Chapter 12: Silent Striders < Intelligence +1 > The more Alex learned about alchemy, the more he felt a new door for his ideal character build opening. He had just finished reading the Basics of Alchemy Book 2, and it had once again made him feel that he had made the right decision to study alchemy. It had been three days since Alex had met Cairo, and he was now getting used to his daily routine of running in the morning while carrying a basket that was half filled with rocks. After he finished his run, he would have breakfast, take a shower, and head to the library to read. He had given himself exactly ten days to raise his stats to the best of his abilities before he started taking on missions like collecting herbs in the forest. There was always a chance of encountering a monster, like Horned Rabbits, Goblins, Forest Boars, and Forest Wolves, while looking for herbs. This was why Alex was doing his best to make himself fit enough to fight against these monsters if they ever got in the way of his herb-collecting mission. ***** Alex Stratos Age: 17 Mana: (N/A) Job Class: (N/A) Strength - 8 Intelligence - 5 Dexterity - 1 Agility - 16 Constitution - 10 Stamina - 10 Magic - 0 Luck - 4 Available Stat Points: 0 AP: 10 Skills: (N/A) [Difficulty Level: Hell Mode] ***** Training in the earlier stages yielded good results, so he raised his stats quite easily. However, as time went on, it would become harder to raise stats. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖 This was also the reason why he was doing his best to raise his stats to the limit before he embarked on his mission to clear the Trial of Frieden Academy. But before taking the trial of the Academy, the young man had decided he would go to Briarwood Village first. The reason? He need to go to the Dungeon of Beginnings, which would bring him to the City of Harmonia. This was also the city where the Frieden Academy was located and where the Main Story Quest would begin. Alex had also put Charles Lambert into consideration when choosing alchemy to study. He planned to create as many potions as possible so that when the time came, he would have a higher chance of clearing the dungeon with Charles. The young man’s Unique Tutorial Quest had remained unbeaten for a whole year until Alex had succeeded through sheer luck. To be honest, Alex was feeling very anxious and afraid. He knew that entering the Dungeon of Beginnings with Charles would transform a simple dungeon into a slaughterhouse, where the latter would fight a battle of life and death. Getting entangled with the other party’s fate would bring him to great danger, but if he turned a blind eye to this scenario, he would feel guilty all his life. Alex was also hoping that he would be able to befriend Cairo so that the Catkin Swordsman could accompany him in this mission, raising their chances of success. "Dim Dim." "Thank you, Dim Dim. But don’t you remember? Eating food in the library is prohibited. I’ll just turn a blind eye this time because I’m the one doing the eating. Hohohoh!" "Dim Dim~" The Dim Sum God had a knack for befriending anyone it met. Dim Dim had been giving the Librarian some baked tarts with custard filling as well as sesame balls, which the Librarian liked to eat. Because of this, she had developed a good impression of Alex and Dim Dim, who always visited the library together. The young man, who had just returned the book, picked up the Dim Sum God and placed him on top of his head like a small hat. The people in the Town of Thaloria had gotten used to seeing him walk around town with Dim Dim perched on top of his head, and the kids didn’t hesitate to greet their little friend, who waved back at them with a smile. And since the little one was very friendly with the locals, they were also friendly to Alex by association. After eating dinner, Alex returned to his room with Dim Dim. The Dim Sum God didn’t hesitate to jump into the bed to sleep, while Alex opened the magic lamp so he could write a few more things in his diary. This included the locations of the hidden items that he remembered inside the Floating Forest, where he planned to go after three more days of training. The Floating Forest was a forest located on a floating island half the size of the Floating Island of Thaloria. The forest spanned six miles, and it was one of the most common places for Adventurers to visit when they gathered herbs or hunted some monsters and beasts for their missions. ’If I head deeper inside the Forest, I will definitely encounter Rank 3 Monsters like Hobgoblins,’ Alex thought. ’Rank 2 monsters like Goblin Mage and Goblin Shamans are also dangerous, and I don’t want to encounter any of them either.’ Alex then glanced at the landmark located on the Floating Forest’s map, which the Adventurer’s Guild distributed for free. ’Fairy Lake,’ Alex mused. ’Should I attempt to go there to retrieve that item?’ There were a few items around the vicinity of the Floating Island of Thaloria, and one of them was located in the Fairy Lake. ***** < Silent Striders > Item Grade: Rare Stats: +2 Stealth, +3 Agility Effect: Reduces noise while walking, making sneaky approaches easier. ***** The Silent Striders were a decent pair of boots that increased stealth abilities and the Agility Stat. It was a good item, but in order to get it, one must first swim to the center of the lake where the Water Fairies lived. Fortunately, the Water Fairies weren’t aggressive monsters. They were quite docile and only attacked when provoked. The only problem was getting to the location of the lake. In order to go there, Alex would need to enter the hunting grounds of Rank 2 Monsters, which would increase the difficulty of his mission. ’Should I wait till I have higher stats or risk it?’ Alex wondered. ’I can always visit it before I leave for Briarwood Village in two months. By then, I’m confident I will be able to handle a Rank 2 Monster in a one-on-one fight.’ After weighing the pros and cons, Alex decided to survey the area first. If he didn’t meet any strong monsters along the way, he would proceed with his plan. But if he met a strong monster, he would not hesitate to return another day. For him, nothing could be possibly more important than his life. He then listed the other rare items located around the Floating Island of Thaloria. Alex planned to sell the items he didn’t need or wasn’t compatible with. This was a good way to secure some funds to buy some equipment. He also needed to save up some funds for his journey to Briarwood Village. After writing everything that he could think of, the young man turned off the magic lamp and headed to bed. A few seconds later, he was fast asleep, dreaming of accidentally finding a Divine Weapon, which allowed him to become the strongest person in the world of Arcana.