"Too easy…Just like taking candy from a child…" Asher mumbled with a grin as he landed in his room after getting teleported.
He transformed back to his elf form and then looked at the Kronus' Armor Set in his hand.
[ Gear Name : Kronos' Armor Set || Non-Enhanceable ]
[ "Kronus was a simple blacksmith who made a living by forging armor and weapons. But he stole the precious Litnum metal from his master's coffer and used it to forge a armor set that would protect him during his adventures" ]
[ Grade : Rare ]
'Hmm, Rare grade? That would mean I would get a status effect and bonus. Let me put this on and see,' Asher mused while not paying much attention to its origins. It seemed like this man named Kronus was so proud of his own creation that he even included a description of his theft in his creation.
It looked like any ordinary silver armor from the outside but only when touching it could one feel how sturdy it was.
Asher knew, for his level, this armor was not bad, and after putting it on by simply passing his mana through it, he checked its stats,
[ Level 5 ]
[ Effect : +25 DEF ]
[ Bonus : +50 HP ]
[ Durability : 200/200 ]
"This is definitely a solid armor set," Asher was glad he accepted the quest, especially after seeing how much his HP increased,
[ HP : 94 -> 269 / 270 ]
It was more than twice his original health, and he felt like he could be a mini-boss against those of his level even without transforming into Hellbringer.
He quickly removed it, and right when he wished he had some magic storage pouch or bracelet to store this, the armor set suddenly vanished into his ring.
"Whoa…The ring can store my stuff as well? Aren't you a charmer," Asher kissed his ring, feeling even more glad to have such a spectacular ring. When he tried to sense his armor set, which had disappeared into the ring, his eyes widened when he realized that the armor set had actually fallen into the Dimension of the Damned.
Now it made sense why this ring could store things, and just to experiment, he tried to summon his armor set again, and to this relief, it manifested right in his hands.
"I guess I can put and take stuff out any number of times from that place," Asher mused as he realized that the only restriction was he can physically teleport to that dimension only once a day.
He then remembered the multiple messages he had received after completing the quest and took a look at them,
[ Quest successfully completed! ]
[ Rewards received -> 55 Rating Points , +1 Talent Point, +1 Skill Point, +1 Life Crystal]
[ Difficulty bonus -> None ]
"55? Wow..." Asher could see that he earned rating points more than what he had already from just a single kill...even though that was by killing a level 5 on the verge of dying. He realized the system was different here. Hunters would receive points based on how much damage they dealt and not based on who dealt the killing blow.
As expected from a quest for demons. There was no fair play.
[ You have received the title 'Weak But Strong' for killing a Hunter considerably stronger than you ]
Title : [ Weak But Strong -> +10% STR ]
[ Rating Increased : 53 -> 108 ]
[ Level Increase Pending ]
"I guess I will be leveling up as a demon for the first time," Asher mumbled upon seeing that he had earned enough rating points to get a level up. He could also feel his mana circuit tingling, ready to evolve his body to the next level.
However, he narrowed his eyes as he thought, 'I guess I can only level up when night comes…' Asher knew that even if one earns the necessary rating points to level up, it wasn't a simple process.
One would have to sit down and meditate while focusing on their mana circuit, which would be pulsating with mana that needs to be used to extend the circuit and level up.
Asher knew that since he was a level 1, his mana circuit would be quite simple, to the point even a kid could map it out on a piece of paper. But as one level up, their mana circuit keeps extending and becomes more complicated.
The more complicated one's mana circuit was, the more mana would be infused within their bones, muscles, and every inch of their body, strengthening them in every way. Their capacity to hold more mana would also increase consequently.
And the best part was one could choose how to increase their strengths when they level up. Asher knew the mana circuit basically consisted of four paths. Strength, Defense, Intelligence, and Dexterity.
The 'Strength' aspect would basically define how powerful one's attacks could be.
The 'Defense' aspect defined how strong and resilient one's body was. Higher the defense, the more their body had the capability to defend against attacks.
The 'Intelligence' aspect defined how much mana one could store within their bodies and also determined the ease with which they could learn magic arts. Those who focus on developing this aspect would be more sensitive to mana, allowing them to even gauge the strength of those stronger than them. In other terms, they could gain the ability to 'see' the mana circuit of others.
The 'Dexterity' aspect defined how fast and precise one could be. If fast enough, one can even dodge attacks from their enemies. It would also determine how fast one can cast and execute spells as well.
All intelligent beings with mana would usually put more focus on two paths out of the four since they knew trying to focus on all four paths equally would make them average without being good at anything. Asher also knew it was best to always specialize rather than try to make all four aspects stronger equally. There were people who did that, but most of them never achieved anything.
He knew this time he couldn't focus on the same paths he did in his previous life. Since his Hellbringer form was the strongest, he felt that he should definitely focus on the 'Intelligence' path.
And since he can never lose his health whenever he was in his Hellbringer form, he felt that he should focus on a different path rather than the 'Defense' path. Of course, it would also mean that his defensive capabilities or the ability to endure attacks wouldn't be his forte.
But that was the biggest cost of specializing in some of the paths.
"Being a glass cannon that can't take any damage seems to suit me…" Asher mumbled to himself with a smile as he thought that the second path he should focus on should be the 'Strength' path.
Since he had a time limit on how long he could be in his Hellbringer form, it would be best if he could deal as much damage as he could while he was in that form.
His eyes shone, thinking that this was the perfect combination. A mana circuit focusing on strength and intelligence.
*Knock*
Suddenly, a soft knock echoed from the side as he looked towards the door while powering down his ring.
Got a simple summary about mana circuit :)
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"Who is it?" Asher asked in a firm tone.
"I-It's your maid, Merina, Y-Your Highness…" A weak voice of a nervous woman came from outside the door.
Asher shook his head as he realized it was her and opened the door, "Didn't I tell you to not disturb…" Asher froze his words as he saw her bowing deeply with a set of grand clothes in her hands.
"This maid begs for your forgiveness, but Her Majesty has ordered me to pass this over to you since it's almost time. I waited as long as I could, but then I thought that Your Highness might get late if I handed over these clothes too late. Please forgive me!" Merina's hands were trembling in nervousness as she took a risk here and didn't know if the royal consort might get angry at her.
However, Asher wasn't angry at all and instead took the clothes from her hands and said, "It's good you know how to listen to my orders perfectly. But next time, you can knock for things like these. And if I don't answer, simply leave it at the door. I will take it when I feel like it. Understood?"
Merina was relieved to see that he wasn't angry and maintained her bowing position as she said, "This maid understands. I will be more mindful next time. Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."
Asher simply gave a nod before closing the door and spread the clothes on the bed to take a look at what kind of clothes he would be wearing.
He quickly put them on and looked in the mirror, only to feel impressed at how much more impressive he looked with these clothes on.
"Talk about being a royal member…" Asher mumbled as he looked at the mirror and saw his very long-sleeved, silky black jacket covering him well below his waist, and was barely tied with string at the top left side. There were decorative bands at the edges and a long rope belt around his waist which was held together by a big belt buckle.
His pants were relatively simple and a little narrow, and reached down to his hard leather boots. These boots were made from a very rare leather by just feeling the texture, and fortunately, this black attire suited well for someone with his pale gray skin color.
His body was quite tall as well, and with such grand clothes on, he truly felt like a man having royal blood in his veins.
Yet looking at his strange features unlike any other demon around here, he wondered where he was really coming from. He had no idea how vast this demon realm was, but if the people here couldn't even recognize his race, then he must have been born in a really faraway place.
But he didn't hate how he looked since looks wise, he looked quite handsome, just like his human appearance in his past life. His facial features were quite refined and had a look of nobility, and his long white hair was as soft as silk without even using any fancy shampoos or conditioners. It was just naturally good.
As for his eyes, it was a strange dark yellow with a golden tint, making them appear quite radiant yet dark at the same time. The iris of his eyes was bigger than any human's, not that he felt bothered.
Even though he wasn't used to being in this body, he felt a strong sense of familiarity and didn't feel it was a foreign body.
His ears twitched when he heard the sounds outside and when he parted the curtains and looked out the large windows, he was surprised to see dozens and dozens of fancy carriages drawn and hundreds of demons in their best clothes and appearances gathered outside.
But what caught his attention was the dozens of grand and big carriages drawn by multiple demonic horses.
However, ten of these carriages had the same dark red color with the symbol of a three-headed snake engraved on the carriages.
Based on the symbol, he could recognize these carriages to be coming from House Valentine.
Since Asher had read through some of the books in his room about the Demon Kingdom, he knew that the Demon Kingdom was mainly ruled and protected by the three Great Houses. Of course, there were other Houses as well but none of them could match up to these three.
The most ancient house was House Drake, of which his wife, Rowena Drake, was the Lady of the House. Since House Drake has been ruling the kingdom since the beginning, members of this house succeeded the throne as generations passed. And now Rowena succeeded it to become the Demon Queen.
And since he was married to her, he belonged to House Drake. Because of this, his official name was Asher Drake, though it seemed as if the previous owner of this body recognized himself as Asher Enren, which puzzled Asher.
He had already seen huge dark gray banners adorning the castle from four sides with the symbol of a large black dragon breathing fire.
This was more than just a symbol since he learned that his House Drake had tamed dragons since ancient times. This was one of the reasons House Drake was considered the strongest since they had the power to lord over other vampires who were susceptible to magic flames.
It was considered a huge achievement whenever a royal member of House Drake tamed a dragon since it symbolizes using one's own weakness as their strength. These were basically the ruling values of House Drake.
Unfortunately, in the book he read, most of the information was regarding House Drake, and it barely had information about the other two Houses.
He then saw the other ten grand, dark blue carriages with the symbol of a crab. He recognized these carriages to be coming from House Thorne.
"I am that famous, huh?" Asher sarcastically mumbled to himself upon seeing all these powerful people gathering to "celebrate" his recovery.
He knew that even if there were no obligations to attend an event arranged by House Drake, these people would still come to see him. But it wouldn't be because they were fond of him but to find out how the situation around here would change now that he was of sound mind.
Asher had never involved himself in any politics during his life as a Hunter. But now he wished he did so that he could carry himself better in situations like this where politics were heavily involved.
"Maybe my wife will help me out here…" Asher said with a subtle chuckle, still not feeling any different despite having a wife. But his expression tightened when he unconsciously remembered his ex-girlfriend, whom he was planning to propose to and get married right after defeating the Demon King. Who would have thought that he would die right after feeling so hopeful about his future?
He suppressed these thoughts just as they came up since he didn't want his mood to get ruined by thinking about a traitorous bitch like her.
He opened the door to leave towards the Great Demon Hall, which was the place where everybody was going to gather.
"Your Highness! Let this loyal servant accompany you."
Asher was a bit startled when Kookus popped up before him with his back bent and a foolish grin on his face. Why did it seem as if this guy only got more eager to serve him after getting scared by his actions?
'What a weird guy…'
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