Chapter 34: Chapter 34
Portia spotted Darius and almost jumped. Her bitter expression was quickly wiped away as she wore a weak smile, while Derek's eyes slightly narrowed. Darius noted their reactions with interest.
"Hello, Master Darius. Do you require any help?" Portia stepped forward to ask.
Darius smiled gently at Portia, making the young lady's heart speed up a little. "Thank you very much for the thoughtful offer, dear Portia, but I am currently headed out to perform some experiments."
Portia's curiosity suddenly burned up. Darius had shared with them that he was here to do some experiments in the area, which was how he even got permission to stay.
Even more importantly, they were very likely to be magical experiments! Darius had shown himself to be a Mage and Portia had read a lot about Mages and how they advanced their craft.
It was through the universally-approved Magical Method!
If Darius was actually going out to advance his powers as a Mage by using the Magical Method, then that would be a sight worth seeing! She would actually be able to watch a Mage draw up spells firsthand.
"I would like to accompany you, Master Darius. I'm a Scholar, and I have a real fancy for magic. Might it be possible for me to learn from you?" Portia asked with a rush.
Derek's expression twisted as his sister rudely requested to become an apprentice to a Mage without even paying a fee or doing anything of note. He was more worldly than his sister thanks to the time he had spent in the towns with his father on errands.
Portia, who had spent her time nosing through books was not too adept in reading negative social cues occasionally, like now. Her intellectual curiosity got the better of her, leading the young woman to make a social gaffe that even a non-Mage like him was aware of.
Derek sighed internally and spoke before Darius could reply. "Please forgive my rash sister. As she admitted, she has quite a fancy for magic and has a tendency to let her curiosity override her better manners. I can assure you, we shall both wait for you to complete your experiments and will await your return."
Darius, who was about to deny Portia kindly, was surprised by this young lad's astuteness despite being more of a physically focused person. As such, Darius simply nodded with a smile and walked away.
Portia, who realized her gaffe after being called out on it, became even sadder. Derek hugged his sister gently while chiding her, to which Portia nodded her head while tearing up.
After comforting her, Derek looked towards the direction Darius left with a strange gleam in his eyes.
* * *
Darius passed by the broken carriage he had spent the night in and walked past it while checking it out idly. He reminisced on his journey here fondly. From that small wooden cottage in the glade to Poleria's homestead had taken him 2 or so days.
He had gone from level 1 and was now level 3, not a bad growth cycle given that he was not really given much in terms of combat minus one starter spell.
Darius wasn't disrespectful though. He understood well enough that receiving that starter spell alone was a boon that would likely shake any knowledgeable Mage.
The ability to skip weeks and months of training, lectures, and tests to achieve basic mastery in anything he learned through skillbooks was not something Darius could describe as a 'mere' boost.
It was downright unfair and overpowered. Compared to people who woke up every day, paid fees for tutelage, and suffered through harsh reprimands from their trainers, he just had to tap a book and would achieve all of that.
This was something that made the Supreme System really important to Darius despite how barebones and unappealing version 1.0 of it was.
Of course, for every benefit, there was a detriment. The Skill Points mechanic. This was something that didn't just limit the utility of the skill system, but also had hidden psychological effects that must have been designed to damage the user over time.
For the time being, Darius was immune to it thanks to the fact that he had identified the effects as well as his high Intellect... but he also realized that it could not last forever. As long as things stayed this way, he would eventually be struck by the mental afflictions until he caved in.
He did not want that.
This was why he was currently walking towards the river he had crossed to arrive at the homestead. It was 23 kilometers away and would take him half a day to get there if he jogged, but he opted to walk and explore a little.
Last time, his singular goal had been to reach a place of civilization to create the first point of contact as well as to establish a homebase. Both had been achieved, so now his aim was to start mapping the area around Poleria's Homestead.
Derek had already given him some information on the wildlife here and from what he had heard it appeared like a good opportunity to raise his level before heading for one of the 20 towns. Once there, he would not have as much freedom to gallivant as he pleased.
About 4 hours later, Darius came upon a strange sound. It was a sound that he could not mistake, but he also could not possibly believe what he was hearing due to the absurdity.
He took a deep breath and steeled his heart, creeping around the trees on the side of the footpath and heading deeper into the forest. The deeper he went, the louder and clearer the sounds became, and the more Darius' face twisted.
At this point, he almost lost the will to go forward, for what he would see wouldn't be worth satisfying his curiosity, unfortunately, this was a part of his purpose in leisurely strutting through the area.
Darius secured his back against a tree, which was only a few feet from the sound which was now as clear as day. After angling himself quietly, Darius turned to peek around the tree and saw something that nearly burned itself into his retinas.
A 10 foot tall blue Troll was currently wrestling with a tanned lioness, trying to pin the beast down for reasons Darius despised.
Chapter 35: Chapter 35
Darius was not a dramatic or overly empathic person, but he had to admit, this sight would scar him for life. What he heard was the painful whimpering of a struggling animal and the excited cries of a humanoid.
What he had expected to see was prime bestiality, where he would chase off the offending human and kill the ravaged beast to end its misery. However, nothing prepared him for this… this sacrilege to all living things.
A monster and a beast, what was that even called? No, Darius genuinely hoped this was an exception to the usual, such that no terminology had been created for it.
After all, if there was a widely known term for such a thing, it meant that it happened more often than he would like to believe.
Darius slumped down the side of the tree while sweating and trying to close off his senses. He realized now more than ever that yes, this wasn't Earth. In Faust, there were beasts and there were monsters.
The former were normal animals like there had been on Earth while the latter were more magical in nature such as Goblins, Trolls, Golems, and the like. The scene before him was sadly an issue he should have expected. All things considered, things were usually the same wherever certain constants existed.
Darius was able to quickly calm himself and detach his mind from the scene, suppressing his emotions. This was a useful trick he had learned and honed on Earth from his early adulthood.
Only as an old man near his death had he grown sentimental, making it a thing of the past. However, he would have to unveil his old tricks if he wanted a nice and clean advantage over everyone his age or above.
Darius removed his iron spear slowly then circled round the troll and its unwilling mate. Once he was behind it, Darius Inspected the troll and the lioness beneath it.
[Blue Troll - Level 8 Monster
HP: 89/89 MP: 12/12]
[Plains Lioness - Level 4 Beast
HP: 10/25 MP: 5/5]
Darius paused. A level 8 monster was a whopping 5 levels above him right now. The Plains Lioness he could easily kill, but the 20 exp he would get from that would not be able to level him up.
As such, Darius needed to work with the Plains Lioness before it died from its current predicament. He partially regretted not branding Derek to be his meat shield, but he had his reasons for that.
Right now, his goal was to reach level 5 by any means necessary, and this Troll would definitely shoot him up far enough, assuming he wasn't beaten to death by it first.
Darius checked his Database menu and entered the Bestiary. There he saw an entry for the troll, but it was unsurprisingly barebones. Darius would need to fight it to find its weaknesses, battle habits, and whatever else.
Darius' eyes narrowed slightly as he tried something else.
Analyze!
[Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Blue Troll
Race: Troll
Class: Berserker
Sub-class: None
HP: 89/89
MP: 12/12
Level: 8
Strength: 10
Agility: 9
Endurance: 9
Intellect: 2
Charisma: 1
Luck: 1
Abilities: Mad Charge, Powerful Swing, Berserk
Weapons: Wooden Club]
Darius suddenly realized something. He was level 3, yet his stats were just as good as, and in many aspects, better than this monster that was 5 levels above him.
Was it a benefit of the Supreme System? Or was it due to his relatively high starting stats, namely his Intellect, Charisma, and Luck? He came to the conclusion that it most likely was a combination of those two factors.
Darius now found himself more assured about the upcoming battle. His confidence came not from his magic, not even wholly from his stats, but the skill and expertise the Basic Lancer Arts had bestowed him.
Darius pondered analyzing the Lioness and decided that it would be prudent to know its abilities as well.
[Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Plains Lioness
Race: Lion
Class: Predator
Sub-class: None
HP: 8/25
MP: 5/5
Level: 4
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 5
Intellect: 4
Charisma: 8
Luck: 2
Abilities: Crunch, Fury Swipes, Pounce
Weapons: Tooth & Claw.]
As he expected. His stats were simply higher than the average monster or beast at his level, sometimes higher than others above him. Of course, this was dependant on the race and specific characteristics of the monster or beast in question.
Darius was certain that if he were to meet a level 3 Dragon or Phoenix, its stats would be far higher than anything he could possibly muster.
However, that had no relevance to the current situation. As it were, the Plains Lioness was about to breathe her last as her valiant resistance against evil was waning.
Darius unhesitatingly leaped out from his cover and deftly thrust his spear right up the only weak point he could access, which was the troll's exposed anus. It had torn off its loincloth in order to facilitate its evil intentions, which now turned out to be a fatal mistake in this case.
The moment Darius pierced its backside, the Troll screeched in sheer agony that could not be understood by anyone who had not gone through a similar experience.
Darius smiled and cast Sparks on the shaft of his iron spear. Since his spear could conduct electricity competently, the troll roared as it was electrocuted through a very fragile spot.
Unfortunately, this damage extended to the Plains Lioness still held in a chokehold underneath it, which was immediately killed due to the critical damage.
'So much for an improvised meatshield...' Darius internally facepalmed and pulled his spear out rudely, making sure to rip all of the softer bits of the trolls innards as it came out.
He then checked its health once again as he held the end of the spear far away from his face as it smelled horrible.
[Blue Troll - Level 8 Monster
HP: 51/89 MP: 12/12]
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
6 Power
stone 
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