Otherworld Volunteer - Chapter 72 (Patreon)

His immediate attention lay on the vivid purple. Much to his dismay, it was yet another fragment. However, this one was different. If his other pieces were considered a fragment, it was more accurate to describe the one in his hand as a slab. It was almost formed.

Noah quickly took out the other Epic fragments he had received from the prior times, and placed them together. Instantly, it was like each piece had the pull of a superpowered magnet. Even with his high Strength, wrestling with them was a futile attempt. The jagged surface of the fragments where they had seemingly broken off from each-other shone a white light, then they snapped together with a piercing ring.

It itched his ear, but the ringing only persisted for a few moments. From the broken picture of the Pathstone, an image reappeared as if it was lost for a long time. It depicted a strong humanoid hefting an enormous axe. The humanoid slammed it into the ground, causing it to splinter into a thousand pieces. Just gazing at the stone was akin to a tumultuous wave crashing into him. He could feel the aura of the axe as it split the earth.

Fragments used.
| You have obtained the Epic Pathstone - Earth Sunderer: With an axe in both hands, you can rend the earth, split the tide of man, or battle the heavens. Nothing can stop your axe from meeting its target.
| Damage with axes is increased by 10%
| Earth Skills have their effectiveness increased by 10%
| Stats per Level: Str+3, Con+2

Noah’s mouth watered at the description. He almost activated it by pure instinct, but he managed to reel in his impulsiveness with a rapt reminder. He didn’t need it. Or more accurately, it was a waste on him. The extra Stats would be more than welcome as it was practically just an upgraded Might Pathstone, but it would lock him out of his current progression.

If he wanted to become as strong as possible, he couldn’t take short cuts. If he kept going, he would eventually obtain an upgrade that was more suited to him, and thanks to his Class, he now has an increased chance of earning a suitable Pathstone–like his Attacking Tamer stone–for example. All he needed was luck on his side.

Upgrading from Epic to Legendary was also a mystery. No one had done it, so he hadn’t a clue how difficult it was. But from watching others during the broadcast, most of them couldn’t evolve a Rare stone to an Epic one, let alone Legendary. That meant he could go years without upgrading his Pathstone, stuck with damage increases he didn’t need. In conclusion; it was too big a risk to activate it.

I’ll just need to trade it with someone. Noah thought. His words were filled with hope, after all, it was easier said than done to obtain an Epic Pathstone.

Slumping his shoulders, he put the Epic Pathstone in his pocket, and turned his attention to the Rare and green lights. Most of them were fragments, well, pretty much all for them–except one blue, fully formed Skill Essence. He placed the multiple fragments into his bag, then grabbed hold of the Skill. The image on the stone displayed an obvious troll that had wounds all over–yet it still refused to die.

You have obtained the Rare Willpower Skill - Trollsblood: Grant your monster the powerful regenerative blood of a troll.

Hearing the fighting in the courtyard lessen, he had to make a decision quickly. It would have no use for him personally, and frankly, he would rather be the one to receive the regeneration. But if he was the one to get it, then it would count as a Might Skill, not a Willpower one. Well, Krall was his wall anyway.

With his decision made, Noah accepted the Skill. Immediately, the minor wounds on Krall all healed at a visible rate. It seemed like he didn’t even have to activate anything, rather, it was just a passive Skill.

Finally, was the dead body of the troll. Noah crouched down and rifled his body. There was no weapon on its person, so it obviously relied upon its fist for battle, but Noah wasn’t satisfied. He continued, until he spotted a necklace that had flopped to the ground behind its head. Since it blended in with the troll’s blueish flesh, he almost missed it. Picking it up, he used [Identify].

Epic - Necklace of Mountain Essence: Imbued with the essence of the mountain, this necklace grants the user a mighty boost to Constitution.
| Constitution +25
| You are 5% more durable.
| Your blocking Skills are 10% more effective.

Nice one. Noah grinned as he placed the necklace around his neck. The moment he wore it, his flesh became tougher, and he could feel the vibrant life within his lungs. It was a feeling he could never get tired of.

He didn’t wait another moment as he rushed to the wall.he pushed. The wall groaned for a moment, but it refused to budge.

“Give me some help buddy,” Noah said over his shoulder as Krall faithfully rushed over and slammed his head against the wall.

The might of his body caused the stone wall to groan in protest, then with them pushing together, the wall split down the middle, and parted. Rock fragments fell from the ceiling, as if it had been hundreds of years since it was last opened. Not only that, but a blast of dust surged forth, cursing Noah, and Krall to cough, and splutter.

Krall sneezed. The powerful air blasted the dust as if he was an airbender himself.

Nice, a new power. Noah chuckled, but the next moment his face turned serious.

A new room entered his dark visioned sight. Immediately, a small staircase descended down into the mouth of the cavern. A simple path made of surrounding stones was planted into the ground; leading to an enormous wall with strange carvings. As soon as his sight made contact with the wall, he could feel his very being react to it. As if it was calling out to him. It wanted him to approach.

Noah took one step, and could immediately feel the aura of the wall press against him. Is this the word of power that troll was talking about? Next up was a thrumming of some sort of ancient voice. It boomed throughout the cavern, and with caution, Noah approached the wall.

Standing in front of it. It began vibrating. The thrumming voice turned into a vivid chant as it appeared within his mind. Just as Noah was becoming disoriented, the strange letters on the wall transformed into an aura filled mist that only made it worse. It shot forward, and spiralled around Noah as if he was the centre of the storm. Then, it attempted to enter his body. He grit his teeth and barely managed to stay standing, but it didn’t last a second as it retreated in panic.

As fast as the mist appeared, it retreated back into the wall. Was that it? Noah thought, bewildered. The troll spoke of the word of power like it was his salvation. Sure, it seemed powerful, but what use did it have? Noah was certain it should have activated his System, but nothing came of it.

Shaking his head, he felt strange. His blood was boiling like he had just endured a terrible marathon. Did it do something to me? However, he was brought out of his thoughts as the words on the wall changed. More accurately, the words transformed into a… map?

Noah approached it carefully, then gazed up at it. It took a minute for it to fully form and a map of a huge castle made its appearance. The grand structure seemed to be hidden by an ocean of dense jungle, protecting it like a natural armour. However, in front of it lay an open courtyard that was many times bigger than an open field. Large pillars lay broken. It clearly used to be a magnificent building, but it seemed to be lost, and eroded through time.

Two areas were circled, which he assumed were entrances. One was the main castle doors, but the other doorway was actually hidden away in the far corner of the grounds. The picture even detailed how he could open it: there was a hole in the wall where a lever was located which he had to pull and twist.

Just as he was leaning in to memorise the map, it fell into a blanket of clouds, before changing once more, back into words. This time, he could understand them.

Bloodline.

The words were huge and they covered the entirety of the wall. He quickly took a step back as a massive crack split the wall into two, then four. It continued until the entire wall crumbled into dust, but that wasn’t all. A piece of rock fell from the ceiling, narrowly avoiding his head.

Shit. Noah spat as the ceiling was beginning to fall. It seemed the wall was the only thing keeping the cavern from caving in, and now that it was without it, it was failing.

Every step he took, huge stalactites crashed to the side of him. Taking a breath, he filled his legs with [Overpower], then blasted back to the make-shift throne room of the fort. His foot crushed the crumbling stone underfoot as he bolted through. Making it through by the skin of his teeth, the entire cavern fell, causing a cloud of dust to surge outward.

Unfortunately for the prisoners who had just entered, Noah mounted Krall, and shot forward like a cannonball. The prisoners screamed, but Noah simply tore past them. Some of the slower ones were unable to escape Krall’s mighty charge, so they were crushed under his heavyweight.

Numerous arrows pierced the air, but thanks to the mist, they all missed the shrouded Noah. It was evident they had turned their attention onto him. No doubt they thought he had some nice equipment on himself, or maybe they also knew of the word of power. Whatever it was, Noah held no mercy as he stampeded through them.

Noah and Krall were simply too fast. In a blink of an eye, they had already left the castle grounds and were headed toward the exit of the dungeon. There was nothing else to obtain, there wasn’t even any fish left to be hoisted out of their homes. Noah had picked the dungeon clean–just how he liked it.

In a few more moments, the familiar sight of the eerie dungeon gateway appeared in front of him. He walked forward and placed his hand into the darkness, but he hesitated to go any further. It’s too damned hot. With a forelong sigh, he was about to continue, but a System notification popped up within his vision.

Taking a step back, he took a good look at it.

Tier 3 taming mission - Complete.
| Mounted Class mission.

| Shadow Assault III - Kill 100 monsters above level 25 with your tamed monster within 5 seconds of exiting stealth. Gain 50 riding hours.

| Reward: Uncommon Weapon. Uncommon Pet stimulants x5. Rare Health Potion x1.

World First Title acquired - Trailblazing Tamer II: You continue to stand at the forefront of being a Tamer. You are the first in the world to complete three missions in the taming category.
| +5 to all Stats.
| Your tamed monster is 5% more durable.

Smiling at the new Title, Krall also seemed to be the same. Although a small change, it seemed Krall approved as he happily bobbed his head. He trotted up and down, feeling the new durability in his body.

Next up was selecting a new mission, but the Tier 4 taming mission was currently locked out until Level forty.

While Krall was doing a little happy bounce, Noah selected his new weapon. Since he had the Uncommon spear, he chose a mace. It was the perfect back-up weapon that didn’t require much of any finesse; which suited him perfectly.

You have obtained a Level 25 Uncommon Mace - Mace of Strength: A heavy mace perfect for bashing skulls.
| Strength +15
| Con +5

He finished by tying it to his waist, then placed the other rewards within his bag.

“Alright, let’s go home,” Noah said and entered the darkness.

In the next moment, he wasn't even able to open his eyes as his sense of danger screamed out at him. An empowered arrow was piercing straight for his head.