Chapter 26：Underground Adventure (1/2)

Walking in the forest, Arthur experienced the feeling of being on his own again. As he surveyed the surrounding using his rune, he found no monsters nearby. All alone in the forest, he crouched down and put his hands on his head.

”Why did I do that?”

He felt embarrassed about what just happened. He was barely eighteen and never got to kiss a girl before. That's why he was impulsive this time. Furthermore, he wished he didn't run away after leaning forward like that.

'This is not the time.' Arthur shook his head and stood up. He needed to get stronger and fast. Primitive creatures were no longer a threat to him as long as they weren't in a group. This meant he could hunt freely here while being careful.

After absorbing the mana core Hazel gave him, his mana rose by another two points. With his hunt from earlier, his stats now looked like this.

[Scholar Guardian's Legacy]

[Level: 6 (56%)]

[Strength: 26]

[Agility: 28]

[Stamina: 22]

[Perception: 14]

[Mana: 9/10]

[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (6%), Useable Runes: 7]

[Skills: Lesser-Mana Breathing Skill (F), Poison Strike (F), Camouflage (F)]

Using a mana core that he got from an unranked monster, he raised his stamina to 22 earlier. The areas he was lacking in now were only perception and mana. However, he didn't have any means to raise them right now. Although he tried absorbing mana cores from unranked monsters, they weren't enough to give him any boost in stats.

He knew that getting stronger was not instantaneous, he also felt quite fortunate. Most of these awakeners would awaken at an early age. They would then spend their time getting stronger or have evolved their abilities. As Arthur's ability was linked directly to his knowledge of runes, he had no means to train his ability currently.

He needed to rely on his legacy to gain more runes. It seems they were given randomly or maybe there was a pattern he didn't know yet. He knew that leveling up was more about runes than about stats, although the bonus stat was quite nice as well. However, as his stats got higher, the bonus stats point proved less useful.

As Arthur kept walking in the forest and thinking about this and that, he heard a wolf pack howling in the distance. As he was sure he couldn't handle them, he decided to sleep on top of a tree tonight. Although it was out in the open, he doubted he could find a place that was monsters-safe in this trial grounds.

Arthur climbed a tree and lied down on a thick branch. Luckily, the trees in this area were all gigantic and there was enough room for him not to fall, as long as he doesn't move that is.