’s cheek was now bright red.

“... You can put me down already,” she answered faintly.

With that reply, Sila then realized that he was still holding her in his arms. Thus, he put her down, while she pouted.

Then, her attention was caught by the strange stone as well.

“It’s beautiful,” exclaimed Jundtrathep.

Sila then thought. ‘Umm... so women love things like this, huh.’

“Well, let’s take a closer look,” said Sila.

Both of them approached the stone slowly. But when the distance between them and the stone was shortened to one meter, the stone then emitted a bright light that caused them to close their eyes.

The system sound alarmed.

[Monster Goddess of Moonlight Luna, Level 1 Marquis Rank, has appeared.]

The strange stone scattered into pieces. Afterward, when the light faded, a woman in ancient armor stood in front of the two. Her armor emitted a soft yellow glow. In her right hand was an ancient spear, while her left hand held a round shield with mysterious alphabets inscribed on it. On her back, there were elegant white wings. She had a very gorgeous look with short hair. Its length only reached her shoulder. In short, she was like a brave female warrior, except for the wings at her back and a halo floating above her head that made her look like an angel.

Sila pulled Jundtrathep back to the rear. He felt regretful that he had been foolish enough to be tricked by a dragon to come here just to be killed. Now that he thought about it, the relationship between their races wasn’t peaceful, there was simply no way the Earth Dragon would be kind enough to easily give him a treasure.

He circulated a little bit of his qi that had been left throughout his body. He decided to give it his all, planning that he would at least flee away with Jundtrathep.

However, the angel who had just appeared looked rather friendly. There was no hostile movement towards them. Seeing that, Sila let his guard down a bit.

“Am I correct to presume that it is you who released me?” asked the angel.

Sila nodded instead of giving a proper reply.

“I’m Luna, the Goddess of Moonlight, who has been sealed here since long ago. I’ve always been here, waiting for someone to release me,” said the angel.

“I’m Sila, and she is Jundtrathep,” answered Sila, and he immediately continued, “we’re not here to fight. We’re here to collect the treasure that a dragon had mentioned. Anyway, it seems like we’re in the wrong place, so, if you would excuse us ...”

“You two have come to the right place. I’m the treasure you’re looking for,” she replied with a smile.

“You’re the treasure? I don’t understand,” asked Sila.

“Yes. The person who comes to this place at night will be granted an option of getting me as a Partner. Moreover, you will also be able to change your race to one of the hidden races – God Race.”

“Partner? God race?” Sila didn’t understand a thing. That was because the information regarding partnership and god race were high-classed information that couldn’t be known easily in Beginning Town which provided only basic information.

Even Jundtrathep, who had been playing this game for a longer time than Sila, still barely had any information about partnership. Tiger had told her once that partner wasn’t something one could get just by being strong; it was something that required one to possess tremendous good luck too.

As for the hidden races, they were something she hadn’t even known existed in this game.

The angel saw Sila and Jundtrathep didn’t understand what she had said, so she began to calmly explain.

“Partnership is a special bond similar to a bond with a pet, except one player is allowed to have only one partner. Still, a partner is different and greater than pet in the fact that it has more freedom and possesses player-like abilities. It can shop or hunt in your place over an unlimited distance. Its overall potential is also several times higher than a pet. Simply put, the partner can act like your double. Its versatility is very high.”

Then, she continued.

“As for the god race, it’s a hidden race that can only be obtained via special methods. Getting me as your partner is one of the methods to change your race to the angel species of the god race. For your information, it’s a species that no one ever had a chance to change to before.”

“I have already changed my race. What will happen if I get you as my partner?” asked Sila.

“That’s a shame. My answer is that you can still have me as your partner, but you won’t be able to change your race to our race.”

“Then, what is the strong point of the angel species of the god race?” Sila asked again.

This was a something he had learned by discussing various races with Tiger’s party. Sila now knew that each race had its own benefit. (Though, he still couldn’t figure the benefit of slime race yet.) So, he asked Luna for the hidden race’s sacred information.

“The angel species has high and balanced capability overall, although they focus more on defensive abilities rather than offensive. The special skill of angel specie is a summoning skill; we can summon the guardian from heaven to fight in our place. We also have a resurrection skill that allows us to resurrect other beings. These two are unique skills that only us of the angel species possess.”

Sila listened carefully and found that its strong points didn’t sound alluring to him. What is the point of ordering others to fight in his stead? He also didn’t like the sound of the supportive and defensive skills Luna had mentioned either.

“Then, Jund, you should take it,” Sila simply concluded like this matter was just a last candy in his dish.

“Eh? You want me to take it?” she shocked.

How could she not feel shocked? What she had obtained from Sila so far was too much already. Just the experience points and money she had gotten from Sila hunting the Earth Dragon were plenty enough. Although it was true that Sila tried to tell her that it was due to her help that he could defeat Earth Dragon, in her opinion, she thought that Sila could still win the fight even if she was not there.

And this time he even wanted her to take the treasure? There was no way she could do that.

“Yeah, it doesn’t suit me well; that supportive thing the angel was talking about. I also don’t like having other people fighting in my place,” Sila simply replied.

“But...”

“Moreover, I have already changed my race, so one of the treasures would be wasted if I am the one who takes it. Oh ... or you’re more preferred to change your race to plant race?”

“That’s not it, but ...”

Of course, for her who had been playing supporting role, God race was certainly better than plant race, no, it might even be better than dragon race. Not only did it have higher quality supportive skills, it also suited her preference better. The only thing that kept her from accepting this offer was her courteousness. She had always been the one who ended up receiving something. There was also the fact that she and Sila had only met each other for only a short time – to be exact, it was less than one day. Accepting too many things from him would be improper.

Sila ended this conversation by informing Luna.

“Please make a bond with this person,” Sila pushed Jundtrathep forward.

“Are you sure?” asked Luna. She was the reward of the hidden quest: Unseal the Goddess of Moonlight, where one was required to defeat the Earth Dragon at night with a party with less than three members. She somehow knew that it was Sila who was the main one who accomplished that quest.

She was an existence that one might even kill his friend for, in order to obtain a partner and keep the hidden race for themselves, but Sila instead gave her away to someone else easily.

Sila had no idea what Luna was currently thinking about. He was just a bit curious why she asked only him. Nevertheless, he confirmed his decision.

“I’m sure,” repeated Sila.

“I see, then...” she reached her hand to grab the hand of Jundtrathep which was now shaking a bit.

Suddenly, the system sound alarmed inside Jundtrathep’s head, and since Sila was still in her party, he could hear its content too.

[Player Jundtrathep has made a bond with Goddess of Moonlight Luna, Level 1 Marquis Rank. Luna has become player’s partner now.]

[Player Jundtrathep has changed her race to God Race (Angel Species). Due to the lowest rank of God Race being Knight Rank, Player Jundtrathep’s status and rank have been promoted to Apprentice Angel of Level 1 Knight Rank.]

[Player Jundtrathep has obtained Necklace of Moonlight. It’s a personal item which cannot be sold or transferred.]

[Player Jundtrathep has learned a special skill: Summon the Guardians of Light.]

[Player Jundtrathep has learned a special skill: Angel’s Tear.]

[Player Jundtrathep has learned a special skill: Angel’s Blessing.]

[Player Jundtrathep has learned a special skill: Land of Promises.]

After the end of system alarm, she was impressed by how many things she had just gained.

“The necklace is to be used to seal me in, master,” said Luna.

“Umm... how many cards do I have to collect to obtain the Invitation Card to the race’s kingdom?” Jundtrathep blankly asked. She was fully aware that she wouldn’t be able to collect even a single card.

“For the hidden race, there’s no need to collect the cards, master. There’s also no Invitation Card available. That’s because discovering the hidden race was considered hard enough by itself,” answered Luna.

Sila noticed that the morning was arriving soon, so they needed to go back to their camp.

“Jund, I would like to regenerate my qi for about ten minutes before heading back to the camp. Please use this time to chat with Luna for now, okay?”

Then, Sila sat down; he closed his eyes and began to circulate his qi.

Just as she was suggested, while waiting for Sila to circulate his qi, Jundtrathep used her time to ask Luna about her newly acquired skills.

Soon, Sila opened his eyes and stood up. It was the sign that he was ready to go now.

“Luna, please stay in the seal for now, okay?” said Jundtrathep.

“Yes, Master.”

“Seal Luna,” with those words, Luna’s body was turned into light and absorbed into the Jundtrathep’s necklace

“Let’s go,” said Sila to Jundtrathep. He lifted Jundtrathep in his arms then soared back to their campground.

Jundtrathep’s cheeks were slightly dyed red. She couldn’t feel at ease no matter how many times she had been carried by Sila like this.

______________________________

Jundtrathep’s obtained item:

(S) Necklace of Moonlight

Increases magical defense by 5,000 units.

Increases the power of light-elemental spells by 20%.

Increases casting speed by 50%.

Can be used to seal Luna – Goddess of Moonlight within.

Jundtrathep’s acquired skills:

(A) Racial Skill: Summon the Guardians of Light

Magic point consumption is based on the number and the level of summoned guardians.

The number and the level of the guardian that can be summoned are based on level of skill “Basic Magic” that user possesses.

The summoned guardians can stay active for 30 minutes until: the end of skill duration, user cancelation, or being destroyed. (They can still stay active even if user is dead as long as skill duration hasn’t run out and the skill hasn’t been canceled by user.)

(A) Racial Skill: Angel’s Tear.

Consumes 5,000 magic points.

Cooldown: 60 minutes.

Resurrects one player. The player that is resurrected by this skill will have 50% of his/her total health point.

*Every player within 1-kilometer radius of the owner of this skill will not be turned into light immediately upon dying. Anyone who dies inside this radius will lie down as a corpse for 30 minutes instead.

(A) Racial Skill: Angel’s Blessing.

Consumes 5,000 magic points.

Cooldown: 60 minutes.

Increases physical and magical attack power together with physical and magical defense of all party members by 100%. All members’ recovery rate of health, magic, qi, and psychic point will also be increased up to 5 times. The duration of the spell is 10 minutes.

(S) Racial Skill: Land of Promises (Ultimate special skill of the strongest players of the god race - angel species)

Consumes 500,000 magic points.

Cooldown: 7 days.

Create a territory of 1-kilometer radius around user for 30 minutes.

In this territory, every player, monster, and summoned monster that is user’s ally will be automatically and immediately revived upon dying. Health, magic, qi, and psychic points of a creature that is revived by this skill’s effect will be returned to 100%. Moreover, physical attack power, magical attack power, physical defense, and magical defense will be increased by 10% every time one is revived by this skill.

*When this skill is activating, the user cannot move nor use another spell, or else this skill will be canceled.

*This skill’s effect will be rendered useless to the user of this skill. Its effect will also disappear if the time runs out, user cancels, or user has died.

*This skill will not affect creatures that were dead before the skill is activated.