《The Divine Path》 Chapter 1: Familiar Unfamiliar Places It was a day where the wind was blowing like it always did, the sun rose like any other day, the air was crisp as it should be during fall, the clouds overhead were dark and flowing swiftly through the sky prepared to rain on the city, and the water was flowing downstream as it is intended to do. Yet today was the day a legend will take his first steps onto his path of fame and fortune. Skrrrrt! On the side of the street there was a man that looked roughly in his late twenties lying with a petite woman in his embrace. Next to him was a car with a shattered headlight and bent bumper that looked to have directly shattered the back of the man. The woman still had her eyes shut, it would be hard to have known if she was still alive if not for how hard she was trembling within the embrace of the man. She only realised she was still alive after the cold pavement was replaced with a warm liquid that flowed between herself and the man that was holding her. She suddenly opened her eyes, seeing the pale face of her beloved which was directly in front of her. ¡°Sora.¡± It¡¯s the only word she could find to say under the slightest of breaths. ¡°Sora...Sora! Sora!¡± She scrambled out of his embrace and started feeling around his body, trying to get a response. She suddenly stiffened in place as she drew her hand back which was soaked in a crimson colored liquid. He remained still as a drop of liquid splashed on his face. It was hard to determine whether it was a teardrop or the first drop of rain from the storm due to the sudden downpour from the sky. Within the middle of the street was a heart wrenching sight of a woman clutching onto her beloved, sobbing loudly as she didn¡¯t even notice the large downpour that has already soaked every inch of her. The man tried his best to open his eyes but couldn¡¯t muster the strength to do so, the only thing he could do was slightly curl his fingers into the woman''s hand before falling limp. ¡­.. Sora suddenly woke up yelling ¡°Sumi!¡± while lurching forward with his hand making a clutching motion. When his hand made contact with nothing he suddenly had a look of surprise as he slowly relaxed his body. Sora suddenly looked around rapidly to try and figure out where he was while also checking his body''s conditions for any damages. After a quick inspection he realized that his body didn¡¯t feel damaged at all, in fact it felt better than he¡¯s felt in a while. The place he was at felt very unfamiliar yet also extremely familiar to him. It was a large room with grey and white furnishing and decor. He was in a large bed that could easily fit three to four people. ¡°My¡­ old room?¡± Sora suddenly got up from the bed and noticed that his computer was still on and had a page opened with the headline saying ¡°The Divine Path¡± along with a countdown timer under it that was left with four days-two hours-forty seconds. ¡°Hmm? Is it an expansion or something?¡± He looked toward the bottom of his monitor to check the time and suddenly froze. According to the date it was September 26th, 2031, four days before the launch of ¡°The Divine Path¡± and 10 years before the accident where he was hit by the car happened. Sora suddenly bolted to a mirror in the adjacent bathroom. ¡°I¡¯m...I-¡± Knock knock knock Sora splashed his face with some water, wiped the water away, and ran to the door. He was still being wary so he put up his guard and slowly opened the door. ¡°Package for Sora Yazuki.¡± ¡°Yes that¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Please sign here and put the date here.¡± The man handed Sora a small device with a plastic pen attached to it which he used to sign his name. When he saw the blank space for the date he hesitated for a moment, maybe he had gone crazy, he wanted to confirm it. ¡°Do you happen to know the date today?¡± ¡°It would be September 26th if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°And the year?¡± ¡°... 2031. Are you okay mister?¡± ¡°Ah, yes of course, sorry for the wierd question.¡± Sora loosened his hand slightly as he wrote the date down and handed the device back to the delivery man. In return the delivery man gave Sora a box with an intricate logo printed on the top of it. It was the logo for the creators of ¡°The Divine Path¡±. They go by the name of System Synthesis Inc. and gained mass popularity at the reveal of a brand new state of the art VRMMORPG called ¡°The Divine Path¡± that boasted in the perfect combination of realism and fantasy. Lately there have been many company that have fallen into the virtual reality bandwagon and have gone overboard in the amount of realism they put into a game. One company that went by the name of RealTech released a VRMMORPG by the name of ¡°Days of Death¡± that centered around ultra-realism and ended up going bankrupt due to the fact that it was so realistic that it became more stressful than fun. The biggest complaint was that the game had a system where you only have one life. If you die in the game then the entire system you bought was basically garbage. The account would be shut down and the VR helmet would be deactivated. ¡°The Divine Path¡± was a game that was able to blend the feeling of realism and the experience of a fantasy world to near perfection. You could be a fierce warrior that would rush into battle to annihilate his opponents, or be a brilliant mage that controlled the battlefield with large spells that would cause chaos, or even just a simple fisherman that would tread into dangerous waters to try to catch legendary fish. Almost anything was possible through the genius development of ¡°The Divine Path¡±. There wasn¡¯t much of a story behind ¡°The Divine Path¡±, the main goal was to join a faction and do whatever you can to raise the power and expand it''s territory. This gave players a large amount of freedom to do what they please but also gives a goal that people could rally together for. Sora was a somewhat famous player in ¡°The Divine Path¡±. He was able to slowly build a powerful guild from the ground up, there were not many players who didn¡¯t know about his guild called Eternal Glory. They were one of the main forces when fighting against many demon generals and even secured 1st place in many major events and championships. Eventually a lot of guild members started to rebel against him and he ended up being betrayed by people he thought he could trust, thus being kicked out of the guild and forgotten. Sora was busy recollecting his thoughts as he slowly opened the box that was in front of him. He was thinking about where he was, what to do, but mainly his thoughts were focused on one thing¡­ Sumi. They were lovers before the accident, but now she probably doesn¡¯t have any idea that he exists. They met in ¡°The Divine Path¡± a year after it¡¯s launch and ended up meeting in real life two years after that. She was a gentle girl who he had stumbled across while hunkering down in a cave during a large scale battle with a demon general. She had long straight black hair with a small nose and mouth, brilliant clear eyes that shined a beautiful green and a small stature that barely came up to just below his chin. Sora finished collecting his thoughts as he pulled a helmet and many other wires and straps out of the box. He stared intently at the reflection on the visor of the helmet. Dark hair, dark eyes and a straight jawline with a feminine look apparent. He could definitely be called a stunning man, but there was a cold aura that hovered around him making him seem unapproachable. ¡°This time¡­ I¡¯ll do things differently.¡± ¡­.. For the next few days Sora was doing things like figuring out bills, straightening up his house, stocking up on food and other necessities, checking his bank account, and making a plan for what he should do in the future. His bank account had just over one hundred thousand dollars and the house was already paid for so he didn¡¯t have to worry about that. His main concern was the startup and monthly fee for playing ¡°The Divine Path¡± which was fifty thousand dollars for the startup fee and a thousand dollars for the monthly fee. It may seem a bit steep but the game had many ways in which you could make money, so the only heavy cost is within the first couple months of gameplay where everyone is trying to get on their feet. Sora didn¡¯t have anybody who depended on him and he didn¡¯t have a job. He has been self sufficient since he was seventeen years old after his parents died. Right now Sora was twenty and accumulated many skills so that he could defend and feed himself. Everything was done by himself because he didn¡¯t see the need in hiring many different people when he could just learn how to do a job himself. Right now he had no concern for getting a job, with the knowledge he has about ¡°The Divine Path¡± he could make a fortune just by selling the locations of some secret quests and areas. Sora checked the time and quickly went through a checklist of what he needed to have done before making a quick breakfast and setting up his VR machine. He slowly put the machine on before laying down and closing his eyes. Welcome User¡­ Please wait while we do an initial startup. A very familiar female voice was heard in the darkness. Sora used this time in order to adjust himself to the VR machine, and change certain settings such as the pain sensor, smell sensor, ect. Initial startup successful. Please enter a username¡­ Sora quickly entered the name ¡°Ethereal¡±. Thank you Ethereal. Welcome to The Divine Path. Please select a faction¡­ Factions were a huge part of ¡°The Divine Path¡±, they not only determined where you start, but each faction also has to go against each other to win important areas within the game world. The factions were The Eastern Legion, The Western Kingdom, The Northern Summit, and The Southern Flames. Sora selected The Eastern Legion, mainly because it was the same faction he and Sumi were in before the accident. Please allocate equipment points carefully, then select ¡°confirm¡± when ready. ¡°The Divine Path¡± wasn¡¯t like most MMORPGs where you select a class to start with. Here is where you set up your starting equipment based on how you want to play. Each player has 50 equipment points to start with and each item in a list costs a certain amount of equipment points. You can choose any basic item from swords and bows to pickaxes, sculptors tools, and even food. If you have any equipment points left over, they are converted into one job point for every 5 equipment points which can then be allocated into job stats, increasing the effectiveness of various occupations. When you reach level 15 you can swear loyalty to an order to obtain a class. This lets each player experience the game before deciding which class that would suit them the most. Sora selected a fishing pole for 4 points, an axe for 3 points, a shovel for 2 points, and a knife for 1 point. The remaining 40 points were converted into 8 JP. Thank you for your interest in The Divine Path. Please enjoy your gaming experience. Time until launch - 2 minutes 34 seconds Most people would look at Sora like they were looking at a fool if they had been told what he spent his points on. Most people would start the game using every single equipment point on armor, weapons, potions, and food. Little do people know that this simple little trick will go down in history as the most efficient way to start the game. Time until launch - 3 seconds Time until launch - 2 seconds Time until launch - 1 seconds Chapter 2: The Art of Fishing Welcome to the Beginner Town of Hawthorne, Ethereal. All of humanity has been brought to it¡¯s knees by an evil dragon by the name of -Lar¡¯Thux Humanity''s Despair- and his army. Your task is to provide aid however you can to push humanity forward from the pits of despair. Many great sages have sacrificed their lives so that you may breathe again even after death, but be cautious as each time you die your essence must find it¡¯s way back to a statue of -Helara, Goddess of Life- before you may breathe once more. Be brave great adventurer, the future lies within you. Sora has the whole introduction memorized already and skipped the cutscene, the basics of the story was that a lot of sages infused their essence into statues that have the effect of gathering the essence of fallen players. The essence takes 24 hours to converge on the statue and then you can revive. Other than that it¡¯s just a lot of flashy scenes of high level demons fighting against humans in a huge battlefield, the basic MMORPG introduction. After a short introduction into the game Sora appeared in a flash of light within a bustling town surrounded by other players. ¡°Out of the way! I have EXP to get!¡± ¡°Hey where do you think you''re touching!¡± ¡°Excuse me¡­ pardon-¡± ¡°Ahhhhhhhh just move already you bunch of noobs!¡± Sora was lucky to spawn near the edge of the town and quickly escaped the mob of yelling players. It was a nostalgic feeling that brought back some good memories but he had a lot of work to do. Once he was separated from the pack of EXP hungry players he casually walked down a dirt path that diverged from the town. No other players could be seen coming this way, most of them are surrounding various NPCs or rushing to a field full of level 1 rabbits. He continued down this path for a long time until he came across a small creek that could barely be called a river, after following the river East for quite some time the river had widened up and deepened considerably. ¡°This should just about do it.¡± Sora pulled out a shovel from his inventory and began digging. [Digging Skill Obtained] -Used to dig up Bait and Items, quality of Bait and Items are determined by digging area and digging skill. Eventually a small notification popped up saying ¡°x1 Pebble obtained¡±. He continued digging and multiple pebbles were obtained, it wasn¡¯t until the 7th pebble that another notification appeared. ¡°X1 Beginner Bait obtained¡±. He kept digging for close to an hour and finally managed to secure 478 Pebbles and 100 Beginner Bait. Sora hooked the Beginner Bait onto his Basic Fishing Pole and flung his line into the water. [Fishing Skill Obtained] -Used to catch various types of fish and items depending on location of fishing and level of fishing. Sora began slowly reeling in his line, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. It was a very tedious task but he knew that it would be worth it in the end. Most people would go and fight monsters to get ahead of everyone in levels, in fact the first time Sora played he also ran around like a fool trying his best to hit a level 1 rabbit before they were bombarded by other players. Not much is known about ¡°The Divine Path¡± so everyone is treating it like a regular MMORPG, which is a huge mistake. ¡°The Divine Path¡± has boasted to an experience not like any other MMORPG, therefore it should be treated as such. Things like monster hunting will indeed get you a large amount of EXP, but there a lot more factors that should be taken into consideration such as how many players will have to share those monsters, what to do about food, how to get new equipment, ect. [Fishing Skill has failed] Sora drug his line in and saw the pitiful sight of an empty hook, no fish, no item, not even bait. He quickly pulled up his job menu and invested all 8 points into his fishing skill, afterwards he put on another Beginner Bait and threw his line out once again. He stared intently at his line while slowly reeling, until finally the fishing line became taut and Sora quickly but gently pulled on his fishing pole. [Fishing Skill has Hooked a Fish] Sora carefully reeled the line in, when the fish started to struggle he would expertly maneuver his pole so as to wear the fish down before continuing to reel until the fish came to shore. On the end of his line was a very small fish, about the length of his hand, which he unhooked. [Fishing Skill has succeeded] [X1 Flat River Fish obtained] Sora stored the fish and checked his EXP gauge which had a fairly large chunk highlighted in green. Catching that one fish had given him 10% of the EXP needed to reach level 2 along with 2% added to his fishing skill. This was what made ¡°The Divine Path¡± different from other MMORPGs, with just 10 minutes of fishing he already has this much EXP, the people who were fighting over rabbits in the beginner town have an average of 20% EXP after hunting for around a hour and 15 minutes. It may seem a bit like a cheat but it¡¯s only this efficient right now because Sora sacrificed 40 equipment points for the 8 JP he pumped into the fishing skill. If he were to start from the lowest level fishing his success rate would be so low that it really would be a waste of time if he wanted to level as quickly as possible. Sora continued to fish in the same manner for 2 hours, using up almost all of his bait. In the process he had acquired 67 Flat River Fish and is at level 5 with about 40% EXP remaining to level 6 and received enough efficiency in his Fishing Skill to level it up. As Sora used up his last few pieces of bait, something different happened.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. [Fishing Skill has Hooked an item] Sora instantly focused more than usual as he kept his eye on the fishing line and tried to feel the slightest amount of movement from the fishing pole. Within a split second the fishing reel started to spin rapidly as the line was drug throughout the water relentlessly. Sora continued to battle the fishing pole very carefully for 20 minutes before he was finally able to reel it to the shore. There on the end of the line was a small fish that looked to be made out of wood, as it was brought to shore it instantly started to transform from a fish to a small wooden box. [Fishing Skill has succeeded] [X1 Uncommon Chest Lvl 5 obtained] Sora couldn¡¯t help but let a small smile appear on his face as he approached the shabby looking box. He slowly opened it to reveal a pair of gloves that looked to be made of a bronze colored fish scale. [X1 Scaled Gloves of Vice obtained] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 50/50 Defense - 5 Requires - Level 5 - Fishing Skill of 5 ¡°Gloves that have been made from the scales of a Bronze Snub Fish, useful for when you need to get a grip!¡± +5 Str +10% chance for Fishing Skill to succeed Sora swiftly put the gloves on and checked his stats. Ethereal Level - 5 Damage - 20-20 Defense - 5 Mana - 100/100 HP - 100/100 Strength - 35(+5) Agility - 10 Constitution - 10 Dexterity - 10 Endurance - 10 Intelligence - 10 Wisdom - 10 Spirit - 10 Luck - 0 Fame - 0 Faith - 0 With every level up you get 5 AP which can then be distributed to any of the attribute stats, except for luck, fame, faith, or any other stat that starts at 0. Sora has been putting all his AP into Strength for the time being and went back to digging for another hour. After finishing his digging spree Sora ended up leveling his Digging Skill to 2 and obtaining 144 Beginner Bait and 422 Pebbles. He once again sat down next to the river and continued fishing. ¡­.. ¡°Hmmmmm.¡± ¡°What do you think he¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°Fishing?¡± ¡°Obviously! But why? Shouldn¡¯t he be out trying to raise his level? Did he pay 50,000 dollars just to fish?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ Why don¡¯t you go ask him?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ well¡­¡± ¡°Well? Well what?¡± ¡°You''re much better at talking to people than I am Blossom, you should go.¡± Along the path of the river was two girls dressed in beginner clothing walking towards a strange man who was focused intently on his fishing line. One had red hair and carried a large sword on her back, the other had a dagger in each hand and seemed to be hiding behind the girl with red hair. The dual wielder seemed timid and her black hair covered most of her face while the girl with red hair seemed feisty and proud as she walked forward with her head held high. They walked up to the fisherman and stopped a few meters away from him. ¡°Hey, mister fisherman. What are you doing?¡± Silence¡­ it¡¯s like he doesn¡¯t even acknowledge their existence. ¡°Mister fisherman? Hello? Hello hello?¡± She started to wave her hands as if the man was very far away, drawing attention to herself. The timid girl peeked out from behind the girl in red and looked towards the fisherman, his face radiated a oppressive aura as he sat silently staring at the fishing line as it swayed in the breeze. The timid girl quickly hid back behind her friend but would occasionally peek at the fisherman. ¡°Ah, can you believe this guy LeeLee? He has two beautiful girls trying to talk to him and he¡¯s just sitting there like a lump on a log. Hey you know it¡¯s rude to ignore people right? Maybe you''re an NPC? No, even an NPC would do someth-¡± Sora suddenly jerked the fishing pole back and scared the two girls as he continued to fight with the fish. The two girls stared at Sora in shock as he looked like he was having a great battle with a legendary boss monster. His movements were sharp and fluid, like the water he was fishing from. Then as the battle came to an end, a large fish was seen dangling from his line. [Fishing Skill has succeeded] [X1 Feline Fish Snapper] Sora silently stored the fish in his inventory then turned towards the two girls. ¡°I¡¯m fishing, yes I suppose you two are quite decent to look at, I was trying to concentrate so of course I would sit there like a ¡®lump on a log¡¯, it¡¯s also rude to interrupt someone while they are trying to concentrate, and no I¡¯m not an NPC.¡± Silence once again. The girl with the red hair finally snapped out of her shock and started to contemplate everything he said. She straightened her posture to try and look as dignified as possible, brushed herself off, and cleared her throat. ¡°Hehehe so you are a person after all, and you''re also quite sharp aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s drop the pleasantries and just tell me what you need to know.¡± ¡°Boooring~. Fine, I suppose you want to be left alone so I won¡¯t take up much time. My name is Sister Blossom and this is my friend LeeLee, it¡¯s nice to meet you mister fisherman.¡± ¡°My name is Ethereal, but mister fisherman will work if it suits your taste¡­ or maybe lump on a log would better suit you? ¡°Ehhhh, can¡¯t we just forget about that? I¡¯m sorry, Ok?¡± Sora laughed slightly as he inspected the two girls. Sister Blossom was a level 7 that looked to be a tank, while LeeLee seemed to be the damage dealer with the same level. It was actually quite impressive that they were able to reach that level with how crowded the beginner zone is. Sora himself had just reached level 9 after using up all of his bait. His Fishing Skill was at level 9 with 99.9%, he was just about to leave when these two showed up. ¡°Alright, alright I¡¯ll forgive you. So, miss Blossom, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Well we wanted to make some wolf furred clothing so we came on a hunt to try to find some. Then we noticed you so we decided to stop and ask if you¡¯ve seen any.¡± Sora started to think back to his days when he was still starting the game. It was hard to remember every little detail of where to find specific spawns, luckily there was an area named Silver Wolf Hill just up and on the other side of this river that specifically had a lot of wolf spawns. ¡°Well if it¡¯s just wolf''s you want then follow this river up until it becomes thin enough to cross, cross the river and keep heading North until you come out of the forest and into an open plains area with a large hill. There should be plenty of wolfs there.¡± ¡°Hehe you''re the best mister fisherman. Well then we will be off, I hope you catch the biggest fish ever!¡± ¡°Just remember to stay at the base of the hill, the top has a lot of stronger wolves and there might even be a named monster that¡¯s leading them.¡± ¡°Mhm! We will be careful then!¡± A named monster was exactly as it sounds, it is a monster that has a name. Any monster that has a name is considered a boss class monster and is a lot more powerful than any of the smaller counterparts. The only thing that can come close to a named monster is an enchanted monster. An enchanted monster is a monster with a subtext, for example -Vicious Black Wolf- would have an increase to attack while -Hardened Black Wolf- would have an increase to defence. There are also a lot of special subtext monsters like vampiric that give it the ability to drain health from the player to heal itself or spectral which gives it a chance for physical attacks to phase through them, but those are more rare. The two girls slowly left Sora¡¯s sight as he looked back towards the fishing pole in his hand. He stored the pole and did a quick check on everything he had gotten from fishing. Firstly he got to level 9 with an extra 22% filling his EXP bar. Secondly he got his Fishing Skill up to level 9 with 99.9%, he will have to find the Fishing Skill quest to advance it to Novice Fishing Skill. Thirdly he got one more item. [X1 Scaled Boots of Waterwalking obtained] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 50/50 Defense - 5 Requires - Level 5 - Fishing Skill of 5 ¡°Boots that have been made from the scales of a Bronze Snub Fish. Fins have been added to the sides to help traversing water!¡° +5 Agility +Can take 2 steps on top of water with no penalty Chapter 3: The Art of Cooking Sora sorted his inventory out as he equipped a small woodsman''s axe. His inventory consisted of nearly 1,000 pebbles and a few stacks of fish. Each inventory slot can hold up to 100 of the same item, excluding equipment, special items, and other things that were not counted as material or ammunition. 2 stacks of fish made up a total of 148 Flat River Fish while another stack was a meager 24 Feline Fish Snapper. Sora closed his inventory and found a very thin tree between the thicket of the forest. He put his axe near the tree and gently tapped on the bark. [Woodcut Skill obtained] -Used to cut various types of trees. Quality of cut is determined by quality of axe, type of tree, and Woodcut Skill. The reason he gently tapped the tree was simply to acquire the skill, if Sora was to do a full swing on the tree there was a high chance that his axe would lose a lot of durability. Without the Woodcut skill he was basically just ramming a sharp edge into a blunt object. Sora got into a comfortable swinging position and started to chop the tree. The tree slowly gave way as a split grew larger near the base of the tree. After 5 minutes of vigorous chopping, the tree finally fell. [Woodcut skill succeeded] Sora walked towards the top of the tree and started cutting off thick branches with his axe and used his knife to sheer off small branches and twigs. Each time a branch or twig was trimmed from the tree a notification would pop up saying ¡°x1 Tinder obtained¡±. It was a very physically demanding job and by the time he was finished 15 minutes had already passed. There was now a straight tree laying across the ground with no protrusions sticking out. Sora lifted his axe and began sectioning the tree into equal pieces. ¡°X1 Gel Tree Lumber obtained¡± The Gel Tree was a low level tree that oozed a orange colored gel like substance when cutting into it. The gel could be harvested to use in things like alchemy or cooking but Sora lacked any empty vials to contain the gel within. Sora immediately found an open area and dug a small pit within the ground. After the pit was dug he sat down next to it, pulled out his knife and a couple pieces of Gel Tree Lumber. After 10 minutes of shaving the lumber he was left with 2 sticks with a small incision made on one of the sticks. ¡°X1 Firestarter Sticks obtained¡± Sora made a small pile of Tinder in the dug out pit and began to use the Firestarter Sticks. [Fire failed to start] [Fire failed to start] [Fire failed to start] [Fire failed to start] [Fire started successfully] Sora had an irritated look on his face as he finally managed to start the fire. Starting a fire wasn¡¯t like most skills where you could level it up to assure a higher chance of success, it was more of a hidden stat that took into account the quality of the tinder along with the quality of the firestarter. Since Sora had the most basic items to start the fire, it failed many times before eventually working. Sora immediately put a few pieces of Gel Tree Lumber onto the fire after it started to burn. After the fire was satisfactory Sora began taking out his fish and skewering them with sticks. Sora slowly put a fish just above the fire and plunged the stick into the ground around the fire. [Cooking Skill obtained] Sora continued to put the skewered sticks in a circle around the fire before finally getting back to the first fish. [Cooking Skill failed] As soon as Sora picked up the stick the fish turned black and directly crumbled off of the stick before disappearing. It was expected to happen, his cooking skill was level 1 and he had the most basic fire he could have, therefore he wasn¡¯t irritated and immediately replaced the fish with another. [Cooking Skill failed] [Cooking Skill failed] [Cooking Skill succeeded] [X1 Smoked Flat River Fish obtained] Reduces hunger and gives a small buff to Constitution ¡°Poorly cooked Flat River Fish that has many burnt areas.¡± +10 Constitution Duration: 4 hours It was far from being a huge buff, but for someone like Sora who had only been putting AP into Strength it was a 100% buff to his health. Each point of constitution gave 10 points of health and having an extra 100 is very much the difference between life and death a lot of the time, at least at this level it is. Sora continued to cook fish in this manner before he ran out of Flat River Fish, effectively raising his cooking skill to level 2. He specifically waited to cook his Feline Fish Snappers until after he raised his cooking level since they were a higher level of fish, thus had a smaller chance of success when cooking. [You are starting to feel pangs from hunger]Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. -20% all stats -25% all skills -50% health regeneration Just as Sora was about to start his second round of cooking a debuff appeared. He actually forgot to eat after he had been cooking for close to an hour now. Sora quickly pulled a Smoked Flat River fish out and ate it. [Hunger has been sated] -Debuffs from hunger removed Sora continued cooking his Feline Fish Snappers, succeeding about once every 4 attempts. [X1 Roasted Feline Fish Snapper obtained] Reduces hunger and gives a small buff to Agility ¡°Poorly cooked Feline Fish Snapper that has many burnt areas.¡± +10 Agility Duration: 4 hours [Level up] Just as Sora finished up his last fish he gained a level, putting him at level 10 which is exactly where he wanted to be before returning to town. Now Sora had plenty of levels, plenty of food, and plenty of buffs to push his way through the last 5 levels needed to transport to the capital of the kingdom while also completing some hidden quests. With a small smile on his face, Sora packed up his fish and headed back towards the town. Once Sora reached the town he could see many players still fighting over the level 1 bunnies. The crowd has thinned out but there still wasn¡¯t enough bunnies to go around. He continued walking down the main street of the town before coming to a stop in front of a small shop where players could be seen going in and out. He sat down across from the shop and started selling some of his fish. ¡°Get your fresh cooked fish here! Only 50 copper for food that not only sates your hunger but also gives you a boost to your Constitution! Act quick, supplies are limited!¡± Sora already set aside 10 of the Constitution buffing type of fish for himself, the rest would be sold so that he can buy equipment. His yelling instantly attracted many people with eyes that looked like a starving wolf. A line instantly formed in front of him. The players who were going towards the shop ended up detouring to Sora¡¯s line to see what everybody was so excited over. ¡°You said it gives a boost to Constitution? How much of a boost?¡± ¡°It gives a boost of 10, I also have a few that gives a boost of 10 to Agility if that¡¯s more your style?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take 3 of the Constitution buffing food!¡± The man quickly pulled out a silver and 50 copper before trading them over to Sora, Sora casually handed the man 3 skewered fish and the trade was complete. The man carefully bit into one of the fish as he stored the other 2. As he saw a message pop up saying ¡°+10 Constitution¡± and his health gained an additional 100 points his eyes nearly teared up. He had been hunting in a low level field for the entire day, it was crowded and getting EXP was hard to do. With the extra 100 HP he would be able to go into less crowded areas and finally be able to properly level. As the crowd saw the man nearly crying they became more vigorous with their shouting and pushing, trying to get to the front by all means. After 5 people went through the line a player who was level 7 came up to Sora. He had blonde hair, green eyes, and a face that permeated an aura of ¡®I¡¯m too good for you¡¯. ¡°Don¡¯t you think the price of 50 copper is a little expensive? Why don¡¯t you stop ripping people off and sell there for a better price?¡± ¡°Hmmm, alright how about this, I¡¯ll sell this Constitution buffing food for the same price that you sell yours?¡± ¡°Th-That¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving you the choice to set a fair price, why don¡¯t you show me what a fair and upright man like yourself can do for the rest of these people?¡± The blonde haired man walked right into a trap. Where was he supposed to get this kind of food? It would be a surprise if there was at least one other person who also rushed into fishing like Sora did. Right now Sora was the only person that had a buffing food. The blonde man panicked as he couldn¡¯t find the words to say. ¡°Well? If you don¡¯t have any then you can get the fuck out of the way and stop holding up my line.¡± ¡°Ya get out of the way you prick, I want to buy some food before more players get on!¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t afford it then get moving. Pfffft, people these days, who does he think he is?¡± The entire line started to curse the man in front, wanting him to move so they could get their turn. The blonde man turned stiff and briskly walked away with a look on his face that could only be described as revolting. The line moved quickly and the last few fish were sold within 10 minutes of setting up shop. There were only two people left at the end of the line. A feisty girl with red hair and a timid girl with black hair. ¡°Oh, miss Blossom and miss LeeLee. How did the hunting go?¡± ¡°Mister fisherman, you were absolutely right about the amount of wolves that was at that hill. We were able to hunt for a full hour without having to share any wolves with other players. You really saved us a lot of trouble this time.¡± ¡°Congratulations. So, did you want to buy my last few fish?¡± ¡°Ohhh so that¡¯s what was going on here, we just showed up and saw that you had a line in front of you and had to come see why. Selling fish? Sure I¡¯ll buy a couple.¡± Blossom pulled out 20 copper and tried to hand it to Sora with an eager look on her face. Sora looked at the pathetic amount of copper and had a complicated look on his face. Sure I guess they could be considered acquaintances but 20 copper for his remaining 4 fish would mean a loss of 1 silver 80 copper. Blossom noticed the difficult expression on Sora face and put on a quizzical expression while pulling out another 5 copper. Sigh ¡°What¡¯s wrong mister fisherman?¡± ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s not quite enough¡­¡± ¡°Hmmm? 30 copper then? 40?¡± ¡°2.¡± ¡°42 copper? That¡¯s a rand-¡± ¡°Silver.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°WHAT?! Are you trying to rip me off?! I thought we were friends mister fisherman!¡± Blossom had a look on her face as if she had just been in a long relationship with Sora and he just cheated on her. From behind Blossom came the small squeak of a girl as LeeLee slowly appeared in front of Sora. ¡°H-how could you b-be so mean mister fisherman! 2 silver for a few fish? Th-that¡¯s just so mean.¡± ¡°Well it does give a boost of 10 to Constitution. I thought 50 copper per fish was a very reasonable deal.¡± ¡°...boost...of...10? As in an extra 100 HP?¡± ¡°Mhmm, that¡¯s right. These two give 10 Constitution for 4 hours and these two give 10 Agility for 4 hours.¡± When Constitution was mentioned Blossom perked up with a shocked look and when Agility was mentioned LeeLee also had a shocked look on her face. Blossom quickly pulled out 2 silver pieces, took the fish, and ran away like nothing happened. Sora was left with a perplexed look as he put the 2 silver away and watched as the two girls disappeared behind a building. ¡­.. ¡°LeeLee¡­.¡± ¡°Yes Blossom?¡± ¡°We need to make sure that guy is our friend in the future.¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Then why did we run away?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Blossom?¡± Blossom suddenly face palmed as her face turned red. It¡¯s been awhile since she was rendered into such a state by someone. Chapter 4: Silver Wolf Hill Sora went into the store that was across from where he was selling his fish and started to scan through the various items. He picked up a chest and leggings made from a black colored leather with fur tailored into the inside, an average looking iron sword with a sharp edge, a small dagger that has grooves at the base of the blade, and a few red potions that gave off a warm light. He went up to the owner of the store and placed all of the items on the counter. ¡°Greetings adventurer, will this be all for you today?¡± ¡°Aye, I wish I could buy more, but I doubt I¡¯ll be able to afford it. The quality of these items are truly top notch, my pockets are already feeling empty.¡± ¡°Hahaha you sure know how to distinguish a good item. I¡¯ll be sure to give you a fair price to make sure your pockets don¡¯t leave here empty, within reason of course. Sora was a master at this from his 10 years of playing in his last life. Everyone likes to be complimented, even NPCs. All it takes is a little flattery for a price difference of 10-20% which may not seem like much but when you add it all up it can be an extraordinary amount. He ended up buying all the items for only 20 silver. If he hadn¡¯t flattered the owner then it was possible he wouldn¡¯t have even been able to afford everything. He stored the remaining 6 silver and collected all his items. [X1 Dark Leather Chestpiece obtained] Rarity - Common Durability - 35/35 Defense - 4 Requires - Level 5 ¡°Chest armor made from the hide of a black wolf.¡° [X1 Dark Leather Leggings obtained] Rarity - Common Durability - 35/35 Defense - 4 Requires - Level 5 ¡°Leg armor made from the hide of a black wolf.¡° [X1 Hardened Iron Sword obtained] Rarity - Common Durability - 40/40 Damage - 7-10 Requires - Level 5 ¡°A Sword made from Iron that has been reforged and layered, making it exceptionally strong.¡° [X1 Parrying Dagger obtained] Rarity - Common Durability - 20/20 Defense - 3 Requires - Level 5 ¡°A small dagger with grooves used to catch and defend against bladed weapons.¡° [X4 Beginner Health Potion obtained] Rarity - Common Uses - 1/1 Requires - Level 1 Cooldown - 1 Minute ¡°A potion that gives off a warm feeling when held. Can cure wounds when consumed.¡° +Restores 100 HP Sora walked out of the store, satisfied with his purchase and itching to finally be able to wield a sword again. The parrying dagger was something he used a lot in his last life and was one of the reasons that he was able to become such a legend. Each battle he fought would be an intense match where his opponents could rarely hit him thanks to his parrying dagger skills. Many others thought it was a cheat like weapon and decided to buy their own, what followed was many forum complaints on how hard it was to use the parrying dagger, thus earning him respect for being able to use it so easily. After walking down the town for a while he came across a gated area with scarecrows dressed with a shirt that had a red target on them. He walked into the arena and equipped his sword and parrying dagger. He selected a target and began slicing at it, after about 2 hours of repeating the same attacking motion a notification appeared. [Slash Skill obtained] Cost: 5 mana Cooldown: 5 seconds -Attack that deals 150% Damage This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sora basically ignored the notification and switched his attack style, he started to use the hilt of the sword to bash at the target for another 2 hours. [Concuss Skill obtained] Cost: 10 mana Cooldown: 10 seconds -Attack that deals 50% of Strength as damage and stuns the target for 2 seconds. After 4 hours of constant swinging Sora¡¯s body was soaked in sweat, he checked the time and decided to take a small break from the game. While playing ¡°The Divine Path¡± your body is put in a semi coma like state but it is still recommended to keep your body in peak condition. Not much sleep is required but you do need to eat every now and then. Sora made a light snack, freshened up, and instantly went back into the game. ¡­.. [Welcome back, Ethereal] Sora was still standing in the middle of the training yard, double checking all of his stats and equipment. Ethereal Level - 10 Damage - 39-42 Defense - 26 Mana - 100 HP - 100/100 Strength - 60(+5) Agility - 10(+5) Constitution - 10 Dexterity - 10 Endurance - 10 Intelligence - 10 Wisdom - 10 Spirit - 10 Luck - 0 Fame - 0 Faith - 0 Sora already had two uncommon armor pieces and a offhand defense item, because of that his defense stat was fairly high. His HP was only at 100 but that''s only because the buff from eating the Roasted Flat River Fish has worn off. He nodded his head slightly and started walking back towards the river where he fished. After crossing the river, he headed in the same direction where he directed Blossom and LeeLee and entered into an area called Silver Wolf Hill. He stopped before he exited the cover of the forest and ate a Roasted Flat River Fish, this boosted his HP up to 200 and sated his hunger. After he finished he readied his weapon and slowly exited the forest. As soon as Sora left the cover of the forest he was met with two snarling wolves that approached him cautiously while positioning themselves on either side of him. Both of them were level 8 -Black Wolf- and continued to circle Sora until he made the first move. Right as Sora started to move, the wolves jumped at him intending to sink their fangs into his neck. Since Sora had fought thousands of these types of wolves in his previous life he already knew how they would react when he began moving, that¡¯s why Sora instantly dove forward and under the black wolf in front of him. Now both black wolves were in one direction and it lessened the pressure from fighting two at the same time. Sora got back up and used [Concuss] on the wolf that he dove under, dealing over 25% of the wolf''s health and stunning it. Afterwards he focused on the second wolf, using [Slash] and basic attacks to take away 20% of it¡¯s health before the second wolf lost it¡¯s stunned status. Sora used his parrying dagger to block one of the wolves attacks while he pulled away from the other. After dancing around the wolves and attacking when he had the chance his [Concuss] came off cooldown. He used the same strategy as he did last time, stunning one wolf while fighting with the other. After repeating this same strategy 4 times both wolves fell with a yelp and dropped some loot. [X6 Copper Coins obtained] [X1 Black Wolf Hide obtained] Sora gathered the loot and started making his way around the base of the hill, he continued using the same strategy against wolves when he needed to and made swift progress around the hill. After traveling and fighting for 30 minutes he finally made it to the other side. After all that fighting Sora still didn¡¯t level up. His EXP progress was at 80% and only needed a bit more to level up. Sora took a quick survey of the area before he started fighting more wolves that spawned at the base of the hill in the area he was at. He kept fighting wolves for 2 hours before finally he got what he wanted. Along the treeline where the forest meets the plains there was a wolf which was glowing in a blue aura, it¡¯s fur seemed to be made out of rock and it strayed further from the rest of the wolves. Level 10 -Hardened Black Wolf- In the 2 hours that Sora had been fighting he ended up leveling up to level 11 and hardly ever lost health, when he did lose health he would just wait for a couple minutes to regenerate it back to full. Sora ate another Roasted Flat River Fish to reapply his buff and headed towards a small path near the edge of the forest, just out of aggro range of the wolf. He pulled one of his pebbles out of his inventory and threw it at the wolf. As soon as the pebble made contact Sora ran as fast as he could down the path. -0 What a pathetic amount of damage, but that¡¯s what you would expect from a pebble hitting a monster with boosted defenses. Sora continued to run while the Hardened Black Wolf followed shortly behind him, he continued running this way for 5 minutes and had planned on taking a few hits but thanks to his Scaled Boots of Waterwalking he was able to gain a little more distance from the wolf when he went across a river without having to slow down. He finally saw a small cottage with chickens running around it, he made sure the wolf kept aggro by chucking another pebble at it and continuing to run towards the cottage. Once he reach the cottage he suddenly stopped and rolled backwards. As the wolf jumped Sora was suddenly under him, leaving the wolf flying towards the nearby cottage. The wolf slammed into the cottage before turning around to face the man he had been chasing. Sora readied himself to fight and charged towards the wolf, opening his attacks with a [Slash] followed by [Concuss] disrupting the wolf''s attack. -21 -30 His attacks barely did any damage, only shaving off 10% of the wolf¡¯s health. Sora began backing up, readying his parrying dagger for when the wolf attacks. Just as the wolf attacked Sora parried the claws to the right, making the wolf fall awkwardly to the ground and gained an opportunity to deal more damage with basic attacks followed by another [Slash] when the wolf went to attack again. Sora attempted to parry again but the wolf didn¡¯t want to be pushed to the ground again and used the weight of it¡¯s body behind the attack. -44 It¡¯s attacks hurt but Sora quickly repositioned himself behind the wolf, getting in two unguarded attacks before the wolf attacked again. Now that the wolf was putting all of it¡¯s weight into his attacks, they became very predictable. Sora was able to dodge almost every attack while using [Slash] and [Concuss] when they came off cooldown. After 3 minutes of a hard fought battle, the wolf fell to the ground and dropped a some coins and a small orb of blue light. [X1 Silver obtained] [X23 Copper obtained] [Hardened Essence obtained] -Used to enchant armors and weapons, increasing defense and durability. Sora quickly put the loot away and looked towards the door of the cottage. Standing in the doorway was a thin but tall man dressed in farmer''s clothing. ¡°Hello good sir. Do you live here?¡± ¡°Mhmm, it¡¯s usually a very quiet place where I can peacefully farm but recently the wolves have been getting out of control. I thought that it wasn¡¯t a big deal but now this monstrosity has shown up here too.¡± ¡°True, usually the wolves around here don¡¯t have fur as hard as rocks, he put up quite a fight before I was able to take him down. Is there perhaps anything I can do to help?¡± This is why Sora had taken so much time to lure the wolf to this area, it was a hidden quest that could only be activated by bringing an enchanted wolf to this cottage and killing it. The quest system in ¡°The Divine Path¡± was a lot different than any other MMORPG. Most MMORPGs have an abundance of quests to choose from, so many in fact that you could be running around with fifty quests at once. ¡°The Divine Path¡± wanted a simpler system of adventuring where quests were actually quite rare to receive, this is why Sora went through so much trouble to start this quest. ¡°Normally I wouldn¡¯t put someone through the trouble but you seem to know how to fight these wolves. Down this path is a place called Silver Wolf Hill, it is the main territory of the wolves that roam around these parts. At the top of the hill is a large wolf with a silver coat of fur, killing it should make the wolves more afraid to come out of their territory. Show me the silver fur of the wolf as proof that you killed it and I will give you a special reward.¡± [Quest Received] Chapter 5: New Allies, New Enemies [A Farmers Worry] -A farmer has recently noticed an increase in the amount of wolves around his farm. He is worried the wolves may become a problem and has tasked you with finding their leader at the top of Silver Wolf Hill. Slay the leader and bring back it¡¯s fur as proof. Sora went back towards Silver Wolf Hill while thinking of different strategies for fighting the wolf. In his previous life he didn¡¯t know about the wolf and ended up missing his opportunity in fighting it. Since it was a quest boss there was only one that would spawn after the quest was accepted, meaning only one party could slay it. Once Sora came back to Silver Wolf Hill he noticed a group of people near the base of the hill. He snuck in as close as he could to listen in on what was happening. ¡­.. Blossom was standing within a circle of people with LeeLee close by. She kept looking back and forth to make sure nobody was going to launch an attack without her being prepared. She could see a troubled expression on LeeLee¡¯s face as the group surrounding her started closing in. ¡°Hey hey hey, aren¡¯t you cute when you''re cornered. What happened to your feisty tongue?¡± ¡°Shut it! You scum have been following us since we left town haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I have no idea what you''re talking about little girl, I was simply strolling through here when one of my men told me that you looked familiar. Turns out you actually tried to scam him of his money?¡± The man had blonde hair, green eyes, and a face that permeated an aura of ¡®I¡¯m too good for you¡¯. It was the same man who had tried to start trouble for Sora while he was selling his fish. He was level 10 and he was accompanied by two level 9s and four level 8s. Although Blossom and LeeLee were both level 10, they were greatly outnumbered. ¡°Bullshit! That man was trying to pressure me into selling him all of my Black Wolf Hide for just one copper a piece. Your group is nothing more than petty con men!¡± ¡°Enough! You think you have the right to talk to me, Julius that way? Watch as I kill you and your friend there, and don¡¯t you ever think about showing yourself in front of me again you ugly bitch! Men, GO!¡± As soon as the order was given the 6 other people started to move. Blossom and LeeLee readied their weapons, preparing to try and take out a couple with them before they died. Suddenly a shadow bolted from the trees of the forest, standing behind Blossom and LeeLee with a weapon drawn. Blossom couldn¡¯t react in time and thought that she was dead for sure, when suddenly one of Julius¡¯ men stopped in place and lost a large chunk of health. After that man was stunned the shadow drew an arc with his offhand and caught another man''s blade, throwing him to the side while dodging the attack of the last man. ¡°Mister fisherman?¡± Blossom was in a daze as two attacks from the men in front landed on her, she quickly snapped back into focus and rammed her shoulder against one of the attackers, launching them backwards 3 meters. Sora¡¯s eyes squinted for a moment as he recognized the skill as [Shoulder Bash], it was a basic skill that a 2-handed weapon user could learn to stagger their opponents. Blossom kept her momentum up as she pulled her shoulder up, swinging her greatsword into the other attacker. Julius was infuriated when he saw who had helped the two girls, it was the same man who had humiliated him in front of so many other people in the town. A smirk appeared on his lips as he thought of how he would be able to kill this man right now to vent his anger. ¡°Playing the white knight will only quicken your death, idiot. Well I guess I should thank you for offering up your life so easily to me, it really saved me a lot of time.¡± Julius started to laugh like he was watching the funniest thing he has ever seen. Sure he was level 11 but not even being level 15 could save him with the amount of people he had on his side. Or so he thought. Sora quickly started attacking and parrying while Blossom and LeeLee also tried to hold against three attackers. Blossom felt bitter inside, she was thinking that Sora should have just stayed out of it, there was no reason why he should have to die with them. She kept fighting with all she had, killing one of her attackers but also falling very low on health, if not for the Constitution buff she had from eating a Roasted Flat River Fish then she would already be dead. LeeLee was tangled with one attacker and used her high agility to dodge desperately while looking for an opening to help Blossom. LeeLee was finally able to kill her attacker and was about to run toward Blossom to help her, when she looked over towards Blossom she could see a sword quickly heading towards her and her health nearly at the bottom. Just as LeeLee¡¯s heart dropped a small dagger intercepted the blade and stopped Blossom from dying. Blossom had shut her eyes when the final attack was on it¡¯s way and expected to see a message saying ¡°You died please wait 24 hours to revive.¡± but instead she watched as a quick blade strike ended the life of her attacker and the body disappeared in a flash of white light. Julius was beyond shocked, he didn¡¯t want to attack to avoid getting the PKer debuff, that¡¯s why he sent his lackeys to do the dirty work. Now all of his men have died, four of which died to just one man alone. He was lost for words and started stuttering while backing up. ¡°Y-you...how did y-¡± ¡°Oh hey, long time no see. Ah it¡¯s actually quite a shame, if you had bought my Roasted Flat River Fish then you might have been able to give them to your men and take a couple of us down. Hmmm a shame indeed.¡± Julius was livid after hearing that remark, mainly because it was true. If he had given any of his men an extra 100 HP they could have surely gotten a couple more attacks in and at least killed Blossom and LeeLee. Then they could have distracted Sora while he ran away. His face contorted and turned red. Sora smiled lightly before walking forward slowly. Julius started to slowly back up as he got closer. ¡°Oh, I know how about I give you another chance, I¡¯ll sell you some Fish, of course the price will have to be inflated, I only have a few left...Hmmm how about 10 Silver per fish?¡± ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡± ¡°Now now, that¡¯s not how you should talk to the person you are buying goods from. A proper way to bargain is to remain calm and collected, talk back and forth, and then when they have let their guard down-¡± Julius was suddenly attacked from behind. -160 It was an instant kill. On top of his corpse was a Level 10 -Vicious Black Wolf- glowing with a red aura. After Julius died the wolf focused on Sora. Sora fought the wolf like any other wolf, although it had an insane amount of damage it couldn¡¯t even touch Sora. He danced around the wolf and finished the fight within 30 seconds. [X1 Silver Coin obtained] [X57 Copper Coin obtained] [X1 Vicious Essence obtained] -Used to enchant armors and weapons, increasing damage and buffing strength. Sora collected his loot and turned toward Blossom and LeeLee. They both were pretty beaten up so Sora diligently defended them while they retreated to an open area in the forest. Once there they all sat down and started to rest to recover HP and Mana. Blossom kept opening her mouth wanting to say something but couldn¡¯t quite find the words. Not only did Sora completely save both her and LeeLee, he was also already level 11 and had a superior fighting prowess. How did someone who she thought was just a simple fisherman become so amazing? ¡°Mister F-... Ethereal, I can¡¯t even find the words to express my gratitude.¡± ¡°Hmmm? That little bit I did hardly deserves a thank you.¡± ¡°You saved both of us though¡­¡± Sora walked over to blossom and held his hand out in a cupped form. Blossom didn¡¯t quite understand what was going on, she started rummaging through her coins and inventory trying to find something to pay Sora with. Sora smiled gently. ¡°1,000,000 gold coins should be enough to cover it.¡± ¡°One...MILLION?! I couldn¡¯t make that much money in my life!¡± ¡°Hehehe, alright since you don¡¯t have enough money we will just say it was a favor this time.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°And it actually is possible to make 1,000,000 gold, in fact you could make a lot more.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Just leave that to me.¡± Sora sent Blossom a friend request which she quickly accepted. After all Sora has done for her she felt greatly indebted to him, she was determined to be useful to him in the future. Sora suddenly turned toward LeeLee. ¡°What about you? Do you have 1,000,000 gold coins?¡± LeeLee opened up her inventory with a serious expression and started counting her fingers, trying her best to find 1,000,000 gold coins worth of items. Sora couldn¡¯t handle watching such an innocent girl try so hard to actually do something so impossible and immediately stopped her from counting any further. He sent her a friend request and began to chat with the two girls while they recovered. ¡­.. After a 30 minute rest all of the party was healed up and ready to go. They all shared a meal together, each one eating a Roasted Fish that Sora made, and began to pack up. ¡°Thank you, Ethereal. You really have been too kind to us and I will definitely repay you one day.¡± ¡°How about you take your first step to repaying me today?¡± ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t have much money right now¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s more like repaying me through work. I have a difficult quest I¡¯m doing and I-¡± ¡°A QUEST?!¡± ¡°...Yes a quest. If it-¡± ¡°I wanna help! No wait- PLEASE let me help!¡± Her excitement was understandable, the first quests usually only appear when you want to pick an order to swear allegiance to. If you swear allegiance to a warrior order, you do a warrior themed quest and get the warrior class as a reward. A healer would have to do a healer themed quest, a hunter would do a hunter themed quest, ect. If there is already a quest before anyone has even left the beginner village then it is surely a hidden quest. Blossom¡¯s eyes were practically sparkling, even LeeLee came hopping out from behind Blossom and had a rare shine of confidence in her eyes. Sora added them to the party and shared the quest information. Each hidden quest can only be accepted by one person but it can be shared to a party unless specified otherwise. Each party can hold 5 people so each hidden quest can only have 5 people complete it, this was basically the rarest thing in game right now. If Sora were to sell the hidden quest then he could surely make a lot of money from people wanting to be part of it. ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you! Ahhhhh you''re the best mister fisher- Ethereal!¡± ¡°Just call me mister fisherman¡­¡± LeeLee came up to Sora and tugged on his sleeve. ¡°Th-thank you mister fisherman.¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± Then LeeLee ran back behind Blossom with a red face. Blossom was surprised when her companion who doesn¡¯t talk to anyone except her did something out of her comfort zone. She had a huge smile on her face as the party went back towards Silver Wolf Hill. As the party started fighting their way up the hill, Blossom asked many questions about what Sora has done since he started playing the game. She was very surprised with how calculative he was with everything he did. Sora played it all off as having a similar experience when playing some other game. Blossom and LeeLee were slightly confused but didn¡¯t pry any further about where he gets his ideas from. ¡°Mr fisherman, I forgot to ask but what was that weird wolf that killed Julius? It was glowing or something.¡± ¡°It was an enchanted wolf, specifically it was a vicious enchanted wolf that buffed it¡¯s attack damage, that¡¯s why it killed Julius in one hit. I fought another enchanted wolf that had the Hardened enchantment which gave it extra defense and when it died I ended up getting this quest.¡± ¡°Hehe~ I¡¯m starting to like these enchanted wolfies.¡± The team kept fighting their way up the hill until they were almost at the top. All three of them leveled up and decided to clear out some of the wolves near the top, this way they could move around more freely while fighting the boss. After 1 hour of killing they were finally ready to fight the boss. ¡­.. As soon as they reached the top of the hill the daylight turned into night and a moon was seen rotating randomly across the sky. The moon left a large silver spot on the hill that would sizzle as it swept along the ground. Sora frowned slightly as he surveyed the area. There wasn¡¯t many places to take cover at and the light from the moon was obviously a damaging zone. They basically had to kite the boss around while also making sure not to step in the silver moonlight. Blossom and LeeLee gulped slightly as they looked at the intense atmosphere and the nametag above the majestic silver wolf. Level 15 [Luna, the Silver Wolf] - Rare Sora gently nudged Blossom to wake her from her daze, they needed to be fully focused or else the entire party could wipe and have to wait 24 hours to come back online. ¡°So the basics of this fight are going to be me kiting the boss while you two deal damage. I¡¯m going to go in a complete circle around the hill and once I kite him back to this area we are at I want Blossom to take the aggro away from me while I recuperate. I can probably only take about two attacks so make sure you can take the aggro away from me. If the boss makes any large movements while I have aggro it will be up to Blossom to use a [Shoulder Bash] to try and disrupt his attack. If Blossom has aggro the I will use [Concuss] to stop the attack.LeeLee you just keep doing damage and make sure not to pull too much aggro, if you pull too much aggro just run until one of us can pull it back. Make sure you both stay out of the silver moonlight. Well, ready?¡± ¡°¡±Y-Yes!¡±¡± Blossom and LeeLee both seem extremely nervous, they haven¡¯t even gotten close to the boss and they are already sweating. Sora started walking towards the boss as Blossom and LeeLee tried to find the courage to move their legs. Sora stopped and turned around. ¡°Let¡¯s just do our best, ok?¡± Blossom and LeeLee let out a deep breathe before finally stabilizing their emotions. They felt that they at least owe Sora this much, they feel that they have to be useful, even if it just means taking a few hits for him while he runs away. They have to try. Sora ran up to the boss and attacked, the boss had a fairly long activation animation and everyone was able to get in three hits before his animation was finished. The boss turned towards Sora and started to attack. Sora was constantly moving backwards along the edge of the hill while continuing to attack, he focused mainly on parrying so that he could avoid taking unnecessary damage. So far everything was going smoothly. It had only been half a rotation and the boss had 20% of his health shaved off, once the boss hit 75% health it put it¡¯s body into a pouncing position. As soon as Blossom saw it was about to pounce on top of Sora she used [Shoulder Bash] and pushed the wolf back a meter and a half, effectively disrupting the jump attack. Once Sora completed a full rotation the boss had 63% health left. Blossom started attacking while Sora focused on just defending until the aggro was pulled onto Blossom. Sora didn¡¯t take a hit and didn¡¯t need time to recuperate his health, he started attacking the boss as soon as the aggro was firmly held by Blossom. Just as Blossom past a quarter of her rotation the boss fell to 50% health and started to do the same pouncing attack it did earlier. Sora used [Concuss] and stopped it from activating. With the ability stopped everything was progressing as it should, but then the silver moonlight started to come closer to Blossom, as Blossom was kiting backwards she noticed the light and started to have a worried expression on her face. Sora scanned the area as he kept attacking. ¡°Blossom, pull the boss further down the hill. We are going to aggro a couple wolves but it¡¯s better than testing the damage on that moonlight. LeeLee when the wolves get pulled stop attacking the boss and kill off whatever wolves we pull aggro from, it will be a good opportunity to reduce your aggro on the boss anyways. Blossom strafed down the hill a little more and ended up pulling two more wolves into the fight, Sora used [Slash] and [Concuss] on one of them before returning to the boss. LeeLee easily killed off the two wolves and returned to the boss, her aggro was basically reset so she was able to fully unleash her damage for a while. While Blossom was strafing back towards her original path she ended up taking a hit from the boss. -92 She flinched slightly but continued on with the plan, right before her cycle was completed the boss hit 25% health and used the pounce attack again. Sora used [Concuss] but this time it was met with a message saying ¡°Immune¡± before the wolf pounced on top of Blossom. -170 Blossom was barely left with any health and Sora put out as much damage as he could to regain aggro, once aggro was under control blossom took a moment to recuperate by drinking a health pot and then went back to attacking the boss. One more trip around the hill and the boss finally let out long sorrowful howl as it fell to the ground. [Level up] -Server Announcement- Player Ethereal has successfully killed the first Rare boss. +1 Gold, +100 Fame, +Skill has been awarded. Player Sister Blossom has successfully killed the first Rare boss. +1 Gold, +100 Fame, +Skill has been awarded. Player LeeLee has successfully killed the first Rare boss. +1 Gold, +100 Fame, +Skill has been awarded. Blossom was so excited that she ran up to Sora and immediately hugged him without any warning. Even LeeLee got too excited and ended up clinging onto Sora for a group hug. Sora smiled as he immediately cleared his throat, waking Blossom and LeeLee from their excitement. Both the girls immediately removed themselves and faced the opposite direction with red faces. Sora checked the skill he obtained. [Purge with Silver obtained] Cost: 50 mana Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 2 minutes -Infuse your weapon with silver moonlight, dealing increased damage to undead. At the end of the ability the moonlight will disperse into the nearest 3 enemies dealing 100% Damage or 200% Damage if target is undead. It was a good skill, the cooldown was a little long and the mana cost was high but in ¡°The Divine Path¡± there are many enemies who are considered undead, on top of that the end of the ability has a multi target attack. Any attack that hits multiple enemies are extremely rare at this stage in the game. Sora watched the faces of the two girls as they read their skills and they were smiling from ear to ear the entire time they were reading it. Sora walked over to the corpse of the boss and touched the corpse. [x1 Silver Fanged Dagger obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 70/70 Damage - 45-55 Requires - Dagger based class - Level 15 ¡°A dagger fashioned from the sharpest fang of Luna, The Silver Wolf. The blade is especially effective against undead and is extremely good at hitting vital points.¡± +15 Dexterity +10 Agility +150% Damage Against Undead Sora gave the dagger to LeeLee without any hesitation, as she held it in her hand she pulled it close into her embrace and almost seemed like she was about to cry. ¡°How could I take something like this from you? It¡¯s too much¡­¡± ¡°You need to be strong for the next time we fight together.¡± Sora gave LeeLee a reassuring nod before returning to looting the boss. [x1 Silver Clawed Gloves obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 80/80 Defense - 13 Requires - Heavy Armor Class - Level 15 ¡°Gloves made from the fur of Luna, The Silver Wolf. Claws have been attached on top of the gloves giving the gloves more durability and more defense.¡± +15 Strength +10 Constitution +5 Defense Sora once again gave the gloves away without any hesitation. Blossom happily accepted them before jumping up and down in excitement. [Lucky Coin obtained] -Use to permanently add 1 point of luck. Sora finally took something for himself, and he was a lot more satisfied with this item than he would be with any equipment. He used the coin and added 1 point of luck into his attributes. Ethereal Level - 13 Damage - 47-50 Defense - 26 Mana - 100 HP - 200/200 Strength - 75(+5) Agility - 10(+5) Constitution - 10 Dexterity - 10 Endurance - 10 Intelligence - 10 Wisdom - 10 Spirit - 10 Luck - 1 Fame - 100 Faith - 0 The rest of the loot was just regular black wolf hides, the fur for the quest, and some silver coins, he divided them amongst everyone. Blossom and LeeLee refused to accept them at first but Sora decided to compromise by giving them the hides and keeping the silver using the excuse of not needing the hides. Now that the boss fight was over the party headed back down the hill, ready to turn in their quest. Chapter 6: Fame and Fortune Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee came up to a small cottage in the woods that was surrounded by chickens. Sitting on a chair in the front of the cottage was a thin man who looked like a farmer that was spreading grain across the ground, watching the chickens as they swarmed around him. The farmer noticed Sora and his party approaching so he tucked away the pouch of grains and walked towards them. The farmer had a confused look on his face as he looked at the two girls that he had never seen before. Sora stepped up to the farmer first. ¡°Hello again, sir. These two ladies accompanied me to slay the silver wolf, if not for them I would surely be dead.¡± ¡°They do look quite capable¡­ I suppose this means you completed my request?¡± Sora pulled out the silver fur and handed it to the farmer. The fur was soft to the touch yet when the group was fighting Luna, The Silver Wolf it felt as if they were striking an iron wall. The farmer took the fur and started to examine the fur carefully. ¡°Hoho, I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to keep the fur in such good condition. As for your reward¡­ How about I make you a piece of equipment from this fur?¡± ¡°Oh? This farmer here is an armor smith?¡± ¡°Hehehe, not quite not quite. Wolves come here a lot so I have fought them many times, I ended up with so much fur that I decided to start tailoring them into cloaks. I can make you a cloak from this fur, I¡¯m sure it would provide warmth when needed and a generous amount of defense considering the quality of this fur.¡± ¡°That is acceptable, I will entrust the task to you then.¡± ¡°Alright, it shouldn¡¯t take long so you can just wait here for a moment.¡± The farmer brought the fur into the cottage and closed the door behind him. ¡°Mister fisherman, are you sure me and LeeLee will also get a reward?¡± ¡°As long as you were able to accept the quest, you will be able to get a reward. It should be something closely resembling my reward.¡± ¡°I sure hope so, that silver fur was so beautiful~¡± After just a couple minutes the door to the cottage opened and the farmer came out with three different style cloaks. The first cloak was a small cloak that tapered to one side and was hooded. The farmer walked up to LeeLee and gave that cloak to her. The second cloak was a full cloak with a hood, it¡¯s design was very basic but the silver fur made it look very elegant. The farmer handed this cloak to Blossom. The last cloak was similar in design to the one Blossom had received except it came to a taper at the bottom middle and featured a elegant picture of a moon in the center. The farmer handed this cloak to Sora. [x1 Cloak of the Silver Moon obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 60/60 Defense - 10 Requires - Level 15 ¡°A cloak fashioned from the fur of Luna, The Silver Wolf. The fur is exceptionally soft to the touch, yet can¡¯t be cut through by ordinary swords.¡± +15 Strength +15 Constitution ¡°I thank you adventurers, now my farm will have peace for the time being. I will forever remember this favor.¡± [Quest Complete] [Level Up] -Server Announcement- Player Ethereal has completed the first hidden quest. +1 Gold +100 Fame +Skill has been awarded. Player Sister Blossom has completed the first hidden quest. +1 Gold +100 Fame +Skill has been awarded. Player LeeLee has completed the first hidden quest. +1 Gold +100 Fame +Skill has been awarded. [Crippling Strike obtained] Cost: 10 mana Cooldown: 10 Seconds -Attack that deals 100% Damage and reduces movement speed of target by 50% for 5 seconds. Hidden quests are definitely very lucrative. Within 2 hours Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee obtained a total of three levels, five pieces of rare gear, and two skills each. The party of three was very far ahead in gear and skills and just slightly ahead in levels. ¡­..Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The entire game was in an uproar, three players managed to get two server announcements within 10 minutes of each other. The rewards were enough to make other players drool and incited envy amongst over half the players. The forums were blowing up talking about who these three players were. ¡°Simmering Sun - Ethereal, Sister Blossom, and LeeLee. Anyone ever hear these names in other games?¡± ¡°Reverse Action - They must be part of a big guild, to achieve so much.¡± ¡°Three Pants - Pffft, I bet they were just lucky, I¡¯ve never heard their names. I doubt they will accomplish anything else in the future.¡± ¡°Basic Slime - The guy above me is suuuper jealous, luck can¡¯t kill a Rare boss or else I would be sleeping with four leaf clovers every night!¡± ¡°Snail Race - LOL maybe you''re onto something Basic Slime¡­ Does anyone know where I can buy four leaf clovers?¡± One player was reading the forums with a grim face, he had blonde hair, green eyes, and a face that permeated an aura of ¡®I¡¯m too good for you¡¯. He suddenly slammed his hands on his desk and threw his keyboard across the room. ¡°BASTARDS!¡± Of course this man was Julius, he was actually the leader of a fairly large guild in other MMORPGs and has always been the one to make others feel despair, this was his first time being pushed to the edge by some no name players. Julius opened his desk and pulled out another keyboard, he seemed to have quite the temper as he had several back up keyboards. Julius pulled up a page with the title ¡°Multi-Million¡± and started to make a post. ¡°Julius - Anyone who see¡¯s Ethereal, Sister Blossom, or LeeLee. KILL. ON. SIGHT.¡± ¡°Green Envy - Ohhhhhhh, someone made boss man mad. Don¡¯t worry boss, anyone who messes with our guild won¡¯t have a happy ending.¡± ¡°Boring Killer - Hehehe this should be fun.¡± ¡°Sophisticated Friend - Wait, aren¡¯t those the players who just got two server announcements?¡± ¡°Junk Junky - How did we make such strong enemies? Oh well, it¡¯s only three people, what can they do?¡± ¡­.. Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee all returned to town and made their way to the store to sell off junk items and to restock on basic supplies. Sora ended up buying a few more health potions and decided that he should go fishing again to restock on food and get the last bit of EXP needed to level up to 15 so he could transport to the capital. ¡°Ooo! Take us with you and teach us how to fish too!¡± ¡°Eh? Are you sure? You didn¡¯t seem too interested in it when we first met.¡± ¡°That was before I realized how good the buffs from eating are, this plain bread only sates hunger, it does nothing else for me. Pleeeease~?¡± Sigh ¡°Fine, you will have to buy a fishing pole and shovel though.¡± ¡°Yay! Thank you mister fisherman.¡± Blossom happily bought two fishing poles and two shovels, she gave one of each of them to LeeLee. The trio went out of town as people who saw them started to whisper amongst themselves. Sora heard the whispers and didn¡¯t really care. Blossom heard them and proudly pushed her chest forward and held her head high, enjoying her moment of glory. LeeLee was very uncomfortable and stuck to the back of Blossom. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t those two girls the ones who were announced two times just a little while ago?¡± ¡°Yes, yes they are which means that guy in front must be Ethereal.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe they were in our beginner town this entire time! I have to tell my friends about this!¡± Sora noticed that they were drawing a little too much attention and informed Blossom and LeeLee that they could hide their profile information. Blossom reluctantly started to change her information to private and LeeLee had almost instantly set her options to private as soon as Sora told them how. The trio finally made their way to the river after a short walk, instead of fishing in the same spot as last time, Sora decided to cross the river and head down to where two rivers connect. ¡°Alright, this spot should be good. Now, start digging.¡± ¡°Digging? Why? Shouldn¡¯t we be fishing?¡± ¡°You have to have bait to be able to fish.¡± ¡°Eh? That much detail just to go fishing? You know a elegant lady such as myself shouldn¡¯t have to dirty my hands with such labor, how about you d-¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What if-¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°B-but-¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little more like LeeLee? Look at how diligent she is.¡± As Sora and Blossom were talking LeeLee had already started to dig for bait, when she heard Sora compliment her she shyly turned away and continued digging frantically. Blossom was sulking but started to dig anyways. It was quite surprising to Sora that the girl who was so full of energy was reluctant to dig while the timid girl who sometimes seemed lethargic was the one who worked diligently. A couple of hours passed by until they stopped digging and Sora started to teach them to fish. ¡°The key to fishing is keeping focus without losing patience. Sometimes you can fail to fish 10 times in a row, you just have to keep going to raise your level, the higher the level, the more you succeed. Don¡¯t be discouraged if you miss the fi-¡± Just as Sora was about to motivate them when they failed their first attempt they both hooked a fish and brought it to shore. They were barely the size of a finger but they still caught a fish, it could be considered quite lucky to succeed in their first attempt. ¡­.. ¡°Hehehe this is my 5th catch in a row mister fisherman, what were you saying about it being hard?¡± Sora was staring at his fishing line gloomily as the trio fished. Blossom and LeeLee have had incredible luck in fishing and quickly raised their levels to 5. Meanwhile Sora had already failed four times in a row with his level 9 fishing. Sora finally was able to catch a fairly big Feline Fish Snapper and was about to gloat about it when suddenly LeeLee hooked an item. Sora ran over to her side and talked her through when to let the reel go and how to maneuver the rod until the sight of a wooden fish could be seen coming to shore. ¡°You''re quite lucky LeeLee, open the box and let¡¯s see what you got.¡± LeeLee opened the box to reveal a silver ring with a pearl placed into the top of it, surrounded by inscriptions of waves. LeeLee shared the stats with the party. [Ring of the Shallow Sea] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 40/40 Requires - Level 10 ¡°A silver ring that has a breathtaking image of waves crashing against a shore. A polished pearl has been inlaid into it to serve as the centerpiece.¡± +10 Agility +5 Constitution +10% Chance for Fishing Skill to succeed A ring was hard to come by at this stage in the game, it could very well stay with her until up to level 40 or 50. Sora gave an approving nod when LeeLee suddenly did something unexpected. She immediately tried to hand the ring to Sora. Sora had a genuine smile on his face as he declined and made LeeLee wear the ring. It almost looked like Sora had proposed when he helped LeeLee put the ring on her left hand. Blossom had a perverted look on her face as she watched the scene. Realising how it looked, both Sora and LeeLee quickly separated and went back to fishing. The trio repeated the process of digging and fishing, Sora even managed to gain a digging level in the process, until finally¡­ [Level up] Congratulations, you now qualify to transport to the capital of the kingdom. Please speak with the beginner town sage to continue to the capital. Chapter 7: Another Lesson Sora used the rest of his bait and began chopping down Gel Trees. Blossom and LeeLee didn¡¯t have an axe so it was up to him to supply them with a fire for cooking. After chopping down trees for 2 hours he managed to gain 2 woodcutting levels and distributed some Gel Tree Lumber and tinder to the two girls. Sora decided to cook his fish before he returned to town and ended up gaining 3 levels in cooking, 230 Roasted Flat River Fish and 166 Roasted Feline Fish Snappers. ¡°Blossom, what kind of class do you want to be?¡± ¡°How cool would it be to be a class who can smash through my enemies without stopping? I¡¯ve always visioned myself rushing through a horde of enemies, leaving nothing but a trail of corpses in my path. Don¡¯t you think that would be cool?¡± ¡°Hmmmm, so an Executioner¡­.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh nothing, nothing at all. What about you LeeLee?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I want to be able to blend in to my surroundings and only reveal myself when necessary. I guess an assassin class would be ok with me¡­¡± Sora started to think back to his previous life, he had a lot of friends that would give him information on different hidden classes and quests so he was trying to find a suitable hidden class for the two girls. Blossom was a little reckless in fighting but her reaction times were on the level that famous players had in his previous life. LeeLee was not confident in her abilities but she was able to analyze a situation quickly and react accordingly, if she wasn¡¯t so shy she would make an excellent raid leader. ¡°Message me when you two make it into the city, don¡¯t swear allegiance to an order until we meet up again.¡± ¡°O-ok then, I¡¯ll trust you mister fisherman.¡± ¡°Good luck you two, you should be able to reach level 15 in about 5 hours so I¡¯ll see you then.¡± ¡°Mhmm see you then!¡± ¡°Goodluck mister fisherman.¡± Sora packed up his equipment and materials and headed back towards town, trying to think of a suitable class for the two girls. ¡°Hey, Blossom. Why do you think mister fisherman wants us to wait before we get a class?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure LeeLee, but he hasn¡¯t let us down yet. I¡¯m sure we will get a big surprise once we make it to the capital. So let¡¯s do our best to get there faster!¡± ¡°Mhmm!¡± The two girls finished cooking and decided to go back to Silver Wolf Hill to grind out the last bit of experience to level 15. ¡­.. Sora entered the town and walked directly to a small tower like building in the center of the town, it was made from a red polished looking wood and stood two stories above any of the other buildings in the town. Sora walked in and found a courtyard area at the bottom story, in the center of the courtyard was a statue of a beautiful lady that had a golden aura permeating from it. This area was the respawn point and the statue was of Helara, Goddess of Life. Sora could see players reviving every now and then with an irritated look on their face, just as Sora was passing by a white flash appeared followed by the appearance of a guy with blonde hair, it was Julius. Julius had just waited out his respawn timer and was happy to finally be back in the game. He smiled as he walked away from the statue, then he saw Sora. Julius¡¯s smile instantly transformed into a scowl of anger, it looked like he wanted to tear Sora into a million pieces. ¡°You.¡± ¡°Oho if it isn¡¯t my good friend Julius, I hope that little lesson about how to bargain last time has helped you.¡± ¡°YOU TRICKED ME YOU PIECE OF TRASH!¡± Julius had attracted the attention of many players around the tower and even some guard NPCs took notice of him. The players quickly formed an audience as they gathered around Sora and Julius. ¡°Ah, I went through all that trouble to teach you how to bargain and yet you still resort to the same old tactics, really such a shame after I put in so much work to train you. Ok ok I guess I can teach you one more time, first you need to remain calm and collected, talk back-¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°STOP!¡± Julius started to check behind him with a fearful look in his eyes, although he was in town and there wasn¡¯t any enemies around he was still paranoid. After seeing all of the players that they attracted he straightened himself out and tried to look as dignified as possible. ¡°Ethereal, if you are a man then challenge me to a duel right here right now. No buffs from food, no healing, and no help from other players.¡± Julius was sure that the only reason why he was killed last time was because Sora tricked him into backing into a wolf, that¡¯s why he had such confidence when challenging Sora. Sora simply responded by sending Julius a duel request. ¡°You truly are a lucky man, to be taught not only a lesson on bargaining but also a lesson on fighting. Let us go.¡± ¡°Hehehe. I invite everybody to watch as I, the leader of the Multi-Million guild crushes this man. Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to defy my guild!¡± [Duel commencing in] 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Right after the countdown ended Julius started to rush towards Sora, after the duel commenced Sora couldn¡¯t keep his profile information private anymore. ¡°Level 15 already!? I thought I was making good time at level 9.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ isn¡¯t Ethereal one of the players who was announced two times in a row?¡± ¡°I gotta record this!¡± Players started to record the fight between Julius and Sora just as Julius was making his first attack. Sora dodged the first attack made by Julius and followed up with a quick basic attack and [Slash] taking Julius''s health down to around 10%. ¡°Wh-what is that damage!¡± ¡°Is the fight really going to be over that quickly? It hasn¡¯t even been 5 seconds¡­¡± Julius was panicked as he pulled away from Sora thinking he was about to finish him off, once Julius ran to the edge of the battlefield he stopped and watched Sora carefully. Sora didn¡¯t attempt to make another attack after he used [Slash]. He calmly stood there and watched Julius run for his life, Sora calmy chuckled as he decided to make this fight a little more interesting. ¡°Julius, we can¡¯t possibly let these good people have such a poor show, I haven¡¯t even begun to teach you the lesson to fighting and you''re already almost dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Julius started to rush towards Sora with a bloodlust in his eyes, he had been driven beyond reason and just wanted to draw as much blood from Sora as he could. ¡°Alright the lesson is going to begin now, you have 30 seconds so try to learn fast.¡± Sora used [Purge with Silver] making his sword glow with a pure silver colored light and then pulled up his parrying dagger as Julius was just meters in front of him. ¡°Lesson one. Don¡¯t let your emotions take control, you start to lose your sense of reasoning and make more mistakes.¡± Julius started to attack wildly as Sora danced around, dodging every attack that Julius could throw out. All Julius wanted to do was land a hit on Sora, he started putting his weight into his attacks. ¡°Lesson two. A good defense beats a good offense, a good offense beats a bad defense.¡± Sora parried one of the attacks and threw Julius to the ground due to Julius using his weight behind his attacks. Julius rolled on the ground before getting back up wanting to attack Sora again. As Julius looked to where Sora just was he noticed that his target had disappeared. As Julius noticed Sora was gone he heard a voice coming from behind him. ¡°Lesson three. Never lose track of your enemy.¡± Julius jumped away and turned to find Sora standing right behind where he used to be. Julius ran towards Sora with red eyes, almost looking like tears were about to start flowing. Sora put his weapon and parrying dagger down as he stood straight, watching as Julius came at him with a maddening obsession. ¡°Ah, we seem to be out of time so I will leave you with one last lesson. Lesson four. Don¡¯t overestimate yourself.¡± When Julius saw Sora lower his weapons a wide grin formed on his face and he started laughing maniacally. Julius lunged towards Sora and just as his sword was about to make contact a silver light flashed and Julius found himself looking at a message saying ¡°You have lost the duel.¡± Julius was transported out of the arena and found himself standing directly across from Sora. ¡°No...No! NO NO NO NO! YOU MUST HAVE CHEATED, THERE¡¯S NO WAY YOU KILLED ME.¡± Julius pulled his sword up and ran at Sora, wanting to land the attack he was about to land before the duel ended. As Julius was running at Sora a guard suddenly stood in between the two. ¡°Get out of my way you shitty NPC!¡± Julius attempted to attack the guard and was met with the beautiful sight of a nice round damage number popping up. -0 The guard retaliated with his own attack. -14,665 Julius obviously died, there was no way anybody could survive that kind of attack at this stage in the game. The crowd was left speechless as some started to review the clip of Sora ending the fight, all they could see was a streak of silver light hitting Julius. Sora continued up the tower to find the sage as many players started posting the video of Julius and Sora fighting. Within just a few minutes the video had gained mass popularity and was one of the hottest topics of discussion amongst players. The way Sora fought was deemed as top tier and many players decided to try using the parrying dagger afterwards, almost every one of them failed. For the second time, Sora made the forums blow up with complaints about how hard it was to use the parrying dagger. ¡­.. Sora climbed to the last floor of the tower and found an old man dressed in brown robes staring out of the windows and into the distance. Sora equipped his [Cloak of Silver Moon] and approached the NPC. ¡°Greetings, great sage. I would like to be transported to the capital so that I may fight against the demon army and help humanity rise again.¡± ¡°You have indeed proven yourself worthy enough to help with humanity''s sufferings. All of our fates are on your shoulders, good luck brave adventurer and may the Goddesses bless your journeys.¡± The sage flicked his wrist as a glowing circle with many different runes appeared below Sora, after a few seconds the circle flashed as Sora disappeared from the room. [Welcome to the capital of the Eastern Legion, The City of Var.] Chapter 8: Unexpected Surprise Sora appeared in a large courtyard, it appeared desolate at the moment but when more players start to arrive this will be the main hub for trading, group finding, and even dating. The center of the courtyard had an enormous fountain with a statue of Helara as the centerpiece. The bottom of the fountain had built in seats to accommodate a large amount of players and guards could be seen standing around the fountain dressed in silver and gold armor. Sora headed out of the courtyard to one of the many buildings clustered around the courtyard. The building had elegant windows that displayed shiny materials, weapons, and armor. The lowest price of the equipment being displayed in the window was 500 gold pieces for a stylish dagger made with intricate carvings of lotuses on the blade. Sora didn¡¯t bother looking at any of the equipment on display in the shop and headed towards a man behind a counter, presumably the owner of the shop. The man had a finely groomed mustache that curled at the ends and dressed more classy than most NPCs would. ¡°Greetings adventurer, is there anything I can help you with today? You seem to be one of my first customers for today so I¡¯ll give you a good deal.¡± ¡°A noble who isn¡¯t stingy with his money is very rare to find in these days, you have my gratitude ahead of time.¡± ¡°Ohoho, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not a noble young man but I am quite happy that you would think I am.¡± Sora immediately made the owner of the shop have a good impression of him. He had dealt with this NPC quite a bit in his previous life as it was a very popular shop near the center of the city which he frequented nearly every time he was nearby. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to have any identification tools for sale do you?¡± ¡°We indeed have many of them for sale, let me bring some out.¡± The shop owner went behind the counter and started to shuffle through multiple cabinets and containers. He came back and put five different magnifying glasses on the counter. The first one was a simple wooden handled tool with a convex mirror in the center while the last one was made from a metal that shined with a purple luster and had many different sized mirrors that could be added or subtracted from the center mirror. Sora quickly picked up the basic wooden handled tool. ¡°How much for this one here?¡± ¡°Well that tool isn¡¯t very expensive, since you caught me in such a good mood you can just take it for free.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that generous offer, thank you once again kind sir." The results of Sora flattering the shop owner was more effective than he though, he guessed it was because he was the first customer to come to the city. Sora stored his tool and headed out of the shop. The tool was used to identify weapons that didn¡¯t display stats or effects. It was mainly only needed for rare items or above but it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to have one handy at all times, you never know when luck will strike. It was better to have the tool in case a rare weapon drops to avoid from having to come back to town every time you need to identify something. Sora went a few buildings down from the shop and found another building with a huge forge placed next to it. There was a stubby looking man with a huge beard who was pouring liquid metal into a mold. Sora walked up to the man once he was finished pouring the metal and directly gave him 20 silver. ¡°A sturdy sword with a good edge is all I ask, get me whatever this amount can cover.¡± This blacksmith was a straightforward man, he took the silver before going to a rack with many different swords and pulled a straight sword with a hint of blue mixed into the metal before coming back and handing the sword to Sora. [X1 Frost Iron Sword obtained] Rarity - Common Durability - 50/50 Damage - 21-28 Requires - Level 15 ¡°Made from an ore found in the Eastern and Northern part of the continent. The blade is lighter, sharper, and more sturdy than a normal iron sword.¡± +5 Strength Sora knew that the blacksmith preferred when players were more direct with their purchases, if Sora had tried to barter with the blacksmith then the sword could have cost him an extra 5 to 10 silver. He equipped his new sword and decided to start leveling up until Blossom and LeeLee were able to make it to the city. Sora headed towards the west side of the town where a huge gate that seemed to be made for giants opened up into a vast plains. The plains consisted of basic enemies like bunnies, foxes, and wolves. Sora didn¡¯t pay any attention to these enemies and took a path that circled towards the north of the city. After 10 minutes the plains turned into a forest and the forest turned into a swamp.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Sora walked through the swamp until he finally saw a shadow that was hunkered down within the muck of the swamp. As he got closer he could smell the stench of rotting corpses and finally got close enough to see the figure that was hunkered down. Level 17 -Zombie Villager- Sora pulled out a Roasted Feline Snapper and consumed it, gaining 10 agility. As Sora came close the zombie suddenly turned to face him, it¡¯s jaw was dislocated and seemed to be leaking a green mucus as it staggered up to it¡¯s feet. Sora decided to use a hit and run tactic, zombies were extremely slow and could only really do damage if they cornered you. Sora opened up with a basic attack followed by a [Crippling Strike] so the zombie would be slowed down even further. With his agility buff from consuming a Roasted Feline Snapper, the slow movement of the zombie, and the parry dagger working constantly to block attacks Sora was able to kill the zombie very quickly without taking a hit. The zombie fell into the mud before it¡¯s corpse disappeared, leaving behind a few copper coins. Sora continued to hunt zombies, zombies who were alone were basically just free EXP waiting for Sora to come by and take. Even when there were two zombies Sora didn¡¯t have trouble kiting them around using [Crippling Strike] and [Concuss] to keep the zombies away from him. After hunting this way for a while Sora finally ran into a bit of a road block. In front of Sora was a pack of four zombies that would stay grouped up as they roamed around. ¡°Hmmm, it should be a little interesting.¡± Sora used [Purge With Silver] before rushing out to meet the zombies head on, opening with a [Concuss] and [Crippling Strike] to take two of the zombies out of the fight for a while. With the buff from [Purge with Silver] the zombies health quickly dropped, when one of the zombies was close to dying he would kite away from it and start focusing on another one. Just as Sora killed one of the zombies a bright silver light flashed as huge damage numbers appeared above the other three zombies, killing them all at the same time. The plan when Sora fought against groups of three or more was to whittle down the health of all the zombies to a point where [Purge With Silver] could eliminate them all at once, this kept his DPS at the maximum amount, making his clearing speed very high. [Level up] [Level up] [Level up] Sora was leveling at around a level per hour but now that he was over the levels of the zombies the EXP slowed down. Sora estimated that Blossom and LeeLee would be entering the city soon and decided to head back, killing zombies on the way. Just as Sora was about to leave the swamp he saw a small object that was glowing a bright gold running through the swamp. Sora suddenly stopped, mouth agape as he examined the creature. Level 1 [Treasure Spirit] Sora suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, in his past life he had only encountered a treasure spirit 7 times. Sora quickly calmed his mind down as he examined the small orb of golden light jump around, leaving after images. The spirit suddenly started heading in Sora¡¯s direction. Sora started to panic as he formulated a plan on dealing with the spirit, the spirit only had 1 HP but trying to hit it was extremely difficult. Even professional players looked like clumsy noobs in front of the treasure spirit. Sora thought of a plan before hiding behind a tree, holding a small pebble. Sora used [Purge With Silver] on the small pebble before dropping it and stealthily walking around the treasure spirit, positioning himself behind it. ¡°10...9...8..7¡± Sora started to count down as he ran towards the treasure spirit with his sword drawn. The treasure spirit suddenly turned away from him, shrieking as it bolted in the opposite direction. Just as the treasure spirit ran past a tree a flash of silver light appeared. -1 The treasure spirit fell to the floor before the golden aura dispersed, leaving behind a ring that shimmered in a golden light. Sora walked happily towards the loot with a smile plastered on his face, this is the first time he¡¯s felt this way since the accident, he was truly having a good time. Sora bent down and picked up the ring. [x1 Ring of Good Fortune obtained] Rarity - Unique Rare Durability - 55/55 Requires - Level 15 ¡°An ancient ring that has been blessed by Lucia, Goddess of Luck.¡± +5 All Stats +2 Luck Sora put the ring on and looked at it for 5 minutes straight before finally pulling away from it. This ring will probably stay with him until possibly level 70 or 80, the +5 stat gain for his base stats were good but he was even more excited about the +2 luck. Luck buffing items were one of the rarest effects an equip can have. Sora continued to fight at the edge of the swamp with renewed vigor, he was the arch nemesis of zombies and ended up leaving when he got a message from Blossom. ¡°We are in the city mister fisherman, it¡¯s so pretty! Hurry up and get over here so we can get our classes.¡± ¡°Alright I¡¯m on my way now, start looking around the city so you know where everything is.¡± Sora headed back to the city as he tried to find an excuse for when he told Blossom and LeeLee how to get hidden classes. He quickly shrugged it off and decided that he will tell them he found some clues in a hidden cave. ¡­.. The courtyard in the city was now starting to fill up with players, some players already opened a shop in the best locations so they could attract a lot of customers. The merchandise wasn¡¯t all that great but someone would want what they have. Sora found a pair of girls dressed in black leather with beautiful silver capes wrapping around their bodies, the passing players couldn¡¯t help but take a second look as they walked by. Blossom saw Sora and ran up to him with an excited look. ¡°Mister fisherman this place is so cool! Now let¡¯s go get our classes, hurry hurry I really want to get my warrior class already.¡± ¡°Now now, let¡¯s find a place to talk in private first, I have some information you might find interesting.¡± ¡°Oooooo alright let¡¯s go grab a bite at a restaurant I found down the street. There shouldn¡¯t be anyone there since everyone is rushing to get a class and start grinding EXP.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then.¡± Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee all went to an out of the way restaurant and just as Blossom had predicted, the entire place was empty. Sora ordered a meal for the three of them and sat down in a corner before putting on a serious look. ¡°Would a hidden class be interesting to either of you?¡± Chapter 9: The Order of the Warrior ¡°Hidden¡­ class?¡± Blossom and LeeLee sat at the table in a stupor. The two girls already felt like they were blessed to be able to defeat the first rare boss and complete the first hidden quest, now Sora had information regarding hidden classes? Blossom began to think things through and came to the conclusion that Sora must have gotten a hidden class and wanted to share it with the two girls. ¡°Mister fisherman¡­ I really appreciate your kindness¡­ but I don¡¯t think your hidden class will suit either of us.¡± ¡°True, that¡¯s why I¡¯m offering both of you a different one.¡± Blossom nearly choked on her food, to already have information regarding a hidden class for each of them seemed impossible, yet when Blossom started thinking of all the things Sora was capable of she finally started to settle down. Blossom leaned in towards Sora while looking around the restaurant. ¡°Wh-what kind of classes are we talking about here?¡± ¡°Well your class would use a greatsword and heavy armor, the skills would be centered around keeping momentum when attacking, and if used correctly would allow you to decimate hordes of enemies without having to stop moving.¡± Blossom seemed to have hearts in her eyes as she listened to the class details, it was everything she wanted and more. As Blossom was busy imagining her new class Sora looked towards LeeLee, she was eagerly waiting for Sora to tell her about her class. ¡°As for your class, it will use double daggers and wear light armor, the skills are centered around stealthy attack and keeping your target debuffed while also slowly killing them with curses, it¡¯s very hard to use but I believe you could do it.¡± LeeLee also seemed to have hearts in her eyes, but only for a split second as she quickly pulled herself together. Blossom had also came back to reality once Sora had finished telling LeeLee about her class. ¡°Alright let¡¯s do it already, I can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± ¡°Alright, the plan will be to go over the strategies with you one at a time, the class quests are very difficult so a little mental preparation will be needed. Let¡¯s start with you first Blossom, our starting point will be at the Warrior Order Hall.¡± In the Eastern part of the city was an enormous building that spanned for hundreds of meters. The building had a entrance room that was a dome shape with 6 side rooms that represented the 6 base classes of ¡°The Divine Path¡±. The 6 orders are; The Order of the Warrior, The Order of the Healer, The Order of the Assassin, The order of the Knight, The Order of the Mage, and The Order of the Archer. Each order specialized in a base class and offered class promotions to those who prove themselves worthy to the order. Sora and the two girls walked towards the first hall, which represented The Order of the Warrior. When they entered they were greeted with the sight of a long room adorned with swords, armor, and battle trophies on either wall. At the end of the room was a large man with red hair and scars all over his face and arms. As the trio was heading down the hall Sora started telling Blossom the plan. ¡°When you accept the quest to become a warrior you will be asked to pick a weapon of choice and then be pulled into a different world. In this different world you will be level 999 and all stats will be at 99999, you will also be geared with Divine equipment, which is the highest rarity in the game.¡± Blossom was already itching to do the quest and started to fidget while Sora continued to talk. It can¡¯t be blamed, if anyone heard that they were able to be a god like existence in the game they would surely want to give it a try. ¡°I know you''re excited but you''re going to need to focus if you want to be able to get the hidden class.¡± Blossom slapped her face to snap her back to focus and looked at Sora with eyes filled with confidence. She may be reckless and energetic but she knew how to focus when she needed to, especially with a hidden class on the line. ¡°Once you''re in the other world you will see the figure of a man clad in armor standing next to you, his name is Valor, God of War and he will start telling you about your quest. You don¡¯t have to listen to him if you don¡¯t want to, he will basically say something along the lines of how your trial is to kill half an army within 30 minutes. If you look around you will see an army marching towards you. All you have to do is rush into that army and kill every single one of them before the time limit is over.¡± Sora said it as ¡®all you have to do¡¯ but in reality it was hard to do, many new players who were told how to get the class were extremely confident when going into the trial but came out with a sullen expression. Blossom seemed to be fully focused so Sora had high hopes for her, all he could do now is hope she¡¯s able to pull it off. ¡°Good luck, Blossom.¡± ¡°Mhmm, I¡¯ll definitely succeed.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Blossom had a resolute heart as she approached the warrior instructor, a determined glint could be seen in her eyes. ¡­.. ¡°Greetings adventurer, have you come to pledge your loyalty to The Order of the Warrior?¡± ¡°Yes, please accept my loyalty.¡± ¡°Alright, but first we must ask The God of War to test your strength. Please grab ahold of one of the weapons in front of you.¡± The warrior instructor stepped aside and revealed a small corridor that lead into a weapons room. Many weapons were stabbed into the floor of the room; Swords, Greatswords, scimitars, katanas, even what seemed to be a large butcher''s knife could be found at the side of the room. Blossom walked up to a large sword that had a blade engulfed in black flames. Along the hilt was an inscription of a great war, with one man standing in the middle on top of a pile of corpses. The inscriptions seemed to be alive and Blossom could occasionally hear the roars of battle. Blossom grabbed hold of the hilt and felt a hot aura engulf her. ¡°You have chosen. Prepare for battle.¡± The grisly voice of a man could be heard as she suddenly flashed in a white light and disappeared from the room. ¡­.. Blossom suddenly found herself on top of a hill, facing a large man clad in impressive looking armor. His name tag could be seen as -Valor, The God of War- ¡°Welcome adven-¡± Before Valor could even greet her, Blossom bolted down the mountain and ran towards what seemed to be an endless army, her eyes filled with the flames of war as she brandished her greatsword. Blossom collided into the sea of people and seemed to be an unstoppable force as she ran in a straight line swinging her greatsword around her, creating a rain of blood. Valor looked at the scene with a large smile and secretly praised Blossom for her unsated killing instinct. To him, this is how a warrior should be, no need for greetings, no need for explanations, just kill anyone in your way. Blossom continued to plow through the enemies, at first she was a little careful but when she was hit by the sword of one of the army men, the sword shattered on her armor and she was met with a beautiful sight. -1 Blossom had 99999 constitution, which translates to 999,990 HP. Even if she stood still and let the army attack they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill her within the time limit. If anybody was around they would almost hear what sounded like a beast snapping free from chains that had been holding it down. Blossom became even more crazed as she became a nightmare for the army that surrounded her. 26 minutes later the last man fell and Blossom could be seen standing in a field of corpses, colored crimson from head to toe and panting heavily, trying to catch her breathe. Even Valor was amazed at the killing speed of this girl. Valor suddenly started to laugh as he walked towards Blossom. ¡°Good, good, good! You have truly exceeded my expectations. I felt as if I was watching a large scale execution rather than a fight. You are destined to be more than a mere warrior, find my shrine located on the top of Mount Valor, if you can pass the test there then I will pass on my legacy to you.¡± Blossom smiled cheerfully, not looking like the unstoppable murder machine she truly was, as a white light flashed and she disappeared from the battlefield. ¡­.. ¡°Mister fisherman, do you think Blossom will be able to do it?¡± ¡°Hmmm, I haven¡¯t seen her fight enough to tell you that, but she does seem to be rather skilled. It¡¯s up to her now.¡± ¡°Will my task be just as hard?¡± ¡°If I were to have to chose if Blossom or you had a harder task then I would probably say you.¡± LeeLee suddenly had a worried look on her face, if Sora was already this worried about Blossom then she could only imagine the difficulty of her task. Sora saw how worried LeeLee became and decided to smoothe things over. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry LeeLee, although yours is harder it can be tried multiple times. Just do your best and you will surely be able to do it.¡± Sora wasn¡¯t just saying things randomly to make LeeLee feel better, he truly thought she could do it. LeeLee showed great potential for her precise analyzing and steady progress. LeeLee felt a weight lift off her shoulders when Sora mentioned that and decided to make sure she lives up to his expectations. At that moment Blossom could be seen running out from behind the instructor with a huge smile on her face. Sora was at a loss for words, it had only been 27 minutes and she already finished the trial, normally people would finish with seconds to spare but Blossom finished with minutes to spare. ¡°Mister fisherman I did it! It was so fun, can I do it again?¡± ¡°Congratulations Blossom, and yes you can do it again.¡± ¡°Really?! Can I go now?!¡± ¡°Yes really, but this time it will be a bit different and we have to go somewhere else.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right the guy in there mentioned something about Mount Valor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly our next destination, it¡¯s not too far away and we can even take a flying service to reach the top.¡± ¡°Flying? C-Can¡¯t we just w-walk?¡± ¡°It would take hours to reach the top by walking, we still have to get LeeLee her class you know.¡± LeeLee suddenly tugged at Sora¡¯s sleeve before whispering into his ear. ¡°Blossom is afraid of heights, that¡¯s why she wants to walk.¡± Sora suddenly understood why Blossom was acting so strange, he really thought someone like Blossom would like the experience of flying. Sora had a backup plan to help Blossom if she really refused to fly. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to fly to Mount Valor?¡± ¡°Absolutely not, you can¡¯t make me, I¡¯ll never leave the ground!¡± ¡°Alright alright, we can just teleport there then.¡± The trio entered the dome shaped entrance room and found a lady near the entrance to the Mage hall. Sora and the rest walked up to the lady and Sora took out 5 silver to hand to the lady. This NPC would cast certain spells for players, most people wouldn¡¯t use this NPC because the prices are a little steep but Sora had to do so this time. ¡°Please cast spell number 13 on this lady here.¡± Sora pulled LeeLee back and stepped away from Blossom while wearing a mischievous smile. Spell number 13 is [Sleep] and would last 30 minutes or until damage is applied to the debuffed target. ¡°Do you accept having spell number 13 cast on you?¡± ¡°I accept! Anything to stop from leaving the gr-¡± The mage pushed her staff forward and enveloped Blossom in a purple light before she started to fall to the ground. Sora quickly ran up and caught her, carrying her like a princess. It was a little embarrassing but it had to be done, Sora didn¡¯t want to waste time walking all the way up the mountain. ¡°Let¡¯s go LeeLee.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Sora, LeeLee, and the sleeping Blossom drew a lot of attention as they ran through town. After a short run they found a flying service that would carry players from The City of Var to Mount Valor, payed the 10 silver fee per person, and got on top of a giant crow like monster. After roughly 10 minutes of flying a giant mountain with waterfalls streaming down from multiple locations could be seen, the water was crimson colored and all converged into a big lake that looked like a giant pool of blood surrounding the mountain. [Welcome to Mount Valor] Chapter 10: The Second Trial Sora and LeeLee found themselves on top of a giant mountain that seemed to pierce through the clouds. Blossom was leaning against a rock, still fast asleep, or at least that¡¯s how it seemed to others. In front of blossom was only darkness and a line of text saying ¡°You are under the effect of Sleep¡±, she couldn¡¯t move or chat with people so she was currently looking through various menus and reading up on some mechanics of the game. It was actually very helpful to Blossom, she had only touched upon the basics of the game and never truly read through some of the more advanced things. Faction events, player territories, rare creatures, obtainable skills, and many other important bits of knowledge were being firmly memorized as she was asleep. Blossom suddenly felt a small pinch and a message popped up saying ¡°You are no longer under the effect of Sleep¡±. -0 Blossom had her vision returned to her, the first thing she saw was a grin on Sora''s face that somehow annoyed her when she looked at it. Blossom had anger clearly written on her face, the only way to make it any more clear was to literally write the word on her forehead. Sora¡¯s face froze as he signaled for LeeLee to take charge. ¡°Blossom¡­ there was no other way.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pissed don¡¯t talk to me.¡± ¡°Blossom he did what he had to do, look we are already at Mount Valor now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pissed don¡¯t talk to me.¡± ¡°Blossom please stop being difficult.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pissed don¡¯t talk to me.¡± Sora was surprised at how spoiled Blossom was acting, even LeeLee couldn¡¯t get through to her. Blossom kept saying the same phrase and would turn away from LeeLee. Sora felt that he may have gone a little overboard, just because he was worried about time doesn¡¯t mean everyone else was worried about it. He finally decided that he should properly apologize to her before they continued any further. ¡°Blossom¡­¡± ¡°Oh? Who might you be sir? You haven¡¯t happened to see the brute who put me to sleep and kidnapped me have you?¡± ¡°Th-that¡­ I¡¯m sorry Blossom, I should have asked for your opinion first. I was just trying to save some time, it was selfish of me." ¡°...¡± ¡°I promise I will make it up to you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°If I ever find greatswords I will give them to you, free of charge of course.¡± ¡°Aw you mean that little incident about putting me to sleep? Hey we are friends right? Of course I wouldn¡¯t be mad over something so little like that.¡± Sora was thoroughly defeated this time, the girl was only putting on an act to get benifits¡­ Her mood changed like someone flipped a switch to turn lights on. Sora rubbed his head and made sure to remember this incident so he could put her to sleep a couple more times in the future. Now that Blossom was up, the trio started to look around the mountain. The entire mountain was flat on the top, as if it the tip had been sliced off by a sword, and had a small community with houses, shops, and even an enormous inn with a hot springs. Each building was built using metal bricks that had a faint blue color mixed in, just like Sora¡¯s sword. Along the edge of the mountain there were many swords plunged into the ground and many NPCs could be seen praying to the swords. ¡°Hey mister fisherman, what are they doing?¡± ¡°The people who live here are devout followers of The God of War. It is believed that this mountain was the last thing The God of War cleaved before ascending to godhood and is believed to have his blessings. The people here will plunge their swords into the mountain and pray to The God of War. After five years of praying they pull their swords out and the swords will have transformed, turning much more deadly than before.¡± ¡°Whoa¡­ does it work for players too?¡± ¡°Maybe, but would you be willing to come up here EVERY day?¡± ¡°Right, sound like a waste of time.¡± Sora remembered a story of a player in his last life who actually did pray to The God of War every day for five years, he turned a common iron sword into a unique legendary sword that rivaled the spot for number one sword for two whole months until another sword finally took the spot. Although the player had such a good sword, he lost a lot of EXP by coming to the mountain every day to pray and wasn¡¯t able to do much with it. He ended up selling the sword for 250,000 dollars, and that was from a timed auction with a low duration. If the man had made the auction a week, or month instead of just a few days, he could have walked away with double, maybe even triple that amount. ¡­.. The trio walked to the center of the town where a building made of black metal bricks could be seen, very obviously more important than all the other buildings around the mountain. As they got closer one of the guards stepped forward and blocked their path. ¡°Halt, this is the sacred shrine of The God of War. Only those worthy are able to enter.¡± ¡°I have been summoned here by Valor to take a trial for his legacy.¡± ¡°You dare use his esteemed name and claim he is to pass on his legacy!¡± The guard went to strike Blossom but before the strike could land the sound of a sword being drawn was heard and the guards sword was cleanly cut in half. There was nobody around other than Sora, Blossom, LeeLee, and the two guards. The faces of the guards went pale as they prostrated towards the black bricked building, shaking, and trying to stammer out a few words. ¡°W-we are s-s-sorry esteemed one. We w-will immediately l-let them p-p-pass.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! These two rugged guards who looked as if they have fought their way to hell and back were now kneeling and pleading for forgiveness, this only proves how much of an influence The God of War had on these people. The guards stayed on the ground for a full minute before finally getting up and bowing towards Blossom. ¡°We are sorry for our stupidity, please enter whenever you like.¡± Sora and LeeLee wouldn¡¯t be able to enter so Sora decided to go over the plan right now. The trio found a secluded place nearby and made sure no players were around. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s focus time again Blossom.¡± ¡°Does that mean I get to rush through an army again?!¡± ¡°Not exactly¡­ The previous trial was to test your killing ability, the next trial is a test for your survival ability. You won¡¯t be able to absorb every attack this time so it will be more difficult. The good news is that there is no time limit, all you have to do is survive waves of enemies until the end. You will start off like how you started the game, level 1 with common equipment, each enemy gives a lot of EXP and has a high drop chance of items that you can loot to make yourself more powerful, all you have to do is keep fighting until you reach level 999 and have full divine gear, then you will get to fight the army again.¡± ¡°Seems a little confusing¡­¡± ¡°Just think of it this way; The first trial was being a god like existence and this trial is the path you had to take to reach that. I think it¡¯s supposed to be symbolic of the path that Valor took before he became The God of War¡­ Anyways just keep fighting and becoming stronger until you finish the trial.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sora and LeeLee waited outside the black brick building as Blossom continued passed the guards, the guards seemed a bit wary of her now as they seemed to flinch back a bit when she walked by. ¡­.. Blossom walked through a dark corridor before coming into a small, shabby looking room. The room only had one thing, a sword sticking into a rock. The sword was a plain iron sword like what the players start off with except it was cracked in many areas and looked like it had weathered many battles. Blossom went up to the sword and grabbed hold of the hilt. ¡°Prepare for battle. Forge your path. Become a god.¡± Blossom felt a hot aura envelop her as she disappeared with a white flash. She found herself still holding onto the broken iron sword and dressed in common clothing. Next to her stood a ghostly figure of a kid, wielding what seemed to be a recently purchased iron sword. The kid was alone, slashing at a training target over and over until his hands were bleeding and his arms went numb from swinging. Even after that he would wrap his hands with cloth and force his arms to hold the sword, continuing to swing. A voice seemed to envelop the space around her, it was the same voice of Valor, except his voice now seemed to be calmer and tinged with sadness. ¡°Do what you must to survive.¡± As soon as his words ended a pack of bunnies spawned in front of Blossom, as soon as they spawned they rushed towards Blossom. Blossom wielded her sword as the bunnies came upon her, she took a couple hits before she was able to finish off one of the bunnies. [Level up] [Level up] [Level up] [Level up] One bunny had given her 4 levels, refilling her health and mana along with giving her a large amount of points added to her stats. Blossom continued to kill the bunnies until all that remained was the loot that dropped. After looting, Blossom found herself with a more powerful weapon, armor, a cape, and even some rings. She had reached level 19 and the AP was instantly added to her stats, filling up each stat at the same rate. The projection of the boy distorted before showing the image of the same boy, a little older now with a few scars here and there, fighting against bunnies. ¡°Do what you must to grow.¡± Once again, as the words trailed off a pack of goblins appeared, the goblins started shrieking before charging towards Blossom. The goblins were a little tougher to deal with than the bunnies, as they would spread out and use basic fighting tactics to deal with Blossom. Blossom finished this fight fairly easy but still had to take some shots before finishing the last Goblin. She once again found herself with new gear and a staggering level of 37, she even managed to pick up a skill. The projection distorted once again as the boy once again grew a little older with a few more scars, this time he was honing his skills by fighting against goblins. ¡°Do what you must to protect.¡± The voice sounded and a group of bandits spawned, looking at Blossom like she was walking money. Blossom finally had a fight that almost killed her, when she finished off the last bandit her health was below 10%. The bandits had smarter AIs and worked together to fight Blossom. The projection flickered as the image switched to a young man standing in a field of corpses, holding onto an older lady. The young man was crying maniacally as tears streamed down his face, onto the face of the older lady. ¡°Revenge.¡± The voice continued to say something each time Blossom fought a wave of enemies, each time something different and each time the young man would change ever so slightly. ¡°Hatred.¡± ... ¡°Sadness.¡± ... ¡°Rage.¡± ¡­ ¡°Kill.¡± ¡­ ¡°Kill!¡± ¡­ ¡°KILL!¡± ¡­ The boy in the projection eventually turned emotionless. Killing was second nature to him, it is all he lived for. Even when he was fighting giant monstrosities he would wield his sword calmly as he made blood rain from the heavens, painting everything around his a bright crimson color. Blossom was barely managing to hang on, after many waves she had reach level 923 with a wide variety of skills and armor that was glimmering many different colors. This is when the voice finally suddenly changed from rage to sadness. ¡°I had fought meaningless battles for so long. I forgot what I originally started fighting for. Until one day, she came into my life.¡± The projection showed the young man, wounds covering his body, barely breathing, he looked like a demon. Then a new face suddenly appeared, she was an average looking girl with a bright smile on her face. She found the young man who was covered in blood, she could have easily killed him then and there to take all of his treasures. It would have been easy for her to live the rest of her life in luxury if she had, but instead she brought the man back to her house. She fed him carefully, making sure each bite wasn¡¯t too hot nor too cold. She mended his wounds, using funds she had been saving to buy better medicines. The young man started to heal and was eventually able to wield his sword again. The two people fell in love. Then, one day, a large shadow covered the village and the voice once again became resolute. ¡°Do what you must to protect.¡± A dragon suddenly spawned in front of Blossom. The dragon was covered in black scales that seemed to be an endless void, it had teeth and claws that seemed to cut through the space around it. It stared menacingly at Blossom before unleashing a deafening roar, making Blossom flinch slightly. The battle began when Blossom rushed towards to dragon and started madly using every skill she could. At one point her blade was engulfed in a black fire, the next moment she was spinning around wildly slashing her blade into the dragon. Sometimes she would be seen above the dragon, while other times she would be below it. Blossom wildly danced around the dragon, being blasted away by his claws and tail, sometimes even being engulfed in a miasma like smoke he would release from his mouth. At the end of the fight Blossom had been left one hit away from death as the dragon slowly fell to the ground, exploding into a rain of loot that shimmered with a multicolored light. Blossom had hit level 999 and was now fully geared with Divine equipment. In front of her was Valor, except this time his helmet was off, showing a very familiar face. He was the boy in the projection, from behind him an average looking woman came to his side and held onto his arm, showing off a beautiful smile. ¡°You have proven yourself worthy by coming this far, I hope that you will not forget why you fight like I did. Although power is important, it is meaningless without cause. I must protect what is important to me, I hope you will carry on my legacy throughout the world and remind everyone what power truly is.¡± Valor held out a greatsword engulfed in black flames, the hilt seemingly alive as it depicted a great war with a single man standing on a mountain of corpses, the roar of battle sounded closely to Blossom¡¯s ear. As Blossom approached the sword she thought about why she wanted to fight. She kept telling herself that it was just to prove how great she is, yet the image of a lone fisherman standing in front of her as she was being attacked kept surfacing in her head. Blossom slowly grabbed the hilt of the sword. As soon as Blossom took the sword, the man depicted on the hilt of the sword slowly transformed, revealing an elegant yet powerful woman. The roars of battle soon took over, blocking out every other sound. Blossom found herself standing on a hill overlooking an army of people. She smiled as she ran down the hill, brandishing her greatsword before clashing into the army of people. Chapter 11: The Tower Sora and LeeLee were standing outside of the shrine of The God of War for nearly 2 hours now. At first Sora wanted to do something like killing enemies so as to maximize his time, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself a single step away from the shrine. He was nervous, not for himself but for Blossom. She may seem like an aloof girl who is always proud but Sora knew that something like failing would eat her up on the inside. Sora decided to take out some Gel Tree Lumber after Blossom went into the shrine to pass some time. He would carve out little figures of different enemies, people, and places while looking at the entrance to the shrine every 5 minutes or so. Sora had just leveled his Shaping Skill, which was used to shape weapon hilts, staves, sculptures, and other things that used materials like wood and stone. He had went to check the doorway to the shrine for what seemed like the thousandth time and saw the figure of a proud woman, practically skipping towards him with a huge smile on her face. Before Sora could say anything Blossom had already jumped towards him and hugged him like a little girl who just got candy from her big brother. ¡°I did it mister fisherman! I don¡¯t know if I could have done it without you.¡± Sora was surprised at her sudden action, to him such a simple thing like giving some advice to her wasn¡¯t seen as a big deal. Sora failed to understand the importance to someone like Blossom and LeeLee, they were not professionals who had a vast amount of knowledge like Sora was. Maybe if Sora and Blossom switched places then he would truly understand how much a gift those little bits of advice were to Blossom. Sora patted Blossoms head and praised her for her hard work. ¡°Since you''re in such a good mood, are you ready for the fly back?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Blossom?¡± ¡­.. After a lot of convincing Blossom boarded the giant crow with Sora and LeeLee, she ended up sitting between the two and held on for dear life. Occasionally the bird would make a slight movement, possibly due to air currents, Blossom would scream and start saying goodbye to her family and friends. It wasn¡¯t until Blossom was fully off the bird that she suddenly had a hop in her step and acted as if she wasn¡¯t just clinging onto her two companions begging to be let down. Sora looked at LeeLee, she knew it was her turn to get a class now and has looked very nervous ever since the trio left Mount Valor. Blossom was used to LeeLee being quiet but she still knew something was wrong, the two has been friends for a long time now and could sense it by observing her movements and interactions. ¡°Hold on a second mister fisherman.¡± ¡°Al...right.¡± Blossom drug LeeLee away to a secluded area, after 5 minutes the two girls came back out. LeeLee had a confident look in her eyes and seemed to have stop fidgeting as the trio continued walking to the hall for The Order of the Assassin. ¡­.. As the group walked into the hall for the Order of the Assassin, they were greeted with a dimly lit room. The walls were decorated by casting shadows onto them and depicted a lone man behind a horde of enemies, plunging a dagger into someone''s neck. Standing in the middle of the hall was the shadow of a man who seemed to be there one second and the next second seemed to not be there. Sora pulled the group into one of the corners to go over the plan with LeeLee. ¡°So, here¡¯s the plan; Once you talk to the instructor he will have you go down a staircase, this leads to the assassin training tower. The tower consists of ten floors which gets harder the further you go down, there are traps and transparent enemies you will have to get past. The instructor will give you a small token and say to meet someone at the fourth floor in order to get the assassin class, your mission is to sneak around the instructor on the fourth floor and continue all the way to the tenth floor. At the end of the tenth floor is a dead end, but if you insert the token the instructor gave you into a small slot on the wall, it will open up. The rest doesn¡¯t require any explanation, once you get past that wall it¡¯s just talking to an NPC.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m not too confident about this mister fisherman, I haven¡¯t played long enough to know the aggro range of enemies so it will be hard to sneak around.¡± Sora took out pebbles and started placing them down one by one, he made a cone shape that had a circle at the point of the cone. Sora stepped inside the circle and faced forward towards the end of the cone shape. ¡°This is the aggro range for normal humanoid monsters.¡± Sora then started to make a thin rectangle shape with a circle on one end of the rectangle. He also made another shape that was just a large circle. He first stood in the middle of the circle with the rectangle and faced towards the end of the rectangle. ¡°This is the aggro range for enemies that have helmets, scales, or other things that protrude in front of their eyes. The circle is the aggro range for beast and spirit type monsters. That should be enough to help you for now, you will learn the rest in the future.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°One more tip, some enemies with a low AI can be attracted to noises so use a pebble to draw attention towards a certain spot but be careful to not use this trick against enemies with a higher AI.¡± LeeLee stared at the shapes drawn using pebbles for 10 minutes straight. She would measure out the size of the shapes by using her paces and then try to recreate the shapes with her own pebbles. She finally let out a deep breath before walking towards the instructor. ¡­..Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Greeting adventurer¡­ do you have any interest in joining The Order of the Assassin?¡± ¡°I-I do.¡± ¡°The test is simple, bring this token to an instructor on the fourth floor of our training tower as proof of your ability. Once you have completed this challenge we will accept you into our order.¡± LeeLee carefully received the token, it looked like bronze but had a deeper shade of red and felt extremely heavy for it¡¯s size. LeeLee tightened her hand around the token as she walked into the dark stairway. After walking down the dimly lit stairway she entered into what looked to be a labyrinth, the walls, floor, and ceiling were made from a dark gray brick and torches could be seen here and there. LeeLee wrapped her cloak tightly against her before silently walking down the corridor. [Floor 1] The path seemed completely empty, LeeLee could already see the next staircase at the end of the hall and thought it was a little suspicious. She suddenly stopped before crouching low to the ground and looking ahead. A few meters in front of her there was a sliver of light just above the ground that went from one side of the hall to the other. LeeLee carefully stepped over the string before continuing on, down into the next stairway. If Sora hadn¡¯t told her there would be traps then she might have already failed to get through completely undetected. [Floor 2] The next floor was a little larger than the last, there were what seemed to be dogs walking around this floor, the only difference was that the dogs were transparent and had very mechanical movements. LeeLee closed her eyes to think back to the aggro shape of beast types, when she opened her eyes she seemed to be able to see a circle of pebbles moving around every dog. It was fairly easy to find an opening between the dogs and made her way into the next stairway. [Floor 3] This floor was similar to the last floor, except there were goblins that were patrolling around the room. This time LeeLee had to watch the goblins as they did the same route over and over to make sure she could find an opportunity to sneak past them. All she had to do in the end was stay behind one gobin as he circled the entire room and led here directly to the next staircase. [Floor 4] The floor consisted of many swinging traps that needed you to time your movements in between swings in order to reach a circular room. In the middle of the circular room was an NPC wearing the same clothing that the instructor she talked to was wearing, she decided that it must be the person she was supposed to find in order to get the assassin class and started to look for ways around him. LeeLee pulled out a pebble and was just about to throw it before she stopped her motion. ¡°Be careful to not use this trick against enemies with a higher AI.¡± LeeLee recalled what Sora had said and decided not to throw the pebble. She deduced that if the NPC was the one who gave players a class then he would be quite high leveled and have a smarter AI. She started to look around the room again to try and find a way around him. After 5 minutes she still didn¡¯t find a way and started to lose confidence in herself. Just as she was feeling down, the NPC yawned and stretched before walking around the room, looking at some decorations around the room to kill some of his boredom. LeeLee instantly reacted and swung around the other side of the room, successfully making it into the next stairway. LeeLee let out a sigh of relief but tensed up once again when she realised it will only get harder from here. The first four floors taught the basics of trap detection, enemy aggro range, enemy behavior, and patience, now it was time for the real test to begin. [Floor 5] LeeLee walked into a room that had many turns and pillars, the rooms before this have been pretty much open with little amounts of structure to block your view. LeeLee silently approached one of the corners and heard footsteps, she quickly backed up and hid behind one of the pillars. A translucent looking man walked past the corridor LeeLee was in and continued in a straight line down another hall. LeeLee decided to follow behind him thinking that most NPCs don¡¯t cross when they are patrolling. She was luckily right in assuming that as the NPC led her to the next stairway. [Floor 6] This floor was similar to the last floor in terms of structure, there were pillars and corners all throughout the floor to provide less line of sight. LeeLee started to go towards the first corner while listening carefully. She didn¡¯t hear anything and decided to peek around the corner, just as she peeked around the corner she could see a woman who was floating coming towards her. LeeLee bolted to the nearest pillar and just barely made it in time as the floating spectre went past. LeeLee¡¯s heart was racing, she didn¡¯t account for the fact that enemies would sometimes not have footsteps. She followed up behind the spectre and proceeding smoothly when a small protrusion in the wall caught her eye. A sudden realization dawned on her, traps won¡¯t be activated by floating enemies. LeeLee crouched down to look at the floor and noticed that some bricks were elevated slightly. LeeLee carefully stepped around those bricks and continued to follow the spectre. She finally found the staircase and quickly ran halfway down before taking a break to calm down. [Floor 7] This time the room was completely open with a large amount of goblins patrolling, some of them even crossing paths. LeeLee had to watch each enemy for a full rotation and then started to group them according to which ones crossed paths and which ones had a smaller aggro range due to wearing helmets. She ruled out using a pebble to draw them all away because that would only attract a few of them and throw off their patrol paths. She decided to finally move after 20 minutes of watching. She stayed by the side of a goblin as it started to go straight across the room, it was wearing a helmet so wasn¡¯t able to see LeeLee as she stuck to his side. After the goblin made it halfway across the room she suddenly rolled between the aggro range of two other goblins that were turning around to restart their patrol. Her position was awkward looking due to the fact that she ended up rolling right behind a goblin who seemed like he was going to turn around. LeeLee had watched this specific goblin the longest because he had a habit of stopping at this wall every three patrol rotations to scratch it¡¯s back and stretch. This little amount of time let LeeLee wait until another goblin that was wearing a helmet started to pass by which she snuck next to. Her position was between the wall of the room and the goblin wearing the helmet. The goblin finally made it to the stairway and LeeLee slipped in without a single goblin knowing she was there. [Floor 8] This floor had only two enemies, both were a demonic looking hound that stayed directly in the center of a long hallway. LeeLee waited to see if anything would happen but the hounds would simply sit there without moving an inch. LeeLee pictured the aggro range and it seemed to reach all the way to the walls on both sides of the hallway. LeeLee pulled out a pebble and waited another 5 minutes before finally deciding to throw it. The pebble hit the right side of the hall and the hounds reacted to it. Both hounds went to the right side and left a tiny opportunity to slip through. LeeLee got past the hounds and could see the stairway ahead. She was suspicious and decided to check the floor, to her surprise there was nothing there and she continued down the stairs. LeeLee decided that it was only simple because she knew about the pebble trick. Most players wouldn¡¯t know about the trick and especially not be carrying pebbles on them. [Floor 9] LeeLee entered into a room that had many twists and turns, enemies could be seen going into different corridors, and she had already spotted a trap right at the beginning. The trap was a wire spread across the hall with slightly elevated bricks just on the other side of the wire. LeeLee had to jump over the wire to clear the bricks. As she continued down the one of the corridors and hit a dead end, it seemed that the place was also a maze. LeeLee backtracked into the beginning corridor and continued to take each path she came across. After she had dodged many traps and enemies she was down to the last couple corridors in the floor. She went through one of them and hit a dead end, as she backtracked she noticed a goblin coming down the corridor, she was stuck between an enemy and a dead end. As soon as she saw the enemy she pulled out a pebble and launched it down the corridor she had come from and bolted for the other hall. The pebble she threw would surely attract more than just that one goblin and if the enemies had a high AI then she would be in trouble, she decided to risk it all at once. She successfully slipped passed the goblin and was running down the last corridor, she could hear the footsteps of many enemies from where she threw the pebble. As she was running she saw the staircase, guarded by a humanoid figure wearing heavy armor patrolling back and forth in front of the staircase. All LeeLee could do was pray as she kept running and luck seemed to be on her side as the armored figure was turning around as she slipped into the stairway. [Floor 10] The floor was completely empty, and it wasn¡¯t really a floor, it was more of a small hallway that led to a dead end. LeeLee didn¡¯t let her guard down as she checked the floor for traps, but there were none there. She slowly walked towards the wall before confirming that this was the end of the tower. She felt around the wall before finding a small incision made in the rocks. LeeLee took out the token the instructor gave her and slid it into the slot, after a small clicking noise the room lit up and the wall slowly opened. Chapter 12: Seperation The door opened in front of LeeLee, revealing an enormous room with people wearing similar clothing walking around, the clothes were all just tightly fitting black armor with an insignia of a single dagger located on the shoulder. LeeLee suddenly drew the attention of everyone in the room when they noticed she wasn¡¯t wearing the clothes most of them were wearing. LeeLee walked forward and entered into the room, as soon as she entered two NPCs had appeared behind her, blocking her escape. ¡°We aren¡¯t sure how you got in here, just stay put until we get our instructor to figure out how to deal with this.¡± LeeLee had to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room, drawing the eyes of everyone around. She didn¡¯t like the feeling but there wasn¡¯t much she could do in this situation, she waited patiently until a tall man wearing slightly different clothing came out. His face was covered with a mask so LeeLee couldn¡¯t make out any features. His mask was made to look like a wolf, making him look like a floating wolf head before he exits the shadows. The man came up to LeeLee, examined her for a little bit, and then whispered something to a woman who seemed to hold a certain amount of authority. At first the man was nodding his head while listening to the woman, but eventually the man stayed silent and seemed to be thinking hard about something. LeeLee could barely make out some of the words the woman was saying. ¡°...Zero...reports show...completed...unnoticed¡­¡± After the woman finished talking she backed away from the man and made a small salute of some sort, it was like a bow but she kept her hand in a specific position while she was bowing. The man walked towards LeeLee and stopped in front of her. ¡°You were taking the trial to become an assassin?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Reports say that you were undetected throughout the entire tower¡­ all of our traps are still intact and the creatures we set up for practice are all still patrolling like normal.¡± ¡°...¡± The room suddenly got noisy as the NPCs talked amongst themselves. Some of them were praising LeeLee, others were saying she must have gotten lucky, some were even lamenting on the fact that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get through the entire tower without being noticed after months of practice yet this new girl was able to on her first try. The man with the wolf mask simply raised his hand and the chatter stopped. ¡°Well, since you¡¯ve come this far I suppose it¡¯s fair to give you some information and a reward. This is the headquarters of a special ops unit that does various things for the kingdom. Sometimes we assassinate high priority targets, sometimes we send spies to other kingdoms, and sometimes we are even sent into large battles to sabotage the enemies and kill off soldiers of higher ranks. We are the Phantom Corps. As for your reward, I would like to offer a spot as a new recruit into the Phantom Corps. Our training and rewards are much higher than what you would get if you were to become a normal assassin. If you need time to think about it please feel free to explore the area, I will be waiting within the combat training room.¡± After the brief introduction and recruitment attempt the wolf masked man walked towards one of the far rooms and entered. LeeLee was already planning on accepting the invitation but decided to look around for a bit anyways. At one side of the room there was a stall with many weapons, armors, and tools laid out, LeeLee approached and started to look through the wares. There were many more options of daggers than what the blacksmith in the city offered. One dagger had a purple miasma twirling around the blade, at some points the miasma would leap around, seeming like it was alive. Another dagger had a jewel within the hilt of the blade, it was a dark red and seemed to have some sort of liquid flowing within it, churning violently. LeeLee took a look at all of the rooms around the headquarters. One room had machines that would shoot projectiles, many recruits could be seen dodging the projectiles for practice. Another room had many poles stuck into the ground, one recruit was jumping from pole to pole without losing his balance or momentum. There were also many rooms where LeeLee wasn¡¯t quite sure what the purpose was, especially a room which had many scrolls and a large cauldron within the middle. LeeLee decided that she had seen enough and went towards the combat room. As she walked in she was greeted with viewing room that had many NPCs watching the man with the wolf mask on the other side of a large window. The NPCs were basically worshipping the man''s movements as he danced around what looked like a human, except the human had the lower half of a snake. LeeLee watched in awe as the man would move from one side of the creature to the other side within the blink of an eye. At one point the man threw one of his daggers into the air, in the next moment the man vanished, confusing the creature. The wolf masked man suddenly appeared above the creature holding both his daggers as he plunged back down. The daggers glowed purple as he used the momentum from falling to plunge the daggers into either side of the creature''s neck. The man came into the viewing room and many NPCs greeted him and fawned over his precise movements and decisive finish. The man saw LeeLee standing alone in one of the corners of the room. ¡°So, have you made up your mind?¡± ¡°Y-yes, p-please accept me into the Phantom Corps.¡± ¡°Haha, excellent. It¡¯s always good to have a talented recruit. By the way, everyone just calls me Wolf here, so please do the same. Please put your hand out, palms facing up.¡± LeeLee put her hands forward as Wolf pulled out a small token, it was a deep crimson red and had the design of two daggers crossed in front of a normal mask that had no facial features. Wolf put the token within LeeLee¡¯s palm, then pulled a small vial with a black colored liquid. He carefully let one drop of the black liquid drop onto the token, the token seemed to have absorbed the liquid as the entire token started to turn black. After a few seconds the token melded into LeeLee¡¯s palm, creating what seemed to be a black colored tattoo of daggers crossed in front of a mask.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! [Hidden Weapons Skill obtained] ¡°This will show that you are a part of the Phantom Corps. It also has an effect of storing your daggers and mask. Give it a try, just take out your daggers then think hard about the daggers disappearing.¡± LeeLee pulled out two normal looking daggers before using [Hidden Weapons]. Both daggers disappeared. The tattoo within her palm changed as the daggers disappeared, the mask was still black but the two daggers were now glowing red. LeeLee then used [Hidden Weapons] on one dagger to be equipped, the dagger appeared in her hand and one of the daggers on her palm turned back to a plain black color. It was very handy to be able to pull a dagger out in this way, normally LeeLee would have to open her inventory and select her daggers to equip them. When you get ambushed by monsters or players you don¡¯t have time to open your inventory and search for your weapons. LeeLee returned the dagger into her symbol and thanked the instructor. ¡°A mask can be obtained in the first room near the entrance you came from, go there and show the person within the symbol on your hand. Although a mask doesn¡¯t have high defense, it will help protect your identity and can be enchanted more than a helmet or hood could. When you are ready to leave head through the door on the opposite side from the entrance and you will see a stairway leading back up to the first floor of the tower. Welcome to the Phantom Corps.¡± Wolf did a small salute before leaving back to the combat room. LeeLee went to the mask shop and showed the man there her symbol. The shop had many different masks, there were animal masks, demon masks, masks with a human face, masks with complicated patterns on them, and plain masks. LeeLee decided on a white fox mask with a sakura blossom pattern near the top right. LeeLee used [Hidden Weapons] to store the mask before leaving through the door to take her to the first level of the tower. ¡­.. LeeLee had been gone for one and a half hours now, Sora and Blossom were talking about some of the things that Blossom had read when she was under the effect of sleep. Sora casually explained each and every thing so that it was easy to understand. From behind the assassin instructor came a small figure with a rare smile on her face. Seeing the smile, Blossom and Sora both knew that she had passed the test. ¡°Th-thank you¡­ mister fisherman.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I¡¯m going to need to you be strong in the future.¡± ¡°B-but there are many others who are better¡­¡± ¡°Strength is something easy to obtain, a good character can only be found.¡± Sora had many ways to get stronger, but he knew that even with all that knowledge he couldn¡¯t go through the entire game solo. Things like dungeons, raids, guild wars, events, and other harder tasks could only be completed with a strong group of players. Sora decided to groom these two girls to be core members for the guild he will establish in the future, when he had saved the two of them from Julius, he didn¡¯t think much of it and only did it because he was passing by and was itching to see if he could still fight well. He didn¡¯t expect the two girls to be so insistent on repaying his kindness, it showed Sora that they were people who wouldn¡¯t forget kindness shown to them. He used the fight with Luna, The Silver Wolf to test their abilities and he was not disappointed. The two of them not only had good characters, but also good potential to become professionals. They weren¡¯t greedy for the loot from the boss and were very reluctant to take any of it. Now that both of the girls had their special classes it was time to let them grow on their own, he can¡¯t pull them through the entire game and needed them to learn through trial and error. It was also time for Sora to get his class, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was possible to get it right now but he had an idea of how he might be able to not only get his class but also get tons of loot and help his faction. ¡°Alright, for now we will separate so that you can learn to fight. Any questions before we disperse?¡± ¡°I have a question that I forgot to ask earlier, how do I get new skills for my class?¡± ¡°The basic way to get the skills is to simply fight and level up until you are given the skills. If you want stronger skills then you will have to have a skill book drop from a named enemy or there is a very slim chance you can get one from an enchanted creature.¡± ¡°Got it, if I have any other questions then I will message you. By the way, what about your class?¡± ¡°For now I¡¯m going to become a knight, it isn¡¯t quite time for me to get my hidden class so this is all I can do for now.¡± ¡°Hmmm, alright then. Good luck mister fisherman!¡± Blossom and LeeLee left to start training, leaving Sora alone. The building where the orders are found had a steady flow of players, most players have already been transferred to the city and it was much more lively. Sora headed to the hall for The Order of the Knight. When Sora entered he could see a few other players surrounding a large NPC with tanned skin and armor that looked heavy enough to leave a dent on the floor if dropped. The walls were decorated mainly with shield and armors, there were lances here and there and a couple swords could be found. Sora worked his way through the other players to talk to the NPC. ¡°Greeting adventurer, you look like a man who would be perfect for The Order of the Knight. Would you like to join us?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, head through the hallway to take part in a trial to test your strength. Good luck.¡± Sora walked through the hallway and found a doorway that seemed to lead to another world. Sora stepped through the door and found himself in a gladiator style arena with a crowd surrounding him. This trial was a basic test of combat, all you had to do was fight other gladiators until the challengers stop coming. For Sora it was a cakewalk, even in his past life he was able to easily beat this challenge. The first gladiator was dressed in basic clothes and used a normal iron sword. Sora used a basic attack and [Slash] to instantly kill the man. The second gladiator had leather armor and a greatsword. Sora used two basic attacks and [Slash] with a parry in between to finish him off. The third gladiator was still easy but the fight lasted a little longer because the man had a shield. After Sora defeated the 7th gladiator the final challenge commences. In front of Sora was a lizard the size of a man, it wore heavy armor with a lance and shield. The gladiator was a special race that lives deep within the Great Western Swamp area, they were called the Chaliz race, and was hardly seen around the Eastern part of the continent. The gladiator roared as he ran toward Sora. Sora used [Purge With Silver] and went on the offensive. The lance pushed forward as Sora sidestepped it, leaving him in the perfect position to launch a counter attack. His sword continued to swing as he made his way around the gladiator using [Slash] whenever it came off cooldown. Just as the gladiator had turned to face Sora he was hit with [Concuss], leaving Sora with plenty of time to get behind the gladiator once again. The fight ended when [Purge With Silver] and [Slash] hit at the same time. The crowd roared in excitement as Sora disappeared with a flash. Sora now had the Knight class and was almost prepared to get his hidden class. Chapter 13: The Art of Enchanting Sora was currently walking towards the exit of the building where the order halls are located, he had just gotten his Knight class and needed to make some preparations before he heads to his next destination. The first thing Sora did was went to a stone tower with various elements leaping around it playfully located in the southern part of the city, the southern area was referred to as the Magic District due to it¡¯s high amount of magic related buildings, shops, and NPCs. The center of town was referred to as the Shopping District, the north was the Entertainment District, the east was the Profession District, and the west was referred to as the Transport District. Sora came to the Magic District to buy a few materials to enchant some of his gear, he currently had a hardened and vicious essence within his inventory and there was no use saving them. Both essence are referred to as tier 1 enchantments, the hardened essence being a tier 1 defense enchantments and the vicious being a tier 1 attack enchantment. When a essence is referred to as layered, it is a tier 2 defense enchantment, fortified is a tier 3, and so on. Sora walked into the stone tower, the first floor was for beginner level enchanters and he wasn¡¯t allowed to go any higher. The tower didn¡¯t have any attendant around but the entire tower had a protective barrier around it that didn¡¯t allow anybody to steal items. If you try to leave the barrier without paying for an item then not only will you not succeed, you will also be suspended from entering the tower for a set period of time. Sora quickly walked past all of the scrolls that made up a majority of the items in the first floor before coming to a stop in front of what seemed to be a paint brush and a large stack of blank pieces of paper. Sora picked up a handful of paper and one of the brushes. When Sora had picked up the items floating numbers appeared in front of him. The numbers were color coded to show how much money you would have to pay for the items, in front of Sora was a silver number 13 and a copper number 50. Sora took out the money and let them sit loosely in his hand. The money started to float up and shot into a small opening in the wall that looked like a vent. Afterwards Sora simply walked out of the store with his items. [x25 Enchantment Parcels obtained] [x1 Essence Brush obtained] There were many speculations as to what the tower was, some say it¡¯s a tower that was just set up that way to interest the players, some say there is a reclusive enchanter that lives in the top of the tower, some say it may even be run by the goddesses to help the adventurers. In his past life nobody had ever truly given reliable evidence to their claims and it still remains a mystery to Sora. After he exited the tower he immediately found a restaurant to sit down at and pulled out an Enchantment Parcel, the Essence Brush, and the Hardened Essence. The essence seemed to start moving around as he brought it closer to the brush, right when the brush and essence made contact the brush completely absorbed the essence, leaving nothing behind. The brush used to have a clear crystal handle but now the handle was glowing with a dim blue light. Sora pushed the brush gently onto the Enchantment Parcel, right as the brush made contact an outline of a complicated rune appeared on the paper. Enchanting worked by drawing the essence of an enchanted creature onto an Enchantment Parcel in the shape of a random rune, then when you place the parcel onto a piece of equipment the paper will dissolve, leaving the essence rune behind. The difficulty of the rune pattern is based on the tier of the essence and the level of the players enchanting skill. A higher difficulty rune will give you a harder rune shape and less time to complete the rune, once the outline of the rune disappears the essence will disperse and the enchantment will fail. The outline was still very bright when Sora finished drawing the rune. [Enchanting Skill obtained] [Enchanting Skill succeeded] [x1 Hardened Enchantment obtained] In front of Sora was a complicated pattern that looked somewhat like a shield, it was glowing blue and would pulse every now and then. Sora took out his Vicious Essence and another piece of Enchantment Parcel, continuing to draw out another rune. [Enchanting Skill succeeded] [Enchanting Skill has leveled up] [x1 Vicious Enchantment obtained] Enchanting was fairly easy to level up due to the fact that the essence was something that had to be obtained by the player themselves. The essence itself was like a spirit and should only be brought out when you have a Enchanting Brush to capture it in. This makes trading essence impossible, many large guilds will complain about it on the forums when word gets around. Usually a guild will pour all of their resources into a single person for each skill, with enchanting being so beneficial the guilds were outraged when they found out trading essence wasn¡¯t possible in Sora¡¯s last life. After Sora finished inscribing the runes, he unequipped his cloak and pressed the hardened rune onto it. The paper started to fuse into the cloak before dissolving, leaving a glowing blue shield pattern right in the middle of the moon pattern on his cloak. [x1 Hardened Cloak of the Silver Moon obtained] Rarity - RareUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Durability - 75/75 Defense - 10(+10) Requires - Level 15 ¡°A cloak fashioned from the fur of Luna, The Silver Wolf. The fur is exceptionally soft to the touch, yet can¡¯t be cut through by ordinary swords.¡± +15 Strength +15 Constitution (Enchantment effects) +15 Durability +10 Defense The enchantment brought Sora to a whopping 48 defense, at this point Sora could tank a couple hits if he needs to, his days of being a glass cannon are finally over. Sora then took out his Frost Iron Sword and looked at his Vicious Enchantment. Hesitation could be seen on his face when he looked back at the common sword in front of him, he could put the enchantment on his Ring of Good Fortune, but that would only give a small boost to his Strength. If Sora put the enchantment on a weapon not only will it add Strength, it will also boost his attack. Sora decided to put the enchantment away, he will only use it on the Frost Iron Sword if he can¡¯t get a better weapon before it¡¯s time for his next objective. Sora checked the date and started calculating something in his head. In his past life Sora had luckily stumbled upon something that could be considered a huge secret. It was one of the first and few things he personally did that could be considered amazing. In his past life Sora had stumbled upon a secret cave located on a huge mountain inside of the demons territory, when he entered he found monsters at level 40 and as he continued further the levels kept rising, all the way up to level 50, all of which were elite insect monsters. Sora was still a new player at the time, only having barely reached level 25, and was mainly just exploring to see if he could find a treasure chest lying around since he was nowhere near a high enough level to fight the monsters. After a bit of exploring and a lot of sneaking around, he came into an enormous cavern. The cavern had hundreds, maybe even thousands of cocoons scattered around, in the center was a cocoon that reach all the way to the to the ceiling of the cavern, close to 15 meters from the ground. Above it¡¯s head was a name badge that read Level 55 -Cocoon of Visux, The Ripper-. Sora attacked the cocoon thinking it wouldn¡¯t be able to retaliate¡­ and he was actually correct. Sora kept attacking, driven mad by the possible loot that would drop from the boss. After attacking for only 10 minutes and shaving off 3% of the bosses health he ended up aggroing a few enemies that were patrolling and died in one hit. At the time he gave up, not wanting to lose another 24 hours of gameplay waiting to respawn, but then a few days after he revived, the Eastern Legion had announced that there was a player event to fight against a demon general to reclaim territory for the kingdom. The event was an epic war between the players and a horde of level 50 Mantis creatures, Sora had taken part in the event at level 35 and only caught a glimpse of the boss before he died. His title read -Visux, The Ripper-. Sora had a complicated expression on his face as he was thinking back to his days of being a new player. They were some of the funnest yet also most embarrassing days of his life, if he had simply attacked the cocoon and hid when the patrolling guards came through he could have single handedly taken down an event boss. Just thinking of it now made him want to go back and slap himself in the face. After Sora was done reminiscing about the past he finished calculating how many days he had left before he could return to the cave, he ended up with close to two weeks. He wasn¡¯t sure when the boss would go into the cocoon and wasn¡¯t sure when he would come out so he planned to enter the cave on the same day that he did in his past life, if he can reach level 35 within two weeks then he should be able to kill the boss after 3 hours of constant swinging, 4 hours if he wanted to avoid the patrolling guards. With the plan set he exited the restaurant and left the city. ¡­.. Deep in the Verinon Forest west of the city there were two girls who had just finished killing some goblins. One wielded a bluish greatsword and had red hair, the other wielded a dagger that looked like a wolf''s fang in one hand, a bluish dagger in the other hand, and wore a white fox mask. They both started to loot as they talked. ¡°Hey LeeLee, do you ever wonder how mister fisherman has so much knowledge?¡± ¡°Hmmm, if you were to ask if I was curious then I would say yes I am¡­ but I don¡¯t want to pry anything out of mister fisherman.¡± ¡°True, he has already done so much for us, it would be rude to try and get information out of him, he might have a secret book that has information inside of it or something.¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ let¡¯s make sure we don¡¯t let anyone know or he might be targeted.¡± ¡°Pfft, let¡¯s just see who will mess with our poor defenseless fisherman while I¡¯m around!¡± ¡°Hehe, big talk for someone who had to get saved by this ¡®poor defenseless fisherman¡¯.¡± ¡°Th-that¡­ Hey wait you were saved by him too!¡± The two girls continued to chat while massacring goblins left and right, their cheerfully laughter made the dark, gloomy forest a little brighter. ¡­.. Sora had picked an area close by to the swamp where he fought the undead villagers, he wanted to make full use of his [Purge With Silver] skill and decided it was best to find more undead to fight. Just past the swamp was an area that was barren of any trees, grass, or plants. The place seemed to be where a huge battle took place judging by the broken weapons and siege weapons that littered the area. There were undead soldiers here and there which ranged from level 20 all the way up to level 30 in some areas. Sora stuck to the area with level 20s for now, it would be a waste of time to fight higher level enemies, although they give more EXP they also take a lot more time to kill. Sora began his slaughter, every now and then a silver light could be seen flashing around the battlefield, every now and then you could see a serious looking young man taking a break and eating some roasted fish. Sora continued killing the undead soldiers for a whole week, sometimes moving to different areas. He had killed a couple more enchanted creatures, one being a -Hardened Undead Soldier- while the other was a -Quick Undead Veteran-. The quick enchantment would increase Agility to an item and if the item was boots it would grant a small movement speed bonus. Sora killed one final group of undead soldiers and finally hit level 30. [Level up] Sora had wanted to put a few stats in his constitution but since he was going to be hitting a cocoon for possibly 4 hours straight he decided to keep buffing his strength while throwing a few stats into Spirit for more mana. Sora had caught up to the undead soldiers in level and decided it was time to move on, he took one last look at his stats before leaving the battlefield. Ethereal - Knight Level - 30 Damage - 106-113 Defense - 48 Mana - 350/350 HP - 300/300 Strength - 140(+30) Agility - 10(+10) Constitution - 10(+20) Dexterity - 10(+5) Endurance - 10(+5) Intelligence - 10(+5) Wisdom - 10(+5) Spirit - 30(+5) Luck - 1 (+2) Fame - 200 Faith - 0 Chapter 14: Bubbles the Blacksmith Sora had just hit level 30 so the EXP gained from the undead in the battlefield slowed down and players started to funnel into the battleground to start grinding EXP for themselves. Sora decided it was time to move on, somewhere that could offer higher level enemies and not have players around to steal his kills. He wanted to try and clear out a bandit camp located near the demons territory where he would have to go later, the undead had broken weapons and armor so all they ever dropped was copper coins and a few pieces of cotton cloth here and there. Bandits would have better loot and a chance for Sora to get an upgraded sword from a enchanted or even named bandit. Sora cleared his way out of the battlefield, when the players saw him easily decimating the zombies they stared in awe, most players here had formed hunting parties to kill the zombies at an efficient rate but a lot of groups were still slower than Sora. After carving a path through the undead he exited the battlefield and found a road that would lead to a village near his destination. As Sora was walking down the road he would see a lot of players pass by, most were low levels and were exploring just for the fun of the adventure. Sora was the same way in his last life, that¡¯s how he stumbled upon the cocoon. It really is more fun when you don¡¯t know everything, there were not many things that could surprise Sora. Ever since starting the game the only thing that got his blood boiling was getting the Lucky Coin from the wolf boss and defeating the Treasure Spirit. Sora continued down the road for a long time, drawing the attention of anyone who would pass by. Along the way Sora found a group of players surrounding a large man who towered over everyone else. He wore normal leather armor with a blacksmith''s apron over and carried a pickaxe that seemed to be small in the hands of this giant. Sora instantly recognized him as a famous blacksmith from his previous life. His username was quite interesting considering his size, but nobody would laugh when they heard his name was Bubbles due to the fact he was one of the best blacksmiths in the game. Nobody wanted to offend someone who could easily make some weapons and armor for a guild to have that guild put you on their blacklist. There was a story of a small group of friends who killed Bubbles so they could mine the ores that he wanted, the next day a large guild killed them on site for five days straight, they ended up having to wait in the city and beg Bubbles for forgiveness. ¡­.. ¡°Hey, big guy let¡¯s not make this any harder than it has to be. You may be big but that won¡¯t help you in game.¡± ¡°Pfft, I don¡¯t take orders from scum like you, if you want weapons and armor then make them yourself you low life.¡± ¡°Why you- Fine have it your way, we¡¯ll make sure we clearly drill a lesson into that thick skull of yours!¡± Just as the group started shouting a man in a silver cloak stood beside Bubbles, he didn¡¯t look like much but he showed his level off to avoid having to deal with these people. He wasn¡¯t sure what the fight was about and only wanted to get on Bubbles¡¯ good side, it¡¯s a lot better than being on his bad side. Once the group saw the level they all hesitated in attacking, they were all thinking he was the big guys friend and they felt like they kicked a hornets nest. The leader had a complicated look on his face as he lowered his weapon and signaled for everyone else to do the same. ¡°Who are you? Shouldn¡¯t you stay out of other peoples buisness?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m just a passerby. I would normally stay out of it but I¡¯m going to be honest, it¡¯s more beneficial to be on the good side of a blacksmith than the bad side.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit that you have a high level but your only one person, what can you do?¡± Sora used [Purge With Silver] on his weapon, getting ready for a fight. Just as he used the skill the other party all stood petrified looking at the silver colored sword. They had all seen this too many times to count, it was the same skill that was used in a fight against the leader of the Multi-Million guild. It was hard to see Sora¡¯s face because he was currently wearing a hood but when they also noticed the scaled boots and gloves they came to a sudden realization. They had all just been talking about this very guy before they ran into Bubbles and started threatening him. The leader gulped loudly before signalling his team to leave with him. Sora was confused on what happened. ¡°Based on the skill you just used, I¡¯m guessing you''re Ethereal?¡± ¡°Right¡­ I didn¡¯t know I was that well known.¡± ¡°The video of your fight is currently at the top of the forums, I¡¯m not surprised that the group left us alone after they knew who you were¡­ Ah, I¡¯m Bubbles and as you have guessed it I¡¯m a blacksmith.¡± ¡°Pleasure is mine, a good blacksmith is a rare thing.¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know if I could be considered a good blacksmith yet, I haven¡¯t even scratched the surface.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will be able to make a name for yourself in the future, most people are too focused on leveling up and exploring yet you''re already hard at work.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m a blacksmith in real life but the money isn¡¯t so good, the modern world has less and less need for me. That¡¯s why I decided to try and make a name for myself here where a blacksmith is a respected class¡­ or so I thought. Those guys wanted me to fix the durability of their equipment for free so they didn¡¯t have to go back to the city.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You have some repair hammers on you? I could use some if you don¡¯t mind selling them to me. I¡¯ll give you market price plus 25% for the convenience.¡± ¡°That sounds fair, how many do you need? I only have ten on me though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take eight then.¡± Sora took out 50 silver and handed it to Bubbles, Bubbles then gave the repair hammers to Sora and tucked the money away with an amiable smile. Bubbles had only brought the hammers to repair his pickaxe when needed and was already on his way back to the city, so he basically made 25% profit easily. ¡°Ethereal, you could consider being on my good side. Hahaha!¡± ¡°Ha, that¡¯s good then. I hope I can keep it that way.¡± The two men shook hands, Sora felt like he was shaking hands with a giant as his entire hand up to the wrist was gripped tightly. Sora sent Bubbles a friend request before leaving. Sora didn¡¯t regret spending an extra 10 silver on the repair hammers, firstly because he actually did need them eventually, secondly because 10 silver for the friendship of a soon to be legendary blacksmith was an amazing deal. Sora walked down the road with a smile on his face. ¡­.. ¡°Hey Blossom¡­¡± ¡°Yes LeeLee?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that man over there look like mister fisherman?¡± Blossom and LeeLee had killed goblins until level 23, then decided to kill some of the wolves that were around a small village at the edge of the factions territory, thinking that there wouldn¡¯t be many players that would be there to train. After killing wolves until level 28 they decided to take a break at the village before going to kill the bandits who were staked out at a nearby mountain. Both of the girls were currently eating at an inn and saw a man with a silver cloak walk in. Blossom nearly choked on her food when she saw it was Sora. ¡°What if he thinks we are following him? Wait¡­ what if he¡¯s following us?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous Blossom, he¡¯s already level 30 according to my friends list. If he were following us then he would be behind us in levels.¡± ¡°True, which only means that it looks like we are the ones following him.¡± ¡°Oh, so you two are following me huh?¡± Just as LeeLee was about to respond the voice of a man was heard next to their table. Sora stood there with a plate of food. Blossom jumped up in fright as she noticed him, making her look even more suspicious. ¡°D-don¡¯t be ridiculous mister fisherman! You were definitely following us, yup that¡¯s the only explanation.¡± ¡°Or it could just be a coincidence don¡¯t you think?¡± Sora sat down with the two and started to eat as Blossom and LeeLee told him what they had done. Sora was surprised at their leveling speed, he had been hunting alone but was still very fast and didn¡¯t need to share EXP with anyone. He concluded that the rare dagger that LeeLee had and the overpowering damage of Blossom¡¯s greatsword had made their killing speed insane. The two then started to tell Sora how they planned to go kill bandits that were camped out at a mountain and this time it was Sora that nearly choked on his food. This was too much of a coincidence isn¡¯t it? The two girls noticed his weird reaction and already deduced why he reacted that way. There was an awkward silence until all of them finished their meals. ¡­.. Sora was walking up the base of a hill alone, killing stray bandits that would cross paths with him, they were all level 31 but that would change once he makes it to their camp. After Sora found out that Blossom and LeeLee were going to the same place he proposed that they each fight their way through from different entrances of the mountain and meet up at the middle. There was a chance that a boss would be in the center so it wasn¡¯t a bad idea at all. Blossom decided to make it a race without anyones consent and was full of energy as the two girls charged up the other side of the mountain. Reaching the camp took a couple hours due to having to stop to kill bandits along with the rough, winding terrain he had to climb. He was not standing in front of a camp that had level 32 and 33 bandits scattered around. If Sora ran straight through the camp he would probably aggro close to one hundred and fifty bandits before he even made it to the cave entrance. He stayed near the edge of the camp so he could clear a path for retreat if needed. Even though he stayed near the edge he still aggroed a lot of enemies. Sora was fighting a group of bandits in front of the cave. There were six of them, four of which were level 33 the other two being level 32. The path that Sora created near the edge of the camp came in handy as he used it to funnel the bandits into a smaller area, only having to fight two at a time while the others had to wait their turns. He would use [Concuss] on the bandit on the left, which was only level 32, while killing off the bandits that would funnel in on the right. He did this to keep a lower level bandit pressuring him instead of the higher level ones. Sora had taken a lot of hits from that bandit but it was better than taking the hits from the level 33. Five minutes and one health potion later and the bandits had fallen, dropping some coins and cloth. Sora entered the cave, all bandits were now up to level 33 and some side caverns were even full of level 34 bandits. Sora continued pulling small groups of bandits to make sure not to waste any more health potions, he didn¡¯t want to run out and be left with none to fight the boss. Sora had killed bandits for a full day now, gaining two levels and effectively putting himself in front of the bandit boss. Level 35 -Kev, The Abandoned- On the other side of the boss was two girls that were waiting for Sora, when they saw Sora Blossom had put a smug smile on her face and did a little victory fist pump. It was to be expected, their killing speed was a lot faster than Sora¡¯s, he estimated that they had been done for almost an hour now. Sora crept along the wall of the cavern to make it to the two girls. ¡°Hehehe, looks like we won this time mister fisherman. Now you have to honor your side of the bet.¡± ¡°Blossom, you made a bet with mister fisherman?¡± Sigh ¡°I think you look very cute LeeLee.¡± You couldn¡¯t see LeeLee¡¯s face due to her mask but her ears glowed bright red as she started to stutter on her words. She was never able to fully form a sentence and just stood there fidgeting. Blossom had secretly begged Sora to make LeeLee embarrassed if they made it through the cave faster, she seems to have some kind of weird fetish of seeing LeeLee like that, even at the cost of five health potions from trying to rush through the cave. Sora didn¡¯t mind, there was nothing wrong with complimenting a girl but Blossom made him feel dirty when he saw Blossom smiling gleefully at the embarrassed LeeLee. ¡°Alright, enough messing around. We have a boss to kill.¡± Chapter 15: Bandit Boss Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee were all standing at the entrance to a large cavern. The cavern had two entrances and there were stalagmites everywhere on the ground. The boss was sitting on a treasure chest, polishing his sword. Sora had fought this boss before in his previous life, the stalagmites are used to hide behind when the boss does an AOE attack. There were five rows of stalagmites with six in each row, every 5 minutes will trigger his AOE ability, dealing enough damage to one shot most people and also crumbling the stalagmites that were hit. This means that the group had 35 minutes to kill the boss before a complete party wipe and a 24 hour timeout before you can revive. He had another ability too but it was just a buffed basic attack, they didn¡¯t pose too much of a threat. ¡°By the way, what abilities do you two have?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll share their information.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Blossom showed her skills first. [Shoulder Bash] Cost: 10 mana Cooldown: 10 seconds Requires: Greatsword -Deals 50% of Strength as damage and pushes the target back 3 meters. [Savage Pounce] Cost: 15 mana Cooldown: 20 seconds -Pounce onto a target or target area up to 10 meters away dealing 100% damage. Can be recast for free 1 time for 5 seconds after original cast on a new target. [Overwhelm] Cost: 25 mana Cooldown: 15 seconds Requires: Greatsword -Deal 200% damage to target. If target is below 10% health, deal 300% instead. [Shoulder Bash] was a good disrupting skill, that¡¯s the skill Blossom used to interrupt the skills of the last boss, it didn¡¯t do very much damage but it help control the battlefield. [Savage Pounce] excelled in quick movement between enemies, it will turn Blossom into a nightmare for enemies that require distance to deal damage. Just imagine fighting against a group of players when suddenly a greatsword wielder jumps to your healer, kills them within seconds, then recasts the skill to jump back to the frontlines. [Overwhelm] was a skill that received a lot of attention in his previous life, it would decimate anything with a high health pool when they fell below 10% health. Blossom had a fairly decent set of skills already, she had a disrupter, a mobility, and a damage skill. Next was LeeLee. [Accurate Strike] Cost: 5 mana Cooldown: 5 seconds Requires: Dagger -Next basic attack ignores 50% of target''s defense [Shimmer] Cost: 50 mana Duration: 10 seconds Cooldown: 2 minute -75% chance to evade incoming attacks. [Barbed Strike] Cost: 15 mana Cooldown: 10 seconds Requires: Dagger -Attack that deals 100% damage + makes the target bleed for 100% damage over 10 seconds. [Hidden Weapon] Cost: 0 Cooldown: 0 Requires: Phantom Assassin Class -Freely store and deploy 2 daggers and a mask. [Accurate Strike] was a basic skill that any dagger user should have, it was effective against bosses and tank players. Although it wasn¡¯t special, it still had utility in almost every situation. [Shimmer] was good for stalling out fights, buying time, or even escaping an enemy. The high cooldown made it a one time per fight skill for the most part but the moment it was used would greatly turn the tides of battle. [Barbed Strike] could keep a DOT effect on the target, it gave consistent damage that didn''t seem like a lot but would add up over time. If a fight were to last 30 minutes and the target had the bleed effect the entire time it would add up to the amount of one hundred and eighty basic attacks. The only bad thing was the mana cost, to keep the bleed up for just a minute would cost 95 mana. [Hidden Weapon] was only really good for fighting players, when weapons can instantly be deployed it can throw the enemy off and make ambushing almost useless. LeeLee didn¡¯t have as great a skill set as Blossom, but it did have more damage potential. Sora quickly went over the battle strategy with Blossom and LeeLee. The basics were to let Sora hold aggro while the two girls did damage. LeeLee was in charge of letting everyone know when the 5 minute mark was approaching so everyone could make it to a stalagmite before the boss uses his AOE. If Sora falls too low then it was up to Blossom to take aggro while he recuperates. With a plan set, the group positioned themselves on different sides of the cave and Sora led the charge. He opened up with a basic attack followed by a [Slash]. -115 -289 His [Slash] was a critical hit, firmly locking the aggro onto Sora. Blossom used [Savage Pounce] to close the gap between her and the boss while also dealing damage, she used [Overwhelm] every now and then but tried to make sure her mana was above 50% at all times in case of emergencies. LeeLee was the highest damage dealer and had to carefully watch her aggro, with the bleed effect constantly generating aggro it was hard to find a good rhythm. She had [Shimmer] if needed but would like to refrain from using it if possible. ¡°We are at 4 minutes 30 seconds, get ready to run.¡± ¡°10...9...8¡± LeeLee was spot on with her callout and just as she hit 0 the boss started casting his AOE skill while everyone was already in cover. The boss let out a roar as he started to spin wildly. ¡°I¡¯ve killed people like you hundreds of times! You will suffer for your over confidence!¡± The boss had created blades of air that wreaked havoc on the surrounding stalagmites. Just as the skill ended the stalagmites that the group was using as cover crumbles to pieces. Sora once again charged in and started dealing damage, he had only taken a few hits before the boss used his AOE which resulted in being left with about half his health but after the break behind the stalagmite he was able to recover up to about two thirds. Right after the group engaged again the boss had already fallen to 75% health. He let out a small grunt before his sword glowed brightly and landed a hit on sora dealing a large chunk of damage. Sora quickly drank a health potion and continued to hold aggro.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Mister fisherman, I¡¯ll take aggro at ten seconds and use [Shimmer] so you can fall back early to recover more.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave it up to you then.¡± ¡°15...14...13¡± LeeLee had saved Sora a lot of health by taking the aggro, he was able to fall back and rest a moment while the boss kept missing his attacks against LeeLee. In the end only one attack hit before the boss started to use his AOE. They engaged once again and was able to bring the boss down to 50% health about half way through the next damage cycle. Sora was starting to feel the pressure of the boss when he unleashed another glowing sword, nearly taking Sora¡¯s life. Blossom reacted by taking the boss¡¯s aggro while Sora drank a health potion. Because Blossom didn¡¯t have a parry dagger she ended up taking quite a few hits, also falling into the red zone and having to drink a health potion. LeeLee once again took aggro and used [Shimmer] to avoid his attacks before the boss used his AOE. Sora was able to fully recover as they began the fourth attack cycle, they should be able to bring the boss down to 25% in the fifth cycle and kill him on the sixth at this rate. The party continued to fight, Sora held the aggro most of the time but Blossom and LeeLee would sometimes need to take it so Sora could recover. One time LeeLee took aggro and used [Shimmer] but the boss got lucky and hit her all three times before he used his AOE, forcing her to drink a health potion and leaving her with a fraction of her health. On the fifth cycle they had already brought the boss down to 15% health. ¡­.. At one entrance of the cavern a group of players had walked in, their party was the basic party format that consisted of a tank, a healer, and three damage dealers. When they saw Sora and his group fighting the boss they all looked at eachother with a smirk. They had already decided to steal the boss from the trio. The group rushed in with the healer behind and the tank in the front. Sora glared at the group before asking what the timer was for the AOE of the boss. A devious smile appeared when LeeLee reported only a minute before the boss would use his AOE. Sora was calm but Blossom had already blown a fuse when she saw the players trying to steal the kill away. ¡°What the hell do you think you guys are doing?¡± ¡°Ah, well we saw how small your party was and decided it was best to help you out so you don¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Bullshit! This is plain robbery! I¡¯m suddenly having a hard time figuring out if this guy is the bandit boss or you are!¡± ¡°Hehehe, since you already know, why are you still here?¡± ¡°You-¡± LeeLee interrupted Blossom with her countdown, the boss had it¡¯s aggro taken by the other party since Sora and LeeLee stopped attacking, knowing what would happen to them. Blossom had simply forgot to attack due to how mad she was. LeeLee hinted towards Blossom. ¡°Blossom, why not play leapfrog with their healer?¡± ¡°Hehehe, that sounds like a fun.¡± Blossom used [Savage Pounce] to go directly in front of the healer, followed by a basic attack and [Overwhelm]. The healer was instantly dead, she then used [Savage Pounce] again to jump behind a stalagmite. The party was confused as to what happened, their healer died in less than three seconds and Sora, LeeLee, and Blossom had all hidden behind a stalagmite. The leader of the party suddenly had a bad premonition and called for his party to retreat, it was too late. ¡°I¡¯ve killed people like you hundreds of times! You will suffer for your over confidence!¡± The boss started to spin rapidly as wind blades cut through each of the party members, after the AOE was over there was only the tank of the party who survived due to his high defense, and a warrior who had probably put a lot of points into Constitution. The boss swung at the warrior one time and finished him off, the tank turned around to flee but was instantly pounced on by Blossom, the [Savage Pounce] was enough to kill him in one hit since his health was so low, so Blossom used the next cast to engage the boss. The boss only had 5% HP left and was easily dealt with when Blossom used [Overwhelm] on him a couple times, doing 300% damage due to the boss having less than 10% health. The boss fell dead, with only a key necklace dropping. [Level up] [x1 Kev¡¯s Key obtained] -Used to open Kev¡¯s treasure chest Sora picked up the key, walking up to the treasure chest the boss had originally been sitting on. He inserted the key as a small clicking noise was heard and the chest flung open, revealing various pieces of equipment that was glowing green and blue. Sora started with the green equipment. [x1 Darksteel Gauntlets obtained] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 45/45 Defense - 8 Requires - Level 30 - Heavy Armor Class ¡°Gauntlets forged from steel that has been mixed with a small amount of obsidian.¡± +10 Constitution +5 Strength Now that the trio had classes the loot could be distributed easier, anybody in a party that used heavy armor would use a system where they could roll a random number from 1 to 100. The higher number gets the loot. ¡°Blossom, let¡¯s both roll for it.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ it would be better if you-¡± ¡°It¡¯s only fair to roll, don¡¯t try to push everything you earn onto me.¡± Blossom couldn¡¯t argue when he had such a serious look on his face, Blossom thought that Sora had interpreted her trying to give away the loot as her saying that he needs it more. She felt a little disappointed in herself after she thought of it that way and rolled obediently. Sora didn''t think in that way at all, he simply just wanted everyone who worked for loot to have a chance to get it. Blossom rolled first and was left speechless when a perfect low score of 1 appeared. Sora had rolled a 13 but still won due to Blossoms incredibly low score. Sora continued to distribute the loot this way. [x1 Frost Lion Leather Leggings obtained] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 40/40 Defense - 9 Requires - Level 30 - Medium Armor Class ¡°Leather leggings made from the hide and fur of a Frost Lion. The leggings also provide a mysterious warmth when worn in cold climates.¡± +10 Dexterity +5 Constitution Sora and Blossom both passed on the leggings, they didn¡¯t use medium armor so the leggings went straight to LeeLee. A joyous smile could be seen as she switched her leggings, the fur was white with a small hint of blue and they didn¡¯t look too bad, even with a mismatch of other pieces of armor. [x1 Frost Lion Leather Boots obtained] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 35/35 Defense - 5 Requires - Level 30 - Medium Armor Class ¡°Leather boots made from the hide and fur of a Frost Lion. The boots also provide a mysterious warmth when worn in cold climates.¡° +15 Agility Another piece of loot that went to LeeLee. The only thing left was two swords that glowed with a blue light, one was a normal longsword and the other was a greatsword. Sora looked at Blossom who seemed to be praying as he pulled out the greatsword first. As soon as it came into view Blossom had whispered what sounded like ¡®Thank you Goddess Lucia¡¯. [x1 Serrated Bloodsteel Greatsword obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 75/75 Damage - 75-93 Requires - Level 30 - Greatsword Class ¡°A greatsword with a serrated edge, the steel has a deep red color and seemed to be made from blood.¡° +25 Strength +5% chance to make the target bleed for 50% weapon damage on hit Blossom was so excited that she forgot she was the only greatsword user, she rolled the dice and ended up with another pathetic 1. Just as she was about to have a mental breakdown Sora passed on his roll and it suddenly clicked in her head. She equipped the greatsword and started to swing it around frantically while laughing cheerfully. At one point she even hugged it close to her body. Sora finally looked at the last glowing blue sword, this would be the sword that helps him take down the cocoon boss. [x1 Artifact Sword obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 65/65 Damage - 63-72 Requires - Level 30 - Sword Class ¡°The sword looks to be made of an ancient material, although it has lost it¡¯s edge, it still hums with a faint magical energy that assists in cutting.¡° +15 Strength +5% chance to ignore defense on hit. Sora instantly took out his Vicious enchantment and applied it to his sword. It was impossible for him to get a better sword before he fights the cocoon and wanted to power level for the last few days he had. He applied the enchantment on the sword, leaving the rune on the center of the blade. [x1 Vicious Artifact Sword obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 65/65 Damage - 73-82 Requires - Level 30 - Sword Class ¡°The sword looks to be made of an ancient material, although it has lost it¡¯s edge, it still hums with a faint magical energy that assists in cutting.¡° +15 Strength +5% chance to ignore defense on hit. (Enchantment Effects) +10 Strength +10-10 Damage The trio left the cave and went back to the small village, Blossom and LeeLee wanted to know how he added the rune to his sword so he let them borrow his enchanting supplies to make their own out of the essence they had. Blossom enchanted two pieces of armor with the Hardened Essence and LeeLee enchanted one piece of armor with Hardened Essence and her boots with Quick Essence. Sora decided used the essence he collected when fighting in the undead battlefield to buff his gauntlets and boots. [x1 Hardened Darksteel Gauntlets obtained] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 60/60 Defense - 8(+5) Requires - Level 30 - Heavy Armor Class ¡°Gauntlets forged from steel that has been mixed with a small amount of obsidian.¡± +10 Constitution +5 Strength (Enchantment Effects) +15 Durability +5 Defense [X1 Quick Scaled Boots of Water Walking obtained] Rarity - Uncommon Durability - 50/50 Defense - 5 Requires - Level 5 - Fishing Skill of 5 ¡°Boots that have been made from the scales of a Bronze Snub Fish. Fins have been added to the sides to help traversing water!¡° +5 Agility +Can take 2 steps on top of water with no penalty (Enchantment Effects) +10 Agility +10% Movement Speed Chapter 16: The Cocoon Sora had just said bye to his two companions as he went further towards the West. He wanted to find some enemies that were level 35 near the border of his faction''s territory so he could be nearby the cocoon cave when he hits level 35. After walking around a forested area for a bit he found an area that was occupied by level 35 Hunter Jaguars. The large cats had green fur that seemed to blend in with the fauna around them and would jump out at anything that passed by them. As Sora walked through the forest the jaguars would jump at him only to crash to the ground when he dodged. The jaguars might be troublesome at first but once you are able to actively spot them before they pounce it was extremely easy to dodge their attacks. They only dropped some fur and occasionally some copper coins so the loot was awful, but Sora was fighting them for the EXP anyways and didn¡¯t really pay attention to the loot. After fighting the jaguars for about half a day he was only 50% the ways through getting his next level, he decided to take a break to avoid burning himself out like he did with the undead. Sora only pushed himself so hard at the time so he could have moments like this, being able to take a break every now and then kept his sanity in check. He even took the opportunity to logout of the game and eat to help clear his mind. Once he was done he returned to his grinding of EXP with renewed vigor. ¡­.. After three days of hunting Sora had finally hit level 35, he checked his stats once before finding that it was at a point where he could deal enough damage to kill the cocoon in 3 hours. He wasn¡¯t sure of the details of when the cocoon would hatch or what would happen when he gets it¡¯s life lower but he was determined to try it out anyways. If he succeed then he gets his class early, if not then he only loses 24 hours of game time and has to wait a little longer to get his class. Sora was already at the point where 24 hours would only amount to maybe two levels if he was efficient and wouldn¡¯t mind a break anyways. The journey from the border of the demon territory to the cocoon cave would probably take half a day to make it to if he wanted to be careful along the way so he did one more quick check of his stats before heading out. Ethereal Knight Level - 35 Damage - 180-189 Defense - 56 Mana - 400/400 HP - 400/400 Strength - 160(+50) Agility - 10(+20) Constitution - 10(+30) Dexterity - 10(+5) Endurance - 10(+5) Intelligence - 10(+5) Wisdom - 10(+5) Spirit - 35(+5) Luck - 1 (+2) Fame - 200 Faith - 0 ¡­.. Sora was currently hacking his way through a dense jungle, he had been traveling for only a couple hours and hadn¡¯t made any mistakes thus far, until the hacking of his sword made contact with something hiding in the thicket of the jungle. -67 It was an incredibly low number considering his damage was almost at 200. He quickly pushed back as a large snake had struck where he was previously standing. Level 45 -Man Eating Viper- The snake was coiled up so it was hard to tell it¡¯s length but it was probably close to 20 meters long. The scales were green and there were two purple stripes running down it¡¯s entire body. It was a high level but it was also a normal monster, it was basically like fighting a mini-boss for Sora. He activated [Purge With Silver] before starting to circle around the snake, placing himself in front of a thick tree. The snake lunged at Sora as he jumped to the side, the snake sunk it¡¯s fangs into the tree and received a [Slash] from Sora. The tail of the snake came whipping at him but he was able to pull up his dagger just in time to redirect the tail. Sora used [Concuss] to get off a basic attack and run behind the tree, placing the snake¡¯s head on one side of the tree and his tail on the other side of the tree as it slithered around, trying to attack Sora. Sora used a [Crippling Strike] just as the snake came around the tree and then dodged another attack. He kept dancing around the tree, causing the snake to be entwined on it and finally took a hit from the snake''s tail as he delivered the final strike.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. That one strike had halved his health so he decided to take a break before moving any further in, he didn¡¯t want to accidentally aggro another snake or he would have to run and pray that he can make it out alive. After a short break, Sora continued his journey through the jungle, this time spotting the snakes before he got close to them. ¡­.. ¡°Hehehe this greatsword is so cool, I almost one shot that bandit! Did you see it LeeLee?¡± ¡°Mhmm, good job Blossom.¡± Blossom and LeeLee decided to go back to the bandit cave to level up on the level 34 bandits that roamed around before the boss room. They had been killing them for a couple days now and had made good progress, just on the verge of leveling up. Blossom had been talking nonstop about her new greatsword and LeeLee humored her each time she mentioned it. Just as the two girls finished off the last bandit in the room, a group of players suddenly entered. The party consisted of a tank, a healer, and three damage dealers. When the group saw the two girls they formed a wall to block them from leaving. ¡°Hehehe, what a nice coincidence. Now that we found you, how about you give us the loot that you stole from us?¡± ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s the dumb guy who thinks he¡¯s a bandit boss again.¡± ¡°You- Fine then, I guess we will have to teach you a lesson about stealing other people''s loot. Let¡¯s see how good you are without the boss doing-¡± Before he could even finish his sentence, a shadow blurred past him overhead and landed on the healer. It was like deja vu as the healer was killed, this time with only one[Overwhelm]. Blossom recast her [Savage Leap] to go on top of the mage who was next to the healer, also immediately ending the fight with only two attacks. The leader of the party tried to run at Blossom but was hit from behind with [Barbed Strike], slowly killing him. He decided to try and kill LeeLee first, thinking that she would have less defense than Blossom. LeeLee used [Shimmer] just as the man turned around. -Evaded The leader had thrown three hits out, all of them missing as the final tick of bleeding damage drained his health. The rest of the party was quickly dispatched after being sandwiched between Blossom and LeeLee. This was the second time in two days that they have had to wait to respawn. The two girls now had a red name and didn¡¯t really know much about it. They decided to ask Sora. ¡°Hey, mister fisherman. I got a question.¡± ¡°Hmm, what is it?¡± ¡°Why is my name tag red?¡± ¡°... Who did you kill?¡± ¡°Remember that group that tried to steal our boss? Well they came back for revenge¡­ or something like that, they died pretty easily so I¡¯m not really sure what they planned.¡± ¡°Ah, well the red tag basically means you''re labeled as a murderer and won¡¯t be allowed to enter and towns, cities, or any privately owned territory. If you do then the guards will attack you on sight.¡± ¡°Ehhhh?! That¡¯s a little harsh for defending ourselves¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you attacked first, if they had made the first move then you wouldn¡¯t have suffered the penalty. Just keep killing enemies and the tag will eventually go away.¡± ¡°Got it! By the way, where did you go?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on my way to hopefully get my class.¡± ¡°Hopefully?¡± ¡°Shit! I¡¯ll explain later, I just accidentally aggroed another snake.¡± ¡°Ok, have fun mister fisherman!¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± Blossom relayed the message to LeeLee and they continued to kill bandits until their names returned to normal. ¡­.. It took Sora more time than he imagined because of all the snakes, the jungle was filled with them and he ended up aggroing three in total throughout his journey. He was now hiding within the thicket of the jungle, looking at the mountain in front of him. The mountain seemed to reach up to the heavens, It was even larger than Mount Valor. At the base of the mountain there was a large amount of blue tinted ore that seemed to be iced over, with many insect creatures patrolling around it. More patches of the blue ore could be seen on the side of the mountain, but the terrain was rugged so the insect creatures only guarded the base of the mountain. Some of the creatures looked like a mantis, some looked like caterpillars, some even made a chirping noise and looked like a cricket. Sora patiently waited for a group of the insect monsters to go by before slipping through the cave entrance. Sora remembered the cave being somewhat complex, you could go up one path and end up walking for an hour just to find yourself back at the start of the cave. He only vaguely remembered some landmarks that he had found in his previous life but other than that he was basically walking around blindly. Each time he came up to a corner he would carefully listen before checking to see if there was any insect monster. After 2 hours of careful treading and marking his path with small incisions made in the rock wall, he found himself back at a path he had already taken, somewhat near the entrance of the cave. Sora continued to take different routes, backtracking when he hit a dead end or a path he has already taken. Eventually he found his way to a chunk of the blue ore that was in between a fork in the cave. It was something he had remembered from his last life and already knew he needed to take the right side. After a lot of trial and error, along with sneaking past more insect creatures than he can count, he found himself at the entrance to a huge cave, covered with cocoons. In the middle was a cocoon that reach all the way to the ceiling with a name badge clearly labeling it. Level 55 -Cocoon of Visux, The Ripper- Sora spent a full hour walking around the cave, checking every corner for anything that might disrupt his fighting. Every 7-10 minutes there would be a group of mantis creatures that swept through the cocoon cavern but Sora found a place where the cavern wall jutted out a little and made a small crevice, he would keep a close eye on the entrances to the cavern and run to the crevice when the insect creatures entered. After Sora was positive that the cave was empty and the guards had already passed through, he swung his sword at the cocoon. -57 The first hit didn¡¯t even take off a sliver of the health bar on the boss, Sora sighed as he prepared himself for a long fight, full of unknown possibilities. Chapter 17: Visux, The Ripper Sora was currently hacking away at the giant cocoon, occasionally running to a crevice as the insect guards entered the room. The progress was extremely slow, he didn¡¯t have enough mana to be putting out his maximum damage the entire time and tried to keep some in case of emergencies. Basic attack after basic attack landed on the cocoon, only leaving an almost invisible white mark where the sword hit. After 1 hour of hitting the cocoon, it¡¯s health was at 64% and Sora had to use a repair hammer on his sword. Hitting a monster who had such a high defense took a toll on his sword, it was like using his sword to hack at a rock. Sometimes the cocoons around him would squirm around, making Sora think a insect creature would erupt from them. Sora didn¡¯t sacrifice much of his attention on the little cocoons, if they hatched then there wasn¡¯t much he could do anyways. 2 Hours had passed since Sora started hacking at the cocoon, the insect guards seemed to be appearing more frequently and the smaller cocoons were squirming even more than before. Sora had a bad feeling sitting in the core of his being, he started to only stop attacking the cocoon when the guards were getting close instead of when they entered. It was a lot more risky that way but Sora wanted to deal as much damage as he could. The damage on the boss had slowed down and it still had 37% health, his damage output had drastically reduced thanks to the frequency of the guards rising. Sora sat behind a crevice in a cavern with a complicated look on his face. The boss was down to 10% health after 3 hours of attacking and the guards were almost in perfect rotation with each other, when one group left the cavern another group would enter. It only gave Sora about a minute to attack, and even that was cutting it close. Some of the cocoons on the outer edge have started to from cracks now, meaning they could hatch at any moment. Sora looked at his surroundings, nearly giving up as he thought it was impossible. He took a deep breathe to calm down and decided to stay on the boat until it sunk. Although he could leave right now, that would mean he knowingly wasted time for nothing. Sora didn¡¯t want to give up just like that, he would rather die trying than to walk out unscathed. He kept attacking, using the minute intervals to attack the cocoon, even after 30 minutes he only brought it down to 5% HP. That¡¯s when the first cocoon hatched. Near the entrance to the cave, one of the cocoons finally ruptured open to reveal a mantis like creature with red eyes and razor sharp arms. It looked similar to the mantis that were around the cave except instead of being green with white eyes, they were black with red eyes. Then something completely unexpected occurred, the black mantis turned to the green mantis and started to attack it. Above it¡¯s head the name badge showed Level 55 -Corrupted Mantis-, when Sora saw that everything clicked. The mantis itself was not a demonic creature, which means they were made into demonic creatures to serve the demon army. Injecting the demonic power while they were in the cocoon was a easy way to surprise the rest of the insects who remained uncorrupted. This was a chance that Sora needed to take, he would have to kill the big cocoon before the smaller ones can hatch around him, the guards were occupied with fighting the corrupt insect creatures so he could freely attack it until the smaller cocoons hatched. Sora had already bolted towards the cocoon as he was thinking about why the cocoons were corrupt, he didn¡¯t want to waste any time and immediately started attacking the big cocoon with everything he had. [Slash] [Concuss] Basic attack [Slash] basic attack [Crippling Strike]. Sora continued to chain abilities until he was out of mana. He had taken down 2% after completely draining his mana and was left with 3% to take down with basic attacks and the occasional [Slash] when his mana regenerated enough to use it. Corrupted insects could be seen overwhelming the regular insect creatures. A green caterpillar would be fighting a black caterpillar that would spew flames and devour the enemies he killed. A black mantis could be seen easily fighting two of the green mantis. Demonic crickets would use a high pitched noise to scramble the brains of other creatures around it. It was a complete nightmare for the normal insects. The small cocoons started to hatch closer and closer to Sora, it was like a domino effect, it all started from the first cocoon and then every adjacent cocoon would hatch, and then the adjacent ones to those cocoons, and so on. Sora had just taken the big cocoon down to 1% when the cocoon started to shake. A large blade like arm burst out, barely missing Sora as it punctured into the ground next to him. The name changed from Level 55 -Cocoon of Visux, The Ripper- to Level 55 -Visux, The Ripper- and Sora suddenly felt his heart drop. The cocoon took a while to open, revealing the giant black mantis like creature while it¡¯s health was only a few hits away from death. Sora carefully watched as the blade like arm came lying at him, just as it was about to land a well timed [Concuss] stopped his attack and stunned him for a short duration. Sora was able to get his health down to a measly 22 HP hit as another attack came flying at him. [Level Up] [Level Up] [Congratulations, your faction has defeated a demon general. Please turn in the bladed arm of Visux, The Ripper to the king of The Eastern Legion as proof of your deeds. Contribution points will be awarded to all participants based on the effect they had in the battle. Long live The Eastern Legion!] Sora had grabbed everything on the ground as fast as he could and turned to run, just as he turned around an attack from three different corrupted insect creatures assaulted him at the same time. He was cut by a mantis, burned by a caterpillar, and felt a sharp pain in his head as a cricket unleashed a devastating sound. -346 -322 -432 [You died. Please wait 24 hours to revive.] ¡­.. Sora took off his VR helmet and sat on his bed in a stupor, he sat like that for a while before finally breathing a sigh of relief and giving a hearty chuckle that slowly turned into a roar of laughter. This is the kind of thing that gets him excited, he didn¡¯t know anything that would happen after he started to attack the cocoon other than the guards coming in. He blindly charged into something that was quite possible to fail at and ended up pulling through. He didn¡¯t even dread on the fact that he died, he gained two levels from killing Visux, The Ripper so his time spent dead has already been made up. Sora happily hopped off his bed before making something to eat and sitting down at his computer.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Sora browsed the forums for ¡°The Divine Path¡± and didn¡¯t see anything mentioning the event he had just completed, he thought something might have popped up but it looks like that won¡¯t happen until he turns in the bounty to the king. Something that caught his attention was a video of him fighting Julius. There was already three hundred and fifty million views on the video with over two hundred thousand comments. 80% of the comments were praise on his fighting style, 15% were haters, and 5% were the random trolls that didn¡¯t mention anything about the fight. The publicity was good for when he would create his guild, but up until that point the video would only cause him trouble. It was the case of players wanting to defeat him so that they can instantly become famous. In his last life a famous player by the name of Fire Hazard was recorded dying at the hands of some no name guild. After the video went viral the guild instantly shot up in popularity and became strong enough to have their name known. Sora rubbed his head and was glad for the fact that your information could be hidden, as long as he lays low people shouldn¡¯t bother him. Sora kept browsing the forums and found a semi-popular video that was circulating titled ¡°Boss thieves PK my team¡±. It was a video that was heavily edited, showing the party that Sora had run into while fighting the bandit boss. From the perspective of the video, it showed the party fighting the boss, then it showed Blossom killing their healer and running away. A lot of hateful comments were thrown around calling Blossom various different names; Scum, garbage, dirt, low-life, even slut was thrown around multiple times. At first Sora had a face filled with wraith, then it slowly transformed into an evil smile as he pulled up his own unedited recording of the fight and made a reply post to the original post. He ironically named the post ¡°Boss thieves get PKed by my team¡± and logged off to exercise a little. ¡­.. Blossom and LeeLee were currently taking a break from the game to eat a little and clear their minds. Blossom scrolled through the forums of ¡°The Divine Path¡± before stopping on a post titled ¡°Boss thieves PK my team¡±, at first she was angry at the so called thieves that would do something so despicable, until she saw the video. The video clearly cut out and rearranged a lot of clips to make Blossom look like the bad guy. She was fuming as she read through the comments, the harsh names used against her made her feel terrible. Although she knew it was all a misconception, it still hurt her seeing such nasty comments made about her. Some were even attacking her looks, threatening her, so many unimaginable things that made her even feel a little scared. Her eyes started getting moist, then she came across a commenter by the name of Ethereal. It was a link to his own post titled ¡°Boss thieves get PKed by my team¡± and had a video attached along with a few words reading ¡°You shouldn¡¯t believe an edited video, innocent people have to suffer from your stupidity.¡± the video clearly showed Sora starting the boss fight, all the way til the end of the boss fight. There was no room for arguing the point, the video was 100% uncut and unedited. The comments section was filled with apologies from people who had cursed Blossom. ¡°Toad - I can¡¯t believe I said something so stupid, I¡¯m sorry Blossom ( ; _ ; )¡± ¡°The Leaping Herron - Ah, kinda hurts when you say it as stupidity¡­ but I guess you''re right, sorry Blossom.¡± ¡°Gigamail - THOSE STUPID BASTARDS MADE ME INSULT AN INNOCENT GIRL. WHO WAS THE CREATOR OF THAT EDITED VIDEO?!¡± The comments went on and on with the words ¡°Sorry Blossom¡± clearly written over and over. Blossoms face changed from on the verge of crying from sadness to a big smile, releasing a slight laugh as tears finally escaped, but this time from happiness. ¡­.. Sora got back from exercising and checked his post, it had instantly blown up and the after effects had forced the creators of the edited video into a corner. He took down his post, only to find that other users had already saved the entire video and posted it with the video Sora had made. The creator remained anonymous so they didn¡¯t know who posted it. They only knew the names of the 5 people in the party, due to Sora¡¯s video. Every single party member had received various messages and threats, pushing the party to reveal who made the video. In the end a knight player by the name of ¡°Disrupting Wall¡± had been revealed as the original video poster. Sora saw many comments saying sorry to Blossom, some even went as far as wanting to give her gold or items to make up for it. Sora scrolled through each one until he saw one specific message that simply said this. ¡°Anonymous - Thank you, mister fisherman.¡± Sora smiled as he closed the forums before laying down to start thinking of more plans for the future. ¡­.. The next day Sora was finally able to log back in, the good thing about him dying was that he spawned at the village he was previously at, saving him a lot of time by not having to walk through the snake infested jungle again. He didn¡¯t have time to distribute stats or check his loot befor ehe died, so he did so now. The first thing he had picked up was the quest item which was clearly separated from the rest of his inventory. It was just a single arm that belonged to the giant mantis. The next thing was glowing blue and looked to be shoulder armor, Sora inspected them. [Layered Shoulders of Frost Steel] Rarity - Rare Durability - 60/60 Defense - 9 Requires - Level 35 - Heavy Armor Class ¡°Shoulder armor made from Frost Iron ore that has been refined and mixed with several other components.¡° +15 Constitution The shoulders were a big surprise to Sora, it usually takes a while for shoulder armor to appear in the game. Low level shoulders weren¡¯t unheard of but it was definitely rare. The next two items were glowing blue and looked similar, they were two necklaces that were both in the shape of a small shield. [Necklace of Persistent Life] Rarity - Rare Durability - 40/40 Defense - 0(10) Requires - Level 40 ¡°A necklace crafted from mithril ore and filled with the warm essence of life.¡± +10 Defense +10 Constitution The two necklaces were exactly the same, normally a necklace wouldn¡¯t have a defense value which is why it was set to 0 by default. The necklace had special defensive properties, that¡¯s the only reason why defense was labeled on the item. The last two pieces of equipment were pieces of a light armor, being cloth gloves and a robe. Sora would just sell those, since he didn¡¯t have a use for them. He also planned to sell the second necklace he had gotten, he could give it to Blossom but it didn¡¯t really suit her play style. The only things left was a book and two tokens that shined with a golden light. He first picked up the two coins, because he already recognized them as lucky coins. He used them right away and gained +2 permanent luck. The book was a skill book, he could only pray that it could be used by his class as he slowly willed the information to appear. [Skill Book: Relentless Pursuit] -Use this item to gain the skill Relentless Pursuit. Sora was glad, Relentless Pursuit was only limited to melee combatants so he could use it. He used the skill book, successfully obtaining the skill. [Relentless Pursuit Skill obtained] Cost: 100 mana Duration: 15 seconds Cooldown: 2 minutes -Mark a target, for the next 15 seconds you are immune to all movement impairing effects that generate from anything other than the marked target. You gain 50% movement speed while moving towards the marked target. The skill was only really useful when chasing other players but Sora had a few other ways to use the skill. The target didn¡¯t have to be an enemy so if you needed to rush to a party member you could use this skill to help get there faster. Sora wasn¡¯t happy nor sad about getting this skill, at the moment he didn''t have much use for it but he would definitely find ways to use it in the future. With everything sorted out, Sora headed down the road towards the city of Var. Chapter 18: Long Live The Eastern Legion! Sora had just reached the gates of the city, the guards seemed fidgety as they kept looking around. Every now and then he could hear a guard talking about a demonic horde of some sort. This was supposed to be the first hints towards the upcoming event but Sora had already taken care of the demon general. Sora kept walking through the city until he came up to a huge palace that took up a large amount of space in the city. The walls were erected over 10 meters and guards could be seen everywhere. Sora had tried to pass by but a guard stopped him. ¡°Halt! This is property of the royal family, any guest must be invited by the king himself or show that they are worthy to be in his presence.¡± ¡°Honorable sir, I come bearing incredible news from Frost Peak Mountain.¡± ¡°Fr-Frost Peak Mountain you say? Is.. is there anything going on there?¡± The guards seemed to have already known about the demonic creatures that were spotted there. The royal family had already sent scouts to check on the mountain and when they saw the corrupt insects they reported it immediately. If there is corruption then that means there is also a demon general. A demon general was basically just a host to a corrupt power that would spread to other creatures around it, only creatures with immense strength had bodies that could contain the power. The guard left for a little bit before coming back, a little more calm than when he left. ¡°The king will see you, please head straight ahead into the throne room. If you wander around then expect retaliation from the other guards.¡± ¡°Thank you, you should expect great news shortly after I enter.¡± The guard was a little confused about what that meant, he ignored it and went back to guarding diligently. Sora continued down a long sidewalk lined with a variety of exotic looking flowers. One flower would be burning, the next would be iced over, one group even had electricity jumping between each flower. The first room he entered was like a reception room. The room was large with a grand staircase leading up to another door, it was decorated with gold and purple to show off the wealth and majesty of the royal family. Sora continued up the stairs, each guard seemed to have been informed that he was a guest because they stood at attention in a line on either side of the room. Sora opened the door at the top of the stairs to reveal a room with many pillars made out of a smooth white rock that looked like marble. Guards that looked much stronger than the ones outside carefully watched Sora as he approached a man with a noble look, white hair that was mostly covered by the jeweled crown on top of his head, and a muscular body that was adorned with white robes and seemed to have an enchantment on them as they would glow with a mysterious light every now and then. Sora pulled out the bladed arm of Visux as he walked towards the king. One of the guards started rushing up to him as he pulled out what looked to be a sharp object and was prepared to take Sora¡¯s life. The king had a troubled expression, why would someone so blatantly try to pull out a weapon, then after a closer look his heart trembled and he stood up to stop the guard from taking Sora¡¯s life. ¡°STOP!¡± ¡°B-but your liege, he has a weap-.¡± ¡°Take a closer look, doesn¡¯t that seem more like the arm of a mantis. Can you feel the demonic energy leaking from it?¡± The guards took a closer look and his king was absolutely right, the so called weapon was in fact a mantis arm that had a black color and leaked what could only be described as an unpleasant feeling. He slowly stored his weapon and went back to his position, still carefully watching Sora. ¡°Adventurer, what is this all about?¡± ¡°Your majesty, I stumbled upon a mountain that goes by the name of Frost Peak Mountain recently and discovered¡­¡± Sora went on to tell the tale of how he ¡°accidentally¡± defeated Visux. The king had varied emotions as he listened, at one moment his face would be hardened with a look of anger, the next moment the story would describe a tale of heroic encounters and the king would have a face of wonder, the next moment his face would be saddened once again at the mention of the difficulties Sora had faced. ¡°...I was able to deal the final blow just as Visux had emerged from his cocoon. The only things left there are a bunch of stray demonic insects that have no leader.¡± ¡°If what you say is true We may have a chance to finish this up once and for all. Veradon! Immediately mobilize a battalion of soldiers, you are to march to Frost Peak Mountain in 4 hours. Clear a path from the closest village if possible incase we need to send reinforcements.¡± ¡°Yes your majesty!¡± ¡°We will need to conduct a few tests on that mantis arm young adventurer. Jaal, take the arm to Gzarna to test the demonic en-¡± ¡°No need for that your majesty, I already felt the demonic energy and came to have a look.¡± A woman who was wearing red robes and had straight black hair came into the throne room carrying a staff that seemed to be alive. She was basically running towards Sora with an eager look on her face, she snatched the arm away from Sora and started to mumble things as she examined it closer. ¡°Oooooo then what does¡­ such corrupter energy¡­ interesting vessel¡­¡± The woman would prod and poke the arm with various magical instruments, sometimes even making it start to twitch as if it was alive. After various tests she pulled out a glass ball and put it next to the mantis arm. The black colored drained from the arm as the glass ball filled with some sort of black smoke. The woman was the head mage of the royal family which was known for her eccentric behavior towards magical items and creatures, her name being Gzarna. She had even been known to give a few hidden quests in Sora¡¯s past life so it was best to make a good first impression. After she was done draining the mantis arm she turned towards the king and did a slight bow before relaying her reports. ¡°The concentration of corrupt energy is definitely above a normal demonic creature, the energy could only be held in a powerful vessel, and the demonic energy will spread when a suitable host comes near it. It¡¯s safe to say that this indeed was a demon general, the location could technically still be questioned but Frost Mountain Peak has always had a lot of insect creatures that would inhabit it.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Then¡­ We really will be able to take back Frost Peak Mountain¡­ Ha.. hahahahahahaha! Oh this is great, We will definitely find a suitable reward for this brave adventurer! What is your name young man?¡± ¡°This one goes by Ethereal, your majesty.¡± ¡°A fine name for an adventurer like yourself. We would like to invite you to become a Vanquisher Knight. They are a special knight that excels in both defense and offense, with enough training you could fight your way through a tide of enemies without taking a single hit. Would this interest you?¡± ¡°It does sound tempting your majesty, I will graciously accept.¡± ¡°Great! You are now officially part of the Vanquisher Knights, Vaticien, please go through the procedures.¡± The knight stationed next to the king walked forward and pulled out a dagger with multiple slits made into the sides. The hilt was adorned with a special symbol of a sword plunging through what looked like a sea of stars, this was the symbol of the vanquisher knights. Sora grabbed the dagger as the man named Vaticien said a few basic initiation words. [x1 Vanquisher Parrying Dagger] Rarity - Unique Common Durability - 50/50 Defense - 7 Requires - Level 30 - Vanquisher Knight Class ¡°The parrying dagger is the symbol of the Vanquisher Knight, they are unrivaled in the art of maintaining defense while on offense. The dagger can be turned in for an upgrade once the requirements are met.¡± +10 Strength {Item Quest} 0/5000 Attacks Parried After the initiation was done, Sora equipped his beloved parrying dagger. This item was his most important tool from now on, the item could be upgraded to the next rarity after certain requirements were met so it would stick with him all the way until the end. The only requirement for becoming a Vanquisher Knight was to impress the king, it may sound easy but the king was not easily impressed. Sora determined that since it was the first territory claimed for the faction, along with the fact that he did it alone, was the reason why the king had been impressed by his actions. ¡°Adventurer Ethereal, We would also like to give you a reward for your contribution towards the kingdom. Please accept these items as a reward for your hard work.¡± The steward named Jaal came out from one of the side rooms with a treasure chest being carried by two large knights. The treasure chest was placed in front of Sora as his heart rate sped up a bit. He had never heard of a reward for single handedly claiming a territory for the faction so he was quite excited. Sora opened the chest without any further thought. [x50 Gold Pieces obtained] [x1 Lucky Coin obtained] [x1 Obsidian Bloodsteel Chestpiece obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 80/80 Defense - 14 Requires - Level 40 - Heavy Armor Class ¡°A chestpiece fashioned from bloodsteel and obsidian. A magic envelops the armor, strengthening when similar magic connects and resonated with it.¡° +15 Constitution +15 Strength *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Constitution 4 / 5 = +30 Strength 5 / 5 = Attacking converts 5% of damage dealt into a shield that caps at 10% of max HP [x1 Obsidian Bloodsteel Leggings obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 75/75 Defense - 13 Requires - Level 40 - Heavy Armor Class ¡°Leggings fashioned from bloodsteel and obsidian. A magic envelops the armor, strengthening when similar magic connects and resonated with it.¡° +15 Constitution +15 Strength *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Constitution 4 / 5 = +30 Strength 5 / 5 = Attacking converts 5% of damage dealt into a shield that caps at 10% of max HP [x1 Obsidian Bloodsteel Helmet obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 65/65 Defense - 11 Requires - Level 40 - Heavy Armor Class ¡°A helmet fashioned from bloodsteel and obsidian. A magic envelops the armor, strengthening when similar magic connects and resonated with it.¡° +15 Constitution +15 Strength *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Constitution 4 / 5 = +30 Strength 5 / 5 = Attacking converts 5% of damage dealt into a shield that caps at 10% of max HP [x1 Ring of Forgiveness] Rarity - Unique Rare Durability 40/40 Requires - Level 1 ¡°A ring emitting a holy aura with a simple inscription of the word ¡°Forgive¡± on the outside.¡± +Sacrifice 10 durability to activate Skill +Skill: Forgiveness - For the next 5 minutes, any player killing will not give player the murderer status. -Cannot be repaired by normal means [x1 Skill Book: Vanquish the Weak] -Use this item to gain the skill Vanquish the Weak. [Vanquish the Weak Skill obtained] Duration: Passive Requires - Vanquisher Knight Class -Any target that is successfully parried will receive a stack of ¡®Unworthy¡¯. Each stack increases damage dealt to target by 10% on next attack by player. Can stack up to 10 times. Any damage taken from target with stacks will reset stacks back to 0. Sora kept getting a bigger and bigger smile as he went through the loot, equipping what he could and setting the equipment he couldn¡¯t use in a spot separated from the rest of his inventory. The Bloodsteel armor was the first set of armor that could be obtained from a dungeon, the bonuses were very basic but that¡¯s what should be expected of the first set armor. The ring nullified the red name tag penalty when you killed another player but couldn¡¯t be repaired so it only had four uses unless you could find magical repair items, it was good for quick kill operations since it only lasted 5 minutes. The best part for Sora was definitely the skill book. [Vanquish the Weak] was one of the core items for Vanquisher Knights, as long as you were good enough you could put ten stacks on someone and then use a high damaging ability to do double damage. Let¡¯s take the skill [Overwhelm] as an example, if the target is below 10% HP and also has ten stacks from [Vanquish the Weak] it could do 600% damage. Sora doesn¡¯t have [Overwhelm] but he will be able to get skills like it in the future. Right now his biggest damage dealer is [Purge with Silver] which does 200% damage to undead. If the undead also has ten stacks of ¡®Unworthy¡¯ applied to him then it will deal a 400% damage to that target alone, plus the damage dealt from the other two attacks. It sounded a bit broken but it also required precise movements to get the stacks to ten, due to the fact that damage received will reset the stacks. Even without getting the stacks up he would be able to do an extra 10% damage after each parry which adds up over time. ¡°I hope the rewards are to your liking, Ethereal. We will take over from here to take back the Frost Peak Mountain. As a small bonus I will officially give you a title of knighthood in my kingdom.¡± [¡®Knight of the Eastern Legion¡¯ title has been obtained] -Server Announcement- Player Ethereal has earned the first official title in game. +100 Fame +¡¯The Honored¡¯ Title -Server Announcement- The Eastern Legion has successfully pushed the demon territory back! As the first faction to accomplish this they will receive double EXP for the next three days. All players waiting to revive has had their timer reduced to 0. Long live The Eastern Legion! -Faction Announcement- The Eastern Legion has taken control of Frost Peak Mountain. The royal army will clear out the remaining demonic horde and a flight route to the peak of Frost Peak Mountain will be available from the base of the mountain in one week. The peak of the mountain is the location to the first dungeon, The Frozen Caverns. Players are recommended to have a five player party at level 40 before trying to challenge the dungeon. Long live The Eastern Legion! A huge wall of text appeared for everyone in The Eastern Legion as announcement after announcement popped up. The world was silent for a moment before the eastern side of the continent roared with excitement. Players could be seen jumping up and down, cheering, laughing, and celebrating. The players who were grinding endlessly had a renewed urge to fight as they started to furiously kill off enemy after enemy. The spawn points had flooded with players who thought they had to wait to revive and each of them had a huge smile on their face as they rushed to continue fighting. The Eastern Legion had all been united and morale had flooded to each and every member. The three other factions had sullen looks on their faces, but were pushed by this humiliation to fight harder. The name Ethereal firmly locked in everyone''s memory. Chapter 19: The Art of Digging Sora was currently sitting in a tea shop on the edge of the courtyard which he was transported to when he first came to the city. The shop was somewhat empty right now but still had a few people walking in and out. Most people would walk in, realize it was a tea shop, and then turn right around and leave. This little shop was the place that Sora frequented in his off time, the tea wasn¡¯t exactly top notch but the atmosphere was calm and he could watch all of the people in the courtyard, scrambling about trying to sell things, form parties, and revive from the Statue of Helara. Sora continued to sip his tea as he enjoyed the rare moment of downtime. He had planned to take a break from combat to work on his skills a little more and came here to decide what he wanted to do. At first Sora decided to go ahead and do his fishing quest to become a Novice Fisherman but when he thought of the amount of bait he would need he changed his plans to go to an excavation site to get his digging skill up while getting bait. If he was lucky he could also find some rare items and equipment, even items that resulted in a hidden class were possible to unearth from an excavation site. As Sora was mulling over what he wanted to do next, a refined man with long black hair walked into the tea shop, taking a large breath to take in the aroma of the tea in the air. He had a feminine face with sharp features, and some might have even mistook him for a girl if they only glanced. Sora noticed him right away and immediately recognized him. He was a person who he had gotten to know in his last life, he and Sora would always find themselves chatting over a cup of tea. The man seemed noble and dignified but in reality he was quite weird, he was obsessed with tea, even to the point where his username was ¡®Green Tea¡¯. Although the man was a bit weird, he also was very good at getting information. Sora would specifically come to the tea shop just to find this man if he needed information, other than information he was also a good strategian. Sora and him would talk for hours about different battle strategies and form a small illusory battlefield between them to see who could win. Green Tea sat down at a table next to Sora and started to examine the tea that was in front of him. He would smell it, taste it, touch it, and even listen to it at some points. At first the girls were quite enamored with him and was thinking about going over to talk to him, but his actions had effectively repelled every single person in the shop. There was only one person who still managed to walk up to his table and sit down, it was Sora. ¡°Violet Ginseng Tea, a very bold choice.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Green Tea was surprised at the man who sat across from him, he had already hooked him by talking about his choice in tea. He thought maybe the man was only spouting off a couple of random words but as he looked at the tea Sora was drinking he had felt like he found a soulmate. ¡°I will admit that the flavor is a bit harsh, but you are drinking the same thing, are you saying you are also bold?¡± ¡°Haha, well I would be if I didn¡¯t use a cup made from natural wood. You are using a porcelain cup which will make the tea react and turn into an overly bitter flavor.¡± Green Tea had just noticed that Sora did in fact have a cup that was carefully carved from some sort of wood. Green Tea didn¡¯t think he was just spouting nonsense anymore, the tea did have a different flavor depending on the container used to hold it. He was excited to have finally pieced it together. Violet Ginseng Tea had the best aroma and taste but sometimes it would become overly bitter. Green Tea had steeled his heart as he was getting ready to get on the ground to beg for a wooden cup from Sora. Just as he stood up Sora had slid a wooden cup in front of him. ¡°...Thank you.¡± ¡°Eh? It¡¯s only some wood, let¡¯s not make a big deal out of it. It would be troublesome if you draw attention to us.¡± The two men started to chat as Green Tea made a new cup of tea using the wooden cup that Sora had given him. They started to talk about news that was going around the game and the name ¡®Ethereal¡¯ came up a few times. Green Tea had even mentioned Blossom a few times and LeeLee once. The game had barely launched yet Green Tea was very knowledgeable about everything that had happened. They talked about politics, literature, war tactics, and of course tea came up multiple times. After a long chat Sora decided it was time for his break to end. ¡°I enjoyed our chat, Green Tea. I will definitely see you again in the future, I hope we can continue where we left off.¡± ¡°Haha, I sure hope so Mr¡­ Well your information is hidden so I¡¯m not sure what your name is.¡± ¡°Hmmm, for now you can just call me Violet Ginseng.¡± ¡°Ha! A fine name, then Mr. Violet Ginseng, I wish you luck on your endeavors.¡± Sora left the tea shop and headed towards the Transportation District, he was planning on flying to the beginner excavation site just south of the city. After paying the 5 Silver and a quick ride on a giant crow, he had arrived at his destination. The land was surrounded by a forest but the area around the excavation site was completely deforested. As Sora walked up to the site he noticed only a couple people, both of them just tiny specks compared to the size of the site. Sora found a man wearing a wide brimmed hat sitting at the entrance to the site. He was the NPC that sold basic excavation materials along with the person who would give rewards based on the items you found.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Hello good sir, how is site treating you recently?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been very dry lately, it seems we have already taken the easy picks and now it¡¯s time for the real work to begin.¡± ¡°Haha, real work will get you real rewards.¡± ¡°Well said young man, well said!¡± ¡°Do you have an excavation kit I could purchase?¡± ¡°I have a good amount on hand, it will cost ya 10 Silver though.¡± Sora handed the man 10 Silver and retrieved a small box that had basic excavating tools including; A pickaxe, a small shovel, a brush, a chisel, a hammer, and a pan for sifting through dirt to find smaller artifacts. Sora took the kit and found a spot away from the other two people excavating. The basic process was to use his normal shovel to dig up dirt, occasionally getting some bait and pebbles. If he runs into a rock he uses the pickaxe to break it, if the rock needs to be delicately removed to avoid damaging something then he uses the chisel and hammer. The small shovel was to dig around objects carefully and the brush was used to gently remove dirt off of the surface of an object. The pan used for sifting dirt was semi automatic, all Sora had to do was make sure the dirt he shoveled landed in the pan and it would start to slowly get rid of the dirt while leaving objects behind. After 5 grueling hours of labor he had only increased his digging skill to 6 and found close to nothing of value. His biggest jackpot right now was firstly the amount of bait he had and secondly fragments of a sword that was presumably from an ancient era. Sora was starting to get worn out on shoveling and decided to take a break. He climbed out of the site and found a single tree that was left around the site so workers could have a nice place to relax for a bit. Sora sat down under the tree and pulled out a Roasted Flat River Fish, eating slowly as he enjoyed the subtle breeze that would occasionally pass by. ¡­.. Blossom and LeeLee were currently killing lesser rock elementals within a cave. They had both just leveled up to 35 and were maintaining a good momentum as they plunged further into the cave. ¡°Hey LeeLee, did you see that video of mister fisherman fighting?¡± ¡°Ya¡­ he looked so co- He is a really good fighter.¡± ¡°Hoho, was my little LeeLee about to say that mister fisherman was cool?¡± LeeLee started to fidget as her ears turned bright red, Blossom stared at her and even ended up taking a few hits because she was too focused on LeeLee¡¯s red face. This was a recurring thing for the two girls, Blossom would tease LeeLee until she got nervous and would then enjoy the view of the red faced girl. Blossom suddenly snapped out of her weird state of mind, LeeLee also calmed down as they stared at a rock elemental that was glowing red. Both girls looked at each other before nodding and circling the creatures from two different direction. Blossom started the attack with a [Savage Pounce] followed by a [Overwhelm] before leaping away with the second cast of [Savage Pounce]. This locked the aggro onto Blossom, letting LeeLee get in a couple sneak hits with [Accurate Strike] and [Barbed Strike], once LeeLee took the aggro Blossom came in again with a basic attack to grab the aggro back, then used [Shoulder Bash] to push the creature away just before it was about to attack. The creature was already below 35% health and started to charge towards Blossom. LeeLee responded with another [Precise Strike], taking the aggro once again and using [Shimmer] resulting in a beautiful sight of the word ¡®Evade¡¯ popping over LeeLee. LeeLee was able to keep [Shimmer] up until the creature was just below 10% health. Blossom had been holding onto her cooldowns for this moment and immediately unleashed a deadly combo onto the poor creature. [Savage Pounce] [Shoulder Bash] [Overwhelm]. The creature had died without Blossom or LeeLee taking a single hit. The two girls had a satisfied smile on their face as they went to pick up the loot. On the ground was a few silver coins, a red orb of light, and a small book that was face down. ¡°A book?¡± ¡°Maybe a quest item?¡± ¡°That would be a little weir- Wait¡­ WAIT!¡± Blossom suddenly recalled a question she had asked Sora a while back. The question was regarding how they would be able to obtain new skill. He had mentioned that not only named bosses could drop skill books, but also enchanted creatures had a very slim chance to do so. Blossom carefully went up to the book while praying to the gods that her speculations were right. As soon as she picked up the book a notification popped up. [Skill Book: Devastating Quake obtained] -Use this item to gain the skill Devastating Quake. Blossom nearly fainted from excitement and LeeLee gave her a puzzled look, the puzzled look quickly became a look of excitement as well when Blossom shared the item description with her. They had finally gotten a skill book, one for the Blossom¡¯s class too. Blossom didn¡¯t hesitate as she used the book. [Devastating Quake Skill obtained] Cost: 125 mana Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds Requires: Executioner Warrior Class -Knocks all enemies off balance and deals 100% weapon damage within a 5 meter radius. ¡­.. Sora had finally hit some luck almost at the same time Blossom had gotten her skill. After just coming back from his break he had dug up a large worm that seemed to be made out of a yellow metal. [Small Solar Worm obtained] -Special bait that can be used to catch legendary fish. Sora didn¡¯t have an immediate use for it would be of great use in the future, he stashed the worm and had a worried look on his face as he noticed his bag space starting fill up. It seemed Sora would have to get rid of some stuff after he was done here. Sora continued to dig for the rest of the day, occasionally taking a break under the tree nearby. He finally hit level 9 with 99.9% after 20 hours of digging. His bag was filled with enough bait to last him a while, including two Small Solar Worms, and many stacks of pebbles. He went back to the man with the wide brimmed hat that he talked to when he first arrived and sold all of his artifacts he had dug up. His hard work was rewarded handsomely when the man gave him a total of 1 gold and 56 silver. It might not seem like a lot considering Sora had over 60 gold already but if a player was down on his luck and needed a way to make consistent money then this was the place to be. Sora did a final look over his inventory and dumped all but one stack of pebbles, greatly clearing up a lot of space, before walking back towards the flight service to head back to Var. Chapter 20: Novice Fishing Sora walked through the gate of Var, heading towards the Shopping District. As he passed by guards, some would greet him in a respectful manner. It was due to being officially knighted by the king, making subjects of the kingdom view him a little higher than normal. Sora arrived at a the shopping district and spotted a large building that had many players walking in and out of. The bottom floor of the building was a vault that would allow players to store items and money, while the second floor was an auction house where players could list anything tradable in the game for real world or in game money. Sora headed directly for the next floor, walking up a grand staircase with many other players. The auction room was very large, yet there were so many players that it seemed a little crowded. Sora walked up to a lady with pointed ears to make his transaction. It was rare to see an elf outside of the forested areas in which they live in. This particular lady was more than likely a half elf who had been raised by a human. ¡°Hello sir, how may I help you today?¡± ¡°I would like to set up a few auctions.¡± ¡°Please select the items and set the quantity, prices, and auction length.¡± The counter had a small glass plate that would light up with information on the item you selected. Sora selected his extra Necklace of Persistent Life, along with the light gloves and robe he had obtained, before filling out the starting price of each item and setting the auction duration to one week. ¡°There is a 50 copper transaction fee per item registered, along with a 5% tax on each item sold. If you accept these terms, please place your hand on the glass plate to register your items.¡± Sora placed his hand on the glass plate and the plate quickly flashed green before going back to it¡¯s normal appearance. His transaction was complete and he left the auction house, going to a small shop with a huge garden which was very close by. Sora looked annoyed as he walked in, this was the alchemy shop which he did not have fond memories of. Alchemy required plants to create potions and to find the plants you either had to have extremely sharp eyes or buy a Book of Plant Identification. If you use the beginner book then every beginner plant will glow slightly and be identified when you harvest them. If you don¡¯t have the book then the plants will not only look like any ordinary plant, it will also not be identified if you harvest a plant. You could cut down a normal looking weed and wouldn¡¯t know if it was a legendary ingredient or a simple weed. Sora grabbed the book along with a sickle before walking up to the counter and slamming down 1 gold and 5 silver before storming out of the shop. The shop owner just looked at him with a cocky smirk as he collected the money. The beginner book was already 1 gold so imagine what it would be as he levels his harvesting skill up. [x1 Beginner Book of Plant Identification obtained] [x1 Sickle obtained] Although Sora had a deep hatred for how difficult and costly harvesting plants was, he also knew how wasteful it was to explore without having the ability to see useful plants. Although he had a lot of bad experiences with alchemy, he couldn¡¯t deny its usefulness. Sora finally set out to the Transportation District and rode a giant crow to Crater Lake, the place where the fishing instructor was at. When Sora landed, he could see quite a few players fishing and a peaceful atmosphere enveloped the area. So many players were quietly fishing from the lake, sometimes striking up a small conversation with the players next to them, sometimes telling stories to pass time. Sora walked passed the players and found a small cabin near the edge of the lake. The cabin looked to only be one bedroom and had a dock which extended out into the lake. A fisherman could be seen fishing off the dock, pulling in fish at a consistent rate as if he has found a rhythm to how the fish bite. Sora waited until the man had just reeled in a fish before disturbing him. ¡°Good afternoon sir, I have come here to seek guidance in fishing.¡± The fisherman looked at Sora very sternly as if measuring him before nodding slightly and giving a low grunt of approval. The man pulled out a metal fishing pole with what seemed to be a few pieces of fishing line intertwined together, he then handed it to Sora. [x1 Novice Fishing Pole obtained] Rarity - Unique Common Durability - 65/65 Requires - Maxed Beginner Fishing ¡°A fishing pole made from a flexible metal that will not break easily. The fishing line is made from three separate lines that have been twisted together. The fishing pole will track the type and quantity of fish you catch.¡± {Item Quest} 0/500 Crater Fish Caught Sora took the fishing pole before turning around and heading off the dock, following the edge of the lake to find a better fishing spot. As he left, the fisherman went back into the same rhythm of catching fish over and over. Sora had always fished in the same spot when he was here, there was an area that had a cave system that goes under the water and seemed to have a slightly higher chance of success when fishing over the entrance to that cave. As Sora was heading over he noticed a small green plant that was shining with a white light. The plant didn¡¯t really stick out, the only thing that seemed different was a small red flower that grew between the green leaves. Sora pulled out his sickle and carefully cut the root of the plant. [Harvesting Skill obtained] [Harvest Skill succeeded] [x1 Crimson Life Flower obtained] The Crimson Life Flower was the base ingredient in low level health potions and would be one of the only plants that you could make into a potion at the beginner stage. Sora stored the flower and continued down the lake, occasionally stopping to harvest more Crimson Life Flowers. As Sora finally made it to his spot he noticed an old man who was already there fishing, sitting on a rock at the edge of the lake and carefully watching his fishing line. The man had graying hair and looked like a stern grandpa, seeming very imposing. Sora quietly walked up to make sure he didn¡¯t disturb him before sitting down on his own rock. The two men didn¡¯t talk and just continued to fish without disturbing the other person. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡­.. [x1 Crater Fish obtained] Sora had been fishing for a while now, he checked his progress on his fishing pole for the quest. He had barely hit 150 after that last catch. The old man had still not said anything as he continued to fish, the only reaction he would make is a slight smile when he reeled in a decent sized fish. Sora cast his line out again and this time the line started to take off as Sora got a new message that he hasn¡¯t seen in awhile. [Fishing Skill has Hooked an Item] Sora got serious as he stood up from his rock and carefully led his fishing pole in many different directions. The old man looked at Sora with a shocked face as he also stood up to watch Sora expertly handle the fishing rod. Before the old man could realize it, he was already sweating a little and started to cheer on Sora when he saw how much his rod was bending, almost seeming like it would snap. ¡°C¡¯mon boy, you can¡¯t let that measly little fish win!¡± ¡°Ha, as if I would let it!¡± As Sora said that he jerked the rod, successfully pulling the fish into the air, revealing a wooden fish that glowed in a green light. Sora used the moment the fish was in the air to reel it in a little more, successfully bringing it just short of the shore. After a little more reeling Sora was able to reel the fish onto the shore as it turned into a small treasure chest. [x1 Uncommon Chest Lvl 30 obtained] ¡°Haha! That was excellent fishing my boy! I haven¡¯t seen a fish fight like that since I got here!¡± ¡°It did put up quite a fight, if I had a normal fishing rod then it probably would have snapped in half.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already lost a few fishing rods because of something like that happening. Where did you get such a good rod from?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your Fishing Skill level at?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been stuck at Level 9 for a couple days now, it doesn¡¯t seem to want to go any further for some reason. I thought that if I could reel in whatever was breaking my rod then it would level up¡­¡± ¡°Go to the old man on the pier next to the cabin, talk to him and say you would like to learn more about fishing and he will give you this rod and a quest to level up your fishing.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what it was! Thank you my boy, I¡¯ll be back after I get my rod.¡± ¡°Alright, see you then.¡± The old man had instantly bonded with Sora after he watched his skill in fishing, along with telling him a little bit of information to get a better rod. The old man had been beyond frustrated as he lost his pole to what he thought was a big fish over and over again. Sora looked at the chest in front of him, although it was only uncommon he could possibly get some fishing gear from it which would help him catch fish more consistently. Sora opened the box and hoped for the best. [x1 Gold coin obtained] It was a big disappointment to Sora, most people would love to drag in a gold piece instead of a lousy fish but Sora wasn¡¯t in need of the money. He picked up the gold piece with disappointment on his face and continued fishing. ¡­.. After a while the old man returned to fish with Sora, marveling at his new fishing pole and excited about what he would be able to catch with it. Sora and the man occasionally talked and Sora learned that the man was a fishing fanatic in real life but had to stop due to an accident that made it hard for him to walk. He used to go all around the world to catch a variety of different fish and he missed that kind of life. When his granddaughter told him that it was possible to fish in many exotic places and catch many interesting fish he decided to give it a try. At first he was a little reluctant, thinking that a game can¡¯t simulate what the real feel of fishing was like, but then he fell in love with it. The world was unique, the fish would feel like they were putting up a fight, you had to be skilled in order to reel them in. The man has been fishing here since he came to Var and started to lose interest when he couldn¡¯t figure out how to level up his fishing. Now Sora has shown him the path and he was excited as to what he would be able to catch once he leveled up. After many hours of fishing, Sora had completed his quest. [Novice Fishing Pole] Rarity - Unique Common Durability - 43/65 Requires - Maxed Beginner Fishing ¡°A fishing pole made from a flexible metal that will not break easily. The fishing line is made from three separate lines that have been twisted together. The fishing pole will track the type and quantity of fish you catch.¡± {Item Quest} 500/500 Crater Fish Caught Sora wished the man luck as he left the fishing spot, going back to the man at the pier. On his way back he noticed that a lot of new plants had spawned and he harvested them as he went by. The fisherman on the pier was still catching fish at the same rhythm as when he left. ¡°Sir, I have been catching fish in this lake for some time now and the fish seem a little bit boring for my skill level. Is there anything that could prove to be a challenge?¡± ¡°Hmm. Catch the Behemoth Crater Fish if you think you''re up for the challenge. He can be found right off the edge of this dock, but you¡¯ll have to figure out how to make him bite.¡± Sora nodded as he sat next to the fisherman and cast his line out. After a while the line became taut as a fish had successfully been hooked. This is the part where Sora would normally reel in the fish but this time he let the fish pull his line all over the place. The line was very far out before another stronger force seemed to start pulling on the line. Within seconds the tip of the fishing rod had nearly completely pulled into a 90 degree angle. Sora braced his body to try and keep himself from flying off of the pier as he started to try and reduce the tension on the pole. He could see the durability of the pole slowly climbing down as a giant fish that was bigger than him jumped out of the water with his line going into it¡¯s mouth. After just 20 minutes of fighting the fish, the rod had already reduced to 5 durability and was about to break. If the pole breaks then Sora would have to do the item quest all over again. Sora pulled out a repair hammer and used it on the rod, successfully bringing the durability up to 55. ¡­.. The old man had finally finished his item quest after another hour and a half of fishing and was on his way back to turn in the quest. Just as the pier had come into view he noticed a large crowd of players surrounding the cabin as they watched a man at the tip of the pier struggle to keep his rod in his hands. At first the old man was confused but as he saw a monstrous fish jump from the water his heart seemed to have skipped a beat. He ran towards the pier to get a better look and saw Sora sweating as he pulled out what looked like a hammer and tapped it on his fishing pole. Sora was right at the end of his fight, he used his last repair hammer and the behemoth fish could be seen right in front of the pier. The fish looked like a Crater Fish but much larger in size. The fish would probably take up half the pier if it was brought up so Sora started to walked down the pier to bring it to shore. Everyone moved out of his way while cheering him on and Sora was finally able to pull the fish onto shore with one final pull and leaving only 11 durability on his fishing pole. [x1 Behemoth Crater Fish obtained] [Level up] [Fishing Skill has advanced to Novice Fishing Skill] [¡®Novice Fisherman¡¯ title obtained] Sora ran up to the mouth of the fish as the fish spit out a few items, all glowing blue. The first one was a black fishing rod that had a red line down the center of the pole, the line was extremely thin and looked like a spider thread. [x1 Obsidian Rod of Fishing] Rarity - Rare Durability - 80/80 Requires - Level 1 Novice Fishing Skill ¡°A rod forged from obsidian with a line made from the spider silk belonging to the Queen Arachnid. The line may look weak but a single thread could easily beat even the most well made fishing line.¡± +20% Chance for Fishing Skill to Succeed Sora had directly went from a common fishing pole to a rare fishing pole, it was pretty lucky because fishing poles could only be obtained from legendary fish. The Behemoth Crater Fish was the first legendary fish that could be caught and was only activated through the quest, meaning each player could only catch one. The next item was a belt that had many different pouches and loops on it. [x1 Belt of Lesser Holding] Rarity - Rare Durability - 60/60 Defense - 3 Requires - Level 30 ¡°A finely crafted leather belt that has many places to store items.¡± +3 Item Slots +10 Inventory Slots A belt would normally give a small amount of defense and item slots, which were used to store things like potions so you could instantly access them instead of having to go into your inventory. This belt also came with 10 extra inventory spots which was a unique enchantment that only certain items could have. The last item was a staff made for healers so Sora decided to sell it as soon as he got back to Var. Sora finally sat down to take a break after the long fight while storing the Behemoth Crater Fish. Sora greeted the old man who he fished with as he came towards him. He decided to tell this old man how to catch the fish, the rest was up to him. Sora finished giving some tips to the old man before leaving back towards Var with his first Novice level skill. Chapter 21: Frost Iron Ore Sora was currently walking through Var, pondering on what place he should go next. He already made up his mind to make a little bit of money for the future and many ideas were floating back and forth in his head. Preferably he wants to be able to level up and get loot while making money, that knocks out a lot of skill based options. As he was thinking he walked near a large man who was currently striking a piece of iron on a small anvil. ¡°Hoho, if it isn¡¯t my new friend.¡± ¡°...Oh, Bubbles how are things going? Setting up your own shop already?¡± ¡°I need to start getting my name out there somehow, I figured that starting early was the best way.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a good point, I just thought you would be at Frost Peak Mountain right now.¡± ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m just a little blacksmith, what does a level 40 dungeon have to offer?¡± ¡°...You do know why they call it Frost Peak Mountain¡­ right?¡± ¡°Is it snowy?¡± ¡°...Frost Iron Ore.¡± ¡°Hmm? Frost¡­ FROST IRON ORE?!¡± Nearly everyone around stared at the two men, attracted by the large man that seemed to tower over everyone else yelling something about some kind of ore. Most people were confused, but the blacksmiths that were around were looking at Bubbles with fire in their eyes after they heard what he had said. The quest to go from Beginner to Novice Mining was to mine 250 Frost Iron Ore, while the Beginner to Novice Smithing quest required a player to make 175 Frost Iron equipment. The word Frost Iron Ore has become a hot topic amongst players since nobody has seen them. The Frost Peak Mountain hasn¡¯t even been found by anyone yet, all people know is that it was somewhere in the newly acquired territory which was filled with high level creatures. There was only one safe path through and that was currently had restricted access for players, anytime someone tried to use the path a royal guard would stop them from going any further. Bubbles got nervous as many blacksmiths stared holes through his body, trying to figure out what he was talking about. ¡°Hehehe, n-no sir I don¡¯t h-have any Frost Iron Ore, but I can offer you some finely crafted normal iron equipment.¡± Sora caught on quick and told Bubbles to follow him to somewhere more private, Bubbles quickly pulled his shop down and followed Sora. Sora led him to the same restaurant that he always goes to when having a meeting with Blossom and LeeLee. The restaurant had a few customers but Sora and Bubbles found a nice isolated corner and sat down to talk. ¡°You said Frost Iron Ore right? THE Frost Iron Ore?¡± ¡°Is there any other kind of Frost Iron Ore? There is an entire mountain filled with it to the West of here.¡± ¡°How did you get there? I heard that royal soldiers are blocking the main path and the jungle surrounding it has creatures from level 55 all the way up to level 80.¡± ¡°I snuck through the jungle, but I have a way to get us through the safe route.¡± ¡°Can we go now? Ah, wait let me go buy some repair hammers before we go.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you some money if you don¡¯t mind picking me up some hammers as well.¡± ¡°Forget about the money, you promise me Frost Iron Ore and I will use every coin I have to buy you repair hammers.¡± ¡°Alright, we will meet at the gate in 5 minutes then. Just pick up ten hammers for me¡± Bubbles quickly ran to the blacksmith shop as Sora went to the gate to wait for him. Within 3 minutes Bubbles had arrived, he must have ran the entire time. Bubbles traded some repair hammers to Sora and Sora invited Bubbles to a party and they started walking to the village near Frost Peak Mountain. After the royal army had came the nameless village had gotten the name of Frost Peak Village and fell under the protection of the kingdom. There was no flight path to the village yet but there will be once the royal army has finished clearing the mountain. ¡­.. Sora and Bubbles were currently walking through Frost Peak Village, the village looked completely different now that the kingdom has decided to put it under it¡¯s protection. The simple houses have expanded and many new shops and inns were being built. Sora walked up to a roadway that looked to be recently deforested and was being blocked by guards. When the guards saw Sora they did a small salute. As the person who killed the source of the corrupt power he had earned the respect of these guards. Sora and Bubbles easily walked past the barricade, leaving many players nearby shocked at the display. The journey was smooth, after a 30 minute walk they had made it to Frost Peak Mountain. The royal army could be seen stationed all around the base of the hill, some medical tents were put up as soldiers went in and out of them with small injuries. The guards saw the newcomer and reported it to their superior, after Sora and Bubbles had just entered the camp they were already being called to a single tent that seemed to be where the commander resided.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. As Sora and Bubbles walked in they were greeted by a robust man that looked like he was in his mid thirties sitting behind a desk, it was the commander that the king had sent with a battalion of soldiers, Veradon. When he saw Sora walk in he greeted him and offered for the two men to have a seat in the chairs at the front of the desk. Bubbles carefully inspected the man, knowing he was of some importance to be in his position. The man had short black hair, a little stubble as his facial hair, and he was wearing bulky armor that completely covered his body. ¡°So, it is Ethereal. My men would like to thank you for taking down that demon general.¡± ¡°It was only something that I wanted to do, there is no need for thanks.¡± ¡°No, it has truly saved us from losing a lot of good men. Please, let us thank you.¡± ¡°Then I will rudely accept your thanks.¡± Bubbles was completely stunned, he figured Sora had done something huge but to think that he was the one who had defeated the demon general. Bubbles kept thinking that is was more and more beneficial to be on his good side as he learned of his deeds. He also couldn¡¯t help but think about why this man who had taken down a demon general wanted to get on his good side just because he was a blacksmith. Bubbles decided then and there to make sure to work hard, or else he could easily be replaced with another blacksmith. ¡°Haha, much better. So, Ethereal, what brings you and your friend here?¡± ¡°Greetings Veradon, my friend here is a blacksmith and I was wondering if he could tap into some of the resources in the mountain before the other adventurers swarm the area.¡± ¡°Hmmm, well normally we would only allow adventurers to take resources on the outside of the mountain, there are too many creatures there for us to protect our workers anyways. Since he is a friend of yours I can let him take resources from inside the mountain on the condition that 10% of the ores he gets are turned in to help the kingdom. Does this sound acceptable?¡± ¡°I will leave this up to my friend here, I have business to attend to nearby so I will be going to do that. If he doesn¡¯t want your deal then don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°I accept! Is it alright if I start right away?!¡± ¡°Hahaha! That would be fine, we cleared out the right wing of the cave already. Just follow each path to the right until you come across a cavern filled with Frost Iron Ore. When you want to come out all you ha-¡± Sora walked out as Bubbles and the commander talked about the details of him mining. Sora had decided to kill Frost Elementals near the top of the mountain, the main reason being because they drop mana crystals. Mana crystals were the base ingredient to making mana potions, which has yet to be introduced into the market. If Sora is able to release the first batch of mana potions then he will be able to make a fairly large profit. Once the recipe starts to spread, the amount of players making them will increase to a point where Sora won¡¯t have a business selling them anymore. Sora started to climb towards the peak of the mountain, just as he steps up the base he sees what looks like a tulip except it¡¯s pure blue and shining with a white light. Sora pulls out his sickle and carefully cuts the plant at its roots. [x1 Azure Spirit Flower obtained] The flower was an ingredient that was not a main ingredient in alchemy. The flower could be added to already finished mana potions to create an extra effect of boosting your Spirit stat by 10 points for 5 minutes. This means that not only will you refill your mana when you drink the potion, it will also raise your mana cap by 100. Sora could spot a few more of these flowers up the mountain, he was actually surprised because he forgot that these flowers could grow here. Sora was so focused on the fact that the mountain was known for the Frost Iron Ore that he completely overlooked these little flowers. Sora continued to climb the mountain as he would occasionally stop to harvest a flower. ¡­.. Halfway up Frost Peak Mountain was the sight of a man with a silver cloak fighting against what looked to be pieces of rock covered in frost in the shape of some kind of humanoid shape. This was of course Sora fighting against a Frost Elemental. The elemental was a little trickier than fighting most creatures. Not only was it level 40, it also has some magic attacks that Sora can¡¯t parry. The attacks could be seen coming but the attack was in a cone shape in front of the elemental, meaning Sora had to stick close by it so he could swing around the elemental when it uses it¡¯s cone attack. The distance was a little too close though so he would have to take an attack every now and then. Sora decided to mix up his strategy a little and only attack after the elemental uses his cone attack, giving Sora a lot of opportunities to stack his [Vanquish the Weak] on it before using [Slash] to reduce the amount of hits Sora takes. The strategy worked surprisingly well, Sora would parry the elementals normal attacks and get an extra 80% to 100% damage when using [Slash] after it dodged the magic attack. The elemental fell apart as a small blue crystal dropped under it. [x1 Small Mana Crystal] The crystal was barely the size of a pebble and seemed rather pathetic, but the energy it emitted could be felt within one''s palm. Sora stored the crystal away before continuing up the mountain. There were Frost Elementals while going up the mountain but the main location was within a cave located near the top. The cave would be filled with nothing but the elementals and there was even a mini boss located within the deepest part of the cave. Sora¡¯s goal was that boss, since it had a 100% chance to drop the mana potion recipe, otherwise he would have to kill these smaller ones thousands of times before he would get the recipe. ¡­.. Two girls were currently fishing next to an old man with gray hair, it was the same man that Sora had fished with at Crater Lake. The man had a brand new fishing pole that looked like it was made from ice and a line that was completely black. The man had a smile plastered on his face as he watched a wooden fish come to the shore and transform into a chest. ¡°Hahaha, this new fishing pole is really great!¡± ¡°Hehe, I haven¡¯t seen you this happy in a while grandpa.¡± ¡°Well, imagine having the one thing you love be taken away for so long and then suddenly getting it back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just happy to see you smile, I know it''s selfish but I think I only told you about this because I wanted to see you smile again¡­¡± The man looked over at his granddaughter and his smile turned gentler, he truly felt blessed to have such a caring granddaughter. He regretted being so bitter since he had to give up fishing, now that he saw how much this girl had wanted him to be happy he had wished he would have spent less time complaining and more time with her. He made a vow to enjoy the time he had with her, even if it¡¯s within this game. The man snapped out of his thoughts and realized something. ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t recall you having an interest in fishing.¡± ¡°Hehe, I didn¡¯t at first but then someone guided me a little and I think I actually like it.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I knew you had some of my blood in you! Speaking of which, I also had someone guide me a little bit.¡± ¡°Huh? You''re a master fisherman, what could you possibly learn from someone?¡± ¡°Well, I would say he didn''t really teach me any new skills, he just gave me a little information and a path to walk on.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name? I will have to properly thank him for looking out for you.¡± ¡°I never asked for his name, hehe. What about you? What¡¯s the name of this person who was able to handle someone as free willed as you?¡± ¡°His name is Ethereal, but me and LeeLee just call him mister fisherman!¡± Chapter 22: Mysterious Mana Mountain Sora was currently standing in front of a cave, harvesting an Azure Spirit Flower. From where Sora was standing, he could see the peak of the mountain and the entrance to the dungeon. The dungeon was very noticeable since it was a huge bronze double door, it is especially noticeable when built into the side of a mountain. Sora had been killing the Frost Elementals on his way up the mountain but he had only ran into eleven of them, leaving his inventory sorely lacking in Small Mana Crystals. Although the cave looked very tantalizing with how many mana crystals he had the possibility of getting, it also looked extremely dangerous. If the Frost Elementals were to surround him and use the magic cone attack then it would basically be an execution after a few rounds of fighting. [Harvesting Skill has leveled up] The Azure Spirit Flowers had been the only saving grace on his way up the mountain, he was consistently able to harvest them as he climbed, resulting in a harvesting level of 4 and a few stacks of the blue tulips. Sora walked into the cave, he was going to have to use the same strategy he had been using on the elementals on the way up here. Sora has to be careful not to aggro too many of these elementals at once so he first grabs the aggro of one of them and then kites them back, creating a large gap between him and the other elementals so he has space to move around. The first few fights went just as planned, he was able to pull the elementals away one by one and kill them while only taken some minor hits. This time however Sora had to fight two elementals at once. The elementals were grouped together so Sora didn¡¯t really have a choice, he would have to switch his plan up this time. Sora used [Purge with Silver] as he brought the two elementals away from the rest of the ones in the cave. Once they were far enough away he used [Slash] on one of the elementals and parried the other one. Just as the first one was about to use its magic attack, Sora used [Concuss] to disrupt the ability and used that time to attack the other elemental. The second elemental used its magic attack almost immediately after Sora had used [Concuss], leaving barely any time for him to dodge the ability. He barely made it out of the area before the attack hit the ground he was just on, following up with a [Slash] and [Crippling Strike]. Sora started running even further back, losing the elemental that was slowed with [Crippling Strike] for a while and focusing on parrying the other one until the slowed elemental caught up. Once the elemental caught up Sora used [Slash] on the one he was fighting to use the stacks of [Vanquish the Weak] effectively, followed by [Concuss] to give him time to focus on the second elemental. Sora continued to juggle the elementals, buying time with [Concuss] and [Crippling Strike] until the second elemental died from [Purge with Silver]. One elemental didn¡¯t pose a threat to Sora as he swiftly finished it off, leaving a couple mana crystals on the ground as his spoils of victory. ¡­.. It had taken Sora over 20 hours to carve his way through the Frost Elemental cave, effectively leveling him up once and having to down a few health potions in the process. Now the only thing that stood in Sora¡¯s way was what looked to be a Frost Elemental, just a lot bigger. Level 40 -Lanche, The Frozen- Sora rested for a little bit, eating a Roasted Feline Snapper to increase his Agility. Sora didn¡¯t worry too much about his health at the moment and decided it was better to move a little faster than to buff his health. His goal was to dodge as many magic attacks as he could while using mana only when necessary. The attack pattern should only vary slightly from the normal elementals, the only difference being that Lanche will use his magic attacks more often. The entire cavern was covered in a thin layer of ice, presumably generating from Lanche, and didn''t offer anything to use as cover. Sora made sure to refill his potions on his belt slots before running at Lanche. Sora had already decided not to use [Purge with Silver] since the mana cost was so high and he was only fighting one enemy. He would much rather save his mana for using [Slash] to deal damage and [Concuss] to disrupt attacks. The beginning of the fight was just like any of his other fights, he opened with [Slash] and parried the elementals normal attacks. Sora used [Concuss] to disrupt the first magic attack and continued attacking and parrying. Lanche attacked with a few regular attacks and then used its magic attack again and Sora couldn¡¯t disrupt it since [Concuss] was on cooldown, Sora barely dodged it as Lanche started to use another magic attack right as Sora caught his balance. -333 Sora couldn¡¯t dodge it this time, he was a bit unlucky that the boss used the ability twice in a row. Sora drank a health potion and continued fighting, this time holding onto [Concuss] and dodging the magic attacks that Lanche used. Sora wasn¡¯t as unlucky this time as Lanche only used normal attacks afterwards, giving Sora enough time to get in a couple basic attacks and a [Slash] before the magic attack came. Sora kept dodging the magic attacks and parrying the normal ones, occasionally taking a hit and having to keep drinking health potions. After holding onto [Concuss] for 4 magic attacks, what he had been waiting for finally happened. Just as Sora dodged a magic attack Lanche started to cast another one. Sora caught his balance after dodging and immediately followed up with [Concuss] to disrupt the second magic attack. Sora could afford to take hits from normal attacks but the magic attacks greatly reduced his HP. Instead of using the time Lanche was stunned to attack, Sora quickly opened his inventory and refilled his health potions on his belt. Lanche had a huge health pool, after Sora had fought with the elemental for 10 minutes he was barely able to bring it down to 25%. Sora refilled his health potions once again as Lanche was stunned. Sora was currently low on mana and had been holding [Slash] until his stacks from [Vanquish the Weak] had reached to at least 50% extra damage and only used [Concuss] to disrupt Lanche when he used two magic attacks in a row. Everything could be said to have proceeded smoothly up until now, going much better than Sora had anticipated. Sora dodged a magic attack, followed by using [Concuss] to disrupt the second magic attack. He went into his inventory and filled up his health potions once again, this time he came back to an unexpected attack. Lanche had used his magic attack three times in a row this time, making Sora once again take a direct hit from the attack and chunking away one third of his HP. Just when Sora had thought it was over Lanche used another magic attack on top of that, making a total of four magic attacks in a row. Sora was barely able to dodge the attack as he cursed his luck. Four magic attacks in a row from Lanche could be considered rarer than getting a skill book drop. Sora gulped down another health potion before engaging Lanche once again. Luckily Lanche didn¡¯t have another mass chain of magic attacks and quietly fell, dropping a pile of Small Mana Crystals, a piece of paper that glowed blue, a staff with an icicle on the top, a ring that looked to be made of ice, and a few coins.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. [Level up] Sora finally relaxed now that Lanche was defeated, walking up to the loot and collecting it all. He already knew he was going to get the recipe for the mana potion, the ring was a nice surprise but he was even more excited about his level up, since he finally hit level 40 and could equip the gear he had been holding. [x22 Small Mana Crystals obtained] [x1 Beginner Mana Potion Recipe obtained] [x1 Power of Lanche Staff obtained] [x1 Gold obtained] [x3 Silver obtained] [x1 Band of Ice obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 30/30 Requires - Level 40 ¡°Although the ring is very fragile, the essence of frost within it will help mitigate damage from frost based attacks.¡± +10 Spirit +15% Frost Resistance Sora didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the staff since he would be selling it. He equipped the ring, along with the necklace and obsidian armor he had to wait until level 40 to equip. Sora already had the bonus from having two pieces of the Obsidian Bloodsteel set bonus, giving him an extra 20 Constitution on top of the other stats that the armor and necklace gave him. Sora was itching to test out his new armor, on his way down the mountain he found a Frost Elemental and fought it. With his new equipment he completely dominated the poor thing, even taking a few hits to test his defenses. After the elemental died it dropped a Small Mana Crystal that landed on top of a piece of paper. Sora looked at the paper with a complicated expression. The whole reason he wanted to fight Lanche was for that piece of paper. Sora gave a bitter laugh as he picked up the mana crystal and paper. [x1 Small Mana Crystal obtained] [x1 Beginner Mana Potion Recipe obtained] ¡­.. Bubbles was currently swinging at Frost Iron Ore rocks furiously, trying to get as many as he can. He had been going at this pace since he started to mine here and has yet to stop and take a break. His enthusiasm has definitely payed off, since he had nearly 500 pieces of Frost Iron Ore in his inventory. Bubbles wanted to make sure to get as much as he could so he could head back to Var and make a name for himself. First he wanted to turn in his mining quest to become a Novice Miner, then he would make the ore into equipment to become a Novice Blacksmith. Selling the equipment wasn¡¯t what he was motivated by, it was the perks that came with becoming a Novice Blacksmith that he was truly excited by. There wasn¡¯t anyone who had become a Novice Blacksmith yet so he wasn¡¯t excited for a particular bonus, he only knew that as your rank gets higher you can do things like over repair equipment, repair items without repair hammers, make higher quality equipment, and even give bonuses to equipment made by hand. He wasn¡¯t exactly sure what bonus he would get but any bonuses to a blacksmith would draw customers towards you over your competitors. Let¡¯s say one blacksmith made a weapon with 1000 damage. Then another blacksmith made the same weapon with 1001 damage and a little extra durability. Players would go more to the second blacksmith just to get that tiny little bonus. As Bubbles was thinking about all the different possibilities, Sora walked into the cavern and saw Bubbles swinging his pickaxe without rest. Sora only reconfirmed that he would need to try and draw Bubbles into his guild so he would have a good blacksmith. He walked up to Bubbles and tried to find a good time to interrupt, after waiting for a while the rock broke apart, revealing a pile of blue colored ore. Bubbles had a beaming smile on his face as he collected the ore. He turned around and was startled by the sudden appearance of Sora. ¡°Oh, It¡¯s just you Ethereal, I didn¡¯t notice you with that new armor. How did your business go?¡± ¡°It went well, could have went better but I am just happy to not have died. How about your business? It seems to be going well.¡± ¡°Hahaha, it has been going more than well, the ore spawns within close proximity of each other so I¡¯m able to continuously mine to my heart''s content.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, I will be heading back to Var, do you plan on staying here or going with me?¡± ¡°Well I want to go back to Var to turn in my miner quest¡­ Would it be possible to come back afterwards?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Let¡¯s try talking to Veradon to see if that would be possible.¡± ¡°Alright sounds good, I have to report to him to turn 10% of my ores anyways.¡± Bubbles and Sora left the cave and went towards the tent located in the middle of the camp. The medical tents seemed to have less soldiers than when Sora had went up the mountain, which means they are making significant progress in fighting off the rest of the corrupted insects. Sora and Bubbles walked up to the tent, the guards stationed there seemed to have been under the order to let them through as they stood at either side without obstructing them. As Sora walked in he could see the commander, Veradon, sitting as his desk with a worried face as he was reading through reports. Once Sora walked closer he suddenly lifted his head up and greeted them with a smile. ¡°Ethereal, Bubbles, it¡¯s good to see you again. What brings you here?¡± ¡°Bubbles had some business with you and I tagged along.¡± ¡°So Bubbles had some business, I hope your mining has been progressing well.¡± ¡°Yes sir it has, I came here to first give you your 10% that I promised. Secondly I wish to request a moment of absence to go back to Var and would like to ask if it is possible to come back after my business is complete.¡± ¡°Haha, is that all? Our little deal benefits the kingdom just as much as it benefits you so of course you can come back.¡± ¡°Thank you sir!¡± ¡°Hehe, no problem, if that is all then I will be returning to work.¡± Veradon seemed to have mixed emotions as he said that, Sora couldn¡¯t help but shake that something must be up for him to show such obvious signs. Sora decided to try and figure something out before he leaves. ¡°Sir, I may be prying more than I should but you seem to have some worries. Is there anything wrong?¡± Veradon let of a sigh as he looked at Sora, he started to think carefully while looking at Sora. After a minute of silence he finally let out another sigh before sliding a piece of paper over towards Sora, Sora began reading it. The paper had very minimal information on it, the basics being reports of what seemed like an influx of mana within the mountain. Another report had shown a cases in which a small earthquake occurred as the soldiers were fighting off the corrupted insects. The more Sora had read, the more he had the suspicion of a hidden quest being possible. Sora had began trying to recall information about this event from his past life but couldn¡¯t come up with anything conclusive, it¡¯s possible that this event was never found. Now that Sora thinks about it, in his past life the royal army had never come here to clear away the corrupted insects. The way it happened in his past life was simply an event where the demons left the mountain and fought within the factions territory. Sora slid the information back towards Veradon with a troubled look on his face. ¡°That¡¯s the jist of what¡¯s happening. We would like to investigate further but we are simple soldiers and something like the influx of mana can only be felt slightly to us. If you are on your way back to Var then please talk to Gzarna about this phenomenon, I¡¯m sure she will be interested. I¡¯ll also write a letter to her with the royal crest imprinted on it, if a guard tries to stop you then just show them the imprint.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let her know.¡± [x1 Letter to Gzarna obtained] [Quest Received] [Mysterious Mana Mountain] -Veradon, a commander of the royal army, has received reports about a mana influx coming from Frost Peak Mountain. Head to Var and speak with Gzarna, the head mage of the royal family, about these occurrences. Chapter 23: The Art of Alchemy Sora and Bubbles were currently walking back towards Var, as they walked near Frost Peak Village they could see a large crowd of people surrounding a group of people. The crowd seemed to be fighting over the group''s attention as a man with long black hair carefully responded to each person. Sora recognized this man, he was one of the guild leaders which he had an alliance with in his past life. He had been in charge of many guilds in other games and created a huge name for himself. His username was Drazi and he was the leader of a guild named The Crystal Dragons. He was one of the few players who didn¡¯t let power go to his head, although he was currently leading a very powerful guild he still had a sense of right and wrong. In his past life Sora had butted heads with one of his guild officers because he was trying to keep Sora out of a area which they claimed as their own. This was before Sora had become famous so they could have easily pushed him away without any consequences. Yet when Drazi heard of this behavior he demoted the officer to make an example of him to the rest of the guild. Sora had a good impression of Drazi and hoped he could form an alliance again later on when he creates his own guild. ¡°Drazi can I join your guild?!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°No wait, I was here first!¡± Drazi was being swarmed with players asking to join his guild, even though it hasn¡¯t even been officially created yet. As he was about to respond he noticed Sora walking past the crowd, he stood out a lot thanks to his armor set being so unique. Drazi carefully watched Sora walk through the village before turning back to the crowd and dealing with them. ¡­.. Bubbles and Sora entered the city together and separated, Bubbles was in a hurry to advance his skills and Sora needed to talk to Gzarna before anything else. Sora walked through the city until coming up to the same palace where he had talked to the king. The guards stopped him once again, with a little more respect this time. ¡°Sir, only those who have important matters may pass through here.¡± ¡°I have a letter to deliver from Veradon to Gzarna, it is of utmost importance.¡± Sora brought out the letter and showed the guard, once he saw the imprint he moved out of the way to let Sora pass by and commanded one of the nearby servants to take him to Gzarna. A few players who were around noticed him get through and had shocked faces. Many players had tried to go to the king to see if he offered any quests, every one of them was stopped at the gate and never gained entry no matter how much they tried. Sora followed a maid as she walked on a winding pathway through a garden until stopping at what looked to be a normal wooden cabin. The maid bowed politely before leaving, mentioning that Gzarna could be found inside. Sora braced himself as he opened the door, once the door opened fully a force seemed to suck him into a different dimension. It was a little disorienting no matter how many times you go through it. Sora was now in a huge room that didn¡¯t look like it belonged in the small wooden cabin, in fact even if you put ten of the cabins together it wouldn¡¯t measure up to the size of this room. Gzarna could be seen inspecting a orb full of black energy, it was the same orb she had used to absorb the corrupt energy from the mantis arm that Sora had brought to the king. She noticed Sora and started to wave him over with excitement. Sora walked over to her and watched the orb of black energy while Gzarna started to bring an orb of a silver looking energy close to the orb with black energy. The black energy started to shake as the silver energy got closer, Sora already knew what this energy was. It was a new element that would be introduced later in the game to help fight against the corrupted enemies, the element was simply called Purging element and was specifically strong against corrupted energy. ¡°Hehehe, isn¡¯t it great?! It¡¯s not perfect yet but if I am given enough time then I can surely figure out a weakness to those corrupted creatures.¡± ¡°Mh, I¡¯m sure it will revolutionize the way we fight against the corrupted.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it definitely will! Hehehe, so what brings you here adventurer?¡± ¡°Veradon sent me to relay some info to you¡­¡± Sora handed Gzarna the letter as he explained what was happening, Gzarna seemed to have stars in her eyes as she kept listening to the reports that Veradon had gotten. As a magic fanatic she saw this as a blessing, even if it could be catastrophic. Sora summarized everything he read in the reports down to the littlest detail. As Sora finished his report Gzarna was already getting a few things ready. Sora watched as Gzarna nearly left without even telling him anything, luckily Gzarna turned around just before exiting as she remembered that she had a guest. ¡°Ah, Ethereal was it? Thank you for the information, come back to the mountain in two days if you''re interested in my findings.¡± Before Sora could reply Gzarna opened the door, sucking both her and Sora out of the dimension. Sora was once again assaulted by the disoriented feeling of being transferred into a different dimension. Gzarna was already gone by the time he teleported out, leaving Sora confused but also happy as the quest information changed. [Mysterious Mana Mountain] -Gzarna has told you to come back to the mountain in two days to learn more about the mana influx. You should prepare a little before heading back to Frost Peak Mountain. ¡­.. Sora had walked into the shopping district and headed towards the alchemy shop, he needed to buy vials and some extra ingredients to make health and mana potions. Right now Sora only had 67 Crimson Life Flowers and a staggering 367 Small mana Crystals, along with 237 Azure Spirit Flowers. This means Sora could make 67 Health Potions for himself, 237 Mana Potions that gave a small buff to Spirit, and 130 normal Mana Potions. Sora bought 434 vials at 10 copper per vial, totalling 43 silver and 40 copper. The vials were fairly cheap, but the ingredients cost quite a bit of money. To make a beginner Health Potion you needed the Crimson Life Flower as the base ingredient and Ground Bat Teeth as the secondary ingredient. Sora hasn¡¯t killed any bats yet so he would have to buy them from the alchemy shop. The ingredients cost 1 silver a piece, making Sora spend 1 Silver per health potion. Although the health potions costs so much to make, it was due to the fact that player made items have a stronger effect than ones bought from NPCs The mana potions luckily only required the mana crystal so Sora only had to buy the vials for it. With everything in order Sora set up a small shop near the fountain in the city.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡­.. Many players watched as a man kept filling up vials of water from the fountain in the city. He had his shop set up but by the looks of things he was only selling vials that were filled with water. Most people ignored him but some alchemists that didn¡¯t like the tedious task of filling the vials with water went up to him and asked to buy some vials off of him. Everyone was confused when he stated that the vials of water were not for sell, most players started to just ignore him after that. Sora had just finished filling up his last vial of water and took out his Beginner Mana Potion Recipe, using it to gain the ability to make the potions. He carefully dropped a Small Mana Crystal into the mouth of one of his vials of water and waited for the crystal to dissolve, turning the water a very dark blue color. Sora then took out the Azure Spirit Flower and plucked each petal off of it before dropping it in the vial, making the potion look like it had glitter in it. Sora continued repeating the same process over and over again. As Sora was continuing to make the mana potions, a woman was walking around the courtyard that wore what looked to be priestess robes and had a staff with a cross at the top. The girl herself was very ordinary looking but permeated a very gentle aura that even seemed a bit calming. She had a troubled look on her face as she walked around the market looking at every shop she could find. She kept walking around, only getting more and more irritated as she couldn¡¯t find what she was looking for until finally she spotted something that caught her attention. Near the fountain in the middle of the courtyard was a man who was currently dropping petals into a vial of blue liquid. At first she had thought it was just another scammer, there have been many people who would try to sell you a vial filled with the juice of a local fruit called the Sky Berry. The Sky Berry grew in abundance around the kingdom and had a light blue color to it. The vial that the man was currently holding seemed to be a dark blue though, she thought of the possibilities of it being another type of fruit until the last petal fell into the liquid and seemed to make the liquid glitter in the sunlight. As soon as she saw that she went directly over to his small shop. ¡°Excuse me sir-¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t waste your time on him ma¡¯m, a few people already came up and asked to buy some vials of water but he said they weren¡¯t for sell. I have a few things I could sell you, I¡¯ll even knock the price do-¡± ¡°Why would I sell something I was going to use, do you sell your weapon before you go into a fight?¡± Sora chimed in as the lady who had come up to his stall was about to be driven away by this man. The man had been here for a while and was selling various animal pelts and other loot drops that weren¡¯t all that useful. The man looked at Sora with eyes that seemed to want to tear him apart. The man had been trying to impress the lady and was quickly put down by Sora. ¡°Hmph, I bet you''re just another scammer. You think just because that juice is the same color as a mana potion that you can fool us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not like you, that wolf pelt is obviously from the beginner village but you have already told four customers that the pelt was from a rare wolf found within the forest.¡± ¡°Wh-... Don¡¯t try to soil my reputation you little punk!¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to soil something that¡¯s already so rotten, you even tried to trick that girl who didn¡¯t even seem past the age of 13. It¡¯s a good thing I sent her a message to warn her or she might have wasted money on your cheap little tricks.¡± ¡°SO YOU''RE THE REASON W-¡± The man had accidentally slipped, a crowd had already gathered around the two of them and he basically just confirmed everything that Sora said. The players looked at the man with disgust before telling him to get out of here and not to set up shop here again. The man had a face full of anger as he packed everything up and logged out. Everyone went back to their business after the man logged out, they also believed that Sora was just a scammer that called out another scammer to make himself look trustworthy. The only person left at his shop was the lady that looked like a priest. ¡°So, are you buying? I have mana potions that will boost Spirit by 10 points.¡± ¡°D-did you s-say a m-mana potion that also boosts Spirit by 10 points? Are you sure you¡¯re not a scammer? Sorry but those words just sound too good to be true.¡± Sora didn¡¯t waste any time trying to explain himself, the best proof was through evidence so he simply slid a potion towards the lady. As she picked it up and inspected the information her heart seemed to stop. [x1 Beginner Mana Potion of Extended Spirit] Rarity - Uncommon Uses - 1/1 Cooldown - 1 Minute ¡°A potion that will replenish mana while also strengthening the spirit.¡± +Restore 200 Mana +10 Spirit for 5 minutes The lady was so surprised that she nearly dropped the potion, realizing this she gripped it with so much strength that if this wasn¡¯t a game it would probably break from the pressure. The lady quickly messaged a lot of people, this was the first batch of mana potions and these ones even had the special effect of boosting Spirit. She turned her attention back towards Sora and reluctantly gave the potion back to him. ¡°H-how much is it?¡± ¡°25 Silver for ones that don¡¯t boost Spirit. 50 Silver for one¡¯s that do.¡± ¡°That much?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first batch in game, I think you understand the significance of this, especially when the first dungeon will be opening soon.¡± ¡°...¡± The lady couldn¡¯t argue with that, if she were in the same position then she would definitely sell the potions for at least that much, maybe even more. She messaged someone again before breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°How many do you have?¡± ¡°237 Spirit boosting potions and 130 normal potions.¡± ¡°Would it be alright is you held 100 of each for the next 2 minutes or so? I had to contact our guild''s treasurer to make the transaction.¡± ¡°Already part of a guild? That¡¯s too bad, I thought about inviting you to mine when I made it.¡± ¡°Hehe, of course it¡¯s not an official guild yet but we plan on being the first to claim the title of an official guild.¡± ¡°Hoho, very ambitious. Then what if I make the first guild?¡± ¡°Hahaha, Then I will gladly become part of it.¡± The lady said that so easily because it seemed impossible that this man could be the first person to create a guild. She actually didn''t mind the idea of leaving her guild, she played a very minor role in it anyways and only joined it out of convenience. In fact she has had a lot of tedious work pushed onto her by the higher ranking guild members. ¡°Alright then, it¡¯s a promise so you better not break it.¡± ¡°Hehehe, I guess introduction are in order then, especially towards someone who might be my guild leader in the future. I go by the name Gentle Water.¡± The woman did a slight curtsy with a small smile, somewhat joking around with the interesting man. She really did think it was all a joke that the man was going to be the first person to start a guild, until she heard his next sentence. ¡°Nice to meet you Miss Gentle Water, I go by the name Ethereal.¡± Chapter 24: Drazi Gentle Water was shocked to have found the player whose name was still fresh in everyone''s minds. Ethereal, the man who killed the first boss, completed the first hidden quest, and received the first title. Nobody knew exactly how to make a guild yet but Gentle Water couldn''t shake the thought that the man in front of her could definitely be the first. Sora and Gentle Water stayed silent for two minutes until a man came up to her and traded over a small bag. She had completely forgot about the trade after she heard that a legend was sitting across from her. Once she received the money she did a quick count before directly handing it over to Sora, the man who had came with the money had a worried look on his face, he was still thinking of the possibilities of him being a scammer. If the man had known that he was accusing quite possibly the number one player in the game as being a scammer, who knows what kind of face he would make. Sora counted out the money before giving Gentle Water the 100 Beginner Mana Potions and 100 Beginner Mana Potions of Extended Spirit, which she collected before anyone could get a good look at what was happening. Gentle Water had kept wanting to open her mouth to say something but in the end she could only give a polite farewell before leaving. Sora gained 75 Gold in that one transaction. Although the time it took to make the potions was undeniably long, he was also able to get his Alchemy Skill up to level 6 which made up for it. Sora separated 87 Beginner Mana Potions of Extended Spirit for personal use and put the last 50 up for sale, along with the last 30 normal mana potions. ¡°Mana potions for sale! Restore 200 mana with one drink, great for when the dungeon opens! Not enough? Then buy my other mana potion that boosts your Spirit by 10! That means an extra 100 mana on top of the 200 mana that it refills!¡± Sora had instantly attracted the curious eyes of the players around him, mainly mages and healers. They have seen many scammers but none have had such bold claims with their products. A few who heard him decided to give it a shot while the ones who were still apprehensive watched carefully. ¡°You said an extra 100 mana?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, this potion right here, go ahead and take a look.¡± The player who had came up was a man who was dressed in black robes, wearing a hood that even covered his face. The man felt his heart beat a little faster as he picked up the vial of dark blue liquid. Normally a scammer would only show you the vial after they get the money, then run away after they successfully sell the fake mana potion. The man only held the potion for maybe a second before he pulled out 2 gold coins and placed them in front of Sora. ¡°How much are they? Ah nevermind that question, just get me however many this can buy.¡± ¡°25 Silver for the normal ones, 50 Silver for the Spirit boosting ones. What ki-¡± ¡°Spirit boosting ones please!¡± The man was ecstatic, he had thought that the price would be a little more steep than what it was. Well, he knows that he would definitely overprice players if he had the only stock of mana potions in game, especially Spirit boosting potions. The man took out two more gold coins and also purchased eight of the normal mana potions. Once the players that were watching saw what happened they all lined up, basically fighting for the mana potions. There were definitely not enough potions to supply all the people here so Sora had to disappoint a large amount of players by sending them away empty handed. Sora counted out his money that he made as he tore down his shop near the fountain. Sora had made 107 Gold and 50 Silver from selling his mana potions, while also holding on to 87 Beginner Mana Potions of Extended Spirit for himself. Sora decided to make one more stop before heading back to Frost Peak Mountain. He walked into a large building that had a bank on the first floor and an auction house on the second floor. The first thing Sora did was deposit his extra Beginner Mana Potion Recipe into the bank, he didn¡¯t really need it right now so it was just taking up space. The next thing he did was go up the stairs into the auction house, where he proceeded directly to the girl with the pointed ears once again. ¡°Hello Sir, what can I do for you today?¡± ¡°I would like to put an item up for auction.¡± Sora put the healer staff and Lanche staff up for auction and confirmed the deal on the glass plate. Afterwards he started to browse the auction house for any items that mightpique his interest, he had enough money to start investing in items now so he quickly glanced through potential items. Everything currently in the auction house didn¡¯t have a lot of profit margin so Sora left the auction house without buying anything. He decided to go kill Frost Elementals until it was time to meet up with Gzarna. ¡­.. Sora disappeared into the Frost Elemental cave about a day and a half ago, today he finally comes out with a level up and an inventory full of mana crystals, 544 Small Mana Crystals to be exact. Sora had spent a good amount of time harvesting the Azure Spirit Flowers before and after he left the cave, leveling his Harvesting Skill to 6 and giving him enough of the flowers to make half his mana potions into Spirit boosting mana potions. It was just about time for Sora to meet up with Gzarna for his hidden quest, he had been thinking about it since he began killing the Frost Elementals but couldn¡¯t pull up even the slightest hint of what the quest may be. As Sora neared the base of the hill he could see many soldiers running back and forth throughout the camp. The medical tents seemed to be full and many soldiers could be heard moaning in pain within them. Sora walked up to the commander''s tent and walked inside, Veradon had his face covered with his hands as he pulled his hands through his hair and let out a long sigh. Gzarna was nowhere to be seen so he walked directly to Veradon.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Greetings Commander Veradon.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Veradon?¡± ¡°Huh?! O-oh it was just you Ethereal.¡± ¡°Is everything alright?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid things have gotten out of hand. Our troops were in the final cavern, clearing out the corrupted insects like normal¡­ Then disaster struck. Another tremor spread across the ground and a large chasm opened up within the middle of the cavern, spewing out some kind of demonic energy. A good hundred men started to scream in agony as their skin turned black, horns burst from their heads, and bony black wings sprouted from their backs. Gzarna has stabilized things for now but I¡¯m not sure how long things will last¡­¡± ¡°Is Gzarna still within the cavern?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s currently the only thing holding the corrupt energy at bay with some weird silver orb.¡± ¡°I will report to her immediately and see if there is anything I can do.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ Be careful Ethereal.¡± Sora went directly towards the cavern but stopped on the way there, a group of players with a very familiar face popped out of the jungle and entered the camp. The NPCs didn¡¯t seem to care and continued to run from place to place. Drazi was at the head of the team with three others behind him, they had what looked to be a healer, an archer, an assassin, and Drazi was a mage. At first Sora was going to continue forward but he suddenly stopped, thinking about the different possibilities that lies ahead. Sora didn¡¯t know what would be within the cavern, he could be walking into his death for all he knows. Sora made a decision as he walked towards Drazi. ¡°Boss, it looks like we finally made it through the jungle.¡± ¡°It was a lot harder than we thought, we had to sacrifice Jed to those snakes¡­¡± Drazi suddenly trailed off as he watched Sora walking towards their group, he recognized him from the armor he was wearing and realized that it was the same man he had seen walking through Frost Peak Village before his team had left. The other team members went on guard as Sora came towards them, Drazi didn¡¯t seem to mind as he also walked forward to meet him. ¡°Boss, what if he-¡± ¡°No need, he doesn¡¯t even have his weapon drawn.¡± Sora and Drazi met up, both measuring the other person silently for a while before finally starting a conversation. ¡°Is there anything I can do for you today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to beat around the bush, I¡¯m about to do something that I have no idea about and could possibly lead to death. Although it¡¯s dangerous, it¡¯s also a hidden quest so I would like to complete it if possible. If you''re interested the I would like to propose that we trade, my hidden quest for help from your party.¡± Drazi was a little taken back, it was hard to meet someone who could be so up front about things like this. Normally Drazi deals with the higher ranked players of games and has learned that most of them are hard to trust. If it was one of those people within Sora¡¯s shoes then he could have not even mentioned the hidden quest and hogged it all to himself while saying that there was just some boss that he needed help with. Drazi thought for a second, he needed more information on this player before he would make any rash decision. Just as he was thinking about trying to get more information about this player Sora revealed some of his player information. Ethereal, The Honored Level - 41 Drazi had his suspicions but didn¡¯t dare to assume that the man in front of him was Ethereal. Ethereal had already turned into somewhat of a legend, even amongst the top tier players. Drazi himself had just barely hit level 39 and he was considered within the top 1% of players, yet this man had already hit level 41. Sora didn¡¯t release any other information publicly, he trusted Drazi to some extent but not his party. The party had already reported sighting of Ethereal to some of their friends right as the information was revealed. Sora wanted to avoid doing something like this but didn¡¯t really have a choice if he wanted to earn the trust of Drazi. After pondering for a while Drazi finally accepted the invitation and Sora invited him and his party into his group. ¡°B-boss, shouldn¡¯t you be the leader?¡± ¡°We are only here as helpers. Don¡¯t think you are high and mighty in front of someone who is offering to share a hidden quest with us.¡± ¡°H-h-hidden quest?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, so let¡¯s make sure we aren¡¯t dead weight or he might change his mind.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Drazi seemed to have a good hold on his players, they may be lacking a little in character but they followed orders from Drazi with resolution. Sora kept his end of the deal and shared the quest with all the players. As soon as the quest was received the archer and the assassin both left the party. They were trying to take the quest and run so they could do it with their own group, it was very embarrassing for them when they checked and the quest they had just received was gone. Drazi was furious, apparently he has not yet made a good example of what happens to guild members who betray his trust. Drazi wielded his staff, prepared to fight, but Sora acted before he could even start chanting a spell. Sora activated his Ring of Forgiveness as he used [Relentless Pursuit] on the archer, the archer barely had any time to respond and was only able to get off one attack which resulted in a number that was only double digits. Sora had 112 defense and 1700 HP, resulting in a pathetic amount of damage being dealt to him. With a [Concuss] and a [Slash] the archer had already fell into a critical state, he tried to drink a health potion as he came out of his stunned state but was met with a swift death instead. The assassin reacted with a flurry of attacks as soon as he saw his friend die but each attack was parried easily. The assassin was confused what the debuff he was getting was, each time he was parried the amount of something called ¡®Unworthy¡¯ would go up. It was like a slap to his face when he was being called unworthy by the game, which resulted in even more sloppy attacks. After ten parries Sora used [Slash]. -1,150 Not only did the man have to take 100% extra damage from [Vanquish the Weak], he was also unlucky enough to take a critical hit, resulting in a one shot death. Drazi and the healer both had shock written on their faces, what kind of damage was that? He also got hit once by the archer but the damage he took wasn¡¯t even a fraction of his health. Sora didn¡¯t even have a red name after killing two players, meaning he also had some kind of item or skill that stopped the PK debuff. Drazi had almost forgot that the two dead players were the ones who betrayed him as he stood there in a stupor. After coming back to his senses Drazi immediately put a kill order on the two rogue players, meaning anyone who sees them are to kill them if possible. Drazi still wanted to make an example out of disobedient players and decided that the punishment should be more severe this time, what if their guild offended this guy who could one shot one of the best players Drazi has? ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my guild members actions, they will be put on the kill list for their failure.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal, the quest can only be done if they stay in the party with the original quest owner, they just made it easier to get rid of the untrustworthy teammates before we start.¡± ¡°No, either way I am sorry, they fall under my jurisdiction and I should have properly trained them¡­ Either way we are short two people now, should I get some other players from my guild?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, I know two people who can fill the spots.¡± Chapter 25: Into the Chasm Sora, Drazi, and the healer were currently waiting within Frost Peak Village, waiting for the Blossom and LeeLee. The two girls had actually been killing a mini boss when Sora messaged them, after they finished killing the mini boss they had hit level 39 and were on their way to the village. If Sora didn''t come back to the village then the two girls would have to make their way through the jungle, with Sora they were able to bypass the guards on the road towards Frost Peak Mountain. Drazi had been wanting to invite Sora to his guild many times as they waited for the replacements for the party. He kept stopping himself from asking, afraid that Sora was already part of a guild. After a lot of struggle Drazi was finally able to squeeze out the question. ¡°Eth-Etheal.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°As guild leader of The Crystal Dragons, I would like to invite you to join our my guild when we create it.¡± ¡°I appreciate the offer bu-¡± ¡°Ah nevermind, it was worth a shot hehe.¡± ¡°Although I don¡¯t have interest in joining your guild, I still do have interest in forming an alliance when I make my guild.¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re making your own guild. I thought you might have been recruited by someone already. An alliance sounds very beneficial.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s settled, once we both have a guild we will officially from an alliance. I¡¯m going to warn you now though, my guild will probably not grow very fast.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I would honestly make an alliance with you even if you were the only one in the guild. An alliance is just another way to get more power on your side anyways.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡­.. Blossom and LeeLee were currently walking down the road towards Frost Peak Village, along the way they had been talking about a lot of different things; The game, movies, fishing, Sora, and mainly the hidden quest. ¡°LeeLee, what do you think the reward will be?!¡± ¡°Hopefully some new daggers, these ones are starting to become less and less useful.¡± ¡°I want another greatsword!¡± ¡°Yours is still somewhat new though.¡± ¡°Ya but it could be even newer!¡± Blossom seemed to be in an even happier mood than usual, it all started when Sora had requested her help. She was currently excited to finally be able to help him in some way, plus she would get to do a hidden quest. It reminded Blossom of the day when Sora had saved her and LeeLee, a warm smile would always appear on her face when she thought about that day. Blossom suddenly calmed down, seeming like she had ran out of energy as she lowered her voice. ¡°Hey LeeLee¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Do you think¡­ do you think we are useful to mister fisherman now?¡± ¡°Honestly I think we still have a long way to go.¡± ¡°Mh.¡± Blossom didn¡¯t understand why she was happy when she heard that. She had thought that she wanted to be useful to Sora to repay his kindness, yet she catches herself hoping that she could never repay his kindness, that Sora would ask her for help every time he needed it. She felt a bit selfish when she caught herself thinking this way and tried to shake it off. The last few minutes of the trip were in silence as Blossom tried to organize her thoughts, finally breaking free of them when the sight of Frost Peak Village was in sight. ¡­.. Sora was currently talking to the healer of the group, he learned that she her name was Descending Angel and that she had been a part of The Crystal Dragons for a very long time. Drazi claimed that she was one of his most loyal guild members and had a very good character, he had wanted to promote her within the guild but she didn¡¯t want the responsibilities. Sora only vaguely recalled a healer that was with Drazi a lot. There were too many players to remember within ¡°The Divine Path¡± so he can¡¯t be blamed for not remembering Angel. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Sora finally saw two girls walk into the village; One with a huge sword strapped to her back and fiery red hair that made her stand out, the other with a white fox mask and a small stature that made her blend in. The two girls were of course Blossom and LeeLee. ¡°Mister fisherman, hurry up and invite us to the party, I¡¯m so excited that I can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. This is Drazi and Descending Angel, they are the two I told you about.¡± ¡°Oooooo, your name is definitely suitable miss Angel.¡± Blossom started to inspect Angel from top to bottom, she was definitely gorgeous. Long blonde hair, thin waist with curves in the right areas, and a gorgeous face. Blossom didn¡¯t usually feel threatened by looks, she was actually quite proud in the way she looked, but Angel definitely gave her a run for her money. LeeLee didn¡¯t seem to care either way, she was simply nervous that new people would be with them. Angel started to feel bad when she saw how LeeLee was hiding from her, she introduced herself to Blossom normally but made sure to lower her voice when talking to LeeLee. ¡°Nice to meet you Blossom. Nice to meet you LeeLee.¡± ¡°Yup! Let¡¯s work well together!¡± ¡°N-nice to meet you too.¡± It seems that Angel made the right choice as LeeLee responded with a proper greeting. Drazi was more unlucky as he was able to get a greeting from Blossom but LeeLee had stayed hidden. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll share the quest with you two, let¡¯s get going as I fill everyone in on the situation so far.¡± The party passed by the guards on the road without any problem, as they walked Sora started to tell the party information on the hidden quest. He basically summarized it as the mountain having a mana influx so he had to get Gzarna to come investigate and stabalizing a demonic energy that was leaking from the mountain. The smaller details were only filled in if anybody asked about it. Drazi seemed to be very interested in Gzarna, as a mage he wanted to get close to any mage NPC that was important. He had heard about Gzarna but never seen her so this was a good opportunity. The party made it to the camp site relatively quickly, not realizing that their speed was a little faster than normal due to excitement. The group entered the cave and started to make their way through many twists and turns, luckily Sora knew the way or else they might have taken a couple hours just to get through this part. The cavern where Sora defeated Visux was where Gzarna was currently at. When the party walked into the cavern they were greeted with the sight of a giant silver barrier with what looked like a female mage standing in front of it. In front of the mage was a giant crack in the ground, making what seemed like a chasm. The silver barrier was placed on the other side of the chasm to keep the corrupted soldiers away. The mage was Gzarna, except right now her hair had grown so long that it could touch the floor, if not for the mysterious force that was currently blowing it back. Her hair had turned silver and she didn¡¯t look like the eccentric mage anymore. Sora hadn¡¯t gotten close to Gzarna in his past life so this was new to him, if not for some minor features that could be seen plus him knowing that Gzarna was currently in the cavern then he might have not even known it was her. ¡°Ethereal! I need your help!¡± Even her voice was completely different, her past voice seemed like it was perverted in some way but her voice now seemed like there was an angel whispering into your ear. Sora ran towards Gazarna as soon as he was called. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°The corrupted energy is accumulating, I would normally be able to easily go extinguish the source but the soldiers would all die if I leave them to fight these demonic creatures. You''re going to have to go down into the chasm to find the source of the energy, it shouldn¡¯t be too powerful. Take this orb with you, you can use it to create a barrier of the Purging Element. I don¡¯t know enough to completely guide you but I believe you can handle it.¡± ¡°Understood Gzarna, I won¡¯t let you down.¡± [x1 Orb of Purging] Cooldown: 1 minute Requires: Only usable in Frost Peak Mountain -Use this to create a 5 meter barrier around you, stopping all corrupt damage to targets within. The group was completely astounded by everything that was happening, they were still standing at the entrance, looking at Gzarna. They snapped back to reality when Gzarna suddenly pushed the barrier forward, giving the group plenty of space to go through the chasm. Sora led the group down a walkway that was filled with level 45 -Corrupted Soldier-. Blossom was the first to initiate with [Savage Pounce] and [Overwhelm], her damage wasn¡¯t as shocking as Sora¡¯s but it was still jaw dropping. Drazi started to cast [Fireball] at the same target while LeeLee used [Accurate Strike]. Blossom had already used [Savage Pounce] again, putting her in front of another corrupted soldier. This time Blossom dodged the first attack and positioned herself near the wall of the chasm, while her enemy was about to throw another attack in her direction she used [Shoulder Bash] to push him off of the walkway and into the chasm. Blossom then went to attack the first soldier again but it died before she got there. Sora was impressed, when he had seen the narrow walkway he had a similar thought and wanted to see if Blossom would figure it out. Not only did she figure it out but she also used it on a separate enemy after dealing a large chunk of damage to the first one. Angel didn¡¯t have to heal anyone this time since the enemies were killed so quickly, she didn¡¯t even know you could kill an enemy by knocking them off the cliff. The group continued to go down the walkways, pushing an enemy off the cliff every now and then. Angel felt incredibly useless as she watched her team mow through each enemy. She finally felt she had a chance when four soldiers aggroed onto Blossom. Then Blossom did something that even surprised Sora. She pulled all of the enemies towards the edge of the cliff before using [Devastating Quake] to knock all of them off balance, directly making two of the enemies fall off. She followed up with a [Shoulder Bash] on another one, knocking that enemy off too. Angel watched with her mouth agape as her one moment to shine was crushed in front of her. Sora was also stunned as they finished off the last enemy with ease. He didn''t know Blossom had gotten a skill since the last time he seen her. ¡°Hehehe, what do you think mister fisherman? I¡¯m the best aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°You are definitely a killing machine¡­ Alright, I admit defeat in this area. There is no way I can kill more than you.¡± ¡°W-wait, you can totally do it, why don¡¯t we make a bet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not satisfying your weird desires this time Blossom, I only humored the bet last time¡­ how was I supposed to know about your weird fetishes.¡± Sora looked at LeeLee who was covering her masked face with red ears as Sora reminder her of when he said she was cute, he sighed as Blossom watched gleefully before turning to explain to Drazi and Angel what he was talking about. Drazi was still stunned from the killing spree that Blossom had went on and Angel seemed to have the same perverted look on her face as she looked at the blushing LeeLee. Sora was worried for the future of this quest. Chapter 26: A Familiar Boss Sora and his party had been going down the narrow path in the chasm, killing off any corrupt soldiers that stood in their path. The party had finally made it to the bottom only to be blocked by a creature that Sora was very familiar with. A huge, black mantis stood at the bottom of the path exuding a strong negative energy. The mantis was missing an arm and had many parts of his body corroded away. Level 45 -Visux, The Undead- It seems that Visux had lost a lot of power after it had died, resulting in a loss of ten levels and presumably a loss in attack too since it was missing one of its arms. Although Visux was at a lower level it couldn¡¯t be underestimated, especially now that it wasn''t in a cocoon. Sora had a party this time, including a healer, so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard. Blossom didn¡¯t seem to care too much, she would do as she¡¯s told and put out as much damage as she can. LeeLee was carefully looking around the battlefield to see if there were any points that could be taken advantage of. Drazi was similarly looking for places where he could position himself, as a mage he needed to have a spot away from the battle where he could launch spells without worry. Descended Angel was simply following the party, she was here to heal so her job was difficult but didn¡¯t require much of a fancy strategy. Sora decided to get some input of the other party members, although he had years of experience in the game, he didn¡¯t have any experience with fighting this boss other than the constant swinging at the cocoon. ¡°The boss himself should have limited mobility, I can try kiting him around. My damage is fairly high so I should be able to keep his aggro. What do you all think?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just here to kill stuff mister fisherman. I¡¯ll leave the strategies up to you guys.¡± ¡°We should position Drazi and Angel at the center of the battlefield while the rest of us kite the boss in a circle around them¡­ O-or not, pl-please do what you guys want.¡± Sora already guessed what Blossom and LeeLee would say. Blossom was just a good fighter, strategies were secondary to her. LeeLee had a good sense of strategy but was too afraid to speak her mind. With the mage and healer in the middle, they will be able to stay still so they can invoke spells with having to move around and interrupt them. Sora had a similar line of thinking but still wanted to make sure the party is in agreement if the party disagreed then it would just cause chaos during the fight so it was better to sort it out right now. Now Sora just needed confirmation from Drazi and Angel. ¡°That plan is fine with me, but will you be able to hold the aggro while tanking all the attacks? Angel is here as support but she has limited mana.¡± ¡°Drazi is right, I can¡¯t promise everyone''s safety.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you will need to heal that much, but I will give you a present just in case. If you don¡¯t want them then you can just return them once we are done. I also have a few for you Drazi.¡± Sora pulled out 10 Beginner Mana Potions of Extended Spirit and gave them to Drazi and Angel. Both of them were shocked, this being the first time they had ever had a mana potion. They had heard that somebody was selling them in Var from their guild mates but didn¡¯t get their hands on them. They both wanted to decline the gift but couldn¡¯t seem to say so. They both ended up quietly putting the potions in their belt slots. After a quick rerun of the strategy, the team was ready to fight. Sora had been the first one to enter the fight, using [Purge with Silver] to boost his damage against the undead boss. He started with a normal attack and [Slash] to start leading the boss around the battlefield. With his extra damage from [Purge with Silver], he was able to easily keep the aggro on him. As Sora started the fight Drazi and Angel both went to the center and started to cast spells, Drazi using a normal [Fireball] to deal consistent damage and Angel would occasionally use [Minor Heal] on Sora. Blossom and LeeLee both started to dish out damage, Blossom still had to watch her aggro since she could rival Sora in damage, mainly because Sora was using half his time to parry attacks. LeeLee was able to stay right under Sora in aggro, even with her constantly dealing damage. Sora noticed that Angel wasn¡¯t using her heal too much so he focused more on damage so the rest of the party could deal even more damage. Angel was finally able to show off her healing skills as she perfectly healed Sora, never overhealing him and wasting mana. Visux has dropped to 90% health very quickly and unleashed an attack where he would swing his single arm all the way around him, dealing damage to Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee. LeeLee had seen the attack coming and used [Shimmer], successfully evading the attack. Blossom had also seen the attack and tried to used [Savage Pounce] to jump away but didn¡¯t quite make it in time and ended up taking the hit. Luckily Blossom had been putting two points into Constitution for every three points in Strength so she had enough health to tank the hit, leaving her with around 30% HP. Sora had taken the hit but it hardly did anything to him. With his HP he could take 6 of those hits before dying. Angel started by healing Blossom one time just in case something unexpected happened before fully healing Sora, then she returned to Blossom. The group continued to lead the boss around the room, at 80% health the boss once again used the sweep attack but Blossom and LeeLee had both been ready and dodged it easily. The boss didn¡¯t seem to have many mechanics since that¡¯s all he had done up until he hit 50% health. At 50% health Visux screamed as his arm that was missing had regrown as a physical form of corrupt energy. After his arm had regrown he used the same sweeping attack he had been using, luckily Blossom and LeeLee had escaped his proximity just in case because this time both arms had hit, one dealing the normal damage and the new arm dealing twice the amount of damage. If Blossom had stayed near Visux then she surely would have died. Sora had finally taken a considerable chunk of damage as his health fell to 50% in that one attack. Angel started to heal him as Sora continued to put damage on Visux. With his new arm, Visux had started doing much more damage with his normal attacks. The attack pattern for Visux was to attack one time with his normal arm then attack with his corrupted arm. At 40% Visux once again swept his arms around him, dealing a high amount of damage to Sora.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The battle was a repeat of what has been happening already except this time Visux would hit a lot harder. Although it put a little pressure on Sora, it still wasn¡¯t considered difficult. With him parrying, kiting, and getting heals from Angel he was able to easily tank the damage that Visux had been putting out. His [Purge with Silver] had also made him the highest damage dealer in the party by a large margin so he was able to firmly hold the aggro without his party having to worry. At 25% health, something had finally happened that made the fight a lot more difficult. Visux tore his normal arm off as a corrupted arm instantly replaced it. Now Sora would have to deal with two corrupted arms constantly hitting him and a large amount of damage would come from the sweep attack. When Visux hit 21% health Sora used [Crippling Strike] on Visux before using [Relentless Pursuit] on Angel and started to run at her with the bonus 50% movement speed. Just as Sora had started running a [Fireball] from Drazi lowered the health to 20% and Visux used his sweeping attack, narrowly missing Sora. With Visux being slowed by 50% and Sora being sped up by 50% Sora was able to outrun the attack. When Visux hit 10% health Sora had to tank the hit since he was out of mana plus [Relentless Pursuit] was still on cooldown. Angel still had mana to spare so she was able to heal Sora until Visux died, again, dropping a nice pile of blue loot. [x1 Corrupted Mithril Dagger obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 65/65 Damage - 66-72 Requires - Level 40 - Dagger Class ¡®An ordinary Mithril Dagger that has absorbed corrupted energy.¡± +10 Agility +10 Constitution +10% Curse damage Everybody passed, directly giving the dagger to LeeLee. She couldn¡¯t equip it yet but was very close to being able to. Drazi was wondering what curse power was but had got an answer to that question with the next piece of loot. [x1 Skill Book: Curse of Pain obtained] -Use this item to gain the skill Curse of Pain. The book had a requirement of a class Drazi had never heard of, it was something called a Phantom Assassin. Drazi had wanted to be nice and let Sora take the book since he was the whole reason they were even able to come down here, so he passed on the roll. When Sora passed he was a little confused, then LeeLee had gotten the book without anybody else rolling for it. ¡°LeeLee, could it be that you''re a Phantom Assassin?¡± ¡°Mh.¡± ¡°Would you mind sharing the skill information, I¡¯m really curious as to what it does.¡± [Curse of Pain] Cost: 50 mana Cooldown: 30 seconds Requires: Phantom Assassin Class -Infuse a powerful Curse into your weapon. On the next attack, the curse will attack the target dealing 100% damage plus 25% damage per Curse applied to your weapon. For now, the skill was a little lackluster but once LeeLee starts getting more Curse skills it will be her main burst damage. For now, all it would do is 125% damage since [Curse of Pain] also counts as an applied Curse. Drazi couldn¡¯t really measure how good it was at the moment since he didn¡¯t understand the class. Sora gave a small nod as he was reading the ability, the potential for this skill was incredibly high. LeeLee was, of course, happy since she was finally able to get a new skill, even if it was more or less useless right now. Sora continued to loot after everyone had read the skill. [x1 Staff of Clarity] Rarity - Rare Durability - 60/60 Requires - Level 40 - Staff Class ¡°A staff adorned with a stone eye. The eye seems to watch you no matter where you move.¡± +20 Intelligence +10 Spirit The staff went to Drazi with everyone else passing. Angel could also use a staff but Intelligence didn¡¯t really help her since that stat was for damaging spells. Wisdom would help with support skills and was a healers main stat. [x1 Unholy Robe] Rarity - Rare Durability - 50/50 Requires - Level 40 - Light Armor Class ¡°These robes used to have the blessings of a goddess. Now the robes have been saturated in corruption, losing the blessing that was bestowed upon it.¡± +15 Wisdom +10 Spirit The robes went to Angel since they had the Wisdom stat instead of the Intelligence stat. The only things left were a few coins on the ground. The party split the coins and took a small break before going further into the chasm. ¡­.. ¡°You said they were at Frost Peak Mountain?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°With a hidden quest?¡± ¡°Yes sir, I had tried to take the quest and run but once I left the party the quest disappeared.¡± In a fancy restaurant, there were two men talking about Sora. One was the assassin that had tried to run off with the hidden quest. The other man had blonde hair and would surely be recognized by Sora, it was Julius. Julius was currently grinding his teeth together as he thought about how Sora had killed him twice and now he was able to have such good luck and get a hidden quest, along with being announced on three server announcements. Sora had been growing fast while Julius was still far behind him, barely reaching level 35. Julius slammed the table, startling the assassin in front of him. ¡°We will take a group of 50 people to Frost Peak Mountain and kill him as soon as we see him.¡± ¡°S-sir¡­ I¡¯m afraid the path there is-¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± ¡°...Yes, sir¡­¡± Julius messaged some of his best guildmates, ordering them to immediately go to Frost Peak Village. Julius loses his mind whenever he thinks of the humiliation he had to suffer because of Sora. Every day the video of him being killed by Sora would grow more and more popular, it had thoroughly turned him into a joke and lead to many players ridiculing his guild. Julius was determined to record himself making a fool out of Sora to reclaim his honor. Chapter 27: The Seed of Corruption Sora and his group continued further into the chasm, killing more corrupt soldiers and a new enemy that seemed like a Earth Elemental but the energy that held it together was a black miasma. The chasm seemed to go on for a long time and a thick black fog started to obscure their vision as they went forward. The fog impaired not only their vision but all of their senses, leading to the group aggroing a lot of enemies at once. Angel was finally able to show off her prowess as a healer when the group was surrounded by the corrupted enemies. She didn¡¯t worry too much about Sora since he could hold his own against three of them by himself without any problem, her main focus was on Blossom and LeeLee since they were the other front liners. During their travels Blossom, LeeLee, Drazi, and Angel had all hit level 40 from killing off the corrupted enemies. The group had noticed that the enemies here give more EXP than normal enemies of the same level, since they also had double EXP from being the first faction to conquer the demons territory they were able to level up quite swiftly. Everyone except Blossom and Sora had new gear to put on, boosting their efficiency and allowing them to push forward faster. After what seemed like hours of roaming around in the black fog, they were finally able to see some sort of light through the fog. The fog slowly thinned and revealed a large cavern with what looked to be a purple crystal floating in the center, slowly rotating and shooting out a line of dark energy. Around the cavern were various pieces of black crystals that glowed very slightly but it was nearly impossible to tell. The group was a little on edge when they saw this cavern but couldn¡¯t really turn back now. As the group walked forward they heard a sudden explosive noise as the crystal in the middle of the room shook slightly and released a ring of black smoke that would expand as it headed towards the walls of the cavern. Sora didn¡¯t have a good feeling about the smoke and immediately signaled for everyone to run out of the cavern. Luckily they were close enough to the entrance to outrun the smoke and made it out. The smoke collided with an invisible wall right in front of the group. Sora definitely felt like something was off about that ring of smoke, it was far too precise to just be nothing. The smoke only covered the cavern that the crystal was in and the black crystals would light up slightly and shake as the smoke passed over them. ¡°It¡¯s obviously not good, but we are going to need to test it before we proceed, my guess is that our destination is that crystal¡­ I¡¯ll take a hit from the smoke to see what it does, Angel be ready to heal me just in case.¡± Sora slowly stepped into the cavern and began heading towards the crystal, the crystal didn¡¯t immediately activate and Sora counted for one minute and ten seconds before the crystal released the black smoke again. The timing only helped prove a theory that he had. The cooldown of the Orb of Purging was one minute, meaning it was quite possible that this was one of the times when he would need to use it. At first Sora wanted to test the damage of the smoke before using the orb but he decided to use the orb first to see what effects it would have. Sora pulled out the orb as the smoke approached and used it, creating a sparkling dome of translucent silver light around him. The smoke that was coming towards him suddenly started to break apart and go around the orb. Some of the smoke that collided with the silver barrier made a small screaming noise as it dispersed. Sora walked back to the group, each of them had been watching carefully and seemed to have a little sweat on their foreheads. ¡°I didn¡¯t test to see if the smoke would do damage, but I think it¡¯s safe to say that we don¡¯t want to get hit by it. I¡¯m almost certain that this is a time when we need to use the Orb of Purging.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t doubt that, we should make a strategy right now for any point when we need to converge on your position for the barrier.¡± Drazi certainly didn¡¯t make a name for himself for no reason. He had thought ahead and wanted a system for things before he even knew they would happen. The orb was a key item so it was safe to assume that they would need it again in the future. Sora also felt this way, so it would be better to sort out a strategy now. ¡°Alright, when I say converge we will all meet at the middle of everyone. The barrier has a diameter of 5 meters so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to get everyone in.¡± The group all agreed and continued into the cavern, this time bunched together a little more tightly. The smoke had once again released at one minute ten seconds. The group was already prepared for the smoke so when it started coming Sora didn¡¯t even have to say converge for the group to crowd around him. Sora used the orb and the smoke once again dispersed with a small shrieking noise. The cavern was extremely large, even the crystal which the group thought was smaller had become bigger than them. After negating the smoke over and over they were finally able to make it to the crystal. As the group got closer the crystal started to vibrate, causing a low humming noise. The closer the group got, the more heavily the crystal would shake and the louder the humming noise would get. The crystal surprisingly had a name badge above it, as soon as Sora saw the name badge he knew this would be a lot harder that he thought. Level 50 -Decess, The Seed of Corruption- The group was stunned as they looked at the level ahead of them. The highest level here was Sora and he was only level 41. The crystal let out one more ring of smoke before the black crystals that were scattered around the cavern came to life and flew towards the crystal. Sora activated the barrier and luckily everyone was already close enough, since the smoke had generated directly in front of them. The black crystals started to form what looked like a suit of armor that protected the crystal within. After all the crystals had converged it formed a knight that was made from the black crystals, wielding a sword, and had black smoke leaking from the joints of the armor. The group had been thrown into what they thought was an impossible fight. Even Blossom, who always wanted to fight, had known the severity of the situation and almost wanted to run. Sora had to pull the team back together quickly, even if they want to run they couldn¡¯t at this point.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯ll tank him from the front, Blossom you take right side, LeeLee you take left. Drazi will stand between me and Blossom except further back, Angel you stay directly behind me and make sure you''re in range to heal everyone. Go!¡± The team snapped out of it and started following orders. The boss was fairly big so the group had actually been split up by quite a bit when they started to go to their designated positions. The boss swung at Sora first and dealt a huge amount of damage to him. -565 The sight of that huge number popping startled the team for a split second, nobody here could take more than two attacks from the boss except Sora. They haven¡¯t even seen his skills yet and were already feeling the pressure weighing down on them. Luckily Sora could still somewhat parry the boss, the sheer weight behind the attack made it difficult but he was still able to parry a lot of the attacks. Sora had tried to use a [Concuss] but was met with the word ¡®Immune¡¯, meaning the group couldn¡¯t disrupt his attacks. Even after 5 minutes of attacking the boss only lost 5% health. His defense was incredibly high so it greatly reduced each hit that the team would throw out. At the five minute mark the boss suddenly opened his chest to reveal the crystal, Sora had a bad feeling and instinctively pulled out the Orb of Purging. ¡°Converge!¡± The rest of the group also had a bad feeling and had started running as soon as they heard Sora. The crystal made an explosive noise as the dark smoke once again made an appearance. The group was able to safely make it into the barrier before the smoke arrived. After the smoke had passed by them Sora released the barrier, the boss still had his chest opened and Sora took the opportunity to strike the crystal. -2,000 -2,000 Sora was only able to hit the crystal twice before the black smoke hit the edge of the cavern and his chest closed once again. Sora saw a glimmer of hope, if everyone was able to get two hit in on the crystal then they would be able to deal 20,000 damage. The rest of the team also had their morale raised as they saw the high damage numbers. ¡°New plan, after the smoke passes by everyone will head to the front of the boss to attack the crystal. Once the chest closes everyone return to your positions.¡± Sora wasn¡¯t blinded by hope and carefully watched as the boss dropped down to 90% health, getting ready for a skill to happen. Just as he had thought, the boss suddenly raised his sword, causing clouds of black smoke to slowly chase each player. ¡°Everyone kite your clouds to the converge point at the same time.¡± The group stopped attacking to lead their clouds to the converge point, the only people who still had to actively fight the boss were Sora and Angel. Sora had to keep taking the hits from the boss while also running away from the black cloud. Angel needed to heal Sora while running or else he would fall and result in a party wipe. After a few seconds of maneuvering around everyone was able to pull their clouds of smoke in at the same time. Sora used the Orb of Purging and successfully dispersed everyone''s clouds. Luckily the clouds had come out in between when the boss would reveal his crystal, or else the Orb of Purging would be on cooldown and result in having to tank the black ring of smoke. Sora still wasn¡¯t sure what the black smoke would do and wasn¡¯t eager to find out. The boss once again revealed his crystal to let out the black smoke as the group converged into the silver barrier. Once the smoke passed by, everyone, even Angel, started to attack the crystal and dealt over 5% of the bosses health within that small time frame. The orb was still on cooldown when the boss fell to 81% health so he told the group to stop attacking. After waiting a few more seconds the orb was off of cooldown and the group brought the boss down to 80%, resulting in the black clouds coming out again. The group did the same thing they did last time and converged with their clouds, this time a little faster. Sora had expected something to happen when the boss hit 75% health but luckily nothing happened. The group had found a good rhythm and managed to avoid any huge mistakes. Sora, LeeLee, and Blossom all had to drink one mana potion up til this point, while Drazi and Angel had to drink two. The boss was nearing 50% health so Sora didn¡¯t let go of the tension he had been feeling. It was a good thing too since the boss did something new when it hit 50% health. The boss stabbed his sword into the ground, creating a wall of black smoke that spread outwards and separated Blossom and LeeLee from the rest of the group. Sora started to feel nervous, the walls would have to be purged by the orb but the next ring of smoke should happen within the next two minutes, leaving Sora with the choice to save one or the other. He kept thinking as he tanked the boss, until there was less than a minute left before the boss released the ring of smoke. He had an idea, but it was very risky. ¡°LeeLee, how much time until the next ring of smoke?¡± ¡°32 Seconds...31...30¡± ¡°LeeLee, come close to the wall on your side. Drazi and Angel, get close to LeeLee¡¯s wall on this side. Blossom when LeeLee counts down to 5 I¡¯m going to purge your wall. As soon as your wall is gone you need to use your Savage Pounce to group up with Drazi and Angel. Got it?!¡± ¡°Alright mister fisherman, I won¡¯t let you down!¡± ¡°10...9...8¡± Sora started going towards the wall that cut off Blossom, meaning that Angel would be out of range to heal him. He relied on parrying and a health potion to keep his health up as he pulled out the Orb of Purging. ¡°7...6...5¡­¡± Sora used the orb to break Blossoms wall and release her, she immediately used [Savage Pounce] two times to regroup with Drazi and Angel. Sora had already used the last of his mana to use [Relentless Pursuit] on Blossom before she jumped out of range, giving him an extra 50% movement speed towards her. The orb still had it¡¯s barrier up as Sora ran towards the group. Sora couldn¡¯t parry while the orb was out and had to take a few hits, bringing Sora down to critical health, before Angel was able to heal him back up a little bit. ¡°3...2...1¡­¡± The barrier barely cut through the bottom of the wall that separated LeeLee but she used that small gap to slide under and reunite with the rest of the group as Sora made it back to the group just in time for a black ring of smoke to disperse as it made contact with the silver barrier. The entire group collectively let out a breathe of relief once the team made it through the ordeal, not forgetting to attack the crystal. After that incident the boss had repeated the same move sets he had already shown. He used the smoke walls at 25% health but Sora had already seen it coming and had Blossom and LeeLee fall in towards the front of the boss so they wouldn¡¯t be separated again. The team had successfully pulled through and finally relaxed as the black crystals crumbled to the ground, leaving various items that shone in blue and a couple pieces that shone with a purple color. [Level up] [Level up] Sora had leveled up twice to level 43 with a huge chunk of EXP filling up towards level 43. Even the rest of the group who had just leveled up received another two levels as the boss was killed. -Server Announcement- Player Ethereal has successfully killed the first Epic boss. +50 Gold, +250 Fame, +Enhanced Skill Player Sister Blossom has successfully killed the first Epic boss. +50 Gold, +250 Fame, +Enhanced Skill Player LeeLee has successfully killed the first Epic boss. +50 Gold, +250 Fame, +Enhanced Skill Player Drazi has successfully killed the first Epic boss. +50 Gold, +250 Fame, +Enhanced Skill Player Descending Angel has successfully killed the first Epic boss. +50 Gold, +250 Fame, +Enhanced Skill Chapter 28: Out of the Chasm The server was once again bombarded by a long line of text from server announcements. The group was surprised, they had no idea it was an Epic rarity boss. Sora had a hunch but couldn¡¯t confirm it until the end, as soon as he saw the loot that was glowing purple he knew it was an Epic item. Blossom and LeeLee were somewhat used to being in the server announcement, so they fared better than Drazi and Angel. Although Drazi has been a famous player in many other games, he has never had something like this happen. Angel was even more dumbfounded as she looked directly at her name, all the way until the name disappeared. Drazi started laughing joyfully as he even directly hugged Angel. Realizing that he had gotten lost in the excitement, he quickly pulled away with a slight blush. Angel had been too stunned by the server announcement and didn¡¯t react to Drazi as she still looked off to where her name used to be. Sora let everyone celebrate as he went towards the pile of loot. He already saw two bows in the pile and was a little disappointed in that, luckily they were both only rare. He went through the rare equipment first, if they loot couldn¡¯t be used by anybody they would all roll for it. Luckily the boss dropped the rare gear at level 40, meaning they could use the equipment as long as they had the class. There were a few pieces of heavy armor, which Sora passed on since he already had a good set that he didn¡¯t want to replace. This left Blossom with every piece of heavy armor, taking her defense up to a new level. One bow went to Drazi and the other one went to Sora, there were a few pieces of medium armor that went to LeeLee, while Drazi and Angel only got one piece of equipment each. Then Sora distributed the gold that dropped followed by having everyone roll for the three lucky coins that dropped. Blossom, LeeLee, and Angel each got a lucky coin and used it as it entered their hands. The only things left were two pieces of purple equipment. [x1 Edge of Corruption obtained] Rarity - Corrupted Epic Durability - 80/80 Damage - 130-145 Requires - Level 50 - Sword Class ¡°A sword that was made from black crystals that hold an immense amount of corrupt power. Be wary of the sacrifice that must be made to wield such power.¡± +60 Strength -10 Constitution Everybody nearly drooled over the stats of the sword, even Angel, who doesn¡¯t even attack enemies, wanted the sword. Everyone seemed to cry tears of blood as they passed on the sword, leaving Sora as the owner of a new sword. The last piece of equipment laid in front of Sora, it was definitely a staff but they wouldn¡¯t know if it was a mage staff or a healer staff until it was picked up. Drazi had a nervous look on his face as the staff was finally picked up. [x1 Core of Corruption obtained] Rarity - Corrupted Epic Durability - 70/70 Requires - Level 50 - Staff Class ¡°A staff adorned with the core of Decess, The Seed of Corruption. Some of it¡¯s power is still trapped within the core, awaiting to be unleashed.¡± +60 Intelligence -10 Spirit Drazi wanted to jump for joy and laugh like a mad man but was able to hold it in as he received the staff. He felt bad that Angel wasn¡¯t able to get much but that¡¯s just bad luck and not his fault. He will make sure that Angel gets something in the future, for now there¡¯s nothing he can do. With the loot sorted out, Sora reminded everyone that they got an enhanced skill. They were all so excited about the server announcement and the loot that they forgot about the rewards they got. An enhanced skill would take an existing skill that you had and upgrade it to a higher tier. The mana cost would normally go up but the effects of the skill outweighed the mana cost. A skill could be enhanced more than once but the chances are very low to get the same skill randomly picked over and over, especially when you have a lot of skills that could be chosen. Sora had his [Purge with Silver] enhanced. [Enhanced: Purge with Silver] Cost: 100 mana Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 2 minutes -Infuse your weapon with silver moonlight, dealing increased damage to undead and corrupted enemies. At the end of the ability the moonlight will disperse into the nearest 3 enemies dealing 100% Damage or 200% Damage if target is undead or corrupted. If there is only one target within range when the skill ends, deal 200% Damage or 400% Damage if target is undead or corrupted. Blossom was fairly lucky and ended up having her biggest source of damage enhanced. She shared her new skill with Sora and LeeLee to show off a little. [Enhanced: Overwhelm] Cost: 75 mana Cooldown: 20 seconds Requires: Greatsword -Deal 250% damage to target. If target is below 15% health, deal 350% instead. LeeLee didn¡¯t want to lose to her as she also shared her new skill with Blossom and Sora. [Enhanced: Accurate Strike] Cost: 30 mana Cooldown: 7 seconds Requires: Dagger -Next basic attack ignores 75% of target¡¯s defense. LeeLee was lucky enough to have her main damage dealing skill enhanced. Although [Overwhelm] seemed very powerful, it also was only used every now and then. LeeLee could use her [Accurate Strike] three times for every one time Blossom uses [Overwhelm]. Drazi and Angel didn''t share their skills but Sora could tell it was something good since both of them were staring at their skill page for a while before finally snapping out of it. The cavern seemed to be the end of the road, so the party returned to the chasm and started walking back to where Gzarna was at. The way back didn¡¯t have anymore fog so they were able to easily find their way through the chasm and up the narrow path to Gzarna.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Gzarna was currently laying on the floor with an exhausted look on her face. She had returned back to her average look, with straight black hair and skin that didn¡¯t seem as translucent as it did when she was maintaining the barrier. Gzarna was panting heavily as she waited for Sora and his group to get closer before turning her head with great difficulty to face them. ¡°It seems¡­ you have succeeded.¡± ¡°Yes Gzarna, we found a large crystal that seemed to be the source of corrupt energy. After a hard fought battle we were able to destroy it.¡± ¡°You have¡­ proven very useful¡­ to the kingdom¡­ please let me¡­ reward you¡­ once I catch my breathe.¡± Gzarna couldn¡¯t stop breathing heavily and needed to take a 5 minute break before she was able to talk properly. She took the Orb of Purging back before distributing rewards. ¡°Your name is Sister Blossom?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± Gzarna started to carefully inspect Blossom from head to toe, seeming to think very hard about what to give her. She started rummaging through a deceptively small bag that looked to be the size of her hand, even though she was able to fit her entire arm into the small bag. After rummaging for a while she pulled out a very plain looking necklace. ¡°It seems you have taken on the legacy of Valor. Me and that old man used to talk quite a bit, he ended up giving me this necklace because he said it only brought back bad memories. Since you are his successor, I think it¡¯s only right for you to have it.¡± Blossom took the ordinary chain necklace from Gzarna, nearly dropping it due to the excitement as she looked at the stats. Blossom had shared the information before Sora even asked. [Chain of Woe] Rarity - Lore Epic Durability - 55/55 Requirements - Level 50 - Executioner Warrior Class ¡°Valor, The God of War had worn this necklace when he decided to start massacring those who killed his mother. Due to the amount of people that were decapitated by his hands he had created a new fighting style known as the Executioner Warrior. The necklace is a simple chain that is stained with the blood of those he slaughtered.¡± +50 Strength This necklace not only gave amazing stats, it also told some backstory about the God of War, hence the rarity of ¡®Lore Epic¡¯. A lore epic simply meant that it had stats based on the story it was part of. If Gzarna gave away her equipment then it would probably tell a story about learning magic and give a larger boost to Intelligence. Each piece of equipment had a chance to have a sub rarity, which can be Unique, Set, Corrupted, Blessed, or Lore. Unique simply meant it gave a unique effect that isn¡¯t considered normal, like how Sora¡¯s dagger could be upgraded through an item quest. Set equipment would give bonuses based on the amount of set pieces you have, like Sora¡¯s Obsidian Bloodsteel set. Corrupted equipment give a higher bonus but also take away stats, like the sword and staff Sora and Drazi just obtained. Blessed equipment would give the same high stats that corrupted equipment gives but doesn¡¯t take away from any other stats. Lore was probably the rarest, it would give a huge boost to the stats along with giving a bit of information on its origins. Some people would even pay an enormous amount of money just to have the lore. Gzarna went on to the next person, this time she chose Angel. She once again started to examine her from head to toe, putting on a complicated look as she circled around Angel. This time, instead of reaching into a bag Gzarna simply put her finger on her forehead and slowly pulled her finger away, bringing a small orb of white light out of her head. She then took the orb of light and placed it on Angel¡¯s head. Sora recognized this as a skill transfer method that a lot of mage NPCs would use to award skills to players. It was the same as what a skill book would do, just a little more interesting. Gzarna continued on to the next person as Angel seemed to be reading over something. ¡°Who are you little one?¡± ¡°L-LeeLee.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so adorable. How about I hire you as my personal maid for your reward? Hehe, just kidding, there''s no need for you to fidget like that.¡± Poor LeeLee, it seems that even NPCs like to mess with her. LeeLee was a little better when talking to NPCs or else she would have bolted behind Blossom once Gzarna came towards her. Gzarna did a small inspection of LeeLee before reaching into her bag once again. She pulled out a book that looked like a grimoire and was sealed with a chain. Gzarna unlocked the chain and the book started to squirm a little. ¡°Your reward will be up to luck, this grimoire contains many powerful curses and cannot be controlled. All you have to do is put your hand over this book. I normally wouldn¡¯t allow people to come in contact with curses, but you seem to know how to handle them.¡± LeeLee slowly put her hand on top of the book and a purple energy started to wrap around her hand and up her arm. Once the purple energy made it up to her shoulder it suddenly stopped and absorbed into her arm. This was actually the first time Sora had seen something like this, he guessed it was a curse skill but couldn¡¯t be sure. LeeLee posted the information immediately as she saw Sora look at the book curiously. [Curse of Famine] Cost: 50 mana Cooldown: 15 seconds Requires: Phantom Assassin Class -Infuse a powerful Curse into your weapon. On the next attack, the curse will exhaust the target, slowing them by 25% for every Curse applied to your weapon for 5 seconds. If the slow goes above 100% add 5 seconds to the slowing duration for each extra Curse. The skill was pretty good, especially when fighting against players that like to run a lot. If an archer or mage can¡¯t escape from an assassin then it is a death sentence. It also helped LeeLee since she would be able to have two curses applied to her weapons now. Gzarna was currently looking at Drazi while Sora was reading the skill information that LeeLee had sent. Drazi seemed very nervous as the mage looked at him for a while, seeming to have a difficult time deciding what should be awarded. ¡°You are Drazi?¡± ¡°Y-y-yes ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°You seem to be a mage, is that right?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Then would you like to enter my mage''s circle? We dabble in arcane arts related to space and time, I¡¯m sure you would benefit greatly from the knowledge you could obtain there.¡± Drazi couldn¡¯t pull any words from his mouth, he could only nod furiously at Gzarna. Gzarna laughed as she pulled out a small token with an hourglass on it before handing it to Drazi. Sora didn¡¯t expect this to happen, there were very few people who were able to get the Space-Time Mage Class in his last life. So few that Sora hadn¡¯t been able to learn anything about it. Gzarna finally stood in front of Sora, she seemed to have saved his reward for last. Sora was the actual quest owner so it¡¯s fair to say that he would get the best reward. If he had been a mage then Gzarna might have even made him her direct successor to her magic. ¡°Ethereal, you have once again helped the kingdom greatly. I will use my authority to personally give you the right to the chasm that has appeared within the mountain. You will have full ownership of any resources within and be able to establish an outpost within the cavern we are currently in. Does this reward sound suitable to you?¡± It was finally time for Sora to be the one who blanked out for a while. Even in his past life he had only been able to secure one piece of land, which wasn¡¯t even a good piece of land. This cavern could easily fit a small city within it and the resources in the chasm would be greatly wanted by many players. He could start setting up taxes on resources that are taken and even have a small fee to enter the chasm to train on the corrupted monsters. The enemies within the chasm give an abundant amount of EXP and will be an excellent training ground for any player. ¡°Y-Yes ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°Hehe, then that settles it. By the way, since it¡¯s your property now I guess I should ask permission to go down there to study the corrupt power. So, would that be alright?¡± ¡°You are free to enter and leave as you wish. There will be no need to ask me in the future.¡± ¡°Such a nice landlord. Hehehe¡± [Quest Complete] -Server Announcement- Player Ethereal has claimed the first plot of land. +50 Gold +250 Fame +Guild Standard ¡­.. Gentle Water was currently within the Shopping District, once again looking around for mana potions. The market was extremely crowded at this time of day and the noise made it hard to hear your own thoughts. It was even more noisy than usual since many players were talking about the recent defeat of the first Epic boss, even Gentle Water had talked about it with some of her friends. There was suddenly a gentle pinging noise, making all the players suddenly stop talking. They had recently heard this same noise earlier when the Epic Boss was defeated. -Server Announcement- Player Ethereal has claimed the first plot of land. +50 Gold +250 Fame +Guild Standard The once noisy market had descended into an eerie silence, with the only noise being an NPC who was currently sweeping up around his shop. The first plot of land was surprising but the real reason for such a reaction was because of the Guild Standard. The Guild Standard was used to officially establish a guild, although that may not seem like too big a of a deal it actually was. This wasn¡¯t just something that would be used to establish a guild, it was something that would be used to establish the very first guild. Gentle Water was currently stuck in place as she remembered the talk she had with a man, promising to join his guild if he was the first to create it. Her stunned state was broken when another announcement came through. -Faction Announcement- Player Ethereal has created the guild ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ Chapter 29: Phoenix Rising Sora stared as his Guild Standard with mixed emotions. At first he thought that it would be a huge step for him and he should be feeling excited, yet now that he started to think about what happened in his old guild he became a little melancholy. He thought about what would happen if he once again was pushed out of the guild he loved by the people he thought he could trust. His journey in rising his guild from the bottom to the top were the happiest and saddest memories he had. He looked at Blossom and LeeLee who seemed to be celebrating for him, they were truly happy for him and Sora could see that. Sora suddenly shook his thoughts away as he watched Blossom jumping up and down with a genuine smile on her face. ¡°It will be different this time¡­¡± Sora had to murmur that line to himself to steel his feelings as he activated the Guild Standard. The Guild Standard stuck into the ground in front of Sora, blowing without any wind. A menu popped up for Sora to customize his standard along with naming his guild and setting various options that helped with managing the guild. Guild Management Settings¡­ A long list of options popped up in front of Sora, including things like what ranks the guild would have, what ranks could recruit, what ranks could access the guild vault, if there was a guild fee, and other small things that were necessary to start the guild. He used the following ranks for his guild; Recruit, Member, Noble, Leader, Officer, Official, Commander, Vice Guild Leader, and Guild Leader. There wasn¡¯t a fee to joining the guild, the only requirements that Sora had were to have a good character and to at least be decent at the game. He went through more of the smaller details before confirming the settings. Guild Name¡­ At first Sora put in the name ¡®Eternal Glory¡¯ right as the option popped up, then he stopped before he could hit confirm. Sora didn¡¯t want things to be the same, the name ¡®Eternal Glory¡¯ was just a memory to him now. His glory was no longer here, he was reborn and needed to rise from the bottom once again. Sora deleted ¡®Eternal Glory¡¯ and input ¡®Pheonix Rising¡¯, swiftly hitting confirm after he was done. Guild Standard¡­ The Guild Standard was just a white flag at the moment, it would stay that way until the guild leader made a design for it. The design could use many different emblems, icons, patterns, and shapes to create whatever you want. The design that Sora chose was very simple, a phoenix with a sun in the background. Sora hit the final confirmation and gazed at the glorious sight of his new guild. Sora stepped up to the standard and pulled it from the ground, officially creating his guild. -Faction Announcement- Player Ethereal has created the guild ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ Drazi gave a small sigh of defeat before congratulating Sora on his successful founding. Drazi was not bitter at Sora for creating the first guild, he was bitter at himself for not being able to. Angel also gave a small curtsy as congratulations. Blossom and LeeLee were the last to come up to Sora to congratulate him, they had wanted to come over as soon as Sora got the Guild Standard but when they seen the sad smile they decided to hold back and let him think. Now that they were finally able to see Sora with a genuine smile they couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. ¡°Hey, hey mister fisherman. Can I apply to join your guild?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I¡¯m not sure, space is limited. LeeLee can go ahead and join though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not nice to tease Blossom like that, mister fisherman.¡± ¡°LeeLee is right, a delicate flower like myself can¡¯t be treated so rudely.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, I don¡¯t want to hear anymore of this ¡®delicate flower¡¯ nonsense. Besides, I think you¡¯ve earned your spot.¡± Sora invited Blossom and LeeLee into the guild and gave each of them the Official Rank. Officials would do various jobs for the guild such as recruitment and management of guild affairs. Sora wouldn¡¯t be able to handle everything by himself so he immediately made the two girls Officials. Blossom and LeeLee didn¡¯t mind a little extra work, it would mainly be recruitment right now anyways. ¡°Alright, for now we should go back to Var, I have some business to take care of before starting to work on the outpost. Could you girls start recruiting players? As long as they have a good character and are within the top 20% of player levels or they have an important job skill like blacksmithing and alchemy then you can recruit them.¡± ¡°Alright, we are going on ahead then.¡± ¡°Me and Angel are also leaving, good luck.¡± Sora had remembered that Bubbles should still be here, he had been mining for quite some time now so he was sure to make a lot of profit. Sora decided to personally go and recruit him since he was so close by. As Sora walked out of the cave he was met with the sight of Blossom, LeeLee, Drazi, and Angel facing off against 19 players, one of them being Julius. It seems that Julius had not listened to the warning about the snakes within the jungle. He started out with over 50 players and was now left with such a large chunk of them dying to the snakes. The party was so big that they couldn¡¯t stop players from aggroing the level 55 snakes in the jungle. He would even purposely use players as bait while he would run away. It didn¡¯t help that Julius was so irritated that he basically pushed the group forward without letting people scout ahead.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Drazi stared at an assassin that was within the group, it was the same one that had tried to steal the quest from Sora earlier. The look that Drazi gave the assassin sent chills down his spine, Drazi was normally very amiable and kind so the assassin wasn¡¯t used to such a venomous look. Julius looked at Drazi with a awkward expression, he didn¡¯t want to get on his bad side since he had a fairly large force already. The only reason why he was risking attacking Sora was because he had just started off in the gaming world and didn''t have a large force like Drazi. Julius forced himself to calm down as he stepped forward towards Drazi. ¡°Drazi, it is an honor to meet-¡± ¡°Did you plant that spy within my guild?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sur-¡± ¡°Did. You. Or. Did. You. Not.¡± Julius was sweating a little as he saw the usually calm Drazi turning into a predator. He decided to skip the formalities and try his best to appease him. Of course Julius planted a couple spies within his guild, but he wouldn¡¯t admit it. ¡°I did not, how could you think such a thing?¡± ¡°Then why do you have that scum with you?¡± ¡°I assure you I have no idea what you are talking about, if this scum has offended you then I will punish him on your behalf. Gentlemen, kill the person who offended Drazi.¡± A barrage of attacks hit the assassin as he stood there with a look of despair on his face. He was betrayed by the person who had hired him, the assassin could only use the fact that Julius made a huge mistake to peacefully die at the hands of his so called friends. ¡°I don¡¯t remember saying who the spy was.¡± Julius wasn¡¯t thinking properly when he ordered the attack, his emotions have been constantly changing so his judgement slipped. Julius finally snapped when he saw Sora walking up to stand next to Drazi. Drazi was prepared to start fighting when he saw Julius falling back to his men, but Sora put his hand in front of Drazi to stop him as he walked towards the group alone. Sora wanted to handle it alone since the others would incur the murdered penalty, forcing them to spend a time to clear the status. Sora had his Ring of Forgiveness so he would be able to kill without suffering the penalty. Sora activated the ring before charging towards the group of players. The players with Julius already had high tension so when they saw Sora charging towards them they had already begun to attack. Sora was pelted by several ranged attacks, some of them being magic but most being arrows. Sora used [Relentless Pursuit] on Julius, since he was located in the middle of the group, and crossed the distance between him and their group in seconds. Projectiles would hit Sora and do small double digit numbers to him. Even after Sora had made it to the melee fighters he had only suffered from 300 damage, which was mostly healed with a health potion. A warrior tried to use [Crippling Strike] but wasn¡¯t able to slow him thanks to [Relentless Pursuit], Sora used [Concuss] on one of the tanks before using [Slash] on an assassin. The assassin had been pouring most of his stats into Agility and ended up dying to the basic attack that followed, due to neglecting his Constitution. Sora parried another warrior as he moved deeper into the group, successfully dodging some sloppy attacks made at him. The group was not coordinated at all and had been standing too close together for swords to make a clean movement. Sora could dodge attacks like these all day without any problem. A healer had been the next target and died even more miserably than the assassin, it only took two basic attacks to send him on his way to the Statue of Helara. The archers and mages had a hard time hitting Sora since their comrades kept moving in and out of the way. ¡°Move before I accidentally shoot your ass!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get a good shot, what are you melee classes doing?!¡± ¡°Shut up, he should have died before he was able to make it into our group, where was your damage when he was still on his way?!¡± The group fell apart, archers and mages started to shoot projectiles towards Sora even when their comrades were in the way. Julius had a maddened look on his face, he must have forgot that he was a mage since he rushed towards Sora and tried to beat him. Sora saw him coming and parried the attack while continuing to fight the other players. Julius kept trying to swing at Sora and ended up being parried each time. Sora didn¡¯t see a mage that wielded his staff like a club as a threat so he would just parry him and focus on the blades that would be swinging towards him. Julius had been parried ten times, so Sora decided to put an end to his silly act. With a single [Slash], with the help of 100% damage from [Vanquish the Weak], he was able to one hit Julius. Sora became a nightmare for the group as he easily weaved between the melee classes, leaving the archers and mages no chance to hit him. Once the melee classes thinned out the mages and archers finally had a shot, but were only met with a couple pitiful numbers followed by Sora rushing to them and killing them off in a couple hits. Drazi had been watching the fight closely, trying to figure out what he would do in the same situation. He had only been able to spot a couple gaps where he would be able to attack, the gaps were so small that even he didn¡¯t think he would be able to make the hit. Plus he noticed that Sora would take out the biggest threats before they could do anything against him. He purposely left melee classes alive so he could block the ranged attacks and then killed the people who had the opportunity to attack. Sora ended up killing the last player just before his buff from Ring of Forgiveness ended. The entire group had been wiped without even bringing Sora below 50% health. Drazi had learned a lot from watching the fight, like how to position himself better, how to position his party members, and most importantly to not become an enemy to someone like Sora. Blossom had watched the fight, wanting to jump in and start cleaving her way through enemies. As she watched the finesse that Sora had when fighting she felt very inferior. The itch to battle was quickly replaced by the need to learn. She watched each movement Sora made and asked herself if she could do the same. She might be able to kill, but would she be able to do so while dealing with attacks coming from every direction. Her warrior trial didn¡¯t really count since the enemies were low AI and didn¡¯t really do any damage. As she watched Sora she began to absorb some of his fighting style. It was elegant, yet brutal; fluid, yet solid. Sora returned to the group and saw that someone else had come to watch the fight, he was standing near the entrance to the cave with a look of astonishment on his face. ¡°Ah, Bubbles. How goes the mining?¡± ¡°G-good¡­ what was that all about?¡± ¡°Just some troublemakers, nothing to worry about¡­ Oh, since you''re here, I would like to invite you to my guild.¡± ¡°I almost forgot, I had wanted to congratulate you. If you would like to have me then I would be happy to join.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll invite you then.¡± Sora invited Bubbles into the guild and gave him the member rank. He had only actually talked to Bubbles for a little bit but he knew that he had a good character. Everyone once again formed a group, including Bubbles this time, and walked to Var together. As they were walking back Sora had been talking to Blossom and LeeLee about what kind of people to recruit. ¡°High levels are going to be the easiest thing for you to spot. Professions likes miners, blacksmiths, harvesters, alchemists, woodcutters and shapers are all very useful. It would also be nice to find a good fisher and cooker¡­ but those are kinda hard to find.¡± ¡°My grandpa is a pretty good fisher, would it be alright to invite him?¡± ¡°So your grandpa plays this game too huh? That¡¯s fine, go ahead and invite him.¡± Sora silently thought about the old man he had been fishing with at Crater Lake. Sora decided to do his best to invite him to his guild. Chapter 30: Recruiting Sora had just separated from the rest of the group, heading towards the alchemy shop. He would need money to help build structures and facilities on his territory. For now he would only be able to build a small camp, since territory buildings and resources were a hefty price. Blossom and LeeLee went to the Shopping District to start recruiting members for ¡®Rising Phoenix¡¯. LeeLee was already very nervous so she let Blossom do most of the talking, LeeLee would examine people and let Blossom know if they meet the requirements. LeeLee had a good eye for people, that¡¯s the only reason Sora suggested that they go together. As soon as Blossom said they were recruiting they were swarmed with players. Drazi and Angel said they had some guild related business to take care of and left right as they entered the city. Sora walked into the alchemy shop to pick up some vials to make mana potions, he figured that he only had a day or two before the recipe starts to be found by other players so he wanted to make as much profit as he could before then. He also planned to sell the extra recipe he had in the auction house before other players could find it themselves, once players find it the price will rocket down. Sora picked up 544 vials and left the alchemy shop to set up shop near the fountain again. The Shopping District seemed a little empty, since most of the players were crowded around one side of the area, trying to be recruited by Blossom. Sora set his shop up in the same spot he did last time and began filling vials with water. It was a tedious process but thinking about the amount of money he would make helped him push through it. ¡­.. Gentle Water had been standing at the side of the Shopping District, watching as players rushed to be recruited into ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯. All these players would trade everything they had just to join the guild and Gentle Water happens to have a personal invitation from the Guild Master himself. She would think back to the conversation she had with Sora and try to remember exactly how he said it. She thought maybe it was all just a joke, maybe it would be too presumptuous of her to think that someone at the top of the gaming world would actually invite her into the guild. She let out a small sigh as she had a feeling of defeat, it seemed that she looked down on herself. Gentle Water took a couple steps towards the crowd of people, thinking about pushing through and joining the guild. She stopped before she could take her third step and turned around, she decided to walk around the Shopping District to clear her head. Gentle Water started browsing through wares, still trying to find more mana potions from random players. She started to take a familiar path as she found herself walking towards the fountain located in the middle of the courtyard. She realised that she subconsciously took the same route that she had taken the day she found Sora. She didn''t think too much about it and continued walking towards the fountain. Sora was currently plucking flower petals off of some Azure Spirit Flowers and dropping them into a vial full of blue liquid. He had been making the potions for a long time now and let out a sigh of relief as the last petal dropped into the vial. Sora was not officially ready to start selling potions. He drew in a big breathe, getting ready to shout out to advertise his wares. As he looked up he saw Gentle Water standing in front of him so he let his breathe out instead of shouting. She seemed to be surprised one moment, happy the next, and sad towards the end. ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s Miss Gentle Water, have you come to fulfil your promise?¡± ¡°...Have you seen the crowd of people who want to join your guild?¡± ¡°How could I have missed them, they are making so much noise that it was hard to ignore them.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Miss Gentle Water?¡± ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°...What?¡± ¡°Why did you invite me to join your guild before you even created it? Couldn¡¯t you fill the slot with much higher level players?¡± ¡°If all you see is levels, then maybe I was wrong to invite you.¡± ¡°What else is there in this game? Isn¡¯t that what makes guilds strong?¡± ¡°No, power makes a guild feared, not strong.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Miss Gentle Water, but I¡¯m going to have to break our promise.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you''re ready to be in my guild.¡± ¡°...You¡¯re probably right.¡± ¡°That mindset is exactly why, come back once you have a little more confidence. A weak will only hurts people who rely on you.¡± Gentle Water walked away with a sad look on her face, she had wanted to buy more mana potions but she had too much on her mind at the moment. Sora let out a small sigh, he didn¡¯t like being so harsh on her but it was for her own good. Sora was in a bad mood now but still needed to sell his potions, he began shouting to sell his wares. ¡­.. Sora once again ran out of potions and had to send players away without buying anything. He had been creating and selling mana potions for the entire day, not being able to take any breaks. He made a lot of money from selling the potions, making a total of 121 gold from his Beginner Mana Potions of Extended Spirit and 75 gold from his normal potions. Sora now had nearly 500 gold coins to work with. Sora noticed that Blossom and LeeLee still had a huge crowd around them, meaning they have yet to take a break. Sora checked his guild members and was surprised when he found out that only 167 players have been recruited. LeeLee must have been very strict in the requirements, which was definitely a good thing. Sora messaged the two girls and told them to take a break.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Sora watched as the crowd slowly dispersed and showed a tired Blossom and LeeLee standing in the middle of where the crowd used to be. When they saw Sora they walked over to him, they looked very tired since even Blossom had lost her energy that she seemed to always have. ¡°Good work today, how about we grab a bite to eat.¡± ¡°Please, I have been suffering from the hunger debuff for most of the day.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even take a break to eat¡­¡± ¡°There were too many people, I wanted to get through them all but more just kept coming.¡± ¡°Alright, the meals on me then, you can pick wherever you want to eat.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just go to our normal restaurant, I want a quiet place¡­ Oh, could I invite my grandpa? I said I would recruit him once the crowd cleared up but it never did.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m interested to see what this man will be like anyways.¡± The trio began walking towards the restaurant they usually frequented. On the way there LeeLee gave a small report on some of the people she had recruited that included things like their strengths, weaknesses, profession, classes, and of course their character. LeeLee seemed even more exhausted than Blossom since she had to be around people all day, which was not something she liked. Sora decided to send a small welcoming message to the members of his guild as they walked towards the restruant. ¡°I would like to welcome all players who were able to join ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯. Although I can¡¯t promise you much right now, I can at least promise that I will have your back. I hope everyone here can say the same to their fellow comrades. For now the guild will be very casual, just continue with what you were doing until further notice. Thank you for joining my guild.¡± The guild chat started to explode with introductions, the chat was very quiet before Sora had sent his message. Now the chat was hard to keep up with, it seems that Sora had created a chain reaction. The trio finally made it to the restaurant, Sora went to get the food while Blossom and LeeLee both fell into their seats and rested their head on the table. Sora sat down and gave the girls their food. They both slowly picked at the food as they were finally able to gain a little more energy. It turns out that the main reason why they were so exhausted was due to the hunger debuff. Once they ate a little bit they were able to sit up straight again, they really did push themselves hard. Sora looked at the two girls and was happy to see that his judgement wasn¡¯t wrong. Recruitment was mentally exhausting and they had to do it for the entire day, a lot of people would have tapped out half way through. Blossom and LeeLee both showed their determination to help the guild, making Sora reconfirm their loyalty. ¡°My grandpa is outside and can¡¯t seem to find the restaurant, can you go get him mister fisherman? You guys would get along really well since you both like to fish and I don¡¯t want to move anymore.¡± ¡°Sure, where is he?¡± ¡°He should be on this street but he keeps walking into the wrong building.¡± Sora got up and started walking towards the door of the restaurant. Just as he exited the door he ran into a familiar face. It was the old man who he had fished with at Crater Lake. Sora and the old man both smiled as they shook hands. ¡°Hehehe, I didn¡¯t think I would see you again. How have things been boy?¡± ¡°A lot has been going on, I would love to go fishing again soon, have you found any good fishing spots?¡± ¡°Indeed I did, there¡¯s a river that connect to Crater Lake that has huge fish with every catch. I doubt anybody would have trouble setting a new personal record there, haha.¡± ¡°We will have to go fishing again soon then.¡± ¡°I looked forward to it, hahaha. Hey, since you''re here can you help me find a restaurant? I¡¯m supposed to be meeting with my granddaughter and I can¡¯t seem to find it.¡± ¡°...What¡¯s your granddaughter''s name?¡± ¡°Serah¡­ is something wrong?¡± ¡°Is that her username or real name?¡± ¡°Boy you''re acting weird, it¡¯s her real name. Trying to get close to my granddaughter already huh? Well, I suppose I wouldn''t mind marrying her off to you.¡± ¡°What about her username?¡± Sora had a hunch of who his granddaughter is, he ignored the comment about marriage as he braced himself for the answer. Now that he looked at the man, there did seem to be a resemblance between the two. ¡°I think she goes by Blossom or something like that¡­ or was it Sister?¡± ¡°...Sister Blossom?¡± ¡°That''s it! The one who has been in those server announcement things. Did you know she was already in the first guild ever created? I don¡¯t know how important that is but she has been a lot happier recently so I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s a good thing. She had me worried for a bit there, at one point she was so disconnected from everyone¡­ Ah, sorry for rambling on, it¡¯s good to have someone to talk to, helps get worries off my chest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, your granddaughter happens to be in this restaurant. Follow me.¡± Sora had guessed correctly, it looks like the old fisherman was actually Blossoms grandpa. The last bit of information was a little worrying, apparently Blossom had some things going on that even worried this old man with nerves of steel. Sora wanted more information but also didn''t want to pry into her life too much, he decided to talk to Blossom about it at a later time. The two men walked back into the restaurant, when Blossom saw her grandpa she had a sudden burst of energy and went to give him a big hug. Then at the same time, both Blossom and the old fisherman started to introduce Sora. ¡°This is the man I fished with at Cr-.¡± ¡°This is Ethereal, our guild leader and th-¡± Blossom and the old man both looked at Sora, confusion apparent in their eyes. Sora decided to break the awkward silence that followed by introducing himself. ¡°I¡¯m Ethereal, the guild leader of ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ and also the person who was fishing with Grandpa Blossom at Crater Lake.¡± Grandpa Blossom flinched at the awkward nickname he was given, an old man like him was given such a degrading name. After thinking about it for a while he found it a little funny and let out a hearty laugh. Blossom was still a bit confused, she looked back and forth between Sora and her grandpa before it finally clicked. ¡°This is the man who you said set you on a path?¡± ¡°Th-that¡­ I don¡¯t think I said it like that.¡± ¡°You definitely did, you were basically praising him.¡± ¡°Stop over exaggerating things I say! What about you? You seemed to go on and on about-¡± ¡°Ok stop I¡¯m sorry I over exaggerated!¡± Sora simply laughed as the group sat down at the table together to talk. They started talking about how they met and what they had done together. Grandpa Blossom half listened like he had heard the story a million times already. Blossom listened intently, afraid to miss a single detail of what happened between Sora and her grandpa. The group laughed and enjoyed themselves as they reminisced about the adventures they had. Sora invited Grandpa Blossom, whose actual username was just ¡®Retired Fisherman¡¯, into the guild and gave him a bit of information. Sora smiled as he looked at the player list for his guild, he already secured a master blacksmith and a master fisherman. His next step was to build his outpost in Frost Peak Mountain. Chapter 31: Outpost Value Sora had left the restaurant after telling Blossom and LeeLee to be ready to go to the dungeon on Frost Peak Mountain when it opens tomorrow. Sora had to begin work on his outpost, along with finding potential party members to go into the dungeon with. Drazi and Angel still had their own guild to worry about so he didn¡¯t bother asking them to join him. He started to look through his guild roster to find a good healer, since that role was the most important one. The guild only had five healers at the moment so his choices were very limited, he decided on a level 37 healer. The player went by the name of ¡®Athenes¡¯ and was the highest level healer the guild had. Sora needed to message Athenes to see if the player would want to go. ¡°I need a healer for the dungeon tomorrow on Frost Peak Mountain, are you interested?¡± ¡°Really?! Yes yes, please let me go!¡± ¡°Great, then be ready tomorrow. I¡¯m still looking for another player to deal damage, if you have anybody in mind then please let me know.¡± ¡°My brother is also in the guild, I¡¯ll ask him if he wants to go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll personally invite him. What¡¯s his username?¡± ¡°Alright, his username is ¡®Nobunaga¡¯.¡± Sora laughed a bit as he heard the name, he must have been a fan of samurais. Sora quickly found the name and messaged him. He was a level 39 warrior and had tied with the spot for strongest member in the guild under Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee. ¡°Your sister recommended inviting you to join our party for the dungeon tomorrow. Would you be interested?¡± ¡°I just heard from my sister, if she is going then I will also go.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll message you tomorrow when we are all ready.¡± Sora had formed his first official guild dungeoneering party of ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯, it left him with a sense of satisfaction as he went towards the auction house. Sora wanted to try and sell his Beginner Mana Potion Recipe today since the path to Frost Peak Mountain would be open for everyone tomorrow. He withdrew the recipe from his bank and put it up for auction with a one day period of time, along with the rare bow he had gotten in the chasm. News of the recipe traveled to every influential guild leader in The Eastern Legion and the price had started to skyrocket off of just the first few bids. Sora had been setting all his auctions to real money for the moment since gold has yet to cycle throughout the market. The beginning of the game is almost always dominated by rich players who could just buy the best gear. Sora would start to auction off items for gold when it has started to spread into the server more. Sora bought some health potions while he was at the auction house and left to go towards his outpost in Frost Peak Mountain. ¡­.. Sora was currently looking at the empty cavern that he owned. The chasm that split the cavern in half was once again filling with corrupted creatures but they wouldn¡¯t cause any problems for the outpost. Sora needed to prioritize what he should build first, since he only had enough gold to build a few facilities. The first thing he did was purchased a large wall that would separate the chasm and the outpost itself. This would allow him to set up a tax on entering the chasm. The wall was purchased and Sora could see it slowly being built right in front of him. He set the tax to 1 silver per person and let the wall build the rest of the way. The wall was made from wood and only had one entrance which was a shabby looking gate, located where the narrow path leading down the chasm is at. The gate didn¡¯t look very impressive but it could be upgraded later. For now the gate was only built to serve its purpose. The next thing Sora bought was a general store. The store wouldn¡¯t bring in any profit for Sora but it would be a convenience for players who wanted to buy and sell things but were too far away from Var. The shop was situated near the wall to give easy access to players who were going in and out of the chasm. Just these two basic projects had cost him 100 gold, luckily that amount of money would be made back within a few days once players start coming towards this area. Sora started to put other key building up in his outpost to be convenient for the player. He added an inn that had a restaurant on the bottom floor, a basic blacksmith that would be able to repair items, a courtyard where players could meet up to sell things or from parties, and he even sacrificed the rest of his 250 gold to purchase a Statue of Helara that only revived you if you died within the chasm. Sora had used up almost every bit of gold he had, creating a very small outpost. Sora had a bitter smile as he looked at his shabby outpost. He kept telling himself that it was worth the investment to help cope with the pain of losing all his money. Sora still had a long time until he would be going into the dungeon and decided to use his remaining time to do some scouting in the chasm to test out the EXP rate and explore new areas. He was happy to see that the EXP rate was still the same as it had been when he first came through, meaning that it was definitely worth it to pay the tax to come through here. Sora didn¡¯t go into any of the caves along the side of the chasm last time so he decided to do so now. The first few caves didn''t have anything of use and only served as a home to some corrupt creatures. When Sora went into the fourth cave he had found a small vein of Frost Iron Ore, meaning the value of his territory just jumped up by quite a bit. The vein was small but it wouldn¡¯t have any problem supplying a couple miners for an entire day.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Sora continued going into caves and was down to just three more before he would reach the end of the chasm. Sora entered the middle cave first and saw what seemed to be an underground spring of water. The spring was very warm on one side and very cold on the other side, divided by a strip of rock that went across the entire body of water. The warm side was very shallow and didn¡¯t seem to have any fish swimming within it, the best he could do with this is maybe advertise it as a hot springs. The cold side was much deeper and fish could be seen swimming within it. Sora finished his inspection and went to the next cave, expecting to find nothing. When Sora entered the cave he noticed that the air was getting warmer and warmer the further he went in. After walking into an opening he was hit with a surge of heat, catching him off guard. The cave opened up to a cavern that had flames all around a figure located in the middle. The figure had a human shaped body but was wreathed in flames that would occasionally jump off. Level 45 -Kindra, The Lost Flame- Sora couldn''t fight the boss alone, so he left it there as he exited the cave. He returned to the chasm and decided that he would bring the group down here to fight the boss before the dungeon opened. The last cave didn¡¯t have anything except corrupted creatures, he left the cave and headed to where he had fought the crystal. As Sora entered he saw Gzarna examining one of the shards of the black crystal that had made up the armor and sword of the crystal knight he fought. She squinted her eyes as some of her strands of hair turned silver. The black crystal didn¡¯t have any response as a silver energy enveloped it. Gzarna had a confused look as her hair returned to its black color. ¡°Ethereal, you said you destroyed a purple crystal?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Interesting¡­ This black crystal was used by the purple one?¡± ¡°Yes, it formed armor and a weapon using the black crystal. Is something wrong with the crystal?¡± ¡°Right, it seems that the black crystal is not inherently corrupted and contains its own type of energy. If my guess is correct, the corrupt crystal had destroyed the black crystal that was originally here. Then it used the shattered remains of the black crystal to form a weapon for itself.¡± ¡°Will this cause any problems?¡± ¡°Well the life force in this black crystal will now be able to reappear, meaning it will eventually from back together. If my guess is correct then the energy which this crystal uses is shadow energy, which is inherently aggressive. You should warn those that come down here that they might have to fight a strong opponent.¡± Although the explanation sounded grim, it was a blessing for Sora. This meant that his chasm now had another boss that would appear. Sora simply acknowledged what Gzarna said before returning to the chasm. The land that he had gotten not only had a good EXP source, he had also found out that it had Frost Iron Ore, a hot springs, a fishing area, and two bosses. Sora had hit a jackpot with the land he had gotten. Sora started to kill off corrupted creatures while he waits for the dungeon to open. Sora noticed that the corrupted creatures had a very low chance of being enchanted. After killing them for an entire day he had only seen one enchanted creature, which was a Vicious one. He had gained a level while grinding the creatures, successfully hitting level 44 and raising his Constitution a bit more. He would keep raising it until he hit 100 Constitution, then work on another stat. It was now only a couple hours before the dungeon would open up so Sora messaged all of his party members, gathering them to do a test run on the boss within his chasm. He made sure to talk to Veradon, who was much happier now that his soldiers were safe and the corruption was now under control. Veradon readily agreed to let members of Soras guild pass through the blockade set up by his soldiers. ¡­.. Blossom and LeeLee were the first to arrive. When the two girls entered the outpost they were surprised to see all the new structures and facilities. They started to walk around and look at each building before finding Sora at the blacksmith, repairing his gear. ¡°Hey mister fisherman, would it be possible to have your own house in a territory you own?¡± ¡°Technically yes, but nobody would really want that since it didn¡¯t have much use. The cost for just a decent sized tent would be 50 gold, so you can imagine what an actual house would cost.¡± ¡°Hmmm, maybe if I become super rich in the future.¡± Sora and the two girls talked as they were waiting for the other two party members to arrive. After a small wait two new faces appeared in the cavern. One person was a girl who had short brown hair that barely went to her shoulders. She seemed average but her attitude was very bubbly as she looked at the outpost with a curious look on her face. The person next to her was very tall and muscular, with long black hair that was in a ponytail. He looked like a samurai and even walked with the same attitude as one. He seemed disinterested in the outpost and only let out a small smile as he looked at the girl who was next to him. The two players went towards the blacksmith since they saw a few people gathered there. Sora measured them as they walked towards them, not disappointed with what he saw. The girl was very innocent and didn¡¯t seem to have any bad intentions, she seemed like someone who hasn¡¯t been tainted by the filth that the world has. Sora figured she was overprotected and sheltered from such things since she walked in such a carefree way. As Sora saw the man who looked like a samurai he had somewhat understood how the girl ended up being so carefree. His guess was that Athenes, the bubbly girl with short hair, was the younger sister of Nobunaga, the man who looked like a samurai. The man had a very cold and distant look in his eyes but there was no bad intent behind it. He simply didn''t care about much and only seemed to have a small glint in his eyes when Sora had been measuring his little sister. Sora didn¡¯t doubt that Nobunaga had been protecting his little sister from the filth of the world since she was born. Sora was impressed by LeeLee, who had been the one to pick out these two players. Most people wouldn¡¯t let Nobunaga join because of his suspicious looks but LeeLee was able to discern his real attitude while observing his interactions with his sister. Sora praised LeeLee in his mind as the two new people came to the front of him. ¡°Are you Ethereal?¡± ¡°I am, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re Athenes and Nobunaga?¡± ¡°That¡¯s us!¡± ¡°Pleasure to meet you, guild leader.¡± Nobunaga even gave such formal greetings to other players, he really did seem like a dignified person. ¡°We will be making a stop at a boss that I found down below us, within a chasm. I have been clearing out the enemies before we all met up so it should be clear all the way to the boss room. If you need anything then speak up now before we go.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, we will be heading off now then.¡± Chapter 32: Evaluating the Party Sora and his party went through the wooden gate to go into the chasm. All of them got through without paying the fee since Sora had set it to where guild members didn''t have to pay. The chasm currently had corrupted creatures on the sides of the and some could be seen going in and out of caves. The path to the boss was already cleared out thanks to Sora, making the trip incredibly easy. The group walked into the cave, each person squinting as they went deeper in thanks to the discomfort of the hot air assaulting their eyes. After a while the cave came to an open cavern, revealing flames that surrounded a body of fire within the center. The view was quite impressive, even Nobunaga had a more focused look as he viewed the boss they were about to fight. Sora went through the basic strategy with the members of his party, everyone quickly understood the strategy since it wasn¡¯t too complex. The main points were that Sora would hold the aggro while the others would deal damage and that fire is presumably bad, so don¡¯t stand in it. Other than that it was just to be prepared to switch strategies at any time. The boss didn¡¯t seem to be corrupted so Sora decided not to use [Purge with Silver], since he didn¡¯t have enough mana to do so. He also couldn¡¯t rely on parrying since the boss seemed like the type to use magic attacks. If Sora didn¡¯t have a healer then he wouldn¡¯t dare to try and fight the boss. He rushed at the boss and used a [Slash] to start the fight, afterwards he kited backwards to pull the boss away from the fire. As the boss moved a trail of fire was left where it walked, removing a part of the battlefield that was usable. LeeLee would normally attack from behind but she was forced to take a side flank instead during this fight. Blossom had waited until Sora stopped moving to engage the boss with a [Savage Pounce] and [Overwhelm], starting her momentum strong. The boss would attack with what looked like a whip made of fire, lashing at Sora and dealing a significant amount of damage. He couldn¡¯t parry the attacks effectively, since it was elemental and ended up taking hits directly. Luckily Athenes was there and healed Sora as he took damage. She would occasionally overheal him but it was a negligible amount. Sora had been taking the fight slow, since this was more of a test than a serious fight. The boss seemed like more of a mini boss and had very predictable attack patterns. He decided to judge Blossom first and focused on how she attacked and moved. Her fighting style was very fluid and she seemed to space out her skills to avoid over consumption of mana. Sora had just confirmed in his mind that she was definitely a top tier fighter when the boss hit 75% health, curling into a ball of fire that shot little embers all around. Blossom had seen an ember coming and reacted by jumping back. It would normally be a good reaction but there was already a pit of fire behind her that she directly jumped into. She had to use [Savage Pounce] to get out of the fire quickly, taking a bit of damage because of it and using unnecessary mana to escape. Sora took note of this incident and Blossom had an embarrassed look on her face, almost like she could feel Sora judging her every move. Sora had started watching LeeLee next. The pits of fire were surrounding her but she still managed to find a spot to slip through. After she was back at an attacking position she started to attack the boss again. Sora nodded in appreciation of her situational awareness. He continued watching and noticed that although LeeLee was very calculating, she was lacking in regards to her fighting style. Her attacks seemed a little clumsy and lacked any form, making her look like she had mechanical movements. Her skill usage was spot on but for someone like an assassin, who relied on their ability to fluidly combo attacks, it was not up to par. Sora had already known about her lack of combat skills but now that he saw it again, it was a little rough on the eyes. He still thought she would make an excellent strategist and decided to possibly take some time to sharpen her fighting skills. The boss hit 50% health and once again used the attack where it shot out embers to random areas around the battlefield. LeeLee skillfully dodged each pit of fire without putting herself into a corner. Sora switched his attention over to Nobunaga. At first Sora figured he would have a little knowledge on how to fight properly but it seemed he was wrong. He was wrong because Nobunaga seemed like a master at sword fighting and was far beyond just a little knowledge on how to fight. The gear Nobunaga used was very poor in quality but he made up for it with extremely good fighting skills. Even when the boss would unleash the pits of fire, Nobunaga would dance around them and continue attacking. Sora highly believed that the man could definitely be a master if given the right resources and environment. In his past life he had never heard of someone named Nobunaga which means that something had happened to him or he had been overtaken by high level players with better gear and forgotten due to his lack of resources. Sora felt like he had definitely scored big time on this guild member and was already planning to promote him once he learns a little more about him. The only flaw he had was that he would sometimes divert his attention to check on his little sister, even when dodging around he would check on her when he had the opportunity. It wasn¡¯t for no reason either. The boss hit 25% health and unleashed its last barrage of embers. Just as the boss had begun unleashing its bombardment of embers, Sora switched over to Athenes. He had already confirmed that her healing skill was at least above average so he was interested on how she fared up in other aspects. The bombardment would come but she would only start moving when an attack was coming directly at her, this ended up funneling her into an awkward position and having to take a few ticks of damage from a pit of fire. She was able to survive through it but it could have easily been avoided through constantly moving, Sora sighed as he watched that. Just as Sora started to have low hopes for the girl he noticed that after taking a few ticks from the fire pit she had changed her strategy. Athenes could be seen watching LeeLee and started to copy some of her movements. She would go in a circle to lure pits of fire to surround here and then dodge from the middle through a small opening. It couldn''t be compared to LeeLee since her gaps were sometimes too big and sometimes too small, but she was able to mostly replicate the strategy. A good learner was much more important to Sora than natural talent, maybe there is hope for Athenes after all.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The fight had been pretty laid back for Sora. The only thing he had to do was dodge the pits of fire that the boss left while dealing damage and getting healed. The boss died easily, leaving a small pile of loot on the ground. Sora started to sort through the items. Sora wasn¡¯t able to level up but Nobunaga had leveled up to level 40 and Athenes leveled up to level 38. Blossom and LeeLee were on the verge of leveling up and Sora had only gained about 30% of the EXP he needed to level. [x1 Heated Sword obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 60/60 Damage - 72 - 82 Requires - Level 40 - Sword Class ¡°A sword that has a blade heated to a point where the metal is white in some areas. The sword doesn¡¯t have the element of fire within but the intense heat will definitely help to easily cut through whatever it may come in contact with.¡± +15 Strength +5% chance to critically strike Sora and Nobunaga both rolled for the sword. Sora ended up with a 67 and Nobunaga had a 79. Sora wasn¡¯t bitter about the roll since he already had a sword that had similar stats, plus a level 50 sword waiting to be equipped. He was actually anticipating what Nobunaga could do with the damage that the sword offered. Nobunaga accepted the sword with gratitude and luckily was able to equip it thanks to the recent level up. [x1 Band of Embers obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 45/45 Requires - Level 40 ¡°The metal looks red hot from the flames that wrap around it yet it feels extremely comfortable when worn. The intense heat it gives off helps fend off other forms of heat.¡± +10 Strength +15% Fire Resistance Everyone but Athenes rolled for the ring. LeeLee ended up winning it with a high roll of 92, the ring was immediately put on her hand. Assassins usually relied on equipment to enhance their strength since most of their points would go into Agility and Constitution. LeeLee had only been putting one point of Strength per level up so her attacks were somewhat weak. Things like accessories that gave Strength were perfect for her. [x1 Chain of Embers obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 45/45 Requires - Level 40 ¡°The metal looks red hot from the flames that wrap around it yet it feels extremely comfortable when worn. The intense heat it gives off helps fend off other forms of heat.¡± +10 Strength +15% Fire Resistance It was identical to the Band of Embers except this time it was a chain necklace. The fighters rolled again and LeeLee ended up barely winning. She now had a decent boost to her damage along with a massive amount of fire resistance. [x1 Lucky Coin obtained] This time the entire group rolled. Sora rolled first with a low number of 4 and had already forgotten about the coin that would definitely not be his, especially when Athenes rolled after him and ended up with a 99. Athenes won the coin and happily used it to increase her luck. The rest of the loot was just a pile of coins that Sora divided up amongst the group. The group left the cavern after they had finished. There was still about an hour left until the dungeon opened. Sora suggested that they all explore the chasm in the meantime. He told them some key areas like where the best hunting spots were, where resources could be found, and even that there was a hot springs and fishing area. Sora was going to go fishing until the dungeon opened and started heading towards the cave where the fishing spot was at. Blossom and LeeLee decided to go to the hot springs to relax a little, they still felt worn out from trying to recruit people. Athenes had been invited to go with them by Blossom and was easily pulled along. Nobunaga had been a little interested in mining some Frost Iron Ore or hunting the corrupted creatures but decided to head with the group to the cave where the pools of water were at, mainly because his little sister would be there. The group entered the cave and saw the two sources of water, side by side. As the girls saw how close together the water was, they became apprehensive about enjoying the hot springs with the two men fishing so close by. ¡°Mister Fisherman¡­ can¡¯t you put a wall between the two sources of water so it¡¯s a little more private?¡± ¡°You can just go in with clothes on, it¡¯s not like the game will make you undress to enjoy the hot springs.¡± Sora didn¡¯t think about separating the pools of water since the game isn''t too strict about stuff that involves relaxation and entertainment. You could enter a warm pool of water and still enjoy the sensation it brings while wearing a full suit of armor. In his past life there were many territories that had such a system and decided to leave them open since it cost money to build the walls. Sora didn¡¯t see it as a big problem but Blossom looked at him with a serious look. ¡°If you want walls then you''re going to have to pull together at least 50 gold. If you want things like benches in the water, fresh towels, and other facilities then it will cost another 50 gold. I can even make it soundproof if you can get another 100 gold.¡± Blossom and LeeLee pulled out 100 gold each and gave it to Sora. They had plenty of money that they didn¡¯t really use from being together with Sora and they figured they would probably frequent the area anyways. As Sora received the money he built a full hot springs with a soundproof wall, stone benches to relax on within the water, an area that had fresh towels and other things to wash with, and even had just enough left over to build an official entrance to the area that was labeled with the name ¡®Frost Peak Springs¡¯. As Sora finished the project he thought of a good opportunity. He set an entrance fee to the hot springs at 1 silver, including players that are in his guild, and officially opened the hot springs for business. The girls were happy with the new area and were ready to enjoy themselves for half an hour before the dungeon opens. ¡°Thanks mister fisherman.¡± ¡°No need, this should be able to get your money back eventually so-¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay mister fisherman, just take it off of our tab.¡± ¡°Tab?¡± ¡°Yup, we only owe you 999,800 gold now!¡± Sora smiled as he remembered the day he decided to turn these two girls into a pillar for his guild. He was happy that the gamble he took had payed off. Chapter 33: The First Dungeon Sora and his group stayed in the cave for 30 minutes before reorganizing their party. Sora and Nobunaga had been fishing together, mostly in silence since Nobunaga didn¡¯t talk a lot. They had managed to catch a decent amount of fish from the cold water, which housed a type of fish called Chilling Water Fish. Apparently they were the reason why the water was so cold on this section of the cave, while the fire boss had been the reason why the water in the other section was so hot. Blossom, LeeLee, and Athenes had seemed to bond while they were in the hot springs together as they came out laughing happily with each other. Sora went back to the cave that had the fire boss to cook some of the Chilling Water Fish over the open flames that the boss had left. The fish were cooked decently but sadly they gave an Intelligence buff and didn¡¯t help any of his party. Sora pulled out some of his Crater Fish and tried cooking those instead. The Roasted Crater Fish gave +10 to Strength so it was perfect for everyone except Athenes. Sora decided to give her a few mana potions since he had already released the second recipe, dropping the price to a point where Sora didn¡¯t mind sparing a few to help with the dungeon. The team ate the Roasted Crater Fish and headed out of the chasm, refreshed and ready to tackle the dungeon. ¡­.. Sora and his group watched as the royal soldiers packed up their equipment and tents, preparing to leave the mountain. The sharp cry of a murder of crows was heard as a decent amount of giant black crows landed within the encampment. These crows were used to set up a flight system for those who didn¡¯t want to climb the mountain. The cost was hefty but it did save quite a bit of time. The group of soldiers had packed up everything efficiently before lining up near the exit of the camp, filling the road with soldiers standing at attention. Veradon walked to the front of the army before signaling the army to start their march. It would only be a short wait until the road was officially opened for players to use. Sora and his group waited for the flight system to be set up, securing a spot right in front of the area so they would be the first to be up the mountain. NPCs that looked like beast tamers could be seen riding each crow to the top of the mountain, circling it, and flying back to the encampment. It was shown as a sort of test to make sure each crow was suitable for the journey, but in reality it was just a way to stall for time as the players started to rush to the mountain. After many different tests and adjustments the beast tamers started to officially ready themselves to open for business. Sora was a bit irritated but kept a patient look on his face. He had been used to being able to fly on his own mount but now he had to wait for so long just to pay for a ride. The first players started to rush in as Sora was complaining in his mind. At first it seemed like a normal crowd but soon the entire road was filled with players from one end to the other. Some players immediately started to line up behind Sora and his group while some even tried to push their way to the front. Once the players saw that Nobunaga and Athenes had ¡®Phoneix Rising¡¯ next to their names they calmed down and obediently got in line, of course not every player did so. A few players would occasionally try to push themselves to the front, only to be forced to the back by a few guards that the army had left in the encampment to maintain order. Some players directly passed the flight service and started rushing up the mountain, not wanting to spend the extra money to get to the top. The trip up the mountain was also a good training experience so some players who weren''t confident enough to try the dungeon had just came to start training while they made their way up. The flight service officially opened after another 5 minutes. Sora and his group climbed onto the giant crow, with Blossom shaking a little and clinging onto LeeLee. They each paid the huge fee of 50 silver to take the crow to the top of the mountain. While they were flying up the group could see a long line of players, still flooding into Frost Peak Mountain. It wasn¡¯t until a long ways away that the line finally started to loosen up, revealing spots of the road every now and then between the cluster of players. ¡­.. Sora and his group landed at the top of the mountain where a huge bronze double door could be seen standing a little ways from the peak of the mountain. A man that looked like a sage was standing near the double doors, stroking his long white beard. The man was the person who was here to help new players understand how the dungeon would work, along with giving a little bit of lore to how the dungeons were formed. Sora walked up to the man, he didn¡¯t really need the information but the rest of his group would. ¡°Greeting adventurers, I am Calus, a man who has dedicated his life to studying the way dungeons work. Would you like to hear some of my wisdom?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good, information is the key to success. I would first like to tell you about why dungeons exist, along with why they are so important to the kingdom. A dungeon is a place where different forms of energy generate at a rapid pace; it could be elemental energy, essence energy, mana energy, or even something as simple as the energy released by the inanimate object. The energy will then take many different forms and affect the area around it, creating different creatures, treasures, puzzles, and even form magnificent structures. It may seem like a bad thing at first but it is actually highly coveted by each faction to control a dungeon. Like I said, the dungeon can create many mystical treasure, along with tempering adventurers to become better fighters. This shows you how important the dungeon really is and usually the faction that controls the most and best quality dungeons is the strongest. That covers some of the basics of what a dungeon is and how it benefits you, are there any questions thus far?¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Sora turned to his group, he could see each person seriously listening to the sage. They didn¡¯t have a confused look on their faces so Sora concluded that they were probably just immersing themselves in the information they received. ¡°No, please continue.¡± ¡°The second thing to know is how a dungeon will work. Thanks to the rampant amount of energy, strong enemies will be within your path. Even normal enemies will have more strength from absorbing the energy within the dungeon, we call these enemies ¡®elite¡¯. There will also be some leaders of sorts that will monopolize most of the energy for themselves, creating a strong opponent that you must face, they are referred to as the ¡®bosses¡¯ of the dungeon. They will also usually carry the best equipment thanks to saturating in so much energy. They will be tough enemies to defeat but the rewards will definitely be worth it. This brings me to my next point, instant resurrection. At the beginning of the dungeon there will be a statue of Helara which will serve as your respawn point while within the dungeon. The statue has been blessed by the goddess herself and will be able to almost instantly reform your essence after being defeated. That should be enough information for now, if you have any question then I will answer them.¡± Sora didn¡¯t speak up and simply stepped aside to let the others ask any question they want. Athenes was the first to go forward with an inquisitive look. ¡°Why are the other statues in the world not blessed by Helara?¡± ¡°Ah, a very good question my dear. The statues that you are used to seeing do not receive enough energy to properly operate if they were blessed by the goddess. Her power is immense and requires an extraordinary amount of energy to operate, which this world cannot supply. Even a normal statue of Helara has very limited capabilities, which is why many powerful sages had to sacrifice their lives to help give enough energy to power the statues that you see today.¡± The rest of the group seemed to have had a similar question since they all started to nod their head as they listened to the explanation. Blossom was the next person to step up. ¡°What happens if a bunch of people go into the same dungeon? Wouldn¡¯t you be able to go through with hundreds of people?¡± ¡°Not even the greatest of sages have come to a conclusive answer regarding that question. For some reason each dungeon can only accommodate a certain amount of people. Once that number is reached it will give of slight fluctuations of space-time magic and seemingly create a new world all together. I have a theory as to why it happens but it¡¯s not conclusive.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡± ¡°I believe that the energy within is at such a high concentration that it is able to bend the fabric of space itself. Right now the dungeon is at a very high point, but still stable. Once adventurers start entering they release a strong amount of energy that goes beyond the point of stability, creating another dimension to help stabilize the energy within. Of course this is only my theory, there are many other ones that people have came up with. One theory even mentions Sairagus, the God of Space-Time.¡± At this point the group has spent a decent amount of time talking to the sage, they each still had a few minor questions but decided to find out later since they could see another group of giant crows coming towards them. The group thanked the sage before turning towards the big double doors. ¡°Good luck adventurers.¡± The group disappeared as they got closer to the door, leaving in a flash of white light. The group went through what looked like a tunnel of many different colors and auras, until the space seemed to tremble slightly and they found themselves standing next to a statue of Helara that was glowing in a elegant looking gold and white light. The room they were in looked like a normal cavern with nothing special standing out except a pathway at the other end of the room. Sora wanted to go over the basics of their formation now that they were officially in the dungeon. ¡°When we are clearing the enemies we will need to make sure we only aggro a few at a time. If anybody accidentally aggros an extra enemy then call it out so we can move our positions backwards to regain our footing. We will form an arrow shape formation with me at the tip and Athenes at the end. As for bosses¡­ we will discuss that more when I see the opponent and the battlefield.¡± The group followed orders efficiently and made an arrow with Sora at the front, Blossom and Nobunaga at the sides just behind Sora, LeeLee in the middle, and Athenes behind LeeLee. The formation was fairly tight to avoid aggroing too much at once and also made everyone within range to help one another. The group went into the pathway at the other side of the room. The path was very wide and looked like a straight shot to the next cavern. The only thing in their way was the same insect creatures that had inhabited the mountain before the corruption took over. They looked the same as the normal monsters except their name now had the word ¡®elite¡¯ in parenthesis at the beginning. Level 40 -(Elite) Green Caterpillar- The health of the creatures had reached up to 15,000, which was five times more than what the a normal creature would be. Luckily the caterpillar had a low defense so the attacks could shave off 200 health per hit, not including the use of skills. With four players dealing damage the caterpillars were a bit of a joke, especially since three of the players were a good amount of levels above the enemy. Sora let Nobunaga start aggroing another caterpillar to speed up the process of killing their way through to the next cavern. Sora decided to choose Nobunaga as the off tank since he was extremely good at reading his enemy. Although Blossom had an advantage in levels and gear, Nobunaga surpassed her in dodging and reaction skills. The team continued killing their way through the large caterpillars, picking up the coins they dropped and occasionally getting some caterpillar silk, which was a material used for tailoring. They had been so efficient in killing the caterpillars that Athenes was regenerating her mana at the same rate that she was using it, which was based at 1% of your mana per 5 seconds. After just 10 minutes they had made it to the first cavern without any mistakes along the way. The cavern was filled with strands of silk that spanned across the ceiling and walls. In the center was a large caterpillar that had many red spikes jutting out from it¡¯s body, giving it a more threatening look. The caterpillar itself was so big that it would take five people standing on top of each other to measure it. Sora only shook his head at the boss, it may look threatening but the fight itself was extremely easy. Chapter 34: Grub, The Weaver of Silk Level 40 -Grub, The Weaver of Silk- Sora and his party examined the boss located in the center of the cavern. Its head had razor sharp mandibles that gleamed as if they were made out of a polished steel. Its tail end had a small object that would squirm around and shoot out the silk that was seen covering the rest of the cavern. Nobunaga and LeeLee both walked over to the side of the entrance and felt the silk that was plastered on the wall. They both felt like their hands had merged into the silk since it was so sticky that they had trouble pulling away from it. They both realised that the silk was probably the main mechanic of the boss and would slow people who are covered in it. Sora knew that the sticky string was the only thing that the boss really used, meaning the most effective way to kill it was to simply have one person hold aggro while the others deal damage. As long as only one person held the aggro then the boss wouldn¡¯t swing around and the party could be spared from the sticky string like substance from covering the battlefield. This is why Sora had only shook his head when he seen the boss. When Sora first came through this area, he had high expectations for the first dungeon boss and was surprised at how easy it was. ¡°Normal tank and spank strategy. I¡¯ll hold aggro while you all deal as much damage as possible. Do not get covered in the string that the boss shoots out, if you do then disengage the boss and try to get it off as soon as possible. Alright, let¡¯s do this within 10 minutes.¡± The group was surprised at his confidence in the fight since 10 minutes didn¡¯t seem like a lot of time to take down the first dungeon boss. Sora was actually overestimating the time and could only calculate how long it would take based on the health of the boss. The boss had 400,000 health and the team could deal around 650 damage per second at a normal pace. With Sora keeping the aggro and the rest of the team dealing damage they could sometimes even bring their damage per second up to nearly 800. Sora didn¡¯t bother with any other explanation and started running towards the boss. The rest of the group could only follow and do their best to stay alive. The caterpillar let out a high pitched shrieking noise as the party got close enough to pull its aggro. The boss attacked Sora using its mandibles but Sora was able to parry while dodging to the side, setting himself up for an easy [Slash]. The rest of the team started to take positions all around the boss, avoiding the back, and started to visibly shave off the health of the enemy. Sora was able to keep aggro without any problem for the most part. He was technically a knight so even with the huge boost from his equipment he was only barely staying ahead of Blossom and LeeLee who had classes that specialized in high damage. Nobunaga didn¡¯t seem to have a lot of abilities or equipment so Sora was able to put a large gap between their damage numbers even though Nobunaga was a warrior. Once the boss hit 75% health it started to shoot string from the object on it¡¯s tail, covering the entire room in a layer of the sticky string. Sora went on full defense to buy time for the rest of his team to escape the string. Once Athenes was out, he also started to remove the string. Everyone was eventually out of the string and started to attack the same way they had been doing before. Every 25% health drop would activate the string attack that would cover the entire room, only slowing down the damage that the group did. The boss fell with a small shriek as all of the string in the room dissolved into nothingness. At one side of the cavern a small opening that was originally covered by the string was now opened up. Blossom, LeeLee, and Athenes each leveled up while Sora looked at the pitiful amount of EXP that the boss had given him. The boss was four levels below Sora and the difficulty was easy so his EXP had only climbed by 10%. Sora went up to the loot and started to go through it, hoping to find something that would make up for the small amount of EXP. [x1 Silk Cloak of Slowing obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 60/60 Defense - 10 Requires - Level 40 ¡°A cloak made from the sticky yet beautiful silk of Grub, The Weaver of Silk. The cloak fits loosely on the wearer but anybody else who comes into contact will feel a stickiness that is hard break away from.¡± +15 Constitution +15 Strength +10% Slow attacker when hit The cloak was very good, Sora would have to roll for it with two others though. Each person rolled with the highest number being a 63. Sora was the last to roll and was able to secure the cloak with a 90. Sora wouldn¡¯t switch his cloaks right now since his Cloak of the Silver Moon had been enchanted, offering better stats at the moment. Sora stored the cloak before continuing with the loot.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. [x1 Silk Robe of Apprentice Sage obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 50/50 Defense - 7 Requires - Level 40 - Light Armor Class ¡°A robe made from a beautiful silk that is smooth to the touch. The aura of a sage can be felt coming from the robe, giving the wearer a look of wisdom.¡± +15 Wisdom +10 Constitution Everyone passed, letting the robe go directly to Athenes. She wasn¡¯t at a high enough level right now but she would be soon. She thanked everyone for passing on it as Sora continued looting. [x1 Demonic Leather Brigandine obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 60/60 Defense - 10 Requires - Level 40 - Medium Armor Class ¡°Made from putting many small metal plates within a leather chestpiece made from the hide of a demonic wolf. The design offers good defense without sacrificing your ability to move freely.¡± +15 Agility +15 Constitution *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Constitution 4 / 5 = +30 Agility 5 / 5 = Landing an attack increases attack and movement speed by 10% for 5 seconds The first set piece of the dungeon has appeared, going directly to LeeLee since she was the only person who wears medium armor. The last thing remaining was a small pile of coins that Sora distributed evenly amongst the group. The group had killed the boss in under 10 minutes, meeting the goal that Sora set before fighting the boss. The pathway to the next area was opened, revealing a tiny tunnel that barely had enough room to fit a person through. This pathway looked innocent enough at first but it was actually quite a confusing maze. For right now there was only one path but once you start to head in the paths will split and go to different room. Many of the rooms were just filled with normal enemies, some had traps, and one even had a bonus treasure chest that players could find. That was exactly the area that Sora wanted to go to before heading to the next boss. ¡°Alright, everybody line up and follow me. It looks like the paths split in the tunnel so let¡¯s not get separated.¡± The group formed a line with Sora at the front and Nobunaga at the back to keep everyone on the right path. The group entered the tunnel, quickly being swarmed by darkness to the point where it was hard to even see where the tunnel switched paths. Luckily each person could at least see and hear the person in front of them, making sticking with each other easier. ¡°So how do you know which path to take mister fisherman?¡± ¡°Just following my instinct.¡± Blossom didn¡¯t argue with that logic, she had already been turned into a firm believer that Sora knew what he was doing all the time. The same goes for LeeLee, while Athenes didn¡¯t really seem to care and was only enjoying the time spent in the dungeon. Nobunaga was the only person who didn¡¯t really like his way of doing things, how was he supposed to trust the so called instincts of this man? Nobunaga respected his guild leaders choices but something as unreliable as instinct couldn¡¯t be trusted. He had just opened his mouth to say something when a dim light could be seen ahead of the group, breaking Nobunaga''s train of thought as he prepared himself just in case something happened. The dim light slowly revealed a small room that didn¡¯t look special at all, even the dim light wouldn¡¯t be seen if you didn¡¯t look hard enough. The room only contained a single chest and a torch that seemed like it would flicker out at any moment. The group all piled into the room and looked at the chest, waiting for Sora to make the first move. Sora didn¡¯t keep them waiting and directly opened the chest, surprising Nobunaga and LeeLee who thought it might have been a trap. The chest made a small clicking noise as it opened, making Nobunaga and LeeLee flinch. The chest opened without any trouble and the clicking noise seemed to only be something put in to scare people away. [x1 Obsidian Bloodsteel Boots obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 65/65 Defense - 7 ¡°Boots fashioned from bloodsteel and obsidian. A magic envelops the armor, strengthening when similar magic connects and resonates with it.¡± +15 Strength +15 Constitution *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Constitution 4 / 5 = +30 Strength 5 / 5 = Attacking converts 5% of damage dealt into a shield that caps at 10% of max HP Sora prayed to Lucia that he would get the boots as he rolled for the loot. He ended up with a 50, meaning there was a good chance someone would roll higher. Everyone passed on the loot and simply let Sora take the boots. They could see that he really wanted them so they didn¡¯t mind letting him have it since he has let them have so much. Even Blossom and Nobunaga passed on the boots. Blossom passed simply because she knew that he needed them to get the next set bonus from his Obsidian Bloodsteel armor. Nobunaga passed because he felt a little bad about doubting Sora in the first place, if it wasn¡¯t for him then the group probably wouldn¡¯t have made it to this room anyways. Sora gave a simple nod to confirm that he has acknowledged their kindness. Sora continued looting. [x1 Obsidian Bloodsteel Leggings obtained] This time it was Sora who passed while Blossom and Nobunaga gave venomous looks towards each other. Although they both had reasons to allow Sora to take loot, they couldn¡¯t say the same about each other. They both rolled and Blossom ended up winning the leggings, happily putting them on and giving a smug look towards Nobunaga, who simply sighed in response. The chest only had those two items inside but there was still one more thing left to do. Sora closed the chest before pulling on the dimly lit torch within the room. The torch made a clanking noise and fully lit up as a large thud came from the chest that was now closed. Sora opened the chest once again as the party looked on in confusion. The chest acted as a sort of slot machine after the chest was emptied, giving the players a little bit of gold for finding the secret. [x250 Gold coins obtained] Sora was surprised at the amount since it usually only ever gave 20 to 50 gold. The rest of the party wasn¡¯t really sure what happened and had the same confused look on their face as they each received 50 gold. Chapter 35: Outpost Discovered The area around Mount Frost Peak was extremely busy. Players had been setting up shops, mining Frost Iron Ore, and killing the mobs that surrounded the mountain. The cave system located within the mountain was currently being explored, with many players getting lost or accidentally backtracking. A group of players had just walked into a huge cavern that looked to have a wooden wall erected with a few buildings next to it. The players were confused about why such random building were placed within the mountain. They decided to check it out and walked towards the area, heading for the building closest to them. As they walked in they were greeted with the sight of many tables set up to look like a restaurant. The tables were all empty and there was a lady wiping off a counter with many stools placed next to it. She looked slim and gentle but the look in her eyes screamed danger. ¡°Greeting adventurers, is there anything I can help you with today?¡± ¡°What exactly is this place?¡± ¡°This is my inn of course.¡± ¡°No, I meant what the area around here. Is it some sort of town?¡± ¡°Oh, this is a property owned by Lord Ethereal, The Honored and under the protection of ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯.¡± ¡°Th-thank you for the information.¡± The group was surprised to be the first people to find his territory. Sure it was a little shabby but it was the only territory owned by someone other than the game''s factions. The group said farewell to the shopkeeper and decided to explore a little more. They stopped by the blacksmith and was happy to see that they could repair their weapons here, since they had lost durability since they left from Var. The blacksmith was located directly across from the inn and had a burly man that was hammering different weapons and armors. Near the giant wooden wall was a small shop that had many goods for sale, with a kind looking old man standing behind the counter. The group decided to go ahead and restock on supplies while they were here and bought things like health potions and repair hammers. The only thing left was the wooden wall that had a large gate that was opened slightly. The group went to walk through it and was stopped with a confirmation message of whether or not to pay 1 silver to pass. The group was a little upset because of the fee, although it was not a lot of money to them. They decided to go ahead and give it a shot since they were the first ones there. Right as they stepped through the gate they saw a huge cavern that spanned across the entire cavern. Enemies that had a black and purple miasma coming from them could be seen scattered across the entire area. The team started to head down the narrow path that jutted out from the side of the chasm. The team fought the first enemy and was pleased with the amount of EXP they had been given. Just that alone was enough to make the fee worth it. They started to explore every nook and cranny of the chasm, finding Frost Iron Ore spawns, wildly growing plants, and more and more enemies that gave a lot of EXP. The team finally came up to a cave that had a pool of water that was cold to the touch, located right next to a wall with a simple door reading ¡®Frost Peak Springs¡¯. The team entered the door, paying the 1 silver fee. A giant pool of shallow water that was emitting steam was located directly in front of them. Stone benches could be seen at various locations, submerged in the warm water. Another area had what looked to be waterfalls that someone could stand under, with the extra water draining back into the main body of water. There was even an area that had a large stack of clean, white towels that people could take from. The team decided to relax for a while since they already payed the fee, one even started to compile a video of the area so he could post it on the forums. It didn''t take long for a swarm of players to start trying to make their way towards the outpost. Some players even started a business of guiding players through the maze like cave to reach the outpost. Thousands of players could be seen coming and going through the caves, reaching the outpost and happily paying the 1 silver fee to go through the gate and enter the hot springs. ¡­.. Sora and his group had been traveling through the dark tunnels in the dungeon, using only the sound of Sora¡¯s footsteps to keep track of their direction. After a while the team came up to another exit that was much more well lit than the other rooms they had seen. The team finally made it through the tunnels and were now positioned right outside the boss room. The next cavern was filled with ice, creating a world that glittered beautifully as the nearby torches cast their light onto the crystal looking substance. The only parts of the cavern that wasn¡¯t covered in ice were located near the torches and most of the floor. In the center was a large chunk of ice that towered over everyone in the party. Sora had to get a little more serious on this fight, since the mechanics were a little tricky if the party couldn¡¯t follow directions. He decided to go in blind and see how the party adapts, since he can¡¯t really start giving out strategies that countered the boss perfectly. ¡°We will just adapt as we go, all we can assume right now is that the boss is ice based. If that is the case then the only areas that seem to show some significance is the areas near the torches that don¡¯t have any ice nearby. If things get out of control we can try to use those areas to our advantage. Use the basics until we need to switch up our strategy.¡± The group didn¡¯t have any complaints, that¡¯s all that could really be done before fighting the boss for the first time. Nobunaga didn¡¯t think about the torches much until Sora pointed them out. Once he had it pointed out he was able to see that the area around the torches did seem a bit off. Almost like the ice had touched every part of the ground except those specific spots. LeeLee had noticed the areas but couldn¡¯t put any clues together as what they might be, her guess was as good as what Sora¡¯s explanation was. The group readied themselves in the basic formation with Sora leading the charge.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Level 43 -Iglis, The Glacial- The large chunk of ice shook slightly as the ice attached to the ground broke apart, letting a golem made of ice rise up and let out a deep roar. The temperature of the air seemed to drop and bits of ice shattered and fell due to the roar that the boss let out. Sora was a little worried about the boss since it had an AOE attack that could possibly seal the fate of anyone caught within it. He also had another skill that was randomly used, along with basic attacks that were extremely hard to parry. Sora could only try his best to keep aggro and hopefully be able to kill the boss before any mistakes can occur. He started using [Slash] as it came off cooldown, since he didn¡¯t really have any other reliable means of damage. The boss required more attention than usual since his attacks were so hard to parry, meaning the only option left was to dodge. He would let the attacks hit him for the most part, since he now had a healer, but sometimes he needed to dodge to help ease the stress put on her. This slowed down the team''s damage since he was having difficulties keeping his aggro meter higher than everyone else. As Sora was fretting over his damage and lack of skills, the boss seemed to inhale a large breathe. Sora quickly checked behind him, where Athenes was positioned, before vaulting off to the side. The boss let out a large breathe as icicles and a biting wind assaulted him, just barely brushing by the side of Athenes. Sora had frost resistance from his Band of Ice, so his main concern was keeping the AOE from hitting Athenes. Now that everyone had seen the attack, they started to position themselves at different angles, making sure to help reduce the amount of people hit by an AOE. The fight progressed somewhat smoothly since everyone knew not to stand around Sora when the boss started his AOE attack. Sora was able to get into a nice rhythm, increasing his damage and aggro values enough for the rest of the team to start dealing even more damage. The boss was almost at 75%, making Sora a little nervous since he knew what was coming. He could only hope that his team responds well or else they could possibly have a party wipe. The boss dropped to 75% and let out another large roar, creating a shockwave that made hanging icicles fall all around the battlefield. Ice could be seen slowly creeping from under the boss, spreading outwards. Sora started running and looked back to start shouting instruction, but he was stopped his voice when he saw that each person had already started running towards the torches around the room. Everyone was able to make it to a torch area before the creeping ice had made it to them. Once the ice got to the area around the torch, it stopped spreading before slowly retreating back towards the boss. The icicles continued to fall rapidly, covering every inch of the cavern. If anybody had been caught in the ice, they would have been bombarded by the falling icicles and probably killed. The team didn¡¯t dare to move from the safety of the torches until the last icicle fell. They all ran back towards the boss and started to attack with the same strategy. Sora slightly lost his rhythm but quickly regained it as he started to tank the boss. LeeLee had been the one to signal for Blossom to run earlier when the ice started to spread, while Nobunaga had signaled for Athenes to run. LeeLee had sacrificed some of her focus to make sure Blossom wouldn¡¯t die, she felt it was a good sacrifice since Blossom did more damage than her and wasn¡¯t very good with noticing her surroundings. Nobunaga had always been protective of his little sister, leading him to also divert a bit of attention so he would be able to help her. This helped Athenes focus on healing Sora, meaning he had more moments where he could take a hit and gain more aggro. Each person had a strength and weakness that was compensated for by another person, making the team very efficient and adaptive. Two more rounds of falling icicles came and went, forcing the damage of the party to slow down and the boss to remain with only 25% health. Sora couldn¡¯t help but feel a little proud of his party. Even pros would sometimes slip up when first fighting a boss with these kind of mechanics. Everyone had each other''s backs and gave the real feeling of a guild. The boss wasn¡¯t really a threat anymore and ended up falling apart, sending chunks of ice sliding across the floor in every direction, and leaving a pile of loot. The party all collectively let out a sigh of relief as Sora started looting. He could hear laughter coming from behind him as the rest of his party had started to thank each other for looking out for their backs. Nobunaga and Athenes were able to level up, giving Athenes the ability to equip the Silk Robe of Apprentice Sage she had gotten from the first boss. Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee all had a generous chunk of EXP added towards their next level. [x1 Chain of Frost obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 45/45 Requires - Level 40 ¡°The metal looks like it¡¯s made from ice yet it feels extremely comfortable when worn. The intense cold it gives off helps fend off other forms of cold.¡± +10 Spirit +15% Frost Resistance The necklace was the counterpart of the Chain of Embers that LeeLee was currently wearing, except it gave Spirit instead of Strength. Every person here would benefit from the necklace and rolled for it. The necklace went to Athenes, giving her some extra mana for healing which benefited the entire party. [x1 Obsidian Bloodsteel Gauntlets obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 55/55 Defense - 10 +15 Strength +15 Constitution *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Constitution 4 / 5 = +30 Strength 5 / 5 = Attacking converts 5% of damage dealt into a shield that caps at 10% of max HP Another case where the party knew that Sora needed the gauntlets occurred, resulting in Blossom and Nobunaga passing and having them go directly to him. He could only thank them as the last set piece was equipped, giving him the passive shield generation. He took his old Hardened Darksteel Gauntlets and put them up as loot so that Blossom and Nobunaga could have something for their sacrifice. The gauntlets were enchanted so they actually gave better base defense than the Obsidian Bloodsteel Gauntlets. Nobunaga was able to secure them and equipped them while giving Blossom the same smug look that she had given him earlier, when she had won the Obsidian Bloodsteel Leggings. He quickly realised the face he had just made when his little sister started to chuckle at him. ¡°Hahaha, This is the first time I¡¯ve seen big brother have such a look on his face.¡± ¡°...¡± Sora picked up the last couple pieces of loot as Blossom started teasing Nobunaga, who looked irritated. [x1 Obsidian Bloodsteel Leggings obtained] It was another pair of leggings, this time Blossom and Sora both passed, letting Nobunaga secure another piece of gear. The last thing was a book that Sora had purposely left for the end. [x1 Skill Book: Greater Healing] -Use this item to gain the skill Greater Healing. This skill was a very big boost to the survivability of a party. The skill book went straight to Athenes who gladly learned it. Sora divided up the coins that boss dropped and looked towards an area in the cavern where the ice had melted away, revealing the next passage. Chapter 36: Poison The cavern that used to be covered in ice was slowly melting away, letting the party pass through the next entrance. This time the path was wide open with plenty of room to move around instead of the small tunnel they had to traverse last time. The path was being blocked by a very familiar looking type of snake. Level 45 -(Elite)Man Eating Viper- These were the same snakes that had blocked his way through the jungle when he first made his way to Frost Peak Mountain. They were a lot less dangerous now but still needed to be carefully killed. Sora deployed a new strategy where he would aggro a snake before running back, going between his party members, so that everyone could attack the snake at the same time. The plan was simple enough and the snakes were large enough for everyone to be able to hit it at the same time. The only downside was that the party now had to kill off the enemies one at a time, greatly slowing their pace towards the next boss. It took the party quite a long time before they were able to see the entrance to the next cavern. There was still a lot of snakes that were in front of them, along with two snakes that were even larger than the ones they were currently fighting, next to the entrance of the cavern. The two large snakes looked similar to the Man Eating Vipers except they were a bright green color and at least two times larger than the other snakes. ¡°Looks like we have a mini-boss ahead. Let¡¯s clear out all the snakes before we get closer, just in case we need to move around.¡± The party started to sweep back and forth as they went through the pathway, killing off every snake they could find. It took a lot of extra time but the pathway was now clear of any additional enemies other than the two snakes at the entrance to the next cavern. A purple liquid could be seen dripping from their mouths before hitting the floor with a sizzling noise. Level 45 -(Elite)Man Corroding Viper- The name hinted at the true nature of the viper. They would use poisonous attacks to slowly kill their enemies. This was the first time the party had encountered an enemy that could apply a damage over time effect, meaning they would need to be extra careful until they can get the hang of it. Sora was mostly worried about Athenese since damage over time was hard to heal against. There were two snakes so Athenes would have to keep track of the tank and off tank, making sure they don¡¯t get whittled down by the poison. Athenes having [Greater Healing] made it easier but it would waste too much mana if she constantly used it. ¡°Nobunaga, you will be tanking one of the vipers. Dodge their attacks as much as you can until the rest of the party can kill the first one. Blossom and LeeLee, you will need to try and kill the one I¡¯m tanking in less than a minute. I will be mainly focused on dealing damage after I get poisoned so it¡¯s up to Athenes to keep me healthy.¡± The normal enemies had turned into what seemed like a boss fight. Sora, Blossom, and LeeLee were all grouped up on one side while Nobunaga was alone on the other side. Athenes would stand between the two and it was up to the tanks to stay within healing range. Sora started the attack by aggroing his snake, it let out a hissing noise as purple liquid was spat towards him. Sora was able to dodge the first attack but he wouldn¡¯t be able to stay unpoisoned forever. The second snake seemed to share aggro with the first since it started to make its way towards Sora. Nobunaga had to step between them and start tanking the second snake, he was also able to dodge the first glob of poison. Sora would use [Concuss] everytime it came off cooldown, buying him a good amount of time and delaying the time he would be poisoned for. He had been doing pretty good in parrying the bite attacks for a while but it was inevitable that a glob of poison would splash onto his body, finally poisoning him. Now that he was poisoned he stopped being defensive and started a counter attack with full offense. This let Blossom and LeeLee start dealing even more damage and killing the snake very quickly. Nobunaga wasn¡¯t fairing off as well as Sora. He was unlucky enough to be hit with a poisonous attack almost immediately after he started fighting it. Athenes was busy healing her brother and barely had enough time to divert her attention to Sora. Luckily Sora wasn¡¯t in dire need of healing and she only had to use [Greater Healing] on him every now and then. Every other second was spent using a normal [Heal] on Nobunaga. Sora had been able to stack a shield with his armor set bonus, absorbing a lot of the poison and being able to help swiftly take out the snake while still keeping his health up. After the snake fell the entire party had piled onto the second snake, with Sora taking it¡¯s aggro to give Nobunaga some breathing room. Both snakes died, leaving the entrance to the next cavern open. Sora and Nobunaga were still poisoned, Athenes had drained a chunk of her mana with healing, and Blossom and LeeLee had a lot of their abilities on cooldown so Sora decided to take a break first. He passed each person a Roasted Flat River Fish before sitting down to rest. ¡°Hey mister fisherman, why this fish and not the one that gives bonus strength?¡± ¡°If things go how I think they will then the bonus health will be very important. Especially if the boss can also use poison.¡± Of course Sora already knew that the boss could use poison, which is why the next boss fight would be extremely hard. It was mostly hard since anti-poison consumables could not be made yet, since the next boss is the one who dropped the recipe for it. The recipe had a pretty low drop chance so the recipe might not be found any time soon. If Sora could get his hands on it his guild would be able to go through this dungeon a lot easier. The party rested until everyone was ready to go, lining up at the entrance to the cavern. Level 45 -Odma, The Corrosive- A black snake with eccentric orange designs all over it¡¯s body could be seen coiled around a naturally formed pillar. Even when the snake was coiled, it still was almost as big as a house. Its head was lying on the ground, soaking in a red liquid that emitted steam. The battlefield didn¡¯t have anything that stuck out and it seemed like the fight would be pretty straightforward. The only thing Sora was worried about was the stacking poison. Every minute the boss would put a stack on whoever has aggro, the player would take 25 points of poison damage per stack every second unless they get rid of the stacks. Right now the only way to get rid of the stacks was to wait a minute and thirty seconds, meaning the boss would be able to constantly keep the poison on a tank until it would be doing damage that the healer couldn¡¯t keep up with. Sora would have to make someone tank the damage at every third or fourth stack. The boss would also randomly put a stack of poison on someone at every 25% health drop, making it even worse on the healer. Sora looked at Athenes with a look of pity, she didn¡¯t quite understand and only cheerfully smiled.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Let¡¯s just start attacking. I¡¯ll let you all know when the plan needs to change. Athenes, it looks like this one will also use poison so stay vigilant.¡± Sora led the charge to begin fighting the boss. The snake rose its head, carrying some of the steaming red liquid that was still stuck to its mouth. The liquid flung off of the snake and hit Sora before he could react. His first stack of poison had been applied, ticking away 25 HP per second. The snake started to attack Sora, dealing a moderate amount of damage with its basic attacks. The basic attacks of this boss were not troublesome at all, the poison was the only real issue. The basic attacks were mostly troublesome only if you get your poison stacks high enough plus get hit with a basic attack, then you could possibly go from 100 to 0 before the healer even gets to cast a spell. The fight had proceeded smoothly until the next stack was applied to Sora, dealing 50 damage per second and giving the healer a little bit of pressure. Sora was planning to take three stacks before he makes someone else tank it. The snake fell to 75% health right before the next stack was about to be applied. The boss shot the red liquid towards Nobunaga, applying a stack of poison to him. Right after the boss hit Nobunaga, he turned back towards Sora and made him take another stack. Athenes started to sweat a little as she frantically healed between Sora and Nobunaga. Sora would be hit with a [Greater Heal] and Nobunaga would be hit with a normal [Heal], Athenes kept going back and forth like that to keep both of them healthy. Sora carefully counted in his head, trying to time when the boss would apply another stack of poison. He started to slow down his attacks on the boss, slowly reducing his aggro until it was just above Blossom. ¡°Blossom, take the aggro!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Blossom used [Savage Pounce] followed by [Overwhelm] to just barely grab the aggro of the boss. The boss turned towards Blossom just as the red liquid started to shoot out from it¡¯s mouth, hitting Blossom and applying a stack of poison. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m taking the aggro back.¡± ¡°You could have at least warned me¡­¡± Blossom looked like she was pouting as Sora began taking back the aggro. The boss was pulled back towards Sora as his stacks of poison resolved themselves at almost the same time as Nobunaga¡¯s. Athenes let out a small sigh of relief as she pulled out a mana potion that Sora had given her, drinking it to restore the large chunk of mana she lost while buffing her Spirit. Blossom was now the only one with a stack of poison so she had a little bit of time before the pressure would come back. Just as Athenes had started to relax a little, Sora was hit with a red liquid and gained a stack of poison. Having three people poisoned at once was a little bit of a slip up but they were able to pull through it, mainly due to Athenes being able to keep up with each person. The team continued to slowly shave away at the HP of the boss. Sora had three stacks of poison and was just about to switch with Blossom when the boss hit 50% health and a red liquid hit her. It would be troublesome for Blossom to take the aggro and Nobunaga had too little aggro to take it away from Sora. ¡°LeeLee, you''re going to have to take the aggro this time, so get ready. Blossom, slow down your damage a little so LeeLee can be the one under me. Athenes¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± The cheerful smile that was normally on Athenes¡¯ face was replaced with fear as she thought about the upcoming damage she would have to heal. Blossom started to slow down her damage as LeeLee started stacking her [Curse of Pain] and [Curse of Famine]. She also used [Accurate Strike], making her next attack deal a massive amount of damage and taking over the aggro. LeeLee became poisoned and Sora took the aggro once again. Athenes started to rapidly heal to the best of her abilities, even with her best healing Sora nearly died and was only saved due to the fact that his set had passively given him a shield to help absorb some of the damage. He also took out a health potion and drank it to help give Athenes a little more time. The poison stacks were resolved and stabilized his health, for now. Athenes still had to heal Blossom and LeeLee at the same time and Sora would get a stack reapplied again soon. Sora was able to keep his health manageable until Blossom and LeeLee both lost their stacks. At the last 25% the snake had targeted Sora, who had just received his third stack of poison. It could be considered lucky since Sora had the largest health pool and could use his passive shield to help absorb some of the damage. Blossom took the aggro on the next poison attack, letting Sora resolve the four stacks of poison that were on him. Athenes had to use one more mana potion to get through the last stretch of the boss fight. The giant snake let out a pitiful hiss as it slammed onto the floor, releasing a large amount of the red liquid around its body. The red liquid dissolved the snake before disappearing. The pillar in the middle had a small piece of it hollowed out with a chest located within. The chest wasn¡¯t locked so Sora was able to pull it open without any issues.Nobody was able to level up, but the entire party had recieved a large amount of EXP, putting them all on the edge of leveling up. [x1 Holy Skirt of Mercy obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 55/55 Defense - 7 Requires - Level 40 - Light Armor Class ¡°Made From a silk that permeates with a holy aura. The skirt will change appearance based on the gender of the player.¡± +15 Wisdom +15 Spirit *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Spirit 4 / 5 = +30 Wisdom 5 / 5 = Support spells cost 25% less mana to cast The item went to Athenes without question. Not only is she the only healer, but she also earned it after the healing she had to do. Athenes had a tired face but the cheerful smile returned to her as she equipped the skirt. It was made from a white lace fabric that had many frills and ribbons attached to it, it suited the cheerful girl. [x1 Demonic Leather Leggings obtained] Rarity - Set Rare Durability - 60/60 Defense - 9 Requires - Level 40 - Medium Armor Class ¡°Made from putting many small metal plates within leather leggings made from the hide of a demonic wolf. The design offers good defense without sacrificing your ability to move freely.¡± +15 Agility +15 Constitution *Set Bonus* 2 / 5 = +20 Constitution 4 / 5 = +30 Agility 5 / 5 = Landing an attack increases attack and movement speed by 10% for 5 seconds LeeLee was able to secure her second piece of the Demonic Leather set, giving her the first bonus. Sora had noticed a piece of paper under the leggings that he just pulled out. He didn¡¯t dare assume it was what he thought it was. [x1 Beginner Anti-Poison Recipe obtained] Sora had already shoved the possibility of getting the recipe away, since it was very rare. He was now holding probably the only recipe that would be around for a while. He had the urge to take it but then remembered that his party also had the right to it. ¡°Are any of you Alchemists?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I am!¡± It looks like Athenes was an Alchemist. He wouldn¡¯t mind giving the recipe to her, as long as the recipe stayed within the guild then it would be fine. Sora could also save some time by having someone else make the potions, letting him continue leveling or working on other things. ¡°Alright, we will roll for it then.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Sora rolled for the loot and ended up getting a 46. He ended up losing to Athenes who rolled a 50, securing the recipe. Athenes took the recipe with hesitation since she thought that Sora wanted it. When she saw that he wasn¡¯t really affected by losing the roll she ended up taking the recipe and learning it. Sora picked up the final pieces of loot, one being a lucky coin while the rest was just gold and silver. [x1 Lucky Coin obtained] The group all rolled for the coin and Sora ended up winning it with a 95. Sora used the coin as the space around them started to distort, sending them through the tunnel made up of many different colors that they had entered with. Chapter 37: Blacklisting The group appeared back at the entrance to the dungeon with a white flash. In front of them was a tightly packed group of people, all trying to organize parties for the dungeon. The group started to try to find a path out, towards the flight service. Some players got irritated when someone started to try and push through them, but when they turned around and saw ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ above Athenes and Nobunaga they quickly settled down and made a path. The guild name had already made others fear and respect them, making it easier to move around. Of course there were those that didn¡¯t really care and was still irritated by them. There were also those that were more irritated by the fact that they were part of ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯, they felt inferior and wanted to take it out on the guild members. Sora had been thinking about making his information public for a while now, he didn¡¯t want to hide his name forever. Just as Sora had been thinking that a large man had purposely blocked their path. ¡°You all think you can strut around like you own the place just because you¡¯re part of Phoenix Rising? Your guild is just a bunch of no name players that were picked up by someone who was a little famous.¡± ¡°We were only trying to pass through, we didn¡¯t-¡± ¡°Shut up bitch, a no name healer like you doesn¡¯t get the right to be proud!¡± Athenes was cut off before she could even finish her sentence, Sora could feel the fire in Nobunaga¡¯s eyes as he looked at the man with a gaze that could devour him. He had just pulled out his sword when a shadow had already leapt at the man. Blossom had used [Savage Pounce] to immediately engage, she was grinding her teeth and you could almost see a red glint in her eyes. Before the man even had time to pull out his weapon he was hit with [Savage Pounce], a basic attack, and an [Overwhelm] that managed to crit. The man was dead before he could even figure out which person attacked him. Blossom had a red name tag, revealing all of her information. Her name was almost as famous as Ethereals and had earned a lot of fans. This was the first time they had seen her in action other than the small clip from when she was fighting the bandit boss. Nobody was sure who said it first, but the word ¡®Red Devil¡¯ had quietly entered everyone''s ears. It turns out that Athenes and Blossom had bonded more than Sora had thought, resulting in Blossom killing someone in the middle of a large crowd for her sake. Nobunaga was the most stunned, since he had always been the one to protect his little sister. This time it was the person that Nobunaga had somewhat of a rivalry with that was there to help Athenes, even before he was able to take out his sword. Sora just shook his head as he also revealed his profile information. ¡°Now we have to walk down the mountain, you know we can¡¯t use the flight service if you have the murderer status on you.¡± ¡°Hehe, oops I forgot. I was just too angry since this bastard dared to call our precious little Athenes a bitch.¡± LeeLee also revealed her information as the group started to walk towards the path down the mountain. The crowd that was once loud to the point of not being able to hear your own thoughts was now quiet to the point where you could hear a pin drop. The crowd parted as the group passed by, nobody willing to act more conceited than they should. Blossom already had the murderer status and had showed such a savage appearance, who would dare to block her path? Some people had thought about trying to retaliate against her but when they saw that she was with not only LeeLee but also Ethereal, they had changed their minds. The group started to head down the mountain, with passing players looking with awe at the impressive lineup that their group had. The team was about to pass by the cave that contained the Frost Elementals, where the Frost Elemental boss, Lanche, resided. Sora didn¡¯t have too much of an interest in him anymore since the mana recipes would start circulating in the market, bringing their value down. ¡°Hey Nobunaga, what do you and Athenes plan on doing now?¡± ¡°We will probably go back to hunting for plants, Athenes has always liked gardening and looking at flowers, that¡¯s the whole reason she had become an Alchemist.¡± ¡°If you''re around this area tomorrow then keep an eye on that cave. There is a boss that will spawn there, he drops the Beginner Mana Potion Recipe and you could easily defeat it with a healer. It will also help get Athenes Alchemy level up.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll look out for it.¡± The team made it to the bottom of the mountain and split up. Athenes and Nobunaga started heading back towards Frost Peak Village, while Blossom and LeeLee wanted to take a break from the game. Sora headed back towards his outpost, he was surprised to see how busy the caves were. Most people were waiting outside of the cave, waiting for people to come and take them through the mountain. These people would charge a fee of 1 silver per person, which began to add up considering the amount of people who came through here. Sora had coincidentally ended up following one of the large groups. After a while the group stopped, while the leader had came back to Sora with an angry look on his face. ¡°You think you can get a free pass-¡± The man had seen his player name before he was able to continue shouting at him. Sora was already reluctant to let other people make money off of his outpost, this man stepped over the line. He decided right there and then to shut down his operation. ¡°You can¡¯t expect to make money off of my business, can you? So tell me, how many people have you pushed away from coming into this cave. How many of my potential customers did you make leave?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°I-I-I would nev-¡± ¡°Most importantly, how much of that money are you willing to compensate me for?¡± The man had choked on his words, he had indeed pushed away many people. The entire guiding operation was under the leadership of a small unofficial group that was created specifically for this occasion. Sora had been away so when the group didn¡¯t suffer any repercussions they kept becoming more tyrannical, seeing how much they could get away with. Thanks to the amount of people that were within the group, they were able to easily bully the weaker players out. The only people they allowed to pass through for free was players of the ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ guild, along with stronger players that they didn¡¯t want to offend. Some of the people even said they were under the orders of Sora, this man being one of them. The crowd seemed to catch onto what had happened. ¡°Wait, he isn¡¯t working for you?¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t even part of my guild, why would I let him?¡± The crowd all became enraged, while the man that had been swindling them had started to sweat. Everyone knew that there would be trouble if Sora came back but they all thought that it wouldn¡¯t be their problem as long as someone else was caught. This man was just unlucky enough to be the culprit. ¡°There is no need to look so nervous. How about this, I will help you get through here safely if we can work out some sort of deal.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, that sounds great. What kind of deal?¡± ¡°Simple, first you need to refund everyone''s money. Second, you need to start listing the names of every person who is also doing this. Third, You will give me 50% of the profit you made. Also, if I find out you gave me any false information¡­ well I¡¯ll leave that to your imagination.¡± The man was surprised at how easy it would be to get out of this situation, he had expected to turn in all the profits he had made. He had already expected to sell out all of his group members, except all he needed to do was give him a name instead of actually setting up a trap or leading him to them. This would help him stay under the radar against his group, which he wasn¡¯t really friendly with anyways. The man let out a breathe of relief as he started listing off many names. Sora pulled up his guild management and started to blacklist every name that was mentioned. Blacklisting them will make NPCs that are within his territory hostile to them. It also gave any player the rights to kill them without penalty. It was basically like banning them from entering his territory. ¡­.. A group was currently sitting around a table in the restaurant that was part of Sora¡¯s territory. They were laughing merrily as they talked about all the money they had been making while some were even trying to flirt with the innkeeper NPC. The NPC wouldn¡¯t attack them for something small like this, or else they wouldn¡¯t dare to do so. ¡°This has to be the easiest money I have ever made. All we have to do is sit here while our lackeys rake in the money.¡± ¡°I could get used to this, I just wonder how long we will be able to continue.¡± ¡°Hopefully a week, I doubt this Ethereal person could deal with all of us. As long as we stick together we should be safe. Once he figures out who is behind it we should cause some commotion before he can assemble his guild, then we will be able to leave before he can catch us.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, I wonder-¡± Before the man could continue a large line of red text appeared in front of him that read ¡®You have been blacklisted from entering Ethereal¡¯s territory.¡¯. The man looked around the table, it seemed like every single one of them had gotten the same message since they were all staring off into space with a surprised look. Every person also had a yellow name tag above their heads. ¡°What does blacklisted me-¡± -6,443 The man received a huge damage number as a kitchen knife struck the back of his head, resulting in an instant death. The other men looked at the kitchen knife with shock as the gentle looking innkeeper had walked over and retrieved the knife. Her gentle look had been replaced with a savage appearance as she started walking towards the men in the group. ¡°You are trespassing on Lord Ethereal¡¯s territory, I will be doing the honor of exterminating you in his stead. Well¡­ it might be a little personal, since you all decided to try and tease me.¡± The knife was wielded skillfully as it slashed through the air, killing people in one hit. The group of men had started to try and run but before they could get very far the innkeeper had appeared in front of them. She began to swiftly deal with every person, cleanly killing them in one hit. At the end she simply stepped back to her bar counter and began wiping it down. Some of the other people within the restaurant had seen what happened to them and recorded it. Some of the men who had been trying to flirt with her earlier had now started to shake and didn¡¯t dare to ever do so again. A similar scene was happening within each building that Sora owned. The blacksmith had used his hammer to smash players to the ground. The old shopkeeper had used an old sword, moving very fluidly considering his age. Nearly 60 players were killed within the first few seconds of being blacklisted. Some players who were outside of the buildings, in the chasm, or even within the hot springs had received the blacklisted message along with having a yellow tag above their head. The other players were confused about what it meant, until they were given a notification that the yellow tag means they can be killed without penalty. -Territory Announcement- All players who have been blacklisted will be killed on sight by ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯. A blacklisted player can be identified through their yellow name tag. To those who aren¡¯t part of ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯, feel free to kill them if you want or leave them be until we can find them. Every player that has been blacklisted was part of the group that goes by the name ¡®The Winged Guides¡¯ and has been charging players for passage through the cave, falsely using my name for their own profit. Every player had started looking around to find players with the yellow name tag. Everybody was already irritated by those people since they all had to pay a fee just to travel around the area. Even those who didn¡¯t want the guide was forced to pay just to travel through the cave. Another massacre had occurred, this time with players doing the deed instead of NPCs. There were a couple people in the hot springs that had been bombarded by many different spells and abilities, killing them within less than a second. This was a good opportunity to help out ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ and they didn¡¯t want to let the opportunity slip. After the massacre, every player was reminded to not offend the guild, or else they could have the yellow name tag next. ¡­. Sora finished putting in all the names, along with sending the territory announcement to anybody that was currently within his territory. The man who he had caught was afraid of Sora going back on his promise. The man pulled out 100% of the profits he had made and quickly handed it over to Sora. It was only 15 gold but that was pretty good considering the short amount of time he had been guiding people. Sora didn¡¯t really care about the money, he simply wanted to set an example to people who tried to take advantage of him. ¡°Alright, get out of here now.¡± The man didn¡¯t dare stay around and quickly ran out. Sora could have killed him too but by letting him go it showed that those who help him are much better off than those who go against him. The crowd of people had been watching the entire thing, some had even started to record so it was only a matter of time until word started to spread. Sora decided to put up signs to help people go through the cave without a guide. The signs were cheap so he was able to set them all up for only 15 gold, the same amount he had gotten from the man he had just let off with a warning. When Sora stepped into his cavern a message popped up in front of him. Territory Coffer: 135 gold and 55 silver Would you like to collect the money? Chapter 38: Taking a Break Sora collected the 135 gold with a smile, it had exceeded his expectations. He knew there would be a lot of people that came here for the EXP, what he didn¡¯t calculate is the amount of people who came here simply because it was the first territory and belonged to a famous player. A lot of players had came to the outpost just to spend some time at the hot springs or restaurant, his outpost had became a social hub for players who were around Frost Peak Mountain. Sora could see the amount of money climbing up after he collected his money. It would probably start to calm down once people start moving on from this area, but for now the money was still flowing nicely. Sora had mainly came here to collect his gold but decided to go ahead and look around for a bit, then maybe take a break from the game. He had been logged in almost non stop for nearly a month, his mind was beginning to become less sharp. He started off by going to the inn, with the restaurant on the bottom floor. As he walked in he heard some very vulgar words being yelled by a couple of guys who had just walked in and sat at the bar counter. Some of the people who were here earlier and saw the innkeeper decimate the group of players stayed quiet, they no longer had the courage to try and tease with her. These new guys didn¡¯t see the massacre so they were more unrestrained. ¡°Hey, pretty lady. Do you provide any other services here?¡± ¡°My inn offers food, drinks, and rooms.¡± ¡°Oh, ok. How about we get a room together then? Hahaha!¡± Sora could tell that these people were bothering a lot of the other customers, especially the females customers who had a look of disgust on their faces. Some of the men even looked at them with pity in their eyes. Sora sat down and watched them for a bit, he was wondering why the NPC hadn¡¯t kicked them out yet. He suddenly remembered that he had forgot to set the hostile triggering point of NPCs, meaning they won¡¯t attack unless attacked or touched first. He pulled up his guild management system and set the innkeeper NPC down to a point where she would issue a warning and then take action if necessary. He once again started to watch the innkeeper. ¡°Sirs, if you do not restrain yourselves from acting so barbaric then I will have to take action.¡± ¡°Hahaha, you hear that? A little innkeeper like her is going to take action. I have an action we can take together, hahaha!¡± The innkeeper pulled up her knife and delivered an accurate strike to the man who had just spoken. The other man was just about to start backing up his friend when he saw how he was swiftly killed. His words were stuck in his throat as he backed out of the restaurant, bumping into a few tables on the way out. The rest of the customers had gave a small cheer as the two men were taken care of, letting the rest of the customers enjoy their meals and drinks in peace. Sora nodded as he saw that things were progressing smoothly here now. He put all of the NPCs at the same triggering point as the innkeeper, hoping that they could keep things calm until he can hire actual guards to work here. Everything seemed to check out in the shopping area, the next place he was going to visit was the chasm and hot springs. He passed through the gate and started heading down the chasm. From his point of view he could see many players around the chasm, killing off nearly every corrupted creature in the chasm. The chasm was extremely large, so it wasn¡¯t a problem for a couple hundred people to be able to grind some EXP as long as they each have their own areas. Right now there were people that fought over some of the enemies, meaning that there was more than a couple hundred. Sora needed to expand the chasm size so it can accommodate more players. The only problem was that Sora lacked the amount of money he needed to do so. Sora walked through the area with no problem, heading towards the hot springs. He placed a sign above the cave that said ¡®Frost Peak Springs/Fishing¡¯ to help players find it easier, then proceeded into the cave. The fishing spot had a decent amount of players, most of them looked to just be killing time and not really wanting to fish. He entered the hot springs and saw that it was mainly men, with a few women here and there. The worst part was that most of them had decided to go full naked instead of just wearing their armor and enjoying the water. Sora cleared his throat to get everyone''s attention. ¡°I would like to do some quick renovations, could you all please give me a moment and step out of the water, or at least leave the middle of the water.¡± It was too steamy to see the name tag of the person talking but some of the players were smart enough to figure out that it was Ethereal, since he had mentioned doing renovations. Those people moved out of the way without complaining. Some of the people who didn¡¯t catch on refused to move and thought he was just someone trying to ruin their fun. Especially one couple who was currently clinging onto each other near the back. Sora began having less and less patience for these type of people. He added both of them onto the blacklist, making their names yellow. Their fun was interrupted by a message telling them they had been blacklisted, it was too late for them to try and defend themselves as a storm of spells hit them both, killing them off. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Thank you for your assistance.¡± Sora put up a wall in the middle of the hot springs, going all the way from the front to the back. He then made two separate doors and labeled them as ¡®Male¡¯ and ¡®Female¡¯, setting a gender restriction to each of them. He finished it up by forcefully separating everyone according to gender. This should make it more welcoming to some of the more shy players, meaning more money. Plus it would get a bad reputation if his hot springs turned into a brothel. Sora had now finished everything he needed to, he returned to the outpost before logging out. ¡­.. Sora felt a little stiff as he exited the game. He was wishing that the new VR systems would come out already so he could have a much more pleasant experience. The new systems would be much more comfortable since it was designed as a bed of sorts that would compress all of your limbs, moving them very slowly every now and then to help against stiffness. It would also have a much smaller toll on the amount of stress it puts on your mind when playing. He stretched his legs and arms as he sat up, making them pop slightly. The entire house was quiet, not even the sound of the air conditioner could be heard since it was fall and the weather was nice. His room was very plainly designed, nearly empty except for the computer desk and his bed. Sora let out a sigh while looking at the house. He had sold this house in his past life, since it brought up some unwanted memories every time he saw it. Even now he could see the faint image of a woman reading a story to a child as the child fell asleep. He walked out of the room, entering a hallway that had a few extra doors. The one closest to him was just a bathroom, which he still used. He took a quick shower to freshen up and clear his head. The other two doors had remained shut for a long time now, since Sora didn¡¯t have the courage to open them. He walked into the kitchen after his shower and once again saw the faint image of a woman cooking near the stove and a man sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. The living room was connected to the kitchen but Sora walked straight through before the visions started to appear. As Sora left, the dark house had become even more eerily quiet. Sora needed some fresh air after having memories brought up. He had been living alone ever since his parents died, it had happened in the same house he lived in now. He was able to live off of the inheritance that was left for him, plus the insurance from his parents death. That was the only thing that was given to him, everything else he had to learn on his own. Sora had been walking down the street with no particular destination, maybe he would stop to get something to eat. There was a restaurant near here that he remembered enjoying in his previous life. Sora walked into a small building that looked like a diner, with booths set up all around. Sora picked a booth and sat down, next to another booth with a man that was dressed in a suit and tie. The man had black hair that was cleanly cut yet still long and looked a little feminine. He wondered why someone like him would be eating at a place like this. A waitress that looked annoyed came up to Sora¡¯s table. ¡°What do you want to drink?¡± ¡°Water is fine.¡± ¡°Know what you want yet?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll need a moment.¡± The waitress just rolled her eyes as she walked away. Sora was a bit irritated by the way she was acting, but managed to keep himself calm. Dealing with all of the conceited people in the game for the last month had limited his patience, so he was even more on edge than usual. The waitress took a long time before she came back, even forgetting to bring his water. ¡°Are you ready yet?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t even gotten my water yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring it after you order, my shift is almost over so can we hurry this up a little?¡± The man in the suit seemed to choke on his food a little. Sora came here to relax a little and now he had to deal with this kind of person instead. He was just about to say something when the man in the suit came up next to the waitress. He took the notepad that she wrote orders on away from her before turning to Sora. The waitress was a little surprised at the sudden snatching of her notepad and seemed to get angry, slapping the man in the suit. ¡°Who the fuck do you think you are?! You just assaulted me, I¡¯m filing a police report!¡± The owner of the diner came out after hearing all of the commotion, at first he was going to try and help his employee but when he saw the red cheek of the man she had hit his face paled. The owner quickly put himself between the two people, as he started to stutter on his words. ¡°S-s-sir this i-isn¡¯t what we t-t-taught our staff.¡± ¡°If this isn¡¯t what you taught them then why is she still part of your staff?¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re absolutely r-right s-sir. We will fire her immediately!¡± The waitress was shocked at what was happening, how could somebody so easily get her fired? She had thought the owner would back her up since she had been seeing him outside of work, they had somewhat of a relationship. She had always been able to act unruly because the owner would always back her up. The owner had turned towards her with a face full of anger, there was a hint of unwillingness but he quickly pushed that away. ¡°Due to your lack of proper behavior, you are terminated and WILL NOT be allowed to work at this company ever again.¡± ¡°Wh-what the fuck?! You better send this guy away and take back what you said or don¡¯t even think about sleeping with me again!¡± The man in the suit had his interest piqued at the sudden accusation. The owner paled as the words left the waitresses mouth. Sora was sitting there confused, he wanted to leave quietly but the three people had blocked him in. ¡°So, you have that kind of relationship going on? Looks like I¡¯ll have to talk to my father about our company policy. I feel like there was a part in there that mentioned the repercussions of illicit company relationships.¡± Everyone within the diner had been focusing on what was happening, some of the families had to leave due to the language being used around their kids. Some pulled out their phones and started to record it. All the blood in the owner''s face had drained, he wanted to say something but couldn¡¯t bring himself to do so. He might be able to get out of this if he is obedient. The owner walked to the back of the diner with his head hung low. The woman had thought her threats would work but when they didn¡¯t she started to storm out of the diner, throwing chairs down and making a huge scene. Some of the other employees seemed to be celebrating at the sight of the woman finally leaving them. The man in the suit finally turned back towards Sora, notebook in hand. ¡°Sorry for all of the commotion, my father is the CEO of this company so I couldn¡¯t sit back while our staff treated you so poorly. So what can I get you to drink?¡± Chapter 39: A Simple Sentence The man in the suit didn¡¯t seem like somebody that would actively take people¡¯s orders, he looked more like someone that would give out orders instead. Sora would feel a bit awkward about having the son of a CEO serving him. He was hesitating and the man in the suit seemed to have noticed that. ¡°How about I join you instead? The staff wouldn¡¯t dare to neglect you if I am at the same table.¡± ¡°...I guess I would prefer that over you serving me.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll get someone¡¯s attention. By the way, my name is Kira.¡± ¡°My name is Sora.¡± The name Kira seemed familiar to Sora, he had probably heard it in his last life at some point since he had definitely not met him at any point. Sora strained his brain while Kira was getting the attention of one of the waitresses, that walked over nervously. Sora was able to pull up a little information from his past life. Sora couldn¡¯t quite pull the pieces together, the waitress took his order and left the two men alone to talk. ¡°So, other than the bad experience you just had, how is this diner?¡± ¡°The food is at a reasonable price and the taste is good, the place is clean for the most part and that was the only time I have been treated so poorly. Overall I think it¡¯s on the right track.¡± ¡°What would you want to change?¡± Sora began thinking back to his past life, since he used to get food from this diner all the time. He remembered that the time when he started to frequently eat food from here was when they introduced a food delivery service. The service was extremely popular since it delivered good food to people who were at home playing ¡°The Divine Path¡±. The more the game grew, the more the company grew. Sora suddenly remembered something after he recalled the delivery service. One of the guilds that had risen to the top was sponsored by PointFoods Inc., the company that was in charge of the diner he was currently in. There was also a man who had led the guild, claiming to be the CEO. Sora imagined the guild leader while looking at Kira, it only took a second to realise that he was the same person. PointFoods Inc. had risen due to ¡°The Divine Path¡± so it was believable that someone from the company had started to make a name for themselves in game. Sora didn¡¯t know enough about Kira to tell if he was good or bad, he had never really associated with him due to the fact that their guilds were in different factions. He didn¡¯t seem bad right now and his first impression gave him the feeling that Kira was a very fair person. Sora decided that it would at least be better to be on his good side. ¡°I think a delivery service would put your entire company above every other food industry.¡± ¡°...That¡¯s a bold claim, what makes you so confident?¡± ¡°Have you ever heard of ¡®The Divine Path¡¯?¡± ¡°Sure, it¡¯s a pretty popular game that had just come out. It¡¯s popularity has only been going up ever since it released. System Synthesis Inc. has even already started to work on their next system, they claim that it would be affordable to even an average household.¡± ¡°What do you think will happen when that system releases? How will the majority of the people spend their days?¡± ¡°Well, if the game keeps climbing in popularity then they will probably spend most of their¡­ days¡­ at home.¡± Kira started to trail off, becoming immersed in his thoughts. He didn¡¯t even notice when the waitress came back with their drinks. His pupils suddenly shrank as if making a shocking discovery. He even stood up abruptly, walking out of the door with a phone in hand. Sora could see him pacing back and forth, making phone call after phone call. Sora was able to nearly finish his food by the time Kira had finished talking on the phone. He ran back in with an excited look on his face, still calculating many things as he sat down. ¡°I made a few calls and I think you might be right, the game will only go higher and higher, making the convenience of delivery even more wanted. The game even has it¡¯s own growing economy, meaning some people will be staying home as a form of work. Work, relaxation, socialization, entertainment, dating; all of those things and more will be at their fingertips, so of course they would be more inclined to stay at home. Do you play the game?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I only came out to grab something to eat and help clear my mind a bit.¡± ¡°How would advertising work? Ah, I mean you have already given me enough ideas, this is something that I would need to figure out since I will be running the company officially someday.¡± ¡°I was wondering why the son of the CEO had so much authority, so you will be taking over your father''s position?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more like I already have. My father is too sick to work anymore, I have pretty much been running the company since before I even became an adult. A lot of people don¡¯t even know who I am, only some of the higher management positions has seen me at some meetings¡­ Well, I have a lot of planning to do, I will try to get into the game when I have time. You said you play the game, how should I get ahold of you?¡± ¡°If you join The Eastern Legion faction then all you have to do is find someone with ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ above their heads. Tell them to let Ethereal know that Kira wants to speak with him. If you join any other faction then it will be a lot harder to make contact.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Alright, I will see you then.¡± Kira left in a hurry, jumping into an expensive looking car before taking off. The staff at the diner all relaxed a little as he left but didn¡¯t dare slack off since it looked like he knew Sora. Sora had wanted Kira to just add him as a friend but his friend invites have been constantly appearing with new names, so it would be hard to even know which one was him. Sora ordered a coffee and drank it before leaving the diner. ¡­.. Kira could be seen in a store owned by System synthesis Inc., purchasing a brand new VR system. The entire place had ¡°The Divine Path¡± merchandise filling various shelves, one wall even had a TV that was tuned into a media that covered everything that happened in the game. He was currently talking on the phone with someone, trying to set up a date for a meeting to take place. He was about to head up to the counter and checkout but was suddenly stopped when he heard the name ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ coming from the TV. He suddenly hung up on the person he was talking to as he stood in front of the TV, listening to the recent events. ¡°... justice has once again been executed as a group that forcefully charged players to find passage through an area in the game was cleanly exterminated within seconds. The new outpost that was created by ¡®Ethereal¡¯, our top contender for the number one player in the game, along with being the leader of the very first guild in the game, has once again earned himself the respect of the community. He was able to smash the swindling group within a matter of seconds, even setting up signs to help the general populace find their way instead. Those that were a part of the group has been blacklisted from the outpost, a punishment that none of us want to endure.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what they were thinking, they even had the courage to use his name as a means to scare people into paying them. Plus the outpost has some of the best EXP rates in this stage of the game. There have even been a few reports that there is a possibility of TWO bosses that could spawn within the chasm. The group of bandits has truly made a huge blunder this time. On behalf of the little guys, we thank you for delivering justice, Lord Ethereal!¡± ¡°Hahaha, although we are thankful, I don¡¯t know if we are ready to call him ¡®Lord¡¯ quite yet. Anyways, thanks to the effort of ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯, the shabby looking outpost has become a hotspot for many players. They were able to stop many fights and even help other players find their way around the area. As the first guild, they are setting a good example of how you should act. On a side note, the hot springs within the chasm has also received some renovations that separate it by gender, making it a bit more welcoming for those that didn¡¯t like the mixed bathing.¡± ¡°Another player that has come into light is Blossom, a primary member of ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ that has earned the nickname ¡®Red Devil¡¯. We have exclusive cov¡­¡± Kira was shocked, he didn¡¯t suspect that the simple meeting had actually been with one of the most famous players in the game. He continued watching for a full hour as the announcers recapped a lot of the events that have been happening within the game. The name ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ had come up a lot, showing Kira how famous Sora really was. There was a clip of him fighting against Julius, a clip of him fighting against the people who tried to steal the bandit boss, and a few more small clips that showed him in different areas. There was also a few clips that had Blossom and LeeLee, the one with the most popularity being when Blossom attacked the man that was insulting Athenes. Kira got more and more excited to play the game as he watched the report, all the way until the end. He checked the time and realised it had gotten later than he thought. He bought the VR system before taking off once again. The entire road trip had taken a good 30 minutes due to traffic, which gave him plenty of time to think about what to do next. He was stuck between making his own guild or trying to join Sora¡¯s. He was a little tired of being the one in charge of everything, even he wanted a break from being the man in charge and have some time to enjoy himself, he could just never afford that luxury. He was lost in his thoughts until a car horn had woken him up, he ended up daydreaming after the light had turned green. He finally stopped in front of a hospital, parking his car and heading up to one of the top floors. The hospital was extravagant, even more so the higher up you go. At the last floor Kira got off of the elevator, heading to a room near the end of the hall. The room was huge and had many luxuries that normal rooms didn¡¯t. A giant TV, a personal mini fridge, a couch and some chairs for visitors,and many other things that made the place feel more comfortable. A man was currently in a bed near the center of the room, breathing steadily and watching TV. Kira approached him slowly before sitting down at a chair near the edge of the bed. When the man saw who had sat next to him a warm smile appeared on his stoic face. ¡°Kira my boy, it is already quite late don¡¯t you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry father¡­ I got caught up in my own things¡­¡± ¡°...Was it work again? I can always tell them to lay off of you a little.¡± ¡°No, this time it was due to me watching a program for too long, I was so absorbed into it that I didn''t even notice the time flying by.¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s fine then, it¡¯s good to see you enjoying your own time for once. So, what was this program about?¡± ¡°I have a lot to tell you, we can save the program for last or else it would ruin the surprise.¡± Kira started to tell the story about his trip to the local diner, starting from when Sora walked into the door. The man listened patiently as his son seemed to have the excitement of a child as he told his tale. Once the man heard about how the staff had treated him he felt a lot of regret for not being able to personally handle the situation, he was impressed on how he handled it and a smile once again appeared. Kira told the man about the suggestion that Sora had made and even he got a little excited, especially when he started to explain some of the details of the calls he made. His story covered everything that happened from the moment Sora walked into the moment he arrived at the hospital. The man didn¡¯t understand too much about the game but as a businessman he was able to understand the influence it had. ¡°So you met this Ethereal guy? What did you think of him?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ he seemed cautious but not cowardly. With just one sentence he has already started a huge reaction within our company, so I think his insight is pretty good. Plus he was able to become the top player in the game so he must have a lot of skill in that regard.¡± ¡°...What do you plan to do in the game?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet, I need to get in and check out the community while finding a way to advertise. I¡¯ll also need to make a name for myself or else nobody will listen to me. I also ne-¡± ¡°How about you just try to have fun for now? If you can live a fun life then I will have no regrets once I pass.¡± ¡°...On one condition.¡± ¡°Oh? Trying to make conditions with your old man huh, haha? Alright, let¡¯s hear it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll only try to have fun if you fight your hardest to survive this disease¡­¡± ¡°But the doctor said the chances were extreme-¡± ¡°It¡¯s still a chance!¡­ it¡¯s still a chance.¡± The man looked at the watery eyes of his son, trying to fight back tears of his own. He had already given up hope thanks to the small chance and decided to not receive any treatment since it would only mean more work for his son. He had been so focused on making his son''s life easier that he forgot about how much it would hurt him if he were to pass. Now that he could see a future where his son could have fun the man wanted to be here to see it become reality, in that moment an incredible will to live had been born. ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll fight it to the end.¡± That simple sentence had taken the weight off of Kira¡¯s chest. The future that Sora had seen, will never be seen again. Chapter 40: Grinding Reputation [Welcome back, Ethereal] Sora entered the game, appearing within his outpost. The amount of players going in and out of the chasm was still pretty hefty, making the little outpost filled with discussion and laughter. Every now and then a ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ guild member could be seen walking through the crowd, with a group of players following them. Sora didn¡¯t have anything to do here so he decided to leave, letting the territory coffer fill up for a while so he could come back and start making an actual outpost, instead of this hole in the floor with a few buildings. He decided to hunt a few more bosses down, the ones he could take on solo at least. Sora began walking towards Frost Peak Village, thinking of what boss he should fight first. A boss he could solo would have to be level 40 or a level 45 with a low difficulty. His ears started to pick up complaints from passing players, all wishing that Frost Peak Mountain was closer. That suddenly gave him a clue about where he should go next. Sora had missed his mounts from the previous life, so he decided to go mount hunting instead of boss hunting. There wasn¡¯t a lot of options for mounts at the moment, they couldn¡¯t even be bought yet since it required a specific demon territory to be conquered. The only mounts he could think of were obtained from a village to the North-East of Var, the village specialized in training wolves to become mounts but would only let people they felt were family take the mounts. Sora had his destination in mind and started to head back to Var so he could take the flight service to a place close to the village. Sora made it to Var without any problems, other than the players whispering things as he passed by or even completely becoming fanatic. There was even a girl who had offered to have his child, followed by her boyfriend also offering to have his child. Sora had been keeping his information public since it helped with publicity but he decided to hide it again after that incident. Sora entered Var and went straight to the flight service, the line was no longer as empty as it usually was since more and more players were funneling into the game. The entire city was beginning to seem too small, even with it¡¯s huge size. Sora took a flight to one of the farthest towns from Var, a place called ¡®Tidal Wave Pass¡¯. The town was located near the Eastern coast of the continent, it specialized in items from the sea. Swords were made from fish scales, Jewelry was made from pearls and coral, armor was made from shells, and the food was all fished up from the ocean. The town was somewhat of a tropical paradise and many players had already started to enjoy themselves here. Sora remembered that he had two solar worms in his inventory and was tempted to use them right now. He quickly put that idea aside, he wanted to achieve one goal at a time. Sora started to make his way to the North of the town, taking a road that followed along the coast. The sand was so white that it almost looked like snow, with the foamy water brushing over it at a steady pace. The scenery was relaxing and the walk down the road didn¡¯t seem too bad. After walking down the road for a few minutes, Sora suddenly made a sharp left and made his way through a forested area. The enemies here were all around level 30 so he was able to leisurely make his way through. The forest finally opened up after a long walk, revealing a plains area that was surrounded by trees. A small village could be seen within the center, located on a hill and surrounded by wolves of different colors. Sora started to walk towards the hill, stopping when the wolves started to snarl at him. A man wearing simple cotton clothing with some leather armor pieces over it walked out from the village. He signaled towards the wolves with his hand, stopping them from acting aggressive. ¡°Adventurer, what bring you to my village?¡± ¡°I was walking through the forest when I saw that your village was surrounded by wolves, I came here to make sure you weren¡¯t being attacked.¡± ¡°Hahaha, your worries are well founded but these wolves are the only things keeping us safe.¡± ¡°You have tamed them?¡± ¡°Indeed. Through the efforts of many generations we have built a family of wolves that are domesticated.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a very impressive feat, I don¡¯t suppose you are willing to let me in on the secret are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid our methods cannot be revealed to outsiders, I can however offer you the chance to become a guest to our village. If you prove yourself worthy of our hospitality, then other rewards could be gifted to you.¡± ¡°I would be happy to become a guest of your village.¡± ¡°Good, then follow me into the village. If you ever want to leave then make sure you have someone escort you or else the wolves might attack.¡± Sora followed the NPC up the hill, into the village. Other NPCs looked at him weird since he was wearing such flashy armor. The man he had talked to was the village chief, which was pretty obvious by the way the other villagers treated him. After walking to the center of the village he turned around and pulled out a badge. The badge was a simple circle with a wolf in the middle. This item would let the other NPCs know that he was a guest within the village, while also letting Sora view his reputation. ¡°This badge will show your status as a guest within the village, be careful not to lose it. You can start to walk around but try not to do anything that makes the villagers uncomfortable.¡± The chief gave Sora the badge before turning around and walking towards a fairly big building in the middle of the village. The badge disappeared from Sora¡¯s hand and filled in the circular outline within his reputation menu, right next to the words ¡®Wind Wolf Village¡¯. Next to the badge was the word ¡®Neutral¡¯ and a number that indicated how close you were to the next reputation level. The reputation goes as follows; Loathed, Hated, Hostile, Cautious, Neutral, Acquaintance, Friend, Ally, Family. Reputation could be gained but could also be lost, to the point where NPC hunters might even come after you. Sora was aiming for the ¡®Family¡¯ reputation so he could obtain a wolf mount.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The first place Sora went towards was a building at the edge of the village, it had a fenced off area that was filled with baby wolves. The little wolves were extremely fluffy and looked like little balls of cotton hopping around. There was a NPC that wore high boots and a more rugged clothing style than most of the NPCs around the village. The NPC was a woman and measured up Sora as he walked towards her. ¡°You new around here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I just came through and thought I could help out a little.¡± ¡°You want to help? I got a job for you if you don¡¯t mind a little dirty work.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be glad to help.¡± ¡°Alright, the village has many benefits thanks to the wolves but we also have some downfalls. The biggest concern is the amount of feces that accumulated all over town. If you want to help, start by cleaning up any feces you come across.¡± Sora could only sigh since this was the only thing he could do until his reputation ranks up. Luckily it doesn¡¯t take too long and was pretty easy. Sora took out his shovel and started to scour the area. Many people would do much worse tasks if they knew they could get a mount, this little bit of work was absolutely worth it. Sora started to run around the village, cleaning up any feces he could find. The villagers seemed to be delighted as the village returned to a nice clean state. Sora was able to grind up to Acquaintance within just two hours of work. He returned to the NPC after making sure he was finished. ¡°Good job adventurer, the villagers seem to be really thankful for your work.¡± ¡°Is there anything else that I could help with?¡± ¡°You actually came at a good time, the baby wolves are acting up. They need to go to the other area so they can feed on their mother''s milk but they won¡¯t cooperate. Could you go in there and start catching them for me?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sora went through the gate as the NPC opened it, looking at the little fluff balls that were running at a surprisingly fast speed. Sora went to grab the first baby wolf but ended up being spun in a circle by it. Sora suddenly remembered how tedious this part of the reputation grind was. He started to slowly creep up on a wolf pup that was facing the opposite direction, staying low to the ground so he could sweep it up in one motion. The wolf pup seemed to have felt his presence as it tried to bolt away, luckily Sora was close enough to catch it before it could get very far. He carried the pup to a side of the fence that had a bunch of female wolves on the other side. The wolf pup happily skipped over to the mother and started to cuddle next to it. Sora turned around and looked at the field full of little bouncing cotton balls before letting out a sigh. ¡­.. Nobunaga and Athenes were traveling up and down Frost Peak Mountain, collecting the Azure Spirit Flowers. This flower had quickly become Athenes¡¯ favorite ever since she first saw it. Nobunaga didn¡¯t mind running up and down the mountain since he saw that his little sister was having a lot of fun. The journey was easy for the most part, with only occasionally having to fight stray enemies that wandered around the mountain. Athenes still hasn¡¯t found a use for the flowers but continued to collect them with glee. It wasn¡¯t until they had reached the bottom of the mountain that they ran into an issue. A group of men that looked to be friends had crossed paths with Nobunaga and Athenes. One of the friends seemed a little obnoxious and had been whistling at the women that passed by him. His friends looked embarrassed and would hit his arm whenever he did so, making somewhat of a game for him. When he saw Athenes he had once again started his cat calling, deciding to take it a step further this time. ¡°Hey pretty lady, do you have a boyfriend? Do you need one?¡± The friends just face palmed as they looked at the man that stood directly next to her, thinking that this guy was her boyfriend. The cat caller had noticed the man too but still thought he was being funny when he said that. Nobunaga had already started to draw his sword before he even finished talking. It only took a second for the man to be viscously attacked by Nobunaga, killing him before he was even able to draw his weapon. The friends just shook their head and sighed at the trouble he had gotten into. ¡°We are sorry for our friend, he had that coming. He is a good person so please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± The group of friends just kept walking and Nobunaga could hear them talk about how the man he killed had always made trouble wherever he goes. This wasn¡¯t the first time Athenes had seen this happen, she was already used to guys getting beat up by her brother when they tried to tease her. She still had the happy smile on her face as she once again started heading up the mountain to collect more flowers. ¡­.. Sora used [Relentless Pursuit] on a wolf pup as it tried to run away, giving him enough movement speed to catch up to it. It made a sharp right, making Sora slide as he switched his direction. Sora had been catching the pups all day and was on the last one. He was done with this tedious task and just wanted to finish it already. After a few more sharp turns, Sora was finally able to catch the wolf pup. He let the last pup go to its mother and cuddle up. His reputation becoming ¡®Friend¡¯ with the village as the pup found its spot next to its mother. Sora had finally finished the task and reported back to the NPC that has been giving him the quests. She seemed a lot more friendly now, due to Sora raising his reputation. She was even showing a bright smile that was absent the last time he spoke to her. ¡°You have really helped me out a lot Ethereal, thanks to you our village has caught up in work. Things inside the village should be running smoothly now, go talk to the head of our guard to see if there is anything else you can help with if you want. You can find him near the entrance of the village, in the building made from bricks that has iron bars in some of the windows.¡± Sora gave a simple farewell as he started heading back towards the area where he came in. The buildings all look like log cabins, with some made from bricks. The building that the head guard was in was only distinguishable thanks to the iron bars within the windows. Sora walked towards the doorway and was able to pass by the guards without being stopped. The inside of the building looked like a barracks, with many training dummies and equipment racks. There were also a few cells that had some people captive, one of which was signaling for Sora to come over and talk. It was a fat guy with a bald head, he looked around with shifty eyes to make sure no guards were nearby. ¡°If you help me bust out of here then I could give you rewards beyond your wildest dreams.¡± ¡°Why are you locked up?¡± ¡°Hehehe, I was caught going through the village records, trying to figure out how these people tame the wolves here. With your help we could find out their secret and get wolves of our own.¡± If you are hated by the village then this was a way to let players get the wolf mount, it was a lot harder but if you are accidentally put on the villages bad side then it was the only viable way to get the wolf mount. Sora just walked away, ignoring the offers and threats that the man had started to yell out. He found a room with a desk and many papers thrown around randomly. There was an NPC dressed in sturdy looking armor that sat behind the desk, when he saw Sora come in he signaled for him to sit in the chair in front of the desk. ¡°I have heard of your services to our village, on behalf of the guardsmen we thank you for your efforts. This may be rude of me to ask, but we require your assistance outside of the village. Will you help us?¡± Chapter 41: Testing Nobunaga ¡°I know it¡¯s a little abnormal for me to ask an outsider for help, but I don¡¯t think this is something we can handle on our own.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°We usually let our wolves hunt within the forest surrounding the village, recently many of the wolves had been coming back with wounds and looked as if they had gotten into a fight. Some of our soldiers investigated and figured out that a nearby area has been taken over by kobolds. We can¡¯t afford to feed the wolves ourselves, so losing the hunting grounds has had a huge impact on the village. We would send our own soldiers out but that would leave the village defenseless.¡± ¡°I see¡­ I will do what I can but I am only one man.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all we need, as long as you thin them out then it will greatly relieve the burden.¡± Sora left the barracks with a smile on his face, he was so tired of the tedious jobs and was ready to fight. The last two reputation grinds had left Sora feeling stale, so this was the perfect opportunity to get back into the flow of things. He left the village, not needing an NPC to guide him out since the wolves had also acted less aggressive thanks to his reputation. He would be able to pass by the wolves but still needed to be careful with how close he gets, or else it could make them aggressive again. From what he heard, the entire forest had kobolds that needed to be taken care of. On his way over he had noticed a few of them but ignored them since he didn¡¯t have the reputation quest yet. He already had an area in mind to start grinding the kobolds. Sora set off to a place North of the village, coming closer to the demon territory. An encampment had been set up that served as the base for the kobolds and the area around the encampment was filled with the nasty little creatures. He found his way to the area with ease and saw a group of around seven kobolds. Normally it would be a bit risky to try and fight a group that large but Sora was currently level 44 while the kobolds ranged from level 35 to level 40, giving him a major advantage over them. Sora rushed into the group and used [Slash] which chunked away more than half of the enemies health and gave Sora a shield that would help mitigate the damage taken from the rest of the group. With his high defense and shield generation, he was able to clean up the group and only take a small amount of damage. The kobolds didn¡¯t drop anything of worth, except for the occasional cotton cloth that Sora would pick up. The grinding began, leaving a path of dead kobolds in his wake. He didn¡¯t get too far in before Nobunaga messaged him. Sora walked over to a secluded area away from the kobolds before messaging him back. ¡°We were able to secure the Frost Elemental boss but many other people saw it so I doubt we can keep hogging it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, it was bound to happen anyways. Get Athenes to learn the recipe, also let her know that the Azure Spirit Flower can be added into the recipe at the end to create a Beginner Mana Potion of Extended Spirit.¡± ¡°Alright, we have already secured a lot of those flowers, so we should be able to make quite a bit.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let the guild know to give any mana crystals they don¡¯t want to you, have Athenes make some mana potions for the guild. I also suggest finding the ingredients for the Anti-Poison potion, we don¡¯t need many for the guild so you can rake in a good profit if you start to sell them.¡± ¡°Is there anything else that needs to be done?¡± Sora started to hesitate about something. He wanted Nobunaga to lead a team into the chasm to fight the bosses that would spawn there, he didn''t care too much about the fire boss but the crystal was still a mystery. It shouldn¡¯t be an Epic tier boss but it would probably still be pretty strong. This would be a good chance to test Nobunaga, while also honing some of the other guild members. ¡°Nobunaga, how confident are you in leading a party?¡± ¡°... I have a bit of confidence.¡± ¡°Then gather a party and head to the end of the chasm within Frost Peak Mountain, there should be a large cavern with crystals scattered around. A boss should spawn there, I don¡¯t know anything about it other than it being a shadow type boss. It should spawn any day now, so have the guild members scout it out and report when the boss spawns.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when we defeat it.¡± Sora went back to grinding the kobolds, with anticipation at the news that Nobunaga brings him. The reputation grind would still take a few days so he mentally prepared himself for it. ¡­.. Nobunaga had gathered a party with some of the people he had personally picked out, including Athenes. The tank was a knight that goes by the name ¡®Solid Brick¡¯, which was a befitting name considering his defense stats that were second only to Sora¡¯s. The two damage dealers were archers that go by ¡®First Shot¡¯ and ¡®Second Shot¡¯, the two had claimed to be friends that have been inseparable since they started gaming. They were both girls that seemed like they were raised within the military, even Solid Brick had a bit of a military personality. Nobunaga had made the group based off of that personality, leaving Athenes as the oddball out. The group started heading down into the chasm after they got a report from a fellow guild member saying that the crystal pieces were slowly moving towards the center. Luckily the movement was very subtle and the cavern didn¡¯t have any corrupt creatures, meaning nobody would stay here to train.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. After easily walking through the chasm, they met up with the scout that had reported the incident. The scout was freed of his duty and the group watched the crystals slowly slide towards the center. It didn¡¯t take too long for the crystals to all meet at the center, reforming into a black crystal that had the shape of a demon. Level 45 -Adum, The Jagged Shadow- ¡°Solid Brick, you will stay at the front and block any attacks that come your way, we don¡¯t know the skills of the boss so be prepared for anything. First and Second Shot you stay on opposite sides of Athenes while she heals. I¡¯ll take the side and call out any changes that need to be made in the strategy, do we understand?¡± ¡°Sir. Yes, sir!¡± Nobunaga gave a nod of approval to the way he was able to run things, the team was quick to pick up the plan and didn¡¯t have any complaints. Athenes was just here to have fun and felt a little out of place in the serious atmosphere. The team got into position and went towards the boss, with Solid Brick leading the charge. The boss let out a weird cackle as it ran straight towards the group, landing a hit on Solid Brick before anyone could get a hit in. He luckily had a shield so his defense was not easily broken through. Nobunaga stayed at the side of the boss, using [Slash] as it came off cooldown. He was in the same boat as Sora and wasn¡¯t able to secure a better damage dealing skill. The two archers were constantly bombarding the boss in a perfect rhythm, when First Shot launches an arrow Second Shot will have already nocked his. The boss fight was easy up until the boss fell down to 75% health. Afterwards, it let out the same creepy cackle it had before, splitting into five different shadowy figures that merged with the shadows of each party member. The members of the party started to slowly lose health afterward, each of them looking towards Nobunaga for guidance. The first thing he tried was attacking his own shadow, resulting in simply leaving a gash in the ground. Afterwards, he had to think for a while before walking up to Second Shot, using his shadow as a weapon against his party members shadow. A black smoke came from the ground and Second Shot stopped losing health. Nobunaga started to repeat the process with every other party member, starting with Athenes so she could focus on healing everyone. After every shadow had been attacked the boss once again formed into the demon. ¡°From now on each person is in charge of breaking the shadow of another person. Solid Brick and I will pair up, while First and Second Shot will be in charge of each other and Athenes.¡± ¡°Sir. Yes, sir!¡± ¡­.. This was the third day that Sora has been killing the kobolds, leaving him worn out and 2 levels higher. At first, he was excited to be able to break away from the tedious tasks like catching the pups, now he felt that killing these kobolds was even more annoying. He was nearly done and wanted nothing more than to see the reputation change from ¡®Friend¡¯ to ¡®Ally¡¯. Nobunaga messaged Sora, letting Sora take a short break as he talked to him. ¡°We have successfully killed the boss located within the chasm.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear a report.¡± ¡°The enemy was a level 45 rare boss of the shadow element. The main mechanic is a little hard to explain but it is essentially using your shadow to attack the boss. The party was able to defeat it without any major problems occurring. There were no notable drops, only some level 45 equipment and gold coins.¡± ¡°Got it, was Athenes able to make any potions for the guild?¡± ¡°Yes, many members donated mana crystals, resulting in over a thousand mana potions. The ingredients for the anti-poison potions were a little scarce so only a little more than a hundred were made.¡± ¡°That should be plenty, for now, good work on the successful boss fight and give Athenes my thanks for making the potions. I plan on having you lead many more parties, so start thinking about who you would want to fight together with.¡± Sora looked at his reputation after talking with Nobunaga. The current progress was at 99.97%, meaning he should be able to finish any minute now. He pulled himself towards a nearby kobold group and started killing once again. After another 5 minutes, he was finally done with his grind from ¡®Friend¡¯ to ¡®Ally¡¯. Sora wanted to cry, the fighting was bland, the loot was terrible, and even the chance of a kobold being enchanted was extremely low, resulting in a low yield of only a single Viscous Essence after three whole days. Sore returned to the village and logged out before doing anything else, taking a decent lengthed break from the game. He grabbed a snack and looked around on the game forums for a while before finally going back to the game. Sora headed towards the village barracks, being greeted by nearly every NPC he passed by. The reputation had made Sora a friend amongst all citizens of the ¡®Wind Wolf Village¡¯, some NPCs could even be found outside of the village and would still treat him as a friend. The barracks seemed a little more lively, with guards thanking Sora for his contributions and some even gave him a few pieces of copper as a gift. Sora stepped into the office that the head guard was in, he still had a messy desk with papers scattered all over the place but he didn¡¯t look as worried as he had been before. He signaled for Sora to have a seat in front of the desk. ¡°You have really saved the village a lot of trouble this time.¡± ¡°I was merely doing what a friend should do.¡± ¡°Hahaha, well said. We still want to properly thank you though, thanks to you we only have one more thing to worry about.¡± ¡°Oh? What is worrying you so much?¡± ¡°The kobolds within the forest were only pests, they do not scheme so it was manageable to deal with them. The only problem was that a group of bandits has been trying to steal our secret for quite some time now, it has gotten to the point where we need to keep as many guards here as we can to prevent a sudden raid. The fat man with the bald head that we have captive is part of the bandit group, he was found as he was rummaging through some of our documents from earlier generations.¡± ¡°How do you plan to stop them?¡± ¡°We wanted to launch a counterattack against their hideout but we are afraid to move too many of our troops and leaving the villagers defenseless. Our main target is the leader of the operation, as long as we kill him the bandits should scatter or at least put them in a bind and give us some breathing room.¡± ¡°Leave it to me, I should be able to find an opportunity to kill the leader. I could find a way to sneak in while they have their eyes on you.¡± ¡°... Are you sure about this? It could cost you your life you know.¡± ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Chapter 42: Mount Obtained Sora finished talking to the head guard before heading out of the village towards the South. The bandit camp would be located in the forest, with the boss at the center. Sora positioned himself at the entrance of the camp, not worrying too much about trying to sneak in. The bandits were all level 40 so he would be able to sweep through them easily. Sora began his massacre by aggroing a couple bandits nearby. Human enemies usually used blades so Sora would have an even bigger advantage with his parry blade. The bandits looked clumsy as they attacked Sora, easily being thrown to the side as he deflected their attacks. It only took three attacks for Sora to completely drain their health bars, Sora was able to finish the fight within 15 seconds without taking a single hit. The bandits were actually below the difficulty of the kobolds for Sora since he excelled in small group fights rather than when going against large groups. The bandits were carved through until Sora hit the middle of the camp, facing the bandit boss. Level 40 -Horace, The Wolf Exterminator- The bandit boss was wearing a full set of armor made from wolf pelts and bones, he looked like a barbarian as he wielded his greatsword. The bandit attacked without any dialogue, starting the fight between him and Sora. The fight heavily relied on Sora¡¯s ability to parry the attacks, even with his level advantage he still needed to be careful. The first attack had already been parried, revealing an opening for Sora to attack with [Slash]. The boss didn¡¯t seem to have any special attacks and simply kept slashing towards Sora. The boss fight was very straightforward, with the boss constantly being on the offensive. Sora ended up killing the boss without any issue, dropping only a little bit of money and an ordinary iron sword. Sora didn¡¯t expect much since the boss was only really here as a final means of gaining the ¡®Family¡¯ reputation for Wind Wolf Village. Sora collected the few coins before leaving. He could be considered quite lucky that another player hadn¡¯t already killed the boss, if he had to wait for the boss to spawn back then it would have taken even more time to get his mount. He let out a sigh of relief as he looked at his reputation. Sora left the bandit camp from the same way he came through, not aggroing anything since he was itching to get his mount. Even the kobolds in the forest were ignored even though they were easy to kill. He went into the barracks once again, the fat bald man was still trying to persuade him to betray the village. The head guard was sitting in the same spot, this time with a smile on his face. ¡°Hahaha, Ethereal I have already heard the news from some of my scouts, you have really done a great service for the village. I have already told the chief of your merits and he would personally like to see you. Just show the guards this note and they should let you through.¡± The head guard gave Sora a piece of paper, he grabbed the paper and left without any unnecessary words. He was at the last part of his mission and didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. The chief¡¯s building was easy to find since it was the biggest building in the village and located in the center. The guards stepped in front of Sora, blocking his path. ¡°Halt, we appreciate your services but this building is off limits to everyone.¡± Sora handed the note to the guard, who quickly skimmed over it before moving out of the way. As Sora entered he saw a large reception room that was decorated with many portraits and paintings, a lot of them including a wolf. Just this room was already a bit larger than most homes within the village. Sora continued straight ahead into a room that had a small table, filled with various food dishes and drinks and the same man he had already met when he first entered the village. He had a token placed in front of him that was in the shape of a crescent moon. ¡°You have truly made quite the impression on our village, I wouldn¡¯t have guessed that the random traveler would make such a huge impact.¡± ¡°I only helped a little, something like fighting just happens to be something I¡¯m good at.¡± ¡°It was much more than that, but I won¡¯t waste your time with sentiments and will get straight to the point. You have proven yourself worthy of being called our family and as you know our family has a certain benefit.¡± ¡°You mean the wolves?¡± ¡°Precisely, show this token to the woman you helped first and she will help you find a suitable partner, I hope you are as good at fighting as you say you are and can protect it.¡± ¡°I will not let the village down.¡± ¡°Good, but accidents do happen so if your partner ever passes then come back and we will find a way for you to compensate the loss.¡± Sora took the token from the table before turning around and leaving. The token automatically inlaid itself onto his reputation badge, which now depicted a wolf howling at a silver crescent moon. Sora found his way back to the woman he had helped by cleaning up the village and catching wolf pups. She greeted Sora eagerly with a smile on her face when she saw him coming, her face changed to one of shock as he showed her his badge.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°The chief told me to find you.¡± ¡°It seems he thinks you''re worthy of trust with one of our wolves¡­ Alright, come this way.¡± The woman took Sora towards another fenced off area, further away from the village. A lot of adult wolves could be seen roaming around, most of the wolves were brown. The woman started to look at Sora, measuring him up and down. She stopped to look at his silver cloak and a thoughtful expression appeared. ¡°Where did you get that cloak?¡± ¡°A farmer was worried about some wolves that had been attacking his farm, I helped him out by killing their leader.¡± ¡°We recently picked up a female wolf with a silver colored fur¡­ it has been very timid and rarely ever interacts with us. Would you like to try and see if you have a connection with it? It may be timid but it¡¯s also one of the fastest wolves that we have.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± Sora started to feel he had touched upon a secret interaction, a silver wolf that was faster than the normal mounts sounded a bit rare. He wanted to try to get it, even if he fails he wouldn¡¯t lose anything. The woman led Sora towards a tree trunk that was near the edge of the fencing, the ground under the trunk had been dug up and a silver color could be seen where the rays of light filtered in. ¡°Come here girl, don¡¯t be shy.¡± The silver wolf within the ground slightly shifted, popping her head out from under the trunk. She had golden irises and a dark gray crescent moon shape on her forehead, she seemed a little confused when she looked at Sora. The woman helping Sora had some hope when she saw that the wolf seemed interested. After a little beckoning, the wolf crawled out from under the trunk, carefully walking towards Sora. Sora put his hand out as the wolf approached, she sniffed his hand before gently licking his palm. The woman was shocked at the intimacy that the wolf showed towards Sora, it was hard for her to even get the wolf to come out of its hole sometimes. [Silver Wolf Mount obtained] The silver wolf, which Sora named Luna since that¡¯s who she looked like, circled around Sora a couple times before sitting next to him. The wolf was as tall as him even when sitting down, with soft fur and extremely sharp claws that looked like they were made from metal. The woman who had been helping Sora could only bow her head in defeat as she saw the silver wolf submit to him. ¡°It seems that fate has brought you two together, please take good care of her.¡± ¡°I will, thank you for your help. Please let the villagers know that I am thankful for their warm treatment towards me. Alright Luna, let¡¯s go.¡± The NPC woman watched as Sora jumped on top of the wolf, making a spectacular sight of a powerful warrior riding on a beautiful mount. Luna ran through the forest at nearly triple the speed that Sora could, making the trees zoom as Luna skillfully weaved her way through the forest. Sora was heading towards Tidal Wave Pass, he had been grinding reputation for so long and had been thinking about fishing ever since he passed through this town. Tidal Wave Pass was bustling with players, most of which were simply relaxing or buying luxury items. The streets were fairly quiet since the peaceful atmosphere was what people wanted most, making conversations quiet or short. There was a bit of commotion as a Sora rode through the town on his wolf. A lot of girls could be heard gasping at the beauty of the wolf, some even asking to touch it. Sora simply declined since the wolf felt a little uncomfortable within the hordes of people, using the excuse of ¡®it might bite¡¯ as a way to keep people away. Even the girls who only knew about cute things could see the vicious claws and teeth that the wolf had. The town was shaken up, making a rare moment where the entire town was a bit noisy. Sora stopped at a shop near the edge of the city, right along the coast. It was a shop that sold things like bait, fishing gear, and even rented boats out for people who wanted to go further into the ocean. As Sora walked in he saw a familiar looking man that was currently talking to the owner of the store. It was Grandpa Blossom and by the looks of it, he was upset. ¡°10 gold for a day at sea is a little steep.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir but the smallest boat we rent out has enough room for a few people, most people just find someone to take along and split the cost.¡± ¡°Do I look like someone who has that many friends?!¡± Sora stepped in and put 5 gold on the counter. Grandpa Blossom was irritated at first since he didn¡¯t want anybody to go along with him, he would rather fish alone. When he saw that Sora was the person who had shown up his attitude completely turned around. ¡°Hahaha, to think I would see you here, aren¡¯t you quite busy?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even get me started, I have been dying to take a break and do some fishing for the last week. How about we split the cost?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s you then I suppose we could share a boat, I was planning a day trip.¡± ¡°That sounds perfect, honestly I wish I could take a week off but there are still many things that need to be done.¡± ¡°Hahaha, hard work is a good thing, young man.¡± The two men paid 5 gold each and got a small boat that had to be paddled manually. The waves were calm so the journey was smooth. Sora was impressed by the rod that the old man took out, it looked like he was quite lucky to be able to get one from the fishing quest. Luna had been recalled into his mount space, which could be viewed. When Sora looked into the space he saw a silver shadow running through a forest, Luna looked quite happy to be able to run freely. Sora suddenly remembered that he should inform his guild on how to get the mount, he had been waiting until he was done so he didn¡¯t have to share the tasks with others. The boss alone took half a day to respawn, so it could be seen how hard it was to get the mount when there are hundreds of players fighting over resources. The boat finally stopped after getting a decent distance away from the coast. Grandpa Blossom threw his line out into the water, looking at Sora who was sitting motionless. He was wondering what had happened until he got a guild message, which he skimmed over. After the message popped up Sora also started fishing, he had plenty of bait from digging, including a couple Solar Worms which would be used to catch legendary fish. The two men peacefully started to fish, with the only sound being the waves crashing against the boat and the reels of their fishing rods when they hooked a fish. Sora took a deep breathe as he enjoyed this moment of tranquility. Chapter 43: Legendary Fish Sora reeled his line in, catching a fish that liked to ride the waves that the ocean created, its name simply being ¡®Wave Fish¡¯. Grandpa Blossom had been catching fish faster than him, most likely due to the fact that Grandpa Blossom had a higher fishing skill. Sora hadn¡¯t been fishing since Crater Lake, except for the little bit of time at the fishing spot in his chasm, creating a large gap between the two. Sora continued to fish while getting reports on guild affairs from various people. Most of the guild members were trying to get the wolf mount since they wanted to be out of the way before other players start to figure out what they are doing. Once the general population figures out how to get a mount the fight for the limited resources will begin. The main group of Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes were leading the rest of the guild. Each person took a group of players from the guild and spaced out when they started to go for the mount, this helped stop guild members from fighting with each other. Blossom would start first and once that group was done with cleaning the village LeeLee and her group would start. LeeLee was the person who arranged this plan, creating a smooth experience that the entire guild can bond together with. [Fishing Skill has Hooked an item] Sora¡¯s reel started to make a loud zipping noise as the line flew from one end of the boat to the other. Grandpa Blossom ducked down so Sora could maneuver his rod better, he ended up losing a fish for doing that but it was the respect a fellow fisherman should show. [x1 Rare Chest Lvl 40 obtained] The wooden fish jumped into the boat before turning into a chest that was placed between Sora and Grandpa Blossom. Sora opened the chest leisurely, not caring too much about the loot. He was out here to relax a little so loot was just a bonus to him. [x1 Coral Ring of Expanded Bait obtained] Rarity - Unique Rare Durability - 45/45 Requires - Level 40 ¡°A ring made from red coral that shimmers as if made from glass.¡± +10 Constitution +5% Chance to not consume bait when fishing Although Sora wasn¡¯t fishing for loot, this ring was a very good catch. He didn¡¯t care too much about normal bait, but if the effect kicks in when fishing with legendary bait then it¡¯s a huge bonus. Sora equipped the ring, officially filling all equipment slots he had open. Grandpa Blossom had been watching Sora when the stats of the ring were shared, greed could be seen in his eyes as he looked at the information on it. Grandpa Blossom was a simple fisherman, so he didn¡¯t want much, but when he saw the ring he had the desire to fish one up himself. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good catch, my boy, I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re selling it are you?¡± ¡°For now, no.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s understandable but still regrettable, haha.¡± ¡°How about this, as thanks for keeping me company I¡¯ll try to give you a gift, the only catch is that it¡¯s up to fate whether you get it or not.¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested. So what¡¯s the gift and how will fate decide if I get it?¡± ¡°I happen to have a couple pieces of legendary bait, they can be used to catch fish that are the equivalent of a boss for fishermen. If I use the first one and my ring effect kicks in, I¡¯ll give you my second piece.¡± ¡°Haha, fate does play quite the roll in this. A five percent chance huh¡­ Well, there¡¯s no point in not giving it a shot, throw your line out there boy.¡± Sora pulled out one of his Solar Worms, that released a blinding light once it was hooked onto the fishing rod. Sora made sure his repair hammers were in an easy place to access before tossing the bait into the ocean. The worm still releases a blinding light as it started going further into the water, eventually disappearing. It had been five minutes since the bait had entered the water, creating a tense atmosphere. Grandpa Blossom didn¡¯t dare to start fishing since he wanted to watch every moment of catching the fish. The silence once again surrounded the boat, this time with less tranquility and more tension. At the seventh minute, the line finally started to hop up and down, as if something were bumping up against it or playing with it. A final tug hit the line as Sora swiftly jerked the rod back, hooking the fish. His fishing line started to glow with the same blinding light that the worm had generated, creating a path of light from his fishing rod all the way to a point too deep in the water to see anymore.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Fierce waves started to generate as the fish fought back, pulling the line around at breakneck speeds. Sora had a hard time keeping up with the speed at which he had to turn, trying his best not to let the line snap. The fish eventually let up for just a moment, which Sora used to reel it closer to the surface. That moment didn¡¯t last long as the fish started to circle around the boat, eventually creating a small whirlpool that seemed like would swallow the small vessel. Sora had to control his rod as the boat started to spin around, the fish was smart as it suddenly started moving in the opposite direction that the boat was spinning, making Sora nearly fall out of the boat. Grandpa Blossom sat with a look of stupor on his face, when had he ever seen such a savage fight with a fish? Even his most riveting tales of fishing would look like child''s play in comparison to this. Emotions that the old man thought he had abandoned a long time ago appeared on his face; a sense of nervousness filled his mind, a lack of confidence assaulted his pride, a cold sweat fell into his eyes. He had been a fisherman for so long, yet if he were put in Sora¡¯s shoes he wasn''t sure if he could even manage to get this far without losing the fish. A roar of laughter filled the air as the old man seemed to have renewed vigor, he finally saw just how challenging fishing in this game was. The thoughts of someday being in the situation that Sora was in gave him a goal that he was looking forward to achieving. Sora was too focused and didn¡¯t see the transformation that Grandpa Blossom had just undergone. The fish was extremely tricky, it had locked up the fishing line and was dragging the boat toward a rocky area near the coast. It was bad if the fish was able to snag the line on the rocks but it was also good since it forced the fish towards the top of the water. The bright light from the fishing line could now be seen going all the way into the water and stopping at the mouth of a fish. The light only showed a small portion of the fish, which wasn¡¯t enough to identify it; Red scales was the only thing visible from the boat. The boat had been dragged into the area with the rocks and the fish had already started to wrap around a rather large rock that had a flat top. Sora didn¡¯t hesitate to jump to the rock, running around the edge of it to keep up with the fish. Sora was able to make a lot of progress in bringing the fish to the surface. The fish noticed his plan wasn¡¯t working and started to go towards a smaller rock. Sora had to jump from one rock to the next, nearly being pulled into the water during the process. Sora was running out of rocks to jump to, so he pulled out a repair hammer and brought the durability from his fishing rod all the way up, using a final jump to forcefully yank the fish out of the water. The durability of the fishing rod plummeted as the fish flew out from the water, landing on the top of a rock that had a somewhat flat surface. Sora¡¯s fishing rod had been taken down to 3 durability, seconds away from breaking. [x1 Blazing Mirror Fish obtained] [Bait Not Consumed] [Novice Fishing Skill has leveled up] The fish had red and yellow scales that radiated heat, along with being shiny to the point of being reflective. The fish size was about half the size of the boat, which was little when thinking of the effects it had on the water when swimming around. The fish spat out a few items before Sora put it away in his inventory. He was also able to save his bait due to the effect of his new ring. [x1 Inventory Expansion Stone obtained] Sora picked up the stone as soon as he saw it since it was probably the rarest thing the fish could drop. The stone would expand his inventory from 75 slots to 150 slots, giving him plenty of room to store trash loot that could still fetch a decent price. He used the stone before looking at anything else. [Inventory Expanded] Sora organized his inventory after the change occurred, keeping it clean and easy to manage. He went back to looting afterward. [x1 Novice Fishing Tips obtained] A small leatherbound book was currently in Sora¡¯s hands, it didn¡¯t have a glow to it and seemed like an ordinary book. Sora opened it, creating a flash of light as the book disappeared. [Novice Fishing Skill has leveled up] Job manuals could be found for any profession, they were extremely rare since they gave a massive amount of progress towards a job skill and only became more and more rare as you became a higher level. [x1 Molten Dagger obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 55/55 Damage - 65-73 Requires - Level 40 - Dagger Class ¡°A Dagger that has been scorched to the point of melting. The dagger miraculously keeps it¡¯s shape even when hitting a metal wall.¡± +15 Agility +10 Constitution +10% Fire Damage The last item didn''t have any use for Sora, he would just sell it to LeeLee at a discount or put it in the auction house if she didn¡¯t want it. Sora pulled out a Solar Worm once again, this time handing it to Grandpa Blossom who was still lost in the magnificence of the fight with the fish. He had watched the entire thing from start to finish, making sure not to miss a single detail. When he was awoken from his stupor by Sora he was reminded of the deal they had made. ¡°Does this mean¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it seems fate wants you to fight a fish¡­ Are you sure you¡¯re ready?¡± ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t say I¡¯ll surely catch it but I¡¯m definitely ready to give it a shot.¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s my turn to watch.¡± Sora and Grandpa Blossom rowed the boat back into the ocean, away from the rocks and coast. Grandpa Blossom carefully hooked the worm onto his rod before throwing his line in the water. The wait had begun once again, this time with Sora sitting on the sidelines. The line suddenly jerked down as the fish was hooked, starting the same madness that Sora dealt with earlier. The fight was just as intense as when Sora has done it, the movements were the same so it was safe to say it was the same type of fish. Grandpa Blossom fought the thing for a half an hour before he was able to pull the monster of a fish into the boat, letting out a roar of laughter as if he had just won the lottery. Grandpa Blossom was grinning from ear to ear as he thought of how he would tell a fishing story that would blow everyone out of the water. He was more excited about the story than the actual loot, which he just tucked into his inventory so he could enjoy this moment a little longer. Chapter 44: Distracting Thoughts Sora looked at the smiling old man, he seemed different when he was smiling like this. Sora was happy that Grandpa Blossom was able to find a path to walk on, but what about himself? He had instinctively jumped into the game because that¡¯s all he had been a part of for the last 10 years. This place was comfortable for him; the people, the places, the ups, the down, even when he was at his worst he still felt more comfortable here than anywhere else. Grandpa Blossom saw the distracted look on Sora¡¯s face, he finally put the fish away so he could talk to Sora. Grandpa Blossom knew only what he had heard about him, he has never really had a man to man talk. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, my boy?¡± ¡°... Ah just questioning everything I have ever done, hehe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone has been there at some point, even I had been living blindly for quite some time now.¡± Sora took a deep breath, he had been ignoring everything up until this point because honestly, he was afraid. A man randomly gets reborn with no warning, everything he had built came crumbling down; even the person he loved didn¡¯t even know him. Sora pondered how much he should tell this old man, he wasn¡¯t a bad person and even admitted his own weakness to help Sora feel better. ¡°What would you do if you had the chance to restart everything? If one day you woke up and you were a child again?¡± ¡°... That¡¯s a tough question, my boy¡­ I don¡¯t regret much, the only regret I have is not being there for my granddaughters more.¡± ¡°You have more than one? You must have your hands full.¡± ¡°Haha, Serah- Er, Blossom might be a little hyper but her heart is still good¡­ I love my other granddaughter but she is far too harsh. Blossom had always been under her big sister''s shadow, trying to catch up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to pry this far.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine, stuff like this can¡¯t be avoided forever. I just hope you can take good care of Blossom in the future, she has had it rough.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea! I didn¡¯t mean to marry her or anything, although I wouldn¡¯t be opposed to that, she see¡¯s you more as a brother than a lover anyway.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Hmm... it¡¯s a bit difficult to describe, just imagine what a little girl sounds like when talking about how cool her big brother is. She hasn¡¯t had an older sibling that treats her kindly so I imagine she is enjoying having someone who she can rely on.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°...Alright, you got a lot of information out of me, now it¡¯s my turn to get some information. It¡¯s awkward for an old man like me to be the only one gossiping you know.¡± ¡°Haha, I guess you right. There¡¯s not much to tell though, I live on my own and play this game.¡± ¡°What about your goals? My only goal is fishing, but that¡¯s because I¡¯m too old to do anything spectacular. You¡¯re still in the prime of your youth, surely you have something in mind.¡± ¡°My goals, huh? Even I am still searching for that, right now I guess I still have the average goals that any youth has; to fall in love, become wealthy, powerful, famous¡­ maybe my goal is to find a goal worth trying for¡­¡± Grandpa Blossom and Sora started to feel a bit awkward, they have only ever fished together so when things got emotional it became too serious. They decided to end the conversation and continue fishing, while Sora was still trying to figure things out in his head. What could a person who has already been at the top have as a goal? Wealth would come as he grows, he was already powerful in the game, and definitely already famous. The only thing left was to fall in love, which he already has. He started to think about Sumi, wondering when they would meet again. He couldn¡¯t really just add her as a friend and say ¡®Hey we were lovers in my past life, let¡¯s be lovers again¡¯. Even meeting her in real life would be difficult due to her background, she was part of a powerful family and didn¡¯t go out a lot. Sora escaped his thoughts once again, throwing the last piece of legendary bait into the water. Sora was too distracted by his thoughts, resulting in the fish getting away. Grandpa Blossom only sighed, he felt a bit guilty for making the mood turn so heavy. He quickly shook off the guilty feeling, thinking that Sora would need to figure things out eventually anyway. He checked the time and thought it would be best to head back to shore anyways. ¡°Are you ready to head back?¡± ¡°Ya.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡­.. A girl with a petite body and straight black hair was currently in the dungeon on top of Frost Peak Mountain. Her username was ¡®Trinity¡¯ and she was playing as a mage, shooting fireballs at the second boss of the dungeon. This was the group''s first attempt at the second boss, so they didn¡¯t know what to expect. The boss suddenly lets out a deafening roar as ice started spreading from the center of the arena and icicles fell from the ceiling. The group wasn¡¯t fast enough and ended up getting frozen in place before being bombarded by icicles, completely wiping the party. The party respawned back at the beginning of the dungeon, a girl who seemed to be close to Trinity ran up to her and acted like she was crying. ¡°S-Sumi, we have to make our way through that stupid dark tunnel again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine, I think I remember the way through. Also, stop calling me by my real name.¡± ¡°Geez at least act like you care. How did Ethereal and his group make it through in one attempt? We even wiped one time on the first boss.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t compare ourselves to top tier players, they are in a different league than us.¡± ¡°Maybe we should try to join his guild, then we can just let him carry us through all the dungeons.¡± ¡°I heard from a friend that they have strict recruitment conditions, I doubt we would ever make it in.¡± ¡°Nonsense, once he sees your beauty he would immediately accept you. Then you can seduce him and get me in the guild too.¡± ¡°There you go again with your weird fantasies, if you want in so bad then you can seduce him.¡± ¡°Hehe, maybe I will.¡± ¡°Hey, are you secretly a slut?¡± ¡°How rude! I¡¯m not healing you this time.¡± ¡°Wait, it was only a joke!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Stop ignoring me!¡± ¡­.. Sora and Grandpa Blossom parted ways, Sora took some time to go eat at a restaurant in the town to think of what to do next. He decided to go back to Var and collect the money from the auction house, everything should have sold by now. Sora left the restaurant and went to a flight service, heading back to Var. Var was bustling with activity as Sora landed, the flight service had a long line and he attracted a lot of attention when he rode through on Luna. Sora could hear gasps of amazement the whole way to the auction house, this was the first mount people have seen so it made him stick out. Sora entered the auction house under the gaze of many people, whose sight lingered on the place Luna used to be for a while. He went to the second floor, going to the same employee that looked like an elf. ¡°Welcome adventurer, you have money that is ready to be collected. Please link your bank account.¡± Sora quickly linked his bank with the game system, making it easier to conduct trades from the real world to the game world. After the account was linked a large number popped up in his deposits. Sora had earned $5000 from selling a necklace, some light armor, a healer staff, a mage staff, a bow, and the Beginner Mana Potion Recipe. More than half of the money had come from the selling the recipe, a lot of groups wanted to dominate the market on the potions, leading to an intense bidding war. Sora opened up the auction page and searched for the recipe, showing a list of more than ten that are being sold for just over 300 dollars. The person who bought Sora¡¯s recipe must have nearly fainted when he realized it wasn¡¯t as rare as people thought. He left the auction house after the transfer was complete, he still had one more thing to do in Var. He looked at his Parrying Dagger, checking to make sure he had completed the item quest. [Vanquisher Parrying Dagger] Rarity - Unique Common Durability - 50/50 Defense - 7 Requires - Level 30 - Vanquisher Knight Class ¡°The parrying dagger is the symbol of the Vanquisher Knight, they are unrivaled in the art of maintaining defense while on offense. The dagger can be turned in for an upgrade once the requirements are met.¡± +10 Strength {Item Quest} 5000/5000 Attacks Parried Sora headed towards the property owned by the royal family, there was a place that served as the barracks for the Vanquisher Knights located within the walls of the castle. Sora entered through a side gate that placed you directly next to the building, he was welcomed by the knights that were standing on guard. Sora entered the barracks and saw a large room that was decorated with many different armors and weapons, all being gold and white. The room was blindingly bright thanks to the way the equipment reflected light. There were a few knights that were standing around talking, ignoring Sora as he walked towards one of the side rooms that was guarded by two knights in the same equipment that was displayed on the walls. ¡°I am here to see Vaticien.¡± ¡°What is your business with our captain?¡± ¡°I am here to receive an upgrade to my parrying dagger.¡± Sora showed the two NPCs his dagger, they responded by giving him a nod of confirmation. Sora passed through the door. Vaticien was currently polishing a parrying dagger within his office, it had an intricate design along the blade, with the symbol of the vanquisher knights located on the hilt. He stopped polishing the blade when Sora walked in. ¡°Ethereal, I hope you have been giving the Vanquisher Knights a good reputation.¡± ¡°I am doing all I can to make sure the Vanquisher knights are not looked down on.¡± ¡°Good, as long as you don¡¯t drag your comrades down they should accept you without any problem. So, what brings you here?¡± ¡°I wish to upgrade my parrying dagger.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see it.¡± Sora handed the parrying dagger over to Vaticien, who started to inspect every inch of the blade. He started to nod, sometimes giving a small smile, as he checked it. After playing with it in his hands he walked over to a drawer and put the dagger within it. He wiped off the dagger he had been polishing before grabbing it by the blade and handing it over to Sora. ¡°You have proven yourself, I hope you are able to do the same again.¡± ¡°I will definitely succeed.¡± [x1 Vanquisher Parrying Dagger obtained] Rarity - Unique Uncommon Durability 55/55 Defense - 14 Requires - Level 45 - Vanquisher Knight Class ¡°This dagger is the considered the official symbol of the Vanquisher Knights that can only be obtained by proving your skills. The dagger can be turned in for an upgrade once the requirements are met.¡± +25 Strength {Item Quest} 0/5000 Boss attacks parried 0/25 Bosses defeated Chapter 45: Assemble the Armies Sora received his new parrying dagger and started heading back towards the Shopping District. He was hoping to run into Green Tea so he could get some information before deciding what he does next. Sora was able to see Green Tea through the window of the tea shop, sitting by himself once again. Sora walked in and sat in front of him while he was immersed in the aroma of the tea he was drinking. ¡°It¡¯s quite an intoxicating aroma, would you like to give it a try?¡± ¡°... I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°Suit yourself, more for me to enjoy.¡± Sora had been waiting for Green Tea to pull his face away from his cup but by the looks of things, he might even stay like that for the whole day. Sora could only sigh before clearing his throat. ¡°I need some information, anything you have.¡± ¡°Mr. Violet Ginseng, I know we could be considered acquaintances but why would I give you information for free?¡± ¡°Because you have loose lips and aren¡¯t good at keeping things secret.¡± ¡°... Fair enough¡­ A couple groups have set their sights on getting guild standards, it seems they were riled up by being outdone by Phoenix Rising. I only have a few bits of information regarding boss locations, if that¡¯s more your style. I even have some hidden information about getting a mount, but even someone who likes to spread rumors still has a price for that kind of information.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°I heard a group of adventurers talk about some kind of mysterious purple fog with a low humming noise near the border of the faction''s territory and the demon¡¯s territory, I didn¡¯t think much of it since it was probably only another part of the map but it might be something interesting.¡± Sora froze at the mention of the purple fog, the only time it would show up was when a demon invasion approached, a time when the demons would counterattack to try and take back territory. Sora didn¡¯t experience a demon invasion for a long time in his past life so it was a little odd that it would show up now. Sora widened his eyes as he realized something, bolting off in a hurry. ¡°...Mr. Violet Ginseng?¡± Green Tea watched as Sora ran out of the door, he was able to see him summon Luna before madly dashing through town. Green Tea was finally pulled away from his cup of tea, staring in shock at the mount that Sora had summoned. ¡­.. Sora had run past the flight station since the line was too long to wait in, continuing out of the gate and heading towards Frost Peak Mountain. -Guild Announcement- All players must immediately report to Frost Peak Mountain. A demon invasion would target the territory that is closest to the demon territory, meaning that Frost Peak Mountain was in danger of being lost. His outpost was too good to lose and he would do everything in his power to keep it. The guild chat exploded with chatter, a lot of people were simply confused. Sora simply left the sentence ¡®Show up now or never again.¡¯ in the chat, silencing everyone as they all started to rush towards Frost Peak Mountain. Sora put Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes in his party. ¡°What¡¯s going on mister fisherman?¡± ¡°I have a suspicion that our outpost is in danger of being lost.¡± ¡°Who would be brave enough to try and take your outpost?¡± ¡°A demon general.¡± A silence filled the chat, leaving everyone to contemplate on those words. If what Sora said is true then this really could be a disaster for Phoenix Rising. Each person had already started leading their players back from Wind Wolf Village as they received the guild announcement, when they were informed of what was going on they quickened their pace. ¡°Will we be enough?¡± ¡°The faction will announce the invasion once it starts, we just need to help break apart their formations and give players some time to get here. Nobunaga, I¡¯m putting you in charge of our main army. LeeLee, you¡¯re going to stay back and help me control the battlefield. Blossom will be our lead attacker, while Athenes will help support her. Start planning for anything and everything, we don¡¯t know what will come our way.¡± Sora disbanded the party to let them all start planning without distraction, they each had their own responsibilities and personalities that shouldn¡¯t be influenced by people with different goals. Sora wasn¡¯t even too confident in the upcoming battle, he only hoped they could barely scrape by. Sora decided to try and get some reinforcements just in case. He scrolled through his friend list until he found Drazi. ¡°Drazi, are you busy?¡± ¡°Just organizing some guild exercises, do you need something?¡± ¡°I have a suspicion that a demon invasion is coming towards Frost Peak Mountain.¡± ¡°... How sure are you?¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°At least 90%. I¡¯m not specifically asking for your help, but know that the rewards for contribution are no laughing matter.¡± ¡°I got it, I¡¯ll tell my guild it¡¯s an exercise to measure their response time, if you¡¯re right then it will be good, if not then we can just end the exercise there.¡± Sora ended the chat with Drazi, entering Frost Peak Village at the same time. He was happy to see that a lot of players still lingered around this area, it should be enough people to hold off for a while. Sora darted through the village on Luna, leaving many people to stare in surprise. It didn¡¯t take long for Sora to reach Frost Peak Mountain, which was still heavily populated by players. Sora went up the mountain, circling to the other side so he could get a better view of the demon¡¯s territory. A deep purple mist was slowly creeping closer, with the shadow of something huge barely visible within. Sora had was now 100% sure that a demon invasion was on its way. He went back down the mountain and went towards his outpost, weaving through players that were traversing the caves. Territory Coffer: 1723 gold and 2 silver Would you like to collect the money? Sora quickly selected yes, not sparing any time to celebrate the large sum of money he had collected. He went into his territory management page and switched the territory to ¡®Defensive Mode¡¯. The innkeeper stopped wiping the table as a loud warhorn sounded within the territory, she went into a back room before coming back out dressed in a black leather outfit and dual wielding daggers. The blacksmith went into his shop and grabbed a full suit of armor, along with a shield and warhammer. The shopkeeper also grabbed a suit of armor, it looked old and worn out but gave off a heroic aura, he used the same old sword he always did and looked at the blade with a sense of melancholy. Every player within the territory heard the warhorn and had a sense of dread well up within them. The atmosphere became tense and every NPC looked like they were about to head off to battle. -Territory Announcement- A demon invasion is almost upon us, those who wish to leave should do so now. Those who wish to fight should rendezvous within the courtyard of the outpost. We will not reward you personally but if we do this right then we will all get a lot of rewards for our contribution to The Easter Legion. The announcement created an uproar within Sora¡¯s territory. Some players looked excited and ready to battle, immediately rushing towards the courtyard. There were a few players that left, giving Sora a largely sized army to work with. In half an hour the army had assembled in the middle of the courtyard, all chattering with excitement. Sora had gone outside and up the mountain while the players assembled, preparing some defensive structures. Defensive Mode allowed territory owners to build siege weapons and defensive walls further out from the normal building parameters. The only issue was that the weapons and structures would disappear once the territory switched back to normal. He had already set up many walls that players could take cover behind along the mountain, making many advantageous points for archers to be positioned. He set up a few ballista, catapults, a magic cannon, and to top it all off he even added a magic artillery. The magic cannon and artillery could use high powered spells, resulting in a destructive force that would wipe away hordes of enemies. The only downfall was that it required a large amount of mana to use each spell. Sora continued to add defensive structures, making the mountain look like an impenetrable fortress. Sora nearly used up all of his money, leaving himself with only about 200 gold. Phoenix Rising had arrived shortly before Drazi, each group looked at the mountain with awe. The siege weapons looked impressive from the ground, creating a sense of danger since a single shot from the magic artillery could one shot a lot of them Each group had entered the outpost, creating their own armies that were separate from each other. Drazi approached Sora who was currently sitting on top of Luna, looking over the sea of players. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± ¡°At this point, I am 100% sure.¡± ¡°...Alright, we will stand together then.¡± ¡°Thank you, Drazi.¡± ¡°No need for that, we are in it for ourselves and you just so happen to be here.¡± Sora only smiled slightly as Drazi walked back to his group, issuing commands to divide up his army. Drazi was able to produce a decently sized army thanks to his fame, resulting in an even greater number than the players in Phoenix Rising. Nobunaga came up next, with LeeLee shuttling behind him. LeeLee took her position next to Sora, trying to hold herself back from petting Luna. Nobunaga was the person put in charge of commanding Phoenix Rising on the front lines so he had come to report. ¡°Every member of Phoenix Rising that is online has reported in, we are awaiting further instructions.¡± ¡°Good, start separating players how you see fit. I recommend having a couple groups of archers on reserve just in case a flying enemy appears, everything else I will leave up to you.¡± Nobunaga left to start organizing his army, Sora would be in charge of the general populace since his name carried a lot of weight, meaning it would be easier for players to listen to him. He told LeeLee to report to the commander''s tent on the outside, located on a flat surface that had an overview of the battlefield. Sora put himself in front of the army consisting of random players, the chatter died down as they realized Sora had something to say. A lot of these players were not part of a guild and looked for someone like Sora to lead them. ¡°As you all know, a demon invasion will be coming shortly. I can not promise you all that we can protect you, in fact, most of you will probably die. I would honestly be surprised if we can even make it through this¡­ Regardless of this we must fight, to engrave our names in the history of ¡°The Divine Path¡±, to obtain the riches we desire, to push ourselves to new heights, and most importantly to prove to the world that The Eastern Legion is NOT to be trifled with!¡± Sora always felt awkward making these speeches, they were something that helped unite the random players. Some of the random players had even felt a bit awkward listening to it, but they also felt their blood coursing faster. A pride for their faction was rooted within their beings, even if they did not show it. ¡°I will be taking the position of commander, along with my vice commander which is currently scouting the battlefield. For those that do not want to be led by me, please step aside.¡± There were only a handful of people that stepped out, creating a small group that stood separately from the three different armies. Sora had expected more to leave so this was surprising. ¡°Alright, I will start dividing you all into different units now. Everybody separate depending on your class.¡± Sora started to form groups based on classes, along with selecting someone from the group to act as a captain. The captain would be in charge of directing the groups based on the orders that Sora passes down. One group that consisted of nothing but archers would be in charge of firing ballista, while also giving backup in case flying enemies appear. Another group that had low-level players would be in charge of catapults, putting them to better use than just running into the field and dying instantly. The rest were dumped into the main body of the army that would fight up front. Sora had Drazi and Nobunaga make a group of mages operate the magic cannon and artillery since they normally had one of the higher mana pools. He also distributed every mana potion he had in stock to them, making sure they could keep firing. As preparations were almost complete a dinging noise resounded throughout the entire faction. -Faction Announcement- Frost Peak Mountain is under siege from a demon general. The king has declared a state of emergency, inviting players to help keep the demons at bay. Rewards will be given depending on your amount of contribution. Sora rushed up the mountain, heading to the commander¡¯s tent where LeeLee was waiting. He saw that she was looking into the distance, towards the purple mist. Sora followed her gaze and saw a massive shadow slowly step out from the fog. A massive body with black scales revealed itself. It looked like a lizard man but with red eyes and spikes protruding from all over its body. The weapons in his hand looked like sickels that had been made from rusted metal, glowing in a soft black light. Sora looked at the nametag and felt all of his hope slip away, LeeLee had similarly lost any hope she had. Level 55 -Miritax, Devourer of Hope- Sora snapped out of it, bringing back a little bit of the hope he had lost as he looked at the army below him. He smiled bitterly as he thought the boss had a fitting name. He looked at Drazi, Nobunaga, and the rest of his captains, who all awaited orders. ¡°Prepare for battle!¡± Chapter 46: The Battle of Frost Peak Mountain The demon couldn¡¯t be seen by the main force since there were many trees blocking their view, only those up the mountain could see him. Nobunaga and Drazi both started to madly run around to make sure each group was positioned properly. The Knights were in front, creating a wall of shields that wrapped around the base of the mountain. Blossom was right behind the wall with a large group of warrior, even she was running around to make sure everyone was ready. Assassins were scattered throughout the forest, they were in charge of picking off any ranged enemies while the wall of knights kept the rest of them in check. The walls that were set up on the mountain had mages, archers, and healers all ready to provide backup for their melee players. Those that could see the giant demon started to sweat, thinking that they didn¡¯t stand a chance. Other players around the mountain had noticed something was going on, when they received the faction announcement they all rushed to the frontlines. Most players would fall in line with the rest of the armies; knights going where the knights are, archers where the archers were, and every other class falling in line with the players that were already there. This helped keep the fighting force more organized. More players started to funnel in, all becoming eerily quiet when they noticed the tense atmosphere. The army didn¡¯t run into any problem until other big guilds arrived, using their own strategies since they didn¡¯t want to mix in with other people. Most players would still fall in line with Sora¡¯s army, but a good amount also started to follow the example of the other guilds and seperated from the main force. Tens of thousands of players had covered the base of the mountain, making the mountain look even more intimidating. Sora and LeeLee looked down from above, looking like great generals that would lead a conquest. The boss was still pretty far away but the smaller enemies should be funneling in at any minute. The quiet was broken by a scout that came running back to the main army. ¡°Enemies straight ahead!¡± The treeline started to be replaced by a line of demons with black skin and red horns. They all wielded a simple sword but they looked and sounded very intimidating. Every player froze up as these ridiculously high leveled enemies appeared. The average player level within the army was only 39, meaning they were far below the enemy in levels. The demons ran at the wall of knights that started to loosen up thanks to their nervousness. Blossom saw the fighting spirit that every player had disappear when the demons showed themselves. She wanted to boost the armies morale, so she did something near suicidal. She used [Savage Pounce] followed by [Devastating Quake], knocking over 15 enemies at once. She used a single shout to reignite the fighting spirit that was lost. ¡°Long live The Eastern Legion!¡± The shout echoed throughout the mountain as Blossom used another [Savage Pounce] to regroup with the army. The echo had barely vanished when a thunderous response came from the thousands of players. ¡°¡±¡±LONG LIVE THE EASTERN LEGION!¡±¡±¡± The wall of shield once again created an impenetrable wall, where each shield overlapped to leave no gaps in between. The demons didn¡¯t even make it to the wall before a rain of arrows littered the area in front of the army. The mages were casting at a steady rate, creating a constant stream of explosives without using up all of their mana at once. Many demons died while the ones that survived kept pushing forward, climbing over the bodies of their comrades. The scene looked like a tsunami crashing against a mountain as the demons started to attack the wall of shields. White and gold flashes could be constantly seen as the healers did their best to keep everyone healthy. The casualties on the player''s side was minimal, only killing the players that decided to do things on their own and occasionally killing a lower leveled knight. Sora and LeeLee were monitoring the positions of everyone while giving out orders. ¡°Nobunaga, reinforce the right side. Drazi your knights are starting to separate. Ballista and catapult groups can start firing. Magic cannon and artillery should hold off.¡± ¡°Mister fisherman, scout reports say that the next wave consists of enemies with bows.¡± ¡°Got it, tell the assassins to get ready. When the next wave gets here tell the knights to create an opening for the warriors to pass through, otherwise they will just sit there and be shot to death. Nobunaga, you will go with Blossom to penetrate the next wave, have Athenes make a small group of healers to follow you.¡± The first wave couldn¡¯t make it past the wall of shields, creating a good starting point for the rest of the fight. The demons were being killed off quickly by ranged attacks, giving the knights an easy task of holding them off. The first wave only had a few more rows of enemies left by the time the second wave came. They had bird heads and carried a bow made from a green wood. The archers and mages weren¡¯t close enough to get a shot on the demons, leaving the knights to tank as much as they could. ¡°Magic cannons and artillery will shoot five volleys of attacks. Nobunaga, use that time to help the knights open a path. Warriors and assassins should be ready to blitz the enemy after the fifth volley.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The magic cannons started to hum as fire filled their barrels, shaking slightly from the immense magical power. The magic artillery formed icicles and started to frost over from the intense cold. Both weapons fired at once, the magic cannon ravaged the demons that were grouped up and almost killed them in one hit, they eventually died due to the flames left on the ground. The artillery created a rain of razor sharp ice that tore apart another group of enemies, turning a part of the battlefield into a zone that would freeze enemies. A mix of explosions filled the sights of the army, boosting their morale even further as they watched the enemy perish so easily. The fifth volley hit, triggering the roar of thousands of warriors that rushed towards the demons. The assassins quietly took out enemies from the back, only making a sound when they attacked with their daggers. Blossom looked like the battlefield was her natural habitat as she tore through the enemy with ease, using [Savage Pounce] and [Devastating Quake] to break apart their formations. This wave was much more brutal since the archers and mages couldn¡¯t do much against the demons, a large amount of knights had fallen due to the bombardment of arrows and hundred of the lower leveled warriors were quickly disposed of. The players held the advantage in numbers but the demons made up for it with their levels. Sora had ordered the rush tactic because he wanted to take out as many archers as he could before the next wave appears. If another melee wave were to come then the demon archers would be able to freely bombard the players without any worries. The archers were killed off very quickly but only at the cost of many player casualties. The random players that were trickling in would either join the army or quickly die when they tried to rush into the demons. Even players who had been playing solo the entire time didn¡¯t hesitate to join the army when they saw what happened to people who were overconfident. Other guilds started their own offensive, using the army as a decoy while they safely pick off demons. It irritated the people who were putting their lives on the line but there wasn¡¯t much they could do about it. Sora tried to get them to work with him but they either ignored him or gave some random excuse. LeeLee was busy managing the army when another scout had reported to her, she had a terrible expression as she came up to Sora. ¡°Flying enemies are on their way. Some of them are carrying black orbs that are glowing red. A group of assassins weren¡¯t careful enough and was spotted, resulting in the black orb exploding and killing everyone.¡± ¡°Everyone retreat up the mountain, flying enemies are on their way. Make sure to kill any enemy carrying a black orb first, if they get too close then it¡¯s over! Ballista should never use their ammo to shoot a regular flying enemy, only target the ones with the black orbs. Catapults should finish off the archers after we retreat. Magic cannons and artillery should not stop firing, use mana potions if you have to!¡± The battlefield suddenly turned very chaotic. The knights backed up while the warriors and assassins ran back, some getting shot in the back. Sora could see giant bats flying through the trees, occasionally he could see one of the black orbs. The big guilds that didn¡¯t want to work together didn¡¯t know what was going on, they were suddenly split apart and left in the open. The bats were close enough for the army to see, each one with long fangs and red eyes. One random player didn¡¯t notice that everyone retreated, his fate was sealed when a swarm of bats pounced on him. A guild that had been left in the open was unlucky and was instantly wiped out by the explosive orbs that the bats were carrying, even their knights were two shot by the explosions. The archers and mages in the main army started to bombard the sky with projectiles, creating what looked like a sky filled with fireworks as the black orbs exploded. The explosions would kill off a lot of bats but also create a heavy smoke that blocked the view of the army. It didn¡¯t take long for accidents to start occurring. A bat suddenly rocketed downwards into the knights at the front, creating a large blast and opening up the wall of shields. The smoke from the blast blocked their view even further, the only thing visible being the flashes of light within the smoke that was always followed by an explosive sound. ¡°If any mages know any type of wind magic then use it to clear up the smoke!¡± Only a handful of mages started to cast low level wind spells. The smoke thinned out a little and created more opportunities for the archers and mages to unload their damage on the bats. This one wave already had three times the amount of casualties the waves before this did. Explosions kept resounding, killing off a massive amount of Sora¡¯s army. Drazi was doing even worse and only had about a third of his guild left. A large portion of healers were taken out, including Athenes. Nobunaga has also fell to the explosions so Sora made Blossom take over. The wave finally ended when half of Sora¡¯s force had been wiped away. Sora was sweating as he looked at the massive amount of casualties, he didn¡¯t think it would turn into this much of a mess. LeeLee was also in a tight spot as she looked at the battlefield which used to be filled with a seas of players but now looked a little empty. ¡°Scout reports say that the next wave is low in number but the enemies look very tough.¡± ¡°... how many are there?¡± ¡°Five in total. Each of them looking like a lizard man and wielding dual swords.¡± ¡°Split the remaining force into five different groups. Try to make their power even, if any group falls then we will order a retreat to the outpost. Have the magic cannons and artillery fire as many shots as they can until they run out of mana, after that ditch the weapons and find a safe position to help from.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sora looked at the remaining army with a difficult expression. They all looked demotivated from the last wave, resulting in some even leaving the battlefield. The random players were still cleaning up some straggling demons and looked like they didn¡¯t care too much about anyone else. There was a little time before the next wave so everyone was currently restocking on supplies or resting to refill their mana. Drazi and Blossom were the only captains left. They came up to Sora with their heads hung low, as if they were ashamed of the outcome. ¡°The players will become demoralized if they see their leaders like this, you need to keep your head held high even if you are facing the enemy alone.¡± ¡°...We could have done mo-¡± ¡°Stop, you should be proud that we were able to keep the army together for so long. The Red Devil should not be so remorseful, she should be the savage force that tears apart the enemies and lifts the players spirits.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ll fight until my last breathe.¡± Sora looked at his dagger and sword, the reflection showing his downcast face. He tightened his grip on the weapons before snapping out of it, wielding them as he walked towards the frontlines. ¡°Then I can only follow your example. Show me how savage I should be, Red Devil.¡± Chapter 47: An Army In Despair Sora walked down the hill, he could see players dragging themselves into groups while looking hopeless. This one wave had cleanly wipe away a majority of the main force, bringing the morale of everyone down. Sora took control of a group, becoming the main tank for the team. The group was at least happy to see Sora taking action. A lot of people looked up to him, trying to reach his height. Sora followed his own advice and kept his head held high, trying his best to remain confident. Drazi, Blossom, and Solid Brick were the leaders of three other teams, with the last team mainly consisting of another guild that had joined forces with Sora. After the annihilation the bats caused nearly every guild had finally decided to join in with the main army. More random players were trickling in but the majority of players that wanted to fight had already rushed here, meaning the rest of the fighting force was already assembled. LeeLee was still looking over the battlefield, she would have to take over as active commander since Sora had joined a group. Sora wanted to give a speech to raise the player morale but was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the trees. Every player there tensed up as they heard the sound. LeeLee started to give out orders, having everyone be prepared to fight. Each group spread out, so that they could keep their targets from attacking other groups. The demons finally stepped out of the trees, letting out a thunderous roar as they spotted their next prey. Sora¡¯s group was at the front so he attacked first, sending the entire battlefield into a frenzy. The sound of the magic cannon and artillery constantly echoed throughout the area, drowning out the sounds of players screaming and attacking. The tanks were fairing off well, the only problem was that the demons would swipe their tails every now and then, resulting in tens of deaths in an instant. If a damage dealer accidentally took aggro then they would be one hit, very few warriors could survive the damage that the boss put out. The tanks of each group were constantly bathed in a golden light as the healers continuously poured their mana into healing them. Sora¡¯s group was doing the best, since Sora was able to hold aggro on his target. His group stayed away from the back of the boss to avoid the tail swipe, only a few would die each time since there simply wasn¡¯t enough room for everyone to attack unless some went behind it. The lower levels noticed this and sacrificed themselves so that the higher levels could take over on a better position. Sora was barely able to parry since he was being overwhelmed by the strength of the demon. The rest of the groups were having trouble with aggro control, especially Blossoms group. She was constantly out aggroing her tank, resulting in the boss targeting her. She finally got tired of it and took over as the main tank, she could take a couple hits so it wasn¡¯t a terrible idea. Solid Brick was doing surprisingly well, but still had slip ups and lost people. Drazi didn¡¯t have many people left so his group was having difficulty doing damage, meaning people would start to run out of mana once the fight drags on for too long. ¡­.. ¡°Hurry up, Trinity! We are going to miss the whole thing!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault! We had to finish the dungeon before we left.¡± Sumi and her friend were rushing to the other side of the mountain, they heard the sounds of the magic cannon and artillery and felt their heart beating faster. They were excited to be a part of such a large scale battle and were rushing to make sure they were there for the end. They had just passed by the part of the mountain that jutted out, revealing the defenses that Sora had put up as they came around. They rushed even faster with smiles, expecting to see an epic battle where the players came together to defeat the demons. When they had gotten to the top of a hill that overlooked the battlefield they became shocked. There were barely any players left, many parts of the ground had craters with black scorches surrounding them. Some trees had hundreds of arrows pierced into their trunks, some had even been directly snapped in half or burned down. The players were struggling to hold things together, nearly using up every bit of mana they had. Three of the groups were almost wiped out already, while the other two had somehow pulled the health of their targets down below 20%. ¡°Th-this¡­ hey Sumi, doesn¡¯t it look like we are losing pretty badly?¡± ¡°... Maybe this is everyone that showed up?¡± The two girls snapped out of their thoughts and ran towards the battlefield, joining in with Blossoms team. She had taken the boss on the left while Sora had the boss on the right. He was too preoccupied to pay attention to the entire battlefield and didn¡¯t even notice the girls joining. Blossom noticed the two new recruits and already issued out some command for them. Sumi was a mage while her friend was a healer so they had relatively safe spots in the fight.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡­.. A roar was heard as the boss that Sora was fighting had finally been picked off, leaving only a couple hundred players. The boss didn¡¯t drop any loot so the team instantly moved on to the next boss, giving some help to Drazi who was in desperate need of reinforcements. The magic cannon and artillery ran out of mana to operate a while back, reducing the armies damage output drastically. The players who were operating the machines were freed from it but they had depleted all of their mana so they weren¡¯t able to do much. Drazi ended up dying to a tail swipe, killing off the last person from his guild. The boss was relatively low but only a hundred players remained. At this rate he would lose nearly every player he had. Blossom was able to relieve some tension as she finished off her boss, moving to the group that Solid Brick was leading. Each boss fell one by one, ending when there were only 300 hundred players left in the entire army. The random players made up over 200 players, creating a hard to manage army. The final scout ran through the treeline, a panicked look on his face when he saw the pathetic amount of players that were left. ¡°The main boss is nearly here¡­¡± Every player had a pained expression as they heard the news, they had lost most of their fighting force and didn¡¯t have any hope of killing off the last boss. Sora made a pained expression as he walked to the front of the crowd, being the bearer of bad news wasn¡¯t pleasant for him. ¡°Retreat to the outpost if you still want to fight, that is where we will make our last stand. The boss will take awhile to get there so we could recover and wait for reinforcements if we need to¡­ if you don¡¯t want to fight¡­ leave before it¡¯s too late.¡± A handful of people took his advice and left, they didn¡¯t see a point in continuing. The rest of the group lined up behind Sora and started to make their way back to the cave. Solid Brick, First Shot, and Second Shot stayed behind to use some shots from the ballista to help soften him up a bit. Sumi¡¯s friend had died during the last battle, she filed into the group of players and started to head back to the outpost. Sora didn¡¯t notice her since she was fairly small, being hidden at the back of the crowd. A silent journey took place as the survivors made their way to the final battlefield. The silence was only broken by the sounds of ballista and catapults firing for a few seconds, only to become quiet once again. ¡­.. Sumi quietly followed the crowd, her nerves were shaken as she saw the hopelessness in Sora¡¯s eyes. She became sadder and sadder as the fiery glint of confidence in Sora¡¯s eyes slowly faded away. He kept his head held high but Sumi could tell it was only a facade to keep the players from falling in morale. She gave a small sigh, she had thought that Ethereal would be a person who thought he was above everyone else but he seems to care more for the people than for himself. She couldn¡¯t help but admire him a little, she questioned if she would be able to do the same. ¡°Amazing isn¡¯t he?¡± Blossom had fallen to the back of the crowd, she didn¡¯t feel like she had earned the right to walk in front and needed a moment to hang her head low. If Sora saw her moping then he would surely feel even worse about the outcome of the battle. She had seen Sumi looking at Sora and couldn¡¯t help but chime in. Sumi was a bit confused at first, she pointed to herself to make sure Blossom was talking to her. She felt that someone who had earned the nickname of Red Devil would not be so friendly. Blossom simply nodded in confirmation. ¡°... He really is, I didn¡¯t imagine him to be so down to earth. He didn¡¯t feed false hope to the people here and told them exactly what we all already knew. He didn¡¯t persuade them to stay and even suggested they leave if they want.¡± ¡°How about I tell you the story of how we met, it¡¯s a little funny when I think about it.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Hmmm, where do I begin? Me and my friend¡­¡± Blossom told the story of asking Sora for directions to fight some wolves, she described Sora as a boring fisherman who couldn¡¯t defend himself which made Sumi laugh a little. Her heart warmed as she heard the story of how Sora saved Blossom and LeeLee, then immediately brought them along on a hidden quest. Blossom was able to tell a lot of stories of the adventures she had with Sora and LeeLee, Sumi couldn¡¯t help but feel a little jealous. Blossom¡¯s adventure was only something that she could dream of, she had always blended in with the masses and didn¡¯t think it would be possible to be at the top of the gaming world. ¡°... then he shut everyone up by posting his own video of what really happened. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s amazing? He is someone you can always rely on, which makes me feel like always trying to be there to help out too. I learn something new every time we adventure together and he doesn¡¯t put me down because of my faults.¡± ¡°Haha, It sounds like your group is more like a family and Ethereal is the big brother that protects all his siblings.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ Ya, it¡¯s where I feel most comfortable¡­ Ah, looks like we are here, I have to go report to mister fish- Er, Ethereal. It was nice talking to you, I¡¯ll put in a good word and see if I can get you in the guild.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have-¡± ¡°Nope! I¡¯m doing it for me!¡± Sumi watched as Blossom ran up to the front of the crowd, a beaming smile on her face. Sumi looked into the sky and imagined what it would be like if she really was able to join the guild, would she be able to find comfort like Blossom? ¡­.. Sora had walked into the cave, he stopped at the first intersection to make sure nobody got lost. Both directions would take you to the outpost but the one on the left was shorter and less complicated. Blossom and LeeLee started to lead the group while Sora stayed at the intersection, assessing the players as they walked by. At the end of the crowd a petite girl with black hair was trailing behind. Sora shook his head a bit as he looked at her, it was a little dark and he had thought he might have been making a mistake. He kept seeing what looked to be a younger version of Sumi. His heart started to beat faster and faster every time he reconfirmed his eyesight. When the nametag finally appeared his heart skipped a beat as a name accidentally passed by his lips. ¡°... S-Sumi?¡± Chapter 48: The Final Stand Sumi stopped walking, she could have sworn she just heard her name being called. She looked behind her and the only person there was Sora, staring at her with his mouth slightly open from shock. She started to doubt her ears, she looked around and found out she was the only person around. She wanted to ask Sora if he called out to her but felt awkward, she would be embarrassed if she was wrong. An awkward silence filled the space between them, both of them not sure of what to do. Sora had realized his mistake and found himself in an awkward position, of course it would be weird to call her by her real name when he shouldn¡¯t even know it. Sumi found herself alone with Sora and felt nervous, what if she had misheard him and now she was just awkwardly standing in front of him. The awkward silence was finally broken when the sound of heavy footsteps had entered the cave, by the time Sora looked behind him the demon was already right there. He pushed Sumi away as a sickle came flying down, barely missing them both. Before Sumi could say anything else, Sora built a couple walls at the left entrance of the cave. He bolted to the right, being hit from behind by a monstrous force that rocketed him further into the cave. His health had been depleted to triple digits in one hit but Sora used the last of his gold to put up one more wall, hoping it would slow the boss down enough. Sora started to run down the passage just as the boss hit the wall, taking away just under 50% of the durability it had. Sora didn¡¯t have much time so he ran without looking back, even if he built 100 walls it would only delay the inevitable while also blocking reinforcements from coming in. The boss broke through the wall within seconds, Sora was luckily able to gain some distance in that short amount of time and kept himself away from the boss. A long chase started, the winding caves making it even harder on him since one dead end would be his doom. Sora concentrated the best he could to remember the correct path to take. ¡­.. Sumi was sitting on the ground in a stupor, a loud bang was heard a few times followed by a crumbling noise. She didn¡¯t know what would happen next so she started to run through the cave, catching up to the group and running straight to Blossom. ¡°The boss is in the cave!¡± ¡°What?! Where¡¯s Ethereal!?¡± ¡°... He blocked the passage, I don¡¯t know what happened to him.¡± ¡°Ah, forget it, I¡¯ll message him while we all run!¡± The group made a mad sprint through the cave, luckily Sora had put signs up so everybody was able to find their way without a problem. Blossom tried to message Sora a few times but didn¡¯t get anything back, she started to fear the worst had happened. She kept trying to contact him up until the group made it to the cavern, getting nothing in response. The outpost was empty, all of the players either joined the fight or left since all the shops had been closed during the territory defense mode. Some still lingered around in the chasm but didn¡¯t have any interest in the event, only focusing on getting EXP from the corrupted creatures. The NPCs stood outside of their shops, each of them wearing battle gear and carefully watching the area. The player started to form groups again, when they heard that Sora had sacrificed himself they all felt bitter. Each player here was the strongest out of the entire army, so someone sacrificing himself for them only hurt their pride. They didn¡¯t doubt that Ethereal was the strongest amongst them but they also knew they could also hold their own. Some of the random players were hoping that Sora was killed off, this way they could earn a little more reputation for themselves. A leader of one of the smaller guilds walked to the front of the group. ¡°I will take control of the army since Ethereal is gone now, any problems with that?¡± ¡°I think it would be better if I take con-¡± ¡°Hey, what about me?¡± ¡°I have the highest level here, it should be me!¡± ¡°What does your level have to do with leading an army?!¡± The group started to fall apart, without Sora here everyone was confident that they were the strongest. LeeLee was technically the commander right now but everyone overlooked her. Blossom was getting ticked off as she heard the other players fight over who should command. Some of the smarter players backed out of the argument when they saw Blossom¡¯s anger showing, the dumber ones had to face the wrath of the Red Devil. ¡°Have you all forgotten who is already in charge?!¡± ¡°Psh, that little girl can¡¯t lead an army, she can¡¯t even talk-¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Blossom flipped out when she saw LeeLee hanging her head down, she had always been shy and Blossom had to be the one to defend her. Just when she was about to start shouting LeeLee stepped in front of her. LeeLee might have been shy but she couldn¡¯t drag down the rest of the guild because of her faults. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for me then you would all be dead right now!¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Blossom was shocked, she had never seen LeeLee use such a loud voice before. Even the person who was criticising her had heard the commanding undertone in her voice, a lot of people forget that LeeLee is one of the strongest players in the game right now. The surprisingly aggressive tone reminded them that she was a high rank within Phoenix Rising. LeeLee would normally sit back and take the insults but Sora had entrusted her as the commander, she couldn¡¯t show her weakness right now. She knew her importance, she had been keeping the entire army together and saved a lot of people. If it wasn¡¯t for her orders then who¡¯s to say the battle wouldn¡¯t have already ended with a complete wipe. The arguing over the commander position stopped there, everybody was on edge and felt like taking things into their own hands but who here could actually handle the responsibility of this life or death situation. ¡­.. Sora had been running around this cave for a full ten minutes, always staying the same distance away from the boss. His big body made it harder for him to traverse the caves so he was slowed down quite a bit. Sora was nearly at the entrance to the outpost, he had been trying to devise a plan but couldn¡¯t come up with anything that would for sure be able to defeat this guy. The entrance was in sight, he dashed into the outpost and saw a group of players in the courtyard with the NPCs. When the boss was in sight everybody tensed up and became serious. ¡°Surround him, let the NPCs stand in front with me!¡± The group formed a semicircle to welcome the boss into, his body was big enough for every melee class to fit around, while the archers and mages stood in the back. Sora used [Purge With Silver] to deal damage to the boss, it was corrupted so it took 400% damage from the attack. Sora was able to lock aggro but the damage he was taking nearly killed him with every attack. The healers had to constantly keep their spells on him or else he would fall. The boss would sometimes attack with his offhand, killing off players at random. The NPCs wouldn¡¯t die, their health dropped to 1 before they used a scroll to teleport out. All three of the NPCs were gone within the first five minutes of the fight, only bringing the boss down to 70% health before they left. The number of random players that died only totaled 20 but now that the NPCs were gone, their death toll would start to go up. The only skill the boss would use happened at every 10% interval, he would roar and fear everyone for a couple seconds. Every time it was used Sora was just a second away from death. It didn¡¯t take long for the players to be reduced to only 50, with the boss still having 49% health. Most of the players were only healers, with only a handful of damage dealers. Blossom died from two offhand attacks, the healers couldn¡¯t focus on anybody other than Sora so she had to tank the second hit with barely any health. LeeLee was the next to fall, she died in one hit and didn¡¯t even have a chance to use the curses she applied to her dagger. He was the only person left from his guild other than two people who fell shortly after LeeLee. The boss was only at 42% health when his last guild member fell, Sora had finally given up hope since the healers would run out of mana soon. Just as Sora felt all hope disappear a wolf¡¯s howl was heard, echoing through the cavern. A horde of warriors riding wolves rushed into the cavern, surrounding the boss once again. Each of the warriors was level 45, dealing damage comparable to Sora. He saw the chieftain of Wind Wolf Village leading the pack, riding a pure black wolf that let out a savage snarl as it attacked the demon. With the addition of the wolf riders, the boss¡¯s health started to fall at a steady pace once again. [Wind Wolf Village has sent reinforcements.] Sora was confused at first, he couldn¡¯t remember anything like this happening in his last life. The notification had more information on it but he was too busy to read it right now. The remaining players were even more confused, a bunch of wolf riders just randomly joined the battle. They weren¡¯t sure about what was happening but were happy since the battle had tipped in their favor. The wolves were savage, attacking alongside with the warriors mounted on them. The wolf riders were able to deal more damage than when he still had 300 players fighting the boss, resulting in the boss¡¯s health bar becoming empty in only 20 more minutes. [Level Up] -Faction Announcement- Frost Peak Mountain has been successfully defended thanks to the brave warriors of The Eastern Legion. All players killed in battle will be revived. Long live The Eastern Legion! Top Contributors ¡­ Blossom was able to achieve higher points thanks to the fact that she was fighting the entire time, Sora and LeeLee still earned points for commanding but dealing damage, tanking, and healing helped obtain much more. Solid Brick had surprisingly obtained the third place, being the black horse of the event. The remaining players started to cheer, nearly crying from the excitement. The spawn points burst with light as the players that died in the battle started to resurrect, each one being confused at first before bursting out with joy. Sora could only fall to his knees and let out a long sigh as the battle officially ended, even forgetting to grab the loot that dropped. His territory was more important to him so when he finally secured it he had forgotten about everything else. Some of the more risky players started to huddle up around Sora, some of them hugging him, shaking him, giving him a thumbs up. Even the players that didn¡¯t like Sora could appreciate the narrow victory. Sora finally had a moment to read up on why the wolf riders had come to help them as the players were celebrating. [Wind Wolf Village has sent reinforcements] Those who own a territory being attacked by a demon invasion will receive reinforcements from factions with the ¡®Family¡¯ reputation. The faction requires time to mobilize their forces, resulting in faster help the closer you are or no help if you are too far away. If a faction has the ¡®Loathed¡¯ reputation, they will instead send hunters to attack your territory in a Faction vs. Faction battle. Sora knew about the hunters during a Faction War but didn¡¯t have any idea that reinforcement would come during a demon invasion. The chances of a territory being attacked are slim to none since players would usually fight on a battlefield to stop any damage to their territory. It also required a family reputation which people only achieved if the rewards were worthwhile, along with time for the faction to travel. If the Wind Wolf Village didn¡¯t have fast mounts then everyone would have probably been wiped before they arrived. Sora looked at the loot and only saw rare equipment with a single lucky coin. He took the coin and let everyone else take whatever they wanted. The wolf riders started to head back to their village after they helped, some players thanked them even though they were just NPCs. Sora looked around to find Sumi, she was off to the side still taking a break from the stressful fight. Sora walked up to her with steady steps but a racing heart, to him this was his biggest reward. Sumi became startled when she saw Sora walking towards her, she jumped up to her feet as he stood in front of her. ¡°Trinity, would you like to join Phoenix Rising?¡± ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯m only a casual gamer, you even had to save me back there¡­ By the way, I could have sworn I heard you say my real name back th-¡± ¡°Yes I am sure, please join!¡± ¡°... Alright, I¡¯ll join then.¡± Sora tried to hide his excitement but a smile still appeared on his face, a song of triumph played in his mind. Sumi was confused, she kept asking herself if they had maybe met somewhere before and tried to figure out why he was so happy that she joined. She pushed the thoughts away as guild request popped up. [Trinity has joined the guild.] Chapter 49: Contribution Rewards The guild chat welcomed Sumi as she joined the guild, showing her a friendly welcome. Blossom was especially excited, she had come to like Sumi and was going to talk to Sora about inviting her anyway. Sumi was under the impression that Blossom had already talked to Sora about inviting her since she didn¡¯t have any connection with Sora yet she was still invited in. Her friend popped into her mind, she kept wondering if it would be rude to ask if she could also join. She decided to not ask for now, maybe she could make her way into the guild on her own and Sumi wouldn¡¯t need to ask. She was grateful to Sora and didn¡¯t want to put him in an awkward position by bringing up her friend. ¡°Thank you for accepting me, I¡¯ll do my best to earn my spot.¡± ¡°As long as you have that mentality then you should be able to fit in.¡± Sora wasn¡¯t sure where to go from here, he already had so many feeling for Sumi but didn¡¯t know how to connect those feeling he had with the current Sumi. His emotions were struggling between treating her as a long lost lover and treating her as a new member of the guild. The important part was that Sora had found her and secured her a position in the guild, meaning that he had plenty of time to mull things over. Sora steeled his heart to treat her as if she was a new member for now, rushing into things wouldn¡¯t do any good. Sora had fallen in love with the Sumi five years from now, she could be completely different at this point. ¡°The guild will be doing an event together, you should tag along if you have the time. We will be stopping to turn in our contribution points first though.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ let me tell my friend that I¡¯ll be busy.¡± ¡°Bring her along if you want, she shouldn¡¯t get in the way. Did she respawn in Var?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We can pick her up when we go to turn in our contribution points then.¡± Sora already had an idea of who the friend she was talking about was, they had joined Sora¡¯s guild together in his past life. Her friend should have the username ¡®Little Cloud¡¯ and be a healer class. Sora didn¡¯t have too much of an opinion on her, she was an outgoing girl that usually got along with everyone. She slowly became distant with Sumi and after a while completely stopped talking to her. Sora could still remember the times when Sumi cried and said she was afraid to tell him the reason why they stopped talking. Those memories still made Sora worried, even though they haven¡¯t even happened yet. Sora decided to stop thinking about that, he started to look around for other guild members. ¡°All of the guild members can leave towards Var together.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone else survived¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I guess it¡¯s just us then.¡± Sora and Sumi started walking together, Sora had always been used to walking side by side with her while Sumi was still nervous. Sora found himself always inching a little too close, he didn¡¯t think he could handle this for too long and ended up summoning Luna to ride next to her, creating a gap. Sumi looked at Luna in amazement, letting out a sigh of adoration at the beautiful wolf. ¡°C-can I pet it?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Sumi stroked the silver fur, creating a glimmer of light that traveled along with her hand. Sora watched her and was glad to see she was just as gentle as he remembered, even when petting such a huge beast she calmly strokes its fur as if it was a delicate flower. Sumi enjoyed the soft sensation on her had, Luna¡¯s fur felt like a mixture of cotton and silk; it was poofy yet smooth, nobody would be able to guess that this fur had an insane amount of defense. Sora hesitated to ask Sumi if she wanted to ride along with him, he kept telling himself not to accidentally slip up but eventually he convinced himself that this one thing was alright ¡°Hey Trinity, did you want to¡­ maybe wanna ride up here too?¡± ¡°Eh? Are you sure? I don¡¯t want to put too much weight on the poor thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Luna is tougher than she looks.¡± ¡°You named her Luna? It¡¯s a beautiful name, very fitting for her¡­ If you insist then I can¡¯t refuse.¡± Sora pulled Sumi up, letting her ride on the back. Luna started off by walking so that Sumi could get used to the ride, mounts may be added by the game but they still felt awkward when first riding them. Once Sora was sure that Sumi was used to it he made Luna go a little faster. Sumi was still able to hold on but she became a little more unsteady now that they were going faster. Sora continued letting Sumi get used to riding Luna all the way until they had reached Frost Peak Village. Sumi got off of Luna before they entered the village, they didn¡¯t want to draw any unnecessary attention. The flight service wasn¡¯t that busy so they were able to take off towards Var as soon as they got there. Var was currently packed with players, nearly everyone that had died in the battle had respawned here all at once. The flight service going out of Var had become so long that many players walked to their destinations since it would be faster than waiting in line. Sora had wanted to just get on his mount and push through the crowd but then Sumi would get lost, he found a nearby alleyway and started taking the long way around. Their destination was a building located in the royal territory. The events always had many players so a separate building was set up just to handle giving out rewards for contribution points.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sora and sumi finally arrived at the building after a lot of detours, the main road was packed with players that made it hard to move around. Sora was hoping The Eastern Legion could take another territory already so they could open up new cities for the players. The building was circular in shape with a dome shaped roof. There were one hundred different counters where players could turn in their contribution points. Sora and Sumi had to travel a long distance to get here so a majority of the players had already been through. Sora could see Blossom standing together with LeeLee, Nobunaga, Athenes, and someone else that he hadn¡¯t met. His username was ¡®Silent Justice¡¯ and he had cleanly cut black hair. Sora looked at his level and it was barely at level 15, he wondered why he would be hanging around here after just getting out of the beginner village. Sora approached them and when the man turned around he finally recognized him. ¡°Kira?¡± ¡°Hehe, long time no see Sora.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s best we don¡¯t use real names here, sorry I was just surprised.¡± ¡°No problem, I just came here from the beginner village and ran into Sister Blossom. You said to just tell someone from Phoenix Rising that I wanted to talk so I did just that and waited with them.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­ What are your plans now?¡± ¡°I actually had something to discuss with you, it¡¯s rather important so I didn¡¯t mind waiting.¡± ¡°Alright, we can all take a break after getting our rewards. We can talk at that time.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me, it would probably be best for us to talk in private though. I don¡¯t have anything against anyone here but it really is important to me.¡± ¡°... We can get a private table at a restaurant or something then. Everyone else should go claim their rewards, Blossom, let the guild members know we will be relaxing at the usual restaurant. They don¡¯t have to come but I would like to get to know our guildmates more.¡± Sora got in line to claim his prize, most of the guild members had waited for Sora to claim their rewards. The large amount of reward vendors helped speed the process up and get every guild member through in only 10 minutes. Sora¡¯s group was the last to claim their rewards. Blossom had the highest contribution and many people were curious to see what she would obtain. Sora and Blossom were the last ones to get their reward. Sora walked up to the counter, there was nothing but a chest with a glass lock. Sora held the lock in his hand and the number 28,457 appeared in front of him. The number depleted at a rapid rate, a tiny orb of swirling light appeared for every point deducted. The orbs all traveled into the glass lock, making the color of the light appear more and more vibrant as the orbs entered it. After every orb entered the lock a small clicking noise was heard as the lock turned blue and opened. Sora opened the chest and pulled out a book. [x1 Skill Book: Enhanced Slash obtained] -Use this item to enhance Slash skill. [Enhanced: Slash obtained] Cost: 20 mana Cooldown: 5 seconds -Attack that deals 175% Damage It wasn¡¯t what Sora was hoping for, he was fine with his old [Slash] skill and didn¡¯t really need the upgrade yet. He could only let out a sigh and curse his bad luck. The only person left now was Blossom. LeeLee had gotten a new dagger, meaning Sora could go ahead and sell the dagger he was going to sell to her. Nobunaga secured a couple pieces of armor, it was pretty decent luck considering he had been killed off pretty early in the fight compared to everyone else. Athenes was probably the most unlucky and got another Greater Healing skill book. She could only let out a small sigh before putting on her same cheerful smile. Blossom drained the last bit of contribution points she had into the lock, the light swirled wildly before turning purple and making a small clicking noise. Sora looked at the purple lock and already knew it would be a good item since the lock color would depend on the quality of the item. Blossom opened up the chest and a crow with dark violet feathers flew out from within. -Server Announcement- Player Sister Blossom has obtained the first Epic Pet. +100 Gold +100 Fame +Pet Level The crow cawed as it bathed in a golden light, directly raising it¡¯s level up to 35. Blossom looked at the little crow with shock before a wide smile appeared as the crow landed on her arm. The crow cocked it¡¯s head at the laughing Blossom, looking fairly cute for a crow. ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯ll call you Black Devil so we can share the burden of such a wonderful name.¡± The crow simply responded with a caw before flying around some more and landing on Blossom¡¯s shoulder. Many of the players around her started to look with curiosity at what a pet was like. Everyone in Phoenix Rising congratulated Blossom, making her even more happy as they walked out of the building. The guild found their way to the usual restaurant, they just started calling it the Phoenix Restaurant thanks to how often guild members met up here. The entire place was nearly empty before they came but packed full as every member piled in. Sora and Kira found a table upstairs that was away from everyone else, they could still hear the loud cheering and laughing from the guild members but it was easy to ignore. ¡°So, what is so important?¡± ¡°I followed your advice and launched the delivery campaign. It¡¯s still in a testing phase but most of the problems that arise get sorted out in the same day. We expect to go public with it very soon, possibly even before the new VR system comes out¡­ The only problem is that we don¡¯t have an efficient way to advertise the service to people who play the game.¡± ¡°So you want to sponsor Phoenix Rising, right?¡± ¡°Exactly. I tried to get you the best deal I could but many people within the company were opposed to the conditions I set forth. They won¡¯t budge until they see results. That being said, I hope you don¡¯t get offended when I offer a slightly lower sponsorship than I had intentionally planned.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s hear it then. We might be acquaintances but if the value is really as low as you''re making it seem then I honestly can¡¯t agree to it so easily, especially if a contract is involved.¡± ¡°I thought you would say that so I managed to talk them out of a long term contract, we agreed on $3,000 for the first month of our delivery business. If things go smoothly then we will come back and negotiate more.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I have one other condition, it¡¯s more of a personal request though so it shouldn¡¯t affect your company.¡± ¡°That is?¡± ¡°You join Phoenix Rising and manage it¡¯s finances.¡± ¡°What would that include? I¡¯ve never managed a guild before so I don¡¯t know what I should do.¡± ¡°You will basically just keep an eye on the market and use the guild money to purchase supplies and services for our guild members. It may sound easy but it¡¯s important to keep an eye on how prices fluctuate within the game, one day something might be dirt cheap while the next day it¡¯s worth it¡¯s weight in gold. The job itself only requires a bit of time each week to study prices, you should still have a lot of free time in between.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s something like that then I can definitely agree to it. I¡¯m better at running the market than playing the game anyways.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal then.¡± [Silent Justice has joined the guild.] Chapter 50: Blossoms Pain Sora returned to the table where Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes was at. Kira had to log off so he could set up more meetings and finish up the paperwork for the sponsorship. Sora wanted to take this time to get to know some of the other guild members, he had been too busy to properly meet them so Sora felt bad. A lot of new faces would briefly show up at Sora¡¯s table, chat for a while, and then leave so others could have a bit of time at the table too. With so many people here, it didn¡¯t take long for trouble to start. ¡°A bunch of no name idiots that are hanging on to someone else''s fame.¡± A sharp remark made its way to everyone''s ears, instantly silencing the restaurant. Sora looked over and was shocked to see a familiar face, she had a diamond shaped face with long red hair. A look of disgust could be seen in her eyes as she surveyed the people in front of her, especially when her gaze landed on Sora¡¯s table. Her username was simply ¡®Spring¡¯ and she was very famous in his past life. She led a guild that was only full of elite players, not sparing a second glance at any subpar players. Sora didn¡¯t have a good impression of her and wanted nothing more than to put her in her place. When Sora followed her gaze he noticed that she was singling out Blossom. Blossom was shaking, a look of anger and nervousness clearly written on her face. ¡°Blossom¡­¡± Before Sora could finish his thoughts, Spring started walking towards his table. Every player of Phoenix Rising looked at her with fire in their eyes, yet she remained unperturbed by it and acted as if she was just casually walking through. She stopped in front of Sora¡¯s table and slammed her hands on the table, making Blossom jump and clench her fists even tighter. ¡°Long time no see, my cute little sister.¡± ¡°...It really has been a while, big sister.¡± Even Sora had been thoroughly confused by this sudden development. Blossom was the sister of one of the most famous players in the game. He suddenly thought back to what Grandpa Blossom had said, it seems he wasn¡¯t exaggerating when he said they don¡¯t get along. Sora decided to sit on the side, for now, this was something Blossom had to face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Couldn¡¯t stand by my side so you jumped to the next person that could take care of you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it is-¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s your boyfriend then? How sad, you didn¡¯t even introduce me even though we are family.¡± Blossom couldn¡¯t hold her head up at this moment, she stared at the table in front of her and didn¡¯t dare make eye contact with her sister. Sora had wanted to stay on the side but he was getting more and more irritated as he listened in. He was just about to jump in when Blossom finally firmly looked at her sister in the eyes, strengthening her tone as she stared daggers at her. ¡°Do not bring him into this.¡± Even her big sister had to give in a little when she saw her like this, Blossom had always been submissive when talking to her so it was weird when she suddenly became so serious. The big sister simply looked at Sora once before turning around, stopping after only a couple steps. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to bring anyone else into it, I just hate it when someone follows another person''s shadow¡­ It¡¯s disgusting. Mother was worried about you and wants you to call her, that¡¯s all I came here for.¡± Blossom slowly unclenched her fist as she left, her serious face turned into one of sadness as she stood up and started walking towards the door. She stopped at the doorway before turning around to face the rest of the guild. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the mood was ruined because of me.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Blossom slipped out of the door before anyone could say anything, everyone felt sorry for her and wanted to comfort her but she left too quickly for anyone to respond. LeeLee was about to get up and follow Blossom but Sora had already bolted to his feet before she was able to. Nobunaga watched LeeLee slowly sit back down, questioning why she didn¡¯t also go. ¡°LeeLee, shouldn¡¯t you also go comfort her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried before but Blossom doesn¡¯t like talking about it with me, plus I¡¯m not good with things like this. I think it¡¯s better if Ethereal goes, she looks up to him so maybe his advice will get through to her.¡± Athenes looked sad as she listened in on the conversation. The memory of when Blossom protected her from someone slandering her name was still fresh in her mind. She had been used to her brother protecting her and never seen two siblings that got along so poorly. She looked at Nobunaga, who smiled lightly in response. A blessed feeling washed over her as she saw the doting big brother. She looked at the empty doorway once again, worried about Blossom. ¡­.. Sora caught sight of Blossom just as she turned onto another road, he ran in that direction and took the same turn she did. The road was empty, Sora summoned Luna and started to look around the area. The entertainment district didn¡¯t have a lot of places where someone could be alone so it didn¡¯t take long for him to find Blossom. He checked some of the inns and asked if anyone had seen her, the NPCs were very cooperative since Sora had a high reputation and players helped him since he was famous. After asking around for only five minutes he had figured out where Blossom went. Sora started to walk through a garden that had a pond in the middle and weird trees that had twisted trunks. The pathways were lined with beautiful light blue flowers that had a small bell within the petals. Every time the wind blew a small chime could be heard as the flowers swayed, creating a calming melody that matched the breeze. When Sora entered the garden, the once sunny day had turned into a dark night, lit only by the silver moonlight. Luna started to sparkle as the moonlight touched her fur, a small whimper of happiness sounding from her mouth as she looked at the full moon in the sky. The pond reflected the bright moon which drowned out the hundreds of fireflies that danced on top of the water. This area was called The Night Bound Garden since it was always night time here. It is a popular place for people on dates but it looked completely empty right now. Sora continued walking through the garden, only stopping when he saw Blossom sitting next to the pond, staring at the water as she twiddled with one of the blue flowers. Sora got off Luna and silently approached her, only being noticed when Sora sat down beside her. Blossom was embarrassed that she had made such a scene and buried her face in her legs to hide. Her voice sounded distraught and muffled as she talked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Why are you sorry?¡± ¡°You got dragged into my problems¡­ the entire guild was dragged into my problem.¡± ¡°Do you know how many times I¡¯ve dragged the entire guild into my problems? Even the demon invasion was something I forced the guild into doing.¡± ¡°You''re the guild leader, it¡¯s okay for you to do that. I don¡¯t have that right.¡± ¡°Who in the guild said that?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Phoenix Rising shares its glory and its criticism, nobody should expect only the good and never the bad.¡± Blossom unburied her face as she looked at the flower in her hand, spinning it slightly before throwing it into the pond. A small chime was heard as the flower fell into the water before drifting towards the reflection of the moon. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me about your sister?¡± ¡°... She is amazing. Everything she says is right, everything she touches turns to gold, and everything she does is perfect.¡± ¡°Do you hate her?¡± ¡°No¡­ I still love her but we don¡¯t mix well. I try to be like her, to try and make a connection¡­ But every time I do she sees me fail over and over again. This one time she cooked some food for our family, it was one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten. I worked for weeks trying to make the same thing as her. After I thought I had finally made it right she wouldn¡¯t even eat it, she said she could tell it was disgusting just by looking at it.¡± Blossom was laughing at the story but Sora could clearly see the moonlight reflecting off of the corners of her eyes. Sora imagined Blossom trying to cook, cutting herself with a knife over and over, tasting the failed dishes so she could get it right the next time; all of that just to be told it was disgusting. ¡°If we ever meet in real life, you should try cooking that dish again so I can try it. I¡¯ll make sure to try a bite before I tell you it¡¯s disgusting.¡± Blossom laughed a little as Sora gave a cheeky grin, she managed to put on a small smile again as she watched the flower drift into the reflection of the moon. She stood up and dusted herself off, wiping her face off before slapping her cheeks. ¡°It¡¯s a deal, I¡¯ll make sure to blow you away with my cooking skills.¡± ¡°Haha, then I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Blossom and Sora got up and returned to the garden pathway, summoning Luna before slowly walking out of the garden. Another person appeared where they were at after they left. The hooded figure was cloaked and had their information hidden so nobody would notice them. The person stood at the edge of the pond and threw another flower into the water and watched as it drifted towards the reflection of the moon. A drop of water fell from the hood of the robe as a small voice sounded out, breaking the silence. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Serah¡­ But you need to cast your own shadow, not follow mine. Even if you hate me, I want you to be your own person.¡± The cloaked figure watched as the flower drifted into the center of the pond, gently stopping as it touched the flower that Blossom had thrown. Luna howled at the moon, breaking the silence of the garden. The hooded figure was gone before the howl had stopped. Chapter 51: Pet Hunt The guild meeting had continued without incident after Sora and Blossom returned. The mood was a little awkward at first but it quickly returned after Blossom showed off her bright smile. Sumi¡¯s friend showed up and joined along in the merriment, Sora decided to hold off on inviting her to the guild just in case her and Sumi started to grow apart again. Sora was able to meet every person that showed up before the guild headed back towards Wind Wolf Village. Sora decided to drop by before going to his next destination, it was on the way and he was curious to see how his guild functioned. After watching his guild for a little bit he decided to leave, the players were getting nervous from being watched by their leader and it disrupted their performance. Sora excused himself from the event and left towards the North, heading into demon territory. The demon territory didn¡¯t look any different from the faction territory, the only difference was that the levels of the enemies were fifty and above. If the faction controlled the territory then their levels would be lowered and their numbers thinner. Sora had been reminded of the importance of pets when he saw Blossom get hers. His current destination was an area that had a chance to drop white tiger pets, it was also close to an elf village that Sora wanted to have a look at. He rode Luna forward, ignoring the slow enemies and simply outrunning them. It didn¡¯t take long for Sora to reach an area with trees that towered far into the sky, making the area darker than normal due to the massive amount of leaves that blocked out the light of the sun. The forest became darker as he went further in, making his sight be limited to a small area in front of him. He only stopped when a few rays of light lit up the area in front of him, showing white tigers that were bathing in the sun. Level 50 -White Tiger- The tigers were three levels above him which made it difficult if he had to fight multiple enemies at once. Sora was heavily geared so as long as he was careful he shouldn¡¯t have any problems with fighting the white tigers. Sora dismounted Luna and put her back into her pet storage, losing her was the last thing he wanted to happen here. He slowly crept up on one of the tigers and triggered its aggro. Yellow pupils looked at Sora like he was a meal as a terrifying roar filled the silence in the air. The white tiger started to prowl towards Sora who was already prepared with his weapon and parrying dagger. Once the tiger was around five meters away, it jumped towards him with its claws extended out, shining only for a second as it passed under a ray of light. Sora dodged to the side and used a [Slash] to start the battle, luckily landing a critical hit that took a large chunk of health from the tiger. The tiger responded with a simple swipe that was only able to take a small portion of Sora¡¯s health due to his high defense and the shield he had received thanks to his Obsidian Bloodsteel set. The tiger was fast, making it hard for Sora to parry and resulting in a lot of attacks that connected on him. There were even a few moments when the tiger was able to dodge Sora¡¯s attacks. This not only slowed down his damage, it also made him lose opportunities to generate a shield resulting in even more damage than he had expected to take. The tiger weakly fell after the drug out fight, dropping a few coins and some white fur. Sora could only sigh as he looked at his health. He had dropped to 60% health from that one tiger, if he had to fight two then he would surely be in trouble. The only bright side was that the tiger had given Sora a nice boost in EXP. Sora kept killing the tigers, only stopping when he needed to take a break to recover health and mana. ¡­.. [Level up] Sora had been at it for half a day now, barely managing to level up one time. He still hasn¡¯t been able to get his desired drop and his supplies were starting to take a hit. Sora sat down next to a tree and looked at his stats as he let his health and mana recover. Ethereal, The Honored Vanquisher Knight Level - 48 Damage - 233-242 Defense - 118 Mana - 20/500 HP - 710/2250 Strength - 160(+160) Agility - 10(+5) Constitution - 75(+150)This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Dexterity - 10(+5) Endurance - 10(+5) Intelligence - 10(+5) Wisdom - 10(+5) Spirit - 35(+15) Luck - 6 (+2) Fame - 550 His damage had been stagnant for a while now, he looked at the level 50 sword in his inventory with a sense of longing. If he could equip the sword then his speed would almost be doubled. He ate a Roasted Crater Fish as he sat near the tree, looking up towards the branches above him. His eyes suddenly squinted as he thought he saw a shadow moving along the branch, in the next moment he suddenly rolled to the side as an arrow lodged itself into the tree trunk behind him. ¡°Wait, wait, wait!¡± Sora started to wave his hands frantically as he saw the shadow notch another arrow. The shadow slowly put his bow down as he saw Sora doing this. The shadow came down to a closer branch but still didn¡¯t quite trust him. A gentle voice that was hard to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman came from the shadow. ¡°Why are you here, are you a human? Are you a demon? Are you a shapeshifter? Are you-¡± ¡°I¡¯m a human, an adventurer from the city of Var.¡± ¡°... What proof do you have?¡± ¡°I was given a title of knighthood.¡± Sora equipped his Knight of the Eastern Legion title to authenticate his identity, the shadow only came down after seeing that. A man with pointed ears and fair skin appeared in one of the rays of light. He had blonde hair and could almost pass as being a woman, he let out a small whistle as a couple hidden shadows appeared on the branches before jumping down next to Sora. Another man and a woman appeared in front of Sora as they walked into the light. The man had a similar look to the man that had met with Sora first, except with short brown hair. The woman looked like a fairy, with skin that almost seemed translucent as the light touched it and long light brown hair that was perfectly straight. The man seemed to be the leader and was the only person who spoke. ¡°It has been a long time since we have seen a human, ever since the demons invaded we have been in hiding in the forest. How are things for the humans?¡± ¡°We were pushed back to our last territories, many great sages had to sacrifice their lives so that we could fight back. We have started a counter-attack and were able to reclaim a bit of territory.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Hopefully you will be able to reclaim this territory as well so we may come out of hiding. We may not like humans too much but we would take them over demons any day.¡± ¡°It is only a matter of time until we reclaim this area.¡± ¡°I hope what you say is true. We will be going back to our village for now, if you are ever run into another elf just show them this badge and they should let you through. Tell them you would like to meet with Desakor and they will send someone to inform me.¡± Desakor handed over a small badge that was woven from a dark brown type of wood, with a bright green leaf in the middle. The badge went into Sora¡¯s reputation page with the word ¡®Neutral¡¯ next to it. The elves disappeared immediately after handing the badge over, returning to the branches above as mere shadows. Sora was glad he had this encounter, it made it a lot easier to enter the elf village when he needed to. He didn¡¯t enter the village until his faction reclaimed the territory in his last life so he was able to casually walk in. It looks like when you don¡¯t own the territory it is a little trickier to enter. Sora had an idea of how to make a lot of money if he was able to get his reputation up with them, he shuddered slightly as he thought about his last reputation grind. His health and mana were full again so Sora started to kill off the white tigers once again. ¡­.. Sora was on the verge of leveling up at the end of the day, just a few more tigers would get him to level 49, one level away from being able to equip his new sword. The thought of it made Sora excited as he rushed onto the next tiger, using everything he had to take it down quickly. The rush had definitely made him kill faster but it also created a bit of a problem. Sora used [Purge with Silver] as he wailed on the tiger, its passive effect didn¡¯t do anything but the 200% damage at the end would help quite a bit with speeding up the process. Sora was able to drag the tiger down to 20% before the ability ended, triggering a flash of silver light to appear in the battle. The only problem was that one of the silver lights had traveled to the right of Sora. He cursed himself for his impatience as another white tiger appeared from around one of the tree trunks. Sora managed to dodge the first attack the new tiger made but ended up taking a hit from the old tiger. Sora used [Concuss] on the new tiger so he could focus on killing the first one, this way it would relieve some pressure. The [Concuss] only stalled the new tiger for a while before it broke free of the stun and attacked Sora once again, this time making contact at the same time as the other tiger. A large chunk of health dropped from Sora¡¯s health pool, bringing him into a critical condition. He used a healing potion before immediately having to dodge another combined attack, only being able to dodge one of them. Sora used a final normal attack and [Slash] to finish off the first tiger before focusing all of his attention on the second one. The tiger swiped at Sora who was just barely able to parry the attack before using [Concuss] so he had some time to build up his shield again. The shield had barely started to grow when the tiger broke free from the stunned state and delivered another swipe towards Sora, taking away every bit of his shield and a decent portion of health. Sora used [Crippling Strike] to gain some distance from the tiger, triggering the leap attack that was easy to dodge. Sora dodged to the side and made distance again, stalling until [Concuss] came back up. He kept stalling for time and only attacking when he could stun the tiger, eventually killing it with only a hundred health points left. [Level up] Sora had his health and mana restored as he leveled up which made Sora breathe a sigh of relief. He picked up the fur and coins before taking a small break, he had made a terrible decision that almost cost him his life and felt like he needed to calm down a bit before continuing. He sat down next to the tree and closed his eyes for a second, only opening them when a small pinging noise disrupted the silence of the forest. -Faction Announcement- Player Spring has created the guild ¡®Everlasting¡¯ Sora only opened his eyes for a second before closing them again with a smirk on his face. The silence of the forest returned again only to be broken once again by Sora, muttering something to himself. ¡°It¡¯s about time, I was getting a little bored.¡± Chapter 52: Snow Sora killed tigers for the entire day, only taking short breaks to recover health and mana. He was determined to get the tiger pet before doing anything else. The sooner he has the pet, the sooner he can level the pet up to help him. A pet could help you fight and level up alongside you, unlike a mount that can only be ridden. There are some exceptions where a pet can also be a mount but those are extremely rare drops and Sora couldn¡¯t think of where to get one at this stage in the game. Another white tiger fell as Sora leveled up once more, finally reaching level 50; giving him the requirements to equip his new sword. Sora looked like an excited child as he wielded the Edge of Corruption, raising his damage to a ridiculous amount. Sora tested his new sword on another tiger, quickly dispatching it in nearly half the normal time it took. Sora gave a nod of approval as he looked at his sword, giving it a few more tests on the nearby tigers. He had just went up to another tiger when he heard a scream for help. Sora quickly looked around, forgetting about the tiger as he bolted towards where the scream came from. As Sora pushed through some brush he found a small elven girl backing away from a giant white tiger, at least double the size of the ones he had been fighting. It was showing its fangs to the little girl as tears streamed down her face, the tiger looked like it was playing with its prey as it circled around her. Level 50 -Kara, The Alpha Tiger- The tiger seemed to have gotten bored as it leapt toward the little girl. She put her shaking arms in front of her face so she didn¡¯t have to watch the savage beasts pounce on her as she waited for death. A force suddenly pushed her from the side, making her roll a few feet away as she heard what sounded like something crashing. After a moment of hesitation she slowly moved her arms to see what happened. She was shocked to see that a man had pushed her out of the way and taken the hit for her. Sora had to use [Relentless Pursuit] to make it to the girl on time, he originally wanted to save her without taking a hit but the tiger suddenly leapt at her. Sora didn¡¯t have any other choice and had to watch her die or take the hit himself. The tiger looked at Sora in annoyance and anger, letting out a loud roar that shook the branches on some of the trees. Sora became dazed as he backed up to create more distance while drawing the tiger away from the little girl. The tiger leapt at Sora who luckily broke free from the daze just in the nick of time, allowing him to sloppily dodge the attack. Sora felt he was in trouble, the tiger was a named enemy so its stats were far above the normal tigers. Even with his new sword the fight would be extremely close. He didn¡¯t bother to think about it anymore as he focused on fighting the beast in front of him. A [Slash] connected with the tiger, enraging it even more as it swiped at Sora. One hit had taken a good 20% of Sora¡¯s health. He already saw how hopeless this fight was and was tempted to run away until a green light enveloped him, healing the health he had lost. Sora was confused as he looked around until noticing the little elf girl holding a branch that was completely white while chanting something in the elven language. She still had tears streaming down her face and could barely stop her voice from shaking as she tried her hardest to chant the healing spell. Sora went from thinking the fight was hopeless to thinking the fight was unfair for the tiger. Sora would be able to wail on the tiger with no problem as long as he was being healed. The little elf girl continued to heal Sora as he repeatedly used normal attacks and [Slash] to widdle away at the tiger¡¯s health. He was able to parry every now and then but mainly focused on dealing damage since he had someone healing him. The tiger would occasionally roar, sending Sora into a dazed state and dealing a lot of damage. The little elf girl stayed just far enough away to not become affected by the roar while also keeping Sora full on health. The tiger fell with a roar of defiance, unaccepting of its defeat. The tiger disappeared, being replaced by some coins and a stack of fur. Sora ignored the loot for now as he looked towards the little elf girl who had fainted after the battle was won. Sora decided it would be best to return her to the village, he could always come back and get the pet later and this girl might trigger a secret. He picked up the coins and reached to grab the pile of fur but was surprised when the fur was actually not in a stack, it was draped over something else. He lifted the fur to reveal a tiny white cub that looked up at Sora with large yellow eyes, releasing an adorable roar as the fur was lifted. [x1 White Tiger Pet obtained] Sora was relieved, he had high hopes for the tiger to be dropped by a named creature and was a little disappointed when it didn¡¯t. Looks like the little guy was just under the rest of the loot. He picked up the cub and registered it as a pet by giving it a name.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Hmm¡­ You look like a Snow to me. What do you think?¡± The little tiger let out another high pitched noise as it became Sora¡¯s pet. The tiger started at level 1 and wouldn¡¯t grow unless Sora leveled it up. He put the cub into his pet space to let it roam around while he dealt with the elf girl. Sora summoned Luna as he picked up the girl, carrying her princess style as he got on top of Luna. He started heading towards the elf village, making sure to take things slow so that the girl didn¡¯t fall. It didn¡¯t take long for Sora to wander into an area where shadows could be seen along some of the branches. A man suddenly dropped in front of Sora, looking at the little girl in his arms. ¡°Saria! What is the meaning of this?¡± ¡°She was being attacked by a tiger, I was able to defeat it but she collapsed after the fight for some reason.¡± ¡°Please hand her to us.¡± Sora carefully handed the girl over to a woman that appeared next to him. The elves started to cautiously leave but before they could get very far Sora pulled out the badge given to him by Desakor. ¡°Desakor said I should ask for him if I ever ran into any other elves.¡± The elf looked shocked as he studied the badge, making sure it was authentic. After a quick inspection the elf simply beckoned for Sora to come with them as they walked further into the forest. The shadows in the branches all followed quietly behind, keeping an eye on Sora to make sure he didn¡¯t try to do anything crazy. After a short walk a tree that was much bigger than any of the others came into view, many structures could barely be seen hidden within the leaves on many of the branches. The elf stopped Sora from going any further as he put his hand on the base of the tree. A green light spread out from his hand, making the wood warp until a doorway opened up. The elves went into the doorway together, leaving a few behind to keep an eye on Sora. Sora simply sat down beside a tree and waited, ignoring the curious stares from the elves around him. After a long wait the wood on the tree began to warp again, revealing Desakor as it opened up. He walked out with a sad look on his face as he walked up to Sora. A hint of hesitation could be seen before he bowed his head down to Sora. ¡°Thank you for helping my little girl.¡± The rest of the elves looked at Desakor in shock, he was one of the proudest warriors within the village yet he was bowing his head down to a human stranger. He stayed bowed for a while before finally raising up once again to look at Sora in the eyes. No hint of satisfaction could be seen on Sora¡¯s face, he simply returned the gaze with his own. ¡°Are you sure you are okay with bowing your head in front of the ones who respect you?¡± ¡°Just the thought of losing my little girl hurts a thousand times worse than this small act of humility. We may not take kindly to strangers but we are also not blind to the kindness shown to us.¡± ¡°Well said, I¡¯m just glad that your little girl is safe.¡± ¡°That¡­ might not be so.¡± ¡°Hmm? What happened?¡± ¡°We usually let the young ones have freedom to explore the forest, if anything threatens them they can always escape due to their nimble movement through the forest. You said she was attacked by a white tiger?¡± ¡°When I showed up she was being circled by the tiger, falling to the ground as if she didn¡¯t have a chance to escape.¡± ¡°It seems that my fears were correct then, I think she may have been poisoned by something within the forest before running into the tiger. It¡¯s unlike any poison I have ever seen, her mana has been completely drained and her body is rejecting any new mana from coming in¡­ at this rate-¡± ¡°Then we must act, if we can find the source of the poison then we might be able to also find a cure.¡± ¡°... If you can find a way to save my little girl, I will personally welcome you into the village as my sworn brother!¡± The other elves all gasped in surprise, some wanted to argue the point but when they saw Dasakor¡¯s serious face they didn''t dare to try. Sora agreed to the request and set off on his journey, returning to where the girl had been attacked by the tiger. The area around here didn¡¯t have anything weird, just the trees that was everywhere else in the forest. He started to expand his search, covering a broad area of the forest that he would sweep over a few times. No matter how many times he checked he didn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. He kept expanding his search range for 3 hours, not finding anything other than the white tigers, the trees, and basic foliage. Sora stopped to take a break, he had gotten into a few fights with the tigers during his search. Snow, his white tiger cub, had already leveled up to level 13, not even doing one point of damage to the enemies. He let out a sigh as he looked at the branches above him that filled the sky. He was hoping to avoid having to go up there but it seems that¡¯s where his answers are. He started to use the branched to climb higher into the top of the trees. Alchemy plants could be seen everywhere but Sora only grabbed the ones that he passed close to. The branches had many different forms of enemies; sometimes it was just a white tiger, sometimes it was an ape, sometimes it was a flying creature, and sometimes it was a snake. Sora tried fighting the snakes first since that was the closest thing to a poison he could think of. The snakes did in fact have a poison but it showed different symptoms from what Desakor¡¯s daughter had. He continued to climb the branches of the trees, going up on one side and down on the next. The entire place was very confusing since there was no set path, only the wildly grown branches acted as a pathway to take. After a while Sora finally found a clue, it was a white tiger that had purple eyes instead of the normal yellow ones. It¡¯s fur was tainted black in some areas and it looked more savage than usual. The tiger had just been fighting against one of the apes in the forest, it ended up winning the fight and started to prowl around for its next prey. Sora watched as the tiger got closer, revealing its name tag. Level 52 -Corrupted White Tiger- Chapter 53: The Antidote The tiger went in the opposite direction of Sora, disappearing into the leaves on the tree. Sora started to follow its path but lost it due to the leaves obscuring his vision. Sora wasn¡¯t able to fight the creature but its appearance did give him some clues as to what might have caused the little elf girl her sickness. He started to head higher into the trees, becoming unable to see the ground after climbing for a while. After blindly pushing through the leaves and walking up the branches he finally saw another corrupted creature. This time it was a bird that looked like a hawk except it was pure black with a razor sharp red beak. This time it was flying directly toward Sora, he hid within the foliage and waited for the hawk to come close. As it flew over him he used [Purge with Silver] followed by [Slash] to do bonus damage to the corrupt creature. The corrupted hawk awkwardly spiraled down onto the tree branch as the area where its wing meets its body was cut, dealing a large amount of damage thanks to his [Purge with Silver]. The hawk let out a high pitched cawing noise that disoriented Sora for a second. The debuff didn¡¯t last long but it was just long enough for the hawk to use its razor sharp talons to attack Sora. The shield Sora had obtained from his set bonus helped mitigate a lot of damage from the crow but it still hurt more than the white tigers he was used to fighting. The hawk tried for another attack but he was able to parry it this time since he wasn¡¯t debuffed. Sora focused on defense, parrying every attack that the hawk threw out. It didn¡¯t take long for [Vanquish the Weak] to reach max stacks just as his [Purge with Silver] had ended. A large streak of silver light pierced into the hawk. It took 400% damage thanks to the fact that it was corrupted, plus the damage was increased by 100% thanks to his [Vanquish the Weak]. The poor hawk was pretty much one shot as it fell down from the tree, plummeting past the foliage and creating a small thud. Sora had only tried out the combo since it wasn¡¯t normally a practical strategy. The damage was insane but it required too much focus on defense and only really worked when fighting a single enemy. If he were to be tanking for a party then he would have lost aggro extremely fast and end up making his teammates pay for it. He was simply curious as to how high he could hit and felt satisfied by the ridiculous amount of damage that was dealt. Sora continued to make his way through the branches, seeing more corrupted creatures as he climbed higher. It wasn¡¯t until just before the top of the trees that he finally saw what he was looking for. Level 52 -Corrupted Death Viper- A black snake with bright green spots could be seen coiling around one of the massive branches. Its body length allowed it to coil around the fat branch a few times and still had the ability to move its head freely. The fangs were as long as Sora¡¯s hand and dripped a dark purple liquid every now and then. Sora had a theory that this snake was the thing that poisoned Desakor¡¯s daughter. He carefully made his way through the maze of branches, finding an adjacent branch that connected with the one the snake was on. Sora needed to test the snake''s poison but wasn¡¯t too fond of the idea since it would put the snake at an advantage when they start fighting. He decided to try and wait until the very end to get hit, if he can avoid being poisoned until just before the snake dies then he would have nothing to fear. Sora was hiding within the foliage just outside of the snakes aggro range, he wanted to drain its health as fast as possible so he started by using [Purge with Silver], waiting for twenty seconds to start his attack. [Relentless Pursuit] was activated so he could close the gap with the snake before it could attack. Just as the creature tried to attack Sora used [Concuss] to interrupt it followed by a [Slash] that dealt a good chunk of damage. He dodged another attack as he waited for his abilities to come off cooldown, narrowly avoiding the poisoned fangs that dripped with the purple fluid. Another [Concuss] interrupted the snake right before [Purge with Silver] activated again, dealing a huge chunk of damage to the snake. The snake suddenly stopped as it¡¯s skin started to crack in various places before shattering. The snake regenerated its health back to full, causing Sora to accidentally let out a curse word as he began attacking once again. The snake was able to land an attack on Sora after regenerating his health, making his health slowly drop thanks to the poison. His mana stopped regenerating and even slowly started to drop. Sora was glad that he could confirm that this was the right poison but was in a dire situation and couldn¡¯t let out even the tiniest smile. The snake took a [Slash] after Sora reactivated his [Purge with Silver]. Thanks to the poison he had hit rock bottom in terms of mana and his health wasn¡¯t looking good either. A health potion helped relieve some of the pressure as Sora avoided the incoming attacks at all costs. He kept dodging and parrying as a silver flash of light penetrated the snake, dealing a critical hit and killing its target. The snake corroded away and dropped some coins along with a small vial of purple liquid. [x1 Corrupted Death Viper Venom obtained] Sora put the vial away and looked around one more time, just as he was about to leave he heard a loud roar behind him. He only saw it for a second but it was an unforgettable sight. A giant green beast flew through the forest, blending in perfectly with the leaves that surrounded it. Its scales seemed to be covered in moss and ivy that trailed behind him as he flew through the trees. Branches would snap as they came into contact with the beast creating a cracking noise that could still be heard from far away as the beast continued flying through. Sora breathed in, not daring to move just in case it would find him. He only dared to move after the sound of snapping wood was gone. Level 350 -Verasor, Forgotten Dragon of Nature- Sora felt his heart skip a beat as he remembered the name of the creature. It was an extremely rare boss that would randomly appear in forested areas. If Sora were to have accidentally aggroed it then he would have definitely been killed in a mere second. He felt a chill run down his back as he rushed to leave this place just in case it came back. Sora was able to go down the tree easily since all of the animals seemed to have been scared off by the dragon. Even the ground was lacking in white tigers, showing just how fearful the animals were of the legendary beast. He quickly went back to the elf village on top of Luna, not bothering with any animals that had been in his path.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After a short ride Sora found himself back at the large tree. He was about to knock on the trunk but was interrupted by the appearance of an elf that had dropped behind him. It looked to be the same elf that he had originally handed Desakor¡¯s daughter to. ¡°Why have you returned?¡± ¡°I brought something that might be able to help Desakor¡¯s daughter. Please let him know that I am here.¡± ¡°No need, we will visit him together.¡± ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s alright?¡± ¡°Desakor was right, although we may not take kindly to strangers we will still not show a blind eye to the kindness shown to us. Even your effort alone is enough to earn my respect.¡± ¡°Then I will have to thank you for giving me a chance.¡± The elf walked up to the tree and placed his hand on the trunk, a green light spread out and opened a path that leads to a spiral staircase. Sora stepped in and began climbing the stairs with the elf. When he looked up he could see that the center of the tree was hollowed out with the stairs being carved out of the wood that used to be here. It was a long walk up the staircase, with nothing to look at but the walls of the tree and the occasional elf that was passed. Sora decided to gather a little more information on Desakor as he climbed. ¡°Who is Desakor exactly?¡± ¡°...He is the whole reason we are alive today. Every elf looks up to him, respect him, obey him, and some even fear him. Even our chief does not dare to act above him.¡± ¡°That amazing?¡± ¡°Indeed. As you know, the demons started to take over every territory on the continent. We had ignored it for so long¡­ always saying that they would never make it this far. Always believing that we would be able to fight back, to hold our ground and protect our homeland¡­ there was only one person who truly grasped the severity of the situation at the time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing it was Desakor?¡± ¡°Exactly. He spent many days draining his energy to make this tree our home. Sometimes he would even be found passed out from the amount of energy he drained every day¡­ We laughed at him you know? We ignored his warnings, we watched every day as he pulled himself back to the village worn out. We told him that we did not want him to do this, that we would not follow him¡­ Yet everyday he would do the same thing. Eventually we got tired of telling him and simply ignored him, nobody would help him recover and eventually his daughter was the only person who cared anymore. That¡¯s why she knows healing magic, she learned so that she could help her father.¡± ¡°Then what happened?¡± ¡°The demons came. They destroyed everything we held dear, massacred half of our people. Some had even become tainted by an evil energy and turned on their brethren. We were on the run from them, watching in despair as our homes collapsed. We were drowning in hopelessness until Desakor led us here, where we were able to hide from the demons. Eventually their massacre stopped but we do not dare to try and reclaim our land alone.¡± ¡°I can see why he is so respected.¡± ¡°Not only respected, he is loved by everyone. Even the ones who fear his strength have come to love him dearly. That is why we hope you can cure his daughter, otherwise Desakor will be the one to suffer the burden once again while we watch with no way to help¡­ We are here.¡± The final stair led to a smaller branch that only had one house. It was a simple house made from warping the wood into a basic cube shape. It had windows, a balcony, and even a small garden on the side. Sora walked in with the other elf, immediately seeing Desakor sitting beside a small bed that had a little elf girl within. Her skin had started to turn purple, replacing her celestial look with a tainted appearance. A small amount of blood could be seen coming from her mouth but her chest was still slowly moving up and down. Desakor was clenching his fists as he looked at her, fighting back tears that wanted to escape. He only noticed the two walk in after the elf that Sora had been talking to cleared his throat. ¡°Our new friend here said he may have found something to help your daughter.¡± Desakor jumped up to his feet as he grabbed onto Sora¡¯s shoulders. His eyes seemed to contain a sense of madness as he looked directly at Sora. He noticed his behavior and released his grip before saying anything, returning to a tranquil appearance. ¡°I...I¡¯m sorry. If you have anything that can help then please do not hesitate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it must be hard for you. I was able to find a snake that had a poison that was very similar to what your daughter is afflicted by. I killed it and brought back some of the venom to make an antidote with.¡± Sora handed the vial to Desakor, who carefully recieved it. He was shaking a bit but made sure to keep a grip on the vial. His hands glowed for a second before returning to normal. Desakor ran out to the garden on the side of his house, picking a couple plants before coming back inside. He poured the vial of venom into a small bowl before pulling out a mortar and pestle. The plants he had plucked from the garden were ground into a fine dust before being applied to the venom. After mixing it for a while the color started to fade, transforming into a translucent liquid that looked like water mixed with purple dye. The strong smell of the poison became gentle as he kept adding the ground up plants. After mixing for five minutes, he stopped and looked at the mix he had created. The color was still slightly purple so Desakor used the same ability he had used earlier to inspect the liquid. His eyebrows creased, making a difficult expression as he looked at the liquid. A sigh was let out as his quiet voice broke the tense atmosphere. ¡°It¡¯s no good¡­ there is still an evil energy within the liquid that I can¡¯t seem to get out.¡± ¡°Sir, there has to be a wa-¡± ¡°Enough, Avourel, it is the same energy that belongs to the demons. You know what happened to our people when invaded with this energy.¡± ¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sora had a look of confusion on his face, would the game truly make this quest impossible to complete? He started to think hard as Desakor slowly started packing up the materials he had pulled out. Sora closed his eyes to concentrate, thinking that there must be a way to do it. A sudden idea popped into his head, it was a bit far fetched but it just might work. ¡°Desakor, you said it was the same energy as the demons?¡± ¡°Precisely, do you have an idea? Anything will help, as long as it is an idea we can try it!¡± ¡°Do you have anything that can store foreign energy?¡± Desakor hesitated for a second before pulling his necklace off. It had a clear crystal within the center and a beautiful looking wood frame. The string was made from woven plants and it gave off a small glow. The other elf, apparently named Avourel, looked at Desakor with shock before being awoken by the sound of the little elf girl coughing. He looked at Desakor with a serious look. ¡°Are you sure about this, Desakor?¡± ¡°Yes Avourel, my daughter is more important than any piece of jewelry. Adventurer, this necklace has the ability to absorb energy.¡± ¡°Alright, please hold it out for 30 seconds. When the necklace absorbs my attack you should immediately put it into the solution you made.¡± Sora activated [Purge with Silver] and waited. Desakor looked to be praying as he held the necklace out. Avourel had also closed his eyes and elven words could be heard coming from his mouth. A long silence persisted until Sora used his sword to attack Desakor. He had to register him as a target or else [Purge with Silver] wouldn¡¯t activate on him. Immediately after the attack, a silver streak flew at Desakor, striking him and making him stumble back a bit. He ignored the pain as he put the necklace within the solution. The crystal in the center had a thread of silver that had been absorbed. The silver energy slowly dispersed out of the necklace, flowing through the liquid and eradicating the rest of the purple color. Desakor immediately checked the liquid once again before feeding it to his daughter. She had begun choking on it at first but eventually managed to swallow it all. Her skin slowly returned to a fair look that was nearly translucent. Her hair turned into a beautiful blonde color that matched her father''s, her face becoming more tranquil. Desakor used some sort of ability once again to check on his daughter. After a full inspection, the man couldn¡¯t hold his tears in anymore as he smiled and stroked his daughter''s hair. After he finally pulled himself back together he turned to Sora, once again bowing his head to him. ¡°Thank you adventur- No, thank you brother, for saving my little girl!¡± Chapter 54: Elven Dew Drop The eyelids of the little elf girl trembled slightly before she opened her eyes. Desakor had been talking to Sora about what had poisoned her daughter and turned his attention towards the little elf girl as she slowly rose out of the bed. She seemed scared as she clung to her father, crying when she remembered what seemed like a nightmare to her. ¡°D-daddy, I d-don¡¯t want to go into the forest anymore.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright sweetheart, you don¡¯t have to go anywhere you don¡¯t want to.¡± The little girl calmed down after a little confronting and finally realized that Sora was in the room. She was a bit curious as to why a human was within their village, even more so since he was within the house of the most respected one in the village. A sudden memory surfaced as she looked at his face, it was the last face she saw before she fainted. She was normally shy but managed to properly face Sora, wanting to thank him for saving her from the tiger. ¡°Th-thank you for saving me from the tiger. If it wasn¡¯t for you then my father may not have been able to cure my poison.¡± ¡°No problem, you helped me a lot too. Your healing magic saved my life.¡± Desakor had thought Sora would have told her that he was her savior but to his surprise, he didn¡¯t seem to care too much. His evaluation of Sora went even higher as he saw his selflessness. Desakor still decided to clear things up though, the real savior was Sora and he wanted to make sure his daughter knows. ¡°Actually, Aila, this adventurer here is the one who saved you. He found the source of the poison and even helped purify the substance in the poison that I could not.¡± ¡°R-really? A human did what you couldn¡¯t do it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right if it wasn¡¯t for him¡­ I don¡¯t know what would have happened.¡± Desakor had a pained expression on as he thought about what might have happened. The expression only lasted a second and a smile of relief appeared soon afterward. The little elf girl, Aila, was shocked at what her father had said. Desakor is the strongest within the village yet he couldn¡¯t do what a human could. She was just like her father, she had no shame in bowing her head to someone who showed a great kindness. ¡°Thank you, adventurer.¡± ¡°Ah, we are sworn brothers now Aila, you should refer to him as Uncle from now on.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ U-uncle.¡± Sora felt a bit awkward by the title, he accepted it so as not to upset anyone though. He suddenly remembered something as he heard the little girl call him uncle. Sora opened his reputation page and next to the ¡®Hidden Sky Branch Village¡¯ was the word ¡®Family¡¯. Sora couldn¡¯t help but let out a smile as he saw the enormous reputation jump. It looks like this hidden quest was a way to get your reputation up instead of doing the normal grind. It may seem a bit ridiculous for such a short quest to boost your reputation by so much but it was actually very difficult to complete it. You had to defeat the named white tiger without the little girl being killed, take her to the village, find the source of the poison, and then help find a substance that can neutralize the corrupt energy. The last step would be the hardest since most people wouldn¡¯t have a type of energy that could purify the corrupt energy, causing them to fail the quest or need to travel all the way back to Var to find Gzarna who owns some of the purifying energy. Desakor looked at the necklace in his hand. The crystal in the center had become a bit foggy and the glow it once had was now faded away. He only sighed before throwing it towards Sora, who caught it with a confused look. ¡°This necklace has been with my family for many generations, dating far back to an ancient era. I want you to have it as an award, it served its purpose for me and I hope it will be able to protect you in the future.¡± [x1 Crystal Necklace of Devouring Elements obtained] Rarity - Unique Lore Rare Durability - 50/50 Requires - Level 50 ¡°A necklace made from a crystal with the ability to absorb energy. The necklace was once used by Aire Mordirion, a graceful elven warrior that used the power of nature to decimate his enemies. His enemies had a special nickname for him, he was known as ¡®The Archmage Devourer¡¯ thanks to his ability to absorb any elemental attacks made against him. His name has been long forgotten but his achievements have helped shape the world we know today.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. +20 Constitution +20 Spirit +10% of Magic Damage Taken is Converted to Mana Sora¡¯s heart started beating faster just by looking at the rarity. Not only was it a Unique, it was also a Lore item. Sora equipped the necklace right as he got it, excited about the possibilities it opens for him. Desakor laughed as he looked at the obvious smile on Sora¡¯s face. ¡°Haha, I hope it serves you well. To be honest, I only gave it to you due to the fact that it sustained damage from absorbing your attack.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, it will still serve as a useful tool for me.¡± ¡°Good to hear, I will be spending time with my daughter for a while. You are my brother now, so don¡¯t be afraid to look around. Our shops will also be open for you.¡± Sora suddenly remembered that he wanted to make money from getting his reputation up, he said goodbye to Desakor, Aila, and Avourel and headed down the staircase within the tree. About halfway down he stopped and took a pathway onto one of the biggest branches of the tree that was packed with many different buildings. He was here for one, in particular, that was close by. He walked into the building and saw many different shelves that seemed to be a part of the wall. Sora walked to one of the corners where a large barrel full of a clear liquid was located. The shopkeeper seemed to think Sora was confused and came over to help him out. ¡°That is the dew from the top of the sacred tree. It isn¡¯t too hard to collect and has the ability to change into the form of an elf for a short while. We haven¡¯t had any humans around these parts so we have plenty stocked up if you¡¯re interested.¡± ¡°How much is it?¡± ¡°20 Silver per drop.¡± ¡°You said you have a lot of it though, right?¡± ¡°Well yes, bu-¡± ¡°You also said that I was the first human here, right?¡± ¡°Eh-¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be trying to rip off the sworn brother of Desakor, would you?¡± ¡°... 10 Silver a drop is as low as I can go.¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t have such a glum expression. I¡¯ll make it up to you by buying in bulk, how about six hundred drops?¡± [x600 Elven Dew Drop obtained] -Use this item to transform into an elf for a week. Sora looked at the beautiful stacks of dew within his inventory. He could easily sell these for 5 gold per drop, maybe even 10 gold if he sold it slowly. Some people were crazy about elves, there was even a huge outrage at the lack of character customization within the game. These people would easily cough up 10 gold to become an elf, even for just a week. Sora had finally finished what he came here for, he had his pet and picked up a lot of Elven Dew Drops. His next plan of action was to go back to Var and sell the Elven Dew Drops, maybe even making another trip down here after this batch sells. Sora summoned Luna and Snow, riding together back towards Wind Wolf Village. Sora rode into a clearing after a short journey, revealing the small village that was on top of a hill and surrounded by wolves. Many players could be seen riding some of the wolves while other players were still on foot. A black wolf suddenly rode towards Sora with Blossom on top. She seemed to be having fun with her new wolf and could be heard laughing all the way until she made it to Sora. ¡°Hehe, what do you think?¡± ¡°The guild seems to be making good progress, how many more groups need to finish?¡± ¡°Everyone left needs to defeat the bandit boss, he only respawns every half day and it seems only the top fifty contributors get credit for the kill. I think we are on our last group now.¡± ¡°Good, I was hoping our guild could recruit a little more, showing off a little would be good for publicity. We need to start growing, especially with another guild popping up.¡± ¡°... Ya, it might be tough if my sister is the leader.¡± Sora saw Blossom start to get a little upset and acted quickly. He pulled Snow onto the top of Luna¡¯s head, letting him look at Blossom. She instantly snapped out of her stupor as she grabbed the little cub and started to pet it. Her crow must have been jealous since it landed on her head and cawed. She laughed as also reached up to pat Black Devil¡¯s head. ¡°I have some things to do, you can finish things up here and then leave with the rest of the guild. Tell Nobunaga to form groups to go into Frost Peak Dungeon as soon as he¡¯s done here.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to need my pet back.¡± ¡°Hehehe, oh yea.¡± Blossom gave Snow one last hug before giving him back to Sora. The cub curled up on top of Luna once again as Sora set off to Tidal Wave Pass. Sora was able to take the flight service fairly quickly and landed at Var within a short period of time. Sora went straight to the auction house, not wanting to sell the Elven Dew Drops manually since it would be too tiresome to haggle with every player that came up. He set the Elven Dew Drops to only 5 gold per drop since he wanted to get more money as fast as possible, that was he could buy even more of the drops. He also threw in the Molten Dagger he obtained from the legendary fish, his old sword, and his old necklace. He set these up for real money and didn¡¯t put a limit on their bid price. With that, he left the auction house and headed towards his territory. ¡­.. ¡°Did you guys also buy the Elven Dew Drops?¡± ¡°Ya! We¡¯ve been waiting for you to use them so we can all be in a group together.¡± ¡°Hehe, I wonder if it will make me look like a fairy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to need more than a few drops of water to ma- OW!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my hand slipped.¡± The Elven Dew Drops exploded in the market, creating a new fashion trend that popped up within Var. It was most popular with girls since it made their skin clear and even slightly morphed their body and facial structures to look more slender and graceful. Some of the smarter people had already started to try and figure out the source of the drops, wanting to make their own profit while it was still fresh. Gentle Water looked at the small drop of dew in her inventory, she had been trying to find out what she wanted ever since Sora told her she wasn¡¯t allowed to join the guild anymore. After that she started to think differently, eventually leaving the unofficial guild she was part of since she was just being used to do the work that nobody else wanted to do. She looked at her position differently and finally figured out that she was worth more than she had thought. ¡°I wonder if he would let me in his guild now¡­¡± Chapter 55: Profit and Building Sora was heading through Frost Peak Village to go to his territory. On the outskirts of the village, there was a large group of people, all with the guild name ¡®Everlasting¡¯ above their heads. It was the only other guild on the server and it looked like they were doing some sort of guild activity. The players were separated into many different groups of five and then further separated into more groups with one person leading them. Sora wasn¡¯t too interested in them and kept going without getting involved in any of their business. ¡°If it isn¡¯t Ethereal, leader of Phoenix Rising.¡± One of the men leading the groups stepped towards Sora with a cocky grin on his face. The man looked at Sora with disdain in his eyes. Sora just ignored him, continuing to walk through without giving him a second glance. This only infuriated the man more, he couldn¡¯t swallow this humiliation and actually jumped in front of Luna to block his way. Sora could only sigh as he got mixed in with the guild''s business. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Ah, just wanted to have a friendly chat, you are quite famous you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really have the time.¡± ¡°I guess some other time then. Just remember this; we will soon replace you as the number one guild.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll remember that if you can deliver a message to your guild leader for me.¡± ¡°What might that be?¡± ¡°Tell her to keep her dogs on a shorter leash.¡± The man had a face full of anger as he watched Sora ride away on Luna, if he had more authority then he would have attacked him then and there. The rest of the guild members had mixed emotions. Some were angry just like their leader was, while some were embarrassed by his actions. Sora didn¡¯t bother looking back and continued heading towards his outpost. After a short ride, he arrived at Frost Peak Mountain, entering the cave to head into his outpost. He had plans to build more in his territory this time since the last time he had to use all of his money to buy defenses to help against the demon invasion. Territory Coffer: 1445 gold and 29 silver Would you like to collect the money? Sora took the money and looked at his outpost. It still looked very shabby to him so he was excited to make it look more like a proper town. He needed to save some money to buy more Elven Dew Drops but the rest he would dump into his territory. The first thing Sora did was close off a part of his territory so he could build. This stopped any players from entering the area until his building was complete. Once the area was set up he started looking for the buildings he could make. Some of the higher tier buildings included things like a Dragon Roost, Void Tower, Misdirecting Teleportation Tower, Divine Ranked Dungeon, and many other things that were too expensive to even think about getting yet. Even if he did have the money, he would need various materials to build some of the buildings. He stopped fantasizing about the future and went back to the lower tier buildings. A gray brick foundation appeared in the area Sora had targeted. Bricks started to materialize out of thin air and stack themselves along the edge of the foundation, along with cutting through the foundation to create rooms. Training dummies, archery targets, armor racks, weapon racks, and many other decorative pieces of furniture were placed within the building before a roof appeared on top. Sora named the building ¡®Phoenix Garrison¡¯, which was seen on a sign hanging above the door. The garrison had its own menu that allows Sora to buy guards to help keep the peace in his outpost. He bought the basic guards that wore iron armor and wielded an iron sword and shield, they flooded out of the garrison and started posting up throughout the city. Each of them was level 50, making the players think twice before trying to cause any trouble. His next project was an auction house. The building itself was made from a dark wood that looked like it was polished. Only a few counters were opened but it would allow players to buy and sell things from other players without having to go all the way back to Var. The name of the building was ¡®Golden Waterfall Alliance¡¯, which was only named that way since the group controlling the auction house was not under Sora¡¯s control. This auction house had the same name as the one in Var since it was owned by the same group. This building took a large chunk of Sora¡¯s funds but it would be extremely useful to players.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The last thing Sora wanted to add was going to be extremely expensive, but it should help bring in more players. He took the remaining fund he had and set up a circular building that looked like the base of a tower. The building only had one doorway at the front and the other side of the room had a circular platform with many runes and shapes carved into it. This would be the first teleportation portal to be discovered in the game unless you count the one going into Gzarna¡¯s lab as one. He set the destination to Frost Peak Village and watched as the remaining amount of money was depleted. The runes on the platform glowed blue before the entire platform lit up, creating a small buzzing noise that seems to be constantly moving with waves of light that hovered above the platform. An area in Frost Peak Village shimmered for a second before a platform that looked like the one Sora had built appeared. The space distorted as Sora appeared on top of the platform, with many eyes on him due to the sudden appearance of the platform. He activated the portal again to go back to his outpost. He felt a bit ripped off since the portal only went to the closest village but it was still better than nothing. The flight service in Frost Peak Village would suffice for now until he can get a portal that goes to Var. With his new additions to his territory completed, he stepped into the portal once more so he could fly to Var. A lot of players had gathered around the portal, wondering what it was. Just as someone was about to try it out, the space distorted and Sora appeared. The player that was about to step on the platform became startled and jumped a little. ¡°Hey, what is this thing?¡± ¡°Ah, it will teleport you to the outpost in Frost Peak Mountain.¡± ¡°The one owned by Ethereal?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± Sora stepped off the platform and went towards the flight service. Many of the players started to try out the portal, paying the fee of 1 silver to be instantly transported to the outpost. Many players that were passing by would use the portal since it was convenient, creating, even more, income for Sora. ¡­.. Spring was looking at the man in front of her, she had an irritated look on her face every time she saw him. He was currently telling a story about how rude Sora had been totheir guild, askingSpring to take action against him. She could clearly see the loopholes in this man''s story, making her rub her temples for a bit before putting her hand out to stop him. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Ethereal attacked you, then started to badmouth our guild?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly how it happened!¡± ¡°Wait right there and don¡¯t talk or move no matter what.¡± At first, the man was confused but he followed his orders. After a short wait, another person who had been at the scene showed up. The man seemed to catch onto what was going on and started to sweat a bit. He squinted his eyes at the player, hoping this small signal would help him understand what was going on. Unfortunately, the player had no idea why he was squinting and ignored it completely. ¡°What happened today with Ethereal?¡± The new person started to give a detailed description of the events that took place, completely exposing the man that had blatantly lied about what happened. He started to sweat more and more as the story went on, all the way up until the end. Spring had known the man had lied but didn¡¯t think it was this exaggerated. She wasn¡¯t really mad at him, just annoyed by the trouble he is trying to cause. ¡°Must you really try to cause trouble at every minute of the day?¡± ¡°But he ignored me!¡± ¡°Are you a child?! He obviously didn¡¯t want to get involved with guild affairs so he avoided you. Then you thought it would be a bright idea to block his path and insult him for no reason? Even if he did ignore you, what does it have to do with the rest of the guild? Be a man and take care of your own problems, we can¡¯t afford to start creating trouble already.¡± ¡°Are you afraid of hi-¡± The man realized his mistake and stopped himself from going any further, grasping his mouth as if he was a kid that just said a bad word. Spring only looked at the man with disgust, if he didn¡¯t have connections with her then he would already be gone. She controlled her anger and took a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid of him, in time I will be able to prove our guild is superior. As of now, our guild has barely been made, even if Phoenix Rising is still small, it has more than enough manpower to beat us. He also has control over a territory already, you heard about what happened to the players that were blacklisted from his territory. That area is too precious to be banned from it right now. Plus¡­¡± Spring stopped talking as she thought about Blossom. She shook her head and looked at the man again. He had lowered his head further with each point made towards him. He looked and acted like a child, even when getting scolded he looked as if he was innocent. Spring could only sigh as she looked at him, waving him off. The other player stayed asSpring turned her attention towards him. ¡°How are the dungeon runs going?¡± ¡°Every group has entered, some of our guild members also said they saw a large group of Phoenix Rising members entering the dungeons.¡± ¡°Alright, we will continue as planned. Let¡¯s just try to focus on becoming more powerful before sticking our nose in other people''s business.¡± ¡­.. Sora went back to the auction house after landing in Var, seeing a few people who looked like elves along the way. He smiled at every one of them since it meant they had given him a huge profit. The area around the auction house had more elf looking players than anywhere else, with many still at the counters trying to find more of the Elven Dew Drops. Sora collected his 3,000 gold and left the auction house. If he would have known they would sell this fast then he would have waited to collect the money before going to his territory so he could build more. He emptied any unnecessary items from his inventory in his bank before heading back towards the flight service, this time going to Tidal Wave Pass. After a fairly long ride on Luna, he returned to the Hidden Sky Branch Village. He wasn¡¯t able to get the discount on the Elven Dew Drops this time, spending 20 silver per drop to purchase 5,000 drops. He would have bought more but he determined that it would probably stop selling after the hype for the product was over. Sora headed back to Var with his inventory full of pure profit. He put every drop into the auction house for 5 gold a piece with an estimated profit of 24,000 gold. Chapter 56: Digging for Fossils Sora finished his business in Var, thinking about what to do next. He skimmed through his stats and stopped to look at his Digging Skill. It was ready to be advanced so Sora figured that he might as well do it while he waits for his Elven Dew Drops to sell. He went back towards the flight service, the line was long but his destination was fairly far away. He could hear other players in line talking about the Elven Dew Drops, triggering a slight smile from Sora as he thought of the profits. The line thinned out fairly fast so Sora didn¡¯t have to wait long before boarding the giant crow and flying to the South. His destination was a place called ¡®Low Rock Canyon¡¯, which was a hotspot for people with the digging skill. From above he saw the forest turn into plains, then the plains turned into a rocky terrain with short grass and enormous rocks that came out of the ground. Even from up above the rocks made up enormous bodies of land. A canyon cut across the area, creating a deep scar that cleanly cleaved the enormous boulders in two. The flight service landed at an area that could hardly be called a camp, located right next to the entrance of the canyon. The only thing set up was a couple oftents and many boxes filled with archeology equipment. The number of players here were virtually none, with most of them looking like old miners that were filthy. Sora went towards one of the many tents located here, the only thing distinguishable about it was a large backpack filled with climbing and excavation tools leaned up next to it. He walked in and saw an old skinny man that looked like he could be blown away by a slightly strong breeze. He was looking over some maps, drawing circles in different areas and would sometimes scribble out things he had written down. He seemed to have noticed Sora come in and immediately turned to face him. ¡°Adventurer! Tell me, do you have an interest in excavation?¡± ¡°Well ye-¡± ¡°Of course you do! Everyone loves to dig, right?¡± ¡°...Right.¡± ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s the spirit! From the looks of things, you are most definitely a hard worker, how about a little test to see if you¡¯re ready for the big leagues?¡± ¡°What kind of test?¡± ¡°Ohoho, how about a little story first? Ah, what am I saying, of course, you want to hear the story first! Low Rock Canyon is more than it appears to be. For generations, we have excavated fossils from this area but they only keep appearing. Just when you think you have all the fossils in the area another one appears, making you go deeper and deeper until you can no longer see the sun. Oh, oh, oh, I haven¡¯t even gotten to the best part yet! When you assemble the fossils, the creature will spring to life! Amazing don¡¯t you think? Of course it is! It defies everything we have ever known! Ah, that¡¯s enough storytelling, it got me so excited that I can¡¯t wait to give you your test. All you have to do is assemble all the pieces of a fossil, then defeat the monster that awakens. Now, off you go, I can¡¯t wait to hear about your results!¡± Sora didn¡¯t have any opportunities to get a word in, he left the tent and went towards the entrance to the canyon. The entire canyon was like a ramp, with one end gradually declining until it went so far down that you couldn¡¯t see the bottom. Sora started heading down the ramp, occasionally seeing players that were hard at work, smiling when they finally dug up a fossil. Sora didn¡¯t pay much attention to the beginning of the canyon and kept going down, eventually to the point where the closest player was still extremely far behind him. He didn¡¯t stop until the canyon started going into the earth, creating more of a tunnel than a canyon. He pulled out his pick and started going to work on a nearby rock, only stopping to switch tools. A large hole was dug out until he finally found a bone that was buried in the dirt. After shoveling the dirt away and dusting it off he picked the bone up. [x1 Unidentified Fossil obtained] He finally had a use for his identification tool. He had been holding onto it because equipment or items that have high properties or are extremely ancient needed to be identified before you knew what they were. He decided to hold off on identifying it until the very end, tucking the bone away into his inventory before continuing to dig. Just a few feet down from where he found the fossil was a rusted sword that still had a clean edge. The sword was plunged into a rock so Sora tried his best to break away the rock without damaging the sword. After only a few swings the sword broke apart and disappeared without any chance to save it. Sora could only accept his defeat, his digging skill was still too low to easily pull up swords. He continued to dig without worrying too much about the lost sword, his main goal was fossils anyways. ¡­..Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. A full day of excavating had only resulted in 15 fossil pieces, which Sora had yet to identify. If he was lucky then every fossil would be the same creature, if not then he would still have a lot of digging to do before he could complete his skill advancement quest. He sat down in the hole he had made, which was big enough to fit a single story house into at this point, and pulled out his identifying tool. It was a small magnifying glass that didn¡¯t look very special. He had bought the most basic tool since he would only need it to identify low tier items. The higher tier tools had a special function that made identifying easier since some of the higher tier items were complicated to identify. He pulled out a fossil and set it on the ground. His magnifying glass was set above the fossil, triggering the fossil to glow slightly and lift into the air in front of him. Sora looked through the magnifying glass and started to slowly spin the fossil, only stopping it when a small rune could be seen. He aligned the rune into the center of his magnifying glass and held it still as the rune started to slowly be traced by a black line. Once the line had completely traced the rune it made a small shattering noise and the rune broke apart. He started to rotate the fossil again, stopping to trace any runes he saw. After two more runes were shattered the fossil floated back down to the ground. [x1 Primal Tiger Fossil obtained] -Combine 10 Primal Tiger Fossils to create a full skeleton. Sora continued to identify the fossils, in the same manner, never messing up any identification. The process was tedious but even if you failed it would only make you start the process over, so it wasn¡¯t too nerve racking. In the higher tiers, it could take a full day to identify an item which is why most players would simply pay an NPC to do so. The only downside to that was the high cost and the fact that the stats would be slightly affected if an NPC did it. [x1 Primal Tiger Fossil obtained] [x1 Ancient Predator Rat Fossil obtained] [x1 Primal Tiger Fossil obtained] [x1 Broken Fossil obtained] Sora was lucky enough to get six of the Primal Tiger Fossils, making up more than half the needed amount to create the full skeleton. He was also a bit unlucky and had a total of four broken fossils that were basically trash. The remaining fossils were from the Ancient Predator Rat and the Earthen Boulder Breaker Orc. From the way things were going he would have to fight the Primal Tiger to complete his quest. Sora took a quick break from the game before going back in, ready for another day full of digging up fossils. Sora was a bit more impatient this time and identified fossils as he unearthed them, luckily obtaining two more fossils from the Primal Tiger in a row right as he started. After a few more broken and random fossils he was able to have a complete set of the Primal Tiger. He exited canyon, leaving a large hole that could easily be called a cave if someone were to stumble upon it. His entire body was dirty and he looked a bit more like the old miners that he had seen when he entered the camp. After a quick check of his equipment and making sure he was buffed by eating a Roasted Crater Fish he stepped to an open area not far from the camp. Sora pulled out a fossil and used it, making a confirmation message pop up in front of him. [Would you like to consume 10 Primal Tiger Fossils to summon a Primal Tiger Fossil?] Sora quickly confirmed the message and prepared himself to fight. The fossils inside of his inventory appeared in front of him before swirling around each other, eventually creating an orb made of bone that hatched to reveal the savage looking skeleton of tiger. The tiger somehow made a roaring noise as it prepared to pounce on Sora. Level 40 -(Elite) Primal Tiger Skeleton- Even as an elite monster the tiger wasn¡¯t too much of a threat since Sora was ten levels over it. He dodged to the side as the tiger pounced towards him, successfully evading the attack and setting himself up for an easy counterattack. The defense of the creature was no joke, even with an advantage of ten levels he had done a small amount of damage. A [Concuss] gave Sora even more time to attack before the tiger could even turn around to face him. A couple well-timed parries were executed before a [Slash] hit the tiger, dropping its health by a decent amount. He continued trying to dance around the creature but still had to take a couple hits; luckily the tiger¡¯s offense wasn¡¯t as effective as its defense, resulting in extremely small damage numbers that didn¡¯t even break through his shield. The fight ended with the tiger falling apart and the bones blowing away as a fine white dust, revealing a couple pieces of loot. [x1 Ancient Coin obtained] [x1 Unidentified Greatsword obtained] Sora pocketed the ancient coin since it would only be sold for money and didn¡¯t have much of a use other than that. The rusty greatsword was placed in front of him as he pulled out his magnifying glass. This time it would be a bit trickier to use identification since the greatsword is on another level than the fossils. The greatsword started to float after Sora pulled out his magnifying glass, slowly spinning as he looked through the glass. The runes were even smaller than the ones on the fossil, making them harder to find. It took Sora a couple minutes to find his first rune, which was actually moving along the edge of the blade. Sora had to keep the rune within the magnifying glass as it moved around, nearly messing up a couple times but managing to trace the rune. Once the rune was traced, the edge of the blade that looked rusted and chipped suddenly transformed as a white light traveled from the bottom of the edge to the tip of the sword. Everywhere the light passed by was cleaned and sharpened, creating a shiny looking edge that looked like it could cut through steel. Sora continued finding runes on the blade, one was along the other edge of the greatsword, one was at the bottom of the pommel, one was directly in the center of the blade, and one was circling around the hilt. Sora had only messed up one time and had to restart the process, luckily he was getting the hang of things and was able to quickly make up for the time he lost from messing up. The last rune was traced as the entire sword flashed in a white light, revealing a simply looking great sword that was extremely sharp. [x1 Ancient Double Forged Greatsword obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 60/60 Damage - 112-134 Requires - Level 45 - Greatsword Class ¡°A greatsword from an ancient time, it¡¯s blade was built to be simple yet effective.¡± +45 Strength Chapter 57: The Arena Sora put the greatsword away, planning to see if Blossom wanted it or not. His digging skill advancement quest was now completed so he went back to the old archaeologist in the tent. Right when he walked in the old man started laughing while strongly patting Sora on the back. ¡°Hohoho, I watched it all from here. The form, the grace, the elegance¡­ I¡¯m talking about the fossils kid, don¡¯t get a big head, hahaha! Anyways, you sure proved yourself to be a competent digger.¡± [Digging Skill has advanced to Novice Digging Skill] [¡®Novice Digger¡¯ title obtained] Sora sold the Ancient Coin the old man for 10 gold before leaving the camp, heading back to Var. He had been holding off on recruiting for too long now and needed to do it personally. He messaged the guild and told them to all convene at Var in half an hour, he wanted to make a huge show of their power by storming into the city together on their mounts. It didn¡¯t take long for a large group to convene outside of Var, all riding on top of savage looking wolves, Sora was positioned at the front, along with Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes at his sides. The passing players looked at their formation with awe, with some even stopping to watch what was happening. Sora signaled the start of the march with Luna howling; Snow also howled quietly but it was more cute than it was savage. The wolves started to run towards the gate of Var, with many players moving out of the way so that the large force could make it through. The group ran all the way through, only stopping at the entrance to the Shopping District. ¡°Phoenix Rising is recruiting new members, anyone interested should go to the Arena in the Entertainment District. We will be hosting a small tournament so if you want to fight then you should also come along.¡± Sora planned to make a huge event out of the recruitment, bringing in a large number of players to help advertise the event. Even people who didn¡¯t have any interest in joining the guild still started heading towards the Arena, excited about the event and informing their friends of the occasion. Sora and his group split up, with Sora going to the Arena to start things while Blossom and Nobunaga took a few people to advertise in other areas. Sora and his group were the first to arrive at the Arena thanks to the speed of their mounts. The building looked like a Colosseum, made from a pale rock and even having a dome built on it. Sora entered the Arena and created a tournament registration that was open to the public. When he walked through the hallway he found himself in a circular arena with stone benches built into the structure. A few people were here but not many challengers went forward. It didn¡¯t take long for the arena to be flooded with players, creating a noisy atmosphere where it was even hard to hear the people right next to you. A lot of players had even brought some food along with them to eat while they enjoy the show. Sora, Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes were in a special area that had a few tables on a balcony. It cost a good bit of money but it helped show the importance of these members. Sora stood up and walked to the side of the balcony, triggering the crowd to slowly quiet down. He only started talking once the arena was down to a whisper. ¡°For those that wish to join Phoenix Rising, simply state so at the start of the battle. If you do not want to then simply don¡¯t do so. For those of you here just for the tournament, I have prepared a small reward of 1,000 gold to the winner. Thank you all for participating, the first match will start now!¡± A stone slab that was suspended above the arena suddenly had words carved into it. This slab would keep track of who was fighting in the arena, along with their level and class. The first one up was a man named ¡®Jiggy¡¯, a level 41 Archer. His opponent was another man named ¡®Gyro Head¡¯, a level 40 Warrior. The arena terrain suddenly transformed before the opponents were sent in, creating a dense jungle that made it harder for the fighters to maneuver. The crowd looked at the stone slab since it would show the fight from a different point of view. Both contestants were pulled into the arena, with the Archer stating that he wanted to join Phoenix Rising. The warrior didn¡¯t show any interest and simply began making his way through the forest. The archer climbed up the trees, using the branches to silently move from above. It didn¡¯t take long for the archer to spot the warrior who was running around blindly. The archer notched an arrow and let it loose, followed by another arrow that was barbed. Both shots hit their target, chunking away a large amount of health. The warrior wanted to retaliate but was forced to retreat and find a way on top of the branches before trying to attack. The jungle became quiet as both players tried to sneak up on the other. Sora shook his head as he watched the archer get cocky and chased after the warrior. The warrior had hidden behind one of the trees and waited for the archer to come running by. A [Shoulder Bash] connected with the archer, knocking him to the ground and dealing a huge amount of damage. The warrior followed up by plunging his sword downwards, hitting him and bringing him down to critical health. The archer tried to retaliate but couldn¡¯t create a gap and died from one more attack. Both players disappeared as the arena transformed again, this time turning into a small hill with many rocks. Two more players appeared in the arena, starting a new fight.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sora watched the fights while secretly critiquing their performance. Although a good performance wasn¡¯t required to join the guild, it certainly helped stand out. A lot of newer players that didn¡¯t have any experience with fighting were weeded out of the tournament, quickly creating a tournament between the top tier players. Sora had his sight on many different combatants but his biggest catch was an assassin by the name of ¡®Lone Shadow¡¯. She was only level 42 but easily fought against players that were a higher level than her. She had been lucky enough to acquire the stealth skill so she was able to ambush every enemy she fought against. She didn¡¯t say that she wanted to join Phoenix Rising but Sora still planned to try and get her, a strong PvPer was very important once more guilds start to pop up. She once again was able to quickly win her match with an ambush and fancy footwork that made her opponent spin in circles. It was coming down to the end, with only four players left standing. Only one of those players had stated that they want to join Phoenix Rising and he surprisingly had a hidden class. He was a variation of the Archer class called the Hunter class, that used traps to help immobilize and damage his targets. It wasn¡¯t a very powerful class but he was able to use it perfectly, setting up traps in the exact places he needed and even luring his enemies into their demise. He was facing off against a warrior that had barely been able to hang on during the tournament. The fight happened in a swamp area, giving great concealment for the hunter. The warrior had been dragging his feet through the muddy water when a snapping sound was heard, dealing damage and immobilizing the warrior. The hunter popped out from behind a tree and started launching a volley of attacks on the warrior. Once the warrior finally managed to break out of the trap he rushed towards the hunter, only to once again hit a trap that exploded, dealing a large amount of damage and covering his view with muddy water. The hunter was able to kill the warrior without even being touched, securing his spot in the finals. The second fight had the assassin that Sora had been watching fighting against a mage. The mage was excellent at keeping his distance from people so he was able to kill most of his targets without even being touched. He was a little nervous about the next opponent since her stealth would make it impossible for him to stay away. The battlefield was also filled with trees which made it even harder to land hits on the assassin. The fight started and the assassin instantly vanished, creating an eerie silence that the mage used to try and hear where she was coming from. He heard a noise to his right so he used a quick fireball to launch an attack in that direction. The fireball hit a tree and nothing else right as the assassin popped up from behind the mage, using [Accurate Strike] followed by a stunning skill to interrupt the mage. The mage finally came out of his stunned state and started to create distance between him and the assassin, only realizing she had once again disappeared as he looked back. The mage could only sigh as he realized it was impossible for him to win, resulting in a forfeit. The crowd had been extremely loud for the entire duration of the tournament, only quieting down at this point to watch the finals. The arena became a scorched battlefield with broken trees scattered around. Many pits were on the ground and the entire area was littered with broken weapons. Both of the contestants appeared on in the arena, preparing themselves for a tough battle. The battle commenced, starting with the assassin going into stealth and the hunter backing up into one of the pits. He set up a trap behind him and faced forward, hoping it would stop the assassin from catching him from behind. A few seconds passed in silence before the trap could be heard triggering. The hunter turned around with an arrow notched and was surprised to see nobody caught in the trap. He turned around immediately afterward and was able to get off one attack before being stunned. The assassin started to unleash a flurry of attacks on the hunter, not even retreating as the stunned state wore off. The hunter slid back and left an explosive trap in the area he was just standing, creating an explosion as the assassin triggered it. The hunter was able to get one shot off before the assassin retreated with the smoke from the explosion as cover. The hunter once again put a trap behind him and hid behind a broken tree. A sense of crisis rising up within him as he once again heard his trap triggering. He turned around and was surprised again by the fact that nobody was there, he immediately turned and let an arrow loose, hitting nothing as it continued through the air. The assassin suddenly appeared behind him and attacked, stunning him as he tried to turn around. The assassin danced around him before using an attack with both daggers at once, killing the hunter. The arena exploded into applause as the assassin stood alone within the arena, settling down once they realized the extremely quiet assassin was finally going to say something. She pulled her mask down and revealed a very young looking face. Although she looked young her gray eyes seemed to stare into the depths of people''s souls. She looked directly at Sora, who returned her gaze without flinching back. ¡°The reason why I have not shown interest in joining Phoenix Rising is because I have not seen how powerful their leader really is. So, do you dare come down and fight me? If you win then I will join your guild and you can keep the prize money.¡± The arena turned dead silent as a lot of players started to ponder what she said. What she said had struck chords with a lot of participants in the tournament, they had never seen Sora in action and didn¡¯t want to be loyal to someone who was not powerful. Sora only smiled and cleared up all of the confusion. ¡°I normally wouldn¡¯t want players who only care about power in my guild, but I¡¯ll make an exception for you. Ah, I just wonder how long it will take for someone else to come along and for you to blindly follow them just because they are powerful.¡± All of the players who agreed with the assassin felt their faces get red, of course they knew that they would flock to whoever is most powerful. It¡¯s normal for players to hop to other guilds once they become more famous. The assassin also felt a little upset by that remark, mainly because she had overlooked that point and only wanted to make sure she wasn¡¯t following someone weaker than her. ¡°If you win and I¡¯m ever unloyal to you then I hope everyone here will make me an enemy!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡± Sora entered the battlefield as it transformed into a normal forest, he looked at the assassin who returned his gaze. Sora thought it would be fun to shake her up a little bit and revealed one of the tricks she uses against all of her opponents. ¡°By the way, your little pebble trick won¡¯t work on me.¡± The assassin suddenly had wide eyes and a look of uncertainty as she heard Sora. She finally stopped acting so condescending and had a serious look on her face as Sora pulled out his sword. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Fight! Chapter 58: The Dance in the Arena The fight began with Lone Shadow going into stealth, Sora simply stood still and waited. A carefree smile could be seen as he waited for the assassin to reappear. After a while a noise was heard from his left, he simply ignored it and shook his head. ¡°I thought I already told you that your pebble trick wouldn¡¯t fool me.¡± The audience didn¡¯t quite understand what he meant but they were starting to get the feeling that Sora had everything in the palm of his hand. Lone Shadow started to sweat a bit, she was currently in stealth a few meters away from Sora, looking for an opportunity to attack. No matter what angle she positioned herself at, she couldn¡¯t find a good spot to attack. She bit her lip as she pulled out another pebble, throwing into the leaves of the tree in an attempt to catch Sora¡¯s attention. She was only left disappointed when Sora let out a sigh and turned towards where she was standing, looking directly in her position. ¡°I may have thought too highly of you if all you can do is throw rocks around. You have thirty seconds to do something, starting now.¡± A silver light covered Sora¡¯s sword as he resumed his relaxed stance, waiting for Lone Shadow to make a move. Lone Shadow felt like her feet were glued to the ground, she couldn¡¯t think of a good attack strategy anymore and would have to either keep waiting until an opportunity somehow shows up or fight high directly. She has always used stealth to take the advantage in fights against higher level opponents and didn¡¯t have much faith in a direct clash. Her mind was spinning as she tried to figure out a plan and suddenly remembered something. She looked towards Sora and realized he had said she only had thirty seconds to make a move. She moved to a different location since she had thought Sora was only saying that because he knew where she was at the time. Just as she repositioned, a silver light flew directly at her, catching her by surprise and dealing a large chunk of damage. Sora followed up on the silver light and rushed towards Lone Shadow''s position, striking the air in front of him and dealing another large amount of damage. One more [Slash] was able to connect as she was too shocked to retaliate. The match ended in Sora¡¯s victory and the crowd was perplexed about what had happened. Lone Shadow finally broke out of her stupor as Sora came up to her. ¡°I know you said you would join¡­ but I¡¯m not too sure you¡¯re qualified anymore.¡± ¡°Best two out of three!¡± Lone Shadow got annoyed as she heard the mocking voice that Sora used against her. Her face puffed up in anger as she accidentally challenged him again. She realized her mistake and was about to take it back but Sora only nodded and entered the arena once again. Lone Shadow tried to talk herself into believing it was all a fluke, that she would be able to defeat him as long as it¡¯s a direct fight. She was extremely proud of her footwork and didn¡¯t think a knight could keep up with her, even if he was a special type of knight. She entered the arena and the countdown started again. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Fight! Lone Shadow still went into stealth, hoping to make Sora think she was going to use the same strategy, she even used a pebble to make a sound from the direction she was coming from. Sora once again didn¡¯t pay any attention to it, which made Lone Shadow have a cocky smile on her face as if she had truly outsmarted him this time. Just as she was about to strike a little tiger came out from behind him, jumping at her general area and landing an attack on her. Sora laughed as he went to a nearby tree and leaned up against it, watching Snow let out tiny growls at Lone Shadow. ¡°Beat my pet first.¡± ¡°You!¡± Lone Shadow was cut off before she could continue complaining. Snow was already level 42, matching the level of Lone Shadow and giving her a challenging fight. A few swipes from Snow had already chipped away at Lone Shadow, pressuring her into giving her full attention to the little tiger cub. She felt bad for attack such a cute little animal but wasn¡¯t about to be bested by it in front of so many people. Snow gave a good fight before being unsummoned when he fell to critical health. Lone Shadow already had half of her health gone and ran at Sora with disregard for any kind of tactics or tricks. A flurry of sloppy attacks came at Sora, who parried them all the way up until the tenth attack. Lone Shadow was on the verge of tears the entire time, calling Sora a variety of different names.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Bully! Jerk! Annoyance! Rude! Meanie!¡± She kept calling him names with each attack until a [Slash] hit her, ending the fight and sending her back to the outside of the arena. She lost her cool and ended up showing her childish side a bit at the end, causing her to be extremely embarrassed as she saw the smug grin on Sora¡¯s face. She turned around so she didn¡¯t have to face him but still listened to what he had to say. ¡°Alright, alright, I may have gone a little too far. I promise I won¡¯t do anything dirty this time. How about we fight with no skills, no items, and no summons; only our normal attacks and that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Lone Shadow humphed as she entered the arena first this time, she still felt embarrassed and wanted to use this fight to prove her worth. She has been played to death twice now and was ready for a real fight. Sora entered the arena and started the fight once again. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Fight! Lone shadow and Sora both rushed towards each other, following the agreement of using no skills. A clash was heard as Sora parried her daggers, wanting to go in for an attack but not finding an opening. Lone Shadows daggers danced around him as she sidestepped his attack, landing a few but not doing much damage thanks to his defense. Lone Shadow continued finding openings to attack, slowly chipping away at Sora¡¯s health. Sora would occasionally parry an attack, seeming to be more on defense than offense. Blossom watched the way Sora fought, she had been watching him a lot so she could learn a few moves and knew that something was off. His movements didn¡¯t seem nearly as fluid as before, it had the same motions but revealed a lot of opening due to its sluggish performance. A sudden thought hit her as she watched the sloppy attack pattern, Sora was letting her land some attacks so that she could reclaim some of her dignity as a fighter. Blossom had felt a little disappointed in the way Sora had treated Lone Shadow, easily defeating her in each battle. Now that she saw the act that Sora was putting on she once again she sighed in relief, glad that Sora wouldn¡¯t actually bully a little girl into quitting the game. Although Sora was leaving openings on purpose, Lone Shadow was still a tough opponent. If Sora was at the same level as her then he might not be able to so easily dominate the battle. Her movements were on par with Sora¡¯s and she was able to find opening during battle without any problem. She was also more proficient in mind games and assassinations than direct battles, meaning that the skill she is showing right now was only a small amount compared to what she could actually accomplish. Sora continued to dance with Lone Shadow, landing a hit every so often so that their health would stay at around the same level. The fight didn¡¯t end until both players were in critical condition, coming down to a ¡®lucky¡¯ hit from Sora to finish the battle. The crowd had been mesmerised by the fight that Sora and Lone Shadow fought. Their moves seemed to be perfectly coordinated, a lot of players even thought it looked more like a beautiful dance than a savage fight. The sound of metal sliding against metal, the shiny blades swirling around the dancers, and the fluid movements that came together perfectly. The trance was only broken by the end of the battle, which also happened to be the end of the tournament. Most players started to file out, while some had stayed to apply for Phoenix Rising. Lone Shadow came up to Sora with an unsatisfied look on her face. She had caught on to what Sora had done and was disappointed in her lack of skill but also thankful that Sora showed weakness for her sake. ¡°A deal is a deal. I know that I¡¯m a bit lacking but I still hope you can accept me into the guild¡­ Also, thank you for going easy on me.¡± ¡°Ah, you shouldn¡¯t sell yourself short. If we were similar levels with similar gear then it might have been you showing me mercy. Welcome to Phoenix Rising.¡± Lone Shadow was easily persuaded by his words of encouragement, truly showing how naive she was. Sora spoke part truth but in reality Sora would still come out on top nine times out of ten. The rest of the day was spent recruiting guild members and sparring in the arena. Sora was the main recruiter, with Blossom and Nobunaga as helpers. Sora would occasionally look into the battlefield to see how his guildmates were, incidentally looking right when Sumi had entered the arena. Her opponent was First Shot, one of the archers in Nobunaga¡¯s main party. Sora watched as First Shot was able to take down Sumi without taking too much damage. He could only laugh in his head since he knew that Sumi would be bad at the start, even when they met in his past life she wasn¡¯t too great at PvP. The archer also held a big advantage over a mage, resulting in the sad fight that Sumi had fought. Sumi sat down on one of the stone benches after her defeat, looking sullen at her lack of skills. Sora decided to let Blossom and Nobunaga finish things up while he walked over to Sumi, sitting down next to her. Sumi felt a bit awkward as he sat next to her, finally breaking the silence with a sad voice. ¡°You saw my performance didn''t you?¡± ¡°Right, it was unlucky that you had to go against a pretty good archer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not only that¡­ I really just don¡¯t think I¡¯m good at fighting.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t expect to learn everything at once, I¡¯m sure in time you will be able to mop the floor with that guy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really want to be able to do that, I just want to be useful to the guild.¡± ¡°Being able to mop the floor with cocky guys like him will put them back in their place, don¡¯t underestimate the power of motivation a guy gets when beat by a pretty girl.¡± ¡°Th-that¡­ p-pretty you say? I would-wouldn¡¯t go that far. I mean, I¡¯m not ugly. Ah, I mean-¡± ¡°Hahaha, of course I said pretty, don¡¯t sell yourself short.¡± Sumi became red as she looked to the ground, twiddling her thumbs as she thought about what Sora had said. She was able to tell Sora was trying to motivate her, even with her flustered emotions, and felt happy that she was able to have a kind guild leader like him. She wanted to say a lot of things, but she kept stopping herself right before the words came out. The only words she was able to force out was simple, but it summed up everything she was feeling. ¡°Thank you.¡± Chapter 59: Kilasia, Goddess of Chaos Phoenix Rising stayed in the arena, challenging other guildmates to try and show off a bit of their power. Sora stayed on the outside and would give tips to players when he saw them struggling. LeeLee went up with hesitation and entered the arena, Sora saw this as an amazing opportunity to train her and asked Lone Shadow to step in and teach her a thing or two. The fight was restricted to normal attacks only and Lone Shadow played mostly on defense since Sora wanted LeeLee to sharpen her fighting style. ¡°Change up your attack pattern, your movements are way too predictable.¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± ¡°No, no, no. I didn¡¯t mean to start randomly throwing attacks together, you need to be fluid or else you will leave yourself wide open between attacks.¡± ¡°Sorry!¡± ¡°Ah, I thought you were really powerful since you were a high rank in the guild. Watch out or I might take your rank.¡± Sora watched the two girls spar for a bit and was delightfully surprised that Lone Shadow was a competent teacher. Her movements were basic yet effective so it was easy for LeeLee to start catching on. Some of the other guild members in the arena started to try and learn along with LeeLee. Just as things started getting good a voice that everyone could hear broke the training atmosphere. -Server Announcement- I am Kilasia, Goddess of Chaos. Things have been rather boring for me these last thousands of years so I thought it would be fun to play a little game. Here are the rules; Each faction will have a rift opened within their territory. As the rifts continue to remain open stronger monsters will appear, not stopping until the winner is decided. Any creature killed will be sent through the rift once again to a different faction. It will be random of course, so one faction might get every single monster killed sent back to their territory, hahaha wouldn¡¯t that be fun? Oh, and to make it a little more interesting I will handsomely reward the winner and similarly severely punish the loser. Anyways, the timer starts¡­ now! The sky suddenly turned dark and the world began to shake, making it seem like doomsday had just started. All of the players in each faction started to run around like mad, preparing for the worst and hoping that they wouldn¡¯t be the loser. Sora smiled, Kilasia had always been his favorite goddess since she made things interesting. His guild all left the arena, mounting their wolves and heading towards the main gate. A ripping sound was heard as they made it through the gate. Many players looked up and saw the sky tear apart, leaving a color that looked like red, but also blue; it looked white, but also black. Looking at the large tear in the sky reminded everyone of one thing; Chaos. Every faction watched as creatures started to pour out of the sky like meteors, crashing into the earth before getting up and walking towards the main cities. The creatures that were sent looked like someone got random parts of creatures and put them together; one had the head of a toad and the body of a bull, one looked humanoid with the head of an alligator with arms and legs like a lion, and one was even just a bird with human arms instead of wings. Every creature looked horrendous and made many players feel extremely uncomfortable. Throughout all of the factions, a single sentence was being said over and over again. ¡°What the hell are these things!?¡± -Server Announcement- How dare you all insult my children, I¡¯ll have you know I created every single one of them with love and care. Just hearing all of you insult them in such a way makes me¡­ makes me¡­ bahahaha! I¡¯m just kidding you all, these are all my failed creations. Do me a favor and clean them up, thanks a lot for the help. ¡°What kind of event is this? This goddess is a bitch!¡± -Server Announcement- I heard that. A bolt of lightning that was the same color as the rift came down and struck the man that had cursed at her, turning him into a frog that hopped around blindly, eventually being squashed by one of the failed creations. Sora and his guild were at the front, fending off the first wave to give players time to convene. Bubbles the Blacksmith set up a portable forge near the entrance of the gate which was quickly covered by a huge crowd of people that needed repairs. Kira had just logged on and was on his way to the gate when he heard the commotion but was suddenly stopped as he got a message from Sora. ¡°Withdraw food and potions from the guild bank and bring them to the guild, if you don¡¯t fill up your inventory then take some money and quickly buy more supplies from the auction house. We will be alright for a while but the sooner it¡¯s done, the better.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Got it!¡± Sora kept holding the frontlines, swiftly dispatching the creatures that were unlucky enough to target him. All of the creatures were from level 25 to level 30 right now but a few level 31¡¯s started to fall as the battle progressed. Normally the number of enemies would get smaller as the battle went on but since every creature killed was sent to another faction the battlefield remained full of enemies. The creature that had the head of an alligator had just come back, meaning it was killed in another faction and sent back here. LeeLee was put in charge of the guild while Nobunaga started taking command of random players that didn¡¯t have a group to go with, it created a fortified defense that wouldn¡¯t be broken anytime soon. The other factions were holding on just as well as The Eastern Legion. Var has a wide open field in front of it, making it easy to spot and attack enemies. Archers and mages were able to bombard the battlefield from on top of the walls of Var, creating an area right in front of the city that was charred black from fire magic, iced over from ice magic, and was littered with thousands of arrows that stuck into the ground. The battle at Var was on another scale from the one at Frost Peak Mountain since it was easy to access for all players. Plus the new players could even help out with ranged attacks on the wall, along with players that focused more on jobs doing things like repairing weapons and armor at the front gate. Bubbles had just finished repairing equipment from the first wave of customers and thought he could take a break, but before he could even start to relax, more players started rushing over from the battlefield with damaged equipment. Kira arrived with food and potions completely filling his inventory. Grandpa Blossom had donated a ton of fish to the guild so there were many different foods that had a buff for every person. Kira had to stop at the auction house to buy more potions but didn¡¯t have to buy too much since Athenes had been steadily filling up the guild bank with potions from the ingredients players donated. -Guild Announcement- Restock on supplies while we have a chance, this will be a long battle. Bubbles will repair your items and Silent Justice will hand out food and potions. Hope nobody had plans tonight because we are going to be here for a while. ¡°I need to call out of work, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Shit! I had a date tonight¡­ oh well, better let her know I can¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°Hope nobody had a surprise birthday party planned for me because I won¡¯t be able to go!¡± ¡°It¡¯s your birthday?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you¡­¡± The entire guild chat started to sing happy birthday to one of the guild members, creating a laid-back atmosphere in this chaotic mess. Sora only laughed along since it was better to take things slow for now, that way people aren¡¯t burned out in the long run. Sora had just seen the creature with the alligator head for the fourth time and already wanted to tear it to pieces out of annoyance. Blossom turned into the Red Devil once again as she massacred plenty of the failed creations. Her pet, Black Devil, was similarly flying through the horde of enemies and tearing them apart. Her bird was leveling up at a pretty rapid pace but still not as fast as Snow, who was helping Sora finish off every creature he attacked. ¡°Mister fisherman, why is your pet already level 50 and mine is barely at 39?¡± ¡°A better pet is harder to level up. For Uncommon pets like mine, leveling it up to max level can be done in a day. Your pet is an epic tier so it will level up slower.¡± ¡°Ohhhh. What¡¯s max level for a pet?¡± ¡°Max level is whatever level the owner of the pet is. So your¡¯s would be maxed out at level 48.¡± LeeLee had the basic formations already in place and decided to go ahead and join in on killing a few things. She had trained with Lone Shadow for a while and felt like seeing if she improved any. At first, she seemed to have picked up some skills from Lone Shadow, but after a little while, she seemed to have run out of moves and just started her movements at the beginning again. Even during this chaotic battle, Lone Shadow was barking out orders to LeeLee. ¡°No! Don¡¯t just use the exact movements I showed you, mix it up a little based on the scenario.¡± ¡°Sorry!¡± ¡°Stop saying sorry!¡± The first real challenge appeared after about an hour of slaughter. A large creature crashed onto the battlefield, it looked like an amalgamation of every creature that has been sent so far. The creature let out a nasty sounding roar as it rose up, towering over all of the other creatures around it. -Server Announcement- The Eastern Legion gets to fight the first boss, the rest of the factions must feel quite jealous¡­ Don¡¯t worry though, I¡¯m sure he will be on his way to one of you very shortly! Oh, and the girl with the red hair, I think her name is Blossom? I kinda like you so how about becoming my toy? Eh- Valor what are you doing here? Mhhmm¡­ ok.... Wh-what! Buuuut I waaaaant heeeeer¡­ Nevermind girl with red hair, as much as I like you even I don¡¯t want to get on that guy''s bad side. Blossom sighed in relief and secretly thanked Valor for stepping in and stopping the goddess. A lot of people couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the Goddess of Chaos, she might be hard to deal with but she is also quite fun. Level 35 -Dyroz, The Failed Creation- The large creature hobbled over to the frontlines, quickly being shredded by the incoming barrage of magic and projectiles. He was already down to 30% health as he finally reached the first player. Luckily the player was a level 43 knight and easily tanked all of the damage the boss could throw out. The first boss wasn''t hard at all and helped boost the morale of all the players. Sora knew better though, this wasn¡¯t an event meant to be challenging. It was made to see who can hang on the longest without going insane from the amount of time spent fighting. The players kept annihilating the enemies with ease, having very few casualties and keeping the player''s morale high. A few more waves of enemies died before a familiar face came back to the battlefield. Level 35 -Dyroz, The Failed Creation- Sora was surprised as he saw the creature already return to the battlefield. It probably died to another faction and instantly came back here. The creature started wobbling over once again, being ripped apart and dying, only to return again after another couple of waves. Sora rubbed his head as he saw the disgusting creature start the process all over again, memories of the other times he had to fight in this event came back to him and gave him a bit of a headache. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a long night.¡± Chapter 60: The Winner of the Game The rift in the sky kept raining creatures onto the battlefield, getting stronger as time went by. Many creatures that have already been seen kept returning which eventually started to annoy people and make them tear the enemy apart out of anger. The battlefield quickly became less strategic and more savage as more players became infected by the madness of the battlefield. Players would start to wildly swing and use every skill they had to quickly dispatch any enemies in their way. At this time another large creature plummeted to earth and crashed. Level 40 -Farmin, The Other Failed Creation- All of the players looked at the name of the creature and thought it was a bit too lazy to just name it that. The creature looked like a blob of jelly and jiggled as it slowly moved towards the frontlines. This boss was a bit stronger than the first one but still couldn¡¯t hold on for very long under the attack of thousands of players. The creatures were spawning in at level 40 after four hours of fighting, if things continue on this way then The Eastern Legion should be able to hold on until the level 50 boss, which would appear after another four hours. If they are lucky then the level 50 boss won¡¯t show itself for a while. Kira wasn¡¯t a high level so he was in charge of going back to the guild bank and auction house to buy more supplies, then return to the battlefield and distribute them. He even started to sell some of the supplies to strangers for a profit, which allowed him to return to the auction house and buy even more supplies. Bubbles constantly had a stream of players that came to him for repairs, he had made more repairs in this one sitting than all of the repairs he has done combined. His army continued to move as he hammered at various pieces of equipment. Other blacksmiths tried to mimic him but he was the most popular since he was the first to set up shop. Grandpa Blossom didn¡¯t have too much of an interest in the event and continued to fish. He only ever fought when he found a fishing spot that he wanted, which is the only reason he was at level 29. Other than those people, everyone else was fighting against the horde of enemies, only stopping to resupply. The first real challenge finally occurred after 6 hours of fighting. Both bosses simultaneously spawned into the battlefield, both being fairly close to each other. There simply wasn¡¯t enough firepower to take them both down quickly. Sora was about to take charge but before he could LeeLee had already started giving out commands. ¡°Focus the lower level boss, the quicker we kill it the better off we will be. Solid Brick, you are in charge of tanking the second boss.¡± The players tried to follow orders as best they could but some of the random players simply didn¡¯t care about orders and continued to keep their focus on the higher level boss. Their thought process told them that hitting the higher level boss will give them more contribution. The lower level boss was at 20% by the time it reached the frontlines while the higher level one was at 85%. Sora took aggro for the higher level one while the lower level was quickly focused down. Accidents were impossible to avoid and there were a few casualties on lower level players that didn¡¯t pay enough attention. The higher level boss seemed to occasionally target random players. Sora was able to maintain the aggro but player still died around him. After the first boss died a massive amount of damage started to pour onto the higher level boss, killing him within a short amount of time. Sora looked at the rest of the battlefield as the boss fell and realized that some of the frontlines were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the failed creations. They didn¡¯t have a lot of power alone but made up for that with massive numbers. Flying creatures finally started to appear too, creating a headache for the ranged players that were used to constantly dealing damage without any worries. Players continued to fall at a slow but steady pace but more players would just take their place and continue the battle. At the sixth hour, another server announcement came through. -Server Announcement- Awwww, the Western Kingdom just couldn¡¯t hold on when the third boss arrived. Thanks for playing! Oh, and don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t forgotten about your reward! -Server Announcement- The Western Kingdom has received the double revive time penalty for one week. All players who are already dead will have 24 hours added onto their timer. -Server Announcement- So far The Eastern Legion is my favorite, let¡¯s see how well they fare off against the boss that took out The Western Kingdom! The rift in the sky pulsed as another creature came crashing into the earth. It was made from mostly rock but seemed to have some parts that were flesh. It towered over everything around it as it rose up and let out a creepy roar that shook everyone''s mind. The roar stunned every player for two seconds, resulting in a lot of frontline members to be taken out. The roar triggered a flood of enemies that invaded the player formation. Level 45 -Urkrastor, The Other Other Failed Creation- Sora was tanky enough to survive the stunned state but a few people had died around him. He and Solid Brick were located at the very front of the army, trying their best to tank as much damage as they could. The healers poured on a massive amount of white light to continuously heal the damage taken. Just when the players found their footing, another roar broke the momentum of the army, once again stunning them. Another wave of enemies started to pour into the ranks of the players, finally breaking up their formation. The massive army of players was now split into three separate groups. One with Phoenix Rising, along with Drazi and random players that decided to fall under his command. One with Everlasting, along with the players that fell under their command. The last one was an area in the middle of the two groups that had turned into a war zone thanks to the breaking of the formation. Players could be found scattered within the sea of enemies, being swarmed by them and dying due to their overwhelming number.Stolen story; please report. The boss was able to make it all the way to the frontlines with a health 65% health still remaining. The boss walked towards Everlastings side so Phoenix Rising wasn¡¯t able to assist thank to the large amount of enemies splitting them apart. ¡­.. Spring commanded her army effectively, managing to lure the boss into their formation while the horde of enemies stayed on the outside. This let their elite groups focus on taking down the boss without worrying about the random creatures attacking them. ¡°Reform the formation and get ready for another stun attack! Use whatever you can to survive through the stun or we are finished! Healers should be ready to cast right as they come out of their stun!¡± Spring was fighting while giving out orders, only ever stopping to resupply or repair equipment. Another roar resounded and stunned everyone, triggering the massacre of her group members. Her body glowed right after the stun had hit her, curing it and allowing her to continue holding aggro on the boss. The group lost a few frontliners and had enemies trickle into the formation but they were quickly dispatched and the formation reformed. The boss wasn¡¯t able to let out another roar before it fell. ¡°We need to reconnect with Phoenix Rising while we have time! Form a path!¡± ¡­.. ¡°We need to reconnect with Everlasting while we have time! Breakthrough the enemies!¡± The orders from both sides happened at the same time. Phoenix Rising and Everlasting seemed to cut through the enemies, eventually meeting in the middle of the chaotic battlefield. A formation was quickly formed between the two as the random players helped finish off the creatures between the two groups. The players didn¡¯t have anytime to enjoy the peace and quiet as the second boss once again appeared on the battlefield. A lot of players could be heard sighing as they readied themselves for battle once again. After another half hour another announcement appeared. -Server Announcement- The third boss is on a roll! It may have lost to The Eastern Legion but The Southern Flames were cleanly wiped out. I expected nothing less from one of my creations, hehehe. As for the reward¡­ I won¡¯t be too harsh since you didn''t get last place¡­ NOT, hahahaha! -Server Announcement- All players in The Southern Flames have had their EXP progress reduced to 0%. -Server Announcement- Ah, The Eastern Legion should be careful. The boss seemed really upset about his loss to you guys last time. Prepare for round two! Ding ding ding! The third boss once again crashed into the earth and let out a massive roar. The players were more prepared this time and didn¡¯t get split apart but they still had many casualties. The boss made it about halfway to the players when another large creature appeared and crashed into the earth. The first boss started wobbling behind the third, putting even more pressure on the players. The third boss would stun players while the first one deals high damage, unable to get healing thanks to the stunned state that the healers were in. Spring sent a message over to Phoenix Rising, there was no way they could get through this if they didn¡¯t work together. ¡°Everlasting will take the aggro of the first boss, you guys take the third boss.¡± Sora didn¡¯t have any complaints and quickly pulled the third boss into his formation. Spring did the same with the first boss, relieving a little bit of pressure on the battlefield. The random players were mainly tasked with controlling the smaller enemies while the guild took on the bosses. It took many sacrifices but Everlasting was able to quickly kill of their boss, only falling victim to casualties when they were stunned. Phoenix Rising was having a bit more trouble with their boss since it was a lot stronger, they weren¡¯t able to kill it until another roar stunned them all once more. The second boss appeared once again right as the first one was killed by Everlasting but it moved too slow to create a big problem. The guild took control of it right as the third boss fell to Phoenix Rising. Since there was only two factions left, the amount of enemies on each battlefield was incredibly large. The flying creatures took out many archers and mages which slowed down their damage output, eventually leading to more enemies coming in than going out. The battlefield was covered in the strange creatures, with only a thin line of players left to defend against the waves of enemies. The eighth hour hit and the rift once again pulsed, this time much more violently. -Server Announcement- Ahhh, can¡¯t you all just die already? Naming all these things is hard and even when I do name them you still complain. Fine! I don¡¯t care anymore! A creature crashed into the battlefield, creating a pillar of fire as it connected with the ground. A giant magma looking monster rose up from the ground, sometimes shooting out boulders randomly. It was eerily quiet as it began to make its way to the frontlines. Level 50 -Blah Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah- The creature was much faster than the last bosses that came through. It swiftly made its way to the frontlines but surprisingly didn¡¯t attack anyone. It kept moving through the army until it was in the very middle. Its body started to swell as it launched boulders rapidly in many different directions at once. The boulders instantly killed the players it hit which completely annihilated the formation that was in place. After a moment the swelling stopped before the creature exploded into a rain of magma and boulders that started to kill off every player left. Athenes used [Greater Healing] on herself and Sora, not able to spare the time for a single spell on anyone else. The magma ticked away at both of them but they were somehow able to survive with barely any health and mana left. The only other people left alive were a couple healers in Phoenix Rising that healed each other constantly and two people in Everlasting that used the same tactic as Sora and Athenes. The exploding creature may have wiped out nearly every single player in the battlefield but it also wiped out every surrounding creature too, giving Sora and Spring enough room to convene together. They didn¡¯t say much and only focused on the creatures that appeared in front of them. They watched as two of the bosses once again reappeared to fight. They were lucky that it was the first and second boss and only needed to hold on until they were the last faction standing. The magma boss should go to The Northern Summit, who was currently already dealing with the third boss, and hopefully be able to wipe them out before Sora and Spring fell. A few random players that also somehow managed to survive convened around the two guild leaders, readying themselves for the tsunami of enemies that were charging towards them. The fight started and almost instantly killed off a few random players. Sora and Spring did their best to cover their healers but were quickly surrounded and cut off from them, resulting in their death. Athenes was only able to get off one more [Greater Healing] on Sora before falling. Sora used a health potion to hopefully buy some more time along with using [Concuss] on the strongest creature attacking him. His parrying dagger blurred all around him as he did his best to parry. His health fell to critical right as a sound that sounded like heavenly bells resounded. He fell right after the notification was sent. -Server Announcement- The Northern Summit fell! Ah, it was a really close game, just a couple more seconds and they would have won. Oh well, there can only be one winner. Congratulations to The Eastern Legion for pulling through, as for The Northern Summit, if you aren¡¯t a winner then you are a loser! -Server Announcement- Players of The Northern Summit will have all equipment durability reduced to 1. Players of The Northern Summit will have repair costs doubled for one week. -Server Announcement- Hmm¡­ what do I give the winners. Hehehe, technically I am the real winner here so I will grant myself a full set of Divine Equipment. As for The Eastern Legion, better luck next time, as for your punishment- Ahhh! What are you doing here! Ow-Ow-Stop I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so- ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ -Server Announcement- I¡¯m sorry for Kilasia¡¯s behavior. I am Ferinia, Goddess of Balance, although I cannot undo the damage she has done, I will at least reward the real winners appropriately. Once again, I am sorry for the trouble my sister has caused and hope you can all forgive her. -Server Announcement- The players of The Eastern Legion have all gained a level. All players in The Eastern Legion have had their revive timers have been reduced to 0. Chapter 61: Springs Pain Sora was able to respawn instantly and gained a level. His EXP bar was already almost full due to fighting the creatures that fell from the rift so he almost leveled up twice from just eight hours of playing. For him, that was a pretty good reward but lower levels that can already level up that fast might think it was a little underwhelming for the effort they put in. -Faction Announcement- That Goddess of Chaos was impressed by the power of our faction. She has agreed to send Chaotic Warriors to help claim a demon territory. The king would like to thank you all for your effort. -Faction Announcement- The Eastern Legion has taken control of The Sky Branch Forest. The humans will once again be united with the elves! Long live The Eastern Legion! A lot of people had a sudden epiphany when they heard about the elves and already started heading towards the forest. Who didn¡¯t know about the Elven Dew Drops at this point, they were in high demand and everyone wanted to rake in the profits. When the word elves was heard everyone seemed to piece things together and wanted to see if they were right. A large group of people took off towards the new territory with high hopes. Sora dismissed the members of Phoenix Rising, with only a few people staying behind. Lone Shadow and LeeLee went to the arena again to train, Blossom joined in on the fun and watched from the sides. Nobunaga and Athenes went back to Frost Peak Mountain to run through the dungeon more. Sumi was the only person left next to Sora, she was about to say something but was interrupted by the call from her friend. ¡°Suuuumi! We won! I thought we were going to lose for sure. Hey, let¡¯s go celebrate a little!¡± Sumi was dragged away by her friend before she could say anything else. Sora stood there alone and decided to take a stroll through town, going through various alleyways and eventually finding himself in The Night Bound Garden. The moon hung high in the sky once again as he traveled through the pathway, relying on the moonlight to guide his way. He looked towards the same spot where Blossom had been the night her sister showed up and saw another figure. The figure was holding a few flowers in their hand, occasionally throwing one into the pond to let it drift towards the reflection of the moon. Sora walked up to the figure just as they were about to throw another flower, the figure stopped mid throw and looked towards Sora. ¡°Good job on the battlefield today, Spring.¡± ¡°... Same to you.¡± Sora already had a hunch that it was her but only confirmed it when he saw her face. Sora sat next to her, almost in the same way he had sat next to Blossom. Spring continued throwing flowers, the silence remaining unbroken except for the occasional bell sound from the flower being thrown into the water. She finally ran out of flowers and broke the silence. ¡°How is she?¡± ¡°If by that you mean your sister, then she is doing just fine. Although I think it would be better if you asked her yourself.¡± ¡°... It¡¯s better if I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright, stop the act. You may be able to fool others but I¡¯m not as easy.¡± ¡°Wh-what are you talking about?¡± ¡°You were looking towards her so much in the battle that it was hard not to notice.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°So tell me, why put on such an act? It¡¯s hurting you and your sister. Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to just get along?¡± ¡°If I drop the act, go back to the way we used to be, and act like it all didn¡¯t happen; could you assure me everything would be alright?¡± ¡°...No, I guess I couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°If I go back to the way it used to be, she would hate me even more than she did now. At least this way, she won¡¯t hurt herself.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pry. Sorry.¡± Spring was tense as she talked about the past, her eyes seeming to look into the distance blankly. Sora was acting a little presumptuous by talking about it so easily, it seems that the reason behind everything was a lot more complicated than he first thought. Spring realized how she was acting after Sora said sorry, slowly releasing her tension and rubbing her eyes a bit to try and regain clarity. She sighed lightly and prepare herself, it had been far too long that she had been keeping all of her emotions in.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°It was selfish of me to make her hate me. It made my life so much easier, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a terrible thing to do? To make your own sister hate you so your life will be easier. Even now, when I say it so bluntly my stomach turns.¡± ¡°Then why did you do it?¡± ¡°She always followed me around when we were young, back when we were still on good terms. At first, I would just do things that I loved to do. I used to paint a lot when I was younger. The pictures I made helped me escape to my own little world, where the expectations people had on me would disappear. Then Serah wanted to be like her big sister¡­ She struggled so hard to get better but it just wasn¡¯t suited for her. I tried to tell her to find something else to do, something that would make her happy¡­ but she just looked at me with hate in her eyes every time I tried to do so. I finally gave up painting and moved to the next thing, hoping to find something that she could keep up with. I tried writing next, only to have her follow me again. She would stay up all night, sometimes missing school just so she could write more. I thought I had finally found something that she was passionate about, yet when I finished my story, she read it¡­ the next day she tore up all of her work, only to start all over again. I kept trying new things until eventually, she ended up collapsing while we were playing volleyball. The doctors said she had overworked herself and just needed some rest. I stayed by her side until she woke up and when she finally did¡­ the first thing she said to me was ¡®I hate you¡¯.¡± At this point Spring started to choke on her words, her eyes reflecting the moonlight. She bit her lip and pulled herself back together. It took a while but she eventually became calm again and continued her story. ¡°I know she was still young but those words really hurt a lot. The envy she felt pushed her to the point of collapse, doing something she didn¡¯t even like. A few weeks went by and she went back to the same thing, following my footsteps and hating herself due to her inability to keep up with me. I had already given up everything I loved, hoping I could find something she would stick with so I could be free again. That¡¯s why I finally snapped... She tried cooking something I made once, cutting herself a few times, nearly setting the house on fire, and failing many times. It wasn¡¯t disgusting, it was probably delicious. If she smiled even once while making it then I would have tried it but the look of disappointment on her face made it look disgusting to me!¡± Spring became a little hysterical as she recalled her breaking point. A sense of regret lingered on her face. Sora didn¡¯t know what to say, he had listened to Blossoms side of the story but never knew the full details. Spring gave up everything she loved trying to find something Blossom would enjoy, Sora could only wonder if he could do the same. ¡°After that, she stopped following me for a while but still returned after a few weeks. I felt so free during that time, I felt bad about what I did to Blossom but when I saw her doing the things she wanted to I forgot all about that. I kept acting like a terrible person to enjoy my freedom while Blossom eventually detached from me, doing things she wanted to without any competition to be better. When I had grown up I realized the price of my freedom, Blossom hates me now but that¡¯s ok because she smiles a lot more. Mom and Dad hardly ever talk to me anymore too, only seeing me as a terrible sister. The only person that stills talks to me in my family is one of my cousins, he was the guy who tried to stop you at Frost Peak Village while we were doing a guild event.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell Blossom everything you just told me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m honestly scared of what would happen after that... Anyway, don¡¯t feel obligated to try and comfort me, this is the punishment I get for being selfish. I just hope you can continue to look after her in my stead. Besides, I would rather have her openly hate me and secretly love me than to have her openly love me and secretly hate me.¡± Spring got up and started walking away from the pond, dusting herself off as she left. Sora watched as the last flower she had thrown entered the center of the pond, merging into the other flowers that had already made it. Sora rubbed his head as he tried to compile the whole story in his head. He flopped onto his back and looked into the starry sky, resting for a moment after the long day of battle and emotions. Sora eventually logged out at the garden, he felt drained since he didn¡¯t take a break before the chaos event had happened; meaning he had been in the game for many hours. Talking to Spring had only given him more of a headache so the break was needed. He rested for a moment and checked the game forums for anything interesting. An entire video of the tournament Sora had hosted was one of the top posts, with commentary on the entire video as a bonus. Another video that was trending was the fight between Lone Shadow and Sora, the video was simply titled ¡®The Dance¡¯ and had music added over it. The movements went well with the music, making it truly seem like it was choreographed. Sora skipped over all of the news happening in his own faction and looked at what was happening in the other factions. All of the losing factions were complaining about the punishment from the chaos event, especially The Northern Summit who had lost by seconds. They all felt that the magma boss was extremely unfair and wondered how The Eastern Legion had been able to survive. Players from The Eastern Legion were taunting the players from the other factions, creating a bad image for the entire faction. Sora was irritated by those people since it would mean more enemies to fight when the faction territories touch. The only other news was about the guilds that have been starting to form. The Northern Summit and Southern Flame both have one guild that has been created while The Eastern Legion had two. The Western Kingdom was far behind everyone else and was even the faction that placed last in the chaos event. Sora closed the forums and decided to head back in the game with a new goal in mind. [Welcome back, Ethereal] Sora appeared in the garden and headed towards the flight service. He would need to go back to Tidal Wave Pass since his destination was in The Sky Branch Forest. The line was pretty long but it was still better to take the flight rather than to go on foot. He landed in Tidal Wave Pass and made his way to the forest, skimming along the outskirts until he found a small dirt path that went inwards. The path seemed to wind through the forest aimlessly, not appearing to go anywhere special since the path stopped randomly with nothing around it. Sora went towards a bush that was near a tree and found a small branch near the base that seemed out of place. After pulling on it, the tree opened up, revealing a bronze door that glowed slightly. [You have discovered a dungeon] [¡®Explorer¡¯ title obtained] -Faction Announcement- A level 55 dungeon has been found in The Sky Branch Forest. The royal army will help clear the area so adventurers will be able to enter. Please wait one week for the dungeon to open. Chapter 62: The Corrupted Village Sora only wanted to find the dungeon for now since it would take a whole week to open. He left the area and started heading back towards the elven village in Sky Branch Forest. The forest had many more players that formed groups to hunt tigers. They were probably working on the reputation grind that Sora was able to surpass thanks to saving Desakors daughter. He was planning to just pass through but Desakor appeared in front of him, with a look of unease apparent. His daughter was sticking close by him, never straying too far away. Sora decided to see if there was anything that Desakor needed before leaving. ¡°Desakor, how have things been?¡± ¡°Rejoining The Eastern Legion has helped bring life back into our village, a lot of villagers are much happier now¡­ The only problem is that the royal army seemed to have stirred something up within the ruins of our old village. We tried to stop it but it used the same corrupt energy that we have no means to fight against.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look, which directions is your old village in?¡± ¡°Head North-West until you see a huge tree that has purple energy coursing through it.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± [Quest Received] [The Corrupted Village] -The ruins of the elven village have been stirring with a corrupt energy. Find a way to destroy the corrupt energy and purge the ruins. Sora started heading North-West towards the old elven village. The area he was heading to was his original destination so it worked in his favor. It didn¡¯t take long for the beautiful natural terrain to turn into a dried up earth with black scorch marks everywhere. The towering trees were taken down, creating a maze of dead trees that didn¡¯t look anything like how they did when alive. Sora started making his way through the maze of branches, following random paths since even he couldn¡¯t predict where he was going. He had heard of an epic boss that would spawn here and wanted to check things out before creating a group to come and fight it. He would occasionally see corrupt creatures running around within the branches, occasionally attacking Sora and forcing him to fight. If he tried to just outrun them then he could risk aggroing more so it was a better idea to clear the path just in case something goes wrong. The corrupt white tiger would tear apart space itself with a swipe from its claws, leaving a trail of purple light that would deal damage. The corrupted apes were fairly slow in attacking but hit incredibly hard when they did connect. Sora only saw one corrupted bird through his journey, which was lucky since they would fly around, making the fight take a lot longer than usual. Sora defeated one more corrupted white tiger before stepping into an area where the trees opened up, revealing the remains of a village that looked to be ravaged by time. The houses were rotting away and a dried up creek could be seen running along the edge of the opened area. The entire place left a gloomy atmosphere that told a story of tragedy. Especially the large tree that once proudly stood within the center of the village, which was now unrecognizable as a tree and looked more like a pile of rot. Sora started making his way through the ruins, carefully checking each building for anything that might help with the quest. He figured the key to the completion was the silver energy that Gzarna created but wasn¡¯t positive so he made sure not to skip anything in his investigation. Each house was hard to search since it collapsed but Sora still managed to find ways in, sometimes having to fight creatures that were hidden within the rubble. On one particular house that didn¡¯t seem very important, a miasma-like substance was leaking out of the cracks. Sora squeezed his way through the rubble and eventually found a hole in the ground that started off fairly narrow and opened up into a cave. No enemies could be seen in the cave, only the thick miasma that made it hard to see past a certain point. The cave opened up into a large cavern that had many roots winding through it. The roots must have been from the large tree in the middle of the village since the roots themselves were extremely large. Sora hopped over a few of the branches, sometimes having to climb to get over them, until he found an area where the branches coiled together, forming a sphere within the middle of the cavern. Sora peeked into one of the cracks, revealing a small black tree that looked to be moving slightly. Its branches had mushrooms sprouting from them, each one releasing the purple miasma that filled the cave. Level 55 -Fungire, Sapper of the Lands- [Quest Updated] [The Corrupted Village] -You have found the source of the corruption within the lands. You should talk to Gzarna about how to deal with it, she may have the key to purifying the lands.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Sora recognized the boss within the sphere made of branches. It was the epic boss that was usually here except it now looked much more evil than normal. Sora remembered it looking like a normal tree instead of the monstrosity that it is now. Sora decided to head back to Var since both of his targets were found. First, he messaged Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes; letting them all know that they should be prepared to fight a boss. None of them complained or asked any questions, they simply prepared themselves to fight. Sora went back to Var and headed straight to the royal territory, being stopped by a few guards that watched the gate leading towards Gzarna¡¯s laboratory. Before Sora said anything, Gzarna appeared behind them, quickly grabbing onto Sora and dragging him through the gate. The guards couldn¡¯t even get a word in before he was dragged into the laboratory, teleporting into the room with a variety of magic instruments. Gzarna sat down in a chair and propped her head up with her arms, staring at Sora with curiosity. ¡°There is traces of corrupt energy on you.¡± ¡°You have a scary amount of sense for this stuff.¡± ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯m not the head mage of the royal family for no reason you know. So, I¡¯m guessing you found something strange and needed me?¡± ¡°Indeed, it went like this¡­¡± Sora told the story of the forest that was ravaged by the corrupt energy. Normal people would be saddened by the story since it conveyed the amount of destruction that was caused but Gzarna was smiling brightly as she heard about it. The tree that was releasing the miasma piqued her interest even further, causing her to pack up many magical devices before Sora was even done with his story. ¡°...So I came back here, thinking you might be interested in it.¡± ¡°Ah, you really spoil me you know that. If I was a couple hundred years younger, then you would definitely be my type. Haha, just kidding, you¡¯re still a bit too weak to catch my attention.¡± Sora rolled his eyes before once again being dragged away by Gzarna. They left her laboratory and went towards the back of the building where a pedestal made from finely carved marble stone was placed. The center had a circular platform with many runes and the outside had even more runes. Each rune glowed a slightly different color, giving off the glow of every color of the spectrum. When the two were on the platform, Gzarna let out a large amount of energy, making silver strands appear in her hair that blew around wildly. The runes all slowly changed into the same purple color before flashing brightly, teleporting Gzarna and Sora to The Sky Branch Forest. Sora was a little disoriented but wasn¡¯t spared from being dragged around by Gzarna, heading in the direction of the old elf village. Sora didn¡¯t expect for everything to move so quickly and messaged his team, telling them to meet him at the old village. Gzarna blasted past every enemy, releasing a small strand of energy that dealt thousands of damage per hit, instantly killing any enemy that crossed her path. She suddenly stopped and turned towards Sora, giving him a bad feeling. ¡°Do you have a mount? It would be a lot faster than walking.¡± ¡°Ya but-¡± ¡°Summon it! Anything could happen by the time we get there so we need to hurry!¡± Sora couldn¡¯t get any words in and decided to just go ahead and summon it. Luna appeared in a flash of silver light, a beautiful shine on her fur from where the light touched. Gzarna looked to have fallen in love as she looked at the silver wolf, walking around it and examining it. After a while, she let out an excited laugh as she started shaking Sora. ¡°How much?!¡± ¡°How much what?¡± ¡°How much to buy this wolf from you?! One hundred thousand gold? No, how about two hundred thousand?¡± Sora blanked for a bit, his shock apparent on his face. He thought he misheard her the first time but managed to hear her clearly the second time. Sora didn¡¯t think that a wolf obtained from grinding reputation would be that expensive. He knew that Luna was special but didn¡¯t know it was to that extent. He decided to try and get some more information from Gzarna while he can, she seemed to be incredibly interested in her so it must be something important. ¡°What makes you want to spend that much on my mount?¡± ¡°Mount?! You think this beautiful beast is simply a mount?!¡± ¡°What else would she be?¡± ¡°THIS IS A SPIRIT GODDESS YOU IDIOT.¡± ¡°A¡­ Spirit Goddess?¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s more of a Spirit Goddess in the making. You should know that every element has a goddess associated with it. Fire goddess, the water goddess, the earth goddess, the air goddess, and of course the other goddesses like the goddess of luck, chaos, and balance.¡± ¡°Ya, of course, I knew that, what element does Luna represent then?¡± ¡°She is the elemental goddess of the purging element! It was a newfound element so she is still developing but she will eventually be as powerful, maybe even more powerful, than every other elemental goddess! You really should sell her to me if you can¡¯t understand the gravity of what is happening. YOU HAVE BEEN USING A SPIRIT GODDESS AS A MOUNT YOU IMBECILE.¡± Sora had no idea what was going on, he had never heard of the elemental goddess of purging in his last life. The wolf looked at Sora and cocked her head sideways, seeming to be just as confused. Sora was a little doubtful but didn¡¯t dare voice his complaint since Gzarna was acting erratically right now. She seemed to have read his thoughts though and pulled out an orb of silver energy. The orb touched against Luna, making the silver energy within be absorbed into her fur. The silver energy swirled around on her coat of fur for a while before traveling to the moon shape on her forehead and being completely absorbed into her body. [Silver Wolf Mount Evolved] [Purging Wolf Battle Mount obtained] Sora couldn¡¯t break away from his shock. He had unknowingly had a battle mount all along, something that he didn¡¯t expect to get for a long time. From what Gzarna said, it seemed the wolf was even more amazing than that though, maybe even able to evolve into a Divine level battle mount in the future. Gzarna watched as Luna went to Sora¡¯s side, looking extremely loyal. Gzarna could only let out a sigh as she realized that Sora must have been chosen for a reason, giving up her hopes of obtaining the spirit goddess. ¡°Nevermind, even if I can buy her there is no way of knowing if she will be willing to follow me. I just hope you can understand just how important she is though.¡± ¡°I will¡­¡± Sora looked at Luna beside him, loyally guarding his side without any orders to do so. He smiled and realized he would have taken good care of her even without being told to do so. Sora stroked her fur before jumping onto her back. Gzarna was a little hesitant to do so since she still saw her as a goddess but Luna lowered herself down as a signal to go ahead and climb on. Luna ran towards the ruins of the elf village, with Sora and Gzarna on her back. Chapter 63: Fungire, Sapper of the Lands Luna made the trip rather quick, outrunning any enemy that tried to attack them along the way. Sora and Gzarna dismounted at the dilapidated house, using the tunnel to go into the cavern that was filled with branches. After climbing over many branches, a sphere made of wood that released miasma came into sight. Gzarna ran up to it and started studying the decaying branches that were turning black before looking into the sphere where the corrupted tree was at. A smile of excitement appeared on Gzarnas face as she looked at the corrupt energy that coursed through its bark. She started to take out various tools that she had packed from her lab and set them up outside of the sphere. She started talking to Sora as she finished setting up some equipment. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the corrupt energy, I¡¯m hoping to capture it so I can conduct more experiments. Would it be possible for you to take care of the host creature?¡± ¡°Sure, I have a group on the way that should be able to take it down.¡± ¡°Great! We will start as soon as they get here then.¡± Sora watched Gzarna set up all of her equipment for a while before going back up the tunnel. He had gotten a message from Nobunaga saying they were close by and he needed to lead them through the tunnel. When Sora popped out of the tunnel he saw a corrupted ape that was glowing with a blue aura. Sora had been waiting for this chance since he needed another defense enchantment for the cloak he had gotten a long time ago in the dungeon. He pulled out his weapon and used [Purge With Silver] to buff his attacks against the creature. Level 50 -Layered Corrupted Hanging Ape- A [Slash] connected with the ape, dealing a decent amount of damage, considering it had a defensive enchantment. The ape let out a scream as it pounded its chest, showing off its might before going into battle. Sora was able to get a couple more hits in before parrying the first attack made towards him. The ape used its extremely strong attacks to try and overwhelm Sora but was met with a quick parry and counterattack. Sora was able to use the time when it was recovering from the parry to slide around it and using [Concuss], giving him plenty of time to get off a couple attacks before the ape managed to properly face him and attack again. Sora continued using [Slash] and counterattacking when the ape was parried, killing the beast before his [Purge With Silver] ended. The beast fell as a few coins and an orb of blue light was left as the spoils. [x1 Layered Enchantment obtained] Sora was able to get the second tier of enchantment for defensive enchantment. His success rate would below but as long as he focused he should be able to use it successfully. He was impatient and decided to find a flat area to use the enchantment. Sora sat down on a large stump that was cleanly cut, creating a perfectly flat surface for him to work on. The Layered Essence was absorbed into his brush and an enchantment parcel was placed in front of him. Sora hesitated for a moment since he had low-quality tools but couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of the new cloak. His hand moved on top of the paper, making a complicated outline appear. Sora immersed himself in the drawing, using very slow but fluid motions that matched with the outlines on the paper. The light started to dim a bit as he was halfway done, reminding him that he needed to hurry up a little or else the enchantment would completely fail. His hand moved faster and left a trail of blue light on the paper, creating a picture of many shields stacked on top of each other. The light of the outline was just about to blink out as Sora made one final stroke, swiftly flowing across the paper and completing the rune. Sora looked at the enchantment and breathed a sigh of relief before looking up, noticing a few people standing in front of him. Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes were all quietly waiting for Sora to finish the enchantment. ¡°How long have you all been here for?¡± ¡°About seven minutes now, you were concentrated on something so we just waited until you were done before saying anything. Another defensive enchantment, mister fisherman?¡± ¡°Ya, I was able to get the second tier enchantment this time. Let me just put it on my cloak and we can go.¡± Sora pulled out the cloak made from spider silk and laid the enchantment on top of it. The paper slowly dissolved as the rune was left imprinted on the cloak. [x1 Layered Silk Cloak of Slowing obtained] Rarity - Rare Durability - 80/80 Defense - 10(+15) Requires - Level 40 ¡°A cloak made from the sticky yet beautiful silk of Grub, The Weaver of Silk. The cloak fits loosely on the wearer but anybody else who comes into contact will feel a stickiness that is hard to break away from.¡± +10 Constitution +10 Strength +10% Slow attacker when hit (Enchantment Effects) +20 Durability +15 Defense Sora equipped his new cloak immediately. The stats were a little worse than his old cloak but this one had higher defense and the slowing effect on attackers. With his new cloak on and his team assembles, he was ready to fight the boss. The team all followed Sora into the cavern and climbed over the branches. Gzarna was waiting outside of the sphere of wood with all of her devices set up. When the group approached she got excited and rushed up in front of them.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Are you ready? Everything is set up here.¡± ¡°We¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Alright! All you have to do is defeat that creature, I will need to be prepared to capture the corrupted energy as the fight goes on so I won¡¯t be able to help you. Good luck!¡± Sora and his team stepped through a crack that was between the roots that made up the sphere. The inside was extremely spacious but it still limited how much room the group had to maneuver in. Sora started looking around for anything out of the ordinary since he wasn¡¯t familiar with the fight. He had heard of strategies that were used but that was when the boss didn¡¯t have the corrupt energy on him. Sora wasn¡¯t able to see anything as of now and decided to just go in and adapt to the situation. He turned to his team to brief them on what would happen. ¡°I¡¯ll be tanking like normal, Nobunaga should keep an eye on the boss for any changes, LeeLee should watch the surrounding area, and Blossom should be dealing as much damage as she can. Athenes only needs to heal, try to keep everyone¡¯s health near the top since we don¡¯t know what will happen yet.¡± The group all nodded in confirmation before turning to face the boss. The tree seemed to respond at the same time the groups gaze hit it, pulling its roots from the ground and walking towards them. Sora used [Purge with Silver] before rushing at the boss, using a [Slash] to instantly lock his aggro. Blossom was able to freely attack since Sora was dealing a lot more damage than her. His epic sword combined with [Purge With Silver] made his damage output at an insanely high amount. The boss used his branches to rake across Sora, dealing a moderate amount of damage that was easily healed by Athenes. The boss didn¡¯t do anything particularly challenging until he fell to 90% health. The tree rooted himself back into the ground and started to release more of the miasma into the air. The entire party was instantly damaged and continued to have their health tick away. Athenes was able to keep up with healing at the beginning but the damage kept climbing up as time went on. The group was confused at what to do and tried a few different things like continuing to attack, holding their breath, running to the edge of the sphere, and eventually were out of ideas. The group finally figured it out when Sora¡¯s [Purge With Silver] ended, triggering a silver streak of light that struck some of the mushrooms that were spewing the miasma into the air. The mushroom was cut in half and wilted away. The entire group seemed to understand immediately but Sora still wanted to clarify. ¡°Attack the mushrooms on his branches!¡± Every mushroom was swiftly taken out, being destroyed in only one hit. After the mushrooms were destroyed, the boss unrooted once again and began attacking Sora. Athenes was able to keep everyone healed with [Greater Healing] but had depleted a large amount of her mana. She drank a mana potion and kept going, hoping she could last until the end. When the boss dropped to 80% health the group quickly responded this time, attacking mushrooms before the gas could get out of control. There were more mushrooms that grew this time but they still didn¡¯t create too much of a problem. Just when the group had figured out the first mechanic, another mechanic appeared. The boss dropped down to 75% health and started to spread his branches outwards in every direction. Nobunaga was able to quickly let everyone know, making each of them scattered in different directions to avoid touching the black branches. LeeLee was also able to spot something and made sure everyone was aware. ¡°The sphere around us is also growing branches outwards, make sure you check behind.¡± The group had to run around in many different directions, dodging wildly and twisting their bodies into unnatural positions. Blossom was clipped by a branch and lost a large chunk of health, making Athenes have to heal here while paying attention to the incoming branches. The branches eventually stopped growing and quickly returned back to their original positions. The fight progressed with the same mechanics, except that more mushrooms would grow every time the boss dropped by 10% health. When the boss hit 50% health, he once again stretched his branches outwards while also spawning mushrooms that released the miasma. Dodging the branches was already hard enough so when the group also needed to attack the mushrooms, things turned bad. Sora tried to take out as many mushrooms as he could by himself since he could afford to be hit by the branches. Athenes was able to find a relatively safe position and continued casting [Heal] whenever it came off cooldown. Nobunaga was very nimble and somehow managed to slowly destroy the mushrooms while also dodging every branch. LeeLee wasn¡¯t destroying very many mushrooms but also managed to dodge every branch that came at her. The only person who was having a lot of trouble was Blossom. She tried to destroy the mushrooms at first but soon realized that she needed to focus more on dodging since two branches hit her one after the other, dropping her health by a huge amount and putting a lot of pressure on Athenes. She used a health potion and decided to let other people take care of the mushrooms, only attacking the ones that were closeby so she could remain safe. The branches eventually retracted and gave the group a lot more room to breathe. Sora and Nobunaga had taken out most of the mushrooms but were both very low on health. Each of them used a health potion and destroyed the last of the mushrooms while Athenes used her last bit of mana to heal them both to full. She took out a mana potion and hoped it would be able to last her for a while. Luckily the fight continued smoothly since the hardest part was out of the way. When the boss hit 10% health it spawned at least five times the number of mushrooms it had at the beginning. A full 3 minutes of destroying mushrooms was needed to get rid of the threat before focusing on the boss again. The boss wilted up as the purple miasma it was releasing condensed into an orb and bolted out of the sphere, only to be trapped by many floating orbs full of silver energy. Gzarna used a long tube to collect the energy while the group looted what the boss dropped. [Level Up] [x1 Inventory Expansion Stone obtained] The entire group rolled, resulting in Nobunaga obtaining the stone. He immediately used it and expanded his inventory. The next piece of loot looked to be a dagger that had thorns coiled around it. [x1 Stinging Dagger of Nature obtained] Rarity - Corrupted Epic Durability - 60/60 Attack - 88 - 94 Requires - Level 50 - Dagger Class ¡°A dagger that was naturally formed from an ancient wood. The wood is bathed in corrupt energy and has sprouted extremely sharp thorns that cause bleeding.¡± +30 Agility +30 Strength -10 Constitution +10% Damage over 5 seconds on hit The group could see LeeLee¡¯s eyes become bigger through the holes in her mask as she looked at the dagger. Nobody else could use it so they simply all passed and let LeeLee take it. She couldn¡¯t quite equip it yet, thanks to the level requirement, but she wasn¡¯t far off. A book was also dropped by the boss, causing everyone¡¯s hearts to stop as Sora picked it up. [x1 Skill Book: Thrust obtained] -Use this item to gain the Thrust Skill Sora let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was a knight class skill. He was able to obtain it without any competition. He didn¡¯t waste any time and immediately learned the skill, finally adding another damaging ability into his kit. [Thrust] Cost: 20 Mana Cooldown: 7 Seconds Requires: Knight Class -Attack that deals 100% Damage and ignored 50% of target''s defense. Sora picked up the last few coins and noticed that a lucky coin was actually hiding under a silver coin. The group rolled and Sora was able to win with a high 98, obtaining the coin and using it. Gzarna was waiting outside with a tube of corrupt energy, smiling gleefully as she started prodding towards it with many different instruments. She looked up as the group walked out of the sphere, obviously happy that she was able to obtain this sample of corrupt energy. ¡°Ah, great adventurers. You have truly done an amazing deed for your kingdom.¡± ¡°Oh really, then how about a reward?¡± ¡°Now now, you should talk to Desakor about that. He was the one who originally wanted this mess taken care of right? You would have had to fight that thing even if I wasn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Fine, fine then we will be off.¡± ¡°Good luck, hopefully, Desakor will give you a nice little reward.¡± The group left the cavern that was slowly becoming clearer since the misma wasn¡¯t being produced anymore. They all got on their wolves and made their way back to the elven village. Chapter 64: Evolution Stone Sora led the group back to the area around the elven village, making quite an impressive display when the group came riding in on their wolves. Many players couldn¡¯t help but take a glance to see who the group was, being a little surprised when they saw the famous names. Sora separated from the group to go find Desakor, he had tried to share the quest with them but couldn¡¯t since it was probably limited to people who had a high reputation with the elf village. When Sora was at the base of the large tree it automatically opened up, making some players confused since even the people that have been here since the territory was taken were barely able to even talk to the elves. Sora went up the winding path of stairs until finally reaching the top floor where Desakor¡¯s house was located. As soon as he walked in the little elf girl could be seen in the garden, using some sort of magic on the plants. She noticed Sora and was scared at first since there was a human at her house, then she realized who it was and ran inside to get her father. Desakor came walking out shortly after with his daughter close behind. ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°We were able to defeat the source of the corruption for now but I don¡¯t know if this will be the end of it.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see¡­ As long as the problem is solved for now then it should be alright. I thank you for your hard work, I am once again in your debt, brother.¡± [Quest Complete] ¡°We elves don¡¯t have much treasure to give so I hope this will be able to convey my appreciation. It¡¯s a mortar and pestle that was carved from the wood of our divine tree.¡± [x1 Mystic Darkwood Mortar and Pestle obtained] -Use this item to grind down rare materials for alchemy. +10% chance to obtain two ingredients from one material. The reward was related to alchemy and had a decent effect, especially is the effect triggers on an expensive material. Sora thought about just giving it to Athenes but held onto it for now. After a short exchange with Desakor, Sora left and went back down the stairway, which was completely empty since no other player had the right to enter yet. Sora met back up with his group since they were all heading back to Var anyway. Sora received a message from Kira along the way, saying that everything was settled with the company and he was ready to talk about sponsorship. The group took the flight service from Tidal Wave Pass to Var and separated from there. Sora went back to the usual restaurant and found Kira sitting on the second floor where they discussed the sponsorship in the first place. Kira looked to be extremely happy and greeted Sora with a friendly smile and an exaggerated handshake. ¡°Good to see you again! Ah, I¡¯m so glad everything went smoothly.¡± ¡°Likewise, does this mean you''re ready to set the sponsorship in stone?¡± ¡°Yup! We already have your first payment ready to be deposited as soon as you set us as your sponsors.¡± Sora pulled up his guild page and found the sponsorship page. After putting in all of the information he accepted the settings and obtained his first official sponsor. From now on, anybody who viewed his guild would also see who he was sponsored by and have a link to their site. Kira also had a ¡®Phoenix Rising¡¯ website set up that would make it easier for other players to view the recent achievements of the guild and even set up guild application forms that could be sent from the website. PointFoods Inc. was also able to talk with the developers of ¡°The Divine Path¡± and set up a way for players to order food while still playing the game. Sora was impressed by the speed of the company since a lot of work was needed to make all of that happen. Kira let out a sigh of relief as the final piece of work that was needed was complete. ¡°Sorry for my absence in the game, I should be able to be on more now that everything is ready to start.¡± ¡°Sounds good, do you know anything about the game''s economy yet?¡± ¡°I was able to pick up a few things but it will take a while to get it going.¡± ¡°Alright, use this as a starter, you can pay me back when you earn enough.¡± Sora gave Kira 2,000 gold as a starter, nearly every gold piece he had. Kira was a bit hesitant but when he thought about how much profit he could make if he had this to work with he finally grabbed the money. Sora was indifferent about it since his Elven Dew Drops were still selling quite well. With the official business done he decided to get some money out of the auction house before going to train some more. The auction house was usually full but today it barely had anyone in it. It seems that everyone started flooding the new territory, especially the ones who were trying to find out where the Elven Dew Drops came from. Sora walked up to the half-elf lady that he always went to and checked his auctions. He already sold half of his Elven Dew Drops and three pieces of equipment he had in had also sold. Sora was able to withdraw 15,000 gold in total, bringing the near-zero total of gold skyrocket back up. Sora was satisfied with the profits so far and estimated that he should be able to almost sell every Elven Dew Drop he had before others were able to buy it. He restocked on supplies, repaired his equipment, and made his way back to the elven village. He didn¡¯t stop there and continued heading further up until the forest opened up into a circular open area that was surrounded by the tall trees.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. This area had hundreds of mobs that were tightly packed together, creating an incredibly efficient grinding spot. When he fought with the tree boss he wasn¡¯t able to use Luna since she was level one and would have been one hit by a single tick of the miasma. Even Snow, who was at the same level as Sora wouldn¡¯t have lasted long and only made Athenes have more targets to heal. Sora wanted to grind out mobs here since they had a high experience gain along with the chance to get an evolution stone for Snow. Luna seemed to be able to evolve over time but normal pets would need evolution stones to reach adulthood, greatly increasing their survival and damage. Sora looked across the open area, spotting hundreds of bunnies that looked shiny and green. Level 50 -Jade Rabbit- He summoned Luna and made sure she was positioned behind him in a safe place before charging at the first group of rabbits. The enemies let out a squeaking noise before charging at Sora, using the advantage of numbers to deal damage since their stats were low. Sora was able to dispatch them fairly quickly, making Luna level up at a rapid pace. Sora kept charging at the bunnies, only stopping when he fell to critical health. Luna was able to rocket up to level 30 but started to slow down now that she was a higher level. Sora wasn¡¯t able to get any evolution stones but was getting a steady stream of EXP for himself. His first enchanted enemy appeared after fighting for about an hour. Level 50 -Viscous Jade Bunny- Sora had to be more careful during this fight since the bunny had a buffed up attack. He waited at the side until the bunny hopped a little bit too far from the rest of his group. Sora pelted the bunny with a pebble to grab its attention before running back to avoid taking any more aggro than necessary. The bunny ran at him and bit down viciously on his leg, dealing a huge amount of damage before getting struck with a [Slash]. The rabbit quickly responded with another bite towards the neck that was parried by Sora. The bunny may have had a buff to attack but its defense was still very poor, resulting in its death with only a few attacks. The bunny shattered, leaving behind some coins and the red orb that Sora needed for his sword. He immediately found a secluded area nearby and started to trace the enchantment onto a piece of paper, which was finished much more quickly than the last enchantment he made. He pulled out his sword and placed the enchantment in the center of the blade. [x1 Viscous Edge of Corruption obtained] Rarity - Corrupted Epic Durability - 80/80 Damage - 140-155 Requires - Level 50 - Sword Class ¡°A sword that was made from black crystals that hold an immense amount of corrupt power. Be wary of the sacrifice that must be made to wield such power.¡± +60 Strength -10 Constitution (Enchantment Effects) +10 Strength +10-10 Damage The damage boost didn¡¯t seem like much since the sword had high stats already but every point of damage helps. Luna was already level 34 so he could be finished with grinding here in a couple days but he also wanted to try and get the evolution stone, meaning he could be here for a lot longer if he was unlucky. He continued grinding with ease, leveling Luna up every now and then while he waits for the evolution stone to drop. ¡­.. It had been four days since Sora started grinding the jade bunnies. Sora had leveled up three times himself, making his level match that of the dungeon that would open up in a couple days. Luna had also already caught up with him in level and was now helping Sora fight the bunnies. She could be seen bouncing from one bunny to the next, tearing them apart with her extremely sharp teeth. Sora laughed bitterly as he looked at the ground that only had some coins. His eyes seemed lifeless as he looked at the next group of bunnies, unfocused and full of unwillingness. ¡°Excuse me¡­ Excuse me¡­ Excuse me!¡± Sora finally broke out of his stupor when he heard someone''s voice. He looked behind him and saw a warrior with a greatsword, looking at Sora cautiously. Sora looked around to make sure the man was talking to him and eventually turned to face him. ¡°Y-yes?¡± ¡°Are you alright? I came through here a few days ago and saw you attacking these rabbits. Have you been at it the entire time?¡± ¡°I would rather not talk about it¡­¡± ¡°O...kay¡­ Do you mind if I take a few of them from you?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sora started grinding once again, looking like he had every enemy spawn time memorized. He worked in a circle, perfectly finishing off one group right as a nearby one spawned. The warrior that had joined him started attacking groups in another area, making sure to avoid Sora¡¯s path. After only a couple hours the warrior noticed something that was left in the fields where Sora was killing the rabbits, hiding in a small hole that looked to be a burrow. A small green stone that looked to be made from the same material as the jade rabbits. He picked it up and started inspecting it, making sure it wasn¡¯t just a piece of one of the rabbits that had yet to disappear. After a while, he looked towards Sora for a second and then at the wolf following by his side. He walked up to Sora once more and waited for him to finish off the group of rabbits he had been fighting. ¡°Hey, I think you forgot to pick this up. It was at the entrance to a rabbit burrow.¡± Sora turned around with his unfocused eyes and saw the small green object in the warrior''s hands, immediately becoming lost for words as he noticed what it was. He ran up to the warrior as fast as he could and grabbed the stone, making sure he wasn¡¯t having a trick played on him. [x1 Evolution Stone obtained] Sora nearly started to cry as he looked at the stone that he had been wanting to drop for the last four days. After hearing what the warrior said he felt extremely embarrassed since he had simply overlooked it after killing off the jade rabbits for so long. He swore to never let himself become so careless again as he shook the warrior''s hands for a long time, thanking him profusely before leaving the area. The warrior figured that Sora had been here looking for that item and felt like helping him out since it was his in the first place. The warrior turned back to the jade rabbits since he was mainly here for the EXP and walked back to his grinding area. Before he made it there a message popped up. [Ethereal has invited you to join Phoenix Rising. Would you like to join?]