Chương 46: [BL] 45. Rich

The Anatomist's Shroud was boring. It draped over her shoulder down to her legs. Though Willow found its bottom part interesting because the trim and feather-like styling gave her a slit for free movement. Underneath was a dark tunic fitted around her body with a belt that had plenty of straps where she could sling countless small pieces of equipment. What was nice was that her tunic felt loose even though it hugged her.

She read over her information, which she'd just decided to call 'status' for the sake of convenience. Why make it complicated? It looked like the Wind Mage Outfit was absorbed by the Anatomist Shroud and its effect carried over. By itself, the Anatomist's Shroud only gave her twenty Arcanic. This was probably why one of the first things the princess and Kroos offered was equipment for imbuement, and why the Sheran Guards had been insisting that she carry the half-dragon corpse.

In the end she absorbed it with her Hunt Trophy though… Maybe that was not wise? Well, it would not matter, hopefully, since Kroos and Elesis were more than willing to promise her some equipment. I just need to be careful not to get into their debt. Like hell she was going to be an experience horse for them. For now, what worried Willow currently was Kroos's expression.

"I should expect nothing less from an Ascendant Class. Such a tremendous leap in attributes…" True to that, if the plus twenty all attributes were not insane enough already, her Arcanic and Dark Wind Rune improved so much—Fifty! Fifty runes! With the hundred percent Rune boost, then she would have a hundred runes. Added to that, the Anatomist's Pleasure, despite how freaking creepy it sounded, would recover a Dark Wind Rune for each limb she cut. What would happen if I cut a bug's limbs? One with dozens of legs.

It might be a fun experiment if she could find one. Willow coughed, earning the lord's attention.

"My lord, my question."

"Ah, please don't worry about that, my lady. This power we have is born from countless limitations imposed on us. First, we can no longer access the world of Mana directly. Second, to access it, we need to awaken through Class Stone. Third, we will be assigned a class to limit the infinity that is mana so we can process it. Fourth, we also got runes to add more limitations as suggestions. Our power is merely a narrowing of paths; it had nothing to do with our personality." Relieved, Willow let out a small exhale.

So there was no need to worry about being possessed, right?

"Although you need to be watchful of the Instinct your class imposes on you." Right, that.

"I'm having trouble with that," Willow admitted.

"Everyone does. Especially those with Instinct runes. The key is not to spend so much time in your class form, my lady. Hold to logic, and you do that by being one with your true body, which is not clad in Mana." Willow nodded thoughtfully. It sounded so simple, but in her case there would be no doubt she needed to fight. She probably had to balance between her classes then.

"M—My lord!" A chair scraped as Leynah shot up, her face beet red.

"A heavy sleeper, aren't you, Champion Leynah?" Lord Kroos chuckled, to her bow.

"Apologies, my lord," she glanced up at Willow, furrowing her brows.

"What kind of class did you choose? Don't you have a better option?"

"Trust me, this one is the least crazy."

"Well, my lady, we still need to get your Huntress class to level up. I suspect your Grand Hunt will be upgraded, and I'd rather face the Treants threat with you being in Tier-two on your Bright Rune," Kroos said. He looked out of the window. The carriage had stopped, and footsteps scurried outside. A soft knock pounded, and Kroos said:"Enter."

"It's me," Krywen peeked in.

"My lady, your equipment is ready for imbuement. I believe it will be to your satisfaction. Also, Grandpa, if you can…" She twiddled her thumb.

"Ah, of course, dear. It's about time to execute our plan as well," Kroos smiled.

"What plan?" Willow asked.

"A plan to sneak out Princess Elesis. We will bait every Aerial Rift born toward us, and Princess Elesis shall sneak out to warn the Duke's force."

"But I thought you said some Wyverns and Griffins are tier-two."

"Indeed, which is why Princess Elesis should be able to out-speed them, and I judge it will be safe enough for her to do so as long as we keep every riftborn occupied and draw attention from her."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Why, of course, by what I know best," Kroos said. The old man opened his palm and clasped it together. The sound echoed once, and the world responded. Outside the window, the air itself distorted, and reality shifted. This time, instead of being carried upward on a tower, a tremor shook the carriage. A thick granite wall surged upward around them. Earth groaned, sending a heavy quake that made Willow grip the edge of her bed.

Leynah reached to her, somehow maintaining a calm manner, placing her hand on Willow's shoulder. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She closed her eyes for a bit and opened them when the trembling stopped. Intricate stonework adorned the walls, and sunlight did not beam inward anymore; instead, a crackling brazier sent a red, prattling orange gleam through the carriage's window. Kroos calmly exited the carriage.

Willow followed him with Leynah behind her. She stepped into an arching throne room with a chandelier hung on the ceiling high up. Small steps led to a throne seat where ten banners surrounded it; each of them held the sigil of Lord Kroos' country. The flower. The Lord made his way to his throne and plopped right onto it. Willow craned her head up and had to take everything in at the size of this castle. It had to be at least twice as large compared to the previous one, perhaps.

This room's height alone was probably half the size of the tower…

"You can do this too?" Kroos gave a small smile.

"I can, under a condition that I may not leave this throne-room. But that will serve us fine, as the entire goal was to draw monsters here. My Lady, please go and see if you can receive any imbuement for your class. Although your Hunter class should be the priority once the fighting starts." He continued.

"Also, if I may be a bit greedy here. My Lady, are you interested in selling the horn you obtained?"

"My lord—" Leynah bowed deeply with one hand on her sword in a nervous gesture, probably because of the sheer display of power Kroos had shown.

"If I may—I find it distasteful for you to try buying such a valuable item right after showcasing your immense power."

"Oh?" Kroos rested his chin on his hand.

"I did not plan to cheat our Bright One. That will be heretical of me."

"But still—""How much?" Willow cut in.

"Straight to business, aren't we?" Kroos laughed. -- She had always struggled to pay for her dorm room. With her scholarship running out, and the constant reminder that sent her anxious every time she thought about it, she would not feel ashamed to secure enough money for herself to never worry about anything similar happening in the future. And if Kroos overpaid her in the guise of a bribe, then fine, she would happily take it.

Hence, Willow hummed an old song as she strolled through the corridor with windows showcasing them above the sea of blue leaves trees. On her pouch, nay pouches! Five pouches filled with gold coins strapped to her anatomist's belt under her shroud. Leynah glanced back and stared at her, full of judgement.

"What?" Willow challenged.

"Nothing," she almost whistled.

"I just thought since you're smart enough not to blatantly sell your party spot, that you would at least hesitate to receive a bribe."

"It's not a bribe."

"It is, Willow. Who pays five full gold pouches for horns? I get it's valuable, but the normal price is half of one pouch! The other four were just to appease you."

"I'm sure the Bright One has a plan," Krywen added hesitantly. On her hands were the Devil's horns; she huddled close like it were a diamond. What a sweet girl.

"Can I hug you?" Willow opened her arms.

"I—I wouldn't dare," she mumbled and rambled.

"What if my incompetence rubs off on you? I might doom the entire village, the entire army, even the entire world. B—besides, my grandpa always said to surround yourself with capable people so you increase your chance to be one. If you let me hug you, then I might poison you, even if I would very much like—""Oh, come on—" Willow said, taking a step toward her but then ended up staring at something, or more accurately, someone through the window just behind Krywen.

"Sorry, Krywen, can you go first to the forge? I will catch up with you later."

"Ah," she flinched, looking a bit dejected.

"Yes, Rudo can use more time to prepare for your imbuement, My Lady."

"So that the bastard name," Willow said with a nod, crossing her arms. Krywen's mouth hung open in horror, and Willow turned on Leynah.

"About the winner of the tournament…"

"I will get him to the forge," Leynah smiled.

"Be careful not to fall."

"I won't," Willow said. She waved and proceeded down the stone corridor. To her left, arrow slits showed the distant horizon. The sun was about to reach its apex, and beneath it a grand tree stood, dwarfing others around it. The Trees in this forest were taller than in her old world by two times, perhaps. Who knows? She was not a tree expert. That tree, however… She stopped when the arrow slits ended and a square hollow opened to let in air through the corridor's end.

Leaning close, she put both palms on the gritty surface of the stone and just stared for a moment at the faraway tree with pink cherry leaves amid the sea of blues. Because of its size, Willow could see its trunk stood alone in a pocket of space where no other tree was near it. She tried to narrow her eyes, but had no luck. She exited toward the rampart where the legionnaires were posted. Bows were ready on their arms as they manned the parapets.

The rampart itself was spacious enough for even a supply horse to be herded through, carrying heavy saddles where quivers were being slung. When she stepped forward, the wind swooped, making the legionaries have to speak louder to hear each other. She executed a sneaky half-crouch run, positioning herself next to the horse. A Legionary, who was whistling and gazing at the sky, led the horse, clearly disengaged from his task. To her right was a fall that probably would kill her even with her class outfit.

Still, she could not help but stare as legionaries ran drills alongside Kroos's summoned soldier. Speaking of summoned soldiers, the golden archers also manned the wall between every two legionaries. A sense entered her; the Olympyan knights' location entered her mind. She stopped midway and stared at the castle where Kroos resided. The Olympyan were there, and they eventually asked Willow if she wanted them to come. She sent a no and made her way to the tower's rampart that circled around.

This time Willow failed to make it all the way without being noticed. They fist their breastplates, but Willow put a stop to them, addressing her.

"I just want to see my friend for a bit. I'll be quick."

"Please, Bright One, take your time," a legionary said and escorted her inside the tower, where a large arrow slit let light in enough for Willow to see the spiraling staircase. She ascended it and made her way to the very top, where the world opened for her. The mountain rose, like it wanted to reach the sun, morning clouds slowly vanishing, and the warmth of the sun hit her skin.

"Willow?" Josha looked back. He sat, his feet dangling dangerously down along with Shera, as they stared at the pink-leafed tree.

"Is that the one?" Willow grinned, making her way beside him and plopping down.

"Woah!" Shera let out a cry and growled.

"Be careful!"

"I can fly," she said, shrugging.

"So?"

"It is," Shera said, gazing longingly back.

"It is the Sheran Tree, and our village is built around it."

"It's quite large," Willow commented.

"Like a circle… the tree is the heart of it. Is that a defensive wall?" She mumbled, trying to see closer.

"You see right. We've been building to prepare for the Cycle. But you never know where a rift might spawn," Josha said, tipping his head up.

"We're very close, y'know," Shera said. She leaned forward to skip over Josha and shot Willow a smile.

"Tier—two. I never dreamed this…"

"Speaking of which…" Josha said.

"I guess congratulations are in order."

"Oh!" Shera perked up.

"You reached it! We need to celebrate!" [Hunt Party 7/8] [Level limit: 19] [Hunt Party 7/8] [Hunter—Level 19] [Olympya Executioner—Level 19] [Olympya Archer—Level 19] [Rider—Level 19] [Frost Witch—Level 15] [Squire—Level 9] [Grimoire Wizard—Level 6]"Huh," She grumbled.

"Sorry, Josha. You probably would already make it to Tier-two if I'm already level 20 on my Hunter class."

"You realise without you it will take me months to years, right?"

"Willow," Shera chided.

"Not celebrating a class ascend is a heresy. It brings bad luck."

"It is?" Both of them nodded.

"Then," She hid a grin.

"Let's just wait until all of us have done it. It will be my treat. Besides… I have another two to level-up."