Chapter 1019: Progenitor
Chapter 1019: Progenitor
Walking through the streets of Algerie, a pair of men slowly made their way to an inn late at night.
"It's been a while since we've been here," said Wells to Edward, his expression that of slight excitement. "It's also been a while since we've last seen Valyr."
Having participated in the war against the orcs, it went without saying that Wells' appearance had drastically changed.
Wearing the uniform that was commonly worn by those in the frontlines, Wells had mostly lost the adventurous look he had in the past.
Instead, it was replaced with the look of a battle-hardened veteran, the various wounds and scars on his body a reminder of his various struggles.
On the other hand, Edward now looked like a capable commander on the battlefield, even though his age was still that of an early teenager.
Nevertheless, the talent he'd shown in both combat and tactics had garnered the attention and approval of many in the battlefield, which was part of the reason why they were finally able to return to the inn where they stayed.
"It's been 10 months since we've last seen him," said Edward, slightly hastening his footsteps as he adorned a faint smile. "How much stronger do you think he is right now?"
"Probably a lot more than we can imagine," replied Wells as he let out laughter. "After all, he's been in an inheritance for quite a long time."
"But that doesn't mean our improvements are nothing to talk about either," continued the man, to which Edward nodded in agreement as they hastened their paces once more.
With the strength they've honed and tempered thanks to the ongoing war, it only took a few more minutes for the two to arrive at the inn where they resided.
With various thoughts and scenarios flashing in their minds, a look of excitement could be seen on both of their faces as they opened the door.
Yet, just as they were expecting to be greeted by the sight of a smiling Valyr, they were instead greeted by the same sight they left behind when they enlisted for war in the first place.
"..." For a while, silence covered the entire space as Edward and Wells looked at each other in slight confusion.
"Did he not come to the inn in the first place?"
As this question appeared in their minds, the two began to walk around the room for a bit, eventually confirming their suspicions as they let out sighs of relief.
"He's just outside," said Wells, noticing that a considerable number of items had been moved since they headed to the battlefield. "From the looks of it, it's been a while since he left."
"He's probably busy, then," replied Edward, his body beginning to relax as he finally found an outlet to release the stress and fatigue he'd accrued from the battlefield. "Should we tell him we're already back at the inn?"
"Of course." Wells nodded at Edward's suggestion, immediately sending a message to Valyr before beginning to relax as well. "In the meantime, I guess let's make the most out of this brief respite."
"A week," murmured Edward with a faint sigh. "We'll have to return to the frontlines after a week."
"As long as we get stronger, something like that eventually wouldn't matter." Wells looked at the young teenager with a smile. "At some point, we'll be able to return here whenever we want."
"But I do hope Valyr comes back here before we head back to the battlefield."
...
"Mngh..."
Feeling like he'd woken up from an incredibly deep sleep, Valyr took a while to realize his current situation.
Giving his consciousness the time it needed to fully awaken, the young man eventually sat up on the side of the bed, only to notice that a greater amount of strength was beginning to course throughout his body.
Recalling that he'd ascended to the next class rank, Valyr became curious as to how much his strength had changed, prompting him to clench his fists to get a rough idea of how much stronger he'd gotten.
Though, at the very moment he did so, the young man sucked in a breath of cold air in surprise, his consciousness immediately becoming fully alert as he slowly stood up from the bed.
Then, letting out a faint sigh of relief, he then began to do a few basic movements with his body, giving himself the opportunity he needed to acclimate to his newfound strength.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pushing his body to its utmost limits, it went without saying that a breeze was gradually brewing within the room, even more so now that he was a Rank 4 class holder.
Fortunately, Valyr was able to regain control over his entire strength in time, his expression turning into that of relief before proceeding to go through his usual routine.
"Huh. I was out for an entire day." Taking a longer shower than usual, Valyr brought up the timer that counted down the remaining days before Greater Beyond was out to the public. Though he was both concerned and excited when he noticed that there were only less than two months left before the public release, the young man pushed those thoughts to the side for the meantime as he continued on with his routine.
Wearing a fresh set of clothes, Valyr briefly took a look at himself in the mirror, only to freeze in place after noticing that there were a few minor changes to his appearance.
For one, he noticed that a couple inches were added to his height, which was something Valyr considered to only be noticeable if one had interacted with him for a long time.
Other than that, he felt that his face looked more aesthetically pleasing than before, though he wasn't sure what the exact reason was.
Faintly smiling as he took note of these changes, Valyr also took note of the changes that happened to him internally, specifically the muscles making up his body.
Though they didn't look any different to how they were before, the young man felt that his muscles were far more dense than before, possibly due to the fact that it had to accommodate the greater strength he now wielded.
Doing a few basic combat movements because of that realization, Valyr soon realized that he could exert more control over his body, eliciting a grin to appear on his face as he sat once more on the bed.
"System, bring up my notification screen." Though he'd already familiarized himself with the various changes that happened to his body, Valyr wanted to get a more detailed idea of how much he'd improved thanks to the ascension.
Ding!
With that, he brought up his notification screen, immediately being bombarded with numerous notifications that involved the increase of stats.
Going through them one by one, the smile on Valyr's face gradually grew larger and larger as
he felt that a wider path had been opened to him.
However, that smile became crooked once his gaze landed on a couple of notifications.
[...]
[...]
[You are the only Prime Azure Origin in the universe!]
[Being the owner of a new Origin-type race, you have become the progenitor of a new race!]
[...]
[...]
[You have obtained the title 'Progenitor of a New Race'.]