Chapter 35 - A Heart To Heart

After ten minutes, Brad arrived at the scene and he picked up the man and wrapped him around in a cloth. "I guess I must introduce myself. My name is Bradley Ashfield. Leader of the Surveillance of the Heart Kingdom", he said as he extended a hand towards Lucas. He shook his hand. "Are you related to Master?", he asked. "Ah yes. Leon and I are brothers", he said.

"But I never heard him mention you?", asked Lucas in confusion. "Ah yes, about that. You can ask Leon when you meet him. It seems like I would have to cut our chat short", he said as he waved his hand. "See you again, Lucas Heart", said Anthony as he left along with Brad. Lucas smiled and waved back at him. "Truly interesting", he muttered.

He then summoned up his system to claim the rewards.

[Quest Completed]

[Capture the Sphinataur 1/1]

[Rewards - EXP +3000, Skill [Rage Mode]]

[Claim Rewards? Yes/No]

"Of course yes", he thought and claimed his rewards.

[Rewards - EXP +3000]

[EXP: 3950/5000]

[Skill - Rage Mode]

[A skill that activates when the Rage meter is full. The user loses consciousness when activated. Upon 100% Mastery, User will be able to maintain consciousness whilst using this mode]

"That's like a double edged sword until I master it. And how do I go about mastering it? I don't even know. Maybe Valentine might know of the best method?", he thought. "Kid, although I can teach you the best way to go about this, there isn't much I can help with the mastery stuff. It all boils down to how much effort you are willing to put into it", he said.

Lucas then called out his status window.

[Status]

[Name: Lucas Heart]

[HP: 110/100]

[MP: 85/100]

[Level: 10]

[Job: None]

[Title: Defying The Odds, Master Of Stealth]

[EXP: 3950/5000]

[System Level: 2/10]

[Strength: 43]

[Stamina: 43]

[Agility: 43+19]

[Perception: 41]

[Magic: 43]

[Stat points to be used: 0]

"It's going to take a lot for me to level up now, huh?', he thought as he saw the EXP required to level up. "Well, naturally. You can't just keep on leveling up as you wish", said Valentine. Lucas sighed as he didn't know any other way to level up. "Well, I could use the Dungeon key", he thought as he pulled it out of his inventory. He then looked at it and placed it back, as his mind was full of other things.

"Let's head back. I'm tired for the day", he said as he began to leave the woods. Soon, they came back to the palace, and they entered inside. He then walked towards his room, and he sat down in a meditative pose. "The third Stage is going to be harder, as I have to reinforce every bone individually", he thought. "Can't I just push through as I did with the first two stages?', he said out loud.

"Unfortunately, you can't. Because this time, it's not just the bone that you're infusing with Aura, but your marrow too. Marrows are too soft to handle such an intense Aura. Thus, one must infuse it slowly and steadily. Maybe you can do it this way if you like. Infuse the Aura in until it reaches 95%, then you can do it one big sweep", said Valentine.

Lucas thought back to his Master's friend. "I just hope that I don't end up like him", he thought. He then shook his thoughts away, as he had something more important at hand. He placed his blades next to him, and he began to look at them intensely. "The blades are super sharp. If I cover them with Aura, then I should be able to save my weapon's durability longer. But for now, I don't have the ways to do it", he thought.

"A growth-type weapon, huh? It means that I must feel it something for it to grow. Let me use the system and see the Growth requirements", he thought as he used the [Inspect] skill on his weapon.

[Icy Flame Dual Blades - Growth type Weapon]

[Current - Advanced Tier Weapon. Growth until Demi-God Tier]

[Growth Conditions - To move it up to the next tier, Make it absorb three Advanced Tier Crystals of Fire and Ice attributes. After reaching the threshold, absorb a Legendary Tier Crystal of the same attributes]

"Which means that I must absorb almost eight crystals just to move it up one tier? What kind of debauchery is this?", he thought. "You thought the techniques of the Legendary Inscriptor would be that easy to satisfy? Haha", laughed Valentine heartily. "You know about this Inscriptor Blacksmith?", asked Lucas to Valentine.

Valentine was still laughing as he heard Lucas's question. He was elated. "Kid! I never knew you would be this ignorant. During the time I had this system, there was nothing about this man. But after almost a century, his name began to ring in the cosmos. He created the most Legendary of weapons. For any Inscriptor Blacksmith around this Galaxy, his notebooks are their goal. Many have spent their lives, looking for these notebooks", he paused, letting Lucas absorb all the information.

"This notebook is worth so much?", he asked. "Is he alive?", he asked. "That, we do not know. Some believe that he is alive, roaming around in the cosmos, searching for his successor, and these notebooks are nothing but a test. Some say that he has passed, and has put all of his teachings into those nine notebooks. For which is true, I do not know. But for you, being a Blacksmith and a System Holder, I wonder...", he trailed off.

Lucas was about to shout out loud when he heard the door being knocked. he then stood up and when to look at who it was. After he opened the door, a pair of arms came and hugged him. "I thought I told you not to do anything mischievous", came his mother's voice. Lucas hugged her back. "Well, can't argue now", he thought as he looked at his Dad who was behind her.

"How was the hunt?", he asked as Martha let go of him. "It was good. Did I carve the crystals out of the beasts?", he began to think. "I think I didn't. My bad", he said cheekily as he scratched his head. "Be responsible next time, Luca. If you don't take those crystals, someone else will claim them, and they will get paid more", said Martha. Lucas nodded his head.

"Here you go", said Ben as he handed him a bag. He opened it and saw many crystals inside. "But I thought I didn't remove the crystals", he thought. "You didn't. It's a good thing that Sam and Kate were around to help", he said as he beamed his smile. They then talked for a few minutes when Martha got up to leave. "I'm feeling tired, and I'm going to take a shower. Have some rest, Luca. Tomorrow is going to be a long day", said Martha as she left the room.

Ben closed the door and looked at Lucas. "I heard that you fought against some new type of Beast?", he asked as he cocked one of his eyebrows. Lucas gulped as he saw that look. "Am I in trouble?", he thought. "Am I not supposed to fight against it?", he asked nervously. He was prepared to get reprimanded. "You even saved Anthony and Sally, and met up with Brad?", he asked again. Sweat began to form on Lucas's forehead.

"Yes?", he said in a shaky voice. The look on Ben's face changed to one of concern. "Look, son. I am not going to say that what you did was wrong. Rather, it's quite commendable. The deed you had done is something that will help this Kingdom in the future. And I am grateful for that. But, next time. Make sure that your identity isn't known to the outside that easily. Some eyes are watching us from the shadows, waiting to strike us when we are weak", he said as he placed both his hands on Lucas's shoulders.

"And you, my son. Aren't strong enough yet. The dangers that are lurking around, aren't something that you can handle at the moment. Maybe in the future, yes. But not now", he said. Lucas hung his head low. "Am I weak?", he asked in a low voice.

"No, my son. It isn't a matter of whether you are weak or strong. Rather, it is a matter of survivability. You know that I love you, right?", he asked as he looked straight into Lucas's eyes. Lucas saw the eyes of love and worry. "These eyes, they're not of discrimination. These are the eyes of someone, who doesn't want to lose something precious to them", he thought. He then shook his head.

"Yes, father", he said. Ben then let out a huge sigh. "Now, let's talk about how you kicked that Beast's butt if it had one", he let out a hearty laugh. "Man, this whole deep talk stuff took the energy out of me", thought Ben.

They both talked late into the night, and Lucas later fell asleep on the bed.. "Good Night, son", he said as he planted a kiss on his son's forehead.