A few weeks have passed since the events of the last chapter, Ashter has been able to build up his power and mana control since the encounter with his father. He has completed 2 more raids since then, and therefore 11 out of 15 raids to become a B Class Adventurer on paper.
But sure, you can become stronger, your capabilities are all based on...
Training.
"..." Ashter focused; his mana control was decent, but this would make it even more precise. The ability to use way little mana for a spell is a form of mana control, the ability to make use of more or less mana is also a form of mana control, and the ability to use it while not using spells is also a form of mana control.
He was growing. Since then, he became, in terms of power, a Class Adventurer.
"FWOOSH!" And since then...
"BOOM!" He became stronger. Fireballs were more powerful, his mana usage went down a LOT, and he was able to...
"FWOOSH!!!" A blue fire burns in his palm, as he fired it, it took half more mana needed to make a regular fire to make this one.
"Hm..." He was capable, but this...
'This is my next goal!' To make blue fire... A fire that took half as much more mana than normal fireballs, he was going to enjoy this.
But the woman was concerned,
"You... Didn't join the Justice Party?" She is surprised, disappointed even,
"... Yeah." Ashter sighed,
"W-Why? You looked so good with them!" She was DEVASTATED for him,
"Eh... I just... Went through a lot that day." He explained, the look on his face made the woman stop,
"I... Never mind." She breathes,
"Are you here to go on another raid?" She wondered,
"Yes." He explained, putting down a paper,
"A D Class Dungeon." She reads that solo Adventurers cannot enter a dungeon at or above their registered ranking, but only one ranking below. So he has to go into the D Class Dungeon.
"Alright." She finalizes the paper,
"Stay safe." She said, as most C Class (Possible retcon) and above dungeons are "Field Type Dungeons."
Below are just normal ones, cave-like. Filled with weak monsters.
This one was filled with Lizardmen, a race of lizard-like humanoids.
But upon entering...
"Hmph." Ashter puts his palm up, and...
"BOOM!" A large explosion is heard, a blue fireball being the cause of it. Lizzardman stared, HORRIFIED.
"Let's test this new skill out." He went HAM on the dungeon. He was capable of B Class stuff right now.
"RAH-!" Multiple Lizardmen roared in horror, terror, as...
"FWOOSH!" A long arrow was formed from the fingertips as the flame backed...
"WOOSH!" And as it hits its mark,
"BOOM!" Another explosion was heard once more, as they collected the Magic Crystals...
"Hm." Plenty of them. Much more than expected. Usually, C Class Adventurers can't completely clear D Class Dungeons. But now he was able to, getting many Gold Coins worth of Magic Crystals. Some items also dropped, like fangs, teeth, and skins.
Odd circumstances made it so that when a Monster dies, its body would be absorbed into the surfaces of the dungeons, but items dropped appear in its place. Ashter only placed-
"Oh crap I stole their bag." He remembered their bag...
"..." He sighed as he looked at it.
"... I'll pay them back when I meet them again." He said to himself, as despite not knowing where they were, if they wished to come back... He'll pay them back. Tenfold.
As he placed the Magic Crystals in the bag, which was seemingly infinite (Possible retcon), the items were limited to Magic Crystals due to the bag being specially made for Magic Crystals. So, placing the items in the skins, he folds them up.
"Alright..." He looked up, seeing the cave breaking down even more. It had been about three hours since entering, so upon exiting...
"Okay, time to... Explain this." Holding the items... Inside the guild building...
"Ah." The same woman was... Shocked, nonetheless.
"T-This is a lot. Uhm..." She didn't expect him to have so much. At most, Ashter had 10 normal Magic Crystals and one of the boss's Magic Crystals. So 11 in total. But this... Is an entire D Class Dungeon's worth of Magic Crystals, items, and...
"Here's 34 Gold Coins, 12 Silver Coins, and 23 Bronze Coins."
"!?!" Ashter's eyes widened,
"W-What...? H-How in the-"
"While I won't question HOW you got it, you managed to get tons of Magic Crystals, of which the items add up to the money you have gotten back from the raid. That's just how solo Adventurers make tons of money, but due to your Class, we didn't expect... This." It was tons of "money money money" talk and such.
"..." He smirked, hoping that-
"You do realize you're just adding to your raid records, correct?" She wondered, swiping her finger as she records the raid, the 12th raid.
"..." Ashter was going to exploit the HELL out of the last three.
And day by day...
"Hehehe!" He smirked, counting his coins, he didn't expect to get over 100 Gold Coins worth of money! You can live life, if you don't have expenses, without problems! But counting everything else...
"This is over half a year's worth of money..." He thinks, as in his home, the necklace and ring were displayed since he didn't wish to do ANYTHING with them, as other items that are Ashter's souvenirs are seen. A few jewels, a scabbard, even some golden teeth! Just some items here and there.
"..." He wondered what to do with them... Items cost a FORTUNE, maybe 50 Gold Coins for expensive items??? But it's worth it.
"... I need a new home." So, upon entering an estate's office...
"Hm?" A man, a bit beyond his prime, is seen looking at him,
"Ah, welcome, dear..." He noticed the ears,
"Welcome, dear customer." He said,
"Hi." Ashter sits down,
"I wish to look at some houses. Perferably with a basement." Ashter asked, as the man cocked up a eyebrow,
"Do you wish to find a place near the forests? We have plenty of cottages for someone like-"
"What? No, I want to get a house like this." Ashter said, the man nodded, confused,
"But don't you-"
"I want these homes. These. Homes." Ashter repeatedly points at some of the more modern houses.
"R-Right..." The man nodded, didn't think that a elf would have such distain for his home land.
Unfortunately for him, this is a "modern elf" or what others would call elves closer to human blood than pure blooded elves.
Fortunately for Ashter...
"This is it?" He stood in front of a three-bedroom home, a lot better than that one-room home.
"Indeed. It was remodeled not too long ago from a home destroyed many years ago." Further from the guild and his old home, this place was in the academic land due to the home being for families with children. Ashter took a look inside...
'Plenty of room for my stuff... But not too big...' He thinks, as he continued...
'I can move past the lack of a seat.' He looked at a hole dug into the ground, he soon turned back to the man,
"I'll take it." He said,
"Alright! That will be... 50 Gold Coins!" He said,
"But if you wish to apply for a mortgage-"
"I'm alright. I have the coins." Soon, bringing out a pouch of coins, he places it in the hands of the main,
"O-Oh!" He grabbed it, surprised he had the money for this!
That's when he finally moved into the home. A room, large enough, was used to display his items throughout the years. Even his first of every class of Magic Crystals is specifically from bosses. E, D, and C. (Possible retcon)
As he lay on his bed once more, he yawned, tired.
"I should go stop by the bath house." He thought, as he submerged into the warm water, he sighed in relief, feeling all the stress just melt away...
"..." But he grew curious about how he could go about his work now that he's a B Class Adventurer. He wants to explore the outside world...
So...
The next day occurred,
"You want to go adventuring? Like being a REAL Adventurer?" The woman spoke,
"Yep. I am a B Class Adventurer, hm?" Ashter wondered, as the woman sighed,
"Yes... But you know how the wildlife is. Many of the dungeons break in a way that monsters roam the wild. You would need to apply for a "Roaming License" if you wish to roam the world and hunt for monsters." She explained that a stamp would be needed to roam the world, and it is also your death wish in a sense. When granted a Roaming License, or a stamp, you're essentially saying you will not blame your guild if you get hurt or killed.
"I want to apply for a Roaming License." Ashter firmly said, as the woman sighed, as moments later...
"Here you go." Giving back his license, it's not only his proof of being a B Class Adventurer, but now permitted to roam the world to hunt for wildlife monsters.
"Please stay safe." She said, as Ashter chuckled,
"Don't worry. I'll be fine!" He said,
"I have enough items for whatever happens." Bringing things out of his bag, he shows some dried meat, bread, water, etc.
"... You better be." She said, as upon showing his license...
"Wow..." The field was seemingly empty, but wildflowers sway with the wind, trees here and there...
"..." But he can feel the presence of monsters. Many of them... Waits.
"Low-class monsters." Ashter soon points a fingergun, as...
"Don't ruin my view." He fired one shot.
"Boom!" A low-sounding explosion is heard, as vicious bunnies scatter, meat-eating beasts with demonic horns.
"Hm." Walking to his killed prey, there lies a Magic Crystal and...
"Hm?"
A Demon Bunny Horn. A horn used for potions.
"Potions..." He knew people used potions... But the Potion Master class isn't used a lot. They're capable of making potions from materials that can be instantly made IF you know the potion. For example, the Demon Bunny Horn can be used to make Strength Potions. If you have mastery over that potion, you can make it on the spot, IF you have the materials for it.
The better the spell or the better your understanding, even both, the better quality the potion. But many Potion Masters in this world were killed, and they were under the king, or people didn't wish to use their money for such a complex class.
"..." Standing in the new home, he wondered...
"Maybe... Hm." He thinks about his situation... But...
"..." He looked out the window, seeing the large roots here and there... A flowing glowing energy is seen, the venture for knowledge went so far that the demigod paid the price of the inability to move for the ability to use roots like this to become a parasite of the world. The demigod siphons information, becoming the pinnacle of knowledge.
Even the Sages of Reason cannot keep up with such calculations... Such...
"Perfection." Seeing one of the sages, a more middle-aged man is seen, staring at something in front of them...
"Demigod... Just how much more inhuman have you become?" A wooden figure is seen, a humanoid that was once Alaric Lowel, the thousands of years transforming them... No, evolving his body into something better. Their chest, one large eye looked around. Their shoulders, another eye, everywhere is an eye as on the face, two eyes closed... As if focusing... Or maybe... Asleep?
"..." The demigod slumbers... Despite their seemingly helpless sleep, they're still there.
"..." And he expected someone... Someone wishing...
To become a god.
"Excuse me... Fathers of Reason." Bows Ashter, as in front of a large temple door, three sages stood. They are at least C Class in strength. But...
"..." Ashter peeked to see the roots slither and flow... It creeped him out a bit.
"Speak, elvian." One of the sages, a rather younger sage, responds.
"I wish to speak with him. The father of reason, the Demigod of Reason, for guidance." Ashter explained,
"Do you have anything worth their audience?" The sage wondered, as Ashter brings out...
"I think these might suffice." He brings out the ring and necklace from before.
"These are the items that dropped from the Necromancer Pharaoh. I don't know much about it, but I do know a story relative to this necromancer of a king who buried themselves with slaves to soon awaken into another life as an immortal being." He said, showing the gifts. He needed to give something, so... This is the best bet.
'Thank you, Janus. You too, Lola... Fran... and Lukas.' Thinking, the sages stared at the jewelry, the magical items.
"Knowledge in of itself isn't something we solve... But something we ask questions about. You... Can pass." The sages said, opening the temple doors, as cool air rushed out, as if many years had passed and nobody had entered at all.
"... Thank you, fathers of reason." Ashter thanked them as they walked in... The door slams shut. Flames light up from all torches, as...
"Erng..." Roots and vines moved and were abundant here. As...
"?" The necklace and ring are seen being passed along, as if...
"Ah!" He catches up as he rushes with the two items. From here to there, everywhere, he ends up...
"...!" In front of him... Mountains of books... The vines have pencils... They write in many at once.
"Woah..." It was like a hive mind... A beehive of working vines all doing one job... In the middle, a decently tall wooden man, their arms stuck into the ground, their body as if wood...
"!!!" The eyes quickly looked at him.
"Erhng..." Ashter was creeped out, but calmed himself,
"Oh great Grove of Knowledge, the Demigod of Reason... I... Have a request to ask of you. For my travels." He said, the eyes stared at him...
They knew why he was here...
"... I wish... I... I..." He didn't know if this would offend the god...
"I... Wish to become a god! In strength or literally. I wish... To become a god!" He said, looking at the eyes as they stared at him... It was unnerving...
"The power of which you seek... Is of a faraway land... Covered by greed itself... In the stars... Deep in the rivers of old... Or... Located in the skies itself." A voice is heard, many voices, young, old, female, male, every age and stage of life, their voices echo in harmony as one.
"The power of which you seek... Sky... Space... Time... Death... Many gods fell... But some remained." The voice continued,
"!?!" Ashter didn't expect...
"Child of the flames... Do you wish to take on such trials? To disgrace humanity? I, too, was once human, lit to flames as if a common bug. I was once ignorant of the trials ahead of me. Do not make the same mistake." The wooden man's body creaks,
"!?!" Ashter grew concerned, worried for his safety.
"For if you wish to head out on an adventure... To gather strength... To become what is required to become a god... But... I won't allow it. I WON'T ALLOW IT AT ALL. ASHTER LAKE, THE CHILD OF IGNORANCE AND ARROGANCE!" A loud, almost angered roar is heard.
"HUH!?!" Ashter grew-
"TWACK!" The vines whipped the floor...
[PINNACLE OF KNOWLEDGE, ALARIC LOWEL - DEMIGOD OF REASON]
"!!!" Ashter didn't think...
"D-Demigod of Reason, why-!"
"SILENCE YOU ARROGANT MORTAL SCUM!" He screamed,
"YOU DARE SPEAK AS IF THEIR LIVES DON'T MATTER. THEY MAY HAVE FALLEN, BUT THEIR ROLES ARE STILL APPARENT EVEN AS DEATH CRADLES THEM IN THEIR EMBRACE. YOU DO NOT SATISFY ME ONE BIT AS A CHOOSEN ONE. ONE WHO EXPECTS RICHES AND GLORY!!!" The Demigod angrily says,
"!?!" Everyone in the kingdom screamed as vines violently retract, never growing concerned by the people they hurt...
"What is going on in there!?!" The sages ordered to know,
"Hng!" Ashter feels an overwhelming mana...
"T-This is the power of a god!?!" Ashter covered his eyes, as peaking, he sees them... As vines prop him from the floor,
"You will PAY for your arrogance WITH YOUR HEAD." The demigod ordered, as...
"BOOM!" A loud explosion is heard, as a force propelled Ashter back outside the temple's door.
"!?!" The sage's eyes widened,
"What did you do, you elf!?!" The sage ordered, as...
"FOOLISH SCUM!" A vine-
"!!!" Ashter grunts, as...
"BOOM!" An explosion of fire is seen, and the vine stops,
"IGNORANCE. ARROGANCE. ALL OF YOU MORTALS!!!"
"T-The Demigod of Reason!?!" The sages NEVER seen the demigod so... Upset!
Long ago, the gods fell into the slumbers of death. Taken by their own life... Or... By some form of power that made them fall.
Time, Space, Life, Death, War, Reason, End, Beginning, Earth, and Sky...
Out of these ten gods... Only four are dead. The others are alive. (Possible retcon)
"Hng!" Ashter was being overwhelmed...!
"I...!" He tried to speak, but...
"SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH." Above him...
"!!!" As the vine comes to him...
"!?!" A feeling... A pain...
"...!" Coughing...
"Augh..." He coughed, as...
"...?" Touching his mouth... A warm liquid...
"Arrogance. The arrogance of humans... A joke that deserves to be purged." The demigod said, as civilians from around...
"T-The demigod!?!"
"Who's that boy?" Everyone grew confused, as they... The demigod is here? And... It killed an elf?
"..." Ashter felt...
Darkness...
The hands of death grappled to his soul, as he was plunged into the depths of the deep abyss...
'Is this...?' Ashter thinks, as the hands pulled him close...
'The end...?' He wondered... But...
"FWOOSH!!!" A flame surrounded him, the fires burning away at the hands...
'Huh...?' Confused... Almost accepting its embrace... A fire burned... As suddenly...
"..." A large mountain of a being hovered over them...
"... Child of the elves... One who controls the fire..." Spoke the male like being... Almost a heavy voice as if a man in his prime...
'Huh...? Are... Are you Death?' Ashter thinks,
"No." It bluntly said, as a large mountain-like man holds the child who floats in the air, as if keeping him in their palm.
"I am the Seering Molten Earth. I am the god of the mountains, creator of the world. I... Am Goliath. The God of Earth." The God of Earth said, as the fires continue to dance, lower than before, but dancing nevertheless.
"God of Earth...?" Ashter finally spoke...
"... You wish to slay the God for power, correct? But I can tell, unlike Calaban's successor... Your fire... Is special." As if grabbing the flames...
"Such divine fire. It seems a Chosen One has come to pass."
"Me...? Choosen One?" A Chosen One is someone who will take up the Divine Essence of a God... When a God dies, they're a spiritual being... Able to permit them to wield their divine authority. But they can also interact more freely with humans,
"Yes. My magic comes from the earth... The fires of humanity forged many things that come from my glorious mountains." Out of nowhere, Goliath is seen erecting mountains,
"I blessed this world with mountains and ores... But the fire... Yes... The ores... Humans wielded my fire... To create weapons and machines... To create jewels... To create offerings to me... These fires, none have ever... Ever come close to me... Thank you, child." Goliath explained, as a fire burned in their hand.
"Fire... Everything on Earth is my creation... You... Merely utilize the divine blessings we Gods, gave to you humans. Do not be afraid, though... You are not dead, your fire hasn't burned out. In fact... I believe wholeheartedly... That it is ready to ignite as I once was millions of years ago." Goliath explained,
"Once was... B-But... I wished to kill-"
"That demigod... Knows nothing. For it is the Chosen One who begs, who walks the path, and claims the divinity of their respective God. For the Demigod of Reason, once was that very same child... Begging for the power of their God... Now you... Beg for your rightful throne as one of many Chosen Ones... In history." Goliath soon reveals a large fire... It was bright... Blue fire...
"I shall bless you and allow you... To live... Once more... But be aware... The path to divinity... Will be..." Goliath's voice faded...
"!?!" On the outside...
"No... It can't be!" Alaric's eyes widened, as a fire burned... It blazes...!
"GOLIATH. YOU DARE SHOW MERCY TO THIS MORTAL!?!" The demigod screamed, as...
"Seems...!" Ashter's voice was heard...
"This... Was MY VERY OWN DESTINY ALL ALONG, DEMIGOD!" A fire burned, the demigod's vines and branches burned, their wooden eyes widened, as the divine child floated, fire burned around his body, as...
"FWOOSH!" The blue fire, now easier to use, burned. A large ">" points out from his hand...
"Guess.. I am not just some arrogant elf, huh?" Ashter wondered, as...
"EVERYONE, BEHIND ME!" Shouts someone, as a golden shield is formed...
And...
When fired... A huge explosion and a tornado of flames devoured the entire area...
***
It has been many hours since... And off in the distance...
"..." Ashter turned around, seeing the kingdom... Still intact.
"... I'll be off." He said, as since the fight... He got information on where to go, having bested the Demigod of Reason.
Now...
"..." He looked at his hand, the blue fire sparkled a bit, he knew...
"... I will claim the Divine Essence of Earth... Thank you, Goliath." He thanked, before... He now starts his grand journey of recovering and claiming the divinity of Earth.
Will he encounter legendary figures? How will his epic adventure conclude? Will he gain the Divine Essence of Earth will he die along the way?
Find out next time...
End of chapter 6.