Chapter 102: Chapter. 87: Ascension

The arrow pierced through its skull, as tendrils ate away its head, the dark plant skill I had learned had evidently made things easier. The Moonfang died almost instantly, and soon along with its death, a notification came.

[You have killed: (D) Moonfang, Lower Moon. Lvl. 34]

[Level up: You have achieved level 36. Prophecy Bonus: +1 WIS +1 VIG]

I turned around, only to see Sun holding down the other Moonfang. It squirmed under its weight, as it watched its friend die. Mana was clearly leaving its body, but it hardly mattered.

“He won’t let you people get away with this. The Supreme Moon will put an end to you both. And specifically you,” he looked at Sun with hatred. “Betrayers, you people will soon pay for your sins.”

I walked towards it with my spear, as it turned towards me.

“And you, you will pay for joining the betrayer⁠—”

I stabbed through its head with all my strength, mana exploded its insides and its words were cut off by a painful shriek. It too died soon after. Moonfangs had high vitality, and high wisdom much like me, meanwhile those of Blood had high agility and low vitality. The mana whips, their racial trait, simply allowed them to deny any attempts at any fair fight from the Bloodfangs.

Another notification came.

[You have killed: (D) Moonfang, Lower Moon. Lvl. 35]

[Level up: You have achieved level 37. Prophecy Bonus: +1 WIS +1 VIG]

I stared at the now dead Moonfangs, there were three dead, but only two of them were Lower Moons. Whatever that meant, I still did not get it. I turned to Sun, and spoke with a bit of confusion, and some disdain for the Moonfangs.

“Do all of them just talk about the Guardian of the Moon like that?”

He nodded. “They are just victims of fanaticism.”

“Didn’t you hate them?” I felt some bewilderment.

“Sometimes. Other times, I pity them. They all start off innocent as cubs, and later on their minds are tainted by the ideals of their parents. The hatred is passed, and we end up with these situations.”

I looked at the fake sky, the stars sparkled under the mantle of whatever fake night there was.

Tainted by ideals, huh? Did that apply to me? Well. I supposed I did try to meet my parents’ expectations, and I did take pretty much everything they said to heart… Though at the same time, I spent pretty much all my life with them, so it was to be expected. I sighed once more, now fully aware of my true feelings towards things.

Perhaps… I would be different if my parents were different. Perhaps, I would be happier? I shook my head, there was no point in trying to think about hypothetical things that were in the realm of impossibility. I looked towards Sun, who was looking at the sky.

“Those of Moon used to play with those of Blood, or well. At least in the past. But after the Guardian of Moon passed down his will, things changed. It’s been quite a few years since then, and every single day I have to live simply sensing those of my pack dying,” he lamented. “Though, I can find happiness in killing those of Moon, even though I understand at a deep level that their deaths won’t change anything.”

“Things will change,” I said with a hopeful tone. “We just have to kill the other Guardian. And then, perhaps I might be able to claim the nest as part of the Settlement⁠— should The System allow me to anyway.”

Sun looked back at me. “Thank you, Blair.”

I nodded. “You’ve helped me, so allow me to help you.”

He shook his head. “You say that, but you’re clearly still not remembering everything.”

“It’s all the same kind of torture,” I let out a small sigh. “But, perhaps I should try to remember.”

“Eventually, but first we must try to get you to the 40th level.”

“Right.” I felt a bit awkward but followed after him anyway.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Moonfang spat blood. “His throne will be built upon blood, and shine under the moon. Soon, he will ascend, and you people will be nothing!” I stabbed it through its neck.

[You have killed: (D) Moonfang, Lower Moon. Lvl. 36]

[Level up: You have achieved level 38. Prophecy Bonus: +1 WIS +1 VIG]

“What does he mean by ascend?”

“Maybe increase his strength,” Sun answered next to me.

I nodded. I was glad that he was now accompanying me in killing Moonfangs. Well, I had to request it, but still, he obliged, only warning that he’ll forcefully take me to the cave should the Guardian of Moon look for him. Which well, I was more than alright with. His company just made me look forward to killing more Moonfangs if anything, it was also a bit easier since⁠— well he’d injure them when my sneak attacks didn’t completely work.

I had begun to enjoy it.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Once he connects with the Moon, both of you will be wiped. And soon, we will be able to leave this mountain, and eventually⁠— everything will be shrouded under the mantle of the night.” The Moonfang gritted his teeth, two of his legs broken as he limped. “We are but mere pawns in his majesty’s design. Soon, there will be something higher than Upper Moon. Soon, we will evolve. And it will be over.”

I shook my head and shot a final arrow through its head. Red flowers bloomed as they claimed its body. They all seemed to praise the Guardian of the Moon no matter the circumstances.

[You have killed: (D) Moonfang, Lower Moon. Lvl. 38]

[+50 Prime from Hunter (Uncommon E) Quest.]

[Level up: You have achieved level 39. Prophecy Bonus: +1 WIS +1 VIG]

[Level up: You have achieved level 40. Prophecy Bonus: +1 WIS +1 VIG]

[New Milestone reached ⁠— Skills & Knowledge Available]

I paused, I did not expect to get two levels from that. It must’ve been the bonus experience from the Feat. That was nice.

“Great job, Blair,” Sun praised, albeit a bit dryly. He had a small frown.

I felt a bit of concern. “Is something wrong?”

“Hm, it seems he is trying to evolve,” Sun pondered for a second. “From a logical standpoint, C rank is too far away for either of us. Even if we are born in the D rank, we can sense how far away that is. The only other option is that he is trying to… Evolve in the same tier?” He tilted his head. “Hmm…”

“Can you do that?” I asked skeptically. “Isn’t Evolution when one goes up in tiers?”

“That is correct…” Sun said hesitantly. “But I suppose one can evolve in the same tier.”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head. “How do I do that, actually⁠— you should do that too.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds. You need a skill that allows you to improve your body constantly. And eventually, the voice of god may assist you. Basically, you need to reach a threshold of sorts. Same goes for a normal evolution. Just like how you just reached the chance to learn a new skill, it’s much the same. Once some conditions are fulfilled, only then will you have the chance.” He frowned. “That is why I feel worried. If we don’t kill him, then things might get messy…”

I nodded. “I… if he is around the same level as you, then if I level up a few more times, I think it might be possible for us to kill him soon.”

“Right. Let us head back for now.”

With those words, he turned around and headed back to the hideout.

◇ ◇ ◇

You are reading story Blair: A Non-Human LitRPG at novel35.com

When I entered I found Sun looking at me, with an evidently curious gaze.

“Is something wrong?” I felt a bit awkward once more.

“Well, I wanted to ask if you could perhaps learn some sort of targeting skill. Something that doesn’t let you miss. Or maybe a skill that can help you be tougher.” He sighed. “Blair, I hope that you can learn a skill that allows you to either guarantee things die, or something that will keep you alive.”

I pondered for a second, as I reached for my neck showing it to Sun.

[Blessing of the Osthus Tree ⁠(Rare Item) — A blessing from the legendary Osthus Tree. Able to bring a being from near-death condition to peak condition, granting its power along with it. Activation: Supply mana.]

“Oh, that certainly puts me at ease.”

At ease? Was he worried?

“I don’t want you to die to the Guardian of Moon, should things go bad.”

I nodded feeling a mix of insulted and happy. Insulted because he thought I would die, and happy because he worried that I would die. In the end, it seemed that I was truly an emotional mess still. Well, it was to be expected. I kind of depended in Sun to not feel alone. I sighed.

“Anyway,” Sun continued. “You should sort your skills out.”

I nodded and sat down. Glim was floating by my side but hadn’t spoken a word. He took a second as I stared at him, evidently knowing what I wanted.

[Blair, I’m sorry…]

“For?” I asked a bit skeptically.

[Not, well. Caring about you as a person. From a… me perspective I really like you, but at the same time my goals lie in⁠— well, you know. System things. I just wish things were different. There are things I want to say, but well, I cannot. Because, as you guessed it, I am prevented from doing so. I am ultimately an assistant, and even if I can be personal sometimes, other times I can’t. At the same time, the tour is ending soon.]

I shook my head. I did feel better since then. “It’s okay Glim, you’re… Well, that’s your job, I cannot fault you for doing your job. And well, I do hope you stay around for longer.”

It bobbed. [Right. Want to see the skills now? There are⁠— some new things.]

“Sure.”

◇ ◇ ◇

[Skill ⁠— Sanguine Culture (Epic) ⁠— Plants are one of the basis of all. Produce more of your own blood through mana stimulation. Dark Plants that acknowledge you as their master will also feed from your blood and mana interchangeably.]

[Skill ⁠— Link Absorption (Epic) ⁠— Life is shared. Any plant sprouted with your mana shares a link with you. Any damage you receive will be reduced by 30% and transferred over to the linked plants.]

[Skill ⁠— Blooming Combustion (Epic) ⁠— Fire, enemy of plants. Your mana can combust and ignite any plant it’s linked to, burning foes in the surroundings. You and any surrounding plants are immune to the fire and upon touching it gain a 10% Vigor bonus for a minute.]

[Skill ⁠— Enhancement Mimicry (Epic) ⁠— General Skill. Copy any type of enhancement temporarily; copy an enhancement into an object for ten minutes, or into your memory for five minutes. Can use the skill once every hour.]

Other skills were much the same as the last ones. But the four were just wow. Contrasting in comparison to all other ones, every single of the attribute boosting skills in the past had some sort of compromise, but at least at first glance based on descriptions all skills were very strong in my eyes. It kind of depended on what I needed.

At the same time though, Sanguine Culture kind of⁠— it would just make more blood should I be bleeding out. But from the sounds of it, it wouldn’t exactly heal me either, and the blood to mana conversion might’ve been a bit unfair. At the same time, only plants would take blood, so if I were to start throwing up from lack of mana, it’s not like I’d be able to use my blood to get mana back.

I frowned. It sounded good in theory, but in practice it would be a bit weird.

Next was, Link Absorption which seemed self explanatory. Though, it mentioned nothing of pain. And if I had my arm cut off, it’s not like I would have 70% of my arm cut off instead? Well, it didn’t sound like it. So it was more specific to blunt things.

And well, the last skill seemed… A bit weird? Did that mean I could ignite Lyco Puff arrows? At the same time, did it also mean that igniting my plants would make them more durable? It was a bit self explanatory in the sense of helping me be more durable. Being tougher.

The last skill was a bit confusing.

“Glim, does the mimicry skill include something like⁠— the enhancement of the bow, or the spear?”

It bobbed. [Yes, they are indeed enhancements. The knife too is enhanced.]

Oh. I inspected my bow once more.

[Verex Replica (Rare) ⁠— A replica of the legendary Verex bow. Manufactured by an unknown but talented smith it has managed to replicate one of the many abilities of Verex. Once a day you can fire an arrow imbued with the power of Immediate Fate. Immediate Fate: Anything affected by it will reach its final original fate, any object affected by outside forces will remain to be affected till its end.]

“In the case of Immediate Fate, since it’s per arrow would that mean I’d be able to enhance all arrows for five minutes?”

Glim bobbed. [Indeed, that’s a nice theory you got there!]

I made my decision in an instant. The other skills would still be there by level 45.

[Skill Learned ⁠— Enhancement Mimicry (Epic) ⁠— General Skill. Copy any type of enhancement temporarily; copy an enhancement into an object for ten minutes, or into your memory for five minutes. Can use the skill once every hour.]

I smiled and opened my status to distribute my attributes.

Name: Blair | Level: 40

Race: ??? (E-Grade)

Feats: [Lone Survivor], [Bottomless Ambition], [Champion Of Champions], [Champion Of Illusion], [Pest Control], [DeathShot], [Five of a Kind], [Pacifist of the New World]

Prophecy: Scarlet Bloom (D-Grade)

Basic skills: Universal Understanding (NaN), Universal Inquiry (NaN)

Free attribute points: 10

VIG: 91 | END: 42 |

STR: 40 | AGI: 51 |

PER: 43 | WIS: 95 |

Skills: [Proficient Archery (Uncommon Passive)], [Explosive Shot (Rare)], [Power Draw (Uncommon)], [Penumbral Sense (Rare Passive)], [Frictionless Slide (Rare Passive)], [Burrowing Shot (Rare)], [Flashbang (Rare)], [Mana Manipulation (Epic Passive)], [Three-Marked (Rare Passive)], [Frenzy (Rare)], [Enhancement Mimicry (Epic)]

Prophecy Skills: [Seed Manipulation (Rare Passive)], [All Dark (Uncommon Passive)], [Friend of the Dark Plants (Rare Passive)]

Attunements: Dark plants (II)

Prime Currency: 100

The first thing I did was put 4 points in Wisdom, which made it 100 and as I was about to ponder about other attributes a notification came.

[Started Ascension: A Path to Power (D rank Evolution) ⁠— Reach three digits in an attribute or Level 50⁠—]

My mind paused as the notification continued. I could become D rank soon?