Free Web NovelChapter 8: Prefix Extraction
After agreeing to join her team, Ava led Amon towards the rest of the group.
Along the way, Amon glanced around and noticed how lively the village was. Some people returned bloodied, while others came back missing an arm or leg, likely searching for healing potions to restore their lost limbs.
The stench of blood and terror lingered heavily in the air.
Silently, they finally arrived at their destination. Watching the direction Ava was approaching from, Amon noticed three men and two women gathered together.
The moment they saw Ava, their eyes lit up. However, when their gazes landed on Amon, that enthusiasm dimmed slightly.
They didn’t say anything as he and Ava finally reached them.
"Hey, guys..." Ava said with a smile. Then, gesturing towards Amon, she introduced both parties before finally saying, "His name is Weaver, I found him to join our team. What do you guys think?"
A slender youth with long blond hair and blue eyes glanced at Amon in disdain. A long blade was strapped across his back.
"We asked you to find someone with a high-tier talent, not just some random guy..." he clicked his tongue.
Everyone else remained silent as they watched him speak.
Having the warrior class, he was their main attacker. As such, they all treated him with respect.
Glancing at Amon again, the youth continued, "What class did you awaken? And what’s your talent?"
Amon lingered for a few moments before speaking lightly.
"Just know I’d be helpful. I read on forums that you’re free to discuss your talents and classes as long as you’re willing."
He paused, then stared straight into Dominion’s eyes.
"And I am not interested in doing such."
His voice was cold.
Blackrose, one of the women in the group, stared at Amon in surprise, not expecting him to actually talk back to their leader.
Even Dominion seemed taken aback by Amon’s boldness.
"Hmph!" he snorted coldly. "Another newbie who thinks the world revolves around them."
Snorting once more, he shifted his attention away from Amon, not pressing the matter.
"We are running late. I don’t want others to complete the quest before we do. Let’s move out!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone nodded, and he immediately led the way.
Amon tagged along, and no one knew what thoughts were running through his mind.
Ava, who was walking right beside him, parted her lips as though she wanted to say something, then closed them again.
"You know you can feel free to say whatever you want, right?" Amon said, his gaze never leaving the road ahead. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"You caught on..." Ava replied with a wry smile.
’How won’t I catch on when you keep staring at me as though I’d taken something precious from you...’
Amon thought inwardly but kept the words to himself.
"I was just wondering, why don’t you have a weapon or something? Are you a mage?"
Amon froze slightly, his expression changing for the briefest moment.
’Shit... I forgot to take my starter weapon!’
Realisation dawned on him, and a cold sweat broke out across his back.
Outwardly, however, he merely gave Ava a calm smile that suggested everything was under control.
’I have nothing under control!’
Amon grumbled internally, his eyes darting around in search of anything he could use as a weapon.
The group had long since left the beginner village and were passing through a forest on their way towards a mountain range.
Seeing that Amon didn’t reply, Ava bit her rosy lip and decided to change the topic.
The two continued chatting from the back of the group, their voices light. Ava did most of the talking while the others occasionally glanced in their direction.
Amon could tell it was irritating Dominion more and more as time passed, but he couldn’t care less.
When they reached the mountain, which was more akin to a large hill, Dominion finally voiced what had been on his mind.
He pulled a scroll from his backpack and opened it before the group. Everyone came to a stop.
"Everyone, the mission details state that we hunt ten tusk boars and provide their hides."
"I’ve read about tusk boars in the village guide for beginners. It said that tusk boars have strong defence but very weak speed and attacking capabilities," a muscular man named Malric spoke up.
Dominion nodded and began assigning roles.
"Malric, you are the tanker of the group. As such, you’ll tank the minor attacks from the tusk boars, which shouldn’t be much work for you."
"Ava, you are the distant attacker. You’ll use your dagger control to distract the beasts from a distance. I will focus on attacking and breaking their defences. Blackrose, you’ll use your lightning magic to stun them. Rivernight, you focus on separating them with your agility. And Tamil, try to heal anyone who gets injured."
Everyone’s gaze finally turned towards Amon, noticing that Dominion had purposely left him out of the formation.
A disdainful smile curled Dominion’s lips.
"As for you, Weaver... try not to get yourself killed."
With that said, he turned around and began walking towards the hill. A few members shot Amon sympathetic glances but said nothing.
Ava laughed wryly and tried to lighten the mood.
"He isn’t always like that, trust me. He’s a kind and sweet gentleman. I don’t know what’s suddenly gotten into him..."
Amon glanced at her expressionlessly and simply shook his head, completely unbothered.
With that, the group entered the hill.
Instantly, Amon noticed creatures with thick, reinforced muscles moving on all fours. They had pig-like heads and snorted as they fed on the grass scattered across the ground.
’These are tusk boars?’
Amon thought inwardly as a message appeared above their heads.
[Name: Tusk Boar]
[Level: 1]
[Attack Power: 15]
[Health Points: 40]
Everyone immediately got into position.
Naturally, everyone could see the status of beasts.
There was an option to hide statuses. However, beasts with lower intelligence couldn’t do that.
Only as players increased their levels would they come into contact with more unpredictable creatures.
"Get into formation, everyone."
Dominion gave the order and immediately began closing the distance between himself and the beasts.
Everyone moved into position at once.
Rivernight vanished, his speed surging as he darted into the midst of the boars.
Instantly, the tusk boars went on alert.
They turned towards the figure in their midst and began snorting at him.
A few, however, couldn’t be bothered and continued munching on the grass.
Using the weapon in his hand, Rivernight poked one of the tusk boars on the head before quickly retreating a short distance.
The boar snorted and began casually trudging towards him.
Amon found the sight strangely amusing as he realised the tusk boars couldn’t run.
’It seems this will be an easy quest...’
Amon didn’t know whether to laugh or cry seeing that the tusk boars could barely move.
He watched in amusement as the boar slowly strode towards Rivernight and gently nudged him.
’Is that... its attack?’
An incredulous expression appeared on Amon’s face.
Dominion immediately seized the opportunity now that the beast had been separated from the others and lunged forward.
His gleaming sword streaked through the air and slammed into the tusk boar’s exterior.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the blade bounced off, as though it had struck solid metal.
’It seems the game is fair after all...’
Amon mused silently, noticing just how absurdly tough the creature’s defence was.
Suddenly, he noticed a blinking light at the edge of his vision.
Since he hadn’t been paying attention, Amon hadn’t noticed it earlier.
’What’s that?’
he muttered to himself.
As though responding to his words, the red light blinked once before rapidly expanding.
[Ding! Prefix Extraction talent activated!]
