Our rag tag band of adventurers were finally able to find solace in the heavily guarded town infirmary. After the incident, the townspeople remained vigilant as rumors of another attack i


    threatened their posterity and peace of mind. The scale of the destruction seemed to be a coordinated attack, the mastermind of this villainy remains at large.


    Ashley woke up in a rather quiet morning, the warmth of the sun gently caressed her cheeks as she rubbed her eyes and adjusted her vision. A notification screen flashed before her.


    [ First Challenge : 80% Town Favorability has been accomplished ]


    Achievement Reward : Silver-Ranked Items back in the Aetherland Guild are now available for purchase


    Ding! Prerequisites for the Acquisition of a Rare Ability has been met. Calculating causality... Please stand by...


    Calculations complete.


    Hidden Achievement Unlocked


    Description: The night was fraught with peril in every corner, tiptoeing on the edge of life and death, you danced with grace and unbridled ferocity. For performing a grand spectacle amidst the chaotic onslaught, adventurer [ Ashley ] is rewarded:


    [ Unique Skill : Belle of the Brawl ]


    Description: Upon activation, the user becomes invulnerable to all damage and crowd control effects for 1 minute.


    [ Second Challenge : Accumulate 3000 gold ]


    Deadline : 11 days


    Note: The remaining days of the finished challenge has been added to the deadline of the second challenge


    So... If there are five challenges, the practical exam should take about a month to finish, Ashley thought to herself.


    Putting on her adventurers'' outfit, checking her inventory and doing a light warm-up, she sets put of her to find the others and have breakfast.


    She visits Cassius first in his assigned room in the infirmary, nurses tended to him, adjusting his numerous bandages as he complains about slight discomfort from time to time.


    "How are the bruises young warrior?" Ashley inquires in playful banter.


    "Gee, I''ve made one reckless decision now everyone''s making fun of me," Cassius replied, his brows furrowed as he avoids Ashley''s gaze.


    "Everyone? You mean Ethan and Lorenz were here before I came?"


    "Yeah. Lorenz left some runechanted materials as thanks for the gold while Ethan fell asleep last night while reading my diary. He was gone when I woke up and my diary along with him.


    Ashley rummaged through the runechanted materials, she is surprise to find out that each one boosts a certain stats by a whopping 20 percent.


    [ Notice : Each Adventurer is allowed to Equip 3 Runechanted Items : Equipments 0 / 3 ]


    "I''ll keep some of these for now and equip them later. The professor must''ve went out to begin the second challenge, I should get going as well. In the meantime, get some rest."


    "Sure. I''ll be here, its not like I have a choice."


    "Come on now, stop sulking. We''ll cary you on the second challenge, BUT, you''ll have to pull your own weight on the third one," Ashley left with a playful wink.


    Cassius breathes a sigh of relief, "Good riddance."


    -----


    In an abandoned rundown building in a shady part of the town, the musty air coming from its damped architecture infused tension as two men faced each other. Their unresolved conflict has now manifested into a head-on confrontation.


    "Silly professor, as soon as I told you I know her whereabouts you rush all the way here like a rabid dog. Quite the contrast from the puppy who ran away with his tail tucked between his legs. If you had stopped me right in that tavern, so many more lives would''ve been saved. The townsfolk are dead, Ethan, and it''s all because of you."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Seated on a makeshift leather throne, Louie Dumas a.k.a. Professor Ex, slumped comically over the chair looked like it was a moment away from breaking apart. Runes representing might, agility, and durability adorned his pale skin, his muscle rippling with sinister vitality. It wasn''t something that appeared to be honed like body builders have, instead it gave off the impression of an ill-gotten power.


    "Quite the contrary, I am here solely because I need to put an end to your schemes," even now, Ethan''s hands are trembling uncontrollably. He had to put them in his pockets, he dark robe doing wonders to obscure his anxiety. Compared to his shaking hands and knees, Ethans'' eyes had a deathly glint. His heavy heart bore the resolve to kill– like a cornered mouse eager to pounce over its predator.


    "Oh I longed for this! I''m finally beating you one on one," Louie exclaims.


    Wait, what? What''s this about?


    "How many times was it now? You lost more than I could count!" Ethan bluffs pretending to know the subject of their conversation.


    "You only win because lady luck chooses to side with you. But in terms of writing skill, I''m far superior! Trained by the best instructors of the region. How am I inferior when compared to you who went in without any training?"


    So that''s what this is all about. Now he doesn''t sound so scary anymore.


    "You''re saying something—SECOND PLACE?"


    Louie gives out a haughty laugh, and replies, "You know I was fine with second place, sure, if the poor kid wanted to be first then let him. It was fine that we even got hired in the same institution, but you had to ruin my fun. Charlie, that trash reeked of poverty as much as you. Academic scholars? Don''t make me laugh. You''re just a bunch of scum feeding off bread crumbs that fall from our table."


    Finally, Ethan had the complete picture. This was once the kid who bawled his eyes out after losing to him in a national essay writing competition. Now that Professor Ex''s weakness laid bare, Ethan took his opportunity to add insult to injury:


    "Well atleast, I won those contests. Too bad all that money can''t buy you enough skill to surpass me. Either that or... You''re just pathetic."


    "INSOLENT FOOL! YOUR LUCK HAS RUN OUT, I AM YOUR DOWNFALL ETHAN!" Louie stood up enraged, as he was about to take another step—


    Rewrite Attribute : SOLID to Liquid


    –20 Lexical Points


    [ Lexical Reservoir : 80 / 150 ]


    Professor Ex lost his footing as the ground where he stood turn to liquid, the succeeding floors collapsed from the impact of his hulking figure making him plummet several stories down.


    "Frankly I''ve never seen you as my rival. Look how far you''ve fallen, trying to catch up to me," Ethan jests.


    "Quite the trick you have there, unfortunately, there are no judges who will side with you his time. Your luck has ran out."


    As he finished his sentence, several hooded figures appeared from all direction, seemingly trying to corner Ethan. They work masks with large black beaks and carry with them a scythe with inlaid ruby gems– their apparels bore the aesthetics of both a plague doctor and a death reaper.


    "So this was your plan? Such amateurish writing style is the reason why you never came first, winning isn''t as simple as stacking the odds against your opponent, you must be strong enough to carve a path of victory yourself."


    Reaching in his spatial inventory, Ethan pulls out several sticks and tosses them in all directions.


    "Βολ?δα (volída)"


    –10 Lexical Points


    [ Lexical Reservoir : 70 / 150 ]


    Fire exploded from all around Ethan as he jumps in the hole from which . The masked hooded figures now lay dead on the ground, Ethan barely sniffed the scent of burning flesh when he decided to hold his breath until he reaches a certain distance. He shuddered at that the realization that killing feels normal for him. He never killed anyone before coming to this world, but time and time again he is plunged in a situation where holding back meant losing his life. Ethan was done hesitating.


    "There''s more where that came from. Runechanted by yours truly!" Ethan exclaims as he steeled his resolve.


    "There, there. You''ve finally stooped to my level. Now that we''re both on the ground, I can finally put an end to your arrogance!" Louie shouts as he leapt to where Ethan was standing, a booming sound could be heard, the next thing Ethan knows is a humongous fist hitting him square in the face.


    –145 Bludgeoning damage! [ Mithril Armor Negated 100 damage ]


    [HP : 105 / 150 ]


    Ethan was send flying with one blow, his body slammed against the fragile edifice. The hit was strong enough to leave a dent on the wall. Ethan slumps overs, coughs up blood and struggled to maintain his balance. A few meters in front of him stood Louie, his twisted frame adapted a more grotesque form. Ethan wouldn''t have recognized him had not for his unusually disproportionate head sticking out conspicuously over his muscle bound shoulders.


    "I must admit, you are slightly better than me at writing, but when it comes to strength, I can run laps over your ex girlfriend before you could hit a homerun."


    "Trash like you don''t get to insult a woman of her caliber," Ethan wipes off the blood from his mouth and continues, "She may be my ex, but that insult will cost you your life."