Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 177  A Tribe Of Giants Part 4

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"I…"

/Chuckle…/

Before Dale could reply, Kuddan started laughing.

"I'm just messing with you, in the first place, we had very few visitors even during the time of the Corps."

"It was part of our alliance that they would refrain from barging into our territory as much as possible."

"And I can't base everything on the soldier's reactions during my time on the Wall as they haven't seen our everything."

"So I can't quite say if this is true or not!" He said with a large smile as he turned around, climbing the last set of stairs before he arrived at the second floor

"..."

'I got all stressed up for nothing…' Dale thought quietly as he shook his head

/Tap…/

Testros walked next to him, tapping his shoulders before he also followed suit.

A lot seemed to be going on in his head, but his expression seemed much lighter than before.

Though Dale could tell things like Guilt and Concern were likely gnawing at his mind with every step he took.

He lived his life believing to have been the last when in truth there were many still struggling within.

While he despaired, they fought with teeth and nails to live.

Dale knew he only did what he was entitled to and that he shouldn't be this hard on himself... But he wasn't exactly good with his words.

Should he feel guilty for surviving? Wasn't that pretty much his only task?

If Testros truly wanted to catch up for his past 'mistakes', then there was only one thing he could do... And that was likely what was going on in his head right now.

A struggle between priorities, the Devil, or the remnants of his people...

Should he stick to the Oath he made long ago or to the promises he made to the people that fed him and helped him get to his feet?

Dale couldn't quite help him with that.

/Whistle.../

"Will you stay here for a little longer or will you follow us up?" Tina asked as she stopped by Dale's side, whistling as she tried to get his attention

"Huh?"

Seeing how distracted he was, Tina added:

"... You look a little tired, you can take a stroll if you wish, we'll tell you the rest later."

"Ah... No, I'm not that lazy to leave you two with more work." He replied as he shook his head

'Between the past and the future... What should I choose?'

'It may be too arrogant to think like this... But I believe the choice will be left to me.'

"Is that so?... Well... I'm not that lazy to give a kid more work either." She replied with a smirk

"...?"

"Fufu... Just stay here for a few moments and come back after your head clears a bit, as a lot seems to be going inside it."

"Give it some time to cool down." She joked as she tapped his head

'He keeps asking too many questions as well, and albeit they're entertaining, I'm more concerned with our situation… We don't have that much time to fool around.'

'It's my turn to ask the questions.'

"Sigh… Fine, I'll climb once I'm done here." Dale replied with a shrug

She smiled before turning to the stairs, climbing up.

"Don't break anything~..." She said as she left his sight

"..."

And like that, Dale was left behind in the Artifact room like a little kid in detention.

/Crunk... Creak.../

Now that he was alone… It felt rather ominous... He could hear creaking and the sound of cracking iron from time to time... As if he was inside an old wooden boat.

There was something strange about this place… But Dale couldn't tell what it was.

In a sense, he felt as if the skeletons of the creatures within were all staring at him, if that made any sense.

/Sit.../

So he decided to sit on the stairs to relax a little.

/Chatter…/

But as time passed, he felt as if he could hear people outside, yet, Dale remembered that when he entered, there was no one nearby.

Did a group of children approach the place and were now playing outside?

/Clang!/

Sometimes, he also seemed to hear the sounds of metal clashing... Now there were warriors fighting?

His head started to hurt…

/Whispers…/

The sounds became louder, and he started to understand something was severely wrong!

And unlike the horror movies he saw as he grew up, Dale's first action was to try and jump to the second floor with everything he had!

"?!"

But when he tried, he felt his legs harden, as if something was preventing him from moving!

Unable to scream or cry, Dale felt an immense pressure fall down onto his shoulders as his face started to redden…

[Skill, Stable Emotions 3-Star has activated]

/Gasp!/

And suddenly, everything went back to normal, causing Dale to gasp loudly as he took a deep breath, taking this chance to look around in wariness and confusion.

'Just… What happened?' He thought to himself as his eyes darted around

But nothing seemed to have changed.

The same items in their respective places… Nothing was wrong.

Even the bones in the ceiling hadn't moved an inch.

"Huff…Huff…"

'My head hurts… I actually miss David, I bet he would've had an explanation for what just happened.'

'Even then, I can infer some things…'

'Given what I learned about the origins of everything in this room, could it be I had an unconscious reaction to them?'

'But why did it have to be now? And why me of all people?'

'Tina and Testros were fine... Was it became I was alone? But if there was such a thing then wouldn't Kuddan tell me?'

'Or did he... Forget about it?'

"I'll just ask later…" Dale mumbled to himself as he scratched the back of his head

Taking this chance to relax a little and think, Dale thought about what to do next.

He considered logging out, as given how he wasn't given the chance to rest even once, he wanted to see if he could normalize his real-life body before returning.

Dale knew he would not have the chance to sleep today, so he needed to take the opportunity…

However, Dale also had one major fear… And that was his collapsed body.

Even if he took only five minutes outside, that would be fifteen here.

And he knew he would take way longer…

From changing clothes to going to the bathroom and likely having a simple meal…

Hearing what his parents had to say… If they had anything.

Given how much freedom they gave him they might just berate him for vanishing from home for a few days by being inside the pod…

Even his father was very cool with everything would have to give in and scold him somewhat.

And that took time, exactly what Dale did not have.

In normal situations, he wouldn't mind, but if he were to spend even a minute talking with his parents, three would pass with his body knocked out cold.

He wasn't quite sure what would the others think if they saw his body, however, given how 'mysterious' the powers of the Karkavan are, they might realize something is odd.

Or not at all, which would be the best scenario… But Dale was unwilling to bet on that.

David already reacted to him logging in and out even if he tried to hide it, he didn't want to face the consequences of facing the others too.

At least, not now.

So he changed targets.

"A few minutes walking around shouldn't be a problem…" He said as he turned to the items on the displays

[Luvir Iron Thorax (Unique)

Rating: 4.5-Stars

+35 Constitution

+50 Prime Origin

Set Bonus -> Bulk Up!

Constutituion Ratio 1 -> 1.1

Whenever you're afflicted with any abnormal statuses, the temporary Skill, Iron Blood 4-Star is activated.

Iron Blood -> Gain 40% resistance to abnormal statuses.

Gives the temporary Skills: Iron Skin 3.5-Star, Iron Flesh 4-Star, Metallic Heart 5-Star

Requirements: Strength: 60; Constitution: 95; Dexterity: 35

Hidden Requirements: Prime Origin: 80

Description: Hunter Luvir, Master Archer of the Kalavar Tribe of the East, the city of endless streams was a Great Karkavan Warrior of great resilience, he preferred the bow, but he never cowered in battle, as even in death, his chest remained brilliant.

He died peacefully during his Last March, taking down a mighty Trakor Lion within 3 shots, one to the leg, limiting its movements, one on the ground, to control its movements, and one to the heart, to end its life.

In memory of his great accomplishments, his heart blood was carefully extracted and refined into paint that now adorns his armor so his unwavering spirit may accompany those that wield his Iron body.

It silently awaits a worthy warrior capable of inheriting its legacy.

]

"... Even though this is only a Unique Item, it's quite the good one."

'Ratio change is always welcomed in gear as it gives it some degree of scaling even in Late game scenarios.'

'And also, this isn't a sole piece as I can see a Helmet, a pair of Gloves and Boots, and Leggins.'

'This is a Unique set of armor completely focused on defense… But there are many Skills for archers…'

'It seems a bit... Lacking for a Unique Item, but it's only a Unique item either way, I shouldn't expect much from it.'

'Also, I think I'm being too harsh, compared to my first ever Unique item, the Glyph blade, this item completely thwarts its Stats.'

'As I thought before, it seems that even if the Grade is the same, there are differences between items.'

'A Unique Item that can be acquired by a Level 5 player isn't the same as a Unique item that can only be found in the depts of a Level 80+ area...'

'I don't even want to think how hard it would be to get these...'

"Still... A tanky Archer?... It could work…" Dale mumbled silently as he scratched his chin

…

For the next few minutes, Dale moved from item to item, broadening his horizons with the strange history of the Karkavan and the unique powers they attained in both life and death.

As he looked at the items, he couldn't help but desire them all once more, albeit he quickly shook those returning thoughts out of his head like he did before.

'Why don't they use this? I really can't figure out why…' He thought as he placed a helmet back on its pedestal

Everything was sparkling clean and in perfect condition, Dale knew they weren't being neglected.

'In every item's description, I see how their predecessors wished for them to be passed on, yet they remain here gathering dust.'

'Normal Artifacts remain in their Family lines, but why do these remain here?'

'Is there something going on under the curtains? Perhaps the Karkavan cannot use them as willfully as I imagined?'

'Either that or they already do, it's just that they have so many of these that every qualified warrior is already in possession of one and thus cannot use more…'

'There are more possibilities but I'm not confident in them…'

"Either way, I've been here for quite some time, it's time to climb and figure out what we'll be doing next."

But as he turned around, something caught his eye.

At the end of the room, he noticed a Belt made of leather and metal.

It looked like many others in the room, so its overall appearance wasn't what attracted Dale.

It was the details in it.

"Wh… What?" He mumbled in confusion as he approached the Belt, bending over to get a closer look

'I'm certain… Aren't these, Elven Inscriptions?' He thought silently as he saw the many runes carved onto the exterior of the Belt

Due to Kuddan's tale, Dale was already aware that Elves had one day lived in the Southern portion of the Continent before disaster struck and their Clan Tree fell, causing them to vanish not long The details of this event may have been kept a secret or they simply vanished over the course of thousands of years…

after.

The details of this event may have been kept a secret or they simply vanished over the course of thousands of years…

At least, Dale assumed so much time had passed, it was another thing he needed to inquire from the old Karkavan.

'Urg… What's written in here?... Muh... Tref... Polta? Urg, I don't quite remember.'

'I played the second game almost my entire life and I could say I was an avid fan of everything in it… So yes, I did watch many Lore videos explaining a few specific details such as the language of multiple species…'

'Including that of Elves… In fact, I should have the entire dictionary on my Codex Files on my Pc… I'll try to translate this later…'

Dale silently took a picture of the object, at least this the game wouldn't delete…

Next, it was obvious what he was about to do…

Dale inspected the item's description…

"?!"

And he was left agape.

[Sarael's Ervih Promise (Luminous)]

A new Grade he hadn't seen before!

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Notes