Elf's New Function

Andy walked slowly out of the Temple of Elune. He did not ask why it wasn't Malfurion leading the defense, because he knew that the great Druid of the elves would not be appearing anytime soon.

Tyrande also did not ask how long Malfurion's current journey into the Emerald Dream would last. She firmly believed that her intimate lover could handle anything and would return from there with the means to solve every problem in the real world.

Andy did not give much thought to Tyrande's final request. Facing foreign invaders was inevitable; even if Tyrande hadn't asked him to participate, he would still strive to protect his friends in this world.

However, before all of that, he needed to understand a few things. Just as he had been pinned down by the great Ursal, a voice had echoed in his mind, prompting him about an increase in his ability stats. It seemed there were things about the Monster Spirit system that he still didn't know.

Ever since Andy acquired this Elf System, he had never properly studied its functions. He had been using it passively, mostly as an alarm clock or a GPS, which had kept the Monster Spirit in a state of constant disdain toward him. To him, the most important thing now was for the Monster Spirit to allow him to successfully use skills—specifically those left behind by Nathas that required mixed magic!

Andy lay on the ragged bed in his small hut, eyes closed. Although he was exhausted—having not slept for a day and a night in order to kill Ursal—he had no intention of sleeping yet. Instead, he kept his eyes shut, communicating with his parasitic system.

"Spirit, what was that activation of the Eaglehorn Bow yesterday?" Andy asked. "I was nearly beaten to death by Ursal, so how did I suddenly become so heroic?"

"Don't you feel that you are different from before?" the Elf System asked.

"I don't feel anything right now, I just feel exhausted!" Andy rolled his eyes in his mind.

"Exhaustion is normal; it's a side effect of stat growth!" the Monster Spirit said. "Actually, it's because of you. After your abilities increased, you used them all up, so recovery will take longer than before. How could you not be tired?"

"Stat growth?" Andy looked blank.

"Hmph, did you think this system was just a tool for you to use auxiliary magic? Or something for you to use as an alarm clock or GPS when you're bored?" The Elf System threw a little tantrum.

"Then what else can you do?" Andy said. "How come I haven't discovered any other functions?"

"Are you trying to make me mad? Who do you think gave you your attribute abilities?" The Monster Spirit was clearly angry. "You activated your Eaglehorn Bow in a moment of crisis yesterday, and this bow carries the attribute power of this world. The moment you activated it, the system unlocked a new function: the Ability Growth feature! The attributes of the Eaglehorn Bow were added to you. Furthermore, your attribute abilities can only be increased by absorbing items that carry the attributes of this world." The Monster Spirit explained it all in one breath.

"Oh!" Andy exclaimed in his mind.

"Do you understand now?" the Monster Spirit asked.

"Not really." Andy answered honestly, which earned him the contempt of the Elf System.

"If you don't understand, then why are you shouting!" the Monster Spirit raged. "To put it simply, you can increase your own abilities through items from this world!"

"You're an unqualified support system!" Andy became instantly agitated. "With such a good thing, you only tell me now!"

"You idiot! What use would it be to tell you earlier? System functions are activated under specific conditions, which depend entirely on you!" The Monster Spirit looked as if it wanted to bite Andy, if only it had a mouth. "Let me show you something."

In front of Andy's closed eyes, a screen-like object suddenly appeared. Andy didn't even need to open his eyes; these virtual things were projected directly into his mind.

"This... this looks like a stat board?" Andy wondered.

"This is the stat board, and it is your stat board!" the Monster Spirit said. "What you see here are your primary attributes."

"Strength 20, Agility 20, Intelligence 20... 20... 20..." Andy's eyes were spinning. "Why are they all 20!"

"That already includes the portion added by the Eaglehorn Bow! Don't complain about it being low; your rate of attribute growth is different from ordinary people—you are ten times faster than them!" the Monster Spirit explained.

"Then what is this?" Andy asked, pointing to a bright square in the upper right corner. "Apprentice Ranger?"

"This displays your class attributes," the Monster Spirit said. "It currently shows your class level. Let me tell you one more thing: this class can be strengthened and upgraded. And, the abilities at different levels are different!"

"How can I raise my class level?" Andy asked hurriedly; being able to use other abilities was what he cared about most.

"Increase your attributes. Once you reach a certain peak, you can upgrade your class level and unlock new abilities," the Monster Spirit said, now acting like a teacher, answering Andy's questions word by word. "You should focus on increasing your attributes first."

With a thought, Andy closed the stat board that was hovering before his eyes. Increasing attributes—it wasn't that simple. His heavy eyelids could no longer stay open; his head tilted to the side, and he fell fast asleep.

The bright morning sun slowly climbed over the land, shining upon Teldrassil, the World Tree. The birds and beasts in the forest began to stir, and a chorus of chirps and roars filled the air.

After finishing her prayers, Tyrande did not dismiss her priests. Instead, she led them out of the Temple of Elune to begin bestowing blessings upon the devout people gathered there.

The surrounding crowd grew denser; it wasn't just the residents of Darnassus, but also merchants who had traveled from afar, all hoping to receive a blessing from the High Priestess herself. Tyrande raised her hands, eyes slightly closed, looking up toward the heavens, and whispered, "May the Moon Goddess light your way!" A sheet of milky radiance enveloped the crowd. People immediately felt a sense of inner peace and total comfort.

The surrounding crowd gradually quieted down; that was the effect of Tyrande's blessing. A moment later, everyone greeted Tyrande with sincerity. Toward Tyrande, a priestess who was like a goddess, ordinary people always held a sense of awe.

There were still many more such blessings to perform, and the plaza of the Temple of Elune could not hold everyone, which was a great drain on Tyrande. The priests wanted to take over for her, but she refused. Although the collective blessing of these priests was no less effective than her own, she still wanted to complete this work independently. After today, no one knew if there would ever be another scene like this again.