CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38 – NAMELESS LORD

Chapter 38 – Nameless Lord

Jack blinked slowly as he read the notifications. A sigh of satisfaction escaped his mouth without realizing it. This was exactly what he wanted to see. Every single notification made him nod.

’This battle might’ve been worth it after all,’ he mused as he felt the surge of power flooding into his body. All his exhaustion and pain vanished as he leveled up several times, returning to his peak state almost instantly. His injuries healed, and along with it, he got stronger, and his body improved greatly.

Slowly, he stood up and stretched his limbs, feeling lighter and stronger than ever before. Staring at his own body, he noticed that his muscles were already considerably bigger and denser than before. Even a small glance at his torso revealed a well-defined set of abs.

The constant evolution had improved his physique quite a lot, which didn’t surprise him. After all, he was now almost four times stronger than an average human and was slowly creeping toward a realm beyond any human capabilities.

"Hm..." Jack read the system content before looking at Liliana. "I have received a title."

"Yeah, you’ve reached level 10, so you get your first title. These titles are given whenever you reach a new milestone."

"And what do they do exactly?"

"You can consider titles as special buffs that grant unique bonuses. Some titles give you physical improvements, some improve your affinities with certain elements, and some have external effects on other people or creatures," Liliana explained. "Though the last type is the rarest of them all, as affecting your surroundings passively is quite strong."

"I see... What did I get then?"

Tapping on the notification, Jack opened a new window.

[Title: Nameless Lord

Rarity: Unknown

Description: A Lord’s name is his very soul. Once a Lord’s name ceases to exist, their powers cease with it. Yet, against all odds, the strongest of all Lords became Nameless. Their power, their presence, and their legacy resisted the hurricanes of time. Your very presence shall command respect and reverence wherever you go.]

"Hmm? This sounds very interesting... Nameless Lord," Jack muttered. ’What an odd description, too. It seems to be talking about a certain individual, but... with no name? What does it mean by that? How does someone lose their name anyway?’

As usual, the system leaves a lot to be desired in terms of information provided. Each time, Jack felt like everything was a puzzle he needed to solve. These ambiguous descriptions only made him even more curious about the true lore behind them.

Jack couldn’t understand what it meant, even though he grasped the benefits the title offered. So, he looked to Liliana, the only one who could explain it. However, all he saw on her face was clear confusion.

"Nameless Lord?"

"You don’t know what it is, Liliana?"

"No. I can’t recall hearing anything about this," she replied, shaking her head. "A Lord can be anything; many realms have Lords, and each realm’s definition of that word differs. I can’t really say for certain what kind of Lord they mean. However... what I do know is that this title is quite strong."

"Is it of the third type?"

"Yes, it seems to affect the way people look at you, which is quite important. Making people passively respect and fear you is immensely useful for the future. Even now, it seems to affect the monsters you fight."

’That is certainly pretty strong. Even if it doesn’t necessarily stop them from fighting, making them fear me helps a lot.’ Jack rubbed his chin. ’I’ll definitely need this.’

"Oh, and another thing. What is a Golden Stamp, Liliana?"

"Oh my? You also received a Golden Stamp?" Liliana raised an eyebrow. "Your luck is certainly something else, Jack."

’He keeps getting good things. I’ve only seen this kind of luck a few times before...’ Liliana didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. Jack was clearly unaware of how blessed he was at that moment.

"Is it that good?"

"A Golden Stamp is a special kind of stamp. You’ve noticed the rarity system implemented into each item, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, Golden Stamps increase your chances of acquiring a very rare item. Think of it as a stamp with special privileges," she explained.

"Aaah, so I have a higher chance of getting a pretty strong item here?"

"Yes, but it isn’t guaranteed. There are rarer types of stamps with better chances — ones like the Ruby Stamp and the Sapphire Stamp... and another one called the Opal Stamp, but it’s so rare that it practically doesn’t exist. It was only recorded once in history."

’There are so many important details I’m still missing out on. The more I learn, the less I know.’ He mused.

"Well, I’m satisfied with this Golden Stamp, and I hope it gives me something good." Closing his notifications, Jack picked up his sword and sheathed it. "Let’s leave. I left the others waiting way too long."

’I wonder how they’re doing.’

***

"I’m so exhausted from running!" Alex muttered as he leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. In his hand was a bow that he gripped tightly.

"Stop complaining and keep attacking the monsters. We need to lead them even farther," Evan replied coldly as he summoned a ball of flames in his palm and launched it toward the crowd.

That was Evan’s main ability — Fire Balls — which he acquired early in his awakening. It was a relatively strong ability with a lot of potential and was very helpful in their current situation.

"Luna... you should stop and rest a bit," Emi said worriedly as she approached her friend. "You’ve been using your ability for the past 20 minutes non-stop. Your face looks pale."

After running and attacking the horde without rest for almost 20 minutes, Luna’s Aether pool was nearly depleted, reaching critical levels. Fatigue, nausea, and weakness began to spread through her body.

The effects were so strong that her aim deteriorated noticeably, and she couldn’t control the arrows as efficiently as before. But she didn’t stop — she kept launching them, killing more and more Undead.

At her level, she needed to kill many Undead to gain any substantial experience. However, that wasn’t why she pushed herself.

’I need to keep pushing. Jack is fighting that thing, and he entrusted me with this task.’ She clenched her teeth. ’I can’t let him down. I must not let him down, no matter what.’

Her mind refused to let her stop — she knew she’d regret it if she did. She had to pull the horde farther away and make sure she fulfilled Jack’s instructions. Her fatigue and pain didn’t matter.

Only he mattered... only Jack mattered.

"Luna," Emi called again, hesitant to grab her friend’s shoulder. That look in Luna’s eyes was far too intense. She looked completely focused, a sense of duty — and even despair — flickering within them.

"Umm, guys... I think we should start moving again, the horde is approaching," Alex said, pointing down the hallway.

"Tsk, they’re only getting faster and faster at locating us." Evan clenched his teeth. "Let’s go!"

"Luna! Let’s go!"

Touching her friend’s shoulder, Luna snapped out of her daze and looked back. Blinking with a frown, she nodded before staring one last time at the distant horde.

’We’re not done yet.’