Chapter 8

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

That very evening Bellamy and Luny arrived in Golan town and entered Adara's Inn, one of the more pleasant taverns according to the locals. They found a decent table and ordered some steaks and side dishes. As Golan was a farmer's town, the food was wholesome and came at a reasonable price. Pets were quite common among Hunters, so nobody seemed to catch a second glance at Luny. While the unruly Sprite dug into his extra-large steak, Bellamy listened in on a conversation a few tables away.

"Ya hear 'bout ol' Gustav?"

"Aye, burp, poor fellow. Those pesky greenskins've caused 'hole lot a trouble fer us workers."

"I hear they stole ol' Sammy's cattle last fortnight, and three days ago, ol' Randy noticed hens and eggs were missin'."

Slam!

The table shook but did not know pain, unlike the drunkard's hand that had struck it.

"Ow!"

"Ya know. I don't wanna be next," the other drunkard continued, unphased by his colleague's pain. "Decent Hunters've gone off to those nobler cities. We're gettin' overlooked, mate."

"Aye," the shaken drunkard answered, kneading his right hand. "Poor ol' Gustav and his party. They were decent people, ya know. I grew up with the bastard. And now he's gone."

"It's not fair fer us workin'-class. F*cking taxes keep increasin' while da rich nob-twats're gettin' richer by the day."

As their hefty discussion continued, the evening news channel was switched on. The female inn owner turned up the volume on the inn's Viewtronia, and a screen displaying the news came into view on the wall.

"Good evening! This is Daisy Deighton from TBC News. We're currently stationed in a remote location several hours away from Softshire City. Last night, local witnesses came across several hundred missing people in the suburbs, miles away from any township. Local jurisdictions are still unable to clarify key details, but it is said that the headcount of Returners has reached five thousand and is still rapidly increasing. This is by far the largest Returner-incident in Thraean history!

Due to the turbulent weather and harsh terrain, we're unable to bring a close-up view of the cavern that lies beneath this cliff."

The camera zoomed in, and numerous obscure figures appeared abruptly—hunters with Fire Element Awakenings cast Fire Skills that lit up the surrounding area. Dozens of roped ladders hung down across several distances, forming climbing options for the cavern-trapped Returners. Hunters with the ability to aviate the air disappeared and reappeared with new Returners in their midst.

The eloquent reporter continued.

"As you can see, several top Guilds are gathered here to aid in the safety of the Returners. Among these Guilds, we've confirmed that Snowbane, Celcius, and Tears of Thrae are assembled in this rescue operation. Local medium-sized guilds were first to arrive on the scene but are now being led by the larger Guilds to improve the rescuing efficiency. The imminent peril is time. Tides are almost at their highest, and the cavern entrance is once again about to be enveloped by seawater. The rescue operation will be discontinued once the entrance is flooded, which may lead to the loss of more lives."

By now, the tavern guests were all absorbed by the dramatic scene displayed by the Viewtronia. The situation was dire. At this rate, the hunters would be unable to save all of the Returners that were desperately climbing the roped ladders.

"Ya gotta be sh*ttin' me. Softshire's half a day travel from Golan!" one of the drunkards exclaimed informatively.

"Aye," his friend gulped and kept gawking at the chaotic news broadcast.

Bellamy was startled when he witnessed a Returner losing her grip and fell from a roped ladder while screaming in terror. She was about to hit a reef near the cavern entrance bank when a streak of purplish light flashed, and someone grabbed her.

Crackle!

Zoooom

Crackle!

"May Goddess Thrae be with us! It's Fleeting Space. Eclipse is here!" the reporter blurted out. She had momentarily lost her composure and cleared her throat before continuing, "This is TBC News, and hope has returned!"

Cameras from various locations and angles were now recording the unfolding event as the major Guilds directly assigned the Hunters various tasks. The rescue operation's momentum had increased dramatically. After a short period of intrigue and suspense, Daisy Deighton concluded that the operation was a success. As predicted, the cavern was once again flooded, and the rescue operation had come to a halt. If a few survivors were still trapped, they would have to wait until the water levels again sank the next morning. Baffled and not knowing how to sort his thoughts out, Bellamy sighed. He had seen Fleeting Space and other exceptional Hunters in action. It was only for a brief moment, but he was confident that Fleeting Space had used high-leveled Ether magic.

Did he move through space?

Fleeting Space had definitely formed a sphere around himself and the falling girl before vanishing in thin air. And with a sharp crackling noise, they had returned to the summit of the steep hill briefly after the evanescence.

"Luny knows that place! Luny was there with Old Master before joining Young Master."

Bellamy, who had stopped chewing his food for a while, ejected the contents of his mouth. Agile and flexible, Luny dodged all of the food projectiles aimed his way.

Fhew, fhew, fhew

Dodge, dodge, dodge

"W-what?!" Bellamy exclaimed in a hushed voice, "what do you mean Old Master was there?"

Before Luny had a chance to answer, Bellamy threw some silver coins at the table and rushed toward their rented cabin while hauling little Luny in his elbow.

After a brief explanation from Luny, Bellamy had gotten a better understanding of how he came to possess his newfound Awakenings. Due to the low Pet Loyalty, which he had raised to 11 after the steak dinner, Bellamy could only probe limited amounts of information out of Luny. So far, Bellamy learned that his predecessor possessed the same four Awakenings as himself. The equipment and titles also belonged to the same individual. And he was a human, just like Bellamy.

Luny had summarized that Soul Devourer was a Unique Class that no one else had obtained other than his previous master. The Unique Class had an innate Awakening allowing the wielder to possess the Soul element. For now, that was the only information presented by the secretive yet loud-mouthed Sprite. Bellamy's mind grew somber as he plotted how to attain more Pet Loyalty points from Luny. He weighed his options: keep his gold or force-feed Luny. Either way, Bellamy needed to visit the mysterious cavern at some point. The sooner, the better.

After breakfast at Adara's Inn, Bellamy spent his Foursday morning in Golan to restock his potions and visited a smithy for weapon repairs on his Crude Iron Sword.

"I suggest you buy a new weapon in our shop," the Elemental Metalworker informed, "the repairs are just not worth the cost."

It was as the blacksmith said. Bellamy had bought the Crude Iron Sword for 20 silver, and the cost of the repairs was 12 silver. It was more fitting to purchase a new and better weapon.

"Hmmm." Bellamy had become more cautious of his expenditures ever since Luny had shown him how fast gold could be spent as a Hunter with a glutton pet. "Alright. Can I take a look around before deciding?"

"Sure. Take your time, Adventurer."

Bellamy had unsummoned Luny last night to alleviate his maximum Mana threshold. Thus the blacksmith was unaware of Bellamy's status as an Awakened. His shabby-looking clothes draped by his plain-looking cloak were of no help in determining his status.

"I'm an-" he started.

"Hmm?"

Bellamy furrowed his brows.

"Nevermind..."

All cats are grey in the dark, Bellamy mused, ignoring the blacksmith's comment. The blacksmith went back to tapping his hammer on the anvil.

Pint, pint

Pint

The shop was small, but it was stocked up with various weapons and equipment suited for most Adventurers and novice Hunters. After yesterday's Guest earnings minus the expenditures, Bellamy had 1 gold and 15 silver to spare. He purchased a shield, a helmet, and a new weapon. Crude Iron Helmet, Small Iron Buckler, and Tempered Iron Sword were bought with his remaining gold.

There was fundamentally no difference between a normal Iron Helmet and a Crude Iron Helmet. Both helmets did their job at protecting the skull; although features apart, the Crude Iron Helmet did have a rusty appearance in some areas. The Small Iron Buckler was pricier than its wooden counterpart but offered higher Defense and Durability. The Tempered Iron Sword was a significant weapon upgrade. Tempering a sword meant that a sword's brittleness was removed. Thus Bellamy's new weapon was comparable to steel-variants of the sword category.

Broke but satisfied, he opened his Soul Window.

Name: Bellamy Aarick

Race: Human

Gain +10 Wisdom; +5 Stamina; +1 Thrae's blessings, upon an Elemental Awakening.

Gain +1 to each main attribute upon leveling up.

Level: 3

Experience: 580/1200

Stats:

Health points: 446/446

Mana points: 612/612

Strength: 18

Stamina: 41

Perseverance: 4

Agility: 14

Dexterity: 22

Intelligence: 16

Wisdom: 58

Unspent points: 21 + 12 awakening bonus points

Speed: 10

Luck: 1

Goddess Thrae's blessings: 4

Class: Soul Devourer (26.8%)

Growth type class. Rating: Bronze

You will increase damage by +10% to any soulbound beings.

Unlock more characteristics at higher ratings.

Elemental Awakenings:

Water Awakening Lv1 (8.5%)

You can learn Lv1 to Lv2 Water-based skills.

Cold Awakening Lv1 (0%)

You can learn Lv1 to Lv2 Cold-based skills.

Air Awakening Lv1 (34.5%)

You can learn Lv1 to Lv2 Air-based skills.

Ether Awakening Lv1 (2.25%)

You can learn Lv1 to Lv2 Ether-based skills.

Skills:

Non-elemental skills

Precision Stab Lv1 (46.5%)

Air-elemental skills

Gale Lv1 (19%)

Wind Sprint Lv1 (15.5%)

Water-elemental skills

Aqua Shield Lv1 (8.5%)

Pets:

Wood Sprite

+ open pet information

Titles:

Pinnacle of Retribution

If you receive damage greater than 25% of your maximum HP; or if your Health drops below 25% of maximum HP, all Physical Attacks are increased by +100%; all Elemental Attacks are increased by +75%, and Defense and Elemental Defense are increased by +50% for 30 seconds.

Passive title. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Judgment

All attacks are increased by +50%; Strength and Stamina increase by +20 for 20 seconds. The Title will evolve at higher Class ratings.

Active buff Skill. Cooldown: 3 hours.

The Mind of the Shrewd

Your clever nature gives you an advantage in a battle of wit and debate. Increase Dexterity and Speed by +20% at all times; increase Intelligence and Wisdom by +10% at all times.

You are more likely to make the right choice. Affected by Intelligence, Wisdom, and Luck attributes.

Active Title.

Bellamy's face dawned upon the realization that each of his main attributes had received +1 for each level-up. Furthermore, each attribute paved the way for an additional unspent point. Since he had seven main attributes, he would gain +7 unspent stat points per level.

Awakening bonus points?

After brief contemplation, he noticed that it meant.

He realized that he had received bonus stat points by leveling up. Since he had 4 Awakenings, each Awakening would count as +1 per level. Four Awakenings and three level-ups meant 12 additional stat points! Mathematics was never Bellamy's forté in school, but this sort of math was a drop in the bucket even for him. His Wisdom attribute had also developed beyond that of a knowledgeable human; hence he quickly discerned the unspecified information, or the lack thereof.

Yesterday Bellamy had witnessed how easily Luny had dodged and evaded the Mutated Rats. So it made sense to invest some points into Agility. His Strength and Intelligence were also minuscule compared to most of his other attributes. For good measure, spending points on his lacking attributes became vital.

"System, allocate 10 points into Strength, 10 points into Agility, 5 points into Dexterity, and 8 points into Intelligence."

[System notification! Stat points have been allocated.]

...

...

Shortly after, Bellamy and Luny left Golan and embarked toward the Goblin Hideout and Tehemena Falls.