Chương 11

Rudra finally swiped his hand to open the notifications he had ignored during the final exam. [Through extreme physical exertion during the assessment, your stats have risen.] [Stamina +3] [Strength +2] [Agility +1] [Persistence +3] [The Title: Unyielding Staff Initiate has been acquired.] [Affinity with Gareth Rowan has risen by 40.] [Affinity with the Seabreak Militia has risen by 30.] [Affinity with the citizens of Seabreak Town has risen by 20.] [Basic Staff Mastery has leveled up to Lv. 4!] [Title: Unyielding Staff Initiate] [A title given to a recruit who stubbornly chose a staff for close-quarters combat, pushing their body beyond physical limits to master the weapon through sheer willpower.] [- Experience acquisition rate for all staff-related skills is increased by 10%.] [- Stamina consumption when a staff is equipped is reduced by 5%.] [- Persistence +10.] Rudra dismissed the glowing windows.

A 10% experience boost to his staff skills and reduced stamina consumption was a massive advantage for the long-term grind. The other players had already grabbed their basic C-Grade rewards and excitedly sprinted out of the training yard to finally start hunting monsters. But as Rudra turned to leave, a heavy hand dropped onto his shoulder.

"Not so fast, recruit," Gareth's gruff voice stopped him. Rudra turned around. The veteran soldier wasn't glaring at him anymore. Instead, he was looking at Rudra with a heavy, calculating gaze.

"You're a strange one," Gareth said. He pulled a long, polished, dark-wood staff from a nearby weapons rack and tossed it. Rudra's freakish reflexes kicked in. He caught it effortlessly out of the air, immediately noticing the superb balance and the shockingly dense core.

"Keep it," Gareth grunted.

"You've outgrown the training splinters." [You have acquired 'Gareth's Heavy Oak Staff' as a quest clear reward.] [Gareth's Heavy Oak Staff] [Rarity: Rare] [Durability: 150/150 | Attack Power: 32 - 45] [- Strength +5] [- 5% chance to trigger [Knockback] effect on a heavy strike.] [A custom-made training staff previously used by Commander Gareth Rowan. It is made from iron-oak, making it significantly heavier and denser than a standard wooden staff. Because it is incredibly unbalanced for a normal beginner, it requires immense physical strength to wield properly.] [Condition to use: 50+ Strength or Level 15+] [Weight: 80] Rudra's eyes locked onto the stat requirement. More than 50 Strength? A standard Level 1 player had exactly ten. He immediately thought back to the +2 Strength he had just earned from shoving that miserable boulder-filled sled. That pushed his total to exactly 51.

If he had slacked off for even a single second during that torturous week, this Rare weapon would be dead weight in his inventory. He gripped the heavy iron-oak firmly.

"Thank you, sir. Seriously." Gareth crossed his thick arms.

"Do you know why we suddenly opened our militia camps to outsiders like you?"

"I assumed you just needed more arrow fodder," Rudra replied honestly. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Gareth snorted.

"Normally, yes. But things in the capital are unstable. The King of Murray has fallen severely ill. The healers don't know how much time he has left." Rudra raised an eyebrow. A political lore drop. Nice.

"With the throne in question," Gareth continued, his voice dropping low, "the Royal Family is fractured. The First Prince is a scholarly man using diplomacy and political favors to win over the nobles. But the First Princess... she is a warrior. She believes the kingdom will only survive the transition if our military might is absolute." Gareth gestured around the empty camp.

"The Princess ordered these public training camps to be established across the kingdom. She is looking for hidden talent to draft an army loyal directly to her." Gareth stepped closer, looking Rudra dead in the eye.

"You have the grit of a vanguard commander, kid. Give up this wandering adventurer nonsense. Join the Murray Army officially. Serve the Princess, and I guarantee you'll be a commissioned officer within the year." A system prompt flashed in front of Rudra. [Gareth Rowan has offered you a position in the Murray Royal Army (Princess's Faction).] [Accepting this offer will change your class to 'Soldier' and bind you to strict military deployment schedules. Do you accept?] Rudra read the prompt.

Joining an army sounded cool, but being forced to log in just to stand guard duty at a gate sounded like a miserable way to play a video game. He wanted the freedom to explore, eat weird food, and find hidden stats.

"Sir," Rudra began, his tone highly respectful but firm.

"I am deeply honored. This camp gave me the foundation to survive. But I have to decline. There is too much of the world I need to see for myself." Gareth's face hardened, and Rudra worried he had just ruined his newfound affinity. But then, the old man sighed.

"A waste of good talent," Gareth grumbled.

"But I expected as much. You don't have the eyes of a soldier who follows orders. You have the eyes of a madman who wants to push his limits."

"I won't forget what you taught me here, though," Rudra added quickly.

"If the Murray Army—or Seabreak Town—is ever in dire need, send word. I vow I will come back and fight for you." Gareth studied him for a long moment before giving a slow, approving nod.

"I'll hold you to that, kid." Gareth reached into his armor and pulled out a small, wax-sealed envelope.

"If you're so determined to walk your own path, at least don't let your foundation rot. When you eventually reach the Capital City, take this to the Vanguard Commander. It's an invitation to the Intermediate Training Camp. It'll make this week look like a vacation." Rudra grinned, taking the letter. [Item Acquired: Gareth's Letter of Recommendation] [Quest Generated: The Next Step of Suffering] [Difficulty: B] [You have earned the respect of Gareth Rowan. Deliver his recommendation to the Vanguard Commander in the Capital City to unlock the Intermediate Militia Camp.]"I look forward to it," Rudra said, bowing his head slightly. He left the training grounds, but instead of heading straight for the town gates to hunt monsters, he took a very important detour. The tavern. He walked inside, slammed his S-Grade voucher on the counter, and ordered the biggest premium steak they had.

When the waitress brought out a massive, sizzling slab of heavily seasoned beef with roasted potatoes, Rudra practically cried. After a week of plain bread, the rich, greasy flavor exploding in his mouth felt like absolute heaven. With his stomach completely full and his mood at an all-time high, he tied up his final loose end in Seabreak. He pushed open the creaky wooden doors of the Temple of Asterion. Old Medivah was sitting in his usual spot.

Rudra slapped down one of his last two silver coins and walked into the back archives. Over the last six days, he had methodically read through almost the entire collection. There was only one dusty, crumbling book left at the very bottom of the farthest shelf. He sat down and opened it. It was a dense, incredibly boring text detailing the tidal patterns of the old Seabreak coastline. Two hours later, he closed the final page.

[Intelligence +1] Rudra stretched his arms, satisfied that he had drained this place of every possible stat point. He stood up to leave, but suddenly, a cascade of golden system messages blocked his vision. [Hidden Condition Met!] [You have successfully absorbed the entirety of Asterion's fragmented history without removing a single text from the sacred grounds.] [Because your mind is sharp enough to comprehend the dead lore, and your unnatural persistence kept you from abandoning the maddeningly contradictory texts, the hidden pieces have finally aligned.] [Hidden Quest Triggered: Whispers of the Forgotten Tide] [Difficulty: E ~???] [Asterion, the God of the Ocean and Forgotten Knowledge, has noticed your unusual dedication. The seemingly useless, fragmented history you devoured is actually a puzzle. Go forth and see if the forgotten history is real.] Rudra blinked.

A hidden quest? Just from reading boring books? He walked out into the main hall. Old Medivah was staring at him. The old man's eyes were wide, and he was gripping the edges of his wooden desk.

"You read them all," Medivah said, his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper. It wasn't a question; he could clearly sense the shift in the temple's energy.

"Yeah," Rudra said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Though honestly, half of it seemed like contradictory nonsense."

"Because it is meant to test the mind," Medivah replied, stepping out from behind the altar.

"Scholars from the Rebecca Church come here occasionally. They read three or four texts, declare Asterion's lore to be heretical garbage, and leave. They have the intelligence, but they lack the patience to see the threads. Only a madman would sit here for a week straight and read every single word." Medivah reached under his robes and pulled out a heavily rusted, barnacle-covered iron key.

"Take this," Medivah said, pressing the cold iron into Rudra's hands.

"The texts you just finished speak of the old tidal caves just north of Seabreak Beach. The entrance is submerged, only revealed during the lowest tide of the month. I always thought it was just a myth... but Asterion's gaze lingers on you, boy. Go find what the ocean swallowed." [Item Acquired: Barnacle-Encrusted Key] Rudra looked at the heavy key in his hand. He gripped his new iron-oak staff, feeling the satisfying weight of it, and looked toward the northern beach. The tutorial was officially over.

It was time to hunt.