< Diablo >

Progress: (35/100)

--

"So, I need 65 Skill Points to upgrade Diablo once," Lux muttered as he checked how much progress his Named Creature had made in the short time he had been in Elysium.

The Half-Elf didn't bat an eye and used the needed skill points to upgrade his partner, who had fought alongside him during the greatest battle he had experienced in his lifetime.

-

< Diablo >

"Finally a worthy opponent. Our battle will be Legendary!"

Named Skeleton

Rating: E

Mana: 10

Progress ( 0 / 100)

Health: 55 / 55

Mana: 60 / 60

Attack: 8 - 15 (+20 Damage from Tranquility)

Attack Type: Ethereal Damage.

Strength: 13

Intelligence: 12

Vitality: 11

Agility: 12

Dexterity: 12

Title: Firstborn

Note: Congratulations! Your Named Creature is now capable of equipping items! Take note that it can only equip items that match its current stats.

-

"Equip Items?" Lux blinked as he gazed at the new bookmark that appeared in Diablo's profile.

After clicking the Equipment Page, an idea suddenly appeared on Lux's head.

"Come forth, Diablo!" Lux ordered.

A magic circle appeared on the ground in front of him and his trusted partner emerged from it.

"Can you equip this?" Lux asked as he handed Tranquility to Diablo, who didn't look any different from his pre-upgraded state.

The White Skeleton unsummoned its Bone Sword and held Tranquility in a firm grip, giving it a few practice swings.

Lux glanced at Diablo's Equipment page and saw Tranquility appear in its right hand weapon slot.

"Okay, take these as well," Lux ordered as he handed his shield, Dawne, and his Wolf's Leather Armor, over to Diablo, which made the Skeleton look like a decent Skeleton Warrior that was missing his pants.

The Half-Elf chuckled when he looked at this funny scene. To his surprise, Diablo also chuckled with its jaws rattling non-stop.

"Okay, how do you feel?" Lux asked. "Do you feel stronger now?"

The White Skeleton nodded its head in affirmation to its Master's inquiry.

The red-headed boy smiled as he gazed at his remaining Skill Points.

-

Free Stat Points Available: 10

Free Skill Points Available: 135

--

Just as he planned, Lux used another 100 Skill Points to upgrade Diablo and made him stronger.

--

< Diablo >

"Finally a worthy opponent. Our battle will be Legendary!"

Named Skeleton

Rating: E+

Mana: 10

Progress ( 0 / 100)

Health: 105 / 110

Mana: 110 / 110

Attack: 16 - 25 (+20 Damage from Tranquility)

Attack Type: Ethereal Damage.

Strength: 23

Intelligence: 22

Vitality: 21

Agility: 22

Dexterity: 22

Title: Firstborn

Skills: Slash

Note: Not bad. Your Thug is now stronger than a typical mob character. They say that one good thing leads to another. On your next upgrade, your Named Creature will have a qualitative boost in its overall strength and performance. Look forward to it!

-

Free Stat Points Available: 10

Free Skill Points Available: 35

--

"Nice!" Lux wasn't able to hide his appreciation as he looked at Diablo's current stats. Just like the note at the end of his named character's profile said, Diablo had indeed become stronger than he was before.

Also, just based on stats alone, the White Skeleton was even stronger than his master, Lux. who was looking at his partner with admiration.

The other thing that made Lux happy was the information that Diablo would have a qualitative boost in his overall performance on his next upgrade!

"Partner, take care of me from now on," Lux said as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"Kekeke," Diablo chuckled as he extended his hand to shake his Master's hand.

Lux was caught by surprise because although Diablo had shown signs that it was an intelligent creature, this was the first time that it had attempted to talk to him.

Not only that, the White Skeleton's thoughts were clearer now compared to how they were in the past. The Half-Elf could now understand it, even though it was not speaking any formal language.

"Amazing! You are amazing, Diablo!"

"Kekeke."

A few minutes later, Lux unsummoned Diablo and stared at the three blue beast cores in front of him.

He was hesitating about whether he should use them to upgrade Diablo or not, or use them to upgrade his own stat points. After much deliberation, the red-headed boy decided to use them to upgrade himself.

The Monster Outbreak had shown him how much he was lacking in terms of combat ability. His mana was quite low, so he easily ran out of juice after using the Slash Skill, and Summoning Diablo and the Forest Wolf several times to bolster his forces.

"Now that Diablo has Tranquility, he can summon the Forest Wolf by himself," Lux muttered as he played with one of the beast cores on the palm of his hand. "He also learned Slash, so he is capable of dealing greater damage to our enemies now. Although he is still weaker than a Draugr, he won't die after getting hit once."

After pondering for a while, Lux returned the beast cores to his storage ring and went to talk with Grandma Annie.

"You're going now?" Annie asked as she looked at Lux with concern.

Lux nodded. "Yes, Grandma Annie. I will return home for a while."

Annie smiled after finding out the red-headed boy's reason for leaving.

"That's good," Annie replied. "Let your loved ones know that you are safe. You can always return here whenever you want. My house is always open for you."

"Thank you Grandma Annie for your care and hospitality. I'll be going now."

"Have a safe trip."

--

As Lux walked the streets of Leaf Village, he genuinely felt the sadness of the people living in it. Just like Eriol had said, there were no NPC's in Elysium. In short, the people here were no different from him.

All of them were alive and knew how to feel happiness, sadness, anger, and helplessness.

But, aside from the sadness, Lux also noticed something had changed in the hearts of people around him.

They no longer looked at him with a guarded expression. Some of them even went out of their way to give him a brief nod of acknowledgement as he passed through them.

The villagers heard how the Half-Elf had fought tooth and nail, to defend their village from the Monster Outbreak.

They no longer treated him as an outsider, and had acknowledged his presence among them.

For some reason, this made Lux feel warm, and made his eyes water a bit.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he had been starving for recognition all his life.

Recognition from the people in Wildgarde Stronghold.

Recognition from his grandmother Vera.

And recognition from the world he was living in.

Now that he had finally taken a step into the world of Elysium, he understood more than ever how precious life was.

Because of this, he wanted to return home to see his Grandma and feel the warmth of having a family, all over again.