《Airium - Beta key》 Chapter 01 ¡°We''re getting close,¡± a girl in a petite woven frame said as she traversed the skewering branches of the forest canopy. The pattering noise of light rain muffled the jostling leaves as the girl sprang towards the tip, giving her a wide view of the landscape. Thick fog rolled across the jungle like a thunderstorm blocking out the sun, the humid smell of damp leaves mixed with the putrid odor of unwashed loincloths battered her nose as she tapped her pinky and thumb together on her left hand triggering a spell she had previously hotkeyed. Her eyes glowed a deep emerald green and yellow, slowly piercing the veil of the fog, giving her full vision of the enemies trudging across the dense jungle. Staring at the flashing yellow dotted outline, she blinked a few times, locking her sights to the target. ¡°I can see three, 40 meters ahead of us.¡± ¡°Great Job Emmy,¡± Trent whispered, giving a thumb up towards the branches in a random direction. He tapped his index fingers to his thumb grasping at the longsword materializing in his hand. Hunching down towards the forest floor he gazed at the three targets Emmy had marked and decided he would go for the center. He leaned over toward a large gentleman standing almost seven feet tall grasping at a thick metal shield depicting a crescent moon inlaid in silver filigree. ¡°I¡¯m going for the middle one, can you take the one to my right.¡± ¡°You betcha,¡± the giant stated, tightly grasping onto his shield like a fortress. ¡°On your mark Emmy.¡± Emmy perched on a thick branch, giving herself ample support to make her first attack. She eyes the target to the left and held out her hand mocking the grasp of a bow and pushed her index and thumb together on her right hand. The yew longbow manifested, the weight of it felt good, she took careful aim, waiting for the perfect moment for the wind to silence. Letting go, the arrow graceful glided towards the monster, smoothly embedding itself into the goblin¡¯s head like an experimental 1000 degree knife through butter. The body dropped to the floor like a deflating balloon, its ally, mouth gaped wide open, hobbled away from the body. ¡°Graa-.¡± Before the monster could finish its cries for help, Trent dashed behind it, slamming his blade into the monster¡¯s skinny neck. The goblin gurgled out a fountain of blood, muffled with the dripping rain, Trent drove the blade hilt deep. As soon as Trent started to pull his blade out, his body felt the pain of a train slamming into his ribs, sailing him forward towards the trunk of an enormous redwood tree that was as thick as a grain silo. System: [Trent] Heath 32% ¡°The fuck?¡± Trent murmured, his eyes blurry from the unseen attack. Taking a few seconds to focus, he saw Break shuffle his back towards Trent shield out, ready for the next incoming attack. ¡°We have a problem,¡± Break noted, feeling the back of his feet touch Trent¡¯s battered body. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± Emmy silently landed next to Trent, she laid his hand over his back and lifted him towards his feet, giving a nod towards Break in the process. ¡°Break saved your life Trent,¡± Emmy said whispering in his ear. ¡°Get yourself ready, were about to have one hell of a fight.¡± ¡°What am I mis-¡± Trent next words were cut off as the metallic clang of a blade slamming into Break¡¯s shield echoed with such fury the collected dew drop feel to the forest floor like a compressed soundwave. Trent shook off the daze that had overtaken him and pushed up towards Break¡¯s back, keeping him from topping over as the monster relentlessly rain fury across the shield. ¡°Emmy, make us some room¡± Trent directed. Emmy rapidly reascended the treetop letting lose a hail of arrows cascading towards the monster. Jumping back the monster made a low bellow that echoed across the air like a foghorn. ¡°Not good,¡± Break stammered. ¡°That¡¯s his shout ability, every monster in a two-mile radius will be on us.¡± Break leaned his back towards Trent and snapped his middle finger and thumb together, pointing his newly appearing spear forward, Break bolstered into a one-man falanx. ¡°Got a plan?¡± Hobgoblins where faster, stronger, and above all more intelligent than their goblin counterparts. Break recalled all the lore he had collected about them, not recalling any mention of them wandering the Durge Forest. Trent grabbed the back of Break¡¯s armor and perched his feet onto the tall man. ¡°Charge him,¡± Trent breathed, holding onto Break like a bull rider. Break stammered his feet, set his sight on the monster and pushed the accelerator, his body mechanically plowed forward like a steam engine as Trent¡¯s grip loosen with every step. The monster easily sidesteps the obvious attack with such ease it momentarily pauses Break giving him chills about their odds of making it out alive. The monster let out a howl as Trent slid off of Break mid charged and pushed his blade forward, like an assassin, aiming towards the monster¡¯s ankle. Falling to one knee, the hobgoblin let out another roar, this one so loud, Trent thought there should have been an in-game warning for ear protection. The monster¡¯s eyes smoked with vengeance, dropping the falchion blade, the monster clenched its fist, dark green light piercing between the fingers. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± the three said in unison as Trent braced himself to restart his character. Break pushed his pinky and thumb on his left hand, his feet beginning to glow a faint yellow, as he moved faster than any man his size should be allowed too. Grounding his feet between Trent and the monster, he readied himself to lose a precious friend. The monster opened its fist, the green light collapsing into a floating gelatinous orb hovering above the monsters palm, taking careful aim, the monster hurled the ball of swirling sewage. It splashed onto Break¡¯s shield, droplets of the ooze streaming down the face, the pungent smell of rotten eggs seeped into the forest air. Break unhinged the straps holding the shield attached to his forearm, and gently threw it to the forest floor like a pair of keys after a long day at work. The shield smolders, a bit of the silver filigree curled up and became a chromatic shade of melting liquid. System: [Break] Health 82% ¡°Nooooo,¡± Break shouter, clutching as his forearms as droplets of the acid bit away at the inner cloth. Trent saw a smirk creeping on the hobgoblin¡¯s face, its hand began to glow dark green again as it let out an inaudible sound like a chucking hyena. It aimed at the sobbing man, but before the second ball could be released, a crack from the branches above slammed an arrow to the monster¡¯s back. Whirling around, it glanced above, surveying the canopy for the new recipient of its attack. Trent noticed the monster lose focus, and in that split second, pressed his pink and thumb together on his left hand. His body faded, disguised by the mist and sounds of the sprinkling rain, he leaped towards, grasping onto the arrow that jutted from the backside, he pushed his leg into the back of the monster¡¯s knee. It let out a cry as it tumbled to the forest floor along with the splattering of what Trent would describe as a wet bowl of jello, landing on its own magical attack. Trent¡¯s foot laid atop the monster backside bearing it deeper into the melting green liquid. Ceasing movement, the body dispersed into an array of dust, leaving behind a small pouch floating just above the green goo. ¡°Grab it, we need to get going before we get surrounded,¡± Emmy said, descending from the branches, grabbing the other two pouches that once laid the bodies of the defeated goblins. Stolen story; please report. ¡°My beautiful Luna, there will never be another one like you,¡± Break mourned, building a makeshift burial mound with an upright stick he had stuck in the middle. System: Shield durability 3% System: Shield durability 2% System: Shield durability 1% System: Shield durability 0% The shield quickly dispersed into a pile of ashes, Break eyes glazed with a layer of water as he stood up and laid a gentle hand on Trent¡¯s shoulder ¡°Thank you, at least she got due justice.¡± ¡°Sure, we can mourn after we get out of the forest.¡± Break nodded towards Trent and Emmy, giving one last look at the mound of dirt. ¡°You guys smell that?¡± Emmy asked, gripping her bow tightly, ¡°smells like rotten fish.¡± ¡°I smell it too,¡± Trent replied. ¡°Not good,¡± Break answered, ¡°From what I recall in the lore, only a few monsters emit this smell, and if I''m correct only one lives in this forest.¡± Break hustled towards what used to be a trickling stream, but through the course of the heavily increasing rain, became a torrent of murky water. ¡°We need to get past the bridge if we want to make to back to town,¡± Break yelled, over the noise of the battering water. He glimpsed unnatural bubbles lingering in one area defying the crushing push of the river. Traversing down the river, the hair on his back stood up from the burst of cold wind and the memory of his last encounter with this creature. The party of six stood valiantly against the four fishman that stood at the edge of the riverbank. Break charged at the fish, along with two other swordsmen following his flank. The fishman turn to the group and gaped with wide mouth open as they spit out a slimy translucent liquid catching Break and the two swordsmen off guard. Break¡¯s body began to grow weaker as the weight of his shield grew too heavy to bear. ¡°Do something,¡± one of the swordsmen yelled at the two archers and mage before being dragged by his feet towards the river. The ranger shot his bow landing a glancing blow towards the scaly hide of the fish monster as he saw his companion gradually sink deeper into the cascading river, the last of the few bubbles displacing the surface. The mage held her staff to the air and caused a small blast of wind to strike the closest fishman. The monster reeled back from the attack, regaining its balance, it sprayed a goo of green liquid that caught the girl by the leg. She fell down clutching her right thigh as it began to melt into a puddle of skin and blood. Both archers looked at each other, with a shake of their heads, they darted away leaving Break and the other members to their watery grave. ¡°What are we dealing with?¡± Trent asked keeping pace with Break. ¡°Fishman.¡± ¡°What?¡± Emmy queried. ¡°Fish... man, an amalgamation of a fish and man, eight to ten feet tall, stands on two feet, and can rip you to shreds.¡± Break spotted the bubble trailed the party as they arose to a sturdy built bridge spanning the 30-meter distance. ¡°Once we get acr-¡± ¡°Fallback,¡± Emmy yelled, watching a large bubble expand across the river exploding into a fume of mist. A school of fishmen plopped onto the bridge, unblinking eyes staring at the party. Emmy drew her bow back pointing at the closes one, Break¡¯s grabbed the tip of the arrow aiming it towards the floor, he gave her a quick shake of the head. ¡°They shoot acid, so it''s better not to provoke them.¡± Break whispered as he stood like an unmoving statue. ¡°How do we get cross?¡± Trent asked, mimicking Break¡¯s posture. ¡°I can deal with this, you guys just need to put some faith in me and promise not to do anything unless I tell you too.¡± Break was never the greatest at combat, but when it came to game lore, he was a patch note of facts. If you ask him what was the easiest way to kill a goblin, he could give you the break down of every goblin type ever documented, their eating, sleeping, and even mating habits. The one downside of Break¡¯s infatuation with the game was the price. Veterans players knew that undocumented monsters and their drop tables were valuable and coveted by the majority of the playerbase, this in a way drove Break to seek information like an addict finding the next wave of pleasure. Break opened his inventory pulling out small vials of used health potion and laid it on a large flat rock. Using his gauntleted fist, he pounded the vial into a fine glass powder, used for basic glass blowing. System: You have created [glass powder] He then removed a pouched that jingled with the chime of small metal balls, grabbing a handful of ball bearings, he motions Emmy to open her fingers as he placed the spherical objects into her cupped hands. Next, he pulled out five small banded rings, and them in Trent¡¯s hand, whispering ¡°Do as I do.¡± ¡°Lululululululululu,¡± Break pitched, walking up to the fishmen holding the fine powder glass in his hands. ¡°What,¡± Emmy replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but he¡¯s still alive, and that counts for something,¡± Trent said blaring out the same weird noises. Emmy¡¯s face glowed a pale red, her cheeks brightening, as she thought to herself, ¡°Why do I have to do something so embarrassing, and in front of Trent¡±. She let out a timid noised that somewhat echoed the robust sounds that came from their unashamed tank. ¡°Louder Emmy, and jingle the balls more,¡± Break heed, approaching the interested fishman. Coming from anyone else, that might have elicited an arrow to the face, but from Break, it felt like an observation of lore. Even though this was something she could never live down, at least they were doing this as a group, she thought to herself. Break places the shiny powder under the feet of the fishman and began to slowly shuffle towards the other side of the bridge. Trent and Emmy imitated the motion while looking at each other awkwardly. They stood next to Break and waited for him to make the next gesture. ¡°What now?¡± Trent asked, looking over at an empty plot. ¡°Dude, run,¡± Break shouted. Chapter 02 Emmy slid the metallic door of the VR-machine open, pushing herself out, she walked over to the side panel and grabbed a wet wipe she had stored in her purse. Swabbing the pool of sweat collecting above her forehead, she walked down the dark hallway, seating the many rows of VR pods. Gently pushing on the swinging door, she stepped out onto the musky dining room floor bustling with the chattering noises of the many gamers. Striding over to the usual corner booth, she sat down on the cracked leather sofa lining a quarter cut metallic table. ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Break jest. ¡°I had to compose myself after that fiasco.¡± Looking across the table, she notices Trent holding up the sticky plastic menu. ¡°It¡¯s almost midnight, you''re going to get food poisoning. ¡°I only had breakfast, and it¡¯s to go, I kinda don''t want to cook tonight.¡± ¡°I want to see the loot,¡± Break mentioned. Trent placed his hand over the cold table, an array of green line flew across, quickly scanning his fingers, followed by a login prompt. Opening his inventory screen, Trent highlighted the large bag that dropped from the hobgoblin and sent a trade request over to Emmy. Emmy copied Trent¡¯s motion, logged into the AR table, and opened the flashing trade request in the corner. ¡°I¡¯m going to go order while you split the loot, either of you wants anything to drink?¡± ¡°Beer,¡± Break yelled. ¡°Water is fine,¡± added. Emmy double tapped on the small bags, a list of item scrolled down the table as she began to mark the price of each item. ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary,¡± she stated. Pressing the larger bag, it opened, calling up its own table of items, ¡°Looks like we got lucky.¡± Scooching his face towards Emmy, Break looked down at the blue highlighted text Emmy had her hand over. ¡°Nice, the falchion could fetch a good price.¡± ¡°Quick question Emmy.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°How come we don¡¯t have a healer?¡± ¡°We had a healer,¡± Emmy remarked without turning her head from the list. ¡°You mean Alexandria?¡± Emmy looked up, her eye becoming a cold glare piercing into Break¡¯s face, with a blink, she looked back down. ¡°What? I never met her, but Trent said she was pretty, and not too bad of a healer.¡± Emmy slammed her hands roughly on the table, ¡°She was useless, she healed maybe once out of three battle, and every time we divided the loot, she would always demand, at a minimum, an eighty percent cut. It took me five ¡®missed¡¯ arrows to her back, to get that bi- healer to leave, so if you could not talk about her in front of me, that would be great. Break put his hands up in a defensive position, ¡°Duly noted, still why not we get a different healer?¡± ¡°Statistically, what are the rates of natural healers in the game?¡± Break sat back, held out his fingers, and mumbled a few numbers under his breath, ¡°Roughly one in five-thousand.¡± ¡°Alright, well how many people in a party.¡± ¡°Six,¡± Break easily answered. ¡°How many parties does that make fighting over one healer?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ eight hundred and thirty-three point three three, repeating of course.¡± ¡°Even though healer takes a majority of the loot, eighty percent is still an extortionate amount. Think about a fresh player making an account in this cafe right now, the chances of them being a healer is already low, the chances of them taking an offer from us are even more dismal. There are lots of other parties here, some already doing dungeon, they can offer way more than what a few goblins drop.¡± ¡°Fair,¡± Break nodded. ¡°Anything good?¡± Trent asked, handing Break a beer while placing a large plate of pancakes on the table. ¡°Pancakes?¡± Emmy sighed. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, but I did get something to go,¡± raising a bag filled with styrofoam to-go boxes. SItting down next to Break, Trent handed Emmy her bottle of lukewarm water and made a small hole in the middle of the pancakes. ¡°Why are you making a hole?¡± Break asked. ¡°So I can do this,¡± drizzling a thick strawberry jam down the middle of the pancake, ¡°I eat it from the inside out, makes it easier to contain the syrup and you get the perfect amount of syrup everytime.¡± Taking a bite from the pancake, Trent looked over at the item sheet, ¡°So, anything good?¡± ¡°About 600 credits per person, we got lucky with the fanchion drop from the hobgoblin.¡± Trent took another bite, his face in ecstasy from the spice of hunger. ¡°Either of you wants a bite, it¡¯s pretty damn good,¡± Trent said, holding out the fork. Break reached over to take the fork but was swiftly bypass by Emmy¡¯s lightning reflexes. She skewered a small piece sitting in the middle of the plate, only taking the top portion from the four stacked pancakes. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t need to eat off my piece,¡± Trent gesture. Emmy bit off the slice of pancake, closing her mouth over the fork, she slid it out, keeping the syrup from falling on her blue blouse. ¡°Bit too much syrup for me, but overall not too bad,¡± handing the fork back to Trent. Break moved his hand towards the fork but felt the pain of Emmy¡¯s cold arrow stare once again. He places his hand back down looking at the plate of pancakes. ¡°Uhh, so when do we go sell the stuff?¡± ¡°I know a vendor, his shop is open twenty four-seven, we can sell it tonight if you guys have the time.¡± ¡°I might call it a night, can you give my share to break.¡± ¡°What, why?¡± Break expressed, taking a sip from his beer. ¡°Well, not only did you save me twice, but you lost your shield, I know the shie-¡± ¡°Luna,¡± Break interjected. ¡°I know Luna was not cheap, so I want to at least make it fair to you.¡± ¡°Dude, think nothing of it, I still have an extra shield we looted a week back from the goblin camp, that should hold me for a week or two.¡± ¡°You mean the thin piece of cardboard, I don¡¯t see it lasting longer than one attack.¡± ¡°How do you plan to pay rent?¡± Break questioned. ¡°I¡¯m paid up for the month, so don''t worry about me.¡± Break stood up from the table, stretched his feet, and sat back down grabbing the large plate of pancakes sitting in front of Trent. Grabbing the pitcher of dark brown maple syrup, he drowns the pancakes in a lake of sugar. Taking a big bite, Break smirked at Trent, ¡°Now we''re even.¡± ¡°But-¡± Break slapped Trent back, most likely leaving a Break sized outline, ¡°Where partners, whatever I do in combat is my own decision, so no more talk about giving me your share.¡± ¡°Guys, I don''t want to break this bonding moment, but Break, I need you to look up an item on the broker list.¡± ¡°Sure, what item do you want me to look up,¡± Break said, logging into the table¡¯s UI¡± ¡°The item has a weird name, K-32.¡± Double tapping the text, Emmy brought up the 3D render of the item for the party to see. ¡°Looks like a white gem,¡± she said. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What rarity is it?¡± Break asked. ¡°That¡¯s the odd thing, I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Uhh, ok what color is the text?¡± ¡°Red.¡± ¡°Ha, very funny, Trent what color is the text.¡± Trent wretched his head over the table, looking down at the pointed item, he scratched his head. ¡°It''s red.¡± ¡°There is no red item in the game, you guys must be sleep deprived, look we got gray, white, blue, yellow, gold, and brown how does red fit anywhere in that color spectrum?¡± Emmy dragged her screen over to Break, minimizing his search database, ¡°It¡¯s red.¡± she sputtered, daggering her fingers over the texted line. Emmy slapped her hand down on the table, causing the system to log her out, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Go where?¡± Trent asked. ¡°My broker, he closes in less than twenty minutes, if anyone has info, it''s him.¡± ¡°I thought it was open twenty-four-seven,¡± Break remarked. ¡°Not this one,¡± Emmy replied. Trent walked over to the front desk, dodging the rows of gamers streaming into the cafe, ¡°Booth eight.¡± A man behind a wired plexiglass desk pushed a few buttons on the metal countertop, ¡°Three people, eight hours, your total will be 39 credits.¡± A small metallic slab lit up on the front side of Trent, ushering him to place his hands over the scanner. ¡°Hey Trent,¡± Break yelled, slipping past him, and placing his palm over the scanner. ¡°Dude, it¡¯s my turn to pay, remember?.¡± ¡°Well, I still kinda feel bad about the shield,¡± Trent muttered. ¡°Guys, save this for later, like I said, twenty minutes.¡± The three walked down the damp road, illuminated by the scattering of neon light hovering above each shop front. Emmy walked past two brick building, one advertising potions, and the other advertising mercenaries for hire. Shuffling to the back of the lot, she saw an orange glow of a pale lantern light coming from a rickety wooden stall. ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± Break said, looking over at Emmy. Pacing up to the small cart, Emmy pulled the red flowing banner hanging across the cart, waving her hands, she motion for Trent and Break to take a seat on the pull out wooden picnic table. Break sat down facing outwards, not being able to jam his bison like legs into the attached table. Trent looked at the menu, all the items were written in Japanese with small English description lining the bottom. ¡°How are you still hungry?¡± Break inquired. ¡°I only had one bite of my pancake.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Break smirked, wiping the syrup from the corner of his mouth. An old man turns around facing the three patrons, ¡°Emmy, It''s been a while, what can I get you?¡± ¡°Three tonkotsu, on me guys.¡± placing her hands over the wooden frame metal tablet. ¡°I would also like to get an appraisal.¡± ¡°Tier?¡± the old man said in a rehearsed tone. ¡°Red,¡± Emmy stated, not showing a bit of hesitation. ¡°Send me the item¡¯s stat,¡± The old man said with a raised an eyebrow as he walked over to the counter, and placed three bowls of steaming hot ramen. Emmy placed her hand on the counter again, this time prompting a login screen. She opened the list of items stored in her inventory and scrolls down the red texted orb, she copied the orbs various stats, sending them over to the man with a swipe of her fingers. ¡°You guys enjoy, it will be a moment.¡° The old man walked to the back of the cart, a small LCD flickering in the background. Trent looked up, noticing the old man had been watching the semifinals of Airium¡¯s annual PVP ranking. The two opponents currently on the screen were eyeing each other, neither of them wanting to make the first move. The knight was clad in a dark blue armor trimmed with the symbol of a golden dragon, the wizard, on the other hand, looking a bit more tamed, wearing a pale white robe, tied down in the middle by a thick leather belt holding pouches on either side. The wizard raised his staff, a dark purple glow emanating from the branch shot up into the arena¡¯s dome. A shower of dark haze covered the field as the knight began to rapidly lose HP. ¡°Trent,¡± Emmy whispered. ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to get cold¡± Trent eyed the bowl of ramen Emmy had placed in front of him, he took in a deep breath, inhaling the rich flavor of the broth. Looking over at Break, he saw the big man slurping down the bowl like a fifty cent ramen packet. Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, Trent took a bite of the egg noodles, ¡°Oh my gosh, this is blowing my mind¡± Trent exclaimed, taking another large bite of the noodles. Break saw Emmy¡¯s gaze periodically shoot over the table towards Trent, her blush covered by the bowl of steaming hot both. The day Break joined the party, he had easily deduced Emmy had a thing for Trent, she kept it modest most of the time, but he noticed small quirks that made her unstable if Trent talked about other girls. Break always enjoyed the interaction between the two, he always made it a priority to tease Emmy at every opportunity, and this time was no exception. Drinking the leftover broth, Break placed the bowl down, he stood up and rubbed his stomach, ¡°Man that was great, next time, if your planning another date, let me know, I don''t want to be the third wheel.¡± Emmy face froze, her ears glowing red before looking up towards Trent. His attention was fully immersed into the PVP battle to notice anything Break had uttered. Emmy stood up, walked over to Trent, ¡°You done?¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks,¡± Trent replied. She grabbed his bowl, pouring the small amount of broth left into hers and stacked it under. Walking over to Break, she grabbed his bowl holding it in the other hand, and walked over to the counter, but not before kicking Break so hard in the shin an audible thumb could be heard echoing across the lot. ¡°Fuck¡± Break yelled, whipping his hands across the shin of his leg. ¡°What happened,¡± Trent said in a concerned voice. ¡°Nothing, I hit my leg getting up,¡± Break squealed, still grasping at the sore. The old man walked back towards the counter grabbing all three bowl and placing them in the sink, he gestured to the three. ¡°I want to make an offer on this item, before I tell you what it is, you don¡¯t need to take the offer right now, but I want you to think on it when I tell you.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Trent replied. ¡°Six hundred thousand.¡± Break coughed, ¡°Six hundred thousand, what the hell did we find?¡± ¡°You guys found a beta key, only about a thousand of these are release every major expansion, and keep in mind, last major expansion was four years ago.¡± This item will let you teleport one full party, up to six people, into the new area. I won¡¯t charge you for the information since it widely known by the top tier clans, but I want all three of you to keep my offer in mind.¡± At that last statement, the man began to pack the cart, pushing the picnic table back into the attached wooden frame and clicked the cart to a yellow Vespa scooter. ¡°See you later Charlies,¡± the man let out, driving his scooter out of the lot. ¡°So we''re selling this thing right?¡± Break asked, right as the old man hooked onto the intersection. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Trent said, ¡°Six hundred thousand is an outrageous amount of money, but something tells me we could make more if we took the risk.¡± ¡°A bird in the bush, and what not,¡± Break replied. ¡°Emmy, your thoughts?¡± ¡°I think we should get a good night''s rest before discussing this any further.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the best idea I''ve heard all night,¡± Trent yawned, stretching his hands above his head. Chapter 03 Emmy slid out of her bed, her feet touching the cold wooden floor. Checking her alarm screen, she waited the expected thirty seconds before a single buzz was silence by an anticipating press. Grabbing the change of clothes she had prepared the previous night, she went about doing her morning routine. Getting out of the steaming shower, she made her way over to the built-in kitchen and made a mug of instant coffee. Taking a seat on the red leather sofa sitting in the middle of her studio flat, she turns on the LCD which was always set to mute with captions. Taking a sip from her cup, she watched as the many newscasters talk about Arium¡¯s economy, clan disputes, trending characters, and many other topics for this trillion dollar game. Pendragon Inc. started out as a small studio in suburban Texas, ran by a team of dedicated gamers, after the inception of VR gaming, the small band of programmers decided they wanted to dip their toes into the VR gaming pond. Norman Delvis, Pendragon¡¯s lead programmer, and one of its founding members, design and implemented the world most powerful and highly self-sufficient game engine. Codename X-Calibur, the software has gone to power Airum, Pendragon¡¯s first and only game. During the early trials of the game, many gamers found it to be highly addictive, to the point where some players quit their day jobs. After only a few months of testing, the revenue accumulated during the short period was so outrageous, Pendragon Inc. had to hire many new employees including accountants, analyst, and many, many lawyers. Pendragon eventually grew so large so fast, they acquired many new offices in numerous major cities. After half a year of growth, Pendragon¡¯s team of hardware designers developed the VR-pod, unlike the earlier head-mounted version, the VR-pod allow users to not only see and hear their environment, but to touch, smell, and taste everything within the game world. With the rapid advancement in electronics, VR technology became inexpensive, to the point where many players wanted the function to trade outside the game. This led to ARES, AR Enhancement Suite, a relatively low-cost integration board turning most devices into a cross-platform hub for trading and communication. Arium policy on credits, which states, no monsters, be it level or rarity, will ever drop credits. Credit may only be obtained through the conversion of real-world currency, based on the current market rate, or through limited NPC quest.Pendragon did not limit users to a one-way conversion but allowed Players to convert credit back into currency, with a one percent fee. With the ARES and Arium credit policy, this led to the establishment of many player companies in the game. These small businesses eventually became a large corporation with hundreds of thousands of workers. These companies found it a burden that a large portion of their earning was being squandered, converting credit into currency, to pay their employees due to legal and tax reasons. This eventually culminated in the lobbying to make credit either the main or secondary currency in almost every country. Now with the advent of a global economy, Arium¡¯s credit is accepted just about anywhere you can use regular cash. Emmy heard the squeak of a rusted door slowly slide open. She turned off the LCD, ran towards the entrance of her apartment and pushed her feet into her comfy jogging shoes. She waited about twenty seconds before opening the door. Stretching her neck she saw Trent leaning over towards his toes. Feigning ignorance, she walked out onto the fifth story walkway balcony glimpsing the Houston skyline and stretched her right leg over the railing. ¡°Good morning Emmy.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Emmy yawned, switching over to her left leg. ¡°Did you just wake up?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Yeah, was planning to go for a jog.¡± ¡°Me too, want to go together?¡± ¡°Sure, sounds good,¡± Emmy replied. ¡°Give me a minute, I¡¯m going to call Break to meet us at the park, this is a great time to decide what we want to do with the key.¡± ¡°We could always do that at the ca-.¡± Emmy was unable to reach Trent¡¯s ears before he had his phone already dialed. ¡°Morning, we''re going to the park for a jog, you want to meet up with us to discuss what we want to do with the key?¡± The phone tittered with the audible noise of Break as Trent nodded along with the conversation. ¡°With Emmy, who else? More noises could be heard coming from the phone as well as a hardy chuckle. ¡°No, why would it be a bother, you have a say in this too.¡± ¡°Get in the way of what?¡± Emmy grabbed Trent¡¯s hand holding the phone, pushing her lips towards the receiver she whispered ¡°The park,¡± then abruptly ended the call. ¡°He will be there, I¡¯m sure six hundred thousand credits is a big enough motivator.¡± Emmy pulled up to the park, Trent sat to her right munching on a breakfast burrito they had pick up at a local shop. Jogging along the path, they saw Break sitting on the picnic table swiping down on a board of news from his AR wristband. ¡°Morning, got you a burrito, and some coffee,¡± placing the bag of food and sealed cup on the table. ¡°You guys plan a run yesterday?¡± Break asked, unwrapping the tinfoil cover from the breakfast burrito. ¡°No, we just woke up at the same time.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± putting both his hands up, ¡°you guys live together?¡± Emmy slapped his hands down, giving him her trademark stare, ¡°No, were neighbors.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m in 507, and she is 508, what a coincidence we end up living next to each other after high school. I¡¯m honestly surprised you were a gamer, I remember you were the school council president, did like three different sports, and a bunch of other non-gamer activity. I¡¯m even more astonished you didn''t go to college.¡± ¡°I just wanted to do something different,¡± Emmy said, peering down at her feet. ¡°Uh huh,¡± Break sigh, taking a bite of the burrito, ¡°Bacon and egg, you know me too well.¡± Arching his head back down towards the bracer, he waved at the other two to take a seat. ¡°Check this out,¡± pulling up a video released this morning by Pendragon Inc. A man clad in a celestial robe, meteors bounding across the ethereal fabric, walked across a dark spacial background, each step causing the floor to ripple like a shallow pond. ¡°Hello world, my name is Norman Delvis, lead programmer for Arium, and today I want to tell you about an expansion ten years in the making. This expansion, called Aether Winds, will not only have more items, and land to traverse and explore, but we have added larger towns, more NPC, new quest, and lots of new recipes, and uh.¡± Norman waved his hand in front of chest, a scroll appearing from a puff of smoke, unrolling downwards, the mage began to read. ¡°Oh yeah, we''re adding, bigger, badder, monsters,¡± Norman said, his voice echoing across the blank darkness. ¡°We plan to have this out in six months time. You''re probably asking, Norman, why are you telling us so early? Well good question, the team and I have recently scatter a few beta key around the map, we put one at the end of every celestial dungeon, a couple in the world tier bosses, a few in hidden rare chest, and just for kicks I decided it would be fun to scatter a handful into random monsters,¡± the man said walking above Arium¡¯s landscape as white orbs shot down from the sky. ¡°If you''re lucky enough to find one of these orbs,¡± raising a glimmering jeweled ball that reflected the rays of the sun, ¡°take your party to any of our three hundred offices located around the world for further instructions, I¡¯m positive you will be blown away by what we have to offer.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Trent said, his eyes glued to the screen. ¡°That¡¯s not all, look at this,¡± Break motion, pulling up an in-game auction site. ¡°Going once, going twice, sold for five hundred thirty-four thousand,¡± a small goblin standing on a pedestal said, as he shot words out like bullets. ¡°That¡¯s way lower than what the old man offered us,¡± Trent remarked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s only the third one sold, if you guys want we can put ours up for auction and see if we can get more than six hundred.¡± ¡°Wait a minute Break, I still down for the idea of using it, and Emmy still has an opinion.¡± Trent and Break turned towards Emmy, their face anticipating her next words. ¡°I¡¯m actually curious about the new update, and while six hundred thousand is a lot-.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®a lot¡¯, it''s a butt ton, I could buy so many data cubes with that amount.¡± Emmy stood up, crossed her armed, leaned to one leg and gave him an inquisitive look. After ten seconds she leaned on her other leg, still eyeing him speculatively. ¡°What, do I have bacon stuck in my teeth?¡± ¡°No¡­ I can¡¯t tell if your just oblivious, or stupid, everything in the expansion is new data.¡± Break sat there silently like an overloaded circuit, jolting up from the seat Break pace around the table. ¡°Guys, do you know what this means?¡± ¡°What could this mean?¡± Emmy mockingly answered. ¡°We should use the key,¡± Break shouted. ¡°Alright, now that we''re all in agreement, what''s out next step?¡± Trent asked. ¡°We go visit HQ, and start our new adventure,¡± Break said, planting his right foot on the tabletop, one hand to his waist and the other point forwards. ¡°What about the other three spots, we should get three more people to join us. I still have Alexandria¡¯s number, we could always use a healer if we''re going into an unknown area.¡± Break¡¯s body froze at the statement, his eyes wandering back towards Emmy. Trent was oblivious to Emmy¡¯s vexation, but Break saw the hellfire and brimstone radiated at the mention of that name. ¡°Actually, I might have a solution. Instead of finding three people for the slot, why don¡¯t we just auction them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I want someone I can trust,¡± Trent remarked. ¡°I''m not saying we have to adventure with them, we could split ways, and on the upside, we have some extra money to gear ourselves. Going into a new area is cool and all, but It won''t do us any good if we constantly keep dying to higher level monsters.¡± ¡°I second Break¡¯s idea,¡± Emmy motioned. ¡°Overall I think the idea is a bit dumb, but It would be prudent to acquire better gear, and If anything does happen, we''ll still end up with a bit of unspent money.¡± ¡°If you think that¡¯s the best idea Emmy, I''ll agree, but how do we even start the process of selling our extra spots?¡± ¡°Leave it to me, I know an auction that deals in this type of stuff,¡± Break huffed, keeping pace with Emmy and Trent towards the far side of the parking lot. ¡°Can I get a ride Emmy, I took the bus over.¡± ¡°Get in,¡± pulling out her sunglasses from the compartment above the rearview mirror. ¡°Do you know where Elder Dragon Emporium is?¡± ¡°The auction house across from the SnapCast Bar?¡± Emmy replied pulling up a map of the area. ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± The three walked into a large office building adorned with polished marble floors and pristine white walls. It had hallways leading down every direction, each lined with an array of doors that led into their own private rooms. Break ushered for the two so sit at the many white circular tables in the main lobby. Walking up to to the young girl sitting behind a marble desk, he gave her a jolly smile. ¡°Hey, Catherine,¡± reading her name off the plaque, ¡°I like to sell an item today.¡± ¡°Sure, I just need you to fill out this form here,¡± handing him a stack of papers. Break flip the pages finding the line indicating what type of item he was planning to sell. ¡°The thing is, it¡¯s not a real item per se, it¡¯s more of a party slot.¡± ¡°Oh, we get that all the time, that just require different paperwork, what type of quest is it? If it¡¯s a celestial dungeon, we already have a few pre-filled paperwork for that, or is it a unique quest.¡± ¡°Uhh, it¡¯s more of a beta splot.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± the young lady let out, sliding her seat out from the desk, ¡°one minute.¡± Catherine waddle to the back of the office, her tight pencil skirt and high heel making the trip a struggle, hasty rapping three times on the wooden office door, she peeked her head inside and traded a few words to what Break thought was the manager. Pulling her wrinkled skit back down, she calmly made her way back to the desk. Three blonde female workers clad in a pristine office blazer, each with a logo on the left shoulder depicting a paladin adorned in gleaming white armor, his sword protruding out of the head of a dead elder dragon, walked out of a large elevator toward the three. ¡°This way Mr.-¡± ¡°Break,¡± waving at Trent and Emmy to follow. Trent looked at the three women, feeling a bit underdressed in his jogging shorts and t-shirt. The elevator rapidly climb the six-story building so fast, Trent felt the weight of his body doubling before the elevator abruptly stopped. Trent placed a fisted hand over his mouth, the feeling of the mixed coffee and burrito wanting to jettison from his stomach. ¡°Right this way,¡± One of the female office workers said showing them down a hallway with one door at the end. Two of the ladies walked down the hallway, each grabbing a metal detector. ¡°Before you can enter, we just have to do a quick security check for any weapons,¡± the third office worker said. ¡°I thought this was an auction house,¡± Trent mention. ¡°It is, just protocol for anyone meeting the boss,¡± one of the office workers replied. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this over with,¡± Break said holding his hands out while one of the females patted him down. Both ladies gave each other nods before walking back to the door. The tallest of the three knocked before stepping in, ¡°Mr. Break and his two companies are here to see you.¡± A stout man in a gray herringbone pattern suit stood up from his office chair and greeted the three visitors with a firm shake. ¡°Welcome my friends, my name is Damien, Damien Irving, from what I heard downstairs, It seems you have an open slot.¡± ¡°Three,¡± Break noted. ¡°Even better,¡± that large man said clasping his hands together. Sitting back down on his firm leather chair, he rested his arms on his elaborately designed mahogany table. ¡°I know you wanted to auction the spots, and I¡¯m fine with that, fifteen percent commision would net me quite a big fish, but let me make you a better deal.¡± The man swiped down on his desk, a credit counter popping up as he began to move numbers around. How about I pay you a flat sum of two hundred thousand for all three spots, and I¡¯ll throw in a set of rare armor and weapons, or a single elite, and that goes for each of you. Trent stared down at the desk, not looking at the numbers, but the desk itself. Rubbing his hand against the cold varnish wood, he could not feel the presence of any metal plates that lined the AR tables. ¡°Ahh, I see your friend here as an eye for craftsmanship. I¡¯m guessing you''re trying to figure how the desk is connected to the Pendragon-Network, to cut it short, it¡¯s not.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Then how are you able to connect to the network?¡± Trent asked, feeling the bottom of the wooden desk. ¡°That¡¯s the magic of it all,¡± the man said, walking over towards Trent, laying is large arms across his back. With his other hand, he motions out a set of silver spiked armor that rose from the table. ¡°Normally the extent that his armor could travel would be the perimeter of the table, but as you can see here,¡± pushing the armor around Trent,¡± it¡¯s not limited to that. This room was custom designed to be AR compatible, while it''s not the only one of its kind, I can assure you, they are not cheap or easy to come by. But we''re going on a tangent here, let get back to topic. My offer is as stated, two hundred thousand, and a set of rare armor and weapon or a single elite item of your choosing.¡± ¡°Can we have a minute to talk it over?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Take your time and make an informed decision, if you need to step out, I¡¯ll have my secretary escort you downstairs.¡± ¡°No need,¡± Emmy replied. ¡°Just give us a moment.¡± The three huddled together in the back of the room, each periodically glancing over to the lounging businessman. ¡°I''m in,¡± Break said. ¡°That offer is more than fair, count me in too,¡± Trent added. Trent and Break pulled their face towards Emmy, waiting for her to deny their claim with some sort of rebuttal. Emmy closed her eyes, shook her head at the two, ¡°Count me in.¡± Break strutted towards the large table, nodding his head at his two companions, he sat down facing Damien. Fisting his hand over his mouth, he audibly coughed, ¡°My associates and I, have decided to take the deal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, but before we get to any paperwork, I need to see some proof.¡± Emmy sat down next to Break, hands splayed out on the table, she logged into her account. Pulling open her inventory. She grabbed the gleaming orb that materialized in 3d space. She pushed the floating object towards Damien, allowing him to see the object properties. ¡°Marvelous, just marvelous. Catherine,¡± Damien yelled. ¡°Yes boss,¡± the voice of the reception said, ringing out from all around the room. ¡°Get me a lawyer and an auctioneer.¡± ¡°Yes boss.¡± In less time than it would take a bowling ball to fall off the building¡¯s rooftop, a man wearing an all-black suit with a bright red tie stepped into the room. Pulling out his AR pad, he pulled out a tabbed file contain rows of documents. I need the usual NDA, I also need a contract regarding players agreements and a non-attack clause. ¡°You mean the friendly fire add-on?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s one.¡± Another man walked in the room, but this one sporting a more casual outfit that comprised of beige khaki shorts and a button-down hawaiian shirt. ¡°Good, you made it, I¡¯ll have the details sent to you on the way down, please take my guess here for a fitting.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± the young man nodded, showing the three towards the elevator. Trent felt his stomach heave again as the elevator rocketed downwards. The man walked out whistling at a document he had open on the quick trip to the second floor. ¡°You guys are in luck, we just got a fresh shipment of gear from our vendor. You guys decided on what you''re wanting to take?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure?¡± Trent replied. ¡°Well let¡¯s get you guys in an office, and you can peruse our fine selection.¡± Walking into a large office filled with a massive rectangular table that took up a large portion of the room, the man walked over to the head of the table and prompted the three to take a seat. ¡°Let''s start with you big guy, rare or elite?¡± ¡°I already know what I want, show me all your elite shields.¡± Pressing a few buttons, the man dragged a line of shield that floated in front of Break in a half circular pattern, each one with small digits attached at the bottom denoting its place stored in the inventory. Sliding his hand across the many targe, heaters, and buckler shields, Break scanned the many distinct items looking for anything that would catch his interest. Faster and faster, the shields rotated like an out of control carousel, as Break consumed the image of each one, and in the process eliminating many of the choices. ¡°Number seven hundred and twenty-eight.¡± ¡°Whoa kid, how the hell, did you just really go through all that?¡± The man exclaimed, pulling up the numbered shield. Trent held back a slight giggle as he saw a floating partition of a tree trunk, a quarter of it covered in a bright green moss. ¡°Dude, that''s literally a piece of a tree, and not a fresh one by the looks of it.¡± ¡°Mock all you want, there''s something special about her, and from my database, I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡± ¡°What''s the name of it?¡± Trent asked, spinning the image of the wooden platter. ¡°One sec, pulling the spec sheet for it now,¡± the man sitting at the head of the table said, clicking away on the desk. Name: Morass Type: Shield Rarity: Elite Defense: +11 Skills: None Passive: Rooted (Player who are rooted, have a 30% to avoid knockbacks) At the sight of the spec sheet, Trent turn away putting his hand over his mouth and let out a slight giggle, ¡°You sure you don''t want something like this,¡± pulling up a large spiked shield, embossed with a mighty dragon, ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll have a cooler sounding name like Bone Breaker.¡± ¡°No, I''m dead set on this one, besides look how wavy the moss looks.¡± ¡°What about you, young lady, rare or elite?¡± ¡°Uhmm, I think I''ll go with armor.¡± Walking over to Emmy the man laid out his palm opening a login screen in front of Emmy. ¡°Login, I need to see what race and gender your using.¡± Emmy placed her hand over the desk, a version of her avatar emerging from the table. ¡°Elf, I¡¯m guessing you want leather armor?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, do you know what stats or traits you''re looking for?¡± ¡°I want the one with the highest dexterity bonus.¡± Clicking a few more buttons the man organized the list by stats, sorting the dexterity modifier from highest to low. ¡°Alright, this one has a total bonus of nine, while also increasing defense by two,¡± the man started pushing the armor set over to Emmy¡¯s Avatar. Emmy rushed out of her seat, splaying her hand over her avatar before anyone could take a closer look. ¡°Turn around, turn around now,¡± she yelled, still covering her avatar. Trent visible blush the tips of his ear glowing a tinge of red as he abided by Emmy¡¯s command. Break hovered over Emmy, his tall figure giving him a full view of the skimpy leather bikini clad elf ranger. ¡°I didn''t know they made armor the size of shoe strings,¡± Break remarked, giving the avatar a once over. Emmy shot her hands out, aiming her fingers towards Break¡¯s eyes, but was deflected by his large forearms and towering height. Seconds later the hulking man fell to the floor, his hands grasping over his legs in the fetal position. ¡°Fuck, the same place,¡± Break wheezed. ¡°Change it back now,¡± Emmy sternly demanded, giving the auctioneer a hard scowl. The man pushed a few buttons causing the avatar to revert back to its original state. ¡°You know what, I¡¯ll just take an elite bow.¡± ¡°Good choice,¡± the man nodded, looking at the half sobbing man on the floor. Sening the half spinning wheel of bows towards Emmy, that man made a few snapping noises towards Trent, his face still covered by his hands. ¡°While the elf is making her choice, let''s get you settled.¡± ¡°I like a set of armor.¡± ¡°Alright, same deal, login and pull up your avatar,¡± the man drone, growing more impatient as the clock ticked closer to his lunch break. Slapping his hands over the table, Trent brought up the render of his avatar. The man gazed at it, scratching his head, he walked towards avatar speculating what type of class Trent had been playing. ¡°I see you have basic leather armor, but you''re also using a longsword, perhaps a duelist, or even a beginner swordsman?¡± ¡°I''m actually a rogue,¡± Trent interjected, ¡°I haven''t found a pair of decent daggers, and that swords been the best thing I¡¯ve found so far.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a quick fix, first let''s get you squared away with some armor. Are you looking for something that gives you a bit of stealth?¡± ¡°Actually, something like what Emmy describes would work, but in a less revealing fashion.¡± Emmy turned her head away, the embarrassment smoldering along her cheeks at the thought of her scantily clad elf. ¡°Yeah, we have a less revealing set,¡± the man said, pulling up a nice set of snakeskin leather armor. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s perfect,¡± rotating his avatar around, ¡°Is there a set bonus?¡± The man confirmed the armor, pulling up the spec sheet for Trent. Name: Ebony Snake Leather (set) Type: Armor (set) Rarity: Rare (set) Dexterity: +7 (set) Defense: +2 (set) Skills: None Passive: First Strike (User gains +2 dexterity when out of combat, and unseen by enemies) ¡°This one for sure,¡± Trent smirked. ¡°Now, onto the weapons, I got plenty of daggers, and a couple comes with poison ailment if you''re looking to keep it thematic with your snake armor.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want daggers, I¡¯m growing to like the longsword, while it¡¯s not the fastest weapon, it does have its advantages in battle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to judge, if you want a longsword, by all means, I¡¯ll get you a longsword,¡± the man prompted, feeling the emptiness in his belly. ¡°I got the perfect one for you, not the highest when it comes to damage, but its light, and can be easily wielded by rouges.¡± Name: Spine Blade Type: Weapon Rarity: Rare Attack: +4 Dexterity: +2 Skills: None Passive: None ¡°I¡¯ll take your word on it,¡± Trent said, looking at the blade. ¡°Nice choice, I¡¯ve seen plenty of these in combat,¡± Break said, still grasping onto his leg. ¡°Look, the middle of the blade is hollowed out to make it lighter and easier to handle with one hand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take this one,¡± Emmy said from across the room. The man walked over to Emmy¡¯s selection, taking note of the number floating underneath. Pulling up the tab containing the item, the man dragged it over to the temporary storage he had set up for the three. He copied the list of item, making sure to match each number with the in-house identification code, and pressed the send button, delivering his boss an invoice of chosen items. ¡°Alright, you guys got what you wanted, I want to head to lunch, so let¡¯s hurry it up and head back to the bosses room.¡± Walking into Damien¡¯s office, they saw the big man going over the extended amount of documents. ¡°I got them settled boss,¡± the auctioneer said, swiftly leaving the room. ¡°Ahh, you''re back already, Robert, please break down the contract to them.¡± Pulling up a floating contract, the lawyer made a brief bullet point describing the gist of the agreement. ¡°First off, we have a fairly standard NDA, no parties agreeing to this contract will dispose information to third party member not pertaining to this contract. Next, we have the friendly-fire clause, when the party spawns in the new region, no member from each designated party will be allowed to attack the other for the time frame of three days, at that time both parties will have disbanded and reformed their respective parties. Lastly, full payment of the agreed upon two hundred thousand will be withheld until both parties are in the new region.¡± ¡°Wait so we''re not getting the money now?¡± Break asked. ¡°Guy, you can¡¯t really expect me to hand over such a large sum of money before we''re even in the game. I have my own interest to protect.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s very reasonable,¡± Emmy agreed. ¡°When do you want to visit Pendragon HQ?¡± ¡°If your as eager as I am, how does tomorrow sound?¡± Trent and Break faced Emmy, both giving her a nod of approval. ¡°Tomorrow will be fine.¡± ¡°Fantastic, I¡¯ll have my guys meet you at the lobby tomorrow then.¡± ¡°Wait, you''re not going?¡± Trent said in a befuddled voice. ¡°Heavens no, I have a business to run, and besides look at me, I¡¯m not in my prime anymore.¡± a beep rang across the room causing everyone besides Damien to be on alert. ¡°Sorry to cut it short, but I have a meeting to attend, Robert, make sure all the paperwork is dealt with, and everyone gets a copy. Also, you three, don¡¯t forget to grab your items at the front lobby after you finish signing the paperwork.¡± Chapter 04 Break¡¯s attention was glued to the illuminating shield sitting in the middle of the pedestal, the sides flashing in a hue of white and yellow, mimicking the sun¡¯s rays. Stepping closer, Break investigated the shield, noticing the attached lines of LED giving off its glowing feature. Arching his head to the side, he saw a leather strap intricately carved with a myriad of random symbols he could not decipher. Break placed his hands behind the shield, grabbing onto the leather strap before a loud echoing cough rang across the room. A man wearing a well-designed officers uniform gave a menacing shake of his head, pointing at a large sign hanging overhead reading ¡°Do not touch.¡± Taking a tentative step back, Break held up his arm in a way that said, ¡°loud and clear,¡± before taking a few pictures with this band. Trent shuffled up to Break, eyeing the carved text chiseled out of the pedestal. ¡°What is The Alabaster?¡± Trent asked, entranced by the light show. ¡°The very first legendary shield to appear in Arium. While the base stats are pretty average for a legendary, the skills it grants makes it somewhat more versatile in combat.¡± ¡°Does it negate magic?¡± ¡°Nothing that simple,¡± Break humph. ¡°There are plenty of items that can negate magic, some that are even uncommon, but this shield¡¯s passive radiates healing light, making it almost impossible for a party to die until the person holding the shield is taken out first. That¡¯s not all, it also grants the user a skill that can be activated once a day letting the holder shoot a radiant beam of light dealing a substantial amount of damage.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing, I hope we find a legendary,¡± Trent said, admiring the shield just a bit more. Break let out a loud chuckle, so loud, it drew the eyes of many employees lounging around the entrance hall. ¡°You have a better chance of finding a needle in an Olympic size swimming pool filled with hay.¡± ¡°While it might sound difficult, with a little bit of knowledge and the right tools, it could be easily accomplished,¡± Emmy said, wondering up the pair. ¡°If I had an industrial-sized magnet, I bet I could find the needle in under an hour.¡± ¡°Good way to think about it,¡± Trent said, nodding at the idea. A woman wearing a lab coat with an ID badge hanging off her left side pocket, denoting her position at the company, ¡°Office Correspondence,¡± and her name, ¡°Diya¡±, elegantly walked up to the small party and gave Emmy a slight tap on the shoulder. ¡°My name is Diya, I¡¯m here to get you guys registered and ready for the beta,¡± the lady said in a helpful tone. Emmy strode over to the couches lining the side wall of the Pendragon HQ building, giving a quick nod, she gestured toward a group of well-dressed employees, two women and a man, of the EDE company. The three got up, strode over to Diya, and patiently waiting for Trent and Break to join the group. ¡°We''re all here,¡± Emmy said holding out her hand towards the group. ¡°Follow me,¡± Diya said, walking over to the metal sliding door as it did a quick scan of her badge. They hustled down a well-polished corridor as Trent noticed the amazing mural stretching along the hallway depicting a fight between a knight and a dragon. Stopping at another door, Diya pointed the party inside, waiting for the last person to step in, she placed her palm over the room letting anyone else know it was occupied. The room was filled with small round office table, almost like a company break room, ushering the group to take a seat Diya strode up to Emmy, placing her pad out with an outline to place her hand. Emmy gently placed her palm on the pad, a whirl of data cascaded across the screen showing a waiting promptly at the top. After what seemed like forever, the pad pinged with a confirmation letting Diya know the beta key had been registered. ¡°Alright, looks to be a good key,¡± Diya noted, giving her pad a few more taps. ¡°What do you mean by good?¡± Emmy asked ¡°You be surprised how many people come in with fake keys. They either buy it off of some vendor for an incredibly cheap deal, then come to realize the key was just a visual copy placed over an ordinary item. My job would be so much easier if the rogue and mage department would disallow that type of item manipulation on the keys.¡± ¡°Wait, you''re telling me this is allowed to happen?¡± Trent asked in a befuddled voice. ¡°In a way, yes, but I find it reprimandable the higher up have yet to patch the problem.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be an advocate for evil or anything, but it makes sense,¡± an unfamiliar voice said. The man in the dark suit stood up bearing his EDE logo, ¡°In working with a large company like EDE, I have seen my share of sabotage and betrayal. Let me propose a question, how long does it take for a clan to map out the higher tier dungeons?¡± The man stood there for a considerable amount of time, waiting for the question to be answered by one of the three. After a long thirty seconds, one of the women accompanying him answered, ¡°If we¡¯re talking about top ten, then about a month, any other clan I would estimate between three months to a year.¡± ¡°Thanks Rachel,¡± The man said, relieved to have someone end the long pause of awkwardness. ¡°Now, if I were another clan looking to overtake the same dungeon, would I want to waste resources on mapping the dungeon out myself, or would I rather send a rouge to steal the layout from the other clans? As you can see, rouge are more than just your average pickpocket or trap detector, at the heart of it, they are used by the large corporation as, if given a word, hackers.¡± Sitting back down the man looked over at Diya, ¡°Please continue with what you were doing, the faster we can get this finished, the happier my boss will be.¡° Emmy compiled the information that was just dropped on her like a surge of electricity. The outburst of information caused her to rethink how Arium really worked, this was not a game, but a battleground between some of the largest companies. The tab pinged, knocking Emmy out of her delusion as Diya strode over to the large whiteboard flowing across the entire wall. ¡°Before we start, I need everyone to sign this user agreement,¡± Diya said, placing her hands across her pad as large text box popped in front of everyone. ¡°It¡¯s pretty much the same one we make everyone sign when they make an account, the only difference is in this one, we''re having you guys try out new tech, and before you start asking questions, I¡¯m not allowed to answer them until you sign the agreement.¡± Trent quickly clicked on the floating agreement box, marking it with an X, seeing Break and Emmy make the same motion, he placed his hands over the accept, letting the room quickly scan his palms. ¡°Great, looks like we''re ready for the next phase. As you know, we only just released the information about the beta keys yesterday, and while not being the first, you guys have been a bit early to register, but don¡¯t think that¡¯s a bad thing. To get you guys started with some basic info, the beta may only be played at the designated Pendragon offices, this is so we can monitor and record data from our users while using the new tech.¡± The door started to ping as a man, also dressed in a white lab coat, strode into the room pushing a metal utility cart stacked with small black boxes. Placing six boxes on the table, the man took pulled out a glowing pen-like object, with a practiced motion, he doubled tapped the QR code printed on each box. Sending a data copy to Diya, he gave a quick nod and made his way out of the room. Diya grabbed the six boxes and handed them out to the group, motioning them to open the box. Trent rubbed the edge of his fingers across the sticker sealing the box, after a few tried, he sighed as his freshly cut fingernails were unable to grasp at the edges. Observing how Emmy was able to easily slice the sticker with her nails, he gave her a slight tap and asked if she would do the same for his box. Opening the box Trent was amazed by the smooth band that laid across the finely decorated box. Looking over, he saw Break pushing the box up to his face and sniffing it like it was a fine wine. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Trent asked with an amused face. ¡°The smell of new tech is my Achilles¡¯ heel.¡± Break strapped on the band taking a closer look at the glossy finished. Spotting the plastic, Break stopped Trent and Emmy from peeling the protective cover. ¡°Wait, we have to do this together.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Emmy asked, rolling her eyes. ¡°The ecstasy you get of off freshly peeled protective plastic is the next best thing to finding a legendary, and if you multiply that by three, why it would almost be criminal.¡± Trent let out a reserved laugh, ¡°For all the weird stuff you make us do, I''m actually fine with this. We can chalk it up to a pre-game good luck ritual.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear, if we¡¯re going to do this, let¡¯s make it memorable.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ How do you make peeling plastic memorable?¡± Emmy sighed. ¡°Let rip each other plastic off,¡± Break said with an amused smile. ¡°I¡¯ll do Trent, Trent can do yours, and you will do mine.¡± Emmy shook her head at the statement, as strange as it sounds, it seems all to normal coming from Break. Emmy moved her hands over to Trent, letting him grasp the peeling plastic. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry on with this,¡± she said, watching the other three stare at them like a mother watching her toddler do the most basic of tasks. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Slowly, Break peeled away at Trent¡¯s band, the sound of unfurling tape danced across his ears as the plastic rolled across the gadget. Trent copied Break¡¯s action, somewhat enjoying the motion of the band as is glided across Emmy¡¯s delicate wrist. Emmy stared at her wrist, the caress of the band as Trent slowly pulled away at the tight covering plastic made her cheeks go a pale shade of red. Shaking off the awkwardness, she yanked at the plastic, pulling so hard the peel stretched into a thin wire before snapping in half. Break gasped in astonishment as he saw the stretched out plastic in Emmy¡¯s hand. ¡°Seriously,¡± Break yelled. ¡°All you had to do was peel it slowly.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby, look I got the rest of it off,¡± Emmy said, quickly yanking the remaining piece of plastic. ¡°That¡¯s not the poin-¡± ¡°If you guys are done, let me give you some info about the third generation PDBand.¡± Diya said, breaking up the weird conversation. ¡°These were made specifically for the expansion, and come preinstalled with a mini ARES system.¡± ¡°Wait, does that mean we can trade and interact with our characters without the need for an AR table?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it means,¡± Diya nodded. ¡°It¡¯s fairly intuitive, just tap your band, and any motion you would make on an ARtable applies in a one-foot radius around your wrist,¡± Diya explained, motioning the actions. ¡°Whoa, this is so cool,¡± Break said in an astonished voice. ¡°Next thing is the third generation pod, these are designed to give maximum haptic feedback, and while they are still in the testing phase, we have had remarkable feedback. While I love to get some feedback on the game, it''s not ready for testing yet.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Then when can we enter the beta?¡± Trent asked. ¡°As I said, you guys were one of the few early birds, and due to a few minor sets back, we won''t be ready until tomorrow, but don''t take it as all bad news. This gives you a whole twenty-four hours to test out the new bands, and to make a game plan. Now if you all follow me, I¡¯ll take you to your test chambers,¡± Diya prompted, stepping out of the room. Walking down the corridor, the group saw the many hanging signs leading to a different division within the Pendragon HQ. Diya stopped the group as they came upon a door marked, ¡°AW Beta.¡± Motioning to Emmy to step next to her, she held out her wrist waiting for Emmy to do the same. ¡°With these bands you have been given limited permission to enter the Aether Winds Beta test room anytime, starting tomorrow at 1:00 pm,¡± Diya said, holding Emmy''s wrist along the scanner. ¡°Whoa,¡± Break gasp, placing his hand on the freshly painted fiber carbon pods. ¡°These looks amazing.¡± ¡°While you can¡¯t use them to game today, I can show you some of the new game mechanics were developing for the version 3 pod.¡± ¡°Version 3, what happens to version 2,¡± Break asked skeptically. ¡°Ahh, well come to that at the end of this session,¡± Diya said, opening one of the pods. ¡°Now, as you may know, our old line of pods, while being able to replicate your five senses, they were not able to one hundred percent give you that six sense type of feel when it comes to magic. With version 3, this has opened up many possibilities to our developers, but why am I telling you when I can show you,¡± Diya jest, pressing her fingers on the sixth pod. ¡°Everyone strap in, I¡¯m going to give you a live demonstration of the v3 pod.¡± Trent sat snug on the trim leather sofa, noting how much better these felt compared to the economy class pods at the cafe. The interior guide light started to dim as the inner body of the pod lit up in a translucent white before slowly turning opaque. Trent stood in a room that had dull white and gray checkered floor, looking up, he saw that the ceiling was an endless horizon of pale blue. ¡°Uh, we¡¯re not in our avatar,¡± Break said, tapping Trent¡¯s shoulder from behind. ¡°Calm down everyone,¡± Diya said, appearing as a projection in front of them. ¡°Since your not able to login to the game till tomorrow, I have loaded us in the test room used by the company''s debugger team. To begin, I would like a show of hands, who here has used tier one magic?¡± All three EDE member simultaneously rose their hands. ¡°Alright, well since you three have yet to experience magic, this will be a treat. What¡¯s your name again?¡± Diya asked pointing to the male EDE member. ¡°Gedeon,¡± the young man said. ¡°Gedeon, can you tell me the basics of setting up and using a spell.¡± ¡°When using a tier one spell, all you have to do is either hotkey the spell or set it up with a motion command. For a higher tier spell requiring different elements, you would set up the chain spell prior to battle and have it set as a hotkey.¡± ¡°Can you please demonstrate,¡± Diya asked, pointing at a cutout paper dummy across the room. Gedeon placed his thumb and index together on his left hand and pulled a burning orb of fire out of thin air. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the flaming ball lobbing across the room, landing roughly forty feet before bursting in a small explosion which ignited the paper cutout. ¡°Very smooth firebolt, I want you to do it again, but this time, I want you to think about throwing a firebolt instead of using your hotkeys,¡± Diya said, resetting the target back to pristine condition. Following Diya¡¯s instructions, Gedeon thought about the firebolt hitting the dummy as he made the motion to throw it. Gedeon felt a burning energy race across his body before coalescing in his palms. His hand burst into an eruption of flames mid-throw, the weight of a tennis ball like orb shot out like a rocketing missile, exploding right as it hit the dummy. The group was awestruck but also terrified at the sight of the empty black burn covering the previously occupied area. ¡°Very good, how did that feel?¡± Diya asked. ¡°I¡­ I actually felt the energy moving around my body, when I shot the firebolt, the sensation of the energy traveling to my hands felt¡­,¡± Gedeon said, trailing off mid-speech, unable to find the correct word to describe the feeling. ¡°Exhilarating?¡± Break said. ¡°No, If anything it felt kinda exhausting,¡± Gedeon said, flexing his fingers. ¡°You''re absolutely correct,¡± Diya informed. ¡°The reason why your attack is so much stronger is that the game takes your stamina into account. A person could stand there and throw firebolts all day with their hotkeys until their mana ran dry, but with the new system, throwing a firebolt is about the equivalent of doing a few push-ups. Another thing about the new system is it¡¯s not limited to just magic, we have overhauled pretty much every game mechanic we could think of to use this new system, but I¡¯ll let you figure out the rest on your own,¡± Diya said, fading out of the game. The group stepped out of the pods looking at each other in amazement. ¡°So, 1:00 pm on the dot,¡± Break said, eyeing at the other five. Giving a nod to each other as the group followed the flashing green light to the exit door. Diya stood outside waiting as the group exited the dimly lit room back into the cramped corridor. ¡°Before you guys leave, I have a present,¡± Diya said, rolling out another utility cart stacked with large boxes. The boxes were about two cubic feet and shine with a white glassy finish. On the front of the box was the Pendragon logo emblazoned with the word ¡°V2¡± at the bottom. Picking up each box, Diya made the same motion to tap the QR code before handing them out to the group. Break ripped open the box the seconds it hit his hands, his body filled with the adrenaline of seeing the new tech. ¡°Why are we getting visors?¡± Break asked holding the shiny white helmet. ¡°These are the version 2 pods,¡± Diya said. ¡°While it might not seem like much from our earlier visor design, these have all the same capabilities as the version 1 pod. We planned to have these on market next week, and since you were not able to start the beta today, the PR team demanded I hand these out to you as an apology. Just to make things clear, while your ability to use them to enter the game, in no way are you able to access the beta with version 2.¡± ¡°Guys do you know what this mean?¡± Break asked, gripping the visor with both hands. ¡°We don¡¯t don¡¯t have to visit the Cafe anymore?¡± Trent said, Emmy, twinging at the statement. ¡°No, this means I don¡¯t have to log out to go to the bathroom anymore.¡± Chapter 05 ¡°We¡¯re fourth in the queue,¡± Break said, walking back from the reception desk. Saddling his chair closer to Gedeon, Break gave him a quick nudge of his shoulder. ¡°So, what¡¯s your game plan? You rushing the end game dungeon, or maybe you''re going to find the first world boss.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you know this, but everyone starts at level one. It¡¯s pretty standard for any closed beta.¡± ¡°Wait, why is that?¡± Trent asked. ¡°It¡¯s so the developers can test out the full range of content, otherwise, all you have is fully geared character running endgame dungeon for the next six months. While it might be lucrative, endgame dungeon only comprise of like one to two percent all of the new content the expansion has to offer.¡± ¡°Yeah, makes sense. How are you so well informed?¡± Trent asked. ¡°This is not my first beta. Do you remember the last expansion ten years ago called Metal of Eternity?¡± ¡°No, I would have only been about eleven at the time,¡± Trent said, shaking his head. ¡°Well, I was invited by a friend to join the beta. After hitting it big with a few rare items, we decided to pool our resources and open a company. I am of course referring to EDE, and the person who invited me to the beta was Damien.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be rude, but ten years ago? You don''t look past twenty,¡±Break said. ¡°I¡¯m actually 36.¡± ¡°Their is no way your 36, you don¡¯t look past 24,¡± Emmy said, feeling just a bit jealous. ¡°Money can buy a lot of things, which include a fitness plan, a dietician, and an overall better living condition,¡± Gedeon remarked. ¡°Since we''re on the topic of money, how long until we get transferred out funds?¡± Break interjected. Gedeon swiped at his band, a list of documents panned out in front of him. Pressing his fingers over the contract, he skimmed the words making sure the amount and time of transfer. ¡°It says to transfer the money when we get into the game, but I don''t mind doing it now since we''re about to head in any way, but the amount might be off. Rachel can you confirm the amount on the document,¡± Gedeon said, pointing his band over to the girl sitting next to him. ¡°Sure,¡± Rachel said, pressing a few buttons on her own band. ¡°No, it seems two hundred thousand is the right amount.¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Trent asked. Gedeon sat back in his chair, the feeling of nostalgia hit him like a brick. ¡°Looks like he got you too.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Trent said. ¡°How much do you think one of these keys sell for?¡± ¡°Around six hundred thousand,¡± Break answered. ¡°How did you get six hundred thousand?¡± ¡°The live auction house, of course.¡± ¡°Ahh, that was your first mistake,¡± Gedeon said, shaking his head. ¡°Your next mistake was not checking who the seller and buyers were.¡± Gedeon tapped on the live auction house, a list of recently sold items popped up. Pressing the search bar, he tapped in the name of the keys. He placed his hands in front of Break, the listing of a few dozen keys scrolled down the list, pointing at a specific sale, he asked: ¡°Tell me who the seller and buyer are for this key.¡± ¡°It says the seller is Prakten, and the buyer is Marleno.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t look at the names, look at the clan they represent,¡± Gedeon said, pointing at the clan symbol underneath. ¡°The seller is representing Seventh Mine, and the buyer is representing Undercity Delvers. You might not know this, but both of those clan represent one large company that mine and sell ore.¡± ¡°What does this have to do the key?¡± Break inquired. ¡°What¡¯s the main focus for a company?¡± Gedeon asked. ¡°Uhh¡­ making money?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Now, what is the best way to let the public know your company is doing well?¡± ¡°By uhh¡­ making a lot of money,¡± Break said. ¡°No, stocks,¡± Gedeon remarked. ¡°Ok, I''m following you, but I¡¯m still trying to figure out how the keys are involved,¡± Break said ¡°If I was a large company and wanted to let my investors know I was about to come into a tremendous amount of money, what better way than to publicly trade a key within the company. So what your seeing here, are keys being traded within many companies for publicity, the actual prices of these key are in the range of two million.¡± ¡°Wait so we were cheated out of an even larger fortune?¡± Break alleged. ¡°Don¡¯t take it like that, Damien, while being a hell of a dealer, is a good guy at heart. How else did you think he got an EDE board member to agree to this?¡± ¡°Your a board member?¡± Trent asked. ¡°I thought he just chose a bunch of high ranking players to run the expansion.¡± ¡°Technically you''re not wrong, but who else would you send to a beta than one of the board members. Granted I would rather be at home watching someone else do this, but it¡¯s a small price for the favor that I owed him, and don¡¯t ask,¡± Gedeon firmly added. ¡°Even if we didn''t get more money, two hundred is still a lot,¡± Emmy said. ¡°Yes, your correct, the three of you could take your cut and live a long and happy life, but once you enter that pod, you''re going to be on another level of finance.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°How much does a basic potion cost?¡± ¡°Between five to ten credits,¡± Break answered. ¡°How much do you think a potion is going to cost in the beta?¡± ¡°I''m guessing maybe twenty credit,¡± Break said with a bit of hesitation. ¡°A bit higher,¡± Gedeon said, stretching his hands apart. ¡°A hundred?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd, a hundred credit is outrageous,¡± Trent said, shaking his head. ¡°No, you''re close,¡± Gedeon said. ¡°A basic potion will cost you a ten thousand credit.¡± The three sat there silently, pondering the answer to a question which seemed so trivial. ¡°Ok I¡¯ll bite, why are potions ten thousand?¡± Emmy said. ¡°When you enter the beta, the people you''re playing with are not your average players, you''re going to be playing and competing against some of the richest people on the planet. If anything you guys are the odd ones out, granted there might be a handful of other lucky players who got their hands on a beta key, but out of that handfull, how many chose to not take a large payout. ¡°Damien never gave us an offer for a large payout,¡± Trent said. ¡°Damien is a smart man, he probably knew you guys were set on going to the expansion the minute you walked into his office, and besides, Damien is something else when it comes to money. I bet-¡± Gedeon was cut off by a smooth female voice echoing through the main hall¡¯s PA system. ¡°Emmy, Break, Trent, Gedeon, Rachel, Maya, please report to the AW Beta room.¡± ¡°That¡¯s us,¡± Trent said. ¡°One sec,¡± Gedeon said, opening his trade window to Emmy. ¡°Just so I don¡¯t have to worry about it, I''m transferring you the money now.¡± The group walked into the assigned room and was immediately bombarded by workers in white lab coats. ¡°Standard procedure guys,¡± Diya said, walking out from the back of the crowd. ¡°What is this about?¡± Trent said with two different probes sticking out of his mouth and ear. ¡°Health evaluations, we¡¯re just running some quick base test to make sure you guys are in tip top condition for the new pods.¡± After an intense five minutes of mock coughing and measurements, the group was seated in their pods. The lid closed, the humm of the machine generated a soothing white noise as a voice echoed. ¡°Can everybody hear me?¡± Diya asked from the built-in intercom. A collective of yeses echoed back letting Diya know everything was working as it should. ¡°Alright guys good luck, and remember this room is open twenty-four hours a day seven days a week if at anytime you not feeling well, let one of the recipients known, other than that good luck.¡±A flash of light engulfed the group as they were all transported into the game. Trent stood at the base of a bulky stone building in the middle of town, a large clock hung across the face letting the group know it was a couple hour past noon. A large winding cobblestone path circled around an inner courtyard of a crystal statue leading out in four different directions. Around the city stood hoards of players, some in luxurious armors and robes. Under the statue, depicting a mage¡¯s book, stood a celestial portal glimmering with the dark vibrant hue of space. Moving closer, Trent heard a low pitch thumb along with a view of a rogue flying across the town. The rouge skidded along the rocky path, taking minor amounts of damage, before being halted by one of the many buildings encircling the courtyard. ¡°On my mark,¡± a fully armored knight yelled, soaring above the town at the max height, limit by his mount, a griffin, can achieve. The knight summoned a long sharp spear, letting the other five companions know the plan had been engaged. Jumping off the griffin the man darted down towards the portal, arms stretched out, grasping onto the spear like a falling missile. Along with three other knights, two mages drop drown from the sky casting an array of spells which fused around the knight making a crystalline shell around his form. Three other knight jump from their griffin each one falling into a straight pattern. The first knight veered towards the main knight, closing the gap, he grabbed onto the main knight''s foot. The second knight quickly followed the same action, grabbing onto the first knight¡¯s foot with a reheard action. With the third knight locking himself into place behind the second knight, the four-man formation readied themselves as one of the mages floated towards them with a worried look. ¡°Avarisu,¡± the mage cast causing a burst of wind to engulf the knights, rocketing them towards the ground even faster. ¡°Boost,¡± the knight at the end yelled, the group of them hurling to the ground at an even faster pace. The knight let go causing the other knight to take the same action, boosting and then departing from the main knight like a three-stage rocket. The main knight plummet towards the portal faster than a thief spotting an unguarded coin purse. Hitting the portal he was slowly stopped by what seemed like a magnetic force. Inching closer, the knight reached out, the tip of his spear almost touching the edge of the portal before being blasted back towards the sky at the speed of light. The crowded around the city cheered as the other party member fell from the sky, each one hitting the ground with a large red X, denoting they had died.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What the?¡± Trent let out, genuinely puzzled by the unnatural display. ¡°Wow,¡± Gedeon let out. ¡°One of the better attempts I¡¯ve seen at getting into the beta. Absurdity aside, you guys ready?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± the three let out in unison. The group stepped out in front of the crowd tittering at the edge of the portal, a line perfectly indicated the zone, of which, anyone who did not have a key would be ejected. With an air of confident, the group took a step past the line, walking towards the portal. The crowd muttered as the group made their way past the onlookers. Many camera icons popped up on some of the users indicating they had started recording. Trent touched the portal, a mixture of heat and cold wrapped around his body before a prompt popped in front of him. System: Entering the beta (Aether Wind) will reset all skills and levels. Please note, all item not equipped will be placed in a temporary cache until the beta ends, or the players decided to leaves the beta. All legendary item will be removed upon this point and placed in the temporary cache. Please make sure all necessary gear is equipped before continuing. Trent vision faded out to white as he, again, appeared in an unknown location. Scanning the horizon, he saw an ocean of purple grass the stretched to the edge of his vision. Dotting the landscape where small puddles gleaming with a vibrant blue hue. Towards the middle of the many puddles lay a large pond. Around the pond stood a grove of varying trees, each one bearing unique colored fruit. Running up to the closest tree, Break documented his findings, making records of the tree color, height, and many other unneeded details. Reaching up to touch one of the fruit, a loud voice coming from Gedeon told him to stop. ¡°Before you do anything rash, let¡¯s remake the part, the last thing I want is to be dragged into some unnecessary battle,¡± Gedeon remarked. Emmy opens the party interface and saw that they had, in fact, been reset back to level one. Pressing on the disband button, each member got a prompt letting them know the party had been removed. With the party interface still open, Emmy remade the party. ¡°Interesting,¡± Gedeon said, remaking his party. ¡°What? Is there something different with the party interface?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°No, remember when Diya said they added the new pod function to many of the existing game systems.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Emmy said. ¡°I just invited both members to my party without even touching the interface.¡± ¡°That is interesting,¡± Emmy said, disbanding the party once again. She looked over at the big oaf who was starting at a tree like it was his first born child, she mentally thought about sending him a party request. A few seconds later, the UI popped up to the top left of her vision letting her know Break had accepted. Turning to Trent she studied his face with a feign of disinterest, enamored by his reassuring smile, she thought about sending him a party request. System: You have initiated the in-game marriage system. Would you like to send the player [Trent] a marriage proposal? ¡°No, no, no, no, no, no, no,¡± Emmy spurted, pressing the decline button. ¡°Something wrong,¡± Trent asked, looking at Emmy flustered face. ¡°Nothing, just a minor bug of some sort.¡± A squeal laugh came from the EDE girl, ¡°Must have been one heck of a bug.¡± Gedeon let out a small chuckle before walking off in the opposite direction. Emmy sighed before opening the party UI and manually adding Trent to the group. Trent looked at the party icon of Emmy and Break and saw, for some unknown reason, Break had jumped ahead two levels. ¡°Guys check this out,¡± Break yelled, his mouth covered in a mess of greens and yellows syrup. ¡°You get experience for eating the fruit,¡± taking another large bite. ¡°It also tastes like a fruit salad,¡± handing a fruit over to Trent. Emmy grabbed the fruit away from Trent, eyeing it suspiciously. ¡°We don¡¯t even know what these are, let alone be eating them,¡± Emmy said, throwing the fruit to the floor. ¡°Hey, these are key resources, we can¡¯t let them go to waste,¡± Break noted, laying the fruit in his inventory. ¡°Let¡¯s pick them all before other people get here.¡± After a few minutes of harvesting, Break had picked clean one of the trees standing over the water. Emmy attempted to climb one of the trees, but with her skills reset, it made the task more difficult than it should have been. Trent wandered around the pond which stretched roughly twenty yards across. Looking back at his party, he noticed a curious sight. The trees vibrated, each one flowing back and forth. Examining each tree closer he saw the ripple of heat fade across his vision, the outline of each tree blurring into each other like a dazzle of zebras. Shaking his head, Trent tried to lock his vision back towards his party but by was blocked by the number of trees impairing his view. ¡°Run,¡± Trent yelled, his hands waved above his head. Emmy and Break both looked at Trent like he had just seen a ghost. ¡°Run, run out of the circle,¡± Trent yelled again, this time pulling out his new longsword. Emmy, without hesitation, grabbed Break by the scruff of his leather armor and pulled the large man towards Trent. ¡°What going on,¡± Break asked, balls of fruit still in his hands. ¡°It¡¯s an area boss,¡± Trent said pointing to the large red skull hanging above the grove of trees. Break stood in front of Trent, taking careful notes of the action. ¡°I see the boss symbol, but where is the boss?¡± The ground shook just as Break finished his question. The water drain from the pond as a large dark face appeared underneath. The monster leaped out of the ground, with the weight and size of three school buses, the gigantic alligator like monster slam back down causing the floor to ripple. ¡°What do we do?¡± Trent asked, pulling out his longsword. ¡°We fight it,¡± Emmy replied, also pulling out her longbow. ¡°What the,¡± Break said, as he looked at the obscure looking bow. The bow was an amalgamation of three other bows twisted together, giving it the shape of a rope. Examining it closer, Break opened the bows information screen. Name: Torrent Type: Longbow Rarity: Elite Dexterity: +4 Skills: Salvo (Quickly fire a barrage of five arrows) Passive: Splint (Every fifth arrow will split into two arrows) Taking aimed, Emmy used her Salvo and let loose a spray of six arrows that rushed towards the hulking monster. The beast dove down towards the sea of grass as the arrows drew close, avoiding every shot. One of the arrows attached itself to the trees, bring up the monster¡¯s name and life bar. Name: Vectrasole Level: 25 Rank: Boss Health: 100% The monster leaped out toward the group, its jaws wide open, ready to swallow the group whole. Break manifested his shield, with a reposition of the party, he blocks the monster charge. System: Knockback avoided. System: Rooted (Morass) The monster¡¯s head, which was ten time the size of Break, was stopped, unable to move forward. Trent saw the opportunity and ran up to the monster, plunging his longsword down on the large beast. Name: Vectrasole Health: 98% The monster dove once again, this time, winding across the large divot where the pond once sat. ¡°I knew this shield was a good choice,¡± Break scuff, looking over to Trent. ¡°That¡¯s good and all, but my attack barely did any damage,¡± Trent said. The group huddled together, back to back as they kept track of the rustling grove of trees. The monster opens its wide jaw once again as it sped across the field. Break jumped in front of the party but was swatted away by one of the trees as the monster submerged right before hitting the shield. Quickly doing a u-turn the monster dashed towards Trent, the zigzag movement, paired with the dazzle of the winding trees, made it impossible to track the head of the beast. Ascending above Trent, the beast gripped his fleshy body, dragging him along the distant plain. Name: Break Health: 86% Emmy¡¯s mind went into overdrive as she saw Tren¡¯s health bar rapidly dip to under 20%. Dashing closer the monster, she took careful aim, and let loose another Salvo of arrow, depleting her mana to 50%. The monster roared in pain as one of the arrows struck the side of its cheeks. Trent was sent flying, landing close to Break, who was still recovering from the shock of being hurled forty yards by a rogue tree. Name: Trent Health: 3% Name: Vectrasole Health: 97% Emmy sprinted towards Trent and Break, watching the beast make another turn towards the adventurers. Break stood up, shield held out, charged towards the beast. Jumping with every muscle in his body, he willed his spear to appear, slamming it down on the monster¡¯s head with full force. He clung tight to the thrashing beast as it wiped back and forth. Trent, who was at 3% of his life, trudged towards the flailing beast. ¡°One more hit and you''re dead,¡± Emmy yelled, pulling Trent to the backline. The monster attempted to plunge once again but was stopped by Break¡¯s spear gouging the front of its face. Name: Vectrasole Health: 94% The monster whip back and forth, hoping to knock Break off. ¡°It can¡¯t dive,¡± Break yelled, hanging on for dear life. Emmy ran up to the beast, blasting it point blank with a Salvo of arrows, each one hitting its mark. Many of the trees shriveled as the beast''s health started to fade. Some of the fruit started to fall, each one hitting the floor with a rubber ball consistency. Name: Vectrasole Health: 83% ¡°Keep shooting it, I don''t know how much longer I can hold on,¡° Break said, his spear beginning to loosen. Trent disregarding Emmy¡¯s warning, ran up to the beast and hacked away at the side of its rough face. Emmy kept a close eye on Trent as she blasted even more arrow, not stopping until her mana ran dry. After an extensive thirty seconds of hacking and slashing, the monster chucked Break off like an unwanted mosquito. Submerging once again, the monster wound around the party like a shark watching its prey. Name: Vectrasole Health: 78% ¡°We got this, just a bit more and we should be able to kill it,¡± Trent said optimistically. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, im at-,¡± Emmy was cut off as the monster took a lunge towards the group, each one diving in a different direction to avoid the snapping jaw. ¡°As I said, you''re literally one attack from dying, and I¡¯m at zero mana.¡± ¡°Break, any plans?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Uh,¡± Break let out, slamming up against the monster with his shield. ¡°By any chance, you guys picked up any healing potions?¡± ¡°They were all removed when we entered,¡± Trent said, opening his inventory. Break open his inventory and saw that his hoard of items had been removed, and the only thing remaining was the few stacks of fruit he had picked beforehand. ¡°Why didn''t I think of this?¡± Break said. ¡°Trent, Emmy, what''s the best thing about being level one?¡± ¡°Having no skills?¡± Emmy said sarcastically. Break open his inventory and pulled out two of the fruit he had stashed away. ¡°Eat these,¡± Break said, handing Trent and Emmy a fruit. After a long second, Emmy and Trent finally put two and two together before taking a large bite of the fruit. System: New ingredient discovered (Valren Palm) System: 250 bonus experience received Emmy and Trent instantly jumped to level three, refilling their health and mana back to full. ¡°This is great,¡± Trent said. ¡°Think we can finish this thing off?¡± ¡°Without a doubt,¡± Break agreed. The beast bounded towards the huddled group, the trees on its back toppling over like unstable dominoes. Break took the initiative and held his shield out, bracing himself for another bash. The monster let out a roar, its mouth gaping with dagger-like teeth. Break held onto his spear tightly, waiting for the perfect moment before chucking it towards the monster. The spear sailed towards its target, embedding itself into one of the monster¡¯s nostril. ¡°Score,¡± Break said, charging at the beast with relentless force. Break aimed for the end of his spear, slamming it even further into the monster. Trent made a wide arc to the monster right, getting a firm grip on the leather skin, he hoisted himself up onto the monster¡¯s back. He plunged his longsword down where he saw the mire of trees once stood, slicing many large gouges into the monster. ¡°Watch your head,¡± Emmy yelled, as she let loose a rain of arrows that collided into the monster hide, bringing its health dangerously low. Name: Vectrasole Health: 47% The beast started to roll, ejecting Trent and Break from its back. Leaping out of the ground, the beast attempted to dive but was hastily stopped by Break hurling his body over the massive creature. ¡°Oh no you don''t,¡± Break hollard. Emmy felt a tingle move along her fingers, pulling the bow further back, she let loose a shot that blasted so forcefully it caused the air around her to compress. The arrow slammed into the beast, ripping through the tough leather skin like a slab of room temperature butter. Name: Vectrasole Health: 12% ¡°The hell was that,¡± Trent said, his vision still refocusing from the aftershock. Trent saw the large hole that Emmy¡¯s arrow had just made. Taking his chance, he jabbed his sword towards the gaping hole into the monster fleshy interior. Letting out one more roar, the monster slumped down, its body beginning to fade into the ground leaving behind one large loot bag. The party stood next to the fading beast, each one gasping from the long and arduous fight. Emmy walked over to Break and gave him a glare of contempt before kicking his battered body. ¡°I told you not to eat the fruit.¡± System: You have gained a level total level 4 System: You have gained a level total level 5 . . . System: You have gained a level total level 14 Chapter 06 Break shuffled up to the large floating bag sitting at the bound of the large divot where the pond once bubbled. Edging his hand towards the bag, he got a notification making one of his eyebrows perk up in excitement. Break motion Emmy and Trent to his location, the two laying down on the downy like grass rolling across the landscape. ¡°Guys you might want to see this.¡± Trent jumped to his feet, scattering the particles of dirt across his leather armor, and made his way over to the floating bag of loot. ¡°Ummm, what do we do?¡± Emmy, after a few more seconds, gave in to the curiosity, and trudge over to the large bag. ¡°Just grab the loot already,¡± Emmy said, stepping to the side of Trent. Break stepped back letting Emmy take a look at the inventory of items scrolling down a large list hovering over the bag. The majority of the items were rather normal, healing potions, crafting material, and an array of junk. After scrolling down towards the middle of the list, Emmy saw the golden glittering text standing out like a dwarven ranger. Emmy pushed her hands out, the bag winding across her fingers as the distribution screen materialized. She quickly allocated the potions, giving Trent and herself three vials and the remaining four to break. ¡°Can I have the junk?¡± Break asked, pointing to all the grayed texted items. ¡°What use do you have for cracked scale and broken bones?¡± Trent asked, naming off some of the dozens junk tier items. ¡°Don¡¯t antagonize me, everything has a use, even when it''s not apparent.¡± Break¡¯s words came out a bit harsher than what he wanted them to sound, but his largely empty inventory gave him an uneasy feeling of having part of him stripped away. Even though a majority of the junk he collected was utterly useless to most people, he had always found a use for each item. One of his favorite activity involves grinding up the teeth and bones of monsters into small chip flakes, and feeding them to the small Rav fish on the edge of the river in Durge Forest. Trent put up his hand, ¡°Alright, I was just curious.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s getting it?¡± Emmy asked, after distributing all the other items. ¡°We could sell it, from what Gedeon said, we could make a lot of money from it,¡± Trent said. ¡°Its account bound,¡± Break interjected. ¡°Also, I might not be as valuable as you think, with the number of new monsters, there are a plethora of first drops bonuses being whittled out right now. This is just speculation on my end, but this update is heavily focused towards magic. Even though I haven''t seen the current patch notes, I¡¯m quite certain the developers made it increasingly easy to obtain magic.¡± Emmy sloshed the orb back and forth, the interior spinning like a snow globe filled with translucent ichor and what seems to be a hint of glitter. ¡°Trent should use it.¡± Trent quickly turned his head towards Emmy, the statement catching him off guard. ¡°Why me? You''re more suited to using magic.¡± ¡°I second that,¡± Break said. ¡°Emmy, you''re the smartest person in the party, myself excluded,¡± letting out a slight chuckle. ¡°Trent is right, you have the most knowledge when it comes to projectile physics, if either of us learned magic it would be like learning how to play tennis. If you picked up magic, it would mostly feel like switching from badminton to tennis.¡± Emmy looked at the orb once more, ¡°But-.¡± ¡°Just take it,¡± Trent cut her off. ¡°I bet we''re all going to get a chance at magic, and for that to happen we need to make it further into the game, and that means making smart decisions early. We can be more reckless when we have the resources and time, but we¡¯re competing with thousands of other richer, smarter players.¡± Emmy nodded her head as she opened the transfer prompt and accepted the item into her account. The second the orb was bound it exploded in her palm, the shards of glass divided into thousands of tiny particles floating upwards and gradually fading away. The liquid spilled out onto Emmy¡¯s hand, bubbling violently as it clashed with her skin until it slowly melded into her body. Emmy quickly rubbed her hands together, the friction causing her hands to warm up as the chill of the liquid finally settled. System: You have unlocked the use of water magic (tier 1) ¡°What spells did you get?¡± Break asked. Emmy thought about her character screen, the system pinging in acknowledgment as it opened up a large screen in front of her. Emmy glanced over at the magic tab and open the window, a seizure of blinking light caught her eyes as she opened up the magic tab. Spell Water Lesser Heal Water Water Bolt Placing her hands in front of her, Emmy thought about using her skill. Small droplets of water popped into existence, each one hovering towards her hands until it made a glove of liquid. The water gently swayed back and forth as the water started to turn a green hue. ¡°How am I supposed to use this?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Trent asked, a confused look on his face. ¡°One of my spells is lesser healing, so I thought about using it.¡± Break frantically open his in-game notepad, scribbling down Emmy¡¯s world. ¡°You''re telling me you have a healing spell? Only recovery magic has the ability to heal, and only healers are able to learn recovery magic. This is something utterly baffling,¡± Break said, the tone his voice shifting multiple times. ¡°Use it on Trent.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I''m trying figuring out, how do I use it? For regular healing magic, you just use it and the person gets healed. Do I maybe splash some water on him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s worth a try,¡± Trent said, looking at the bubbling liquid. Emmy waved her hands at him, the liquid sticking to her palms like molten caramel. ¡°Place your hands on him,¡± Break noted. Emmy placed her hands over Trent¡¯s shoulder, the healing liquid poured through his body slowly regaining his health. ¡°Thanks, Emmy,¡± Trent said, looking at his full health bar. ¡°Intriguing, you have to make full contact, and the healing is not instant,¡± Break noted. ¡°Not too useful during combat, but it can provide a bit of extra support mid-battle.¡± ¡°Wait, during combat, you let loose a pretty crazy arrow, what was that abou-¡± Trent let out, before being interrupted. The sound of hooves crashed along the distant plains, the rumble causing the team to immediately be on guard. A charging cavalry of six men riding mechanical horses, steam billowing out of seam as they gallop, surrounded the three. Each knight drew out various weapons, one twirling a magical flail that wiped lighting back and forth as the knight swung it overhead. ¡°Lay down your arms, bandits,¡± one of the knights bellowed. ¡°Whoa, I don''t know what this is all about, but let me assure you, we are not bandits of any sorts,¡± Break said. A caravan pulled short of the group, the base of each emitting a magical force repelling the cart off the ground. A man in a brown trench coat jumped out of the leading cart and strode over to the group, ¡°I think you''re being a bit hasty there Sir. Von.¡± ¡°Nonsense, why would a group of travelers be walking through Highland Veil unless it was to plunder travelers.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°We are mere explorers from the region of Geil. Through a selection, we have been sent here by the great overseer to document all the various new species of monsters as well as a menagerie of other stuff.¡± ¡°Well nice to meet you, I¡¯m Krane, trader, and transporter of magical goods,¡± the man said, walking past the guards and putting out a hand. ¡°I¡¯m Break, these two are Trent and Emmy,¡± Break said, firmly giving the man a shake. ¡°We are currently on our way too¡­, uh, I guess we currently have no destination set but we''re going somewhere.¡± ¡°Well if you don¡¯t have a destination, how about taking a ride with me to the wizard town of Illistrium. Mind you, the rides not free, but it¡¯s better than walking four days to get to the closest town.¡± ¡°What the cost?¡± Emmy interjected. ¡°Twenty thousand siphon per person.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ what''s a siphon?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Wow, you guy come to the region of Perintah and have no clue of the main trade currency? A siphon is a direct exchange rate of mana to stored energy. The rate of transfer is ten mana to one siphon. To transfer and store a siphon you need one of these,¡± pulling out a small purple rhombohedron, ¡°whenever you have an excess supply of mana, you just transfer it into this small crystal, and that can be used to trade for most stuff.¡± ¡°How much mana do you have?¡± Break whispered to Emmy. ¡°Let me do the math,¡± writing air numbers in front of her, ¡°Yeah, I can make two siphons.¡± ¡°Two? He wants sixty thousand.¡± Break looked at the man with an earnest face, ¡°any way you could lower the price?¡± ¡°Lower the price?¡± the man exclaimed. ¡°I''m already cutting you guys a deal, usually a trip like this would cost fifty a person. Keep in mind the price is not only for the ride, but it¡¯s to pay the guards and my recommendation to the gate security when we get into the city. You know how hard it is to get into the city if your not a mage, you would have a better time stealing coins from a thief.¡± ¡°Alright, how about credits, we have plenty of credits.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to do with credits? Noone within a month¡¯s travel takes credits.¡± ¡°Well, umm¡­ can you give us just a second,¡± Break said, huddling the group towards the edge of the divot. Break sat down on a dried husk of wood before rummaging through his bag of items. ¡°You guys got a plan? The best I can do is maybe offer him some of the items we got from the monster.¡± ¡°Maybe we could not take the ride,¡± Trent said. ¡°That¡¯s the stupidest thing I have ever heard.¡± ¡°It¡¯s sad to say but I¡¯m going to have to agree with Break,¡± Emmy said with a slight contrition. Break whipped his head towards Emmy, the look of his flabbergasted face twinge with satisfaction. ¡°Did you just agree with me? No wait, did you just disagree with Trent?¡± ¡°Stop making it such a big deal,¡± Emmy glared. ¡°I¡¯m just pointing out the fact that we are days from the closest town, and that¡¯s considering the guy has a flotilla of carts. If we want to have any chance of getting anywhere, we need to get on those carts.¡± ¡°Easy to say, but we''re pretty much broke. The only thing we got to our name is a bunch of random items we got from the monster,¡± Break noted. ¡°Better than nothing?¡± Trent shrugged. Break walked over to the Krane, the large man nudging the guards back to their post protecting the caravan. ¡°Would you take a trade for the ride?¡± Break bluntly asked. ¡°I never say no to trade before I¡¯ve had a chance to evaluate it, show me what you got,¡± Krane boasted, opening up a trade window. Break dumped the content of his bag into the window hoping at least one item could be worth the ride they were looking for. ¡°Did you just dump a page of garbage into the trade window?¡± Hastily closing the trade window, Break put his arm over the man back pushing them together so he could be within a whispering range. ¡°Quick question, how much does a meal cost in that town your heading to?¡± ¡°You got to be a bit more specific, are we talking like a light breakfast, or like an evening meal.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ let¡¯s say an apple.¡± ¡°Etherium Apples? Those things are pretty expensive, really good for alchemy and¡­¡± ¡°No, I mean just apples, regular apples.¡± ¡°Oh, well I guess an apple will run you around a ten siphon.¡± ¡°O.K. yeah, give me a second,¡± Break said shuffling back over to Trent and Emmy. ¡°Guys we''re not getting that ride, I asked for the price of an apple and it¡¯s a ten siphon. Emmy, do me a favor and use a spell, any spell will work.¡± Emmy manifested a glob of water that dripped across her fingers as she poured mana into the ball. After a few seconds Emmy had fully depleted her mana as the ball lost cohesion and puddled to her feet. ¡°I''m at 0/27.¡± Break started a timer in his HUD, ¡°Let me know when it reaches ten.¡± After a grueling eight minutes, Emmy made a quick motion with her hands indicating that her mana had funny replenished. Break sigh as he did some quick mental math. ¡°As it stands, Emmy can make a hundred and eighty siphons per day, and that¡¯s only if she is logged in the whole time, and remember to deposit her mana every ten minutes.¡± ¡°Guys, I¡¯m on a schedule, my striders are done refueling so I¡¯m going to need an answer now,¡± Krane said. Trent stood up giving a slow shake of his head. ¡°We don¡¯t have close to the amount your asking, but I¡¯m willing to do any task to repay you.¡± Krane let out a hardy chuckle so loud it shook Trent. Turning around he held out his hand letting the group know he needed a minute. Emmy''s face grew hot, her fingers twining with hate as she pulled out an arrow. The guards rushed towards Emmy each one holding their weapons to her neck. ¡°What did I tell you, nothing but bandits,¡± Sir. Von scoffed. ¡°Whoah, whoah, whoah, what with all the hostilities,¡± Krane said. ¡°Trent asked if there was a quest he could do to help pay for the ride and you laughed in his face,¡± Emmy muttered, the spear poking at her neck. ¡°Guy weapons down, this is just a misunderstanding. Von, can you go back to guarding the caravan, my friend here is just a bit confused.¡±Waiting for the guard to stride back to the carts, Krane walked up and placed a hand over Emmy¡¯s back. ¡°Let me ask you a question, If someone was sitting on a mound of gold and wholeheartedly told you they were broke, wouldn¡¯t you laugh your butt off?¡± ¡°What?¡± Emmy said. ¡°At first I thought were guys were Vectra Hunters playing hard, but I had my suspicions, In the end, you guy really are a bunch of travel with literally no idea what you''re doing.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t see where this is going,¡± Emmy said lowering her bow. Krane pointed towards the log Break had been stooped over, ¡°That log there is worth a good amount of siphon, and by the look of it, you got about six or seven trees worth sitting all over this place.¡± Break grab a chunk of the log and made a quick scan of the item. Name: Vectra-Soledad Material: Wood Type: Craft ¡°It¡¯s a crafting material?¡± Break questioned. ¡°Indeed it is, these shriveled logs contain a highly concentrated amount of mana, great for making wands and staffs. Not many people come out here to hunt for Vectrasol as they are extremely hard to track. Each Vectrasol is a bit different as they like to blend in with their environment, some of the rarer ones live in the mountains where they gather ore and other basic crafting material and turn them into hypercharged and highly potent crafting material.¡± ¡°Sounds amazing, how much does each of these logs sell for?¡± Trent asked. Krane pulled out an optical scope and closely examine the logs ¡°I usually don¡¯t haggle for both sides, but with an eighty-seven percent mana concentration, these logs could sell for about twenty-five thousand a log.¡± ¡°Well with seven logs it adds up to a hundred and seventy-five, easily enough to pay for the ride fair and have plenty in reserve,¡± Break noted. Krane sucked air through his teeth, the motion made a slight hissing sound. ¡°Slow down my man, I said they would sell for twenty-five, not that I would buy them for that much. I would have to pay the tax to get them into town, then pay a carpenter to process them, not a cheap process.¡± ¡°How much will you buy them for?¡± Trent asked. ¡°You know what, I really like you guys, especially the little missy here, I like people with a short temper and a fierce loyalty to their friends reminds me of my Bunti, best grun I¡¯ve ever had. ¡°I thought gruns were half pig half dog hybrid,¡± Break said. Trent grabbed the tip of Emmy¡¯s arrow as he saw her redrawing her bow. ¡°He meant it as a compliment.¡± How about for all the wood, I¡¯ll take you all to Illistrium give you six thousand siphon to spends on supplies and lodging because you guys look like you desperately need it, and if that was not enough, after I finish processing the wood, I will give you one of the wands I plan to make for your water mage here.¡± ¡°Taking into account that we had no idea about the wood, I think that is a fine deal,¡± Trent said. ¡°Agreed,¡± Break added. ¡°Alright sounds good,¡± Krane jest pulling out three crystals. He handed one to each of the members, but not before touching them to the one he wore around his neck. ¡°These are siphon founts, this is how you will spend and store all the siphon you gather.¡± ¡°How do I store my mana into the fount?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°Simple, just hold it in your hands, and pour your mana into the crystal like you would a spell. I¡¯ve loaded each crystal with two thousand siphons, so keep them clear of pipers, they will drain your font dry if you don¡¯t keep them in a secure location.¡± The sun began to dip past the horizon, the light slowly getting dimmer. ¡°Sorry to cut this conversation, but I need to get these logs loaded while I still have some light. You guys settle in cart seven, that''s the one with the green and yellow flags.¡± The group walked toward the floating cart, each one filled with different magical items. Hopping in towards the back of the cart, Trent let out a yawn that stretched for a good minute. ¡°I say we log off and call it a day.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t agree with you more, I¡¯m starving.¡± Popping his head out of the cart, Break shouted towards Krane, ¡°How long until we reach Illistrium.¡± ¡°Another day and a half,¡± Krane shouted as he commanded a troupe of workers. Logging off the group walked out of the building filled with the few workers that manded the security. ¡°Mind if I sleep over at your place Trent, would be a lot faster than Emmy having to drive across town to pick me up.¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mind picking you up,¡± Emmy quickly replied. ¡°No, he makes a good point, cutting an hour off our commute would give up more time to play,¡± Trent said, getting into Emmy¡¯s car. ¡°Where do you want to eat?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°We have two hundred thousand to blow, how about to celebratory steaks for surviving our first day.¡± ¡°Seconded,¡± Trent added. Chapter 07 ¡°Extra towels are in the closet,¡± Trent said grabbing two packets of instant coffee from the cupboard. A quick and precise knock on the door grabbed Trent¡¯s attention as he poured the boiling water. ¡°It¡¯s open,¡± Trent yelled, grabbing another packet of instant coffee. Emmy made her way into the room, her shoes clacking against the cheap laminate flooring of the rented apartment. ¡°When are you planning to get some new furniture,¡± Emmy said, sitting down on the torn linen couch. ¡°I can barely make rent let alone get new anything,¡± handing Emmy a cup of coffee. ¡°I was glad to even find this couch, someone discarded it near the dumpster a while back, and I had Break come over to help me carry it up. I sprayed the whole thing down with bug spray, then a quick splash of some detergent, then a light misting of freshener, and it''s as good as new, or as new as a discarded sofa can be.¡± Emmy hid her discuss as her body attempted to jump off the couch, but thought better of it as Trent took a seat next to her. ¡°You do have sixty-five thousand credits, you could use some of that money for some better furniture, preferably something not sitting next to a dumpster.¡± ¡°Well Break and I have been talking about that, we were thinking of pooling our money and renting a better apartment, something closer to the downtown area so we don¡¯t have to travel as far.¡± ¡°Wait, your moving,¡± Emmy exclaimed, the feeling of anxiety flushing over her. ¡°No, not yet, we were just discussing the idea. I think it would¡­,¡± Trent added before being interrupted by the thud of the bathroom door opening. ¡°You weren''t kidding about the door, that things harder to get open than a Vreskan¡¯s lair,¡± Break said stepping out of the steaming bathroom. Break walked over to the small built-in kitchen and grabbed the cup of coffee sitting on the counter. Taking a sip he notices the flowing black hair drifting down the couch,¡° Whoa, give a guy a notice when your here,¡± Break yelled tightening the towel around his waist. ¡°Your clothes are done drying, I placed them on the rack.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Break said, slapping on his jeans. ¡°It looks like I caught you guys at the wrong time, I¡¯ll come back later,¡± Break jest, mockingly stepping back into the bathroom. Emmy rolled her eyes so hard it could budge a bolder. ¡°I was just telling Emmy about us moving to the new apartment downtown.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, pretty sweet digs, three rooms, two baths, and a swanky kitchen. What did you decide Emmy?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Emmy let out in a confused tone. ¡°I did not get to that part yet,¡± Trent added. ¡°Break said he wanted for all three of us to move, I actually don¡¯t have too much stuff, so I¡¯m already down with the plan. The only thing left was to see if you wanted to join us, I know it¡¯s a bit of a stretch to live with two guys, and I totally get if you don¡¯t want too¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± Emmy spurted. ¡°Ha, you owe me breakfast,¡± Break said. ¡°What?¡± Emmy asked with an unamused face. ¡°Sorry,¡± Trent mumbled with a downcast look. ¡°Break made a bet that it would take you less than a minute to decide, I told him I didn¡¯t want to make the bet, but he said it was all in good fun.¡± Emmy gave the two of them a hard glare, both of which drown their eyes into their mug of coffee. ¡°Both of you owe me breakfast.¡± The three-headed down to the main office where Trent and Emmy put in the necessary paperwork to break their lease. Upon receiving the return form, Trent winced at the amount he had to pay in order to break the lease early. ¡°Do you need me to drive you to your apartment?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°No need, I canceled my lease over the phone this morning, and I already made plans for them to move all my stuff to the new place. They should be packing your apartment in about an hour.¡± ¡°How much was it?¡± Trent said jokingly. ¡°A bit over two thousand credit.¡± ¡°Two thousand credits,¡± Trent exclaimed. ¡°You could have rented a moving a moving van at a tenth of the cost.¡± ¡°Yeah, but does the moving van come with people that pack all your stuff then unpacks it at the new place?¡± ¡°No, but you could have just done that yourself.¡± ¡°But that would mean we would lose a day of gaming.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess, at least let me pay a portion.¡± ¡°Nope, you''re already paying for breakfast, and trust me, I getting a huge plate of bacon.¡± ¡°Where exactly is the apartment? I want to see the new place before we head back into the game,¡± Emmy said, starting up the car. ¡°It¡¯s two blocks from the office, I¡¯ll give you direction once we finish breakfast.¡± Emmy drove up a large incline and pulled into a parking garage of a large skyscraper building. Taking the elevator down, the three gawked at the pristine marble floor of the lobby. ¡°How much did you say this was?¡± Emmy whispered over to Break. ¡°Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s only about five hundred more than what you''re paying right now, and besides you get the master bedroom which includes a private bath.¡± Break scooted over to the reception desk and unnecessarily wrang the small bell sitting over the counter. ¡°May I help you?¡± A lady in a coat jacket asked. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re the new tenants, here to sign for room 414.¡± Looking through the stacks of paperwork the lady pulled out a manila folder with a sticky note plastered in front reading 414. Here we are, a six-month lease for three people. Can I get you guys to sign a few documents real quick, I need to start the background check before we release the keys.¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± Break said, calling over to Trent and Emmy. ¡°What are we doing?¡± Emmy asked walking over to the desk. ¡°They want to run a background check then we should be good to go.¡± ¡°Wait, you never told me there was going to be a background check.¡± Break eyebrows rose, ¡°It¡¯s standard for all apartments, how did you get into your apartment without one?¡± ¡°I had a friend sign the lease,¡± Emmy whispered over to Break. ¡°Are you telling me your some kind of murderer?¡± Break asked, still a bit confused. ¡°No, nothing like that,¡± Emmy said, her voice getting a bit agitated over the conversation.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Then it¡¯s not a problem right?¡± ¡°Guys, what''s the hold up?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Emmy replied, quickly signing the document. ¡°Alright Mr. Ward, Mr. Hauf, and Ms. Keeku,¡± the lady said, reading the name off the paperwork. ¡°I need some ID and we should be ready to go.¡± The three handed her their driver license and sat on the couch lining the back wall of the lobby. ¡°This will only take a few minutes,¡± the lady said walking down a small corridor. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Trent asked Break as he looked over at Emmy, her face resting between her palm. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, maybe you should go ask.¡± ¡°Maybe not the best idea right now.¡± ¡°Dude just go,¡± nudging Trent on the shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Trent said, scooting next to Emmy. ¡°Huh...¡± Emmy said, looking up towards Trent. ¡°I asked if there was something wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, I just a bit tired from the drive,¡± Emmy said grabbing a face wipe from her purse. ¡°I¡¯ll feet a lot better once we get logged into the game.¡± ¡°Alright sounds good, if anything does come up just let either of us know,¡± Trent said with a warm smile. Emmy looked at him gratefully and gave him a light hug. The woman came springing back, a line of bellboy following her, ¡°I am so sorry Ms. Keeku, I was not made aware a diadem tier member was visiting today,¡± the lady let out in a raspy voice. ¡°I am so sorry, it took so long to process your IDs.¡± Trent looked down at his band, ¡°It¡¯s only been ten minutes.¡± ¡°I know,¡± the woman let out. ¡°I made you wait for much longer than was needed.¡± A man in a suit walked out from the back, the stride of his steps gave him an air of importance. ¡°Hello Ms. Keeku, my name is Rodger, I am the manager here,¡± the man said clasping Emmy¡¯s hand. ¡°I see here that you were planning an extended stay in one of our basic rooms, we have of course upgraded you to the penthouse, free of charge, do you have any luggage that needs to be delivered?¡± Emmy took a few steps back before making a full sprint to the elevator. ¡°Wait,¡± Trent yelled, rushing after her. The woman stood in a puddle of sweat, her eyes scanning the room. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, I forgot to mention that Ms. Keeku is deathly shy, I think it was all the bellboys,¡± Break said. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Rodger said with a mortified look. ¡°If there is anything we can do to make this right...¡± ¡°Yeah, our stuff is being delivered to room 414, could you reroute the movers to the penthouse,¡± Break said as he jogged out of the building. Running out of the elevator Break looked at the cloudy noon sky, the patterning of gentle rain misting the floor. Husting down the interconnected street he noticed Emmy, one foot shoeless as she rode on Trent¡¯s back. ¡°She fell,¡± Trent replied. ¡°I told him it was fine, I just sprain my ankle a bit,¡± Emmy said. ¡°Well, in any case, we''re heading back to the hotel.¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re going to the office,¡± Emmy rebut. ¡°If you''re not taking me to the office, put me down right here and I¡¯ll walk there myself.¡± Trent looked Break in the eye, the conveyance of ¡°help me out¡± shot out like a bullet. ¡°Trent right, we need to get that ankle looked at.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m sure the office has doctors,¡± Emmy said, grabbing tightly onto her shoe. ¡°She does have a point,¡± Break shrugged. ¡°So¡­ are you going to tell us what all that was about back there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a family affair,¡± Emmy let out. ¡°Look¡­ this topic is something I really don¡¯t want to talk about, so let¡¯s just leave it at that. Also, we¡¯re not keeping the penthouse.¡± ¡°What?¡± Break huffed. ¡°Why not, they are practically giving it to us.¡± ¡°No, they are giving it to me, and only because of my family¡¯s influence, anything that reminds me of that puts a bad taste in my mouth.¡± ¡°How about we keep until the end of the month?¡± Break said glaring the same look back at Trent. ¡°Umm, I¡¯ve never been in a penthouse before.¡± ¡°Seriously, that was the best you could do?¡± Emmy let out a small chuckle as they strode across the overpass. ¡°Alright, until the end of the month, but make sure all out stuff is delivered to our regular room, I don¡¯t want to be moving stuff from one room to another.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Break said, his long strides splashing against the wet pavement. Coming up to the long entrance way of the Pendragon office, Trent placed his band across the scanner and made his way to the front desk. ¡°Is Diya here?¡± ¡°One moment,¡± the receptionist said pressing a few buttons on the table. ¡°Please have a seat, she will be here in a few minutes.¡± Diya strode out from the back of the office, a datapad pressed against her side. ¡°Having a problem with the game?¡± ¡°No, Emmy sprained her ankle and we wanted to know if you had anyone that could take a look.¡± ¡°Easy fix, follow me, I¡¯ll take you to the infirmary, Its open to the staff including all the beta testers. So how is the game treating you guys?¡± ¡°Not bad,¡± Trent replied giving Emmy a lift. ¡°From one to ten, one being unusable, and ten being a necessity, how would you rate the new magic system?¡± ¡°I haven''t tried it yet, Emmy is the only one in our group that currently has magic.¡± ¡°I used it a bit before we logged out, so I don''t have a good basis on the new system yet. I do like that you added healing magic into other base magic, makes it a lot easier to support without having a dedicated healer.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Diya said, making a few marks on her datapad. Emmy hobbled out of the infirmary, the ankle of her foot wrapped in a set of bandages. ¡° I¡¯m fine, the doctor said it was a light sprain.¡± ¡°We ready to game?¡± Break said leaning next to the infirmary door. ¡°Trent¡¯s being a worry wart, let¡¯s log in.¡± Walking up to the testing room, the three notice a group of players each one dressed in a casual, but matching, purple t-shirt with a logo of a bull clad in tank gear. ¡°Whoa, you guys the Texas Tanks,¡± Trent gushed, pulling up to the group. ¡°I thought fans were not allowed in here?¡± a woman with bright green hair said. ¡°No, no, we¡¯re beta testers.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool, the last group we met looked like they had a rod shoved up their mana reservoir,¡± another man said, this one holding a datapad. ¡± My name is Jackson, or as most people call me EnGrain, I¡¯m the team manager for the Texas Tanks, and we¡¯re also here for the beta.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Trent, these are my friends Emmy and Break. I have always been a big fan of yours, You guys made it to the semi four years back. Too bad Moxim had to retire, he was a legend, I remember when wiped an entire team by turning himself into a human projectile.¡± ¡°Ha, I told you, you still had fans,¡± the female said. Walking out of the back, a man with an overly large cowboy hat extended a hand to Trent. ¡°Good meeting.¡± ¡°Guy, it¡¯s him, it¡¯s really him,¡± Trent exclaimed. ¡±I thought you were retired?¡± ¡°I am, I don''t play professionally anymore, but the team still keep me on as an analyst, and when they offered me a chance to join the beta, no way am I turning down such a huge opportunity.¡± ¡°Sorry to cut the conversation short, but we need to get going,¡± Jackson said, pointing to his datapad. ¡°We need to get going too, but it was good meeting you¡± Break said. Materializing into the game, Trent peaked out of the caravan, to his surprise the view of the flowing grassy plain has been replaced a blindingly white canvas. A burst of wind carried into the cart, the freezing chill caused Trent to quickly close the flap. ¡°Where the hell are we, and why is it so fucking cold?¡± Emmy shouted out of her clacking teeth. ¡°Not sure, but I can ask,¡± Trent replied. Reopening the flap, Trent yelled at the blank white covering his vision. ¡°You''re never going to reach anyone, the wind is too loud,¡± Break said, opening up a blank UI screen. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Trent asked. ¡°It¡¯s a map I started when we first spawned, from our last known location, it looks like we traveled directly north for quite a while.¡± ¡°Oh. My. God. Shut the door, I¡¯m freezing.¡± Emmy yelled, curled up in a corner of the cart. ¡°Oops, my bad,¡± Trent said. ¡°Break you got a blanket or anything?¡± ¡°Ha, if I had one, I would have already been using it.¡± ¡°Ok, well I guess I¡¯ll go talk to Krane,¡± Trent said jumping out of the cart. ¡°Fuuuuck,¡± Trent yelled, his voice fading into the wind. Dashing from the corner, Emmy scanned the bleak white for any signs of Trent. ¡°Trent where are you? Can you hear me?¡± Break¡¯s head poked out of the narrow slit above Emmy as he began to yell out to Trent. ¡°Down here,¡± Trent yelled, his voice muffled by the buffing wind. ¡°Hold on,¡± Emmy shouted, scanning the cart for any usable items. ¡°Here,¡± Break said, throwing her the end of a rope while tieing the other end to himself. Lowering the rope towards Trent, the two began to slowly pull him back up. Jumping into the cart, Trent huddled into the fetal position, the tips of his fingers turning a pale blue. ¡°What are you guy doing? You¡¯r scaring my striders¡± a sharp voice said. ¡°Wait, Krane is that you?¡± Break hollard. ¡°Take it down a notch, I can hear you just fine, just speak into the inlaid orb on the roof of the cart.¡± ¡°Okay, so Trent was trying to talk to you so he attempted to walk towards the lead caravan, now he¡¯s half frozen on the floor.¡± ¡°What kind of idiot are you? Did you at least turn on the flame ward.¡± ¡°The what?¡± ¡°Do you see the talisman with the weird symbols on it and a picture of a flame at the bottom?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Lay your hand over it.¡± Break crawled up to the talisman that was stickered onto the front side of the cart. Placing his hand over the white paper a prompt popped up. System: Activate Fire Talisman (Y/N) Choosing yes, the talisman began to radiate heat which quickly filled the cart with warmth. ¡°Uhhhh,¡± Trent let out as he rolled towards the talisman. ¡°Next time you guy want to kill yourself, don¡¯t spook my striders,¡± Krane said. ¡°What do you mean kill ourself,¡± Break huffed. ¡°Well if you¡¯r going to jump off a cart that¡¯s thirty thousand feet above ground, my only guess is that you want to kill yourself.¡± ¡°What,¡± the three let out in unison. Chapter 08 ¡°This is Krane, just a heads up to all carts, we will be landing in about an hour, please be sure to secure yourself and the any of the cargo. Also, if any of my cargo falls, ¡®James¡¯,¡± Krane said in a scouring voice, ¡°I¡¯ll throw you off the caravan in the middle of the mountains. Do you know how much that Empyrean Cheese cost me, I can¡¯t believe all six rolls flew¡­,¡± Krane started to berate before a whisper could be heard from another person. ¡°Oh, sorry about that everyone, lost my train of thought. Just make sure everything to strapped down.¡± The three sat huddled next to the heat radiating talisman and watched as the clouds slowly drifted pass the cart. Trent poked at the crystal attached to the center wooden spine that was holding the cart together. After a few quick jabs, a notification window popped up giving him a selection of choices. System: Activate call orb Y/N Pressing yes, a light on the orb radiate a light in a circular pattern and an even larger UI popped up in Trent¡¯s display. System: Call System activated Cart 1 Cart 2 Cart 3 Cart 4 Cart 5 Cart 6 Cart 7 Cart 8 Other Cancel A slight buzz started from the orb as Trent pressed Cart 1. ¡°Make it quick, I got a lot of inventory to account for before we land¡± Krane said in a rushed voice. ¡°I just wanted to know, why we¡¯re landing so early?¡± Trent asked ¡°Not to bury the lead or anything, but why are we thirty thousand feet in the air,¡± Break yelled, huddled next to the talisman. ¡°I guess you Sentience were not here for the explanation, I forget you guys blank out for long periods. The answer is pretty simple, we are in the air is because I¡¯m splurging on extra fuel to get us to Illistrium a day early. You''re probably asking why do we need to get their a day early. Some dumbass, not naming any names.¡± ¡°James?¡± Break said in a knowing tone. Krane let out an audible sigh, ¡°Yeah, he was off by a few days, and I¡¯m late for the annual Spell Progression. Let me guess, what¡¯s a Spell Progression?¡± ¡°I wasn''t going to ask, but since you brought it up.¡± Break let out. ¡°It¡¯s a competition held each year by the grand council to test applicants wanting to join one of the major magic guilds.¡± ¡°Sounds cool,¡± Trent said. ¡°It is by far the biggest holiday for wizards, witches, warlocks, necromancers, and any other magic users. This is the one time of year where siphons are poured irregardlessly on pretty much anything that will give an applicant an advantage in the exams. I should have had a week to get ready, but thanks to someone, I need to get my stall ready by tomorrow, so strap on, and be ready to land.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any buckles,¡± Emmy said rummaging around the mostly empty cart. ¡°Besides the few crates strapped to the front, the only other thing we have is this rope.¡± ¡°That will have to do,¡± Trent said, tying one end of the rope to a notch. ¡°We only have about six feet of rope, so I guess we can just hang on to the rope just in case something does happen.¡± ¡°Whoa, check this out,¡± Break said pointing at an astronomical floating crystal with five chains jutting out from the sides. Four of them protrude out from each face of the crystal, while the last chain hung underneath. The chains flowed towards the city, each one connected to large buildings scattered equal parts away from each other making a square with a single building in the middle. The cart tilted upwards, the three grabbing onto the rope as the cart rapidly lunged downwards like a rollercoaster at the end of its climb. Break had the air knocked out of him as the cart hit the ground sending him smashing against the wooden floor, the boards creaked but did not buckle under the force. The three slowly got up as the cart started to move at a steady pace down a cobbled road. ¡°Standard procedure everyone,¡± Krane said, his voice echoing from the orb. ¡°The three Sentients, join me at cart one, we need to get you guys registered.¡± Slowly easing out of the cart, the three scan the large cobbled runway filled with magical creatures and machines as they made the small walk up to Krane. ¡°Here they are,¡± Krane said, talking to a man in full white robes with golden trims flowing across. The man walked up to the group, his hands out motioning for them to stop. Quickly scanning them, he cast a spell engulfing them in a white light. ¡°Names,¡± he said nonchalantly. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m Break, this is Emmy, and this is Trent.¡± ¡°Three Sentients,¡± the man said into a small orb attached to his chest. ¡°You guys have been registered into the system, Sentients have free roam around the city, your UI¡¯s have been updated with the city¡¯s map, including the city¡¯s rules and regulations.¡± ¡°You guys go ahead and give the city a look around, it¡¯s going to take a while for me to get all my cargo inspected. I¡¯ll be staying at an inn at the edge of the city if you''re looking for me, it¡¯s fairly cheap with pretty good accommodation.¡± ¡°Well take you up on that,¡± Trent said, his UI map updating with a green dot, indicating Krane¡¯s specified location. ¡°So where do we go?¡± Break asked. ¡°Try hitting up the trades corridor, plenty of merchants from all across Perintah, and if you need to restock on supplies that the place to go.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Trent said. The three walked out onto a large busting road with an array of carriages drawn by an assortment of beasts and mechanical monstrosities crisscrossing down the many alleyways. The side of each road held a merchant stall or building advertising many of their wares and services. Break could smell a distinguishing odor of arcane dust as he gazed across many of the stall casting spells, some making magical fires to cook, other casting arcana to identify, infuse, and disassemble magical items. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t take credits,¡± a portly man said, his merchant''s table lined with a slew of magical wands and artifacts. Trent looked over at the commotion, his eyes catching on a man wearing a distinguishing set of armor used in PVP. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t take credits?¡± the man yelled, his eyes glaring down at the man. A woman trailing the man walked up the table, her armor just as shiny. ¡°No one is even going to buy this overpriced crap, and we''re offering a lot of credits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t take credits,¡± the man reiterated, his palms out in a regretful demeanor. ¡°Whatever,¡± the woman said, walking away from the table. ¡°Wait babe, I¡¯ll buy it, just give me a second.¡± Opening his trade screen the man took out a card and loaded it with a million credits. ¡°This could cover it,¡± he said, laying it on the counter. Laying it on the counter, he took a blue shimmering wand and headed back towards the woman. Thief, the man yelled, his fingers pointing towards the young man wandering off with his item. ¡°We should do something,¡± Trent said, his body ready to dash off, but before he could make a move a large explosion landed in front of the man. Traffic suddenly stopped as many people gave a wide berth towards the large dust cloud. Five mages dressed in blue and white robe silently surrounded the man, their staff held out in a threatening manner. Slamming their staff towards the ground, they created a multilayered pentagon encompassing him. A sixth man walked out from the haze of dust dressed in a pure azure robe which glimmered in the afternoon sun. Strutting his way up towards the edge of the pentagon, the mage summoned a bench and trudged up to the stairs. In a placid voice, the mage said, ¡°You, state your name.¡± ¡°What is this,¡± the man yelled, drawing his sword and slashed at the golden walls of the pentagon. The mage nodded his head towards the guards, the pentagon shrunk by one layer and a burst of light shot out from the floor causing the man to scream in pain. ¡°State your name,¡± the mage repeated. ¡°Kraze,¡± the man replied. ¡°You, Kraze, have been accused of thievery, how do you plea?¡± ¡°What is this, let me out.¡± The pentagon shrunk again, this time an even brighter ray of light shot up causing him to fall to his knees huddle in pain. ¡°Not guilty,¡± Kraze said, the light stopping as he answered. ¡°Merchant, Dan, he has pleaded not guilty, please state the reason of your accusation.¡± The portly man sheepishly walked up towards the bench, ¡°the man there¡±, pointing towards Kraze, stole one my wands without paying, he is currently holding it. ¡°I see, Kraze, how do you respond.¡± ¡°I gave him a fair amount, it''s on his stall.¡± ¡°I told him I didn''t take credits, but he took the wands and gave me a card of credits anyways.¡± ¡°Alright, I have made my decision, by the law of the city, you have been found guilty, and will receive a fitting punishment for a Sentient. Your punish will be death, and banishment from the city for a total of three days.¡± Giving another nod of his head the mage all started to walk towards the man, the pentagon getting smaller with each step until the final size was big enough for only one person to fit. A beam of concentrated light shot out from the floor quickly scorching Kraze, his body disintegrating into nothing. The wand clattered onto the floor, and was quickly snatched up by the merchant, thanking the mages he walked back towards his stall. As quickly as they had come, the mages vanished causing the roads and alleyway to go back into rumbling traffic and merchant chants. ¡°Uhh¡­ so let¡¯s not do anything stupid like that,¡± Break said, looking at the two. ¡°I wholeheartedly agree with you,¡± Trent replied. ¡°Guys, look at this,¡± Emmy said, her eyes gazing at a poster which read ¡°Annual Spell Progression.¡± In the middle of the poster was a symbol that periodically changed, each time transforming the poster¡¯s shade of color. Taking a step forward, Break took screenshots of each symbol while also writing down each color poster had switched too. Looking around, Break saw a man with a bandolier of wands walking down the street yelling out many different magical items he was currently selling. ¡°Hey, excuse me, could you tell me what all these symbols mean?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°You know, I would have been dumbstruck by that question if I had not been asked the other times today, must be a crazy influx of new people coming into town,¡± the man said adjusting this many wears. ¡°Explaining all the symbols would take too long, and besides this is the peak selling hour, unless you guys are interested in buying one of my items.¡± ¡°If we buy something, will you tell us about the symbols?¡± Break asked. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Ok, what are you selling?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so glad you asked,¡± the man said walking towards a side alley. ¡°Follow me, the side street is a bit less crowded, and it would be a lot easier for me to talk not having to yell over all the other vendors.¡± ¡°Fishy?¡± Emmy whispered towards Break. ¡°Just a hint.¡± After entering the alley the man pulled out a metallic wand, the sides of which glowed as he muttered a spell. Emmy, sensing a brew of hostilities, place her index finger and thumb together and summon her bow. Drawing back the arrow, the man looked at her in a plot of confusion and fear. ¡°What are you doing?¡± the man yelled, his eye wide from the gleaming metal tip. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Emmy replied back. ¡°Whoa, Emmy relax,¡± Trent said, grabbing at the tip of the arrow and aiming towards the ground. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my friend here has been a bit jumpy today, please don¡¯t mind her.¡± ¡°Well keep her in check, If you guy weren''t prospective buyers, I would have called the judges,¡± the man harrumphed. Finishing his spell the man conjured four ethereal chairs along with a small table sitting flushed with the alley¡¯s side walls taking up about a fourth of the walking space. ¡°Please have a seat, my name is Greb, let me be the first to welcome you to the great city of Illustrum,¡± Greb said as a small display of fireworks popped overhead. ¡°So, what¡¯s the amount we¡¯re working with?¡± ¡°We need to make sure we have enough for the inn, I think we can afford,¡± Trent began to say before an iron fist slammed him in the gut. ¡°Emmy, keep him occupied? If I let him barter, I''m positive we would end up with a trinket that would have no use to us.¡± Emmy glared down at Break, her arms crossed in a knowing fashion. ¡°Yeah, your right.¡± ¡°Hey wait,¡± Trent began, before being silenced by Emmy. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s get the real deal going.¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± Greb said, placing a few items on the table. Picking up a wand, he handed it towards Break. ¡°Can¡¯t go wrong with a decent wand, what type of mage are you?¡± ¡°Uhh, I¡¯m not a mage.¡± ¡°Hey, no problem, I got stuff for just about anyone. Do you plan to join the Spell Progression tomorrow? Wait, what am I saying, you don¡¯t even know the guilds let alone know what the Spell Progression is.¡± ¡°I have a general idea of what it is. If you could enlighten me on the finer details, that might help me make a better decision on purchasing an item,¡± Break said examining a necklace with green studded jewels. ¡°So the Spell Progression are basically an entry exam for the major guilds, each one focusing on different types of magic. The first four guilds are open for anyone to enter.¡± ¡°Even if your not a mage?¡± Break interrupted. ¡°Some of the guilds rely more on crafting or information gathering, anyone that piques the interest of the guild masters will be eligible to join, even if they don¡¯t know magic. Keep in mind each guild is different and the required to partake in each exam is different, some may ask that you know a minimum amount of magic. The fifth guild, known as Eluthum, it¡¯s only eligible for the current member of the other guilds, and not only that, but you have to be nominated by your guild master. Not much is known about Eluthum, but its the tippy top of the magical mountain, and pretty much every master mage has come from Eluthum.¡± ¡°Tell us about the other four guilds, what type of magic do they focus on?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°You interested in participating?¡± ¡°I might, but I¡¯m more curious at this point.¡± ¡°Might as well kill two birds with one magic missile. I¡¯m sure you got a good look at the town enforcers, those guys are from the Delphic Guild,¡± Greb said making a magical image of a floating mouse, its eyes glowing with a vibrant blue flame. ¡°They mainly focus on countermagic, and data analytics, they also enforce the town¡¯s laws and regulations.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Break said, adding this information to his notes. ¡°Next we have Chrome,¡± Greb said, waving his hand across the image and changing it into an hourglass in the shape of potion bottles. ¡°Their guild focuses on support and healing magic, their main job in town is upkeep and restoration. I don¡¯t know what all that entails, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s more than just trash duty, especially since they have the lowest entry rate.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Usually every exam has about four to five people that pass, but Chrome only has about one...¡± ¡°That¡¯s low, but not unreasonable,¡± Break said, cutting off Greb. ¡°You didn''t let me finish, usually only one person passes every four years. ¡°Why is that?¡± Trent asked. ¡°The exams of course. The exams are always a bit different every year, but from what I can tell, everyone who comes out of Chrome¡¯s exam leaves as a broken shell. It takes someone with a fortitude of a dragon to even stand close to Chrome¡¯s guild master. I¡¯m giving myself the chills just thinking about it, let''s move on,¡± Greb said, changing the floating symbol. ¡°The next guild is Arcanum,¡± motioning to the image of two dwarven hammers striking a diamond-shaped mana crystal from both sides. ¡°They are known for secondary magic, and are in charge of the city¡¯s defense system.¡± ¡°What¡¯s secondary magic?¡± Break asked. ¡°Crafted magic, magic that stored or imbued inside an object for later use.¡± ¡°So like a wand.¡± Emmy said. ¡°No, not exactly. Any of you know magic?¡± ¡°Me.¡± Pulling a wand from his bandolier, he handed it towards Emmy. ¡°This is a basic wand, no enchantment or modification.¡± Casting another spell, Greb opened a rift along the wall the size of a door. Inside the rift was an interdimensional space stretching for ten feet before ending at a target dummy. ¡°I want you to cast a spell at the dummy.¡± Emmy thought about using a basic water spell as the feeling of mana flowed around the body before being deposited into the wand. With a quick burst, the wand let loose a dart of water that flew towards the dummy and made a small hole in its chest. ¡°That was awesome,¡± Trent let out. Emmy felt flush, the tingle of magic still vibrating in her fingers. ¡°Now try this one,¡± Greb said, unbuckling another wand. The wand was made a dark wood, the hint smell of suet and honey wafted into the air as Greb handed the wand over to Emmy. Grabbing the wand, Emmy felt a force pulsing like a slow heartbeat. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°That is an Ashe Baron wand, made from the Ashe Baron tree that only grows on active volcanoes. Go ahead, try shooting the target again.¡± Taking aim, Emmy once again channeled her mana, this time the wands consumed her magical aura like a ravenous beast. Like setting off a cannon, a large bowling ball sized sphere of water slammed into the dummy leaving a fine watery mist covering the interdimensional room. Dropping the wand, Emmy fell to one knee, her hand grabbing the table before she completely toppled to the floor. Trent rushed over, grabbing her from the back he sat her in one of the chairs. ¡°Whoops, looks like that was a bit much for you,¡± Greb said, holstering the wand back into the bandolier. ¡°I want it,¡± Emmy said, her voice coming out in a raspy but determinate tone. ¡°Whoa slow down there, we haven''t even gotten to the good stuff yet.¡± Pulling out another wand, he held it up to the group. ¡°This is an enchanted wand a secondary source of magic. While the last two wands you used were powerful, they were not secondary magic, but instead amplification wand. Well, most wands are amplification, meaning that they take any spell and multiplies the power. In the case of the Ashe Baron, that wands have about a three-fold amplification, but at the cost of using four times the mana.¡± ¡°Why would anyone use a wand that makes your spells cost more?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Why many people, in a scenario where your in a fight with a horde of enemies, you have one spell that can do a wide area attack, but that spell takes about thirty seconds to cast, would it not be more advantageous to cast that spell using the wand to maybe take down a majority of the enemies, or would you rather risk saving a bit of mana and taking another thirty seconds to cast it a second time. Thirty seconds is a long time to be casting a spell in battle, anything could happen, you could get easily get surrounded, or even take an arrow to the face.¡± ¡°I see your point.¡± ¡°Now take this baby for instance,¡± handing the enchanted wand to Trent. ¡°But I can¡¯t use magic.¡± ¡°Ahh, see that¡¯s where secondary magic comes in. Point the wand at the target and just think about hitting it.¡± Holding the wand towards a freshly incorporated dummy, Trent focused at the torso. A crackling sound reverberated within the summoned space echoing out a puff of smoke. Taking a few seconds to adjust his vision due to the blinding flash of light, Trent saw a red glowing dummy, the interior of which smoldered and burned. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing, can I use this as much as I want.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be crazy, depending on the type of secondary magic imbued in the wand it may have a limited use or have a certain recharge time. That wand right there has about four uses before it needs to be recharged by a mage with at least tier five lightning magic.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there''s a hefty fee for recharging a wand,¡± Break noted. ¡°Actually the fee is very reasonable since it¡¯s set by the guilds. You can usually calculate the amount they charge you base on the tier of magic, and the amount of mana it takes to re-imbue an item.¡± ¡°You guys interested in buying one of these things?¡± ¡°What about the last guild,¡± Trent said. ¡°Uh, I hope at least you guys would purchase something by now.¡± Holding his hands up, Greb once again changed the image to a circle with a square inside, and inside the square a triangle. ¡°This is Xerum, they are known for blowing things up and are the town offensive line. They specialize in large area spells as well as concentrated attack. As much as they annoy me setting off explosives every other day, they are a great deterrent to anyone wanting to attack the city. So I went through my spiel, time to drop some siphons. The lady looked quite interested in one of the wands.¡± ¡°How much are you asking for that wand,¡± Break said, pointing towards the Ashe Baron. ¡°Considering I need to unload these by tomorrow, how about ten thousand.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s a remarkably good deal, do you have anything else that we might be interested in? The wand is good, but our only mage is a bit low tier to be using such a powerful wand.¡± ¡°You do make a good point, maybe I could interest you in an amulet, I got a variety that increases mana regeneration, highly valuable since it lets you increase your siphon amount per day. ¡°That actually sounds quite useful, how much are we talking?¡± ¡°I only have one that increases regeneration by two percent, but I I can easily let it for three hundred thousands siphons.¡± ¡°Huh, yeah, two percent might not be too much of use for us since Emmy still a beginner mage.¡± ¡°Wait, don''t you want to even haggle? Tell you what how about two eighty.¡± ¡°Let me talk it over.¡± The three walked a few feet away from the stall, Break made a long sigh before leaning on the stone wall. ¡°Guy we have six thousand, and that¡¯s not counting the amount we need for supplies and the inn.¡± ¡°We could just risk logging out on the street,¡± Trent said. ¡°And have our stuff stolen, pass,¡± Break replied. ¡° ¡°Hear me out, all the NPCs are new to player logging out, they might not know it takes an hour for our bodies to vanish if we''re not in a safe zone. If we all stand in a circle, it could just look like we''re talking amongst ourselves.¡± ¡°Emmy, tell him how stupid that idea is.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to have to agree, that is a stupid idea.¡± ¡°That was my only idea to save money, anyone else got anything?¡± ¡°Why not just ask him for something cheaper,¡± Emmy said. ¡°OK, sure.¡± Walking back towards the table, Break took a seat on the ethereal chair. ¡°After some discussion, we have decided that the amulet is a bit pricey for us, do you have anything in the bauble variety.¡± ¡°I have a few rings that grant a minor increase in mana.¡± ¡°And how much would they be?¡± ¡°My cheapest one is twelve hundred siphon, but I don¡¯t know how much a +2 mana ring will do, most people would prob just break it down for the crafting materials.¡± ¡°Actually that¡¯s exactly what we''re looking for, well take it.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you sure you don¡¯t want like a tier one wand, the girl could surely make great use of it.¡± ¡°No, I think the ring will do just fine if we do have any other need for a magical item I''ll be sure to seek you out first.¡± ¡°Alright, at least take this oracle stone, if you need any other items, just give me a call, rain or shine, day or night.¡± Paying for the ring the three walked back out onto the bustling city street. ¡°I feel kinda bad wasting his time like that,¡± Trent said. ¡°If we ever get more siphons you¡¯re free to buy as many items as you want from him,¡± Break said, tossing him the ring. ¡°Here Emmy, your the only one that can use it,¡± Trent said handing her the ring. ¡°We''ll find something better to replace it, for now, it''s better than nothing.¡± Walking into the inn, the three were greeted by a rowdy band of people lining the tables of the common room and dining hall. Making their way towards the innkeeper a loud bellow shot across the room. ¡°Good you guys made it,¡± Krane said. ¡°Did you guys register for the Spell Progression?¡± ¡°You have to register?¡± Break asked. ¡°Only if you want to be in tomorrow''s competition.¡± ¡°Shoot, we better hurry,¡± Break said, already pacing towards the door. ¡°Hold up, I have a bit of a favor to ask, I got a kid wanting to join, but we were a bit busy unloading supplies and I wanted to see if you guy would be able to take him along to get registered. I don¡¯t want him to go roaming off on his own, the last thing I want is him causing a ruckus and having me deal with the fallout, so do me this favor.¡± ¡°Sounds simple enough,¡± Trent said. ¡°Grail,¡± Krane said, his voice cutting through the noise of the inn. A portly boy of about fourteen ran up to the group, with a look of readiness. ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Grail, these kind people have taken on the responsibility to escort you to the registration hall, I want you to mind your manners.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Grail said, giving a quick salute. ¡°Isn¡¯t he a bit young to be participating?¡± Break asked. ¡°It¡¯s open to any age, and besides it¡¯s not like you can get hurt, they have powerful magic to prevent anything short of death. And by some holy miracle, he does win, I¡¯m in for a big payout.¡± ¡°Payout?¡± Break repeated. ¡°Yeah, if you¡¯re chosen to join one of the guilds, depending on each guild, you''re rewarded with a few powerful magical items, and a payout of a couple hundred thousand siphons.¡± ¡°Hell, what are we waiting for,¡± Break said husting out the door. Chapter 09 ¡°Did you get any sleep?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°No, was too busy compiling the information I got from that kids. What¡¯s his name snail?¡± ¡°Grail,¡± Trent corrected. ¡°Yeah, Grail told me that every year the order of the exams are randomized and participants won''t know until the event even starts. If I can figure out how they are randomized maybe it will give us a slight advantage¡± ¡°Ok, sure, how does that help?¡± Emmy replied. ¡°Unlike us, you were allowed to register for all four exams. Inbetween each exam is a thirty-minute preparation window. You''re a tier one mage, so if the first exam drains you of all your mana or is too taxing, you might want to sit out the second exam if it''s one that¡¯s just as draining.¡± ¡°Yeah I see where you''re going with this,¡± Trent said. ¡°I wonder what type of exam Chrome will have? They did have a requirement of tier one healing or buff magic. I¡¯m guessing some type of escort mission?¡± ¡°I more surprised they let you register with tier one water magic,¡± Break said. ¡°I can heal with it, so I guess that was good enough for them,¡± Emmy replied. ¡°Well Greb said something about fortitude, I¡¯m guessing they''re going to make you run to different healing target for as long as possible. I¡¯m more worried about the Arcanum test. They did not have any requirements so were going to be up against a lot of people. Since Arcanum is known for secondary magic, my best bet is that the exam has something to do with crafting.¡± ¡°We can speculate all day, but if we don''t make it for check in it won''t matter,¡± Emmy said, stepping into the Pendragon office. Logging into the game, the three were greeted by rattling knocks. Break stepped towards the door, and slowly hinged it open. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Sir, we need to go, we have about twenty minutes before checking is closed,¡± Grail said jumping from side to side. ¡°Alright, no need to get your pants in a knot.¡± Break said as the three walked out into the dining room. ¡°This is for you,¡± Grail said, handing Emmy a well decorated box. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Krane said it would come in handy for the exams.¡± Opening the box, Emmy was amazed at the intricate wand lay snuggled in between two satin sheets. Picking up the wand Emmy felt a twinge of mana course through her fingers like an icy chill. ¡°Whoa,¡± Trent said, his eyes glued to a frozen crystal sitting at the tip of the wand. Quickly flipping her wrist a large info boxed popped up on her UI. Name: Vectra Claw Type: Wand Rarity: Elite Magic Bonus: +18 Skills: Hailstorm - Send a flurry of twenty icicles towards a target destination [Cooldown 60 minutes] [damage scaled with casting tier and user¡¯s intelligence ] Passive: Cold Cast - Cold projectiles have a 2% chance to freeze [does not stack with other chance to freeze effects] System: Congratulation, you are the first user to acquire [Vectra¡¯s Claw] System: You have obtained the title Elite Seeker System: You have level up total level 15 . . . System: You have level up total level 23 ¡°Did you just gain eight levels?¡± Break asked, his eye glazed over the pixelated UI screen sitting in front of Emmy. ¡°Umm¡­ Yeah, I just got an achievement for being the first player to obtain this wand,¡± Emmy said, turning on her UI share screen. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Break exclaimed. ¡°C-c-c-ccc-c can I hold it?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Emmy said in a confused tone. Holding up the wand, Break glared at the radiating spectrum of light coming from the tip of the wand. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we have an original item.¡± ¡°A what?¡± Trent asked. Turning the UI screen towards Trent, Break toggled the share setting letting Trent see the wand¡¯s stats. ¡°Do you see the small red circle at the bottom right of the stat screen.¡± Scanning the UI, Trent gave a subtle nod. ¡°That little small circle indicates that this is the very first item obtained by a player, that little mark skyrockets the price of any items.¡± ¡°By how much?¡± Emmy asked in a twinge of intrigue. ¡°It varies drastically, but from all the information I gather your looking at between a few hundred thousand to a couple hundred million.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not selling it, so just get that idea out of your head,¡± Emmy said, placing her hands out towards Break. ¡°Guuuuuys, we''re going to be late,¡± Grail said, attempting to push Break heavy frame towards the door. ¡°Alright, no need to get angsty,¡± Break said, handing Emmy back the wand. Walking towards the large registration building stationed near the middle of town, the three made their way towards the registration desk. ¡°Check in,¡± Break said, looking at the lady dressed in a formal white and blue mage robe. ¡°Gate three,¡± the woman said, pointing towards a red portal housed on an archway towards the back of the building. Shuffling towards the portal, the three notice a procession of people making their way towards a gleaming white portal, this one wide enough to fit a whole cart. Making their way through, the three stood at the precipice of a sky-piercing coliseum. Wrenching his neck at an almost ninety-degree angle Break could barely make out the rim of the large structure. ¡°Hey move it,¡± a man in a chilly blue robe said, pushing aside the three as he made himself towards a large arching entrance. Looking behind them, they all saw a semicircle of fourteen red portals. Stepping to the side, Trent asked: ¡°What do all the other red portals lead too?¡± ¡°Each one is the check-in gate for all the other Cities,¡± Grail answered pointing at a set of magical writing sitting above each gate but was unintelligible by the group. ¡°Other cities?¡± Trent said in a confused tone. ¡°Yeah, during the Spell Progression, each gate ferries competitors who wish to participate, this gives the guild masters a larger pool of prospects to choose from.¡± ¡°This makes me feel a bit more uneasy about winning,¡± Break said, looking at the large horde of people waiting to at the check indoor. Trent glared at the set of large statues that was as big and as tall as a skyscraper. Each statue was in an image of a mage holding their respective guild symbol. ¡°Wow, these statues are huge,¡± Trent mindlessly said.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°That is Grandmaster Moure, he was the first master for Chrome. And that person over there is Grandmaster Melinda, she was the first master for Eluthum, and one of the greatest mages to ever live. Stay in a bar long enough, and you will eventually hear a bardic tail having to do with Melinda. Out of all the tales, My favorite has to be the one with the Dragon.¡± ¡°Was she able to single handedly take down a dragon?¡± Break asked. ¡°No, after a night of drinking, she challenged a dragon to a who can breathe fire the longest. Needless to say, after two hours of spewing out fire, the dragon wavered and fell asleep, she, on the other hand, went back to drinking.¡± ¡°She sounds lovely,¡± Break said, making a new tab in his notes. Following the crowd, the group made their way towards a large archway spanning twenty meters across and was fifty meters tall. Walking through the group was greeted by a succession of mages, each one behind a large magical panel. Waking up towards one of the mages the four gave them their names. Looking for any illicit contraband the man cast a spell hovering over the group. ¡°You¡¯re registered and good to go,¡± the man said, handing them each a coin. After a ten minute walk, the group found themselves in a large amphitheater under the colosseum. Taking a seat in the many-tiered rows flowing upwards, Break analyzed all the other participant. Focusing his gaze at a group of six players sitting near the front, Break gave Trent a quick nudge. ¡°Don¡¯t go fanboy on me, but twelve-o''clock, fourth row from the front near the middle.¡± ¡°Holy shit, do you think I can get an autograph?¡± Trent said, edging up from his seat. ¡°What?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°Down near the middle,¡± Break pointed, ¡°that¡¯s Serena Hawkins, host of Inside Airium, and Trent¡¯s celebrity crush.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a crush on her.¡± Trent rebute. ¡°Look at all the other people sitting with her, they are all from different news site. I think that¡¯s Li Chen from Economica Air, and next to him is Vorn Keph. What show does he do again?¡± ¡°Wait go back to the girl,¡± Emmy said. ¡°Do you have a crush on her?¡± ¡°What, why does that matter?¡± Avoiding eye contact with Emmy. ¡°Psst,¡± Break said, poking at Emmy. ¡°He has a poster of her in his room.¡± ¡°You hush,¡± Emmy barked at Break. ¡°It¡¯s not a poster of her, its a poster of the Texas Tanks, she was giving them an interview when the shot was taken. Why does it even matter?¡± ¡°It doesn''t,¡± Emmy said, leaning back on her chair. ¡°Welcome,¡± a booming voice said, echoing across the room. A man dressed in a black and white robe walked onto the state as a large magical screen hovered overhead. ¡°My name is Ven and I¡¯m glad to see so many perspective mages here today. I will be going through the rules of today''s event as well as some of the procedure we have. Any question you may have please save them for the end. Rule one, and this is fairly obvious, no outside help. You may summon elementals and familiars, but any summons that involves another person is strictly off limits. Rule two, no use of healing or mana potions during the exam unless stated by the exam¡¯s guild master. Rule three, you will be eliminated if your health is fully depleted, or if step out of the arena boundaries. Note that this rule is the default and a guild master may change it during the exam.¡± Stepping towards the edge of the stage, Ven put out his hands in a welcoming gesture. ¡°Anyone who wishes to ask a question may do so now. ¡°You in the green and yellow.¡± ¡°How long is each exam?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all depends on the guild masters. I can tell you that Xerum usually takes less than ten minutes, and Chrome can go on for about two hours, but take this will a grain of arcana.¡± The crowd began to audible whisper. ¡°Two hours, that a bit much,¡± Trent said. ¡°That¡¯s normal,¡± Grail said. ¡°Support mages are usually the first to be targeted during a fight, being able to out think and out maneuver your opponent is what the guild teaches you.¡± ¡°Pretty perspective,¡± Break said. ¡°Thank you,¡± Grail nodded. ¡°You in the front.¡± ¡°You said no potion during the exam, are we able to use them during the thirty-minute intermission?¡± a woman in her mid-thirties asked wearing a full set of heavy chainmail. ¡°Yes, the intermission is for people who are taking multiple exams to recharge or rearm themselves. Thirty minutes is a not a lot, so remember to manage your resources.¡± ¡°If were registered for more than one event are we obligated to do them?¡± ¡°No, if you finish your first exam and know you''re not going to be able to compete anymore, your allowed to enter the stadium arena using that portal,¡± Ven said pointing at a purple portal. ¡°Yes, you.¡± Break nudge towards Trent as he saw Serene get up from her chair. ¡°If were eliminated during the exam, are we able to stand at the outer bounds of the arena?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to say yes, but if a proctor or the guild master themselves ask you to leave then please do so.¡± ¡°Any more questions? No, then I hope all of you the best of luck,¡± Ven said, as the anticipation in the crowd swelled. ¡°The opening ceremony will start in ten minutes, there will be a few speeches and then the first Exam will begin. I myself don''t know the order, but if you''re in the exam, please proceed to the yellow portal at each corner of the room.¡± Taking a coin from his pocket, he held it up towards the crowd. ¡°These coins are what grants you access to the portals. If you take a good luck at my coin,¡± the large screen above the man zoomed towards his hands, ¡°this coin is divided into four different colors, each one representing a guild. Some of you may notice that your coins only have one or two colors, this is because you have only registered to take that many exams. When entering the gate for said exam, a color on the coin will fade; if all colors on the coin fade, then the coin itself will disintegrate. This is also true if you leave for the stadiums, or leave the colosseum.¡± Giving a quick nod towards a mage on the side of the stage, Ven walked off towards the yellow portals. The screen hovering above them slowly faded out into a white mist. After a few minutes eight additional screen popped up each of different angles of the arena. In one of the screen, a man in a dark scraggly costume walked up to a set of five chairs, each one adorned with plush velvets and jewels. He stood over the middle chair which was raised a foot over the other four, he raised both his hands. A deafening cheer blasted throughout the crowd as the man slowly lowered his hands as the sounds of the crowd began to quite. ¡°I welcome everyone to today''s Spell Progression. From what I have seen, this is looking to be one that will go down in bardic song and poetry,¡± the man said, as the crowd began to increase in volume again. ¡°As you know, we do this every year not just to find the best and brightest, but to give mages something to strive for. We find mages that are not only strong but are smart, cunning, agile, and even a bit devious. Out of the many thousands of applicants today, we may only take in a handful, but worry not. In our crowds today we have many many nobleman looking for fine mages to be part of their army. We even have some kings and queens among us here today. While many of you may not make it to our ranks within the guild, know that prizes greater than what we can offer still lay within your grasp. Now without further adieu, let me introduce to you the other guild masters. To my far right, I give you master of guild Xerum, Grandmaster Avana. The chair began to slowly smolder as a puff of red and purple flame encased the area. A woman in an elegant a bright red and yellow dress materialized. Taking a quick bow she made a gesture towards the old man and took her seat. ¡°Next to her, we have the master of guild Arcanum, Grandmaster Gindur.¡± A stout dwarven man of about five feet walked up behind the shaded balcony overlooking the arena. Gindur¡¯s body was encased in plated armor in the shape of dragon scales. The armor was so well crafted no noise could be heard coming from the joins. To his back was a large warhammer, the head of which contain a glass sphere of highly concentrated magic. Gindur greeted the old man with a friendly shake as he strode towards his chair. ¡°Showoff,¡± Gindur whispered, taking a seat next to Avana. ¡°When was the last time you¡¯ve taken that armor out for a spin,¡± Avana said, a big grin towards Gindur. ¡°To my far left we have the master of house Delphic, Grandmaster Kes¡¯ven.¡± Before a hand of a clock could even tick, Kes¡¯ven appeared in front of the chair like he was there all along. Giving the man a quick nod, he took a seat.¡±Not much of a talker as always. For our last master I give you Grandmaster Zevne of guild Chrome.¡± A small woman of three feet walked out towards the balcony, gesturing for the man to bend down, she gave him a hug. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve last seen you Pen,¡± She said, letting him go. Turning around, she gave the audience a wave as she hopped up toward her chair. ¡°Who of us will go first,¡± Pen said, sitting down. ¡°If you don''t mind, I feel like going first this year,¡± Gindur said. ¡°Last year between you and Kes¡¯ven over there, I only had about a couple hundred to choose from.¡± ¡°They were weak,¡± Avana replied, giving him a shrug. Getting up from his chair, Gindur walked towards the edge of the balcony. Taking a huge leap, the man jumped down towards the middle of the arena. Without making the slightest sounds the man feet caressed the floor like a feather. Every screen lit up with the symbol of Arcanum, a ten-minute timer began to countdown as many of the participants made their way towards the yellow portals. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go,¡± Grail said, jumping out of his seats. ¡°He looks scary,¡± Trent said, plowing into other participants heading towards the portal. ¡°We got this,¡± Break said, pushing his way past the crowd. Chapter 10 Gindur stood in the middle of the arena, his fingers tapping lightly at the end of his warhammer as the thousands of participants spewed out onto the battleground. After what seemed like forever, one of the proctors gave a quick nod letting Gindur know everyone was ready. Doing a few stretches, Gindur reached towards his metallic belt and pulled out a square shaped piece of metal with a shiny purple jewel encrusted in the middle. Taking aim, he threw the flat square towards the sky. The item suddenly stopped mid-air, the jewel beginning to shine brightly. The square widens, the edge of which covered a third of the arena. The jewel stood static in the middle, arcs of lighting occasionally bolted out towards the perimeter of the thin metal wire. More and more frequently the jewel would shootout lighting like a flat Van de Graaff generator. The lighting grew so frequent an electric net formed from the floating device. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Trent said in a panicked voice. ¡°Not good,¡± Break replied, holding up his shield. A booming whoosh swept the arena stage as a gale force wind slammed down towards the floor threatening to take many of the participants with it. Break quickly ducked down behind his shield, making his area smaller and reducing his drag. Many groups cast spells, some conjuring large walls of rocks and ice, other making large umbrella sized magical barriers. Gindur still stood in the middle of the arena tapping away at the end of his large warhammer. Trent got behind Break, bolstering his back like a makeshift stopper. Slamming his sword into the concrete floor, he guided Emmy¡¯s and Grail¡¯s hand to the hilt. Grail¡¯s feet lifted as the wind picked up in speed. A female mage wearing a flowing white robe was hastily picked up like a kite and was sent flying towards the arena wall swiftly eliminating her from the exam. ¡°Wooooo,¡± the boisterous crowd of onlookers cheered. The stadium was packed with hundreds of thousands of people, some wearing shirts, armor, and cloaks with embroidered symbols of the mage guilds. ¡°Kebabs, stews, beverages,¡± a vendor yelled walking down the aisle as the fans all cheered at the elimination of the many contestants. Spectators near the front held signs and banners that had motivation sayings that were aimed at either friends or family members. Some of the more wealthy people had paid for a full exam round of magically cast signs that hovered over the arena. ¡°Over there?¡± Grail yelled over the deafening wind as he pointing toward the purple portal. Specs of shiny dust could be seen, each one growing larger as they shot down from the sky. One slammed near the party creating a massive divot the size of a bucket. ¡°The hell?¡± Break shouted, gripping harder onto his shield. ¡°Looks like a small box,¡± Trent answered. More of the boxes buckshot the floor, causing the whole arena to crack and ripple. A mage standing near the front line began to waver as his arcana shield weaken. One of the boxes hit the shield with such ferocity, it cracked the barrier and struck the mage like a two-ton truck. The mage¡¯s health instantly hit zero as his body began to vanish out of the arena. ¡°§Õ§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Û §ã§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§Ö§Þ §ï§ä§à [We can do this],¡± a group of paladins said, each one holding a kite shield. They stood in a line, back to back pushing the next forwards towards the yawning dwarf standing half asleep in the middle of the arena. The front-most paladin¡¯s health dripped lower and lower as the metal boxes berated his shield like a hail storm. The secondary paladin standing behind him pushed out healing spells as they marched forward. ¡°§Á §Ú§Ù §Þ§Ñ§ß§í [I¡¯m out of mana],¡± the second paladin in line yelled. ¡°§±§Ö§â§Ö§Ü§Ý§ð§é§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î [Switch],¡± the front paladin said, ducking down the side as the line moves forward. Once the line had overpassed him, he got back up and marched towards the rear re-bolstering the line. ¡°Who are they?¡± Trent asked. ¡°I think they¡¯re a pro Russian team,¡± Break answered, looking at the badge of a wolf etched into the side of their pauldrons. ¡°How can the NPCs understand them?¡± ¡°The game uses a program to convert all language to a universal language. If you go into your settings, you can turn on the universal translator.¡± Taking heed behind Break¡¯s shield, Trent opened his menu and scrolled down to a switch toggle that read ¡°universal language.¡± toggling the switch he said, ¡°I think I got it.¡± ¡°Viri usa me,¡± Emmy said, dragging his head downwards as a box flew towards his direction. ¡°What did you say?¡± Trent asked turning to Break. ¡°Hsven, miknivun osken,¡± Break said. ¡°What?¡± Trent shrugged, opening his settings and reverting the changes. ¡°You got the wrong setting,¡± Break grunted, his shield battered by a hail of cubes. ¡°What was that then?¡± ¡°I think you turned on the universal language, hardcore players use it when they want to immerse themselves in the game. Try the setting that says universal translate.¡± Trent scanned his menu and after a few scrolls under the universal language, he found the correct toggle. ¡°I got it,¡± Trent said, looking over towards the Russian players. After two more sets of healing and switching, the group of russians made it ten feet to Gindur before the wind abruptly ceased and the portal collapsed back into its rectangular form. Looking at each other with great pride and accomplishment, they gave one another high fives as they stood shoulder to shoulder in stoic pride waiting for Gindur approach. ¡°That was one hell of a trial,¡± Trent said, attempting to get up from his huddled position. ¡°You can let go now,¡± looking at Emmy, who was wrapped around his shoulders. ¡°Oh¡­ yeah, looks like it is,¡± Emmy replied, quick letting go. Picking up a cube, Gindur walked towards the group of paladins. Coming up to them, he raised one eyebrow in confusion before making a wide arc around them. ¡°Hey, what do we win?¡± one of the paladins yelled, turning around to meet eyes with the dwarf. ¡°What?¡± Gindur replied, looking even more puzzled. ¡°Don¡¯t we get anything for beating your exam?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an ore, the exams not started.¡± ¡°Then what''s all this?¡± motioning his arms out towards the half-destroyed arena. ¡°I¡¯m getting to that you vein.¡± ¡°I wonder how many mining puns he has in that blockhead of his,¡± Avana said with a slight chuckle to Grandmaster Pen. With a downcast face, the group of paladin slowly trudge back towards the group of participants. ¡°Now let me explain how this exam works. Each one of these cubes is a different basic element for crafting. You grab me that cube,¡± he said, pointing at a mage near the front. The mage reached down towards the six by six-inch cube and picked it up. Cautiously walking up to Gindur, he places it in his hands. ¡°This is a cube of purite,¡± holding up a foggy white translucent cube, ¡±and this is a cube of lumini,¡± holding up the other which was handed to him by the mage. ¡°When I combine these two what do I get?¡± Gindur asked, waiting for an answer like an overworked college professor. ¡°Purelite,¡± a majority of the crowd mumbled. ¡°Good.¡± Slamming the cubes together, an orange molten sizzle formed as they melded into an orangish yellow cube. ¡°As you know purelite is mostly used for arc-enhancing. If I take this cube of deminum and combine it with the purelite what do I get?¡± ¡°Demilite,¡± a handful of participants said. ¡°That¡¯s right. Now that all of you get the gist of the exam, you have exactly one hour before turning in a cube. You may combine as many cubes as you like, but know that at the end of the exam, you may only turn in one.¡± Walking towards the edge of the arena, he cast a spell calling forth a spectral chair. Taking a seat, he nudged back and forth trying to find a comfortable position. ¡°Start.¡± ¡°We''re fucked,¡± Break said, watching as a horde of players and NPCs hoarding large stashes of the cubes. A streamer by the name of PeakMyLeak rushed for the cubes. ¡°So what cubes should I combine,¡± he said into a small floating orb. ¡°Thanks for the sub,¡± giving a thumbs up at the screen. ¡°Guys look how shiny this one is.¡± Grabbing an orange tinted cube he slammed it together into a dull metallic cube creating a somewhat brown burnish cube. ¡°This is awesome.¡± Taking another random cube from the ground, he rammed it into the one he was currently holding turning it into a pale red cube. ¡°Donation thirty credit. Do that purple one,¡± the robot orb droned out. ¡°Thanks for the donation Juliantheighthslashfith.¡± Taking a pale purple cube, he fused it causing his cube to radiate a low heat like a packet of hand warmers. ¡°Guys check it,¡± he said picking up a green cube. ¡°I have a red cube, I have a green cube, uhhh,¡± slamming together the two cubes, ¡°ouch.¡± PeakMyLeak let go of the cube as it sizzled his hands like a hot iron. Dropping to the floor, the cube began to radiate a neon red light so bright it threatens to blind anyone who gazed directly at it. Like a collapsing start, the cube change to an eye-gouging white. ¡°Guys, are you seeing this?¡± he said, his hands covering a part of his eyes. A huge explosion rippled across the arena, gouts of flame and lighting sparked from the epicenter. A huge plume of dust and debris flew in all directions as groups of players huddled behind the ice and rocks walls that had previously been erected. After the dust settled, a large crater, as well as a fifth of the participants, were nowhere in sight. ¡°Behind me,¡± Break said, holding up his shield. ¡°What was that?¡± Trent asked standing behind Break. ¡°Unstable conflux,¡± Grail answered. ¡°A what?¡± Break replied. ¡°An unstable conflux is what happens when you try to combine elements that are volatile to each other. Judging by the fire and lighting, my guess is someone tried to combine a lodestone with a ferrox. They are both highly unstable and just a pinch of each is enough to cause an explosion the size of a fireball.¡± ¡°Wow, you really know your stuff,¡± Emmy said. ¡°Since traveling with Krane, he has taught me alot about basic elements and how to make money combining them. For instance take this block of unium,¡± grabbing a dark gray block from the ground. ¡°If you try to combine it with this block of plack, they will repel each other because they have the same magical base harmonics. But if I add this block of stabilizer,¡± pressing it to the unium, I am now able to combine it with the plack.¡± The block fizzed as a solid gray cube formed. ¡°What is that used for?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Grail said, tossing the block behind his back and out of the arena. ¡°That was nure fulcrum or just null for short. That material will not combine with anything and is practically useless.¡± ¡°Could you use it to build a house?¡± Break asked. ¡°They tried. You can''t get any adhesive to stick to it, and it¡¯s brittle like glass, so putting any weight on it causes it to crumble. Also, the base material is much too rare to be used as a building material. Even if you could build a modest house out of null, the same money used to create the material could be used to buy a castle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± Break said, looking at the different colored blocks. ¡°Guys we got fifty minutes left, better hustle,¡± Emmy said, grabbing a set of different blocks. ¡°If you need me I¡¯ll be other here,¡± Grail said hopping over to a stash of cubes.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The three sat in a circle around a large pile of cubes. Emmy started sorting them by color, while Trent sorted the colored piles by weight. Break opened up his log and documented the array of different cubes. ¡°Should we just try to combine them by color and see what happens.¡± Break said. ¡°I don''t know, sounds a bit dangerous,¡± Trent replied. ¡°Well we need to do something,¡± Emmy said, looking at a stopwatch she had set at the beginning of the exam. ¡°We have forty minutes left, I say we just go for broke.¡± Trent took two yellow cubes, one weighing three times as much as the other one. ¡°We only have two yellow cubes, might as well start here,¡± he said, combining the two. The cubes merged with a gurgle causing a weird odor of rotten eggs and cherries to form. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good thing or not,¡± half gagging under his breath. Once finished the cube turned to a rosy color with an almost see through complexion. ¡°Here,¡± Emmy said, handing Trent a dull red cube. Taking her cube he placed the two cubes together, but the cubes refused to fuse. ¡°This one is no good, hand me the next one.¡± Taking a slightly darker red cube he began the fusing process once again. This time the cube complied and merged causing the cube to pulse a low radiating heat. ¡°This feels kinda nice,¡± hading the cube over to Emmy. ¡°Yeah feels kinda like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a winter''s balcony.¡± ¡°Thirty minutes remaining,¡± one of the proctors standing next to Gindur yelled, waking him up from his stupor. ¡°What next?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Here this one,¡± Break said, tossing Trent an almost opaque cube. Trent held his hand out towards the cube and was surprised by how heavy it was. His fingers slipped as the weight was the cube was too heavy to bear. The cube landed with a heavy thud as it crashed towards a purple cube. They fused causing the air to smell a bit like a claustrophobic ozone. ¡°Give me a warning, that thing weighs like twenty pounds.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Break said with a tinge of regret. ¡°But hey, look at this cool cube we made,¡± holding it up towards the group. The cube was dark and translucent with small specks revolving the interior like a dark starry night. ¡°Let me have your cube,¡± Break said, holding out his hands towards Trent. Placing the cube in Break¡¯s hand, Trent watch as the two cubes merged. Break¡¯s hand sagged as the cube started the merging process. After two seconds Break shoulder slowly drooped as he struggled to keep the cube in his hand. Letting go of the cube, it slammed towards the concrete floor like tank dropping from a mile above ground. Staring at the abysmally black cube, Break shouted, ¡°I think we have a winner.¡± ¡°Should we keep combining it with other cubes?¡± Trent said with a bit of hesitation. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± Break answered in enthusiasm. Taking a shiny reflective cube, Break held it over the black one. With a quick press, the cubes rapidly merged. There was no change to the color of the black cube, but it radiated a burning heat while letting loose a pungent smell of potpourri wrapped in week old gym socks. ¡°Eww,¡± Emmy gasped, dashing a good six feet back. ¡°Minor setback, let try this one,¡± Break said, slamming a light metallic purple cube down. Again no change in color, but this time the cube shed a smell of fish left out in the sun after being filled with a charcuterie board of old ham and cheese. ¡°No more,¡± Emmy shouted taking a larger dash backward. ¡°My guuuuuuured,¡± Trent try to say as his body heaved. ¡°It¡¯s not that buuurrgg,¡± Break heave once the putrefied stretch reached the back of his nose. Break crawled towards Emmy, his face twisted in agony as the smell pierced his lungs. ¡°Take me with you,¡± Trent muffled out from under his shirt as he grabbed onto Break¡¯s leg. Emmy took in a large gulp of air, as she made the murderous march towards the black box. Grabbing both Break and Trent¡¯s arm, she pulled them away from the miasma of the box. After what seemed like forever, Emmy took another large gulp of fresh air as she set them ten feet from the box. Break slowly sat back up, his arms shuttering from the traumatizing smell. ¡°That must be what the seven layers of hell feel like if you condensed it into down to a few seconds,¡± Break said, trying to get back on his feet. ¡°You okay?¡± giving Trent a gentle nudge on the back. After a few seconds of not responding, Break turned Trent¡¯s body over. ¡°I think he passed out.¡± ¡°Is he eliminated?¡± Emmy asked. ¡°He hasn''t been kicked out of the arena, so I''m going to guess no, but we need to do something before the proctors see. Try healing him.¡± Emmy thought about her healing spell as a wave of healing water surrounded her hand. Pressing down on his chest she got a notification. System: Spell ineffective, the user is at full health. ¡°No good, system is telling me he is already at full health.¡± Break laid his hand down on Trent¡¯s chest, with a quick and decisive movement, he let loose a punch bringing Trent¡¯s health down to 96%. ¡°Now try it.¡± Giving Break a dagger-like stare, Emmy placed her hand over Trent and recast her healing spell. Like coming up from a dark ocean, Trent grasped at the air like a hungry wolf. ¡°What happen?¡± ¡°You passed out,¡± Emmy said, looking over at the ominous dark box. ¡°Ten minutes,¡± the proctor shouter. ¡°If anything we have one good cube,¡± Break said with a grimace chuckle. ¡°Guys, guys, I need your help,¡± Grail said, rushing over to the group, his arms filled with a variety of different colored boxes. ¡°I need to combine these, but I don¡¯t have enough arms.¡± holding out a set of seven cubes. ¡°Why not just do them one by one?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Won''t work, they need to be done at the same time. So, can you guys help me.¡± ¡°Sure, why not,¡± Trent answered. ¡°Here take this, and this. This one over here. Can you switch that cube with the one in his left hand? Yeah, I think we''re ready,¡± handing Break, Trent, and Emmy two cubes each. ¡°Stand here. Miss Emmy, can you move here. I think this will work.¡± Grail held his single cube out, Break holding his above and below. Trent held his cube towards the front and right side of the cube. Emmy was in the same position, but her cube was held to the main cube¡¯s back and left. ¡°When I let go of my the main cube, everyone pushes in at the same time.¡± Giving a three count, Grail let go of the cube, the group hastily pushing their cube towards the center. Every cube simultaneously merged as it shook and sputtered. The end result was a cube of solid wood, with each side covered in dark cracking bark. ¡°Five minutes,¡± the proctor yelled once more. A group of players walked out towards the middle of the arena. Eyeing the crowd, a man dressed in a pink and yellow starburst colored trench coat held out his hand. An orange ball of flames erupted, growing brighter and brighter as the man hurled it at a cluster of competitors. A large explosion slammed the arena, many of the unused cubes flew outwards like shrapnel knocking out many many unaware mages. The group dove towards the ground as an exchange of icicles and lighting bolts flew overhead. One of the instigators ran towards the epicenter of the fireball and scooped up a heavily polished onyx cube from the hands of a dead vanishing mage. With another exchange of spell, the group crawled towards the edge of the arena. ¡°Are you getting this,¡± Trent heard from behind. A woman with bright blonde hair was talking towards a floating orb, her wand held out casting a magical barrier. With a shy wave, Trent gave her a smile. Giving him a wave back, she trudged towards the group. ¡°You guys know what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ uhhh¡­ Hi Serena¡± Trent said with another wave. ¡°I think the players are stealing cubes,¡± Break said, pointing at a rogue holding a set of five different colored cubes. ¡°Why aren''t the proctors stopping this?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Its expressly not forbidden,¡± Grail said, ducking behind Serena¡¯s shield. Another ripple of spell shot out towards the center of the Arena. Break walked forwards toward the black cube holding out his shield against the debris of spells. A player by the name of TKT Vriskin, dashed over to them eyeing the dark cube they were slowly trudging towards. Like a sixth sense, Vriskin weaved across the field like a hummingbird, dodging every spell shot towards him. Approaching the cube, he reached down and attempted to scoop it up, but was slammed face down on the pavement as the cube refused to budge. Reaching the cube Trent held out his sword and slammed it down towards Vriskin. Pushing his legs away from the immovable box, Vriskin dashed backward like an olympics swimmer. Vriskin sent a dagger sailing towards Trent but was easily blocked by Break¡¯s shield. Emmy held her bow up but was surprised when Vriskin was nowhere to be found. ¡°Where is he?¡± Emmy yelled, arching her bow left and right. ¡°Since our box can¡¯t be stolen, he probably went for a different prize.¡± ¡°Five, four,¡± the proctor said. ¡°Put your hands on the box,¡± Break said, leaning over to Trent. ¡°Two, one. Time is up, anyone who is currently not holding a cube will now be eliminated. Break and Emmy both blinked out of existence along with several thousand other contestants. Trent sat up next to his box waiting for the next part of the exam. Grail walked over to him, his wooden cube in hand. Serena trailed behind him, a dull purple box in hers. Taking a stand next to him, they both looked at the half-empty field. Gindur stood up from his aether chair and walked towards the middle of the arena. Clapping his hand, the unused boxes all glowed a faint white before vanishing from the field. The cubes in everyone hands rumbled and shake. Sets of magical floating numbers appear as many of the contestants wonder what they mean. ¡°Hey what number does your box say?¡± Serena asked, showing a box with a seventy-two pasted to the side. ¡°Uhh¡­,¡± Trent uttered, still waiting for the numbers to appears on his box. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Trent, Trent, look at mine,¡± Grail hollered, showing a box with the number one on it. ¡°I wonder if this ranks us by how well we did.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case I don¡¯t think I did too well,¡± Serena said. Gindur stood up from his magically summoned chair and walked back towards the middle of the arena. Clearing his throat he said, ¡°These numbers represent how complex your cubes are, the number can range from one to one hundred. There is currently only one material I know of that has a score of one hundred, so if anyone does have a score of one hundred please come forward. Disappointing,¡± Gindur groaned as a minute past with no motion. ¡°I will now be going around and looking at all the other materials, I will ask questions so be prepared to answer them.¡± Grail dropped his cube as his face swelled up in disappointment. ¡°Hey what¡¯s wrong?¡± Trent said, giving him a consoling pat on the back. ¡°I got a one, Krane is going to be so mad.¡± ¡°Hey, look at me. There is no way Krane could be mad at you if anything I think Krane is proud that you entered the competition.¡° ¡°Thanks,¡± Grail said, still gazing down at his measly one. ¡°Aww, that so nice,¡± Serena said, looking at Trent. ¡°So is he your brother?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s an NPC,¡± Trent answered. ¡°What. Really? His AI is so lifelike. Who is Krane then?¡± ¡°Krane is the caravan master I travel with. He took me in when I was six when my town was invaded by a pack of Vierals.¡± ¡°If he is an NPC then why are you looking out for him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because Krane entrusted me with him for the exam.¡± ¡°Ahh, that explains it, an escort quest.¡± ¡°No, not a quest, more of a request.¡± ¡°What do mean a request? What about a reward?¡± ¡°No reward, Krane was an extremely helpful NPC when we first started the beta, so we are repaying the favor by looking after Grail.¡± ¡°Intriguing, does this Krane give reputation of some sort?¡± ¡°Not that I know off, he¡¯s more of a traveling salesman.¡± ¡°Like a limited time NPC?¡± ¡°I guess,¡± Trent shrugged. His box rumbled, a remnant of the fishy order spewed out as the box heated up. Taking a big gulp of air Trent grabbed the wooden box in one hand and Grail in the other as he dashed back from the box. ¡°Get away from the box,¡± he yelled at Serena. ¡°Why? Does it do some type of aauurgg,¡± she started to say but was abruptly cut off by the lingering smell. ¡°What the hell is that abomination?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Grail do you know?¡± ¡°I have never heard of any material that spews odors like that, I think you may have found something unique.¡± The box once again started to rumble, a series of three digits flew across the screen like an out of control race car. The numbers all slowed down eventually setting on a series of three dashes. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Maybe you created something so amazing the item can¡¯t measure it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± Serena said using him as a shield as she gazed over his shoulder. A snap rang out in the amphitheater as Emmy balled her hands into a tight fist. ¡°Who does she think she is,¡± Emmy grunted while gazing at the many screens floating above the center stage. ¡°Calm down, They''re probably just talking about the weather,¡± Break said with a wide smirk. ¡°He¡¯s coming,¡± Serena spurted grabbing onto Trent¡¯s hand and dragging him back to the ominous black box. ¡°What do we have here?¡± Gindur said walking up to the group. ¡°Hi, im Serena, nice to meet you,¡± holding out one hand. ¡°No time for pleasantries, show me your cubes,¡± Gindur spouted in a rushed voice. Pushing her cube forwards, Serena showed off her dull purple cube. Grabbing the cube, Gindur took a scant glance at it before handing it back. ¡°Where yours?¡± he asked taking a few steps towards Trent. ¡°Uh¡­ right here,¡± Trent answered, motioning to the immovable cube stuck to the ground. ¡°Ha¡­ hahahaha,¡± Gindur laughed shaking his head. Taking a step closer, Gindur gave Trent a heavy slap on the back, ¡°These exams never seems to amaze me. I don¡¯t know how you did it boy, but you have made naether.¡± ¡°No wonder I couldn''t figure out, it makes so much sense now,¡± Grail said in excitement. ¡°What is it?¡± Trent asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to explain it, naether is not a substance, but a lack of substance. Anything you combine with that cube will burn and evaporate into its basic element. It¡¯s like the equivalent of a furnace. I¡¯m more surprised to see naether in a solid form. Naether is usually formed during the casting of destructive spells. Take fireball for instance, when you first cast the spell a bit of naehter is formed at the core starting a chain reaction of fire. When you hurl the spell and it hits a solid object, the remaining naether becomes unstable, and that is what causes the large explosion.¡° ¡°You really know your stuff kid, what¡¯s your name.¡± ¡°Grail.¡± ¡°Well, Grail let me tell you a secret. During the creation of the puzzle box, that¡¯s what I call my exam contraption, I put in a failsafe. The failsafe activates when one of two elements are formed, plazenite, or infusanite.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Grail gasped. ¡°Was that a good oh?¡± Serena said over Trent¡¯s shoulder. ¡°No, either of those elements is highly unstable and in the quantity of this cube is enough to wipe out an entire city.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, I still can¡¯t believe someone was able to make something like this. That¡¯s going to be an automatic fail,¡° Gindur said in a chucking tone. ¡°You, Grail, what did you make?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ this,¡± Grail said with a gloomy complexion. Grabbing the wooden box that laid on the floor he handed it over to Gindur. Holding the box Gindur tossed it back and forth. The rough bark scraped against his calloused hand making a low rasp. Putting it to his nose, Gindur took a whiff of the box. The aroma that emulated from the box was faint, but with Gindur trained nose he could pick out hints of terrace leave, along with an after smell of copper and tin. ¡°How did you make this?¡± ¡°Well, I took the three basic elements of...¡± Grail spewed out a combination of different elements that sounded like gibberish to Trent. It was like he was six years old listening to a college calculus courses. Gindur just stood there shaking his head every few seconds. ¡°How did you combine them?¡± ¡°Well, Trent, Emmy, and Break helped me, they each held two cubes, while I held the catalyst in the middle.¡± Gindur with a big smile gave Grail a pat on the back and walked towards the middle of the arena. With a clap of his hands, he announced, ¡°the exam is over.¡± Each contestant slowly faded from the arena except for Grail who stood in the middle of a vacant desert of concrete. A rippling surge of cheers rocketed the stadium as Gindur ushered him to come forward. ¡°Why me?¡± Grail said as he approached Gindur. ¡°I have been using the puzzle box for the last two years, and never have I been successful at creating an organic material.¡± ¡°Boss, boss, the kid actually did it.¡± Krane stood there, his arms crossed with a smile on his face. Grabbing a drink he held it up towards his troop. ¡°With the brains on that kid, I knew he was going to pass,¡± Krane said taking a large gulp. ¡°But boss, who going to do the accounting?¡± ¡°Ha, I was doing that long before I took in the kid.¡± Chapter 11 Taking a seat in the large comfy chair, Gindur arched his back, a large cracking noise rumbled across the balcony. Avana poked at him, giving him a wide-eyed grin. ¡°Only one this year?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I need,¡± Gindur responded. ¡°I thought you would be grabbing them by the armful because of what happened last year.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about last year,¡± Gindur snorted. ¡°Hihihihihi,¡± a small pitch laughed chimed from across the row of chairs. ¡°Didn''t you blow up all of the participants before the exam even began?¡± Gindur face grew a heated red as he gazed over at Zevne. ¡°I was still testing the puzzle box.¡± ¡®If it¡¯s any consolation, the participants thought it was some elaborate exam that was meant to see how durable they were. If anything, they thought it was one of the most genius exams, catching them out of nowhere like that,¡± Avana said. ¡°Can an ore in it, you guys are just jealous I hit the motherload this year.¡± ¡°I hate to admit this but I am. It¡¯s been a while since any of us has gotten a star pupil, maybe I''ll get lucky this year as well.¡± ¡°Umm, if you don¡¯t mind, can I got next?¡± ¡°No,¡± Avana and Kes¡¯ven said in unison. ¡°Remember eight years ago when we let you go first. Eighty percent of the participant quit and only ten percent of them were even participating in your exam.¡± ¡°Please?¡± she said in a high whiney voice. ¡°It¡¯s been three years since I even had someone pass.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you lower your standards?¡± Avana said. ¡°Lower my standard?¡± she shouted. ¡°Gindur, in your last mission, who was the one that got your team out alive from the Delver¡¯s Mine?¡± ¡°Your student.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Kes¡¯ven who made it possible for your team to infiltrate Black Breach?¡± Kes¡¯ven moved forwards not making eye contact with any of the other masters. ¡°Yeah, that''s right. Avana who made it possible for your team to...¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I get your point. I''ll let you go before me, but you have to make it a bit harder for the other contestants to see what¡¯s happening. Kes¡¯ven what about you?¡± The man, still looking forwards, gave a flick of his wrist. ¡°Thank you guys,¡± Zevne said giving Avana a hug and then dashing over to Kes¡¯ven. Jumping up towards his chair, she attempted to give him a hug but failed as he appeared next to his chair. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you keep insisting on hugging him, you be better off hugging water.¡± With a shrug, she dashed off towards the back of the balcony. ¡°Zevne¡± Avana shouted. ¡°Yeah,¡± Zevne answered turning around. ¡°Keep it under two.¡± With a nod, she tip-tapped down the winding stairs leading to the Arena floor. Skipping towards the middle, she held out one hand letting the proctors know her exam was next. ¡°So you have to tell me more about this Grail kid,¡± Serena said taking syncing steps with Trent as he made his way towards Break and Emmy. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I''m supposed to tell you. He was just a kid we were looking after for a friend.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, there has to be more than that, my news channel is going to eat this up, and I need to beat that snarky ass Bilson in views.¡± ¡°This is Break, and that¡¯s Emmy,¡± Trent said taking a seat. ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Serena said holding out her hands. ¡°Likewise,¡± Break said. Placing a hand over Emmy''s silky black hair, ¡°Wow your character model is so cute, how did you get this hairstyle?¡± ¡°Was a gift,¡± Emmy said with a faint shrug. ¡°Was it a boyfriend? He must have dropped a literal ton of credits on this.¡± ¡°What?¡± Break said in confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys know? This hairstyle was limited to a particular event about twelve years back. The event consisted of a thirty-six man raid consisting of eight world boss, three divine boss, and a randomly generated god at the end. If I recall correctly the raid was only completed about thirty thousand times globally. Along with some unique legendaries, the raid also dropped a series of style shards called The Maiden. The rate in which the style card dropped were predicted to be the same as the legendaries from that raid.RIght now, an unused style card for this set sales for about three million.¡± ¡°Credits?¡± Break huffed. ¡°That''s three times more than the cost of our beta key.¡± ¡°Supply and demand,¡± Serena said. ¡°It was estimated that only two hundred of each card was dropped for the six card set.¡± ¡°I get the supply and demand, but it''s just a style shard. Are there not hundreds of other styles that look identical to that?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay then, why does it cost three million?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s the only style set that gives stats.¡± ¡°What?¡± Trent and Break said unison. ¡°Each part of the set grants the user a small plus one to all stats, and if you''re lucky enough to get a whole set, you get plus ten to all stat as well as a divine aura the grants your character plus two to any healing magic.¡± ¡°The hell,¡± Break said giving Emmy a hard glare. ¡°Now I¡¯m interested, how did you come to get that hairstyle?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Emmy snide, pulling her hair back. ¡°Um, I¡¯m a bit curious myself,¡± Trent shrugged. ¡°My dad,¡± Emmy said with a disappointed sigh. ¡°Is your dad the head of a prestigious guild?¡± ¡°None of your business,¡± Emmy griped. ¡°The next exam will be for Guild Chrome,¡± a proctor said stepping up towards the theater floor. ¡°You have thirty minutes to prepare, then an additional ten minutes to enter the arena.¡± ¡°Any of you guys competing?¡± ¡°Just Emmy,¡± Trent said. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Nope, no healing magic. What type of healer are you?¡± ¡°She has...¡± Trent began to say. Waving his hand towards Trent to cut his chatter, Break made a loud cough, ¡°That¡¯s on a need to know basis.¡± Lifting one eyebrow, Serene hunched over towards Emmy. ¡°Did you guys find a new class? No, really, did you?.¡± In stone silence, the three stared at each other. ¡°Guys, fill me in, I need to know, this could really help my career.¡± Leaning her body over to Trent, she pushed up onto him. ¡°You were about to say something?¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Umm, nothing,¡± he said hesitantly. ¡°What if I make it worth your while,¡± she said almost falling over on his lap. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Emmy said grabbing Trent by the back of his leather tunic. ¡°We need to go plan for the next exam.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Serena shouted, holding out one hand. ¡°T4 key.¡± Break halted, turning back towards Serena, ¡°Limit?¡± ¡°Unlimited.¡± During the first year of Arium, many players would flock to dungeons to farm rare armor, weapons, and crafting material. After the establishment of large company guilds, many of the dungeon entrances, located in PVP zones, started to be camped. Corporations would set up large numbers of high-level players outside the dungeon entrance to kill anyone attempting to get close. They would then have shifts of worker farm the dungeons twenty-four seven for item sets and crafting materials and resell them to players for an absorbently marked up price. During the first huge update for Airium, developers added a new type of limited dungeon that would periodically pop up in a random location. These dungeons lasted between an hour to a whole day depending on the location and the difficulty of the dungeon. Along with being in a random location, another thing the developers added to stop the mass funneling of corporate guild groups to a dungeon¡¯s location was the use of dungeon keys. Key are categorized by their tiers ranging from tier one to tier ten. Keys can drop from just about any monster including world bosses, but included a set of rules set by developers to stop large corporations from hoarding them. These limitations state that keys may not be stored in banks or vaults and that a player may not carry more that one at a time. Keys are not limited to their respected dungeon tiers but may be used on lower tier dungeon. While these new changes help many low tier players, higher level tiers dungeon are still hunted and farmed by large corporations for their tremendous rarity. To combat endgame limited dungeon farm, the developers then added an additional rule to keys. Keys now had a limiter that only allowed them to work within the zone they were originally dropped from. This helped greatly curved the amount of keys corporation could horde as well as enabling groups to farm endgame dungeons. ¡°What do you mean unlimited?¡± Break asked. ¡°It¡¯s part of the new update, all keys under tier six are now unlimited,¡± Serna answered. ¡°See how easily I shared that information, I would only be fair if you could do the same.¡± ¡°What do you think Emmy?¡± Break said. ¡°It¡¯s only a tier four,¡± Emmy said. ¡°Yeah, but the dungeons are fresh, we could find a bunch of new stuff,¡± Break replied. ¡°He does have a point,¡± Trent added. Crossing her arms, Emmy gave a placated look over at the two and gave a dismissive sigh. ¡°Fine, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to be a well-kept secret anyways since I¡¯m sure I''m going to be using it during the exams.¡± ¡°Looks like we have come to an agreeable arrangement,¡± Break said. ¡°I have one stipulation, I get a screenshot of your character page.¡± ¡°What, Why?¡± Emmy said. ¡°Proof, if I''m going to proclaim something, I''m going to need proof. You can¡¯t just expect me to just randomly tell people there is a new class or race without proof do you? What better proof than with a screenshot. Screenshots are all saved on the game server, and are all documented and searchable with their own ID code.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Emmy said. ¡°Well, spill it, was I right? Is it a new class?¡± Waving her hand, Emmy produced a ball of green glowing water. ¡°No, I think it¡¯s a new subclass for spells.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Let me explain,¡± Break said. ¡°So before the update, only the healer class was able to use magic, but after Emmy used an Arcana Orb, she was granted tier one water magic which included a healing spell,¡± Break said, pointing towards the green glowing blob of water. ¡°Wait, so what your telling me is that every class is able to learn healing magic?¡± ¡°Technically, yes.¡± ¡°Whoa,¡± Serena gasped, falling back onto the theater chair. ¡°This could be the biggest thing to hit the new since the paladin integration.¡± ¡°The what?¡± Break asked. ¡°The paladin integration. Have you not notice the large numbers of paladins currently being played?¡± ¡°Now that you say it, I have noticed.¡± ¡°That Russian team during the last exam were all paladins,¡± Trent added. ¡°Yeah, why is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because paladins are the only class other than healers that can heal. And since they are not as squishy and are able to do damage, stacking paladins have been the meta for endgame dungeons for the last few months.¡± ¡°How have I not known this?¡± Break huffed. ¡°Well to even be a paladins you have to have a list of prerequisite subclasses as well as completed a long and time-consuming story quest. As you know, the only people that have the resources to do this type of things are the corporate guilds or pro teams.¡± ¡°We''re going on a tangent though, I want to see if Emmy can really heal.¡± Taking a small dagger from her pouch, she made a small cut on her arm. ¡°Can you heal this?¡± Emmy placed the watery orb over the wounds. The water seeped into the wound and stitch the cut area. Gazing over at her health bar, Serena gave a huge nod. ¡°This is amazing, I can¡¯t wait to tell everyone in the newsroom.¡± ¡°Key,¡± Emmy said, holding out her palm. ¡°Wait, not until I get that screenshot.¡± Shaking her head, Emmy open info screen and gave Serena access to her character panel. With a few clicks, Serena handed over the key and made her way towards the exit portal. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Trent asked. ¡°Logging out, I need to get ready for tonight¡¯s news, I can¡¯t very well let anyone else beat me to this.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you want to finish the exams?¡± ¡°There are thousands of other news outlets here, they''re all going to be running the same thing tonight so I''m going to miss nothing.¡± ¡°Five minutes,¡± a blaring voice blasted from the amphitheater stage. ¡°That was quick,¡± Trent said, waving goodbye to Serena. ¡°Oh fuck, I forgot to ask the NPCs any question about this exam,¡± Break shouted, placing both hands over his head. ¡°You''re going to have to go in blind for this one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not like it can do any better than the last exam, right?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Break said, with an awkward chuckle. ¡°Good luck Emmy,¡± Trent said. Emmy stepped through the portal making her way back onto the fully repaired arena. Taking a rough count, she estimated that there were only about two hundred people participating in this exam compared to the thousands from the last one. What made it stand out, even more, was the ratio of players, sixty percent, to NPCs. ¡°Hello everyone,¡± a small gnomish person said, pattering her way across the cement floor. ¡°My name is Zevne, nice to meet all of you. Before I explain what the exam is, can I get everyone to come just a bit closer together.¡± The group walked towards one edge of the arena where Zevne stood in wait. Placing her hands in her robe, she pulled out a small spherical orb the size of a billiard ball. So this exam is quite easy, all you need to do is be the first one to grab this orb. Any questions? ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± a player by the name of Pendalin said in a confused tone. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Zeven replied, a wide smile across her face. ¡°If that¡¯s all the question, let''s get this exam started.¡± With a puff of pink smoke, Zevne poofed to the other side of the arena. Placing the sphere on the floor, she held one hand out towards the sky and made a clenching motion. Like a crashing wave, and thick fog slammed down into the arena, filling it like a small fish bowl. The sound of the crowd muffled as glowing lights rain across the field some the size of grapes, other the size of ships. A large orbital blue glowing eye drifted towards the southern part of the arena, a shadow could be seen behind cascading the field like an eclipse. ¡°What is that?¡± Trent asked gazing into the floating screen. ¡°Bad news,¡± Break replied. The orb faded into view as it loomed closer and closer to the edge of the wall. With a whaling shriek, a row of teeth emerged each one the size of tanker ships. ¡°What that fuck,¡± Trent said, jumping out of his chair. That thing must be the same size, no larger than the arena itself. With a full thrust, the large monstrous beast charges forward into the arena wall. A large portion of the crowd panicked, some even started to cast portal spells. With a faded whisp, the monster fazed through the crowd like an ethereal ghost. ¡°The hell was that?¡± Trent said, grasping onto the hilt of his sword. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± one of the participants sitting two rows back said. ¡°The arena is in a different plane of existence, so anything created within the arena is unable to harm the audience.¡± With a placid huff, Trent took a slow sit back into the chair. ¡°How do you think Emmy is fairing?¡± ¡°You worried?¡± Break said, with a smirk. ¡°I am,¡± Trent nodded. ¡°I mean out of the three of us, she is the smartest and the most mentally durable. I think she is going to be fine. I mean how hard can this exam even be? Noone as even been eliminated yet.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°If they were eliminated the arena would have spat them out here in the middle of the amphitheater.¡± ¡°Uh¡­, yeah I guess your right.¡± Like watching paint dry, the two glared at an almost white screen for a good two hours until a large gong could be heard from across the arena. ¡°Wha¡­ what was that?¡± Trent said half slumped in his chair. The fog slowly dissipated leaving a scene of dismay and horror. ¡°Wow, a tie,¡± Zevne said, approaching the orb which was grasped by two individual players. Surrounding them were the remains of the other participants, many of them huddle in the fetal position. Like a bag of popcorn, each player was sent flying out of the arena into the amphitheater. A cacophony of whales could be heard as many of participants ran from each other like a scattering of mice. ¡°Emmy, Emmy over here,¡± Trent said, running towards her. Emmy''s eyes were a pale white as Trent grabbed onto her arms. With a savage scream, she clawed at his face leaving a large gash. ¡°Break I need some help,¡± Trent shouted having trouble keeping Emmy steady. System: Force logout Looking over at his party UI Trent notice that Emmy profile icon has gone gray indicating that she has just been ejected from the game. Dragging her limp body to one of the chairs, Trent saw the horrifying scene as many of the participants began to go into a rage. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± System: Hotfix incoming, all player currently in the beta will be forced to log out in 5 4 3 2 1 Opening his capsule door Trent rushed over to Emmy¡¯s capsule. A muffled scream could be heard as he unlatched the door. Falling to the floor, Emmy''s eye began to dart about the room. ¡°Hey, hey, it¡¯s me, Trent, are you ok?¡± Flailing her arms, Emmy grabbed onto her purse that was latched onto the side of the pod. ¡°Get away,¡± she screamed, wildly swinging the bag around like a flail. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Trent said, taking small steps towards Emmy who was backing up towards the side wall. Getting right up to Emmy, Trent places a hand around her, embracing her in a hug. With a dull pain, Emmy pulled her arms back from him. A dark red gooey liquid flowed across her arms and onto the cold marble floor. With a clink, a knife fell from Emmy''s hands as she grabbed the back of Trent''s head. ¡°No, this can''t be real.¡±