Chapter 279: Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy [Part 1] Alex silently stared at the blue window screen in front of him. Although it had been a couple of days since they returned from their trip to the Heracle Mountains, the experience he gained from the trial he had gone through was still fresh in his mind. Near the end of the trial, when he and Latifa let themselves go so that Kael and Princess Yvraine could take over, they unexpectedly tapped into each other’s memories. Obviously, it was impossible to see everything within such a short time, but what they found out was enough to better understand each other. For Alex, he finally knew why Latifa slept all the time. But vice versa, the fox lady must’ve seen his past life. But they unanimously didn’t bring it up. It was just that, when he dreamt of his guildmaster, Noelle, Latifa unexpectedly showed up, and the oddness of it all made him believe that it might not be a simple coincidence. Perhaps his subconscious mind truly thought of Latifa, worried about the things she might’ve seen from his memories. He didn’t know to what extent she saw, but he feared she’d have a misunderstanding. A game. Endless Leveling Online was a game, and Latifa was one of the characters in that game. If the young lady had seen him play that game, it would only be normal for her to have questions. Frankly, Alex dreaded that she’d confront him and demand that he tell her everything. If someone were to tell you that your life was a lie, and you were just part of a game world, how would you react? There was only one word to describe that reaction, and that would be none other than... Denial. Alex stared blankly at the blue window screen, which showed his rewards in the Trial of Morgim. ————— [You Have Completed An Arcana Quest!] [Quest Name: The War-Forged Past Completed!] — First part of 3 Chain Quests Complete! Rewards: — You have acquired the second half of the Verdant Throne. — You have gained 5,000 Arcana Points — You have gained two levels. — You have gained +20 Stat Points to Magic — You learned the skill, Light. < Second Half Of Verdant Throne > — Increases your stamina regeneration rate by 200% — Increase your healing regeneration by 200% — increase your physical defense by 100% — Once a day, when your health point goes lower than 10%, you will instantly regain 50% of your maximum health. < Light > — creates an orb of light that illuminates your surroundings up to a seven-meter radius. ——— Alex then glanced at his status page to check how many stats he would need to become a Rank 3 Oathkeeper. ——— Alex Stratos Age: 17 Alignment: Chaotic Good Mana: 326/326 Job Class: Oathkeeper Subclass: Demon Slayer Strength - 79[+6] Intelligence - 30 [+3] Dexterity - 20 [+3] Agility - 110 [+3] Constitution - 77 [+4] Stamina - 77 [+4] Magic - 323 [+3] Luck - 24 [+3] Available Stat Points: 0 AP: 16,740 Divine Skill: Voice of the End. Unique Skill: Power of the Verdant Throne. Active Skills: Oathkeeper’s Duty, Shield [EX], Shield Bash, Unyielding Pact, Echo of the Sworn, Balance Breaker, Shield Charge, Rear-Ender Thrust, Enchant Fire, Enchant Holy, Culling Blade, Grand Cross, Light. Passive Skills: Improved Stone Throw, Head Shot, Rebuke of Steel, Shield of Thorns, Multi-task. [Difficulty Level: Hell Mode] ——— A/N: When calculating stats for a Rank up, it would always be calculated using Alex’s base stats without any passive bonuses from skills, or equipment. —— "My combined stats is two-hundred ninety-six," Alex muttered. "In order to become a Rank 3 Oathkeeper, I need five hundred combined stat points." His current stats weren’t that bad. If anything, his improvement was quite fast, given that he had only been in the world of Arcana for a few months. However, his fight against Willow and the Barbarian King served as a big reminder to Alex—that his opponents would not wait for him to get stronger. If not for his passive skills that prevented him from losing his life over insta-kill attacks, repeatedly facing off against someone whose Rank was two or more levels above him would’ve been suicide. Of course, pure defense without offense wouldn’t have been enough to save his life. Fortunately, Alex had one more trump card—his reflection ability. As long as he could tank one hit from the enemy, they would suffer from the reflection damage, which would definitely deal decent damage against them. But that only worked against physical and aura-based attacks. If magic was used, his reflection ability would not activate. In other words, fighting against Mages needed a different kind of approach. Fran was already a Rank 4 Dwarven Berserker, which meant that her combined stats were above eight hundred. Those who could step onto that stage at her current age weren’t geniuses anymore. They’d already be regarded as prodigies, and sometimes, Heaven’s Chosen. Latifa was a Rank 3 Celestial Walker, but she would have an explosive growth in their second year, which would boost her to Rank 5 Celestial Walker before the start of her Third Year in the academy. If she followed the normal route, then no problem would happen in the story. But if she strayed off the right path, she would become one of the Mini Bosses whom the Protagonist would have to fight to the death. A Rank 5 Celestial Walker was no joke, and truth be told, Alex didn’t want to face that ending. ’It’s a little vexing, but I need to get stronger as fast as possible,’ Alex thought as he looked at his stats. Then, the image of the young fox lady appeared inside his mind. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 ’I also need to have a talk with Latifa.’ Alex sighed. ’I need to know just how much of my memory she has seen.’ Thinking about her made Alex sigh a second time. "Dim Dim, I would just like to confirm something," Alex said in a serious tone. "This world is real, right?" Dim Dim nodded. "Dim." "And Earth is real too, right?" "Dim." "Then, why does ELO know about the future events of this world?" Alex asked. "If I didn’t interfere, would Charles really die? If I didn’t try to save Vaan, would Willow succeed in taking over his body and devouring his soul? Would Chuck experience that bad ending where Xenia *bleeped* him?" Dim Dim didn’t answer right away. Instead, it jumped toward the window and looked at the stars in the sky. It was as if it was looking for the answers to Alex’s question from the sky’s countless stars, twinkling and lighting up the dark as if to give those who see them feel hope despite the challenges that they were facing every day.