Chapter 13 - Test Of Banishment: Final Stage Begins!

Just as he exited the room, a sudden notification came in front of him. When he saw that, he forgot about it. "Next time, it's best if I finish my Daily Tasks first", he thought as he began to run.

[Daily Quest not yet completed]

[Do 100 push-ups 0/100

Do 100 sit-ups 0/100

Do 100 pull-ups 0/100

Run for 3 Km 0/3 Km

Meditate for 1 Hr 0/1 Hr]

[Rewards - +3 Strength, +3 Agility, +2 Perception, +2 Stamina]

[Upon failure, all stats will be reset, and Bonus stat points will not be returned]

The last line was what made Lucas sweat buckets. He had just unlocked the most basic spells and now he had to give up? He didn't want to. He began to do the tasks at once. After three hours, Lucas opened his eyes from his meditation. There were just ten minutes for the day to be complete. "That was a very close one. Next time, finish the tasks, then do whatever you want for the whole day", he said.

After a quick shower, he fell asleep. The next morning, he was called to the throne room. The final test will be given to him today. "I wonder, how much time will they give me?", he thought as he walked towards the throne room. He knocked on the door and entered inside.

The throne room was a large room with a high ceiling. There was a grand chandelier in the middle, and there were large windows on the side. Some of the windows were colored, allowing the throne room to be covered in a myriad of lights. The colors weren't disturbing the room, instead, they coexisted in harmony, allowing one to see the beauty of the colors.

"It's always mesmerizing to see this", he thought as he walked slowly, taking in the scene. The white marble floor was covered in an orange and blue haze. As the day progresses, the colors changed. It depended on the position of the sun. "This is an architectural marvel in my eyes. Whoever built this, must have been extremely artistic", Lucas muttered.

"Still can't get enough, son?", came a voice from in front of him. Lucas nodded his head. "It always fascinates me. The way the lights project, and the colors. Why is it built this way? Is there some hidden meaning?", he said his thoughts out loud. Ben smiled. He always liked the way Lucas thought. Even though he was too young to be in court, he sometimes discusses things with him before he takes a decision.

"Alright, enough looking around. You know why you're here right?", he asked. Lucas nodded his head. "The final test. You shall steal The Ancestral Scroll from the Sealed Palace in the North. You have to bring it to me by eight tonight. Your test starts now", he said. Lucas was taken aback. "The Northern Sealed Palace? That place is a fortress!", he thought.

Ben threw a crystal towards Lucas. When Lucas touched the crystal, a notification popped up.

[Test Of Banishment: Final Stage]

[Infiltrate the Northern Sealed Palace and Steal the Ancestral Scroll]

[Quest issued by Benjamin Heart]

[Rewards - EXP +2000, Intermediate HP Limit Breaker Potion, Intermediate MP Limit Breaker Potion]

[Additional Quest: Complete the test without getting detected]

[Rewards - EXP +1500, Title - Master Of Stealth]

[Do you want to accept? Yes/No]

Lucas was puzzled. "Aren't quests initiated by the system on its own?", he thought. He was wondering how when he heard his father answer him. "This crystal is called a 'Quest Crystal'. Using this crystal, one can issue quests to an Awakener. This particular crystal works only for our, no, your system. Anyone else who touches this will be unable to see the quest display", said Ben. Lucas's doubt got answered.

Lucas was now more clear about how the quest was issued. He then accepted the quest and left the throne room, ready to infiltrate the Northern Palace. He didn't pack all his weapons. He only took the dagger and wore his boots. "I wish these boots had another skill. But let's use this to my advantage. I've completed today's daily task, so let's see my stats before I leave", he thought.

[Status]

[Name: Lucas Heart]

[HP: 100/100]

[MP: 100/100]

[Level: 4]

[Job: None]

[Title: Defying The Odds]

[EXP: 600/1500]

[System Level: 1/10]

[Strength: 40]

[Stamina: 29]

[Agility: 40]

[Perception: 31]

[Magic: 27]

[Stat points to be used: 1]

[Strength has hit Max Target. Converting extra strength to free stat point]

[Conversion complete]

Lucas saw this and was shocked. "So, I can't just keep increasing my stats. There is a cap. Well, the good thing is it converts the remaining points to free stat points. If forty is the max right now, When I complete this mission, I will have leveled up", he began to ponder.

He began to compare his level and stats. "If level four has a cap of forty, then does this mean that level five will have a cap of fifty? What will happen when I level up the system? Will the cap be increased or decreased? I wonder", he thought as he walked out of his room in the corridor. He bumped into someone and they both fell, breaking his thought process.

"I'm sorry", he said to the person in front of him. "Look at where you're going, Lucas. You can't always be thinking about something. And by the way, good luck on the final stage", she said. Lucas smiled as he helped the person up. "I appreciate it, Kate. What are you up to?", he asked.

Kate was wearing a white dress shirt tucked into a pair of black pants. She had folded the sleeves of the shirt, revealing her smooth skin. She had also tied her hair into a ponytail, making her look cuter. "I'm bored. So I and Sam are going Beast hunting. From the Adventurer's Guild, of course", she said with a smile.

Lucas sighed. "I do want to tag along, but house rules. Anyways, how about we sneak out after I finish the test, and do one beast hunt before I leave? For old times sake?", he said with a smile. "Can't ignore his smile. Man, he knows how to get to me every time", she thought. "Alright", she said, defeated.

She waved her hand and left Lucas standing in the corridor. The sun shone on his face, and he was thinking of the best course of action. "The Northern Sealed Palace is almost three kilometers away from here. I can run there, no problem. But I need to know the security rounds, and I have to find loopholes in their formation", he thought. He just had the best idea for scouting.

He walked towards the army that was in the castle. There was chatter all around, and Lucas knew he was not to be seen. Everyone from the army knew that he will take the test today, and orders were issued to capture him on sight. He used the shadows that were cast from the walls to move within the army and entered their armory. "Now, let's find a sniper and a good scope. If possible, let me find a suppressor too", he thought.

The armory wasn't a very large place. It was a small room, with a passage where only two people could walk. There were small crates filled with pistols. On the wall, there were some old revolvers. "Revolvers aren't common these days. But they have quite a bit of firepower compared to the pistol", he thought.

Then he saw slightly longer crates, but they were also large. "These must hold assault rifles. Where will the snipers be?", he thought and saw a long and slim box. Just as he was about to near the box, he heard footsteps from the outside. He saw a small gap between a box and the corner of the room. He quickly hid in the shadows, waiting for them to come in and leave.

"I just hope that the Third Prince gets caught with us. Man, every time the tests happen, we always have to be on the lookout. But they never come by", said the man who first entered. "You can't do anything about that, Carl. Major's orders", said the man who came behind him. "Let's just check the crates and get this over with", said Carl.

Carl was a burly man with a lot of scars on his right arm. His stern face gave an intimidating aura to anyone around him. He was wearing a blue and black colored military-style uniform, and there was a single star on his shoulder. The man behind him also had the same single star.

The other man that came with him was wearing the same style uniform, but he had a sword on his waist. He had a beard on his face and tan skin. He was as bulky as Carl and he began to open the crates, checking them one by one.

"E Ranked soldiers", he thought. Lucas knew about the star system that the military used. The more stars they had, the higher in a position they were. The highest was a four-star ranked soldier, which was equivalent to a Seventh-class magician. "Are you done, Kevin?', asked Carl. Kevin nodded his head and left the room. Lucas let out his breath which he was holding.

"Good thing I hid. Now, I exactly know where to find the sniper", he thought as he opened a long crate, and there was a semi-automatic sniper inside. He then opened another crate, and fit a suppressor on the muzzle. Then he picked out the largest scope, fit it to the top of the sniper. "Alright, let's look at the harvest. I've got a British L96A1Sniper Rifle with a suppressor, and I've fitted it with an 8x Scope. This will help me scout the scene perfectly", he muttered.

"Now, to hide this somewhere perfectly", he thought. A prompt came in front of him.

[You can use the Inventory to store Items]

"Now that's what I'm talking about", he smiled. As he thought of putting the sniper in the inventory, it disappeared breaking into light particles. "That's fascinating, but no time to wonder. Let's set camp at the top of the castle", he thought and sneaked out the way he sneaked in.

He quickly reached the side tower, which was the tallest in the castle. He scaled the wall and jumped into the first window. He climbed the stairs stealthily, and as he reached the top window, he peeked out from it. He looked up and saw the roof. He scaled the remaining distance carefully and set up camp.. "Time to scout and plan", he smiled.