Chapter 30: Final Order
–Chapter 30–
Title>> Final Order
Ding!
[Absolute Drop Authority Activated]
[Scanning...]
The mere sight of his Talent activating elevated the level of satisfaction Xavier felt.
But while he waited for the Talent to sort out the rewards he definitely didn’t deserve.
He focused on the rewards in front of him. The ones he had snuck right from under Juo’s nose. And he definitely deserved those.
Ignoring Timothee and Dex, who stood like statues staring at the rewards.
He read through quickly.
[Player Hunter X has triggered the one-time LAST-HIT BONUS]
[Last Hit Bonus — Vaguis the Bounded]
[Condition: Land the final blow on the dungeon boss]
His gaze moved down to where his prize waited.
***
[Skill Stone Acquired: Chains of the Bounded]
[Type: General Skill]
[Rank: B]
[Spirit Requirement: 20]
[Mana Cost: 15 per chain]
[Description: A skill stone containing a fragment of Vaguis’s burden. The chains that bound Vaguis to his penance for centuries now answer to a new master.
It allows its master to conjure a maximum of 5 controllable and versatile metal chains.]
[Effects: +15 Spirit, +10 Agility. Damage scales with Spirit.]
[Cool down: 30 minutes]
Going through the skill description, Xavier could almost recall how he had abused it in his previous playthroughs.
It was one of the most versatile skills in the early game. A B-rank skill, only a few steps below S-rank, even if the gulf between them was enormous. At this stage of the game, when many players didn’t even possess bloodlines yet, it was a game changer.
All that left was to increase his Spirit and meet the requirement for its absorption.
For now, he simply placed the black stone into his inventory.
In hindsight, he was fairly certain this skill and the next item amongst the bonus rewards were the reasons Juo was trying to outsmart everyone to get the last hit.
The next reward read.
[Item Acquired: Vaguis’s Essence]
[Type: Consumable]
[Rarity: Rare]
[Effect: Crush the core to permanently gain +3 Constitution, +3 Intelligence, +2 Spirit.
Fully restores HP and Mana upon use.]
[Description: The essence of the Bounded Imp carried far heavier weight than its frame should have allowed. But even in its longing, it persisted. That endurance now belongs to you.]
This reward had no requirements or restrictions whatsoever and, as such, Xavier didn’t waste another moment.
The item appeared in his open palm in the form of a solid ball of black-and-white energy.
It felt warm in his grasp. Soothing, even.
It swirled with the colours black and white, but never once did they mix. Instead, they shifted around each other in a hypnotic display.
Xavier took a deep breath, squeezed his hand into a fist and crushed the orb.
The colours exploded out like gas, slipping into his body through his eyes, nose and even his skin.
Half a second later, his entire body jerked from head to toe.
Every inch of his innards felt like he had been tossed into a freezing lake.
It was so chilling that Xavier couldn’t help but shiver.
The sensation was foreign and yet, for some reason, deeply soothing.
He didn’t need to open his character profile. He could sense the shift in every cell of his body.
His base attributes had definitely increased. Every trace of pain and exhaustion from mana depletion disappeared as well.
"Worth it," Xavier said inwardly.
His attention drifted to the last reward only momentarily.
After all, it was more of a challenge than a reward for Xavier. One he wouldn’t mind taking when the time was right.
[Title Fragment Acquired: Hollow Bane [1/3]]
[Collect all three fragments to earn the title.]
***
"Wait... you are not sharing with the rest of us too, right?"
Xavier narrowed his eyes at the statement.
He turned to Dex, the obvious culprit, but when he did, he found the loudmouth already under Timothee’s armpit in a playful grapple.
"Would you shut it, Dex."
The two playfully struggled, but Xavier could see Timothee was still in pain.
All three of them either had their HP bars in the red or yellow.
Juo, on the other hand, was feeling a different type of pain.
Emotional Damage...!
Her eyes had been on Xavier this whole time, bold lines of despair, or was it anger, etched across her forehead as she gripped her staff tightly.
"Yeah, you can share the loot. I just want coins," Xavier smiled.
At this point, they all paused.
"You for real?" Dex, who had playfully asked, seemed the most surprised.
"Yeah," Xavier nodded.
"Sweet..." Dex added.
Xavier didn’t bother with their sharing of the party loot.
If ever his greed wanted to tug at his common sense and force something from the general pool...
The golden-bordered notification, seen and loved by only him, changed his mind completely.
[Absolute Drop Authority Activated]
[Scanning completed]
[Difficulty Lock has been bypassed]
[Optimal Reward Identified]
[Intended Condition: First Solo player to defeat Vaguis the Bounded on Hard difficulty]
[Condition Status: Unmet]
[Present Status: Overridden]
[You’ve acquired the item: Final Order]
[Type: Summon]
[Rarity: Unique]
[Description: Vaguis was once bound to the Aspect of Cruelty before the Wardens existed. Before the oaths were broken. Before he was abandoned in the darkness to carry the weight of dead divinity.]
[Effect: Place your blood on the token to summon Vaguis the Bounded at full power for 60 seconds. The Imp recognizes the bloodline of Cruelty and obeys the summoner absolutely for the duration.]
"Yoooo," Xavier screamed inwardly. He was lost for words.
He had thought he would come back here in a few days after grinding rank-ups to clear Hard difficulty and earn this reward.
But clearly, Absolute Drop Authority thought that was a mediocre plan.
What was supposed to be the reward for the first solo clear of the hardest difficulty...
...was now his at Medium difficulty, with a party of five to boot.
If he had ever doubted this Talent because of its vagueness or rank...
That doubt disappeared faster than a Level One slime.
He looked at the dusty token that appeared in his hand like a blank coin.
His dormant bloodline, even at 10%, was already doing more than he could ask for.
This inheritance he hadn’t asked for. The Fallen Prince had called it a burden.
Maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn’t.
But Xavier knew one thing.
Even burdens could become weapons if you knew where to point them.
And Xavier already knew where to point his when the time came.
***
Closing the interface, he looked at the rest of the party, who were still sorting the rewards between themselves.
To be precise, Dex, Priya and even Juo had locked horns over who was getting the sword.
But to Xavier’s surprise, instead of mediating his flock...
Timothee sat alone on the shattered mirror floor, still bleeding from his fists, arms and back.
Xavier walked over and stopped beside him.
"You don’t look so good."
"I’ll survive. Once they are done, I can get some healing potions back at Stockholm."
"Kicking yourself for getting me instead of a healer, right?" Xavier folded his arms.
"Are you kidding me?" Timothee looked up at him.
"You are the best, Master X."
"Stop calling me that," Xavier chuckled. "Xavier is fine."
Timothee’s eyes widened as he jumped to his feet as though he hadn’t been nursing injuries a second ago.
He bowed slightly, wincing between words.
"Thank you. My name is Timothy... Sir X."
’From Master to Sir?’ Xavier cringed slightly.
’Why is this boy making me feel old?’ He sighed.
"I have a few healing salves. I can lend you some."
"Thank you. Thank you. THANK Y-"
Timothee kept his head bowed.
Xavier was about to reach into his inventory when a thought crossed his mind.
’Use Restore.’
He quickly brushed it off. But the thought persisted.
It sparked the curiosity that lived in his bones.
Xavier let out a dramatic sigh that made even Timothee raise his head.
He reached out and placed his hand on Timothee’s shoulder.
The boy’s HP bar was still in the yellow.
His shield arm was visibly trembling.
The burn on his shoulder from the secretion spray had blistered badly.
But amidst it all, Xavier focused. This would be the first time he would truly reach for his draconic bloodline.
ResTorE
The skill activated differently than he expected.
It was nothing like Mana Bullet, which was precise and instant.
On the contrary, it felt slower, deeper. As though he wasn’t simply using mana.
It felt like he was imposing his will onto Timothee.
He felt the injury through his palm. The torn muscles, damaged tissues The heat of the burn still radiating, fighting back and losing to his will.
Then he pushed further...
A warm and steady ray of golden light pooled in his palm and spread around the boy.
To Timothee, it felt like warmth had hugged him.
But to Xavier...
It was like remembering what the shoulder and the body were supposed to be...
...And he was telling the world to catch up.
About thirty seconds later, the blisters faded, the torn muscles knitted themselves, and the boy’s HP bar climbed.
[Player Timothee — HP: 280/280]
Timothee straightened his body without a trace of pain.
He looked at Xavier, then at his shoulder, now as clean as the skin of a newborn.
"You’re a healer."
Xavier scoffed, denial dripping from his voice.
"I’m not a healer."
--End of Chapter--