Monster Jousting Book 3 - Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Reaching the outside of the main castle, Noah caught a glimpse passed the enormous gate. Noah’s eyes widened as he rushed over. From where the guardian knight once stood, all that remained was a pile of dust blowing in the gentle breeze of the island.

His mission had ended. There was no longer any reason for him to defend his post. The moment the king had disappeared, so did his loyal defender.

Noah sighed. There was something melancholic about the whole event. Love, devotion. In the end, the king had failed to protect those he cared about because he wasn’t strong enough to fight back their invaders. If the king was stronger, more powerful, would this have happened? Or maybe the king didn’t have the capabilities to become stronger?

Did he not have the System? Noah wondered. If he had, then there was no excuse. He could have endlessly levelled up and continued to become stronger. If he did have the System, then did he stop because of his family – his people?

Noah sighed again as he found the extra resolve bubbling away inside of him like a raging furnace. The Hallowed within him screamed out. As if begging him to continue on the path the king had failed to walk on. Noah wouldn’t make the same mistake.

About to walk into the sea port city, Noah spotted a glimmering stone within the ashes. He paused, crouched, and plucked out what appeared to be a dark green tennis-ball sized stone. He used Identify.

(Epic) Core Fragment: Within resides residual energy of the Hallowed element, an extremely rare, and mysterious energy. It was formed with the condensed power of the Hallowed.

Oh, awesome, Noah thought as he gripped the fragment tighter within his palm. It was the first fragment that actually matched the elements he had. Dark, and now it appeared he now had the Hallowed element. That was news to him. He didn’t even know it was considered its own element.

Noah glanced around. With his bestial hearing, he knew that there were monsters nearby. With it being so close to the castle walls, every one of them were capable of injuring him – or killing him. So he decided to absorb the fragment once he had returned to the pier – or that was what he was going to do until Gluttony approached.

He sniffed the fragment. His eyes widened in sheer delight. Opening his jaw, he lurched forward and snapped down–

Noah quickly dodged the jaw.

“Woah boy, wait,” Noah said, stopping Gluttony.

Gluttony has still yet to evolve… Will eating the fragment help him?

Whatever the reason was, he’d have to wait until he was back before making a decision. With that in mind, he and his team dashed through the city streets. 10 minutes passed and they found their first enemy. Pillow wanted to avoid fighting so deep within the city, but Noah had other plans.

The power within him was practically itching to break free. His hands trembled with excitement at his new power. He couldn’t help himself. He wanted to test it out right this second.

Rounding a corner, a massive, scarlet horned crab loomed in the middle of the street, casting a shadow in front of its enormous body. The sun above it burned a grand image in Noah’s mind. It made it seem like the crab was the gods chosen.

Of course, that was bullshit. It was about to die.

He felt the boundless strength from his new Hallowed Body. He felt reborn. The infernal crab let out a chittering screech. Steam ejected out of its mouth. It was about to fire a pillar of fire right at them. He remembered the potency of the attack as if it was hours ago. The fire had burned his flesh. He could feel it even now. It only made him want to smash the creature into the dust even more.

Just before the molten fire shot out its mouth, Noah summoned the Ring of the Hallowed. He heard the monstrous roars boom within his body as the green shadows billowed out from within his body. Smoke-like wings emerged from just behind his shoulders.

Atop Gluttony, he looked like a supernatural warrior from another world. He stared right at the crab. Noah refused to move. He wanted to test just how strong his new defensive ability was.

The pillar of molten flames shot directly at him. The surrounding temperature rose drastically. The sand and whatever else lay on the walls of the buildings, or the floor of the streets, melted. And then the blaze smashed against his defensive ring.

All Noah could see in front of him was a mix of green and red and orange. Sparks flew. The monster that had taken the hit appeared to be some form of lizard. It resisted the fire as if it was nothing. The lizard didn’t have a face, only a vague form of a body.

A few moments later, the crabs' attack ended. Noah grinned. It was better than he had expected. That attack before would have burned his body to cinders, leaving not even bone behind.

Now it was his time.

Commanding Gluttony to charge, they moved at breakneck speed. The crab snapped its pincers at Noah. Using Shadow Step, Noah blinked ahead of the attack. The pincers snipped shut, echoing in the air. Noah was already in front of the monster.

Die.

Noah summoned his strength and pierced his lance through the thick chitin of the beast. With a wet crunch, his weapon bored right through, entering the crab’s small brain. In an instant, the previously mighty infernal crab was dead. It collapsed to the floor.

You defeated a - Level 159 Infernal Crab

…
| Extra experience is rewarded for defeating an enemy beyond your Level.

You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 106 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 109

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 106 -> Krall level 109

Gluttony has Levelled up.
| Gluttony level 104 -> Gluttony level 108

| Gluttony is ready for evolution.

The evolution is still there. I’ll have to make a decision. Make Gluttony evolve with just his baseline bloodline, or try feeding him that fragment that he seemed to want to eat, Noah thought.

His mind turned back to the fight. His body had truly evolved. Hallowed Body wasn’t just a basic strength upgrade. It had literally almost doubled his practical power. It was incredible. Just how good was the Pathstone he had obtained?

Noah jumped off Gluttony’s back and neared the crab. He placed his hand atop its shell. It was hot. But not hot enough to cause any damage to the new him.

It was time to test another one of his new powers. Resurrection. How fucking badass.

“Rise up, my minion,” Noah said with a kid-like grin. At his words, the green Hallowed left his palm, and seeped into the hard armour of the monster.

Resurrecting in progress…

| Resurrection successful…

| You have resurrected the Infernal Crab.

From the dead, the crab twitched its legs. Its once vivid red shell suddenly lost all of its colour, turning grey. Then it opened its eyes. Green flashed. The crab rose, green, hot smoke emerged from its mouth.

“Holy shit,” said Pillow in shock.

“Praise Bor,” Thraz muttered.

“Dance,” Noah ordered his new pet. The crab danced at his command, bobbing up and down.

Happy with his small test of new power, Noah and the others rushed back to the harbour. Pillow disappeared into his own home with the excuse that he wanted to create some more potions.

It was still a surprise to Noah that he was an Alchemist. Neither did Noah really see much of his fighting prowess. He was more of a scout. He also received levels for doing just that – scouting the enemy. It was strange. It must be a mechanic of his class. It appeared that not everyone had to kill with their main class to grow stronger. Noah was still learning about his new companion. It was obvious he still had yet to place full trust in Noah. There must be some deep rooted trauma, or trust issues deep within.

Noah just hoped he’d trust him soon. His scouting abilities were amazing. It would be a shame to lose him when they returned to the mainland. It was a miracle Noah didn’t become lost in that jungle. That was probably all thanks to Krall.

Thraz, after seeing Noah’s powerful display, wanted to go hunting on his own. His Dragonborn hands were itching for a good fight. He was about to go on his own, but Noah told Krall to go along with him. No matter how confident the Dragonborn was, anything could happen out in the jungle. It was better to be careful.

Noah ordered the newly created crab to sit down. It folded itself into a form that resembled a huge boulder in front of one of the houses.

With Gluttony by his side, Noah walked over to the Master Fisher. His ruined black school shoes smacked against the wooden planks of the pier.

When he neared, Noah noticed the Master Fisher smiling, gazing into the distance. The previous thick wall of Hallowed was nowhere to be seen. Fish in the hundreds swam right below his fishing line. Of course nothing bit. He wasn't real.

“What are you looking at?” Noah asked. After his run in with the king, he couldn’t help but pay attention to the smaller details. He corrected himself before the Master could speak, “What are you looking at really?”

“The scenery,” He replied. Turning to Noah, he said, “thanks for tearing down the wall. I was growing tired of looking at it.”

There was a certain look in his eyes. One of melancholy. But it vanished the next moment.

“So, it’s time to give you your reward.”