The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

Weed headed to the rocky area in Yunopu Gorge.

Yeti monsters occasionally showed up in the area where the rocks were piled up, but they were easy to handle and gave decent experience.

"This seems to be enough materials"

Weed inspected the rocks and smiled in satisfaction.

He had been accompanying Seoyoon for several days acting as her servant, looking after her and cooking her meals however; thanks to this he had been able to further advance his sculpting.

A beautiful motive was an important requirement, if one was to create art.

Seoyoon had sleek white thighs, ebony hair and a slim waist. She also had a thin slender neck and an immaculate collarbone leading up to her almost radiant face, an appearance that you would not get tired of, even if you looked at it for a year.

With her as a model he had successfully created a few masterpieces, and he had finally learned advanced sculpting.

"Skill confirmation! Sculpture life bestowal!"

Each time it was used 10 art stats and two levels would be lost.

Because of this, it wasn't a skill to be used lightly. If it wasn't used, however, it wouldn't matter whether he had it or not.

He wouldn't use it very often though. Due to the high cost he would save it for when it was absolutely necessary.

"It's an investment... It is a necessary sacrifice to improve the chances of winning the battle."

Weed pulled out Zahab's engraving knife and started sculpting. He was going to sculpt a monster to animate.

"There are plenty of Orcs and dark elves already. I'll be better off creating something that will aid me in commanding them."

Weed started carving out long wings, sharp claws and a thick belly to create a wyvern sculpture.

Wyverns were extremely strong monsters.

Their average level exceeded 380, and their tough skin was quite resistant against both swords and magic, while in flight, their speed was comparable to that of a running horse.

But even if he was able to recreate the body, it didn't mean that the sculpture would be as strong as the original creatures.

Its strength would be determined by his art stat, and even though the shape was similar, the difference in strength would be obvious if compared with an original.

"I don't have very much time so sculpture will have to be a little rougher."

If life was granted to the sculpture, his stats would disappear and his level would drop. Of course he would prefer to create a sculpture on the level of a magnum or classic. But, alas, he did not have the time for this and had to make it rather sloppily, and thinking about this brought an aching to his chest.

Even though he had resolved to create the wyvern, Weed was on the verge of tears.

A sculpture created without care, even by a master sculptor, wouldn't turn out very great.

But this was a Wyvern sculpture was more than ten metres tall, and he wasn't even sure that he could finish it. Even if he put in all his effort and worked for two nights straight, he only had enough time to create the general outline of a Wyvern.

Ching!

Thanks to the advanced sculpting skill, even though he didn't put in much effort, a fine piece came out.

Still, because he was already such a well-respected sculptor, his fame didn't rise much, he had passed the point where he could become famous for sculpting a fine piece.

Now, rather than making a fine piece it was easier to gain fame by questing and hunting. This would mean that to gain more fame from sculpting, he'd have to sculpt a grand piece.

Additionally, the stat increases weren't very big either. The amount of stat points he received for a sculpture of this level had decreased drastically, as his sculpting skill improved.

In order to receive as big stat increases as in the the past, he would have to create a Grand Sculpture or better.

Well, a famous sculptor cannot dwell on his work. He needs to continually challenge himself to improve his sculpting.

"Alright. It's time to use this new skill."

Since it was actually a fine piece, he would regret the loss a little less. But Weed still hesitated to activate the skill.

It was difficult to complete the quests needed in order to gain experience, and he had just reached level 299. He only needed a little more experience to reach 300, but if he used the skill he would be two levels further from this goal.

"Well, it has to be done. 'Sculpture life bestowal!'"

Weed gently touched the head of the Wyvern. A small crack started forming in the surface.

Pasasak!

Like a chick hatching from an egg, the wyvern broke through the shell of the statue.

By Weed's hands, a Wyvern was born.

A true miracle!

He had made a living wyvern.

"Wow, that went well."

Weed inspected his creation.

Granting life to sculptures seemed to be a very convenient skill. To make sculptures whose power was based on the art stat!.. Sculptures with mighty strength and high agility, who'd be able to move around and fight monsters... for the artisan classes who weren't suited for fighting, a skill like this felt like a dream.

The skill was created by the master sculptor Emperor Geihar von Arpen, the first man to unite the whole continent.

Of course, there were lots of other benefits, beside the sculptures' fighting power.

Similarly to this skill, summoners and elementalists were able to summon beings and lead them to battle.

For those classes, any amount of items or experience gained by the summoned creatures would be transferred to the summoner.

However, when it came to sculptures they kept the experience and level individually.

A sculpture's initial strength depended on the art stat, but if led well by a sculptor, it would grow stronger and more powerful.

Animated sculptures were typically a little stronger than elementals and other similar summons.

Additionally there was no limit to the number of sculptures that could be active at the same time.

There was however a crucial difference between summons and animated sculptures when they are killed.

When a summoned being is killed, the summoner can just use an ability to resummon it.

It is very common for an elemental to be killed in battle. However, the only thing required to resummon it is a little mana, so it is only a tiny loss.

But it's different for animated sculptures.

If a living sculpture suffers a fatal blow, the life given will leave it, and if it's completely destroyed and the parts dispersed, it cannot be repaired.

In some way Weed dreaded the loss of a sculpture brought to life by sacrificing two levels and ten points in the art stat more than dying himself.

"It's not a skill to be used carelessly. However, if I increase my art stat it might prove very, very beneficial to me"

A sculptor's highest stat was his art stat. If it was used correctly, it could even make up for the generally bad fighting strength. A Sculptor who cannot fight, can just make a sculpture fight for him.

Before Weed's eyes, the wyvern spread its wings and turned around. The head alone was the size of a whole person. Its stomach bulged, as it spoke for the first time.

"Master!"

A loyal steed.

Weed was overwhelmingly pleased.

"Yes, I am your master."

However, the wyvern had a question after having displeased looked over its body

"Why am I so ugly?"

"......"

"Did you sculpt me with your feet?"

"......"

"I'm really disappointed to have come to life this ugly"

Sculptures had great pride indeed!

The Wyvern wasn't satisfied with its body, and was very displeased.

He hadn't had enough time to sculpt the large body thoroughly. Due to this, there were places here and there that he hadn't really worked on.

Parts of the wyvern been very roughly carved, the wyvern was really a crude and incomplete sculpture.

"Anyway, I brought you to life, so I'm your parent. From now on, you will do best to follow me. You should even be willing to sacrifice your body to save me, since I'm your parent"

Weed didn't intend to let his 'childbirth' go to waste though.

He had no intentions of losing the wyvern after granting it life. To get as much use out of it as possible, he intended to thoroughly pamper it.

The wyvern didn't share Weed's point of view, and had something to say.

"I would have preferred not being born."

"......"

The wyvern was very prideful, and wouldn't listen to him. Soon enough, though, Weed had an idea.

Such a demanding person would probably be a sucker for flattery!

He would just have to thoroughly flatter the wyvern, by playing on its pride.

"Listen to me. Your face might be a bit angular, but it just serves to make you look stronger and more masculine. Don't you think so?"

"Wahahahaha!"

The simple-minded wyvern was easily won over by the silver-tongued Weed.

"Master is nice. He seems to be a worthy person to serve"

"Yes of course, I created you. Now follow my orders closely."

"I will. But what is my name?"

Weed had to decide on a name for the wyvern that he had brought to life.

"Master, find a good name... please."

The Wyvern had high expectations. As a sculpture with a lot of self-respect, it wanted a name full of strength and pride.

Weed pored over it for a while, and in the end he decided on a name

"Let's call you Wy-1"

"I don't know what that is, but it sounds good. What does it mean?"

"It means 'the coolest guy in the sky'."

As Weed said this, the wyvern flapped his wings. They were mighty wings, that could easily harness the air to its fullest effect.

"I like it very much."

"Yeah. It's a name I picked just for you, Wy-1."

Weed, the silver-tongued negotiator!

"Thank you for naming me master, but there's something I've been wondering about."

"What?"

"My siblings. If you make other sculptures like me, what will they be called?"

Weed thought about what he'd call the others when the time came. He decided to name them similarly to Wy-1.

"Wy-2".

"Will that be the name of my next sibling?"

"Yes."

"And my sibling after that?"

"Wy-3."

"Those are some very nice names. I like them very much."

The wyvern continued to flap his wings in joy. At this moment, Weed was confirmed in his decision.

This was the whole point with generations! The other wyverns would surely be satisfied with their names too.

Just like the bird clans in Lavias, the City of Heaven, all winged creatures weren't very smart.

Furthermore, this guy was carved from a piece of rock. His head was practically made of stone, and thus Weed wasn't very surprised that his intelligence wasn't much better than that of a rock.

"Let us depart. Carry me"

"Yes master"

Weed climbed onto the Wyvern's head.

*Whoosh, whoosh*

The wings beat a few times, and then they were floating through the air towards the light. They were very high in the sky, and he could see the entire canyon below him.

Soaring, Weed recognized small dots below him as the flower garden and the masterpiece he had sculpted. That would be the sculpture that truly represented Seoyoon's inner being.

"I do not know when we'll meet again, O most beautiful woman I've ever seen".

Weed shook his head in regret.

She should have realized by now, that all those sculptures were modelled after her.

"I'll be more careful the next time we meet. And pray that you won't kill me"

The flying wyvern didn't meet any trouble from the monsters on the ground. Meanwhile Weed was struck breathless by the view of the landscape below.

He finally left the Yunopu canyon and rode towards his destination, the Yuroki mountain range.

* * *

"......"

Seoyoon tried to smile. She wanted to smile the same bright smile as the statues.

Tears could flow easily, but to laugh again was impossible.

Somehow, that was how she felt.

*drip, drip, drip*

Her red lips moved a little.

It was nowhere near perfect, but she was smiling.

She was thrilled by this fortunate turn of events!

"Perhaps I will even be able to laugh?"

But at this thought, her face fell. There was still important things she couldn't do.

She still couldn't speak or laugh.

However awkward it was, the smile was pretty, and this brightened her frowning face.

The white-skinned beauty with countless statues depicting her beauty.

On a background of a canyon's precipice, a lone girl stands beside a statue.

It seemed to Seoyoon, that the world had just become a slightly brighter place.

* * *

*Rattle rattle* (some sound of wheels on pavement)

A merchant's wagon, carrying a load of goods was arriving at the city. After a long and arduous journey, it had finally arrived at its destination..

The merchant at the driver's seat turned to the man lying on top of the wagon.

"Sir, we have arrived."

"Is that so?"

The man jumped down from the wagon, landing on his feet.

"This seems to be the Kingdom of Prain."

He was broad-shouldered with a suntanned face.

With short cropped hair and an ignorant expression, his appearance was quite plain.

Geomchi 449!

Geomchi 449 had safely arrived at the kingdom of Prain.

His level was actually pretty low compared to most of his colleagues, who had an average level of 241.

However, there was a reason why he was still level 200.

He had entered the forest alone to hunt deers at level 5, with a single purpose!

"Deer blood is soo delicious..."

He remembered the iron straw going through the deer's neck several times before it died.

It was a pain that he couldn't share this with anyone.

"Everything's alright for a warrior, as long as he has his sword"

Geomchi 449 travelled with a lengthy strides and a powerful gait.

All he had was his shabby clothes and a bag full of swords.

He spent all the gold he earned from hunting on food and swords.

"A true swordsman only needs a sword. Armour will just be a burden."

Geomchi 449 was searching for strong and famous warriors in the kingdom of Prain.

Swordsmen, warriors, knights, paladins...

As long as they used a weapon, their class didn't matter.

He just wanted to become stronger.

"I've heard that you are one of the strongest people in this city. I challenge you to a duel."

The challenged person was taken aback. Seeing Geomchi 449 in his shabby clothes, the person couldn't help but ask him.

"Are you out of your mind? My level is 280. Your level seems low and you're not even properly equipped"

"I don't mind. Will you accept the challenge?"

Most people that receive a challenge will accept without much thought, merely thinking of it as another kind of entertainment.

"Alright. You'd better not regret this after I've beaten you"

"Of course I won't."

The person Geomchi 449 was going to duel, was a paladin.

For some reason, the paladin was struck by a sense of foreboding about the duel.

"You just wander in and challenge me wearing shoddy clothes like that.... I don't know who you are, but fight properly, okay?"

"Holy Shield!"

The paladin cast holy shield, one of his basic skills.

"Sun god's divine protection! Warrior's Blessing!"

Paladins used blessings to protect themselves, and to increase their fighting strength.

They could also heal themselves in critical situations.

Due to this, most people tended to avoid dueling paladins.

Paladins could heal up their wounds very quickly, so if you didn't inflict enough damage they would just recover more health than they lost.

"Holy Blade!"

The paladin's sword became coated in white light.

Holy flames appeared whenever the sword was swung.

The skill used a fair chunk of mana to add a splash effect to the paladin's attacks.

"Here I come."

Whenever the paladin swung his sword, white flames appeared.

Geomchi 449 jumped around, dodging the flames.

"It affects an increasingly large area... The longer the match takes, the more dangerous this will get for me"

Geomchi 449 ran into the fire, even though he risked losing some of his health, and raised his sword as he approached the paladin.

"Head!"

The surprised paladin blocked the attack with his sword.

*sliiiide*...

Geomchi 449's sword slid past the paladin's sword like a snake.

"Wrist!"

This time, his sword was aimed at the paladin's wrist.

Once again, the paladin narrowly dodged the attack.

The paladin's eyes finally sharpened, he had seen countless battles.

Usually duels like these were decided by the duelers' levels, normally, a battle with a level difference like this would have already ended. His opponent was resisting impressively, despite the big level gap.

"Very well"

The paladin raised his sword to his chest, and released it with all of his might.

"Bash!"

The Paladin had composed himself, and began a series of powerful sword strikes.

The power gathered in the sword made the strikes very powerful. This time he intended to fight with his full power from the beginning.

Without the slightest hint of anxiety, Geomchi 449 changed his fighting stance.

His opponent's attacks were very straightforward, and he dodged them smoothly by moving his waist and ankles. His sword grazed the paladin's side and made a small wound, but the damage inflicted was hardly noticeable.

Geomchi 449's healthpoints had dropped by 20% when he was hit by the "Holy Blade" earlier; On the other hand, the paladin had only suffered slightly from the wound in his side.

The Paladin's defensive blessings had nullified most of the damage, but despite this the wound restricted the paladin from moving as freely as before.

A murmuring crowd of spectators had gathered to watch the duel.

"This person..."

"I've heard rumours about people like him, who travel around in search of strong people to challenge"

"People who hunt strong monsters and players, relying solely on their swordsmanship."

"Could he be one of them!"

Lots of rumours were being spread about the Geomchis on the continent of Versailles.

The level of Geomchi 449 was low, and he was very susceptible to paladin's attacks. Despite his skill at martial arts, the 80 level difference would eventually wear him out. In addition to his lack of armour, his defense stat was also quite low but to do it like this was his objective.

"Only by fighting people that are stronger than me, can I hope to improve my sword technique"

I need to think and act faster. I'll have to train for a long time, if I am to have any hope of winning against opponents with such an overwhelming advantage, otherwise I'll just lose to the strength of their skills and spells.

Geomchi 449 didn't only fight humans. He also fought monsters at hunting grounds, whose names he didn't know.

Facing unknown monsters in an unknown terrain. He just jumped into the fray, and saved doing the thinking for afterwards.

Just like the other Geomchis, the goal of Geomchi 449 wasn't to reach a high level. His true goal was to improve his concentration, by fighting strong opponents. Due to his lack of spells and abilities, he could only depend on his swordsmanship and movement.

While searching for strong opponents throughout the Versailles continent, Geomchi-449 had fought countless monsters. All of the Geomchis from 6 to 505 was currently travelling to polish their swordsmanship. By doing good deeds along the way, they also fulfilled their duty as warriors.

Although this wasn't the fastest way to level up, all kinds of battle related experience was gained by doing it this way.

Meanwhile, the first six Geomchis were cooking and eating lots of food at the Serabourg Castle.

"It feels all lonely, now that the disciples have left"

Geomchi 2 smiled after hearing Geomchi's words.

"Well, it isn't often that we get to take a breather like this"

"True"

Geomchi 3 added to this:

"I'm sure that the disciples will benefit greatly from their experiences in this world"

Geomchi 4 and Geomchi 5 also joined in with their opinions:

"If one seeks to strengthen his swordsmanship, he must first strengthen himself. If they get more real fighting experience, their swordsmanship is bound to improve as well".

"That's true"

Feeling satisfied, Geomchi resumed eating and drinking.

"As expected, it was a wise decision to send the disciples out to train on their own."

"Indeed, Master"

Geomchi 2 smiled. With the matter resolved, he and the other instructors, started eating too.

The food had been paid for by the disciples.

The students had no use for money during their training.

And the instructors could surely put it to better use.

Following this logic, all the students were "firmly advised" to 'donate' their earnings to the instructors.

* * *

In the Yuroki Mountains, all of the Orcs, dark elves and humans residing in the plains of despair had gathered.

The leaders of each race had come together peacefully!

They had united despite their differences to fight against their common enemy, the undead legion.

"I thought you had run away", the Necromancer told weed in a contemptuous voice, however, upon seeing Weed's annoyed look, he quickly regretted it.

Upon returning to the rocky mountain range, Weed had used his Sculptural Shapeshifting ability to change form to an Orc.

The fat and proud Orc Karichwi, with a mouth full of wicked teeth, vicious-looking eyes and a constantly running nose.

This ugliness, while not very favoured by the humans, was very impressive to the Orcs and served to further bolster his charisma.

"What's the status of the undead legion", Weed asked.

"There's only two days until they'll arrive. The lich Shire will break off from Balkan's main army and bring a contingent here from the mountains to the east. We need to prepare for when the undead legion comes to spread death through the land."

The undead legion would be advancing from the large pit to the east of the mountain.

He could see an ominous red mist rising from the direction of the pit.

It had a dark and dirt-stained colour. An increasing amount of smoke was flowing out from the pit and was slowly coloring the entire sky a dark red.

It must be an extraordinarily large army.

The necromancer explained:

"When the sky has turned completely red. When this has happened, the magic power of Shire will increase greatly, and the undead legion will start their advance.

Suddenly, Weed heard a voice inside his head.

- "Weed, I've arrived at the foot of the mountain", he heard Mapan's voice saying.

Mapan had finally arrived after crossing the plains of despair, with his wagon fully loaded with silver bars and arrows from the Rosenheim Kingdom.

Choosing to become a merchant wasn't a good idea, unless you were very diligent.

Many things were needed in order to successfully make profit from the buying and selling of goods.

First you had to learn the local market prices, and improve your reputation with the local residents as much as possible.

The combat classes got stronger by hunting at hunting grounds or dungeons, while a merchant had to travel around and sell goods instead.

The merchant class was the most sensitive to changes in different towns, wherever they went, merchants would easily be accepted and increase their reputation.

Due to these attributes, merchants received quests much more easily, and whenever they entered a shop, they could receive all kinds of quests suited for a merchant; from finding a missing ribbon to reading and summarizing a book.

When they had gained the right amount of experience and information, very important quests might also show up, making it possible to invest in a town or province.

When a certain level of reputation has been reached, it's also possible to buy all goods cheaper and to buy special goods that are not usually available.

It was Mapan's dream to earn the money needed to buy a whole village.

- "What do I do now? It's going to be troublesome to get the wagon through the mountains."

- "Wait there, I'll send someone to show you the way"

Weed pointed at some Orcs.

"You guys, chwiik!"

"Chwit chwit chwit! Command us."

"There is a human at the bottom of the mountain, bringing us some goods in his wagon. Bring him here, and be careful not to frighten him"

"Understood. Chwichwik!"

The Orcs took off without a second's notice.

* * *

Mapan was relaxing while waiting for Weed.

He had crossed the Plains of Despair, and was now at the Mountain. The mountain was lush, with birds chirping in the dense forests, and a lush breeze gently blowing through the plains.

"It feels really good to have come here"

Mapan was entranced by the scenery.

There was a flowing river in front of the mountain range.

The clear river was teeming with fish, and numerous deer and giraffes were grazing on the plains.

"This mountain is the best after all."

Mapan was very satisfied with the view.

Since he was a merchant, he always picked the safest possible routes when travelling, so he rarely went over mountains.

The mountain range reminded him of the time he and weed travelled to the kingdom of Briton.

The rocky mountain range was truly magnificent, but the many rocky cliffs made it hard to traverse.

Near the top of the mountain, the trees were covered in snow.

The wind was a little bit chilly, but travelling at this climate was perfect.

Mapan felt that the terrain was somehow familiar.

"Have I been here before? This is certainly my first time here, but seeing this place....."

But it was so remote...

Mapan could never have seen this before. Nevertheless, he felt a twinge of familiarity.

Even the snowy clouds near the top of the mountain felt oddly familiar.

"Where have I seen this?"

Orcs were coming down from the mountain.

Mapan handed the carriage over to the Orcs with trembling hands.

"Drunk-ik! Carriage. Me take care of"

Mapan felt faint and baffled as he listened to the Orcs. Why were they acting like this?

"Ah right, the Hall of Fame! I saw those mountains in a Hall of Fame video"

Mapan felt very excited, but still couldn't really believe that Orcs like these existed.

"What's the deal with this, Chwik!", the Orc then asked while waving his Glaive

"Human! Bring to Karichwi. Chwichwik!"

The Orcs started ascending the mountain again, easily carrying the load that Mapan had struggled to get there.

Mapan nervously followed the Orcs as they lead him, and when he saw the citadel of the Dark Elves, he cried in relief.

"It's here. This is the destination."

At the front of the Orcs was Weed, transformed into Karichwi.

"Thank you for the work Mapan. Chwiik! "

The Chwiik sounded oddly familiar.

Mapan realized that Karichwi was actually Weed in disguise.

He was pretending to be an Orc.

"Weed! This situation..."

"More stories, chwik! We will talk later, now it's finally time to get started. Lucille!"

Weed had met an exiled blacksmith in the village named Lucille.

"Chwichit. Here, come and start smithing the weapons"

"Understood"

The human smiths quickly brought the materials from the wagon to the forge, and began working on them.

Once properly equipped, the humans, Orcs and dark elves would do far more damage to the undead.

However, the dark elves were proud and didn't feel like obeying .

"Pfft, it's only made of silver"

"What's with these crude weapons? Wouldn't our mythril swords serve us better?

"These so-called 'crude' weapons will crucial in the fight!" Weed said.

Weed had spent his entire fortune on these 'crude' weapons, that the dark elves were now trying to discard.

However the Orcs liked him and didn't mind.

'My weapon is so strong, chwiik!'

"It's so shiny."

The simple-minded Orcs were quite happy with their new silver weapons.

Weed's plan of how to fight against the undead legion was finally nearing it's execution.

This time, Weed's strategy to fight against the undead legion wasn't improvised.

'"The Orcs will be the vanguard, and the dark elves will be at the rear."

As the strategist he was, he arranged their placement with utmost care.

The silver arrows that Mapan had brought were immediately distributed to the Dark Elves.

Their archers were amazing, even when they were only using oaken bows and arrows.

Their power shouldn't be underestimated.

The preparations for the war were almost complete.

The Orcs and dark elves had nearly finished gathering.

The dark elves had finished building the castle walls.

Additionally, trenches had been dug in front of the walls.

The height difference would make it easier to defend against a siege.

The elves gathered, and the Orcs swarmed.

The humans were instructed, and began reinforcing the castle.

The castle was finally completed. It was huge and beautiful!

A long stretch of wall had been erected along the length of the entire ridge.

At the top of each tower, there were cauldrons filled with burning tar.

Now they were making oak gates

Weed had nearly overseen the completion of the defenses. But if one looked closer, it was pretty shabbily constructed overall.

Everything seemed to be able to collapse without a moment's notice.

It was because the Orcs were so lazy and stupid. The dark elves actually did their jobs properly, but were small in number in comparison

"It'll be fine, the undead aren't very bright."

Weed didn't want to, but he was forced to abandon overseeing the last part to grant life to more sculptures.

Of course, creating just one meant that Weed would lose another two levels.

The novice strategy might be to try to make 100. Anyway, it was now due time to create more sculptures.

"Nothing comes for free; You can't expect to complete an A-rank quest without doing something extraordinary." Weed's tears dried as he completed the first sculpture.

Each time a sculpture was granted life, his level fell by two. Although it pained his heart, it was a necessary investment.

There were only two days left until the confrontation with the immortal army; in that time Weed's level dropped to 279 as he granted life to nine more Wyverns.