Peniel nodded, “Yes, that dark sky is a country-wide enchantment spell cast by the combined power of the ruling families. Vampires are creatures of the night, after all. Their racial skill provided them better attributes, but they also come with a defect, a weakness against sunlight. When they are exposed to the sun, their attributes are reduced by 30%.”
“Well, that means the other races can’t compete with them within their country, but it also limits them. They will have a handicap when they traveled out.”
“That’s true, you will very rarely find a vampire race outside of this country,” Peniel agreed.
“Hm, wouldn’t that bad for outworlders with this vampire race? They will be stuck here,” Jack said.
“Not necessarily. I said very rarely but didn’t say there is none. Some vampires do venture out. Those that are very old have developed some resistance against sunlight. There is also equipment that protects against sunlight. Certain bloodlines also have such an effect.”
“Bloodlines?”
“That’s for another time, you don’t need to worry about it for now.”
Jack shrugged.
Pandora continued to bring him closer to the place covered by the dark clouds. On the way, Jack noticed a blue dot on his radar.
‘There is a player nearby! Alone. Very ballsy, this border region has level 40 monster as the weakest. Is the person trying to cross over to Themisphere?’
The lone blue dot piqued his curiosity, so he had Pandora headed over.
“Busybody again?” Peniel asked.
“The last time being a busybody allowed me to reunite with my grandfather, so I don’t feel like it is a bad habit,” Jack said.
Jack dismounted and unsummoned Pandora when he got close enough and traveled on foot as a precaution. He wanted to observe first. The place had many small rocky hills, so it was not difficult to find a hiding place.
Jack heard battle sounds from the direction he was heading to. From his radar, he saw a red dot beside the blue dot, so it was pretty clear that the player was combating a monster.
‘Is the player in trouble? The person probably came with a team but became the last person standing. Jack was planning to get close enough to use his Inspect. As long as the person has no relation to the coalition or the World Maker, he didn’t mind lending a hand.”
When he found a place where he could peek out and see the player, he saw a man that was battling a large monster with a deer-like head and antlers, its body was covered with rocky skin.
“That is a Savage Rock Windigo,” Peniel explained. “Around this part, they are usually elite grade with a level ranging from 40 to 45. Considering the average outworlder’s level, he should be in trouble. If you want to lend a hand, you should not delay.”
Jack, however, stay quiet and continued to watch.
“Hey, did you hear what I said?” Peniel called out.
“He doesn’t seem to be in trouble,” Jack said.
Peniel took a better look at the ongoing fight and realized it was indeed so. The Windigo fought savagely, but the outworlder moved with precision, avoiding the assault with minimal movement. He then struck using his fists every time the monster was wide open after the end of its assault.
“From the way he fights, I guess he is a Battle Monk,” Jack said.
“Yes,” Peniel concurred. “See the light enveloping his fist? That is Ki-infused Fist. A skill when one becomes a Battle Monk on the first try. It increases basic damage using fists by 20%.”
“Same as Weapon Master’s Ki Weapon then?”
“Yes. Additionally, when the Ki-infused Fist is active, he also gains the ability to parry using that hands.”
“His martial art is very good,” Jack commented as he continued to watch the battle.
“By the way, can you tell his race from here?” Jack asked Peniel. Their distance is still not close enough for him to use Inspect.
“His skin is rather pale. Considering he must be from Sangrod, he should be of Vampire race,” Peniel informed.
“Damn, then he is better than I thought. There is still daylight. This place is not yet covered by the dark clouds over there. Meaning he is fighting with a handicap.”
The battle monk who was battling the Windigo, saw an opening. His fists turned into a blur as he delivered repeated punches on the monster. The punches were so quick and accurately hit the monster’s weak points that they kept the monster continuously off balance. Jack saw the damage number increase as combo multipliers continued to pile up.
‘Is that martial art?’ Jack thought.
“That is Infinite Lightning Punches, Battle Monk’s standard skill,” Peniel explained. “It releases a flurry of quick punches that deal 50% damage with each punch. This skill is special as it depends on the user for when to end the punches. However, each punch consumes stamina.”
From the way that Bottle Monk was displaying, he seemed to plan to finish his punches only until the monster died or his stamina was exhausted. The fist, although fast, could still be controlled by the player to hit the monster’s different spots. Half of the punches resulted in critical damage, combined with the combo multiplier, the Windigo’s HP soon depleted and fell into dust.
“The monster didn’t even hit him once,” Jack mumbled. The man he was watching didn’t seem to be much older than him. To achieve that level of martial expertise at his age was incredible.
The battle monk took a rest by sitting crosslegged. His HP bar started increasing. Although the Windigo didn’t hit him directly, once in a while it released poison fog from its mouth. The fog was an AOE so the battle monk couldn’t evade, his HP was decreasing little by little every time the poison fog was released.
“That is Meditate, a Battle Monk’s skill when they reached level 35. They need to be motionless for that. It recovered 5 HP each second. If they have any negative status effects, every 10 seconds of meditation will cleanse one random negative status effect.”
“I see. This skill made them similar to classes that branched out of Fighter class. As long as they are allowed a breather, they do not need recovery potions. What about Battle Monk’s inherent skills?”
“They can jump 300% higher, like Assassin. Their whole body becomes a valid weapon, they can deliver damage with any impact using any part of their bodies. Their dexterity, physical, and magical defense are increased by 10%.”
Jack saw that the battle monk’s HP bar was almost filled up. He was about to stand up when he saw something that stunned him. A small fairy appeared out of thin air beside the battle monk.
Jack was very familiar with that figure because he had one clinging on his shoulder right now. The difference was, Peniel wore a red dress while this other one wore a blue one.
“That is…,” Peniel muttered.
“You know her?” Jack asked.
“Yes…”
“Well, great! Since you know each other, then it will be easier to communicate,” Jack uttered and stood up from his hiding place.
“Wait…,” Peniel called.
Jack was already walking towards the battle monk. Since they were already out in the open, Peniel just followed Jack.
The battle monk noticed the two approached. His facial expression didn’t change despite seeing a stranger was approaching.
Jack used Inspect when he was within range.
Leavemealone (Battle Monk, level: 36)
HP: 1940
Jack’s steps stopped for a bit when he saw the guy’s alias. Crap, no wonder he was grinding alone in the middle of nowhere. But he was already approaching, might as well just throw the greetings. “Hey, pleasure meeting you. That’s a very impressive battle you did just now.”
Leavemealone didn’t respond.
“My name is Storm Wind. I come in peace,” Jack said again, trying to state that he was non-hostile.
Leavemealone continued to ignore Jack, he was not even looking at Jack. It was instead, the fairy beside him that said something, but not as a response to Jack’s greetings.
“It’s you? Peniel! What is a meddler like you doing here?” The blue-dressed fairy said to Peniel.
“Ugh, you are still as pompous as ever, Carnelia. What are you doing here yourself?” Peniel talked back.
“Hmph, I’m on an important mission. Something that a carefree fairy like you won’t understand.”
“Carefree?” Jack muttered.
Peniel heard him and turned to say, “not as carefree as you!”
Leavemealone turned when he heard his fairy mention Peniel. Jack could see from the glint of his eyes that he was surprised to see another fairy.
Leavemealone then shifted his attention to Jack, when he saw Jack’s face, he uttered, “you guys again? I thought I have killed you people enough. It seems your lot haven’t learned enough yet.”
He then stood up.
‘What? Kill? Who people?’ Jack was confused by the guy’s words. Jack was just about to ask what he meant when Leavemealone suddenly lunged at him.. His fist punched out.
