Chapter 75: Alex’s Secret Weapon "Brittle vials are no longer enough, Dim Dim," Alex said. "Time to use our secret weapon!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖 "Dim?" Dim Dim blinked in confusion. It tried to recall if they had other secret weapons aside from their brittle vials but couldn’t come up with any. "Did you forget?" Alex asked. "Our secret weapon is calling for reinforcements!" Alex took out a small round ball from his storage ring and threw it high up above their heads. A few seconds later, it exploded and left red smoke lingering in the air. The Elder of the Hartwell Clan had gifted the ring to Alex, and with it came a promise that the latter could use it to ask for help if he was ever in danger. Although he wasn’t truly in danger, the situation was dire enough to need some backup right away. The sound of something rumbling spread in the city as over two hundred Catkins bulldozed their way in Alex’s direction. Right after seeing the red smoke, they stopped fighting their opponents and immediately rushed over. They were only hundreds of meters away from Alex, so with their speed, they arrived at his location in less than two minutes. One of the airships of the Kingdom of Avalon noticed the movement of the Catkins and followed behind them. When they arrived at the plaza, the captain of the airship immediately ordered a bombardment to clear out the mass of monsters still trying to push their way deeper inside the Town of Thaloria. "Protect the Oathkeeper!" the Elder of the Hartwell Clan shouted before unleashing dozens of Earth Spikes at the Orcs that had decided to target Alex and his small party. These Orcs died instantly after being impaled by the Earth Spikes that jutted out from the ground. But it didn’t end there. Believing their Oathkeeper was being bullied, the Catkins charged at the monsters with wild abandon, their furious eyes already seeing corpses instead of enemies. "Damn! You dare to attack our Oathkeeper?!" "Courting death!" "Kill those Orcs! Show them the might of the Clawford Tribe!" "No one touches our boy, Alex!" ""For the Clan!"" The battle looked similar to a gang war where both sides pummeled, hacked, and slashed each other to oblivion. "See?" Alex said with a smile. "My plan B worked." "..." "..." Elaine and Efa were rendered speechless because they hadn’t expected that the Clawford Tribe truly held the young man in high regard. They had already been surprised earlier when seeing how willing the Catkins were to help Alex. Seeing that the young man seemed to be more important to Catkins than they had thought, they couldn’t help but feel lucky that they had befriended him. After all, it couldn’t hurt to be friends with someone who had a powerful backer. Some of the Catkins even advised Alex to take a break and to leave all the small fries to them. The young man naturally thanked them before asking Dim Dim if it could find the trace of Cairo, as well as the cloaked person who had been running away earlier. However, to his surprise, Dim Dim gave him a piece of good news. "Dim Dim." "Oh? Master has already captured that person?" "Dim!" "As expected of Master." Alex subconsciously lifted his chin, feeling proud of Cairo. Just as Alex was thinking of what to do next, he once again heard a notification sound inside of his head, and rows of text appeared in front of him. —— < Congratulations! You have cleared a Hidden Quest! > < Quest Name: Prevent the Destruction of the Town of Thaloria! > — The Town of Thaloria is one of the important outposts of the Kingdom of Avalon. Destroying it will cause mass panic and confusion among the people. — The Demon Worshipers have corrupted the leaders of the Orcs and Goblins, ordering them to destroy and burn the Town of Thaloria to the ground. — You have thwarted their plans, and now, they have become aware of your existence! Rewards: 2,000 Arcana Points, 500 Gold Coins. —--- Alex flinched after reading the information about the Hidden Quest, which he had unknowingly completed. While the rewards were good, he was starting to feel a little anxious about the line that mentioned Demon Worshipers becoming aware of his existence. This secret organization was one of the antagonists in the Story Mode of ELO and, frankly, they were a pain to deal with in the game. ’Let’s just pretend that I didn’t see that.’ Alex pushed the notification window aside. There were more pressing things at hand, and he didn’t want to worry about dealing with the Demon Worshipers right now. Suddenly, he heard another notification sound inside his head. Thinking that it was still about the Demon Worshipers, the young man forced himself to look at the blue window in front of him. [Level Up!] ’That’s better,’ Alex thought, sighing in relief as he calmly added more points to his Agility Stat. ’I need to become more agile so I can run from those bastards if they ever come to find me.’ The battle continued for one more hour before the last of the monsters were finally defeated. During that time period, Alex gained four more levels, making him very happy. Not only did he become a Rank 2 Oathkeeper, but he also gained some additional skills after reaching the second stage of his Job Class. —— < Congratulations! > < You have become a Rank 2 Oathkeeper! > < You have learned the skill, Unyielding Pact > < You have learned the skill, Echo of the Sworn > < You have learned the skill, Balance Breaker > < You have learned the skill, Rebuke of Steel > —— [Unyielding Pact] Magic Cost: 10 — A short-duration aura that bolsters the resolve of allies nearby, slightly increasing their resistance to fear, charm, or mind-affecting effects. [Echo of the Sworn] Magic Cost: 10 — Your voice resonates with the force of your Oath. Grants a small morale boost to allies, and marks you as a threat to nearby enemies, drawing aggro more easily. [Balance Breaker] Magic Cost: 10 — Bypass all defenses. — Your strike briefly staggers enemies who target allies under your protection, interrupting spells or charging attacks if timed well. [Rebuke of Steel] — Passive Skill — After blocking or parrying an attack, it has a 30% chance to counterattack with enhanced speed and force, dealing increased damage if the enemy is targeting an ally. —— ’The new skills are all good,’ Alex thought. ’As expected of a Hidden Class bestowed by The Lovers.’ The Oathkeeper was a defense-oriented class like the Shield Savant. Because of this, most of the skills he would learn were defensive in nature. In order to have some sort of offensive abilities, Alex intended to use the Super Rare [EX] Skill Book in his possession to learn an offensive skill that could grow stronger alongside him. But he was holding off from learning the skill he had in mind for now because there was a 10% chance that he could get the same skill in Briarwood Village, where Charles Lambert lived. Although the chance was low, the possibility still existed. So, saving the skill for now was a better choice. The young man was certain that he would feel immense regret if he got a duplicate skill after using his super rare skill book. Although the battle finally ended, no one felt like cheering for their victory. Captain Santino and Darius both looked sadly at their fallen comrades. Before the reinforcements arrived, they had been forced to fight tooth and nail with hundreds of monsters that had invaded the city. The city guards only had a fifth of their total forces remaining, and hundreds of Adventurers had also died in battle. If the Catkins and the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Avalon had failed to arrive on time, they would have been wiped out for sure. The rest, most likely the women, would have been subjected to the worst pain and humiliation. As for the normal townsfolk? Well, their fate would have been the same as those who tried to defend the Town of Thaloria until their last breath. They were indeed victorious, but it was difficult to rejoice. Once again, Alex affirmed to himself that he was no longer playing a game but living in a new reality, where calamities like this could happen anytime, anywhere. Only by becoming stronger would he be able to protect himself, as well as the people whom he wished to protect, in this world of ever-changing destinies. "Dim Dim, let’s become stronger," Alex vowed. "Strong enough to prevent another tragedy like this from happening again." "Dim!" Dim Dim nodded with determination because it, too, shared Alex’s sentiments. This was the first time the Dim Sum God was involved in a large-scale battle. And frankly, it wished that it could have saved more lives alongside the young man, whom Eriol had chosen to protect the world that it had created with the power of its divinity.