Back underneath the sect’s perpetual thunderstorm, Lassim stepped through the large open doors of the bustling mission hall, the scent of beast carcasses being worked on filling his nostrils.
Today it seemed there was a particularly large and smelly beast that looked like an amalgamation of an ogre and a slime being butchered which caused the staff to light several intense sticks around the hall to help combat the smell.
The clerk Lassim chose to approach was a middle-aged man with thinning hair and spectacles perched on the edge of his nose. He glanced up as Lassim reached his counter.
Wasting no time, Lassim transferred the bundles of Stone Whisper Flowers in the collection pouch, each one still remarkably well preserved and fresh.
"Ah, initiate rank disciple Lassim," the clerk greeted, adjusting his glasses. "You’ve returned from your mission. Let’s see how many you’ve managed to collect."
With practiced efficiency, the clerk transferred the pouch to a worker behind him who unwrapped the pouch and spread out the bundles on his table, counting the flowers one by one. Then he write down a number on a slip before stamping it and handing it back to the clerk.
The clerk’s eyebrows raised slightly as the count surpassed the expected number.
"Impressive," he remarked.
"Looks like you’ve brought back more than double that amount required. That makes… Twenty points for the base requirement… and an additional thirty-three points for the extra flowers. Well done."
Lassim accepted the merit points with a nod, but before he could turn to leave and head towards the library for research, the clerk cleared his throat.
"Ahem… Hold on, Lassim. It’s been over three months since your last assigned mission for your rank. You must complete another mission at your current power level, or you’ll be sent back to servant rank once more. Additionally, with successful competition, this will be your last required initiate rank mission before you can apply for the disciple rank increase assessment."
Lassim sighed as he nearly forgot about this in the midst of his mission grinding, "What missions do you have lined up for me?"
The clerk pulled out a stack of parchment papers and spread them out on the counter. "Here are your options. You can choose to gather lightning worms in the underground caves, escort a group of new sect disciples from one of our transfer cities, or collect venom sacs from Sand Cobras.
Since I can tell you’re grinding merit points, it should be noted that the venom sacs are particularly valuable as they are used to make a unique limb recovery potion. This is the highest earning mission with an entire merit point per sac submitted. You’ll need to collect at least 100 sacs from Sand Cobras at Spirit Transformation stage or higher for a successful return.
You’d have two weeks to complete this mission."
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Lassim’s interest piqued at the mention of the venom sacs. "I’m certainly interested in that one, thank you. I’ll take the Sand Cobra mission," he said decisively.
The clerk handed him the mission sheet before making a note in his log book. Lassim then left the hall after rolling up the parchment and storing it away. His mind, however, kept drifting back to the strange stone with ancient runes.
Deciding to hurry and seek some answers, Lassim headed to the sect’s library first.
The grand building was filled with towering shelves of books and scrolls, each one containing knowledge accumulated over centuries.
He approached the librarian, the same woman he met last time he was here, a stern-looking woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun today.
"Excuse me," Lassim began, "Can you help me find something? I’m looking for information on ancient runes and symbols. Possibly to help me translate and understand their meaning. Do you have any books on the subject?"
The librarian’s expression softened slightly as she stood up, gesturing for him to follow, to which she then led him to a section filled with dusty tomes and scrolls. "These are our texts on ancient runes. Feel free to browse, but handle them with care. We’ll deduct 5 merit points for every two hours you spend here."
Lassim thanked the librarian and spent the next four hours poring over the books across the many shelves, his eyes scanning page after page of complex symbols and runic language.
Despite his efforts, he found nothing that matched the runes on the stone or anything remotely close to it. Frustration gnawed at him, but he knew he could possibly ask someone else for help.
He then thanked the librarian once more as he left the library empty-handed.
Next, he decided to seek out Elder Taltos. He was an unlikely person to have the answer, but he was very helpful last time and he knew Lassim’s situation. He also seemingly hadn’t told anyone else as in the months since their meeting, nothing had changed in Lassim’s daily life.
However, upon arriving at the Elder’s residence, he knocked and knocked and knocked, only to receive no answer. He was just leaving when a disciple that was passing by called out, "Hey you looking for Elder Taltos?"
"Yes? Do you know where he is?" Lassim replied.
"Ah, well he just left on a mission out of the sect for the next week. He pays me with free 1-on-1 lessons to make sure his house is clean and spotless. He doesn’t like the dust to build up and my room in the Skilled Disciples residence is just down the street, so I always offer to help when he leaves for extended periods." The disciple said.
Lassim thanked him before walking away, "Ah, darn. Okay. Thanks for the help!"
After a few more steps Lassim muttered to himself, "Perfect timing…"
With no other immediate options to figure out the stone, he resolved to focus on his current mission first.
Exiting the main entrance gate once more, Lassim journeyed his way over to the western side of the desert where the parchment sheet said the Sand Cobras were known to inhabit.
The air was dry and hot once he left the cloud covered area, the sun beating down relentlessly as he trekked across the dunes.
His senses were on high alert, his spirit energy scanning for any signs of movement once he got to the nearest marked on the mission sheet.
Nearly an hour passed before he encountered his first Sand Cobra.
The massive serpent lay coiled between two massive dunes in the shade, its scales blending seamlessly with the surrounding sand.
Lassim moved silently, his hand poised to ambush it with his halberd from above.
As he closed in, just about to leap down from above, the Sand Cobra sensed his presence and uncoiled with lightning fast speed across the sand, lunging at him with fangs bared.
Lassim reacted instinctively, unleashing a powerful blast of his [Hydroburst], as it caught him off guard.
The blast struck the serpent’s head with explosive force. Unsurprisingly, the poor Spirit Transformation stage cobra’s head was obliterated. Not only that, but so was the precious venom sac he needed.
"Damn," Lassim cursed, watching as the venom melted the sand into a pitch-black puddle. "I need to be more careful. Next time, don’t aim for the head."
He realized that using [Hydroburst] was probably much too destructive, and despite wanting to practice it more, he decided to rely on [Slash] for a more controlled strategy instead. He also planned to aim for the neck, just below the head, to preserve the venom sacs.
Over the next two days, Lassim honed his technique, his progress marking considerable gains.
By the time he collected his 40th venom sac, roughly twenty a day, he decided to take a break and replenish his energy.
Sitting under the shade of a large set of rocks he found with his latest Sand Cobra kill decapatited nearby, he felt an urging of excitement coming from inside his inner heart world.
"[Mari, what’s all the excitement about? Have you discovered anything about the runes on the stone?]" he asked, seeing her doing something with water mana she was controlling on the surface of the stone.
Mari’s voice echoed in his mind, "[The runes seem to be very reactive to water-elementally charged mana. I can fill them with mana, but there’s interference from the lightning mana within the heart world. Even when I send Zaphy to the farthest edge, there’s still some disruption.]"
From the edges of his inner heart realm Lassim spotted his other companion, Zaphy’s voice chirped out, "[I’m helping!]" Lassim couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.
"[Let me try something then,]" Lassim said, his curiosity piqued.
He took the stone out from his inner heart world and began to channel his water mana into the runes. As each rune absorbed the mana, they started to glow with a bright blue sheen.
As the last speck of the final rune was filled, Lassim felt his progenitor marks react with a sudden buzzing sensation across his body.
Before he could react or even tell what was going on, he found himself suddenly transported from his previous location.