《[HIATUS] Re:Turn, The Legend of the 4 Swords》 The Invitation Re:Turn, Legend of the 4 Swords By: L00P English ver. 1 ¡°Again!? Another stupid 3 star!?¡± Cryo Uso peered deeply into the mobile device, he had just spent the last of his Premia, the currency used to summon a character to your team in ¡°Ultima Online¡± the mobile app he¡¯d been addicted to for the last few months. ¡°Well guys, I think that¡¯s enough Ultima for tonight. Thanks for tuning into the stream, come back next time!¡± After reading the last few goodbye messages from the thousands of viewers he had, Cryo clicked the red ¡°end stream¡± button and got ready for bed. ¡°My luck is terrible, just the absolute worst it could be. No one on this planet could have as bad of luck as I do¡± Cryo stared at the brown puffy blanket on his bed, knowing full well he would be in that bed, but not sleeping for another few hours despite his alarm clock reading ¡°2:00AM.¡± He wished that his luck was better but no matter how hard he wished, he always pulled 3 star units in every gacha he rolled, with the exception of some of the worst 4 star units in the game when he used a guaranteed 4 star ticket. Cryo flicked the light off and crawled into bed. Only one thing left to do: open Ultima Online and spend his stream donation money on refilling his Premia. Truthfully, although Cryo was ungodly levels of unlucky, he still thought deep down that if he spent enough money he would obtain a good unit for once. As he clicked the ¡°shop¡± button and went to purchase the largest pack of Premia, a message stared back at him instead of the familiar Premia purchase optionsSupport the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Dear Cryo_Uso, Thanks so much for making content for our app, check your email account associated with Ultima Online! -Admin¡± ¡°ADMIN??¡± As Cryo exclaimed the term, the true nature of the message he saw quickly set in. Admin referred to the administrators of the game, interchangeable with ¡°Dev¡± for ¡°Developer.¡± A message directly from the people who produced the game was a massive surprise, and it wasn¡¯t long before Cryo was clicking on the white and red app icon that would procure his list of emails. There it was. The most recent inbox email, from ¡°Ultima Online Developing, by Ganol Studios¡± Cryo quickly opened the email revealing the message. ¡°Dear Cryo_Uso, Thanks a bunch for showing so much interest in our game and creating the best content available for the users of the app! We much appreciate your support and your personality, so as a thanks we would like to invite you to our facilities and give you a tour along with a special one-of-one Ultima Online unit! Sincerely, Ganol Studios¡± At the bottom of the email was an attachment that read ¡°invite.¡± Upon opening the invite he was greeted with the address of Ganol Studios and a QR code, which he assumed would be used to be given access to the studios. The game was popular, of course, so security measures had to be taken. Luckily, the studios were not very far from his home, maybe a two hour drive at most with traffic. Cryo could barely sleep, but decided to hold off on playing Ultima Online until the next day so he could at least attempt to sleep. Before powering off his device, he sent a text to his group chat where his friends Gig, Yuso, and Shigeto were still awake and chatting. ¡°Guys! Guess what??¡± ¡°What¡¯s up Cryo?¡± The familiar picture of Gig seemed to say ¡°Oh there you are, you loner¡± Shigeto replied ¡°Is this about Ultima again¡± Yuso said with contempt ¡°I just got a personal invite to Ganol studios, the people that made Ultima!!!¡± After sending the last message, he powered off his phone and set it down, as what seemed like thousands of vibrations quickly occurred. It was time for bed, Cryo had a big day tomorrow. Or did he. End of Chapter/// Author¡¯s note: I have high hopes for this series and I hope you do, too. I plan to turn this into a long story, so don¡¯t worry about content. I have college coming up, so my time will be limited by that, but I plan to upload a new part every Saturday if possible. Thanks for reading! -L00P The Showdown 2 Cryo awoke to bright light streaming through his bedroom window. For a short while, he realized that he was feeling extremely excited but could not remember the reason why he felt that way. Suddenly it occurred to him: He was visiting Ganol Studios today! ¡°Today¡¯s the day! Today is the day that my life changes forever¡± Cryo peered off the side of his bed at his phone, safely plugged in before he went to sleep. Picking the phone up and turning it over, he was greeted by the familiar background picture of one of the loli characters in Ultima Online, along with what seemed like hundreds of confused texts from his group chat from the night before. ¡°Man, what¡¯s so hard to understand, why are my friends so confused. I explained it enough in the text. Ugh¡­¡± Cryo got out of bed and took a shower, every second thinking about his new prospect. He got dressed in an Ultima Online shirt that he¡¯d bought from the online store and a pair of black jeans. On his way out, he remembered it was winter in Japan so it was bound to be freezing outside, so he grabbed a green and yellow jacket he had hanging on a coat rack, not even realizing how pathetic it was that he had spent so much time in his room that he had forgot the season outside. Opening the door to his garage, Cryo grabbed the keys from their familiar spot and opened his garage door, revealing the cold and annoyed faces of Gig, Shigeto, and Yuso. ¡°Hey guys what can I do for you?¡± ¡°You idiot, we¡¯ve been texting you all night. Ganol Studios doesn¡¯t have an HQ¡± Shigeto said ¡°Haha, very funny, you¡¯re just jealous.¡± ¡°No, seriously, we looked it up and everything. Ganol Studios is the studio that made Ultima Online, but the HQ doesn¡¯t exist.¡± Yuso added. ¡°Alright then, fine, I¡¯ll drive there and show you pictures later on.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Whatever, just be safe and don¡¯t get too mad when you¡¯re proved wrong. We¡¯re gonna go get some coffee.¡± Gig said. ¡°Alright, see you later guys.¡± As the trio cleared out of Cryo¡¯s driveway, he got into his Nissan GTR that he¡¯d been able to purchase due to the amount of money he was making as a content creator, and started the engine. ¡°Man, those guys are gonna be so shocked when I show them those pictures¡± With that thought in mind, Cryo backed into the road and drove to the point he had specified in his GPS. -*~-~*- After an hour of driving, Cryo was reminded that he forgot to eat breakfast by the tumultuous noise coming from his stomach. Luckily, the GPS showed a gas station nearby so he took the route to the station. Parking in one of the spots, he walked inside to the familiar glow of a gas station fluorescent lighting. ¡°Good morning! Thanks for coming!¡± The cute girl at the register said ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll only be a moment¡± ¡°No, no take your time sir¡± She said with a smile ¡°Jeez, she¡¯s so pretty when she smiles¡± Cryo thought As he walked over to where the half-decent food was, the door to the gas station burst open and a man dressed in all-black came through the door with a pistol in his hand, pointing it at the cute girl on the register ¡°Everyone GET DOWN! GIVE ME ALL THE MONEY IN THE REGISTER NOW¡± the masked man shouted. ¡°AAAAH, SOMEONE HELP ME¡± The cry of the register girl seemed to echo in Cryo¡¯s mind ¡°You¡¯re one pretty flower, I think I¡¯ll take you with me.¡± the man said, grabbing the register girl and pointing the gun to her head Cryo looked up from the food to see the faces of shocked shoppers and the tears falling on the pretty girl¡¯s face. A spark ignited inside of him. Remembering the grief he had felt from his parent¡¯s death that had occurred in a house fire, he knew he had to do something, even if he died, he at least would have tried to save someone. Cryo noticed that he was out of the line of sight of the robber, and the robber was occupied with the register, so without thinking, Cryo got up and rushed to the robber, diving into him and somehow knocking him over. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the pistol luckily was torn off of the girl¡¯s head and was aimlessly fired. With the world still in motion, Cryo smiled, realizing he had finally done something worthwhile and had prevented a death. However, to Cryo¡¯s disdain, the bullet had bounced off of a tire rack and although it had lost much of its momentum, it made its way to the soft part of Cryo¡¯s head, and the world went dark. On the outside, the customers took advantage of Cryo¡¯s diversion and apprehended the robber, securing the life of the cute register girl. Cryo¡¯s body was picked up and rushed to a hospital, where he would be diagnosed with a coma. However, he was not dead. Somewhere in the endless void of black, Cryo saw a light. End of Chapter/// The Goddess 3 ¡°Young or old, to-day or ¡®morrow, ad-ven-tur-ers await.¡± ¡°Song or snow, the wind will blow from day to the dead of night.¡± ¡°Valorius hymns they sing of him, the one who saved the light¡± ¡°From dust to gold, he must be told, he is the hero who fights¡± Cryo¡¯s eyes shot open. The beautiful voice of a woman was singing. It was unlike anything Cryo had ever heard before. It was a voice of compassion and hopefulness, and it was probably the best voice Cryo had ever heard. Each lyric was impeccable, and seemed to drip with liquid gold. It was like a lullaby hand-crafted by God himself. ¡°The sea, the sea, the shining sea, the one that snares the fools¡± ¡°Broadsword, bright light, the he-ro used as tools¡± ¡°One demon quenched, another dead, he fought through burning blight¡± ¡°But light or dark, rite of the lark, the hero fought through fright¡± ¡°The chilling sea with fangs like ice, the devil¡¯s home in hell¡± ¡°Nothing worried the hero, for all demons he would quell.¡± With the final word, the singing stopped and a beautiful, radiant light, so bright it seemed to have rainbows fluttering on the ends encapsulated Cryo¡¯s once blinded vision. The light was like staring directly into the sun, but instead of his eyes hurting, they felt like they were being softly caressed by a careful hand. This was an experience unlike any other, and the beauty completely overwhelmed Cryo¡¯s infinite confusion. After what felt like an hour of pure bliss, the light dimmed and Cryo felt that he was sitting on something. Looking down, he saw a throne with gemstones imprinted into what seemed like every inch of the throne. ¡°What in the world is going on?¡± Cryo¡¯s question was not unanswered, despite him thinking he was alone ¡°Hello, young one, welcome to my domain.¡± The familiar voice of the woman he had heard before answered his question. Looking up from the throne, Cryo stared face-to-face with what was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen in his entire life. ¡°Where am I?¡± he askedReading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°You are in my domain, I believe you humans call this place purgatory¡± the woman answered. ¡°Who are you? How am I here? Why am I here?¡± Cryo stuttered ¡°I am the goddess Ultear, I am a guiding light for lost souls like yourself, you are here because I summoned you, you are a brave hero. You are here because I need you¡± Ultear chuckled at his questions before giving her answer. ¡°But, that¡¯s impossible! I¡¯m not dead!¡± ¡°No, you are not dead. Your real body is in a coma. If it wasn¡¯t for my blessing though, you would be dead.¡± she answered with a silky, soothing voice. ¡°Okay, well how do I get back?¡± ¡°Do you want the long version or the short version?¡± the goddess smiled ¡°Uh, well I guess I have time, so the long version.¡± Cryo said ¡°You are tasked with entering a world of despair, corrupted with the evil forces of Lokuul, a high-level demon king who¡¯s wrath you must loosen by smiting the demon king himself. To accomplish this seemingly impossible task, you must collect the 4 legendary swords of the realm, Whisper, Pyra, Terra, and Aq. Obtaining all 4 swords will fuse them into a mighty weapon that can smite down the demon king. Along with these legendary weapons I will also bestow upon you one blessing. This blessing can maximize any one aspect of your choosing.¡± she said, still with the same silky soft voice. ¡°One aspect of my choosing?¡± he asked, slightly overwhelmed. ¡°Yes, such as your looks, strength, intelligence, you get the idea.¡± she charmingly said, almost as if bestowing an impossible task onto a normal human boy was fun for the goddess. ¡°Hmmm, let me think¡± Cryo replied ¡°Take your time!¡± She smiled back Cryo was deep in thought. He was about to take on a task that didn¡¯t even seem like it was possible by any standard. He had to choose an aspect that would benefit him the most. Knowingly, he would likely be transported to this realm with the same aspects as in the real world. No aspect seemed to be a good choice. If he chose strength, he¡¯d be able to wield mighty weapons and swing them with ease, but he¡¯d lack strategy and would likely end up dying to an enemy that was strong in stealth. If he chose intelligence, he would have mighty, unbeatable strategies, but would lack the raw power to carry them out successfully. Choosing looks would let him charm any woman he chose, but wouldn¡¯t get him very far past that. The choice seemed impossible, until he remembered what had landed him in this position in the first place: his terrible luck. ¡°I¡¯d like a blessing to maximize my luck¡± Cryo said with confidence. ¡°You...what?¡± The goddess said, suddenly taken aback by his statement. ¡°I said...I¡¯d like to maximize my luck¡± He reaffirmed. ¡°Ha..Haha..HAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA¡± The goddess laughed ¡°Wh, what¡¯s so funny about that?¡± Cryo said ¡°Whelp, nice knowing you, have fun winning some slot machines or something hahahaha¡± the goddess could barely get the sentence out without laughing ¡°Wait, what do you mean?¡± Cryo said ¡°Your choice is final, see you!¡± The goddess said, opening a portal that shone with the same light Cryo had seen on his way in. ¡°Wait, but¡­ I!¡± His last protest was unheard as he was sucked from his seat on the throne into the glimmering portal. Bright light shone all around Cryo, it was like the polar opposite of the dark abyss he was in beforehand. Rainbow colors shot past him, but all he could do was look around, his body wasn¡¯t moving no matter how hard he tried. ¡°Stupid goddess, I¡¯ll show her people with luck always come out on top!¡± With that final declaration, the light suddenly disappeared and Cryo realized he was standing up, but his eyes were closed. Merry music was playing and he could see sunshine beyond his closed eyelids. Opening his eyes, Cryo looked down from the sunlight, and when his vision cleared, he gasped. He was in the world of Ultima Online. End of Chapter/// The Game 4 ¡°What in the...What happened? Why does this place look so much like the starting area in Ultima?¡± Cryo looked upon the emerald hills and the divine brilliant radiance of the sun as he pondered the question in his head over and over again. Looking every direction, trying to take everything in, he almost missed a character that was in the middle of a large group of villagers. The character was a tall, slender woman that seemed to wear the garbs of a witch. Cryo could not see her face correctly, but she certainly stood out from the rag-tag villagers she was in company of. ¡°Well, might as well see what she¡¯s up to.¡± Walking cautiously over to the woman, he noticed many of the villagers were staring at him. Cryo was not the most socially-adept, so the gaze of the villagers caused him to look down at his feet. As his gaze pointed downward, he realized he wasn¡¯t wearing shoes...or socks...or pants, or any clothes for that matter. It quickly became obvious why the villagers were staring at him, and he noticed many parents were covering their children¡¯s eyes and giving him a look of disgust. ¡°AAAH, I¡¯M SO SORRY¡± Cryo stammered as he ran to a nearby wagon that appeared to be devoid of villagers. Hearing the scream of fright, Desna turned to try to find the source, a naked man running through the village. Ever since she travelled to this new land from her home to pursue her dreams of becoming a top-ranked witch, there hadn¡¯t been a boring day in her life. Yesterday, the town¡¯s adventurers had fended off a goblin raid that had sprung by some dumb rogue that tried to stealth his way to a chest in the dungeon. Today, an exhibisionist streaked through the village. At this point, Desna wasn¡¯t phased by the sight and continued doing what she was in a mosh pit of villagers for, rolling the gacha. Rolling the gacha was something any adventurer had to do if they wanted to make it anywhere in the rankings, because rolling the gacha meant you could build up a powerful party. Obviously, luck was involved and up until this day Desna had only rolled coupons for the nearby ¡°Pork n¡¯ Orc.¡± Desna, however, was sick and tired of bacon-wrapped hot dogs, so she was ready to roll the gacha and get a new party member. The reason there was such a large crowd today was because a special summonable party member was available to receive from the gacha, and Desna wasn¡¯t walking away empty-handed. The streaker had ducked behind a transport wagon, so she wasn¡¯t too concerned. ¡°Man, that was super embarrassing¡± Cryo¡¯s face was bright-red as he knelt in the hidden safety of the wagon. Peering into his ¡°savior¡± wagon, Cryo found some beat-up clothes that he could wear. ¡°Wow, what great...LUCK! HA! TAKE THAT YOU STUPID GODDESS!¡± Cryo donned the garments and pumped his fists, shouting the insult to the skies, as if the goddess he met earlier could hear him. Cryo left the safety of the wagon and decided to see what the commotion was about and try to figure out who the witch was. Walking over to the group of people, many of whom still stared daggers at the once-naked Cryo, he spotted the black and green robes he had seen earlier on the witch. Cryo tapped the witch on the shoulder. ¡°What do you wa- oh, you¡¯re that exhibitionist pervert from earlier¡± Desna sighed as she greeted this new person ¡°No! I¡¯m not some exhibitionist, I don¡¯t know how I got naked.¡± Cryo replied, knowing, based on anime he had seen, that revealing the reason he was here in the first place was probably a bad move. ¡°Yeah, whatever, that¡¯s what they all say, anyway, what can I do for you?¡± Desna asked. ¡°Well firstly, who are you, and what¡¯s all this commotion about?¡± Cryo askedEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°The name¡¯s Desna, I¡¯m a witch and I¡¯m trying to be the best witch in the world. I came here from a small village called Kallio. This big group of people is here because the new gacha game is being revealed-¡± Before she could finish, Cryo¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement ¡°Did you just say gacha!?¡± Cryo interrupted. ¡°Er-Yeah, gacha. Like where you-¡± Desna tried to get the sentence out ¡°Yeah I know, where you spend currency to roll for a certain outcome.¡± Cryo said with pride. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a gacha. This one has a really powerful tank party member involved, so it¡¯s exciting, but as with any powerful character, there¡¯s a low chance of obtaining it¡± Desna said. ¡°Well my luck stat is maxed out, so I¡¯ll get it first try!¡± Cryo said with a sense of triumph ¡°Your luck-what?¡± Desna said with confusion ¡°Oh right, different world thing, uhh, I¡¯m really lucky I mean!¡± Cryo translated ¡°That¡¯s what every gacha player says, I doubt it kid. I¡¯ll bet my own spin that you don¡¯t roll this super-powerful party member.¡± Desna laughed ¡°Okay, you¡¯re on. I bet my roll outcome on it¡± Cryo challenged the witch ¡°Well, looks like they¡¯re about to open up the rolls, don¡¯t worry about these people, our bet is more important.¡± Desna said, a smirk curling onto her face ¡°What are you saying?¡± Cryo questioned ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Desna replied, the smirk growing As the doors began to open, Desna raised the wooden staff she was carrying and uttered an incantation which caused the purple orb on the staff to glow with a blinding blue light. ¡°Frost lords, I call upon thee, chill my foes to their bones and make them quiver in fear at your might! FROST, NOVAAAA!¡± Desna uttered the incantation With a glimmer of blue light, Cryo watched in anticipation as a magical circle formed above Desna, but his anticipation would be left un-sated as the circled fizzled out and nothing happened. ¡°Crap, I forgot we¡¯re in a safe zone so my magic doesn¡¯t work¡± Desna said with defeat ¡°Safe zone, like a game mechanic?¡± Cryo asked ¡°What¡¯s a game? No, safe zone as in I can¡¯t fight anyone, there are resident wizard guards that dispel anyone that tries to use magic, and regular guards that step in if a fight breaks loose.¡± Desna answered Oh, of course, this is a realm, not my gacha game. Cryo thought ¡°Well good try, but now we have to wait for these people ahead of us to roll the gacha. At least it says we get one free roll as celebration¡± Cryo said ¡°Hello sir! Here is your free ticket, thank you for using our game!¡± A cute young girl in a maid outfit handed Cryo the ticket, and then handed Desna one too. ¡°Enjoy!¡± The girl said with glee Wow, cute lolis, I love this world already. Cryo thought ¡°Hey, shorty kid, give us your ticket¡± A group of thugs pushed Cryo and the villagers quickly dispersed knowing a fight was going to break out. ¡°Ugh, some stupid ticket thieves, these people don¡¯t play fair¡± Desna said Each drawing a knife, the thieves threatened once more. ¡°I said give us the ticket, kid, you don¡¯t want the consequence.¡± The thieves said again ¡°No! I have to get this special party member!¡± Cryo stood his ground ¡°Haha, well guess you want it the hard way.¡± The thieves approached Cryo. Seeing the knife stab towards him, almost in slow motion, Cryo ducked quickly. Because the thief had approached so closely to Cryo, ducking sent Cryo¡¯s head straight into the thief¡¯s stomach, knocking the wind out of him and pushing the thief back into his friend, the thief lost his grip on the knife and it flung into the air, coming back down and stabbing the fallen thief in the eye. With two thieves down, the guards stepped in and apprehended the group ¡°This isn¡¯t the last you¡¯ll see of us.¡± They said My luck is so amazing, and to think this stupid goddess thought it was a dumb choice to max my luck out! Cryo laughed in his head ¡°Those were some crazy moves kid, look, because those cowardly villagers ran away the gacha is all ours!¡± Desna said with glee. Cryo stepped up to the game, two cute maids stood on either side of what appeared as a regular gambling machine ¡°Welcome, good morning, good luck on your spin, please insert your ticket into the slot!¡± The maids said in unison. Cryo did as he was told and pulled the lever downward. Desna watched as the spinning wheel rotated at what seemed like a million miles an hour. What a powerful spin! This kid is interesting. Desna thought As the spinner slowed down, Desna saw what she thought was impossible, a purple square containing the ultra-rare special tank unit descended on the spinner¡¯s indicator arrow. He did it, he somehow pulled it off¡­ Cryo got the special tank party unit. End of Chapter/// The Knight 5 Confetti filled the air and streamers burst all around the witch and the newbie. The maids¡¯ faces were filled with shock and surprise and a burst of steam shot forth from the machine. From somewhere in the cloud of steam Cryo heard one of the maids stuttering ¡°W-w-what!? H-h-how d-d-did he¡­¡± To be frank, Cryo thought, I kind of expected this result, so I guess I¡¯m not as surprised as the people around me¡­ Once the steam had cleared, a tall, stoic, dark-skinned man stood before Cryo and Desna. He was much taller than Cryo, and that said something, considering Cryo stood at 6¡¯2¡± himself. The man had piercing bright red eyes, and his silver armor was lined with a velvet color, almost like the color of blood. This guy looks more like a final boss than a friendly ally Cryo thought. The most interesting thing about this man, that Cryo noticed, was his hair. His hair was like platinum, a bright silver-white color that Cryo could have sworn sparkled in the light. His hair was pearlescent, with his platinum hair appearing to fade into a red velvet color. The man standing before them looked around at his surroundings before turning to the shaking duo in front of him. ¡°Are you the one that summoned me?¡± The man¡¯s deep voice seemed to echo around the room, like he was everywhere at once. Although menacing, his voice sounded warm and friendly, like the calloused hands of someone that worked all day to provide for his loved ones. ¡°Er, yes, sir, I did, my name is Cryo¡± Cryo stammered ¡°Very well. My name is Siebold and I am of the tank class, I will protect you from all harm that may come your way master!¡± The once deep voice changed to a friendly and happy tone and the man, Siebold, seemed almost excited. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Desna¡± Desna chimed in. Siebold leaned in to Cryo¡¯s ear. ¡°Who¡¯s this wacko, master? Is she a friend of yours?¡± Siebold whispered. ¡°Yeah she¡¯s a friend I guess, I kind of just met her but she¡¯s been pretty helpful¡± Cryo responded at normal volume. ¡°Oh, okay, if she¡¯s a friend of my master she¡¯s a friend of me.¡± Siebold said back, still whispering. ¡°You know I command magic right? I can hear every word you¡¯re saying like it was being whispered to me.¡± Desna said aggressively. Siebold¡¯s face went white like a ghost and his eyes looked like saucers ¡°I¡¯m very sorry ma¡¯am, j-just had to m-make sure you were a f-friend¡± Siebold said. ¡°You can trust me, I have no reason to fight you.¡± Desna replied ¡°Got it, shall we go somewhere to talk? I think a crowd will form pretty soon¡± Siebold said Cryo looked around, Siebold was right, already, just minutes after the special unit had been summoned, a lot of villagers were appearing, at a distance, to see what had happened.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°That sounds like a great idea Siebold, let¡¯s go sit at that place over there¡± Cryo pointed to the ¡°Pork n¡¯ Orc¡± across the village¡¯s cobblestone street. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯ve eaten there so much but we might as well¡± Desna said ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a plan¡± Siebold agreed. Walking across the street through the village square, Cryo could see with his peripheral vision a large amount of villagers staring at his trio with their mouths wide open, like the look Siebold had on his face when Desna told him that she could hear him whispering. Finally making it to the building, Cryo felt uneasy but he opened the large wooden doors anyway. As he was walking in, Siebold asked, ¡°Hey master, do you feel okay? You seem nervous.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah I¡¯m okay, there was just a lot of people out there¡± Cryo replied, confused as to how Siebold knew. ¡°Siebold, how did you know he was nervous, I couldn¡¯t tell at all?¡± Desna asked ¡°Oh, well you see, summoning gacha units means the gacha units are part of your party, so therefore I can see any status conditions that Cryo may be afflicted with and I can see his health point and magic point values just by looking at him. That¡¯s also why I was more apprehensive of you, because you didn¡¯t appear to be in Cryo¡¯s party.¡± Siebold informed the two of them. ¡°Ah, I see, no we aren¡¯t in a party. I¡¯ve never been in one because I¡¯ve always gone on adventures alone. I don¡¯t like being responsible for people.¡± Desna replied ¡°Yeah, that makes sense, but Siebold I can¡¯t see your health or ma-¡± Cryo started his reply ¡°Are you three going to eat or not?¡± The angry bartender shouted at them ¡°Oh yes, we are going to eat, can we sit anywhere?¡± Cryo asked ¡°Yeah go ahead, I¡¯ll bring you some menus¡± The once angry bartender changed his tone when he realized the three were customers. The three of them sat down and the bartender brought them each a menu, The table was a sturdy mahogany color and the chairs were large and sturdy as well, but despite being made of wood they were comfortable to sit in because of years of wear. Opening the menu, it had only three items on it, bacon-wrapped hot dog, bacon, and beer. Next to the hot dog, a little star said ¡°World famous!¡± ¡°So anyway Siebold, I can¡¯t see your health or magic points when I look at you, aren¡¯t we in a party?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°Oh, right, sorry master that is one of my skills, I can hide my health and magic from my party members and from anyone that could be using a scouting device to see how powerful I am. I guess it was turned on by default, I¡¯ll turn it off¡± Siebold replied ¡°Skill, off¡± Siebold said Looking at the knight, Cryo saw two massive bars, one green and one red floating above Siebold¡¯s head. ¡°Why is one of the bars red? I know green means health but magic bars are blue?¡± Desna asked ¡°Wait, why can you see them? You aren¡¯t in our party?¡± Siebold asked back ¡°I¡¯m a witch class, I can use magic to see your health and magic, I tried to read you earlier but your skill was on¡± Desna answered ¡°Oh I see, Well yes, one of the bars is red because that is rage, not magic. You¡¯ll notice that the bar is empty, that¡¯s because I generate rage while fighting, and consuming it allows me to make my shields last longer and my offensive abilities stronger. Once the bar hits maximum, or 100 rage, I can use a special ability.¡± Siebold answered ¡°Desna, how do you know magic bars are blue, you¡¯ve never been in a party before.¡± Cryo wondered ¡°Because you can view your own stats as well, just say ¡®view on¡¯ and it will appear¡± Desna answered his curiosity. ¡°View on¡± Cryo said A small menu appeared before him that looked like a well-worn book page. The menu showed his health bar at full and no other bar, along with a message that said ¡®NO CLASS SELECTED¡¯ ¡°Hey guys, I am not identified as any class yet, how do I do that?¡± Cryo asked his friends. ¡°You have to visit the class selector in the guild hall in this town to choose a class that suits you best, the guild hall is right next to the fountain in the village square.¡± Siebold answered ¡°In the guild hall they can also look at more detailed aspects of you and can give you a test to determine your recommended class, that¡¯s what I would do if I were you¡± Desna said. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it then!¡± Cryo said with enthusiasm. ¡°Uh, no, let¡¯s eat first. I haven¡¯t eaten all day and I¡¯m hungry, then we will go back to the gacha and you can use my ticket since you won the bet. THEN we will find out your class.¡± ¡°Okay, fine.¡± Cryo said, slightly defeated The group ordered food and drinks and ate and conversed deep into the night, Cryo was happy he had made friends, but felt upset that it would be so long before he saw Gig, Yuso, and Shigeto again. Remembering his friends, he was renewed with confidence. Later in the night, he addressed the table, ¡°Guys, let¡¯s collect the 4 legendary swords and defeat Lokuul!¡± End of Chapter/// The Challenger 6 ¡°Hahahahaha¡­¡± Lokuul stared and laughed at the transparent orb on the ornate stand in front of him, peering deeply with his glowing red eyes into the orb, his mighty laugh echoing throughout the massive dark halls of his tomb. Inside of the orb, the reflection of a group of three people stared back at him. One of them wearing some beat-up village clothes who looked particularly out of place next to a massive knight in shining silver armor and a slender, beautiful witch in black and purple robes. Despite the one in village clothes looking powerless and unimportant, Lokuul was particularly interested in him. ¡°Zebell, what is this person¡¯s name?¡± Lokuul asked the succubus to his right. ¡°Mighty one, his name is Cryo Uso and he randomly appeared in that village two days ago¡± Zebell loyally responded, using her informational powers to give her master an accurate response. ¡°I see, tell Necrozzo to keep an eye on them and confront them if they seem to try to interfere with our plans.¡± Lokuul commanded Zebell. ¡°Right away, mighty one.¡± Zebell loyally accepted. Zebell sprouted jet-black wings and flew at supersonic speeds to the tomb¡¯s garrison, finding Necrozzo sleeping in his bed. She seductively landed next to the bed and woke him up. ¡°Hey strong boy,¡± she said with lust Necrozzo slowly rose, unaffected by the succubus¡¯ advance ¡°Lady Zebell, how may I be of service?¡± Necrozzo said. ¡°Find out more about this wacky guy that I created a report about. Here¡¯s the report.¡± Zebell commanded. Handing Necrozzo the envelope, Zebell added, ¡°Don¡¯t just kill him, the high one asked for information, only engage him if absolutely necessary.¡± ¡°Yes my lady, I will be off at once¡± Necrozzo faithfully said. Teleporting himself to the tomb¡¯s stables, Necrozzo found a skeletal dark horse that would be suitable for his journey to Caur Village, and rode off into the black of night at once¡­ -*~-~*- Once again, for the third day in a row, the sun was beautifully shining. This kind of weather was unlike the odd weather that Cryo knew in Japan. One day it might be sunny, but the next day it could be storming like a typhoon blew in. Turning to the bed on his right, the bed closest to the door, he saw Desna¡¯s slender figure under the sheets of the bed, she slept oddly, with her mouth open and drool coming out of it, eyes still open and rolled back into her head, with her arms and legs spread all over the bed. Cryo laughed at the unsightly proud woman to himself, getting the attention of Siebold at the door. ¡°Master, what is it? Are you awake?¡± Siebold whispered. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m up Siebold, didn¡¯t you sleep?¡± Cryo asked the massive man, who barely fit into the room of the inn, his platinum hair touching the ceiling. ¡°No, I don¡¯t require sleep, all gacha units do not need sleep to survive.¡± Siebold informed him. In his old life, hearing something like that would startle Cryo and would probably make him laugh, but in this new world of Ultima Online, that he had only experienced on his mobile device before, it was something that seemed normal. Cryo still didn¡¯t have any money so after he had rolled Desna¡¯s spin on the gacha the day before, as the gacha was loudly spinning he asked Desna if she could pay for a room in the inn. Before his question was answered though, the gacha stopped rolling and Cryo turned to see that it had once again landed on the purple space and confetti was streaming everywhere. The maids were again, incredibly surprised just like Desna and Siebold, but instead of the usual steam and a new unit, The maids informed Cryo that since there had been no new unit added to the machine, he could choose any prize of his liking. One of those prizes was 10 free nights at the nicest room in the village inn, called ¡°Dragon¡¯s Lair.¡± Remembering his earlier request to Desna, Cryo chose that prize, and that is how his friends ended up in this situation. Awaking to Cryo and Siebold¡¯s conversation, Desna quickly composed herself. ¡°Ah, you two are up, guess it¡¯s time for me to get up as well haha¡± Desna addressed the two laughing faces in the room.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Yeah, hey Desna, can you join our party?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to be responsible for you if you get hurt¡± Desna snapped back. ¡°Desna, I¡¯m the reason you are in this super nice room at the inn¡± Cryo reminded her. ¡°Er, well, I guess that¡¯s right. Also you have the super-powerful Siebold, so whatever, why not. I¡¯ll join you.¡± Desna said. ¡°Cool, perfect. I¡¯ll add you now.¡± Cryo said. ¡°Party View¡± Cryo said aloud. The menu containing Cryo¡¯s party name ¡°Cryo¡¯s super cool party¡± and his and Siebold¡¯s name, Cryo¡¯s having a blank image and Siebold¡¯s having the image of a shield next to it. Cryo tapped the ¡°ADD¡± button at the bottom of the menu, and typed ¡°Desna¡± into the box, leaving a space next to the name. ¡°What¡¯s your last name¡± Cryo asked the witch. ¡°Desna Useme¡± Desna replied. Typing ¡°Useme¡± into the box and hitting enter, Cryo noticed something and smiled ¡°Desna Useme, like Desna USE ME¡± Cryo burst out laughing, Siebold followed suit. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s my family name, stop laughing I can¡¯t help it¡± Desna scolded the two. ¡°Right whatever, it added you to the party¡± Cryo said. A new name appeared, Desna Useme, along with an image of a boiling cauldron, which Cryo assumed meant she was a witch. Awesome, 3 party members, we can do guild assignments now! Cryo remembered. Tidying up their beds and gathering their supplies, the party left the safety of the inn and returned to the village. It was time to register Cryo to the guild hall. -*~-~*- Necrozzo had been having the worst night ever. First he was rudely woken up by that damn succubus and now he was out in pitch black with pouring rain, sure, the darkness and rain didn¡¯t obscure his vision due to some simple 1-level magic that he always had running, but it was still annoying riding around with soaked clothes. Whatever, he thought, The mighty one wanted me to do this, so I have to carry it out regardless if I¡¯m soaking wet. Coming to the city guard gate, he was abruptly stopped. ¡°Halt adventurer, who might you be¡± the night guard asked. ¡°The name¡¯s Necro- Guzdo, Guzdo, that¡¯s my name¡± Necrozzo hadn¡¯t been out in so long, he almost forgot that most cities had a registry of Lokuul¡¯s henchmen. ¡°Guzdo, huh? Why are you riding on that menacing looking horse then huh Guzdo?¡± the night guard challenged him. Eh, the mighty one never said anything about not killing off the guards, might as well. Raising his right hand, he noticed a light on over the wall in some inn, looking at the light, he realized it was a window and inside the window was a room, with some massive knight staring back at him who had platinum colored hair. Ugh, that¡¯s one of the party members mentioned in the envelope, I can¡¯t do anything while he¡¯s around, guess I just have to put these guards to sleep. Necrozzo thought. Keeping his right hand raised, a magic circle appeared containing the sleep spell. ¡°Have a good night¡± Necrozzo told the guards, knowing they wouldn¡¯t remember it in the morning. -*~-~*- ¡°Come on idiot, you¡¯re so slow.¡± Desna yelled at the raggedy adventurer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m still tired, Siebold woke me up in the middle of last night because he turned the light on for some reason¡± Cryo told her. ¡°Sorry, I was just checking the area out, I felt weird for some reason¡± Siebold apologetically said back. ¡°That¡¯s fine, better safe than sorry.¡± Cryo assured the man. Arriving at the gold-trimmed doors, Cryo read the sign at the front ¡°Guild Hall. welcome adventurers.¡± Pushing in, immediately Cryo noticed the place was packed with people. He overheard some of their conversations as his group walked to the front desk. ¡°I¡¯m gonna take down that stupid lord Lokuul, he thinks he¡¯s so cool¡± ¡°Lokuul is actually a benevolent person, he just likes being in charge, my name is Guzdo by the way.¡± The man who complimented Lokuul instantly piqued Cryo¡¯s attention. Up to this point, all Cryo had heard about Lokuul was insult and insult and challenge after challenge, hearing someone talk about him positively, especially like they knew him, was certainly odd. Looking to the source of the sound, he saw a massive man in pitch-black and gold armor with a massive blue cape behind him. He certainly looks powerful Cryo thought to himself. Oh well, must have been on so many adventures that he¡¯s lost it and become obsessed with Lokuul. ¡°Come on Cryo, hurry up and take this test so we can determine your class.¡± Desna was impatient since she was insulted that morning. ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯m coming, jeez.¡± Cryo responded. ¡°Hello sir, here to take the class test?¡± The cute girl at the desk asked Cryo. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, is there a fee?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°Nope, here you go¡± the front desk lady handed him one slip of paper. ¡°Thank you ma¡¯am, do I turn it in to you when I¡¯m finished¡± Cryo asked. ¡°Yes sir.¡± She responded The test contained only three questions and a hand outline at the bottom of the page. Question 1: What is your name? Three questions, weird, ¡®Cryo Uso¡¯ Question 2: Where are you from? Err, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m from Japan, where did Desna say she was from¡­ Oh, right, ¡®Caur Village¡¯ Question 3: Place you hand on the print below. Okay, weird, might as well. Placing his hand on the print, it glowed with a blueish-green light and a small verse appeared at the bottom of the page. ¡°Quick like the lightning, strong like the storm¡± ¡°Stealthy and potent, your tools by your side¡± ¡°Your recommended classification is: Ninja¡± Oh cool, I¡¯ve always wanted to be a ninja, just like those characters I read about in manga. Ninjas are super cool! Cryo smiled. ¡°Are you done?¡± Siebold asked the smiling adventurer. ¡°Yep, I got ninja classification!¡± Cryo shouted happily Just then, the whole room turned to Cryo as fast as lightning with shocked expressions and the whole hall went silent¡­ End of Chapter/// The Ninja 7 ¡°What¡¯s so great about ninja?¡± Cryo asked the hall However, no sound returned, the residents of the guild hall had gone completely silent and had faces that reminded Cryo of ghosts. Desna was the first to respond to him. ¡°These idiots are just stunned because nobody has been classed as a ninja since the previous God-king, Tyran.¡± ¡°God-king?¡± Cryo was confused. ¡°Basically the guy who rules over this entire land. He¡¯s super ultra powerful and pretty much the only person on the same level as him is Lokuul himself.¡± The black knight, Guzdo, responded. ¡°Oh hey, Guzdo, was it?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s me. How¡¯s it going ninja?¡± Guzdo asked Suddenly, Cryo heard a voice in his head, it seemed to be Desna¡¯s voice. ¡°Cryo, Siebold, this guy gives off a really weird and evil aura. He doesn¡¯t have good intentions and he¡¯s far too interested in us for the level he appears to be at, we need to get out of here fast. Oh, and I can use telepathy, so don¡¯t act surprised or you¡¯ll draw his attention¡± Desna communicated with the two of them. ¡°Oh-er, yeah, it¡¯s going good Guzdo¡± Cryo stammered. ¡°We are on a job though so we have to go, nice seeing everyone.¡± Siebold stepped in. ¡°Leaving so soon, huh?¡± Guzdo asked. Without responding, the trio left the building. Hmm, they might be on to me, that witch is a real problem Necrozzo thought. On their way out, Cryo opened his party viewer to find the once-blank image next to his name now had a small picture of a shuriken next to it. Furthermore, his once-missing magic bar was now replaced with a yellow bar that said ¡°Fury¡± ¡°Hey, guys, what does ¡®fury¡¯ mean?¡± Cryo asked his friends ¡°Well, essentially fury is gained by attacking enemies, the more damage you output, the more your fury will increase. It¡¯s like rage except instead of gaining it by BEING attacked, you gain it by DOING attacks. I¡¯m sure once the fury bar is full you¡¯ll have a special attack like me. It will be cool to see a ninja¡¯s skills in action.¡± Siebold informed. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go pick up a quest from the town hall and see what we can do. We only have ten nights at the inn so we might as well make some money.¡± Desna said. ¡°Sounds good to me¡± Cryo finished the conversation. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. On their way to the town hall, Necrozzo watched from a distance, contacting Zebell via telepathy. My lady, I may have been found out, the adventurers are smarter than they look, I think they can sense my aura. Receiving the message, Zebell laughed. It¡¯s that stupid witch they have, she can sense your aura. I¡¯m sending you an appearance change and a spell that disguises your aura, don¡¯t contact me again because I¡¯m busy. Instantly after hearing the message, a box appeared out of thin air in front of Necrozzo. Opening it, he found wizard robes, a face changer, and a scroll. After applying everything, he was a brand new person. Normally, Necrozzo was an elder lich, so his face was skeletal, but after applying the face changer it looked more like the face of a wise adventurer. Now Necrozzo could more easily become a spy in the trio¡¯s party. Arriving at the town hall that looked incredibly similar to the guild hall, large gilded doors and all, the trio pushed their way in. ¡°Man this place is huge¡± Siebold said. ¡°It sure is, where¡¯s the quests at?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°They¡¯re over here, on this board next to the bar.¡± Desna said. Sure doesn¡¯t look like a traditional town hall, it even has a bar Cryo thought. Staring up at the board, there were many requests under 5 different categories, Easy, Normal, Hard, Insane, and Legendary. There were no requests under ¡°Legendary¡± at the time, only a note that Cryo read. ¡°You must collect 100 QP to receive a Legendary quest. Turn your QP into the bartender to be given the request. Only 4 Legendary quests exist.¡± Hmm, 4 Legendary quests, huh, that¡¯s the same number as the amount of Legendary Swords. That must be how I attain them. Cryo thought. ¡°So guys, how do we get QP.¡± Cryo asked the group. ¡°Well, you can get QP from any quest difficulty, but the harder the quest, the more QP you get. Looks like Easy quests give from 1-5 QP, Normal quests give from 6-10 QP, Hard quests can give up to 25 QP, and Insane quests can give up to 50 QP.¡± Siebold said. ¡°Well let¡¯s do Insane quests off the bat, we have you, the special unit after all.¡± Desna said. ¡°That may be true, but Insane quests are harder than you think. They¡¯re called that for a reason you know. Since master Cryo just got his class identity, we should do easier level quests to help him get used to it.¡± Siebold said. ¡°I think that¡¯s a good idea, it isn¡¯t like the Insane quests are gonna go away randomly.¡± Cryo affirmed. ¡°Alright, fine by me, it will give me a chance to use some overkill spells on some weak monsters too.¡± Desna said. ¡°It¡¯s decided then, how about a Normal level quest?¡± Siebold asked the group. ¡°Sounds good to me¡± Cryo said. ¡°How about this one, ¡®Defeat the red ogre gang¡¯ for 10 QP.¡± Desna said. ¡°Sure, sounds like something we should be able to manage.¡± Siebold said. Taking the paper to the bartender, the group was filled with confidence and optimism for their upcoming quest. In the shadows, a familiar wise wizard had the same kind of optimism for his quest too. Alright, they aren¡¯t gonna turn down some free help from a wise wizard. This is the first step to completing my task. Necrozzo thought. ¡°You three, would you like some free help with that quest. I¡¯m a retired adventurer but I love the thrill so I won¡¯t cause any problems, I¡¯ll just help you out. I¡¯m a wizard named Uniyo.¡± Necrozzo said to the party. ¡°Oh cool, sounds good to me! We can use all the free help we can get.¡± Cryo told the old man. Cryo, are you sure about this? My readings are telling me he is safe, but we shouldn¡¯t trust strangers out of nowhere. Desna used telepathy to communicate. Cryo nodded to give his affirmation, and to not seem weird to the old man. ¡°Would you like to party up?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°Sure, count me in.¡± the old man responded. ¡°Party view¡± Cryo said, pulling up the familiar window. Adding him to the party, Desna looked over Cryo¡¯s shoulder at the party view, noticing that after Cryo added the old man by vicinity, an elder lich icon appeared next to his name, not a staff like it should be if the man was a wizard. ¡°Hold it right there.¡± Desna said. End of Chapter/// The Encounter 8 ¡°Why does an elder lich icon appear on your party slot, that¡¯s a whole lot different than a wizard icon.¡± Desna challenged the old man. ¡°It¡¯s my subclass, I¡¯m a wizard by trade but I specialize in the lich subclass.¡± The old man retorted. ¡°Funny you¡¯d say that, wizards can¡¯t specialize in the lich subclass, only necromancers and sorcerers can.¡± Siebold chimed in. ¡°Cryo, remove him from the party and run. He is not the person he claims he is.¡± Desna instructed. Tapping the remove button, the man had no reaction. The trio was causing quite a commotion so the town hall adventurers were staring at the group. Necrozzo looked on, barely even making a facial expression. Well well well, what a surprise we have here. That witch is very observant. No matter, I will do what the instructions told me and eliminate this sorry group. Necrozzo thought. ¡°Hahaha, looks like you found me out. Time to die.¡± Necrozzo threatened the trio. ¡°Cryo, Desna, get out of here and make sure these adventurers go with you, I¡¯ll hold him off!¡± Siebold shouted. ¡°We aren¡¯t leaving you, we can help, ADVENTURERS, THIS MAN IS AN ELDER LICH, LEAVE NOW OR DIE.¡± Cryo yelled. As he finished his shout, Necrozzo removed the wizard robes revealing a pitch-black set of lich robes of the highest tier and a skeletal body. His face melted away to reveal a skeletal head with red glowing eyes. A top tier bone staff appeared in his waiting hand and Necrozzo stared at the trio. By this time, the adventurers were already out of the town hall. ¡°Shield level 5!¡± Siebold said, producing a glowing blue magic shield around the trio. ¡°Reinforcement level 5!¡± Siebold said, adding a yellow halo to the magic shield. ¡°Enhance defense!¡± Desna said, a purple magic circle appearing over Siebold. ¡°Bone blight!¡± Necrozzo shouted, firing a green and purple blast at the trio, instantly breaking the shields and colliding into Siebold¡¯s armor. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I can take this, the shields weakened the blow.¡± Siebold told his friends. ¡°Hahahahaha, that was the weakest of my spells and it burst past your best reinforced shields, you are incredibly weak.¡± Necrozzo laughed at the trio. ¡°My best shields? Ha. You¡¯re joking right? Those were bottom tier.¡± Siebold laughed back. ¡°Those shields are designed to test you magic level and alert me of it while weakening the blow. Looks like you¡¯re a level MAX elder lich, but I¡¯m a level MAX++ tank, so you stand no chance¡± Siebold informed the lich. ¡°MAX++?? How?? That¡¯s impossibly powerful!¡± The lich was surprised. ¡°I¡¯m a top tier unit. Now say your goodbyes.¡± Siebold told Necrozzo. ¡°Sealing Shield level SUPER+!¡± Siebold shouted, an instantaneous blue hand grasped the lich and held him. ¡°Stupid adventurers, you may have stopped me this time, but next time it won¡¯t be so easy. Take a look at my magic level now.¡± Necrozzo said.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Hmph, what a joke.¡± Siebold said, opening his menu. Peering at the magic level indicator, SIebold¡¯s face went white. ¡°Y-you were u-using a suppressor? You¡¯re an ULTRA level magic user??¡± Siebold said. ¡°Hahahahaha, yes I am sir, but you weaklings bore me and I have all the information I need. See you around.¡± Necrozzo laughed as he instantly teleported away from the group. ¡°Woah, that was insane. There¡¯s no way we could have taken down an ULTRA level magic caster, that¡¯s almost maximum level.¡± Siebold told the group. ¡°Well he¡¯s gone and we¡¯re safe, you put up a good effort but we still don¡¯t even know his name. We should focus on tasks now.¡± Desna said. ¡°I agree, we need to get much stronger if we want any chance of defeating Lokuul.¡± Cryo said. And with that, the trio was off to the location of the red ogre gang. The journey was very long and proved to be ruthless, because they were short on supplies and had to travel through a vast white sand desert known as the ¡°bonelands¡± to arrive at their destination. The bonelands weren¡¯t very far from the original village, and were an easy level location in terms of monster encounters, but it was difficult to traverse them because the land was inhospitable and blazing hot, so without much supplies it proved to be a hard task. Luckily, as a magic caster, Desna was capable of generating water and food so the group had an infinite supply of necessities. The red ogre gang chose this location in particular because they strived in areas with high heat, which is how they got their name ¡°red.¡± Ogres were not very smart creatures, and that¡¯s why their name wasn¡¯t capitalized correctly. Traversing through the bonelands, the trio finally arrived at their destination. -*~-~*- ¡°Necrozzo, you¡¯ve returned sweetie.¡± Zebell greeted the skeletal lich at the stables. ¡°I am back, I gathered info like Lokuul asked. Why are you here you wench.¡± Necrozzo said. ¡°I¡¯m here because Lokuul was too angry with you to talk to you one on one. He informed me to gather your information and then send you to him, he says revealing your true form was a massive mistake.¡± Zebell laughed at the pathetic skeleton. ¡°I figured as much, anyway, that trio has a massively powerful tank named Siebold and a witch named Desna that can use all types of magic. The weird boy is named Cryo and is classified as a ninja. The only relatively interesting thing about his aspects is his luck is maximum, which I¡¯m assuming is the reason the max level tank is in the party.¡± Necrozzo informed the succubus. ¡°Very good, very good indeed, Necrozzo.¡± Lokuul said with poison dripping from his words as he revealed himself from the shadows. ¡°My lord!¡± Zebell and Necrozzo said in unison and bowed. ¡°Necrozzo, do you know why I might be angry with you?¡± Lokuul said menacingly. ¡°I revealed my true form sir, I am very sorry.¡± Necrozzo said back. ¡°Yes yes, that is the reason. Now come to me and face me.¡± Lokuul said. ¡°Right away sir.¡± Rising from his bowed position, Necrozzo walked to the dark lord. ¡°This is what we do to people who can¡¯t complete a task correctly.¡± Lokuul said, staring deep into Necrozzo¡¯s eyes. Raising his hand, Lokuul snapped, and with just the snap, caused Necrozzo to disintegrate on the spot, leaving only his skull. ¡°Sir, his skull is still there, shall I crush it?¡± Zebell asked. ¡°No, Necrozzo was still a powerful asset. I will use his skull to reform a more loyal and powerful soldier to do my bidding.¡± Lokuul told the succubus. ¡°I see, sir, a very smart decision.¡± Zebell told the lord. ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Lokuul said. -*~-~*- ¡°That was quite the fight haha.¡± Desna laughed as the group sat around a fire and reflected on their quest. ¡°It sure was. I didn¡¯t expect Cryo to finish off their chieftain so easily with that shadow strike.¡± Siebold said. ¡°Haha, I guess I am suited for this class then¡± Cryo laughed. Taking a bite out of the meat they had recovered from the ogres, the group all thought about the encounter with the elder lich earlier. ¡°You know, those shields were not even close to my best shields, but they were still high tier and should have blocked his attack if it was as weak as he claimed it was.¡± Siebold said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Siebold, you did fine. Take the survival and move on.¡± Desna said. ¡°I guess you¡¯re righ-¡± Siebold was interrupted by a growling noise. Two blue flames peered at the trio from outside of the fire ring. It was night, so the trio could not see the body of the beast. Stepping into view, a jet-black wolf with chains all around it and blue flaming eyes appeared before the trio. ¡°A Hatchiyak, run!¡± Siebold cried out. End of Chapter/// The Companion 9 ¡°Grrrrrr¡± The sound was familiar to the adventurers yet it terrified them like a sound that they¡¯ve never heard before would. The hatchiyak sprung into the circle of the three adventurers and bared its fangs. ¡°Don¡¯t move, hatchiyak are incredibly powerful but they are deaf and blind, in exchange, their sense of smell is so good, it¡¯s been considered godlike.¡± Desna told the others. ¡°How do you know so much about this beast?¡± Siebold asked. ¡°My father was classed as an MH, or Monster Hunter, and made a name for himself as one. He was one of the best in the realm and was the pride and joy of my small village. He taught me a lot before he died.¡± Desna replied. ¡°Okay, so stand still and don¡¯t make yourself smell, got it. But why can¡¯t the hatchiyak smell us?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s because of the fire. Since the hatchiyak is in such close vicinity to both the fire and us, even it¡¯s godlike level of smell can¡¯t distinguish the two. Or, alternatively, it could just be toying with us.¡± Desna replied. ¡°Well why don¡¯t we take it out, it can¡¯t be THAT powerful?¡± Siebold asked. ¡°Normally I¡¯d agree with you, but what hatchiyak lack in sight and sound, they make up in raw power. They¡¯re magical creatures as I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve gathered, and even the best spells and magic shields won¡¯t help us much if it decides to strike.¡± Desna informed the others. ¡°So...the best thing to do is to wait for it to leave? It doesn¡¯t look very happy, unless you¡¯ve got a better course of action.¡± Cryo said nervously. ¡°Actually, I do.¡± Desna said. ¡°Sech al tuul, MA¡¯AT JENZO YUTO!¡± Desna cried, a purple magic circle forming in front of the beast. The magic circle extended to cover the beast¡¯s length as the beast stood still, fangs still barred, and after what felt like 10 seconds or so, the blue flames in the hatchiyak¡¯s eyes changed to a warm purple color, and the beast calmed down, walking over to Desna, who proceeded to pet the animal. ¡°Wh- what are you doing!? That thing can kill you!¡± Siebold exclaimed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I tamed it. My father used to run into tons of these things and he taught me how to use magic to tame one instantly. Initially, it was more for his benefit, but I guess I just benefited from it too, haha.¡± Desna said calmly. The beast let out a warm purring noise as Desna stroked it¡¯s shadowy fur and seemed to be quite content where it was. Raising her staff once again, Desna once again casted a spell.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Neb em tet¡¯a, tet¡¯a neb em.¡± Desna chanted. The beast¡¯s warm eyes changed to a bright yellow color and the beast swiveled it¡¯s head, looking around frantically with its tail wagging violently. ¡°What did you do to it??¡± Cryo asked. ¡°I gave it sight and sound. While my father was an MH, my mother was a vet. In the village I come from, everyone has an animal companion, so many women chose to becoming vets to help out. My mother taught me some magic to heal wounded animals and to cure their ailments. I was a pretty valued resource as well considering my magic abilities that were hard to come by in our small village.¡± Desna informed her friends. This is so interesting, it¡¯s like this whole microcosm just existed under my nose while I played Ultima Online and it was completely different than my own world, yet I never knew it existed. I always imagined what it would be like to live in a parallel universe, so I guess I should take advantage of this opportunity. Cryo thought. Looking at the beast that had once scared the group, Cryo now realized they had been blessed with a new ally on their adventure. Looking back at the fire, Cryo finally decided that he was happy in this world. ¡°GrrrOWWL¡± the hatchiyak perked up. ¡°What is it buddy?¡± Siebold asked, as if the beast could answer him in plain english. The hatchiyak stared into the black night and the trio turned to match his line of sight. ¡°Murrrgrrrrrrowwww¡± ¡°That¡¯s the sound of a red ogre, but we eliminated them earlier!¡± Cryo said. ¡°We sure did, but that isn¡¯t the sound of a red ogre, it¡¯s the sound of a red ogre chief. Still odd though, considering we defeated one earlier¡­¡± Desna said. Stepping into view, a massive red ogre walked into view, it looked exactly like the chief that the group had slain earlier that day, but it had magic runes on it and still carried the same scars from the trio¡¯s strikes when they first fought it. The ogre raised a magic club it had in its fist and with lightning fast movement swung the club at hatchiyak. ¡°Purrooooo¡± hatchiyak purred, suddenly disappearing before the club reached it. Hatchiyak appeared next to the swung club that had destroyed the circle that the trio was sitting in, luckily, Siebold had raised a magic shield to protect his teammates. ¡°Why is this thing alive again, I thought we already took care of it!¡± Cryo shouted. ¡°Beats me, looks like it was resurrected, but only a necromancer can do that, so it is a little odd for sure.¡± Desna said. ¡°Shadow slash of fire brother!¡± Cryo yelled, turning into a flaming shadow and quickly striking the ogre¡¯s knee with lightning speed. The ogre¡¯s leg started to burn with a black fire and it stumbled backwards. ¡°Neru aun testa, holy judgment of archwitch fire!¡± Desna shouted, a massive white magic circle appearing over the stunned ogre. A beautiful, radiant light glowed like sunshine on top of the ogre, and the glowing magic runes it once sported on its body went dark as it fell backwards into the white sand, devoid of life. ¡°Desna that was an incredibly strong spell!¡± Cryo shouted. ¡°Oh yeah, that was my most powerful one. It is a level 7 spell, so it is pretty powerful.¡± Desna said back. ¡°I see, you¡¯re really talented¡­¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from the darkness. ¡°Acci, light my way!¡± Desna said, her staff glowing to provide light to the trio. In the glowing light, a woman dressed in black robes with the seal of an adventurer on them stared back with a smiling face. ¡°Who¡¯re you?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°Haha, my name is Teswul, I¡¯m a necromancer from Uo village, the village you three got the red ogre gang quest from. I was testing your skills because I believed you could handle this emergency quest I have with me.¡± the woman said. ¡°Emergency quest?¡± Cryo asked. ¡°A quest that can transcend QP requirement if it¡¯s completion is of utmost importance. Do you accept?¡± Teswul said. ¡°What is the quest?¡± Siebold asked. ¡°The Legendary sword of the winds, Whisper, has shown itself.¡± Teswul said. End of Chapter/// The Dungeon 10 ¡°What did you say?¡± Cryo asked the woman. ¡°I said, the Legendary sword, Whisper, has shown itself.¡± the lady responded, confused. ¡°I heard you the first time, I¡¯m just baffled because that is truly a great development for me.¡± Cryo said. ¡°I see, well, yes, the Legendary sword has been located at the bottom level of the Boneland dungeon. It is an extremely difficult task and so far, not a single adventurer that has gone into that dungeon has successfully returned. That doesn¡¯t mean they are dead, but it certainly doesn¡¯t mean they are alive.¡± The necromancer said. ¡°That¡¯s fine, where can we find this dungeon?¡± Siebold asked. ¡°Now, hold on, we don¡¯t want to lose our lives, we could still use a little practice.¡± Desna spoke up. ¡°No, Desna, this is an extremely important quest for reasons I can¡¯t tell you at the moment, we have to take on this challenge.¡± Cryo said. ¡°That¡¯s suspicious, but if it means that much to you, we might as well give it a shot. Besides, I have teleportation magic to save us if anything goes wrong.¡± Desna said. ¡°Actually, sadly, the Boneland dungeon negates the usage of movement-based magic abilities, which includes teleportation but does not apply to movement abilities fueled by rage or fury.¡± The necromancer said. ¡°Well, that¡¯s just great, that is just incredibly amazing isn¡¯t it.¡± Desna said sarcastically. ¡°Anyway, would you like the quest or not?¡± The necromancer said. ¡°We¡¯d love it.¡± Siebold said. ¡°Great to hear, here you go!¡± the necromancer said. Pulling a scroll from inside of her robes, the necromancer produced a gold-leaf paper that glowed with a divine light. She held it towards the adventurers and the paper floated with a divine purpose towards the three of them. There was runic text on the paper. ¡°Thanks, any more information we need?¡± Siebold asked. ¡°Nope, that¡¯s everything, good luck!¡± The necromancer said. With a turn of her cape, the necromancer melted into a black puddle and evaporated. ¡°Alright guys, let¡¯s do this.¡± Cryo said confidently. -*~-~*- ¡°Zebell, will you come look at this quickly?¡± Lokuul asked the succubus.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Zebell responded. Peering into the orb, Zebell saw the same adventurers Necrozzo had been tasked with following. ¡°What about them, my lord?¡± Zebell asked. ¡°Do you see, the location they are travelling in?¡± Lokuul asked. ¡°Yes, sir, that would be the Boneland.¡± Zebell said. ¡°Right you are, why do you think they¡¯d travel through the Boneland?¡± Lokuul asked. ¡°Ah yes, the Whisper. One of the Legendary swords.¡± Zebell remembered. ¡°Yes, yes, ONE OF THE 4 SWORDS THAT CAN DEFEAT ME WHEN COMBINED.¡± Lokuul shouted. ¡°Would you like me to defeat the adventurers?¡± Zebell asked. ¡°No. That would be far to easy. It gets boring sitting in this tomb, so I¡¯d prefer a challenge, just make sure you monitor them, and don¡¯t let them obtain that sword.¡± Lokuul said. ¡°Understood, I will carry out your will at once.¡± Zebell said. ¡°Great, make sure it gets done.¡± Lokuul said. -*~-~*- End of ¡°Begin¡± arc. Beginning of ¡°Whisper¡± arc. The white sand glowed with light, the sun was blazing as well. The trio had been walking all throughout the night and morning. The Boneland may have been filled with white sand, but it still felt hot like a normal desert. Luckily, Desna knew magic to keep the adventurers feeling room-temperature heat, and magic to keep them hydrated and fed. This meant that the trio could basically keep walking until their stamina ran out, despite any heat or other obstacles. The only problem was that Desna did not have an infinite amount of magic, so she could not keep the trio going forever, and had to stop periodically to meditate. During these meditations, her magic was not being used and as a result the trio was feeling the elements to their full degree. It was almost noon and the trio was roughly halfway to the dungeon. ¡°Hey guys, we need to stop to recharge again.¡± Desna said. ¡°Understood, let¡¯s do it.¡± Cryo said. The adventurers sat into the sand and Desna used the remainder of her magic to create some food and drink for the trio while she meditated. ¡°T¡¯ok Z¡¯urg Grush¡± Desna said, casting the spell that would put her into a meditative state. ¡°So, Cryo, can you tell me why we need to get this sword so desperately?¡¯ Siebold asked. ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t. I think you know you can trust me regardless, but telling you this would most likely only have negative impacts, so I would like to avoid those. However, I promise I will tell everyone when the time is right.¡± Cryo responded. ¡°Fair enough, so how are you liking your class?¡± Siebold asked. ¡°It¡¯s pretty awesome. I like the stealthy nature of the class, it can certainly help with.. *ahem* a lot of.. Things.¡± Cryo answered. ¡°What kind of ¡°things¡± are you talking about?¡± Siebold asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡± Cryo smiled. ¡°Ohhh, I understand now. You¡¯re quite perverted for someone who¡¯s supposed to be a master ninja.¡± Siebold said. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, haha.¡± Cryo said back. Desna¡¯s meditation ended and she addressed the two of them. ¡°Alright guys, I¡¯m all recharged. Let¡¯s continue, also, you know I can hear you during my meditation, right? Cryo, you¡¯re gross.¡± Desna said. ¡°Haha, sorry, shall we get a move on?¡± Cryo asked, trying to change the subject. ¡°Sure, whatever.¡± Siebold said. The group continued over the blank white sand, still on course for the dungeon that was printed on the gold-leaf paper. After the rest of the day and another night of travelling, the trio arrived at the large white stone cave entrance to the dungeon at around 8 in the morning. ¡°Well, here we are. Time to face the light¡­ or, darkness rather.¡± Siebold said. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± Densa said. As the adventurers stepped forward, a low growl emerged from the cave entrance¡­ End of Chapter///