The other arrows that could be summoned were also quite impressive. Eldrian couldn't truly test their abilities to the fullest. Still, each one had some skill which it was seemingly more effective with.
The other elements you could summon were:
Fire, allowing for an explosion on contact (cliche, yes. But also effective). From the description, the explosion would be on par with Tier 5 AOE spells. Meanwhile, the arrow itself would be blindingly hot. Enough to melt metal if it stayed in contact with any.
Nature was the third arrow type, though it was perhaps more a hybrid of water and nature—releasing a cloud of poison. From the description, it sounds like a deadly choice. The arrow itself, of course, would be coated in the poison. A direct hit would be extremely deadly.
Water and Earth both had some strange descriptions. Eldrian couldn't make heads or tails of what they were supposed to do, so he tested it.
Water would act as a beacon for what Eldrian could only describe as a water ball spell. It had no destructive properties on its one but hit it anywhere on a person's upper body, and their head would be underwater. Water that was rapidly rotating. It would not be easy to remove the arrow, or really do anything within that ball of spinning aqua.
Earth, in contrast, would summon spikes from the ground toward the arrow. Eldrian couldn't really say which was deadlier. Water was slower, but almost impossible to survive if you weren't strong enough and didn't act quickly enough. Earth, on the other hand, could be dodged somewhat easily. If you knew what was coming, that is. And unlike water, a miss would be quite dangerous too.
"It's not a bad drop, perhaps an archer's dream, but..." Eldrian mumbled. It just wasn't something he was interested in. For Wind (a shower of sharp objects), he could simply summon any of the weather-type spells he knew—like Chalázi págou (Ice Rain). Or Icicle Barrage, or Ice Shower... All his projectile spells seemed to be ice related.i
For Fire, any fire spell would really do. For nature, well, Eldrian didn't really know many poison spells. But he could learn some if he wanted. Hybrid spells weren't much of a challenge for him, though it was for normal mages.
Water and Earth, while the arrow focal was interesting, it was basically like Willo's Cage ability but... different.
Eldrian might call them weaker, but, honestly, they simply worked differently. And sure, the earth one did less damage than any of Willo Cages (or even Eldrian's spells), but it had that surprise factor when used. Normally you wouldn't expect an arrow to summon spears from the ground to skewer you.
Still, Eldrian considered this one a dud. He would likely offer it to Zyviss, and if the man didn't want it, he would sell it. Extra cash never hurt.
"So, that just leaves you," Eldrian said, turning to the remaining present (treasure chest). But, after the Elemental Quiver, his hopes were low. Still, that didn't mean it wasn't exciting.
Taking a firm grip on the present, Eldrian thought "Open". Anticipation sending tingles through his body.
Just like last time, the present shone blindingly. When it subsided, Eldrian held in his hand a small stone. Not much larger than his thumb's fingernail. For a moment, he thought it was another dud.
His heart sank. Two S-Ranked treasure chests giving him only a handful of cash was nothing short of a disappointment. The stone didn't even look all that impressive. It was dull, as far as stones went. An almost charcoal gray. Didn't seem like anything precious.
Still, Eldrian had to check what it was. When he did, his heart skipped a beat.
[Divine Grace — Rank: Legendary]
Eldrian didn't even know there were any materials above Rank 5. As far as he knew, Magic Crystals were the most valuable material, though not the rarest. That honor likely fell to something like lightstones or something.
Yet, here the treasure chest had gifted him a legendary ranked material. And one Eldrian knew he had a use for. He had to question if this should even be possible, and the likelihood for him to get the drop...
'Is there some cheating going on?' Eldrian had to ask himself.
He had almost forgotten about the quest from GAIA, Kosmos. The one supposedly that would help him unlock his hidden abilities. The fact that he got something he had been needing so easily... felt more than a little strange.
Honestly, Eldrian didn't know if he still needed to complete the said quest. Ziraili was now training him personally, after all.
But, still, that had been something he had hoped Creation could help him with. After all, for the aspect of order, he needed a Magic Crystal.
"I still... Wait, no. With this, and with Creation, I will only need one more aspect..."
"I need to consult with Ziraili about this." Still, this meant he now had four out of the five aspects.
Divinity: Divine Grace.
Space: Voidstone (Eldrian had kept a few smaller pieces for self-use). Apparently, Abbyssalite would also be acceptable.
Time: His own bloodline of Chronos. Apparently, if he didn't have that specific bloodline 'key', he would need to go hunting dragons.
Order: Magic Crystals (he hoped the artificial ones would count).
Chaos: Missing. The last aspect he would need to find. He had long ago used his Death Crystal to win his duel against Zaphreal.
'But, if I need only an aspect of Chaos, I should be able to focus my efforts.' Pausing, Eldrian wondered if he should try to incorporate these into his next breakthrough. If he made it one of the steps... just how massive a jump in strength could he expect?
It took him a few minutes to stop daydreaming. Eldrian felt that his 'stat' growth would be limited. There were some weird rules in place. Sadly, ANW, for all its realism, still had to follow game rules.
The reality of this world was warped, yet things still function. That, Eldrian felt, was perhaps the most impressive of all.
Returning his attention to the stone's statistics, Eldrian wondered what made it so special.
[Divine Grace — Rank: Legendary]
[A small crystal carrying within it immense power. Near impossible to find, these crystals can only be found in the heart of a mana storm.]
That really, really, put it into perspective. Eldrian didn't get any more details, even when using Mana Sense at full blast.
Still, it did tell him quite a lot. Mana storms, also known as Chaotic Storms, or storms of chaos, were apocalyptic events. According to the lore of ANW (Eldrian didn't know how much most players knew), but from what he knew, these were the driving forces behind the invasions.
These storms were so destructive that they destroy entire contents as they pass. And, apparently, Divine Grace could only be found in the eye of such a storm.
From the wording, Eldrian also assumed that it meant the crystal/stone would be consumed in the storm (it felt like and looked more like a stone than a crystal, due to its dull appearance).
Most likely, the Divine Grace's formation was what finally caused the trigger for a Mana Storm. Though, from what Eldrian knew, these storms were chaotic in nature. Hence their namesake. Why, then, was one of the aspects of Divinity, in its center?
Naturally, Eldrian had a few assumptions. The most likely of which was because of the essence behind divinity. There was nothing divine behind divinity. It was simply the application of lifeforce mixing with mana.
In simple terms, Incinerate could be classified as a divine spell. However, since there was no divine intervention in its casting, it isn't classified as such.
'Divine intervention...' That part was where Eldrian's focus honed in. Lifeforce was little more than a part of the fundamental energy making up the entirety of ANW. Apparently, the same held true for the universe/dimension where Earth was.
The latter wasn't important. What was important was two things: One, the Divine Grace was likely crystalized lifeforce. Two, it was formed by divine guidance.
Eldrian wasn't sure of the second piece, but he was of the first. Which caused him to shake. A mixture of fear and exhilaration running through him.
This crystal in his hands was, more than likely, more dangerous than an atomic bomb.
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