Infinite Arrow-Chapter 53 - 51: A Brand New Morning

Esther, Arnheid, Enrid, and Reinar couldn’t find a trace of the red-haired archer and the cloaked princess.

They searched the streets at human speed, they couldn’t stray from each other because some of them were too exhausted to fight. If one of them were to encounter an enemy, they would have to face a whole party.

"Argh– Where did they go???" Arnheid couldn’t help but worry, she scratched her head in frustration even though it was her helmet that she was scratching.

Esther puts her hand on her shoulder "We’ll find them, don’t worry. I’m sure our kid is hiding her in a safe place..."

Her voice wavering and her hand trembling, the female knight isn’t the only one worried and paranoid. It’s just that the mage can hide it better. On the other hand, the dudes are running around searching every corner of the alleyways.

For a minute, they were losing all hope of ever finding them. But Enrid wasn’t giving up yet. If Cliff were to hide himself somewhere, where would he be?

"THE ROOF!" Suddenly, Enrid jumped so hard that he managed to reach the top of a second-story building. He covered the top of his eyes so that his eyes would focus straight and after seconds of searching, he found smoke in the left direction. A flash of memories appeared inside of his head, back at the infinite dungeon.

It reminded him of what had happened during that day. When Cliff was fighting that wooden knight, there was a bunch of smoke produced inside the cave where they were fighting. Enrid smiled, he would’ve been the only one who knew this information because he’d been awake at that time, taking care of Esther.

"That kid... really... I’m not that great of a mentor to entrust you with your location." His expression softened as he looked down at where his allies were and waved at them, pointing in the direction where they should be headed.

<••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

[ 0:30 ]

Thirty seconds remaining...

I don’t think I’ll be able to keep myself awake anymore... No, I gotta stay awake to the end.

Cliff can be seen sitting down on the roof, across from him is an alleyway where the princess is hiding. She peeked her head out in the open and looked up, she knew that he went above and she smiled while tears were flowing down her face.

"Ah..."

[ 0:20 ]

Twenty seconds remaining...

Wait, don’t go out yet–

Cliff tried to reach out for her by raising his hand but he barely could lift a finger because of the fatigue meter being almost near the hundredths.

He couldn’t help but feel worried and helpless, what if the assassin woman returned? What if there’s more of them? His eyes looked down and found himself in a position he couldn’t move. If he jumps off, he won’t survive the fall.

[ 0:10 ]

Ten seconds remaining...

Please, everyone, arrive quickly...!

His body started shaking, he tried to force himself to move forward but was met with electricity shocking his entire body, unabling him from moving. Despite his flesh body refusing to move, his determination refused to give up. That smile of hers, he wouldn’t want her to die.

He may have started this quest without caring for the princess, but for the past few days, he’d gotten closer to her thanks to the princess having the courage to ask him about what he was doing. After that, he felt like he had to protect her. Why?

Suddenly, his body threw itself forward. He can feel his weight disappearing as he slowly approaches his demise. Honestly, dying by fall damage would be hilarious but also pathetic. His sister would’ve laughed at him for dying in such a pathetic way, seriously...

I miss all of you, mom, dad, sis...

He closed his eyes.

[ 0:00 ]

"Hey there, lad. Quite reckless, aren’tcha?" He felt his body being caught and a familiar voice could be heard from above. Cliff opened his eyes and found himself looking at a reliable bald warrior that he’d known for a month now.

"Seriously... You’re the first man I had to carry like a princess... Mom’s worried, so you better knock yourself out to avoid her scolding. Hehe." Enrid laughed, he had managed to catch Cliff before he could hit the ground. They landed perfectly fine and slowly placed the boy on the ground.

"T-the... prin..." Cliff tried to talk but he couldn’t even let a single word out without having a hard time saying it. Enrid moved out of the way and Cliff saw the white-haired crying princess come running towards him while the knights followed her from behind. Behind the knights is the mage of ice, holding her staff while her hands are shaking.

She covered her face and mouth, but thanks to his WIS status being high, he could see her expression. She was crying, sobbing but she smiled so softly while slowly walking towards him.

Cliff couldn’t feel his face but his vision was slowly getting blurry as they came closer to him. He couldn’t hear his voice but he was making noise.

Man.

I’m really lucky, aren’t I?

<•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

Once again, he is back in the void. However, there wasn’t anyone but him inside of the endless nothingness. His body felt light and for the first time, he wasn’t just a body with no characteristics. His red hair is present, his toned body is there. It’s a bit awkward since he is naked inside of this void, but there’s nothing to be embarrassed of when it’s only him there.

[ Fatigue: 50% ]

"Huh, surprisingly pretty fast recovery. Must be because of the potions I inhaled earlier." He giggled at himself before sighing. He looked around but only found darkness, it was eerie.

[ You have received your rewards for completing the quest! ]

[ You have leveled up! Lvl.17 > Lvl.20 ]

[ You have obtained 9 status points! ]

[ You have unlocked a new active skill! ]

Woah–! Hajebus, what the hell?

Oh right, the rewards for the survive mission.

The sudden pop-up of the interfaces surprised the lad because of how random it was. It was also a terrifying experience, like a cheap jumpscare.

"Should I even spend my points right now? I should probably evaluate the fight I had with the... huh. What was his name again? Anyway, the problem I had with that person... Honestly, he was my natural enemy. An armored thiren who can regenerate after transforming into a werewolf under a full moon, wielding a sword that ignores armor and a faster enemy in terms of natural speed."

In the end, he gotta get faster and smarter with his strategies. With new skills unlocked and learned, he needs to spend points on his INT status now to increase his mana points. To be honest, it wouldn’t matter if he spent points on INT. It would halve what he spent and not even be useful. Increasing his proficiency over those magic spells would prove better than expanding his mana pool.

"Spend 3 points on my AGI, and put 2 on my CON, and put the remaining 4 points on my LUCK."

[ You have spent your points on AGI, CON, and LUCK! ]

<•••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

[ Character Profile ]

Name: Cliff Carmesi

Age: 17 years old

MP: 3/50 (Regenerates 1 MP per 3 minutes.)

Level 20

Personal Skills:

[ Intermediate Archery Lvl.4 ],

[ Athleticism Lvl.2 ], [ Negotiator Lvl.1 ],

[ Adrenaline-Rush Lvl.2 ],

[ Craftsman Lvl.3 ],

[ Hunting Lvl.2 ], [ Intermediate Cooking ], [ Trap-Maker Lvl.1 ], [ Taunt Lvl.2 ], [ Pain Tolerance Lvl.2 ],

[ Divine Phoenix’s Blessing ],

[ Mana Amplification Lvl.1 ], [ Alchemy Lvl.1 ], [ Flare Lvl.1 ], [ Combustion Lvl.1 ], [ Fire Affinity: Novice ]

Overall Stat:

STR: 20 (D0)

CON: 25 (D5)

AGI: 25 (D5)

INT: 20 (10) (E0)

WIS: 30 (D10)

CHA: 15 (E5)

LUCK: 36 (D16)

Curse:

Curse of Mana Depletion [ Mana Deficiency ]

<•••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

"My status ain’t that bad now that I’ve taken a closer look at it." He proudly remarked as he suddenly lifted an eyebrow the moment he saw something weird on his character interface.

"Fire Infusion...?"

[ Fire Infusion Lvl.1 ]

The ability to infuse a tiny bit of fire magic with any object, preferably a weapon that can withstand the heat of a flame. It adds the effect [ Burn ] to every attack, which causes the enemy to take the DoT (Damage-Over-Time) effect for thirty seconds.

MP cost: -3 MP

"I see. It’s a useful skill indeed."

The only problem is the mana cost. A problem wouldn’t be solved soon, it’s a great spell, but it costs way too much for his situation. Right now, he has three fire magic spells and a novice mastery over the affinity of fire. It makes sense, Cliff is a Carmesi after all, it’s genetic to have the affinity of fire when the family is the worshippers of the divine phoenix.

"Let’s take a look at the other spells I learned. I was sure that I was trying to learn the fire spell, but got these two instead." Cliff clicked at the two spells he had learned from memorizing the book of fire’s contents.

[ Flare Lvl.1 ]

A very low-tier fire spell that produces a tiny ball of flame, can shoot for 20 meters and cannot go further than the stated distance. It does not explode upon impact, it can only light anything with flammable characteristics and lasts for 10 seconds.

MP cost: -5 MP

[ Combustion Lvl. 1 ]

A very low-tier fire spell that makes already burning things combust and spread further within 5 meters. It can explode anything as long as it is lit with fire, if it isn’t, it does not work.

MP cost: -3 MP

"It did say that it halved the original spell into two. I didn’t know that it was literal when I was using it." He sighed, putting his palm to cover his face from the embarrassment that he was feeling.

[ Fatigue: 10% ]

Wait, what? That was quick, has it been a few hours already? Oh well, I’ll just continue this later. Time to prepare myself for waking up, hopefully he won’t be waking up on a battlefield.

<••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

He slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. A golden chandelier and intricate walls with golden patterns with a white base of paint. He looked around and found himself lying in a queen-sized bedroom, surrounded by two sleeping adults and a maid standing near the door.

In front of his bed is a small round table surrounded by white and gold chairs with red cushions on the seats, for a comfortable feeling for the rear of others. Beside the walls are two large wooden closets, with ornate wooden handles. Behind him is a large window, with the rays of the morning sun piercing through the white, see-through curtains.

To summarize, it looks– no, it is a luxurious room.

"...Where the hell am I?"