Chapter 16: Learning what Crystals do.

As I sat in the bed, Arwen sat in a chair next to it. My broken arm was fixed; I took it by Magic. As I checked my body, I spoke. "I need to get stronger. What is the best way to do that?" I asked, making her smile as she spoke.

"You can get stronger in two ways: killing and absorbing Crystals. But the second way is more for mana, as it only affects intellect." She said, making me raise an eyebrow. "How do you absorb Crystals?" I asked, making her pull one out and crushing it as particles entered her body.

"It is random, as you don't know how many points will be added to intellect. It could be one or more. Depending on the type and ranking, a common crystal will add a value of 1-5. At the same time, a rare one could add anywhere from 5 to 20. And so forth, but Epic ranks and higher are rarer as people tend to kill the rares before they can get stronger." She explained.

I pulled out one of the goblin crystals and crushed it as the system beeped.

John Colt

Age:18

Blessings: Blessing of Alune

Job Title: Gunslinger Lvl 2, Hunter lvl 1, Magic Weapons smith Lvl 1

Title: Goblin Slayer Lvl 1 Beast Slayer Lvl 1

Ability: Creation Magic Lvl 2, Storage, Punch lvl 2, *New* Crystal Absorption Lvl 1

Strength: 115

Speed: 115

Defense: 115

Intellect: 351 -> 353

Mana: 3510/3510 -> 3530/3530

I see, pressing on the new ability. It looks like the more I use it, the better the payout will be. After looking at it for a while, I spoke.

"What is a Demon Lord in this world?" I said, making her shake a little bit as she spoke.

"Demon Lords are beings made by the Goddesses so that the world won't stagnate with development. They are what we call a necessary evil in the world; they have their role to play. One that pushes us to get stronger or be wiped out. Each continent has a Demon Lord; ours is Azel. The demons haven't done anything in the last hundred years as we pushed them back to their Empire. But it looks like Azel took a liking to you and Mrs. Watson." She said.

"Where is his Empire?" I said, making her hesitate before speaking.

"On the Far North-Eastern part of this continent." She replied to me.

"Where are my weapons and gear?" She pulled out my weapons and gear and put them on the bed. I picked up the Revolvers and checked them; they weren't damaged, nor was the lever-action. But the HK416 and the stuff on it were done for, making me sigh as I started to create a new one before breaking down the HK416 back into mana, getting some of it back.

I'm making more ammo to refill the two magazines I emptied before storing all my gear, and I'm starting to get ready to get out of bed. "Where are you going, John?" She asked.

"I am going to join the Adventure and Mercenary Guilds. I need to get stronger to save Mrs. Watson. How long will it take to get to the Capital from here? So I can get the map to the Coffin of Rebirth?" I asked.

"We will get there in four days from here. Now that we can travel by carriage, it will be faster." She said, making me nod. "Do you have a library in the capital or someplace that stores vast amounts of pictures of demons and monsters?" I asked her, making her tilt her head.

"We do, may I ask what you want to do there?" She said.

"I need to reprogram my AI firing system. Will the Empire give me some Crystals, as I need to grow my mana pool?" I said, pulling out two more goblin Crystals, absorbing them, growing my mana pool by 90 mana, increasing it by three points.

She was confused by what I meant by my AI firing system, but she didn't ask, as that wouldn't be appropriate for her. "I will tell the Queen you desire to use the library when we get there. I will send some people with you to join the guilds." She said while standing up, as I got out of bed, my naked body made her quickly turn her head.

I pulled out a bag and grabbed some new clothes, putting them on as she walked out of the room, and I looked at the mirror. Playing that fight over and over inside my head as I pulled the rest of the Crystals out and absorbed them.

By the time I was done, I had gained 70 to intellect, making me smile as I looked at it.

Intellect: 353 -> 423

Mana: 2750/3550 -> 4230/4230

One step closer to making my drones, Demon Lord Azel. I will make sure you lie bloodied at my feet, this I swear. Thinking to myself as the door opened, two of the Elven Archers who had been with us walked in and bowed. Their eyes had sparkles in them as this human stood against the Demon Lord and earned his respect. He may not have won, but for a human just coming to this world from another, that was a feat.

"We are to guide you to the guilds. Please follow us." One with short blonde hair said as I nodded and followed behind her. It looked like I was in some kind of hospital, as Elves looked at me while walking by, whispering about what a human male was doing here.

We walked out of the building into a town built within the trees; nothing but women were in this town, and I finally spoke up. "Where are the male elves?" My words made the two elves chuckle as they spoke. "We elves are females only, as we are born in two ways: by the divine tree or by an elf choosing to become pregnant of her own will. It's a special ability of our race. We can have children with other races, but they won't be pure elves." She said.

We stopped before a building as someone was thrown out; it was a beastman who looked like a wolf, while a female elf walked out with a scar over one eye as she spoke. "You come to our land, and act like that. Get out of here now, or I will kill you myself." She said, making the wolf man stand up and scuff as he walked away.

The scarred Elve looked at me and pulled her sword out as she spoke. "A human dares to stand before me!" She yelled out as the two guides stepped in front of me. "You two are traitors!" She yelled before rushing forward. I pulled a revolver out and shot the blade out of her hand.

"They aren't traitors; they were ordered by Arwen to guide me, by the order of Princess Luthien," I said, making her scuff. "Why would the Princess show kindness to a human?" She growled out.

I raised my hand and showed her the crest on my hand, making her open her eyes wide. She was about to kneel, making me speak. "Don't do that, and it doesn't bother me that you attacked me. I can understand why you would, as humans, have done some fucked up shit to your people." I said.

She nodded. "Why did you come to the Mercenary Guild?" She asked me.

"I wish to sign up to become a Mercenary," I replied, making her nod and speak to me. "Follow me, I will do your paperwork as the Head of the Guild in this town. I will handle it." She said as the three of us walked behind her.

"Thank you, Sir Colt." The two elves said as they bowed.

"Stop bowing, you don't need to thank me. It was because I was human; it had nothing to do with you two." I said, making them smile as they both wrapped around one of my arms as they whispered. "We never knew human males could be so kind. Maybe my sister and I could reward you for that kindness." They said.

I chuckled, "We will see, but for now, let me handle getting into the Guilds first." I said as we walked into the building.

It didn't take us long, as I walked out with a copper badge hanging on a chain. The rankings for members are. Copper, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Crystal. From what I hear inside the Guild, it's the same for the other guilds.

I didn't grab any quests yet, as we have two days in this city to grab a carriage. I asked if there was a quest for the group we were going with, and she told me it was Bronze rank, meaning I couldn't be a part of it.

We entered the Adventure Guild, and I could see the hate from the Elves, but that's fine. As I showed my hand to the lady at the front desk, everyone switched their tune. I would have to thank the Goddess for it, as it made things easier to handle.

Having the two Copper plates, I picked a few quests for keeping monsters in check that didn't have a time limit. I would kill them on our way, as the monsters would show up at the rest areas on our way to the next city.

"We have an Inn, Colt. So let's return, as I know a few human females worried about you." The short-haired blonde Elve said.