Chapter 25: Aftermath Of The Monster Outbreak

When Lux opened his eyes, he found himself inside an unfamiliar room.

After looking around, still half-asleep, the images of what happened a few hours ago flashed inside his head, which woke him up completely.

"The Monster Outbreak!" Lux immediately inspected his body and was surprised to find out that he didn't feel pain anywhere. Even his left arm that had been broken due to the Draugr's attack was working properly, which made the Half-Elf think that everything that happened was just a dream.

'Was that really just a dream?' Lux frowned. 'I'd better confirm it.'

The first thing Lux did was summon his Soul Book to see his stats. If it was really a dream then he wouldn't have an increase in stats points, nor would he have learned the skill Slash.

'No. It wasn't a dream,' Lux sighed as he looked at his information. There had been a significant increase to his strength, as well as the gaining of the skill Slash, which was on its way to evolve into Fury Slash.

Lux sighed as he walked towards the window of the room. The sun was already at its zenith, which meant that he had woken up very late.

The red-headed boy viewed the houses within his vision and noticed that some of them had been damaged here and there, but most of them remained intact.

The Defenders had used some of the houses as strategic locations in order to use hit and run tactics against the Undead.

As he was observing the surroundings, the Half-Elf noticed a Dwarf wearing armor mounted on a Mountain Goat.

By the looks of it, he was patrolling the village and making sure that everything was in order.

Just as Lux was thinking about what to do next, he heard a knock on the door that broke him out of his daze.

"Come in," Lux subconsciously called out to the one knocking on the door.

When the door opened, the old lady Dwarf whom Lux was very familiar with, smiled when she saw him already awake.

"Although the Clerics healed your body a few hours ago, they might have missed a few spots," Annie said as she walked towards Lux. "Is there any place that still hurts? I still have some healing potions with me."

Lux shook his head. "I'm fine, Grandma Annie. What happened to Colette and the others?"

"Are you talking about those children who fought with us last night?"

"Yes."

"They have also been treated by the Clerics. A few hours ago they went to the plaza before they returned home," Annie answered. "If I'm not mistaken, they said that they would report what happened here to their Elders. Many people died last night. Fortunately, no more than a dozen children passed away due to the efforts of the Village Guards, and the reinforcements that came from the Stronghold of Norria."

Grandma Annie had a very sad expression on her face as she talked about the deaths of the children.

"It is a bit embarrassing to say, but as an adult, we don't like to see children dying in front of us, even if they are Foreigners," Annie stated. "Thanks to them, we were able to last as long as we could until the reinforcements arrived."

Less than a dozen children had died during the hour of fighting due to the strong presence of Aron and the Village Guards.

According to Grandma Annie, almost two hundred Village Guards died last night. That was almost two-thirds of the total number of guards that were protecting Leaf Village.

If only there hadn't been any Draugrs in the Undead Swarm, the number of casualties would have been much lower.

Rank 1 Monsters that numbered in the hundreds, were a nightmare for a village located in the Beginner's Zone. Aron was a Grade C Apostle, which was the equivalent of a Rank 2 Monster. The rest of the Town's Guards were Grade D Apostles, which meant they were only as strong as Rank 1 Monsters.

"Grandma Annie, do Monster Outbreaks happen often?" Lux asked as he sat on the couch, joining the old lady.

Annie nodded. "We get them once or twice a year. But, this time around, it was quite problematic. I'm sure that the Stronghold will station at least a dozen or two of their Goat Riders here to protect the village for the time being. With them around, we will probably survive the next Outbreak that is sure to happen in another half a year or so."

Lux sighed as he thought of the bi-yearly calamity that the Leaf Village had to face. He asked Grandma Annie a few more questions, which the latter answered to the best of her abilities.

Because of this, the Half-Elf was able to learn a lot of things.

In the Dwarven Kingdom of Gweliven, villages would normally be built near a Dwarven Stronghold, which acted as its protector in times of need.

The Stronghold of Norria for example was the protector of four villages, including Leaf Village. The villagers used the bells to communicate with the Stronghold over long distances when they were being attacked by a force that far surpassed their capabilities to defend against.

In turn, the Stronghold would then dispatch its Goat Riders to assist the villages to resist the threat that had come knocking on their doors.

However, due to the distance, they needed at least an hour to arrive, which was why Lux's survival quest asked him to survive for an hour, before the reinforcements came to their rescue.

"You were very brave last night, Lux," Annie said as she held the red-headed boy's hand firmly. "Also, thank you for standing up to those Draugrs to give us time to escape."

"I only did what had to be done," Lux replied. "In the end, I was saved as well."

Lux wasn't delusional to think that he could have survived his predicament by himself. If not for the timely arrival of the Goat Riders, he might have been added to the list of casualties of the Monster Outbreak who had died protecting the village.

Although being regarded as a Dead Hero might be something that your bloodline could be proud of… a dead hero is still… a dead hero.

Lux would rather be alive than dead, so he was very thankful that he was still alive after that nightmarish night that he would always remember in his memories.

"Before I forget, please, take this," Annie took out three blue beast cores and handed them to Lux. "Those belonged to the three bastards that tried to kill you last night."

Lux didn't stand on ceremony and gratefully accepted the Beast Cores, which would allow him to grow stronger.

"Grandma, were you the one that saved me last night?" Lux inquired.

"If you were asking who was the one that burned those Draugrs then yes it was me," Annie answered. "But, it is not I who saved you, but it is you that saved me. If you didn't block their path, I and the children might have been grievously injured or, worse, dead.

"Also, you gave me enough time to cast a high-level spell, so it is still thanks to you that we were able to survive to live another day."

Lux smiled and didn't say anything else. As if waiting for this moment, his stomach growled in protest to tell him that he had not eaten breakfast.

Grandma Annie chuckled and bid Lux to follow her down the dining area to have lunch with her.

Naturally, the Half-Elf accepted her offer and enjoyed rice porridge with egg that was prepared especially for him.

After eating a filling lunch, Grandma Annie told him to rest more inside the guest room because the village was still in a bad state.

Lux nodded his head in agreement and thanked Grandma Annie for her hospitality. Right after he closed the door of his room, the red-headed boy sat on the couch and summoned his Soul Book.

He opened the Quest Page and saw the completion mark on top of it. He then eyed the rewards that he had no time to check last night due to exhaustion.

—--

< Survive the Monster Outbreak >

Status: Completed!

< Rewards >

– 10 Free Stat Points

– 100 Skill Points

– 50 Body Constitution Points

– 20 Elysium Silver Coins

< Bonus Reward >

– 100 Skill Points

—--

'I gained a bonus of 100 Skill Points after completing the quest which gives me a total of 200 Skill Points,' Lux mused. 'With this, I won't need to use the Beast Cores I earned to upgrade Diablo. I have enough points to upgrade him twice.'

Last night, he realized how fragile Diablo was when facing a monster that was a tier higher than him. Just a single punch was enough to obliterate his Named Creature and it made Lux very sad to see his partner die like that.

'Don't worry, Diablo,' Lux thought. 'I will ensure that no Draugr will be able to one-shot you in the future.'

Lux had a determined look as he opened Diablo's personal page in his Soul book. He was quite excited to see how powerful his partner would be, after he was upgraded twice.

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