Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Hello everyone!

This chapter is bigger than usual, I wrote a lot...

I hope you like it!

Tell me your opinions at the end.

Peace!

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As the seconds passed, no one came to talk with Dale.

But it wasn't due to some unconventional reason, it was the contrary, they did not act because they cared about him.

Instead of risking it and ruining his chance by getting his attention, they opted to remain far away and give him time to think.

Even when it seemed that his trance was over, and when he showed traces of severe pain, they remained behind, forcing those that wanted to move back.

They had to give him time, but they also needed to make sure he was okay...

It was a difficult choice, but someone had to do it.

...

"Phew..."

As he saw Dale recover, Testros let out a sigh of relief.

However, he knew the most important thing right now was to give the boy room to breathe and think, instead of congratulating him.

He could feel it from here, he saw it happen, how the boy changed. He knew what had to be done...

It was the same for the others as well.

"That brat..."

Shaking her head as well, Tina, who had arrived close to the end, turned around and left.

She had many things to do and her presence here wasn't necessary, worse, she may only help to make the boy feel suffocated.

"S-Stop it!"

Tina turned to the side, saying something to a young lady next to her, but in the end, the young lady opted to stay, much to Tina's amusement and funny remarks.

Misgurd and Edimund did the same, turning around and leaving.

They had many things to do, and it wasn't like Dale was dying or anything of the sort.

Later, they would have their chance to talk with him and ask how he was feeling, so for now, it was better to just take a step back and leave the boy with his thoughts.

If he truly needed help, then Testros and the young lady were more than enough.

The others thought the same, so one after the other, the Elders left to continue their activities, leaving the trio behind…

As for the young lady... Her eyes were blue and her hair was long and pale blond, with a slight purplish hue, but that may differ from onlooker to onlooker…

She was wearing a white cape, something extremely rare in this Village...

It was Yumi, now fully recovered after an entire day had passed.

After she had recovered, the first thing she did was put on some decent clothes instead of her battered garments, those had gone to the trash can, unfortunately.

She felt sad about it, but by throwing those away, it was also a promise to herself, that she would move forward and never return what she was before.

She was ready to resume her life and interact more with others, especially a certain someone who helped her take the first step and was the one behind this change.

However, instead of meeting him as she wanted, she was brought here by her teacher... To witness something she had only ever heard of…

In the training arena, she saw him, bloodied and hurt, moving a sword bigger than him as droplets of blood fell on the rocky and messy ground beneath him.

What a way to meet with him again… Last time he was the one to see her at her worst, now it's the contrary…

Such irony...

"..."

Yumi wanted to go and heal him, but she was stopped, not by the others, but by herself.

As the initial shock decreased, her rationale returned, and she understood that it wasn't wise to interrupt him...

That was why she left running and came back holding a purple potion in her hands, it was the strongest healing potion she had at her immediate disposal...

Yumi was ready to run as soon as she noticed that something was wrong, even if it meant breaking his focus…

And the others were okay with that as well, better alive than dead, right? A chance may come again, but everything would be useless if he were to die.

But their worries were unnecessary as Dale's hardest moment was over already…

…

/POV change/

"Urg..."

'My head hurts a little…'

After the excruciating pain of having all of his muscles cramp at the same time, of feeling what it's like to tear your palms open, and how it feels to have a hole in your heart, the potions he took were finally starting to show their effects.

/Growl.../

And likewise, his stomach protested the concoction of potions it was being forced to digest...

It seemed his toilet wouldn't be having a good time...

In any case, after a few minutes of waiting, Dale felt much better and ready to investigate what had just happened.

'First… I need to see my Status.'

The best way to confirm his physical condition was by making use of the System itself.

So without further ado...

[Player: DareDevil (Dale Houston)

Attainments: Body Reformation; Eclipsed; Massacre of 100; Culling Blade; Forged Heart amidst desperation; Minor Enlightenment; Heart Gate Open

Level:27 (89.3%)

Class: Heavy Spearman

Character Status:

Strength: 104(119 -> 69); Constitution: 104(142 -> 92); Dexterity: 104(119 -> 69); Mental Power: 79(94 -> 44); Reflexes: 79(94 -> 44); Mana: 104(119 -> 238 -> 188)

Skills:

Slot 1-> Spear Technique 3.5-Star (Neutral)/ Mana Conduction 2.5-Star (Neutral)

Slot 2-> Close-quarters Combat 3-Star (Neutral)

Slot 3-> Stable Emotions 3-Star (Passive)

Slot 4-> Spatial Awareness 1-Star (Passive)

Slot 5-> Fighting Spirit 3-Star (Active)

Slot 6-> Miasma Immunity 0-Star (Passive)

Slot 7 -> Vital Heart 0.5-Star (Active)

Temporary Skills: None

Current Effects:

Aspect of Might -> All Stats +15

Molded Heart -> Mana Ratio = 2

Heart Gate -> Mana +50

Body Reformation -> Natural Healing and Stamina recovery speed has been greatly increased

Class Effect -> Constitution Ratio = 1.1

Blessed by Ju-Arkesios -> Constitution +10 while within a 5Km radius of any of his Temples

Injured Heart -> All Stats -50 (8H 21 minutes...)

Inventory (+)

]

"Hm…"

'At a first glance, nothing much seems to have changed...'

'But that would be terribly wrong.'

Dale kept opening and closing his hands, trying to get his blood pumping and remove the numbness he was feeling right now...

His hands had healed slightly, but at this speed, even by consuming his Elixir, they would take a while to return to a usable state.

They were very sensitive right now...

'First… My attainments.'

'Hum...'

'Minor Enlightenment...'

'And Heart Gate Open.'

'There are 2 of them, however, I don't remember seeing a notification about either being made… As it normally gives me insight into why they were rewarded in the first place.'

'Now I can only guess...'

'Did I miss it somewhere in the sea of system notifications?' He thought to himself as he continued to inspect his Status page

Dale inspected his Menu for a few moments but saw nothing else.

'Hm… Perhaps there are some Attainments that aren't notified? Or perhaps... The notification was simply not recorded like many others.'

'And since I was in a Trance, the notification simply disappeared after some time...'

'Whatever it is, they are now there I guess… I'll figure out what they mean eventually.'

"Next…"

Dale looked at his stats, letting out a dry laugh.

'How did my Mana grow so much?... I used to make fun of it during my days' training in the real world, mocking it for being 0 all the time no matter what I tried to do to raise it…'

'Now it's literally double even my highest stats…'

'My other stats didn't change, only Mana increased drastically.'

'I can't really explain what happened, but I can pinpoint its origin… It's pretty obvious as it's written here, it's all due to the Heart Gate being opened.'

'As reflected on the Attainment.'

'What is the Heart gate though?... Hum... I hope someone can properly explain that to me…'

'But it's not like I'm clueless, from what I experienced, if I were to put it into words, it's a location inside my heart that stores Mana... That doesn't seem right.'

'The purpose of my Heart as an organ changed? A new function was added?... Or recovered?'

'Pretty simple explanation… Probably too simple...'

'But its ramifications are far from that.'

'Because its existence proposes the idea of Skills being unnecessary for me anymore… Wait uh... I need to develop this thought a bit more...'

'With my current understanding of Mana, and with the Heart Gate opened, I can directly control said... Energy?'

'Anyway, I can control it, be it in the outside environment or within me, shape it into something I desire...'

'That seems pretty simple to understand.'

'From the perspective of a player, the way Mana is used is pretty straightforward, one may simply will for a Skill to activate, and the system would do the rest for them.'

'The classic thing Players do is scream their Skills in order to activate them, others like press buttons or perform actions, while some simply leave it to their own unique ways, the ones they're most comfortable with.'

'And in this process, a fixed amount of Mana would be deduced, allowing the Skill to be cast. The usual of every RPG and the basis of resource management in combat.'

'For a Standard player, they would be able to keep track of how much Mana each of their Abilities consumes, but for HardCore players, we need to rely on our instincts...'

'Or in our ability to feel Mana, which at the start, I thought was ridiculous or an impossibility...'

'At first, I thought it was tied to my stamina, as whenever I used a Skill, I would feel myself feeling a bit more tired, however, unless I use said Skill several times, I wouldn't be able to feel said effects at all due to my high Mana Pool for what Skills I have currently available.'

'In other words, my Mana Stat growth had far outgrown my consumption of said resource, and in normal cases, I would either seek stronger and more consuming Skills, or neglect Mana growth and try to balance the Stats once again.'

"But now… It's different."

'I can precisely track where and how the Mana moves… From point A that's normally my Heart, to point B that can literally be any point within my body... Or even outside.'

'The previous tiredness I felt was nothing but the side effect of having Mana run without a purpose on my body, it was dragging me down and applying too much pressure on it, burdening my muscles.'

'So, going to what I said before about not needing Skills anymore... I'll use an example...'

'If I am to use Fighting Spirit, a portion of Mana will move from my heart to my brain, while a small portion of it would scatter around my body, probably to improve it, since this Skill has as one of its effects, an All-Stat boost.'

'Since I can see how it moves, and I know how to control the Mana, then I can simply do it myself, right?'

'Any Skill, as long as I know how it's performed, then I won't need a Skill Slot to use it!'

But Dale dropped his head in disappointment.

'Or so it should've been…'

'First, it's way harder than it seems, Fighting Spirit, for example, needs me to control many threads of Mana as they run all across my body, and that's… Too extreme.'

'I've just tried, but midway through I lost control of all threads followed by a slight sharp pain in my chest... And if that wasn't a clue for me to stop experimenting, then I don't know what is...'

'Not only that, even once I activate the ability, I'll need to maintain a certain all-time control over it to prolong its effects...'

'Something so hard I even find difficulty breathing while I'm trying it due to the level of Focus needed to control even a few strands, much less move and fight.'

'I won't even go into how wasteful I am with it as well, and how the effects are lessened… Instead, I'll go to the most important aspect of a System Skill, and it's the fact it can improve over time.'

'After using it many times, or achieving certain requirements, the Skill improves, but if I try to copy a Skill, the only way for me to improve it is through my own understanding of it.'

'Natural talent... The usual way to grow oneself...'

'There wouldn't be a shortcut... Perhaps there is, but that remains to be seen.'

'Above all, I'm no Sage to reach multiple enlightenments and understand the intricacies of every single Skill I come across… I can't just copy other players' Skills simply by watching them...'

'Though it could be useful to seek some of the players with the more interesting Skills and study them, see what I can do with it...'

'There would also be the issue of time as I would need to study and understand how the Skill comes into being before practicing it myself and doing it... Otherwise, I may risk something way worse than just a sharp pain in my chest or muscles...'

'It's in a sense, very much like a Martial Novel... Practicing a technique takes time, effort, talent, resources, and likely much more...'

'I would like to compare this to the other games, but nothing much comes into mind...'

'It may be worth it to check some of the Lore Archives on my computer, there may be some things in there that may help me understand Mana in a more intrinsic manner.'

'Regardless, at the end of the day, Mana is a tool, something that will deeply help me as long as I can learn more about it…'

Dale smiled as he closed his fists.

'And it just so happened I brought with me an entire archive of books, some of which I do remember being about this subject…'

'Though the inconvenience of not being able to read is daunting...'

"Sigh, it seems all paths intertwine..." He mumbled as he looked at the sand in front of him

'There is a way to improve beyond the Status Screen, but for that, I'll...'

"I'll have to study and train… Never thought I would say such a thing in a… Game?"

"Game..."

Dale fell silent.

'A game huh… Is this truly a Game though?...'

'The more time I spend in it, the less this feels like a crafted world though...'

He suddenly had an idea…

'There's one way to confirm it… Once and for all... The crazier it may sound.'

'Perhaps not to confirm it, but more about uncovering a little bit more about this world's secrets…'

'As even if everything I learn here is real, the world itself may not be... Real.'

'Just like a game that teaches you about Geology, everything is still the same, but the world used to teach such terms is false.'

'I have already determined that my Real-life body is mirroring my Character's body's changes... To the point even the 0 Stat changed to hold a value...'

'So, in that regard, if I can feel and move mana in the real world…'

Dale laughed.

'Look at me, thinking about using Mana in the real world… If people could read my mind...'

He looked at David, but the talking head was completely and utterly silent.

'... But… It's not like my situation's normal, to begin with...' He thought as he moved on

'I'll keep it on the back of my mind, to see for myself what is true and what is false.'

"I'm not done yet though…" He said in a low tone as a half smile formed on his face

'There was a single phrase that bugged me in the Event Log.'

He opened the Event Log once more and scrolled through it, reading everything with focused eyes just in case he noticed something odd…

…

[The culmination of your Life training is passing through your eyes]

'This phrase… The Culmination of my Life training... What does it mean?'

'I'm not retarded, I can read it and I do understand the meaning of the words, however, I can't quite piece together what they are trying to say when they're put together like this…'

'My life training… It's culmination... That's hard to interpret.'

'Let's start small...'

'What did I feel during that time?...'

"..."

Closing his eyes, he started to think about what happened during those hazy hours...

'I remember thinking, thinking really hard about every ounce of training I ever did.'

'I remember feeling that something was missing, that they didn't feel natural or in a sense, not the best I could do.'

'So I tried looking at them again from several perspectives, and eventually, I reached something I was satisfied with… My current knowledge.'

'Something I could be proud of...'

He opened his eyes, looking around himself to see the broken ground and Caladgolg resting in front of him.

'Is this the answer?'

He frowned.

'If what I think is correct, this is pretty much saying that I have refined everything I have ever learned in regards to training and combat.'

'And that would be the reason why my Spear technique and Close quarters Combat increased at the very end, not because I learned something new, but because I reviewed everything that I had ever learned.'

'But... How does that quantify? What standard did the System use?...'

'The System, just how can it...'

Dale frowned even further.

"I'm starting to lose track of my own thoughts... Focus..." He mumbled to himself as he messaged his temples

'This would mean I have no more to grow on my own, as I have already perfected what I have, this is my limit…'

'As such, I need to seek out more things to learn, this is a beginning, and the end of another.'

'And one day in the future, I may have the chance to review everything I learned again, but through another perspective… One of a different "me"...'

'Whenever that may be.'

"Lastly... My heart." He said with some lingering relief

'It seems that I won't be able to escape unscathed from what happened to it, even with potions...'

'But thankfully, it's merely a Debuff, my heart will heal soon enough. I only need time.'

'However... It's 8 hours... pretty much the entire damn day...'

'Heh... Funny enough, I was thinking about taking it easy now and reading some books to understand my current situation.'

'I'll probably have to jump the daily training and the forest exploration since I was planning on reaching Level 30 today.'

'But with my heart like this, I'll have to leave that for tomorrow... I can't risk turning a temporary debuff into a permanent one.'

'However, if everything goes well, I'll raid the Hidden Dungeon in the Sewers after it's gone and Level up to 30 as I explore it.'

'It would also be a good time to test just how much I changed.'

'Though any place would suffice for that, but since it's a mostly unexplored zone, I would like to go through it to see what I could find, hitting two birds with one stone.'

'Unfortunately, it seems I won't be able to reach Level 30 within the first release day of Azimuth, albeit I'm much ahead of all expectations I had before it launched.'

'It would've still been a great bragging factor to use against Ermin and other people in the future once I don't need to act anymore.'

Dale slowly got up from the ground.

"I'll have to think more about this some other time…"

'But for now… My ass is a bit sore, I need to move a little.'

He turned around, looking at the smiling man and girl in the distance…

"Hm?"

But Dale was confused.

'Who are they?'

Dale could not recognize the 2 of them…

…

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Notes

So, what do you think?

This was mostly a self-POV chapter on Dale, we'll now be advancing through the story as normal.

Peace!