《Idol By Laulau20》


 discussion,critics

wow that was fast.


    thank you very much for a fast response admin :)


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.please post any suggestions and critics here.

 prologue Maybe I can change...

    Prologue


    The idea of a virtual reality games already existed since 19th century but it was only realized somewhere in early 21st century which can only be used by professionals and were not meant to be for gaming but for creating and visualizing stuff such as cars, airplanes, fighter jet, etc.


    However, Thanks to Unicorn corp as the console maker a real virtual games can be created and sold for home usage.This game started just like any other console game such as PlayStation, Iphone, etc which started from a very crude pixel games and puzzles with a difference that you can touch the pixel and moving them.


    Without further delay, the console and virtual reality programmer sold and hired like no other. making it the most wanted game console in the world since its usage isn¡¯t limited to gaming but business meeting, seminars, lectured and even the whole office building can be cramped into virtual reality which at some points plummets the price of land property since people can do their work at home.


    Following the console, groups programmer for games followed suit. Like bandai, konami, and others that are making games for PlayStation. They started to make games for this virtual reality capsule. And games started to spawn


    Following the market with a pride as the maker of the capsule Unicorn corp began investing a huge number of money into one single game called royalroad. Many investor and market researcher debated on why unicorn would plant such an enormous sum of money just for a single game while you can make a thousands of above average games or even hundreds that can ranked top in game magazines for a year.


    The answer is simple. The developer of the capsule kim han soo only wishes to make one game. One that is far surpassed of any other game not only in years. But decades or even centuries. One that left mark in history.


    And so with countless effort of countless scientist. a super game called royal road began in Korea and throughout the world.


    <----------------------------->


    Lily currently reading again in her own room. she was a timid and shy girl with a one or two friends which already drifted into another country since she graduated form junior high school. now in a very prestigious high school she spent her time alone. Reading in library


    This prestigious school has a strict rule about bullying. While that prevents the worse of situation, other people just grouped together with whoever they liked and leave lily alone.


    Lily knows that this current situation was mostly or at least partially her fault since she never be able to raise a topic of conversation and when asked when only answered with a lot of erm and um that makes a lot of people just ignore her


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.When she was reading a borrowed book from library in her class she overheard a classmates talked about royalroad. They praised how amazing it was and so on.


    She found out later in her iPhone that royal road is a virtual reality game with 99% reality that are set in a middle ages with a fantasy creatures and so on. Wikipedia also praised for its creative magic usage, monster design, and the best AI on every NPC in this game.


    She wasn¡¯t a fan of rpg games but she played some of it. and she wasn¡¯t at least bit interested in battle in these VR games that boasted a real battle which scared her more as a shy girl but with a real life NPC she thought


    ¡°maybe i can change.¡±


    When she came home that day. Like usual her father and mother was nowhere to be seen. As a director of  a large corporate they had to endure traveling here and there to scout its rival companies and manage his branch companies.


    With a determination she usually doesn¡¯t show she mailed her father saying that she wanted a capsule and a game called royalroad installed.


    ¡°umm. Father, i am sorry to disturbed you at your work. I want a virtual reality capsule and a game called royalroad..¡±


    That was the message she sent to her father.


    After 3 hours of waiting without answers she just put the phone back into her desk, changed her clothes and reading while wondering if her father will give her what she wanted.


    In the next day however. After school In her surprise a capsule was set in her homes with a memo


    ¡°This is the capsule. Have fun with it. and tell me about its adventure there since due to my duties i cannot go into this world.¡±


    ¡®A written mail! Can¡¯t he just use a normal mailing method!¡¯


    This is what she thought. Honestly part of her shyness must be born due to her father always give her agony when she asked for something.Then after 4 hours spending time reading 300 pages of useless manual which others would only glimpse or not reading it at all she finally entered  the capsule. After the dark chamber of the capsule came a bright light followed by a woman voice


    next chapter http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3156</a>


    __________


    Author note:


    - please post any suggestions or critics to help me.


    - And English isn''t my mother language. i apologize for any typo or missword


    - when i moved to the next chapter this post will be locked. you can add a suggestion for this one in forum discussion page.


    - thank you for reading `:^:^)~

 chapter 1 I didnt want to blackmail anyone?

    ¡®thought¡¯


    *whisper*


    #sound effect#


    Chapter 1


    <table><tbody><tr><td>The scan of your irises and fingerprints indicates that you are a new user. Would you like to register to royalroad?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    (Author note: why anyone haven¡¯t thought of fingerprints before?)


    ¡°umm, yes i am.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Please speak the name of your avatar</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°umm, Riri.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>the name ¡°umm, riri¡± has been selected. Please say confirm to confirmed your selection</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°no no!.¡± I panicked. I messed up. Please let me cancel the name


    <table><tbody><tr><td>The name has been cancelled please speak a new name for your avatar.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Yes i can re choose my answer this time i must say riri without umm¡¯ i breathe a sigh of relief


    ¡°um. Riri.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>the name ¡° um, riri ¡° has been selected. Please say confirm to confirmed your selection</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°NO!¡± i screamed. I messed up again.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>The name has been cancelled please speak a new name for your avatar.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°can i type the name instead of speaking it.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Please wait for a moment. A virtual keyboard will appeared in your line of sight</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Why didn¡¯t i stutter on the last part? Damn me and my social ability¡¯


    #ting#


    a clear sound effect and visual effect appeared in front of me. A a real looking keyboard! This game is overdoing the realism part.


    ¡°Riri¡± i typed the name that i want for my avatar


    <table><tbody><tr><td>the name ¡°riri¡± has been selected. Please say confirm or press the confirm button in front of you to confirmed your selection</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°ehm. Confirm.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Please select your race there are 49 races throughout Versailles 29 have been unlocked for choosing.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Human.¡±


    Please select your gender. You can choose to be female, male or neutral


    ¡°Um. Female.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You may alter your appearance</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°umm, random female face with a long hair¡± she said. This was done to hide her face


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Please select your starting location</td></tr></tbody></table>


    In the guide there are several cities you can start from. Ahh, anywhere is fine as long as it is not to populated


    ¡°umm, anywhere that are not a big city.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Random chosen city that has low population is this your choosing? Please say confirm to confirmed your selection</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Confirm.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Welcome to royalroad, royalroad is a game with 99%realism with a fantasy setting. In this game you can.......</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The long winded NPC woman continued her mumbling for about an 3 hour later displaying various short clips about royalroad while boasting it¡¯s realism and magical battle.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>....In a moment you will be transported to Selei City. It is located in western border of haven kingdom. A border city that is recently discovered by Shushu player with 3000 population. Please enjoy the game.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A blinding white light covered me. In a flash i was transported to city plaza where beginners started a magnificent view a medieval Europe appeared in front of me stone paved road between building filled the city with several players walking on it. sometimes a merchant carriage walked along the path.


    ¡® ahh, i forgot, we can¡¯t differentiate between players and NPC unless we asked them directly¡¯


    My eyes continued it¡¯s journey to the soldier walking with his swords sheathed and some beginners filling his canteen beside the fountain


    ¡®let¡¯s see. According to manuals there is a fountain where i can refill my canteen for water and for starters i have 0 money and 10 rye bread¡¯


    ¡°Open inventory¡±


    A window displayed my current inventory


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td colspan=''3''>locked</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>- Water canteen


    - Rye bread (10)


    - Beginner¡¯s clothe (E)


    - Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    - Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)</td></tbody></table>


    That is all what is written there. I guess this is according to manual. Hmm this is the inventory window. If i pressed the the item it will show the item status.  And now let¡¯s proceed with status window


    ¡°open status window¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">none</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>none</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">0.2</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">0.2</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    - None</td></tbody></table>


    ¡®Nothing wrong here either. okay, no bug detected. So let''s take a stroll through this new world.¡¯ I dismissed the window and walk aimlessly like a lost child.


    <----------------->


    ¡®While walking i looked around to see my potential target to socialize. Hmm a merchant would be good since most of them are neutral. But to communicate with them i need to have money which i don¡¯t have. Royalroad manual didn¡¯t say anything about this situation. Now what am i supposed to do? I know that i would be trapped in this city for a month in game.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Ah!. I am so sorry. Sorry.¡± I bowed my head in rapid succession. I crashed into another people. What if he is a player. What do i do now? as i looked in front of me ,i stopped bowing my head and instead i looked in disbelief at a flowing green hair reached all the way to her back with beautiful green eyes that match her hair.


    ¡°So beautiful.¡± I whispered in awe


    A long seconds we stare each other. Without saying anything until she broke the silence.


    ¡°I am sorry. I need to go now. bye.¡± Without any delay she fixed her hood and cape and ran with all her might. Such a strange occasion.


    As i continued i stepped in front of a merchant. And his wares. A tall bulky man then stared at me.


    ¡°umm, umm.....¡± i can¡¯t say a word. That crash has made me forgot every speech i prepared for this occasion


    ¡°May i help you miss?¡± the merchant give a textbook questions.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Time continue ticking without me giving an answer. Let¡¯s see if i am not wrong besides buying something from a merchant we can look for.... jobs. Yeah that¡¯s it


    ¡°umm, i am, i am looking for a job. Yeah. A job.¡± I answered


    ¡°oh i see.¡± The merchant voice and attitude changed from polite to that of arrogant boss ¡°here is a job for you. But remember, i can¡¯t pay you for more than 1 silver. Understand? Go get 10 rabbit pelts in the outside.¡±


    ¡°huh? but, but,¡±


    ¡°What?¡±  the merchant cut my speech. This guy sure have double personality. Does every merchant like this?


    ¡°I-I_i haven¡¯t got my banned lifted of yet.¡±


    ¡°Then i have no use for you. Get lost! I haven¡¯t sold a single wares since morning.¡±


    ¡®First attempt failed miserable. I sighed as i exited that merchant square. I guess i will go to the library and spent this day relaxing for a bit. I had enough practice for this day. Hmm, according to manual A city map is located at the central square near the fountain. And then according to that map the legend for library is, ahh right here.¡¯


    I walked to the library. This one place is like a haven for me. Now what books there should be in the library. I think this game also boasted about it¡¯s realism by having a complete history in libraries.


    ¡°Where is she?!¡± someone shouted in front of my said destination. The library is cramped! Isn¡¯t libraries supposed to be filled by 3 or 4 persons at most? Even school library doesn¡¯t usually get this crowded.


    ¡°Where is Stella?!¡±


    ¡°Stella!!¡±


    That name continued in several shouts in front of a packed library. ¡®I see, they are looking for someone famous. Now what do i do? I have to wait for these crowds to disappear. ¡®


    i grabbed a piece of rye bread in my inventory to refill my satiety bar that has dropped to 50%. I stare at my bread while thinking, is it too soon to eat my bread? What if it runs out before i managed to get a decent job. 5 hours has passed and my satiety only fall by 50%. And rye bread filled my satiety by 30 to 40% so i should be having any problem eating it now right? ahh forget about it. let¡¯s eat it just that. i have 10 piece anyway, this should last me 4 to 5 days of game playing. I must already have a job by then.


    ¡°i am sorry, have you seen a green haired girl walking around here?¡± a female warrior asked me out of the blue making me jumped a little and choked


    ¡®a green haired girl?¡¯ my brain then flashed at a single scene. Should i answered, should i not? What if i am wrong and give a false information to them? this can lead me to have a negative impact if she is an NPC, if she is a player than it is worse.


    ¡°Umm, but.... can¡¯t you edit your avatar here? So... umm¡± i stutter unable to answered anymore


    ¡°Ah, you are a beginner. Sorry i don¡¯t know. You see this Stella Veritra is a very popular NPC that travel with Tantalus group. ¡°


    ¡°So..um.. why are you looking for her?¡± according to her speech, she seemed to be a player due to her calling someone NPC.


    ¡°Ahh, when you get your clothes or equipment autographed by her your weapon will have several status buff. It is awesome !!!  i heard it even surpassed enchanters¡±


    ¡°Ahh, i see.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Tell me when you see her okay? My name is Miranda. When you get out of your beginners time go to Apocalypse guild and maybe we can work something out. Ah the guild HQ is located west of here. Near the border of Kallamore. If you really can reach there from here then don¡¯t worry about guild level limitations¡± she chuckled a bit then left


    ¡® i guess i just have no luck today. First i get, a depressed merchant, then the library is full of chaos. Should i just logged of and called it a day today? But i still have at least 2 more hours real time. That means i have 8 hours here. Huh?¡¯


    Just like before, i walked aimlessly while sightseeing the city. It is truly beautiful just like in fantasy film. But what caught my surprise is a a strange looking person that sneaked beside the church while looking left and right. ¡® ahh i know that cape. It is the smae as the girl that i crashed before¡¯


    ¡°Umm, sorry. May i help you?¡± i said in low voices and call out to her


    ¡°KYAA!!!¡± she screamed


    ¡°KYAA!!¡± i also screamed in unison. it is not my intention to scared her or anything but she is the one that screamed full voice to me first


    ¡°i know no Stella.i absolutely have no idea where she is!¡± she screamed in defense.huh? did i ever said she was one to begin with?


    With a questioning look in my face she finally realized her mistake.¡± Damn! I am now exposed! Listen! Don¡¯t you dare tell a soul this. I will autographed any of your equipment. But just don¡¯t tell anyone that i was here before my scheduled contest!!¡± her eyes changed to that of a panicked person  to a threatening glare.


    Autographed? Huh? wait a second. According to that female warrior... ¡°ahh!! So you are Stella Veritra. The one that rumored to be able to autographed an equipment that are better than enchanter!¡± i recalled my memory.


    She then stared me with a blank look like it is a surprise i don¡¯t know her face. then with a depressed facepalm she muttered ¡°Damn. I messed up again. If i know she didn¡¯t know me....¡±  she then tried to stay  composed¡°alright. just give me your sword or weapon. I will autographed it.¡± she then take out her pen and with a hand gesture she asked me for my weapon


    ¡°But... but... i don;t have any weapon.¡±


    ¡°Huh? oh a monk. Alright. a clothes or shoes or pants will do.¡±


    ¡°but....¡±


    ¡°What now?¡± that piercing beutiful green eye makes my hand moved without  delay. I am not scared or anything. But, somehow i just can¡¯t resist her demand.


    ¡°is this.. your best equipment??¡± she looked me with a blank face


    ¡°I_I_I just started!. I-I-I don¡¯t have anything valuable to enchant except that beginner equipment that only give 1 point of defense.¡± I stuttered in my speech against her. this is a misunderstanding!


    ¡°Hmmm. Now what do i do. even if she betrayed the deal it would not cost much for her, comparing her beginner enchanted clothes to the information of my whereabouts. AAARGH!! Why is my luck so bad today!! First i mistook the date of concert. Then i met with a newbie foreigner that can¡¯t shut her mouth!¡± she scrambled her hair with her hand


    ¡°alright. this is your clothes. I have enchanted it.¡±


    ¡°Umm, thanks but, you don¡¯t have to do so much for me. If-if you only asked i will keep your locations hidden until next week.¡±


    ¡°ARGH! As i thought. You tried to blackmailed me!¡±


    ¡°No! No! I didn¡¯t blackmailed you or anything it is just.. you don;t have to do so much. ¡° i stuttered. She misunderstood me! I need to repair this damage now


    ¡°Alright. just get to the point. What did you want?¡± she shot a sharp glare at me


    ¡°Huh? I-I-i didn¡¯t want anything at all. You are mistaken i didn¡¯t want to blackmail anyone.¡± She completely thought i blackmailed her now. i know we can become as evil and criminals here. But that is not what i want. Blackmailing will reduce your fame or even raise your infamy! That will seriously impede my practice to socialize. Let alone 4 to 5 days. no NPC may even talked to me for months should i get a raise in infamy now


    ¡°You Didn¡¯t want anything? That¡¯s past tense! So you DO want something now right?¡±


    ¡°NO!!¡± she seriously misunderstood me from the bottom of her heart


    ¡°Alright. come at me. If you didn¡¯t lie then you will have no problem of me staying and watch over you until next week right?¡±


    previous chapter prologue http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3154&p=20933#p20933</a>


    next chapter 2 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3167</a>


    ______________________


    author note:


    - like before critics and suggestions and comments are welcomed


    - the bbcodes is a pain. thankfully i managed to got it right after not so few tries. don''t get me wrong. it is actually easy if you follow the code guide. but first timer always find it hard :P


    - thank you for such a wonderful forum.


    - happy reading. now i just need to proof read {[999bag}]

 chapter 2 First friend

    ¡®thought¡¯


    *whisper*


    #sound effect#


    chapter 2


    ¡°umm.. mister.¡±


    ¡°Yes what is it?¡± the barkeeper answered me in a slightly annoyed look. It must be because of my beginner¡¯s outfit that he might think i am looking for a job until my ban is lifted.


    ¡°um.. i am looking for a room.¡±


    ¡°With 2 beds¡± whisper a certain hooded girl beside me with a lowered head so her face can¡¯t be easily seen


    ¡°erm.. with 2 beds.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡± the surprised bartender then said ¡°2 gold coin a day!¡±


    A certain girl at my left put 14 gold coin at the desk. With a surprised look and jaw dropped the bartender then quickly changed his attitude towards me. No wonder, according to manuals usually an inn is worth around 2 or 3 silver a day. But that, of course only applied to normal rooms with a single bed. not a deluxe with 2 beds. But still 2 gold coins is still too expensive  for a day since it can be used to buy 2 or 3  lvl 3 common items . and she nonchalantly put 14 gold coins! Well, this person sure is in another world to me economically. Then she elbowed me again


    ¡°Huh?. ohh. Umm 7 days please.¡± I answered in panic.


    ¡°Oh! Sure, sure. Please let me take you to your room. and here is the key, ahh should  i open it for you? Please follow me.¡± The changed personality of the tall barkeeper surprised me


    ¡®this is what i call double face¡¯


    Heaven inn is the name of the inn we currently at. But the situation isn¡¯t like heaven at all. Currently we stared at each other from our beds. That are adjacent to each other.  This awkward silence and gazing pressure is killing me! I need to strike a conversation. Now what do i need to say? First of all she completely misunderstand that i am blackmailing her. but right now i feel completely blackmailed? What is her intention now? does she wanted me to stay in this room for a whole week


    ¡°ummm. Stella?¡±


    ¡°what?¡± a short cold reply!


    ¡°Do we... i mean do you intent.. i mean do you want to stay in this room for.. 1 week until your concert?¡± i asked fearing for my life.


    No answer. She seemed to relaxed her posture. The killing gaze from before isn¡¯t there anymore


    #sigh#


    i breathe a sigh of relief.


    ¡°she then stare outside window while removing her cape. Her beautiful hair still entranced me. Such a gorgeous hair. She gaze at the town outside the window. The scenery right now must be like those photographed model with lighting effect. She slowly turned towards me and the scenery gaze then disrupted


    ¡°hey!. I am calling to you¡±


    ¡°Huh? yes? Umm what is it?¡±


    ¡°you were right. i don¡¯t plan to be a hermit and stayed here for 7 days. let¡¯s get outside. Any place in mind?¡± she answered.


    ¡®why the heck she asked me? I just played. How would i know if there are any interesting  place or things to do in this city?¡¯


    ¡°Umm, but...¡±


    ¡°ah, as long as i don¡¯t speak everything is fine. This cape can mostly hide my unique feature..¡±


    ¡°And as long as you don¡¯t crash into somebody. Right?¡±


    ¡°yeah. So, you have any place in mind?¡±


    ¡°L¡ªL-Let me ask the bartender.¡±


    A few minutes later.


    ¡°Stella. Umm i know a good place now.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I am tired that i have to stay in this cooped room anymore¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± she asked whisperingly.¡±


    ¡°to the east city wall.¡±


    ¡°What is there to see.¡±


    ¡°mm. The view is good we can see the field that are filled with bunnies and foxes. And, the mr. William... i mean the bartender said that in the evening a swarm of dragonflies can be seen flying out of Rem forest. And there are fireflies too that filled the eastern field at night. Do you want to see it?¡± i nervously answered


    ¡°Yes!.¡±


    Of course we do not go straight to the city wall since there are 2 more hours to spent before the appointed evening.we spent our time our time to various merchant  and buy several candies that surprisingly increase my stamina by 10% for 10 hours. A stat increasing food worth 5 gold. Despite her teen age she really spent without restraint.


    ¡°Hahaha. That was hilarious. The merchant thought you were an assassin!¡±i laughed at her


    ¡°Can¡¯t say much do i? After all i can¡¯t speak and with this cape and hidden face it is no wonder that i am regarded as assassin¡± she sulkingly answered me.


    ¡°Well, here we are. From the town square to the east and a little bit to the north.¡± I stared at the scenery in front of me. Green grass mixed with orange light from the setting sun separated by a dark green forest appear in front of my eyes. A magnificent view. A soldier or two can be seen walking from wall to wall, i guess it is for patrolling.


    ¡®in earth this kind of scenery is hard to find.¡¯i thought as my face keeps facing the setting sky  A clear orange sky and fresh green from grass and the living spirit of trees can be seen here. Such a luxury the world we were once lived in. 1000 year ago earth was supposed to be like this scenery isn¡¯t?


    ¡°isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± i asked her


    ¡°Yeah. Ah that¡¯s the dragonfly. It¡¯s really pretty.¡±


    ¡°Huh? ¡° i then looked back at the forest. Then i realized that this is not earth. This is another world with it¡¯s own species. A dragonfly as big as a motorcycle can be seen above forest. Flapping it¡¯s semi transparent wings. Then another one. Then another one until a swarm of that dragonflies can be seen filled the orange sky. It continues to fly out of the forest into the north. A breathtaking view! A simple word like beautiful can¡¯t describe this scenery easily but i can¡¯t find more words to praise this scenery better than word beautiful. A fraction of rainbows sometimes can be seen from the dragonfly wings. This game realism also counts about light refraction.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to seeing a breathtaking view art stat has been generated.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Art


    A gift in comprehending and practicing beauty, art renders meals and products elegant in an aesthetic and practical sense.


    Improves when you see, hear, smell, taste or touch beautiful things, or create artworks.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Ahh that was good.¡± She said to me


    ¡°i wonder why no one came here to see this scenery.¡±


    ¡°Well, part of it is due to we already seen it too many times,so we get bored from it.¡± the guards that overheard us answered


    ¡°Umm, do they get out from that forest everyday?¡±


    ¡°No. They fly from Rem forest to Rim forest weekly.  They travel back and forth mostly due to food and reproduction.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You are lucky to come and can watch it at a perfect moment. Where did you get this information?¡±


    ¡°From Mr. William. The bartender at Heaven Inn.¡±


    ¡°I see that¡¯s a surprise. He usually hard to get friendly with especially with beginner¡¯s. Except if money is involved. Haha.¡± The guards chuckled


    ¡®he sure does¡¯ my sarcastic thought retort the guards comment.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡° I see you are a foreigner. Well most foreigner only think about killing monster outside or doing jobs for us for money. But you seem a little different.¡±


    ¡°Ah. I see. That¡¯s why foreigner¡¯s don¡¯t bother coming here too since this place is far away from barracks which are in the west.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. This part of the city is reserved for farmland and granary. There are no foreigners that wanted to be farmers right?¡± he blinked


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your familiarity with east wall guards lorein has increased.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°so why don¡¯t you and your green eyed friend do a quest for me? It is easy.. you see if you haven¡¯t known, 1 week from now on a theater group Tantalus and it¡¯s most famous actress is going to come to our town. Well, they performed here yearly. But it is the first time that their most famous members perform here. So i want to attend that event. Unfortunately i have a guard duty right now.¡±


    ¡°Huh? then what can i do? i can¡¯t possibly replace your guard duty.¡± I answered confusedly


    ¡°Ah. No, no. I just want you to deliver this letter to guard captain Obendell. He will surely understand and give me a single day holiday so i can attend the event. So will you deliver the letter?¡±


    ¡°umm.okay.¡±


    #ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Delivering letter


    Lorein has requested you to deliver his letter to the guard captain Obendell so that he can get a holiday 7 days from now.


    Quest difficulty : E


    Quest requirements : get friendly with the east wall guard


    Time limit: until midnight


    Quest failure will result in decrease of familiarity with lorain.


    Quest reward. 10 silver coins</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Hurry up. If the other guard get their holiday before me i might not get a holiday at all. This is a race against time.¡± Lorain shooed me with a hand gesture


    ¡°umm. Okay.¡±


    ¡°Thank you! See you later.¡± He shouted.


    ¡®Ahh, my first quest. And my familiarity gets a good start. I guess this day isn¡¯t so bad after all¡¯


    one thing in royalroad, even though you can¡¯t see the current familiarity with NPC, you will be notified if the familiarity gets raised or lowered. This way i will now if my speech and action is correct or wrong. This place is a great place for practice.


    ¡°Did you have to run?¡± Stella asked me while i am gasping for my breath at the central square.


    You are thirsty. Please drink water to refill stamina faster


    So satiety is divided by two. Hunger and thirst. This game is overemphasizing its reality


    ¡°i am sorry. I am just excited¡± i watched her while sitting. She didn¡¯t waste any breath at all. She didn¡¯t even look tired


    I sit at the corner of the fountain and filled my water canteen with it¡¯s water.


    ¡°is it good?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°The water. It is from the fountain at the streets after all. I didn¡¯t expect it to be healthy for human consumption.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. It is fine. Well the water isn¡¯t really that great. Just normal water¡± after another gulp i continued . this time by walking. But excitement still filled my heart so i increased my pace into fast walking


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dexterity has increased by 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Hah, hah, at last we have arrived.¡± I breathe heavily


    ¡°well, what are you waiting for. The door is right there. ¡° she continued


    ¡°Just.. wait... a second.  Huff. Huff.¡±


    5 minutes later.


    ¡°Alright. I am ready.¡± My breathe is still running short but i can talk normally now


    ¡®say excuse me. Then say may i meet with captain guard Obendel. I have a letter for him¡¯


    ¡°Umm. Excuse me. May i meet with captain guard Obendel. I have a letter from him¡± i replicated the answer from my head to the guard at the gate entrance of the barrack.


    ¡°Huh?¡±  the guard gave a questioning look


    ¡® i messed up!! Now what do i do.¡±


    ¡°Ah, ummm. I mean i have a letter for him.¡±


    ¡°he is sitting near the firedamp. See? Go ahead. But after you are done you are expected to leave. Outsiders aren¡¯t welcomed in this barrack¡±


    ¡°okay.¡±


    ¡°sir?¡± i nervously waked near the said guard captain.


    ¡°Yes? What do you want?¡±


    ¡°umm.  I have a letter for you. It is from lorain.¡±


    ¡°i see. Thank you. Now go away.¡± What a cold welcome. I guess what the guards said about this place do not welcome other beside soldier is true after all


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Delivering letter


    Quest complete. Ask lorain for quest reward</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Loraine?¡±


    ¡°Yes. What is it girl?¡±


    ¡°i have completed your quest.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thank you. Here is your reward. 10 silver coins.


    ¡°Thank you sir.¡±


    Back in the heaven inn.


    ¡°ahh that was exhausting. Do foreigner always do that? what a hardworking person.¡± Stella throw herself at the bed


    ¡°umm. Maybe.¡±


    ¡°okay it is already night by now. i want to sleep. Goodnight.¡±


    ¡°ahh yeah.me too. Umm you know that i might log off for 1 or two days right?¡± Royalroad time is 4 times faster than normal. So counting from this time (11 PM at real time) and tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM i should be out from this world about 2 or 3 days


    ¡°Umm. Yeah i heard about it. don¡¯t worry, i will wander around by myself. The advance group from Tantalus will appear tomorrow anyway to set up some stall and stage.


    ¡°Bye.¡± I then log off and back at a dark chamber of my capsule


    It is a wonder that another world exist inside this machine. A world like our earth with more majestic in variety of its species.


    ¡°That is definitely tiring. I almost faint from exhaustion¡±


    I met several people today. 1 player and 5 NPC. The merchant is definitely bad, but Loraine is a good guy. The bartender is pretty much the same as the merchant. The guard captain... i don¡¯t know if he is a bad person or just cold. Stella, she is a nice person a little scary at first.


    ¡° Ahh, i will definitely go back to that world tomorrow¡± i murmured as i sleep that night


    previous chapter 1 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3156&p=20936#p20936</a>


    next chapter 3 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3183</a>


    ____________


    author note


    - here is the second chapter. please enjoy


    - the next chapter might take a little bit more time.


    - and just like before any critics, suggestions and comments are welcomed


    - happy reading {[999baw}]

 chapter 3 First job

    ¡®thought¡¯


    *whisper*


    #sound effect#


    Chapter 3


    ¡°At last i am back here again. What a fun event yesterday is.¡± I logged back to Heaven inn again. Hmm, if i counted right i was out for 16 hours due to sudden lesson in school so  64 hours or almost 3 days have already passed.


    ¡®the night at medieval Europe is so nice. There are no street lamps , but the street is somehow visible from lights that permeated from houses and merchant carriage.¡¯


    ¡°okay. No point dawdling here. Let¡¯s see.. open inventory window


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td colspan=''2''>locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	Water canteen


    -	Water canteen


    -	Rye bread (6)


    -	Autographed Beginner¡¯s clothe (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)


    -	Silver coin (10)</td></tbody></table>


    ¡°Ah this is the clothe that stella autographed. Is her enchanting really good?¡± i murmured as i tapped the Autographed Beginner¡¯s clothe


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Autographed beginner¡¯s clothe


    Defense   1 (x5)


    A beginner¡¯s clothe with a famous actress autograph


    Increase fighting spirit by 20%


    Increase all stat by 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°huh? what is this x5?¡±


    ¡°open status window¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">none</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">110</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">110</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>none</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">0.2</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">0.2</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">100(+2)</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    - None</td></tbody></table>


    ¡°that¡¯s weird. No significant change about defense here.¡± I pondered at my status window.


    ¡°Ahh, i remember, the effect of an equipment like attack and defense isn¡¯t in this menu but it is treated as hidden parameter since this is virtual reality there are many factors that can effect attack and defense ¡°


    ¡®Just forget about this. I didn¡¯t come here to fight anyway. whether this equipment have 0 defense or 100 defense it doesn¡¯t matter much. It is a beginner¡¯s equipment anyway¡¯ i dismissed the window in front of me and started walking around town.


    There has been a big change in this city. Even in night this city seemed livelier then before. People seemed to wander around with a cheerful face. i also can see someone constantly carrying planks to the city square.Is this because that tantalus group has arrived?


    ¡®i can¡¯t practice like this. There is no one to talked about. I better go to library until morning. Heard the library in this town is 24/7¡¯


    ¡® unlike the lively city, the library here is more silent than a graveyard. A dark alley and dimly lit reading room filled this house¡¯


    ¡°what a perfect haunted hause.¡± I muttered while walking. Every step i walked produced a #tap# sound making the scenery more eerie


    ¡°Umm, what book do you have here sir?¡± i asked an old librarian with an oil lamp for reading.


    ¡°Um. We have a history book at section C and magic books at section B and sword skills and technice at section A¡±


    ¡°Woah.¡± I stand in awe. The library is as huge as in the real world with as many books as in the real world.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s start with magic first. The one thing that are unique in this world.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained 5 points in intelect and 7 points in wisdom</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a skill</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Speed reading


    Speed reading beginner level 2 (20%)


    Enables you to read faster


    Current rate : 20% faster</td></tr></tbody></table>


    That is the skill and stat i obtained when morning strikes my new day in versailles


    Selei city is now crowded.  Countless people roamed the city. Many shoutings of and murmured of a merchant and their customer could be heard. Workers and artist could be seen working their ass at stalls and stage. This scenery is pretty much like a festival.


    ¡® and the said group is supposed to come here in 5 days. i wondered what will happened to this town in 5 days¡± i thought while watching the city groth at tremendous rate. This city must have twice of its population now compared to yesterday.


    ¡®¡¯Aargh! I can¡¯t practice like this. I can barely talk to another people yesterday and now with this crowd the challenge increased in difficulty. Now what do i do?!¡¯ my thought screamed at the unfortunate fate i was having.


    ¡°Hey! What are you stoning at the corner of the street for?¡± a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind


    ¡°KYAA!!¡±


    ¡°Woah. Calm down. I guess we are even now.¡± said a girl with a hooded cape . with a chuckle


    ¡°My!. You really scared me! ¡°


    ¡°What¡¯s to scared? It is not like you are running away from anything anyway.¡±


    ¡°i know. You just scared me.¡± What she said is completely true. But for an antisocial girl anything unordinary might surprised them


    ¡°Okay let¡¯s go to central square.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t is sealed until the the performance is over?¡± i answered remembering that i have to take a turnaround to the library because of the sign that indicates central town square is sealed.


    ¡°Who sealed it? ¡°


    ¡°the event organizer from tantalus right? Ahh, i see¡± i nodded in understanding


    ¡°Okay. You seemed trustworthy enough. How about it? want to joined us?¡±


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>A job ¡°apprentice actress¡± has been offered to you.


    You will work at tantalus group as Stella¡¯s assistant.  You wil be paid 15 gold coin a day. Your city banned have been modified. As long as you are under order of tantalus group you are allowed to leave your starting city</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°huh? fifteen gold??¡±


    ¡°Is it to few?¡± Stella asked


    ¡°No.. umm. Alright.¡±  this is a good job. You can easily gain friends if you have the same interest or jobs. And the pay is high.


    You have accepted the job


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Level up</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Ahh i also gained a level up. I guess accepting a job increased you exp a little¡¯


    ¡°Hey. I told you not to wander around.¡± A huge fat man yelled at us. i mean her


    ¡°Sorry boss. I just found her.¡±


    ¡°Ahh i see. So this is the girl you are speaking about. She doesn¡¯t seemed to have a potential.¡±


    ¡°She is gointg to be my assistant. Helping me and stuff. You know i always mess up managing my practice schedule.¡±


    ¡°Well, i don¡¯t see any talent in her. but if you says so then employ her and pay her on your own.¡± He said while leaving and bickering with other construction worker. He is one strict boss


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go. You see that tent in front of the stage. We have our props there


    ¡°Umm... it is okay?¡±


    ¡°Oh Him? Ragnar? Don¡¯t worry about it. i¡¯ve seen worse. He is a strict dude. But thanks to that we managed to come this far. Just wait until the festival is over. You will see a change in him.¡±


    ¡°Umm... sorry for being rude. Umm, about my wage. He said that...¡±


    ¡°Hmm... you sure are special. Don;t worry about it. 15 gold a day is fine.¡±


    The tent was huge.  It filled half of the city square with the other half is ffilled with construction material and stage.


    ¡°Ohh, my wolf. Please marry me. I want be your bride.¡± Said a random woman to a random man inside the tent.


    ¡°Alright Stella. You just came in time. You have already choreographed your dance right?. Here is your backup dancer. Please coordinate these 15 girls for your dance. We will have a rehearsal in 4 hours.


    Like a decoration statue i just stand at the corner of the tent. These 20 meter diameter tent is divided into 6 part without walls or obstacles.  the upper left part is for Stella and the others training. With me as a corner decorations with props. The right one is used by that random men and women earlier.


    ¡°HEY you!! Bitch head. I told you to express your soul into your words. Even if this is just a training spare no toil!.¡± Ragnar shouted at certain random man. Holy crap even if that mocking isn¡¯t directed at me, i already feel sweaty and cold. He sure pull no punches with his words.


    Following my line of sight the middle left filled with tailoring.. i see some woman and tailoring machine continued making a buzzing sound . the right one filled with instrument. Ahh, violins, harp, flute. So this part is for orchestra. .the bottom 2 parts is filled with random character. I see wizards training his lightning bolts, a clown riding a unicycle


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.(author note: Credits to Carvy thanks for mentioning unicycle)


    continuing on i watched Stella have a practice session with her coworkers


    ¡°Alright! One two! One Two. Noo you missed a beat there. and you the other one. You should dance in reverse. Alright let¡¯s start from beginning. Don¡¯t forget your designated place.¡±


    ¡°Hey Stella! Did you hire her to become a a tree decorations?¡± Noo, that devil mouthed boss finally roared at me. ¡°Even a decorated Christmas tree is better than her. make her do some work!¡±


    ¡°But she is still new. I planned to trained her for our next performance. Not this one.¡±


    ¡°Umm... Umm... what should i-i-i do umm nn boss?¡± i stuttered at my speech more than usual. Facing this evil lion is making me nervous. I need to work too, i can¡¯t let Stella paid me for doing nothing


    ¡°Go clean and sort those clothes and props. Even you can do that much right?¡±


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sorting props


    Tantalus group leader Ragnar has requested you to sort props and clothes


    Quest difficulty D


    Quest requirement : new recruit at tantalus group


    Quest reward : none


    Quest failure: a decrease in familiarity from ragnar


    You can¡¯t refuse this quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°O-o-o-kay¡±


    ¡°U-umm. I am told to sort clothes.¡± I walked to the tailoring section.


    ¡°ah, hello. My name is Miranda. Those are the clothes you have to sort.¡± She pointed at the bundle of clothes. Now how do i sort these clothes? By color/ no that is meaningless. Wait they have script and performance schedule right? so if i sort these clothes and props then. When i asked stella about the schedule and script performance she opened her bag and give it to me. As expected of a famous group. They are well prepared.


    4 Days went without warning. Our labor finally bore its result. A magnificent theater stage a semi circular stage with colorful decorations here and there.  in those 4 days i worked my butt a heavy armors that are said to be used as props, a big fake trees made of planks, rolling a carpet, folding clothes, all slaves work has been done by me and several unfortunate member of tantalus. Ragnar has softened his attitudes towards me sometimes praising my work for sorting their props efficiently.


    I also got several bonus stat from helping carrying supplies. If this was a real world my muscles will definitely grow by now.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained 2 points in dexterity</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained 10 points in vitality


    You have gained 5 points in strength</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained 10 stamina</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I  also done countless of small quest making me leveld up 3 times


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to reading the script. ¡°Wolves cross bride¡± you have gaine 1 point in intelect and wisdom</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a title ¡®manager¡¯


    Art +2


    Leadership stat has been generated


    Charisma stat has been generated</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>A skill ¡®manage¡¯ has been learned</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Manage beginner lvl 3 (5%)


    Able to move a designated non living object to a designated spot. Limited by your own stength


    Number of object able to be moved 2


    Distance 7m


    Mana cost 25/object</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I found out that manage skill is very useful. I just need to say manage, point to a certain object, then point to certain place and that object teleported magically.and since i managed to hit lvl 3 in manage i managed to move 2 object at a same time, this also allowed me to switch those object positions.


    As i sit on the corner of the fountain i drank my canteen while watching the stage in front of me


    ¡® my god, the stage here is even better than thoose cookie cutter black stage in real world for bands. And they managed to do this in just 6 days¡¯.  lamp produced by lightning ball and fireball from mages make  the stage even prettier and pleasing in the eye


    ¡°Don¡¯t slack off chicken head! If you can sit leisurely at the fountain, sort other stuff!!. Look at those pile of mana potion boxes for mages. and sort those VIP chairs as well!.¡±


    It seemed i gained a new title from Ragnar. Stella smiled at this situation saying that if the boss giving you nicknames and ordering you around it means he need and acknowledge your existence. Something that i should be proud above snce few of members get to be called like that.


    ¡®it defy common sense that you must be happy and proud for people mocking and calling names on you!¡¯ my thought retorted at Stella comment. But somehow my behavior and heart somehow can tolerate his attitude and i even feel a slight of respect. What is these feelings??


    ¡°Damn chicken head!! Are you still sitting there?! get your butts to work! We can¡¯t rest until the performance is over!! If your butt love that fountain corner so much then sit on it as long as you want AFTER the performance is over.¡± A mocking roar flowed through Ragnar¡¯s mouth again


    ¡°Y-yes Sir!.¡± Without delay i stand on my feet and continued my work


    previous chapter 2 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3167&p=20994#p20994</a>


    next chapter 3.5 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3188</a>


    __________


    author notes


    - like always comment and critics are welcomed


    - this chapter is shorter because i wondered if the next chapter is supposed to be merged with this one, or named chapter 3.5 or just continue to chapter 4.  well let''s just go with the flow :)


    if you are curious about MC stat now, here we go.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">none</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">300</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">220</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>manager</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">job</td><td colspan=''3''>apprentice actress</td></tr>[<tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">0.2</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">0.2</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">15(+2)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">13(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">18(+2)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">16(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">110(+2)</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">12(+2)</td><td width="25%">charisma</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">leadership</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    - fighting spirit increased by 20%</td></tbody></table>


    edited her class. apprentice actress is a job not a class. dunno about this since weed never have a job. (looking at it isn''t he supposed to have a job as count of morata now?)


    - here is the MC inventory window


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td colspan=''2''>locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-Water canteen


    -Rye bread (6)


    -Autographed Beginner¡¯s clothe (E)


    -Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    -Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)


    -Silver coin (10)


    - gold coin (60)


    -</td></tbody></table>


    - here is our mc skill list


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td colspan=''2''>locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    -	Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 3(5%)</td></tbody></table>


    - thanks to this forum and my iphone i managed to fix most typos. but feel free to point me out any other typos :)


    - happy reading


    .

 chapter 3.5 Wolf Cross Bride

    ¡°Welcome ladies and gentleman.¡± Ragnar said as he stood on the stage. he plays as mc too (master of ceremony)


    ¡°Count Daris, nobleman and noblewoman whom i respect, and finally everyone who spared their time to come to our annual event at Selei City. Welcome to our humble performance. ¡°


    #Clap Clap# #swooosh# #Blaar#


    A fireworks made by clashing fireballs and thunder balls followed with numerous thunder bolt flew to the sky. Cheers from audience are unstoppable, they cheered, whistling and shouting.


    ¡°Hahaha. At the moment i am very honored to have all of you attended our annual performance. Such an honor that event you, my honored count daris to spared his precious time just to come to our humble performance.¡±


    ¡°Very well, here is the moment you are waiting for! Our annual event at selei city. Wolf Cross Bride!¡±


    While Ragnar leaved the stage, the closed curtain opened little by little displaying our sculptor and painters hard work. 2 dimensional props of castle and trees made by planks arranged neatly on the stage.


    ¡°the light suddenly went dim as Narrator of the Story, also played by Ragnar started the play


    ¡°Once upon a time, there were 2 kingdoms. One is inhabited by humans and the other is inhabited by werebeasts. They wage war with each other from and for long long time. However, one day without negotiations and notice, these two kingdoms magically stopped attacking each other. No one knows how they were able to stop attacking each other at the same time. Many speculate that both kingdoms exhausted their resources, others, speculates that these kingdoms are tired from continuous war.


    Even though both kingdoms stopped their attacks, the hatred that has gone for far too long made them hostile to each other. Nevertheless a peace still came to these 2 kingdoms.¡±


    ¡°Your highness! We should prepare a force to exterminate those bald monkeys. With our strength, me as the noble race of foxes are willing send our forces to them. they have gone killing our brethren long ago.¡± A fox tailed man speaks.


    ¡°There haven¡¯t been a war for 100 years! We should enjoy this peace as much as possible.¡± A bunny eared old man then spoke.¡±


    ¡°There has been Bandits! Those despicable creatures flied from their territory to our territory and ravaging our homes at the border!¡±


    ¡°The debate continued without results. Growing tired from this, wolf prince Hector stepped out from the room stealthily into his garden while starring at the starry sky¡±


    The curtain closed.


    ¡°Hurry up.¡±


    ¡°Manage, manage, manage!.¡± I spammed my newly acquired skill te replace the stage props.


    ¡®Council background changed into night sky. Fake grass REPLACEed,fake trees, . ok all set¡¯ i raised my thumbs to curtain manager signaling them to opened


    ¡°should we go to war, should we not.should we war, should we not.¡±  The Wolf Prince plucked flowers one by one


    ¡°Your face looked gloomy.¡±  Stella finally comes in. She played as white wolf princess.


    ¡°You know. The usual.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha.¡± She dryly laughed ¡°so, may i sit here.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°So, your face is gloomy. Is it because we are not at war?¡±


    ¡° i just wondered. Is Human really bad? ¡°


    ¡°I see. According to reports they are bad. But. ¡°


    ¡°But.?¡±


    ¡°We just knew to little of them. all we ever heard is they attacked us and fled. We don¡¯t know what they eat, we don¡¯t know their hierarchy. And so on.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You are right.¡±


    ¡°So do you want to go?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°To the land of humans.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°If we slipped far enough then hide our tail, we won¡¯t get caught.¡±


    The curtain then closed


    ¡°And so. The white wolf princess and the Wolf prince slipped out from their castle the night after tomorrow. They managed to slip past the strict border and reach an unknown human village¡±


    Songs finally came in. Orchestra started playing. Hmm, they have reached this section. Where they are known as a pair of bard and singer. Change the scenery of starry night to a village


    ¡°Manage.manage. maneges.¡±my tongue slipped due to nervousness. Luckily that only cost a little time. No harm done.


    Light of thee flashed unto us. may our peace everlasting


    Peace unto world with a blessed land


    No war but filled hatred


    No fight but no bless


    I want to love and loved


    I wont peace and caring


    Greedy as i might


    But these is my desires


    the curtain closed once more. Change the village layout to the interior of a castle.¡± Manage,manage.¡±


    ¡°As unknown pair of bard and singer. Princess white wolf and wolf prince traveled to many villages. In their surprises, they found that the life of the creature they hate isn¡¯t so far different from them.  finally in the city they are invited to playin the ball  by the king.¡±


    ¡°Such a wonderful play!¡± the king Exclaimed.¡±If i mas ask once again, may i know the name of these magnificent bard and singer?¡±


    ¡°We are but a nameless bard that wanders around. We have no such name to be presented to the king.¡± Wolf prince answered


    ¡°Such a humble attitude rare to be found. Go, enjoy yourself.My hall is not uncapable to please their guest.¡± The king then said ¡°after such a great song, let us enjoy a dance. May this day, and the day to come we may be blessed by prosperity.¡±


    ¡°Hello. My you be willing to dance with me?¡± the wolf prince asked.a noblewoman


    ¡°¡±Sure.¡±


    Changing scenery from interior castle to a city¡±manage, manage!¡±


    ¡°Not so loud chicken head.¡± Another stage setter complained.


    ¡°sorry. I was just to excited.¡±


    ¡°Unbeknown to them a seed of love budded in wolf prince heart and thus at the corner of the city the white wolf princess confronted the wolf prince.¡±


    ¡°wolf prince, may i asked you something?¡±


    ¡°What is it my dear friend?¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Do you love her?¡±


    ¡°Do you mean princess Selena? Well, yes i do.¡±


    ¡°And what is it that you liked about her?¡±


    ¡°I see that she is kind. Other noblewomen  is enveloped in their vanity and arrogance but she is not. And most of all, she do not hate werebeast. Shall she be a queen, maybe our kingdom may come to the real peace.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°With a sad face and hidden love the white wolf princess struggled to support her dear prince¡¯s wish for she also wished upon the real peace the wolf prince dreamed. However, fate turns for the worst at such unfortunate moment their identity as werebeast were exposed due to mere children playing with the white wolf skirts¡±


    Change from city to city gate.¡± Manage..¡± i said whisperingly not repeating my past mistakes


    ¡°Halt! In the name of the king i order you to surrender yourself!


    ¡°Wolf prince, what ought we do now that we are at the core of enemy kingdom and surrounded by enemy soldiers. Arh!¡± the soldier stabbed the white wolf


    ¡°Noo!!¡±


    ¡°With struggle they managed to escape the grip of the soldier. But with a wound the white wolf  princess can not escape their hands for long and finally decided to stall time so the wolf prince managed to escape.¡±


    ¡°hurry up. Change the scenery from city gate to forest now.¡± said the worker.


    ¡°manage. ManaUgH.¡±


    #Duk#


    ¡°Damn idiot! Why did you have to fall over now? ahh the curtain already started to opened? Who give the cue?¡±


    ¡°come. Just a little more.¡±


    ¡°Wolf prince. We cannot outrun them any more.go. i will stall for time. My wound will only be a burden.¡±


    ¡°What?! Of course not. We have been together for years! We came back together or not at all. You have been my friends since i was born.¡±


    ¡°So, my wolf prince. Even until the end, i am still just your friend.¡± Tears flowed through stella eyes


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± a song from her then came


    Born together


    Died with seperation.


    One love but not loved


    A meeting born love


    A lifetime born friend


    Love is to give not to be received.


    Sacrifice is true love


    ¡°Leave now wolf prince. I will stall them for my heart wished you to alive and well.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second.¡±


    ¡°There they are! Archers fired at them! infantry, marched!¡±


    ¡°The white wolf then gave a reckless charge towards the oncoming horde of human infantry while with tears and grief, the wolf prince ran and ran to the border of human kingdom.¡±


    ¡°hiks. Hiks. Manage, manage.¡± I changed the scenery from forest to council with tears in my eyes. No matter how many times i see it this scene always bring tears to my eyes


    ¡°The princess have been killed by those despicable humans! ¡° the foxman from the council spoke


    ¡°But, it is partially her fault to breach the human kingdom.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care anymore about your cowardice behavior. You can just hide in your hole and eat carrots for all i care. Your highness please issue an order to attack! your uncle¡¯s daughter has been slain by those filthy humans. A blood of royalty has been spilled! We cannot delay any longer! Let¡¯s go and make them pay the price they should!¡±


    ¡°Father. I will lead the war.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we march to human lands. their barbaric attitude can¡¯t be tolerated any longer!¡±


    ¡°Filled with anger the prince led a huge war towards human. Countless humans and werebeasts were slain. However, the werebeast were  losing. Their reckless charge led by enraged prince led them surrounded and decimated.and finally the wolf prince were caught and sent to the castle underground prison.¡±


    ¡°No. Why did you lose prince.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stare at the stage, quickly change the setting.¡±


    ¡°Yeah sorry. Manage. Manage¡± i changed the scenery from council to prison


    ¡°So you are a prince of the werebeast kingdom.¡± Elena asked


    ¡°I was. But now i am but a captive prisoner.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, my wolf. Please marry me. I want to be with you forever.forget abut revenge. I will come with you we can run and live in villages.¡±


    ¡°Will you still accept me? I have killed countless people. A villain. A murderer, do i still worthy to accept your love?¡±


    ¡°Yes for i know when we first met that you are sincere. You are kind, just like me didn¡¯t hate your race you didn¡¯t hate mine.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Let¡¯s leave together.¡±


    ¡°Okay Prince.¡±


    ¡°Argh!¡± the prince then stabbed Elena with a sword.


    ¡°I am sorry Elena. For i curse my shallow love that has hurt the purest of love. My hatred is higher than a sky and deeper than hell for a mere love to wash . i am now an avenger born from hatred and lived to curse.¡±


    ¡°That day the wolf prince slain every human at that castle. Every king, prince and princess were slain. He does not stopped. He continue to slain. Until a mere soldier caught him from behind and shot an arrow to his head. Revenge fulfilled, but not completed for hundreds of new kings and queens from nobleman and noblewoman are in queue to the throne. Nevertheless the curse the prince left behind led the kingdom fall into chaos for centuries to come.¡±


    Light then dimmed. Silence creep at the stage. just to be broke by a hundreds of applause from count and hundreds of people.


    previous chapter 3 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3183&p=21059#p21059</a>


    next chapter 4 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3196</a>


    _________________


    author note:


    - it was longer than i thought. but better in my opinion


    - gotta love Riri for her Manage  :)


    - any critics and suggestions are welcome


    - Happy reading. i fell into tears when i wrote this  :)

 chapter 4 I think I have an idea..

    <table><tbody><tr><td>For seeing Wolf Cross Bride play your intelect have increased by 4 your wisdom have increased by 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Art stat has increased by 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Manage skill has increased to level 4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°that was hell.¡± I said dropped dead on the floor. The audience have already left.


    ¡°Hahaha! Let¡¯s have a toast for our success! Here is the beer and juice for all of you!¡± Ragnar shouted while his bulky body carried a box of beverages.


    We drank and party the whole night. The show pleased everybody. I was happy to be able to take part in it. what is these feelings. I want to cry out of joy to be able to take part for such an event. Me who never even joined any clubs nevermind participating in any event are able to participate in that show. It was exhilirating


    Night soon passed. The lively city started to return to its original state.


    ¡°Hah i am so exhausted.¡± I walked to the eastern wall


    It was not so tiring anymore that riri has an increased stat she didn¡¯even feel it was a long walk.


    The night scenery in the eastern wall that riri failed to see that day. The night scene of eastern city¡¯s field. what was before a fresh green grass that are filled with vigor are now replaced with dark green grass that are filled wih calmness. Fireflies could be seen hovering above the now empty grassland.


    Howl of the wolves could be heard piercing a silnet night making a solemn, beautiful and calm night


    ¡°I knew you would be here.¡± Stella greeted me


    ¡°Still wearing capes?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t get too careful. Just look at those players queuing at the our carriage.¡±


    ¡°Do you hate autographs that much?¡±i asked


    ¡°Enchanters hated to enchant other stuff because of it¡¯s cost. What about you?¡±i further asked her


    ¡°Not really. In fact it profits both of us. you see , when i autographed others, my popularity grow a little. But, at first i was enchanted and give my autograph without restraint. But, soon after, dangers crept to me. Just like you see 7 das ago., at worst case, it might cause fights and kidnapping.  And then i realized that they see me as mere tools especially foreigners. After they get what they want, they left without even attending my performance. ¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± i wondered if the real world actress ever felt like this? They might even get worse for i ever see one girl talking excitedly about autograph of a certain idol but threw it away one month after because the said idol have a scandal


    Silence passed at both of them for a moment. Like a disease the silent night infected their mood impeding Riri and Stella to say another word


    ¡°I will not get bored from this scenery.¡± I said to break silence


    ¡°i see. You are new so i understand. You see. A night light this is not so unusual in versailles though it doesn¡¯t happened at every city. i have seen such a city at tantalus headquarter in trise. But it is still a beuty that cannot be ignored.¡±She said while gazing at the scenery. Her entranced eye is so beautiful. It seemed like it magically absorbs you and overwhelm you with its beauty


    Seconds passed to minutes. And minutes passed to hours.  I wonder how long have we stand here gazing at the silence night.


    ¡°We have a lot to do tomorrow. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°O-okay.¡±


    For watching silent night Art stat has increased by 3


    Next day


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to carrying heavy equipment and props your Str has increased by 1. Vit has increased by 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Warning! You are overloaded


    Stamina consumption increased by 30%


    Movement speed decreased by 20%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°It is so heavy! Why do they packed it in such a huge boxes. I can¡¯t use my skills.¡±


    ¡°Our carriage is limited. We may even have to sold or leave some of props..¡±


    ¡°Huh? how do they carry it here in first place?¡¯ as i looked at the number of carriage and wagon and comparing it to the props we have


    ¡°Some are bought and worked from our sculptor, painters, and tailors. We only carried what we can¡¯t bought or too long to make.¡±said Stella.


    ¡°Ah there you are. Hey chicken head.¡± Ragnar said while carrying a box 4 times larger than our own. His strength is on another level


    ¡°You did a pretty decent job before. So, i will officially recruit you now.¡±


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your Job has been updated</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Tantalus group member


    An official member of tantalus. Your wage has been decreased to 5 gold goins a day plus food,bed and training by elite teacher of tantalus.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°umm. My wage decreased?¡± i asked in reflex.


    ¡°What? Do you have any problem with it?¡±


    ¡°Ah. Umm, no sir.¡±Stella chuckled at my nervous answer


    ¡®it is fine 5 gold is still a lot. Besides i have a little use of these money.¡¯ Riri thought while continue packing


    Due to job description, Riri was able to leave Selei city in 8 days. but nevertheless she can¡¯t get outside of her carriage until she arrived at the next city. the carriage is quite big but it was densely packed with Boss ragnar and other members.


    I notice that the members have decreased tremendously. There were at least 125 members at the central square but the carriage 1 to 4 here only carried 40 members.. It seemed that apprentice actress is just a freelancer job that can be dismissed anytime.


    ¡® I just avoided a quick retirement¡¯ i sighed in relief.


    ¡°hey, Stella¡¯s statue. Seems like you managed to get in. I was surrprised. Only a handfull people managed to get invited by boss. You should be proud!¡± said a mage with blue hat. if i remembered correctly he is the mage that showers a spark of lightning at the performances, his name is Baran


    ¡°This chicken head. actually manage to get in.¡± A soldier exclaimed. He played as wolf prince before if i recall his name is Hector


    ¡°This browny actually got a little brain in her head. so i think she can sort our stuff for our next shos.¡± Ragnar then said with a laugh ¡°Hahaha! Guess you can¡¯t judge the book by it¡¯s cover. Though this one matched.¡±


    All members then laughed. ¡®aarrg!i can¡¯t stand this any longer¡¯


    ¡°Umm. I am sorry!¡±


    ¡°what is it.¡± ragnar asked


    ¡°umm...M-my name is Riri. Please call me as such.¡± I tried to be as polite as possible


    ¡°Ahh. Sorry, sorry. So your name is Riri. As you probably know, my name is Ragnar. I am the head of this group¡±


    ¡®So HE can be polite sometimes!¡¯ i shouted in my thought


    ¡°My name is Hector. You have seen me as wolf prince.¡±


    ¡°My name is Baran. I am a mage in charge of lighting and stage effect. Please to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Yo, My name is Lucky. I am a blacksmith¡±


    ¡°My name is Lucy. I am a dancer.¡±


    Introduction came one by one of the members. I feel relieved. So they are actually nice guys


    ¡°So, the chicken head statue already finished her introductions, she already knew our names what should we do.¡±


    ¡®I rephrashed my comments. They are not nice at all!!


    2 days later


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have aquired 13 different title.


    Chicken head


    Stella¡¯s statue


    Chicken statue


    Chichken head statue


    Decoration


    Statue decoration


    Chicken decoration


    ....</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡® is the system message mocked me too?!¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Since these titles bring no benefit, Would like to delete these titles?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Titles has been deleted</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Damnit!  even the system messages is mocking me.  Keep calm Riri, keep calm. You need to cooperate with those bullies. At least you do not need to talk. And your familiarity with them raised a lot. Keep calm. Keep calm.¡± I breathe in and out trying to control my emotions they keep calling me names and talking about my stupid stunts at the backstage. I was totally embarassed, even my llifeline friends (Stella) laugh and joined the fray to bully me.


    Sidinia. It is the name of the city Riri and company arrived. It is two days trip east of Selei city.


    ¡°Ahh, i almost forgot. Let me offer you a class.¡± Stella remarked offering a class.


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>A class has been offered to you</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Performers.


    a secret class. that are able to wield any weapon and use any tier 1 magic but it¡¯s strength will be reduced.


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    Swords and other weapon will be reduced by 90% unless you have intermediate blacksmith skills


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    Iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Can only be worn if you meet the equipment requirement</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A secret class is rare to be encountered within royalroad. The manual says there are hundreds of secret classes, but none says how to get them, whether it is manual, or internet. Most people tend to keep the secret for themselves or the secret class is a one time use only. Without hesitation lily accepted the class invitation. Eventhough the class seemed like a crap with it¡¯s penalty, little she did know that these class is actually a secret second advancement of bard class able to equip all weapon and armors and magics.


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your class has been changed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Charm stat has been generated</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fighting spirit stat has been generated</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fame has increased by 50 points</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>All stat has increased by 10 points</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dexterity has further increased by 40 points</td></tr></tbody></table>


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.<table><tbody><tr><td>Charm has increased further by 30 points</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Stamina has further increased by 40 points</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>New skill aquired.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Acrobatic


    Enables you to do stunts by balancing your center of gravity. and you may gain a better control over your body


    A higher level acrobatic will increased movement speed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Magic mastery


    Enables you to use magic


    A higher level magic mastery will  yield additional damage, improved cast time, improved control and reduce mana consumption of magic skills


    current number of spells 0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Multitasking


    Enable your brain to do multi tasking easier by splitting your focus


    A higher level multitasking will also yield additional intelect


    Current number of focus = 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a level</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your job has been updated to tantalus performer. Your wage has increased to 10 gold/day</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Bunches of system notifications filled Riri view. After spending 30 minutes staring and reading every letter of it. Riri dismissed the window and asking for a description from Stella.


    In my surprise, there are only a few members of tantalus that aquired the class performers.. Even Stella was surprised that i accept it so easily but she smiled nevertheless. Most of them go full with their intention such as Baran that is pure mage and Ragnar that is a pure warior. With shield and hammer mastery in intermediate. They complained that this class was hard to level with crazy penalty. Other says this class is the worst jack of all trades. Even bards and dancer do not get penalized for equipping their dagger. And they also gained mastery from their instrument faster. But performers don¡¯t even have default equipment. But none of them discriminate or gave a resentful look towards Riri. For they knew that this class is the one that this group needed the most


    ¡°So the chicken head accepted the class huh? that was a surprise! But fear not Riri, for you will be the treasure of tantalus group. Feel free to asked for our help shall you encountered any difficulty for your potential is far more than your your flaw in my eyes.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Feel free to asked us for leveling okay? We will let you leech the exp. It is fine. Haha¡± Baran and Hector commented with a smile


    ¡°I-i-it is fine. Really i didn¡¯t come here to battle anyway.¡±


    ¡°Haha. I welcomed that. pure artist.¡± Said Ragnar


    ¡®he misunderstood me!!  I come here not to be an artist but to practice socializing.¡¯ ¡® my thought screamed.


    Sidinia is a small city with less population than selei. Instead of stone houses, more than half of this city¡¯s construction is made using wood. The reason our band have to come here is due to its unique goods. ¡®bagworm thread¡¯. This thread¡¯s strength is above that of steel and a little bit below mythril one.


    ¡°So we came here just for threads?¡± i asked. Beeing a level 5 and just played for 1 and half week didn¡¯t help a thing about knowledge.


    ¡°Well, it is a perfect thread for tailoring. And if you spun it to make ropes, it can lift 50 times or more of our pig boss.¡± Stella commented. she is sweet but sometimes have a sharp tongue


    ¡°Hahaha. Well, you might not know kid. But that thread is precious. Since our HQ is just east of here, might as well grabbed some.¡±


    ¡°Umm. Does it do any good on us?¡±


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t live by making a shows alone. Sometimes me, hector and baran went on caves and dungeon to hunt.¡±


    ¡°um. Are you.. foreigner?¡±


    ¡°No. But most of us are. Like Baran there. they got interested in us, and they joined.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was fun. We got free food and sleep. And i like to travel together and impress people.. Said Aarknum. A ripped man with a huge sword on his back.


    ¡°I-i thought you were rich.¡±


    ¡°We are. But we can¡¯t bring money everywhere can¡¯t we? If we do bandits will be all over us. And many things in this world can¡¯t be bought by money. You should know right?¡±


    It is true. The feeling of excitement yesterday. The pleasure of able to create something is truly irreplaceable. I would trade all my gold to be able to feel that excitement again. And if possible, i want to dive deeper. If possible, maybe, just maybe i can be one of the actress that performed that day.


    6 hours laterr


    ¡°That damn fat pig of duke. Why can¡¯t he lower the price already. Isn¡¯t 5 gold a meter too much? We need at least 10 meter to sew a cloth. Does he think he is selling mythril thread?¡±


    ¡°i have never met someone like him in my life.¡± Baran said.


    ¡°Umm. Is he really bad people.¡±


    ¡°Well, bad or good is entirely up to you. But i can assure he is mostly bad people. Did you see this town? It¡¯s population is held thin and some houses looked like they are to be broken.down at any moment. This is because the duke wishes to monopolize the bagworm thread so he just keep a handful people to be his slave and the money will just keep flowing in. Just looked at the difference of his house and the others.¡± Said hector


    He isn¡¯t joking. The difference is like a heaven and earth. While most people except nobleman and noblewoman have their house build on planks and wood with hay as roof. Duke¡¯s manor is build with a beautiful white stone with each pillar engraved by a sculptor.not to mention that every furniture in his house is very expensive looking that my art stat has gained 20 points just by walking through his house.


    ¡°If he could spare just 20% of his fortune this town will be more than half as prosperous as Selei city.¡± Reiner, our merchant spoke.


    ¡°Why don;t you open your cape a little and haggle that pig Stella. We could get an easy way out of this if you hadn¡¯t keep your hood up.¡± Baran complained while looking at stella


    ¡°and risking my dignity? No thanks.¡±


    ¡°Umm.... i think i have an idea.¡± As my sight wander to the palisades that acted as city wall


    previous chapter 3.5 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3188&p=21094#p21094</a>


    next chapter 5 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3202</a>


    ___________


    Author note


    - finally our MC got her class. {[999baw}]


    - just like before, any critics and comments are welcome.


    - if you are confused about multitasking. it is like in our life where we do 2 things at the same time. reading while writing, driving while messaging someone. etc ^_^


    - so what do you think about our MC''s class. is it a trash? or is it OP? :)


    - here is the stat of our mc.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">performers</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">800</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">825</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fame</td><td width="25%">50</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>manager</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">job</td><td colspan=''3''>tantalus performer</td></tr>[<tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">2.7</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">3.4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">25(+2)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">63(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">32(+2)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">31(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">160(+2)</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">30(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">50(+2)</td><td width="25%">charisma</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">leadership</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td><td width="25%">charm</td><td width="25%">50(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    - fighting spirit increased by 20%


    - 	all stat +10 except dex and charm


    -	Dex +50 charm +40


    -	Stamina +40


    - Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    -	weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    -	Leather armor will not be penalized


    -	ron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement</td></tbody></table>


    i fixed many issue here such as mc health and mana. sorry if inconsistencies may occur


    here is our mc items


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td colspan=''2''>locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-Water canteen


    -Rye bread (6)


    -Autographed Beginner¡¯s clothe (E)


    -Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    -Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)


    -Silver coin (10)


    - gold coin (85)


    -</td></tbody></table>


    i just mention it now. (E) symbols means the item is equipped. but you guys have figured it out right? ^_^


    - here is the skill of our mc


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td colspan=''2''>locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    -	Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 4(10%)


    - magic mastery beginner lvl 1(0%)


    - acrobatics beginner level 1 (0%)


    - multitasking beginner lvl 1 (0%)</td></tbody></table>

 chapter 5 fake raid

    ¡®thought¡¯


    *whisper*


    #sound effect#


    Chapter 5


    ¡°Umm, is the communication network secure. Umm each team can hear me right right?¡±


    ¡°Roger boss!¡±  Baran said.


    ¡°Umm. Soo, Baran, Stella, and Hector is team one. Leader is Hector. And the rest is team two. Umm commanded by Ragnar. But the communication line is to Arknum. Reiner with 3 other is team 3.¡±


    ¡°Huahahaha.! This is going to be exciting! The chicken head¡¯s idea is crazy! But, i like it !¡±Ragnar shouted in excitement. ¡°10 years! That i have joined this group but i have never heard a crazy idea like this. Muhaahaha!¡±


    ¡°Wow, this is simply....¡±¡± Hector and Baran could only shook their heads


    ¡°Alright folks! Get your ass on the move. In two days we have a ¡®little surprise¡¯ for our duke! Muahahaha!!¡± Baran uncontrollably laugh. It seemed he is very pleased with my crazy idea


    2 days later


    *So. Is everything set?* i asked Arknum.


    *All ready. Aggro group is doing it¡¯s job they said they will be here in 10 minutes.*Said Arknum. *Oh my, the boss here is still laughing like a madman.*


    *Our carriages and wagon have all already left except my merchant wagon*Said reiner


    *Okay the jumping spider ETA 5 minutes.* Arknum further reported


    Jumping spider is a lvl 25 mob that roamed inside Sidinia¡¯s forest. It is a difficult prey for beginners. But in my surprise tantalus member¡¯s average level is 100! With the lowest member (except me) being lvl 70. A mere lvl 25 mob can¡¯t hurt them.


    ¡°Ready! CHARGE!!!¡±¡± Ragnar¡¯s voice could be heard over the whisper channel


    And so here is the plan. Ragnar and co are supposed to play as masked bandits. They are going to attack Sidinia from the north, bringing 20-30 additional jumping spiders to distract the city guards.


    Since mobs aren¡¯t supposed to be able to enter cities, Ragnar formed a special group of 7 people to aggro the spiders. Normally, our pathetic assault will be extinguished by city guards in mere minutes. But the guards here is pathetic! Their soldier ranged from lvl 40 to 50. With accumulated number of no more than 30. Furthering weakens the city defense, instead of a stone wall, they have a wooden wall! Ragnar even boasted that with his war hammer he can destroy such a pathetic defense in a single blow.


    Continuing the plan, Ragnar group is supposed to head straight to duke¡¯ manors and raid it. looting everything of value there.while the special team is supposed to distract the guards. Then after the city is captured, and making the duke pissed in his pants 3 unknown adventurers from nowhere arrived in this city. with magnificent display of (Fake) strength , they chased the bandits out of the city. and saved the day. And these adventurers give advice to the duke to lower the bag worm price and paid more attention of the condition of the city


    And so, what is a certain level 5 beginner player with no real battle skills and worse battle experience took part. As the promoter of the plan, this certain player are given task to be a director of this overly large invisible stage. with tears in her eyes, this player wholeheartedly tried her best to refuse the position but the party shrugged her off saying¡±just sit at the corner of the street and give comments of our performance.¡±


    Not wanting to be a disappointment. This particular level 5 girl climbed all the way to the inn¡¯s roof to get the bird eye view of the city while trying her best with minimum social technique, she desperately tried to coordinate the play as best as she could just like a director would. Checking through every preparations, asking the team status every 10 minutes and useless nitpicking of the flaw that might happened in the play


    #Boom#


    With a boom sound from northern gate, the performance without audience and over 3000 participants started.


    ¡°Mwahahaha!!. Where the hell is the city guards?! I am itching for a fight.¡± Ragnar shouted while waving his dangerous war hammer around destroying an empty wooden house. His attire is that of a bulky full plated mercenary with a demon¡¯s mask and a war hammer, he didn¡¯t equip his shield saying that he didn¡¯t look much like a bandit but a knight if he was wearing one.


    ¡®Are you sure you haven¡¯t done this before boss? That Action is pretty realistic!¡¯ i keep my comments in my brain. His laugh of insanity didn¡¯t left a shred of doubt that he is a true villain. A mean bad bandit.


    ¡°H-h-halt. In the name o-of t-the law, i-i order you t-to surrender.¡± The pathetic yelling of guards didn¡¯t sound very convincing


    ¡°So you are this city guard? Mwahahaha!Come and get your f*cking law at me.¡±


    ¡®that laugh is seriously creepy. a trademark of a bandit! ¡®


    In few seconds the said guard was sent flying a couple tens of meter crashing into a wooden shed


    ¡®what the heck are you doing! Are you trying to kill people here?! This is just a show!!!¡¯ i screamed in agony. Thankfully the said guards only have major injury. ONLY have major injury. But not life threatening


    Ragnar already ran pass central square towards


    #CRASH#


    the sound of war hammer against the fine piece of closed carved wooden door rang.


    ¡®the door isn¡¯t even locked for god¡¯s sake. Can¡¯t you open it normally? You cause too much collateral damage! ¡± i rolled my body on top of the inn¡¯s roof after seeing Ragnar smashed the door to pieces. Many obvious cracks can even be seen at the wall around the door.


    ¡°Kyaa!!¡±  i screamed. A stray jumping spider as big as a human managed to get its way into the roof. A useless and weaponless level 5 player like will definitely get killed in no time with a mob that are 5 time in level compared to me.


    You have take 500 damage.


    Riri then closed her eyes, she thought she is going to die when she felt a something ran past her face at high speed. It was an arrow. It struck deeply into the spider head. with a shriek the spider collapsed and disintegrated


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±  said Steven. An archer from tantalus.


    ¡°Huh? umm. Yeah. I am fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Good bye. I am not supposed to help anyone but you are an exception.¡± He blinked at me and left jumping from the roof.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a level</td></tr></tbody></table>


    In royal road, without any skill jumping from such height might cause a fall damage unless one has a high strength and light weapon. But the archer just jumped of like that. who knows that he ignored the fall damage or that he has a passive skill that reduce fall damage


    Back to topic. After various sound indicating Ragnar did something again at the duke¡¯s house he dragged the pitiful duke outside the house. While his men carried bags of gold.


    *Umm. How many gold coins in those bags Arknum.* I whispered to arknum. Curiosity get the best of me. Seeing 4 bags full of gold that can fit 3 people like me for each bag makes me wonder


    *Hmm, somewhere along  1,3 million gold coin plus 10 diamonds, 15 ruby''s, 18 sapphires, 20 gold bar plus 40 jades. The heck! his pocket is as deep as a black hole. He is even more wealthy than count Daris of Selei city by 3 to 5 fold!*


    *wow. 1,3 mil. Equal to 130.000 days equal to more than 350 years of my daily wages* i make a stupid comment on my whisper that makes the other party chuckled


    *No kidding. And your wage is supposed to be good enough for lvl 100 players. Just imagine that the best lvl 10 equipment is worth 10 gold coins. You can get a full set in a week.potions are supposed to be 20-30 gold. But that is enough for lvl 50 players.not to mentions japtem from hunts and quests rewards.*


    *Might as well take them for real! Those money are our yearly gross profit.* Reiner overheard our whispers and commented back.


    ¡°No!! Don;t take them all. You see, i am a duke here. I need money to feed my people.¡±


    ¡°Bah!! You fat pig do you wish your life to be spared or no?¡±


    ¡°If you take them all, i am going to report top count Daris!¡±


    ¡°You DARE to threat me?! Tell me? What is stopping me from killing you right now?¡±


    ¡°Guards!¡± however his yell were in vain. All guards of this city have been taken care of. Facing this, his face went pale


    ¡°Bwaahahah!!! Now let¡¯s rip his head and take the gold. bwahahaha!¡±! his sadistic laugh reverberated to all areas of the city. no one defended the pitiful duke for they knew his death brings more joy than grief. Some of the people who watched even smiled!¡±


    ¡°Wait a second bandits. ! will not tolerate your barbaric attitude any longer.¡± The main hero comes. Even after many collateral damage, a destroyed city, burned houses. The show still has coursed according to plan


    ¡°Ohh, what we have here?¡±


    ¡°My name is Hector. A righteous swordsman from the east. Leave this place now and don¡¯t come back!¡±


    ¡°Mister knight. Please save me from this barbaric bandits. They tried to rob me and after that they tried to kill me! Without that money, this small city is doomed!¡± the duke played the part according to my expectations


    ¡®yes. Hector played the part right!¡¯ i thought while watching the scene. He even improved a little by drawing his two handed sword and take a posture.


    *Riri, did you design his speech?* Arknum and Reiner asked


    *Yeah. It is good right?* i feel proud while whispering them


    *not really. It is lame* they commented


    *Plop*


    A tomato from the city people came flying to Hector¡¯s face.


    ¡°Bwahahaha. It seems you are not as righteous as you said.! Bwahaha!¡± Ragnar laugh. But a slight worry could be seen in his face. he knows that this is not in the script


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡®Noo! What do i do. the play is a mess! I don¡¯t know the people hate the duke THAT much!¡¯ my mind went into panic. ¡®what should i do, what should i do¡¯


    Then a figure wearing a white hooded cape came and step up in front of Hector. Stella is wearing a different hood this time. I purposely put Stella into Hector Group since She is eye catching.silence then came to Ragnar group with every step Stella take to Ragnar


    Then with a final stunt she threw her hooded cape away revealing a white clothe with light blue leather vest and white long skirt it was a special set for player lvl 80. Her level is actually much more higher than that but she said that since she only wore this for a show, she picked the best looking one. Her beautiful green hair mesmerized everyone including myself.


    ¡°Leave. i would rather throw this gold on the street for beggars to pick than giving it to you.¡± Her low voice could be heard by everybody. Her soft but commanding tone sent shivers to my spine.


    *whew. That is Stella for you.* Arknum commented


    *What¡¯s happening? Is this magic* i asked while continue to stare at her. even from this far away at the top of the roof my body urge me to obey her command and my eyes can¡¯t stop it¡¯s focus to her. it is like his figure, his gesture is hypnotize. Some of the bandits and bystanders even took a few steps behind.


    *No. Just a mix of charisma and fighting spirit.*


    ¡°Hragh!.


    #Boom#


    With a boom sound Ragnar smashed his war hammer against the ground waking everyone from their daze.


    ¡°I am gonna kill you bitch!¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡±


    With a shring sound  she draws her rapier and held it leisurely at her side which aggravated Ragnar even more.


    *are they going to fight?*


    *Then why do they draw weapon for Riri* Arknum commented on  my stupid question


    *isn¡¯t scaring the bandit away enough? I am pretty scared from up here already!*


    *more impact is better right?* Reiner joined the fray.* he is currently watched from another inn bedroom window.


    ¡®yeah. Just let them do what they want. i don;t care anymore.¡¯ I sighed while watching. But when i shifted my gaze at the battle, my jaws dropped.


    #Blaar#


    What caught my surprise is not Ragnar powerful hammer strike. But Stella¡¯s agility. I have never seen Stella fight before. But she manage to dodge all of Ragnar attack with ease.


    ¡°Men!! Charge!!¡± Ragnar shouted at his underlings


    ¡®hey, hey. They are straying more and more from scenario. They are going to pretend to lose at the end right?¡¯ i thought while watching the battle in front of me


    Battle cry can be heard while about 20 or 30 people charged at Stella while my other handpicked main character Hector and baran only get 4 or 5 people¡¯s attention.


    The battle is getting as real as the real thing. Even i can¡¯t feel the slight tinge of fake action. Ragnar¡¯s war hammer strike with a full force, archers firing at pin point accuracy. But more in my surprise Stella managed to dodge all of it.


    Brandished her sword, Stella danced through every arrow. No forced movement, no wasted movement. All flowed like air. Ragnar¡¯s war hammer strikes in vain. Other bandits that tried to surround her were met with a fast strike of her sword. Every strike Ragnar produce were dodged and met with 4 to 5 counterattacks from Stella.


    Intense battle continued for another 10 minutes when Stella finally let out her trump card. Magic. A fireball were shot as she dodge an arrow from archer. Counter attack from rapier is for Ragnar melee attacker while fireballs, lightning bolts, ice spear, and gust were for archers.


    *Umm Riri, that one isn¡¯t part of the script right?* Reiner whispered


    *Huh? Which one?* As i shook my head to left and right looking for another part not on the script


    A loud shriek then follow suit. a spider as big as a two story house  walked slowly to central square.


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± i muttered while watching one of its leg destroyed a wagon in a single thump


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>The Tarantula


    A hidden boss of Sidinia forest. This boss has no predetermined place and continue to travel in sidinia forest following her minions.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been activated</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Save Sidinia City.


    The sidinia forest boss monster Tarantula has breached towards the city. save the city by killing Tarantula and all of its minions


    Quest difficulty C


    Quest requirement : must be inside Sidinia


    Quest reward : Fame 150 and familiarity toward s the city will increased


    Number of minions : 95 jumping spiders, 30 poisonous spider, 10 string spiders</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®that jumping spider is one of its minions?¡¯ my thought screamed.


    *woah. We are in deep shit* Arknum commented


    Even Ragnar can only watch in horror as the tarantula walked closer to them a small figure of jumping spiders can be seen jumping from its back


    ¡°Multicast!, Multitask!. Go!¡± Stella shouted.20 fireball,  20 ice lance, and 20 lighting bolts gathered  forming a brilliant light show around her then like a machine gun those spells hit Tarantula and it¡¯s minions most of her spells were directed at Tarantula but several tens of jumping spiders were caught in its line of fire.


    Aggro ed by this Tarantula shifted it¡¯s gaze towards Stella but his movements is far too slow.however, Stella¡¯s movements were no longer graceful like before but more intense and efficient. Anxiety showed on her face as she dodge and counterattacked the fast moving jumping spiders.


    Jumping spiders were renowned for it¡¯s leap skill, after they leaped, they landed on it¡¯s opponent face dealing  critical hit. They also can leap to run away from opponents they encountered making them a tough opponent. But they dropped a lot of exp and japtems and they also has low health making them favorites for beginners. it is said that only a thief or speed class type can properly dodge a jumping spider¡¯s leap. Most people especially tanker just accepted the leap and hold them in place while archers or mages deal the final hit


    But, Stella was not only dodging she efficiently give a single deathblow counterattack at each leaping spiders. she can jump in the air. Doing a back flip. I think every gymnastic move in the book were already mastered by her and are used efficiently in this combat. she also managed to slip in some fireballs at Tarantula to keep its aggro at her. and in addition she also leaped and slashed at those spiders while they landed. It is a leaping contest with those spiders lose one by one.


    ¡°Guys! Perform a barricade! Tankers in front, archers and mages in the back! Thief and bards, deal with those leaping critters!¡± Ragnar shouted.


    Ragnar let out a battle cry and charged towards tarantula.it¡¯s front legs were met by a bashing sound destroying it completely. Baran, and Hector already came and charged from sides. A thundering roar from baran magic stunned it. a medium class spell thunder strike.


    Archers were shooting from distance. Sword masters were together with Ragnar. Thief and other tantalus staff were in charge to kill tarantula¡¯s minions.


    In 10 minutes flat the huge spider disintegrated


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 5x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fame has increased by 150</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Familiarity with the people of Sidnia has increased</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Hah, it is a lvl 70 boss. I guess we are lucky this time¡¯ i breathe a sigh of relief ¡°Thank god no casualty were inflicted.¡±


    Thanks to Ragnar and most of Tantalus group out leveled the boss and it¡¯s minions they were able to repelled the boss monster without casualties. It seems Riri also managed to get leftover exp even though she does almost nothing.  She only delivered band aids and health potions to Tantalus members while avoiding any spider she encountered. But a contribution is still a contribution


    2 hours later


    cheers and shouts could be heard towards the city welcoming their new hero. With a slight threat the duke were easily convinced to change his attitude. And so after that merchant Reiner pass by and set a deal with the duke. Buying 1000 meter (10 bundles)  bag worm thread for 1 gold 50 silver a meter.


    As team 1 (Stella and co), team 2 (Ragnar and co), and team 3 (Me and reiner) leave separately only to be rejoined at Neren field, only 2km east of Sidinia city, i thought


    ¡®do we have to go to such length just to acquire the bag worm thread?¡¯


    previous chapter 4 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3196&p=21160#p21160</a>


    next chapter 6 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3208</a>


    ____________


    Author note.


    - just like before, critics and suggestions are welcomed


    - our mc stat and inventory will come out at later since she only gained 150 fame and 6 lvl worth of unused stat points.


    - happy reading {[999baw}]

 Chapter 6 real life improvement

    ¡®thought¡¯


    *whisper*


    #sound effect#


    ¡°i am sorryyyy.¡± With tears, Riri beg for a person¡¯s forgiveness


    ¡°It is fine.it is not your fault.¡± With a gloomy mood Hector that got his dignity crushed by tomato answered.


    ¡°Mwahahaha. That lady sure hit his pride with tomatoes.¡± Pouring oil into fire Ragnar laugh insensitively making me feel guilty and guilty


    ¡°You need to practice more. Hector,¡± Stella said with chuckles.


    ¡°If Stella hadn¡¯t stepped in you would have some trouble.¡± Baran commented


    ¡°Bwahaha. Just take it as a lesson. you sure have heard it right? Experience is better than any teacher.¡±


    ¡°It seems we have a new title for him.¡± Said Lucy


    Ruckus kept going inside carriage i was on with me begging for forgiveness on four knees and loud laugh of Ragnar and tantalus members


    ¡°Ahh, we have arrived.¡± Said Lucky


    Riri looked at City in trisia. Tall white walls covered the city producing a solid defense unlike the previous one. A full clad armored soldiers could be seen in front of the city gate checking every passenger that pass the city gate. Archers and mages could be seen patrolling above city walls giving a sense of security


    ¡°Woah, it is a replica of city of Gondor.¡± I made another stupid remark.


    ¡°good day sir. The tax for entering the city are 20 silver coins per carriage. And also, please kindly state all your names.¡± The guard said to Lucky. Our blacksmith and horseman


    ¡°Ah sure. Here is the 80 coins. And where is the form.¡±


    ¡°Ah could i get an autograph as well.¡± The said guard blinked an eye towards Stella


    ¡°Sure.¡± Stella pulled a piece of paper an autographed it then giving it to the guards.


    ¡°Have a nice stay¡± the guard smiled


    Imagine a room that are 4 times as large as Cinema and 2 times as tall with a perfect whitte marbled stage with chairs lined up neatly. This is tantalus¡¯s theatrical room where they mostly put their show on.


    You have seen tantalus¡¯s show room. art has increased by 2


    Behind that room lies a decorated meeting room big enough for all of us. then a lounge besides that room, then followed by bedrooms in upstairs. It is like an apartment was attached to the


    ¡°Hey, Ragnar. Riri is going to be under my guidance right?¡± Stella asked while hugging me


    ¡°Hmm. Since both of you are performers. It is indeed the best result. But, are you sure it is okay? You have a tight schedule.¡±


    ¡°It is fine! I can manage that. and i am not alone anyway. she can seek guidance from other members as well. Right?¡± She then patted my head. it¡¯s like she found herself a new pet


    ¡°Alright. but don¡¯t bully her too much okay.¡±


    ¡°sure!¡±


    ¡®bully? Isn¡¯t she going to coach me? What about bullying.¡±


    ?------------?


    ¡°wow. I have played for a long time.¡± I muttered while looking at the my capsule. 16 hours gameplay.


    No matter how much she wanted to go into that world Lily is still a high school student that has her own work to do. final test is knocking at her door, so she must study and prepare for exams. After that her holiday will come and she can go into that world for as long as she want or at least until her holiday is over


    #Kring#


    a school bell rang marked the end of math period. Like usual, usually, She just sat by herself reading books or eat alone in class. But, this time instead of books, she opened her cellphone looking for news of royalroad.


    On a certain royalroad forum, she found out about magic skills, sword stance, movement skills. But none of performers skill.


    ¡°Hey. It is rare to see you fiddling with your phone!¡±


    ¡°huh? ah.  Yeah. Umm i just played.¡± I flashed my phone to them. normally i would just replied nothing and fled. But somehow, this time i was able to make a conversation


    ¡°whoa. Me too. Where do you start?¡±


    ¡°Um, Selei City.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. Too bad. I started at Trisia. By the way, my name is Anya.¡±  She reach out her hand


    Staring a little to her hand ¡°Ah, i am Lily. Nice to meet you¡±


    ¡®Arg! I mess up. My reaction was to slow.¡¯


    ¡°Ahh the bookworm finally came out of her cave! So what is your class?! I bet it is some book related.¡± Another one came in our conversation ¡°So what i heard? You played RR?¡±


    ¡°Huh? RR?¡± i mumbled


    ¡°Royalroad!¡±


    ¡°Ahh. Sorry. Umm, yeah i played it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your class. I bet it is book related! Haha.¡± She just laughed. The way i see it she is a perfect copy of female Ragnar attitude


    ¡°I-i-i just started.¡± I answered


    ¡°Ah, what a nice plan. So you registered before final exam then played after the exam., with that you won¡¯t have to get locked inside city for a month. Why didn¡¯t i think about that. and i registered in my summer holiday. Wasted a week of my holiday trapped inside my starter city.by the way, my name is Shella. Nice to meet you¡±


    ¡°Ah, nice to meet you too. I am Lily¡±


    ¡°Ah, but Shella. She is gonna miss several skills right? like sword mastery or magic mastery.¡±Anya commented


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke about it. to get sword mastery you only need to hit scarecrows in training halls for 3-4 hours. Why did you must get trapped in a city for a month?¡±  Answered Shella ¡°It was hell you know! Rather than swinging swords aimlessly at that scarecrow it is much faster to raise sword mastery by swinging it at monsters. By the way is your class related to swords?¡±


    ¡°Well, no. I also just started a week ago. I am on my last week in RR¡±


    ¡°haha! Sucks to be you. And you just about to leave your starting city.¡± Shella laugh


    ¡°No kidding. I am unaware about the starting city ban. Hahaha¡± Anya laughed


    ¡°By the way, answering your questions earlier. i am not good at such a short ranged battle so i choose to be a mage.¡±


    ¡°I see, that¡¯s nice. my guild use some mages later. Let me help you power level okay? I am a knight woman. Level 60¡±


    ¡®woah, incredible. They were able to talk to each other so smoothly.isn¡¯t Anya feeling inferior talking like that? isn¡¯t Shella feeling arrogant speaking like that? this is real life, if we get misunderstood it is hard to be fixed.¡¯ I thought while watching those two make their conversation


    ¡°Yeah, but i might regret it one day. You see, i got a job being a librarian. And it only pays 10 silver a day. A single fireball spell cost 2 gold. I wonder why i didn¡¯t look at those forums before. Mages are generally poor.¡±


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    ¡° no joke, their weapon+ equipment + skill book + mana potions need to be stocked regularly. But worry not. Our guild leech less gold on mages.¡±


    ¡° i see.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, i almost forgot, so what class are you?¡± Shella asked while looking at me.


    ¡°Ah, umm i don''t have a class yet.¡± I better lied, my class is unknown and i haven¡¯t got a clue to what my class is for


    ¡°Oh yeah, you just played.¡± Anya answered


    ¡° so you are looking into forums to see class and their skill sets? Hmm. Not bad. You are very thoughtful.¡± Shella commented after seeing my phone


    ¡°Umm. Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well, to be honest you didn¡¯t seemed like a melee type. I suggest you be a mage or cleric. Ahh cleric suits you more.¡± Shella suggest


    ¡°Yeah. By the way, cleric is rare since they almost can¡¯t hunt alone so, if you did become a cleric, please don¡¯t hesitate to call us. even lvl 20 cleric can be useful for lvl 60 warriors like me. They practically can cut our health potions expenses¡± Shella said with confidence


    ¡°Umm, sure. I will consider it. it seems like a good job¡±


    Everyone laugh at Lily statement. Only Lily thought that cleric is a good job. Cleric can¡¯t fight unless the enemy is an undead or dark aligned. Cleric¡¯s job though regarded as most important, it is the most boring job, watching teammates and healing is the sole purpose of cleric. Cleric also gained less exp than the other since they didn¡¯t participate directly in battles, in addition, clerics defense is as low as mages. some raid team even have a permanent bodyguard for cleric due to it¡¯s importance and low defense


    ¡°How suits you.¡± Both of them chuckles


    ¡°Please try to visit trisia okay? Ia m at the library.¡±


    ¡°Umm, just wondering. Umm. Anya right?¡±


    ¡°Yes what is it?¡±


    ¡°Could you... possibly pick trisia because of tantalus group?¡± i asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Ahh, you knew about it? yeah you are right! you know, that group¡¯ HQ is in Trisia. It is a good place to start.with addition if you get autograph from that green haired NPC, it¡¯s effect is the same as enchanting¡±


    ¡°Yeah, umm. They make a show in Selei 3 days ago.¡±


    ¡®i didn¡¯t lie, i just modified the fact a little. i can¡¯t tell them that i joined the very same group.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What is this about?¡± Shella interrupted¡±


    ¡°You see, there is a Character that has unique trait that her autograph is very famous.¡±


    ¡°Player or NPC?¡±


    ¡°not sure, but i think she most probably NPC. Since i haven¡¯t seen her do raid or battle at field.¡±


    ¡°I see, well dealing with NPC is quite hard. Unlike player we can just give gold coins and everything done. But with NPC you need to get high intimacy, other stuff. The NPC really behaves like it is their world. So, how good her enchanting?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, defense or attack is multiplied, either it is doubled or tripled it is kind of random. and several random stat increase.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Shella¡¯s eye blotted


    ¡°Yeah, crazy right? but it only affect one equipment per person. it is rather unique skill, really.¡±


    ¡°I gotta meet this character..¡± Shella mumbled "Doubled defense is no joke"


    ¡°I can assure you she is hard to meet. She almost practically appear in shows only.¡± Anya exclaimed


    ¡°Umm, but watching her shows, you will get several stat increase.¡± I commented


    ¡°So you were able to watch that show? You are lucky. And i haven¡¯t seen her show yet.,¡±


    ¡°Okay. I am going to tell my guild to rampage this town. Permanent stat increase can¡¯t be missed"


    ¡°Say Shella are you possibly guild leader or something? ¡°Anya asked.


    ¡°No i am co leader. The leader is someone else. Don¡¯t worry about it. i have influence big enough to let one or 2 players slipped in.¡± She made a thumb gesture


    ¡°Okay, lets go to our next period. Test is coming tomorrow¡±¡± Shella declared.¡±We talked to much, we have a test to tackle before we can play again. I need to ace this test or i will be banned from my royalroad!¡±


    1 week later


    Tests is finally over. The end term holiday is finally at hand. Lily rejoiced at this fact since she could go into that worls again. Her new companion, Shella and anya (Sha hadn¡¯t dare to call them friends yet since they only occasionally talk.)


    Lily thought she made improvement. She was able to talk a little bit to her new friends. Being a beginner the talk about royal road was dominated by Anya and Shella. but beeng a bookworm with above average brain dominated their study session. Shella always mocked Lily¡¯s Ahm and Umm but both of them just joking and saying in the end that was her trademark.


    If she had not met with tantalus group she would had fled the moment they asked about Lily¡¯s interest. If she hadn¡¯t been mocked by Ragnar and co, she would already fled with tears when Shella boasted her level or mocking her bookworm attitude and labeled her as ¡®must to be cleric¡¯ character. If she had not participated in Sidinia, she would stay silent all the way in their conversation with Shella and Anya. If she wasn¡¯t appointed as director of that play, she would refuse Anya and Shella¡¯s request to study. If she hadn¡¯t introduced herself at Ragnar that time, she would have stumbled when Shella brought some new friends with them.


    Lily can made many more if, but right now she definitely thought that royalroad is not a waste. A new chapter of her life is about to be opened. And now, after long week of exam she will returned to that world once more.


    previous chapter 5http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3202&p=21190#p21190</a>


    next chapter 7 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3215</a>


    _________


    Author note


    - new chapter finally in. this time it is mostly about real life.


    - by the way, it is getting harder to write ^_^ i have the story in mind. but, it is like i am running out of words to type. does any of my fellow fanfic author ever get this kind of feeling?


    just like before comments and critics are welcomed.


    - Stay tuned for Lily''s training in our next chapter. if i can get enough resolve to write it :)


    - happy reading

 chapter 7 The basics

    ¡°Riri!!  At last you came back.¡± Stella jumped hugged me.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Soo, where should we start?¡± Stella contemplating a question


    ¡°Huh? i don¡¯t know. Aren¡¯t you the instructor?¡±


    ¡°Ahh! Well. Let¡¯s just get started then. Come with me.¡±


    Stella without wearing her hooded cape dragged me to the back of the building. If i compared this to real life, this place is a Gym where you usually train your muscles but it is only filled with scarecrows and punching bags. There are also mirrors here and there to show of your muscles


    ¡®but this is Virtual Game! You can¡¯t grow muscles. All improvements are recorded as stats. So what the heck is that mirror for?¡± i thought while staring at the said mirror


    .¡±And so, this is our private training hall. For archery you may have to go at our backyard for practice.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s start with training then. Pick up that wooden sword and hit those punching bags or scarecrows however you like.¡± Stella said while pointing at the said wooden sword


    ¡°Umm how long?¡±


    ¡°around 5 hours.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, to get sword mastery.¡± I said while a conversation with Anya and Shella flashed


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    5 hours later


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a skill</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sword mastery beginner level 1 (5%)


    Enable you to attack with swords and learning sword skill


    Further increase in level will yield additional damage and attack speed


    Current level


    Attack damage with sword increased by 2%


    Attack speed with sword increased by 2%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dex has increased by 1 vit increased by 2 str has increased by 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    #panting#


    ¡® no wonder Shella cursed this training session so much. They are literally mind numbingly boring and exhausting!¡¯ i cursed in my though


    ¡°Have you done yet?¡± Stella asked


    ¡°Yes. Hah, hah. I am done.¡± I said while lying on the floor


    ¡°Hmm. So what are next.¡± Stella was deep in thought again


    ¡°Stella, aren¡¯t you also performers? You seemed to have difficulty training me. Am i that incompetent?¡± i asked feeling inferior


    ¡°Huh? Oh no.no! not at all¡± she strongly refused shooking his head and hands.¡± It is just that this is my first time teaching someone. So, i am nervous. I am sorry if i made any mistake teaching you.¡± She apologize straight away. She looked confused but also excited


    ¡°Ahh. Don¡¯t worry. Sorry if i asked.¡±


    ¡°Okay, now. Did you still remember my battle in Sidinia?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Sure! That was Awesome i saved it and watched it countless times!!¡± i shouted.in refleks


    ¡°Ahh, umm. And so. Have you looked at your skill window? There should be multitasking skill there right?¡± Stella asked


    ¡°Yes. It does.¡± I answered without even looking at the skill window. I have checked it before


    ¡°It is the core skill of us performers.¡± Stella said while talking few steps away.¡±You see, the class description don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡± i answered


    ¡°I see.¡± Stella said while looking sad ¡°Why dd you accept it?¡±


    ¡°Umm,.¡± She was Uhming a lot longer than usual ¡°i-it is because... i want to be like you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± a question ran across Stella¡¯s mind. This girl accept her class before she saw Stella¡¯s battle. ¡°maybe....¡± she mumbled while  tears flowed from Stella¡¯s eyes


    ¡°Stella? A-Are you okay? What happened? Stella?¡± i panicked  but instead of answering Stella hugged me instead. ¡°You are definitely special.¡± Her silent whisper came towards Riri¡¯s ear


    ¡°Ahh, Sorry. I am incompetent as instructor am i? Crying on the first day of our lessons.¡± She wiped her tears


    Riri was shocked. She have never see a girl crying because of her. She think before talk. But seeing her best friend cried she lost the ability to speak. She knew it was because of her answer. But what was wrong with it? Does she not want anyone to become like her? no Stella is not as petty as that. then what is it?¡±


    ¡°Alright let¡¯s continue.!¡± Stella quickly regained herself. ¡°I am going to drill you hard. So prepare for it okay!?¡± she smiled while putting her hand on her hip.


    ¡°Now, continuing on the last part, multitask is a performers main weapon. Try to lift your left hand.¡±


    I lifted my left hand with a question mark on my face


    ¡°Try to lift your right hand but , at the same time lower your left hand.¡±


    I did as she told


    ¡°Did you understand?¡±


    ¡°????¡± putting a dumb face with big question mark i stared on my right hand.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t understand!¡± Stella panicked a little. But quickly regained her composure ¡°All right i will be a little more detailed. When i give you 1 order you completed it right away right?¡±


    ¡°Umm yes?¡±


    ¡°But, when i give you 2 orders, you paused for a moment right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right!¡± i suddenly realized


    ¡°This happened due to our brain can only processed 1 orders at a time. So, when i told you to lower your left hand while raising your right hand your brain processed it like this. Lower left hand, raise right hand, completed them together. Are we clear?¡±


    ¡°Umm, i think i understand.¡±


    ¡°Multitask is like dividing your brain so you can processed them at the same time. So, for example. If you have two focus, it is the same as you have 2 brains.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh?¡± i see at my multitask skill. It is indeed increased by 1%


    ¡°Let me give you an example.¡± Stella then picked 2 pieces of paper using both hands to write at each one producing 2 different sheets. One sheets is a list of Tantalus member, and one list is a paragraph of wolf bride story.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Now that you already understand the basics equip 2 one handed sword and swing them at that scarecrow. Make that scarecrow scared okay.^_^(pun intended)¡± She smiled and cheer me


    4 hours later


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Str has increased by 2 vit has increased by 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Multitask is at beginner¡¯s lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sword mastery is now beginner level 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new passive skill</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ambidextrous beginner lvl 1(5%)(Passive)


    Enables you to handle both hands equally well. All equipment with right handed or dominant hand requirement will now be able to be equipped with your left or least dominant hand


    Further increase in level will increase your dexterity</td></tr></tbody></table>


    #Panting# ¡®this is harder than i though, i am drained, physically and mentally


    When i stopped to take a break i found out Stella was sitting on of the Gym pillar sleeping!!


    ¡® i trained like hell and you were sleeping. I thought you were cheering for me so i can go on for another 4 hours after 6 hours to train sword mastery¡¯


    ¡°STELLA!!¡± getting irritated i unconsciously  shouted


    ¡°Yes? Who is it?¡± getting suddenly awakened  suddenly from a dream she waked while looking left and right looking dumb


    ¡°I thought you were cheering for me. Hiks, hiks¡± i pretended to cry


    ¡°Yeah of course i am cheering for you. Go on keep going!¡± She shamelessly cheered me now without even hiding her yawn


    ¡°I am done. Multitasking is at lvl 2. i can hold 2 focuses now.¡± while sulking i give my report to her.


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful!¡± she put a fake smile to cheer my plummeted mood¡± umm, let¡¯s rest. I will bring food to you. here¡±


    1 hour later


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to eating chicken sandwich your satiety bar is now full


    Stamina consumption is reduced by 20% for 6 hours</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to drinking sweet herbal tea your mana and health regen in increased by 50% for 6 hours</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Come on.. stop sulking. I am sorry okay.¡± She beg with a miserable face


    ¡® she is soo cute! I can¡¯t possibly hate her now!¡±


    ¡°Ehem. Okay. But don¡¯t do this again okay.¡± I tried to regain my composure


    ¡°Yes!¡± She smiled.


    ''that was an act!!''''


    ¡°Continuing on, well, it is a nighttime but i still have some energy left. Let¡¯s continue for 3 more hours and hit the bed okay?¡±


    ¡°Are we hitting scarecrows again?¡±i shot a sharp stare at Stella


    ¡°No!. Umm, let¡¯s have bullet dodging and slashing.¡± She obviously just thought that one now.


    ¡°Hugh. Ah!¡± She Stretch her posture ¡°Relax, it won¡¯t be that fast. Multi cast! Fireball!¡±


    5 fireball appeared .


    ¡® wait a second, how fast is that fast¡¯


    Then with the speed of car in a highway one of the fireball launched


    :¡±KYAA!!!¡±  i jumped fearing my life.


    The fireball stopped several meter behind my position.


    ¡°?? Riri you are supposed to slash the bullets. Not just dodging it.¡± Stella makes a question mark above her head at my actions


    ¡°Huh? but it is so fast! And small only as big a fist. How am i supposed to slash it?¡±


    ¡°use multitasking of course. One focus is at the ball and the other is at your hand. This way we are gonna increase your multitask, sword mastery, and you may even get some stat as well. 3 birds with one stone.¡± She smiled but dark killing aura could be felt around her. ¡°Even if the ball hits you it is not like you are gonna die anyway.¡±


    ¡°umm okay¡±


    4 hours later


    #Ting#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dex increased by 10 vit increased by 10 str increased by 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ambidextrous is now beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Multitask is now beginner lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sword mastery is now beginner lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Acrobatic is now beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new skill</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Bullet deflector


    Enables you to slash or deflect any projectile with your sword


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Further increase in level will also yield additional dex</td></tr></tbody></table>


    #Panting#


    ¡°Spare me oh mighty Stella.¡± I beg for a break. My stamina hit 5% just now. that demon is making me dodging continuously for 4 hour.i consumed more stamina for these hellish 4 hours compared to hitting scarecrow. 5 fireballs were moving at abstract pattern. Slashing a fireball and she created another one. Dodging continuously and she cornered me with her fireballs. There are literally driving your mentally and physically to the limit


    ¡°Okay. Okay. You may rest. I am getting tired as well. See you tomorrow. Good night¡±


    1 day later


    ¡°Now, Hmmm. What shall we learn today? Umm Riri? May i see your status window?¡±


    ¡°Umm okay. Show status window to Stella.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">performers</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">1125</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">900</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fame</td><td width="25%">50</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>manager</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">job</td><td colspan=''3''>tantalus performer</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">3.5</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">8.4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">33(+2)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">74(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">32(+2)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">36(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">170(+2)</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">43(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">52(+2)</td><td width="25%">charisma</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">leadership</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td><td width="25%">charm</td><td width="25%">50(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">24(+2)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">wind</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">thunder</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">ice</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">light</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">dark</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">unused points</td><td colspan=''3''>50</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    - fighting spirit increased by 20%


    - 	all stat +10 except dex and charm


    -	Dex +50 charm +40


    -	Stamina +40


    - Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    - weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have blacksmithe at intermediate


    - Leather armor will not be penalized


    - Iron armors will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the requirement</td></tbody></table>


    ¡°So this is your window. Not bad And you have many unused points! i suggest you put them on wisdom to lift the performer¡¯s penalty¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin another training. With multitasking you also....¡±


    ¡°Stella! Are you there?¡± Ragnar bustled through with a serious face


    ¡°What is it Ragnar?¡±


    ¡°Umm, for the play next week, we have slight problem.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,?¡¯


    ¡°So it is....¡±


    As Ragnar voice was too low i only hear mumbling chatters until Stella¡¯s finaly shouted


    ¡°But the play is next week!¡±


    ¡°His mother would be in graveyard if he delayed a week.¡±


    ¡°How come this...¡±


    ¡°Well, he beg on four knees with tears on me. There is no way to refuse right? to even things i already put appropriate punishments which he accept with a smile.¡±


    ¡°But, if you are looking at replacement list. This one appeared in prologue of story, this one is our MC, this one is in orchestra, and this one is standing at the front door checking tickets.! We can¡¯t use them!¡±


    ¡°well, if you look at people with vacancy, we only got her and 2 other foreigner which don¡¯t have a fixed online time.¡± Ragnar spoke


    Then at the moment both of them stared at me


    ¡°But she is a female!¡±


    ¡°No one knows right? putting a little make up and wigs, she can become a pretty prince in white horse¡± i shuddered at his answer ¡°Besides She has gained sword mastery and also a performers.¡±


    ¡®no Stella. Don¡¯t agree to him!¡¯


    ¡°Uhmmm...... ¡° She was deep in thought she is really thinking of using me right now.


    ¡°it is true that it is best to use her. but......¡±


    ¡°The kissing scene would be easier on you right? since you both are females. It would be better than kissing other random man¡±


    ¡®kissing scene!!!!!¡¯


    ¡°Can she make it?¡± Stella asked ¡°The weapon has 40 strength limitation. Not to mention her armor with 50 str requirement¡±


    ¡°If you put your heart in training her. she can make it. Hey kid, you already have your ban lifted right?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes.¡±


    ¡°See? No problem. Any lack in stat can be made by power leveling her. she only need to go outside for few hours accompanied by arknum and baran and deal a killing blow on few wolves or tigers. 3 or 4 levels of power leveling only took 5 to 6 hours at most¡±


    ¡°Ahh, i see.¡± Stella then smiled at me


    ¡®Nooo!!! She is going to agree to it! you haven¡¯t asked for my permission!!¡±


    Riri that has never appeared in public are now forced to participate in a play. This time, not as director or background setter but as one of main character. She strongly tried to refuse, but with that miserable cute face Stella has used on her last time she can¡¯t no longer refuse. With a bucket of tears, she is now an official performers


    previous chapter 6 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3208&p=21248#p21248</a>


    next chapter 8 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3226</a>


    _____________


    Author note


    - hello all. i once again thanks all of reader that have read my fanfic so far


    - like before, critics and suggestions are welcomed


    - She was supposed to learn many more skills, but let''s put that in another chapter shall we ^_^


    - i wonder if the story progressed to slow, or is the chapter too short. many other fanfic already have dozens of skill and money right now. with addition of some unique or latest gear. but i just realized that our MC still stuck at her beginner''s outfit


    - here is the latest of our mc stat (That 50 unused points go to wisdom as Stella commanded)


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody>[tr]<td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">performers</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">1125</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">900</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fame</td><td width="25%">50</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>manager</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">job</td><td colspan=''3''>tantalus performer</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">3.5</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">8.4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">33(+2)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">74(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">82(+2)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">36(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">170(+2)</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">43(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">52(+2)</td><td width="25%">charisma</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">leadership</td><td width="25%">20(+2)</td><td width="25%">charm</td><td width="25%">50(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">24(+2)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">wind</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">thunder</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">ice</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">light</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">dark</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr>[tr]<td width="25%">unused points</td><td colspan=''3''>0</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    - fighting spirit increased by 20%


    - 	all stat +10 except dex and charm


    -	Dex +50 charm +40


    -	Stamina +40


    - Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    - weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have blacksmith at intermediate


    - Leather armor will not be penalized


    - Iron armors will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the requirement</td></tbody></table>


    here is our mc items


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">quest window</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-Water canteen


    -Rye bread (6)


    -Autographed Beginner¡¯s clothe (E)


    -Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    -Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)


    -Silver coin (10)


    - gold coin (95)


    -</td></tbody></table>


    - here is the skill of our mc


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">quest window</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    -	Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 4(10%)


    - magic mastery beginner lvl 1(0%)


    - acrobatics beginner level 2 (30%) (Movement 10%)


    - multitasking beginner lvl 3 (0%) (Focus 2, intelect +5)


    - ambidextrous beginner lvl 2 (15%)(Dex=2)


    - bullet deflector beginner lvl 1</td></tbody></table>


    - happy reading

 chapter 8 Dealing with Pressure

    ¡°But, Stella.....¡± i whimpered


    ¡°Come on Riri. Do you want me to get kissed by unknown man? Hiks. I thought you were my friend.¡± With a puppy dog eye Stella beg


    ¡°I-i. Alright.¡± i give up. I can¡¯t resist anymore. She really knows how to beg!


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been acquired</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Replacement actor


    One actor from Tantalus groups has to go to his sick mother so he can¡¯t participate in the play. Replace him by performing his role, if your performance is poor it will lead to quest failure.


    Quest requirement: be in Tantalus group


    Quest difficulty : D


    Quest reward : New equipment set.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Summary, the script is about a noble girl from X kingdom that fell in love with a nobleman from Y kingdom. Since their parents didn¡¯t agree, they eloped to Z kingdom and there, they lived as happily ever after in that Z kingdom


    ¡®a Romeo and Juliet happy end version!!!¡¯ i thought while looking at the script.the story even named ¡®oemor and teilu love that crossed nations¡¯


    ¡®this is a rip off!! A complete breach of copyright law!!¡¯


    ¡°So, that is the script. Now you have read it, we are going to train you hard. I particularly do not want you to raise your level since points for leveling up are better to be distributed to wisdom to remove our penalty. So i have managed a plan to train you.¡± Stella smiled¡± Please, nor hard feelings okay? It is for our group.¡± She hugged me


    ¡®this is definitely bad. Definitely bad!¡±


    ¡°Gah, holy shit. I am a mage why do i need to carry that thing.!¡± Baran exclaimed


    ¡°Yeah, i am a warrior, but telling me to move 200 kilos of Stones is crazy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, for 4 hours straight, we have an instant stamina recovery food thanks to baran carrying 4 days of food to us. and there are several stones you must carry around the field to increase your stamina and strength so that you can wear the equipment. No rest okay, if you work 24/7 for 4 days straight i think we can barely managed you to get 50 str without levelling up. From there on, we have 2 days of performance practice.¡±


    At that moment, baran and Arknum Suddenly realized that behind the charming face of Stella lie a devil. They thanked god at that moment that Stella have only a little interest in them


    If yesterdays training was hell, than this day¡¯s training is the seventh layers inside hell. Carrying stones that overloads your weight capacity, getting chased by fireballs, instead of two swords Riri was only given one. Every time her stamina depleted they quickly give her drinks or food that quickly replenish stamina then train again. Everyday was filled with shout of despair.


    If Stella was not around, she let Baran be her substitute. Ragnar also trained everyone hard inside the gym. Props were ready, several minor adjustment due to lack of the main character (Me) were made.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dex has increased by 20, Vit increased by 30  str increased by 25 stamina increased by 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sword mastery has reached beginner lvl 4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Bullet deflector has reached beginner lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Multitask has reached beginner lvl 4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Alright. We made it. she can use the equipment now.¡± baran exclaimed.


    ¡°Good work. Okay Riri, now we...¡± Stella stopped after seeing me collapsed


    A day later


    ¡°Stella is a bully. All of Tantalus are a bully. Hix hix.¡± This time i cried for real


    ¡°Look at what you did to her.¡± Arknum fell sorry for me.


    ¡°Umm, Riri.?¡± Stella tried to console me


    ¡°I don¡¯t care anymore!¡±  i threw a tantrum. ¡°I don¡¯t care about performance anymore!¡± hix. Hix¡±


    ¡°Well, i think she deserved some rest.¡± Arknum said.¡± We need to use some reserves, the end result might be lower than we predicted. but we can¡¯t help it right? after all, it is unreasonable for someone who just joined to be placed as main character of the story. We put too much pressure on her¡±Arknum said


    ¡°But...¡± Stella then said while whispering  ¡°okay.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Get that reserves right here in instant. We need to train him or we won¡¯t make it!!¡± Ragnar commanded. ¡°Tch!, after all the hard work we tried to teach her.¡± Ragnar and all of Tantalus group then fled the preparation room except Stella which sit and stared at me


    ¡°What? Do you want to mock me? Go ahead. I am not going to go on anymore.¡± I said with tears of hatred to her.


    Riri just stayed silent. Riri can¡¯t accept the pressure anymore. Even though this is a game, but the pressure is real.After seeing everyone put their hopes on her, she just can¡¯t take it. after the hellish training of 4 days, they forced her to put a leather armor and breastplates of a traveler. Then quickly put her on the stage for rehearsal. When she froze on the stage, ragnar shouted at her. even Stella started to give a lecture. When she stutter on her speech, they have to redo the rehearsal again. Many complaints then came from fellow Tantalus member to her. on her 5th attempt reading her first line she then throw the weapon she carried and ran crying like now. all the pressure, all the shouting, all of the stares, she wondered, how can Stella live in a world like that?


    Stella now didn¡¯t say any word. Of all things i have said, that one probably the harshest one i have said. Not to mention it is directed to one i considered my friends.i feel guilty, but i can¡¯t live up their expectation. Rather than them getting dissapointed later, it is better to be disappointed now right?


    Stella still looked at me, is she disappointed? is she mad? I can¡¯t read her at all now. she just stare me with a blank face.


    ¡°What?¡± i questioned her.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± She then hugged me while crying¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°You are not mad?¡±


    ¡°Well, i am being unreasonable. It is true, playing in front of five thousand people isn¡¯t easy. Moreover being unprepared, inexperienced, and rushed. So, i am sorry.¡±


    ¡°I-i am sorry too. I-i-it is just too much for me to handle.¡±


    My heart feels warm. So, this is friends. No matter if you screwed up they will be always by your side. No matter if the world are against you,friends always support you.


    ¡°Sorry, you are disappointed right? i can¡¯t do my job correct. I only waste Tantalus precious time.¡± I cried in her arm.


    ¡°It is okay.  It is all my fault.¡± Stella tightened her hug against me.


    For 10 minutes we stayed like that until Stella broke the silence telling Riri to watch the play as an audience. I sat on one of empty chairs in Tantalus showroom. The rehearsal started. In my place, Arknum was now in charge of. Before, he was a member of royal guards, but that was exchanged to Lucky, our blacksmith. And then in position of lucky that was supposed to played as nobleman was exchanged to some random bard from orchestra. I have caused such a mess. Hector already got a role, so he can¡¯t be of any use now.


    The quality of the play is indeed worsening but still acceptable in my opinion. Unlike when i stuttered and frozen in stage, this was much better.  even though with such random and sudden change, Tantalus are able to play every part right. Arknum did some improvise at the line he forgot, Lucky and that bard too played that part well.  Except with proportion of their physical build (A very thin nobleman, A huge muscular prince, and a fat Royal soldier), i would give them 9.5 out of 10. Actually the fat royal guard fits quite well though it has a slight different aura than before


    ¡°Alright!! Wrap it up everyone. We are done! Tomorrow at afternoon please be here 4 hours before the time. We still need to do a heavy make up for that scar, plumping a little wool on that thin nobleman, and for the royal guards.. it is fine.¡± Ragnar made his speech. Without even answering everyone packed their own things. No wonder, in royal road it is midnight. Even i feel sleepy. Players can log on for days in Royal road. But this week was hell, everyone was tired to their bone. I can see Arknum and Baran made their log out immediately after Ragnar said the speech


    ¡®4 hours before the said time it is literally 7 o¡¯clock in morning. And we just finished at 1 in morning¡¯


    I log out, setting my phone to alarm at 1 and half hour then prepare dinner and took a bath. I haven¡¯t even slept yesterday. I was so tired, but i can¡¯t sleep well given only 1 hour. So, i shall force it a bit until the play finished. I can still manage the background like i used to in Selei city. maybe that is what i am good at. Just getting a friend is enough. I don¡¯t need to get famous


    1,5 hours later


    <table><tbody><tr><td>The scan in your irises and fingerprints indicates that you are a registered user. Do you wish to log into your royal road account?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I hesitated a bit before saying yes


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Welcome to royal road.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    After a blinding flash of light i was logged back into Tantalus headquarter. In my assigned bedroom. There is still half an hour before the scheduled time. Meaning i logged in around 7 minutes before my alarm clock rang.Ragnar and several members have already appeared and cleaning the stage. without delay, i picked  a broom and stared to clean the hall. Dust and ashes from special effect magic dirtied the room. We need to get this stage clean before starting our makeup.


    ¡°Umm, Ragnar..¡±


    ¡°What is it chicken head?¡±


    ¡°Umm, I¡¯m sorry for screwing up.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. Partly it is my fault that i recommended you. Maybe you aren¡¯t ready yet. So, apology accepted. Now get ready, we are going to clean this room and manage the background. Get your ass to work. Shoo, shoo.¡± With a hand gesture Ragnar shooed me. Fatigue could be seen in his eyes.


    One by one other Tantalus member came in. They started to help and getting ready. 3 hours before the play the stage is set.everything is in order. No members were late. I can already see 100 or 200 audience queuing at the front door


    Stella was sitting in front of mirror doing make up. Her dress is blindingly white like a bride. Her ever beautiful hair is now styled increasing it¡¯s beauty even more. Her ever soft skin are now polished with make up. Arknum was dressed with a blue clothes. The clothes is somewhat similar to that napoleon or something with blue as it¡¯s dominant color. Somehow i was jealous. if had enough skill in socializing, it would be me in that shirt


    ¡®No, i can¡¯t think like that. my position is here. I already have a shot yesterday and failed.¡¯


    ¡°Hello Riri. Please, have a seat.¡±


    ¡°i feel like a loser.¡±


    ¡°And why is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I just feel so weak, so unskilled.¡±


    ¡°There is no shame in retreating a loss battle. What¡¯s important is knowing you limitations.¡±


    ¡°I messed everything up.¡± Tears started to flow again.


    ¡°No you didn¡¯t. You just almost mess everything up.  you know your limitations so you retreated. That¡¯s all. Even if you forced in, the play will be in bigger mess.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry Stella.¡±


    ¡°It is fine¡± Stella came and hugged me again. ¡° I am glad you retreated. With this, we can trained again. And next time i know, you will perform out there. not with this measly preparations and time but with enough preparations and time. I will surely made your first performance the best ever.i promised.¡± Stella said whispering


    In my life i have never heard such a word. So beautiful within heart. In my response i could only whisper a simple thank you. But the ache in my heart is now gone. Like a cure, that word soothe me


    ¡°Alright. let¡¯s begin! 2 hours to go!get on stage people!!¡± Ragnar shouted. His words were a little bit more tone down than before. Did he sleep at all last night?


    Audience started to gather.the empty hall is now filled with people. Several back chairs are still empty but that is to be expected since there are still 2 more hours to play. Tantalus orchestra played some random music as not to let the audience get bored from waiting.


    ¡°Whew. I am nervous. I have never played in a hall as big as this¡± arknum remarked.


    ¡°In game or real life?¡± i asked


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke around. I am just an ordinary student there. so there is no way i have ever played in theater.¡± Arknum answered. ¡°Okay, the play almost started¡±


    < ----------------------- >


    Stella POV


    ¡®I guess i hope too much on her. she accepted the class, so she should be the one that stand besides me. I can¡¯t blame her, after seeing her eye i understand the pressure she felt. She is terrified that she is going to mess MY play. i sincerely hoped that one day when we play together, she thought it was not MY play but OUR play.i rushed thing too much. I put too much hope in her. she did the correct thing, if she were to accept the role and messed up.she would blame it all on herself and quit. There would be no one. No other left worthy to be my partner. I would be forever alone in my own stage¡¯ Stella thought. While holding back her tear.


    ¡°LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!! I SINCERELY WELCOME YOU TO OUR PLAY. OEMOR AND TEILU LOVE THAT CROSSED THE NATION¡±


    ¡®the play already started, i need to remember my lines. Don¡¯t bother thinking anything useless again.¡¯ I ordered my thought and memorizing my lines


    ¡°Once upon a time, there was a noble girl in kallamore kingdom. She was beautiful like no other, many men tried to court her but to no avail.¡± Lucy while dancing  a slow tune on the stage. the curtain opens there stood Stella with many nobleman in a ball like room


    ¡°My dear Teilu, as you father, i am grieved. Why s there no people here to amuse you? Tell me, what kind of nobleman you desire?¡±


    ¡°I desire no noble, i only desire a man that put me above all, wealth nor reputation matters not for as long as his love is above it.¡±


    ¡°I see, then for there was no one able to court you, you shall be wed with the mightiest of person. son of kings. For i know he will be able to satisfy you for he that is renowned for his swords since birth, for he that has reputation above the sky. I believe he will be able to love you for he is also known as kind and gentle.¡±


    ¡°Father! i will not accept any man that i do not love.¡± The curtain then closed


    ¡°OO, POOR TEILU, WHY THOU NOT HAPPY TO BE MARRIED WITH A PERFECT PRINCE? WHY THOU CHOOSE TO FLED YOUR WEALTH AND FAME? FOR SINGLE LOVE THAT EVEN THOU HAVE NOT FELT.¡± Lucy danced out of the stageas the curtain opened again


    Ruckus could be heard within background of the stage? Stella wondered because the background was not supposed to be that noisy.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Stella!, here is your next clothes.¡±Girl A then offered my next clothes.


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Brown cape of disguise


    A hooded cape used to hide yourself


    Presence -20%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I quickly changed to my cape. The scene changed again to village


    ¡°I how low is my knowledge for i do not know my own country.¡±Stella walked at the stage now with a village background¡±Now, i can be with any other man. Freed from fame and wealth. Free to choose.¡±


    ¡°DON¡¯T TEILU! DON¡¯T! FOR THOU NO LONGER IN YOUR COUNTRY. THOU HAVE CROSSED INTO HAVEN KNOWN TO BE HOSTILE TO YOU!¡±


    ¡®okay, the scene changed into city, wait for Lucy to finish then i come up again.¡¯


    ¡°Such a beautiful city i have arrived. Beautiful flower, beautiful houses, now i know many people, many are better than nobleman, many are braver than knight. Oh, i cursed myself for my low....¡± Stella then stopped. She forgot all of her lines at that moment because there stood somebody that should not be in front of her.


    #flashback#


    Arknum answered. ¡°Okay, the play almost started¡±


    #Sring!#


    With a flash of light he abruptly disappeared.


    ¡°Umm, Baran, that¡¯s a log out animation right?¡± i asked the person behind Ragnar.


    ¡°Yeah. Maybe he just got disconnected. You know, anything can happened in internet.¡± Baran answered


    1 hour later.


    We started to panic


    ¡°Hey, if Arknum doesn¡¯t appear in another half hour we will have to cancel this play ragnar stated. Get your butt to the other world now baran and asked for this god damn  prince status!¡± Ragnar said sharply but not shouting as it will get heard by audience


    ¡°okay.¡±  Baran then fiddled something in the air and with a sound effect he disappeared.


    half hour later.


    Time is ticking away, half an hour mean 7 minutes in real life. so, 1 hour and half means 22 minutes. it means the problem is not a simple accident disconnection but a modem broke down, then Arknum can only visit local cafe and played from there which can take somewhere around an hour. That means 4 hours in Royal road. If that was the case then he can barely managed his part. There is still some hope left


    ¡°I am sorry Ragnar.¡± Baran logged in


    ¡°So is that bitch gonna come or not?¡±


    ¡°I just phoned him. It appears that his mother found his horrible college exam test. So from now on until next 2 weeks he can¡¯t play royal road.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that!¡±


    ¡°Ah, i am sorry so, Arknum has some issues with goddesses so he can¡¯t exist in this world for another 2 months.¡± Baran made a report understandable for NPC


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°We have to cancel the play sir. We can¡¯t exchange the character in last minutes¡±Said Reiner.


    ¡°NO! 2 counts are watching this! We can¡¯t dissapoint them. Ragnar said as he pointed the said counts. Count daris from the west and count Ignis from east.


    Then he looked at me.¡±Hey kid, get in there.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± i was stoned


    He then knelt ¡°Riri, It is fine if you mess up your lines a bit. Just get in there and give your best. We don¡¯t have any other replacement now. if Tantalus canceled its show in front of 2 counts, our reputation will plummets. We can¡¯t pay any more wages,even this buildings itself is owned by Ignis count¡±


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been updated</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Replacement actor


    One actor from Tantalus groups has to go to his sick mother so he can¡¯t participate in the play. Replace him by performing his role, if your performance is poor it will lead to quest failure.


    Count Ignis and Count Daris are watching Tantalus show. You have to make a performance good enough to satisfy them


    Quest requirement: be in Tantalus group


    Quest difficulty : C


    Quest reward : New equipment set, unknown


    Quest failure: Tantalus will be disbanded</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°B-b-but...¡± i can¡¯t refuse this now.


    ¡°if you fail after you try. It is okay, we will not blame you. Just try your best for this group okay.¡± Ragnar pleaded. All of the group was shocked, they never see Ragnar pleaded to someone. The group finally realize their grave situation. The image of him as strict boss now pleading mark the gravity of the situation, in worst case scenario the group will be thrown into streets or even disbanded.


    ¡°O-Okay.¡±


    ¡°Thank you riri. I appreciate it.¡± a sincere smile showed on Ragnar face ¡°Okay lads. Get this girl to be our pretty prince. We have an hour until she have to showed up.¡±


    A ruckus of girl a,b,c and several other rushed to prepare my make up and clothes. Hair tied to make a ponytail. Wear shirt and pant with sword on waist. Riri now look just like a young noble boy


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Blue Noble shirt


    Defense 3


    Charisma +50


    Charm +50


    Requirement: fame above 100


    Made by experienced tailor with beauty in mind</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Blue noble pants


    Defense 3


    Charisma +50


    Charm +50


    Requirement: fame above 100</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Breastplate of the escaped prince.


    Defense 20


    Str +10


    movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. (class penalty)


    Requirement : str 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ring of mana


    A beautiful ring that increase mana


    Charm +20


    Mana +200


    Requirement  none</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ring of leadership


    A charismatic gem that are owned by leaders


    Charisma +30


    Leadership +30


    Requirement none</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Royal Steel sword


    A sword beautifully crafted for royals to use.


    Attack 30 (-27 from class restriction)


    Charisma +20 (-18 from class restriction)


    Charm +20 (-18 from class restriction)


    Requirement: 30 strength</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Okay. Put that sword and breastplate far away, you didn¡¯t need it for the first part.¡± Ragnar commanded


    Back to present.


    Stella was stand in shock. The person in front of her is definitely not Arknum.no matter what make up or even magic, you can¡¯t easily change someone¡¯s height. This person. that style. It was definitely Riri. But why does she play the part as the noble now?? isn¡¯t it supposed to be Arknum? She then turned her head toward Ragnar at the side of the stage invisible to audience. With a hand gesture ragnar signaled her to continue


    ¡°insight.¡± Stella finished her words. She was supposed to say Oh, i cursed myself for my low insight.in one full sentence. Then, she walked toward the prince. But now, the insight word was cut out for  3 whole seconds. Then she walked toward the prince. However this mistakes was seen by audience as love at first sight which actually improved the play


    Riri now stay frozen. An unsocial girl now plunged out at the center of a stage. with over 5000 audience plus some very important looking people in this world (2 counts+several noble).. it is like you are thrown into a TV stage with ministers and president of united states watching and judging your very actions. She can¡¯t utter any other word but staring at Stella.  She was supposed to say a poem ¡®hello my flower and angel. How come i do not notice such an angel in my hometown.¡¯ But now, she was frozen


    Ragnar was scrambling his head now. he almost cried since Riri was frozen. He thought the play was a failure. He already imagined a life in streets if this show is ruined


    Stella read her stage fright. She then prepared a new line ¡°Hello, kind traveler.you seem different than the others. May i know your name?¡±


    ¡°Riri.¡±Riri answered at the question threw by Stella.


    ¡°It was supposed to be Oemor!!!!¡± Ragnar shouted in whispers.  He is banging his head to the wall now.


    Riri knows she messed up but doesn¡¯t know how to fixed it. she just froze again in silence


    Stella was shocked. But as expert actress she replied with a slight laugh ¡°hahaha. What  an unfitting name for a handsome male like yourself. Very well, since thou didn¡¯t reveal thou name, i shall not reveal mine.¡±


    ¡°But, then what should i call you?¡± this answers came from Riri¡¯s mouth.Stella¡¯s gesture and act made her said that in reflex. It is like this play was not scripted anymore.


    ¡°You may call me S-t-e-l-l-a.¡± She chopped the word in purpose


    Ragnar was already pale for the course off story.


    ¡°Stella.... such a beautiful name. It is like it was just made for me.¡± Riri said while admiring Stella. Stella who was always besides her. Stella who was always by her side from the beginning of royal road until now. Stella that cried for Riri mistakes and support Riri decision


    ¡°I see. Now off you go. For my time is over in unknown land i must depart to my house to be trapped once more.¡± Stella said with a sad face. so sad and so real. Seeing her made you think of a bird in a cage where its world is only that 30cm diameter cage


    ¡°NO!!¡± Riri runoff to hug Stella. she can¡¯t bear to see Stella sad anymore. She can¡¯t allow the only best friend of her sad again.


    Stella responded while hugging her back.


    ¡°Then, what will you do? to prevent me from returning to my cage?¡± Stella asked. Her eyes is like that of a maiden questioning her beloved how far his love can go.


    ¡°I will kidnap you! I will take you to somewhere! Far away from here. To someplace where you can be happy and free.¡± That was riri¡¯s answers. Her true heartfelt desire to make Stella happy. For her only friend she is ready to sacrifice even her own life.


    Ragnar was not pale anymore.he quickly scanned the situation and made appropriate adjustment.¡±Jump the scene from scene 3 to scene 8!¡± he ordered


    The story was supposed to progress like this. From the meeting of Teilu and oemor. They separated. Then scene 4 is taken at Teilu house with some debates from her mother. Then scene 5, the same thing happened in Oemor place. Then in scene 6 oemor sneaked to Teilu¡¯s house making some chatter. Scene 7 Teilu escaped from her house to Oemor¡¯s house. Scene 8 now is at the cliff where oemor and Teilu escaped and by Teilu¡¯s brother Hector which are unnamed now. they are supposed to be introduced in earlier scene.


    Mages then cast stone coffin. The landscape of the stage is now really like a cliff out of behind the scene box office movies


    (i can¡¯t explain it better than this. So, just like i said, it is like behind the scenes, in sci fi movies with picture made of painting as background and stones that are figured in such ways that it match the background making the scene was really from medieval ages. Just imagine that one was put on stages for actresses to perform. Or you could take an example from real life play that used this method as well hope you understand ?)


    With thunderous sound from thunder bolt by the mages making the scene intense


    ¡°Hey. You dare to take my sister away just before she was to be married by a great prince? I shall not allowed this for this treachery will dishonor my families lines forever!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know your sister¡¯s pain. You didn¡¯t know anything. You didn¡¯t deserved to be his family.¡± Riri spoke with a threatening voice.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if your words are backed with your strength.¡±Hector then trowed Riri¡¯s sword in front of Riri¡¯s leg.¡±Let¡¯s duel!¡±


    ¡°UAAH!¡± with a battle cry Riri grabbed the sword and slashed at hector which he dodged while acting he dodged it with great difficulty


    #trang,clank,tring#


    Sound of metal clashing could be heard reverberated through the show room. Riri slashed with all of her might. Hector tried to parry her assault while slipping an attack he was sure Riri can dodge.


    #ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have dealt 15 critical damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Of course the window could only be seen by hector and Riri. But hector played out like he caught a huge damage with mortal wound. After all looks is what mattered here


    ¡°Damn you! I will not give up. my family is at stake¡±


    ¡°Arg! You are no family. You are just a jailer. You only imprison her.¡± Riri Slashed at him with all of her might repeatedly


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have dealt 10 damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have dealt 15 critical damage.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Stop Riri. It is enough¡± what matters now is not my revenge. But our happiness. Let¡¯s continue our journey to the north to Nilfheim empire. In there we will be happy forever.¡± Stella said while hugging riri from behind.¡± Riri stopped while looking at Stella. then they hugged each other and the curtain then closed


    ¡°AND SO THE TWO LOVERS FROM ACROSS NATION FINALLY GET THEIR HAPPINESS IN NILFHEIM EMPIRE UNTIL DEATH¡¯


    The abrupt play then ended. Cheers and applause could be heard within the show room.  after that Ragnar and several members collapsed due to being exhausted mentally. But they breathe a sigh of relief as their group are now saved


    previous chapter 7 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3215&p=21274#p21274</a>


    next chapter 9 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3256</a>


    _____________


    author note


    - whew i just finished. this chapter is so far the hardest to write. i can''t just imagine Stella to be a ruthless instructor. and i also can''t imagine riri mentality to accept being tortured with ease. but thankfully that ended well


    - i already exhausted my brain juice now. i am going to take a break for 2 or 3 days. i need to read other fanfic too :)


    - happy reading. and critics on what you like and what you don''t like are welcomed in here or in discussion page.


    - so who were surprised to see Riri actually play? or maybe no one surprised? :lol:


    - riri latest stat update will be updated on this post after my break. please bear with it

 chapter 9 fake cleric

    chapter 9


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest ¡®replacement¡¯ has been completed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 5x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>For participating in the play all stat have increased by 10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Whew, I thought we were going to die.¡± An exaggerated comment was spoken by Ragnar. The play was a mess but the audience misunderstood it well.


    ¡°We finished 1 hour faster than usual. But somehow I am feeling 4 times as tired.¡± Baran said.


    ¡°Those counts were impressed by our ¡®modification¡¯ of the story. They said it was better than usual.¡± Ragnar said.


    ¡°Whew. That was intense. I thought Riri was really going to kill me before seeing the system notice. Thank goodness her damage was penalized.¡± Hector said.


    ¡°I am sorry!¡±


    ¡°Well, all turned out well. So, it is fine. Let¡¯s cheer everyone!¡± Ragnar shouted. Vigor returned to his eyes. He then spoke to me in a low voice ¡° Riri, you have a great potential. It is a shame that I forced it out before it matured. I am expecting great things of you from now on.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I wailed while covering my face. ¡°It was completely embarrassing! I will never do it again!¡±


    ¡°Riri!¡± Stella hugged me. ¡°It was a good show in the middle. ¡°


    ¡°well, you can keep your costumes. And here is an extra set of clothes as your additional reward.¡± Ragnar winked.


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have obtained elven white cleric set</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>White dress of purity


    Durability 50/50


    Defense +30


    Charm +20


    Faith +20


    A pure white dress with blessings of the gods


    Healing spell increased by 20%


    Light spell increased by 20%


    Dark resistance increased by 20%


    Light resistance increased by 20%


    Level restriction 20</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>White high heel shoes


    Durability 20/20


    Defense +20


    Charm+30


    Charisma +10


    Faith +20


    High heels blessed with holy light. But hard to wear


    Movement speed -30%


    Healing spell increased by 10%


    Light spell increased by 10%


    Dark resistance increased by 10%


    Light resistance increased by 10%


    Level restriction 20</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Circlet of purity.


    Durability 30/30


    Defense +10


    Charm +30


    Charisma +30


    Int +10


    Wis +10


    Faith +20


    A circlet blessed by a holy priest to purify evil


    Healing spell increased by 10%


    Light spell increased by 10%


    Dark resistance increased by 10%


    Light resistance increased by 10%


    Level restriction 20</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Staff of white cleric


    Durability 50/50


    Attack 30 (-27 class restriction)


    Int +40 (-36 class restriction)


    Wis +40 (-36 class restriction)


    Faith +20( -18 class restriction)


    Healing spell increased by 10% (-9% class restriction)


    Light spell increased by 10%(-9% class restriction)


    Dark resistance increased by 10%(-9% class restriction)


    Light resistance increased by 10%(-9% class restriction)


    Level restriction 20</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Thank you. It is so pretty.¡± I stared at the equipment set.


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± Said Ragnar.


    3 days later


    ¡°Okaay, we finished cleaning the show room. Now back to practice Riri.¡± Stella smiled.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I stand a little further away. Whenever I heard training, a trauma suddenly flashed through my mind.


    ¡°Huh? Come closer. I am not in the class.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡± I reluctantly move closer.


    ¡°Okay, now what are we going to do? Ahh. The lifeline for early performers such as you is healing or fist fighting. But since you have to increase you wisdom to 300 first i suggest you to become a healer to avoid taking damage.  ¡°


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°As you see, magic spells were penalized in damage until your wisdom hit 300. Which is still a long way, probably when you are around lvl 80 or 100. But, healing spells are not considered damage so it is not penalized. And other non damaging spells are also not penalized. Such as illusions or buffs.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°You are still losing to a real cleric because of their class buff. But, well, that is the demerit of our class.¡±


    Silence then followed. Stella was now lost in thought.


    ¡°Stella?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, ahh nothing, I was just wondering if you should get the skill book yourself or should I ask for it.¡± Stella pondered again.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go with the former. Please go to church of Freya to get the book.¡°


    ¡°Umm, would my class not change?¡±


    ¡°Just ask for the skill book. The class change and the skills are two different things.¡±


    40 minutes later


    ¡°Here is the skill book. Healing hand, goddess Regen, cure poison, cure paralysis, and light blessing.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Good. Tap the book then say learn.¡±


    ¡°Learn¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned healing hand</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>A new stat faith has been generated</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing hand


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Asks the goddess to heal a single character


    Mana cost 150


    Heal 200 HP + 100 *wis /40 + 200*faith/20</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned cure poison</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Cure poison


    Sub skill of magic mastery


    Asks the goddess to heal a poisoned person


    Mana cost 50


    Additional levels will also heal HP and cure better poison</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned cure paralysis</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Cure paralysis


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Asks the goddes to heal a paralysed person


    Mana cost 50


    Additional level will give strength buff to player</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned phoenix regen</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Phoenix regen


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Asks the goddess to heal a person overtime


    Mana cost 200


    Health regen increased by 50%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned light blessing</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Light blessing


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Asks the goddess to bless a person granting buff on him


    Mana cost 200


    Str buff 5%


    Dex buff 5%


    Light res 5%


    Dark res 5%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Little Riri knows that the churches didn¡¯t actually give away the book easily. It is due to her high charm and charisma further boosted by her blue noble equipment that the goddess of Freya has taken a liking to her. She even added several spells that weren¡¯t supposed to be learned by beginner clerics.


    ¡°Okay you have learned the spell.¡±


    ¡°Did you have this spell too Stella?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡°


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, okay. Go out and hunt with others then.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Well, you need to increase your healing mastery. Before we can further our progress. And for healing technique to progress you need to see someone get injured. And you also need to level up too. So you can equip that new set you have.¡± Stella said.


    ¡°Alright, thank you. But.. umm, who should I ask?¡± I hesitantly asked. All players or NPCs in Tantalus are way out of her league. She doesn¡¯t want to just leech of someone.


    ¡°Hmm. Just go out with other beginners. You don¡¯t have to stay cooped up in our group all the time. Have a nice trip.¡° Stella smiled. ¡°When you get your magic mastery to intermediate please call me okay? Through Baran or Reiner. Or you can request a meeting under the Tantalus tab.¡±


    20 minutes later


    ¡®I have made no progress. It is so hard to talk to strangers¡¯ I thought while equipping my beginner¡¯s outfit. Being stared at by everyone while wearing the blue noble suit makes me all the more nervous.


    ¡°Now what am I going to do?¡± I walked aimlessly and stopped in front of the library. ¡±Maybe I better ask Baran to party with me and help me level.¡±


    Royal Road has forbidden multiple accounts so players with healing ability like Riri were actually very desirable. It is just that Riri was too shy to go to a tavern to ask someone into the group and no one bothers to ask Riri since her attire now is the beginner¡¯s outfit which gave the impression that she hadn¡¯t gotten her ban lifted yet. Because within 1 month of normal gaming time, you would usually get 1 or 2 lvl 5 weapons or armor. Some diligent players even get their class changed already.


    ¡°Hello, may I help you?¡± A person wearing red robes with red hair asked her.


    ¡°Huh? Umm it is nothing Anya.¡±


    ¡°Huh? How do you know my real name is Anya?¡± The girl then had a questioning look ¡°Wait a second, there is only one girl who knows my real name with that kind of speech. You are Lily aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡®I was exposed!! All changes to my face and my name are for naught!! Is my speech really that unique?? How can she use her own real face here in the virtual world. Does she not care about her own privacy?!¡¯


    ¡°Ah!. Umm. Yeah.¡±


    ¡°It is Fira here. What is your name here?¡±


    ¡°Riri.¡±


    ¡°I see. Let¡¯s form a party. We have to hunt. You already got your ban lifted right?¡±


    ¡°Ahm umm, but.¡±


    ¡°ahh, what is your lvl?¡±


    ¡°Uhm. It is 15.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. It is fine then. By the way, I am a lvl 20 mage. Do you have any class yet?¡±


    ¡°Umm, I have several healing spells.¡±


    ¡°So you really have become a cleric. That¡¯s wonderful. Hold on, I will call my friends right away. Let¡¯s hunt together.¡± She replied with chuckles and smiles.


    5 minutes later 3 warriors appeared.


    ¡°So, Fira let¡¯s go hunt in the west forest. It is nice there.¡± Said warrior A with a buckler and a one-handed sword.


    ¡°So, this is our healer. Hahaha. She really looks like one alright. Alright, I will entrust my life to you. Heal me when things get rough okay?¡± Said warrior B, the one with full plate armor, a huge body and a 2 handed axe on his back.


    ¡°Alright. I am a thief. Well, recently. Hahaha, I will try my best to disarm traps okay.¡±


    ¡°Umm, okay.¡±


    ¡°Well, she skipped her ban period for exams so she is still in her beginner outfit. It is a wonder actually, that she managed to reach Trisia. Maybe she rode a merchant caravan here.¡±


    ¡°Well, if she has healing skills and a cleric¡¯s look, every party group would welcome her with ease. Ahh I forgot. I am Hasega. A warrior but I want to be a paladin in my next job advancement.¡± Said the person with a buckler.


    ¡°I am Victor. A knight. A damage dealing one. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I am Dem. A thief.¡±


    ¡°Alright everyone. We are going to breach this cave right now!¡±


    2 hours later


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Cave of Trisia


    A cave filled with mutated pests</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Okay. Share quest with Victor, Riri, Dem and Hasega.¡± Fira said.


    #Ting


    Fira has shared a quest with you


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Pest extermination.


    Monsters from the cave of Trisia often come out and destroy Trisia¡¯s farms. Clear this cave and exterminate all monsters so that the field can grow it¡¯s crops to it¡¯s fullest again.¡±


    Quest difficulty D


    Quest reward : 15 gold</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®It is a dungeon alright. Each fiber of my being tells me that there are some nasty monsters inside this cave.¡¯ I thought while looking at the cave. The inside is dark, humid and has a gloomy feeling. A perfect place for dungeon monsters.


    ¡°The monsters here are ranged from 15 to 20. So, we should be fine.¡° Fira said while walking behind Victor and Hasega. Dem is beside me at the back of the group. Is he the ¡®permanent guard¡¯ assigned to clerics?


    10 minutes later.


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been completed


    You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°What the heck? We haven¡¯t killed anything!¡± Victor said.


    ¡°Umm, maybe some other guys got the quest and finished it?¡± I replied.


    ¡°If that were the case then our quest should failed while their quest is completed, Riri.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°So, some other random player got another quest in this cave and has slain every critter here?¡± Fira asked Hasega.


    ¡°That is most likely the case.¡° Hasega analysed.


    ¡°Who are the creeps that stole our monsters.¡± Victor screamed in annoyance.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s return. There is no point dawdling here unless we want to PK somebody.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Riri, what are you doing there.¡± As Victor yelled at me for standing still while the party has already taken a few steps away to the entrance.


    ¡°Uhm. I think I heard something.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it is the footsteps of the crooks that stole our monsters.¡± Victor explained with irritation.


    ¡°Ahh, I see.!¡± I agreed and started walking.


    ¡°Graww!!!¡±


    ¡°Alright that isn¡¯t the sound of a human. Riri, Dem, go to the back.¡± Victor commanded. ¡°Meatshield! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    A 3 meter black bear could be seen standing while roaring a frightening sound.


    ¡°Hey, meatshield, flame hair. Is that monster supposed to be here?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Both answered.


    ¡°Umm, maybe someone aggroed it here?¡± I said remembering the jumping spider scene from chapter 5 where an entire battalion of monsters moved to town.


    ¡°Hmm, there is a black bear to north of here that¡¯s around lvl 25. But it isn¡¯t supposed to be big and slimy like that.¡± Fira added.


    ¡°Okay. We can handle an oversized slimy bear, right meatshield?¡±


    ¡°Can you handle 3?¡± Hasega answered as 2 others of same creature appeared.


    ¡°S-s-should I cast some buff now?¡± I asked timidly.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°You have one?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Just 1.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so reserved. Play it all out.¡± Hasega answered.


    ¡°Light blessing.¡± Light permeated their bodies. An icon appeared beside the health bar, marking the buff as active.


    ¡°Ohh, a buff. First time seeing it. I guess a cleric is as useful as the rumors say. Charge!!!!¡± Victor shouted while drawing his axe.


    ¡°Is a priest really that rare?¡± I asked Fira which besides me now.


    ¡°Usually a guild hires an NPC one since players are reluctant to chose a non combat class. Mana bolt!!¡± She answered while casting the most basic spell of a mage. Mana bolt.


    ¡°Uhmm. Healing hand.¡± I judged the scene. Dem abandoned his duty of being my bodyguard and was currently aggroing one of the bears. Being a thief in close combat, inside a cave, Dem is at a disadvantage. While Dem can avoid 1 out of every 2 hits launched by the bear, each non critical hit took a fifth of his health. Not planning to do an overhealing (healing above maximum health causing inefficiency) I made a mental calculation and healed Dem every time he took 3 hits.


    Hasega played defensively. He took time to dodge or block each claw launched by the bear. A loud clanking sound could be heard from his buckler. But his damage is low compared to Dem and Victor, he only counters when he sees the chance. But he has the most survival ability of the three. Since he almost parried or blocked each of the bear¡¯s attacks, he only took around 2 or 5 % damage each hit.


    ¡°Phoenix regen!¡± Cast a regeneration spell on him and he is good for the day.


    ¡°Aargh!!¡± With a battle cry Victor here made the loudest sound. Battle axe could be heard clanging on the stone as the bear desperately tried to dodge. I quickly made a mental calculation. He took about 10% of damage each hit. But he deals the most damage. And unlike Dem, he sometimes parried the attack from the bear. His damage is a little above Dem. In addition to that, mana bolts and fireballs from Fira joined the fray. Fira judged that Victor is capable of pinning the monster down so even if Fira aggroed the monster by mistake, unlike Dem who is full thief with low defense, victor can block the monster¡¯s charge by pinning it¡¯s attention on him.


    ¡°Healing hand!¡± I casted one on Dem again as soon as the cooldown was gone. His HP had already gone down to a fifth. A hit or two more would kill him.


    ¡°Damn! This thing uses poison!¡± Hasega shouted.


    ¡°what?!¡± Fira was shocked.


    ¡°Ahh, then. Umm. Cure poison.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Hey cleric girl! Don¡¯t you think you are ignoring someone here!? My HP is almost red! Argh!! Now I got the bloody poison as well.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, but..¡± I panicked. Dem needed the healing hand. Phoenix regen still has 30 seconds cooldown. If this continues, Victor will die in 20 seconds just by poison alone.


    ¡°Switch, victor! I can take a hit or two. Drink some health potions and join back into the fray!.¡± Fira shouted.


    Fira then casted fire strike. Her highest ranking fire with a 2 min cooldown. Victor then pulled back. The bear¡¯s HP is now in low yellow. Almost red.


    ¡°This thing is harder than a lvl 25 monster, Fira!¡± Hasega shouted complaining at Fira¡¯s inaccurate info. His HP is in equilibrium at 80%, not going up and not going down. The damage he received is offset by phoenix regen. But even that should only last for 1 more minute.


    ¡°Healing hand!.¡± I cast one on Dem. Saving him from red zone. Fira is playing tag now, running while trying to dodge the bear¡¯s claw.


    ¡°Okay. I am back in action. Move it Fira!¡± Victor said after he drank an antidote and a health potion, his HP was back to 70% while Fira was at a dangerous 20%. One more hit and she is gone.


    ¡°Phoenix regen!.¡± I casted one on Victor, intimidated by his words earlier.


    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s how you should play. Bring your ugly face here now, bearry!¡±


    30 minutes later, the battle finished with not a single casualty. Only exhausted stamina.


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been completed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have defeated poisonous black bears


    A warrior that tried to flee from the black bears was pursued by them and died in this cave. The black bears left in the Trisia cave ate or killed the inhabitants of this cave and became poisonous black bears.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 3x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing hand has reached beginner lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Light blessing has reached beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Phoenix regen has reached beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Cure poison has reached beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Magic mastery has reached beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Whew. Now that was a battle.¡± Victor tried to catch his breath. The battle was hard at first. But after Victor defeated his bear, he charged to Dem¡¯s bear. Critically injured, Dem managed to slip in some health potions and joined the fray. After that, the single bear left was easily slain. I managed to cast several light blessings every time the buff ran out.


    ¡°Healing hand. Phoenix regen!.¡± Riri tried to bring her party HP to its max as soon as possible. Due to her high wisdom, her mana regen was fast and she was able to cast it without too much worry about her mana.


    ¡°Umm, the quest.¡± I stared at the new quest that was completed abruptly.


    ¡°Ahh yeah. We just got a sudden quest didn¡¯t we?¡°


    ¡°I thought we were gonna have an easy walk through this dungeon.¡± Dem said.


    ¡°Well, I have learned my lesson now. we can¡¯t be to prepared for anything, can we? Fira said.


    Sudden quest is a quest that was made on the spot. An example is the Tarantula quest that Riri and Tantalus group caused and completed. The difficulty of these quest vary. But it is relatively difficult since sudden quests have no prior information and have to be dealt with on the spot. Luckily the group prepared some antidotes since this cave held some poisonous monsters, in addition, the group is a balanced party with an average level beyond the cave¡¯s monsters such as Victor and Hasega being lvl 25, Dem being lvl 23 and Fira being lvl 20. Only Riri was at the cave monsters¡¯ level.


    ¡°Alright, I have had my fill of battle for today! Let¡¯s go back. Or should we distribute the loot here?¡± Victor asked a question.


    ¡°Umm, that¡¯s weird.¡± I made a mumbling remark after seeing the loot. Poisonous claw, poisonous skin. 25 gold coins. Poisonous teeth. Bear brain. Bear fur, bear meat.


    ¡°What? Never seen loot before? Well, you have probably never seen loot of this high a level. Woah! Poisonous claw. Poisonous skin. This can be tailored to make a poison resistance leather coat.¡± Dem remarked.


    ¡°No, Riri is right. It is weird. There is something that we should have received but did not.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Huh? what is it?¡±


    ¡°Ahh! A warrior¡¯s attire.¡± Fira came to a realization.


    ¡°Well, the warrior is mostly dead. But if he could escape from 3 bears alone, maybe his attire is about level 30. Even if we have to repair it, it is still cheaper than buying a new one. Want to check it?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°Well, we are in an empty cave. Why should we refuse free money. I¡¯m in.¡± Victor claimed.


    ¡°It is mostly just a hypothesis. The attire and the warrior might have disintegrated for all we know. So no hard feelings if we don¡¯t find anything okay.¡± Hasega made an announcement.


    20 minutes later we found the corps of said warrior in a hole. Maybe he was hiding from the beara but he still couldn¡¯t hide from death. Just like Hasega predicted, the corpse has nothing but a single parchment and a ring on it.


    I have received a mission from an alchemist of the Northern town to gather the honey of a stinger bee. I already have the amount needed. But 10 black bears surrounded me. I fled but the bears chased me. I fought until my potions were out but to no avail. I threw away the honey for my life. I can still gather some more. But the smell of the honey stuck to me. 3 of those bears chased me to the cave. I planned to set a trap, but a spider bit and poisoned me. Now I hide in this hole waiting for the bears to leave. But the bears won¡¯t leave. They set up a new home in here. I can only wait.. wait.. and wait until death takes me to escape to another world.


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Honey for an alchemist


    The warrior is on a mission from an alchemist to bring enchanted honey from stinger bees. Now the warrior can¡¯t complete the quest. But you might be able to do it. Will you accept the quest?¡±


    Quest difficulty : C


    Quest reward unknown</td></tr></tbody></table>


    previous chapter 8 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3226&p=21321#p21321</a>


    next chapter 10 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3271</a>


    ____________


    Author note


    - any reader have been waiting for the release?


    - here is the full chapter


    - enjoy reading.


    - like always here is our mc stat (I might have to stop showing this to cover some plotholes ^_^)


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">performers</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">2125</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">1275</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fame</td><td width="25%">200</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>19</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>manager</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">job</td><td colspan=''3''>tantalus performer</td></tr>[<tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">9.4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">68(+2)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">111(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">92(+2)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">49(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">220(+2)</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">83(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">52(+2)</td><td width="25%">charisma</td><td width="25%">20(+32)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">leadership</td><td width="25%">20(+32)</td><td width="25%">charm</td><td width="25%">50(+32)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">20[(+2)/tds][tds]faith</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">wind</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">thunder</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">ice</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">light</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">dark</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">unused points</td><td colspan=''3''>50</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses- fighting spirit increased by 20%


    - 	all stat +10 except dex and charm


    -	Dex +50 charm +40


    -	Stamina +40


    - Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    - weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have blacksmithe at intermediate


    - Leather armor will not be penalized


    - Iron armors will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the requirement</td></tbody></table>


    - here is our mc items


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody>[tr]<td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	- Water canteen


    -	Water canteen


    -	Rye bread (6)


    -	Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)


    -	Silver coin (10)


    -	Gold coins (120)


    -	Royal Steel Sword


    -	Ring of mana(E)


    -	Ring of leadership(E)


    -	Blue noble shirt


    -	Blue noble pant


    -	Breastplate of the escaped prince


    -	Staff of white cleric


    -	Circlet of purity.


    -	White high heel shoes


    -	White dress of purity


    -</td></tbody></table>


    - here is the skill of our mc


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	-	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    -	Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 4(.


    -	Magic mastery beginner lvl 2


    -	Acrobatic beginner lvl 2


    -	Multitasking beginner lvl 4


    -	Sword mastery beginner lvl 4


    -	Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    -	Bullet deflector beginner lvl 3</td></tbody></table>


    - here is the subskill of our mc. subskill is a branch of skill such as spells level or sword technique


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	-	light blessing   beginner lvl 2


    -	phoenix regen beginner lvl 2


    -	cure paralysis beginner lvl 2


    -	cure poison beginner lvl 2


    -	healing hand beginner lvl 3</td></tbody></table>


    - happy reading

 chapter 10 Bees, bears and honey

    ¡°So, did we receive the quest?¡± Dem asked.


    ¡°Hell yeah! I am tired of level E or D quests!.¡± Victor added. ¡°With a cleric on hand we can tackle any quest.! Haha¡±


    ¡®Where did that confidence come from!!¡¯


    ¡°It is true that our battle strength has increased by many times since we have a balanced party now, but level C is for someone around lvl 50 or above in a party. I don¡¯t think we can tackle it yet.¡±


    ¡®Level 50??? I have come across C quests 2 times!! So it is for level 50!!!? Tantalus is a trouble bringer!¡¯ I cursed in my thought for the certain bullying group that gave an overly hard quest to me.


    Meanwhile in Trisia


    ¡°Achoo!!¡± Ragnar sneezed. ¡°Stella, it is kind of cold isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t think so.¡± She said while wearing a white shirt and light blue skirt. Her normal attire.


    Back to Riri


    ¡°Screw it. Even if we die it is fine. We just need to hire some stronger soldiers. Or even share the quest with them. I am getting tired of those cookie cutter quests.¡± Victor added.


    ¡°Let¡¯s vote. Who is in for the quest?¡± Hasega asked.


    Everyone except Riri raised their hands.


    ¡°What is it Riri?¡± Dem asked.


    ¡°The quest is hard right? And the black bears.... we might not make it.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do admit that the quest might be hard. But according to Fira, black bears range from lvl 22 to lvl 25. Those poisonous bears were an exception. They might be lvl 30 or 35. But I can assure you that is not the strength of lvl 25 monsters. Even boss monsters aren¡¯t like that even though they would have more HP¡± Hasega answered.


    ¡°Okay. I am in¡± I hesitantly raised my hand. Having a taste of 2 level c quests made her realize how hard the quest is. There must be a catch.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s return for the time being. We need to restock and enlarge our supply. Learning from experience, we can¡¯t be overly prepared.¡± Hasega answered.


    ¡°Alright. Health potions. Here I come.¡± Victor said.


    ¡°And mana potions as well. Though we might hardly need them. Our supporter needs them.¡±


    ¡°They can go buy it themselves.¡± Victor said.


    ¡°Well, we can always make them indebted to us.¡± Hasega blinked.


    ¡®He is evil inside!¡¯


    ¡°Uhmm. I will buy my own mana potions.¡± I answered. I can¡¯t let a debt force me to play by their rules.


    ¡°Well, how about you?¡±


    ¡°Just buy it. I will ask when I need it, but I will pay no more than I use. And don¡¯t even think of raising the price.¡± Fira made a sharp remark.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it Riri. We were just joking!¡± Hasega laughed.


    Back to Trisia


    ¡°Okay. Meet us at central square in 2 hours. Here is your share Riri. 35 gold.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± 35 gold means all of the money.


    ¡°Ahh, well, we get the loot, you get the gold. You need more cash right? Use it to buy new equipment. You might get attacked once or twice during this quest¡± Hasega looked at Riri. His assumption is that Riri has no money at all. So he decided to give Riri the money. He assumed that even if Riri got the loot, she wouldn¡¯t have enough money to process it at the blacksmith or tailor. And if Riri sells the loot, being a beginner with no knowledge of the prices of loot will lead her to be scammed. Little did they know that Riri has almost 140 gold with a rare complete set of lvl 20 equipment. If he only shifted his sight to her hand, he might change his mind immediately because of the rare rings on it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the mana potions are on us. ¡° Dem and Victor said.


    ¡°Ahh, but..¡±


    ¡°Okay. 2 hours! Don¡¯t forget to mark your time. And add Riri as a friend.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Victor, Fira and Dem have sent you a friend request. Do you wish to accept?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Umm accept.¡±


    Then the group disbanded.


    Back at Tantalus, Riri decided to store all of her equipment in her room except the elven cleric set, her rings and her beginner¡¯s clothes. She then made a report to Stella about her progress and what she is about to do. With a hug Stella welcomed her. She then made a few pointers.


    ¡°You see, performers aren¡¯t real clerics so they don¡¯t have to be so far from battle. Your action in the cave was correct if you had been a real cleric. But instead of this mage that switched with the axe guy, it should have been you. Your multitask ability allows you to chant while moving. Your dexterity is also similar of that of a thief. Just a bit lower. You see, the mage is unable to do anything when she confuses the enemy. Only after the warrior is healed, she can start chanting the spell again. This almost led to the death of the mage and the thief right? Since the battle took longer and mage is very vulnerable in close battle.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see. But.. thinking I would have to charge the bear. And what about aggro?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that is the use of fist fighting I mentioned earlier. Performers can do fist fighting at an earlier stage. But I guess that doesn¡¯t suit you does it?¡± Stella smiled ¡°Well, even standing in front of the monster is enough to aggro them. Just annoy them with a kick or the like and the aggro should be pulled to you. This is also why we have acrobatics. To dodge enemy attacks.¡±


    ¡°But we can equip heavy armor.¡±


    ¡°We could. Performer is a such a wide class isn¡¯t it? Instead of a mage or archer class that are bound in long range spells and skills. Or warriors who are bound to close range combat, performers can choose for themselves whether they want to be close range or long range. Speed type or tanker type. I chose to be a close range speed type. What about you?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t choose all of them?¡±


    ¡°We can. We can be more adept in any situation that way. You see, I have sword mastery as well as magic mastery. But in a specialized area, we are weak if you choose to be like that. I have sword mastery but my magic mastery is higher. So when I battle I mostly use magic. The sword is mainly for parrying or small counterattacks. I have several songs too like a bard. But I rarely use them in battle. It is more like a hobby than for battle. Even being jack of all trades, we can be at least be a queen or king in one area. Though we are not aces.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Two hours are almost gone. Okay. See you. Don¡¯t forget to meet me if your magic mastery has reached intermediate. Ahh, I just acquired this for you. Might as well give it to you now.¡± She give Riri a fireball spell.


    ¡°Learn!¡±


    Skill has been learned.


    Fireball


    Creates a ball of fire and launches it at the enemy


    Damage 40 (-36 class restriction)


    Mana cost 100


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to charge at the enemy to aggro it but with your class restrictions it is hardly useful. Well, if you target it¡¯s eyes it might notice you though.¡± Stella smiled while pointing at her eyes.


    ¡°Okay. See you.¡±


    10 minutes later at the central square


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you changed your gear, Riri?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°Umm, I could not find the store in 2 hours.¡±


    ¡°Khukhukhu. Hey Fira, is she like that in real life? I can tell that attitude isn¡¯t fake.¡± Victor chuckled.


    ¡°Umm, sorry.¡± I replied. Fira just sighed.


    ¡°She is a cleric from head to toe alright! Hahaha.¡± Victor laughed followed by Dem and Hasega¡¯s chuckles.


    ¡±Well, we can¡¯t waste anymore time. Let¡¯s head straight to the quest. Have you found the location Fira?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It is north of here. Close to the central kingdom of Haven.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, I feel like I rose in rank already.¡± Victor whistled.


    ¡°Well, either we get a good rank or we die with honor. Hahaha¡± Hasega said. He seemed excited.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s move.¡±


    6 hour later in the middle of nowhere inside a forest.


    ¡°Holy crap. This is far as hell!¡± Victor complained.


    ¡°Did that warrior really run this far?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°Well, we got a little lost.¡± Fira said.


    ¡°Thank goodness we have our little health supply depot here or else we would have been out of health potion already.¡± Victor blurted out. Is he treating me as a tool?


    ¡°Spare us your whining Victor.¡± Hasega said. ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t stand at the back too much Riri, you might get ambushed. We are not in a cave.¡±


    ¡°Well, we are not really lost. The black bear is there.¡± Fira pointed to her east.¡± It is just that I can¡¯t find the stinger bee¡¯s nest. I assume it is somewhere near the bear¡¯s nest. We can get back to Trisia in 4 hours.¡±


    16 hours later circling the vicinity


    Due to walking dexterity increased by 1 and stamina increased by 10


    ¡°At last we found the stinking bees!¡± Victor swore at the swarm of bees flying around a human sized nest.


    ¡°That¡¯s the bee?¡± Dem asked while looking at a human head sized bee with it¡¯s stinger protruding like an icepick.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try one. We don¡¯t have an archer so Fira will have to do it. Fira, bait one of the mobs.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Okay. Fireball. ¡° Fira said while aiming at the mob that seemed alone.


    But against to our expectation all the bees¡¯ red eyes were glaring at us.


    ¡°Not good.¡± Victor said.


    ¡°Run!!¡±


    The entire party ran with all their might. However the bees caught up to Hasega and Victor. Being the warriors with heavy equipment.


    ¡°Everybody. Keep running. I will stall them.¡± Hasega said after analysing the situation.


    ¡°Huh, but..¡±


    ¡°Just run! And chant a light blessing and phoenix regen on me Riri.¡± Hasega shouted.


    20 minutes after


    ¡°What a show off. That guy.¡± Dem said.


    ¡°No, knowing him maybe he wants to measure the bee¡¯s strength while letting us go.¡± Victor said.¡± Ahh, here he is. I will log out first. I got a call from him. Guard my body okay.¡±


    In Royal Road you can link your phones to your capsule so you will be notified when you get a text message or a phone call. And while you log off in a monster infested area your body will linger for a while to prevent escaping from a monster by logging out.


    40 minutes after


    ¡°He is taking a long time.¡± Dem said.


    ¡°It is just 10 minutes in real life!¡± Fira answered.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Victor woke up. ¡±So, here is the report. The wasp is no more than lvl 20 in strength and health. But it¡¯s dexterity is above that of lvl 25 monsters. It gives the impression that it is a quick bug. It deals low damage but has a low rank poison in it. Somewhere around 1 HP per 10 second. But it is stackable with the poison from other bugs which is why this bug has the behavior to come in massive packs. He will try to look into Royal Road forum to find a method to deal with this bug. He will call me again when that time comes. Probably around 2 hours in real time.¡±


    ¡°So what should we do for 8 hours here?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°Well, we might go on hunting. Let¡¯s take down a few of those bears okay. Ahh, Dem. Don¡¯t forget to pick up Hasega¡¯s loot. The bees are supposed to be gone now.¡± Victor said.


    The black bear was surely different from those in Trisia cave. It deals a fifth less damage with almost a third less of its speed. It is like the ones in the cave were like the strongest bear in a berserker state. In addition to that it was easy to pull. Sometimes they came in groups of three, but since their aggro was focused on Victor and Dem, we managed to beat them.


    #Ting


    You have leveled up


    I gained yet another level after 4 hours of hunting with the rest of the group. The pace has become quicker since we are now used to the opponent. Now it only took 2 minutes to kill each bear.


    ¡°Ahh, wait. Here is a call from him. He is quite fast.¡± Victor then logged off in a safe spot with us circling him to guard his body.


    ¡®Hmm, I am already level 20 now. Should I use my new equipment? Ahh, but the shoes will get in the way if it is like this. It gives 30% penalty on movement. Should I equip the other? Statistically speaking it is better but this set is too eyecatching!¡¯


    Riri made a calculation between wearing the set or not for an hour while waiting. In the end she decided not to use it since it might cause suspicion about where she got such a set.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Just as she finished making her decision Victor came again. ¡±Whew. He really is a nerd alright. So this is the information. The bees that we are looking for are the correct ones. It carries an enchanted honey that can increase our stats by a large margin being the first to try it. It is hunted by several guilds which is why we have had a hell of a hard time finding one. We should consider ourselves lucky though since there are reports that the guilds usually take 2 whole days to find one.¡±


    ¡°And the method?¡±


    ¡°Same as always. Send a group of players above lvl 50 when they find one. That way the bug will only deal 1 HP each hit. But some also use an experienced archer to deal with them. 1 hit killshots won¡¯t attract them. They just keep killing with arrows until all of them are dead.¡±


    ¡°So, what are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°Either we hire an archer or..¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°That Hasega had some crazy idea. He said if we do not hire an archer, we might use bait to lure the bees away while we ransack their home.¡±


    Everyone then looked at Dem


    ¡°Huh? Are you telling me to die here?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily. According to him, the bees speed is almost the same as or a little less than yours. You might actually get away. Moreover with Riri¡¯s blessing you might get a head start.¡±


    ¡°But what prevents them from returning to the nest when we attack?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the hard part. So, we let this thief go to the furthest reach of the bees¡¯ range. Just at the moment the bees are about to return we ransack their homes. We have only got around 5 or 7 minutes he said.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°That¡¯s crazy! The bees would not leave their homes empty. Even if most of them are away, at least some of them must stay behind. Not to mention the queen!¡±


    ¡°well, it¡¯s true but I like that plan. Hahaha. It is rare for him to make a plan like this.¡± Victor laughed. ¡±Well, to answer Fira¡¯s question, Hasega said that we only need the honey. We don¡¯t necessarily need to defeat the bugs. So, we can just charge down there, with this cleric girl¡¯s regen and light blessing, I aggro the monsters. Then we steal the honey and escape.¡±


    ¡°Can we escaped from their range in time?¡±


    ¡°Even if we die it is not certain that the honey will drop. So we can still finish the quest 4 days later.¡°


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it safer to just hire an archer?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but the risks later would be greater. As the honey can raise our main stats like strength, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, and vitality, it is highly desirable among players. Do we have an experienced trustworthy archer on our friend list? He said we might get Pked on our way to central kingdom if we let an outsider know about this.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Better lose now than later. I am in your crazy plan Victor.¡± Dem said.


    ¡°Umm. Alright.¡±


    ¡°Whew. What am I gonna do tomorrow while waiting for the banning period to end?¡± Fira said.


    ¡°okay, Dem. Throw some knives at our opposite spot and run like hell.¡±


    ¡°Light blessing.¡±


    ¡°Godspeed Dem.¡± Fira cheered.


    ¡°I feel scared now. May we rethink our plan first?¡± Dem whined.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Alright!. I will start running now.¡± Then Dem ran to the designated spot, like planned, he threw 2 knives at the bees. Just as predicted the bees aggroed and chased Dem with all their might. Dem being a lvl 30 thief is actually a lot faster than the bees. But the terrain was full of bushes inhibiting his movements. But just like Hasega predicted, he managed to stay ahead until he was out of our vision.


    ¡°Dem, report.¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°What the hell is there to report!! I am still being chased alright!. They are freaking fast!.¡±


    ¡°So, among 200 or 300 bees. 15 or 20 were left behind. Think we can handle this?¡± Fira said.


    ¡°Alright, when we get the signal from Dem, we charg in. Riri stay behind. Me and Fira will break through. I will be doing most of the attack so they will aggro me. Then, you steal the honey Fira.¡°


    ¡°Won¡¯t their target chang to me the moment I get my hands on the honey?¡±


    ¡°Give the honey to me. It will solve the problem, aarg! Forget it. I can just take the honey and run outside. You cover me with your magic okay. Then after that we run outside. Cast phoenix regen on me Riri. And go hide just in case we drop the honey, you can pick it up if the bees do not take it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Light blessing, phoenix regen.¡±


    5 minutes later


    ¡°Alright, they pulled back! See you in 4 days guys. I got more company. Whoa, a rhino, beetles, snakes, even eagles. I hate being famous.¡±


    ¡°How far did he go?¡± Fira muttered. Dem must have caught the aggro of other monsters in the vicinity of his path. Since a lot of different creatures are chasing him.


    ¡°Charge!¡± Victor yelled.


    The other 20 bees then reacted as Victor came too close to their nest. They charged towards him but he forced his way through swinging his 2 handed axe wildly. 3 of them were dead in few of those hits. It is true that the bees have weak health. The bees¡¯ nest was proportional to the bees with over 3 meter in diameter was sitting on a huge tree.


    Riri continued to watch. Victor Hp is still above 90% while Fira still had full Hp even with the reckless assault. But his face was starting to darken because of the poison.


    ¡®Don¡¯t worry, he has an antidote with him. He can drink one when he gets outside. He also carries many health potions right?¡¯ Lily thought. While seeing Victor climb the 5 meter tree to the bees¡¯ nest.


    The bees were getting more violent but their numbers were no more than 10 now. Fira has fired a number of fire magics and almost depleted her mana. However most of their aggro was still on Victor, him being the closest to their nest. When Victor reached the nest, he readied his stance and fought while it was now Fira¡¯s turn to climb. His HP was at 60% so he might make it.


    He then plucked flasks from his pouch and dipped it into the honey in the nest. There was a buzzing sound larger than the other bees now. A human sized bee appeared from the nest. The queen bee! Seeing this, Fira charged toward the beast with all of her fire magic. But it only took 10% of it¡¯s HP being a boss monster, it can¡¯t be defeated that easily. But just like Victor said before, we do not need to defeat it. The pair was now jumping away from the tree. Fall damage occurred but it was better since bee reinforcements were already in sight. The bees that Dem had lured away were back. But Victor and Fira were running already while gulping an antidote and a health potion.


    ¡°Cleric girl! Follow us slowly from behind okay. And keep yourself hidden. Open your map and we will tell you where we are.¡± Said victor in a whisper channel.


    `¡±Umm. Okay.¡±


    #Ting,


    you got a new skill


    Sneak beginner level 1


    Hide your presence in from others.


    Movement speed decreased by 70%


    Rou are harder to detect


    Increase this skill level to decrease the movement penalty and increase efficiency.


    They ran all the way to the north. The bees except the queen bee were still tracking them. A few mobs looked their way.


    20 minutes later.


    ¡°whew. We are alive.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°They chased us almost double the range with Dem. But in the end they still can¡¯t leave their nest alone.¡± Fira said.


    ¡°Okay, you are still alive right, cleric girl?¡± Victor whispered.


    ¡°Umm, yeah. I am heading your way. Umm, It might take another 20 or 30 minutes.¡±


    30 minutes later


    #ting


    Sneak is now level 2


    ¡°Okay. So, shall we go straight to the alchemist or should we wait in Trisia and go together?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go straight to the king. It takes 2 weeks to get there by foot. If Dem and Hasega rent a horse. They can catch up with us on time.¡± Victor said. ¡°I will log out and report to him. Guard my body okay.¡±


    2 weeks later we finally arrived in the central kingdom of Haven. Hasega and Dem already met us with their horse 2 days earlier. Seeing the state of the horse it seems they overworked it a bit. We met several mobs ranging from lvl 30 to 45. But, none of them were in a pack so we managed to get rid of them. we avoided the dangerous forest and took a clear path that is usually used by merchants. This way, we also lowered the chance of meeting mobs that were high in level or in packs.


    ¡°So, where is the alchemist?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°Good question. We can just ask where NPC alchemists are located in this town. If we find more than one, we can just ask which of them needed the honey.¡± Hasega answered.


    ¡°What if they lie?¡±


    ¡°The quest might tell us. Besides, we will get a reward regardless if they lie or not and we have enough enchanted honey to satisfy 2 or 3 alchemists right?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, nice thinking.¡± Dem answered.


    In the end we only found a single alchemist store.


    previous chapter 9 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3256&p=21530#p21530</a>


    next chapter 11 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3308</a>


    __________


    author note


    - as usual comments and suggestions are welcome.


    - special thanks to obsidian for PR my chap ^_^


    - here is the usual mc stat


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">performers</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">2125</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">1275</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fame</td><td width="25%">200</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>manager</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">job</td><td colspan=''3''>tantalus performer</td></tr>[<tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">7</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">9.4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">68(+2)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">111(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">92(+2)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">49(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">240(+2)</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">83(+2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">52(+2)</td><td width="25%">charisma</td><td width="25%">20(+32)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">leadership</td><td width="25%">20(+32)</td><td width="25%">charm</td><td width="25%">50(+32)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">20[(+2)/tds][tds]faith</td><td width="25%">10(+2)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">wind</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">thunder</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">ice</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">light</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">dark</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">unused points</td><td colspan=''3''>50</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses- fighting spirit increased by 20%


    - 	all stat +10 except dex and charm


    -	Dex +50 charm +40


    -	Stamina +40


    - Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    - weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have blacksmithe at intermediate


    - Leather armor will not be penalized


    - Iron armors will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the requirement</td></tbody></table>


    Here is our mc items


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody>[tr]<td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	- Water canteen


    -	Water canteen


    -	Rye bread (6)


    -	Ring of mana(E)


    -	Ring of leadership(E)


    -	Staff of white cleric


    -	Circlet of purity.


    -	White high heel shoes


    -	White dress of purity


    -	Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)


    -	Silver coin (10)


    -	Gold coins (130)


    -</td></tbody></table>


    - here is the skill of our mc


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	-	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    -	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    -	Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 4


    -	Magic mastery beginner lvl 2


    -	Acrobatic beginner lvl 2


    -	Multitasking beginner lvl 4


    -	Sword mastery beginner lvl 4


    -	Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    -	Bullet deflector beginner lvl 3


    -	Sneak beginner level 2</td></tbody></table>


    - here is the sub skill of our mc. sub skill is a branch of skill such as spells level or sword technique


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-


    *magic mastery


    -	light blessing   beginner lvl 2


    -	light blessing   beginner lvl 2


    -	phoenix regen beginner lvl 2


    -	cure paralysis beginner lvl 2


    -	cure poison beginner lvl 2


    -	healing hand beginner lvl 3


    -	fireball beginner lvl 1</td></tbody></table>

 chapter 11 Maria the acolyte

    ¡°There is only 1 alchemist shop. Well, all that worrying for nothing.¡± Victor blurted.


    ¡°Well, that make things easier.¡± Fira answered.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± Hasega took the lead to the shop. ¡±Excuse me, are you the only alchemist in town?¡±


    ¡°Umm, if you don¡¯t count the one or two alchemist foreigners, yes. I am the only alchemist in this town.¡± Said the alchemist. He is a scholarly old man with a scent of herbs on him. He is an alchemist alright.


    ¡°Umm, well. We heard you need enchanted honey from stinger bees.¡± Hasega started to talk. Technically, we were not officially asked by this alchemist. We just did a quest that the fallen warrior failed to do. So there is no guarantee that the alchemist will welcome us warmly.


    ¡°Huh? where did you get that request?¡± The alchemist asked.


    ¡°Hey, should we tell him the truth?¡± Hasega whispered in the party channel.


    ¡°We should. But polish the wording a bit. Add some flattery. Make it seemed we are nice guys.¡± Fira answered.


    ¡°Well, we came across a dead body on our journey. On that body, there was a request to take this enchanted honey to an alchemist in this town. So, we decided to fulfil the fallen warrior¡¯s request and brought the honey here.¡±


    ¡°I see. And he is the best archer in town. Commander Siegel. Have you told anyone else?¡±


    ¡°No, we haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Please come inside.¡± The old man led us to an empty room.


    10 minutes later


    ¡°So, where is the honey?¡± The old man asked.


    ¡°How much do you need?¡± Said Hasega. He didn¡¯t intend to give all of the honey. Since it could permanently enhance stats, we decided to give him only the amount he needs.


    ¡°Ahh, I need 3 of those honey flasks.¡±


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Is 300 gold for all of this enough?¡±


    ¡°Well, alright.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest completed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have received 150 fame</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Huh?¡± Said Victor. ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°Well, for a level C quest. That¡¯s rather anticlimactic.¡± Said Dem.


    ¡°May I ask what this honey is for?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°Ahh, I am sorry. But please leave.¡±


    ¡°Hey old man. We have given you what you want. Would it kill you to tell us a bit more about this honey?¡± Said Dem.


    ¡°I will give you another 100 gold. Now please leave.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Hey, meat shield.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Victor.¡±


    We then came to the central square after such an anticlimactic end.


    ¡°Umm, it is weird.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah. It is 100% weird alright?¡±


    ¡°He just wants to hog the items. That honey is roughly 1000 gold for each flask at minimum right? He must have planned to sell them.¡± Victor said.


    ¡°Umm, it does not match.¡±


    ¡°Well, you are right Riri.¡±


    ¡°what is it cleric girl?¡±


    ¡°Umm, first is the warrior. Why would the warrior risk himself for a mere 300 gold?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And that old man¡¯s attitude is weird to the max.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°The customer waiting at the entrance is weird too.¡± Said Dem.


    ¡°Well, we got 5 honey flasks left. Let¡¯s be happy about it.¡± Fira said.


    ¡°Hmm. The weird thing is. I can¡¯t find the reason for the alchemist to search for enchanted honey.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Huh? Of course it is to process it into better stuff. What else? Has being killed made you dumber?¡± Victor blurted out.


    ¡°I have searched the forum. Among alchemist players, there were no useful items to be made from enchanted honey. It is far better to bottle and consume it. I had the urge to ask this once we arrived so I agreed to sell it for a low price. But unexpectedly he wouldn¡¯t answer¡±


    ¡°Now, that¡¯s weird.¡± Dem said.


    ¡°Well, Dem. Let¡¯s take a peek at this alchemist shall we? I don¡¯t have sneak. So it would be your job.¡±


    ¡°Roger.¡±


    ¡°Umm, I have sneak as well.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The group said with a question mark above their heads. It is unusual for a non-thief class to have the skill. Moreover for Riri whom they thought was a beginner to have the money to get the skill book.


    ¡°I got it from sneaking behind the bees.¡± Usually, any normal player would need a full day to learn this skill without the skill book. However due to Riri¡¯s high wisdom, skills were easily generated. Many player didn¡¯t develop wisdom much even the magic related classes. The mage is more about intelligence than wisdom and the Cleric is more about faith than wisdom. Even Riri put all of her points in wisdom only because Stella ordered her to.


    ¡°Well, well. We have a surprise here.¡± Hasega said. ¡°What level is it?¡±


    ¡°2¡±


    ¡°Well, mine is 4. But feel free to trail behind me okay.¡± Said Dem.


    And so, we went to the plaza and bought a cloak. Dem already had one so it is only for me. We waited in front of the alchemist shop. But no movement was seen until midnight. Dem had already started to do random things to chase out his boredom. Playing with his dagger, fiddling with his inventory window. Cursing and chatting in the party channel. From the party chat it seemed the group had left for a cookie cutter quest to kill some wild boar in the vicinity of the castle. Even in the same group, not being in combat will not yield you exp so, he is whining and shouting in front of the alchemist shop. Of course he didn¡¯t make any sound because the party chat can only be heard by the party.


    Riri being a shy and lonely girl is already used to spending her time alone without making any sound. She kept watching the shop. One random thing she did was counting how many roof tiles the shop has. How many windows it had. How big the room should be. How tall the shop was.


    ¡°Ah, there they are.¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay. We hide, use sneak and follow them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    We trailed the alchemist for an hour. He took a weird route. Circling here and there and finally he went to the sewers. In there, there were 2 other people.


    ¡°Rhe visitor from before.¡± I mumbled in party chat.


    ¡°So, here is the medicine.¡± The alchemist said.


    ¡°Thank you. But commander Siegel hasn¡¯t returned to his post. Did he give you this?¡±


    *Hey, Hasega!. It is a medicine.* Said Dem.


    *I see. Trail them more closely and carefully. We might find something.* Replied Hasega.


    ¡°Umm, the commander died. Some unknown foreigners came and brought the enchanted honey on his behalf.¡±


    ¡°Damn you! I told you this is a secret! And to share it with outsiders.¡±


    ¡°B-But we need the honey. If not then...¡±


    ¡°His condition needs to be stay secret! If anyone knows about this, this city is doomed!¡±


    ¡°So, who are the travellers that gave you this honey?¡±


    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t ask their names. I also did not tell them anything. I just made it seem like I am a crooked alchemist and bought it for 300 gold.¡±


    ¡°And they agreed to it?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes.¡±


    ¡°You idiot! Foreigners aren¡¯t that stupid. They will know something is up.¡±


    ¡°Hey. What should we do?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Foreigners aren¡¯t necessarily bad. Just hope the ones this man encountered are good ones. Search for those foreigners. Old man, tomorrow we search for those travellers and you better hope they are still around.¡±


    *They are looking for us now. What to do?* Said Dem.


    *Let¡¯s save them some trouble. I will show myself but Riri, you stay hidden.¡± Said Hasega.


    *Hey, you know what is going to happen to me when things get sour right?*


    *2 honey flasks. I will give mine to you. But please don¡¯t die. I want that honey as well.* Said Hasega.


    *Well, my life is yours.*


    ¡°Hello guys!¡±


    ¡°Who goes there!¡± They drew their swords in surprise. Knights or infantry at least. They made a clanking noise just now. It means they are wearing full plate armor.


    ¡°Well, hahaha. I just want to save you the trouble of finding us!¡± Dem said. His acting is miserable! His laugh is forced! He face didn¡¯t hide his worry that much!


    ¡°Ah!, it is one of those foreigners!¡± The alchemist said.


    ¡°Yup. And so, what¡¯s the big secret. We love secrets you know.¡±


    ¡°Is this it?¡± Said one of the soldiers.


    ¡°No, there are 4 more. 2 warriors, a mage and the other seemed to be their healer.¡±


    ¡°Are you an enemy?¡±


    ¡°Come on. We¡¯ve just met. In fact, we are still new here. So, we currently have no enemies. But we don¡¯t have friends either. Just say we are neutral. Though it might change depending on your actions.¡±


    *Good one Dem !* Said Victor on the party channel.


    *That sure is a nice line. What movie did you pick it from?* Said Fira.


    *I am making a conversation here. Don¡¯t ruin my focus with your unnecessary comments. *


    Silence quickly followed. Then, one of them sheathed his sword followed by the other. ¡°Alright. Ally is better than foe. Meet us at the count¡¯s manor in front of the gate tomorrow at dawn. And bring all your friends.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Said Dem.


    ¡°That girl does not need to hide anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh. You realized.¡±


    ¡°Just now. I let my guard down. I have met a better assassin you know.¡±


    The next day


    ¡°Why do we have to come too?¡± Fira said


    ¡°She is correct. Now, they might kill us all or trap us.¡± Said Hasega


    ¡°Sorry about that. it is hard to think in such an intense situation you know.¡± Said Dem.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go in.¡±


    The group was welcomed in the manor. Unlike Sidinia the manor here was less elegant but filled with religious artefacts. Riri¡¯s faith increased by 10 when she saw these artefacts like a holy rosario, a cross of Freya, the sword of Michael, etc


    ¡°Welcome. I am Count Duke.¡±


    ¡°I am Hasega. This one is Fira, this one is Dem, this one is Victor and this one is Riri.¡±


    ¡°Well, this one is Sergeant Bethel. The one you met yesterday. And this one is private Sen. His subordinate.¡±


    ¡°And so, Let¡¯s get to the point. As you see, we are neutral. So, what help do you need with that honey?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°Well. If we tell you to just shut up. Will you obey us?¡±


    "No. We have looked into various other sources to find something about the honey. You are talking about medicine. One of its uses, that justifies the price, would be as a cure for a strong and permanent curse that a priest or even a bishop would have trouble dealing with."


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Even I would do the same. Alright. I will trust you. Come with us.¡± Said the count.


    He led us to a bedroom. There lied a girl in her sleeping gown. The alchemist sat at her side while nursing her with the medicine he brewed that time.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s what the honey is for.¡± Hasega said ¡±Who cursed her? Is she your daughter?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes and no. She is my adoptive daughter.¡±


    ¡°Why did you keep this a secret count?¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°She is not just my daughter. She is an acolyte of the gods.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. I heard this small town survived for so long is because of a single white mage.¡± Fira said.


    ¡°So, what is so special about this acolyte Fira?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°You see, this town survived several raids before. By monster or players. It is said the acolyte raised the troops morale. And above that she is able to summon a very powerful barrier which can deflect any magic.¡±


    ¡°Ohh. So that is the reason this small city hasn¡¯t been conquered by any other guilds.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, not using magic means mages are out. But there are others right.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Her healing prowess is what matters in the wars. If anyone knew about this. Then our land would get attacked with haste.¡±


    ¡°Not meaning to interrupt. But isn¡¯t this the kind of scene where there would be one soldier that comes running in out of breath just to report we are being attacked or something?¡± Victor blurted.


    All of us then stared at him.


    ¡°Well, that happens in most games anyway. Don¡¯t mind me. I am just babbling to myself.¡±


    ¡°Your highness!! We are being attacked!! Several legions of enemies are approaching!!¡± Said the soldier while running with a clanking noise.


    All of them then thought ¡®No way!¡¯


    The Count then stared at us. ¡°I am such a fool for trusting you. You will rot in our prison now even if that is the last thing I ever did!. Guards! Send them to the lowest of the prison dungeons!.¡±


    ¡°Count. We didn¡¯t tell anybody. We swear!¡± Said Hasega while being handcuffed and dragged away by the guards.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t tell anyone!¡± Said Fira.


    ¡°Umm, Count Duke. Isn¡¯t it more likely for the one who cursed the acolyte to leak the information.¡± I said silently while following the guards more peacefully than Victor and Hasega. After all I am just a shy girl and being a weaponless performer with a low level and low spell damage I can¡¯t possibly fight these guards.


    6 hours later


    ¡°Whew. We suddenly rose from peasants to main character now huh. To be honest I am not quite ready.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°No kidding. But it is worth it. I am now satisfied that I bought this game. I thought this game was very lame and that all the good quests were already snatched by the guys who started playing early. When I started this game, all I got was some quest like killing a certain number of rabbits. Kill certain number of foxes. The other quests didn¡¯t change much from those quests. I thought this game¡¯s only good side now was playing in a team with 99% reality¡± Said Hasega ¡°Well, Dem, can you do your stuff?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What stuff?¡±


    ¡°Pick the lock in this cell. We are breaking out of here.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we get infamy?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I just figured that to not get a cookie cutter quest we need to be brave. A little infamy would not hurt. We will get out of this cell. When the enemy is ransacking this city, we will save as many people as possible with that acolyte and count as our main targets. We can transfer her to Trisia or the city of Lavias. I would feel like a hero that way. This plan has many risks but it is doable. So what do all of you say?¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°I am in!¡± Victor said. ¡°Now that is cool.¡±


    ¡°Alright everyone seems to agree. So, let¡¯s go.¡± Said Dem.


    10 minutes later


    ¡°Sorry guys. I can¡¯t pick this lock without proper lock picking tools. And they took all of our bags.¡±


    ¡°What a letdown!¡± Said Victor ¡°Hey, Hase. Any new plans?¡±


    ¡°If we can¡¯t open this cell or break it then I have no further plans.¡± Hasega let out a sigh of defeat.


    Then a clanking noise could be heard. 2 soldiers came and opened the cell for us. Then they led us back to the acolyte¡¯s room.


    ¡°First of all. I am sorry that I have misjudged you.¡± Said the Count.


    ¡°H-Hello. #coughcough# My name is Maria.¡± Said the girl while sitting on her bed.


    ¡°You are not healthy enough Maria. Please rest. I will explain everything.¡± Said the count. ¡±As I said before, I apologize for my rash judgement. It is just like that girl said. You are not at fault. The enemy has battering rams and catapults. Those can¡¯t be made in a mere 2 days.¡±


    ¡°So You are here only saying sorry and letting us go?¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°And ask for a favor.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Take Maria and leave. The enemy here is numbered 50.000 bodies. Even with Maria at full health I doubt we would stand a chance.¡± Count said.


    ¡°Why us?¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Because you have 2 warriors, 1 mage, 1 thief and...... 1 cleric.¡±


    ¡®Wait a second. Why did he pause at that last part. No way he is thinking the same way as I was thinking right?¡¯ I started to worry.


    ¡°Ahh, well then. I am going to do the best of my ability. Should we go to Lavias?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t get any support from this kingdom. This is a dispute between fellow landlords, the kingdom will not care for it.¡±


    ¡°So, where should we bring her?¡±


    ¡°Anywhere that is safe.¡±


    ¡°But #cough# father.¡±


    ¡°I see. I will bring her to Trisia. May we meet again Count Duke.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Everyone except this girl here should leave. Please save her.¡± The count said.


    ¡°Huh? Why must we leave Riri behind?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°He is planning to switch Riri and Maria. As foreigners are immortal he thought this was the best way to slip Maria out of the city. We are known as low leveled travelers. No one will suspect us unless they know Maria¡¯s face.¡± Said Fira.


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been acquired</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Replace the acolyte


    Count Duke wants to save his daughter Maria. Save Maria by replacing her as an acolyte. You do not need to win the battle. But you must bring the troops morale up.


    Quest difficulty D


    Quest reward : Maria will be your Ally


    Quest failure : Maria dies or the troops figure out you are not Maria</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Noo!! My fear came true! I am going to die in this place.¡¯ My thoughts screamed.


    ¡°Well, few actually know her face. She usually puts on heavy makeup to hide her age. In addition to that she usually wears a veil. So only a very attentive nobles would know the differences, their figure is roughly the same. Dye her brown hair black and we are done.¡± Said the count.


    ¡°Alright. When do we leave?¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Hmm, the enemy will arrive tomorrow at dawn. Make preparations and by nightfall I hope you are ready to leave. I hope Maria will get well enough to walk by then. It will raise less suspicion.¡± Said the count.


    2 hours before the raid. The group ruthlessly left me behind. Through PM they reported that they managed to cross to the south, making their way back. Maria managed to walk and cast low lvl healing spells which helped fool most players that saw them.


    ¡°We actually have clothes for you. But your cleric set is much better then ours at your level.¡± Said the count. ¡°You will do just fine. If you were not a foreigner you might have been Maria¡¯s sister Hahaha.¡± He gave a dry laugh.


    ¡°Umm. Are you sure it is okay?¡±


    ¡°Well, ever since Maria was poisoned with a curse. I knew that our city would fall. I was hoping the cure would made it in time. All I can do now is save my daughter¡¯s life. Maybe she will have a normal life after this. Ahh, here are some skill books that you will need in order to imitate Maria better.¡± He then handed her 4 expensive looking skill books.


    ¡°It is not just expensive looking. It is expensive books alright. Sorry but you can¡¯t possibly imitate her goddess barrier. But this will do.¡± Said the count. He read my mind!


    ¡°Learn¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned new skills</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing area


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Increase health regeneration of your allies in a radius


    Mana cost 100 + 10 per second


    Health regeneration increased by 30%


    Radius of 3 meters around the user body</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Group cure


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Heal a group of allies in a radius


    Mana cost 300


    Heal 200 HP + 100 *wis /80 + 200*faith/50


    Radius of 3 meters around the center of the spell¡¯s target</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Expert cure


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Heals an ally.


    Mana cost 400


    Heal 200 HP + 100 *wis /20 + 200*faith/10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Single blessing


    Subskill of magic mastery


    Bless a single ally. Stackable with light blessing


    Str +10%


    Dex+10%


    Light resistance +10%


    Dark resistance +10%


    Mana cost 200</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Umm. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Get outside and give a speech.¡±


    Then the count and I walked out of the manor to the northern wall. Everyone¡¯s gazes were directed to me because of the charm and charisma buffa the cleric set gave.


    ¡®Don¡¯t worry I am wearing a veil. No one will recognize me¡¯ I keep chanting those words in my mind to soothe my anxiety. The count, now wearing a knight armor without helmet then walked toward the northern wall where all of this city¡¯s soldiers had lined up to perform it¡¯s defense.


    ¡°Count! Is it true that the acolyte is bedridden with a curse?¡± Said one of the commanders.


    ¡°It is true. We have been far to dependant on our acolyte here.¡± He then turned his head to me. ¡±Her powers have been reduced due to the curse.¡±


    ¡°Then we will.....¡±


    ¡°All soldiers!! Today, we may fall. Today we may die by their swords. But, today is the day when we prove ourselves. Today is the day where we will become independent. We will not rely on anyone any longer. We will prove that we can protect this city ourselves.¡±


    His speech touched many people¡¯s hearts. Even mine. I felt my heart moved by his speech and then I started to make a speech.


    ¡°All, soldiers. I am saddened that I can¡¯t help you much. But I promise that I will help you with all of my capability. Let us raise our swords like never before and protect our homeland with everything we have!¡±


    ¡°YEAAH!!¡± The soldiers roared.


    Then the enemy came. Clanking of armors could be heard. The sound of the enemy marching could be heard. As the sun rose the enemy could be seen numbering ten of thousands, followed by trebuchets and catapults. Battering rams were stationed in front of the city.


    ¡°Count, what is so special about this city? The enemy seems desperate to own it.¡± I said while looking at the number of enemies.


    ¡°I am curious as well. Compared to other cities, this city is just your average one. 1 or 2 mines. Even the number of foreigners have decreased as of late due to lack of services in our town.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this army too big to conquer a single city?¡±


    ¡°I am just guessing. Maybe it is due to their losses before. Well, most nobles have some ridiculous pride. Maybe because they were beaten they got some kind of grudge against this town.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    The army marched towards our walls. Their armors clanking. Their battering rams were pushed forward. Their catapults were being loaded with stones. The battle began.


    previous chapter 10 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3271&p=21608#p21608</a>


    next chapter 12 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3317</a>


    ______________


    author note


    - finally a new chapter. i was having a hard time updating with the server crashing. well here is a new chapter. hope you enjoy it.


    - any comment or suggestion are welcomed here or at the discussion topic


    - happy reading :lol:


    - the spoiler button isn''t functioning. so i won''t use it for awhile.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">performers</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">2075</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">1325(+200)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fame</td><td width="25%">200</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan=''3''>21</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan=''3''>manager</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">job</td><td colspan=''3''>tantalus performer</td></tr>[<tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">6.8</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">15.1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">68(</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">111</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">147(+4)</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">49(+4)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">240</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">83</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">art</td><td width="25%">62</td><td width="25%">charisma</td><td width="25%">20(+110)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">leadership</td><td width="25%">20(+30)</td><td width="25%">charm</td><td width="25%">50(+100)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">20</td><td width="25%">faith</td><td width="25%">20(+62)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">wind</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">thunder</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">ice</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">light</td><td width="25%">41%(E)</td><td width="25%">dark</td><td width="25%">41%(E)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">unused points</td><td colspan=''3''>0</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses- fighting spirit increased by 20%


    - 	all stat +10 except dex and charm


    -	Dex +50 charm +40


    -	Stamina +40


    - Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    - weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have blacksmithe at intermediate


    - Leather armor will not be penalized


    - Iron armors will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the requirement


    -	movement reduced by 30% (E)


    -	healing spell increased by 41% (E)</td></tbody></table>


    Here is our mc items


    <table><tbody>[tr]<td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	- Water canteen


    -	Water canteen


    -	Rye bread (6)


    -	Ring of mana(E)


    -	Ring of leadership(E)


    -	Staff of white cleric


    -	Circlet of purity.


    -	White high heel shoes


    -	White dress of purity


    -	Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s pant (E)


    -	Beginner¡¯s shoes (E)


    -	Silver coin (10)


    -	Gold coins (130)


    -</td></tbody></table>[


    - here is the skill of our mc


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	-	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    -	Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    -	Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 4


    -	Magic mastery beginner lvl 2


    -	Acrobatic beginner lvl 2


    -	Multitasking beginner lvl 4


    -	Sword mastery beginner lvl 4


    -	Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    -	Bullet deflector beginner lvl 3


    -	Sneak beginner level 2</td></tbody></table>


    - here is the sub skill of our mc. sub skill is a branch of skill such as spells level or sword technique


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-


    *magic mastery


    -	light blessing   beginner lvl 2


    -	phoenix regen beginner lvl 2


    -	cure paralysis beginner lvl 2


    -	cure poison beginner lvl 2


    -	healing hand beginner lvl 3


    -	Healing Area beginner lvl 1


    -	Group cure beginner lvl 1


    -	Expert cure beginner lvl 1


    -	Single bless beginner lvl 1


    -	Fireball beginner lvl 1</td></tbody></table>

 chapter 12 first death

    chapter 12


    ¡°Hey Hasega. Do you think the battle has already started?¡± Fira said.


    ¡°It should have. Nevertheless we should not let her sacrifice be in vain. Let¡¯s hurry!¡° Said Hasega. ¡°We should be out of the enemy¡¯s range in one day. Faster guys!¡±


    4 normal horses were running through the plains and the woods. An axe wielding warrior, a mage, a thief and a sword and shield wielding warrior with a cleric on his back. They have been riding for 6 hours and haven¡¯t taken a single rest. Soon, they will cross the city border to fulfill the quest to save the count¡¯s daughter.


    ¡°Umm, is it really okay to leave her behind? If someone dies because of me..¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it girl. We foreigners are immortal. Even if she dies it would only take 4 days to return.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break.¡° Said Hasega.


    The group then settled at the end of the southern woods. If they rode their horses to the limit, they might make it to Trisia in a week. And as such, they settled with the fastest speed and fastest route. 6 hours of sleeping ingame for horses. 1 hour of rest every 6 hours and 5 hours of traveling by horse while avoiding or outrunning any mobs they could see.


    ¡°Whew. 2 days without sleep huh?¡± Victor said. ¡±I envy her who can sleep for 6 hours ingame like this. For us 6 hours is only 1 and a half hour in real life. Not to mention we need to be on alert for any stray mobs.¡±


    ¡°The border is just 3 hours from now. We can relax our pace a bit after we cross it.¡±


    ¡°Well, after that we will have to return to pick up the damsel in distress.¡± Fira said.


    ¡°Think she can wait for 2 weeks?¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Hahaha. Maybe she is crying already now.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be so sure. She handed me this letter.¡± Said Hasega. ¡°She said not to open it and give it to Tantalus. But when you say not to open it...¡±


    ¡°Well, what does the letter say?¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°It feels like we betrayed her.¡± Said Fira.


    ¡°Well, we can reseal the letter and pretend nothing happened.¡± Said Hasega. ¡°And so, the letter said that she requests help from the Tantalus group to provide lodging and provisions for our acolyte girl.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That cleric girl has some connections.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°Some Tantalus member are players. Do you think she knows one of them?¡± Said Fira.


    ¡°She specifically noted Stella here.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°So she knows Stella personally?¡± Said Fira.


    ¡°It seems so.¡± Said Hasega then he chuckled. ¡°Khukhukhu.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. It seems her uhming is written on the letter. Just found it funny. I think she is not faking her personality. Maybe she just doesn¡¯t want us to know it and be the center of attention. I feel stupid for thinking she is a penniless noob. I am going to charge her for the mana potions I lend her today.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Well, we are definitely going to do something to her when we get her back from that city.¡± Said Fira ¡°How could she hog all those performances for free? It is 500 gold per ticket!¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s rest for a bit longer. When the girl wakes up we continue. Just a little further and we might save her.¡±


    ¡°Wanna be a knight on a white horse?¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°Of course. Why do you think I bought this game?¡± Said Hasega laughing.


    < ------Meanwhile. Back to a certain main character ----- >


    ¡°Alright. Archers get ready! When they enter your range. Fire at them. Light blessing!¡± I said while buffing some archers around me. The words from the count earlier touched me. I do not feel any nervousness now but vigor and spirit to defend this place.


    ¡°Pour the oil on the battering rams! Burn them!¡± Yelled the count. The battering rams were already in front of the gate. Archers from both sides fired at each other.


    ¡°Multitask!¡± I activated my ability. I deflected a bunch of arrows with my staff while my other consciousness used healing hand, group healing and phoenix regen. Right now I have 3 focuses. One is for seeing arrows, one is for my staff movement and one is to look for wounded soldiers. Arrows are much faster than Stella¡¯s fireballs but lack movement variety as their flight was linear and from one direction and that makes them easy to dodge or deflect.


    ¡°Volley ready!!¡± Duke shouted. Arrows then pierced the orange sky and came hushing down at the enemy. Soldiers from both sides kept falling. I tried my best to deflect these arrows but there were too many. Thousands of arrows kept pouring on us, all of my support and healing spells were in cooldown. Undestroyed rams were ramming the gate. Catapults threw their stones at us and mages rained fireballs down on us.


    ¡°Fight! Fight! Don¡¯t falter!¡± I shouted while swinging my staff trying to deflect another arrow. My HP bar had already turned yellow (less than half) and my mana bar despite its high was already at a dangerous 20%. The city gate was battered and at its last life before the last battering ram was burned by oil.


    Seeing their rams were destroyed, the enemy send soldiers with grappling hooks and ladders into action next. Soldiers tried to climb the 20 meter tall wall. With so little battle strength, all I could do was push them off the wall.


    ¡°Reserve troops! Come out!¡± Said the count. The reserve troops are a melee specialist troop for defending the wall in case some warriors managed to climb it. They are also used when the gate is breached since in Royal Road archers can¡¯t use swords without heavy penalties so castle defenders will always have melee specialist warriors on standby. They can¡¯t do much unless the gate or walls were breached hence they are called reserve troops.


    I gulped another mana potion lent by Hasega and Victor. The battle looked like it could still go for a long time. Out of 10 mana potion I had already used 4 of them. Do I need to be a little reserved? No. I can¡¯t do that. This battle has a very delicate balance, one slack movement and the tide will turn into the enemy¡¯s favor. I can¡¯t spare anything on this one.


    ¡°Light blessing. Single bless.¡± I directed another buff to the reserve troops fighting on the walls with single bless directed at some brave looking soldiers.


    ¡°Uargh!!¡± The count slashed another enemy player. The player then disintegrated into a pile of loot and equipment. But none cared for it.


    ¡°Fire at that white priestess. Kill her! Hunt her down!!¡± Some enemy commander shouted an order.


    ¡®Why did they order such a specific command!? There was a paladin and another priest besides me!!¡¯ My thoughts screamed as more arrows were directed at me now and more melee soldiers were clearly charging at me. ¡®Am I that noticeable?¡¯


    Riri¡¯s healing area has been active since the battle started so anyone near her will have more health regen and therefore be more active in killing their enemy. With such charisma and charm the troops at her side had a boosted morale Riri wasn¡¯t aware of. Her healing spells were also so extraordinary that only some veteran priests could get their hands on. In addition to that, she has boosted her faith and healing spellpower with her new suit. She can now heal pretty much double the amount she was used to. It is on par with a lvl 70 priest.


    Even though there were few priests other than her, they were lvl 30 or 40 with medium healing power. In addition to that, no priest or priestesses were crazy enough to stand at the front side of the walls giving orders and deflecting arrows with their staffs. So Riri, in a naturally eye-catching dress plus deflecting arrows while giving commands at the front side of the walls, protecting archers plus more than medium healing power and buffs was regarded as a high rank enemy commander by both the enemy and her allies. Thus, the order to hunt her specifically was given.


    ¡°Reserve troops!! Surround the enemy and kill them. Archers, fire at the enemy in front of the gates!!¡± I pointed at some soldiers charging at me. All I could do is dodge their weapons with my high dexterity. But my foot movements were mercilessly reduced by my high heels reducing my ability to run or do a high jump. Fortunately said troops came and pushed the enemy back, saving my life. no one actually suspects me of not being able to battle. Well, because I survived for so long in this rain of arrows and enemy melee attacks, I was already held in high regard by my fellow soldiers. No one suspects a priest for not being able to do any damage to enemies. After all, their job is healing from the back. Not fighting.


    < --------Back to the group with a damsel on the run ----- >


    ¡°Damn it! We are surrounded! I was so careless to trespass the black bear territory.¡± Said Hasega while defending against another claw from a black bear with his new tower shield. Yes, after leaving the border, the group equipped their new armors and weapons. Hasega had received a new shield and sword, Fira got a new spell and staff, Dem got a new knife and leather boots while Victor got two new single handed axes and a horned helmet. He really looked like a Viking now but with decent clothes and armor.


    ¡°Fire blaze.¡± Fira cast her new and only Area Of Effect (AOE) spell she got from the count. Fire engulfed 5 bears in front of Hasega. The spell dealt damage as high as fireball but cost triple the amount of mana.


    ¡°Expert cure!¡± A certain transfer acolyte girl tried to help. Soon the bears were disintegrated into piles of loot by Victor and Dem¡¯s new weapons and the loot was collected by the group.


    ¡°Alright. We survived!¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°The bears are increasing!¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°Yeah. We can pin 5 mobs. But it was a close call, if we get anymore a few might slip by and they will mostly attack you Fira.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Do they? They looked quite easy to me.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°That last battle was won because Maria healed us. But her condition seemed to worsen when she used her spells.¡± Said Hasega. ¡°It is true that her ability is above Riri. But she can only use 2 or 3 spells before running out of steam.¡±


    ¡°I-I-It¡¯s fine. I can manage. I will do better next time¡± Said the girl still catching her breath.


    ¡°No. It is not your fault Maria. We are the ones who were supposed to help you and you are sick.¡±


    ¡°So, do we return and take another path?¡± Said Dem.


    ¡°It is too dangerous. We might raise suspicion. The black bears only chase the one who has honey. We might get PK-ed .¡± Said Hasega. ¡°It matters not if it is monsters or random bandits and players. If Maria is killed we fail the quest.¡±


    ¡°Do we throw away the honey?¡± Fira said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t guarantee our lives either way. We might become like that warrior you know.¡± Said Hasega.¡±Damn, I messed up. We deliberately avoided black bear territory when we went to that city. But now....¡±


    ¡°I have a plan.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°What?¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Give me the honey. When we pass the bear territory, I will stay behind. You and your horses can then run off.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It is pretty much the same with the bees. Only this time it is a pure sacrifice.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°Why is it not me?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°There is no guarantee that you won¡¯t encounter any more mobs. A shield user and a mage are the best pair.¡±


    ¡°Then, Dem?¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Well, Dem can go on to become the second sacrifice.¡± Said Victor.¡± Somehow I just want to stay.¡±


    ¡°No! I can¡¯t sacrifice another¡¯s life. If another life were about to be slain. It better be me. The biggest burden to the group.¡±


    ¡°Then that defeats the whole purpose of this quest cleric girl. Oops. Sorry, you are acolyte girl now. Both of you have identical persona.¡± Said Victor while chuckling.


    ¡°First was the commander for getting my honey. Yesterday my fellow healers. And now you, a mighty warrior. Is my life worth that much?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It is!¡± Said Victor. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s charge straight into the bear¡¯s nest!¡±


    ¡°Damn. He hogged all the good lines¡± Said Hasega following the group. Fira and Dem laughed while following them.


    More than 20 bears chased the group. 30 then 40. As the group made a reckless charge passing through their territory the number of the bears increased.


    ¡°Alright. Goodbye folks!¡± Victor then jumped of his horse. Attracted by the honey, the bears that blocked their way were now running towards Victor. A battlecry could be heard as the group left the Viking warrior behind. Tears spilt from Maria¡¯s eyes as she watched the sacrifice of the foreigners behind her. She cried while hugging Hasega¡¯s back.


    < ----Back to another shy girl ---?


    The sky turned orange once more. Dawn has become dusk. Debris could be seen here and there inside this ruined city. The attack ended for the day. The enemy retreated but did not pull out its siege.


    ¡°Blacksmith. Repair all the equipment. Others help the architect to repair some of the walls. You, bring that wood to repair the gate.¡± The count said.


    All the soldiers were lying down for a brief rest. Among the 2000 soldiers stationed in this city, only several hundred were left. The enemy only lost a quarter of their army. No matter how I judged and calculated, this battle was a lost cause from the beginning. It is a miracle itself that we have survived an assault of a 20.000 men army with a mere 2000 soldiers plus a single layer wall and gate.


    ¡°Set up a roster for the watch tower. We can¡¯t guarantee that they won¡¯t come by nightfall.¡± Said the count. He is such a capable leader. Why did he have to be cooped up in this small city? He is many times better than the arrogant nobles of Trisia who live their lives in pleasure. Is it because of politics?


    ¡°Duke.¡±


    ¡°Yes. What is it Riri.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry. I did my best.¡± Tears swelled in my eyes. I can¡¯t imagined him getting killed in this town. It is too painful. For such a good man to die by the hands of those unworthy.


    ¡°Yes, you have. I have seen it. You are the bravest of the clerics. More than my soldiers.¡± He then hugged me. ¡°If it were not because of you, we would not be alive right now. This one day is all thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you run? Can¡¯t you surrender?¡± I cried while questioning him.


    ¡°This city is a gift from my ancestors. My ancestors were given this land for their bravery and nobility. I will not give this city to some nobles not worthy of it. I will fight until the end. You might die as well. I am sorry. Just because you are immortal, that does not justify us putting you in danger. I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°I am happy to be here. To us, this is just a game. But to you it is life. So this small life is nothing compared to your courage.¡± I replied.


    ¡°I see. Thank you, that removes the burden on my shoulder. You have such a kind heart.¡± Replied the count.


    Dusk then passed. If not for the ruined battlefield and city, the twilight on the horizon have would looked so pretty. Just like the one I saw in Selei city.


    You have seen twilight of the battlefield art has increased by 2 charisma has increased by 2


    ¡°Healing hand.¡± I casted a spell on an injured soldier. This way we can save health potions. This is the least I can do.


    ¡°You should rest.¡± Said the count.


    ¡°It is fine. After a couple more seconds I will rest. Foreigners can stay up for days if necessary.¡±


    Night soon came. Sitting on top of the wall I stared at the dark battlefield. Countless torches could be seen from afar. It is from enemy camp.


    ¡°So many...¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°True.¡± The count replied. While looking at the number of torches lit inside the forest.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I hummed.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Want to try a sneak attack?¡± I suggested another crazy idea.


    ¡°Our soldiers are weary. If we do an attack....¡±


    ¡°Their soldiers are no better right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, we only have several hundred soldiers. If they attacked tomorrow there is no chance we can survive even if we stand to the last man. Might as well commit suicide now. Okay. Let¡¯s do it.¡± Said the count. ¡°Commander. Wake the other sergeants. We will hold a meeting.¡±


    The meeting was then held inside the corner of the ruined building.


    ¡°But the soldiers are all weary sir!¡± One of the sergeants claimed.


    ¡°We will lose either way. Better to kill as many of those bastards while still we can.¡± Said the commander.


    ¡°So, Acolyte of the goddess. What is your command?¡± One of the soldiers asked. ¡°Me and my battalion will follow you to the bitter end.¡±


    ¡°Umm. I think everyone is weary. And so is the enemy. And. Ummm. Since I kind of believe that you have more..... ummm willpower... I think we can inflict more damage during this night raid.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I see. It is true that the enemy will be unprepared for this. But don¡¯t you think that they will set up a roster for night watch just like we do?¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Umm. But they have no watchtower to protect them. If assassins can kill them without sound. Umm, we might manage this attack.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is a good plan.¡± Said the count.


    ¡°But a frontal assault even if the enemy is unprepared. They have more than 15 times our number now.¡± Said one of the sergeants.


    ¡°Umm. I do not plan a frontal assault. I plan a hit and run tactic. Umm so, we divide ourselves into 3 groups...¡±


    ¡°What?!! Divide our already thin numbers?!!¡± The sergeant protested.


    ¡°Silence! Let the Acolyte finish her sentence.¡° Said count.


    ¡°Umm. So.. we divide into 3 groups. One will guard the walls and the other two will make the frontal assault.¡±


    ¡°Why are there two groups?¡± The count asked. ¡°The first is the assassin group and the other is the frontal assault?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Umm. No. The assassin group is different. Umm. Sorry. So there should be four groups. And. The two groups that I mentioned will do this. It is hit and run tactics.¡± I explained while pointing the map marking the location of the groups where they should be.


    ¡°Ahh, but group 2¡¯s plans can actually be done by the assassin group even though it would burden them much further. Umm what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Well, I agree.¡± Said the count. ¡°Anyone object or want to improve the plan?¡± The ones present then shook their heads.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s do it.¡±


    The groups then formed. All soldiers woke up. They started their preparations lazily. No wonder, they have gone through a hard day even Riri felt exhausted after dodging and deflecting arrows for a day but none complained.


    Four hours later all the groups had assembled and were positioned at their designated position. In the end only 3 groups were made, one for defending the city and two are for the assault. The battle is now depending on the willpower of the soldiers, not their numbers. The sun has filled its belly with blood, now is the time for the moon to be painted scarlet.


    `


    < ----------To the acolyte girl (Am I getting better at cliffhangers? Relax all is in one chapter) ---- >


    ¡°Damn it. Even the bees are now on our tail. Can this horse run faster?!¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Not in this jungle, Has! Fireball! Fireball!¡± Fira launched her spells at the incoming bees.


    ¡°Why do they chase us? We don¡¯t even have the honey anymore!¡± Said Dem.


    ¡°Can the bees smell the scent on our bodies? Or do they remember our faces?¡± Said Hasega. ¡°Dem, Fira. Try to split up with me. If the bees follow you try to split up again to see which one the bees favor.¡±


    They did as Hasega commanded. True to Hasega¡¯s prediction, when they split paths, the bees only followed Dem and Fira. Either it is fate or just luck, the important baggage (Acolyte girl) is on Hasega back. Hasega then raced his horse straight to Trisia.


    *Hey Hasega! The bees split up and are chasing me and Fira. What should we do now?* Said Dem in the party channel.


    *Well, join forces with Fira. And good luck. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.* Said Hasega.


    ¡°Nooo! Let¡¯s go save them. We can¡¯t leave them behind!!¡± The now rescued Acolyte girl struggled in vain to break free. She is no longer like a rescued girl but more like a kidnapped girl with all the screaming, crying and struggling.


    ¡°Sorry Maria. But no matter the cost. We will save you!¡± Hasega stopped for a moment then placed the girl in front of him preventing her from doing any dangerous tricks like jumping of the horse.


    ¡°No! Let me go! I can¡¯t let any more people die because of me!!¡± She struggled.


    ¡°Well, no one died. They only disappeared for 4 days.¡° Said Hasega.


    ¡°Hix, hix¡±


    *Hey, are you still alive?*


    *Yeah. But my mana is depleted. I can¡¯t cast anymore fireballs, don¡¯t you have another mana potion Hasega?*


    *No. I already gave most of them to Riri. And you used the last of them when we were surrounded by black bears. Even if I did, there is no way to transfer them to you right?*


    *yeah. Right. Why didn¡¯t you buy more to lend me when we split up?¡±


    *I have a very limited budget here. 10 flasks of those small mana potions for beginners cost 10 gold each you know. Even having 15 of them isn¡¯t usually doable for beginners. Moreover if warriors like myself were not thinking of you and Riri, I wouldn¡¯t have bought them at all* Hasega retorted. It is true that getting potions in Royal Road isn¡¯t cheap. That¡¯s exactly why mages whom are reliant on mana potions always have a hard time dealing with money. Warriors don¡¯t actually fare any better either since they need health potions. But clerics or priests can literally replace health potions so warriors aren¡¯t as miserable with money as mages.


    *Alright. See you in 4 days Hasega. Wait for us in Trisia okay? If you can¡¯t save the girl I won¡¯t repay you for all the mana potions I used!¡±


    *After this forest there are only lvl 15 or lower mobs. Even I can handle 20 or 30 of them alone. You need not worry.* Hasega said.


    And so, Hasega managed to reach Trisia safely. Maria had already stopped crying but still looked depressed. Hasega then stayed at a local inn for 1 day and entered the Tantalus building with Riri¡¯s letter. They welcomed Maria as a guest and Maria was given Riri¡¯s bedroom. Hasega then pardoned himself and the awaited sound effect could be heard.


    #ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been completed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Maria is now your NPC friend.


    NPC friend can be recruited into a party for free.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 2x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    (This is Hasega pov, not Riri)


    < ----- Back to Riri before the completion of the quest ----- >


    Currently Riri was riding her white horse (given by the count) while waiting in the forest with her group at night. Her sneak skill didn¡¯t help much since her white dress is like a lighthouse in the night. But she was still beyond the enemy¡¯s line of sight while waiting for the signal. 20 minutes later a silent fire arrow could be seen flying toward the city. A signal that marked the Count¡¯s army had finished their assassination.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go. Light blessing, single bless.¡± I buffed the 300 men under my command. We then came out from the forest straight to enemy camp. No battlecry nor the order to march could be heard when we marched. But footsteps of our soldiers and armor clanking could still show our spirit in this battle.


    The enemy jumped from their sleep as we attacked them. They hurriedly grabbed their weapons. But without armor, they were easily slain.


    ¡°The enemy is attacking!!¡± The first shout from the enemy commander finally broke the silence of the sleeping soldiers in the camp. Everyone was now awake but they were pretty much disorganized.


    ¡°Attack the nobles¡¯ camp!¡± My first order finally came out after the troops destroyed 2 or 3 of the nearest enemy camps. I want to add the characteristics of the nobles¡¯ camp, but it seemed that a description wasn¡¯t necessary anymore as my troops began their charge to the intended enemy tents (The larger than usual with a decorated entrance). Well, the nobles¡¯ tents were as eyecatching as my dress so there was no need to further describe the tents. No wonder I got a weird glance from some sergeants when I asked what their leader and nobles¡¯ tents looked like.


    The nobles ran for their petty lives while the leader rallied the troops trying to counter my sudden ambush. Riding a white horse in the middle of battlefield with a glowing body (Healing aura skill) while casting some light bulbs (healing hand, expert cure, group healing) I gained a new title.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new title ¡®The white rider¡¯.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>The white rider title grants you


    Horse riding skill has been generated and starts at beginner lvl 2


    Horses will easily follow your commands


    While riding a horse, movement speed increased by 10%


    Charisma increased by 5


    Leadership increased by 10


    Charm increased by 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    (She is definitely not Gandalf ^^ seriously. She was wearing a knee length sleeveless dress)


    ¡°Fireball!¡± I launched a fireball into the sky. A signal to retreat. I quickly turned my horse back to the castle.


    ¡°Chase that white rider! Kill her!¡± The enemy then grabbed their horses to chase us, some infantrymen ran instead. We rode back to the castle. The enemy managed to pick off some of our soldiers who were the furthest at the back but I was able to run safely because this horse is the best one the count had. And I got some improvement from my title as well.


    ¡°Fire!! Our camp is on fire!!¡± Some soldiers shouted. They quickly stopped their pursuit and returned to the camp but the Count¡¯s army of assassins and archers lay in ambush. Traps were set on their path so no enemy was able to reach the count¡¯s position, archers climbed in the trees to get a height advantage. Like a wounded beast, the enemy then panicked and went berserk, some surrendered only to be slain by stray arrows and traps. Well, the count can¡¯t exactly put them into custody either way since he can¡¯t reach them without getting killed.


    ¡°Everyone!! Get out of the woods!!¡± The enemy commander then shouted. The panicked enemy then reorganized themselves and came out of the woods. Fire from the camp lit the bushes and the woods. The night¡¯s dark sky then turned bright from the burning forest. There were still several thousands of enemies alive. Some of those petty nobles are still well with their high leveled bodyguards by their side now.


    ¡°Kill these bastards. How dare they sneak in on me while I am asleep. Attack the city now!!¡± The nobles commanded. But the commander hesitated. But after some nagging by the arrogant nobles, the commander of the enemy sounded the charge.


    ¡°Charge at the city. Rip apart the city gate!¡± Those last lines were specific. All the remaining mages and warriors charged to the city gate. The last group that was defending the castle rained arrows upon incoming soldiers.


    ¡°Charge. Break the gates. Mages! Don¡¯t fire at the enemy archers. Fire at the gate. Archer deal with them!¡± The enemy commanded.


    ¡°Reinforce the gate! Put everything in front of the gate. We can¡¯t let them pass!¡± I commanded my leftover soldiers and laborers from the city. Out of 300 only 150 remained and they are now helping reinforce the gate or helping archers by deflecting some arrows with their shields.


    The enemy used their war hammers. Some used their shields to put a dent in the city gates. Mages fired fireballs and other spells at the gates. Their archers fired at our archers.


    ¡°Fire at those mages! Kill them first!¡± I commanded. But the numbers difference is too great. A mere 200 archers can¡¯t possibly kill 7000 soldiers. And their mages aren¡¯t that defenseless because some warriors put their shield in front of the mages like we did for our archers.


    ¡°Hold up everyone. Warriors hold the gate firm!¡° I then dismounted from my white horse and came on to the wall. I used my staff again to deflect some arrows coming at the archers. Buff and healing spells continued to be used in a cycle. Arrows kept flying from archer¡¯s quivers.


    20 minutes passed like lifetime. The poor gate finally went out and broke down. The leftover enemy then started to pour in from the gates.


    ¡°Archers climb the wall and help the others. Thieves and warriors the from Acolyte¡¯s army!, now I give commands!¡± Count Duke then sounded the command in the nick of time. His group circled and arrived via east gate that was not attacked.


    The enemy was now bottlenecked at the gate. The count, now carrying a two handed sword, slashed and kept the enemy at the gate. The 100 soldiers that remained also had their morale at its peak. Like an iron wall, they held their ground and kept fighting. Thief class soldiers relentlessly picked off stray enemy soldiers that slipped through the barrier defense. Their knives could also be seen flying here and there killing as many enemy as they could. Some even put their lives on the front line like shield warriors.


    ¡°Light bless, group healing, single bless.¡± I casted buff and healing spells on the soldiers now. Their yellow Hp is back to green again. For a moment anyway.


    ¡°Archers! Kill the enemy in front of the gate!!¡± A new order was issued by me. As the melee was handled by the count, the leftover archer group was commanded by me. Their arrows were aimed at front of the wall now. Mostly concentrated at the gates.


    Hours then passed. The battle continued. All the soldiers fought viciously with all their might. Dawn then came. Count Duke was now kneeling behind me while I stood in front of the enemy commander. Full of injuries and at death¡¯s door. The city fell. We have lost. The enemy just numbers too many.


    My mana was already depleted. My HP had already turned red as I tried to shield the count.


    ¡°So, this is Count Duke. Lord of Nameless city.¡± The enemy commander then stood in front of me. ¡°And you are the famous acolyte I believe.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I hugged the count now trying to shield him.


    The enemy commander then knelt on one leg. ¡°I have gone into countless battles and haven¡¯t seen anyone as brave as both of you. You have my respect. If the circumstances were different. If only you had more soldiers. If only your acolyte here wasn¡¯t cursed. I would have lost. I will forever remember your name as my greatest adversary. My name is Commander Iris.¡±


    #coughcough#¡±Why did you attack this town?¡±


    ¡°To acquire the acolyte¡¯s power. With her powers our kingdom will be secured. No one will dare to attack our cities anymore. The war with Kallamore will become much easier.¡±


    ¡°HAHAHA! #coughcough# I see. So that is the reason. Then, I can die in peace now for those arrogant nobles will not get what they want.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You made it sound like some noble mission. But in reality you are just protecting corrupted nobles¡¯ wealth.¡±


    ¡°So, you acolyte girl. Will you come with us? I promise that in exchange your count will be saved and be given a proper title as a noble in Haven. He is a proper knight already. I can assure you it will be easy.¡±


    ¡°Well, I would rather die than give my daughter to you.¡± He then whispered to me. ¡±You are immortal right?¡±


    I nodded. He then said. ¡°I am sorry.¡±


    #stab#


    ¡°No!!¡± The enemy commander shouted.


    Count Duke pierced my stomach with his knife. My red HP bar then vanished. At that moment before my vision went blank I could also see the count pull out his knife and stab himself.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have died</td></tr></tbody></table>


    My first death in Royal Road.


    previous chapter 11 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3308&p=21746#p21746</a>


    next chapter 13http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3389</a>


    ______________


    author note


    thank you all for reading my fanfic.i lazily REPLACEed some link to previous and next chapter. hope that can make readers life easier. sorry if it is not some cool animations ^_^


    comment suggestions critics. and especially praise are welcome ^^


    there are inconsistency in the story because this chapter (2 person have pointed 2 of my mistakes. i thank both of them^^). if any of you figured out another. PM me and i might give you a gift. (Putting your virtual name into the story or get a chapter 1 day ahead of the releases. your choice. however if your choice is the first, what personality he/she has is up to me. but you can alter the gender male or female. player or npc) ^^ try to find the inconsistency i mentioned.


    i will post the answer when the next chapter is done.


    Riri will get her leveling bonus later when she logged back in. this is not the hidden inconsistent i mentioned.


    stat will be updated later

 chapter 13 returning to tantalus

    chapter 13.


    ¡°In the end we still lost.¡± Lily woke up from her capsule feeling lightheaded. ¡°Whew. That was intense. Let¡¯s see, 24 hours non stop gaming means I have been inside this capsule for 6 hours.¡±


    Lily then opened her laptop. The first search would be the Royal Road forum. Being a passive and shy girl, she read a lot. She usually read light novels or even school material books on her laptop during her holiday. But this time Royal Road caught her eyes. She continued to read through the latest news of Royal Road, she already knew most rules and general prices of items. The only thing she wasn¡¯t aware of was the dark gamer union forum of Royal Road. There were many links in the forum directing her to that specific point. But, she was reluctant to register herself there.


    Even in the Royal Road forum, she was just some random leecher. Just reading and absorbing all the information. She didn¡¯t want to post anything, she didn¡¯t want to post an idea and get shot down. She was afraid that people might hate her if she posted something arrogant or invalid information. So, she just read and commented in her own brain about the posts on the forum.


    1 day later she logged back into Royal Road. She quickly changed back into her beginner outfit. The city was now called the City of Acolyte. After she changed her clothes, she noticed many notifications in the corner of her eyes. When she opened them she got a handful of system messages.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 15x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have died lvl decreased by 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been completed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Maria is now your npc friend


    NPC friend is recruitable for free as a party member.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to strenuous activity. Dexterity increased by 15, stamina increased by 20, strength increased by 5, vitality increased by 10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to constantly using magic for a long time wisdom increased by 5 intelligence increased by 10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to efficiently commanding an army leadership increased by 40. Charisma increased by 50,</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to bravely fighting an enormous army fighting spirit increased by 40</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have become the idol of nameless city, charm increased by 30. A statue of Count Duke and his Acolyte daughter is now erected in the central square. But because you were a replacement no fame could be earned</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Magic mastery is now lvl 7</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fire ball is now beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Light blessing is now beginner lvl 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Phoenix regen is now beginner lvl 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing hand is now beginner lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing Area is now beginner lvl 7</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Group cure is now beginner lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Expert cure is now beginner lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Single bless is now beginner lvl 4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Acrobatic is now beginner lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Multitasking is now beginner lvl 7</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Bullet deflector is now beginner lvl 8</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to death magic mastery percentage is now ....</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to death fireball percentage is now....</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>...........</td></tr></tbody></table>


    She just wasted 2 hours completely reading all the notifications one by one. In summary, all of her skills had increased. But due to her death, most of her skills are now at 0%. There was a list of japtem that she picked up and details of the japtem that she lost. It was fortunate that she didn¡¯t lose any of her main equipment.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Speed reading is now beginner¡¯s lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    She got another system notification after reading all the notifications.


    ¡®So, this skill increases as long as I am reading something. Might as well bring my textbooks here. That way I can read faster.¡¯ She thought while looking at the notification. It is true that you can connect your laptop to Royal Road. But due to security reasons, you can only open a very simple program from the connected laptop such as notepad. But it would take tremendous effort of calibrating and processing by an expert programmer. So, only major companies officers have that kind of luxury.


    Riri then decided to visit the library. She waited for Dem and the others to pick her up. She found it amusing that the town library had some information that the Royal Road forum didn¡¯t. She decided to read for a while. The next book was titled the history of acolyte. But before she could open that book Fira and Dem visited her. Without delay they rented another horse and rode toward Trisia after she sold all of her japtem. A week later she arrived at Trisia. Hasega and co whispered to her that they would come to the central square so she had to wait there. After that, the group went to the Tantalus headquarters.


    ¡°Ririiii!¡± Stella came and jump hugged her. ¡°How are you? It felt like years.¡±


    ¡°Umm. I am fine.¡± I felt a chilling gaze from Hasega¡¯s group in my back.


    ¡°Well, Riri, I think you owe us an explanation. Starting with the idol in front of you and the statue in the City of Acolyte.¡± Said Fira.


    ¡°And the cost of the mana potions I lent you please?¡± Said Hasega. ¡°You were not as poor as you looked.¡±


    ¡°Eh, who are these guys?¡± Stella asked innocently.


    ¡°Umm. They are.... my friends. Umm.... they helped me travel to the City of Acolyte.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see. Hello. My name is Stella. Nice to meet you.¡± The group then suddenly went polite.


    ¡°Ahh, my name is Hasega. I am a knight. At your service.¡± He then gave a salute.


    ¡°My name is Fira. I am a mage who specializes in fire.¡± She bowed.


    ¡°My name is Victor. I am a warrior. Pleased to meet you.¡± He also bowed while giving a salute.


    ¡°Umm, Miss Stella, may I know what your relationship with Riri here is?¡±


    ¡®Why they are so polite towards Stella and not me?? What¡¯s with the polite honorific. We are the same age!!¡¯ I thought. Riri didn¡¯t know that only the Tantalus group usually addresses Stella by name.


    ¡°Well, she is my friend.¡± A simple and clear answer.


    ¡°Ahh I see.¡± Said Fira.


    An awkward silence then followed. All of the group and Stella smiled at each other but no one said anything. They didn¡¯t know how to make conversation with a famous character. One wrong word with a famous character might drop their fame without mercy.


    ¡°Well, please come in. You are Riri¡¯s guests.¡± She then walked away. Riri was quickly pulled beside Fira.


    ¡°How do you know her?!¡± All of the group then stared at her with ill intent.


    ¡°Umm, we accidentally met at Selei City.¡± I answered.


    ¡°So is the rumour true?¡± Said Fira.


    ¡°Umm, yes. But, ummm. She doesn¡¯t like giving autographs away now... soo.¡± I answered stutteringly.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go inside. After the show hall, our living room is over there.¡±


    In the living hall they were greeted by Maria and other Tantalus members.


    ¡°Hey. That took you long enough chicken head. Where have you been. Your damsel here is lonely.¡± Said Ragnar.


    Maria then stood up and hugged me.


    ¡°I am so glad all of you are okay. If you hadn¡¯t come back....¡± Maria sobbed at me.


    ¡°Well, I am glad that you are okay. ¡° Said Hector.


    ¡°Well, how does her team look? ¡° Said Stella. Hasega and co then went silent.


    ¡°Well, they are quite unique. We definitely need more beginners like them here. I am ready to welcome them.¡± Said Ragnar.


    ¡°Well, it is hard to join our core group. But you can join our detachment. Tantalus 2. It¡¯s current head is Itsalama. A lvl 80 bard.¡± Said Hector. ¡°Ehen you are good enough we will be more than glad to invite you to one of our play.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I have never heard about Tantalus 2.¡± I said.


    ¡°Of course. You never asked and we have never felt the need to tell you.¡± Said Ragnar.


    ¡°It is understandable. You are new after all.¡± Said Reiner. ¡°Hello. So you are Hasega, Fira, Victor and Dem right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am Hasega, this one is Fira, this is Victor and this one is Dem.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for helping our newbie here. My name is Reiner. A merchant and head accountant of the Tantalus group. So, since you guys are Riri¡¯s friends. How about the offer earlier. Currently there are no vacant spaces in the core group. But you can join Tantalus 2 if you like.¡± He politely asked.


    The group then stared at each other. After a long stare (they probably whispered each other) they agreed to join. The group plus Maria were then given a map to a certain location while Stella dragged me into her room.


    Her room was very well decorated. A bed, a table, a wardrobe, a carpet in the middle and a bathroom with toilet. It was like a hotel suite room. If she has a 5 star bedroom then mine would be an ordinary small one. It was still more than enough. Heck it is almost better than my room in real life but her room is more luxurious.


    ¡°Well, have a seat. So, tell me your story. I have heard the report about Maria. But I didn¡¯t know how you fared at the City of Acolyte. ¡°She then grinned ¡°And I have heard you have your own statue there. Is that correct?¡±


    Riri then told her the whole story. About how she disguised herself to become the acolyte. The assault, the night raid and how they lost. Unlike the rumours that were exaggerated the 2 heroes so much, claiming them to be the best characters in Versailes, Riri made it sound rather pessimistic. She firstly said she was useless. All she could do was heal her teammates. She proposed a sneak attack but the enemy countered with a night charge attack. She then blamed herself for not barricading the city gate when the night assault came. She also blamed herself for not directing the archers properly during noon attack. Then she cried and regretted that everything she did was useless, she could not save the count and his city. The city is now ruled by a new count. Even though the city is now prospering due to the nobles and player guilds¡¯ money and services. The current count somehow lacked the pride and principles of the old count. The monument in the central square itself was erected to calm the masses. The current count only cares about the economy. He is not especially corrupt. But he just has different principles than the old one.


    Night then passed as she fell asleep inside Stella¡¯s bedroom. Dawn then came and she went to the training hall as Stella had instructed.


    ¡°So your magic mastery has already reached lvl 7 huh? That¡¯s quite fast.¡±


    ¡°What happens when I reach intermediate?¡±


    ¡°Well, you will have better control over magic. Here is an example. I will cast fireball. Fireball!¡± She then cast a fireball at ME!!


    ¡°Kyaa!¡± I prepared to dodge but the fireball stopped in front of me.


    ¡°With training the direction of the ball can be changed. This way the spell which is usually linear can be made to home in on a target or it can make irregular movements. Of course all of them must be done manually.¡±


    ¡°I see. Fireball!¡± The ball then shot straight from my hands.


    ¡°The fireballs mastery affects it too you know. With a lvl 2 fireball mastery, it is impossible to control the ball.¡±


    ¡°But, I still have the penalty. Do I really need it now?


    ¡°Hmm, nope. But you can also use it for healing hand and expert cure. Watch.¡± She then casted healing hand, a green light then glowed on her hand and turned into green ball. ¡±See, this is the healing hand spell. Usually the spell targets a single ally within a 4 or 5 meter radius automatically according to your will. But with this, you can fire the spell. Just like a fireball. Even though its power will be reduced, its range will increase by many folds. Fire.¡± She then fired the ball at the sky. The ball then slowly dimmed and vanished.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Well, the range is somewhere below that of a fireball. But it can reach 30 meters I think.¡±


    ¡°I see. But, I can¡¯t train the healing spell without seeing someone injured.¡±


    ¡°You can train your fireball by hitting that scarecrow. But..... hmmm...Ii kind of have a different plan.¡± The indecisive instructor then fell silent. ¡°Want to see your friends at Tantalus 2? I also want to train your acrobatics. The gym there is better for training that.¡±


    ¡°Ummm, okay I think.¡±


    ¡®Is it just me or is she a little bit hesitant about visiting Tantalus 2?¡¯


    1 hour later. After asking Lucky the blacksmith to repair my staff and some tailor to repair my other equipment that were battered in the war, Stella with her usual outdoor hooded cape took me into some ordinary school gymnasium looking building. When we approached the door a whipping sound could be heard.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡®I have a bad feeling about this.¡¯


    The door then opened. With a blur motion Stella ducked while a whip hit me in the face.


    You have take 100 damage


    ¡°Ouch.¡° I fell while touching my face. If this was not in game my eyes would have been filled with tears already.


    ¡°Ahh, sorry, sorry. I did that on reflex, Miss Stella.¡±


    ¡®You hit someone with a whip on reflex!!!¡¯ I screamed in my head.


    ¡°Hey Itsa. So how are the newbies.¡± She casually greeted him while opening her hood.


    ¡°Not bad. But just like other noobs, they complain a lot.¡±


    After rubbing my aching forehead, I quickly hid behind Stella¡¯s back like a child. The man in front of her has fine muscles. But with a scar here and there he looked very frightening.


    ¡°I see. Well where are they?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Right there.¡± He pointed at some people lying on the ground like the dead.


    Still using Stella as a shield, I followed her to the corpses which are Hasega, Fira, Victor, Dem, Maria, and another one. It is Arknum.


    ¡°Hah. I am dead. I can¡¯t move anymore.¡± Such sounds were coming from the group.


    #tar#


    My heart jumped at the whipping sound. The corpses turned back alive in an instant dodging the whip.


    ¡°Itsa.... a-a-a-aren¡¯t you a bard?¡± I quietly asked a question. His personality doesn¡¯t match the delicate bard at all. With a sword on his right and a whip on his left. He is like a beast master whipping at his pets.


    ¡°Ahh, so who is this girl? Another healer?¡± He quickly assumed. Is my behaviour that obvious?


    ¡°No. She is my disciple.¡± She patted my head. ¡±well, we want to train acrobatics here. So we want to borrow some space and equipment.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. Sure, sure. Please by all means. Use this room as you like.¡± He bowed. Her intimidating demeanour earlier towards my former group vanished. He seemed to respect Stella deeply.


    ¡°Let me help you. What do you need?¡±


    ¡°Some mattresses will do.¡°


    We then took a corner space of the gym. Occasionally a whipping sound and a scream of pain could be heard. The group was being trained like military officers. Doing push ups, hitting scarecrows, running and performing mock battles. Even though Maria and Fira were women and got a nicer attitude, they didn¡¯t escape that training.


    ¡°Well, to answer your earlier question. Yes, Itsa is a bard. And a good one at that. He plays a violin I think.¡± She then removed her cape. Her white shirt and blue skirt looked good on her. It matched.


    Truthfully I couldn¡¯t imagine him being a bard right now. Wearing a T shirt with a huge muscles. He was really more like some Gym instructor with an intimidating scarred face.


    ¡°Ahh, he wears a tuxedo when in a play. These are just some casual clothes.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡±


    ¡°Mmm. Lets get started. So, I want to explain about our class¡¯ other specialty. It is not really special since it also can be learnt while doing that.¡± She pointed at Maria and Fira. They were doing gymnastics on other mattresses with a whip to fasten their pace.


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± I just nodded.


    ¡°Hmm. Now what should I say next?¡° Stella fell into thought again.


    ¡°Mmm. Basics of acrobatics?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ahh, yes. The basics of acrobatics is to adjust your center of gravity. Some animals such as crocodiles or sharks are paralyzed when they are upside down. Humans are no exception.¡±


    ¡°Do we get paralyzed too?¡±


    ¡°Our brain will get confused with a sudden change of the center of gravity. So our body tends to stiffen a bit. Well, compared to those animals we are way above them at controlling our center of gravity.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Well, umm. Ahh!¡± She went into thought again and spoke. It was funny to watch her instructing like this. It was like she had a massive amount of knowledge but didn¡¯t know what to teach ¡°And so, the acrobatics skill removes this burden bit by bit so we can move more efficiently. For example.¡±


    She then fired a fireball. The fireball went a bit further but then come back at her. She then dodged the ball matrix style and stood up again. I watched in awe. She should have fallen, she should have fallen on her back or her butt. But she could stand up again. Some people in despair on the other side stared at how she dodged a bullet like in a Sci-Fi movie and stood up again.


    ¡°So...¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I can¡¯t do that!¡± I quickly answered without waiting for her question.


    ¡°Huh? Why? Hasn¡¯t your bullet deflector already reached lvl 8. You should be able to see projectiles more easily ... Well, we do not jump to dodging bullets like that. Well, let¡¯s practice by doing basic gymnastics to relax your body, that is the basics of acrobatics after all.¡±


    ¡°Perfect timing!¡± Itsa interrupted. ¡°Miss Stella, it would be an honor for this humble me to be able to spar against your disciple.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s have your disciple do it instead. You are lvl 80 after all. It is not fair.¡±


    ¡°At your service Miss Stella.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Umm... a mock battle?? But... I can¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I forgot. Let¡¯s make a rule.¡± Stella said.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Time limit of 30 minutes. All of you attack her at the same time. She will not counterattack or attack you. If you manage to get her health to yellow point you win. Arknum is an exception. He can¡¯t join the fight okay.¡± At that point I was wondering who the demon is. Stella or that beast master.


    ¡°Ahh, I see. Well everyone. Gear up. Miss Stella here has given you a handicap. If you manage to lose, I will double the training. Triple if necessary.¡± Massive evil intent could be felt from him. He is a bard right? Right?


    ¡°Alright and if we win?¡±


    ¡°I will halve the training.¡± Everyone¡¯s faces then lifted up. Hope filled their eyes.


    ¡°Dodging attacks from 4 people is....¡±


    ¡°It is fine, I know you can do it. Wear the cleric set but don¡¯t wear the shoes okay?¡± Stella cheered me on. ¡°Don¡¯t lose okay. Fight to the last of your ability.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t worry Riri, I will make this as fast and as painless as possible.¡± Victor said.


    The battle then began. I wore my cleric set and I was barefooted since the shoes impede my movements. Hasega and co wore all of their equipment.


    ¡°Light blessing, single bless,¡± I buffed myself.


    Hasega then charged alone. He swung his sword horizontally. I jumped and dodged to the back. Without delay he chased me and swung his sword vertically, I sidestepped to dodge. He then chained the attack horizontally which I blocked with my staff.


    ¡®Somehow this is not as hard as I thought it would be.¡¯ Riri thought. She based her judgement on the war in which she had participated, not knowing that most of the soldiers there were lvl 50 or higher and that with her shoes that impede her movement speed by 30%. She was also never attacked while in Hasega¡¯s group so she had no way to measure her strength compared to the group. This was due to her high dexterity granted by her class and her titles, in addition to that her multitask ability which has 4 focuses now allowed her to read Hasega¡¯s movements and control her body precisely.


    ¡°How come a cleric can be this agile.¡± Said Hasega. To others Riri appeared to barely dodged the sword. But after several swings from Hasega they knew that it was not luck.


    ¡°Alright. We will come as well.¡± Victor brandished his sword. Fira with her staff, Dem with his knife and Maria with her spear.


    The tides then changed. After Hasega attacked, Dem closed in from behind and tried to stab Riri. But Riri barely managed to dodge it, only being dealt scratch damage. Victor then attacked with one of his axes which were blocked by Riri¡¯s staff. Everyone was surprised that Riri had enough strength to block his attack. Although it is doable, dodging Dem¡¯s attacks surprised them. Victor then attacked with his other axe and blew Riri away. She quickly regained her balance in midair and landed with 20% of her HP gone.


    ¡°Healing hand!¡± She then casted one of her spells. The group then stared at Stella and Itsa.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that she could not use healing magic right?¡± Stella then asked Itsa ¡°Why are they looking so confused?¡±


    ¡°So this was one of her plans to raise my magic masteries!¡¯ Riri suddenly realized.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there. Time is ticking!¡± Itsa roared.


    Everyone then went into serious mode. They knew that Riri was a good healer and could heal large chunks of her HP in one go. Furthermore it is being boosted by her equipment right now. She could literally heal 30 or 40% of her HP with one of her healing hands. This meant that they must finish the battle as soon as they can. If healing hand¡¯s cooldown ended they would need to redo their work.


    Fira then joined the fray. But her fireballs and firestrike were easily deflected by Riri¡¯s staff, only fireblaze worked. But that also hit her own teammates. Then Maria also jumped in. Being new to spear mastery, she stumbled here and there only adding to the confusion of the battle.


    ¡°Expert cure.¡± The group then went silent as Riri¡¯s HP that was almost at halfway mark went back to full. Hasega then removed his shield and armor hoping to increase his attacking speed. Victor did the same with his helmet and leather armor. Now they were just wearing ordinary t-shirts to battle. They charged and attacked Riri.


    ¡°Group cure.¡± The hope that was in the party suddenly went dim for 25 minutes as Riri cycled through her spells while trying to dodge and block attacks by Fira, Dem, Victor, Hasega and Maria. None of the attacks landed a critical hit so she managed to control her health and cycle through her spells with room for mana regeneration.


    ¡°Riri. Please spare us...¡± Fira then begged.


    ¡°Huh? Umm it is just a mock battle right? Nothing would happen even if one of us loses right?¡± I asked dumbfounded. I wondered why they seemed to attack me with bloodlust in their eyes a moment ago. I thought it was just because they were excited so I followed in by doing the best that I can. Why does Fira beg now.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear. Itsa will triple our training!!¡± Dem said. They were exhausted from their relentless attacks. I too was catching my breath but still was faring better than them.


    ¡°The training is horrible. To increase our vitality the mock battles last until our HP is red. We need to run, jog and do acrobatics for 8 hours straight. Then rest and do another shift. It is hell.¡± Victor said.


    I then turned to Stella.


    ¡°If you lose on purpose I will train with that okay?¡± My body then tensed. I looked at their eyes.


    The 30 minute mark then passed. My HP is at 50 percent. I miscalculated the damage I got from Dem at the last moment. The battle then ended.


    ¡°Well. That was a good show. Though it was only through luck that you won, you guys did well.¡± Itsa said.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Acrobatic is now beginner lvl 4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dexterity has improved by 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing hand is now beginner lvl 7</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Phoenix regen is now beginner lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Group cure is now beginner lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Expert cure is now beginner lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Magic mastery is now beginner lvl 8</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Well, the outcome is not so bad. Alright the mock battle is over. Riri, let¡¯s return to the corner and do some basic training.¡±


    We then returned to our respective instructors. Stella gave some pointers to me and we held a match just like before with Hasega. In that mock battle I couldn¡¯t touch her at all, she doesn¡¯t need to block nor use the speed like she used in Sidinia. Somehow her movements are smooth and graceful. She then told me that the secret is the body¡¯s flexibility and balance. After 2 days of continuous training my acrobatics skill went up 3 levels.


    ¡°Hey Stella!¡± Ragnar then came into the Tantalus 2 gym.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°We got a request performance. From count Sil of the City of Acolyte.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They asked us to perform the 2 heroes of the city.¡±


    All of the group then stared at me.


    ¡°Well, the pay is good. Count Ignis also approved it.¡±


    ¡°Ummm.¡°


    ¡°Ah. You can¡¯t play Riri. We can¡¯t really have the real one playing the fake one. Hahaha¡± Ragnar laughed a bit and went back to serious mode ¡°Well, I am serious. We might get exposed if we do that. Also to not reveal any information we have, we requested them to make the script instead. They suspect nothing and ordered us to come there.¡±


    ¡°Why did they order a play like that?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°Well, Count Sil only cares about the growth of the city. Who becomes a hero or famous doesn¡¯t interest him one bit. Because of the magnificent role this girl had in that city, he intends to utilize it to bring further growth in the town.¡±


    ¡°Well, all of you come into the core building. Itsa, besides this bunch of greenhorns how many are in Tantalus 2?¡±


    ¡°Somewhere along 100 sir.¡± He reported.


    ¡®That many? It is almost 3 times the number of core members!¡¯ I thought.


    ¡°Alright, round them up later. That on and off group can join to be laborers. That City of Acolyte is new and they do not have many freemen and laborers yet.¡±


    After 3 days of meetings, we finally headed into that new city. There was actually nothing to discuss except the communication line with Trisia just in case the City of Acolyte doesn¡¯t have the necessary equipment. The roles would determined later. But the major roles, that would be the acolyte and the count. It was decided that Stella and Hector would play them. Something that I had expected.


    previous chapter 12 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3317&p=21817#p21817</a>


    next chapter 14 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3633</a>


    _______________


    author note


    well, this chapter is rather dull compared to others. it is like calm after storm. hope you enjoy


    suggestions and comment are welcome.


    it is frustrating when you see your rating goes down in fanfic search list ^_^ :grin:  but it is feels so great when you see the rating went up again in that rating. it feels like the rating shows how you guys like my fanfic more clearly. somehow it makes me feel proud but not arrogant. rate my fanfic with you heart and honesty okay ^_^


    enjoy reading. [th_084_.gif]

 chapter name

    hello everyone.


    while waiting for the new chapter to be released, let''s make another contest. ^_^


    after reading various other fanfic, i thought it would be good if each chapter has a name.


    so, the contest would be naming every chapter from prologue to chapter 13.


    the prize would be the same as before. name inside story or early view of chapters.


    here is the rule


    1. you must write 15 different name from prologue to chapter 13 in a single post.you might make a multiple post though if you have different sets of name


    2. the judge is me and i have the right to declared none of you winning or 15 guys winning as i might take the chapter name individually to my liking


    3. for those that chose the prize of his name written in his story, you may only provide with your name with or without family name and nickname and gender. The other thing will be entirely my decision whether it is a minor character or main character, whether it is only said for once in the story or 100 times inside the story ^_^ whether they play as a good guy or as the bad guy.whether they are a human or not relax, this is just a fiction and a game. ^_^


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.4. i have the right to deny several last winner from the naming right as i have a limited character here ^_^but let''s hope that it won''t come to that ^_^ Tantalus still have many members to name ^^


    5. well, at last, take it easy and enjoy the contest. no hard feelings on anyone okay? ^_^

 chapter 14. City of Acolyte

    ¡°Welcome to my humble mansion. Tantalus group Ragnar and Miss Stella. Please have a seat.¡± The count politely greeted us. The mansion now is different from the last time I visited. It has become even poorer now. Some of the artifacts I saw before were missing.


    As there are only 2 chairs, the most important member got the seat while the other stand two steps behind. It is like we are a butler and maids here escorting a princess and her father.


    ¡°Thank you for the warm welcome Count Sil. So, is the script ready?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, yes. Here they are, it was written both by the soldiers that attacked and some mercenaries that defended the city. You can make some adjustments.¡±


    ¡°What kind of adjustments?¡± Ragnar cautiously asked.


    ¡°As long as it makes this city popular, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Count, you didn¡¯t harbor any ill will toward the last count did you?¡± Stella asked after skimming through the scenario.


    ¡°Huh? Ah, I did not.¡° He replied while writing some documents.


    ¡°I see. Then it is fine if we adjust the scenario to have more impact on the hero and make it seem like the nobles that attacked this city are the antagonists?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is fine. More impact is better. Sorry for not being an artist with great imagination for writing.¡±


    ¡°Ah, no no. It is just uncommon that you didn¡¯t defend yourself when we tell you to be the bad guy here?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh. You are from another city. Well, you see. Everyone in this city knows that I am just a low ranked noble that got dumped with some penniless city. On one hand I am glad that I rose to become a count. On the other hand, I am now in pain because this city was so damaged with almost no soldiers left, there are many repairs to be made.¡±


    ¡°What happened to the nobles that attacked this city?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°Well, Since they didn¡¯t get what they wanted, most of them went bankrupt and got demoted. I kind of admired Duke. Even though he lost but somehow he also won in the end. I laugh seeing those nobles betrayed and throwing the debt onto each other. Well, after that, there were many vacant spaces in the nobles¡¯ ranks. I just filled in and quickly rose into this city.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much Count Sil. That information might be put to good use.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I want you to put my name in there. Well, I haven¡¯t done much but throw in some good words for me okay.¡± He smiled. ¡°It would do me and this town good if they have faith in me.¡±


    After that, we left the manor and ran to the square. A place has been prepared with several workers. It is only half of what we had in Selei city. Itsa then called on several people from his group, the group started to make the stage while Ragnar and Stella sat on a table at one of the rented houses.


    They were discussing about the roles for the play. After a short while, the play had been arranged. Stella will play the Acolyte while Hector will play the Count, Ragnar will play the enemy commander. Somehow the chemistry of these 3 is very good. I can already see how the play will turn out. Somehow they represent the 3 characters quite well. Well, the enemy commander isn¡¯t as barbaric as Ragnar. But by reading the script you will get that impression. He didn¡¯t leak any information huh.


    As for me, I get to play an Acolyte caretaker. Pouring medicine and so on in a maid uniform. When I saw the script Maria giggled at me comparing me with the old man alchemist. Not to blame her since Hasega and co who have seen the real thing laughed their butts of seeing my role in the play.


    As for the others, mostly they are some sergeants and captains of the battlefield. That included Fira and the others. Itsa is managing the orchestra so he can¡¯t play. Hasega is the sergeant from the city group while Victor and Fira are on the other side. Hasega seems proud to be on the heroes¡¯ side while Fira and Victor jeered at Hasega¡¯s fortune. Well, it is not really a fortune since no matter how you look at it Fira is like an evil witch while Victor is like a barbarian, they are doomed to be with Ragnar. Dem on the other hand gets to play the assassin at night, he laugedh at the group because this side character seemed the coolest in the play being a hero alongside the count.


    Maria plays the house caretaker. A maid just like me, it is just that in the play she would be closer to the count than the acolyte. So I am the acolyte¡¯s maid while Maria is the count¡¯s maid. All the script and arrangements were done with that. Ragnar arranged the role nicely so that we didn¡¯t need to fake our personality with this. He is a good leader.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest accepted


    Playing in Acolyte theatre


    Tantalus group is going to hold a performance for the city of Acolyte. You are formally asked to join the play as the acolyte¡¯s caretaker.


    Quest difficulty D


    Quest reward 15 gold


    Quest failure: unable to perform</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Hey. Want to hunt?¡° Fira asked.


    ¡°Huh? Can we?¡± I asked while using my manage skill to move and sort some boxes.


    ¡°Well, the play is in two more weeks, we could use some breathers instead of staying cooped up in these tents. Let¡¯s just ask Ragnar for permission. We have done all our work anyway.¡±


    The group then went to Ragnar to report that they have done their duty and asked for a rest by doing other quests. Ragnar the shooed them away while approving their request.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest accepted.


    Defeat 30 goblins


    The goblins have been plaguing the local city. kill them.


    Quest difficulty D


    Quest reward 1 gold</td></tr></tbody></table>


    We asked around and the local guard gave us a quest.


    ¡°1 gold?¡± I shouted in surprise ¡°For a party?¡±


    ¡°Well, welcome to cookie cutter quests Riri. Hahaha.¡± The group laughed at me.


    ¡°Is this normal?¡± I asked in disbelief. After seeing my wage of 10 gold and other quests that rewarded me with at least 10 gold I assumed that 10 gold was a proper price for a lvl D quest. Even the japtem from the war worth at least 100 gold without haggling. According to Hasega, depending on luck you can only get around 2 gold at most by selling the loot from the goblins. Some of them are even worth less than a copper. I can¡¯t believe how fortunate I am that I joined Tantalus. I now know the value of the 100 gold I paid Hasega yesterday for the 10 mana potions. It means I have to do this quest more than 30 times to get 10 mana potions. Which totals to around 10 days. While I can get the same amount of money just by hanging around in the group for 10 days or at least by sorting some equipment.


    After accepting the quest we went to the forest, a group of six goblins went charging at us but they were deflected by Hasega¡¯s shield and Victor¡¯s axes.


    ¡°Light blessing. Single bless.¡±


    ¡°Fireball! Firestrike!¡±


    4 goblins were dead and the other 2 were annihilated in a minute. We were hunting for 3 hours and then rested after the 20th kill. The time was spent on looking for the goblins. Not killing them.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± I murmured.


    ¡°Well, hahaha. I guess living in your environment is a little bit different huh Riri? Those goblins were harder for us several weeks ago before we joined your group.¡± Victor laughed.


    ¡°Well, they certainly got very easy. Maybe it is because of that training Itsa gave us.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Ahh, well that and our equipment explains it. They are rare ones. A notch higher than uncommon.¡± Dem said.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°We usually went for the cheapest and common items. I can¡¯t believe our battle strength was upped this far by equipment. Money changes everything.¡± Fira stated.


    ¡°Well, that bard also trains us hard. Stat wise, we were upped by 5 lvls.¡±


    ¡°Did you also go through something like that Riri?¡±


    ¡°Umm. By a different instructor.¡± I said.


    ¡°Wow. So you were instructed directly by the core group. I heard they are around lvl 100.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. In Sidinia they managed to repel the tarantula boss quite easily.¡±


    ¡°So, who among the group is the strongest?¡± Fira asked. The group then listened.


    ¡°Well, it must be either Ragnar or that Bard.¡± Victor claimed ¡°Just looked at their build.¡±


    ¡°Well, Arknum is pretty strong too. I heard he is from a core group that underwent punishment. So he went to Tantalus 2. By the way his training is practically 2 times harsher than us and yet he still manages to keep the same pace as us.¡±


    The group then chitchatted about the core members. How they were behaving, the salary they got from being in the group. Tantalus 2 doesn¡¯t have a salary unless you do work. Unlike the core group that pays you for being in the headquarters.


    ¡°Stella.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Well, umm. If you ask me, among the group Stella is the strongest.¡±


    ¡°Really? Doesn¡¯t she have looks only?¡± Fira said. She deduced Stella put her levelling bonus to charm and charisma to get such a pretty face which she assumed made her weak in combat.


    ¡°No. If she has trained Riri to be like that, she must be quite strong.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Well, we have never seen her fight. So I have nothing to say.¡±


    ¡°Well, the rest is up. Let¡¯s go.¡± We then made another circle inside the forest and went back to the local guard taking the quest reward.


    One statement from me. It was boring. I practically did nothing at all. Half heartedly healing teammates who still had 90% of their HP. Watching a battle that did not need to be watched. The group was fine even without a healer for this quest. They just needed to rest more often. So this was what Anya meant when she said clerics are the most useful but boring job. I also practically got no level up at all. The experience I got was as little as 5% for the entire quest.


    ¡°What is it. You look gloomy.¡± Fira said.


    ¡°Is this what clerics usually do?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. Unless there is a boss monster like those 3 poisonous bears. It is indeed boring right? khukhu.¡± She giggled at me.


    ¡°Well, welcome to the normal world Riri. This is what normal foreigners do. Slaving for a mere soldier or merchant. Killing some mobs or collecting certain loot. Well, not everyday you can command a great army Riry. Hahaha!¡± Victor laughed.


    ¡°Well, you need to taste the bitter lives of people at the bottom Riri. Only then you can become someone great.¡± Hasega preached me but his face showed that he enjoys my suffering. He is definitely jealous of me becoming an idol of this city.


    We returned to the tent. The core members were practising their play. The play is still far away and they are already practiced. Some labourers continue to make a stage for the play. However, unlike Selei city, the stage isn¡¯t that grand. It is still pretty I think.


    The routine then continued. Working in the day and hunting in the evening. Eventually the day before the play arrived. The final adjustments to the stage were made and the final rehearsal was held.


    In those two weeks I managed to get a level up in both level and skill.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Manage is now beginner lvl 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Light blessing is now beginner lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Single bless is now beginner lvl 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A little disappointing maybe but an improvement is an improvement nevertheless.


    ¡°Hey little girl. I have seen you go around here and there. Maybe you can give me a few spoiler about the play?¡± Some player greeted me. ¡°I know you are a player and moreover you are one of the Tantalus members right?. So maybe you know how I will turn up in the play?¡±


    ¡°Huh? I am sorry but no outsider got into the play....¡± I stopped after turning my back. It is him the enemy commander.


    ¡°Ahh well, haven¡¯t you seen me on YouTube? I posted my war videos there. I guess you haven¡¯t watched it yet. Well, let me introduce myself. I am Iris. The commander that attacked this city.¡±


    ¡°Ah, ah.¡± I was speechless. Did he recognize me. He should not right? I wear beginners clothes when I am not hunting to prevent the durability of the cleric¡¯s outfit from reducing.


    ¡°So, who is playing me in the play?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Uhmm! Well, umm. How do I say it. Did you, umm. Ask how the play turns out or did you mean who plays your role?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have already bought the tickets. Here. So I will watch it nonetheless. No harm in telling me right?¡±


    ¡°Uhmm. Well, they put you in a little antagonistic way. after all,... it is¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see. Well it was to be expected. So you have finished your work right? Want to watch the show together tomorrow. I might tell you some secrets that the play missed out. After all I saw the real thing. Hahaha!¡± He laughed.


    ¡®Is he hitting on me?!¡® I asked myself. He seemed like a proper guy when he made that gesture. My respect for him just went down the drain after seeing this.


    ¡°Umm. Well, I am in the play. So I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°What? No way. You are in the core group? What role.¡±


    ¡°Umm. Yes. I play as the acolyte¡¯s maid. It is just a side character.¡±


    ¡°Well, that means you know Stella right?¡± His flirting was gone. He now went into serious mode.


    ¡°Well, do you know about her autographs?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, it will be randomly picked based on ticket number. I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, it was worth a try. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Umm, wait.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Why did you attack this city at that time?¡±


    ¡°Well, the commission for the guild was good. We got several favors from nobles and of course there was money involved. Well, I did not hold any hatred towards this city. The favors of the nobles went down the drain when the acolyte was killed. But a contract is a contract so the nobles payed and all the fault lies with them since they were the one that made the request.¡±


    ¡°I mean.... how did you know that the acolyte was defenseless at that time?¡±


    ¡°Well, I did not. The nobles just ordered me to attack at that time. Who knows how they got that information. Well, you may not know but there are some questions that must not be asked.¡°


    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡±


    No information huh. Who and how did they managed to curse Maria. It is not easy to use such a difficult curse against someone with light affinity.


    1 day later


    ¡°Whew. I am so nervous.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stiffen like last time okay, Riri.¡± Ragnar reminded. ¡°That play is the most tiring play I have ever had to manage. I nearly fainted several times.¡±


    ¡°Well, I will do my best. Perhaps.¡± My mood went down after remembering the messed up play at Trisia.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You only have 3 lines to speak. You also do not need a fake personality. Just talk normally with a louder voice.¡± Stella gave a pointer.


    ¡°Well, this one is the first normal show that Riri will be a part of. Hahaha!¡± Hector laughed.


    ¡®Normal show huh? Please god, may this show turn out as the one in the script.¡¯ I prayed in my thoughts.


    ¡°Arknum won¡¯t disappear again will he?¡± I asked jokingly.


    ¡°Well, he is a backstager now. I will not have to worry if he does disappear. But I will still have a piece of him if he does disappear.¡± Ragnar said in a intimidating tone.


    The show then started. Lucy was the narrator of the story again.


    ¡°Count Duke. All of the people trust you. Security is high. We have managed to repel all invading armies.¡± Said Hasega while kneeling. He is really into role playing inside role playing games.


    ¡°Good sergeant. But I must tell you a secret. Our acolyte is actually sick and can¡¯t use her powers well. We must protect this city by our own power.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    The curtain then changed to that of the enemy base full of nobles.


    ¡°We currently have a leak that nameless city¡¯s acolyte is defenseless. If we want to conquer that city now would be the time.¡±


    ¡°Why would we conquer a city in the middle of nowhere?¡±


    ¡°That city is worthless. But if we can get our hands on the acolyte our need for war funds will drop dramatically. We will be able to wage war more easily.¡±


    ¡°We nobles of Haven are willing to help. Let¡¯s arrange the soldiers.¡±


    The scenery then changed to a bedroom.


    ¡°Rin, do you think the kingdom will be fine without me?¡± Stella playing the acolyte asked while trying to sleep.


    ¡°Do not say such a thing. All of us here need you. Here, a new medicine made for you.¡±


    ¡°I have drank many medicines and yet this curse hasn¡¯t disappeared. I think my end will come regardless of whether I drink this medicine or not.¡± She said with a hopeless voice. It is awesome how she looked so weak. It feels even weaker than when we first saw Maria. Like frail glass that could be broken with a slight touch.


    ¡°Please do not abandon hope for the city. All of us love you. We can¡¯t live without you.¡± I cried. The pitiful state Stella is in now is even more sad than the real thing.


    ¡°I see. Thank you. You are always #cough# by my side. Always supporting me.¡±


    ¡°Serena!!¡± Suddenly a voice from the crowd could be heard. All of us then looked at the source of the sound.


    A person wearing black armor came. He called that name several times making the stage eerie. It was not just his sound that made the stage and the crowd tense. But the evil intent spreading from him was so huge.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are terrified.


    Movement speed decreased by 50%


    All stat reduced by 20%


    Effect will last for 1 hour</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®What is this? This status effect means the enemy¡¯s fighting spirit is very high. Probably 20 or even 30 times more than my own. And why did he use it inside the city? It is not like he will battle anyone.¡¯ My thoughts screamed at the weird phenomenon. I gazed at the man with a questioning look.


    Stella however, looked at the man petrified. She had already gone out of her drama mode and looked with eyes fully opened. Some guards were then approaching the unknown man however they were screaming as black dogs appeared out of nowhere and ate them.


    ¡°KYAA!!¡± Screams then followed. The entire audience ran for their life as the unknown man walked forward slowly to where Stella and I were standing. His eyes then went black pure black without a slight of white anymore as hounds of shadows appeared again besides him.


    ¡°Divine barrier! Ancestral god seal activate!¡± Maria with her maid outfit ran in front of me. A semi-sphere of a barrier appeared encircling the three of us in the nick of time because the black hounds charged forward but they were repelled in time.


    ¡°So you are still alive. Those damn fools.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I deliberately let out a sound. Am I the only one here that does not know this guy?


    ¡°Be careful Stella, Riri. This man is the one who cursed me.¡±


    I then stared at the man as he stared at the transparent golden barrier in front of him.


    previous chapter 13 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3389&p=22170#p22170</a>


    next chapter 15http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3644</a>


    _____________________


    Author note.


    - Hello all, finally we are back in business. does any of you wait for my chapter to be released?


    - so, at last we are going to the main evil character. i want to say a lot about him but that is a total spoiler.  i am out of words now


    - when mr obsidian (At last he returned) done PRing i might released them in several hour pause. i have around 11 or 12? chapters hostage. stay tuned. and for the winner of my contest, you might not appear immediately. please wait in agony okay?  [th_0v.gif].


    - comment critics and suggestions are welcomed in here or discussion topic.


    - as usual, here is our char stat. PS i got lazy with tha table, hope you are satisfied with just this.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class performers


    Health  2325  mana  1875 (+200)


    Fame 200


    Level    37


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job tantalus performer


    Health regen/sec  7.3  mana regen/sec 23.1


    Strength  73 dexterity  152


    Wisdom  227(+4)   intelect  71 (+4)


    Stamina   260  vitality  93


    Art 64  charisma 87 (+110)


    Leadership. 80(+30) charm 95(+100)


    Fighting spirit 70 faith 20 (+62)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   41%(E)      light 41%(E)


    Unused points 5


    Bonuses


    all stat +10 except dex and charm


    Dex +50 charm +40


    Stamina +40


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Rye bread (6)


    Ring of mana(E)


    Ring of leadership(E)


    Staff of white cleric


    Circlet of purity.


    White high heel shoes


    White dress of purity


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Silver coin (10)


    Gold coins (130)


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5


    Magic mastery beginner lvl 8


    Acrobatic beginner lvl 7


    Multitasking beginner lvl 7


    Sword mastery beginner lvl 4


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    Bullet deflector beginner lvl 8


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding beginner lvl 2


    Sub skill


    light blessing   beginner lvl 6


    phoenix regen beginner lvl 6


    healing hand beginner lvl 7


    Healing Area beginner lvl 7


    Group cure beginner lvl 7


    Expert cure beginner lvl 7


    Single bless beginner lvl 5


    Fireball beginner lvl 2

 chapter 15 Interrupted teleportation

    The two sides were in a stalemate. The man¡¯s black hounds were repelled by the barrier but on the other hand we couldn¡¯t do anything here either. 2 of us are non combatants while Stella can¡¯t move a muscle. She just stared at the man.


    ¡°Serena.¡± The man then stopped just next to the barrier. Based on the visual effects of his attacks. He is at least lvl 200 or more.


    ¡°GYAA!!¡± Stella then screamed. She definitely knew him. She screamed like her life depended on it and ran towards another end of the barrier. Fortunately the barrier is two sided. She slammed her hands at the barrier in vain. She then turned again facing the man. She looked so different now. She was totally scared and screamed in hysteria.


    ¡°Stella! Stella! Calm down.¡° I ran and grabbed her but to no avail. Her gaze was still fixed on the man in black armour. The man then raised his fist. Black fog gathered around his fist and he punched straight at the barrier.


    #BOOM BLAAR! BANG#


    Loud sounds of explosions could be heard. The barrier pulsed a bit but seemed to hold in place.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He will not pass this barrier.¡± Maria said reassuringly.


    The madman keep pounding and punching the barrier with his fist. Each fist he sent was accompanied by a loud banging sound and explosions. His black dogs also circled around and tried to break through by ramming, biting and scratching at the barrier.


    ¡°H-h-help me.¡± Stella clung to me pleading for help with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Hraagh!!¡± Ragnar shouted. He charged and swung his war hammer, the hammer hit bulls eye at the man¡¯s chest area sending him flying. The hound reacted but it was chased out by Iris, Arknum, Hasega and co. Hector and Baran then came from the left flank clearing out the remaining enemies.


    ¡°Maria. Can you open the field again and let us come in?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°Right away!¡± She then made a hole in the shield to let the group in.¡± In the moment Maria closed the shield, 10 black spears rammed the shield. The shield shook violently but it held still.


    ¡°Holy ****. Even Weed only managed to summon 1 of those spears. How strong is he?¡± Arknum commented while a speaking censorship activated (well, I just installed the censorship on a whim. It might get removed again depending on authors mood)


    The 10 meter space is now a little tight with 12 people inside.


    ¡°Alright, Baran. Use the scroll.¡±


    ¡°But, it is so expensive.¡±


    ¡°Who cares. Do you want to be fodder for that guy?¡±


    ¡°Well, dying is worse. I might drop an even more valuable thing. All right. Hold on everyone.¡± He then took out a scroll. A magic circle then appeared below Baran¡¯s feet. ¡±Everyone! come close to me!¡±


    The crazy man was still knocking (violently) at Maria¡¯s barrier. With a flash of blinding white the barrier and everything inside it vanished leaving the stage empty as Ragnar has pre-emptively ordered everyone including Tantalus members to run for their lives.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± I fell headfirst to the ground.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You took 5 damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest failed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I looked around me. It was a tropical rain forest. Thick branches and trunk blocked sunlight from entering. Only flashes of light managed to penetrate through making a small pillar of light. After scanning through I found a bed with Stella dropped to the ground. All 12 people that were inside Maria¡¯s barrier could also be found here and there hanging on the tree branches or sticking out their butt taking fall damage.


    ¡°Everyone. Round up!¡± Ragnar shouted an order and all of us then gathered at the bed Stella then quickly clung to me. Her behaviour completely changed!


    ¡°Alright, so, what happened?¡± Asked Hasega.


    ¡°Those moves, you are the Acolyte?¡± Said Iris


    ¡°Who is this?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°Umm, he is the enemy commander that attacked the city of acolyte.¡± I answered.


    Everyone then unsheathed their weapons.


    ¡°Relax guys. I am just a hired commander. A foreigner.¡± He raised both of his hands to surrender.


    ¡°Alright. there is nothing to gain by killing anyone here. And I assume you are above lvl 100 and a warrior?¡± Ragnar asked while putting his war hammer and shield back to his inventory.


    ¡°yes. I am a dual wielder using swords. A damage dealer one with decent defense. I can also tank several attacks though not as good as a shield user. I am lvl 120 with good equipment. I am called Iris¡± He unsheathed his swords while taking a stance and then sheathed the swords again. He wore a red flaming armor. From the looks of it, that equipment is close to mine in rarity, it must give several bonuses.


    ¡°Alright. Enough with introductions. Anyone who has an idea where we are and how to get back to Trisia raise your hand?¡±


    5 minutes passed with no hands raised.


    ¡°I want to know what happened first. First of all, what is the spell that Baran used.¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°It is the teleportation scroll spell. It has the power to teleport anything within several meter radius. It was supposed to take us back to Trisia, but somehow something went wrong and we were sent here instead.¡°


    ¡°Spell interruption?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°Well, the scroll is hard to use by nature. And when it activated, that guy¡¯s action and Maria¡¯s barrier might have disrupted the mana flow preventing us from teleporting correctly.¡± Baran explained.


    ¡°Alright. Any other questions?¡± Ragnar stopped then looked around. ¡°If no one has any questions nor solutions then let¡¯s do it the hard way. We split into 2 teams. Hasega, Dem, Fira, Arknum, Maria, Hector are group 1 while the rest is group 2. That is me, Iris, Victor, Riri, Stella and Baran. Both teams have foreigners. Communication between teams would be held by Fira and Riri. Well, most of us here are foreigners except me, Stella, Maria and Hector. I don¡¯t think there will be a problem with communication.¡±


    ¡°Umm, I suggest we make a party.¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Good one. We can pinpoint each others location then.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. Do it. We will meet again here before sunset. We do not know the enemy so we cannot risk the 50% buff of monsters at night.¡±


    While they travel south, we travel north. Ragnar actually wanted to split into 4 groups but after seeing we only have 2 healers he decided to go with 2.


    ¡°Stella? It is okay now. ¡° Stella was still clinging to me.


    ¡°Ahh. I am sorry. Just ignore me.¡± She said while clinging to me.


    After walking for a while we met the first monster. A sabertooth tiger.


    ¡°Light bless. Single bless!¡± I buffed the party.


    Unlike the assault in Sidinia, he takes a defensive posture this time. Ragnar and Iris circled it while Victor guarded the rest of us. Ragnar wanted to know the enemy¡¯s strength so he prepared to take the enemy attack first.


    The tiger then charged as expected. With a loud bang the shield and the teeth of the tiger clashed. Without further ado, Iris ran and hacked at the tiger while Ragnar followed up with a counter attack with his hammer. Baran also prepared a firespear spell to attack it. The spell then hit the tiger in its butt. After few more slashes the tiger disappeared.


    ¡°Umm so, how was it?¡± I asked while casting healing hand on him.


    ¡°Well, a perfect lvl 110 monster leaning to attack power. As long as we do not get surrounded we will be fine.¡± Ragnar said.


    *Umm, Fira. Ragnar said that the monster is somewhere along lvl 110. The one we found was a damage dealer one*


    *Roger. I found 2 already. This is a defensive one. Arknum and Hector said they were somewhere at lvl 100 too.*


    ¡°Ragnar, seems like the other team also has fought some enemies. They also said the enemy is somewhere around lvl 100 and a defensive one.¡±


    ¡°Alright. We can handle it then. Each team has about 3 members that are above lvl 100. As long as we do not get surrounded we can clear this place.¡±


    The pace then quickened. At the end of the day I got 2 lvl ups for blessing and healing my teammates. Victor got several kills and levelled up even more.


    ¡°So, how is it?¡± Ragnar asked at our starting place.


    ¡°Well, most of them were alone except mutated boars that are in groups of 3. But they are a little weaker than solo creatures.¡± Hasega reported.


    ¡°Well, same here. We found some other creatures that were in a group. Most of them were defensive so they dealt little damage but were very sturdy. The armadillo for example.¡±


    ¡°well, let¡¯s sleep. Let¡¯s set a roster for a night guard.¡±


    ¡°We do not need that. I have a barrier that will sound an alarm if breached. They are weak but it can serve as an alarm¡± said Maria.


    ¡°Good. We can all sleep then.¡± Said Ragnar.


    With that everyone tried to sleep while Maria set up a mark around our camp. It is set that if anything passes this marking, a barrier will hold up for a moment and wake everyone. The barrier itself is weak, but as an alarm it fulfils its purpose.


    Just as the night came and the moon with stars were sparkling in the sky. The said alarm rang with a holy light and a loud explosion could be heard.


    ¡°What is that sound?¡± Ragnar jumped from his sleep.


    ¡°The barrier.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Everyone!!¡± Without even Ragnar commanding, everyone readied their weapon.


    A 1 meter long dragonfly rammed forward only to be met by Ragnar¡¯s shield. The dragonfly was then cut in 3 pieces by Iris¡¯ swords. It was a combo defense counterattack that Iris implemented this afternoon.


    ¡°That was easy.¡± Arknum commented. ¡°Considering the night bonus.¡±


    ¡°Somewhere around lvl 60? Without night bonus.¡± Iris added.


    ¡°Well, if that is the case we are lucky.¡± Baran commented.


    ¡°Well, they are not alone I am afraid.¡± Hasega added. ¡°Everyone, form a circle, we are surrounded.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ragnar looked around him. Red shining eyes could be seen between the darkness of the trees. Unlimited pairs of eyes filled our surroundings.


    ¡°Maria!¡± Ragnar commanded.


    ¡°Umm, sorry, that one is still in cooldown.¡± Her words poured cold water on our hope.


    ¡°Maria, Stella, Riri, support us! Hasega and co, deal with one enemy at a time. The others may deal with 2 or 3 enemies at once. Don¡¯t let them surround you!¡± Ragnar commanded. Just as the command ended another dragonfly charged forward which was pummeled into the ground by Ragnar¡¯s hammer. It then vanished after the second hit.


    ¡°Light bless! Single bless!¡±


    ¡°Divine blessing, Goddess buff¡± Maria buffed the team. My stats increased by another 40% after her buff. Her buff is on different level from mine.


    `The enemy began their assault. Iris relentlessly hacked them with his 2 swords. Blocking with 1 sword then counterattacking with the other, his fast movements were amazing. On the other hand, Arknum and Hector cooperated. After the dragonfly charged, it was blocked by Arknum, Hector slashed and the dragonfly died in 1 hit. Sometimes it was Hector who defended while Arknum attacked, they have a good chemistry. Ragnar worked alone as he is a defensive type warrior, he got the least amount of kills.


    ¡°Group healing¡±


    ¡°4 layered healing hand.¡±


    Now I felt like I was competing with Maria here. Her healing was more than twice as effective as mine even though I got a boost from my cleric set. She also has more spells than I do.


    Hasega blocked a charge from a dragonfly while Victor and Dem hacked it from the sides. Being 20 lvls lower has them at a disadvantage but the opponent was gangbanged by 4 people. They somehow managed to kill them.


    ¡°The dragonflies have some paralyzing status.¡± Ragnar said as he fell because of the dragonflies¡¯ attack.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it¡± I said to Maria ¡°Cure paralysis¡±


    The battle continued for hours. Our stamina was depleted. We took turns to rest starting with Iris and Ragnar. Then came Hector and Arknum. The battle could be maintained but most of the time their HP went down to the dangerous red zone at a dangerous rate, Maria started to gulp her first mana potion bought by Hasega with my gold coins.


    You have leveled up 11x


    ¡°At last they are dead.¡± Ragnar said while taking a break.


    ¡°It is more like they are retreating due to sunrise.¡± Hasega said while pointing at the remaining 2 or 3 dragonflies that flew away.


    ¡°Stella, I know what happened. But it doesn¡¯t make sense that you carried it here. You barely helped at all except for healing. Even your magic fumbles a bit. It is not like yourself Stella.¡± Hector said.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I-I-I¡¯ am sorry.¡± Stella looked down.


    ¡°Hector, we can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    ¡°We are not foreigners! If we die we die for real.¡± Hector shouted.


    ¡°I-I-I-I am sorry! Hixhix¡± She cried while hugging me. What¡¯s with this sudden change of behavior?


    ¡°Umm, I think she is tired. So, she can¡¯t use her spells well.¡± I tried to defend her. but even I knew that my words were not powerful enough. After seeing her power in Sidinia, even I have questions in my head about why she acted like this. If she displayed her strength like in Sidinia, the battle would be easier.


    The sun then rose as we walked north. There is a mountain in the north and Ragnar hoped that we would get a better view of our surroundings if we got there. With a full group we were attacked more often, but as the manpower was bigger we could easily kill them.


    ¡°Those dragonflies are a mess. I guess here in Royal Road quantity beats quality huh?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not entirely true. We would be in deep trouble if the noon monsters attacked in a group of more than 10. But last night there were literally thousands of them.¡± Baran explained.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°The terrain affected us too. We were surrounded from a 360 degree angle. Plus above us as well. Luckily we could find some big trees to cover our back. Next time we should find a place like a cave so we can bottleneck the enemies. A cave entrance for example but if we do find a cave, we need to research its inside first, the monsters inside might be even stronger than outside.¡± Hasega explained.


    ¡°We will survive another attack. I got 10 level ups from the last one. Next time we will not be a burden anymore.¡± Said Victor.


    ¡°well, your group might only fight 2 at most. It would still be helpful though¡± Iris said. ¡°Getting surrounded is different matter you know. An inexperienced warrior plus a disadvantage in levels or stats would only get himself killed by getting surrounded.¡±


    ¡°Is it that serious?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°It is¡± Hasega said. ¡±Why do you think players can kill boss monsters?¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°There are several ways to avoid being surrounded. One of the basic ones is the bottleneck strategy. But it is not so easy to implement.¡± Hector said.


    ¡°The other would be circle defence like the one we just did. It is a handy tactic but it wears out our stamina.¡± Iris replied.


    The group happily chitchatted about the strategies used in war. Like a diligent pupil, Hasega and co listened and asked questions about things they didn¡¯t understand. After all, they were still inexperienced in group battles. They have never participated in a war and in group battle they were mostly overwhelmed by the enemies with higher levels and numbers. I just listened carefully to their speech while trying to grab the information that seemed important. Being a shy girl, I am a good listener.


    ¡°Well, why won¡¯t Riri speak?¡± Iris said


    ¡°Huh? Umm, what do I speak?¡± I nervously asked.


    ¡°Well, in that condition. If you were surrounded by a bunch of dragonflies. What would you do if you were the commander of the army?¡± Iris asked.


    ¡°Umm, well, I would do like what Ragnar did. His orders are good.¡±


    ¡°Well, any other suggestions?¡±


    ¡°I think we should set up a roster from the start. But setting traps first is better however right now we don¡¯t have traps. So, uhm. We might make a 2 bottle necked situation if we stand between two trees.¡±


    ¡°Well, that is the girl that beat me in warfare says. ¡° Iris complimented.


    ¡°Uhmm. But in that condition...¡±


    ¡°Well, Ragnar is a cool headed and awesome leader alright. Only a few could make a decision on the spot like him while getting surrounded out of nowhere. We are now in a relaxed situation that¡¯s why we can think of various other scenarios better than Ragnar¡¯s decision. But the field is different.¡± Iris explained ¡°Well, the perfect reason would be when she launched a sneak attack on me. I totally thought we are about to lose back then. Haha¡°


    ¡°We have arrived.¡± Ragnar in front said. ¡°There is a cave at the foot of the mountains. Let¡¯s check it out. ¡°


    The cave turned out to be an empty hole about 10 meters long and 3 meters wide. It was like a miracle that we could find something like this, where only about one or at most three monsters could enter at the same time. A perfect spot for the bottleneck strategy. We then decided to stay here for the night. After Maria set up an alarm barrier at the entrance, we made a small fire in the cave.


    ¡°Whew. I am starving. Luckily we got several edible fruits from killing dragonflies and monsters.¡° Said Arknum. ¡°The meat is edible, but we have no cook.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can cook. But my proficiency is only beginner lvl 3. Plus we have no tools so if we do run out of fruit, expect a blandly cooked meat okay? As long as we have Baran¡¯s identification skills, we should not get any poisonous food¡± Ragnar said.


    The group then chitchatted a while longer. Mostly it was about climbing the mountain and group formations. The talk then changed to Victor and Ragnar bragging about how they killed their enemies. Unable to stand their bragging, Iris jumped in saying he was the coolest by slicing the enemy in half. Afterwards, they went to sleep. This situation was very much like a camping. There was a fire and some people sleeping together. The only difference between this world and the real world would be the animals in the forest. Most forests for camping were free from dangerous animals. No howling of wolves could be heard. No buzzing sounds of big dragonflies or snakes slithering around the forest.


    ¡°Are you awake?¡± Stella woke me.


    ¡°Huh? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Could you please come here for a second?¡±


    She then brought me to the cave entrance. The fire had died down and the purple night sky with the crescent moon and a few sparkling stars could be could be seen.


    ¡°Hmm. The night is pretty, the air is a little bit cold though despite this being a rainforest.¡± She said.


    ¡°Well, umm, yeah.¡° I answered half heartedly.


    ¡°Well. Umm. Soo. What do you think about me?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Umm. Well, I think you are wonderful that you can play so good while performing. I think you are also skilful because you can teach me like this and other unexplainable things.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. You must be disappointed.¡± She said still looking at the sky.


    ¡°Umm. Not really. ¡°


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Umm, well, you see. You are my role model. So, umm. Seeing some flaws in you made me feel that the hurdle that I have to jump is lower. Hahaha. I am a bad fan right? Praying that you have a flaw? I said honestly.


    ¡°I see. You might catch up to me faster than you think in Tantalus.¡± She laid her head on my lap.


    ¡°I have no intention to be famous or a superstar. I just want to be able to communicate better.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thank you¡± She closed her eyes. ¡±Well, don¡¯t you have a question in your head.¡±


    ¡°Well, a lot of them.¡±


    ¡°Try to shorten it.¡±


    ¡°Who is that man?¡±


    ¡°Well, he was one of my fans. Back in the early days of me forming Tantalus with Ragnar. He also joined.¡± She said laying on my lap comfortably.


    ¡°That was one crazy fan.¡± I retorted.


    ¡°Well, yes. He was weird to begin with. But we just ignored it. After all, the rest of the group is no better.¡±


    ¡°Ah. It is normal to be weird in Tantalus right? The weird thing is being normal in that group.¡± I gave a dry laugh as I heard her comments.


    ¡°But one day, he confessed to me. Well, I just thought of it as a joke at first. But when I looked at his face, I knew he was serious. I denied him in the best way to not hurt him. But he could not accept it.¡± She then hugged me still laying on my lap.


    ¡°Then, one day, he kidnapped me. Several Tantalus members tried to save me but they were killed in front of my eyes until eventually he retreated and I was saved.¡±


    Her story has some holes in the last part. How she was kidnapped and what happened during the incident. She didn¡¯t miss this on accident. She was hiding it so I dared not ask further. I guess this is why she was so hysterical over meeting that man again. In this moment I knew that this world was pretty only in our eyes. In the eyes of the natives, they feared death and humiliation. For us players we can just log out and delete our account. But they could not. As an audience of this virtual world, we only looked at the beautiful things this world offered us.


    No other words came from her. She really fell asleep this time as I watched the crescent moon that shone upon us, I leaned on the wall and fell asleep.


    previous chapter 14 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3633&p=23195#p23195</a>


    next chapter 16 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3652</a>


    _______________


    author note


    - here is chapter 15. what do you think about Maria? she is definitely useful isn''t she?


    - tell me about what do you think about Iris too okay?


    - your names haven''t come up until this chapter. just wait. they will appear soon.


    - as usual, any suggestions, critics and comment are welcomed


    - here is our MC stat as usual


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class performers


    Health  2325  mana  1875 (+200)


    Fame 200


    Level    50


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job tantalus performer


    Health regen/sec  7.3  mana regen/sec 23.6


    Strength  73 dexterity  152


    Wisdom  232(+4)   intelect  71 (+4)


    Stamina   260  vitality  93


    Art 64  charisma 87 (+110)


    Leadership. 80(+30) charm 95(+100)


    Fighting spirit 70 faith 20 (+62)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   41%(E)      light 41%(E)


    Unused points 65


    Bonuses


    all stat +10 except dex and charm


    Dex +50 charm +40


    Stamina +40


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    movement reduced by 30% (E)


    healing spell increased by 41% (E)


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Rye bread (6)


    Ring of mana(E)   (Mana +200, charm +20)


    Ring of leadership(E) (chr +30 leadership +30)


    Staff of white cleric Int +40 Wis +40 Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+10%


    Circlet of purity.Charm +30Char +30Int +10Wis +10Faith +20, heal,light,dark res+10%


    White high heel shoes Charm+30Char+10Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+10%


    White dress of purity Charm +20Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+20%


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Silver coin (10)


    Gold coins (130)


    Tantalus room


    Blue noble shirt (E) (charm +50 lchr +50)


    Blue noble pant (E) (charm +50 charisma +50)


    Breastplate of the escaped prince


    Royal Steel Sword


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5(10%).


    Magic mastery beginner lvl 8 (0%)


    Acrobatic beginner lvl 7 (Movement 60%)


    Multitasking beginner lvl 7 (80%) (Focus 4, intelect +20)


    Sword mastery beginner lvl 4  (power 20% speed 20%)


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2 (Dex +2)


    Bullet deflector beginner lvl 8 (20%) (Dex +25)


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding beginner lvl 2


    Sub skill


    light blessing   beginner lvl 6


    phoenix regen beginner lvl 6


    healing hand beginner lvl 7


    Healing Area beginner lvl 7


    Group cure beginner lvl 7


    Expert cure beginner lvl 7


    Single bless beginner lvl 5


    Fireball beginner lvl 2


    PS


    by the way, i found some interesting facts.by seeing my post view, somehow the discussion topic and chapter names were left out with low view counts that is normal seeing most readers just read around like leeches like i do :grin: . the weird thing is, chapter 3,5 wolf cross bride is also left out. is it because it is just a side story? i have high hopes on that story though? any critics on chapter 3,5?

 chapter 16 the dark forest

    #tuk#


    Something hit me. A pebble?


    ¡°You finally woke up. You do realize you are inside a dangerous forest don¡¯t you? What are you doing sleeping in the open like this?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I tried to look at my surroundings. It was still dark but the moon was no longer visible. So it was almost sunrise. There was a man looking at me very intently from cave entrance.


    ¡°KYAA!!!¡± I screamed with all of my power. The whole camp woke up in an instant and readied their weapons.


    ¡°Wait a sec. Chill out, I come in peace.¡±


    ¡°How did you pass the barrier?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I did not. The barrier is here, while you are there.¡±


    I then looked at his gaze. It was true that said barrier was only 40 cm in front of me. The man stood a meter in front of me.


    ¡°Riri, Stella. Stand back!¡± Ragnar ordered. ¡°He is dark aligned.¡±


    We then fell back quickly while Ragnar and the other high leveled players came to the front while Maria casted her buff.


    ¡°Whoa. Hey. Just as I said before, I don¡¯t mean any harm. Yes, I am a dark aligned but I have reasoning okay. I am not a beast. At least not until it is full moon¡± He raised his hands.


    ¡°So who are you?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°I am known as Xmoon¡± He said.


    ¡°I am a werewolf so I am dark aligned. But relax, I am a law abiding werewolf.¡± He said with a smile.


    ¡°Do werewolves even have laws?¡± Hector asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t take a joke can you? I just said I have never done anyone harm. Except when they attacked first. I have never even left this forest.¡± He said while looking at Hector.


    ¡°I see. So what are you doing here?¡± Hasega asked still standing behind Ragnar¡¯s back.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s my question. Seeing 2 beautiful girls sleeping in front of my rest spot. Why would I not be interested?¡± He said while winking with his left eye. I felt shivers at those remarks. He is definitely a playboy.


    ¡°Okay. We will go. We will return your spot. Is that okay?¡± Ragnar said.


    ¡°Nope. I intent to follow you. I am kinda bored here.¡±


    ¡°Well, first of all, do you know where we are?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°Rainforest of Haven.¡± He said. His information is no help at all.


    ¡°Do you know any towns near here?¡±


    ¡°To the east about a month on foot you will meet Rurin village. To the north about 6 weeks on foot you will meet Sykar City and to the south about 3 weeks on foot you will meet City of Acolyte. But that path is dangerous.¡±


    ¡®Why is only our path deemed dangerous by him?!¡¯ I thought.


    ¡°Dangerous? What¡¯s in there?¡±


    ¡°Well, dark creatures. They just appear from the ground and try to kill you. Some of the werewolf tribe died there.¡±


    ¡°So, Ragnar. What is our choice?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°Either we circle around them or head through them.¡± He said ¡°What¡¯s your level?¡±


    ¡°145¡±


    ¡°Then that path is dangerous. Let¡¯s circle around.¡±


    Led by our new comrade, we hastened our pace from walking to running. As he said that he knows this forest, there was nothing to be feared. On the third day of our quest, we managed to rest at a lake.


    ¡°The lake is beautiful. It is crystal clear and there are fish swimming here and there. The fish look so cute.¡± Stella said. Her attitude is back to normal. She was also using her healing spell properly now even though she hadn¡¯t battled yet.


    ¡°So, your name is Stella huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Hello Xmoon.¡°


    ¡°It is wonderful that such a pretty lake could be here despite the dangerous forest. I wonder if animals from the forest drink here.¡± I mumbled. But my whispers could be heard and everyone went silent.


    ¡°Ahh, I forgot about that. Several animals in groups do indeed drink here. But they never do me any harm as long as I keep quiet and do not disturb anyone.¡± Xmoon said. For fellow beasts that might happen. But what if there was a human.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s not overstay our welcome. Let¡¯s move.¡± Ragnar commanded. But after he looked back, 25 tigers approached with a low growl.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they supposed to be solo monsters?¡± Victor commented.


    ¡°There are always exceptions in several matters¡± Said Ragnar.


    ¡°should I buff now?¡± Maria and I asked.


    ¡°That would be great.¡±


    And so the battle began. 25+ tigers faced off with 12 people with 5 of them underleveled. Xmoon roared and transformed himself into a werewolf.


    ¡°Wow. That was cool. I think I want to be like that.¡± Victor mumbled.


    The tiger charged but it was interrupted by Stella¡¯s fireball.


    ¡°Curtain bullet spell series 10# rainbow sign! Rainbow wind chime!¡± She shouted. Numerous balls of differently coloured light came from her body. The hundreds of balls moved by sets of patterns. Some chased the enemy, some moved randomly distracting and impeding enemy movements. Balls of light, balls of lightning, balls with the ice element. I think she has every kind of element in the book for that spell. The spell continued to hit the tigers one after another. One ball didn¡¯t seem so dangerous. But since there were hundreds of them (and they kept multiplying) one enemy after the other went down until the last one was dead.


    ¡°Alright. Stella is back in action. Pack up and prepare to flee. Who knows whether there is another surprise waiting for us.¡± Ragnar commanded.


    ¡°That was overkill, cheating and overpowered. How can she have a spell like that?¡± Victor complained. No wonder. 25 level 120 tigers were destroyed in a mere 2 minutes without any retaliation.


    ¡°Think she will teach me that spell?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that spell can be learnt in normal ways. I am in the dark gamers union and in D rank and no such spell has even been sighted before¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°GRAGH. How dare you destroy my lake!¡± A voice echoed in my head. The group then instantaneously looked at the direction of the sound. A small blue haired fairy emerged from the lake. Even though she was small, her fighting spirit showed otherwise.


    ¡°She looks mad¡± Victor said.


    ¡°Well, we destroyed her terrace it is to be expected.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°She seems an intellectual being. Do you think we can ask for forgiveness?¡± Iris suggested.


    ¡°Hello El. Think you can forgive us for destroying your terrace? It was that cats fault for attacking us first.¡± Xmoon said.


    ¡°Forgiveness? Why should I forgive humans?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, she would look so cute if she smiled.¡± I mumbled seeing her petite body as she wore a one piece dress and her size is around a fist of a girl.


    #blushed#


    ¡°W-w-what are you saying?¡± Her intense fighting aura disappeared replaced by a flustered voice.


    ¡®Eh?!¡¯ I looked at the now 100% cute fairy. Everyone then looked at me with their thumbs up.


    *Good job. Never thought you had it in you to seduce someone.* Fira said.


    ¡°Erm. So, to the cute fairy over there. We deeply apologize for our rude attitude. We were merely passing by your beautiful lake when those tigers showed up and threatened us. We had to retaliate or we would have been annihilated. Once again I deeply apologize for the damage to your beautiful lake.¡± Iris changed his speech.


    ¡°E-Erm. Well, uhm....¡± She is smoking red now. Does such cheap praise actually work?


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s a nice technique.¡± Xmoon whispered.


    ¡°My name is Iris. I am just a wandering swordsman.¡±


    ¡°I am Elkami, a fairy of this lake.¡±


    ¡°I see. Such a fitting name for such a wonderfully gorgeous fairy.¡±


    ¡°Um. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°So, you think you could let us go?¡±


    ¡°Ah, umm. Nope. Sorry. Ummm You have destroyed a sacred land. So uhmm. You have to be punished.¡± She said while looking guilty. Her attitude gives a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    ¡°So, what is the punishment?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°Well, umm. it is either death or... a hard quest.¡±


    ¡®Harder than death quest?!¡¯ I screamed in my thoughts. ¡¯Being in this group always brings trouble!¡¯


    ¡°Pretty fairy. Are you sure you can¡¯t lower the hurdle? I am sure that our deeds aren¡¯t that evil to be granted death as punishment.¡± Iris said. His words became increasingly disgusting.


    ¡±Don¡¯t tempt her Iris. If she doesn¡¯t punish us, she will die as punishment. We definitely can¡¯t die here. Could you tell us the quest?¡± xmoon asked clearly.


    ¡°Umm, to the south at the center of the dark forest. Yggdrasil sensed a great evil that could threaten this forest. If you can eliminate it, not only will you be forgiven, you will also receive a gift from him directly.¡±


    ¡°Great! Just as we tried to escape the danger, the danger is served to us on a silver plate.¡± Victor retorted.


    ¡°Well, this must be a fate. It is no coincidence that we are heading in that direction.¡° Hasega said ¡°Now, instead of circling around, let¡¯s march straight into the lion¡¯s den.¡±


    ¡®He forced his lame lines to be cool looking!¡¯ I thought after hearing Hasega¡¯s words.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest accepted


    Evil within the forest.


    To the south of the Forest of Haven, lies a dark forest which is said to contain an unknown evil. Look for the source of the evil and destroy it.¡±


    Quest difficulty B+


    Quest reward unknown


    Quest failure all members die during the quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Elkami has temporarily joined your party</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Umm, Yggdrasil also said to bring me along. In case you die, I could at least bring words to him about what happened there.¡±


    ¡®She has already assumed we are going to fail!!!¡¯


    And so we gained yet another companion while marching from the fairy lake to the south of the dark forest. After two days of walking, I gained another 2 levels and put my stat points into wisdom. Finally I have got 300 wisdom and the magic penalty was lifted, my fireball now dealt low but acceptable damage. I also gained several masteries in magic. A level in magic mastery, light blessing, single bless, healing hand, group cure, healing area, phoenix regen and expert cure. Also 2 levels in fireball mastery.


    Elkami proved to be a hardcore magic user. She specializes in lightning magic which put Baan to shame. Her lightning attacks sometimes killed an enemy in a single hit or stunned several enemies. It is fortunate that we didn¡¯t fight her last time. We might have suffered a casualty or two if we had fought her.


    ¡°Alright. We have reached the Dark Forest.¡± Xmoon announced.


    ¡°Is it just me or is the name Dark Forest derived directly from its condition?¡± Hector commented about the forest so thick that no sunlight managed to pass through creating a dark and creepy aura.


    ¡°Somehow I don¡¯t like it.¡± Elkami hid behind my head. She started to take a liking to me due to my praise earlier. It seems I gained her favor by praising her from the heart earlier.


    ¡°It is creepy alright.¡° Arknum said.


    ¡°Stop complaining. All we can do now is get in.¡± Ragnar commanded. ¡°Form a circle. Maria at the center. Just in case we run into nasty situations we can use her barrier.¡±


    1 hour later.


    ¡°Umm, I think we are walking in circles.¡± I replied.


    ¡°How come? We are walking straight.¡± Stella and Xmoon replied.


    ¡°How come there are no monsters here?¡± Said Fira.


    ¡°So? Where are the monsters? Xmoon? Elkami?¡± Ragnar asked while looking at those two.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say monsters. I just said evil aura. But there should be some monsters here. This is weird.¡±


    ¡°I well, I just heard some rumors.¡± Xmoon replied after El.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down. Keep the formation checked. We don¡¯t know what will happen. Stella light our surroundings.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Multicast! Fireball!¡± 10 fireballs flied in different directions.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    #Blar#


    One of Stella¡¯s fireballs hit something and exploded. At that moment the forest cracked. The space of the forest cracked and shattered with a loud shrill noise. The scenery was then replaced by the same Dark Forest with something in it. Countless dark goblins filled the ground view.


    ¡°Damn it. We are surrounded.¡± Xmoon said while cursing.


    ¡°Maria! Now¡± Said Ragnar.


    ¡°Divine barrier! Ancestral god seal activate!¡±


    A golden barrier enveloped our group just in time before several throwing knives headed towards us. The goblins then let out a cry and rammed the barrier. Some ghouls and skeleton archers were also mixed in with them. Contrary to the agitated goblins and skeletons outside, the barrier remained calm and stood firm.


    ¡°So, Maria. How long will this barrier last?¡±


    ¡°Well, this barrier has health. When it runs low, I charge it using mana. At this rate we can go for somewhere along 10 hours I think. It can change if I drank a mana potion or used mana channeling.¡±


    ¡°Mana channeling?¡±


    ¡°It is a skill where you can give or take someone else¡¯s mana.¡±


    ¡°How do you use it?¡±


    ¡°I touch someone else¡¯s hand. I say mana channel. Then the other party just concentrates on giving mana or I concentrate on giving mana. Depends on the situation.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, now I remember it. In the Dark Gamer Union, some cleric player has this skill. He often used it to share his mana with mages. This way mages have more mana to spare. It is like the cleric is a substitute of a mana potion.¡± Hasega explained in a more detailed way.


    ¡°Cleric specialist huh?¡± Fira commented.


    ¡°Not really. Someone who specializes in mana such as mages or enchanters can do this too.¡± Hasega explained.


    ¡°Well, we have 2 mages and 2 others who are proficient in mana. Have your share Maria.¡± Ragnar then changed the discussion topic. ¡°But we can¡¯t linger here forever either right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Elkami said.


    ¡®I can make a hole in the barrier. This way you can attack them right? Just tell me where the hole must be.¡± Said Maria.


    ¡°Whew. We have got a pillbox maker here. I feel like we¡¯re in a military bunker.¡± Baran said.


    ¡°It is a makeshift fortress alright. Ragnar, take command.¡± Iris commanded.


    ¡°Ahh, I can¡¯t cast any magic when I am using this barrier. All healing and buffs will be up to you, Stella and Riri.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Poke a hole in those 3 spots. Me with Iris, Hector with Arknum, Xmoon with Hasega and co. Poke an extra hole above us. Our mages will add some artillery.¡±


    ¡°Light bless, single bless.¡±


    And so the battle began. Holes with a 40 cm diameter, enough for a goblin to hardly pass through were made. The rest was just a complete slaughter and butchery. When a goblin passed through, the team butchered its head until it was dead. One by one the brainless goblins were led into slaughter.


    ¡°Thunder shower!¡± Baran then casted his most powerful spell. Sparks of lighting flashed and exploded here and there causing dozens of goblins to die.


    ¡°Enigma of the thunder god! Bolt of Thor!¡± Elkami then poured her lightning magic into the sky. A magic circle then formed in with a 60 seconds counter.


    #BLAAR BOOM BLAAR BOOM#


    Huge lightning bolts struck the goblins numerous times. If Baran could hit 30 or 40 enemies at once then Elkami could hit a three digits number. Numerous thunder bolts struck the goblins and skeletons without stopping. The area within 50 meters of the barrier was now filled with barbequed goblins and skeletons.


    ¡°Whew. Thank goodness she is thunder aligned. I would be so ashamed if she was fire.¡± Fira commented.


    ¡°Hey you little twerp! Could you pick another spell that is not lightning based? You are killing my show here!¡± Baran roared at Elkami. Their friendship has been sour since we started adventuring together. It is due to Elkami always casting a spell that was higher tier than Baran in the lightning department. Baran mocked her as a show off while Elkami defended that it was necessary or it was her favourite spell or a low ranked spell.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We need to vanquish them faster.¡± Elkami turned her head.


    ¡°Well, they are coming again.¡± Fira said.


    ¡°El, how long before you will be able to use that spell again?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°Around 10 hours.¡±


    ¡°No good then. Use another spell than this one. Maria. Close all the holes except the upper one so magic spells can come out¡° Ragnar gave another order.


    The golden fortress was now closed with the exception of its artillery hole. Then a ramming sound could be heard as several rhinos charged and rammed at the shield while a grim reaper swung its scythe against the barrier.


    ¡°Uh-oh.¡± Maria sounded troubled. We quickly turned our heads towards her. Her trouble was a trouble for us all.


    ¡°What is it Maria.¡±


    ¡°That enemy is around lvl 200 or at least late 100. I can¡¯t hold this barrier for longer than 4 hours at this rate.¡± Said Maria.


    ¡°Well, mages. What are you waiting for. Fire everything you got. Riri, try to charge Maria¡¯s mana. Maria, open a hole that enough for a sword to pierce through. Swordsman. Try to stab them.¡±


    ¡°Lightning storm.¡± Baran said. Lightning then struck here and there causing some damage. But the enemies seemed fine.


    ¡°Enigma of the lightning god, Zeus bolt strike.¡± Elkami cast a large thunder towards a reaper. A crushing sound could be heard from one of the reapers and its mount. Several seconds later said enemy and its mount disintegrated into pile of loots.


    ¡°Curtain bullet series spell 9# flame sealing.¡± 5 streams of flame then came from her body swirled around passed through the hole and burned 3 rhinos and a grim reaper and leaving 2 heavily injured ones in 5 minutes.


    ¡°Alright. Thunder strike!¡± Baran then followed up with a thunder strike. Killing 1 injured enemy. ¡°You can¡¯t kill my prey this time little twerp.¡±


    ¡°Who is after your prey to begin with?¡± Elkami shouted at Baran. ¡°Thunderstrike!¡±


    ¡°Whoa. Lowering your spell now?¡± Baran mocked.


    ¡°Shut up. My mana is depleted.¡°


    "Well, mine too.¡± Baran said.


    ¡°There are only 2 other enemies.¡± Said Ragnar.


    ¡°Should I?¡± Asked Stella.


    ¡°No. I know your mana is nearly depleted as well. At most you are only able to cast 1 or 2 more right? We might need it if there are other reinforcements. Baran, Fira, and El. Try to spam a small spell against one of them. Maria open a hole for their spell to pass through.¡±


    Maria then opened a hole. When fireballs and lightning bolts struck them the enemy charged at the hole but their bodies were to big for the hole. Iris, Arknum, and Hector then pierced them with their swords in turn. The big rhinos then died leaving the grim reaper behind.¡±


    Baran and Elkami then casted lightning strikes effectively killing that grim reaper.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do with that one?¡±


    ¡°Riri, cast a healing spell on the reaper. It might affect him since he is part of the undead.¡± Ragnar suggested. I then casted many of the healing spells I had while circling through them. Some 20 minutes later the grim reaper died. Without a master the rhinos escaped.


    Even though I did almost nothing, I gained 3 level ups. I put the stat points I gained in dexterity and strength. I just put it there just in case I needed to quickly dodge or block. In addition to that I gained a level in light bless and single bless. The healing spells also gained a lot of proficiency but not enough to grant a level up.


    ¡°Think anymore surprises will catch us?¡± Ragnar said.


    10 minutes later nothing happened.


    ¡°Alright. You can bring down your barrier. We will continue our job.¡± Ragnar said.


    ¡°But...¡± Iris interrupted.


    ¡°Maria can only last for another 4 hours. It is better to fight with her buff later right? We can¡¯t afford to deplete her mana now.¡± Ragnar said. ¡±But we might be able to wait for another 20 minutes for the mages to replenish some of their mana.¡±


    After said 20 minutes, the group continued to venture through the forest. After several hours the group then met an altar with a black gem on it. The gem was exuding a black fog and the fog seeped through the roots and soiled of the forest. It was like the black gem on the altar is force feeding the entire forest.


    ¡°Well, no further check is needed right? This thing is literally screaming it is the source of evil right?¡± Hasega asked Elkami.


    ¡°Umm. Yes. Maybe. Let me check¡± Elkami then carefully flew towards the gem, she looked at the gem from various angles. Her flying while examining the gem curiously looked very cute. I almost couldn¡¯t resist the urge to hug her.


    Then suddenly a hand covered with armor grabbed her.


    previous chapter 15 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3644&p=23269#p23269</a>


    next chapter 17 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3669</a>


    _____________


    Author note


    - so here is the next chapter. someone names have been posted here. sorry for swogystar, you are still far away from this chapter. but enjoy


    - comment critics and suggestions are welcome. tell me about our new character okay?


    - here is our MC stat at that time


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class performers


    Health  2325  mana  1875 (+200)


    Fame 200


    Level    55


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job tantalus performer


    Health regen/sec  7.3  mana regen/sec 23.4


    Strength  83 dexterity  162


    Wisdom  302 (+4)   intelect  71 (+4)


    Stamina   260  vitality  93


    Art 64  charisma 87 (+110)


    Leadership. 80(+30) charm 95(+100)


    Fighting spirit 70 faith 20 (+62)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   41%(E)      light 41%(E)


    Unused points 0


    Bonuses


    all stat +10 except dex and charm


    Dex +50 charm +40


    Stamina +40


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    movement reduced by 30% (E)


    healing spell increased by 41% (E)


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Rye bread (6)


    Ring of mana(E)


    Ring of leadership(E)


    Staff of white cleric


    Circlet of purity.


    White high heel shoes


    White dress of purity


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Silver coin (10)


    Gold coins (130)


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5(


    Magic mastery beginner lvl 9


    Acrobatic beginner lvl 7


    Multitasking beginner lvl 7


    Sword mastery beginner lvl 4


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    Bullet deflector beginner lvl 8


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding beginner lvl 2


    Sub skill


    light blessing   beginner lvl 8


    phoenix regen beginner lvl 7


    healing hand beginner lvl 8


    Healing Area beginner lvl 8


    Group cure beginner lvl 8


    Expert cure beginner lvl 8


    Single bless beginner lvl 7


    Fireball beginner lvl 4

 chapter 17 Fairy rebirth

    Chapter 17


    ¡°Serena.¡± A familiar voice rang out to us. ¡°How nice of you to come to my humble abode yourself.¡±


    ¡°Reis.¡± Stella walked back. She gulped but she didn¡¯t have a mental attack like last time.


    ¡°Hey! Let me go. You are the source of all this right?¡± Elkami shouted while struggling to break free.


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you become my puppet again Serena. Or is it Stella now? He then emitted a dark aura. 3 black dogs appeared at his feet.


    ¡°No.¡± A short answer but full of resolution.


    ¡°I see. Well, this one will do.¡± He said while gripping El¡¯s body. Black fog from the black gem rose towards Elkami.


    ¡°Argh. It hurts. Ahh. No, no, NO!!¡± Elkami screamed in pain. Black fog from the gem rose and seeped through her. She struggled in vain.


    ¡°No. No. Let her go!. Fire beam.¡± Stella cast a spell directed at Reis but that beam was blocked by his hand. The other members also tried to slam towards him but the black hounds kept spawning and distracted them.


    El fainted at that moment. Surrounded by black fog, she was then put on the altar beside the gem.


    ¡°Well, it seems this black puppy doesn¡¯t suit your tastes anymore. How about this?¡± He then summoned 10 undead skeletons


    ¡°A necromancer?¡± Iris mumbled. ¡±But a mage should not have the power to punch Maria¡¯s barrier like earlier¡±


    ¡°I am no necromancer. I am a priest of the 11th sect of the Embinyu Church with a necromancer tome. I am the ruler of life and of death! Hahaha!!¡± He gave a maniacal laugh.


    ¡°Oh my, he is one heck of an evil boss alright.¡± Hasega commented.


    ¡°Light bless, single bless.¡±


    ¡°Divine blessing, Goddess buff.¡± Maria also buffed us.


    ¡°Now, resurrect. My puppet. Resurrection!¡± He said to one of his skeletons. The skeleton then grew hair, flesh and skin even his armor started to recover. Said skeleton then turned into an elven swordsman with the exception of his black eyes. He then casted the spell again on the other 7 skeletons which made 8 in total and they were resurrected the same way.


    The tide of battle was now on Reis¡¯ side. All of the elves that were resurrected were high in levels. Hasega and Fira worked together vs. 1 elf. He defended and parried all attacks from the elven swordsman while Fira spammed him with all her skills. Distracted by the fireballs, the elven swordsman¡¯s movements were dulled and Hasega managed to block the elf¡¯s twin swords.


    Victor and Dem worked together on the other elf. Victor parried and attacked from the front while Hasega occasionally stabbed him in the back. Their battle would be the fastest to finish but they would not get out of that battle without a scratch either. Most likely they would end up in the red zone.


    Hector and Arknum worked on two other elves. Hector is the defensive type of two-handed swordman while Arknum is the opposite. Their skills in battle were on par with the elves. But it seemed they were slowly losing.


    Xmoon was pursuing 2 elf archers in his werewolf form. The archers shot some arrows but Xmoon managed to dodge them but it also increased his distance from them and so, the pursuit continued with him circling the corner of the battlefield.


    Baran and Ragnar worked together on the remaining elves. One was an elf mage while the other was another swordsman. The two melee warriors clashed with their weapons and shields while the mages tried to support the other. As the enemy mage was attacking Ragnar and interrupting Baran¡¯s spells and Baran also did the same. This battle was in stalemate until the melee warrior¡¯s winner was decided.


    Stella was facing Reis alone. She was on the defensive by running here and there. It was clear that she hadn¡¯t gotten over her fear yet as she was now dodging excessively making many wasted movements. In terms of agility she topped Reis by far. But in terms of defence, Stella couldn¡¯t scratch him either. This battle was just being prolonged until the others would come to her rescue.


    As for me. I got the leftovers since Maria couldn¡¯t move because she needed to watch the others¡¯ health while casting healing spells to heal them. She shouldn¡¯t be disturbed. There were 20 black dogs and 2 undead skeletons. I had a cute puppy at home. But this thing couldn¡¯t be called cute in any way. This was definitely more scary than a Doberman (Standard police dog). Their bodies were pure black and their eyes were an intimidating red. Their teeth looked sharp (they were sharp okay) and long enough to tear 2 kilograms of my flesh and their claws were protruding with a black shine like obsidian. The skeletons didn¡¯t fare better either. Their jaws were clanking and they had hollow eye sockets. It was like watching a horror movie.


    ¡®Who picked a lottery to decide their enemy?¡¯ My thoughts wandered seeing the battlefield so neatly packed into groups that prevented me from disturbing or calling others for help until I finished my enemy.


    ¡°KYAA!¡± I ducked as a dog jumped trying to bare their teeth at my head. I removed my shoes for added mobility and started counterattacking.


    ¡°Healing area.¡± I casted my spell. With this, like a poison the enemy¡¯s HP was going to down bit by bit. I just needed to defend long enough for them to die. Group cure could also damage them while healing myself.


    I decided to focus entirely on my opponents. I smacked the incoming dog with my staff, effectively sending them flying away. Good thing I added strength and dexterity earlier even with the 90% loss, that didn¡¯t mean my stats got weaker. It just meant I was battling with a level 2 staff (Lvl 20 staff cut by 90%).


    The battle continued for another 20 minutes. I smashed the last skeleton. With this only 10 black dogs were left. Maria occasionally helped me heal so I could afford to cast healing hand and expert cure on those skeletons and dogs.


    On the other side, the elves were at 15 or 40% health. Xmoon had already killed one archer and now cornered his other enemy. He will be the first to finish this. Looks like I am going to be the last one to finish heck I should be grateful if I can even finish this.


    #BLAAR#


    A thunderstrike hit Maria and rendered her paralyzed. The battlefield then stopped to look at the caster of that thunderstrike. It was Elkami. But, her eyes were now red and her body was exuding a black fog.


    ¡®She is being controlled!¡¯ I thought.


    ¡°Well, my little puppets. It is about time. Destroy these insects.¡±


    ¡°Enigma of the thunder god! Bolt of Thor!¡± A magic circle appeared in the sky with a 60 seconds counter. The cooldown is already up?


    The group couldn¡¯t do anything as the counter kept ticking. Each one was preoccupied with their respective enemy. This is really bad! If that spell hits we are finished.


    ¡°Hraagh!¡± Suddenly a werewolf¡¯s claw swiped El and threw her to a tree trunk. The magic circle at the last 10 seconds was interrupted and vanished.


    With Maria¡¯s healing out. The battle carried on in a precarious state.


    ¡°Thunder barrier.¡° A purple orb formed enveloping Elkami. The barrier absorbed some damage and damaged the attacker. Xmoon was now bombarded by Elkami¡¯s spells. Thunder sparks flew here and there. She was literally a lighting artillery battery!


    Everyone except me was now playing more defensively since Maria was unconscious from the attack. An attack that could deal damage more than 50% of her health must be incredibly painful.


    ¡°El! What happened? Please snap out of it!¡± I screamed at El. Of course no one actually listened. Like that line from TV could do anything at all.


    With 5 dogs still behind me, I ran to the altar where the black gem resided. After analysing the situation, I deduced that I did not have to kill Reis to complete the quest but merely destroying the gem would be enough. The gem is what corrupted the forest, Reis was merely using it.


    ¡°NO!¡± Reis was now panicked. He then summoned more black dogs but they were chased down by Xmoon. After understanding what I was about to do, he gave up running from El and chased down the dogs. Climbing to the altar, the black fog engulfed me. Since I am a player, I only felt a slight numbness. But I could see various status effects popping in front of me and my HP continued to decline.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are poisoned by the black fog HP decreases by 10/sec</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are cursed all stats are reduced by 20%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are cursed movement speed reduced by 10%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are cursed fighting spirit is reduced by 10%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ......


    Without caring for any popups. I stood up and raised my staff then I stabbed the black gem with the sharp point of my staff. I stabbed the gem with all the power I could muster. The gem cracked but it was still working. The gem now released even more black fog towards me. I raised my staff again and stabbed it the second time. This time, the gem was pierced and shattered into a million pieces before disappearing with a black shockwave.


    #Ting BOOM#


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been completed


    You have leveled up 15x


    For destroying evil within the forest fame has increased by 100


    Faith has increased by 20</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A tinging sound effect accompanied with loud boom from the gem send all of us flying and killed all other clack creatures. The stale and creepy dark forest pulsed and back to live. The stale air from the forest was being replaced by fresh wind from the east.


    ¡°Damn it. I will kill you!¡± Reis cursed me. His veins seemed about to pop as his anger arose. A black aura then filled his body as he charged towards me.


    ¡°Not so fast!¡± Stella kicked him from behind and casted another one of her mysterious spells. ¡±Curtain bullet spell series #5. Master spark!¡± Her body then sparked with a few lightning strikes until a lighting as big as her body came out from her body and zapped Reis. Numerous small sparks came out from the lightning beam and hit their surroundings.


    ¡°Whoa. This one would put Zapdos to shame.¡± Hasega made an unnecessary comment as he was trying to dodge the lighting sparks that came from Stella.


    After several seconds the lighting dissipated. Stella then fell unconscious while Reis staggeringly stood up. Sparks of electricity could be seen on his body.


    ¡°Damn it! I haven¡¯t lost yet. I will kill you all¡±


    He then drew his one handed sword. He was just playing with Stella back then! He didn¡¯t even use his weapon! He then charged towards Ragnar and slashed his sword upwards. Ragnar was sent flying in that instant while his shield was cut in half.


    ¡®That is too OP, he is a broken character!!¡¯ I lost hope after seeing that scene. Ragnar HP went down from 50 percent to a mere 10 % in that instant.


    Just as all hope seemed lost, a rain of light flashed and bombarded Reis. A horned Pegasus was casting holy magic from the sky. It was a combination of a unicorn and a pegasus. Said pegasus landed in front of me.


    ¡°Yggdrasil has sent us to your aid. Your whereabouts were unknown when you entered dark forest but as the root of evil was vanquished, the god could finally see you again and decided to send us to your aid.¡±


    ¡°Us?¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Other Pegasus will arrive. It is just that I can fly faster so I arrived first. Seems like I made it in time.¡±


    Maria then woke up with a groan and Stella also stood up again with huffing sound.


    ¡°I will retreat for now but remember this. You can run but you can¡¯t hide. I know where you are.¡± Reis said his parting words before running away. He raised some skeletons to block our path and teleported away.


    ¡°What¡¯s with him? He is a necromancer, a master in melee, able to summon an unlimited number of black dogs and now he can teleport too?¡± Baran asked.


    ¡°Whew. That was some encounter. He has the scent of a final boss monster.¡± Victor said.


    ¡°El! El!¡± Xmoon shouted while calling out to Elkami. We then quickly looked only to find the little fairy lying weakly on the ground. Black fog continued to rise from her body. It was like her body was evaporating into nothingness. Maria quickly cast her healing spells but to no avail.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°The corruption rate in her body is too great. With the black gem as the source of her corruption gone, her body will melt away.¡± The horned pegasus said ¡°This will also be the fate of all corrupted animals in this forest. They will die. But since the source is gone, new leaves and new-borns will not be affected. They will continue their parents¡¯ legacy.¡±


    All of us looked down. Tears almost flowed out from my eyes while Xmoon and Maria couldn¡¯t hold back their tears and cried. Even Baran looked down in sadness.


    ¡°Hey. I am not dead yet. I am just tired!¡± A cute weak sound could be heard.


    ¡°El.¡± Xmoon said in a low voice. He was like a prince mourning for his dead princess.


    ¡°Ahh, my HP isn¡¯t increasing. So I am going to die huh? What happened when I was out?¡± She asked with her weak voice. With a sobbing sound Xmoon told her everything.


    ¡°Ahh, sorry Maria. I hit you.¡± ¡°And sorry to you too Xmoon. It seems like I always bring you trouble.¡± She then apologized.


    ¡°No. There is nothing to forgive. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, you were being controlled.¡± Maria shouted trying to comfort El.


    ¡°And Riri. Thank you for destroying the gem in time. Mow, even if I die, I will not be ashamed in front of my god Yggdrasil. Thank you for stopping me in time.¡±


    She then looked towards the pegasus. ¡±If it does not bother you, can I die in my lake? I want to see my lake one more time. If possible I want to die there as well.¡±


    ¡°Sure. With pleasure.¡± The pegasus then called out to his friends to land. 10 other pegasi landed he then said. ¡°Everyone. She does not have many time to live. Riri, take her and ride on my back. The others may ride to other pegasi¡¯s back. We will be back at fairy lake in half an hour. Hope she can last that long.¡±


    After picking up and storing my staff that somehow changed to black. I gently carried Elkami with both of my hands. The horned Pegasus kneeled so that I could climb onto his back easier. After that the pegasus soared to the sky. When I looked at my back, I saw that the once dark green and creepy forest turned back into fresh green with several birds flying here and there it was a pretty sight to behold. The fairy lake looked so pretty from above if not for some craters that Stella left with her magic, the scenery would be perfect.


    ¡°El! We have arrived.¡± I said to Elkami.


    ¡°Thank you Riri. Pegasus.¡± With those last words she disintegrated until nothing was left. Other fairies then came to us giving quest rewards. Weapons and shields and armors. Rare items were given out to each of us,


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Rapier of light


    Durability 60/60


    Attack 75


    Faith +50


    Str +20


    Dex +50


    A sword that enhances your light attributes and healing


    Healing spells increased by 20%


    Light spells increased by 20%


    Dark resistance increased by 20%


    Light resistance increased by 20%


    Level restriction 40</td></tr></tbody></table>


    It was such a great item. But somehow I felt hollow. When I looked at the others, I could feel a slight regret in their eyes. But they accepted the items with a smile with the exception of Xmoon as he accepted his new ring with a bitter smile. It was true that we only traveled with them for a bit but seeing my friends dying is painful. Are the people in this world already used to losing their friends? For Hasega, perhaps he was still thinking this is a game and nothing could be done about it.


    ¡°What is it? Aren¡¯t you happy? Is the sword not good enough?¡± A yellow fairy asked me.


    ¡°Hey. Yggdrasil is a god right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He is a god that governs nature. What about it?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t he resurrect Elkami?¡±


    The fairies then went silent for a moment ¡±Do you want to change your rewards for her live?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But that is impossible sorry. As a god he does not use such a black technique like resurrection magic. Even god needs to respect lives and souls. We can¡¯t just disobey such a rule.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. Wait a second.¡± The yellow fairy stopped. She seemed to listen to something.


    ¡°Ahh well, here. Accept this sword.¡± As she handed me a shiny one handed sword with blue handle.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sword of Elkami


    Attack 75


    Faith +50


    Str +20


    Dex +50


    Int +50


    Wis +20


    Sword imbued with a fairy soul.


    Summon Elkami


    Summon cost 200 mana + 5 mana/second


    Level restriction 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Though Yggdrasil doesn¡¯t like it, it seems Elkami herself wanted to be with you. Use it well¡±


    Tears flowed from my eyes as I said thank you countless times to the fairies. Without delay I equipped the sword and summoned the blue fairy. The fairy appeared in front of me flapping her tiny wings energetically.


    ¡°You are alive!¡± I hugged her.


    ¡°Well, technically I am not alive. I just bound myself to this rapier. This way I became a summoned being.¡± She said.


    ¡°El! Welcome back!¡± Xmoon shed tears.


    Everyone partied that day. Fairies from the lake came out one after another bringing delicious food and drinks. The fairies chattered with Elkami saying good byes and good luck on her journey. Most fairies had never left their lake so the group and Elkami had a lot of stories to tell them. Tantalus group started their story from the past back when they traveled to some other cities I didn¡¯t know. Hasega and co started their story of the honey quest. Stella started telling her story from Selei City. Iris told his story of warfare at City of Acolyte. Xmoon and Elkami started their story of the Dark Forest the most recent one. Now that I think about it, I have gone on many adventures in this world haven¡¯t I? Starting from the play in Selei, attacking Sidinia, the play in Trisia, the Honey, the battle with Iris and now the Dark Forest quest. Now I felt like a leftover. Being a shy girl I just couldn¡¯t start a conversation. But I didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable. Being a spectator of Hasega and Victor bragging about saving Maria, while Elkami and Baran bickered with each other. It seems like they still can¡¯t get along well despite not being in battle.


    Several weeks later we had finally reached City of Acolyte. Or we should have if we had followed the proper route. But our two guides here (Elkami and Xmoon) seemed a little bit unreliable as they kept looking left and right while pointing in different directions. It couldn¡¯t be helped as the forest we are now in looked the same no matter how we go.


    ¡°We are completely lost.¡± Fira declared.


    ¡°We are not lost.¡± Elkami cutely defended herself.


    ¡°It is your fault for leading us in the wrong direction!¡± Xmoon complained.


    ¡°Your way isn¡¯t so reliable either. You keep saying left and right every 2 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Umm. So, are we lost or not?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°Well... the forest changed.¡± Xmoon said.


    ¡°Now what?¡± Hector asked.


    ¡°We know the general direction at least. Let¡¯s keep heading south.¡± Ragnar said.


    After another 4 days I gained 2 levels from hunting. I put all of my leveling stats in intelligence to increase my mana pool since El has many spells that requires lot of mana. In the end, we still hadn¡¯t found any clue about our whereabouts. Xmoon tried to scout around us while Elkami tried to get a bird eye¡¯s view. But it was to no avail. We ended up camping in front of a cave.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Hollow cave


    For being the first to discover this dungeon you get 100 fame


    Doubled experience for 2 weeks


    Monsters will have a higher chance of dropping good loot</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Since we got to discover this cave. Let¡¯s not waste anything and enter.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go in. I won¡¯t refuse any good loot either.¡± Ragnar said.


    The group then went inside the cave. Since the inside was pitch black, Stella and Maria lit our surroundings with their fireball and light magic. Elkami also glowed like a lightbulb. She is pretty convenient at times like this. Well, each time she used magic she had to borrow mana from me and I had to pay 5 mana per second to keep her around. But I guess it was worth it.


    In this dungeon ants roamed the cave. Giant ants that is. They were about your knees in height with around 2 meters in length. They were around lvl 80 but it was very troublesome that were they always attacked in groups of at least 6. Their exoskeletons also had some resistance against slashing damage so only Ragnar¡¯s hammer and Victor¡¯s heavy axes were effective against them. Lighting magic also proves efficient against them. The path was long with many forks and curves. I think it almost took us 2 days in game time to maneuver this dungeon.


    Also after I opened my notification window I was notified that I had gained several level ups of skills mastery


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Magic mastery is now intermediate lvl 1


    Fireball is now beginner lvl 7


    Single bless is now beginner lvl 8


    Light blessing is now beginner lvl 9


    Healing area is now intermediate lvl 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    After venturing deep into the dungeon, what we found wasn¡¯t the queen¡¯s hideout or boss monsters but a city. An underground city lied below the cave.


    previous chapter 16 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3652&p=23319#p23319</a>


    next chapter 18 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3691&p=23531#p23531</a>


    ______________


    author note


    - thanks for Obsidian for PRing my work. if you have any critics or when you see any mistakes in my fanfic please do let me kno


    - critics comment and suggestions are welcome


    - tell me what you think about any of my character so far


    - here is our the usual. MC stat


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class performers


    Health  2325  mana  3900 (+200)


    Level    72  Race human


    Fame 400


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job tantalus performer


    Health regen/sec  7.3  mana regen/sec 23.4


    Strength  83(+2) dexterity  162 (+5)


    Wisdom  302 (+2)   intelect  156 (+5)


    Stamina   260  vitality  93


    Art 64  charisma 87 (+110)


    Leadership. 80(+30) charm 95(+100)


    Fighting spirit 70 faith 40 (+65)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   40%(E)      light 40%(E)


    Unused points 0


    Bonuses


    all stat +10 except dex and charm


    Dex +50 charm +40


    Stamina +40


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    movement reduced by 30% (E)


    healing spell increased by 40% (E)


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Rye bread (6)


    Ring of mana(E)


    Ring of leadership(E)


    Black Staff


    Circlet of purity.


    White high heel shoes


    White dress of purity


    Sword of Elkami


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Silver coin (10)


    Gold coins (130)


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 1


    Acrobatic beginner lvl 7


    Multitasking beginner lvl 7


    Sword mastery beginner lvl 4


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    Bullet deflector beginner lvl 8


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding beginner lvl 2


    Sub skill


    light blessing   beginner lvl 9


    phoenix regen beginner lvl 7


    healing hand beginner lvl 8


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 1


    Group cure beginner lvl 8


    Expert cure beginner lvl 8


    Single bless beginner lvl 8


    Fireball beginner lvl 7

 chapter 18 preparations

    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have discovered Dark City</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fame increased by 150</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Whew. Fame gets increased again and again lately. And mine is now in the hundreds. We must be pretty lucky.¡± Victor said while whistling.


    True to its name, this city had the aura of a dark city in movies. Oil lamps shone dimly at the corners of the streets giving only enough light to walk.


    ¡°Ahh, by the way El you seem weaker than before.¡± Baran said.


    ¡°Well, I have to restrain myself from using buffs and strong magic. Riri doesn¡¯t have mana pool as large as me.¡± Her words hurt my heart. Well, after seeing her status window somehow I could understand her feeling of being restrained in mana and health. Summoned beings after all have lower health and she has to use my mana for her spells.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Elkami</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">mage</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">1000</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">50)</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">300</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">400</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">750)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">160</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">40</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">120</td><td width="25%"></td><td width="25%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fire</td><td width="25%">10%</td><td width="25%">water</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">earth</td><td width="25%">15%</td><td width="25%">wind</td><td width="25%">20%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">thunder</td><td width="25%">50%</td><td width="25%">ice</td><td width="25%">20%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">light</td><td width="25%">35%</td><td width="25%">dark</td><td width="25%">20%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%"></td><td colspan=''3''>50</td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    A summoned being


    Requires mana to be sustained in this world


    mana is provided by user


    Bound to sword of Elkami


    If the summoned being dies, it can be recalled back in 24 hours</td></tbody></table>


    ]<table><tbody>[tr]<td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Magic mastery advanced lvl 5


    Thunder mastery advanced lvl 1


    Darkness mastery intermediate lvl 1


    Flight grandmaster maxed out


    Spell Caster advanced lvl 1</td></tbody></table>


    ]<table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">bag 1</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Thunder Barrier advanced lvl 6


    Thunder Strike advanced lvl 8


    Thunder Shower advanced lvl 1


    Thunder Ball advanced lvl 2


    Lightning Ball advanced lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus Strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god Thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus bolt Shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god Bolt of Thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning Bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana Bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning Charge advanced lvl 4


    Lightning Pulse advanced lvl 5


    Lightning Strike advanced lvl 2


    Lighting Flash advanced lvl 1


    Lightning Storm advanced lvl 2


    Shadow Ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark Lightning beginner lvl 3</td></tbody></table>


    ¡®She is a living dynamo! Her magic is totally lightning based. A living power plant!¡¯ My thoughts screamed at her magic list. Some of her normal magic could cost 1000 to 2000 mana each while the enigma series cost around 10.000 mana each spell not to mention her spells were mostly at the advanced level. Now I know why mages preferred a larger mana pool to mana regen. Even with 300 points in wisdom, they would need to wait 1 or 2 minutes to get their mana back for each spell, the battle would be over before they could cast their 3rd spell and their damage would suck as well since damaging spells relied on intelligence rather than wisdom like healing ones.


    Fortunately she had thunder mastery which decreased her spell mana cost. As a drastic measure, she also could decrease the mana cost of her spells at the cost of spell damage. This way she could decrease her mana cost to 70%, while it has an impact on her spell damage, at least I would still have some spare mana to cast my buff and healing spells.


    She gained a darkness mastery due to her encounter with black fog. Her race had changed too. She seemed pretty down when I mentioned her race. It was like a family shame. She personally asked me not to leak this information. It seems the black fog corruption had seeped down to her soul. Mana reliant creatures such as fairies are weak to the influence of this kind of corruption.


    ¡°Halt!¡¯ A human and an elf guard stopped us. ¡°Please write your names here and you need to pay 1 gold for taxes for each person except merchants with a carriage.¡±


    I quickly unsummoned El for a reduced amount of taxes. After seeing cookie cutter quests, 1 gold somehow seemed valuable to me. Then we wrote our names on some piece of paper and paid the tax. Ragnar paid for Xmoon and the others paid for themselves.


    ¡°Ah, you guys are humans right? And a werebeast. You may pass. Don¡¯t cause a ruckus and don¡¯t put your noses where they do not belong.¡± The guards made a small threat.


    ¡°Is that attitude normal in the human world?¡± Xmoon asked Iris.


    ¡°Nope!¡° A short but clear answer from Iris.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s with that attitude?¡±


    ¡°Just as they said. Don¡¯t put our noses where they do not belong.¡± Iris simply answered. Ragnar and co. seemed to understand but El, Xmoon, Hasega, Fira, Dem, Victor and I had a big question mark on our heads.


    ¡°Simply put, they will act hostile against curious cats.¡± Stella answered our question ¡°So, let¡¯s just ask for directions and escape this city.¡±


    After that we went to the marketplace and sold our loot. Apparently loot from ants is low in price here so we decided to hold unto them and sell them somewhere else. This ants¡¯ loot is supposed to fetch quite a high price since some of them are useful for alchemists. The town looked calm and lonely.


    ¡°Umm, excuse me. How many people live here?¡± I asked the old woman who happened to be a merchant.


    ¡°Around 15.000 I think. Why do you ask girl? Her voice is tender and warm.


    ¡°I see. It is kind of quiet.¡±


    ¡°Well, most of us work at night. Noon or night don¡¯t matter here but that¡¯s how things go around here. Thank you for your patronage girl.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s head into the inn and rest. We will ask for directions tomorrow okay?¡± Ragnar said.


    We then went to the inn which cost 2 gold per night and per room. Hell it is expensive. After that we scattered to collect some information in town asking here and there. We found some NPC adventurers selling the ant¡¯s nest layout. Another way out (It seems the ant¡¯s nest isn¡¯t the main route to this city) and most importantly the path to Acolyte city.


    With all the information gathered, we gathered back at the inn. It seems 8 out of 11 who departed got the same information. There were still 5 days left for that bonus exp and loot. The players in the group did not want to miss it so we decided to stay here until the duration of the bonus or the boss monsters in this area are depleted. Iris assured everyone that they set a rebirth point here so even if we died, we will just respawn here in 4 days.


    And so it was agreed that the natives or NPCs stayed at inn while the others went to the dungeon. The ants here were around lvl 70 and over 100 for soldier ants. El¡¯s and Baran ¡®s magic managed to exterminate most of them. But since we also needed the exp, Baran held back his magic that is until we arrived at the mating chamber where female and male ants gathered. They had wings and were as large as a horse so we couldn¡¯t do anything with them flying around so El and Baran did all the work of bringing them down.


    All went well until the boss monster appeared: the Queen ant. This slimy boss monster laid an Egg every 20 seconds and the egg hatched after 30 seconds. The hatchling varied between worker, soldier, males and females. The queen itself was very slow and didn¡¯t prove much of a threat, it was only that every time a sword slashed at her body, the wound is exuded acidic blood which rapidly decreased a sword¡¯s durability. Plus the blood that splattered also dealt some poison damage. My fireball and El spells were quite handy in this situation, her body was quite weak against thunder attacks so Baran and El were giving their best. Unlike the workers and soldiers which had a hard exoskeleton, the queen had soft and jellylike body so, even though their swords durability would get depleted, Iris and Hasega had no choice but to slash at the queen¡¯s belly. Victor¡¯s axes, though not as effective as Ragnar¡¯s hammer it could deal some damage on worker ants. Baran was focused on the soldier ants that had been popping out. Since Maria was not here, I was in charge of the group¡¯s health, sometimes smacking fireballs on the eggs the queen had been laying.


    After 2 hours of continuous fighting, our equipment was nearing its end. But we got some nice loot and exp. I gained around 15 levels in total for this dungeon raid, most of my exp came from Elkami destroying things. She was a summoned being so her exp mostly went to me.


    The experience and loot bonus finally ended. We packed everything up and went through the town entrance after greeting the guards. Unexpectedly the guards were nice to us. I guess this town just didn¡¯t like any outsiders inside. Somehow I was amazed that this solemn but peaceful town could live with so many races inside. There were dwarfs, elves, celestials and humans. Demons and beastmen also exist within this town but all of them were friendly with each other. It was kind of wonderful. I wonder if the world above and the real ones could become as peaceful as this town.


    Enough with the flashbacks. Right now we have reached City of Acolyte.


    ¡°W-W-What is this?¡± Iris looked at the scenery. The town was in chaos. No, it was literally annihilated. It was not a town anymore but ruins. The city walls were destroyed to the last stone and every house was crushed and burned to the ground. Smoke could still be seen coming from the rubble of the houses.


    ¡°Someone attacked this town again?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°No! The damage is too big in magnitude. If someone wanted to conquer this town, they just needed to destroy the city gates or a part of the wall. Destroying the town until it becomes like this brings no profit.¡± Iris claimed.


    ¡°Then, someone who has a grudge against this city?¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°Very unlikely. If someone does have a grudge, they most likely just assassinate the count who is the head of the city. Doing something like this costs too much.¡± Ragnar replied.


    ¡°Umm, let¡¯s look for survivors¡± I suggested.


    In the end after turning every stone and yelling we only found 2 unconscious almost dead warriors. Without delay, Maria healed them. When they opened their eyes, they begun to speak.


    ¡°We were attacked. By monsters. They numbered in the millions. The city was lost without much of a fight. Everyone was killed. Undead, bandits, bugs, animals, everything came to attack us. #cough cough# thanks for saving us.¡± We then looked at Xmoon and Elkami.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°Well, he said monsters. Perhaps you know something.¡± Hasega said in the most polite way possible


    ¡°Ahh, you are a werebeast?¡± Another soldier said.


    ¡°Hey, we do hate humans. But I did not participate in attacking your town okay. They are the proof.¡± He said while pointing at us. ¡°And I haven¡¯t been messaged by anyone that we were going to attack some village either.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, he is not the one. The monsters that attacked us had a darker aura. It was not just dark aligned but it was completely evil.¡± He said.


    ¡°I see. So, where is this Army headed to?¡± Hector asked. If such a dangerous army was ravaging cities like this, the other towns must receive a warning. And if possible reinforcements from other towns. But the answers from the soldier made our face go pale.


    ¡°They are heading south. I guess they are heading towards Trisia.¡±


    ¡°When? When did the Army move?¡± Ragnar lost his cool and grabbed the soldier.


    ¡°A-A-around 3 days ago.¡±


    ¡°Damn it. Hey! Arknum. Call some foreigners from our group. Warn them!¡±


    ¡°Umm, foreigners from our group. Ahh will Reiner be okay?¡± Arknum stuttered in panic.


    ¡°Anyone! Hurry it up damn it!¡±


    *Hello? Reiner! Are you in Trisia right now?*


    ¡°Yes I am. Hello Arknum. What is it? What is taking you so long to return?*


    ¡°Umm, what should I say to him?¡± Arknum asked in a dumb voice.


    ¡°Tell them to make preparations to escape and warn Count Ignis about the attack!¡±


    *Ahh, Ragnar ordered our group to escape from Trisia since there will be a massive attack by an unknown monster army. And warn the count too about the incoming attack.*


    *Umm, well, we can¡¯t do that right now. I have no problem with the second order. But the first one is a little bit difficult. The city gates are blocked. Well, there are a few minor monster skirmishes. But due to the increased danger, no one is allowed to leave the town except real warriors. And even if they could, they are tasked with killing the surrounding mobs* Reiner replied. This time he sounded worried.


    ¡°Ragnar? Some monsters have arrived there. The city gates are blocked so no one can escape.¡± Arknum reported in a simpler sentence.


    ¡°What? They have reached there already?¡±


    ¡°Must be the scouting party.¡± The soldier replied. All of us then looked towards him.¡± When they first attacked, there were some mosquitos as big as a dog and dragonflies as big as a human. They also prevented us from escaping. At first we only thought it to be some random monsters¡¯ assault. But we were wrong.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Then, that means we can¡¯t get any reinforcement either? The town is besieged!¡± Iris yelled.


    ¡°No. It would be too late even for that. There is only about 1 more week for the main army to arrive. What kind of army can reach Trisia in a week?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°No more time to waste then. Let¡¯s run straight to Trisia!¡± Hector shouted.


    ¡°We could clash with the main army too. Besides, by foot we would need 1 week to get there. We might not even make it.¡± Stella said.


    ¡°Umm, we could use the portal.¡± All of us then looked at Maria.


    ¡°What portal?¡± Ragnar asked.


    ¡°If Trisia has a church, then from the church here, I think I can teleport us there.¡±


    ¡°But the church here is..¡± Fira asked.


    ¡°The portal in this city church is in an underground chamber. It might be okay.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Get moving everyone!¡± Ragnar shouted. ¡±And Arknum. Tell Count Ignis to prepare for a full assault. Tell them to equip every man and woman with weapons. Even children if you have to.¡±


    ¡°Roger.¡± Arknum then made the voice call to Reiner.


    We then dug in the remains of the church. True to her words, there was a chamber underground. It was a simple square room with a single magic circle in it. Ragnar bickered about how Maria and the others should not come and only players should come. But it seems like no one actually listened to him this time. Ragnar can¡¯t argue back since he also stood firm on returning so he was losing this debate.


    ¡°Is this it?¡± Hector asked.


    ¡°Yes. Umm, I think its powered off. We need someone on the outside to power it.¡±


    ¡°That means the person on the outside will be left behind?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Well, since I am a mage guess I am out. I will try to catch up.¡° Baran said.


    ¡°Umm, hold up.¡± I interrupted. ¡°Maria, can Elkami be outside? She is a summoned being. I can just summon her again right?¡±


    ¡°Well, that hasn¡¯t been tried before. Let¡¯s try. We can¡¯t leave anyone behind anyway¡± Maria said.


    ¡°Hey you two. Do you want to come along with us?¡± Ragnar said to the two other soldiers that followed us to the chamber.


    ¡°Yes. This is our home we have nowhere else to go. We will get our revenge against those monsters.¡° Both of them replied.


    ¡°Well, come in then.¡± Hector said.¡±


    We sent 2 or 3 people at a time until it is only Maria, me and Elkami left.


    ¡®Hope nothing goes wrong this time!¡¯ I prayed in my heart.


    ¡°All right. I have sent the proper command for the spells. You only need to power it. Channel your mana through that marking and we will set off.¡± Maria commanded.


    A bright light then enveloped our bodies. My vision went blurry and my head got dizzy. It felt like I was spinning around with no proper holding. After a minute in that crazy vortex, my vision went bright again as my head fell first to the ground.


    You have taken 5 damage


    You are dizzy. Vision will be blurred and your center of gravity will be unstable for a period of 20 seconds.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± I watched the scenery spinning and spinning until the counter stopped and the scenery went back to normal. Maria was still besides me and the other members were fine.


    ¡°I guess it wasn¡¯t such a smooth ride. Maybe because it was not powered by a cleric.¡° Maria made a comment.


    ¡°Summon Elkami!¡± I said and the cute fairy popped up in front of me.


    ¡°Alright. Everyone is safe and sound. And we jumped to the correct place this time. It is the church of Trisia. Let¡¯s meet with everyone.¡± Ragnar commanded.


    Reiner, Itsa, Lucy, Lucky and the other team members were safe and sound. They received no casualties when escaping City of Acolyte that time. We could see the soldiers running here and there with their equipment. The town was in a rush to prepare for the incoming attack, Reiner had already warned the count and he was preparing for the assault. Ballistae were build. Trebuchets were stacked at the top of the wall here and there. Some soldiers could also be seen boiling oil.


    ¡°Ragnar. I have warned the count.¡± Reiner reported. ¡°But he said he wants to meet you directly.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Bring us to them.¡± Ragnar commanded.


    20 minutes later. At the count¡¯s mansion.


    ¡°Welcome Ragnar and the others.¡±


    ¡°Count Ignis. I think we need to prepare more than just this.¡± Ragnar answered.


    ¡°Yes. Reiner has already warned me. We are preparing 3 times more than usual for this battle. It will be piece of cake.¡± The count spoke lazily.


    ¡°No your highness!¡± The soldiers that were with us screamed.


    ¡°And who are you?¡±


    ¡°My mate here and I are soldiers from city of Acolyte. We are the only survivors from that city. please your highness. We must prepare more than this. Arm everyone and give them basic military training!¡±


    ¡°City of Acolyte? That city was decimated?¡± The count now lost his cool and started to panic.


    ¡°Yes. Every last man, woman and child. We are alive through sheer luck.¡±


    ¡°Is this true?¡± He then turned to Ragnar. It seemed he has some doubt about those soldiers.


    ¡°We have seen City of Acolyte. There were no stones left unturned. Every wall was destroyed. Every house was burned and crushed. It has practically been levelled to the ground.¡± Ragnar answered.


    ¡°How? A tribe of monsters? Even werewolves should not be capable of doing that.¡±


    ¡°The army is composed of many kinds of evil creatures. Those mosquitos and dragonflies outside are two of them. They were besieging us!¡±


    ¡°What!? They are not just migrating here?¡± The count now jumped from his chair. He then went thinking again. This time with a serious expression. ¡±So, you are suggesting to train everyone here and forcefully recruit them into the army? But They are rumoured to arrive here in 1 week. Will the training be enough? Panic might spread around and that would be worse than the army just attacking.¡±


    ¡°BUT THE ENEMIES NUMBER IN THE MILLIONS!¡± The soldier finally shouted losing his calm. Everyone then turned towards him while some soldiers rushed in to see what happened. With a gesture, the count signalled said soldiers to return to their post.


    ¡°First you are telling me there was an attack and now you are saying it there were millions. Ragnar, even if this is coming from you, I still find it hard to believe.¡± He said.


    ¡°Though we did not see it directly. There was no harm in being too prepared. No, I believe there is no such thing as being too prepared to begin with. We should mobilize everyone.¡± Ragnar said.


    The room then went silent. For 2 whole minutes no one raised a voice. The count finally said. ¡±You are my friend Ragnar. I will believe in your decision this time. Let¡¯s forcefully recruit everyone. Fan, ask the bishop here to ask the other churches for reinforcements. Since they have portals, they might make it in time.¡±


    Then everyone from the poor to nobility were drafted. Ragnar begged them on his knees to participate in military training in the barracks. Ragnar promised them they would fight at the back of the army, but they must be able to fight or they will die a dog¡¯s death. With such a famous man begging, no one could refuse. The nobles then reluctantly followed the military training. Whines could be heard here and there in the nobility¡¯s camp, the count even made a nobility battalion. This group all consisted of nobility and they were assured they could stay behind. But they still had be capable of fighting. The count also forcefully took some of their belongings as funds for the war with promise that the nobility would get a raise in rank, they had no choice but to give some of their wealth away.


    Other lower class residents were easier to persuade. With money and a little forceful method, they were easier to recruit. Peasants, women and men trained together in a makeshift training camp since the usual barracks and training grounds couldn¡¯t hold the army any longer. They practiced in the afternoon and slept at their own homes at night.


    Only blacksmiths, alchemists and enchanters did not have military training. With the sudden raise in the number of soldiers, they were forced to make weapons, potions and enchanting the weapons without payments for their work (It means they got materials for crafting but got no money for their labor)


    Some other blacksmiths and crafters also helped build more siege weapons such as ballistae and trebuchets. Cooks helped make stew to raise morale while also receiving some training. Even soldiers went and hunted in the fields for food. Since most people were recruited as soldiers, there was a lack of food, blacksmith materials such as ores and wood and other things.


    5 days passed without us realizing it. The monsters around the city had increased in numbers, hunting and gathering ores was more difficult now. 10.000 paladins had arrived via the church portals with 3000 priests. The portals kept shining with 3 or 5 peoples showing up one after the other without stopping. The church claimed this was all they could muster in such short notice. The church promised to send more, even foreigners and ordinary soldiers from towns if they had to.


    Spies had reported the enemy numbers. Some estimated it to be 3 million while others simply reported it was ¡®Uncountable¡¯. Seeing this number, even the arrogant nobles now trained with their utmost potential like their lives depended on it. Some even giving away all their money to the count for war funds. Some tried to escape, but it was too late. The enemies were almost at their doorstep.


    Maria would now prepare her ultimate magic. Magic that everyone was after. Magic that drove Iris to conquer City of Acolyte. Everyone was getting ready. I spend my points from leveling up 15 times in the labyrinth. With Stella¡¯s advice I put them in both dexterity and intelligence and a little in strength. With the addition of another 13 times level up from killing monsters around the city, I forgot to mentioned, I hit lvl 100 with several other skill levels. Almost all of my skills had reached intermediate now. Only speed reading, sneak, horse-riding and manage still stuck at their beginner levels. It was literally killing 24/7 for 5 days without stopping. But even with that, this ¡®scout group¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to dwindle. I also bought some rings to increase my stats. 4 rings that increased vitality and strength, 4 rings that enhanced my magic further, a necklace and a pair of earrings. Some other Tantalus members also squandered all their money while making Lucky work his ass off by making armor from their loot. All of my money was gone with the buying of these accessories.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Earring of faith and wisdom


    Faith +40 wis +20


    Level restriction 60</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Necklace of vitality


    Vit +30


    Str +20


    Level restriction 80</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ring of vitality x4


    Health +200


    Vit +30


    Str +20


    Level restriction 80</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ring of intelligence x4


    Mana +200


    Int +30


    Wis +20


    Level restriction 80</td></tr></tbody></table>


    We managed to gather 100.000 soldiers. Against an uncountable amount of enemies.


    previous chapter 17 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3669</a>


    next chapter 19 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3728</a>


    ______________


    author note


    - college is about to come. i might have a hiatus after chapter 30 to focus on my study


    - I didn''t quite like tha pet system in RR so i changed it.


    1st of all, EL need mana to sustain this is substracted from Riri mana regen.


    2nd is all exp that El kills went to Riri so she can not get stronger than she currrently has unless a special condition were met


    3rd, she doesn''t have her own mana pool and need to leech of Riri for it.


    - next chapter is an extremely long full fledged battle scene.


    - our MC stat


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class performers


    Health  6075(+800)  mana  9275 (+1000)


    Level    100 Race human


    Fame 400


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job tantalus performer


    Health regen/sec  19.5 mana regen/sec 40.4


    Strength  93(+102) dexterity  272 (+5)


    Wisdom  302 (+102)   intelect  246 (+125)


    Stamina   260  vitality  93 (+150)


    Art 64  charisma 87 (+110)


    Leadership. 80(+30) charm 95(+100)


    Fighting spirit 70 faith 40 (+105)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   40%(E)      light 40%(E)


    Unused points


    Bonuses


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Rye bread (6)


    Ring of mana(E)


    Ring of leadership(E)


    Black Staff


    Circlet of purity.


    White high heel shoes


    White dress of purity


    Sword of Elkami


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Earing of faith and wisdom


    Necklace of vitality


    Ring of vitalityx4


    Ring of inteligence x4


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 6


    Acrobatic intermediate lvl 2


    Multitasking intermediate lvl 1


    Sword mastery intermediate lvl 4


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 5


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding beginner lvl 6


    Sub skill


    light blessing   intermediate lvl 3


    phoenix regen intermediate lvl 2


    healing hand intermediate lvl 5


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 7


    Group cure intermediate lvl 4


    Expert cure intermediate lvl 4


    Single bless intermediate lvl 7


    Fireball intermediate lvl 4

 chapter 19 battle of trisia part 1

    We spent the rest of our time preparing more inside the city walls. Since the enemy was already close by, we couldn¡¯t go out hunting anymore. Training with swords to increase our masteries or helping others carry luggage. My vitality and stamina increased by 5 this time.


    On day 7 in the evening, the enemy reached us. They were camped at some distance away to restore their stamina but they could be seen. As the enemy rested, so did we. The count wore his silver plated armor. I guess this count is a warrior one too just like Count Duke. I won¡¯t be a disappointment again.


    ¡°Holy....¡± Hasega let out a comment.


    ¡°Think Rohan will save us this time?¡± Victor commented as we saw the enemy marching towards us. They literally filled the entire plains before the city. I couldn¡¯t even see the end of them as they kept popping up from the forest further south.


    The green plains were now filled with enemies in black. Just as the soldiers had said, the enemy was evil. They were not merely a dark aligned, they were evil monsters. It was clear by the black fog that they exuded from their bodies which made the green grass field they passed whither. It was a symbol of corruption.


    ¡°That black fog.¡± Elkami shouted.


    ¡°Serenaa...¡± There was only one man standing in front of the marching army. But his presence was darker than the others. A helmet hid his face but from his voice we already knew who he was. His armor was pitch black with the same dark cape. His attire was just like a dark knight with his sword sheathed on his waist and a tower shield in his hand all in black. But his power might even reach more than lvl 300. The evil presence from the man alone made everyone shiver.


    ¡°Whew. I never want to get famous in this world.¡± Victor said. Everyone in Tantalus now knew of Stella¡¯s story with Reis. ¡±That is one crazy army.¡±


    Skeletons from every profession (knights, mages, archers). Zombies, ghouls, banshees, trolls, orcs, flying mosquitos, dragonflies, even normal looking soldiers, elves, dwarves, huge rhinos, Cyclops, what the heck that army had every monster in the book! Even bugs like spiders and ants could be seen. Ahh, there are some soldiers there with the crest of City of Acolyte on their plate. It was a resurrected, necromancer and a dark fog army, didn¡¯t we already destroy that dark gem? Does he have another gem in his hands?


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have received a quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Defend Trisia


    Trisia is under attack by the legions of the Dark Army. Defend Trisia by defeating the Dark Army


    Quest difficulty A


    Quest failure all citizens of Trisia are killed and Trisia is destroyed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Blessing of the goddess is activated


    Your mana regen increased by 50%


    Your health regen increased by 50%


    Mana and health increased by 30%


    Magical resistance increased by 20%


    All stat increased by 40%


    All damage received will be reduced by 20%


    Faith increased by 200


    Stamina regeneration increased by 100%


    Stamina consumption reduced by 30%


    Morale is at maximum</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The buff will last until Maria¡¯s praying is disrupted.


    ¡°Wow, that girl is something..¡± Hasega said. ¡°I have never seen a buff this good.¡±


    ¡°So this is what those nobles wanted.¡° Iris commented.


    ¡°Why does she never use it when we go hunting?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°She said she only can use it when there are churches nearby. She prayed at the underground chamber at that church. So, even if the church got destroyed, the buff will still activate. No worries. The church is on the higher level at the topmost level,. We will have this buff until the last man.¡± Said Hector.


    Reis stopped before our arrow target lines. All his warriors also stopped a few meters behind him in a nice and neat line. Despite the different variety of monsters, I guess all of them are just puppets with no souls only skills left. He then drew his dark blade into the air and brought it down signalling his army to attack.


    ¡°Trebuchets! FIRE!¡± Ragnar commanded. Stones were flying from the city towards the marching army. The scenery now was like putting few white grains of sand into black paper.


    ¡®They don¡¯t even need to aim huh? Anywhere they shoot it there would be a 99% to hit someone.¡¯ I thought as I saw the stones they shot just always hit something. It was just like I described before. Putting a grain of white sand on black paper.


    The enemy ran towards our wall. I began to command my archer unit. Actually I tried to refuse this position, but after seeing my achievement in City of Acolyte, they deliberately put me here commanding all ranged units. On top of the wall and on the front side. Again!


    ¡°Archers! Prepare to fire!¡° I waited a few more seconds ¡°Fire!¡±


    Hundreds of arrows flew towards our enemies. Piercing the enemy here and there but it barely had any effect on the marching enemies. Retaliating to our attacks, enemy archers shot their arrows. Trolls and Cyclops brought some slingshots with them. With a spin, they threw the rocks towards us.


    ¡®A living catapult!¡¯ My thoughts screamed. The trolls and Cyclops just shot stones with their slingshots. It was true that they didn¡¯t bring any siege weapons, but what they did just now is no different from catapults!


    While the enemy trolls and our trebuchets exchanged blows with their stones. The Ants army crawled at our walls climbing up. Aww, I will hate bugs for my entire life for this. They literally crawled up our walls with no difficulties. Our walls were useless against them, it even inhibited us from shooting at the ants.


    ¡°Umm. Don¡¯t pour the oil yet. Shot at those beasts first. Baran, rain down some spells on those bugs.¡± I judged that the enemy hasn¡¯t reached our front wall. These bugs were the first therefore, we did not need to pour the oil yet. Baran nodded and his men shot their magic at the disgusting bugs. Some bugs that made it to the top were slaughtered by El¡¯s magic and the reserve troops that were stationed at the top of the walls.


    ¡°Okay pour the oil now!¡± I commanded after seeing that the enemy had reached our front door. Fire then engulfed the armies at the gate and front wall, burning ants and some other armies. The walls were safe for the moment.


    A buzzing sound could be heard as mosquitos and dragonflies with an archer rider started their attack.


    ¡°Heads up. Shoot at them!¡± Hasega who commanded a smaller archer unit under my command gave the order.


    ¡°No! Leave them to the volley group led by Hector. The archers on the wall need to shoot at those mages and archers that harass us!¡± I commanded after judging the situation.


    *Reiner! Aim the ballistae at those trolls and cyclops.* I whispered Reiner. Javelins from the ballistae were then shot hitting bullseye. Sling shooting trolls and Cyclops went down one after the other. Some even went towards Reis, but he blocked it with precision with his shield. He couldn¡¯t be touched just now.


    ¡°White princess! The enemy shot a web towards our walls!¡± Some soldiers shouted while I was looking at my behind commanding the volley troops to aim at the mosquitos above us. After the shout I turned my gaze back at the battlefield again. It is true that the spiders now shot their webs towards our wall making an instant ladder! No, it was better than the ladders I met at City of Acolytes the web was fireproof and it was a little bit sticky making it so the whole army could climb our walls like Spiderman now.


    ¡°Ballistae! Kill those spiders now! Archers at top of the walls. Fire at those spiders. Bring them down in an instant!¡± I screamed at them. The web hadn¡¯t covered our entire wall, only several parts of it now. But they managed to use it well since some skeleton knights and zombies could climb up.


    ¡°Archer units, evacuate the webbed part of the walls. Reserve troops. Focus on those parts of the wall.¡± I gave another command. Arknum and Iris then charged at those parts of the wall with some priests as backup.


    If you were thinking where the count is, he was at the uppermost level of the city. He was in charge of monitoring the battle at bird¡¯s eye view while coordinating which section needed troops. He was the rear guard I assumed since he was also in charge of our retreat route. He was also in charge of the supply depot (Blacksmiths that repaired equipment and supplied arrows). Then, just as promised the nobility group was put the furthest back a.k.a. the supply group and archers. They were now sniping some dragonflies, transporting stones and javelins to the trebuchets and ballistae and other stuff. Basically, they were lackeys now. Well, considering they had the highest survival chance no one could complain.


    Many spiders were shot down by javelins it was a disgusting sight when their abdomens were pierced by javelins splattering their guts. Some soldiers almost threw up seeing it. Another section of the wall was webbed. With a command I ordered Arknum¡¯s unit to stay while Iris handled the other section. My archers and their volleys did not need to be disturbed now since they were shooting nicely at the opponents. If we could hold the wal like this, we would have no problem defending the city.


    ¡®Phew.¡¯ I breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°White princess!¡± Now what!? ¡°The enemy is making an empty line.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± It was true that now I could see an empty line being formed towards our city gates. At the end of the line were two 10 meter tall horned and armored rhinoceros. Seriously they were almost as big as a 1 story house. I could already guess what they were about to do. Now how do I stop them. It would be bad if they rammed our city gate.


    ¡°Umm,¡± I continued to pondered while said rhinos were charging ahead. I could already feel the impact that rhinos could do to our gates. Heck they might even be able to break our gates in one hit.


    ¡°Unlock the gates! El cast one of your enigma spells in front of the gate.¡°


    ¡°Umm, which one?¡°


    ¡°The one that attacks anything in front of the gate for at least 20 seconds!¡±


    ¡°Alright. Enigma of lightning god! Zeus bolt shower!¡± A magic circle then appeared in front of city gates with a 40 seconds counter. My entire mana bar was gone in an instant!


    ¡°Have you unlocked the gate?¡±


    ¡°Umm, we are on it.¡± Xmoon replied somehow doubtful. Well, actually in a real war, only crazy people unlocked their front door in front of invading enemies.¡±


    ¡°Done!¡± Itsa shouted.


    ¡°Archers below. Evacuate. Paladins and priests prepare yourselves!¡±


    #BOOM#


    The gate opened in a single motion. The rhinos charging ahead then slipped and crashed into some random stone houses destroying the houses.


    ¡°Fight off the enemy and close the gate!¡± I ordered. There was a lag of 10 seconds between the opening of the gates and Elkami¡¯s spell. But this was the best I could do. Armies of undead, zombies, ghouls and ghosts poured into the gate, paladins and mercenaries led by Victor then charged ahead blocking and crushing them. Priests at the back healed the possessed mercenaries and casted light based attacks at the dark forces. They somehow managed to hold them back.


    ¡°Archers turn around and hit behind the gate.¡± I ordered.


    And a moment later El¡¯s spell activated. A lightning crystal dropped from the magic circle. With a spark the crystal hit everything in its surrounding with sparks of lighting clearing the city gate. Said paladins and mercenaries were then able to close and lock the gate.


    Now to deal with the rhinos. My archers kept hitting it but they seemed fine. Magic and arrows were used against them. Paladins and mercenary also charged at them but they were send flying by their horns. Said paladins¡¯ HP was red in an instant.


    ¡®That¡¯s some crazy attack. It could kill someone here in one hit.¡¯


    ¡°Surround but don¡¯t attack. Let the archers and mages deal with it.¡± I commanded.


    After 20 minutes the rhinos were dead. Those monsters could take as much damage as huge as 200 soldiers could deal for 20 minutes! It was more than scary. Now let¡¯s turn our gazes towards the field again. Even with javelins shooting here and there, even if the numbers of sling shooters and spiders decreased greatly, somehow they persisted on the battlefield. After one was killed, others replaced it. Ahh, another part of the wall was webbed again.


    ¡°Xmoon, lead some soldiers and guard that area.¡± I commanded them. This was getting tiring. I was exhausted, shouting here and there. The sun was almost down and they didn¡¯t let go of their attack. My stamina was fine with the buff but my mind was not. I also could see some players huffing here and there but the NPC didn¡¯t seem tired. I guess this was another difference huh?


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The buff has been deactivated


    I stared at system notice. All other soldiers also stopped their attack with the sudden decrease in power.


    *What happened to Maria?* I shouted at party channel.


    *Maria is exhausted. She fainted and needs time to rest* Reiner whispered to me.


    I quickly reacted. ¡°Everyone. Don¡¯t just stand. Continue the attack. Our acolyte just needs to rest. We need to hold them back.¡±


    With a nod everyone continued. It was already dusk. In a few moments it will turn into night. The enemy got a 50% boost on their side now. The reserve troops were now doubled in number to block the webbed sections of the wall. Casualties were starting to increase among the reserve troops. Seeing this, I had no choice but to arrange archer and mage units to attack the enemies that were climbing the wall helping the reserve troops.


    ¡°How large is this army?¡± Iris who was resting beside me commented. No wonder, we have been killing them from dawn to dusk. Trebuchets were still spitting rocks and rubble to who knows where. Some were destroyed by mosquitos and dragonflies. The warrior in charge of those trebuchets had been taking turns loading the stones. It seemed like they were exhausted as well.


    ¡°El, lightning charge on my blade please.¡± Lightning charge was basically filling a weapon or body with lighting dealing additional lightning damage when the body touched or the weapon struck its target. I decided to take some action. After unequipping my shoes, I ran and stabbed some orcs. The lightning damage then took effect. After that I threw a fireball at it and he was dead. Due to my high dexterity, I could deal critical hits easier.


    Continuing the battle, I sidestepped here and there picking off some dark forces that managed to slip from Iris and Arknum¡¯s group. Stella helped too and we were able to be keep the dark forces at bay. Hasega and Victor had been busy since beginning to help block the dark forces.


    *Riri, Ragnar said we are ready to throw balls of flame!* Reiner whispered. About time now.


    *Alright. We are at our limit here. Please use it now!*


    Trebuchets were then filled with a big round vases instead of stones. ¡°Fire!¡± Ragnar shouted.


    ¡°Explosive arrow!¡± Some nobles that had archery as a hobby shot the vases with fire arrows. The vases then blew up scattering burning oil on the dark army. The dark night suddenly went bright with burning oil scattered here and there. The javelin from the ballistae too were coated in oil. The ballistae then shot through the torch in front of it lighting the javelin and piercing a dragonfly. Those ballistae will never run out of targets I tell you. There were still some war trolls that were climbing up. After that there were some normal sized rhinos that were trying to ram the gates. But their impact was far below those earlier ones. Even then, there were still some veteran knights roaming around the dark knight. It was up to the ballistae users to pick their targets. After reinforcing the gate with wooden planks and metal bars, it would hold out.


    We were starting to take casualties now. With the enemies getting 50% stronger at night we were clearly at a disadvantage. Clerics and paladins were doing their best to hold their place and live. But casualties were still inflicted one by one.


    #BOOOM#


    Alright. That was a bad sound coming from my area. Some explosions occurred near one of the trebuchet posts where 2 barrels of oil were burned. It was definitely not their doing as that post should not have a single flame lit. That only left us with 1 other possibilities. Enemy attack. Now which one is it? The enemy should no longer have such a weapon right? No there are three. Three cannon-like flowers had their petals opened, a pink sparkle of light filled their petals. 20 seconds later a cannonball sized pink ball of light pierced through the sky hitting a ballista post this time. Those flower were definitely bad news.


    ¡°Ballistae or Trebuchets. Kill that cannon flower.¡±


    ¡°Holy... they have 3 mortars with them. Isn¡¯t that for the Industrial Age? Why do they have one in a medieval setting?¡± Hasega made a useless comment.


    ¡°Ahh, Riri, there is a laser beam version of that flower too.¡± Victor said.


    The mortar version was purple coloured, the laser version was yellow coloured.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Stella screamed while jumping and kicked me several meters away. Without even a second delay, a purple laser shot past us and hitting the wall behind us causing an explosion. This army never ceased to surprise me.


    A flaming javelin then pierced that flower. After 2 more shots one of the flowers turned into pile of unreachable loot. The battle was still going on at a stable rate. The enemy still held up their pressure but we managed to hold them off.


    *Riri, Ragnar requests you to come to the church* Reiner whispered.


    10 minutes later after running from the outer wall and climbing the many stairs to the upmost place of this city. I met Ragnar and Count Ignis at the big hall of the church. If some of you were wondering, the church of Freya here was far more grand than the count¡¯s mansion. Since the goddess Freya loves beauty and Trisia had it, this place had become one of the churches¡¯ favourites. A message was sent to the cathedral requesting more reinforcements. After seeing the numbers of the enemy, the bishop had requested another use of the portal to call other reinforcements. But none had arrived so far.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work Riri.¡± The count complimented me.


    ¡°No, it is nothing. Umm. So why did you call me?¡±


    ¡°Well, Ragnar has informed me that this army belongs to only one man. Is it true?¡±


    ¡°Umm, yes. I think.¡±


    ¡°If we kill him. The entire army will vanish?¡±


    ¡°Umm. Perhaps. Or at least become wild monsters. But we have not able to kill him. He blocked the javelins with his shield.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, I am at my wits end. So, any suggestion to turn tide of the war? To be honest, if their purpose was conquest not annihilation, I would have gladly surrendered even before this battle began. So, what do you think?¡±


    The room then went silent. We couldn¡¯t surrender. We couldn¡¯t escape to the hills either and the cliff to our back blocked us while the enemy was in front of us. We could only keep fighting for who knows how long.


    ¡°Well, Iris is in charge of the army now you do not need to worry. Here is our current standing.¡± Ragnar opened the city map with its surroundings. Well our surroundings are the plains ahead and the cliff behind us.


    ¡°Before the battle we had around 200.000 men... I mean soldiers or combat orientated classes.¡± Ragnar edited his words. ¡°Only 10 or 20 died in daytime. And all of them were low leveled. Just some unlucky ones that got hit by flying rocks. But the number escalated during night-time. I heard the casualties are over 20.000 by now and still increasing.¡±


    The count then said. ¡±Well, these 20.000 soldiers are ones that belong to you.¡± He pointed at me.


    ¡°Umm. But.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, we do not blame you white princess. In fact you did quite a good job. But nevertheless our casualties have skyrocketed.¡±


    ¡°The enemy has a 50% buff at night¡± Ragnar answered.


    ¡°Yes. That is the problem. The problem is that their melee troops could climb our walls. So, I have a suggestion.¡° The count said with sad expression. ¡°Let¡¯s sacrifice 200 men at the walls. I will assign 20 veteran combatants and 180 temporary soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°If we can rip out the web, we will have no problem. Our casualties mostly lie there.¡± He then inhaled his breath. ¡°Let¡¯s command those 300 men to climb down those webs while ripping them. The web is stronger than the adhesives. This way we will cut down on the amount of casualties.¡±


    ¡°But, Sacrificing others.¡± I was dumbfounded.


    ¡°Besides who would do that kind of task?¡±


    ¡°I have filled most of this unit with low level foreigners. Only 40 or 50 are natives. They would come back to life in 4 days right? A little fame would be a good reward for them. I saw that some of them even accepted it with a smile. While the natives pursue gold for their families. Riri, your job is to cover this unit while they advance downwards with your archers and mages.¡°


    ¡°Umm. I see. Okay.¡± Somehow this idea left a bad taste in my mouth. But logically speaking, this was the best way to deal with it.


    The meeting was then closed. As a reminder, my Mana bar was always at half or lower. It was because El was still out there fighting with her magic. I swear that when I saw her fighting with normal spells, it was no different from Pikachu with blue lightning. She sparked here and there spitting out her lighting attacks without pause. She paused only when she noticed I only had 20% mana left, I guessed she had enough spells to do a full cycle (Full cycle is continuously casting different spells until the first one finished its cooldown thus repeating the same pattern of attacks again). She fired her spells randomly but they always accurately hit and killed their target. Well, the exp was always flowing to me.


    I ran back and returned to the front wall. The troops were said to arrive in 2 minutes (I have higher dexterity so I ran back faster). I then informed Iris, Baran and Arknum about the plan, Xmoon was too far away so I just send a certain little fairy to explain things to him. They just gave a sad nod. With this the plan was established. Iris informed me that we managed to kill all the enemy flowers. But in return, we lost 5 of ballistae and 3 other trebuchets. We were now down to 3 of each siege weapons.


    ¡°El, stop your spells. Cast that one.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Which one?¡± She asked after she came back.


    ¡°Umm, that one hit KO skill on the reaper?¡±


    ¡°Alright. But you do not have enough mana.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you need to stop and let me recover my mana to full first.¡± I sighed. Sometimes she is quite dumb I guess we are just tired.


    The group arrived and quickly reported as The Suicide for Trisia Group. What a lame but fitting name. I guess the count didn¡¯t want to lie to these poor souls. They were then divided into 3 groups, I went to Xmoon while the others went to Arknum and Iris in the rear.


    ¡°We are going to do it in turns. El, cast it at the Xmoon¡¯s webbed section of the wall¡± I said.


    ¡°Enigma of the lightning god, Zeus strike!¡± A magic circle then appeared on that webbed section. At Xmoon¡¯s webbed section of wall. A few seconds later with a loud thunderous roar that part was cleared with El¡¯s magic and said one hundred people started to go down diligently.


    ¡°Baran, deal with Arknum¡¯s section.¡± I commanded. The one hundred men then went down slowly while the enemy was constantly being shot at by Baran and the others. Some of those 100 men were warriors like the others so they were not exactly defenceless.


    The soldiers managed to clear half or two thirds of the web before they were annihilated. But, with this we had no longer feared the enemy climbing up again.


    Finally out of oil vases, the trebuchets were now filled with dry straw. It was then shot and ignited with flaming arrows. Some of the nobles were quite something for being able to snipe them continuously well, not all of the nobles were wimpy and corrupt men. The last of the dragonflies and mosquitos were annihilated by other archers. We had survived the first night.


    previous chapter 18 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3691&p=23531#p23531</a>


    next chapter 20 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3729</a>


    _________


    author note


    - here all the next release hope you enjoy


    - currently i am engrossed in playing some RPG (Fire em,blem) i can''t write at the moment. well, i planned to hiatus on chapter 30 until my college for this semester is done. after this week we might see each other again in 4 or 5 months.


    - comments and suggestions are welcomed. if you have any questions, please post it here or at discussion topic. i am happy if somehow i can improve my skills.


    - MC stat will be posted when the battle has ended. somewhere in the next 3 or 4 chapters more i think.

 chapter 20 battle of trisia part 2

    Dawn finally arrived. The dark force retreated but was not yet defeated. It seems they retreated due to Reis¡¯ order. The army pulled back until it was out of archer and ballista¡¯s range. Finally a breather.


    ¡°Man... they still have a lot of troops there.¡° Iris commented.


    ¡°But at least they pulled back for a bit.¡± I said.


    ¡°Let them come. Maria has rested and even if they come, we will have that boost. They are going down!¡± Victor said.


    ¡°I have only seen several battles. But I know that behaviour. They did not retreat nor are they defeated. They plan to reform the line and attack again!¡± Ragnar said.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor blurted.


    ¡°Just see.¡±


    True to his word. The enemy didn¡¯t retreat, Reis released a large amount of dark fog. The dark fog then seeped into the earth and fifteen mountain sized golems rose. They were not really mountain sized just around 50 meters. Somewhere around 10 meters or so above us (we were standing on a wall.) The stone of the golems¡¯ bodies turned black slowly. After it had turned into dark grey, the golems started to move forward.


    As the golems marched, the dark army marched slowly behind it. We could only stand there as the golems continued to march. They were moving very slowly, but stones from the trebuchets and javelins from ballistae didn¡¯t seem like they would destroy all the golems before they reach our gate.


    ¡°No comments now?¡± Xmoon asked.


    ¡°No. I have no words to express this feeling.¡± Iris answered.


    ¡°His class is simply cheating. Is he even a human to begin with? This is an impossible quest. I am gonna sue Unicorp for this.¡± Hasega made the comment


    ¡°Well then. Commander Riri, or should I call you white princess now. Any ideas?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°Umm. No.¡± A short clear answer from me. ¡°El?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even ask.¡± El retorted. ¡°Ahh, but.. want to try cast another enigma spell?¡±


    ¡°Will it work? Stone and lightning aren¡¯t very good match right?¡± Iris asked.


    ¡°Well, no harm in trying.¡±


    ¡°Umm, the count is preparing something. It might be ready soon.¡± i said while listening to whisper channel from Reiner


    *Riri, are you there?*


    *Yes. Is the bomb ready?*


    *Well, we only managed to get a few barrels. But it seems to work.*


    ¡°What barrels?¡± Iris interrupted our party chat


    ¡°Umm, gunpowder.¡± i said


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Umm, well. There is gunpowder here. Stuff it together. Then enhance it with fire enchantment and umm, I think we got a few bombs.¡±


    ¡°I have never heard about that.¡±


    ¡°Me neither. Until we began preparing that is. They first planned to scatter it on the ground then lit it up using fire arrows but then I interrupted them.¡± I answered.


    ¡°Alright. Bring it on.¡± Iris said.


    Then a wooden barrel with a fuse lit came flying from above. The barrel hit the face of a golem and with a loud explosion it blew up the golem¡¯s head. Without a head said golem stopped moving and crumbled leaving a pile of stones.


    ¡°YES! It worked!¡± Iris shouted.


    The barrels continued to fly one at a time. We currently only have 3 trebuchets. Some golems took 3 barrels to bring down. Without hitting its head one barrel was not enough.


    *We are out.* Said Reiner.


    ¡°No good. We are out of gunpowder-barrels.¡±


    ¡°There are still 5 of those golems!¡° Iris shouted.


    #Ting


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Blessing of the goddess is activated


    Your Mana regen increased by 50%


    Your Health regen increased by 50%


    Mana and health increased by 30%


    Magical resistance increased by 20%


    All stats increased by 40%


    All damage received will be reduced by 20%


    Faith increased by 200


    Stamina regeneration increased by 100%


    Stamina consumption reduced by 30%


    Morale is at maximum</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The buff will last until Maria¡¯s praying is disrupted.


    I then shifted my gaze to El. She nodded and casted her Zeus strike at one of the golem. The golem was close enough now for our mages to attack. Another 2 were brought down before the golems reached out right in front of us. With a sweep of their right hands, we, the army at the front wall, jumped or fell back, while those at the back fell from the wall.


    After that one of the golems slammed its hand and dug its head in the wall. Then it stopped moving. The other golems did the same and the dark forces behind the golems ran up and climbed the golems. The stones on the golems were used as ladders and stepping stones while the golem¡¯s hand that covered the back of his head also covered the army. This was worse than the webbed wall!


    ¡°Block them. Block them!!¡± Iris shouted while climbing the stairs with his soldiers. Arknum, me and Xmoon followed suit. Even Itsa who was stationed as the gate¡¯s guard brought his army. As the enemy ran towards us from the hill like bodies of golems we shot some arrows and killed several of them but they keep marching forward. War trolls made their way with giant hammers in their hands sending some of our soldiers flying. Paladins and mercenaries tried to guard but only veteran paladins managed to block them while fighting one on one. While the archer and mages were busy hitting them with arrows and magic.


    Stella nimbly dodged and counterattacked with her rapiers. This time she wore a green cotton. The light armor seemed to provide little defense. But she was able to move incredibly fast with that. No hit has managed to land on her so far. Sometimes she countered with magic. I am always amazed seeing her fighting like she is dancing while blocking and countering, stabbing and dodging. Slashing and kicking. Double slash, circular slash. It was harmonious.


    No time to be amazed now. I had my own battle in front of me. After using light bless and single bless on Iris (I deemed him more efficient than me). I charged and tried a poor imitation of what Stella was doing. I was not as graceful as her, sometimes I overreacted when I saw a sword slashing towards me. My damage was low due to my class penalty. I could afford several fireballs, but I decided to surrender my mana bar to a certain Pikachu that was buzzing and crackling somewhere. I felt like a meatshield now, doing nothing and just bothering enemies. Even Hasega did better than me in combat. I should learn and train blacksmithing until intermediate after this.


    3 hours had passed. We were slowly pushed back to the second level. We were near Tantalus headquarters. After leaving a party gift of Stella¡¯s curtain bullet fire seal which wiped the wall and a golem¡¯s back clean we slowly retreated to the second level, archers climbed the second gate while Hasega and Iris with 50 veteran paladins blocked the entrance. This gate had no doors so it couldn¡¯t be closed. We will have to bottleneck the enemy here for the best chance of survival. Kobolds, orcs and goblins rampaged through the city destroying everything they encountered. Several groups of soldiers were left behind because they were surrounded. Even with a buff, they wouldn¡¯t last that long when surrounded from all sides.


    ¡°FIGHT!! Fight to the last man. We can win this. Don¡¯t lose!! For our lives!¡± Hasega shouted a battle cry.


    ¡°Men, ready your shields! They are coming.¡± Iris said while pointing at the herd of.


    Arrows were shot from above killing the first line but it was just the tip of the iceberg. Soon a rhino and a war roll paired up charging at us. Iris quickly ran forward trying to intercept the troll while the rhino¡¯s charge was met head on with Hasega¡¯s shield.


    *BOOM*


    A shockwave occurred after they clashed. Hasega was pushed back several meters but he managed to hold on. He has been improving a lot these days. He also got a shining shield with a solid defense. He was not far from Iris in terms of skill now. As he blocked the rhinos, the paladins sliced and banged the rhino from its sides killing it. Hasega then drank a healing potion recovering his HP completely. That charge from the rhino cost him almost half of his life.


    Iris on the other hand showed magnificent sword play by dodging the wartroll¡¯s club and slashing at its feet. After the wartroll went down he quickly climbed and stabbed its head. Well, after seeing that display, I guess Hasega still had a long way to go. But they both fight differently anyway so I couldn¡¯t really measure their strength well.


    Even with little mastery, Hector and Arknum had archery skills. They away now at some other section of the wall while firing their arrows. Their arrows hardly killed anything but at least the archers with them showed better results. It was just a desperate attempt to increase damage on enemies even a little really.


    ¡°We are losing. The enemy has archers stationed at the top of our houses. They are firing at us!¡± Iris said as he tried to run back to the paladins¡¯ ranks. The paladins raised their shields but with the arrows being shot at them one after the other and the minions charging from the front, they took more damage. Should we retreat to the last level? The church portal was cut off during the siege. Either it was a game rule or Reis had intervened in the magic (He did disrupt our teleportation before). But if we retreat, we would lose 2 trebuchets and 1 ballista that were stationed on this level¡¯s wall.


    ¡°We will not lose. Paladins. Fight bravely. We will not lose!!¡± Hasega shouted desperately. He was really on fire now I will have to do my best too then.


    ¡°El, shoot at the archers. Experienced archers! Shoot at the archers that are on the houses!¡° I didn¡¯t expect them to listen but surprisingly they did as I wanted. Some good archers from my group did as I had said while the other common archers (Self-evaluation) still shot at the goblins and orcs that were harassing our paladins.


    Then a shadow passed by the paladins group. Behind them, there emerged armored black hounds. They seemed stronger than the one I had fought before. Why did the enemy monsters seem to power up greatly each time we encountered Reis?


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I sighed for a while. Then I jumped from the wall behind the paladins with Xmoon and Itsa. ¡°Paladins in the back, help me while the others continue the fight!¡± Xmoon ordered efficiently. He was saying what was on my minds with better and shorter words. I readied my sword and charged forward. Since I had the sword mastery skill, I did more damage than when I used my staff but it was still low regardless. This enemy was easy to defeat, but its problem lies with its numbers. They kept spawning here and there. I had killed 20 in the last hour while Xmoon and other paladins might have already hit 3 digit numbers. I needed 5 hits to kill one while he just needed one hit. I now knew why no one wanted this class. The penalties were ridiculous. Even my healing aura or group cure can do twice or trice the damage of my sword while my healing hands or expert cure could kill them in a single spell. Expert cure is overdoing it so I only used it on myself.


    The problem was that the black dogs could climb the walls in their shadow form and appear right behind our archers and trebuchets. Ragnar tried to fend them of with the other reserve troops stationed there. Though they were low in level those hounds could cause a real distraction.


    In place of mosquitos and dragonflies black birds soared in the skies. Their shape was eagle-like with long tails fluttering in the sky. These ones had an archer rider on their backs too. They shot arrows like crazy. Some even had mages on their back now and those mages were casting fireball spells. They were playing with our mages and archers now.


    *Ragnar told you to pull back. We need to tighten our defences!*


    ¡°Umm, pull back. Everyone pull back!¡± I sounded the order.


    ¡°But we can¡¯t fall back here!!¡± Hasega screamed.


    ¡°We will get surrounded if we linger here. The enemy dark hounds have breached the second level!¡± Iris shouted.


    With this all of us gathered at the last level. Note that this place only had a white church and a great round square filled with trees on its sides. We were now moving our final line of defense to the level 2 entrances. One was guarded by Hasega and Iris while the other was guarded by Hector and Arknum. If you are wondering about Hasega¡¯s companions, they were somewhere here as soldiers. Not all of us are leaders.


    The black hounds then came behind the defensive line. Initiating an open battle at the square, the count and the noble group would have to draw their swords too. I was quite amazed that some fat nobles there managed to do as well as normal infantrymen. Sometimes fear increases someone¡¯s strength by many folds.


    Since healing spells were the most efficient here, I ordered El to stop her spells and I spammed my healing spells here and there. When I looked outside I could still see about 100.000 enemies lining up outside of Trisia. While we were down to our last 10 thousand here. I tried to calculate every possible method to turn the tables but I found none. This is just hopeless.


    #SHIN#


    A bombardment of healing magic cleared the black dogs and the black eagles at the square while healing us to our max health. When I looked above at the user of that healing magic I saw a white light and a white steed piercing through the dark skies. Ahh, it is that horned Pegasus bringing its Pegasus and unicorn friends. With a holy magic they cleared the entrance to the third level.


    ¡°Sorry. We are late. ¡°


    ¡°How..¡± I stumbled at my words.


    ¡°Yggdrasil pondered for a long time whether to help the humans or not. But in the end he decided to help you defeat those monsters since other gods bugged him.¡± The horned Pegasus said. ¡±After all, he has personal grudge against him for destroying one of our forests.¡±


    ¡°We also brought some friends.¡±


    ¡°Len, Lin, Lan!!¡± Elkami shouted while hugging her fairy friends. After rough counting there were about 100 pegasi and unicorns with over 300 fairies. So we got about 500 new strong comrades.


    Then Swogystar the horned pegasus asked. ¡°So, who will ride us? We can fight alone but with a knight on our back we will do better.¡± I looked around only to see Hasega wagging his tail (he has no tail. It is just a metaphorical statement). He definitely wanted to ride one of those unicorns or pegasi.


    ¡°Alright, paladins and their leader please climb on unicorns¡¯ backs while clerics and mages climb on pegasi¡¯s backs.¡± I gave a statement. Hasega felt a little bit dejected and he shot looks of envy towards me when the horned unicorn rejected him saying that he only wanted to be ridden by me. He said that he somehow trusts me after he saw that I cared for El until the end.


    And so, with the title of white rider in action plus Elkami on my shoulder, I was riding a horned white pegasus. Damn, I can¡¯t stop smiling, I must look incredibly cool now.


    ¡®Riri, you must control yourself. Focus. Don¡¯t let anything distract you. Focus only on your enemies.¡¯ I chanted those words in my head to bring my concentration back.


    ¡°Everyone. Charge!!¡± I led Hasega and Iris charging towards the left entrance while Hector and Arknum charged towards the right entrance. The power of the unicorns is no joke, the enemies in our way were cleared in an instant. While charging the pegasi even released some magic to clear the enemies that escaped the unicorns¡¯ charge. Holy lightning, purification flame, mana ball, mana spear, Lightning strike, flame burst. The unicorns were well versed in light magic (Healing magic included) while the pegasi had a wider variety of magic flame and lightning spells.


    Dusk then came and passed. The second level of this city was retaken by nightfall.. Maria didn¡¯t fainted again as 2 or 3 pegasi were with her to maintain her magic, it couldn¡¯t be helped that she had to stop the buff, but it was not so sudden anymore. She could raise it again when I deemed it necessary.


    ¡°Enigma of the flame god. Efreet¡¯s fury!¡±


    ¡°Enigma of the earth god. Trees animation of Atlas!¡±


    ¡°Enigma of the wind god. Jupiter¡¯s tornado!¡±


    When the night came, the unicorn and Pegasus squad was guarding the second level entrances. This was the plan because the little fairies were now levelling the ground level part of the city.


    ¡°Holy.. can I have that one too as a pet?¡± Iris commented.


    Well, that was to be expected. Those fairies were real powerhouses despite their tiny bodies. Enigma spells were cast here and there. Meteors rained towards the city, a volcano abruptly erupted spitting some rocks covered in flames, a freaking tornado formed all of a sudden in another part of the city. Trees came to life and were kicking some dark forces. In short the dark forces were being annihilated. Around 100.000 enemies inside the ground level were annihilated and then with the rest of the troops outside, they pulled their forces back.


    It was past midnight and we had taken back the city. The dark force retreated but I could still see Reis standing there not budging an inch. He hasn¡¯t given up yet. With several men posted here and there as night guards, we finally managed to get some rest. Iris, Hasega, Victor and other members tried to make a contract with the fairies like I did with praises and flattery. But the fairies said with flustering cute voices that they are forbidden to make a contract with others especially humans.


    Elkami was an exception since El is now aligned with the dark, by the law of the forest, she was supposed to be exiled. Even though Yggdrasil was pretty sad about this, he had no choice, El was supposed to be left dead and buried somewhere in the forest. Her soul would not return to Yggdrasil as the corruption in her soul would poison the god. Rather than dying a dog¡¯s death Yggdrasil decided to bind her soul into a weapon and gave it to the most worthy and caring of humans. It was supposed to be forbidden as the power of these fairies is no joke. But Riri fit the criteria of a caring and kind person so Yggdrasil entrusted El¡¯s soul to her now.


    And so, they turned towards the Unicorns and Pegasi. But their answer was pretty much the same, feeling dejected, the players (Hasega co, Iris, and the other humans) just lied down somewhere and went to sleep. With a blanket I slept at the front walls where I stand before the battle began. I decided to stay here with Swogystar. I procured some blankets for him as well. The blankets were rough so he threw them away. As the Pegasi have a high resistance against cold, he had no trouble sleeping naked in the middle of the night. I was not sleeping alone as Stella also slept beside me.


    There was almost no difference between the battlefield in front of me and the city behind me. The second level still had some houses intact but the first level was destroyed beyond repair. Not even piles of stones and wood that made up the houses were left. The fairies did a better job than bulldozers with their magic. Well, houses can be rebuild. The important thing now is our lives


    ¡°I am sorry.¡± Stella whispered in her sleep. Does she have a nightmare?


    ¡°It is fine. It is not your fault.¡± I whispered back into her ear and continued to sleep.


    The buff was deactivated.


    previous chapter 19 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3728</a>


    next chapter 21 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3762&p=23807#p23807</a>


    ________


    Author note


    - 2 chapters at once. enjoy.


    - questions, comments, suggestions are welcomed in here and discussion topic.


    - all i have to said is already said in the previous chapter. soo happy reading


    :hi:

 chapter 21 battle of trisia part 3

    ¡°Aww great. Now what.¡± Victor commented when dawn rose.


    In front of us now lay 10 armoured rhinos. Each rhinos was a good 10 meters tall just like on the first day. Behind them was an army of cavalry. Somewhere along 4 or 5 thousand all consisting of black knights. Their armour shined like obsidian and their horses were all pure black. This time Reis didn¡¯t just stand like a statue, he summoned his own horse made of pure shadow. The horse had a very intimidating red eyes and its body was always exuding a thick black fog making the outline of its body a little vague. And the rest of his army of infantrymen followed behind him. Kobolds, goblins, resurrected armies and sabre-toothed tigers.


    ¡°Woah, no matter how you look at it those black knights look like an elite force. Even that guy has his own horse ready.¡± Iris said.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Rohan supposed to help us?¡± Victor made another useless comment.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Blessing of the goddess is activated


    Your Mana regen increased by 50%


    Your Health regen increased by 50%


    Mana and health increased by 30%


    Magical resistance increased by 20%


    All stats increased by 40%


    All damage received will be reduced by 20%


    Faith increased by 200


    Stamina regeneration increased by 100%


    Stamina consumption reduced by 30%


    Morale is at maximum</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>The buff will last until Maria¡¯s praying is disrupted.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The cavalry and the rhinos marched slowly. Then the rhinos sped up its charge until it seemed like they were on full throttle. The cavalry then followed behind those charging rhinos. A javelin from a ballista was shot and hit one of the rhinos¡¯ legs. It fell and rolled on the ground. A stone from a trebuchet also hit one of the rhino¡¯s heads but the stone was destroyed instead and they continued to charge.


    ¡°Umm, retreat. Everyone retreat!!! To the second level!¡± I shouted while riding Swogystar. Everyone followed behind me. Some of us without a unicorn or Pegasus ran with our legs while the one that had the horse-riding skill climbed their horse and retreated at full speed.


    #BOOM CRASH!!#


    A minute later a loud explosion could be heard as the entire front wall of Trisia was destroyed. Stones were flying in all directions. Some car-sized stones hit the retreating infantrymen. Other smaller but still 1 meter in diameter flew in a higher directions. The rhinos all crashed to the ground or were buried by the rubble after the charge. But hardly any of them died.


    ¡°Alright! Everyone, charge!!!¡± I sounded a command. A horn then sounded for the charge. If we wanted to kill the rhinos, now was the chance. I had seen their strength and while they were weak, I had to kill them.


    ¡°Zeus strike!¡± El casted her spells.


    *Tell the fairies to preserve their strength, we still have the enemy cavalry charging at us in 2 minutes* I told Baran at the second level. They, with their Pegasi army, will support us with magic.


    We charged and managed to kill several rhinos. Some of us were sent flying. But unicorns weren¡¯t so weak to die in one attack. After the rhinos were down (This time in less than 5 minutes, unicorn horn is really something), Reis could be seen atop the wall¡¯s rubble. The cavalry was a little bit delayed due to climbing the rubble.


    ¡°Retreat! To the second level. Fairies!! Now!¡± I shouted even though I said second level, there was hardly anything left on the first level. Might as well call this one the first level if we survive this day.


    Reis raised his black sword and charged down. Well, by the time he went down the rubble all of us were pretty much at the second level entrance. When he tried to chase after us the spells were activated. Lightning, water geysers, earth spikes, fire lizards. All came crashing down.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t let up his attacks, he is still coming!¡± His knights seemed to have quite high magical resistance. But even so, many of his soldiers died in that magical rampage and he was still chasing us with his sword drawn towards the entrance.


    ¡°Ready your shield. Charge!!¡± Hasega said.


    Since knights on horseback are better when charging, he had no choice but to sound a charge attack and so, a battle, unicorn vs black steed, at the second level entrance was fought. When their charges clashed, the unicorns and its riders started to take casualties. Even with Maria¡¯s bonus, the enemy this time was simply too strong. The unicorn¡¯s power is high but its rider isn¡¯t. The paladins that rode the unicorns fell one after another and when the lone unicorn fought back it was surrounded and killed.


    ¡°ARG!!¡± Some fairies were caught and killed by black eagles. Some of the enigma spells were interrupted.


    ¡°Fairies, stop the enigma spells. Fight the black eagles!¡± I changed the command. We couldn¡¯t let those fairies die here. When casting enigma spells, they become vulnerable and even slight damage to them might interrupt the spell. Rather than wasting mana on an interrupted spell it was better to fight them using normal spells.


    After hearing my command, the fairies obeyed and air to air combat was initiated. Flying arrows and magic were shot one after the other. ¡±El, help them!¡± I ordered my fairy to help the others since I thought thunder spells seemed to be most effective when fighting air to air combat. But when I saw it, it actually made no difference. The earth fairies were able to make spears from earth and homing it in on the enemy. Wind fairies were spitting wind blades at the enemy. The water ones were shooting ice blocks or lances made of ice. They could defend themselves now I thought.


    ¡°Hello little girl.¡± Reis said. He was riding his horse in front of me. ¡±I would never have thought such a little girl could command an army well enough to fight on par with me. Let¡¯s see if your combat skills are as good as your tongue.¡±


    He then charged with his black steed. Swogystar proved to be an awesome steed as he managed to find an opening for me to dodge his sword and counter with light magic. It was practically Swogystar vs Reis now. Not me vs Reis. Seeing this, I resummoned El since I needed her on my side now. She casted Thunderstrike and lightning bolt at every chance she had while I handled the healing. I tried casting healing hand on reis but it healed him instead. But when I casted it on his dark steed, it seemed to lose some vigour. After that I began fighting the black steed instead.


    Cornered, Swogystar flapped its wing and soared into the sky. But to my surprise Reis¡¯ Black Steed managed to walk on air and chased us. Therefore the battle now turned into air to air combat. Magic arts were thrown at them while said man threw black balls.


    ¡°Come down here and don¡¯t run away!¡± He sounded irritated. After analysing his speech, I concluded that he was a knight and therefore he wasn¡¯t proficient with magic. If it is a magic fight, I might be able to win since all 3 of us (Swogystar, El, and me) were mostly magic users. We started circling in the sky while spamming magic at him.


    ¡°NOO!!¡± Hasega shouted as his unicorn was stabbed by a dark lance from Reis¡¯ army. Like it was poisoned, the unicorn screamed in pain and was weakened. While Hasega tried to defend it another spear stabbed him and he died alongside his unicorn.


    ¡°Die now!¡± Reis said in a creepy and hoarse voice. A black aura enveloped him and he started to chant some strange words. The sky then turned dark. A dark cloud came towards us while forming a giant monster. Facing the monster Swogystar shined and the monster was erased.


    ¡°Ilusion spell?¡± I mumbled. At the same time Reis caught up with us and with a swing he slashed me and my steed.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are dead</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Countdown for penalty 24 hours.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are revived by a pegasus.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Countdown penalty was erased</td></tr></tbody></table>


    When I opened my eyes I saw Swogystar lying with a slash wound on his left side. The dark wound exuded a black fog, his face was darkened. Is he poisoned? No, he is cursed. I tried to cast cure poison but it didn¡¯t heal him one bit.


    After that a black sword came down and stabbed Swogystar right in his stomach. A black shockwave sent me flying and I took some damage from hitting the wall.


    ¡°Now, you have lost. Twice. I will kill you and then I will resurrect you as one of my underlings! Hahaha.¡±


    #BOOM#


    Stella came at the right time. She fired a laser beam towards Reis.


    ¡°Ahh, Serena.. I will make sure to make you mine again. If you just surrender carefully many lives could be saved.¡± He spoke with his dark voice.


    ¡°No. I will never surrender. You hardly keep your word anyway.¡±


    With a different resolution than in the forest, Stella moved at lightning speed with her two rapiers. Even though I almost couldn¡¯t see Stella¡¯s rapiers, somehow Reis was able to block them with his shield. I tried to follow and help her but I was blocked by 2 other knights.


    One knight charged at me with his two-handed sword and the other with a spear. I could dodge one or 2 safely but I was soon cornered. I couldn¡¯t even fight back 2 of these opponents let alone defeating them. Even though I couldn¡¯t hurt them, El could. She casted some lightning strikes at the spear knight. But they continued to corner me and drive me further away from Stella.


    ¡°Riri!¡± Iris jumped in to save me. Now the situation was 2 on 2. With a nod Iris picked the one with the two-handed sword while I picked the one with a spear.


    Spear users are quite rare in Royal Road. Either it was because they are unable to hunt alone due to the system or because it is hard to use. Either way, this spear user had quite a lot of gaps in his attack. I could dodge his spear continuously. After dodging El countered with magic. This behaviour somehow became our habit. While I tried to become a meatshield, El is the one that did attacked.


    Unlike me who was jumping here and there creating a boring battle where the spear stabbed so far away, Iris¡¯ battle was far more fierce. He slashed here and there taking advantage of every gap he found. On the other hand, the enemy didn¡¯t stand by idly either, his powerful slashes sometimes needed both of Iris¡¯ swords to block. Sometimes he also managed to knock Iris down and almost split him apart with his powerful slash.


    In the end after 2 hours of fighting, we managed to win with great effort. After beating my opponent, I help Iris with El¡¯s magic. Our health was in the red when the battle ended. After casting healing spells I tried to chase Reis with Iris.


    #BLAAR! BOOM!#


    Some explosions occurred as many balls of different colours flew to the sky. It was Stella spell. Only she uses multiple elemental spells. I ran towards her inside the Tantalus Headquarters showroom. In there Ragnar, Hector, Arknum and Stella ganged up on Reis.


    ¡°How nostalgic Serena. So you are still in this place.¡± Reis threw his helmet. Brown hair and white skin. His face was quite handsome. Somewhere along Hector I guess. If not for his eyes that turned black completely. Iris then jumped in, running towards Ragnar.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Stella look terribly exhausted as she laid down with injuries all over. But they were not life-threatening. Arknum slashed downwards only to be repelled with an upward slash from Reis. While Hector slashed horizontally it was met with Reis¡¯ shield. The two continued to exchange blows like that, Arknum was faced with Reis¡¯s sword while Hector faced off with his shield. Ragnar on the other hand tried to find a gap in Reis¡¯s defence and tried to slam him with his hammer.


    However, Reis was too powerful. When he let out some magic, he knocked Arknum out of balance. When he tried to kill him, Iris jumped in. Crossing their blades, he tried to block Reis¡¯s downward slash. Stopped for a moment, Reis was met with Ragnar¡¯s hammer. Reis flew back crashing into some chairs and walls but he stood up again like nothing had happened.


    ¡°Man, he is invincible.¡± Iris commented.


    ¡°Huahahaha!! Of course. I am the controller of life and death. No one can oppose me!¡± He shouted while chanting some words. A curse? No dark magic.


    ¡°Enigma of the Dark God!¡±


    ¡°No way. To think he can do that too!¡± Elkami said.


    ¡°Well, I have to tell you little fairy, you are not the only one I have corrupted so far. But I can¡¯t learn other enigma spells. The spell just changed to dark magic but I am satisfied! Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Hades hand!¡± He continued. A dark magic circle appeared under his feet. A counter of 120 seconds appeared.


    ¡°Hurry up and hit him. We might be able to disrupt the spell!¡± Iris said as he charged towards him. All of us charged but he was able to fend us off with his magnificent swordplay. When El casted one of her lightning spells, the spell hit home but the spell wasn¡¯t interrupted. The damage wasn¡¯t enough to disrupt the spell. As we tried to inflict more damage, the counter then reached 0.


    A hand made from shadow raised from our shadows and grabbed us. Then it pulled us towards the shadow. My feet started to sink. Everyone except El and Stella were grabbed into the shadow. El was chased by a shadow hand from somewhere but she nimbly dodged here and there.


    ¡°Hra!¡± Iris tried to slash at the hands but the ground still pulled him in like quicksand. We continued to sink one by one. Arknum who was in sitting position had already been swallowed by the shadow. A pile of loot them emerged from it. It was his sword.


    ¡°AHH! Stop there my shadow hand!¡± He ordered. Then we stopped sinking. But the hands still tightly grabbed our bodies.


    ¡°Well then. Let¡¯s refresh our memories shall we Serena? About how you killed the other two? Hahahha¡± He laughed like a maniac when he walked towards Stella.


    As she tried to stand she launched a piercing attack only to be blocked by Reis¡¯s shield. Losing her footing, she was then hit in the abdomen by Reis¡¯s fist. She was then grabbed by the head by Reis.


    ¡°Noo. NOO!¡± She started to cry as black fog engulfed her.


    Then after that she stopped moving nor speaking. Her eyes lost its shine while she continued to gaze at nothing.


    ¡°Stella!!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Damn it! You have completely lost it Reis!¡± Ragnar shouted.


    ¡°Reis? Ahh, please don¡¯t call me by that name again. I am no longer a cheap actor. I am a god. I can control lives at my will. From now on call me Death Manager.¡± He was crazy down to his heart.


    ¡°Now my puppet! Go and do as your master commands.¡± Then Stella moved forward.


    ¡°Curtain bullet series spell xx# dark carnival!¡± She said that as a dark aura gathered around her. 20 dark balls formed around her and shot towards us.


    #BLAR!!BLAR!#


    Our Hit points were in a critical state now. A few more strikes and we would die. I had no problem with dying as I would revive in 4 days¡¯ time. But Ragnar and Hector.


    ¡°Stella!!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Ungh!¡± Stella moaned as she kneeled in pain. She was resisting the darkness.


    ¡°Ahh, my little puppet here won¡¯t obey its master.¡± Death manager then grabbed her head again.


    ¡°Noo!¡± She resisted but then she soon turned back into her previous state. ¡°Now kill them!¡±


    ¡°I will kill you. Thunderstrike!¡± El casted her lightning spell towards Reis. The Thunderstrike hit bullseye but Reis didn¡¯t seem bothered by it.


    ¡°Damn it. Lightning.. ARG!¡± She was quickly unsummoned as a Darkball from Stella hit her.


    She walked towards Iris and stabbed him to death leaving some japtem behind. This time, with a staggering step she slowly walked towards Hector. She raised her hand and poked him in his stomach with her rapier. She then put more pressure on her rapier. Slowly but surely the rapier dug its way into Hector¡¯s flesh.


    ¡°Stella!! Stop it. Stella!!¡± Ragnar and I shouted but she gave no response. Hector could only watch his health bar slowly decreased bit by bit until it disappeared. Then with a tingling sound effect his body turned grey and into loot. An NPC body this time. A real Royal Road human was killed in front of my eyes. The man who watched this, Reis no, Death Manager was laughing. How could he laugh at a scene like this? How could he enjoy this kind of thing? If he wanted Stella, he already had her. Why not be done and leave? If he has a grudge against us, why not just kill us as directly and as painless as possible, why bring Stella into this?


    ¡°Stella.¡± Ragnar then called her softly. When Stella turned back, her eyes were full of tears. Tears kept flowing from her eyes as she slowly walked towards Ragnar like a corpse. Her expression was still dead, her body fully controlled even her eyes were still as expressionless as possible. Seeing this my heart ached, she was sad, so sad that seeing her eyes made my eyes filled with tears too.


    ¡°Reis! If you want to kill us, don¡¯t make Stella do it! Just kill us already with your hands! Don¡¯t make her sad anymore!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Now Serena. Kill Ragnar. And after that, the girl.¡± Death Manager ordered.


    Tears wet her face as she held her rapier unsteadily. It started with light poke just like with Hector. But slowly the blade continued to add its pressure towards Ragnar¡¯s neck. Blood started to drip from his neck as her hands continued to shake terribly.


    ¡°Stella!!¡¯ I shouted on the top of my lungs.


    ¡°Come on. Trust deeper.¡± Death Manager walked besides Stella while holding her hands. Her hand that had stopped was slowly being pushed by Reis¡¯s hand.


    ¡°No. No.¡± Stella cried in a soft almost inaudible voice.


    The rapier dug deeper and deeper. Ragnar could only watch in desperation as his health points were slowly decreased. He then closed his eyes as his health bar disappeared.


    ¡°Good. Now my little puppet, only one insect left. Hurry up and kill her. You will be my perfect puppet that way. Kill her now.¡±


    ¡°Yes..¡± She then walked towards me. The dark fog around her thickened. She was corrupted even more than before. Does she still have a soul inside that body? Or is it just an empty shell now? I felt terrified as she walked towards me with her rapier. I don¡¯t even know why I am scared. This is just a game, I will revive again in a few days but I still felt afraid of being killed. Death Manager¡¯s killing intent was so large. For such hatred to be harboured by a single human. How could this be...


    ¡°Stella..¡± I spoke as I looked her in the eyes. Her eyes were dead but somehow I still believed that her eyes had the ability to look at me.


    Just like before, she raised her rapier towards me. She then poked my chest with her rapier. Tears started to flow from her eyes. Seeing that sad expression, sadness overwhelmed my fear. I no longer felt fear only pain and sadness. Not for myself but for the person that stood before me. She seemed so hurt, so sad, so full of pain.


    ¡°Stella....¡± I called her name believing that she could still hear me. I tried to call her again. Not to beg for my life but to tell her soul one thing. Her hands then stopped pressing the blade. It was as if she was giving me time to say my last words. Did my wish reach her heart?


    ¡°Stella... it is fine. It is not your fault. I will meet you again in 4 days to tell you again that it is not your fault. So don¡¯t blame yourself and smile okay?¡± I tried to smile. A bitter one that is. My words were messed up. But somehow I wanted to ease her pain even a little. Seeing that expression, I just wanted to tell her that. After killing me, I will chase her again. Every time I meet her, I will say that it was not her fault. I will say don¡¯t blame yourself. I am ready to give my entire life here in Royal Road just to say those words to her.


    ¡°Ri..Ri?¡± She then stopped her swords.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Kill her already!¡± Death Manager raised his voice impatiently.


    ¡°Ri.Ri...not .....fault.....smile..¡± She stopped. Death manager then walked towards us impatiently. He then grabbed Stella¡¯s hands like before trying to stab me with Stella¡¯s swords but it wouldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± He then kicked Stella away. ¡°So this is your hope huh? This insect here is the one that hindered you to become my perfect puppet!¡±


    He then drew his sword trying to slash me himself but as he swung his sword down, a flying kick sent him flying 10 meters away and crashing into the wall. It was Stella. So she broke free from the curse. Awesome.


    ¡°I would rather go to hell than follow your commands any longer.¡± She then walked towards Death Manager.


    ¡°How, you should not be able to...¡±


    ¡°Fight poison with poison. Just like you have haunted me so far, I will give my soul to a demon so he can haunt you. Just like you have made me suffer all this time, I will make you suffer.¡± She then turned her head towards me.


    ¡°Riri, I am sorry. I have one last request after this. Will you fulfill it?¡± She asked with a gentle smile. Even though I knew that her heart must be torn apart by the death of her friends, even though dark fog still exuded from her body, even though tears still filled her eyes, she smiled at me again. A smile that she had lost since she met Reis again.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I smiled back towards her. The shadow hand was now gone with Death Manager being struck. His spell was disrupted.


    ¡°Now Reis. No, I should call you Death Manager right? Now, accept my curse!¡± She shouted.


    previous chapter 20 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3729&p=23806&sid=af9e5efeb5e2d5f93a3992a3c70f62cd#p23806</a>


    next chapter 22 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3772&p=23861#p23861</a>


    _______________


    Author note.


    - this is the most tragic chapter with lamost everyone died.


    - the next chapter was most tragic but cool at the same time as something something is about to happen and someone someone will die in a very tragic scene


    - Hmm. hope i can finish that fire emblem soon and continue to write nexct chapters.the weapon at those game was a pretty nice reference for normal weapon i am tired making new names for each weapons. iron then steel then silver. next might be gold and mythril, diamond. of course this only applied to normal weapons.


    - as usual, comments, questions, critics and suggestions can be posted here or discussion topic.


    - btw what do you think about the name death manager?

 chapter 22 final battle of trisia (Edited)

    ¡°Now Reis. No, I should call you Death Manager right? Now, accept my curse!¡± She shouted. ¡°Soul transmutation! Venomous demon wolf queen!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t look.¡± She said in a low voice towards me.


    Her posture then changed. Her skin was ripped to shreds as green fur replaced it. A 5 meter long wolf replaced Stella. A wolf with green fur on its back and white fur on its belly. The wolf looked so majestic, it was filled with the dignity of a queen as it stood pridefully with its twintails wagging. (the wolf has two tails therefore it is called twintails)


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have been poisoned.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I read the system message. The wolf was exuding green and thin poisonous fog. Anything that came near her would have its health whittled down little by little. I cast expert cure and cure poison immediately. But the fog just poisoned me again. I was going to be poisoned as long as I came in to contact with that thin green fog. No poison curing spell will work, what a terrifying skill.


    ¡°Growl. Awoooo!¡± The wolf growled and howled. The howl seemed to bring fear to our enemies and victory to our side. With a slow step the wolf slowly walked towards Death Manager.


    ¡°W-w-what is that? How come..¡± Death Manager stuttered as he spoke. He was struck by fear as the green pupils in Stella¡¯s eyes stared at him.


    With a growl she started her charge at Death Manager. With a sweep of her paw Death Manager once again crashed into the wall. As her saliva was dripping, it exuded a thick green smoke and the ground beneath her melted. Death Manager stood up with a sword drawn. Then, this time he was the one who charged at Stella. A downward slash was easily evaded by jumping back. But that attack was soon followed by a dark ball that struck her making her lose her balance and strike another wall.


    I retreated slowly to the entrance as my healing spells weren¡¯t sufficient to keep up with the poison damage inflicted by her. The longer the distance between me and her the less damage I took from her poison fog.


    After getting up again she began howling and charged towards Death manager again. This time she opened her jaws wide. Either she was trying to swallow Death Manager whole or she was just trying to bite him. Death Manager jumped to dodge the attack. Then after he landed, he charged forward to slash at Stella. The strike hit the mark, but the dark fog dissipated quickly. Somehow the poisonous fog overwhelmed the dark fog.


    ¡°You can¡¯t corrupt me again Death Manager as I have turned into a demon now.¡± Stella said. Her voice was no longer sweet and pretty like before but dark and creepy. She stated that she could no longer be corrupted by Reis¡¯s attack as she had become a demon. Demon can¡¯t be corrupted by dark magic. So, she seemed to have the upper hand now.


    ¡°Skeletons arise. Resurrected army.¡± Then bunches of skeletons arose. Iris and Hector arose as undead. Damn it! Is he going to make Stella fight her friends again?


    To my surprise, she didn¡¯t waver as she swept the skeletons and bit Ragnar¡¯s head off. Hector and Arknum managed to make some slashes towards Stella but she retaliated by jumping and stomping them. This was all done in less than a minute. All the skeletons Death Manager was summoning were defeated in an instant. It was like the power Death Manager showed to us before was just an illusion, he was completely helpless in front of Stella now.


    When his sword slashed at Stella, her red blood melted his sword. His shiny black sword now seemed battered with chips and holes here and there.


    ¡°I will be back.¡± He said while enveloping himself in shadow.


    ¡°Caring for your life now? I will not let you. Let¡¯s go to hell together.¡± Stella charged into the dark fog and bit something in it. Death Manager¡¯s body was pulled back from the fog. She crushed Reis¡¯s body like candy.


    ¡°Damn it! ARG!. Enigma of the dark god. Power of Hades.¡± He shouted inside Stella¡¯s mouth. He then forcefully opened Stella¡¯s mouth and with a twist she was dropped to the ground and thrown away. When I looked at Death Manager¡¯s body, his body was covered in dark magic circles, they were all over his body.


    ¡°That one doesn¡¯t have a counter?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Arg!!¡± he screamed in pain as black blood was spilling from the black circles. He then took a scroll from his pocket and with a chant, he read it. A magic circle then formed under his feet. As Stella rose she quickly charged back at Reis viciously without wasting any time. Just in the nick of time, Death Manager teleported away.


    ¡°Riri, escape now. This building won¡¯t last any longer.¡± I quickly followed her order to escape. It took a mere 30 seconds for me to escape as I was already at the entrance. True to her words, the magnificent white building of Tantalus started to crumble and collapse. With a jump, the green wolf leap into the sky and landed in front of me.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are poisoned</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The green wolf then changed back to Stella as she collapsed naked in my arms. The sky had turned dark. Night is visiting us once again. But the night was not that dark as the city was still filled with the flames of war. All the dark forces vanished one by one in dark fog. The city was cleared of the invading enemies but the flames were burning in every house on this second level especially the Tantalus building was still clearly visible.


    We won but the city was burned to ashes not leaving anything behind. Then I looked at Stella, even though she had become a human again, the poison status wouldn¡¯t disappear. She was still exuding a very thin green fog.


    ¡°Riri¡±


    ¡°Yes Stella. What is it?¡± I looked at Stella who seemed weak, so very weak in my arms. Blood from her wound dripped on my clothes. My pure white clothing was dyed red by her blood. She can¡¯t be dying right?


    ¡°Please kill me.¡± She stared at me with her beautiful eyes.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I let out a sound because of her ridiculous request. Killing her.


    ¡°You said you would fulfill any request that I wanted right?¡± She said softly and weakly. ¡±Please kill me.¡±


    ¡°But, why? Your wounds are deep. But it is still treatable, I will cast a healing spell on you. Just wait until the cool down expires in a few moments.¡± I said panicking.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. That technique I used is a forbidden technique that changed my soul. !¡± She let out a sudden gasp as her eyes widened. She seemed to be in a lot of pain.


    ¡°If this continues, I will change into a monster. So please. Before that happens. Kill me. I do not want to become a monster.¡°


    ''Her soul will change? Does that mean she will change to be like that wolf?'' i thought


    ¡°It is fine. Even if your appearance changes, you will still my friend. I will still be by your side.¡± I tried to encourage her.


    ¡°Riri. It is not just my appearance. But my mind and my heart will change into that of a wild beast. at this rate, i will kill you and other citizens of this town."


    "but,. but." i cried my heart while holding Stella. suddenly a hand grabbed my shoulder Stella rises from her weak state and pushed me down


    "Hmm. your blood smell good . Ahh, my wolf instinct already taken in if this continued i will really kill you Riri."


    "T-This is just a game. even if i die, i will revive again. " i made a hopeless answer as a player. even if i revived, that doesn''t mean other citizens in Trisia will. after killing me, Stella will kill other citizens of Trisia. i have to prevent that. but how? what can i do besides killing her


    "You know" Stella''s face drew close to my ear. i can hear she is really sniffing me. "I asked you to kill me not because i care about people of Trisia."


    "huh?" i was dumbfounded


    "It is because i care about you. you are my dearest friend to me." She hugged me tightly while weeping"You know, i have killed a friend before. a dearest one at that. Ragnar and the others is one of them. but i am not talking about them right now. it was a long time ago. i felt so horrible. i feel sick of myself from that time. i don''t want to feel that kind of emotion ever again.ever."


    "B-But, if i kill you. what about me? i will be alone. you are my first and also my dearest friend."" i hugged her back. tears also flowed from my eyes.


    "Ahh, What a nostalgic feeling. what you said is very much the same like i was a long time ago. i almost forgot that feeling. the feeling of having friends. but still..." Stella then pulled herself away from me tears still flowed from her eyes " my request will not change. *sob* i am very sorry that i have to make you went through the same experience like i was. but i can''t kill myself, moreover, above anything else i do not want to kill you. " She then resolved herself to stand while also helping me to stand " Sigh. my time is almost up. would you please kill me now?"


    Tears then flowed from my eyes as I slowly grabbed my sword. my hands are shaking. this sword technique was taught by my friend. but now, it is going to be used to kill her. her wish is to die like a human not a monster, as her friend, i should fulfill it right? it is her last wish. if i do not fulfill it and she died as a monster then killed by some random adventurer, she will not be mad at me, but she will be very very disappointed.


    ¡°Riri. Please do it. Just like you said. It is not your fault okay? So don¡¯t blame yourself and smile. i am about to die as a human anyway.. can you fulfill this one selfish request?¡± She smiled at me. while i readied a stance to thrust my blade at her. her face didn''t show any fear but happiness "Thank you Riri. i can die as a human at the least. you really are my dearest friend"


    ¡°UWAA!¡± I finally thrust my blade into her chest. Even when covered by wounds, she kept smiling. Even when she was covered in blood she supported me and said it was not my fault. at the last moment of her life, she smiled and kept telling me thank you. she is silly. i killed her yet she thanked me.


    Tears kept flowing from my eyes as I cried out loud. Stella was dead. When I saw her face, it was like she was sleeping. But I knew, she would never open those eyes again. Those beautiful green eyes will never be opened again. I kept on crying so much that I didn¡¯t notice the system messages that were tingling in front of me.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been completed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 20x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to strenuous activity. Dexterity has increased by 35, stamina has increased by 30, strength has increased by 15, vitality has increased by 10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to constantly using magic for a long time wisdom has increased by 15 intelligence has increased by 20</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to efficiently commanding an army leadership has increased by 70. Charisma has increased by 80,</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to bravely fighting an enormous army fighting spirit has increased by 100 dark resistance has increased by 5% light resistance has increased by 5%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to bravely fighting against the Dark Army faith has increased by 90</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fame has increased by 500</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your have gained 8000 contribution points with all churches</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained 5000 contribution points with Haven kingdom</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Magic mastery is now intermediate lvl 9</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Acrobatics is now intermediate lvl 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Multitasking is now intermediate lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sword mastery is now intermediate lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Bullet deflector is now intermediate lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Horseriding is now intermediate lvl 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Light blessing is now intermediate lvl 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Phoenix regen is now intermediate lvl 4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing hand is now intermediate lvl 7</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Healing Area is now intermediate lvl 9</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Group cure is now intermediate lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!<table><tbody><tr><td>Expert cure is now intermediate lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Single bless is now intermediate lvl 8</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fireball is now intermediate lvl 7</td></tr></tbody></table>


    An incredible rise in levels, stats and skill masteries. A normal player would be jumping with joy and laugh or even cry their out heart for this. Getting so many levels was almost impossible in 3 days. Not to mention getting stat bonuses. Even reading or training your body for a month would not result in getting this many stat increases.


    But seeing the stats just made Riri even more sad. She was not happy at all. Getting all of these stat increases and levels, it was like she was laughing at Stella¡¯s death. Stella¡¯s suffering. Does the system of this world work this way? When we see others suffer, we get a prize instead? Riri kept on crying as she hugged Stella tightly in her arms. But before she knew it, Stella¡¯s smiling face, her pale white skin had turned to grey.


    ¡°No. No. No way.¡± Riri couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. She turned to grey and disappeared. This was not a bug, this is just how the system reacts when someone dies. It is the rule of this world. No graveyard for anyone. All who die here are perfectly destroyed without leaving anything. Seeing this Riri could only grow sadder. She could only keep on weeping and weeping.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Tantalus group has been disbanded.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Oh, that¡¯s right. With all of its member dead, Tantalus group was no more. Now I have nowhere to go. With all of my experience and stat increases, I could pass as a decent warrior even with my weapon penalty. Some guild would probably accept me. I have nothing to worry about¡¯ I thought after seeing the system notice. But then another deep realization struck me as I cried harder than before.


    I am such a despicable creature. Why am I thinking of myself right now when my entire group died in front of my eyes. Am I the only one who thought of this group as a mere guild? Where, when it could no longer exist, I just search for a new one? No, I held everyone dear in my heart. It was not true.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have obtained Stella¡¯s ring</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Stella¡¯s ring


    A ring that was once worn by the great actress Stella


    Dex +50


    Str +20


    Int +30


    Wis +20


    Charm +50


    Charisma +30</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I continued to cry until the sun rose and people started to come out from the third level. Nothing was left of Trisia, only ruins. The people here that survived held on to the church entrance. With Maria cancelling her buff, she erected a powerful barrier and sealed the entrance. Thanks to that, several tens of soldiers managed to make it out alive plus a mere 4000 non-combatants that were holed up in the church.


    Lead by count Ignis, as he survived too, the few thousand survivors came out one by one breathing the sweet air of freedom again. Seeing all of their houses destroyed the nobles could only weep at their loss. The count then reached me as I was the only survivor there. He watched as I continued to cry with my robe dyed red.


    ¡°Riri.¡± He called me with a questioning look as to why I was cry? Were they tears of victory or tears of sadness? He soon realized why I was crying. As he was looking around and checking, no other Tantalus members had survived. Only Maria had survived the war as she was holed up in the church from the beginning. In a few moments, I was not the only one crying, some other people mourned for their death comrades, while others screamed out of joy for their survival. It was a bitter victory.


    ¡°Riri,¡± The count came near me as he tried to cheer me up. But seeing my face and the state I was in, he just held on to his words as he knew no sweet and made up words that could soothe my pain now.


    ¡°Riri,¡± Maria came and hugged me but I did not respond. ¡°You are okay.¡±


    I just kept silent like a soulless person. Maria looked around and when she saw the destroyed Tantalus building she knew what had happened.


    There was nothing to clean up as everything was destroyed except the highly damaged church. The portal was opened again but no one could use it. Several armies from Selei and Sidinia came late bringing reinforcements. When they saw Trisia, they thought it was too late and were about to report back to their hometowns but they changed their mind when they saw several people walking along the second and third level walls.


    The count told them what had happened in Trisia and requested resources instead. The food they kept in their granary and church storage was almost depleted and there were hardly any soldiers to hunt nor animals to be hunted around Trisia. Trisia had become a barren land. Green grassland turned into scorched earth and the white walls were turned black and grey from the fire and smoke. No more structures could be seen standing inside Trisia. Everything was destroyed.


    ¡®At the very least, I still have this ring. I will treasure you always Stella. This ring will be the proof of it. It will never go from my hand.¡¯ I thought while wearing the ring.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>A secret class idol performer is unlocked do you wish to convert now?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Secret class? Does this game want to make a mockery of me again? Does it want me to laugh at Stella¡¯s death¡¯ My thoughts cursed the system message as I read it, I was about to say no but a thought flashed through me. Did Stella have this class? Did this mean she wanted me to become her heir?


    ¡°I accept.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your class has been promoted to idol performer</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>All stats increased by 10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned soul transmutation</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned autographs</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned audience</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned break dance</td></tr></tbody></table>


    When I looked at the system notice, I knew I had learned several skills but I soon dismissed the system popups. It was very unlike me to not want to read something but I was just not in the right mind to do anything right now. I just wanted to lay down and sleep and perhaps continue to cry. I can read the damn skill descriptions later.


    Ignoring Maria, I just stood up and walked towards the church. Maybe I could rent some room in inn somewhere by using the church teleportation but a whisper stopped me.


    ¡°Riri, it is me El.¡± El whispered to me from her sword.


    I have no intention of answering so I just sheathed my sword and continued to walk.


    ¡°Riri, please walk towards Swogystar¡¯s corpse. Yggdrasil told me to pick up something from there.¡±


    This time I stopped. With a soft okay, I walked towards Swogystar¡¯s corpse. Reluctantly I approached the place Swogystar had died. It took me quite a long time to find it since everything was pretty much ruined in Trisia. There was no landmark to be seen but I found it.


    You have obtained a tainted Pegasus horn


    You have obtained a tainted Pegasus feather


    ¡°Is this it?¡± I asked El.


    ¡°Umm. Yes it is.¡±


    ¡°What should I do with it?¡±


    ¡°Just keep it. When Yggdrasil manages to come into contact with other pegasi they will fetch it for him. You do not have to trouble yourself to bring it back to him. He just didn¡¯t want it to fall into the wrong hands.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. And... I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°No. It is not your fault.¡± As I walked towards the church again. This time I wandered around and collected Arknum and the other¡¯s stuff. They will need it in 4 days¡¯ time or at least the foreigner ones. As I remembered that word, tears started to flow from my eyes again.


    As I didn¡¯t have anything important to do, I just sat at the second level wall, staring at the barren battlefield. I didn¡¯t even try to collect the loot the monsters had dropped. Maria sat beside me trying her best to soothe me. I just let her do as she wanted but my eyes still wandered around the city.


    At night Count Ignis and the rest of the people stood in front of the church.


    ¡°Tonight, we mourn for the deaths of our comrades. But this time we do not just mourn but we must be grateful to them. Their sacrifice has allowed us to live. Right now, they have left Trisia in our hands. May we be able to rebuild Trisia to its former glory. We will not let their sacrifice be in vain. I know that we can and will rebuild our homes to what it was once. Hail to the victorious dead.¡±


    ¡°Hail.¡± The crowd toasted a few glasses of wine. The night soon passed by. Many slept inside the church with nothing but blankets. At noon this day, they tried to salvage whatever was left. It was true that they found so much loot. But no merchant was coming that day so they were not able to sell it. Some tried to salvage leftover planks to rebuild their homes but of course, as expected, what could be built in a mere day?


    previous chapter 21 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3762</a>


    next chapter 23 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3772</a>


    _________


    author note


    - this is the saddest chapter i believe. when i reread this chapter somehow i felt really sad. but this is a must so bear with it. Stella''s death and tantalus disbanding has been planned since the beginning of this series. so there is no helping it, even if fate ran another course she and tantalus will still die nevertheless


    - comment suggestions and critics are welcomed. i will try to answer your questions as best as i could


    - here is our MC stat


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class idol performers


    Health  6675(+800)  mana  9275 (+800)


    Level    120 Race human


    Fame 900


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job none


    Health regen/sec  19.5 mana regen/sec 40.4


    Strength  118(+122) dexterity  322 (+55)


    Wisdom  317 (+102)   intelect  286 (+125)


    Stamina   305  vitality  117 (+150)


    Art 74  charisma 177 (+140)


    Leadership. 160(+30) charm 105(+150)


    Fighting spirit 180 faith 140 (+105)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   45%(E)      light 45%(E)


    Unused points 100


    Contribution point church 8000


    Contribution point haven 5000


    Bonuses


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Rye bread (6)


    Ring of mana(E)


    Ring of leadership(E)


    Black staff


    Circlet of purity


    White high heel shoes


    White dress of purity


    Sword of Elkami


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Earing of faith and wisdom


    Necklace of vitality


    Ring of vitalityx4


    Ring of inteligence x3


    Stella¡¯s ring


    Tainted pegasus horn


    Tainted pegasus feather


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 9


    Acrobatic intermediate lvl 5


    Multitasking intermediate lvl 3


    Sword mastery intermediate lvl 6


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding intermediate lvl 1


    Soul transmutation beginner level 1


    Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1


    Break dance beginner level 1


    Audience beginner lvl 1


    Sub skill


    light blessing   intermediate lvl 5


    phoenix regen intermediate lvl 4


    healing hand intermediate lvl 7


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 9


    Group cure intermediate lvl 6


    Expert cure intermediate lvl 6


    Single bless intermediate lvl 8


    Fireball intermediate lvl 7


    Elkami spell list


    Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6


    Thunder strike  advance lvl 8


    Thunder shower advance lvl 1


    Thunder ball advance lvl 2


    Lightning ball advance lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning charge advance lvl 4


    Lightning pulse advance lvl 5


    Lightning strike advance lvl 2


    Lighting flash advance lvl 1


    Lightning storm advance lvl 2


    Shadow ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark lightning beginner lvl 3

 chapter 23 revival quest part 1

    After the fourth day, Iris, Hasega and co, Arknum and Reiner came back. I just handed their things back to them. In these 4 days, I had been helping the villagers move some stones or wood. Sometimes I did quests to exterminate some pests. The city tried to regain their vigor. Not many villagers had the strength left to do labour. Most citizens that survived were old men or women in their late 60¡¯s or 70¡¯s and children under the age of 10, so labourers were greatly needed.


    Selei and Sidinia were the first to send their citizens to Trisia. Each had sent around a thousand villagers or more to assist. Merchants from various city quickly flooded this city as they wanted to buy the loot gained from the dark force and sell planks and stones for the rebuilding of the homes. Houses were rebuild one by one inside second level as numerous shacks started to be built in the defenseless first level of the city.


    These shacks were the homes for the farmers. Though the land was barren, the count had started a reclamation program to rebuild the farms again and it somehow succeeded. Doing mini quests here and there, I just scoured the city looking for things to do. Starting with killing rats and bunnies that plagued the lands to carrying stones here and there. Even with all of these quests added, not a single level was gained. No wonder why would a level 120 player do the odd job of killing level 5 monsters? Or carrying stones and planks that didn¡¯t even require 20% of their strength.


    When the players returned, the count told them everything. He planned to rebuild our showroom and Tantalus headquarter. He offered me the job as Tantalus¡¯s new leader but I refused. I couldn¡¯t possibly replace those guys¡¯ work. My ability was nothing compared to them.


    ¡°Umm, Riri, please cheer up. I know it is painful but, you can¡¯t be like this forever.¡± El tried to support me as soon as she learned what had happened. But I paid her no heed.


    ¡°Umm, then. If there is a way to resurrect her....¡± She spoke. I quickly turned my head towards her.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Umm. It is almost impossible to make a human pet. But you said that soul transmutation changed the user¡¯s soul right?¡±


    I quickly read the skill description


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Soul transmutation


    A skill that infuses your soul with another soul that is bound by the user. As the skill proficiency rises, the more your soul will be transformed and your race will change completely.


    Beginner level 20% of the bound soul¡¯s power


    Intermediate level 100% of the bound soul¡¯s power


    Advanced level. Permanently changes your race along with the demerits of a bound soul


    Currently able to be infused with


    Lightning dark Fairy Elkami</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Umm, yeah.¡±


    ¡°So, we might be able to ask Yggdrasil to revive Stella as he did to me.¡± El said.


    ¡°That is certainly possible.¡± A white Pegasus landed in front of me. What timing.


    ¡°Ahh, you are the Pegasus that will take the horn and feather?¡±


    ¡°Yes. My name is Saint. Hello Riri. I want to thank you on behalf of Yggdrasil for defeating the Dark Army that had been corrupting our forest for so long.¡±


    ¡°And so.¡±


    ¡°Well, he knew you were going to ask for this so he has been preparing. But it will not come free. May I ask to see the horn and feather?¡±


    I showed him.


    ¡°Well, it is tainted. With a powerful dark force just like El said.¡° Saint then offered me a quest. ¡°If you can cleanse this horn and feather, Yggdrasil will be more than glad to resurrect Stella.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been offered</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Cleanse the tainted horn and feather


    The god of nature Yggdrasil asks you to purify the corrupted feather and horn. The horn and feather is are important symbols for all Pegasi so he wishes you to purify it and return it to Saint or another Pegasus.


    Quest difficulty C


    Quest failure Death or the quest items are no longer in your possession


    Time limit 1 month


    Quest reward Stella¡¯s soul</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I quickly cancelled the other mini quests that had I accepted in Trisia. A glimmer of hope then rose in my heart. If I could complete this quest, Stella will come back again right? Even if she is a summoned being like El it doesn¡¯t matter.


    ¡°I accept.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been accepted</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Alright and now on to quest. Please climb onto my back.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The Pegasus then soared into the sky watched by the citizens of Trisia.


    ¡°Umm, do I have to go alone?¡± I quickly asked.


    ¡°Well, I can only carry one human. It takes 1 day for me to get there. So it might cost you around a week if you want to bring a full party.¡± He said.


    1 week out of the 1 month limit. Can I accept that? No, I must try to finish this quest as soon as possible. This quest must not fail at any cost.


    ¡°I will try to do the quest alone but in the meantime please bring my friends too okay. I will give their names to you.¡± I said to him as I tried to pick the most efficient way.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°So are you alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes I am. We suffered a major loss at Trisia. In addition to that, our leader Sigil died. So our numbers are spread even more thin to govern the forests. Not to mention the disappearance of fairies.¡±


    ¡°Ahh.¡± The realization hit me when I saw El.


    ¡°Yes. The fairies that died at Trisia are dead for good. They numbered more than 300. With a corrupted body, they could not return to Yggdrasil and be reborn. We are the last of our line here.¡±


    ¡°Umm, sorry.¡±


    ¡°No, Yggdrasil ordered us. He deemed the destruction of Death Manager to be more important than our lives in the future. By killing him you saved a lot of us too. This situation will only last for a while.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°As the darkness was cleared, Yggdrasil has regained some of his power over the forests. He was able to extinguish the corruption Death Manager brought.¡±


    ¡°Umm, but I do not think Reis...ahhh, Death Manager is dead.¡± I tried to remember when he teleported away from Stella.


    The Pegasus then went silent. ¡°I see. So he is not dead. I will inform Yggdrasil of this immediately¡±


    ¡°Sorry to bring misinformation>¡± El said to Saint.


    ¡°No. It is not your fault. I am the one who didn¡¯t tell you.¡± I said back to El. My mind was too occupied by Stella¡¯s death and I refused to speak about anything.


    ¡°Well, he was severely weakened at the very least. We should be glad.¡± Saint said. ¡±Yggdrasil will come up with a measure to hunt him. Even though he can no longer dispatch any more troops, I am sure other gods will help. Death Manager is a poison to all the gods after all.¡±


    ¡°We have arrived.¡± Saint said as we stopped in front of a cave.


    ¡°So what are we going to do inside this cave?¡±


    ¡°Umm, in the deepest part of this dungeon lie 2 altars. One is a sacrificial altar and the other is a purification altar. Basically you only need to put the horn and the feather on the purification altar and put another random item on the other altar. The curse will then be moved from the purification altar to the sacrificial one. This is the best method to remove the curse completely without damaging the horn and the feather with unnecessary magic.¡± He explained.


    ¡°Seems easy enough.¡±


    ¡°Only the dungeon we are talking about is guarded by several lvl 100 monsters. You might be able to make it barely. I will now go back to Trisia to pick your other friends, you might want to camp here as you know that at night the monsters get 50% bonus strength¡¯ Saint then raised his wings and flew away leaving me and El alone.


    ¡°Hey. Aren¡¯t we going to camp outside?¡±


    ¡°I am just going to test the monsters inside. We might get some information.¡± I said to El. She then reluctantly followed me.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are the first to venture into the sacrificial cave


    Fame +100


    Doubled exp for 1 week


    Double loot drops for 1 week</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sacrificial cave


    A cave that was once used by gods and humans to clear curses.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    3 undead appeared in front of me. They were met by my expert cure and El¡¯s thunderstrike. In 2 minutes all of them was quickly turned into loot. It is not that they were weak. It was just that they were slow making them easy to target and kill. Their attack power was quite high but their defence was quite low, but dodging their attacks or blocking them was easy. It was like they were thieves but with high strength and low dexterity.


    I look deeper into the cave. A desire to finish this quest soon filled me. This dungeon is easy, I can conquer it.


    ¡°Stop it Riri, you are being unreasonable. There is still 1 month of time. If you die now, the quest will fail. Please wait just a few more days okay?¡± El tried to persuade me. I just stared at her. The most logical, the most efficient, the safest way would be what El was saying. After that I returned to cave entrance the moon had risen. I just slept on the side with a rock as a pillow and my beginner outfit as a blanket.


    ¡®Just one more day. Please wait for me Stella.¡¯ I murmured that in my sleep.


    At dawn, I woke up and started to go into the dungeon again. After mapping several sections of the dungeon and fighting the same mob from yesterday, I found some stairs leading to the second basement. In most dungeons, the deeper or the higher the dungeon goes, the harder the monsters inside it become. With this in mind, I travelled with more caution than before.


    True to my thoughts, the monster were indeed getting stronger, just as I arrived several skeletons rose from the ground. Two warriors, an archer and a mage. With a balanced party like this, the enemies were harder to defeat by many fold.


    In this case, thanks to my dexterity, I was able to dodge most of their attacks but I quickly lost the ability to counterattack. El instead dealt blows with her electric strikes. When I ventured deeper into this floor, I was met with a larger group of 10 skeletons that randomly consisted of warriors mages and archers. Taking cover here and there prevented the magic and arrows from reaching me. With the multitask skill, I was also able to dodge most of the attacks from the swords.


    ¡°GROAR!¡± An ogre rose from the ground as I tried to map the area. This dungeon has an ogre as well?


    The ogre swung his machete towards me at high speed. I managed to barely dodge it and countered with a fireball spell. El Managed to land a few hits on it with her spells but he didn¡¯t die. After several minutes of dodging the ogre was killed.


    I kept up my playstyle of dodging and countering with magic. Since my weapon dealt low damage I only used it to block attacks from enemies. Thanks to El, I had decent firepower and dodging ability now. I am kind of a spell casting thief.


    Now we were facing a two headed giant ogre at the cave¡¯s stairs. As he looked upon me, he swung his club down with one of his arms. The shockwave alone sent me flying and crashing into the wall.


    ¡°Let¡¯s retreat!¡± El suggested.


    ¡°Cast zeus strike.¡± I ordered back. I had relied on El¡¯s spells the entire time when fighting the ogre. Since ogres are not undead, healing spells won¡¯t work against them. Fireballs also did little damage moreover my class penalty make my weapon worthless. I had no choice but to rely on El¡¯s spells. Call it shameless if you want but there was something more important than pride here.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    El compelled by my request cast Zeus strike. As my mana was always depleted when she casts that spell, I couldn¡¯t use my healing spells to recover from my wounds. It was not a big deal. I could dodge his attacks until the counter runs out. Its only 1 minute.


    A lightning strike then blew the ogre away. The ogre fell but was still moving.


    ¡°He is still alive?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Zeus strike is a pretty powerfull spell. If he is still alive it means this monster is very strong. Or has a very high amount of defence.¡± El said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s kill it. Fireball.¡± I cast fireball after my mana had recovered a bit. After that I ran and stabbed the monster in various places with my sword. The paralyzed ogre could not do a thing until he got out of his paralyzed state. His health bar was in the red now but my attacks just weren¡¯t strong enough. Damn why didn¡¯t I pick blacksmithing at Trisia before. Well there are no blacksmiths at Trisia anyway I couldn¡¯t blame anyone. Besides I wouldn¡¯t be able to raise its skill that fast.


    No need to think about anything else. I just need to beat this thing. The ogre came out of his paralyzed state. He then grabbed me with his hand. His grip tightened as I tried to gasp for air. My HP was slowly decreasing.


    ¡°Riri!!¡± El shouted.


    ¡°Cast Thunder ball at it.¡° I moaned as I gave the order. Reluctantly she obeyed my order. With a booming sound, the ogre died and I gained a level. My HP bar was turned to yellow just now if i was grasped by more than 2 minutes more i might really die. I managed to beat it. With 20 level ups after the battle at Trisia, I now had 105 points to spend. I decided to put 25 into strength, wisdom, intelligence and dexterity each. These 4 stats are this class¡¯s forte I think. Left with 5 unused points, I just left them alone.


    ¡°Riri! You are being too reckless. We still have 29 days! If you die during that time Stella will be gone too!¡± She shouted. She might be right, I looked at the time on my status screen and indeed it showed night time. Night came without warning. No wonder the ogre I fought this time was like a boss monster. It was due to the night bonus. Now, is there a safe area around here? I need to hide until sunrise.


    I looked left and right for cover. It would be bad if another ogre showed up. Even though they are surely a lower level than this one, I would still be in trouble since it is night time. In the end, I found an empty hole at the corner of the dungeon. Using sneak I crept inside the hole and waited until sunrise with the sneak skill still on. I changed into my beginner uniform for added camouflage. The white princes set is just too eye-catching for sneaking like this.


    *Hey Riri, I heard from that Pegasus that you were going to conquer a dungeon alone?* Hasega whispered me.


    *I am just scouting ahead. Please come here as soon as possible.* I replied.


    *Well, Saint can only carry one person at a time. So, it might take a few days. Please wait for us okay. We will come after you.* Hasega said.


    *Please.* I sobbed as I made that request. I don¡¯t know if Hasega on the other line heard me. I just wanted this quest to be finished as soon as possible.


    The two headed ogre had respawned. He came from the stairs going up and was guarding the entrance to the stair. So he is a third basement monster. I definitely couldn¡¯t go alone at this rate. Even with a boost of 50% at night, something that could withstand Zeus strike isn¡¯t to be underestimated.


    ¡°Riri. Please sleep.¡± El said. She seemed to see through my anxiety and exhaustion.


    I couldn¡¯t fight back against her words. She was right. It was still 10 more hours until sun rise. I might as well log out and sleep in the real world. But I couldn¡¯t fall asleep. If they catch me in my sleeping state, I would be killed. At least if I am awake, I could run away even if I couldn¡¯t defeat them.


    ¡°El, if I sleep and they notice me, I am going to get killed.¡°


    ¡°I will stay on guard then. You need to save up your strength. Others would need days to reach here.¡±


    ¡°Iris is already at the entrance. If I brought him, maybe.¡±


    ¡°Riri. Please stop being reckless.¡± El then hugged my cheek she knew what I felt so she never got angry. Tears started to flow again when El hugged me. That¡¯s right. I do not only have 1 friend do I? There is still Hasega, Fira, Dem, Victor, Arknum and Iris. Even Reiner and Baran too are my friends. I must not be reckless for their sake too.


    ¡°I am sorry El.¡±


    In the end, I spent the night in that hole more at peace knowing that my friends will help me with this. If I have them, I can tackle this quest in a flash.


    When I woke up, the clock in my status screen showed that it was already morning. The enemy should be considerably lowered in strength now.


    ¡°El, should I march forward or should I return to fetch my other friends?¡± I asked El. My mind was hazy now. On one side, I wanted to go inside and clear this quest as soon as possible. But, deep down, I knew I couldn¡¯t do this alone. So I just asked El to answer this. I will trust her this time.


    After pondering for a while, El finally suggested that we go back. Even if I had to wait again, as long as this quest was cleared and Stella came back, it didn¡¯t matter.


    ¡®I might be a little late but hang on Stella. I will definitely come¡¯ I made an oath in my heart.


    I managed to escaped the ogres quite easily. Being used to these monster, I knew their attack pattern and I was able to dodge them well. The two headed ogre was weaker than I thought. It was virtually no different from a normal ogre, it just had more health and strength.


    I met iris inside the first floor of the dungeon. He was hunting alone and killing some zombies when I met him. Unlike me who rushed to the second floor, he just killed the enemy one by one. He was just grinding while waiting others to arrive.


    ¡°Hi Riri. When did you arrive?¡± He greeted me when I came up to him from behind.


    ¡°Yesterday. I have already found the stairs to the third floor. But I couldn¡¯t risk going there alone.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He answered calmly. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s have lunch. I have brought several sandwiches with me.¡±


    When I looked at my satiety bar, it was indeed at a low level. I hadn¡¯t eaten anything since yesterday. My rye bread had also been depleted since a long time ago. How come I came here without such a simple preparation as that? I might have died of hunger if Iris hadn¡¯t come. Tears came down from my eyes again.


    ¡°Are you that hungry that you would cry for a sandwich?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I just half assed the answer to that rhetorical question.


    previous chapter 22 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3772</a>


    next chapter 24 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3797</a>


    _____________


    author note.


    -here is the next chapter.damn, after seeing some comments from last chapters i am getting goosebumps here. i got a whole bunch of mind reading readers here! how the heck did you knew that Stella is going to be revived? ^^


    :grin:


    - comments and suggestions are welcomed. please post you opinion on this chapter in discussion topic or here.


    - and so here is our latest MC stat.i wonder what item swogystar meant i have a rough guess. but it is true that i have plans for all items in Riri''s bag.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class idol performers


    Health  6675(+800)  mana  10900 (+800)


    Level    121 Race human


    Fame 1000


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job none


    Health regen/sec  26.5 mana regen/sec 43.4


    Strength  143(+122) dexterity  345 (+55)


    Wisdom  332 (+102)   intelect  311 (+125)


    Stamina   305  vitality  117 (+150)


    Art 74  charisma 177 (+140)


    Leadership. 160(+30) charm 105(+125)


    Fighting spirit 180 faith 140 (+105)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   45%(E)      light 45%(E)


    Unused points 0


    Contribution point church 8000


    Contribution point haven 2500


    Bonuses


    all stat +10 except dex and charm


    Dex +25 charm +40


    Stamina +40


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    movement reduced by 30% (E)


    healing spell increased by 40% (E)


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    gold coins (15)


    Ring of mana(E)   (Mana +200, charm +20)


    Ring of leadership(E) (chr +30 leadership +30)


    Black staff


    Circlet of purity.Charm +30Char +30Int +10Wis +10Faith +20, heal,light,dark res+10%


    White high heel shoes Charm+30Char+10Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+10%


    White dress of purity Charm +20Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+20%


    Sword of Elkami Faith +25 Str +20 Dex +25 Int +25 Wis +20


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Earing of faith and wisdomFaith +40 wis +20


    Necklace of vitalityVit +30Str +20


    Ring of vitalityx4 Health +200Vit +30 Str +20


    Ring of inteligence x3 Mana +200Intelect +30Wis +20


    Stella¡¯s ring Dex +25Str +20Int +30Wis +20Charm +25Charisma +30


    Tainted pegasus horn


    Tainted pegasus feather


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5(10%).


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 9


    Acrobatic intermediate lvl 5 (Movement 125%)


    Multitasking intermediate lvl 3 ( (Focus 6, intelect +25)


    Sword mastery intermediate lvl 6 (power 70% speed 70%)


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2 (Dex +2)


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6 (Dex +80)


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding intermediate lvl 1


    Soul transmutation beginner level 1


    Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1


    Break dance beginner level 1


    Audience beginner lvl 1


    Sub skill


    light blessing   intermediate lvl 5


    phoenix regen intermediate lvl 4


    healing hand intermediate lvl 7


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 9


    Group cure intermediate lvl 6


    Expert cure intermediate lvl 6


    Single bless intermediate lvl 8


    Fireball intermediate lvl 7


    El spell list.


    Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6


    Thunder strike  advance lvl 8


    Thunder shower advance lvl 1


    Thunder ball advance lvl 2


    Lightning ball advance lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning charge advance lvl 4


    Lightning pulse advance lvl 5


    Lightning strike advance lvl 2


    Lighting flash advance lvl 1


    Lightning storm advance lvl 2


    Shadow ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark lightning beginner lvl 3

 chapter 24 revival quest part 2

    On the second day, with Iris, I grinded the entire first floor for this day. After completing the mapping for this floor we got some nice loot. Unable to bring all of it, we just collected it and piled it in front of the dungeon, I gained yet another level for the day. When we finished, we once again camped outside as Maria came from the sky with Saint.


    ¡°I was surprised that you managed to sneak into a dungeon like that.¡±


    ¡°Is it a wrong thing to do?¡±


    ¡°Well, normally a raid group is formed to clear a dungeon like this, it is to prevent ambushes. Somewhere along 10 or 20 people. For mapping a dungeon like this, normally you would need 2 days for the first floor. Sneaking up to the third floor in one day was rushing it a little bit. You see, even though we hunted all day long, we only managed to clear 1 floor right? Others would usually rest for a while and chat. Not to mention we have inflated stats.¡± Iris said.


    ¡°Battle of Trisia huh?¡±


    ¡°I was also grieved by the death of the Tantalus members. But as a player, I was still happy that I got such stat increases. Getting that is not easy you know. I would jump in joy if I were you. I kind of guessed how many stat increases you got since even if I am below you, I still got a huge stat increase. Normally it would be worth around at least 50.000 or 70.000 gold for my stat increases that I assume are half of yours. Sorry. Are you offended?¡±


    ¡°No, it is logical.¡±


    ¡°The stats increase was worth 30 levels I think. Even though they are spread out, a stat increase is still a stat increase. Well, what about you? Don¡¯t answer if you don¡¯t want to. It is fine.¡±


    ¡°Somewhere along 400 stats, I guess it is around 80 levels huh?¡± Even though going by stats alone I was inflated by more than 100 levels, it was actually not that great. Stats such as charisma, faith, and charm were easy to get for a few people. By commanding an army or leading a group raid, one could raise these stats. Charm was useless to most people. No one cares even if they generated the stat either. As for faith, if you donate money to church regularly, this stat will increase by itself. Except for faith, other additional stats like art, charisma, charm, leadership and fighting spirit cannot be relied upon in battles in dungeons or player groups. (Charisma and leadership only affect NPCs)


    Iris stared for a moment then he continued. ¡°Well, being a commander you must have an awesome charisma stat. Not to mention you gained some immunity towards dark and light magic right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That is the rare part. Me and Arknum got 3%. It might sound small. But I must tell you that for a non-mage human, it is rare to get magic resistance.¡° Iris spoke with shining eyes, he seemed to want to brag about his stat inflation.


    I spend the night with him talking about how to get magical resistance. It was to get hit with a pure elemental property for a long time and a strong one at that too. He got information from his friend that he only got 1% magical resistance after battling a single elemental spirit for 12 hours.


    After that he blabbed about the stat increases. Almost every stat was hard to increase if one wants to increase it without a special event or food, all stat increases would have around the same difficulty like hitting a scarecrow. After that he blabbed about how food affects stat increases starting from its name and its average price. Though it was actually very difficult for a player to not get a stat increase from playing until level 100. It was also even more rare for a player to get a stat increase for more than 20 levels worth of stats when they reached lvl 100. While level is the universal indicator of strength of a player, it is not absolute, this stat increase is the proof of it.


    He also mentioned skills. While stats are essential to someone¡¯s battle-strength, skills are just as important as stats are. A real example is sword mastery. It could increase your sword¡¯s speed by 2 fold when it reached intermediate. There are also stat increasing skills such as ambidextrous. He was lucky to have it since he dual wields.


    While hearing Iris yapping about food and stat increases worth thousands of gold, my eyes got weary and I fell asleep. Tomorrow would be the third day for this quest. Only 27 days left for me to clear this quest. Can I clear it? Iris kept babbling that we would somehow manage to clear it in a week¡¯s time but a day now felt like years. If somehow this quest fails, I would not be able to forgive myself.


    Another dawn came. Now in a group of three, we grinded the dungeon again. This time, we managed to get into the second floor easier. Maria¡¯s healing spells were lethal to the monsters in first floor. We almost got no enemies left to fight.


    On the second floor, we fought the ogres I mentioned. Either my dexterity was too high or the opponent was just incompatible with Iris¡¯s style, somehow Iris was having trouble dodging those ogres¡¯ machetes. He could block them but each hit shaved off a little of his HP. Just like me, Iris was supposed to be an agility-type warrior but I could dodge better than him. Is it because of our dexterity? No, I was moving just as fast as him, ahh, it is the multitasking skill. His dodging was a little bit disordered. There were wasted movements here and there.


    Truthfully, the party was rather unbalanced. We needed someone more tank-like. Hasega would be a good choice. Though we managed to clear this level in one day, there were some tight situations where we got surrounded by 4 ogres. Maria had to run while I baited the ogre with my fireballs.


    ¡°Hello Riri.¡± Hasega greeted me.


    ¡°Whew. I am tired of flying for 3 days nonstop. Let me sleep for the night okay?¡± Saint said as he lay down and rested.


    ¡°Hello..¡±


    ¡°So, I heard you are going on another quest?¡±


    ¡°Umm, yes. Didn¡¯t you already accept it?¡±


    ¡°Umm, well yes.¡° Hasega answered a little flustered.


    ¡°We are going to clear it tomorrow.¡± Iris made a remark.


    Then we slept for the night. Iris didn¡¯t actually let me leech his food for free. He was a more thrifty person than I thought. Just like Hasega, he tried to sell his food to me for a whopping 40 silver a piece. No matter in the real world or virtual world. Humans are controlled by money!


    Just as dawn came, we marched towards the dungeon once more. This time with a balanced party. Consisting of an attacker Iris, a defender Hasega, a mage Elkami, a cleric Maria and me as a leecher. Not technically a leecher as I helped luring all the monsters away from El and Maria and El was also using my mana for her magic. I am not a leecher right?


    The third floor was completely filled with two headed ogres. Unlike the second floor, these ones had far better equipment than a crude club. Some used machetes with helmets and armour. Some even formed a group with 2 warriors and two archers. But with Maria¡¯s buff, we easily overwhelmed their power. Even though it was a party fight, it was just El and me vs the archers while the warriors were fighting with the other warriors. Somehow, we had this outside system skill to pick the opponent most suitable for us and that was it for day 4. 26 days left until the time limit.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Acrobatics is now intermediate lvl 6</td></tr></tbody></table>


    We are now on the fourth floor. We were able to keep our pace for 1 day each floor but it seemed impossible now. Ghouls and spectres roamed this dungeon. Only magic worked against spectres so the group¡¯s attack power was literally halved. Not to mention Maria had to keep tabs on everyone since curses and poison were spit out from every creature here. If Maria had not been around we would have been in deep trouble. Because it would be a bother to come back again after venturing this far, we decided to camp at the safe location in this cave. Loot was just collected at the entrance of each floor.


    ¡°See? That is the table right?¡± Iris said as he pointed at the table behind two fearsome monsters. The final floor only consisted of rectangular rooms over 30 meter wide and 50 meter wide. The altars were at the opposite corners of the room with two giants guarding at the center of the room. ¡°After we beat these bosses, the quest will be completed.¡±


    ¡°Those bosses look tough.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Alright, everyone. Beat that damn boss. Melee is for defence while others prepare to attack. Protect Riri at all costs since if she dies, the quest will fail.¡±


    The enemy are two giants fully equipped with full plate armour and an axe while the other held a two-handed sword in one of his hands with the same full plate armour and helmet. No matter how you look at it they seemed tough to beat.


    The first to charge was Iris. As he charged towards the sword monster, he was met with a horizontal slash from it. He instinctively jumped to dodge the attack but he was met with a vertical upward slash from the other monster. If he was normal person, the slash would have hit bulls eye dealing a critical hit but he was able to block the attack using his twin swords. But, even if he was able to block it, he was sent flying by the force of the attack sending him crashing into the cave walls.


    Without delay, the sword monster charged at the defenceless Iris sending a stab attack this time. Hasega quickly jumped in and with his shield, he changed the direction of the monster¡¯s sword. Then in unison the axe wielding one slashed vertically downward at Hasega. Hasega raised his shield to block the axe attack. The force of the attack sent the ground beneath him cracking but he was able to block it.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± Iris sounded the alarm. While Elkami cast some of her lightning spells to distract them, Iris and Hasega ran in our direction. We climbed up the stairs and said monsters no longer pursued us.


    ¡°That was tough. Even though I blocked both attacks my life was still decreased by a great amount. It was just 2 attacks!¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Well, they are boss monsters. They are supposed to be tough.¡± Iris said. ¡°We need to test the monsters¡¯ power and attack pattern. Only then we can defeat them.¡±


    We spent another 3 days with random skirmishes and ambushes. Using various strategies we finally found the weak spot of the monsters¡¯ attack pattern. As they coordinated well together, they were far weaker when alone. The difficult part was how to separate them. Iris then came to the conclusion that we should behave just like they did.


    The tactic was to deploy the enemy¡¯s strategy upon itself. That was extreme coordination. It was easier said than done but it was doable. The strategy was to have Hasega and Iris charge together at the same pace. When the monster picked Iris, Iris was supposed to block or dodge the sword monster only. The monsters always picked their opponents one by one, so the axe wielder would also charge at Iris. But that charge was blocked by Hasega.


    When the enemy then in unison changed their target to Hasega, Hasega only needed to block the Axe wielder while Iris would block the sword wielding monster. It was tough for Iris to block attacks being an agility type warrior but he was able to do it. Their HP bar was always kept steady by Maria and me. El was the one doing the attacks. We decided that this pattern was the safest choice.


    While the monster shifted its target towards Hasega, Iris blocked the sword user. While the monster shifted towards Iris, Hasega blocked the axe, this situation forced the monsters to fight the players one on one. Though the monsters tried to cooperate with all their might, Iris and Hasega managed to separate them.


    Leaving the damage dealing entirely to El was opposed at first, since I was also needed in the healing department. But seeing there was no other choice, all of us agreed on this strategy. At first I volunteered to be some kind of distraction for one of the monster but it was dismissed since my death would mean failing the quest. The battle might drag on for a long time since El is the only one who attacks. But we had to endure.


    After 12 tiring hours, one of the monsters died. The defence department was left entirely to Hasega while Iris joined the attacking department and we finished off the remaining monster in less than 3 hours. The monsters were tough when together. But alone they were nothing. What made the battle last so long was because El was unable to cast her enigma spell. Using the spell would make Riri unable to use other healing spells. It was risky and therefore forbidden. Besides, thinking how close the monster was to Hasega and Iris , the spell could misfire and killed them instead.


    Nevertheless, the monsters were defeated. After resting for the day to recover stamina and satiety, standing in front of the 2 rectangular altars standing at both corners of the rectangular boss room, the group read the inscription on the altar. It clearly said sacrificial altars on one side while the others says purification altar. How convenient!


    ¡°Well, what will you sacrifice Riri?¡± Iris asked.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    After fumbling her inventory windows she decided to use her beginners attire as a sacrifice. After putting her beginners pants, shoes, and clothes on the sacrificial altar, she put the horn and feather on the other.on my bag there was a lot of junk items. but no equipment that dropped in this dungeon works on the altar so i chose my most useless equipment to be the sacrifice. i was about to ask others junk weapons if my beginner''s attire isn''t enough but it seems it was enough now.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Purification will now commence</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Time until purification complete 12 hours</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Both Item durability will be temporarily reduced to 1.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Well, all that we need to do is wait right?¡± Hasega said while watching the counter. Somehow I had a real bad feeling when I looked at the counter above the items.


    #GROWL ROAR##


    Growls and roars of the ogres could be heard from the floor above us.


    ¡°uh oh.¡± Iris said as he realised something. ¡°Riri, could you cancel the purification for a moment?¡±


    When I tried to touch my beginner clothes, a barrier zapped me dealing 50 lightning damage.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sacrificial altar barrier has been reduced by 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Current sacrificial altar barrier energy 2950/3000</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Current purification altar barrier energy 3000/3000</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Hey, tell me this is not going the way I think it is.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°It is pretty much going the way you think. Let¡¯s call everyone on the first floor.¡± Said Iris. ¡°If my hunch is right, it is supposed to be empty right now.¡±


    What Iris meant would be Arknum, Fira, Dem and Victor on the first floor. Saint managed to bring them over when we were having difficulties against the boss on this floor.


    *Hey, somehow all the monsters are marching in the same direction. With the exception the one we are currently enganging.* Said Fira on her whisper channel.


    ¡°We are now surrounded by monsters in all direction. Any ideas?¡± Hasega asked.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we ask the more brilliant one? Riri?¡±


    ¡°Maria¡¯s barrier?¡±


    ¡°The range isn¡¯t enough to cover both 2 altars.¡± Said Maria.


    ¡°Now that is a problem.¡± Iris said. ¡±We could ask Maria to protect one altar while we defend the other but we would lose a lot of healing capabilities.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t do anything about it. Maria, protect the purification one while we protect the other.¡± Said Iris.


    *Hello, Fira, try to make it to the 4th floor at full speed. We need immediate reinforcements here!* Iris shouted at his party chat.


    Over 20 two-headed ogres were marching towards Maria¡¯s altar. A barrier was erected just in the nick of times as two arrows flew towards it. Now on our end, we were faced with another ten of those ogres. With a battlecry, I ran towards the ogres while dodging their attacks. Just a distraction is enough, I pierced one of the ogres¡¯ stomachs and ran to the others doing the same. Drawing all the agro of the monsters towards me.


    The monsters¡¯ default target was the altar. It was shown by the first attacks of their archers, they always aimed at the altar. But when I stabbed their chest, their attacks were redirected towards me instead. Thanks to the multitasking ability and bullet deflector, archers were not a big trouble for me. As I did not need to kill the ogres, I just outran the melee ones. So the battle became a game of tag now.


    I ignored the 20 ogres that were hitting Maria¡¯s barrier. Knowing its strength, the barrier would probably last two days of such attacks. More ogres were pouring into this floor. Iris tried to pick off my pursuers one by one while El also killed some of the melee ogres. Hasega was forced to stay near the altar as when some arrows flew in, we could only rely on his tower shield.


    As the ogres poured in from the upper floor, I picked only the ones that were attacking Hasega¡¯s altar. Maria was safe and sound in her cocoon. She could handle it even if there were 200 more ogres storming her makeshift fortress.


    Only 2 hours had passed. The ogres were starting to overwhelm me. Dealing with 40 ogres with half of them being archers was not particularly easy.


    ¡°El, prepare an enigma spell.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    As 20 ghouls and spectres also rushed in after the ogres, my mana bar was finally full and a magic circle was formed on the cave¡¯s ceiling.


    ¡°Enigma of lightning god Zeus bolt shower!¡±


    Now I only needed to wait for a minute while trying to take some distance. This spell should be able to clear anything in a 20 meter radius. Pretty much half of this army.


    After a minute, my life bar was turned to yellow by a constant barrage of arrows and curses from the spectre and ghouls. Then, from the magic circle, a crystal dropped in and with a spark, it electrified everything. Enjoying the show while Iris picked off the remaining 4 or 5 ogres that were not hit, I cast some healing spells on myself.


    ¡°whoa, the damage was higher than Zeus strike.¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Actually the damage was lower if we are talking about a single enemy. It was only because of the night bonuses. If you are talking about single hit KO, then Zeus strike is better but if you are talking about AOE spell, this one is better.¡±


    ¡°What about the Thor series?¡±


    ¡°Thor¡¯s hammer work pretty much like Zeus strike while bolt of Thor is like Zeus bolt shower with higher damage but shorter duration.¡±


    The enemy was electrified for a good 30 seconds. Most of the archers were dead as the melee warriors¡¯ HP was in the red zone. With a single slash, the melee ones were exterminated by Iris.


    ¡°Good job!¡± Iris gave a thumbs up.


    ¡°More are on their way.¡± Said El as she took a sneak peek at the upper floor.


    Skeletons and zombies were now charging at us. My mana wasn¡¯t even at 5% of its maximum value and they just kept on pouring in. We had to hold on.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sacrificial altar barrier has been reduced by 100</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Current sacrificial altar barrier energy 2850/3000</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡±Huh?¡±


    ¡°The mages. I can¡¯t block both the archers¡¯ and the mages¡¯ attacks.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Fireball.¡± I cast a fireball on one of the skeleton mages. ¡°El, try to herd the archers and mages towards me or you. Just don¡¯t let them attack the altars.¡± I gave an order. I knew my order was absurd. With a mere 3% of my mana, El, couldn¡¯t do much but I still gave out the order regardless.


    ¡°Riri, try to distract the melee ones. I will handle the ranged ones!¡± Iris tried to make a solution for our dire situation. Hasega tried his best to block arrows and fireballs thrown by skeleton mages and archers. But he was still overwhelmed.


    At that time, A shining figure charged from the stairs and destroyed the skeletons.


    ¡°Saint. You came!¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been offered</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Guard Saint the heir of Pegasus


    Saint has marched into the battlefield. While he provides an enormous advantage, he must not be killed for he is the heir of Pegasus, should he be killed the horn and the feather that were being cleansed have no meaning and therefore the quest Cleanse the tainted horn and feather will fail


    Quest difficulty unknown


    Quest failure Saint dies


    Time limit until quest successful 8 hours


    You cannot refuse this quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been accepted</td></tr></tbody></table>


    previous chapter 23http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3796</a>


    next chapter 25 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3804</a>


    ________________


    author''s note


    - double chapters. enjoy


    - comment questions and suggestions are welcomed.


    - since i have nothing more to say here is our usual MC stat


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class idol performers


    Health  6675(+800)  mana  10900 (+800)


    Level    122 Race human


    Fame 1000


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job none


    Health regen/sec  26.5 mana regen/sec 43.4


    Strength  143(+122) dexterity  352 (+55)


    Wisdom  342 (+102)   intelect  311 (+125)


    Stamina   305  vitality  117 (+125)


    Art 74  charisma 177 (+140)


    Leadership. 160(+30) charm 105(+150)


    Fighting spirit 180 faith 140 (+105)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   45%(E)      light 45%(E)


    Unused points 5


    Contribution point church 8000


    Contribution point haven 2500


    Bonuses


    all stat +10 except dex and charm


    Dex +25 charm +40


    Stamina +40


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    movement reduced by 30% (E)


    healing spell increased by 40% (E)


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    gold coins (5)


    Ring of mana(E)   (Mana +200, charm +20)


    Ring of leadership(E) (chr +30 leadership +30)


    Black staff


    Circlet of purity.Charm +30Char +30Int +10Wis +10Faith +20, heal,light,dark res+10%


    White high heel shoes Charm+30Char+10Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+10%


    White dress of purity Charm +20Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+20%


    Sword of Elkami Faith +25 Str +20 Dex +25 Int +25 Wis +20


    Autographed Beginner¡¯s cloth


    Beginner¡¯s pant


    Beginner¡¯s shoes


    Earing of faith and wisdomFaith +40 wis +20


    Necklace of vitalityVit +30Str +20


    Ring of vitalityx4 Health +200Vit +30 Str +20


    Ring of inteligence x3 Mana +200Intelect +30Wis +20


    Stella¡¯s ring Dex +25Str +20Int +30Wis +20Charm +25Charisma +30


    Tainted pegasus horn


    Tainted pegasus feather


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5(10%).


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 9


    Acrobatic intermediate lvl 6 (Movement 160%)


    Multitasking intermediate lvl 3 ( (Focus 6, intelect +25)


    Sword mastery intermediate lvl 6 (power 70% speed 70%)


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2 (Dex +2)


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6 (Dex +80)


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding intermediate lvl 1


    Soul transmutation beginner level 1


    Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1


    Break dance beginner level 1


    Audience beginner lvl 1


    Sub skill


    light blessing   intermediate lvl 5


    phoenix regen intermediate lvl 4


    healing hand intermediate lvl 7


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 9


    Group cure intermediate lvl 6


    Expert cure intermediate lvl 6


    Single bless intermediate lvl 8


    Fireball intermediate lvl 7


    El spell list


    Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6


    Thunder strike  advance lvl 8


    Thunder shower advance lvl 1


    Thunder ball advance lvl 2


    Lightning ball advance lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning charge advance lvl 4


    Lightning pulse advance lvl 5


    Lightning strike advance lvl 2


    Lighting flash advance lvl 1


    Lightning storm advance lvl 2


    Shadow ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark lightning beginner lvl 3

 chapter 25 revival quest final confirmation

    While the Saint does help bringing down those undead, we were also burdened with another task of protecting something, he came out full of wounds by just charging through the hordes of monsters. Iris ordered him to guard the sacrificial barrier just like Hasega and support us with healing magic.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Time remaining until purification ends 7 hours.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Hey!¡± Fira, Dem and the others came to us.


    ¡°Glad you made it.¡± Iris said.


    ¡°You are late. The party is almost over.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°We also picked off the enemy in the back you know. So please give it a rest.¡± Victor said. True to his word, they seemed a little bit injured.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t relax just yet. The quest isn¡¯t over.¡± Iris warned.


    ¡°But there are hardly any monsters left.¡± Hasega sat down to rest.


    ¡°Umm, it might be just a temporary break. Let us prepare for the worst case scenario. If the enemy attacks in 4 more hours, they will get a 50% bonus because of night-time.¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°I see. Then Dem, set up traps. While others rest. Riri, heal the wounded. The enemy might attack us any minute you know.¡± Iris said.


    The healing was done in 2 minutes. Dem was busy making a trap that was obviously seen from here. I guess he still needed a lot of training on that one. he must have just gotten the skill. Iris¡¯s sandwiches were popular within the group. The sandwiches were delicious alright, the soft bread with tomato sauce and some lettuce salad filled with sunny fried egg and ham are very tempting. Not to mention the mayonnaise sauce within it. He must have cooked it in the real world as well to be able to produce sandwiches this good. Though he might have just bought it wholesale at some random player chef. But the way he spoke about the ingredients of his sandwiches made it seem like he cooked it himself.


    Maria was seen drooling inside her golden barrier. She couldn¡¯t let up the barrier now or she wouldn¡¯t be able to cast it again tomorrow. While some of us were teasing her by eating it right in front of her, Iris was kind enough to share some of his sandwiches with her. She seemed so happy when she was eating the sandwiches that the scenery was almost changed from a gloomy cave into that of a flowery scenery.


    #Growl#


    A growl was heard after 2 hours of leisurely eating and resting. When we heard the growl for a second time, all of us went into preparation mode. Just as we feared, the monsters from the upper floors rushed in again while this time, all of them came at once.


    ¡°They came in larger numbers this time. El?¡± Iris said. If the enemy is grouped together El¡¯s enigma spell was the most efficient.


    ¡°Enigma of lightning god bolt of Thor!¡±


    A loud thundering boom occurred as the enemy changed into another pile of loot. We already had quite a mountain behind us even though the bonus loot was supposed to be over. It was just that their quantity and item drop rate is high. Each of them were bound to drop something even without bonus loot. Though most of them were nothing more than thrash worth a few silver or coppers.


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a while.¡± Iris said while sitting down again.


    ¡°Hey you haven¡¯t even unsheathed your sword!!¡± El made a retort at Iris¡¯s unreasonable joke. Her lightning vanquished the 50 or so ogres and specters.


    The party sat down near the sacrificial altar again. Arknum, Iris, Fira, Dem, Victor, El and me. Baran was supposed to be next in line to help me but Saint couldn¡¯t reach him in time and decided to charge into the dungeon instead. It was amazing that both of them could reach this floor in such short time. Well, I guess if the floor is empty, that made a difference.


    Then another swarm of skeletons and zombies appeared. This time some ogres and two-headed ones were mixed in. Everyone was buckled up this time. With exception of Hasega and Saint, everyone charged ahead. The plan was still the same as before, I bait the mob, Saint healed or cured me from curses while others pick off the opponents one by one from behind.


    #CRACK#


    My sword cracked a bit. After being abused for 1 week and deflecting so many arrows. The durability was finally on its last leg. In a fluster, I quickly sheathed my sword and depended on dodging instead. Everyone was shouting that I should draw my sword but I just ignored them. With great difficulty I dodge many arrows and tried to outrun the melee ones. My health bar was at yellow often now but thanks to Saint¡¯s healing abilities, my health bar was kept safe. I was still far from dying.


    Time was ticking away as we fought. The horde of monsters didn¡¯t end this time it just kept spawning and spawning. Is this really a level C quest? Can we stay alive like this?


    *BOM*BOM#


    More fire explosions were cast by Fira. She has got several nifty spells now. Another AOE attack with better damage than fire blaze but the downside of AOE spells is the aggro it catches. Several monsters that I was baiting went towards her instead. In a way, it removed some of my burden. But with her dexterity, let alone dodging arrows, she couldn¡¯t even outmanoeuvre the melee monsters. Thankfully, Victor and Iris stepped in.


    Dem¡¯s trap was more like a child¡¯s prank rather than a real trap. marbles that were supposed to make the opponents fall down were crushed instead. A wire trap that was supposed to trip the opponent was snapped in two. The only thing that seemed usefull was his holding trap that could trap the enemy for about 20 seconds while dealing a minuscule amount of damage. Furthermore, he was limited to 4 traps only.


    ¡°Dem, your traps are worthless.¡± Iris nagged at last.


    ¡°I am sorry, I just learned the technique alright! It is still beginner 2. Please give me a break.¡± He said as he killed another enemy with his dagger.


    The number of enemies kept increasing. At this rate, we would be annihilated. Is there anything else I could do? If I could use my sword, I might be able to last longer. But if my sword breaks, I don¡¯t know what will happen to El. Even for Stella¡¯s sake, I can¡¯t just let El be killed like that.


    ¡°Ah! There is.¡± I suddenly shouted out loud.


    ¡°What is it Riri?¡± Iris shouted form a distance.


    ¡°Soul transmutation! Lightning Dark Fairy Elkami!¡± I used my new skill.


    My body was soon enveloped with a blue light. My hair turned blue just like El and I could feel something growing on my back. My body then became lighter.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Soul transmutation has been used</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Lightning dark fairy Elkami¡¯s soul is infused in your soul.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>In this form, your stat are increased by 20% of Elkami¡¯s stats


    Strength +10 Dexterity +60


    Wisdom +80 Intelligence +150


    Stamina +40 Vitality +8</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your magic resistance has increased by 20% of Elkami¡¯s stats


    Fire +2% Water +2%


    Earth +3% Wind +4%


    Thunder +10% Ice +4%


    Dark +7% Light +4%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your race has changed to half fairy</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your class has changed to Mage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your class restriction of weapon damage reduction has been removed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Magical damage has increased by 50%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your have gained new skills until transmutation ends</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Flight


    Thunder mastery


    Darkness mastery


    Spellcaster</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned the following spells


    Thunder Barrier


    Thunder strike


    Thunder shower


    Thunder ball


    Lightning ball


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike


    Enigma of lightning god Thor Hammer


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus bolt shower


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of Thor


    Lightning bolt


    Mana bolt


    Lightning charge


    Lightning pulse


    Lightning strike


    Lighting flash


    Lightning storm


    Shadow ball


    Dark lightning</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Period until soul transmutation ends 6 hours or until cancelled manually</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I felt a surge of power inside of me. I gained a bunch of system messages and notifications. Everyone look at me dumbfounded. When the blue light disappeared, I couldn¡¯t feel my legs. No more likely I couldn¡¯t touch the ground with my legs now. I am flying? No, I am floating.


    ¡°Wow, this is an awesome skill.¡± I said as I looked at my hands and body. Somehow, me and El had the same figure only that El is a tiny version of me. If El is a small and cute fairy, I am a beautiful fairy. The opponent stopped for a moment before deciding to attack. They could feel the surge of power inside me now and they were hesitating to attack.


    But they quickly regained their composure and began another attack on me. I felt my wings. They were somehow an extension of my own body. My body felt as light as a feather. I mean literally. I could float if I wanted to and I could touch the ground if I wanted to. Moving in a 3 dimensional way. So, this is flight grandmaster huh?


    A horizontal slash was aimed at me. With multitask, I watched the sword with 1 focus and moved my wing with another focus. The result was extraordinary. Like in anime or manga, my movements seemed like a short distance teleport or blink spell. Even I was fascinated by this. I was already behind the monster at that time.


    ¡°Whoa, that movement is even faster than my own.¡± El commented. It must be because of my acrobat skill that also increased my movement capabilities.


    This time, I didn¡¯t mess up, I was able to dodge every arrow and every melee attack aimed at me. Even when they surrounded me in a corner, I was able to fly and dodge in mid-air. They were completely 3 dimensional moves. See and dodge, see and dodge. I even had spare time to look at Iris and others who were taking down their opponents.


    ¡°Enigma of the lightning god. Bolt of Thor!¡± I cast a spell exclusive to fairies. My max mana was increased by more than 3000 from the soul transmutation. My wisdom had also increased a lot too. Not to mention I had a different set of skills than El. So my bolt of Thor was no longer on cooldown.


    Blue sparks surged within me as a magic circle appeared on the cave ceiling. I could feel a great quantity of magic flowing from my body to that magic circle. Then a mana connection was formed from my body to that magic circle as there was now a counter on that circle. Now I had to keep focusing on the mana connection or the spell would be interrupted. So this is the enigma spell. This connection will drain my mana bit by bit until the counter reaches 0 and the spell is activated.


    ¡°Riri, if you get hit, the spell might be interrupted!¡± El shouted from afar.


    ¡°She can use enigma spell too now?¡± Fira asked in disbelief.


    ¡°She can basically use every skill that I have.¡± El said. Even though El said like she knows it all, in her heart she showed surprise too seeing me capable of casting her spells.


    ¡°Eh, how? It should be hard to move while casting enigma spells.¡± El showed her complete amazement this time. It was true that it took tremendous focus to use an enigma spell. But I had more focuses than I could spare, it was no big deal. Multitask is a cheat skill. Even with the spell active, I could still move as easily as before. I am just lacking a bit of refinement that¡¯s all.


    In the end I was able to manoeuvre my way through the barrage of the monsters¡¯ arrows and melee charges. When the counter hit 0 the spell quickly caught every one of them and left them half dead. Everything else was soon finished by others.


    Time remaining until purification ends 1 hour.


    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know you had such a skill.¡± Hasega asked in admiration. Everyone nodded at his remark.


    ¡°Umm, I just got it.¡± I Answered. That skill was really too eye-catching! Everyone must be trying to interrogate me now.


    ¡°How did you get it?¡± Iris asked.


    ¡°Umm, Stella gave it to me when she died.¡± I answered honestly.


    After another anxious hour of waiting, nothing happened.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been completed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 3x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Add another 2 levels I got from killing and baiting the enemies before, I had gained a total of 5 levels this time.


    ¡°Soul transmutation end.¡± I chanted the words and my body was enveloped by blue light yet again and I went back to normal Riri.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Soul transformation is now beginner lvl 3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Saint then walked towards the horn and feather. The item on the sacrificial altar was destroyed by unknown forces after curse was removed.


    ¡°Whew. That was a surprise. I didn¡¯t know it would turn like that.¡± Iris said.


    ¡°Sorry about that. I didn¡¯t know either. This cave was supposed to be empty when Yggdrasil used it last time around 500 years ago.


    ¡°Umm, the quest has been completed. What about Stella?¡±


    At that moment Saint used some kind of spell on the purified feather and horn. He became the new horned Pegasus replacing Swogystar.


    ¡±I will take you to the fairy lake. The ritual will be performed there with the several remaining fairies. Meanwhile the rest should go back on their own. I did warn you that you would only get fame and exp for this right?¡± Everyone then nodded and separated. Some wanted to come but there was no space on Saint¡¯s back.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Umm okay. I will be in your care.¡±


    With that I rode the newly horned Pegasus once more. After getting out of the cave, the Pegasus flapped his new more brilliant white wings in the sky. With a neighing sound, the Pegasus soared through the sky towards fairy lake. He didn¡¯t seem to be flying, it was like he was running on the wind below him. He was very fast.


    ¡°So, you are the new Pegasus leader?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was appointed by Yggdrasil on a certain condition.¡±


    ¡°Retrieve the horn and feather?¡±


    ¡°Yes. What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I thought you honored the sacrifice of the Pegasus before that¡¯s why you jumped in the middle of the enemy. It was just the inheritance then?¡±


    ¡°I do respect Swogystar and my fallen comrades in Trisia. But this horn and feather are important. You might not know this, but Yggdrasil thinks very highly of you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, he is going to use his life force to find your friend in hell. After that he is going to bind her to you. You might think this is simple, but it drains his spirit.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°The horn and feather are worth more than that. If this horn and feather were lost, Yggdrasil would suffer a more serious drawback. He trusts you but he also has a economical way of thinking in profit and loss. It can¡¯t be denied after all. Without this horn and feather, the Pegasus will have no leader and will scatter around the forests to be hunted by men or wild animals.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°You see, actually Yggdrasil usually doesn¡¯t trust humans with these kind of tasks. But he seems to trust you.¡±


    ¡°Do the horn and feather have any effect on humans?¡±


    ¡°Horns can be made into powerfull divine spears while feathers could be used as hat or robe decorations. If anyone were to know about this, they would be sure to hunt for it. I was surprised you didn¡¯t take advantage of this.¡±


    ¡°Not really. If Yggdrasil hadn¡¯t made this offer, I would have done anything to revive Stella even if I had to go to Hades myself.¡± I said that truthfully.


    ¡°Well, he trusts you and he knows you so that¡¯s why he made that offer. He didn¡¯t want to use you like other foreigners. Maybe he considered you his friend.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡°


    When we reached the lake 3 fairies appeared forming a triangular space. Saint landed in the center of that space. He then cast some spells and a triangular magic circle formed with the 3 fairies as corner points.


    ¡°The ritual is about to begin. Please lay down in a sleeping posture in the center of the spell. That circle.¡± Saint gave an instruction as he moved away from the magic circle.


    I did as he instructed. Then a voice rang out to me as my vision blurred and I was floating in a black space.


    ¡°So, Riri, we meet again.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Umm, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am Yggdrasil. Though we have not met directly, I am glad that El is doing fine with you.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°About your request.¡±


    ¡°Umm, Yes?¡± I answered while thinking: Is it some trouble again?


    ¡°Though it was I who offered you Stella¡¯s soul, are you sure you want this?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered without hesitation.


    ¡°I can offer you another sword or any equipment. Your clothes seem to be worn out and do not match your current strength.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Is he trying to bargain with me? Is it not possible to resurrect Stella? No. Don¡¯t lose hope yet.


    ¡°How about another pet? I can offer a fairy or a Pegasus to be your exclusive pet. You have seen what a fairy and a Pegasus can do. This time, they will not be bound by your mana so you can use them freely. I am sure a foreigner like you will want those powers after seeing them. Some foreigners in the past.....¡±


    ¡°Hey Yggdrasil.¡± I said with a little sob.


    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Please get straight to the point. Is it not possible to resurrect her?¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back my tears anymore.


    ¡°Hmmmm. I could but....¡±


    ¡°What is it?!¡± I asked shouting a little.


    ¡°Calm down first Riri. Even if I can grant your wishes it will take some time. It will take about 4 days for the ritual to finish. We have time.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Well, to be truthful, I was reluctant to revive this friend of yours. El said to me that she was the one who killed Death Manager. I was happy to grant the request at first. But after finding her soul, it turned out she is a demon. A god reviving a demon is a little heretical don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°She became like that to save the entire city! If she hadn¡¯t changed herself, we would never have driven Death Manager away.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I received that news as well, it is unfortunate that he didn¡¯t die, I have conveyed this to another church and they are trying their best to bring paladins and priest to hunt down this beast. I am glad however that his influence is all gone from my territory so I will still grant your request.¡±


    ¡®What¡¯s with his many buts and however? Is it the wisdom of the old?¡¯ I asked in my mind. ¡¯Can¡¯t he just be direct!¡¯


    ¡°I can read your mind here as well Riri. I am just having a conversation with you. We still have 4 days right?¡± Yggdrasil said as he read my mind.


    ¡°Ahh, I am sorry.¡± I apologized in embarrassed manner. I must control my thoughts now.


    ¡°Continuing on, after searching for this Stella¡¯s soul, I found out that she is a dangerous demon. She has a lot darker and thicker black aura, even more than El in her body. Well, even though her demon form made her more resilient towards this corrupting dark fog, resurrecting her may not return her the way she was. Do you wish to continue?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°For one thing, I am pretty sure she will lose most of her skills and proficiency as.... a performer right? She might not be able to give you more skills like you hoped for. Do you still wish her to be revived as your pet?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that.¡±


    ¡°I see, you are just like I thought. Secondly, she might not be born in her full human form. Her high charm stat that made her shiningly beautiful will not exist anymore. She might be born in an uglier form than she was or worse, she might reborn as she was before dying and that is her wolf form. Do you still wish to continue?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t care even if she is in wolf form.¡± It is true. Even if she was a wolf, as long as I can talk to her and continue to be her friend. Faces don¡¯t really matter.


    ¡°Well, that only works against men I guess. Hahaha.¡± Yggdrasil gave a dry laugh. He was still trying to persuade me!!


    ¡°Now on to the last question. Are you sure that bringing back Stella back from the dead will ensure her happiness?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I asked in surprise.


    ¡°I am always reluctant to bind someone¡¯s soul because of this. You know, when someone¡¯s soul is bound, they will live eternally along with the item they are bound to. Even if your cracked sword of Elkami were to broke down to pieces, as long as the blue gem on the handle still exists, her soul will be trapped there forever.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? El?¡± I turned myself to El, she only looked away while looking gloomy. Does she really want to be with me so much that she was willing to be bound like that?


    ¡°So far El has been happy with you but can you always make her happy like that? When you are no longer in this world, El will still be trapped in that sword. This pet system is actually not a gift but a curse.¡±


    I was silent this time. I could not answer him again.


    ¡°So, are you sure Stella will be happy with you? If so, I will bind her to your Ring and she will have to suffer the same fate as El. That is to suffer for as long as the Item exists. Maybe tens of years or maybe hundreds or even thousands of years. She will be forever trapped inside that accessory and when that accessory is destroyed, her soul will not go to Hades to reincarnate. But her soul will be degraded like objects in this world, just like stones will be eroded to dust.¡±


    Tears then flowed from my eyes. I look at El with a pitiful sight this time.


    ¡°Yggdrasil that¡¯s overdoing it. If you want to test her..¡± El tried to speak.


    ¡°She needs to know the truth!¡± Yggdrasil remark made El stop her speech. ¡°I can¡¯t just put a curse on every soul I find. This is a curse not a gift!¡±


    ¡°I-I-I am sorry El. I am sorry!¡± I cried to El this time. Does she have to suffer just like Yggdrasil predicted? If I didn¡¯t ask for her resurrection, she might have gone to Hades and be reincarnated as a human or a beautiful Elf. She would have a good and proper live as a mortal.


    ¡°Riri....¡± El hugged my cheek again.


    ¡°I can tolerate fairies to be pets since they have lived for hundreds of years. But since she was formerly a human, can she endure this curse? Did you know that most pets in Versailles have made to submit to their master first? They need to be killed several times to get their obedience. This is because these pets have lost their reason to the suffering of living inside of an object. They usually tend to attack their owner on sight until their owner subdues them. Stella will most likely become this kind of creature when you are no longer around or even when you are around. Who knows, she has a demon blood¡¯s in her after all. I can imagine she will turn into something like the wild dogs or wolves you often encounter in a city¡¯s surrounding field. I need to tell you that a demon¡¯s instincts are hard to control, most of these demons were sealed in their accessories and submit to the one that is worthy. But can you kill her say, 20 times when it is necessary?¡±


    Everyone was silent. I knew of the existence of pets from the Royal Road forums. It was true to his saying that pets in Royal Road will attack their owner on sight. Players that get their hands on them complained that they had to kill them around 20 times to get their obedience.


    Will Stella be like that? I could imagine Stella coming out from her ring in her wolf form and attacking me on sight. A ferocious beast that had lost its reason and attacks anything on sight. Will my dear friend turn into that?


    ¡°Well, this is my last question. Do you still wish to continue? Since I don¡¯t stand to lose anything from it, I couldn¡¯t actually care less about this Stella. But I consider you to be my friend and I know that you are not someone who is happy to have a dog that needs to be whipped. If other foreigners had asked, I wouldn¡¯t have cared less and I would just give them what they want. After all, Stella¡¯s suffering is not my suffering. It is just business. So, will you still continue with the ritual?¡± Yggdrasil asked again. ¡°That offer before still exists. What do you want? Stat increasing items? Better equipment? New fairy comrades or a Pegasus? I can even offer new skillbooks or a rare and hidden class.¡±


    ¡°Do you still wishes to continue?¡± Yggdrasil asked for one last confirmation.


    previous chapter 24 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3797</a>


    next chapter 26 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3853&p=24283#p24283</a>


    _______________


    author note


    - hi all. this is the next chapter.


    - so, what do you think about yggdrasil. he is a talkative bunch isn''t he? i guess that is also part of being wise


    - comment suggestions and questions are welcomed. i will try to answer them to the best of my abilities


    - on a side note, i notice that my rating is still at 4,3 which didn''t change much but my ranking in best rated keep going down for some reason ~_~ now i wonder if my ff is actually worsen


    - here is our usual MC stat special thanks for itsalama for notifying my mistakes in point distribution.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class idol performers


    Health  6675(+800)  mana  10900 (+800)


    Level    125 Race human


    Fame 1000


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job none


    Health regen/sec  26.5 mana regen/sec 43.4


    Strength  143(+122) dexterity  352 (+55)


    Wisdom  342 (+102)   intelect  311 (+125)


    Stamina   305  vitality  117 (+150)


    Art 74  charisma 177 (+140)


    Leadership. 160(+30) charm 105(+125)


    Fighting spirit 180 faith 140 (+105)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   45%(E)      light 45%(E)


    Unused points 20


    Contribution point church 8000


    Contribution point haven 2500


    Bonuses


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Ring of mana(E)


    Ring of leadership(E)


    Black staff


    Circlet of purity.


    White high heel shoes


    White dress of purity


    Sword of Elkami


    Earing of faith and wisdom


    Necklace of vitality


    Ring of vitalityx4


    Ring of inteligence x3


    Stella¡¯s ring


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5(10%).


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 9


    Acrobatic intermediate lvl 6


    Multitasking intermediate lvl 3


    Sword mastery intermediate lvl 6


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding intermediate lvl 1


    Soul transmutation beginner level 3


    Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1


    Break dance beginner level 1


    Audience beginner lvl 1


    Sub skill


    light blessing   intermediate lvl 5


    phoenix regen intermediate lvl 4


    healing hand intermediate lvl 7


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 9


    Group cure intermediate lvl 6


    Expert cure intermediate lvl 6


    Single bless intermediate lvl 8


    Fireball intermediate lvl 7


    El spell list


    Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6


    Thunder strike  advance lvl 8


    Thunder shower advance lvl 1


    Thunder ball advance lvl 2


    Lightning ball advance lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning charge advance lvl 4


    Lightning pulse advance lvl 5


    Lightning strike advance lvl 2


    Lighting flash advance lvl 1


    Lightning storm advance lvl 2


    Shadow ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark lightning beginner lvl 3

 chapter 26 Ritual of revival

    ¡°Do you still wish to continue?¡± Yggdrasil asked for one last confirmation.


    Silence followed me. Tears just kept flowing while El just kept hugging my cheek. Am I going to let all my effort in that cave go to waste? Does Stella want to be resurrected? Does she want to be alive again? She might as well die and be reunited with Ragnar and the others in the afterlife.


    Hell exists in Royal Road known as the Underworld. It is ruled by Hades. Stella should be there with the rest of Tantalus. Should I forcefully call her back here or should I just let her be reincarnated as another person. This way, she might continue to live.


    ¡°I..... I want to see the skill books, class, and weapons you might offer.¡±


    ¡°I see. A wise choice. I will not call you disloyal or anything. This is just a payment for your hard work. As a god, even if I am currently weakened, I have a reputation to uphold. I must pay someone for their work. That is my rule. Now, you may pick one of these things I offer to you. Sorry but you can only pick one though. I can assure you that some of these skills are even unknown to foreigners. You will get a good rank among them. Hope we can still always be good friends after this.¡± Yggdrasil said reassuringly.


    Tears kept flowing from my eyes as numerous skill books and weapons lied in front of me. The weapons all shone in different colors blue, yellow, red, green, purple. Everything shined in their own way. They must have at least been imbued with magical properties. Next are the skill books, numerous skill books appeared in front of me, from great defensive and buff spells to the offensive spells and debuff spells to healing spells. I even saw some enigma spells mixed in among them. Any player would have been drooling by now.


    Next is the class and race, a figure of the character with race and class appeared in that black space. Some are normal like elves and dwarves. But I could also see some rare or even hidden races and classes I did not know. Werewolves, druids, nature masters, forest magicians, phoenix apprentices. And so on. I could pick any single thing from here? Every time I tried to touch it, my heart rang like something was calling me.


    My heart felt empty. I should be happy about this, I could gain an awesome skill. Even a hidden race. But every time I tried to touch one of the books my heart bled and tears kept flowing.


    ¡°El, what should I do?¡± I put my hope on my new friend.


    ¡°Riri....¡±


    ¡°Tell me, is what he said true?¡±


    ¡°..............¡± She could only turn away without saying a word. Silent treatment now?


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°I just want to be with you. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°But, if you died, you could be reborn as a human. But now, you are nothing but a monster. A pet that needs to be subdued right?¡±


    ¡°Do you see me like that?¡± She asked while staring at me this time.


    ¡°.......No.¡± I answered honestly.


    ¡°Then I am not a monster. I am your friend right?¡±


    ¡°But someday, when am I no longer in this world....¡±


    ¡°Not all pets are evil. If they have a good master. Their pets will be nice too. I believe you are a good master. That¡¯s why I want to follow you. If I had gone to Hades that time and had reincarnated... I might have regretted it though I might not have remembered it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I lost my friend and her journey. You know? I want to see what lies in front of you. I believe you will influence this world. No, I just want to see what path you might take. It¡¯s true that when I had died and reincarnated that time. I might have been reborn as a human or another race. But...¡±


    ¡°But?¡± I demanded an answer.


    ¡°I might have just led a boring life as a housewife from an unknown village or city right? I currently have the power you need. So, I kind of want to help you.¡±


    ¡°I see. So, El? What do you think I should do?¡±


    ¡°I.... don¡¯t know. Sorry that I can¡¯t give you an accurate answer.¡±


    ¡°You are happy to be with me right? I am your real friend right? But if you are suffering because of me, I would rather not..¡±


    ¡°I am not suffering right now. I am happy. I have told you this numerous time!¡± El emphasized her words trying to deny everything I said.


    Due to her firm words, I fell silent. With a whisper, I thanked her greatly. When I looked at those skill books, the equipment, a flashback showed up in front of me. Not literally, but somehow I could almost see the memories that I spent with Stella. From Selei city watching the sunset and the dragonflies. Training before a performance. A screwed up performance. The moon at the cave when she cried and opened her heart. The fight in Trisia.


    ¡°Yggdrasil.¡± I said in a low voice.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I changed my mind. In the end, I still want Stella to come back.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? Just because of your selfish desire, Stella might suffer more than she has to. She will no longer have the glory she had once.¡±


    ¡°It is not a problem. I am sure Stella will be happier this way.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡±


    ¡°Because I am her friend. I know her. She is just like me. She does not desire such glory. She does not desire such fame. She desires a friend.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you believe that she will be a good pet. Very well, I shall trust you and grant your wish. As I mentioned before, it will take four days until the ritual is finished.¡±


    ¡°Thank you and sorry.¡±


    ¡°No worries. Most of these pets tend to lost their reason and become wild beasts. But if they don¡¯t become like that, they could get divinity and become lesser gods. It will take a good thousands of years though. Hahahaha. Very well, I shall begin the ritual now.¡±


    At that moment, all the other fantastic items that laid in front of me disappeared. Somehow I came back to fairy lake in a sleeping posture. Then a system message appeared in front of me while the triangular magic circle intensified in radiance.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Countdown for ritual to finish 95:59:47 in Royal Road time</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Countdown for ritual to finish 23:59:56 in real time</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are logged off.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    < ----------------------- >


    ¡°They left us.¡± Fira said as she watched Saint flew into the sky.


    ¡°It was in the contract. We only get a little exp and loot. So we have to accept it.¡± Said Hasega.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem.¡±


    ¡°What is it then?¡± Iris asked.


    ¡°How do we get back?¡± Everyone then fell silent at her question.


    ¡°According to map, we head south. Let¡¯s just walk okay?¡± Arknum said.


    ¡°Ahh, monsters.¡± Iris finally caught Fira¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°I doubt there are any monsters higher than lvl 100 here since the dungeon itself houses these monsters. It might be just lvl 70 or 80 for all we know.¡± Iris shrugged off Fira¡¯s question and continued to walk.


    ¡°Let¡¯s walk then.¡±


    < ---------------- >


    ¡°Now what should I do? There is still 24 hours left.¡± Lily stared at her capsule¡¯s monitor. She was logged out during the ritual.


    ¡°Lily, are you there?¡± Someone knocked on my bedroom door.


    ¡°Yes father. I am here.¡± I answered the voice.


    ¡°So, tell me. How is the game?¡± As he came in, he saw me getting out of my capsule.


    ¡°It is good. I met a lot of people there.¡± I said to him. ¡°Umm, father, when did you come back?¡±


    ¡°It was yesterday. I dared not to disrupt you since it was already late at night. Hahaha. Anyway, according to Alex (who is the butler of our house) you are enjoying the game very much. Will you told me about it while we are having breakfast?¡±


    It couldn¡¯t be really called breakfast since it was 10 AM in the morning. But I am still on school break while dad is having a company break for 2 days.


    ¡°So, tell me about the game.¡± He scooped up some cereal from his bowl.


    ¡°Umm, it was good. It is really like you are in a medieval fantasy world. Everything felt so real.¡±


    ¡°I see. I heard time there moves 4 times as fast? Is it true?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I only have a 1 month long school break. I have been inside the game for almost 2 months now but I still have a lot of the break left here.¡±


    ¡°Are there any side effects?¡±


    ¡°Umm. Not that I have noticed.¡± I said after a thought. ¡±What¡¯s the matter dad.¡±


    ¡°Well, the truth is, my company also wants to implement this capsule. In all its branches. They were reviewing if this would be productive or not.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Also, I am going to play Royal Road too. As a breather from the virtual office that my company will be using. Guide me around okay!¡± He said with a wink.


    As the popularity of capsules increased, a lot of software besides Royal Road was sold. One of them is the virtual office that basically put you inside a virtual room with an office aura. In front of you, you will see a monitor with Ms office on it. Many memes were made about a computer inside virtual space. But virtual office is a famous product for office workers. They no longer need to attend office every day. They only need to log in at the appointed time inside virtual office.


    ¡°I see. With 4 times the speed, you are not also able to reach other branch across nation quickly, but you also have 4 times the productivity.¡±


    ¡°Yes. The price for each capsule and the software was quite ridiculous so the shareholders were thinking if buying such large units for work is actually productive. It was then decided that only directors and branch managers are allowed to have it for starters. They will sent a capsule tomorrow and I also installed RR inside my own capsule. Let¡¯s play together okay.¡°


    ¡°Sure. Ah. Here is the manual.¡± I handed him the 300 page book that had I read before my first log in.


    ¡°Eh?¡± My father gave me a weird look.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Was there actually a manual? My friend says the manual only consists of a leaflet like the IPhone.¡±


    ¡°Father...¡± I gave a look of disbelief.


    ¡°Well, I am bad with reading stuff. So could you shorten it and give me a brief summary of it?¡±


    ¡°It is because of your dislike of reading that you suffer almost every day! Please try to read manuals before buying any machine. You broke a printer once because you didn¡¯t know how to install cartridges, you crashed our car into fences because you mistook the brake pedal and gas pedal. You also ruined 3 phones because...¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I am sorry. Thank you dear.¡± He cut my lecturing with a surrendering look while accepting it. I could swear he shivered when he held that book. I definitely can¡¯t comprehend why he doesn¡¯t like reading that much. Besides, how could anyone buy something and using it straight away without even glancing at the manual!


    ¡°Miss Lily. You have a phone call.¡±


    ¡°Huh? A phone call? Me?¡± I asked Alex.


    ¡°She said her name is Anya.¡±


    ¡°Ahh! Thank you.¡± I said while receiving a wireless phone from him. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. Riri, so, are you done?¡±


    ¡°Done with what?¡± I asked while tilting my head.


    ¡°Stella. Is Stella back yet?¡± Ahh, so that¡¯s what she is talking about.


    ¡°Umm. No why?¡±


    ¡°Well, we are in kind of trouble here so, think you could lend us a hand?¡±


    ¡°Umm, I am sorry. The ritual takes 4 days in game time. So, I am logged out for 24 hours.¡±


    #BANG#


    A loud explosion could be heard on the phone background. They really are in trouble. I wonder what kind of monster they encountered on their way back. It can¡¯t be anything above lvl 100 right?


    ¡°I see. Well, sorry to disturb you. So you can¡¯t even ask for that horse to help right?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡°


    ¡°Okay. Bye.¡±


    #Click# the phone was then hung up.


    ¡°Who was it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Umm, she is my friend in Royal Road. Whom is also my classmate.¡±


    ¡°Really? Good. Bring her to our home some time! I would love to meet her if I have the time for it. I should have more time now with the Royal Road capsule being installed.¡±


    ¡°Thanks father.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, here is a credit card. Bring Alex with you to some mall or shopping centre. You can¡¯t stay cooped up in your room like a hermit all day. I heard it got even worse with the Royal Road capsule brought in.¡± My father quickly put a credit card on the table. Why does he always order me to go out when I don¡¯t like to.


    ¡®Just do the usual routine then¡¯ I though as a BMW parked itself in front of my house¡¯s entrance. I quickly went inside just to be grabbed by Alex.


    ¡°Miss Lily. You do not intend to go shopping in pyjamas do you?¡± Alex said while holding my arm stopping me from getting inside the car.


    I blushed as I looked at my body. Then I ran back into my bedroom.


    2 hours later, with a blouse combined with a knee length skirt I came outside toward the said BMW with Alex so diligently waiting beside the car.


    ¡°So, where should we go miss?¡±


    ¡°Just the usual mall is fine.¡° I gave a bored look. Honestly I had planned on sleeping all day or at least reading an unfinished fanfic on the internet.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The usual mall Lily mentioned is a large shopping centre known as Naughty Cross. It specializes in women¡¯s clothes but there is a large bookstore on the 4th floor and food courts on the fifth floor so it is pretty convenient. I just planned to hang out there until evening or 4 PM while reading books, grabbing one or two random clothes plus lunch.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°We have arrived Miss.¡± Alex woke me from my dream. We had arrived at the mall and were heading towards the lobby now. The fatigue from playing must have gotten to me now. No wonder. I had hardly slept and there was a lot of crying before.


    ¡®Time for a break. That world is more frustrating than this one. But it is not boring and I have a true friends there.¡¯ I came out and went to the lobby entrance. Alex was supposed to go home until I phoned him. I wonder if this treatment is a little too much. I feel out of place when he does that.


    ¡®Hmm, these clothes look good. Ahh those clothes are pretty much the same as El¡¯s. That shirt is the one that Stella often used. My thoughts ran as I looked towards the numerous clothes lining up inside one of the shops.


    I went into one of the shops that had Stella¡¯s shirt. I looked at the mirror then. With Stella¡¯s white shirt in hand I looked towards the mirror at the side of the store imagining myself to be wearing the clothes. I wonder if it looked good on my small figure. Hmm, isn¡¯t it strengthening the image that I am a small girl?


    ¡°Ahh, it seems the size is wrong. Shall I pick the smaller size?¡± The shop attendant said while looking at me and the shirt I was holding. Well, it was an L. I usually went with M and it was quite loose. Stella also wore something loose, this piece of clothing must suit her since she is taller. But I am as tall as she is in-game? That random appearance option must have added an extra 10 cm to my height.


    ¡°Here. What do you think about this size.¡± The shop assistant picked a white shirt with an S label. Now I feel insulted. It does fit me well but I am not wearing it to go to some office. Stella also never wore this shirt while at work. She wore it as a casual shirt therefore she wore a loose shirt instead.


    ¡°No. Thank you.¡± I said while leaving the shop. Onto the next one. This one had El¡¯s one piece dress. I stared at that dress for a while. Hmm, this dress is a little long below the knee. El¡¯s dress is right above the knee. Or maybe the size doesn¡¯t fit again? I tried to recall the event when I transformed into a fairy. Hmm, somehow this one just has the odd feeling that it doesn¡¯t suit me.


    ¡°May I help you miss?¡±


    ¡°Umm, nothing. Thank you.¡± I said while leaving. Now on to the bookstores. I have been delayed enough from Royal Road.


    ¡°Hey Lily!¡± Said someone.


    ¡°Umm?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me. Shella. Forgot me already?¡±


    ¡°Ahh! Anya¡¯s friend.¡±


    ¡°Yes. So you are here as well?¡±


    ¡°Umm, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go together? It must be kind of lonely by yourself right?¡±


    ¡°Well, I am planning on going to a bookstore. Maybe umm, you don¡¯t like it?¡±


    ¡°I am. But now what a coincidence. I had to go to bookstores to buy some learning books. You know, those math formula collections and other practice books of school.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I tilted my head. She isn¡¯t the type to buy those books right?


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that ¡®you are not fit to buy those books¡¯ look. Look here, I got a D for my math exams. My mother acted like her hair was on fire when she learned about it and so I had to go all the way to buy these books for my tutor. She pays some teacher to tutor me for this holiday. Can you imagine? I have to spend like 3 days a week on tutoring lessons?¡°


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡±


    ¡°Hmm you have changed. Really.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°It is like you are more sociable. Your face has an expression now.¡°


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡± What the hell is she talking about?


    ¡°Alright. Since I have got a good bookworm here. Would you recommend a lesson book for me?¡±


    ¡°Umm, okay. Let¡¯s go to the fourth floor.¡± I said as I led her to the elevator. Hmm, it was far easier than managing an army or giving commands. I wonder if I really have changed.


    ¡°So, what level are you now?¡±


    ¡°I think it is lvl 125 now.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Awesome. Well, I just got to lvl 140 so you still have quite a few ways to go. But I am impressed. Hmm, Anya also said the same thing about leveling quickly. She said she was at lvl 120 too. I wonder how you guys can level up so fast.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. You are fast too. You have leveled up around 100 times too right? Or 80 times?¡±


    ¡°It is mostly because of powerleveling. The normal rate is 10 or 20 levels a week. Yet you gained somewhere around 120 levels in the last 2 or 3 weeks right? That is fast.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but don¡¯t the exp curves become steeper?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. But the quests are getting harder too so most of us can keep that pace. So, what class are you? I heard from Anya you got some healing spells?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, but I am not a cleric.¡±


    ¡°Now that is a surprise. Ahh, here is the bookstore. So, what book do you recommend?¡± Shella asked while browsing the front desk. She just looked from afar without even touching it. I knew straight away that she hates this place. Those gestures are nothing like those of a book lover. Even if the book is sealed and you have to judge it by its cover, you normally hold the book and examine its thickness and read the advertisement on the front and the afterword on the back cover. You also need to see the thickness of the book and the title of the book. If the title is too long, they usually only cover the general area so it is worthless. But if the title is too focused, it also meant the author is mumbling over a short topic over and over making the book even more useless. Her behavior showed no sign of inspecting the book. Not to mention she asked the clerk about the section of lesson books while it was clearly visible on the front bookshelves labels!! She is really like my father who hates to read.


    ¡°Umm, have you come to bookstores before?¡± I asked with a dry smile.


    ¡°Hehehe, is it really obvious? Okay. I am not fond of reading. So help me okay.¡± She made a begging gesture with her two hands clasped together.


    With a sigh, I browsed said books. Not that I hate it, but these lesson books tend to be boring and it made people lazy. Hmm ¡®1 hour a day math study score at least 90% guarantee?¡¯ They made some useless advertisement. Well, some might have a use for these kinds of books though I doubt they will really get smart from reading this. It only covers a narrow subject with memorizing formulas as its main point, not describing where the formula came from. It also has a bunch of repetitive questions that get boring really quick.


    ¡°Ahh! 2 hours of studying a day and you will get 95% score? Awesome! So, Lily, is this book good?¡± Shella took another book with a proud expression. I just facepalmed myself for her stupidity on that was caught by the advertisement.


    With another sigh, I handed her a small book with the title. Math formula collection from elementary to junior high school.¡± This might be good.¡±


    ¡°Ehh, but I am not in third year junior high school yet. And why does this book include elementary formulas too. Are they trying to mock someone?¡±


    ¡°#Sigh# Umm, well. This book covers the math formulas for the entirety of elementary school to the end of our school. If you have a tutor, you might ask him about how to use a formula and you can keep the book until graduation as a reference book or when you forgot a certain formula. It is convenient. If you are looking for practice, then this book will do. Mock exams from first junior to third junior high school. It also has the answer sheets so when you are finished answering the questions, you can look for the answer in the answer sheet and mark your own work.¡± I handed her a bigger book for practice.


    ¡°Hmm, will this book really help?¡±


    #sigh#


    ¡°Okay. This one isn¡¯t sealed. So let¡¯s open it. Here. You can see the list right? In the table of content page it shows the formulas. Search for the page you are looking for. You will see it. Here. Jump to page 124. Here are the formulas for the last exam right?¡±


    ¡°I see. Awesome. This table of content is really useful!¡±


    ¡®For god¡¯s sake!! Table of Contents exist in every book in the world!!! Are you illiterate? Did you just now learn how to read?!!¡¯ I cursed her idiocy in my mind.


    She then opened the book the same way I taught her. I could swear she had a flower of happiness like she just discovered something of great value. She then went on to the practice books. When she found an unsealed one, she opened it the same way. Does she just now learn of the existence of the table of contents? Heck it even exists in our school books. Just how much did you hate reading!!


    ¡°Okay. Thank you Lily. I will buy these 2 books, maybe Sam will help me study.¡± She said while taking the books with her. I had already lost the will to buy any books after seeing her existence. I felt tired after cursing her in my mind. Let¡¯s just grab a book or two. Ahh, there is a Royal Road book here? Let¡¯s see. A dark gamer union rank A book? This book contains level C information and below. Skills, classes, races and even items? Well, let¡¯s just grab this one and a random new novel.


    To thank me, Shella dragged me to the food court and treated me. Then I phoned Alex ordering him to take me home. I am done for today. Tomorrow I will be able to log in again.


    previous chapter 25http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/posting.php?mode=edit&f=350&p=24061</a>


    next chapter 27 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3878</a>


    ______________________


    author note.


    - Are you atisfied with Ririr choice? i should held a poll earlier to determine her fate. but i think most of you would want her back right?


    - enjoy this next chapter. my hiatus is going near. do you want a cliffhanger end of chapter or do you want a fulfilled chapter?


    -comment suggestions and questions are welcomed in here and discussion chapter


    - here is the usual mc stat


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>status window


    Name   Riri  class idol performers


    Health  6675(+800)  mana  10900 (+800)


    Level    125 Race human


    Fame 1000


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job none


    Health regen/sec  26.5 mana regen/sec 43.4


    Strength  143(+122) dexterity  352 (+55)


    Wisdom  342 (+102)   intelect  311 (+125)


    Stamina   305  vitality  117 (+150)


    Art 74  charisma 177 (+140)


    Leadership. 160(+30) charm 105(+125)


    Fighting spirit 180 faith 140 (+105)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   45%(E)      light 45%(E)


    Unused points 20


    Contribution point church 8000


    Contribution point haven 2500


    Bonuses


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Ring of mana(E)   (Mana +200, charm +20)


    Ring of leadership(E) (chr +30 leadership +30)


    Black staff


    Circlet of purity.Charm +30Char +30Int +10Wis +10Faith +20, heal,light,dark res+10%


    White high heel shoes Charm+30Char+10Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+10%


    White dress of purity Charm +20Faith +20 heal,light,dark res+20%


    Sword of Elkami Faith +25 Str +20 Dex +25 Int +25 Wis +20


    Earing of faith and wisdomFaith +40 wis +20


    Necklace of vitalityVit +30Str +20


    Ring of vitalityx4 Health +200Vit +30 Str +20


    Ring of inteligence x3 Mana +200Intelect +30Wis +20


    Stella¡¯s ring Dex +25Str +20Int +30Wis +20Charm +25Charisma +30


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5(10%).


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 9


    Acrobatic intermediate lvl 6 (Movement 160%)


    Multitasking intermediate lvl 3 ( (Focus 6, intelect +25)


    Sword mastery intermediate lvl 6 (power 70% speed 70%)


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2 (Dex +2)


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6 (Dex +80)


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding intermediate lvl 1


    Soul transmutation beginner level 3


    Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1


    Break dance beginner level 1


    Audience beginner lvl 1


    Sub skill


    light blessing   intermediate lvl 5


    phoenix regen intermediate lvl 4


    healing hand intermediate lvl 7


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 9


    Group cure intermediate lvl 6


    Expert cure intermediate lvl 6


    Single bless intermediate lvl 8


    Fireball intermediate lvl 7


    Sub skill


    Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6


    Thunder strike  advance lvl 8


    Thunder shower advance lvl 1


    Thunder ball advance lvl 2


    Lightning ball advance lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning charge advance lvl 4


    Lightning pulse advance lvl 5


    Lightning strike advance lvl 2


    Lighting flash advance lvl 1


    Lightning storm advance lvl 2


    Shadow ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark lightning beginner lvl 3

 chapter 27 New Stella

    Chapter 27


    A blue sky filled my eyes as I opened them. I had logged back into Royal Road, 20 seconds after the counter reached 0. I am back to this world again. Now where is Stella?


    ¡°Stella?¡± I looked left and right. All I could see was the empty field around fairy lake. No one is here. ¡°Yggdrasil?¡±


    I tried to call out names and so on but no one answered. Now I am getting worried.


    ¡°Umm, Riri?¡± A yellow fairy came from the lake. ¡°The ritual has finished. Stella has been revived in your body but her skills and stats were decreased as much as possible for safety reasons. Now, umm, please leave. Sorry, but a demonic presence disturbs us. We will pray for your safe journey from afar.¡±


    When I looked closer I had a new popup window.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Stella¡¯s soul has been bound to you. You can now summon Stella as your pet. She can be summoned with 300 mana + 30 mana/second to maintain her.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained part of Stella the venomous demon wolf queen¡¯s power. You are now immune to poison damage and all poison damage will be converted into health with a 90% reduction.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Summon Stella.¡±


    Then with a green light, Stella was summoned in front of me. She now has wolf ears on her head plus two wolf tails on her butt but the face and body are definitely her. She wore a one piece dress now just like El. But it was definitely her.


    ¡°Stella!¡± I hugged her. It has just been for about 2 or 3 weeks but it felt so long. ¡±I have missed you.¡±


    ¡°Hello Riri. It is very good to see you again. I have missed you too.¡± She hugged me warmly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave. It is forbidden for them to let us stay here any longer.¡± Stella said while looking at Fairy Lake. Her face somehow seemed uncomfortable when she looked back at the lake. We then walked toward the ruins of City of Acolyte.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Stella</td><td width="25%">class</td><td width="25%">-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">2500</td><td width="25%">mana</td><td width="25%">1250</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Race</td><td width="25%">half demon wolf queen</td></tr><tr><td width="25%"></td><td colspan=''3''></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"></td><td colspan=''3''></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"></td><td colspan=''3''></td></tr>[<tr><td width="25%">Health regen/sec</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">mana regen/sec</td><td width="25%">5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">150</td><td width="25%">dexterity</td><td width="25%">150</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">50</td><td width="25%">intelect</td><td width="25%">50</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">200</td><td width="25%">vitality</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%"></td><td width="25%"></td><td width="25%"></td><td width="25%"></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"></td><td width="25%"></td><td width="25%"></td><td width="25%"></td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fighting spirit</td><td width="25%">350</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">wind</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">thunder</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">ice</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">light</td><td width="25%">-15%</td><td width="25%">dark</td><td width="25%">75%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%"></td><td colspan=''3''></td></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>Bonuses


    A summoned being


    Immune to poison


    Poison damage will turn into healing damage against her


    Immune to curses


    Able to turn into venomous demon wolf queen


    Bounded to Riri


    Cursed???</td></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody>[tr]<td width="25%">locked</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td colspan=''2''>locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-	-


    Skill list


    Wolf form beginner lvl 1


    Devil glare eginner lvl 1


    Hunter instinct beginner lvl 1</td></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">locked</td><td width="25%">skills</td><td width="25%">subskill</td><td width="25%">locked</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><td colspan=''4''>-


    Subskill of wolf form


    Venom claw beginner lvl 1


    Venom fang beginner lvl 1


    Venom fur beginner lvl 1


    Venom aura beginner lvl 1


    Venom blood beginner lvl 1</td></tbody></table>


    ¡®What the heck? Isn¡¯t this overkill? she has 150 strength and agility!¡¯ I thought when I opened her stat window. Then for further reference, I clicked on each of her skills for more detailed descriptions of her skills.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Wolf form


    Able to turn yourself into a venomous demon wolf queen. In this form, you will gain several buffs and the subskills of wolf form will be unlocked. You will also suffer an increase in light based damage by 30% in this form.


    At beginner level you will turn into a 1,5 meter wolf with a 50% stat increase + 5% dark resistance


    At intermediate level you will turn into a 3 meter wolf with a 120% stat increase + 10% dark resistance


    At advance level you will turn into a 6 meter wolf with a 250% stat increase + 20% dark resistance</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Alright, in her wolf form, she is stronger than me even at beginner level! This is overpowered!! And that Yggdrasil said he had already decreased her stats as much as he could!!¡¯ I thought to myself.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Devil glare


    Place a curse within the eyes to petrify your opponents. The strength of this skill will depend on your fighting spirit. Any enemy that looks into your eyes will have a slower movement.


    At beginner level enemy movement will decrease by 20% if your fighting spirit is higher than the opponent¡¯s + chance to inflict fear. Fear will decrease your opponent¡¯s attack, defence and morale by 15%.


    At intermediate level enemy movement will decrease by 50% if your fighting spirit is higher than the opponent¡¯s + chance to inflict fear. Fear will decrease your opponent¡¯s attack, defence and morale by 25%.


    At advanced level enemy movement will decrease by 80% if your fighting spirit is higher than the opponent¡¯s + chance to inflict fear. Fear will decrease your opponent¡¯s attack, defence and morale by 35%.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®So, as long as her fighting spirit is high, the enemy will stand still like a statue, it is not a battle, it is dinner on a silver plate. Her fighting spirit is 350! Even I only have 180. Moreover she is level 40!!¡¯ I thought again.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Hunter instinct


    An instinct to hunt. This skill will give a buff to the user when the user has killed several enemies consecutively.


    At Beginner level attack will increase by 5% for a maximum of 50% each kill after the 10th kill.


    A consecutive kill is killing with at most a 30 seconds window.


    At intermediate level attack will increase by 5% for a maximum of 150% each kill after the 5th kill.


    A consecutive kill is killing with at most a 60 seconds window.


    At Advanced level attack will increase by 5% for a maximum of 500% each kill after the 3th kill.


    A consecutive kill is killing with at most a 90 seconds window.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I just stared at her skill window. This is OP way to OP!! I pitied Reis for fighting her in her full battle mode. No wonder Death Manager was scared shitless when battling her. His movement was decreased and she also gained many buffs.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Venom claw (Passive)


    Coats your claws with a dangerous venom. Will deal additional poison damage overtime on contact. Only usable in wolf form.


    Beginner level: Deal 5 damage/second stackable until cured.


    Intermediate level: Deal 10 damage/second stackable until cured.


    Advanced level: Deal 20 damage/second stackable plus special poison.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Venom fang (Passive)


    Coats your fangs and saliva with a dangerous venom. Will deal additional poison damage overtime on contact. Only usable in wolf form.


    Beginner level: Deal 20 damage/second stackable until cured.


    Intermediate level: Deal 40 damage/second stackable until cured.


    Advance level: Deal 60 damage/second stackable plus special poison.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Venom fur (Passive)


    Coats your fur with a dangerous venom. Will deal additional poison damage overtime on contact. Only usable in wolf form.


    Beginner level: Deal 2 damage/second stackable until cured.


    Intermediate level: Deal 4 damage/second stackable until cured.


    Advance level deal 6 damage/second stackable plus special poison.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Venom aura (Passive)


    Your body is exuding a dangerous venom. Only usable in wolf form.


    Beginner level: Deal 1 damage/second + enemy stats decreased by 5%, unstackable, 5 m radius.


    Intermediate level: Deal 2 damage/second + enemy stats decreased by 10%, unstackable, 7 m radius.


    Advanced level: Deal 3 damage/second + enemy stats decreased by 15%, unstackable, 15 m radius.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Venom blood (Passive)


    Your blood is mixed with a dangerous venom and corrosive fluids. Only usable in wolf form only and when you are injured.


    Beginner level: Deal 10% of strength as acid damage.


    Intermediate level: Deal 20% of strength as acid damage.


    Advanced level: Deal 50% of strength as acid damage.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I just stared at the screen speechless. If El was a living powerplant, Stella was now a living bio weapon. Just touching her or getting near her will inflict serious poison damage!


    ¡°Riri....¡± Stella then nodded. It seems like she knew I was investigating her stats.


    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡±


    ¡°I-I-I have turned into a monster, haven¡¯t I?¡± Tears then started flowing from her eyes as she started sobbing.


    ¡°Ah. Umm, no. Not at all!¡± I tried to deny her words.


    ¡°Just look!! Even the monsters here are afraid of me!!¡± She said while pointing at other monsters while activating her fighting spirit. Some Sabertooth tigers ran away after she pointed her fingers at them. Her fighting spirit was so high that no monster dared to disturb us even when she didn¡¯t activate the stat.


    Towards her words I could only remain silent. I tried to hold back my tears as I said my words. ¡°I am sorry. I just. I just wanted to meet you again. I-I-I don¡¯t care if you have turned into a monster or whatever. I.... just want to be with you again like before.¡±


    Stella then remained silent. With a whisper she then said. ¡°Wolf form.¡±


    She immediately changed herself to her wolf form. A majestic form which put fear into the hearts of her enemies. Smooth green fur and white fangs. Her fighting spirit was so high combined with devil glare it could only petrify me preventing me from moving.


    ¡°What do you think about me now?¡± She said in her wolf form. The sound was accompanied by a growl, but she still sounded sad.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are in a state of fear attack, defence and morale are decreased by 15%.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are petrified. Movement speed is decreased by 20%.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    You are inflicted with venom aura. Due to your character¡¯s bonus, damage is converted to health. In Stella¡¯s presence, you are healed by 0.1 HP/second. This will occur until you are out of venom aura¡¯s range.


    She came closer. The moss in the forest wilted as she passed by. When she stepped in, shrubs and small bushes that were stepped on by her paws wilted. Such a frightening glare even without system notifications, her presence was enough to put me in a state of fear. But inside that fear, I felt impressed. Impressed that I have such a thing as my friend.


    ¡°You are afraid right? I can see it.¡± Stella said as she stood in front of me. I just looked at her dazed. My feet trembled but I tried to resist it. With a trembling hand, I tried to reach her head.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Yes. It is true. You are fearsome. But magnificent at a same time. I am proud to have you as my friend.¡± I said while holding the wolf¡¯s head. My fear was reduced after the healing message appeared. She is fearfull but somehow this healing had a soft warmth in it.


    You are inflicted with venom fur. Due to your character bonus, damage will turn into healing by 0.2 hit points per second. This will last as long as you touch Stella fur.


    ¡°You still consider me your friend? After I am no longer human?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I do.¡± I answered in a soft but firm tone.


    ¡°I see. Thanks.¡± Stella said as tears came from her wolf eyes. She then changed back into her human form with her 2 tails wagging and dog, I mean wolf ears on her head. She then looked at me with a worried. ¡°You touched me. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You are poisoned right? Ehh? But your face isn¡¯t darkened.¡± Stella is now 100% confused. She thought I just withstood the pain from the poison damage while touching her. While the poison from venom aura vanished when she returned to her human form but when you touch her fur you will get a chance to receive stackable poison damage.


    ¡°Ahh, I have immunity from poison. Your poison will no longer work on me. It turns into healing instead. Ahahaha.¡± I laughed as I said this but she was crying instead.


    ¡°I see. Thank you. I guess Yggdrasil understood me.¡± She then inhaled and exhaled her breath. Then she said to me. ¡°Ride me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay cooped up in this forest for too long. Ride me and we can get out of here faster.¡± She said as she turned into her wolf form. A I,5 meter tall wolf was almost as tall as my shoulder. So riding her was quite possible. With her strength stat I should not be too heavy right?


    ¡°Umm, am I heavy?¡± I asked nervously as I rode on her back. This feels like how I rode my dog 7 years ago. Then I had to cry because the dog wouldn¡¯t stop so my father had to chase me with his motorcycle. Well, this one is intelligent. She will not scare me like that right?


    I then pondered about her dog... I mean wolf form. She is 100% wolf okay. But the features of dogs and wolves are very similar. It is hard to distinguish wolves and dogs (Some people keep wolf-like dogs in their homes right? Those that look like a wolf no matter how you look at it but they call it a dog instead. This is the part Riri was confused about. Don¡¯t compare her to a bulldog, Labrador or Doberman.)


    ¡°Not really. You are just like a backpack. I can handle it. Just don¡¯t fall off.¡±


    She then ran out of the woods. Her steps were fast and she could also dodge every tree in rapid succession. I strengthened my grip on her fur as she sped up again when we reached a plain. To counter the wind resistance, I had to duck down while continuing to look forward. She is faster than a horse! She slowed down after 1 hour, her pace was more like jogging now but it was still fast nevertheless.


    After 12 hours of continuous running, she stopped while kneeling. She turned back into her human form with me still on her back. She then lay down on the dirt completely exhausted. ¡°Please, let¡¯s rest for a while!¡± She said while catching her breath.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to run continuously.¡± I said while sitting on the dirt, the day had turned into night. We are close to the ruins of Acolyte City but I guess Stella can¡¯t go any further.


    ¡°Stella is just too excited.¡± El said sitting on my head.


    ¡°Yeah. I guess I am. Well, no one has ever complimented this form.¡± Her breath was more steady now.


    ¡°Umm, Stella. I have the soul transmutation skill.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Soul transmutation


    A skill that infuses your soul with another soul that is bound by the user. As the skill proficiency rise, the more your soul can be infused and your race will change completely.


    Beginner level 20% of the bound soul¡¯s power.


    Intermediate level 100% of the bound soul power


    Advanced level. Permanently changes your race along with its demerits to that of the bound soul.


    Currently able to be infused with


    Lightning dark Fairy Elkami


    Venomous demon wolf queen Stella</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°It has your name now.¡± I said cheerfully. ¡±Maybe we can trade places?¡±


    ¡°DON¡¯T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!¡¯ She screamed with a deathly glare. She then unconsciously used devil glare on me. This time it was full of killing intent.


    ¡°Ah, I am sorry. I-I-I just wanted to show off a little. Maybe I-I-I can understand you better if we have the same f-f-form. Sorry.¡± I stuttered as I asked for forgiveness.


    ¡°Ahh. Sorry. I unconsciously used it again.¡± Stella quickly deactivated her devil glare. ¡°So, have you used that skill?¡°


    ¡°Yes. Once.¡±


    ¡°I see. I should have never giving the idol performer class to you but somehow I just wanted a successor. You should have never used that skill.¡± She said while hugging her knees in front of the bonfire that I made using fireball.


    ¡°Why?¡± I said while tilting my head.


    ¡°Unlike other skills, this skill will change your race when it hits advanced. Then you will completely become like that race. All of your stats and skills will be gone. At first you will only get the benefits of the race. But when you hit advanced, you will also accept the demerits of the race.¡°


    She then continued with a little sob. ¡±You might have been fascinated by its power when you used it right? It will increase your power even more by the time it reached intermediate. Then after you are hypnotized by its power and can¡¯t stop using it, you will turn yourself into that race. Those monsters. I was a fool back then. I used it like a toy. It was just then when I realized that my senior used it for the last time in a dungeon raid that I realized.....¡±


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t change back... after we took out the boss monster, she then continued to attack other teammates until eventually Ragnar smashed her head in with his hammer. The raid team took heavy losses more than from the boss monster itself. Fortunately most of them were hired mercenaries and soldiers.¡±


    She then cried. ¡°I was in a state of fear back then. My soul transmutation was at intermediate level 7 back then. I swore to never use it again but even when I didn¡¯t use it, each month the percentage of the skill mastery rose by 1%, it was like a nightmare or a death sentence.¡±


    I then looked at El. ¡±But my soul transmutation is a fairy. El, you are sentient and will not cause any trouble right?¡±


    El could only remain silent. ¡°We are sentient. But we have orders from Yggdrasil and we have to obey him no matter what it is.¡±


    Stella looked at me and then looked down in defeat. ¡°This skill is so rare that I have never witnessed anyone using it other than my senior. At that time, we were given an item each. Some priestess thanked us for our success at their festivals that we were a part of. She got a Demonic lion while I got the wolf. I was a fool back then. I used it like a toy for amusement and Tantalus¡¯s plays. The controlled wolf and lion played a big part and the group was famous. We also used it in several dungeon raids. Its power was massive and awesome, we couldn¡¯t stop using it, vanity had gotten the best of us. Even when the skill window was showing us the description, we still used it carefree. Until that time.¡± She stopped at that last sentence. ¡°You might still be sentient when you change into a fairy. But still, your personality might be damaged.¡°


    ¡°I see. But relax. My soul transmutation is at beginner lvl 3. It still has many uses before it reaches advanced.¡± I smiled trying to calm her. In my head, even if I transformed into the wolf, I might not change like how NPCs. After all, player personalities and mental health are heavily protected by the Royal Road capsule. I should not change.


    ¡°You do not understand!!¡± Stella screamed again.


    ¡°Ahh, sorry, I screamed again.¡± She said. ¡°This skill is unlike other skills. The higher the level. The easier it is to level up.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It can easily jump 2 or 3 levels in one go. Even I only used it for like 7 or 8 times before and it had already reached intermediate lvl 8.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    She then looked me in the eye with a pleading voice. ¡°Please. Never use it again.¡±


    ¡°Umm, alright.¡± I said.


    ¡°Promise me, Okay.¡± She then slept on my lap. Somehow this felt like that night in the cave where she slept on my lap with moonlight shining above us. With El this time, I slept while leaning on the tree at my back. El then slept on Stella¡¯s head for comfort. Now I know why I befriended her. Beneath that cheerful face lies a deep sorrow. I admire her strength. She was able to withstand all that sorrow and pain and keeping everyone happy. Even if she no longer has fame, I still admire her. I still want to be like her. I still want to be as powerful as her.


    The night passed with peaceful sounds. In her sleep Stella still whispered to me to repeat my promise on not using that skill again.


    previous chapter 26 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=350</a>


    next chapter 28  http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3960</a>


    ______________________


    author note


    - now here is the next chapter. the next one or maybe the next 2 chapters as college has already started might be my last chapter until my hiatus ends


    - my PR Obsidian made a funny comment that Stella looked like siberian husky ^_^ i say that it quite look like it but twice or thrice bigger. but after browsing through Wikipedia, i found out that while siberian husky does look like her, a pure wolf like arctic fox and gray wolf suited her form better though she is green. i pretty much fond of arctic wolves with their pure white fur


    - so what do you think about Stella? questions, comments, and critics are welcomed


    - here is the usual MC related stuff


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Status window


    Name   Riri  class idol performers


    Health  6675(+800)  mana  10900 (+800)


    Level    125 Race human


    Fame 1000


    Title     manager, the white rider


    Job none


    Health regen/sec  26.5 mana regen/sec 43.4


    Strength  143(+122) dexterity  352 (+55)


    Wisdom  342 (+102)   intelect  311 (+125)


    Stamina   305  vitality  117 (+150)


    Art 74  charisma 177 (+140)


    Leadership. 160(+30) charm 105(+125)


    Fighting spirit 180 faith 140 (+105)


    Magic resistance


    Fire         water


    Earth      wind


    Thunder   ice


    Dark   45%(E)      light 45%(E)


    Unused points 20


    Contribution point church 8000


    Contribution point haven 2500


    Bonuses


    Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom


    weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith


    Leather armor will not be penalized


    iron armor will have it¡¯s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement


    While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%


    you are immune against poison and acid damage


    poison damage will heal you for 10% of their damage


    your body is bounded with Stella¡¯s soul


    Bag 1


    Water canteen


    Ring of mana(E)


    Ring of leadership(E)


    Black staff


    Circlet of purity.


    White high heel shoes


    White dress of purity


    Sword of Elkami


    Earing of faith and wisdom


    Necklace of vitality


    Ring of vitalityx4


    Ring of inteligence x3


    Stella¡¯s ring


    Skill list


    Speed reading beginner¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 5(10%).


    Magic mastery intermediate lvl 9


    Acrobatic intermediate lvl 6 (Movement 160%)


    Multitasking intermediate lvl 3 ( (Focus 6, intelect +25)


    Sword mastery intermediate lvl 6 (power 70% speed 70%)


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2 (Dex +2)


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6 (Dex +80)


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horseriding intermediate lvl 1


    Soul transmutation beginner level 3


    Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1


    Break dance beginner level 1


    Audience beginner lvl 1


    Sub skill of Riri magic mastery


    light blessing   intermediate lvl 5


    phoenix regen intermediate lvl 4


    healing hand intermediate lvl 7


    Healing Area intermediate lvl 9


    Group cure intermediate lvl 6


    Expert cure intermediate lvl 6


    Single bless intermediate lvl 8


    Fireball intermediate lvl 7


    Elkami Spell list


    Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6


    Thunder strike  advance lvl 8


    Thunder shower advance lvl 1


    Thunder ball advance lvl 2


    Lightning ball advance lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning charge advance lvl 4


    Lightning pulse advance lvl 5


    Lightning strike advance lvl 2


    Lighting flash advance lvl 1


    Lightning storm advance lvl 2


    Shadow ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark lightning beginner lvl 3


    Skill list of Stella


    Wolf form beginner lvl 1


    Devil glare eginner lvl 1


    Hunter instinct beginner lvl 1

 chapter 28 village life

    The next dawn we arrived at the City of Acolyte which was in ruins. Apparently, like Trisia, some residents were trying to make a living here. This city had evolved from ruins to a small village with wooden houses here and there. No stone houses could be seen so far. It was still such a primitive village. There are not even two story houses yet.


    ¡°Hello miss? Care for some herbs?¡± Some random old woman greeted us.


    ¡°Umm. No I don¡¯t think I need it.¡± I looked at the herb. As far as I know, this herb is used for the bandage skill, it is used mostly by warriors as a replacement for health potions. Unlike health potions that can be drunk in battle, bandages are usually used after the battle thus they are known to be cheap. But, I currently have no need for such a thing since I am not a tank.


    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± The old woman then left.


    ¡°She seemed troubled.¡± Stella said after observing the woman¡¯s face.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I looked back at the leaving woman. Her head was down, she indeed looked sad.


    ¡°Umm, you seem sad ma¡¯am. What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, it is not a big deal. It is just that we are poor here. No one comes into this city anymore. I just thought you seemed like an adventurer thus needed some herbs.¡±


    ¡°Why are you staying here to begin with?¡° El asked while standing on my shoulder.


    ¡°This city is my hometown. Most of us here were away when the catastrophe struck. Most of us were working in other cities in the central region. We were planning to retire here but, this is what was left. We tried to farm and breed cattle but rabbits, wolves and foxes eat them.¡±


    ¡°Rabbits??¡± I tilted my head. Aren¡¯t those monsters the weakest of the weak?


    ¡°Are you perhaps a foreigner?¡± She then came upon a realization.


    ¡°Umm, yes I am.¡±


    ¡°And these creatures are your pets?¡± Her calling El and Stella creatures irked me but they are my pet now so I just answered with a yes.


    ¡°Ahh. Thank goodness. Almost no foreigners come here anymore. Will you hear our request?¡±


    ¡°Umm, sure.¡±


    ¡°Will you please guard our farmers and shepherds?¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been offered</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Kill wolves, foxes and rabbits


    The shepherds and farmers are disturbed by monsters that are pillaging their crops and killing their cattle. Kill at least 20 of these animals to complete the quest


    Quest difficulty E


    Quest reward 3 copper


    Quest time limit: no time limit</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°3 copper?¡± I unconsciously shouted.


    ¡°Ahh, I see. You are like the others. Other foreigners just pass by and are not bothered by our quest at all. I know the payment is low. But it is the most we can give.¡±


    No kidding. This payment is even lower than that of a beginner¡¯s quest. Not to mention I have to kill 20 of each of them. If people wanted to cross here, they must at least be around lvl 50 when alone or lvl 30 if they are in a full group. No one would bother by a quest for level 5 players.¡±


    ¡°Umm,¡±


    ¡°If you do not want it, it is fine. Please don¡¯t do this out of pity.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am. We currently have nowhere to go. So how about this? We will kill every creature around this village and you will let us stay at some inn here?¡± Stella said.


    ¡®Nowhere to go? Aren¡¯t we going to Trisia?¡¯ I thought but it is true that I have no real objective at the moment. Going to Trisia is mainly only to collect the gold from the loot we gathered at the cave which is now being held by Iris.


    ¡°Really? But. Can you really kill even the wolves here?¡±


    ¡°We are at least lvl 100! So how about it Riri? Want to stay in this village for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Umm, sure. But...¡± I then looked at my sword.


    ¡°What is it miss? I will try to provide you with the best meal and the best inn here.¡± The woman then glimmered with hope.


    ¡°My blade is damaged. So I need to repair it. Is there a blacksmith in this village?¡±


    ¡°Yes! There is! If it is just for repairs we will do it for free just for you. Our blacksmith is quite talented but there is not enough iron ore here to make new weapons¡± The old woman shouted with joy. ¡°Hendrick! We have a customer.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been modified</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Kill pests around the village


    Kill at least 10 wolves, 20 foxes and 30 rabbits each day and you will be granted free food, bed and weapon repairs by this village


    Quest difficulty E


    Quest reward free inn, free food, free repair</td></tr></tbody></table>


    As she shouted at another house, a well-built man then showed up carrying a hammer. He then came out. She talked with him but then I heard shouting. I guess she was being nagged at by the blacksmith about the free repairs.


    ¡°Ehem. So you are the traveller. I heard you were going to stay here for a while?¡± He came out again while smiling this time as if the shouting earlier hadn¡¯t even happened.


    ¡°Erm. Yes.¡±


    ¡°Please come inside.¡± The man then welcomed us inside his cottage. ¡±So where is the blade that needs repairing?¡±


    ¡°Ahh. Here.¡±


    The man then took my blue cracked sword. After inspecting it his eyes opened wide as he inspected it with more and more care as if the sword itself were a delicate gem that could be broken if dropped. Well, considering the fact that the sword was cracked, it might really break if it were to be dropped.


    ¡°This might take a moment.¡± After he stared it for a while, he started to heat the sword and hammering it on the anvil. 3 hours passed and my sword was returned.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sword of Elkami


    Durability 40/60


    Attack 75


    Faith +50


    Str +20


    Dex +50


    Int +50


    Wis +20


    Sword imbued with a fairy soul.


    Summon Elkami


    Summon cost 200 mana + 5 mana/second


    Level restriction 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®It hasn¡¯t even been fully repaired! What a shitty job this is.¡¯


    ¡°Umm, I am sorry. I tried the best I could but with such poor equipment this is the best that I could do.¡± The blacksmith apologized.


    ¡°Okay. Thank you very much. So where is the farm located?¡± I asked trying to start my quest.


    ¡°Just go outside and you will; see. There are hardly any houses here so you should see it easily.¡°


    10 minutes later


    ¡°I am done.¡± I went back to the old woman.


    ¡°Huh? So fast?¡± The woman opened her eyes wide. No kidding. She had handed out the quest only a few minutes ago and suddenly it was done. It was like you were given a difficult math test and you handed the test back after 10 minutes. But this quest was too easy. Even with my weapon penalty, 1 strike was all it took to kill the rabbits that had infested some of the farms. A single bolt from El no matter how weak the bolt was could kill a wolf while Stella, well, when she turned into a wolf all enemies tried to run with all their might in an instant so it was decided that rabbits were for me while the wolves and foxes were for El since Stella only made the quest more annoying.


    I have around 400 points in dexterity which was more or at least almost on par with assassins, thieves and rogues. Catching a rabbit which dexterity didn¡¯t even pass 20 was like collecting pebbles at the riverside. While El just flew around and sniped around with her thunder attacks sometimes a stupid mob of wolves tried to gang up on her just to be barbecued. I noticed that my mana hadn¡¯t even reduce by 1000 by the time she was finished.


    ¡°Umm. Yeah. So here is the quest.¡± I handed the quest back. ¡°So, where is the inn?¡±


    ¡°Ahh. Please come here.¡± The woman who I found out was the village elder led us into a wooden house. ¡°My apothecary is beside this house. This is actually an empty house, the owner died of illness just yesterday. You may use this house at your own leisure.


    ¡®They don¡¯t even have something as vital as an inn here!¡¯ I thought while accepting the house the village elder gave me. This city that I tried to defend has degraded to such an extent.. but no wonder, the town was destroyed with all the villagers killed a mere month ago. It was even more surprising that there were actually people who wanted to move here.


    For some weird reason Stella was smiling the whole time while making two beds for us. This small house has like 1 very small kitchen which none of us could use outside behind this house, 1 bathroom which also none of us would use (Pets and players do not need bathrooms) in the corner of the house, 1 bedroom plus 1 living room that was truly inside the house.


    ¡°Stella?¡±


    ¡°Ahh? Yes? What is it?¡± Stella stopped her humming and responded to my question.


    ¡°You seemed awfully happy. I haven¡¯t never seen you like that before.¡±


    ¡°Well. It is a secret. Hehehe.¡± She made a smile again while continuing to clean up the house.


    #Knock knock#


    ¡°Yes?¡± Some random man knocked on the front door.


    ¡°Sorry. Umm I heard you are the new protector of this village.¡± He said.


    ¡°Well. You could say that.¡± I answered confused.


    ¡°There are wolves attacking our cattle! We tried to fend them off but they just keep attacking. I think they are angered by your killing this afternoon.¡± He said.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Quest has been offered</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Kill wolves


    A pack of wolves tried to attack the farm you are guarding. Repel them


    Quest difficulty E


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.Quest reward unknown


    Your fame and familiarity will drop if you refuse this quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Okay. I will go there immediately.¡±


    And so 20 wolves were indeed trying to surround some houses and barns inside the city. I just looked at them while walking towards the wolves. The wolves were barking loudly but I was not afraid. I had seen something far more fearful than this.


    ¡°Umm, we should just kill them right?¡± I asked the man.


    ¡°Of course you idiot! Kill them all of and help us!¡±


    I just noticed that I had asked a dumb question. It was like someone giving a math professor a simple arithmetic problem of subtraction and addition. Then the professor asked dumbly about what to do with the question he was asked.


    And so not even 2 minutes passed as said wolves were wiped out by El and me. With my high dexterity 2 light stabs knocked out the wolves and El was buzzing around killing 2 or 3 wolves every shot. They could only look in awe at the show they were seeing. After the pack of wolves went down without even 1 of them managing to flee, I asked the man if I was able to return to my house again. He could only nod without a word.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Audience skill is now beginner level 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Audience beginner level 2


    Increases your performance the more people are watching you.


    For every 10 people that are watching your performance every stat will be buffed by 1%.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®This skill forces me to be the center of attention! Why would anyone at all watch other people fighting anyway?¡¯ I thought about how useless this skill was. If you go dungeon hunting, all people would battle instead of watch you. So how the heck could I gather 10 people for a 1% buff? Even if it is saving a damsel in distress like this one, there only were around 10 or 20 people at most so I only got a 2% bonus?


    After whisking away the useless skill information I went back to my house to sleep.


    A week later I got a nickname, defender of the village. Though I didn¡¯t get a system message, some children had begun calling me by that nickname. It has been a routine that every morning until afternoon I came out and greeted every house while also patrolling on the nearby fields. Sometimes helping them carry baskets of crops or meat from cattle. In the real world, I had never been to a barn. So when I saw cows being cut into pieces by a butcher I could only gave a shout of shock. But I soon realized that this method though cleaner is also applied in the real world to produce our everyday meat in the supermarket. I now pitied the cattle that was raised this way but, that is the way of life right? We need to kill them to eat.


    Stella, though not actively killing mobs, was helping the other women carry baskets of vegetables and washing them in nearby river. She looked more like a countryside girl now with simple clothes and a white scarf covering her head or ears to be precise. All the villagers knew she had wolf ears and tails but she still decided to hide them feeling uncomfortable from the gazes from children and villagers at her ears and tails. There was no repulsed look in their eyes, just curiosity but it still made her uncomfortable.


    The village was more lively now with children allowed to play outside at the farm with the decreasing number of wolves. It was nice to see this poor and desperate village regain its vigor just like this. I wonder how many villages in this world could gain peace with just 1 high level players staying inside the village.


    By the way, I have been asked numerous times by villagers and the village elder to become the village chief but I politely refused. I just pointed my finger back at the village elder to be the chief instead. I would rather live a normal life while seeing this amiable place.


    ¡°But sire. We paid our taxes on time this time. So how can you raise them by 50% all of a sudden?¡± As I overheard the village elders talking to some unknown man with a two handed sword on his back. I was about to return from my patrolling duty but I changed my mind when I saw some armed men inside the village.


    ¡°Well, I think it is because you have more in your granary right? Bwahahaha.¡±


    ¡°But still, 30 gold coins is too much. It will cost us all of our crops and cattle that we just bred to pay that.¡±


    ¡°Hey listen old woman. We have kept you safe haven¡¯t we? No one disturbes your puny village while we are around. So do your duty and pay this week¡¯s tax!¡±


    ¡°How can he get paid a lot more than me while I have never seen him on duty to defend against the wolves¡¯ attacks?¡± I murmured behind the man¡¯s back.


    ¡°Who said that?!¡± The man quickly turned his back only to find a teenage girl with ordinary clothes. (Given by villagers)


    I only tilted my head and continued asking. ¡±So village elder. This village already has a bodyguard, why did you also hire me?¡±


    ¡°Umm. That¡¯s not it. It is..¡±


    ¡°He is a bandit Riri! He keeps robbing us of our valuables every week!¡± Dorus barged out of his room shouting. He is our elder¡¯s son.


    ¡°Hey we are much nicer than bandits. We didn¡¯t even hurt any of your villagers when you stepped inside our territory. So watch your mouth little kid!¡± He then turned to me. ¡°So this is the rumoured guardian of the village? Well, I command you to leave this place or you and your puny village will pay.¡±


    ¡°No. Please don¡¯t hurt the villagers. We will try to gather the money and pay. Just give us more time.¡± The village elder then wept at said man¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Why do we have to leave? Anyone is welcome here.¡± El came out from my pocket.


    ¡°So you challenge the bandit group Tartarus huh?¡±


    ¡®He just contradicted himself!! He clearly said he wasn¡¯t a bandit at beginning.¡¯ My thoughts screamed at the overly clich¨¦d attitude of the bandits.


    ¡°I am not like the wolves that you defeated. I am above level 100 here. So scram.¡±


    ¡°Is that the highest level in the group?¡± El said innocently without feeling amazed at all. She just poured oil onto the fire without even realizing it!!


    ¡°Damn you!!¡± He swung his oversized two-handed sword vertically at me. With my dexterity I just lightly sidestepped and dodged the attack. He kept attacking, changing between wild vertical and horizontal slashes. But his attacks were too predictable unlike Hector¡¯s and Arknum¡¯s. He just swung the sword with all his power without any skill so I could just dodge them with my eyes closed. I just side stepped, jumped, ducked and sidestepped left.


    ¡°Hey! Men! Get this insect!¡± At last he ordered his henchmen to gather around me. About 20 of them gathered.


    ¡°Umm. Rebecca. Is it okay to fight them seriously?¡± I asked while turning my head to the village elder.


    ¡°Well. If you think you can defeat all of these men and continue to protect us. Please, by all means. Try to beat them. You can kill them too if you must.¡± Rebecca said while sighing.


    When I turned my head to the villagers. All of them nodded their heads. Their approval was enough. I then drew my blade from its sheath.


    ¡°Surround her!¡± The bandit leader shouted.


    Even when surrounded I could still see all of their movements. Some villagers gasped for air when they saw me dodging a mercenary¡¯s axe by a hair¡¯s breadth. But of course it was intentional. Stella¡¯s style of fighting was not wasting a movement so I moved just enough to dodge.


    ¡°Fireball!¡± I cast my only attack spells. It hit bull¡¯s eye dealing some damage. Then I followed with three slashes of my blade and one of the men was history.


    The bandit group quickly took a step away after seeing me kill a man so effortlessly. Well, even with my weapon penalty, with my inflated stats, I am sure I am as strong as a level 200 player if not stronger. With a high dexterity my strikes were all critical (including my fireball).


    3 hours later the bandit group retreated after losing another 7 men. I was toying with them giving them hope that they could somehow succeed and dodged while countering at the last minute. I did this unconsciously since Stella taught me to minimalize my movements as much as possible but I just realized it after some of my audience (Villagers and Dorus) started speaking about them. I then realized that my fighting style seemed to mock them very much. I wonder if things will turn bad because of this. They seemed pretty mad when they retreated.


    ¡°Wow. Awesome!¡± A loud cheer was raised by the village towards me. Greetings, thanks and gifts followed by a visit from every villager.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I spotted a system notification in the corner of my eyes. When I opened it, it read.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Audience buff is activated. Current buff 10%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Audience buff is deactivated.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    10% huh. I guess the audience literally meant everyone that was looking at me even if it is the enemy. This might turn out to be a good buff after all.


    previous chapter 27 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3878</a>


    next chapter 28  http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=4905</a>


    _____________________


    author note


    - hello. enjoy this last chapter. any question and suggestions are welcome.


    - if you haven''t known i am currently have trouble with real life stuff (college work piled like mountains) so i have to put off writing for several months hope when the college is over i have enough motivation to come back here.

 chapter 29 Bandit encounter

    Not even 3 days had passed after that bandit incident when a group of more than 50 people came again into this remote village. That leader of the bandits that I drove out earlier also appeared. Looks like they are bringing their entire group to this village now. Is revenge that important for them?


    ¡°Where is that brown haired girl!?¡± The leader screamed while kicking the villagers away.


    ¡°Umm. I am here.¡± I said to the leader.


    Then said bandits surrounded me from all directions, forming a circle. Opening a notification I saw that I got a 10% buff, I did not use any skills so this must be from the audience skill. So there must be around 100 people watching me. Since the number of bandits had increased, that means the number of villagers had decreased. Now where are the rest of them?


    ¡°So you are brave enough to come huh?¡±


    ¡°Umm, where are the rest of the villagers?¡±


    ¡°Just inside their puny houses. Now I have nothing against this puny village but since this village has rebelled against us, it is a must for us to discipline them.¡± The leader gave laughed while announcing that.


    ¡°Are you sure that bringing 30 more people will take us down?¡± El said with a relaxed tone. She didn¡¯t seem to be afraid at all.


    ¡°So there are more of you? Hey, I heard this village only has one protector!¡± He screamed at his underlings.


    ¡°Umm, boss. S-s-she is the only protector. Other than that she only has a moderate lightning mage fairy and a green haired woman as pets. S-s-s-since all of them are pets I just said this village only has one person guarding it.¡± The henchman said with a stuttering voice out of fear of his boss.


    ¡°Ahh. I see. I wanted to avoid a bloodbath if I could. Hahahha. So here is the deal. If you can defeat my underling here I will not disturb this village any longer. Marissa!¡±


    A pink haired woman came in. She brought twin swords with her.


    ¡°Umm so you are this group¡¯s leader?¡±


    ¡°I am no leader. I am just a mercenary. Now I will kill you. Draw your sword.¡±


    ¡°Umm. I don¡¯t want to fight. I just want to stay in this village in peace.¡±


    ¡°Then kill us.¡±


    It is not helping. She can¡¯t be persuaded. I then drew my weapon slowly from my waist. With a half- hearted stance it marked the beginning of the battle.


    With lightning speed she charged at me while slashing her left sword vertically. I blocked the attack but quickly lost my balance and fell. She then stopped while drawing her second blade waiting for me to get up again. Her stance, technique and skills are in a different league from the leader of the bandits himself. She might even be stronger than me in sword skills if not levels as expected of a pure fighting class.


    Now Riri needed to fight seriously. She was no longer relaxed as she watched her opponent¡¯s swords. Stella and El were watching their battle as they also needed to keep their strength just in case. Stella had no intention of battling from the start and by changing to wolf form, she might increase the villagers¡¯ hostility against her so it is best if she does not participate.


    After a series of strokes, the two sides took some distance and waited for the perfect moment. They charged nearly at the same time while slashing their swords. Riri could parry Marissa¡¯s dominant left hand well but her right hand was no worse than her left one. She could only rely on her multitask skill to dodge the attack. Her acrobatics that she rarely used recently also began to kick in which made Riri¡¯s movement faster than Marissa¡¯s. But her sword skills were lacking thus she was continuously pushed back.


    But Riri had her own advantage over Marissa swords. She had the buff from the audience and light bless and single bless buff. She was also able to cast fireballs when she was in a tight pinch so the battle was at a stalemate. Riri and Marissa¡¯s HP continued to decrease. While Riri¡¯s HP dropped faster, she could heal with her spells while Marissa could only rely on her health regen which didn¡¯t do much. Slowly but surely after numerous exchanges of swift blows that commoners¡¯ eyes could hardly follow, Marissa¡¯s HP bar continued to become yellow.


    ¡°Tch!¡± She spat as she pulled back from her onslaught.


    ¡°Hey, you said you are the best the guild could offer. But you seem to be losing here. Where is that skill you are so proud off, bitch!¡± The bandit leader who was watching from the beginning complained to Marissa. Now after seeing this scene I didn¡¯t feel like fighting her anymore. She is clearly a sellsword who has no relation with the bandits.


    ¡°Umm. Are you a foreigner or a native?¡±


    ¡°It does not matter.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity.¡±


    She started her slashes again with greater speed but she was reckless at the same time. No, it was not reckless. She was getting serious. Her slashes were getting more dangerous. Even if she had more gaps than before, her damage output is higher now.


    ¡°As expected of a killing art specialist. Her sword skill is no joke!¡± The bandit leader exclaimed in admiration now. ¡°Not only does she have the looks but her skill is outstanding. She is worth every penny we gave her.¡±


    All of the bandits laughed as I was getting pushed back. My healing skill and phoenix regen can¡¯t keep up with her damage and my attack power can only scratch her. This is bad.


    ¡°If only you had a better weapon. You might have won. It is too bad but I will kill you now!¡± She said as my HP was nearing the red zone at 23%. ¡°Crimson death strike!¡±


    Her image then split into 3 with each of them performing a different slash. One of her images performed a diagonal slash while at the same time the other images performed a diagonal slash from my back while the last one performed a horizontal slash from my side.


    With haste, I dodged the first strike while at the same time putting my sword at my back to block another strike. My sword was quickly deflected as my balance was thrown off. Even with my multitask skill which watched every shadow with precision, I still couldn¡¯t dodge the last strike as my footing was lost due to the impact from second strike. She is not just fast but this strike has some serious power behind it!


    You have received 700 damage!


    I fell as blood gushed from my right. My sword was deflected and thrown quite far from my position. This is bad. I am going to die now. i was lucky to even have 2% HP now


    ¡°Stop now!¡± Stella stood in front of me with Elkami on her shoulder.


    ¡°Hey. If you only obey us. We will gladly leave you alone. But you chose to oppose us so we have to kill you.¡± The gang leader blurted out while laughing. ¡°Clean them up Marissa.¡±


    The mercenary could only stare in doubt. The intense pressure of Stella¡¯s fighting spirit send shivers to everyone. Fighting spirit is a rough measure of someone¡¯s strength so it is no wonder that they were all in doubt. Stella who looked like a fragile girl but possesses a ridiculously high fighting spirit send Marissa and the others into confusion.


    First thought that came to their mind was that she is actually strong, but currently she holds no weapons nor equipment so her fighting spirit might not reflect her current strength. Second is she is actually weak and her fighting spirit is a bluff. Though rare, there are persons and monsters with this attribute. No matter how they thought, in their mind Stella was only bluffing. But their instincts told otherwise which confused them.


    ¡°What are you waiting for. Kill her, Marissa.¡± The bandit leader finally issued a command.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°..... the contract says that I only have to kill 1 person. Why should I kill these two?¡± She said after pondering for a while.


    ¡°They are her pets. killing the master and the pets are included in the contract.¡± Some unknown guy came up and explained the situation to Marissa.


    ¡°...please stop. Or we will kill all of you.¡± Stella threatened them.


    ¡°There are no pets that are stronger than their masters. I was wondering why you didn¡¯t help her when she was battling with me. But right now your chance of winning is zero.¡± Marissa blurted out.


    Just as she was about to attack, Stella turned into her wolf form and charged at her. With a straight headbutt Marissa was thrown far away and crashed into some houses in the back. With Stella¡¯s Devil glare Marissa had zero chance of dodging that headbutt.


    ¡°Guh!¡± She stood up again with a darkened face. The moment Stella touched her the venom kicked in. While her HP still stood above red level after that hit she seemed uneasy.


    ¡°Everyone. Kill them!¡± The Tartarus leader started to shout. Everyone brandished their weapons.


    What happened later was not a battle but a slaughter. El struck with her thunderbolts while Stella continuously ran around, charging, biting and clawing. With devil glare the enemy remained standing still. (Not literally. They are able to move but with 20% penalty to movement it is easy to target them.)


    While Stella¡¯s attack was like a level 80 monster but with her debuffing poisons and fear, she could challenge even a level 120 monster. For El, she is weak in close combat but her magical prowess was a match for even a level 200 wizard, not to mention her special enigma skills. In the field against wolves and rabbits to preserve Riri¡¯s mana she was constantly lowering her power to match that of a lvl 30 wizard. As long as the wolves could be killed with a single hit there was no need to overkill them so she was only known as a mid-level spellcaster pet but she disappointed all of the bandits with her full onslaught. Thunder strike, thunder shower, thunder storm. All of these above level 100 magic were cast one after the other, not to mention her incredibly fast chanting thanks to her spellcaster skills. And so, in summary, the bandit group was slaughtered with Stella continuously distracting the mobs while El picked them off with her spells.


    ¡°L-L-Let¡¯s escape!¡± The leader shouted an order while stuttering.


    Just as the bandit group was about to escape a familiar group appeared behind them.


    ¡°Hey. What is all of this commotion?¡± Hasega asked while greeting us from afar. Besides him was his everlasting group of Fira, Dem, and Victor plus Iris.


    ¡°Umm. They are bandits.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see.¡± He smiled ¡°Well, that means they are bad guys right? What a coincidence. We got a request of killing a band of bandits roaming in this forest. Could it possibly be you?¡± Hasega glared at the bandits.


    ¡°No joke. Hey Riri, I thought you were having a quiet village life here. Why are you intercepting our quest? And we thought about giving you your share of money from that cave¡¯s loot.¡± Victor complained.


    ¡°Yeah you ruined our fun. I thought we were going to have some fun at last since they are said to be around lvl 100 with a connection to sellswords. Not to mention they have around 50 members. But they are already half dead now.¡± Fira complained.


    ¡°They came to us first! Why are you complaining to me? Ask them!¡± I shouted in anger of their ridiculous complaints. ¡°By the way, are they really that tough?¡±


    ¡°Their forte are traps and forest ambushes. So you are lucky to meet them at their terrain disadvantage. But for your levels I think you should not have problems with them even if they have their terrain advantage.¡± Hasega said with confidence.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s tie them up and bring them to Trisia¡¯s prison. It might be disappointing but we have finished our quest.¡± Iris commanded.


    After that the group blew a golden whistle, a magnificent griffin came down from the sky. Stella and El were already prepared to attack but were stopped by Hasega.


    ¡°You have a griffin pet?¡± I unconsciously asked.


    With the biggest grin  :grin:  the group could muster Hasega answered. ¡°Well. It is not technically a pet. We have helped them and they agreed to be our means of transportation. But the contract clearly stated they will not participate in battle.¡±


    ¡°Good bye Riri. Too bad you can¡¯t get one since they are acquired trough unique quest.¡± Fira said. ¡°I have already phoned you, you know. But you had this ritual. So we are sorry.¡±


    Even though she said sorry, her eyes clearly weren¡¯t. Why do I have this kind of defeated feeling when I saw the group fly away with the prisoners in the griffin¡¯s claws?


    ¡°Ahh. Here is the money from the cave¡¯s loot. We are off now. Bye Riri.¡± Iris also flew after handing 3000 gold coins to me. ¡°We might come again. Let¡¯s travel again sometime.¡±


    After they disappeared into the horizon, Stella came to me.


    ¡°Sorry. You couldn¡¯t get a Griffin because of me.¡± Stella was feeling dejected, she seemed to notice my feelings.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If it were not for you they would not have gotten the griffin in the first place. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. So let¡¯s continue protecting this village.¡±


    ¡°Umm. Dear protector. What should we do with the girl here?¡± The village elder asked.


    ¡°Huh? Which one?¡± As I tried to look around I found the swordswoman beauty that was being tied right now. She appeared very weak. Even when left alone she would kick the bucket in few more minutes due to Stella¡¯s poison.


    ¡°Cure poison.¡± I chanted to heal her.


    The next moment was filled with an awkward silence. Her HP was still red as I did not want to heal her only for her to start slashing her swords again. I wanted to ask but her face was filled with unapproachable aura.


    ¡°Umm.¡°


    ¡°What? I have failed. Kill me already.¡±


    ¡°We do not want to kill you, but if we release you, will you attack us?¡± Stella finally stepped in to break the awkward silence between two antisocial persons, me and Marissa.


    ¡°If someone else paid for it.¡± She answered.


    ¡°Umm. The bandit leader.¡±


    ¡°Our group has lost. So it was not necessary to follow the loser¡¯s side. It is stated in our guild.¡±


    ¡°Umm. Okay. If she is not going to attack us. Let¡¯s release her.¡± I answered.


    The other villagers then obediently followed my command with a few complaints. It seemed these villagers harboured a lot of hatred towards that bandit guild and their acquaintances


    ¡°Thank you.¡± After being released she left with her red HP still not healed. No one wants to give a potion or healing herbs to someone who was their strongest enemy just a moment ago. So she left as she was. But I doubt some random monster could kill her even if she only has 15% of her HP now.


    previouc chapter 28 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3960&p=24952#p24952</a>


    next chapter 30 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=350</a>


    ___________


    Author note:


    - manage to slip some chapter in saturday and sunday. don''t expect me to do this again for several months later. it is just a lucky stroke of inspiration.


    - comments and questions are welcomed

 chapter 30 mining

    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have become the idol of Village of Acolyte fame increased by 100 charisma, charm and leadership increased by 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new skill repair</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new skill tailor</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new skill cooking</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new skill spear mastery</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a new skill shield mastery</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Another 2 weeks have passed in this Village of Acolyte. It was not like it was before. A firm 3 meter tall wooden palisade had been erected around the village. It even had 4 watch towers now.


    In those two weeks¡¯ time I dropped by Hendrick¡¯s place to get my weapon repaired and he taught me the repair skill so I could repair the weapon on my own. But I can¡¯t use it on my sword yet since using it without it reaching intermediate will drop the weapon¡¯s max durability. So I trained here daily. In addition, Stella also taught me how to cook and sew. Even without a game skill Stella could still cook and sew by relying on her memory when she had those skills before. The result was quite okay but when compared to how it was before it was a mess.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Repair skill is now beginner level 3.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Two weeks and it only reached this far. Well. Considering that there are only a few soldiers that need to maintain their weapons it is understandable. Small barracks were built but the soldiers were poorly equipped and trained so they might have some trouble even with foxes.


    ¡°Good Afternoon captain!¡± Was the salute the soldier gave me. This city is growing rapidly. We have about 15 soldiers now and all of them wore wooden spears and swords. Only the 5 most skilled soldiers were given iron swords. It was because of the scarcity of iron ore. Well, after contacting Reiner about this, he was actually willing to come here. But after hearing this village¡¯s budget and the request of such little iron ore he only delivered it once and promised to bring more when he passed through this village. This village was too small of a business opportunity for high level Reiner. It was more suited for a small merchant with bags rather than wagons.


    ¡°Umm.... I have been wondering for a while. I heard this village is supposed to have their own mines. So why is there almost zero iron ore in our stock?¡± I asked the village elder Rebecca and chief Dorus(Her son).


    ¡°Umm.¡± They looked at each other.


    ¡°We have no soldiers to clear the mines.¡± Dorus answered. ¡°The reason we raised soldiers rather than merchants was due to this. when we have access to iron mines just like before this village will regain its vigor like City of Acolyte before.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I mumbled. ¡°Hmm if possible...¡±


    ¡°Ahh, please miss Riri. You have done so much to us. We can¡¯t possibly accept anymore.¡± Rebecca refused politely.


    ¡°Besides, the monsters inside keep respawning. So we need soldiers to guard the miners when they go to the mine.¡±


    ¡°I see. By the way? Do we have any miners to begin with?¡± Stella asked.


    ¡°Well, Paul over there has a son that could be a miner. After the soldiers¡¯ training is done, he might be the leader of the other miners. But he is still looking for another friend that could mine.¡± Dorus answered a little uncertain. Their mining plan seemed a little unpolished.


    ¡°Okay. If you need any help. Please don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡± I said while leaving to my house.


    Night then came. I was still inside the game since tomorrow is Saturday. I didn¡¯t have to go to school and my paperwork (homework) was done ages ago. The village was calm. I feel like I could live here forever. The sparkling sky was so bright. I was wondering if the writer of the famous lullaby twinkle twinkle little star always gazed at this scenery. They really are like diamonds filling the sky.


    ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it? I used to watch it every night but I never grew tired of it.¡± Stella said as she lay on my arm. Her wolf ears were touching my cheek which tickled a bit.


    ¡°Yes. It is very beautiful.¡±


    *Sniff*


    ¡°Huh?¡± I turned my head as I saw her sniffing me. She somehow had this weird habit of sniffing and sometimes licking me lately and always feels embarrassed when I ask about it. Could it be because of her transformation? She certainly has sharper senses now.


    ¡°Ah sorry.¡±


    ¡°It is fine.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± She only mumbled as she lay while treating me like a hugging pillow. ¡°The sky is clear let¡¯s sleep here.¡±


    ¡°It is quite cold here.¡±


    ¡°Pets can¡¯t get a cold. Besides you have a healing ability.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said while closing her eyes. That thank you has a deeper meaning than Riri thought. She could feel it but could not understand it.


    For Elkami, she found her own spot in Stella¡¯s tails. I can imagine how comfortable that fur would be if I was her size. Even I sometimes use her twintails as a pillow and it is really comfortable, warm and fluffy. Too bad that I was not as small as she is.


    The next morning someone with a huge two-handed sword named Gerik came and thanked us for letting Marissa live. After a bow and some gold coins he left. It appears he is the leader of the mercenary guild that was hired by the bandits earlier. Somehow his appearance is no different from the bandits but from his demeanour I know that his skills are different from them. He also gave his guild¡¯s name as a form of advertisement just in case the village needed mercenary power. While Dorus gave a hateful look towards them, Rebecca returned their bow politely.


    After seeing them leave, I went to the training camp where the fifteen soldiers train their spear or sword mastery. As I don¡¯t have any sword styles, skills or stances to teach them I just told them to spar and whack the scarecrows that were made by local farmers. After 2 hours of said whacking, we went to the field and hunted some rabbits and foxes. The fifteen were split into 3 groups which consisted of 3 sword and shield (Wooden) users and 2 spear (wooden) users.


    ¡°Okay. Encircle them. Shield bearers watch out for its kicks. Spear wielders retaliate after the rabbits have attacked.¡± I lazily ordered the 5 men team that was currently engaging 2 rabbits. Why do we need such elaborate tactics and manoeuvres for the lowest mobs? I know that their shield (wooden) and weapon (wooden) are the lowest of weapons but to think I have seen a rabbit make one of those recruits bleed to the yellow zone some time ago made me have to polish their tactics from now on. Not to mention it took more than 20 minutes to take down a single rabbit which the other beginners are able to finish with a single chant of a mage or 3 strikes from the lowest crude iron sword that is dropped by kobolds.


    ¡°Hendrick.¡± I called out to one of the best soldiers. This team was the best one and is comprised of our blacksmith Hendrick, our village chief Dorus, and 3 farmer boys. Well, compared to the team that stumbled at rabbits before, they certainly are far better in that they could handle 2 or 3 wolves with their skills and their best weapons and armour(iron sword and leather armour with a thin breastplate for lvl 10.)


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Let¡¯s go to the mines. Can you lead the way?¡±


    ¡°....Okay¡± He said a bit reluctantly.


    ¡°Even though we can only bring a bit of metal. At least it should be sufficient for those 10 soldiers.¡± I said. Then Paul gathered his 2 friends who brought pickaxes with them. Dorus and Hendrick followed us to lead us to the mines.


    The mine was surprisingly close. Only about 300 meters from the village. It was totally abandoned now with no traces of life left. I could already imagine some skeletons or zombies or golems spawning from this mine. By the way, I left El to guard the village while bringing Stella with me. Bringing El to a mine might be a bad idea since her explosive spells might collapse the entire mine if it is used recklessly.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go in. I will be the forward if you guys see trouble, prepare to run.¡±


    ¡°I will be in front.¡± Stella said with confidence.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Unknown mines


    A mine filled with various metals.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The mine was cramped. The road was barely 4 meters wide. Hendrick sad that it should get bigger when we arrive at the real digging site but if monsters crawled out of here be then Stella, being the speedy type, will have trouble. But since I have acrobatics, it could turn into 3 dimensional movements and it might even be an advantage.


    Fortunately, I was overthinking things. The monsters in this mine were around lvl 30 at most. While considerably stronger than those in the field, it was still quite easy for me. Two stabs or slashes and it is good. Stella was wielding a spear in her hands and started to attack on her own. Since she does not have the skill, she does not get any attacking speed and damage bonus but she could still wield it nonetheless. Heck it might be even better than me if we are only looking at her technique.


    While the zombies and mud golems were quite easy for us, it was not for the recruits. They needed to cooperate and after being pummelled and switching tanks for more than 20 minutes the golems were defeated. Overall since zombies and golems were slow the recruits managed to deal with them as long as they ganged up on the zombies. If more zombies and golems showed up me and Stella had to step in. The recruits also got good experience by killing these zombies and golems so in a sense we hit 2 birds with one stone. It was good I could imagine these 5 to be something like vice general or squad leader since they had already shown some good coordination and calm judgement.


    After some more time passed we arrived at the mining site. It had a ladder jutting down from our path and I could see something sparkling here and there between the rocks it must be the metal. I wonder what kind of metal that is. Maybe I will ask Paul when we come out.


    ¡°Alright we have arrived. Everyone start digging!¡± Paul ordered everyone excluding me and Stella to dig. It¡¯s more like no one dared to ask me to do that kind of thing. Even if I tried I could imagine they would push me aside for rear guard.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    4 hours passed


    ¡°I kind of want to do it too.¡± I said to Stella. While sitting on some random stone completely bored.


    ¡°Well. They only brought 3 pickaxes. And they switch between themselves without letting us do anything.¡± Stella answered sitting on the floor besides me.


    ¡°Hey! Come here.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What is it Stella?¡± I asked while turning my head towards her.


    ¡°It is not me. Is it someone else?¡±


    ¡°Paul? Dorus?¡± It was a whisper. I almost couldn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°No. It came from that spot.¡± Stella pointed at the wall behind me quite a distance away from Paul and the others.


    ¡°Should we go there?¡± I asked Stella.


    ¡°Who guards the miners then?¡± Stella asked.


    ¡°Do you think the whisper is far? If not I guess it is okay to leave them for a few minutes. Besides there have been no monsters for the last few hours.¡± I said to Stella.


    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t think it is that far. Let¡¯s warn them nevertheless. Hey Paul, Dorus, Hendrick! We will venture out for a while. If you encounter more than 3 monsters, scream okay?¡±


    ¡°Ok Miss.¡± They replied.


    After that I went to the spot Stella pointed at. After examining and re-examining it, it seemed around 10 cm thick. With a few stabs from my sword and Stella¡¯s paw(She had turned into wolf at the entrance of the mine site). We were able to dig out a hole and found a decent cave within. So this hemisphere mine site actually has more holes than there should be. Including the entrance that we came from this is the 5th hole. We just decided to dig there and not venture deeper due to Paul and the others lack of levels.


    After venturing for about 50 meters we came to a huge chamber which housed a sword that was stabbed into the ground which was filled with magic circles.


    ¡°It totally screams rare item here.¡± I said to Stella to which she nodded.


    ¡°It also screams trap by looking at the magic circle beneath it. It should be able to speak since we heard its voice earlier. Don¡¯t touch anything recklessly okay.¡±


    ¡°Welcome. I see that you also use swords. Good. I can sense good skill from you. You might be worthy to wield me.¡± A soft and calm whisper came from the sword.


    ¡°Wow. The sword is talking. This is a super rare item.¡± I said after reviewing the RoyalRoad manual book in my mind. It is said that some very rare weapons had their own minds and souls within it. If I am not mistaken it is called an Ego sword. It is a sword with its own emotions and soul. It can increase its power or decrease it according to its own will so it is advised to be friendly with an ego sword.


    ¡°I see. If you desire my power, then pass my trials and destroy this seal.¡± He said. Since we are not so far anymore, its whisper-like sound had turned into a soft sound.


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I have weapons already.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The long samurai sword asked dumbfounded.


    ¡°Riri?¡± Stella also tilted her head in question.


    ¡°Umm. Sorry. Thank you for the offer. But I have weapons that I cherish here. I can¡¯t throw it away. Hope you find a better master.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second.¡± The sword called as I turned back.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Why do you cherish that weapon over me? I am far more powerful than that weapon.¡±


    ¡°We still don¡¯t know that.¡± Stella retorted.


    ¡°No. It is not just that. You see, this sword is a house for my friend. A fairy. So I can¡¯t throw it away. If I unequip this sword, I won¡¯t be able to summon her.¡±


    ¡°I see. Are you sure you don¡¯t want my power?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°..... Could you at least break the seal?¡± He is practically begging now.


    ¡°Oooo. So you were acting all high and mighty before just to beg someone to release your seal?¡± Stella made an evil smile as she discovered someone¡¯s weakness.


    ¡°I have been trapped here for more than 200 years. I have never done anything wrong.¡± The sword defended himself. ¡°Just because my soul is that of a demon wolf.¡±


    ¡°Demon wolf? Ahh so that¡¯s why Stella and I can hear you.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I sensed it since you came here and tried to call you but it was ignored until now.¡±


    ¡°I see. But even if we release the seal...¡± I pondered for a while.


    ¡°I can assure you it is not out of ill intent. If the seal is removed, anyone could hear me. You don¡¯t have to pick me up then. But the chance for a fellow sentient demonic wolf is so low.¡±


    ¡°They are practically extinct by now.¡± Stella answered. ¡°Even I was not a demonic wolf before.¡±


    ¡°I see. So should we release him? I kind of feel pity after hearing his story.¡± I asked Stella.


    ¡°Hmm. Okay. Let¡¯s remove the seal.¡± Stella answered.


    After touching the sword, the seal activated and a red salamander appeared. Three meters long.


    ¡°Hey. Aren¡¯t you a wolf?¡±


    ¡°I am. But the seal is not!¡±


    The salamander then swiped his tail, I dodged it with difficulty. Even the shock damaged me a little. This enemy can¡¯t be underestimated. It easily surpassed lvl 150.


    ¡°Summon Elkami.¡± I said as I commanded the fairy to appear before me. With this the group at full power.


    As usual I take the foremost line while Stella is a little behind me and of course El is the furthest back so that she is practically in the corner of the room. Wait a second. I have never fought a serious battle with Stella in her wolf form and why is she assuming that I should take the role of a tanker?


    ¡°Stella?¡±


    ¡°Distract it and I will chip away his HP one at a time.¡± She said while activating her venom skills. The venom aura is a bit dangerous but since we all have immunity against poison it is all good.


    ¡°Can I get another role?¡±


    ¡°We do not need healers right now.¡± A hurtful truth. I just realized that I couldn¡¯t do anything except healing and distracting enemies with my little attack power and low grade spells. All the kills in the village were just an illusion. I should know it. If the opponent were to be at the same level as me, I would need a long time to beat them except with El¡¯s skills or soul transmutation which essentially borrowed El¡¯s power too. It was just like a tanker!


    Tanker is the class that Riri hates the most and she unknowingly became one and just realized it a moment ago. A tanker¡¯s job is defending in front line. They basically need to be hurt and can¡¯t damage the opponent back properly. It is like you are getting hurt but can¡¯t get revenge for it. Riri understood her sword penalty and tried to remove it by training her repair skills. But she never felt the sword penalty itself since El had always killed her opponents before her.


    She was also wearing light clothes and has high dexterity which improved her delusions of not being a tanker but a tanker is the one who attracts opponents and deals with their attacks. Whether they have high dexterity to dodge or high endurance to endure attacks doesn¡¯t matter. She just realized this now, that all her battles before she was always in the front and dealt little damage except when using soul transmutation which is a forbidden skill right now. After dealing little damage the enemy chases her and someone (Usually El) will kill it. This is fully a tanker¡¯s role!! Unless the opponent is an undead, she is a tanker or cleric.


    With a bitter heart she dealt the first attack by stabbing the salamander in its leg. Said salamander was attracted and pursued her. While dodging here and there she continued to slash dealing additional damage while El cast some lighting spells at regular intervals. Stella also bit the salamander here and there. When the salamander pursued Stella, she would dodge while I replaced her at the front and attacked the salamander, making it direct its hate toward me. After its attention was directed at me, Stella bit it again in other places. El was casting her magic from safe place. No need to mention or care about her. With her flight magic and small body she could easily get away.


    ¡°Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike!!¡±


    The big spell finally came. Stella had accumulated enough poison in the salamander¡¯s body and its HP was going down rapidly. In despair the salamander finally let out its killing move Fire Breath towards El. Even an idiot would know the magic circle with the counter was cast by El since she is the only mage that uses lighting.


    El quickly hid behind some rocks when the fire breath hit. The salamander went berserk and fired its fire breath everywhere.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You took 400 damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are burned


    Attack power reduced by 10%


    Defense reduced by 10%


    Movement speed reduced by 10%


    This effect will remained until 15 minutes</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Burned is a bad status effect with long recovery. It usually debuffs our physical attack and defense. Sometimes our speed might also be affected. The thing about burn is that burn can be stacked. So, if I get hit again by that Fire breath my stats will get a further reduction.


    ¡°Riri, let¡¯s flee!¡± Stella suggested. ¡°The salamander will be dead even if we don¡¯t fight it. We can¡¯t suppress it¡¯s fire breath!¡±


    It is true. Its HP is 25% now and it is going steadily by 1% every 10 or 15 seconds. Not to mention after the enigma spell hit, it would be dead whether we stay or not.


    ¡°But where? If we return to the cave the salamander will cook us alive!¡±


    ¡°I will be the bait.¡± Stella offered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You can just resummon me after you get out.¡±


    ¡°No. Let¡¯s stay.¡± I refused.


    Then after a minute, a bright flash with explosions and small earthquakes filled the chamber to the exit. Everyone was taking cover at the corner of the room until the dust had cleared. It was a close call, I only had 15% HP left and Stella was even worse with 3% HP left. She was at edge of death and only a single hit would kill her.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have defeated fire salamander


    Fame increased by 50


    Strength increased by 5


    Dexterity increased by 5


    Fire resistance increased by 1%


    Vitality increased by 10


    Fighting spirit increased by 10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up 5x</td></tr></tbody></table>


    previous chapter 29 http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=4905&p=33112#p33112</a>


    _________________


    - here is chapter 30. enjoy. i had a little break after mid semester exams.


    - questions comments are welcomed ^_^

 chapter 31 end of mining

    ¡°Whew. That was hard¡± i pant as i sat on the floor


    ¡°I thought i was going to die.¡± Stella returned to her human form and sat with me.


    After resting for over 30 minutes and looted the salamander,  Riri stand and walk toward the long katana sword.


    ¡°May i see your stat?¡±


    ¡°Hooo. So you are interested after all¡± say the sword that put emphasis on ¡®interested¡¯ word


    ¡°Well. i will not change sword since my companion is there. you see that fairy? I am just curious for your power that need to be guarded by a salamander.¡±


    ¡°No need to be modest. I acknowledge your strength. even if you want to, i will gladly form a contract.¡±


    ¡°contract?¡±


    ¡°Well. you need a drop of your blood and i will be bound by you. don¡¯t worry. You can still change sword but i can only be used by you.¡±


    ¡°What happened to your previous master?¡±


    ¡°Of course i have the ability to dismantle the contract. Don¡¯t bother with it. i can choose and abandon my master as i will.¡±


    ¡®What an egoistic selfish sword!¡¯ i thought


    ¡°show stat¡± the sword said then a window appeared in front of me


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Tensaiga</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Type:</td><td width="25%">two handed sword</td><td width="25%">Durability:</td><td width="25%">290/300</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Quality:</td><td colspan=''2''>A</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>A sword made not by blacksmith but a loving healer that yearn to heal every sickness and pain. A strong wielder might even able to use it to revive the death


    Attack 0


    Durability 290/300


    Wisdom +100


    Intelect +100


    Health +700


    Mana +300


    Vitality +150


    Faith +100


    Skill


    -          Slash of healing.


    -          Healing wave


    -          Water revival


    -          Blessing of water


    Level restriction 100</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I widened my eyes. 0 attack damage!!!


    ¡°Hey. is this even a sword?¡± Stella asked


    ¡°you should become a staff.¡± Said El


    I just dumbfound stare at the blade. In the attack column it really showed 0 attack damage. Even the lowest of the lowest weapon has about 3 or 4 attack damage. 0 attack damage mean that no matter how high my stat is, this weapon will never hurt anybody.


    ¡°Well, i was cursed by a healer. ¡°


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know if a healer can curse somebody even after 200 years of my life.¡± El said


    ¡°well, a long time ago, i was owned and made by a ruthless samurai and have killed many humans, demon, animals and other living being. After a great war, this warrior hurt badly and fell in battle then a fair maiden dressed in white gown found and took care of him. The man fell in love with her instantly and they married. But then, the girl found out that this man was her father¡¯s murderer. She then tried to kill the man.  The man instinctively defend himself by slashing at the woman. He intended to block the attack but my sharpness greatly exceed some measly kitchen knives and killed her. after that he sowre never to drew me again and to make sure i didn¡¯t kill anyone anymore, he placed some advanced soul enchantment on me. so that i will never kill again but heal and save someone as atonement for our sin¡±


    ¡°I see. that explained it. ¡° i said ¡° okay. I let¡¯s return Stella, El. May you found a master soon.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t bring me? after seeing you. i feel we could be a good match. I see kindness in you just like the samurai¡¯s wife before she went mad with revenge.¡±


    :Well, if you can stand being a secondary weapon, i guess you can bring her Riri.¡± El made a suggestion.


    The sword seemed to ponder for awhile. ¡°Hmm. Well,  okay. But promise me one thing. If i found another compatible user and i am still your second sword at that time, will you let me go willingly?¡±


    ¡°Willingly?¡± i asked


    ¡°Even though i can divulge our contract myself, it is not like i can just get out from your inventory by myself.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡± I answered


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s get back. we have left the miners for too long.¡± Stella finalized the debate and thus, i obtained the longsword Tensaiga along with many drop loot from salamander.


    The group then came back toward the mine site only to find the miners were trapped on the spider web and hung on the wall


    ¡°What happened?¡± i said to the miners as Stella and i freed them


    ¡°S-S-spider!¡±


    ¡® I can see that. they are literally wrapped in a spider¡¯s web, duh¡¯ i ridiculed my earlier question


    ¡°So what spider? ¡° Stella asked after reading my face


    ¡°T-That one.¡±  said Paul as his hand pointed upwards


    In front of me was a horrifying scene. A spider literally made of skeletons were wrapping Hendrick in her webs while sinking her fangs at him.


    ¡°Riri. Heads up.¡± Stella warned as the spider drop Hendrick and shot her web on me.


    After retreating from the spider web, Stella changed to her wolf form in an instant and howled.there are no skills about it but it looks intimidating alright. i also drew my Sword of Elkami and taking a stance.


    ¡°Healing hand.¡± I chanted a healing spell on the spider. it has no effect. So it is not an undead or dark affinities eventhough her shape clearly represents darkness.


    ¡°It is not an undead. Healing didn¡¯t affect it.¡± i said to others.


    ¡°it is high. We have to depend on spells on this one. Thunder strike!¡± sail El. The spell hit the mark and the spider seemed to be stunned for a bit but its place is so high that even if she was stunned, my sword nor Stella¡¯s fangs could reach it.


    ¡°Fireball!¡± i decided to rely on my only offensive spells. I really need to add my spell list.


    ¡°Drop it from the ceiling! Aim for its legs¡± Stella shouted as she dodged another spider strings


    The battle lasted for another fifteen minutes like this. the spider tried to use its strings to grab me or stella into the ceiling while we counter it with fireballs and lighting strike. El can¡¯t use her AOE Spells as it might hit the miners and thus the battle of attrition began. The spider sometimes spit some poisonous substances but it didn¡¯t do any damage toward me or Stella. El was always safely chant from afar the spider had trouble to aim at her


    Soon the spiders lost its patience as her HP was down by a quarter. She descended to ground level and the real fight began. Stella ferociously clawed and bit her abdomen while i parried her front legs and fangs with my sword


    ¡®am i a tanker again?¡¯ i unconciously thought about the setting


    The battle sped up on the ground as Stella came into the play. her poison damage was reduced by a huge margin against the spiders since the monster was quite resistance to poison damage but even if her poison damage was reduced, her physical attack still dealt quite a bit of damage.


    The spider being a bug type was quite weak against lightning and fire which happened to be El and my main spells. Soon enough the spider¡¯s HP hit the 30% mark and close to turning red. the spiders were going rampage  now that its HP was turning red. its moves were faster and it was more reckless as it now directly charged its body toward us. this made dodging and blocking more difficult as its attack pattern was now illogical and scrambled. When it run at the ceiling, instead of shooting spider webs it jump and ram at us instead. When it was close to us, instead of attacking with her claws it spit spider webs everywhere on the ground making the ground sticky.


    But with persistence, El and Stella managed to deliver the final blow together.the spider was turned into another loot leaving several loot behind accompanied with a tingling bell


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    You have leveled up 2x


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°whew. At last it died.¡± I said while puffing


    ¡°That was a troublesome enemy. We should be able to win easily if the terrain was not inside caves like this.¡± Stella said still standing. She seemed to use less stamina than with salamander as she pant less than before.


    ¡°My mana was almost gone..¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t fully recover after that salamander so it is only natural. It is a wonder itself that we managed to fire that many spells¡± El said


    ¡°we only use low level spells so our mana last.¡± I said while lookin at my mana bar.


    ¡°Hendrik!¡± Paul screamed at hendrik that was lying there motionlessly


    ¡°Oh no! Riri, how long that battle last?¡± Stella asked in a hurry while all of us gather at Hendrik place.


    I was suddenly taken a back. a poisoned status especially to someone without immunity againsts poison related skill will usually last long or even eternal. If the poison deal 3HP/sec then in this 30 minutes of us battling the spiders, he would suffer over 5400 damage. Even i only had 7500 HP and i was over lvl 100


    ¡° cure poison, healing hand!¡± i immediately cast my healing based spells


    ¡°It is not working.¡± I said to Stella.


    ¡°He is already dead.¡± Stella answered.


    ¡°NO. Hendrik!!¡± Paul wailed


    ¡°Riri, do i just heard someone dying?¡± some voice started to speak from my inventory


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°We just meet less than an hour ago and you already forgot about me?¡± the voice sounded strangely irritated


    ¡°Tensaiga? What is it?¡± i said while taking out the item from my bag


    ¡°If they died in less than an hour i miht be able to revive them?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°If it is a foreigner it is 100% but if it is natives then there are chances of failures. Let¡¯s try it.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Sorry El but please hold on for a bit.¡±


    I then switched my equipped sword and prepared a stance.


    ¡°Water revival.¡±


    After i slashed at Hendriks body, his body was engulfed in a sphere of water and then a few seconds later the sphere disappeared. The NPC Hendrick then slowly opening his eyes.he came back to life


    ¡°Hendrik!¡± Paul screamed and hugged him.


    After a teary reunion we decided to go back to our acolyte village. The miners already had enough of this place and they already reached the quota for iron ores. So they decided to go back.


    ¡°Hi. Is everyone okay?¡± Rebecca the village chief asked.


    ¡°Mom!¡±Dorus yelled while hugging her mom.


    ¡°Is he such a character to begin with?¡±


    ¡°Well, i guess he was frightened. He and the others went to a life death experience there.¡± Stella answered


    ¡°Thank you as always miss Riri. We will always be in your debt. If anyway taht we could do a favor to you don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡± Rebecca said back as the other miners returned with the ores which will be processed by hendrick


    chapter 30</a>


    chapter 32</a>


    _________________


    author note:


    -Hello did anyone miss me? i am not literally back yet. please wait for another 2 week. i just got a breather from my exam which will start in 3 days and end in 2 weeks.


    -special thank to sieghard and sensitiveness and his usefull code guide


    - any comments and critic and questions are welcomed in discussion thread or this one


    - by the way, when i wrote last time (3 months ago) i was at rank 20 and now my FF was nowhere to be seen. please help me reclaim my rightful throne by giving my FF a rating and reviews.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.- here is our char status


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">Alignment:</td><td width="25%">Good</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">127</td><td width="25%">Class:</td><td width="25%">idol performer</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">human</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">female</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Manager, White Rider</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fame:</td><td width="25%">1150</td><td width="25%">Infamy:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MaxHealth:</td><td width="25%">6675 (+800)</td><td width="25%">Health Regen:</td><td width="25%">26.5 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MaxMana:</td><td width="25%">10900(+800)</td><td width="25%">Mana Regen:</td><td width="25%">43.4 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">309</td><td width="25%">Vitality:</td><td width="25%">127 (+150)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strenght:</td><td width="25%">147 (+142)</td><td width="25%">Dexterity:</td><td width="25%">350(+55)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intelect:</td><td width="25%">311(+125)</td><td width="25%">Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">332(+102)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Leadership:</td><td width="25%">165(+30)</td><td width="25%">Luck:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">charisma:</td><td width="25%">182(+140)</td><td width="25%">Charm:</td><td width="25%">110(+125)</td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fighting Spirit:</td><td width="25%">190</td><td width="25%">Faith:</td><td width="25%">140(+105)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Art:</td><td width="25%">74</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Elemental Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">1%</td><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wind:</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">45%</td><td width="25%">Darkness:</td><td width="25%">45%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    here is our char equipment (this code is killing me)


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Earring<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Earring of Faith and Wisdom


    Type: Earrings


    Faith: +40


    Wisdom +20


    Earring that can enhance your Faith to gods and Wisdom.</td><td width="25%">Head<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Circlet Of Purity


    Type: Headgear


    Durability: ?? / ??


    Charm +30


    Charisma +30


    Intelect +10


    Wis +10


    Faith +20


    Healing spell increased by +10%


    Light ressistance +10%


    Dark Resistance +10%


    A circlet blessed by a holy priest to purify Evil.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Neck<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Necklace Of Vitality


    Type: Necklace


    Vit +30


    Strength +20


    A necklace that enhance your Vitality.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Chest<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>White Dress Of Purity


    Type: Dress


    Durability: 50 / 50


    Defense +30


    Charm +20


    Faith +20


    Healing spell +20%%


    Light spell +20%


    A pure white dress with blessings of the gods.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">left weapon<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>None


    Item Description Here.</td><td width="25%">Right Weapon<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Sword Of Elkami


    Type: One Handed Sword


    Durability: 20 / 150


    Attack 75


    Faith +50


    Str +20


    Dex +50


    Int +50


    Wis +20


    Summon Elkami


    Summon cost 200 mana + 5 mana/second


    Level restriction 50


    Sword imbued with fairy soul.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Foot<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>White High Heel Shoes


    Type: High Heel


    Durability: 20 / 20


    Defense +20


    Charm +30


    Charisma +10


    Faith +20


    movement speed -30%


    healing spell +10%


    light spell +10%


    dark ressistance +10%


    light ressistance +10%


    Level restriction 20


    IHigh Heels blessed with holy light but hard to wear.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Ring-1<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Stella''s Ring


    Type: Ring


    Dex +25


    Strength +20


    Intelect +30


    Wisdom +20


    Charm +25


    Charisma +30


    Class gained Idol Performer


    Ring were once worn by Stella.</td><td width="25%">Ring-2<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Ring of intelligence


    Type: Ring


    Mana +200


    Intellect +30


    Wisdom +20


    Ring made to increase your brain.</td><td width="25%">Ring-3<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Ring of intelligence


    Type: Ring


    Mana +200


    Intellect +30


    Wisdom +20


    Ring made to increase your brain.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Ring-4<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Ring of intelligence


    Type: Ring


    Mana +200


    Intellect +30


    Wisdom +20


    Ring made to increase your brain.</td><td width="25%">Ring-5<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Ring Of Vitality


    Type: Ring


    Health +200


    Vitality +30


    Strength +30


    Ring made to enhance your body</td><td width="25%">Ring-6<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Ring Of Vitality


    Type: Ring


    Health +200


    Vitality +30


    Strength +30


    Ring made to enhance your body.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Ring-7<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''> Ring Of Vitality


    Type: Ring


    Health +200


    Vitality +30


    Strength +30


    Ring made to enhance your body.</td><td width="25%">Ring-8<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Ring Of Vitality


    Type: Ring


    Health +200


    Vitality +30


    Strength +30


    Ring made to enhance your body.</td></tr></tbody></table>

 chapter 32 training spells

    ¡°Lily?¡±


    ¡°Yes father, what is it?¡±


    ¡°It has been over 3 months you played that game. Did you gain any reputation?¡±


    ¡°Umm. i got around 1000 fame. I guess.¡±


    ¡°I see. Hmm. ¡°


    ¡°What is it father?¡± i said suspiciously.


    ¡°Well, to tell you the truth, our company has bought the capsule too and each of head branch got one. so i have been playing Royalroad too.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But not really playing. The capsule is mainly for meeting some director overseas. But we have been aiming at RR too so we created an account there.¡±


    ¡°Aiming?¡±


    ¡°well, for example. Here. look at this advertisement in newspaper.¡±


    I look at the tablet my father handed me. in advertisement space which people 90% ignore there were written. ¡®buy coca-cola now and get a moderate mana potion in RR¡¯


    ¡°So.....¡±


    ¡°Yes. This company for example have invented in RR. Since it is such a huge company, they manage to find some painters which is very rare and alchemist which is also rare and hired them. and the result is this¡± My father handed me the tablet again after i returned it to him there was a picture if a mana potion with coca-cola label on it


    ¡°It is very good.¡± I almost want to bought coca cola immediately now after seeing this. moderate mana potion could restore 200 until 500 mana depending on its quality. It is very awesome for beginner to mid level mage or even high level knight. Ahh, and after seeing this, there are also a moderate health potion which is for Fanta and sprite.


    ¡°Moderate health potion and Moderate mana potion....¡±


    ¡°Ehem!¡± my father coughed to bring me back to reality


    ¡°Since our company is a shoe and clothing company, we decided on equipment.¡±


    ¡°I see. sorry but i don¡¯t have blacksmith nor tailoring skills. Nor do i know anyone which could make a high level goods¡± i answered. For a product to be accepted in a market, you would need at least intermediate skill in crafting otherwise the clothing will only has looks and low stats which many player would reject. i even doubt you could made anything with a beginner skill in crafting. For example, what food could you made that didn¡¯t require seasoning which only unlocked at beginner lvl 7. What sword blacksmith can make without steel, iron sword is only for someone less than lvl 10. And so on.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry about that. we have access about that. the problem is harassment. As you might know, many guild own a city, village, or even a part of a country. Since we have to announce our company name we might get harassed by these dark gamers guild.¡±


    ¡°Harassed?¡± i pondered


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s look at this coca-cola. They need to hire 5000 mercenaries. Which is of course part of them is dark gamer guild. And since they know it is from a huge company, they charge a whooping 500 gold for each person hired. Per day¡±


    ¡°five hundred?¡± i i gasped. It is enough to buy accessory or equipment for lvl 80 in a single go.


    ¡°So after hiring the blood sucker dark gamer guild, the coca cola  official guild which is their branch in RR world took over a small village near Kallamore kingdom and made them their own. after the village is set, they started to produce the said potions. but, they still needed to hire another mercenaries to guard their village. Which cost them another bunch of gold. Not to mention about taxes from the count or dukes¡±


    ¡°Why take over the village.¡±


    ¡°For headquarters. If they didn¡¯t do it, the guild owning the village usually charge them with lot of money. If the company decided to move, they kidnap or at least robbed them. while some little branch could live with this, but the headquarters can¡¯t because this also involves a huge factory of health and mana potion. Sometimes the guild owning the village, if not charge them with money, they charge them with products.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°If counted, the takeover village will cost 2.5 mil gold for troops. 300 thousand gold for siege weapon and supply and after that they need about 200 thousand gold each month to maintain the village.¡±


    ¡°over 3 mil gold¡±


    ¡°Converted to real world money, just the foundation of the plan would cost over 30.000$ if we take 1$ equal to 100 gold. Which is already cheap. Now let¡¯s mention about their equipment which initially would cost over 1.5 mil gold and 200 thousand gold for maintenance,  and the mana and health potion ingredients which cost 20 or 30 gold.the additional sum would be another 3 mil gold. And now let¡¯s take the employee we need at least 200 people for this and thus 200 x 200$. The total amount is 100.000$ and if they didn¡¯t take over, the need to pay 80.000$ each month because of additional taxes from guilds. If they took over they need to pay 65.000$ except the first month. All of it cost ridiculous amount of money. ¡±


    ¡°So... what does it have to do with my fame?¡±


    ¡°Well, i was just asking if you had any connections to some counts or nobles. Because if you do, the price i mention could go down by 20 or 30% because i heard that if a famous player ordered it, the taxes could get lowered¡±


    ¡°Umm, if it is a village, i think i could do that. if you are talking about count, maybe if i converse with Count Ignis in Trisia, something could work out. But that city is almost pretty much ruined.¡±


    ¡°Good job. So where is it?¡±


    ¡°In Trisia. To the south you will meet a small village called the village of the acolyte.¡± I said to him.


    ¡°Alright. we will check and made some negotiations with them. thank you. you have been a great help. I shall increase your daily allowance.¡± Said father smiling


    ¡°I don¡¯t need that.¡± i said while puffing. Well the truth is i owned 2 credit cards. And the allowance is 500$ dollar a month. While the other, for emergency purpose has a limit of 5000$ i have no more wants except friends which is why i started that game


    At that signal my father went to call someone and leave the dining table. After a while he spoke to me ¡°Well, the scout group from our company will be visiting you. your name is Riri right?¡±¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°It will took several days of real world time. but when they get to Trisia and Village of Acolyte, i will inform you to guide them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±  After finishing my dinner i then went to sleep while logging into Royalroad.


    ?---------------------------?


    ¡°Hello. Welcome back.!¡± Stella greet me.


    ¡°Hello. Let¡¯s continue from before.¡± I replied


    After i whined about yesterday being tanker, Stella now decided to teach me about idol performer class. she realized that my learning is incomplete.


    ¡°Okay as i said yesterday, we are going to continue your learning. I am sorry that i have become skilless. I was supposed to teach you more about idol performer class but because of several incident it can¡¯t be realized.i am sorry. I should have properly teach you after the show in city of acolyte. Because of lack of training your class is half assed.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be sad. It can¡¯t be helped. Death manager attacked us after all. it is not your fault. After all, to us foreigners, this world is just a game.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°So. What is the topic of study today?¡±


    ¡°Okay, well. it is about magic. first, take a look.¡± She then raised her hands


    ¡°???¡± i put question mark on my head


    ¡°Sorry. I can¡¯t show you. i no longer have the skills.¡± She looked dejected again ¡°Umm, i will explained to the best of my abilities. So ask me if you have questions okay.¡±


    She then took a breath then started explaining ¡°First, please made a fireball.¡±


    ¡°Fireball!¡± i cast the fireball then it fired to somewhere.


    ¡°Ummm. Not that, i mean. Cast the fireball and hold it.¡±


    ¡°Hold?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, is it like this?¡± El showed me. she cast a lighting bolt but instead of fired of from her hands, the lightning bolt didn¡¯t came. It seems like she was charging the lightning bolt in her hands.


    ¡° Yeah. That¡¯s right. the foundation is the same but yours is lightning based.  I purposely teach Riri fire first since it is visible and easier to train that. she will learn other elements later¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± i put more question mark on my head


    ¡°So, Stella is asking you to hold your spell Riri.¡±


    ¡°Holding spells?¡±


    ¡°When you cast magic, for example fireball spells which you are already familiar with it, mana from your body is converted to form a fireball then shoot it right? can you feel that¡± El made the explanations now


    ¡°Umm, yeah. I think i know what you mean.¡± Since i have been using fireballs often, that feeling was almost gone but i do feel it when the first time i cast it.


    ¡°good. All you need is to hold that spell so it won¡¯t fire. Try t.¡± Stella made another explanation which i tried immediately


    ¡°Fireball¡± after a failure for about 5 times, i successfully cast and hold it on my hands


    ¡°So, what do i do with it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± She said bluntly


    ¡°huh?¡± i lost my focus as the ball then fired to some random locations


    After redoing my fireball and hold it again, i asked ¡°So, what¡¯s the point of doing this?¡±


    ¡°It is to train your fre mastery.¡± Stella said. and after 20 minutes of hold the ball the system message came


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned fire mastery</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fire mastery beginner lvl 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Enables you to manipulate fire based spells. More modifications to the spell can be made as this skills level up.


    ¡°Ahh, i got it. fire mastery.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°So, it says that i can manipulate the spells based on fire affinity.¡±


    ¡°it means just that. for me i have thunder mastery. You know that i can weaken my spells or strengthened them?¡± El said


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°I know you can weakened them. but i didn¡¯t know you can strengthened them.¡± i said from a fact that i remembered


    ¡°Well, i never strengthened my spells since it was more efficient to use a higher tier spells instead. ¡°


    ¡°I see. well i kind of figured it out.. ¡°


    ¡°That is not the only manipulation you can do Riri.¡± Stella said ¡°Manipulating the strength of the spells is only the basic of this skills.¡±


    ¡°You can alter their aim, speed, trajectory, and many other things. Even shape.¡± El said.  ¡°I kind of wonder why is your fireballs always shoot straight. So that is the problem.¡±


    ¡°But you need to gain levels in fire mastery first. So today we will be focusing at that. try to move your fireballs.¡± Stella said


    With much difficulty, i tried moving the fireball it moved around 30 centimeters. After that i stopped and tried moving it without stopping this time. i made a circle in front of me with that fireballs.


    ¡°You are a bright girl. you get that explanation in 30 minutes¡± El said


    ¡°Your fireball already reached intermediate. I was afraid you might have difficulty with this¡± Stella said while breathing a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°speaking from experience, if you developed the fireball skill without fire mastery, it would be harder to learn fire mastery since you will forget the feeling of mana converted to make the fireball. But it is just a needless worry. And now, since your fireball has reached intermediate, you can make more than 1 fireball right? try to make more and control them at the same time.¡± Stella said


    ¡°O-okay. Huh? my mana keep decreasing.¡± I said while glancing t my mana bar. I always had the habit of glancing it my HP bar and Mana bar whenever i am hit or before using spells. Even though it is so little, but my mana was constantly decreasing.


    ¡°Yeah. Manipulating spell has mana cost since you are continuously manipulating your spell by holding it your mana continue to decrease.¡± Said Stella


    ¡°Then, isn¡¯t it better not to manipulate spells at all?¡± i asked


    ¡°i will show you! here i will cast lightning bolt. Then i will manipulate it. you will know what¡¯s the difference¡± El showed


    ¡°Lightning bolt!¡± she cast 3 lightning bolt at the same time.


    the lightning bolt flew out from her hands and went straight to some trees in front of us. but right before it hit the tree, the  bolts circled the tree instead and went back to us.


    ¡°Kyaa!¡± i panicked as the lightning bolt flew fast towards me but it also stopped and went zigzagging and after that El played with her thunderbolt  by drawing a circle, a triangle and a square in the air. Then the bolt flew to the ground leaving small crater


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡± I clapped my hands after seeing that spectacle


    ¡°as you can see, you can manipulate it such way that the bolt may homing at your enemies. That¡¯s why the elemental masteries are important.¡±


    ¡°But many foreigners still didn¡¯t know it. ¡°


    ¡°Yeah¡± no wonder, royalroad manual book didn¡¯t mentioned this. but i have seen it on some royalroad forum. But many people didn¡¯t knew the usefulness of this skill and many mages doesn¡¯t have the need to manipulate their spell thus i think only several high ranked magician knew about this. but manipulating the spells is indeed hard. It took a lot of me just to hold a fireball, to make it homing at enemy will be far more difficult. How can El manage to do it so easily? Is it because of her thunder mastery already reached advance?


    ¡°Well, it would be kind of hard to be like El. But keep practicing. It will be helpful one day.¡± Stella said.


    The village was developing faster than before. With iron ores that we excavated from the mines, the village manage to fully restore my equipment and making some iron swords and spears. With new weapons, our area of hunting grew larger and the level of those recruits grew faster. Some of them have reach lvl 30 by now.


    Until the scouts from my father company arrive i can focus my attention on learning this skill.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Fire mastery has now reached beginner lvl 2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Ahh it already reached level 2¡±


    ¡°well. that¡¯s good. Now for the actual practice. You might not be able to control it like El does but you should be able to use it in battle directly. For example. Try to aim at that rock. At the last moment pull the fireball up so that it didn¡¯t hit the stone.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Fireball!¡± i cast a fireball. But it shot straight through stone.


    ¡°I can¡¯t control it. ¡°


    ¡°Hmm. How do i explained that part. Any suggestion El?¡± Stella asked


    ¡°Well, from what i see, when you cast the fireball and it leaves your hand, you treated the fireball was no longer yours and just let it go where ever it wanted right?¡±


    ¡°Umm. yeah. It took a toll on concentration if you keep minding about the spell. In battle i can¡¯t afford it. and if i concentrate on the spells, the spell will be very slow¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. You do not restrained the spell but at the same time you do not let it loose. It will be much more lighter in your mind if you do that.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, so it would be like this. i fired the fireball, then i only controlled it just about when it was about to turn...¡± i murmured as i fired the fireball from my hands. the ball flew fast to some random rocks and when it was about to hit the tree i quickly manipulate my mana to turn the ball to the right and the ball trun as i wanted 90 degrees to the right. so that¡¯s the trick. It is like you are playing a car racing games. You keep pressing accelerate buttons and the only thing that you mind is how it turns.


    ¡°Wow, you are a fast learner Riri.¡± El said while  looking at my spell works


    ¡°So, is it done?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Why don¡¯t we have a real battle then, why don¡¯t you let El became your target?¡± Stella said while winking her eyes on El


    ¡°Eh, why should i?¡±


    ¡°You are small and you can fly. It made a perfect 3 dimensional target right?¡±


    ¡°Well, if you put it that way, i guess i am.¡± El finally surrendered to Stella persuasion


    ¡°Okay. Fired the fireball at her like you mean it Riri.¡± Stella encourage me


    ¡°Wait a second, what did you mean by that.¡±


    ¡°well, i mean, it is just a fireball, even if you have low hit points, you can¡¯t really die from a single fireball right? so, Riri doesn¡¯t really have to hold back right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, but the way you put it is like you have a grudge against me.¡¯


    ¡°it is just your imagination/. I was just thinking about the past when i train this kind of.. well it is not important. so get to it Riri.¡±


    With that i fired the fireball at El. She magnificently dodge my fireball. But with that technique earlier, i turned the fireball and tried to homing her.


    ¡°Where are you aiming Riri?¡± El said while hovering at the exact same place as before.¡±


    ¡°umm, it is kind of difficult to aim.¡±


    ¡°Only the initial shot is accurate. The rest is a mess.¡± She replied. ¡°How can you control 3 if controlling just one is a mess like this.¡±


    ¡°Riri, the principle is the same as before but, instead of turning it with all you got just make a slight deviation on the ball trajectory.¡± Stella giving me a guidance.


    ¡°Okay. ¡° i did as i was told. First of all, i made some distances between the ball and El. After that, i turned the ball 180 degrees. Then while it is going to El general area, i make some slight adjustments. Instead of racing car games, it is more like a test drive which a minuscule turning would fail you


    ¡°Ohh, good. you have improved ¡° El said while dodging the ball i aimed at her ¡°But it is still not enough in real battle. With that distance, i can see it coming even with my eyes closed. Try to make the distance shorter.¡±


    ¡°hah. I am done now.¡± i said while exhaling a deep breath after 4 hours of training my fire mastery already reached level 5 now . My mana gauge was at rock bottom now and so is my mental gauge. it will take a while to recover it. manipulating those fireballs required more mana cost that i thought.


    ¡°Well, Stella, why don¡¯t mwe give a little show to Riri while she rest.¡±


    ¡°Ehh?¡± Stella was dumbfounded.  The menacing glare El was giving was evident. Does she want some kind of revenge?¡±


    ¡°I-i-i don¡¯t think that was necessary. ¡°


    ¡°You can¡¯t give any shows right? after all, you lose the spell you have learned before. So there are only me who can give show while lecturing Riri about it right?¡± said Elkami while putting on a menacing look with sparks all over her body


    ¡°Thunderbolt!¡±


    ¡°Gyaa!!!¡±  Stella screamed while running like a headless chicken while dodging El¡¯s thunder. she magnificently drawing a curved arc with her thunder and it really chased Stella with amazing speed and accuracy. i really don''t want to get chased by that. maybe someday i would be able to do that as well


    chapter 31</a>


    chapter 33</a>


    _____________


    author note


    - it is a long time everyone. i just lose some interest in this fanfic for awhile. but after reading lms vol 21 suddenly i got an inspiration to write again. ^_^


    - so, i think the text boxes in edit section changed since my last visit. the maximize button is quite helpful.


    - by the way, could anyone teach me how to use code? not the code that you need to type. there is a code tab beside unlink on the right side and the left side of PHP tab. i assumed that it could helped some coding like windows or system message. am i wrong? that tab has been on my mind since i saw it.

 chapter 33 New Trisia

    ¡°Miss Riri.¡± Rebecca called me while Stella and El is still playing with some lightning balls. Stella is in her wolf form dodging lightning balls here and there while i was watching the whole thing, how El moves the lightning balls. By the way, The way Stella dodge them is cool too.


    ¡°Yes miss Rebecca, is there anything wrong?¡± even though she is the village elder and her son is the village chief, they still came to ask my opinion about various things like i was their village leader and they accept whatever opinion i give. Do i really have that much of charisma?


    ¡°Some people are looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. Some warriors or mercenaries from Rosenhelm and some random people. Never met them actually. Miss Riri, you sure have a broad connections for such a young age.¡±


    ¡°Random looking warriors? Ahh, it must be the scout my father was talking about.¡± I quickly make a deduction and went to meeting this mysterious man with Stella and El tailing me


    They still glared at each other for a while by the way


    ¡°So, is this miss Riri?¡± asked some royal knight in the village hall. Whoa, his equipment is top notch. His uniform that are shiningly purple gives a gentleman looking unlike a certain mercenary and her girlfriend that i know a few days back


    ¡°Umm, yes?¡± i answered confusedly


    ¡°Lilika?¡±


    ¡°Father?¡± i look at the newbie warrior beside the royal knight his face is somewhat resembled him just his hairstyle that looked different. Judging from looks in his equipment, he is no better than lvl 30 i guess he really just started this game and forcing his way to come here by hiring someone. But it was a just a hunch. Even i sometimes still using my lvl 20 gears as it comes in a set. But lately i have been using this village leather armor which is tailored for lvl 100. The defense was a little bit better but it lacks the amazing spell bonus my cleric set gave me. the differences between epic equipment and common items are really huge. Lvl 20 equipment can match lvl 100 equipment. No wonder someone is willing to use a real world money to buy some rare weapons and armor


    ¡°So, i am the scout. Surprised?¡±


    ¡°Umm, why are you the scout?¡±


    ¡°It is better this way right? and this royal knight here is one of investor¡¯s son. He in game name is Goliath. And i am Ivan. Since we don¡¯t really have a blood relationship in this world, you may call me by name.¡± Ivan said while smiling


    Still dumbfounded i just looked at the two of them. ahh, there is 3 more person behind them.¡±Are they also with you?¡±


    ¡°Yup. So, Riri right? i heard you are quite an influential person here. so i came with a proposal.¡± My father talked in a business like voice ¡°So, which one is the village chief, may i meet with him?¡±


    ¡°Ohh, Dorus, come here.¡± Rebecca asked


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    After some pleasantries in the village hall, we were taken into the village elder house and served some tea by Rebecca.the topic of the conversation is just like i thought it would be just a bit more detailed. In short, my father asked for a house with a certain minimum area plus a permission to hunt around this area for gathering materials for their tailoring. The company¡¯s soldier will be no more than 20 person and will be occupying some hunting area. In some region especially crowded area, this kind of things were usually banned by the local leaders or guilds because it was disrupting newbies that want to start there and thus a huge sum of hush money was needed. But Rebecca and Dorus accepted the request with a smile even without some hush money. The rent money and protection from bandits is enough. if possible, Rebecca and Dorus also asked the mine that we cleared the other day to be cleared several times a month as they want to mine for precious ores there again. my father also agreed on giving unrelated materials to the village. Thus the contract was agreed easily.


    ¡°Okay. Thank you for your cooperation. For now i need to borrow Miss Li....,i mean miss Riri to Trisia to meet the count there. we were planning on selling the things we made here to there. don¡¯t worry, we have our own merchant and will pay taxes accordingly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much Riri. And Mister Ivan. Your contract has made this village more prosperous than before. Once again i thank you Riri¡± Dorus said his praise to us


    ¡°Umm, okay. Then i will see you after a while. ¡° i said while leaving the village. The royal knight which were beside my father stayed behind to protect the village. So it was left with me, Stella, El, my father, and 2 others. One might be a thief from his equipment, and the other is an archers also from his appearances


    ¡°Hey, Fa, i mean Ivan. Is it really necessary for me to be there?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Your presence is crucial.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand.¡±


    ¡°Even if the contract itself were very beneficial for them, do you honestly think, they will be so graciously accept it without your presence?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, i see. i understand what you mean.¡± Stella and El nodded.


    ¡°Speaking from my experience here, in every place there will be always a symbolic ruler or you might call it public figure. Do you understand so far?¡±


    ¡°I understand about public figure at the least.¡±


    ¡°It is crucial to know who is the public figure in your social system. Even if they are unrelated to your business contract. Especially in a less cultured places such as villages¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± i put a question mark on my head. do we really need to know them?¡±


    ¡°Your father is right. every time we held a performance, we always familiarize ourselves with the local ruler no?¡¯ Stella added.


    ¡°Come to think about it. it is quite right except when the first show.¡±


    ¡°You are not on our team yet at that time. but we speak to the leaders all the same.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, your friend there is quite clever. Is she a native? Foreigner?¡±


    ¡°I am a natives sir.¡±


    ¡°A beast man. It is quite rare to see one in places ruled by human. It must be tough.¡± Ivan said ¡°And a fairy. I hear fairies never left their forest or pond. How did you get so friendly with them Riri?¡±


    ¡°Umm, killing some bad guys i think?¡±


    ¡°Well, Riri fought a war with some enemy from our god and thus, i was assigned as her summon from now on.¡±


    ¡°Summon?¡± my father raised a question mark. ¡°Never heard about it.¡±


    ¡°It is on the royalroad manual. After the pet system.¡±


    ¡°i knew about pets. but never knew about summon. All my Royalroad friend never had any either. Some had a snake pet and that Royal knight earlier has a humanoid pet. But i have never heard about summon.¡± Ivan said. It is useless. he certainly never read the book but i was quite surprised that he actually knew anything about RR.  Even knew about pet system while still in low level. I guess our learning method must be different. But comparing the summon in RR manual and Stella and El is too different. Let¡¯s not nitpick about it


    ¡°By the way i am also a summon too. But our contract was a little lax so we came out often.¡± Stella said while smiling.


    ¡°Boss, Summons and pets do not differ that much. the differences is only that summon cost mana while pets don¡¯t. That is all that is. even the game itself might mistake summon for pets. don¡¯t think about it too much¡± the archer explained to my father. Ahh, so that is the source of his information that archer is quite resourceful. it is good to have many connections


    ¡°Hmm, i heard Trisia is nearly destroyed by some boss monsters. could it be you participate in that defensive battle miss Riri?¡± The archer asked while looking at me. his face says that he is totally interested. ¡° That event is too sudden. The big guilds can¡¯t really come up with much reinforcements so only some random players able to participate in it. you sure are lucky miss Riri. I heard that every player that got into that event suddenly became famous.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, i see.¡± Is that soo? I never knew. Is my name known to the world now?¡±


    ¡°And have you seen this white rider Riri?¡±  She was talked a lot even in haven throughout Rosenhelm ¡°If you knew that man could you please share his contact address with me? i would like to party with him sometimes. I heard he rode some winged unicorns and lead the charge against dark army


    Suddenly my face went red. ohh my god. That was so embarrassing. Does he knew who the white rider is. wait, he said ¡®he¡¯ right? does that mean he doesn¡¯t knew who the white rider is. wait a second, i was wearing a dress, how can someone mistook me for a man? Something is wrong here


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± Stella and El giggled beside me. their big grin really mock me ¡°Is he handsome?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. Never actually saw it. there are no video about it either. We only heard from taverns and such about the white rider.¡±


    ¡°Hihihihi¡± their giggling became louder.


    ¡°Be quiet you two!¡±  i shouted at the two rude pets. the archer explaining can only raise a question mark on his head for our weird behavior


    ¡°So, i acknowledged that you have some influence in that village. But an influence in a big city like trisia?¡± the thief spoke


    ¡°If she is one of the players that participate in that siege, she might have an influence or two. even if she is below 200¡± said the archer. ¡°And i heard, that you can easily gain fame or something if you helped rebuild Trisia in early times


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Afterall, we do not really need that big of an influence right? only enough to get rid some annoyance and hush money right? it is not like we are asking my daughter to take over the city just for our company. All of you played games too much. goals and dreams are different okay. Goal must be within reach while dreams maybe as high as possible¡± said Ivan. It seems like my father didn¡¯t really need that big of an influence or is he just do not trust me that much? well truth to be told, before playing Royalroad, let alone a city, i would never even dream to be influential inside my own class. just reading books and abstaining every decision that were asked from me so his lack of trust is quite understandable


    ¡°Umm, Are we walking?¡±


    ¡°Well? should we use the whistle?¡±


    ¡°As long as it is not seen by other people that is fine.¡± Archer and thief said. they took some whistle out from their bag and whistle it to call some horses. After that my father went on the thief¡¯s horse while i was on the archer¡¯s back. Stella and El were unsummoned


    ¡°Do we really need to move so far away?¡±


    ¡°This whistle cost 500k gold¡± the archer said ¡°We can¡¯t be to careful with it.¡±


    ¡°F-F-Five hundred thousand?!¡±


    ¡°If everyone has this whistle, every stable that rent horses will go bankrupt. Do you think such a rare items will be easy to get?¡± the thief spoke


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°These are the unlimited use ones. The limited uses whistles would be a lot cheaper.¡± Said the archer


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it gentleman. Off to Trisia we go.¡± Said Ivan while raising his fist on the air passionately


    With horses the time for travel has greatly reduced.we arrived Trisia several days later. After re-summoning my two pets again, we look at Trisia once again. it has changed dramatically.the wall on the first level was being rebuild and still half complete. But not only it was thicker, but it seems to cover more area than before. The second level wall also changed with some new towers and balistas on it. if only we had that one during the siege. We do had one, but balista on the wall and balista on the tower has a difference in their line of sight. The third level also changed from the way i remember it. it also had some tower which has some catapults on them. their defenses is pretty sturdy this time. Count Ignis must be traumatized from the last battle to put these efforts into the city defenses


    ¡°So, Riri, do you know any noble or person that has some influence in this city?¡± So, he didn¡¯t want to meet with the count but the nobles instead. Come to think about it, i do not know any noble beside count Ignis in this town


    ¡°Umm, i think most are dead during the siege.¡±i said ¡°Umm, Let me ask the count if he knew any noble you could speak of¡±


    The archer and the thief  then tilted their head with a surprised look¡°You knew the count?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I think. why?¡± it is my turn to tilt my head


    The archer and the thief look at each other and laugh ¡°Hahahah. Your daughter can make some good jokes!¡± which i can only reply by silence while still maintaining my tilting head


    ¡°Is it really that difficult to meet the count?¡± my father asked


    ¡°Well, is it hard. You need some recognition. Let¡¯s see. if you were a royal knight like Lucas back there, you might know some count but only in Rosenhelm area. Well, if you are not someone with high power, you can still meet them but there are special condition such are events and special items. Just imagine how hard it is to meet the president of united states¡±. Hahaha. You can¡¯t really knock their front doors and asked for an audience do you?¡±


    My father sighed ¡°well, my daughter hasn¡¯t know such a thing. So Lilika, if you were to request an audience to someone with high power, you will need and appointment first right?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    ¡°Do you have an appointment with this count?¡±


    ¡°Umm, no. ¡°


    ¡°I guess we are waiting then. Let me accompany you to make an appointment with this count. We should meet with his secretary or something.¡± Said my father. Let¡¯s see, the leader usually used the highest place right? so, is that means he is at the third level?¡± my father asked the archer.


    ¡°Yes boss. ¡° the two mercenaries erased their laugh and answered with a firm tone. The rank on the other side matter the most huh?


    And so we came inside Trisia. After paying the tax of 1 gold coin, we came inside.


    ¡®The taxes increased than the last time i remembered it. must be for building those defenses¡¯ i pondered while paying the taxes. The city has recovered most of their population. It is a remarkable works considering that the remnants of those tragedy are only a couple thousands residents. In such a short time, Trisia could regain more than 80% of what it was once before.


    ¡°Welcome. Buy some groceries here!¡±


    ¡°Weapon for beginners!¡±


    ¡°Weapon for intermediate levels. A low level artifact also present!¡±


    The screaming merchants trying to sell or buy things could be heard from every corner of this city. the first level is kind of different than what i remembered. It is more dirty and unchecked. Shacks are built here and there, some beggars could be seen begging adventurer for money. The criminal activity seems high too, whoa, someone just pickpocket a lady there. right in front of my eyes. where are the soldiers? Ahh, that kid stole some carrots and fish meat from that groceries stalls!


    We can¡¯t really do anything about it. if we make a ruckus, we might get kicked out. There are no guards here either to report. I can only watch as those crimes were comitted in front of my eyes. seeing the unusual look, some beggar came to us asking for some alms in which i gave a gold coins to. But i was immediately stopped by my father and he gave 3 copper instead.


    ¡° don¡¯t raise any attraction now Riri. I know how you feel. But what you are about to do will get us into trouble.¡± Said Ivan


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I will explain it along the way. when we reach a more safer or better place. The second level must be different than this.¡±


    ¡°Stop. State your business.¡± Said the two guards that were guarding the gate from the first to the second level. Ahh the gate here have doors now. and a really tough looking metal doors at that. it was opened though


    ¡°Umm, i came to meet Count Ignis.¡±


    ¡°And your name? Do you have any appointment?¡±


    ¡°My name is Riri. I don¡¯t have any appointment. Do you know where i can make an appointment with him?¡±


    ¡°Ghu,hihhihi¡± some giggles could be heard from archer and thief in the back. are they laughing at me? i feel so embarrassed now that i said those lines. Even Stella and El can only look away while holding their laugh. Sorry for being anti social you guys. If you knew about my circumstances aren¡¯t you the ones that should step in? You are usually good at this Stella!


    on the other hands, the guards do not laugh. They look at each other for a while then spoke¡± Hold on for a moment. We will get someone that can clarify your identity.¡± And one of the guard ran toward the third level.The laughing atmosphere then stopped.


    ¡°Hey. are you actually really influential here Riri?¡± the thief asked


    ¡°Umm, i am unsure.¡±i can only answered confusedly


    Not even 5 minutes passed the soldier went back while panting with with a woman and a man. The man and woman looked closely at me then whispered at both soldiers .the first one that picked this pair then went running back with a clanking sound of their armor. He must ran with all of his might to the third level. Unless someone has a dexterity above 150, the distance between this gate and the third level can¡¯t be covered that fast


    ¡°I am very sorry Miss Riri. Please go directly to the third level. The count has awaited your arrival.¡± The other soldier bowed their head while guiding us the third level while the man and women left somewhere else. On the way to the third level, the soldier that went running earlier went back but stopped his running while bowing his head with the biggest smile he can mustered until we pass by him and went running again to his gate. It was a funny spectacle.


    ¡°that guard was so funny.¡± Stella murmured while smiling.


    ¡°why does he seemed so polite towards me?¡± i asked Stella


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, how should i know. We were always together right?¡±


    And after a while, we finally reached the third level of Trisia


    chapter 32</a>.


    chapter 34</a>


    _______________


    Author note.


    - some surge of inspiration just came in so i manage to finish this chapter n a day.


    - well, it won''t be like the first time i made this fanfic. i do not think i can keep up such an updates anymore. but i will try


    - discussion, critics, and suggestions are welcomed here or in the discussion topic.


    - now, there seemed some kind of bugs. all extra spaces between lines are gone. anyone can fix this? or do i have to manually fixed it each time i edited my post?


    - thank you for reading and enjoy

 chapter 34 The new theater group

    ¡°Ahh, Hello Riri.¡± Count Ignis came to meet me on the third level in behind the gate. At the war before, the third level didn¡¯t took much damage so his house still looked good. But i can vaguely see some little damage here and there from tha. But it is trivial. Need not to look at those things.


    ¡°Ahh, hello Count. How are you?¡±


    ¡°Well, i have worked hard to rebuild this city. thanks again for your help. If it were not for your help, we would not reach this far. The first wall are under construction and we might even finish it in several months more.


    ¡°I see.¡± the moment  i see the Count somehow i felt pity. He seemed really pale for a reason ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Just getting a bit overworked. Hahaha.  Please come inside.So, what business bring you here Miss Riri?¡± The count said while welcoming us into his house.


    ¡°The room looks dreary.¡±


    ¡°I have sold many things in this room. can¡¯t really keep any riches for myself while my people suffered right?  don¡¯t worry about it. soon, those riches will get back to me again. ¡° Count Ignis said while ordering his maid to serve us some tea


    ¡°So, here, my fath, i mean Mister Ivan here, he has a proposal for you.¡±


    ¡°So, what is the proposal?¡±


    ¡°We want to sell our goods which were produced in Village of Acolyte to this city. our goods would be an equipment mainly leather ones and shoes.¡±


    ¡°I see. okay. Right to the point. What do you want and what do i got? Even though you seemed low leveled, but I can see an experienced business smile in your face. you understand what i mean right?¡±


    ¡°Well, for starters, we will be selling our product here in Trisia. We need some kind of headquarters. A small house will be fine.our main factory is in village anyway.¡±


    ¡°Okay for the that one. in the first level it would cost 100 thousand gold each month while the space in second level would cost 300 thousand gold. Will you accept? And don¡¯t forget the taxes for each goods that you sold.¡±


    How blunt. I don¡¯t really knew Count Ignis. But i can see my father has some serious look with sweats on his face. if he got this serious it means the Count must be experienced as well.


    ¡°How many percent of the price?¡±


    ¡°There are no percent. I have some relatives on the Kallamore that there are adventurers like you that are kind of converting this world goods into your own worlds currency. Talking about percent will be useless as you will accept the money on the other world. So tell me what goods, and my subject will measure it¡¯s worth.¡±


    ¡°I see. in that case i will have to talk to my superiors first about this circumstances. May i request some audiences again Count?¡±


    ¡°Yes of course. Call me anytime you want. I will try to make some time for you. after all, i am also very interested in this deals.¡±


    ¡°can we negotiate the price?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Of course. I can lower the price to any amount you like. But, i would like to request some compensation as well depend on how much you lowered your price.¡±


    ¡°And, what is the compensation you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°Have you come to the first level of Trisia?¡±


    ¡°Yes, i have. But i was just passing by.¡±


    ¡°Trisia is a very valuable spot. Many traders went past Trisia so gathering gold is very easy and i am quite an expert at it. but there are something that golds can¡¯t quite bought immediately.¡± Said the count with a sad face


    ¡°And, what would that be Count?¡±


    ¡°Soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Beg your pardon?¡±


    ¡°During the war in trisia with dark army, our city was almost literally turned into ruins. Thanks to Riri there we manage to avoid total annihilation. And so after we gained victory and the dark army was wiped clean, many adventurers, peasants, merchants, even nobles came and stayed or invest money at our city. that¡¯s how we regained back our population fast. Even with golds, soldiers can¡¯t be bought.¡±


    now i am confused. You can literally hired mercenary such as Marissa and Gerrick for money right? i do not understand.what the count is talking about


    ¡°I do not talk about mercenary Miss Riri. Mercenary is only for wars while soldiers or knight can help maintaining the city¡¯s security. We can¡¯t exactly hired a mercenary to catch burglars or thieves right? not only they will be reluctant, but the citizens will not like it either.¡±


    ¡°But, you can train or draft an army right?¡± said the count while banging his hand on the table. He seemed furious


    ¡°My greatest knights which is my personal bodyguards is only lvl 60! Some soldiers are even lower than lvl 10. They need training but they also need to work at their designated position.¡± That explained why there are so few of the soldiers around the town. Most of the soldier¡¯s levels are very low that they could even be killed with wolves on the field. the soldiers even lack discipline as there are no one that have time to taught them. if they were sent on the street they might cause even more ruckus and might even be killed by thieves or local guilds


    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s some top level information there.¡± whispered thief at the back.


    ¡°Well, i kind of trust you since it was Riri that brought you here.so what say you?¡±


    After thinking for a while my father replied. ¡°So, you will hired the warriors i brought to you as your personal army?¡±


    ¡°Bought.depend on their behavior, i might want them to work here as a knight which is higher than normal soldiers for a long time. it is somewhere along denarions or centurions depend on their ability.¡±


    ¡°Well, we have no reason to refuse. But how many will it be?¡±


    ¡°I do not need numbers. The most important things about knights is trust. So, i kind of expecting a good quality not a good quantity from you.¡±


    ¡°I see. well, i will have to ask around then. Can¡¯t really jump into some random mercenaries huh? well, my first recommendations would be these two statues behind me. use them as you wish from this very moment


    ¡°Yes sir¡± even though my father just said something really rude, somehow the faces of thief and archers seemed really bright for some reason. are they really that happy to have a job in this virtual world?


    ¡°Okay. Thank you very much Mister Ivan. Let¡¯s meet again to discuss the further detail after you have brought your first batch of knights. As for the bodyguards that you brought, well, i will sent them to barracks and anoint them to be a denarions immediately. The would be under General Hasega¡¯s army ¡°


    ¡°Hasega? That hasega?¡± i spontaneously murmured


    ¡°yes, your comrade. He is the the General now.¡± i was dumbfounded. The group that has been a side character for a while now suddenly gain a very prestigious rank


    ¡°And the other?¡±


    ¡°Fira is in Magic Division while Victor, he is a captain just below Hasega. Do you want to meet them?¡± the count asked curiously


    ¡°well, i do not really have any business with them.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, by the way, that everlasting group group along with Merchant Reiner and Arknum have rebuilt and reconstruct the theater building. They are now known as rebirth group performers.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Stella also dumbfounded


    ¡°Yes. The theater group has revived. Well, not exactly revived but a new one has emerged. They dare not to use Tantalus name and decided to start from scratch. I was quite proud of them. it was because of them that many people came to our city. too bad you refused to join Riri. Well, i can¡¯t blame you either. I have heard about your deeds at the village. It was awesome just as i expected of you. defending justice and fighting bandits heads on?¡± the count smiled. What weird image does he has on his head about my deeds?


    ¡°Okay. once again i am very thankful for your time Count Ignis. I am sure we can become good partner in the future. I must now speak to my superiors and see if they are willing to accept your offer. But, i am sure they will be delighted by your offer Count Ignis¡± my father smiled and raised himself from his seat. I followed suit and came out of the count¡¯s house after saying some pleasantries


    ¡°Thanks Lily.¡± Ivan thanked me when we got out from the count¡¯s house.


    ¡°Okay. no problem.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, i have never though the shy girl can become that famous inside the game. How did you do that Riri?¡± the thief asked now with a surprised face unlike the mocking face earlier.


    ¡°Well, i am not sure about that.¡± if i have to answered that all of it was a coincidence after coincidence no none would believe me right?


    ¡°Well. our job here is done. Let;¡¯s log out and confirmed with investors in board meeting. Thanks Riri. I must go now, we are actually logging in at our work time so we can¡¯t really play around. the royal knight is an exception so you can take your time to get back to the village.¡± Ivan answered. Ahh, the royal knight is an investor¡¯s son so he doesn¡¯t actually worked in my father¡¯s office.


    Then with a bright flash, my father and his two stooges log out from the game. Ahh i forgot to friend request them and that royal knight. Except for my father they seemed really powerful. Okay now, before i actually return to the village, i guess i should pay that everlasting group a visit. I actually very curious at how they manage the theater group so far. In my knowledge, Tantalus was struggling in financial department even with the member outstanding talent. And now a new theater group has formed with a very much amateur member except Reiner and Arknum and perhaps some other Tantalus member that were an immortal player. Can they really attract the same amount of visitor like Tantalus did?


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    While pondering about that fact i came into the theater building. It is true, all the damage from the war was repaired. The building even looks better than before


    ¡°Whoa. How did they got the money for this. wait a second,  this design is.....¡± Stella murmured while looking at the theater building. This building has become the largest building in the city. well, even the previous one was pretty much the largest building second only to the church on the third level. But right now it has become the largest. It was 30% larger i think. from outside glance, i think this building has more floors than before.


    ¡°Design?¡± i asked


    ¡°Ragnar drew this with the help of someone with high architect skill a long time ago. He dream to upgrade our theater hall into something like this when we have the money. We have been trying to save up since then. But the plan was abandoned not only because of money issue, the building will obstruct a road and crash into another building. The land beside our hall and behind us were owned by rich nobles after all. It was impossible to buy the land without astronomical amount of money. And we aren¡¯t exactly liked by that kind nobles either.


    ¡°not liked by the nobles?¡±


    ¡°The nobles were like the ones in Sidinia.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, the money hunger kind of a person huh? why the count pick someone like that in his office? The count seemed a really good person just now.¡±


    ¡°The count is a good leader. He isn¡¯t naive and thinks ahead. This world always have thrashes that are in power. Is the same thing also happened in your world too Riri?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t deny them. but i guess yes though not as openly as Sidnia¡¯s nobles.¡±


    ¡°I see. i guess in any world there are always a jerk who ruled. The count realized this and instead of opposing, he keep them at arms length. Not too friendly, but not an enemy either.¡± Stella said. the way she said it seemed like she was so mature. She must have seen many kind of person in this world to say such a thing


    ¡°But, our Ragnar and the rest of the group isn¡¯t so tolerable like the count so we aren¡¯t really liked by them.¡± She smiled while making that statement. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get in. If the blueprint really is the same, i think i will know the way.but....¡±


    ¡°It really is the same.¡± Stella said while looking around.the building was extravagant. The lobby was bigger than before and the natives that were selling tickets looked fascinating.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°The design was held at the secret underground that only the main members of Tantalus knew. How does Hasega¡¯s group were able to locate it?¡± Stella asked


    ¡°The building was destroyed before. So maybe when the count and Hasega went to clear the remnants of the building the found the secret passage?  ¡° El answered


    ¡°There are Arknum an Reiner too. It is possible if they knew right?¡± i answered


    ¡°Ah, if you think it that way, it was certainly true.¡± Stella finally realized the simple answer she overlooked


    ¡°after all, no matter how secret the passage is, if the building is gone the passage would be jutting out of the ground. it would be totally obvious.¡± Elkami answered. She got a good head sometimes.


    ¡°IF the secret basement is found then...¡± Stella has a very complicated expression now


    ¡°If it was found?¡±


    ¡°There was a Treasure Room in that secret basement. It is where we hold our important stuff and valuables. That cleric set is one example of it.¡± Stella murmured ¡°If the things inside that room were sold, they would easily gain several milions gold.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Ahh, considering Stella¡¯s ability to enchant things before. If she autographed something, the price could skyrocketed. I guess several millions isn¡¯t really overestimating it.


    ¡°Now i really want to meet with them. even if Ragnar and the others are dead it doesn¡¯t mean they could get your stuff and sold it so carefreely.¡± I said while keeping my anger in check.


    ¡°I am not mad. And i am sure Ragnar and the others in heaven will not be so angry either. After all the money from that treasure was spent well. look at this building and look at Trisia. If my little treasure can help this people then it is fine. After all, right now, i no longer need it.¡± Stella said while smiling to herself. Her figure was filled with dignity that i am astonished. This is kindness is why i admire her since the first time we met.


    ¡°But...¡± She continued. ¡°Don¡¯t you think they are getting a little bit too rude? They could have told us you know? The distance between Trisia and Acolyte village isn¡¯t too far right? and they have that flying mount. Why sneaked around like this?¡±


    Stella said while pouting. Her dignity before was crushed entirely and replaced with childish expression that she was having lately as she was turned into wolf. I wonder which one is the mask. is it the dignified woman? Or is it the childish one?


    ¡°Hmm, maybe they already picked out some loots from your storehouse at that time? i can see their equipment were kind of new right?¡± El said while reminiscing about it


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet them and have them explained it to us in a veeryyy good detail.¡± Stella said with a menacing aura around her.


    And so we approach the building and into the counter. But just like i feared. We weren¡¯t allowed to come into the performance hall. The reason being is that there are going to be a performance today and we are not allowed to disrupt the performers until the performance has finished.


    ¡°So, the performance is 20 minutes from now. i wonder why we can even get tickets for it? in the previous performance, all the tickets are sold out a week before. Or at least 3 days before the actual performance. Even the tickets here is a lot cheaper than ours. Can they even manage the theater group?¡± Stella said while staring at the ticket


    ¡°It is a weekly performance. They keep showing the same thing in this regular shows. So not many are interested about it.¡± i answered


    ¡°I have never thought about this. we were always showing different thing. The most we can show the same performance is three times. so there was this kind of method too huh?¡± Stella said while pondering.


    ¡°If you have never actually did the same performance. Then, all the costume set and background...¡± i asked in amazement


    ¡°almost all of them are new. Especially the background. But we use the same costume sometimes as long as it is pretty much in accordance to the role we played.¡± Stella said while looking at me strange. If that were true then it is no wonder that the group was struggling financially.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking about it and just watch okay. it is only 10 minutes more to the show time.¡±


    The performance hall was bigger than before. However as expected, the audience was fewer than when Tantalus group performance. It did not even fill half of the seat available.


    ¡°So few.¡± Stella murmured


    ¡°It was just a regular show afterall. No one want to watch the same thing over and over again right?¡±


    ¡°Thank you ladies and gentle. We will now start our weekly shows of the hero of the Trisia the white rider.¡± Fira has become an MC just like how Lucy was in the past. In fact, i guess she was imitating her the way they speak are totally the same.


    ¡°hahaha. I am death manager. i will now kill all living being and make them my slaves.¡± Victor was playing as the bad guys here. and heck, he totally fit in the performance.  His barbaric looking with axes looked pretty much the bad guys. The real Death manager was supposed to be more knight like but this one seemed more evil.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with City of acolyte. Now, my dark slaves. Kill everything in your path!!¡± he said with a grin and satisfied voice. He is really enjoying this. i can only look with the eyes of bewilderment


    ¡°And so, the city of acolyte has turned into ruins. The dark army then became more powerful each day and headed for Trisia. Meanwhile, our heroes followed the trail of Death Manager and arrived at the City of Acolyte only to find the place in ruins.¡±the sound was different. Buts omehow it is kind of bugging me


    ¡°we were too late. All the people have been killed!¡± Hasega, with a shiningly white armor cried out on the village of acolyte ruins. Along with Fira besides him.


    ¡°Umm, who is he supposed to be? himself?¡± i asked Stella


    ¡°I..... don¡¯t know.¡± She can only answered half halfheartedly ¡°My memories are a little bit hazy at that time.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully The heroes with the help of Maria the Acolyte managed to find a teleportation circle.in the ruins of the church in Acolyte. And they were teleported right into Trisia to warn the Count of the disaster that was about to come.¡± The sound changed.


    ¡°The sound seemed familiar.¡±


    ¡°Iris?¡± Stella said


    ¡°The narrator was a guy? But the language was feminine. And the sound too, although it is kind of low but it can still pass as a woman¡± I said astonished


    ¡°He was imitating a girl alright.¡± Stella can only looked away with a depressed expression


    ¡°Hihhi.¡± El giggled in amusement


    ¡°Count Ignis! I have come with a grave news. The dark army have came from the south. They might arrived in trisia in several days. we must defend this place!¡± Hadsega said to Dem in a court like background setting. So, Dem is the count. Well, if he took of his thief attire and put on some nice tuxedo he can pass as some nobles. I think it is kind of suit him. I still can¡¯t figure who Hasega is. is he imitating Ragnar? Or is he imitating Iris?


    ¡°We must repulsed this evil immediately! I will lend you all of my support. please help us hero of the white rider.¡±Dem pleads to Hasega


    ¡°Ah!¡± i suddenly raised myself from my seat. now i know who Hasega is imitating.


    ¡°Hihihhi, hehehhe.¡± Stella and El giggled endlessly. I think El and Stella knew about this a long time ago. Now they realized that i realized who Hasega is imitating these rude pets openly giggled at me


    ¡°Thank you Count. Your support and our god almighty Freya is all that i need. With the help of our goddess Freya through Maria we will.....¡± Hasega lines were stopped as we made an eye contact. But he quickly regained his composure and resumed his actions ¡°we will repulsed this evil!¡±


    ¡°The war began. With a hasty preparations, the acolyte, hero, and the count began to war with the dark army.¡± The weird sounding narrator (For me) describe the next actions. Some random npcs are battling each other. one sides is wearing white attire while the other is black attire. It is quite clear who they represents.


    ¡°I have won and your soldiers have lost. Now prepare to die Hero!¡± Victor brandished his axe and the battle between them began. Hasega fought with him. The battle was intense. But as i knew their real capabilities i also noticed that they aren¡¯t really going serious with each of their attacks.


    ¡°Argh!!¡± Victor let go of his axe when Hasega deflect the axe with his sword. Setting aside the absurd storyline, this particular scene was quite interesting.¡±You haven¡¯t win. And i haven¡¯t lost. I will be back. huahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°The white rider finally able to repulse the dark army. however the war was not over for death manager was only retreating to recover from his wound and soon, he will be back with a more deadly army. but even though it is a fleeting time, peace were at least return to our beloved Trisia. While we finally enjoy the breath of peace and happiness, we must not forget our heroes for one day they will return and will lead us again to fight the death manager.¡±


    The curtain was closed with that ending. ¡°It wasn¡¯t really a happy one, but it isn¡¯t a really sad one either. I have a mixed feelings about this endings


    ¡°The ending was kind of deep. How do they knew Death manager was still alive though?¡± Stella which giggled earlier put on a serious face at the epilogue of the show.


    ¡°Is it a good ending?¡±


    ¡°Depend on the audience. For audience that has seen a lot of shows, this one is better. it is neither show a happy dream ending. But it isn¡¯t showing a grim sad ending either.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet with them Riri. I am curious at how the last information leaked out.¡±


    ¡°yeah. Only Yggdrasil and us is supposed to knew about this.¡± i answered


    And so after the performance ended, we stayed at our seat until all the guest come out. Stella proposed that this was the best way to meet with the actors. She also mentioned that they realized i was here watching them so if we stay put, they might be the one that came to meet us.. and in accordance to her prediction, some staff really came to greet us and asked us to come into the Lounge of this theater building.


    chapter 33</a>


    chapter 35</a>


    ____________


    Author note


    - that was tiring. i admire myself in the past for being able to send out a chapter a day


    - and so, what do you think about our new theater group?


    - any suggestions, critics, and questions may be posted here or at discussion thread


    - enjoy the read everyone. although you don''t have to, a review and rating would be very helpful

 chapter 35 Secret Basement

    ¡°Hello Riri.i was so surprised to see you here.¡± Hasega greet me casually in Rebirth Living room. it is almost the same as the lounge room in Tantalus headquarters but it was only a little bit bigger


    Now that he speaks so casually i don¡¯t know how to respond with him. Let;¡¯s first start by usual greeting. ¡°Well, umm. i just came since i have some business with the count.¡±


    ¡°I see. if i may, what kind of business?¡± Hasega suddenly got interested


    ¡°It is about company advertisement. my father want to open a branch here in royalroad.¡± I said bluntly.


    ¡°Whoa. Amazing. I personally disliked someone that used their other¡¯s connection to be successful here. but since you are the other way around, you still earned my respect.¡± Victor said bluntly.


    ¡°T-thank you.¡±


    ¡°So. Is the count recommended you to stay here?¡± Fira asked


    ¡°Umm, well, the count said that you are reviving the theater group although using a different name. So i came to look at your progress.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really think we will succeed so i do not want to tarnish Tantalus name and use rebirth instead. Hahaha. But it seems we get quite a lot of visitors.¡± Dem answered


    ¡°Half of the stadium is a lot?¡± Stella answered.


    ¡°well, hahah. It might not looked much compared to Tantalus but we are doing our best.¡± Hasega made a wry smile towards Stella sarcasm.


    ¡°Besides, we made profits too, and the audience are increasing if we are judging from monthly audience.¡± Said Reiner


    ¡°Profit! Really?¡± Stella suddenly went excited and grabbed Reiner¡¯s collars


    ¡°Yeah. We made profit. What about it?¡±


    ¡°How? I mean, we have a full audience yet we barely made profits. Why do these groups which only had half the audience we had can make a profit?¡±


    ¡°Well, first of all, the count has freed this building¡¯s rent unlike our Tantaus. Then, we are supported both by church and the count so we got some kind of fundraiser. And then, there is more, we also got some kind of sponsor. Well, the booths are not officially set now but they will later, someone selling drinks and popcorn it is a future profit. And also, we manage to make a cd out of this to sell to players. It is on the other world so it is kind of useless to natives but to players it is a different story. Also, there are weekly performance. We changed them in set interval, but with more shows we got more audience in overall. And we also hired a part timer which is a beginner player which reduced our expenses.¡± Reiner told us one by one


    Stella blatantly looked at Reiner with an unbelievable look.


    ¡°Sigh, somehow i feel defeated.¡±


    ¡°Well, finance and management isn¡¯t Tantalus group strong suit. But we have a good marketer and management here.¡± Reiner pointed at Hasega.


    ¡°Haha, it is just something that i learned from my father. He was a good businessman.¡± Hasega laughed while scratching his head.


    ¡°I just get a new insight now. you clearly have several good knowledge. I have never realized that kind of strategy until now.¡± Stella sighed admitting her defeat.


    ¡°I have notified Ragnar about a few of those ideas including sponsorship, but he rejected it since some petty nobles tried to change the scenario to boast his own petty pride. But right now, the sponsor is the church and the the count the scenario didn¡¯t change much either so we accepted it. stalls were also rejected due to the lack of space but we have  a bigger building now and the audience isn¡¯t as packed as Tantalus was so we can manage some stalls. i can safely say that luck played a big part in it not only management.¡± Reiner with a very businessman looking said all of those marketing strategies. I definitely can copy some of it. i should pay some attention


    ¡°A little huh.¡± El murmured loud enough for everyone to hear. It is definitely a sarcasm


    ¡°Umm, Well. hehehe¡± Hasega and the others went speechless


    ¡°If you think about it, isn¡¯t the real thing and the show is a little too much different?¡± Stella said while putting emphasize on the little part.


    ¡°Umm, Hasega. It might be awkward for me to say it. but who are you depicting just before?¡± i asked him for confirmation.


    An awkward silence suddenly filled the room. Stella and El also included while glaring at the suspect. I can see cold sweat are forming on Hasega¡¯s forehead. This silence continued for a minute, two minutes. after that hasega finally opened his mouth


    ¡°Well, there are no other player that can take your position. Maria is the head priest of the temple here and thus she can¡¯t join us. not only that, we can¡¯t change Maria¡¯s role into a guy either since she is right in front of us.¡± so it is okay that you change my role into a guy? Now i know why that archer guy thinks the white rider is a male. Honestly, with all of his role playing character, Hasega is kinda suited for the role. But somehow seeing myself as a guy like that kinda feel bad in my mouth


    ¡°We are sorry Riri. We are short on performers.¡± Fira finally said it out


    ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t the one defeating Death manager kinda wrong?¡± El blurted out


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s the one that i want to protest.¡± I finally remembered why i feel angered when watching the performance.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it you?¡± Hasega and the others looked at each other while making a single unified wrong deduction


    ¡°It is Stella.¡± i blurted out the words


    ¡°Well, everyone only knew that you are the one that beat Death Manager. Stella is involved but, isn¡¯t she being controlled by death manager that time? everyone only knew that Stella died when you defeat DM¡± Hasega and co are confused. It is true that i have never told them. so no one actually saw that scene where Stella dignified wolf form thrashed DM like a toy?


    ¡°So, Stella is the one that defeat him huh? now that makes sense. Although i do not deny that Riri is strong, but she is more like a defensive character. I was wondering at how she was able to defeat DM. So it is Stella secret moves that defeat him. Except when she turned into a fairy last time¡± Hasega made a thinking pose. Damn that words hurt in my heart. I am not a defensive characters!


    ¡°That¡¯s rude. She is just undeveloped you know. Her class is not exactly a defensive one.¡± El said


    ¡°I see.¡± Hasega made a vague comment ¡°I wonder if your class will be like Stella. if you have power like Stella, it would be a secret class.¡±


    ¡°Okay. we promise that as soon as we got more members, we will try to hold an authenticate show which is as close as possible as the truth.¡±


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t really have to do that.¡± Stella made a surprising comment


    ¡°Eh? Why?¡± i asked


    ¡°Sometimes the truth can¡¯t easily be picked by shows like this. for example, how will you explain Yggdrasil came to save some humans? Or how you will explain my condition? That performance earlier is an easier truth. Ragnar and i already performed much of those things. I am not mad at all.¡±


    ¡°Okay. although we really want to invite you to our group, you have a village to manage. So we already know the answer before we even asked. Okay, byee ¡°Fira commented and thus ending the conversation


    ¡°Hmm....¡±


    ¡°What is it Riri?¡±


    ¡°Somehow i feel like i forgot something.¡±


    ¡°Now that you said it, i also seemed to forgot something.¡± Stella and El followed suit


    Hasega and co tilted their head. then Hasega said like he realized something ¡°Ahh! if you are talking about Iris. He is the commander of Trisia military together with Arknum. So, after the show he disappear somewhere. He can¡¯t exactly show his face in public either. So, he only played narrator for us this time.¡±


    ¡°By the way, his way of narrating kinda familiar.¡± Stella put another sarcasm.


    ¡°Well, he had so few practice and truth is, that show in city of acolyte is the first real theater show that he has seen. can¡¯t really blame him now can¡¯t he.


    ¡°If he heard you saying that, Stella, he is going to have a heart attack¡± Fira giggled.


    ¡°¡±What is it Riri?¡± Fira asked again


    ¡°That¡¯s... not quite i was about to ask¡± what do i forgot. Something about this group. but, it is not Iris or Arknum. it is not about its members. something related to Stella. it seems important. i got a feeling that somethings here was a clue. Something that can¡¯t be moved, something that is only here. what is it, i can¡¯t seemed to remember


    Seeing my desperate expression, Stella and El made the same thinking expression like it was concerned them. they must realized that they also forgot something that they wanted to ask this new group but none of these pets of mine can seem to remember that detail.


    ¡°Now seeing Riri like that we seemed to forgot something right?¡± El said


    ¡°I wonder what it is... something about this building right?¡± Stella also said the same thing


    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s right. this building was renovated through some blueprints from the basement floor. Hahah, if we didn¡¯t found that blueprints, the architect would ask for a higher price for drawing the blueprints. We saved 30% of money from that. hahaha. ¡° Hasega and Victor laughed while blurting that fact out loud


    ¡°That¡¯s it!!¡± Stella, me and El said in unison


    ¡°So, you really found that basement huh?¡±Stella asked


    "Well, when we plundered the remains of this building, we kinda found it the passage leading to underground base.¡± Hasega said


    ¡°I see. ¡° Stella only sighed


    ¡°Umm,¡± I don¡¯t kow what to say now, on the other hands i want to get angry for taking things without permission, but the things they took are from dead people. It was normal in games like this. what should i do.


    ¡°There are several rooms in there right? in underground basement. There should be nameplates in front of the steel doors in that room. at least, could you give mine to Riri here? or have you sold everything?¡± Stella asked Hasega and the other without any sign of resentment she sure is mature. She didn¡¯t throw any tantrum even if her privacy and treasures are breached like this


    ¡°The truth is, we haven¡¯t touch that door.¡± Hasega


    ¡°Morelike, i can¡¯t open it.¡± Dem answered.


    ¡°I thought we found a secret dungeon. That room was filled with monsters. ¡° Fira whispered


    ¡°Hmm, a simple lock picking should be able to open some doors in the basement.¡± Stella said. ¡°That¡¯s weird. And you have a thief around you right?¡±


    ¡°What about you opened it then Stella. that basement room behind those steel doors were untouched.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t of course. The key was gone.¡± Stella said while shaking her head


    ¡°Let¡¯s see it then. ¡° Dem answered. ¡°Somehow i kinda gets excited.¡±


    Then the group let¡¯s me to the secret passage. The passage was surprisingly placed under the carpet on the very living room we were in. I was surprised when i see how obvious the secret passage is. if the carpet was not there the passage would be in a clear view. You just need to pull a handle which were fixated on the floor and a trapdoor which lead to the secret passage opened. Stella kinda complained that the secret room was kind of obvious than before.


    ¡°So this is the secret basement of Tantalus.¡± I murmured ¡°It is kinda creepy.¡± The room was dim it has an aura of courage test which held in schools and camping sites


    ¡°It has lamps before. i wonder where the lamps went. Well, the oil must have run dry anyway. it is useless to talk about it.¡± Stella retorted


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°The rats were dismantling it. literally.¡± Hasge answered.


    ¡°There was some rats that are as huge as 5 year child here before along with its minions.¡±


    ¡°It has not even been 4 or 5 months since we last visit this place! How come there are monsters plaguing this place?¡± Stella asked in amazement


    ¡°It has spiders, scorpions, centipedes and many other women archenemy there. it was kinda traumatizing.¡±Fira can only gave a dim look when she said that


    ¡°Hahaha, she went crazy along with Maria when we visit this place.¡± Victor laughed


    *wiggle wiggle*


    ¡°Gyaa!!¡± Fira jumped out as a centipede came from cracks at the wall which were killed immediately by Dem with his knife


    ¡°So cracks formed on the wall and some bugs went in huh?¡± Stella said.


    ¡°We made some minor repairs. But we can¡¯t exactly show this to public. The shape of this dungeon was quite the same as we saw it first time.¡±


    ¡°This is Tantalus treasure vault. It is quite rude to call it dungeon.¡± Stella pouted


    ¡°So, i assumed there are cracks which a small kid could enter?¡± i asked since Fira was talking about a rat as big as a girl.


    ¡°We have sealed that. but we can open it anytime you wish.  it is just a minor repair after all.¡± as Hasega continue to mutter some words, we finally reach the said basement. The exterior of the basement is like a copy of the living room upstairs. But it was filled to the brim with a creepy aura enhanced with a dim light from Fira staff. I could see the said steel doors Stella mentioned. It really has nameplates for each of them.


    ¡°So, to the owner of this treasure vault. Or Tantalus dungeon. That¡¯s the system named it. we found several precious jewels and money. That blueprints included. We also found several armors and and swords and many other things. Except for hard cash like golds, silvers, and copper we still keep them to ourselves. Aren¡¯t we kind? hahaha if you want, you might take them again. sorry for the cash though¡± Victor laughed satisfied


    ¡°Well, we aren¡¯t actually do it for you exactly.¡± Fira commented


    ¡°Sure. You have every class. you must want to equip the treasure here yourself. and even a non combat suit such as tuxedo and suits could be useful in meeting and performances right?¡± Stella said while walking to a certain spot.¡°We thought the same.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this like...¡± suddenly i felt a dejavu


    ¡°Well, we have our own room here also.  You know right? when you came into Tantalus, you have a chests inside your room. just in case that chest was enough and you prefer higher security, this is the place. But no one used it for personal uses anymore. So as a group we usually stashed everything in the balcony. ¡°


    ¡°Actually, i have been wondering. What is Tantalus Stella?¡± hasega asked


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°That kind of treasure. ¡°


    ¡°Ahh, we traveled around places. Receiving gifts here and there. sometimes venturing into the unknown regions. That¡¯s where the treasure is from. ¡±


    ¡°Ahh, Tantalus also have sewing and other craft skills huh? just obtaining materials would be enough..¡± Hasega made some calculation in his mind


    ¡°Ah, this is the door. The nameplates are unreadable anymore huh?¡± Stella came to a certain door. ¡°Dem, can you really unable to unlock this?¡±


    ¡°I have tried. But the door won¡¯t budge.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Maybe the handle is rusted? Or is the lock broken? Why can¡¯t it be unlocked?¡± Stella said while pulling the handle of the steel door


    ¡°No, there should be another lock mechanism which my thief skill are unable to opened yet. Are you sure the lock on the handle is the only lock Stella?¡±


    ¡°Ahh! but i forgot the key combination. Now what should i do.....¡± Stella said while made a thinking posture before the door .¡±the key was simple so i thought some lockpicking could opened it. but i forgot that if you lockpick it recklessly, some other mechanism would activate. A second lock or so. This door was made by some  gnome in the west afterall.¡±


    As Stella was still having a staring contest with the door i take a look at the other door. The nameplates are barely visible. I was just wondering if Ragnar and the other have their nameplates here. i wonder how ancient this place actually is.


    ¡°Ahh, Arknum! might knew about this lock.¡± I suddenly raised my voice. That¡¯s true, there are other Tantalus survivors besides Stella in this group


    ¡°It is useless Riri, Arknum doesn¡¯t knew. Well, he might knew this place exist. but there are almost no one nowadays that is able to open these doors anymore. Except me, and.... him¡±


    ¡°There are 15 doors here. how come you and Ragnar and someone else is the only one able to opened this door? Isn¡¯t the rule one person for each door? Why the nameplates then?¡± Fira and the others made a commotion from Stella statement


    ¡°The doors here is ancient. Somewhere 100 or 150 years into the past.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡¯ my eyes popped at seeing that absurd statement while looking at Stella from head to toe


    ¡°I am 20 years old alright. don¡¯t look at me like that. i was about to go to 21 next 3 month¡±


    ¡°Then...¡± Hasega asked


    ¡°it was inheritance system. Ragnar great great grandfather i think, founded the group. it isn¡¯t a theater group at first if i remembered. and so, the key combination was passed along that initial group. 15 core members¡±


    ¡° Then?¡± Fira asked


    ¡°Before death or after we decided  our inheritor we are supposed to tell someone. But....¡± Stella stopped ¡°Life isn¡¯t that smooth right?¡± But, even if someone dies, the second lock should not be activated unless it is fiddled with lockpick recklessly. We only need the key to transfer the room to someone. Dem, did you pick every door?¡±


    ¡°Yes..¡± Dem hangs his face now dejected


    ¡°So, not all doors in here can be opened anymore?¡± Hasega said


    ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t worry about it too much Dem In fact, ever since i was born and visit this place, i have already seen nameplates from someone i doesn¡¯t knew. Because the person died and the key was gone.¡±


    ¡°I see, how sad. I would love to look inside.¡± Fira muttered


    ¡°Now only 2 of these doors could opened. and one of them belong to Death Manager?¡± Hasega said while scowling


    ¡°Please do not talk to me for a while. I need to remember the combination.¡± Stella then fiddled with the door and suddenly a mechanism was activated which pulled out a knob along with numbers. It was like our real world vault. Turning the knob into certain numbers to open them


    ¡°Hmm. I totally forgot about this. ¡° Stella was now having a staring contest with the knob now. just like she asked us before, no one made a conversation or even a sound which turned this room into dead silence.  After a seemingly long 3 minutes, she finally grab the knob very gently and start turning it very slowly ¡°If i remember, it was like this, then....¡±


    *click* the door clicked open Stella then pulled the heavy metal door with a groan. Hasega and Fira also helped her with the pulling.


    ¡° there is a room.¡± Victor made a useless comment. Duh! Of course there is a room behind the door. Are you retarded?


    ¡°Victor.¡± Hasega said calmly ¡°Please stop commenting like that. you make us look stupid.¡±


    ¡°Well, i mean. The inside of the room isn¡¯t exactly as i imagined that¡¯s all. i though it would be filled with jewels and gold but, these rooms are bigger than i thought but there are fewer treasures than i though, i think.¡± Victor made some excuses for his stupid comments.


    ¡°are there only golds inside your head? ¡° Fira retorted


    ¡°You should knew that there are something more precious than gold right?¡± Stella said. ¡°for example, Rare skill books and equipments. That is a general view. But for individual view, there are something that are a lot more important than those.¡± Stella said.


    What she just said seemed so wise. As expected of my idol character. Curiously i also peeked inside the room Stella just opened. inside, really was quite unusual if we are talking about treasure room. the room was like a study room with desk and a chair. Even a lamp. And there are many magic balls inside some cupboard.


    ¡°If i remembered those crystals is for taking picture right?¡± i said while pointing at the crystal balls. It is inside RR manual.


    ¡°Ohh, you are quite knowledgeable Riri. As expected.¡±


    ¡°I have never seen it.¡± Victor said. well, players don¡¯t exactly need it as their activity is recorded inside hard disk in the capsule which can be accessed in computers. But if you want to spread some photos or videos inside RR you will need these crystal balls.


    And so, Stella fiddled with some books in some bookcase and then opening wardrobe then pulling out some random clothes. It might not be random but seeing how she treat it gave that kind of impression. The cloth was kind of dirty anyway.


    ¡°Riri, put all of this in your inventory please.¡± Stella ordered. After Stella ransacked the room and giving all of the insides to me she barged out. ¡°Hmm. I do not need anything else i guess. ¡° with that she went to another door.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you can opened more than one.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, there are bracelet with big jewel on it. this is quite rare. Are you sure we can have it Stella? there are also a bunch of gold rings and earrings.¡± Victor said while examining the room Stella just left.


    ¡°This door belong to my friend whom died before me. i was her inheritor while that last door was from my mother. And yes Victor. I am dead already. I no longer need money.¡±  She said as she fiddled with the door the same way as she fiddled with the door earlier her expression was so sad as she answered that i was about to cry just seeing it. As the knob opened she immediately grab the knob and turned it around. a click sound was heard immediately


    ¡°That one was fast.¡± Fira commented


    ¡°I will never forget the code on this door in my entire life even if i want to.¡± She said with confidence. It must be a traumatic experience for her to say such a thing. Even though the door is unlocked but Stella hasn¡¯t opened it yet. Meanwhile the side character group which hold a great power now was ravaging Stella treasure vault to take some remnants which Stella decided to left them behind. while i was kinda envious, i was just standing behind Stella as she was having another staring contest with the door handle.


    ¡°with this, i at least keep my promise to her. her legacy won¡¯t die.¡± With a sigh she then opened the door


    chapter 34</a>


    chapter 35</a>


    ______________________


    Author note


    - this chapter was unexpectedly long so i decided to break it into next chapter.


    - if any of you have notified, i have edited chapter 22 about Stella''s death. i think it was better than previous versions. tell me what you think about it here okay.


    - and another important information, i am thinking about changing the name of the game Riri was playing with. but i don''t think i have the willpower to edit through the 35 chapter so i might just put some notification on the heading about name change. does that anger any of the readers? if you have complaint or critics, please by all means comment in discussion topic


    - critics and suggestions about this chapter was fine too. please post it here. i think i explained too many unimportant and inconsistent thing in this chapter, or am i wrong? any of you notice some fatal plothole that i missed?


    - at last enjoy readings. by the way, the things she received from Stella will be put on hold. please wait upon it in agony :mowahaha:

 chapter 36 death manager quest

    Just like the previous room, this room look empty on the first glance. but Stella fiddled with some shelves and bookcases and it turns out to be just like the room before. It is full of equipments and books. Stella picked the clothes diligently but her eyes seemed to looking at the memory of the clothes in front of her.


    ¡°Stella, you can pick all of them if you like....¡± i can¡¯t stand it. her hands seemed to pick the best of the equipment. But her eyes clearly don¡¯t. Her eyes seemed to pick the clothes with most memories in it. i see that while her hand picked some good looking weapons, her eyes was occupied with some rag clothes beside it and she keeps sighing as she took that weapon.


    ¡°Ahh, ¡° Suddenly aware that she is not alone in this room, she let out a surprised voice. ¡°Sorry. It is fine. Really.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Because, this clothes isn¡¯t for me anymore.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I have to picked the best one for you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± i can only look at her sad face. what can i say to cheer her up now.


    ¡°Sorry that you have to see me like this. thank you for being so considerate¡±


    ¡°Well, we have a house. Even if you take everything and i ended up not wearing it, we can put it in our house. And then you can look or wear it as much as you like.¡± I said trying to cheer her up.


    ¡°I see.¡± Stella expression didn¡¯t change. Crap, i just said something horrible. This room was her friend. She tried to abandon that clothes to forget her, and i just asked her to bring it home for her to remember her sadness


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°it is okay. you were doing it for me after all. i am grateful. But the past is the past. Instead of me worrying about my past, could i worry about you instead?¡± Stella made a sad smile toward me


    ¡°O-okay. thanks Stella.¡± i answered while sobbing a little.


    Feeling uncomfortable, i decided to stroll away from this place. But Stella stopped me so i just sit in front of the opening door while she still manage her clothes and books.


    ¡°Okay. this is it. ¡° She pointed at a large stack of books and equipments. It has a very large stack of books and some equipments and weapons


    ¡°Okay.¡± i absorbed the things she pointed into my inventory


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you are overloaded </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>your movement speed will be reduced by 40%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> your stamina consumption will increase by 60%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Sorry. It must be heavy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it. if you still have more we can bring another.¡± I said but it might seemed very unconvincing for her now that i am panting


    ¡°Well, this is all. others equipment are inferior to this stack.¡±Stella declared. But what she gave to me wasn¡¯t just a single piece of equipment. There are many variety of equipment here even metal based ones. so she was still unsure of what equipment i am about to wear. Does performer wear different kind of equipment to their liking?


    ¡°well, i don''t really want to stay in this place for too long. Let¡¯s go home Riri.¡± Stella pleads.


    ¡°Okay. Stella, Riri. Let me at least carry you to village of acolyte.¡± Hasega and Victor volunteered to carry us. with a griffin i suppose it would be very fast to travel between cities. It might even take less than a day. Should i accept them?


    ¡°Thank you Victor and Hasega. I will accept your proposal.¡± Stella said in a firm tone. If she isn¡¯t denying it then i guess i have no reason to deny it either. I want to get home fast anyway. i wonder how that royal knight is faring at my village.


    With that, we strolled out of Rebirth guild¡¯s headquarter. Stela gave the building one last look before following Hasega into third level of Trisia. It is more spacious there so they used it as some kind of landing square for the griffin.


    ¡°Hasega,¡± Stella called


    ¡°Thank you for continuing the group. i sincerely hope that the new guild of yours will prosper just like Tantalus did.¡± Stella said while holding her chest. She either felt relieve or happy that Tantalus isn¡¯t die yet.


    ¡°You are welcome. I am sorry for ransacking your treasure vault just now. ¡°


    ¡°It is fine. Since all Tantalus member died, you are the inheritor now. i am actually glad that it fell in your hands rather than some random adventurer treating our vault as some random dungeon and plundering it as they like.¡±Stella smiled again. i like this smile of hers the most. She somehow felt radiant


    ¡°Your words relieved me the most Stella. thank you i will try to make this guild more or at least the same as it was before..¡± Hasega replied with a relieved smile


    Then as i headed towards the griffin and was about to unsummon Stella and El a heavy sense of deja vu shook my body


    ¡°Riri??¡± Stella and El looked at me


    ¡°Now that i think about it. there was supposed to be something else that we were about to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Again?¡± El made an annoyed expression


    ¡° i don¡¯t think we forgot anything though Riri.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Well, i can¡¯t remember it. and it doesn¡¯t seemed important. even if it is important, we can always go back here again right? let¡¯s go¡± I replied to Stella and El


    ¡° before we ride on my griffin, shall we say some greeting to Maria, she has been missing you quite a lot. You are also one of her life benefactor after all.¡± Hasega said


    ¡°Ahh! now i remember. It is about Death Manager. how did you knew that he was still alive?!¡± when Hasega mentioned Maria an imaginary thunder suddenly struck me making me remember what i was about to ask to him this thought lingered in my mind since the ending of the show but the situation at that basement made me forget


    ¡°Maria told us and the count. She received some kind of divination from the gods and thus warned us. that¡¯s why the count has been so hastily building troops and weapons like this. you should see on the streets that even iron swords for newbies level 10 or so was sold at ridiculous 1 gold coin.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°Well, i don¡¯t know, from my point of view, Yggdrasil seemed to plead to some other gods. And Freya was among them. seeing some of her church in acolyte city was demolished i guess Freya was willing to participate in this campaign against death manager. ¡°


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°On a side note, this is just my hunch. But i guess Maria wants to talk about you about this matter. So let¡¯s get on to her before we depart okay?¡±


    I looked towards my two pets. they all; nodded their heads affirming my decision. If none of my pets refused, i guess i should not. After all, i also want to meet with Maria and see how well she is faring right now. the head priest is the highest position just under pope. Depending on the city, it might even be higher than bishops


    And so, we paid a visit to the church. To meet with the head priest, we need to pay some ridiculous 10 gold thinking that we need some kind of high grade blessing. But after Hasega replied to some nuns about our circumstances and some kind of hidden mission the nun rushed back and came out with Maria. she wore the nicest gold clothes there along with a staff that embed with some jewel. Her face was very dignified. She was dignified before, but the image was more humble and honest before. Now with all top jewelries plastered on her body, her dignity seemed to be over enhanced. She looks a little unfriendly and arrogant right now.


    ¡°Hello Riri.¡± She said while looking calm


    ¡°Hello. How are you?¡±


    ¡°I am fine.¡± She answered politely and nicely with exaggerated smile but she seemed distant now. ¡°Please come into my room.¡±


    She walked over quickly passing some random person asking to cure some ailments or curse. the local priest will handle it, Maria was just like a symbol with an exception of high rank quest that some adventurer got. Of course it is about curse, evil and enemy of god.


    ¡°Hah, that was so tiring. I have to plaster this smile every time i am out!¡± she said while undressing her self in her spacious room. The gold clothes she just wore elegantly was brushed aside and thrown on top of her bed. Her clothes now was a simple negligee and she just casually sit on the bed besides her thrown out clothes


    ¡°Come on Stella, Riri, and el. Sit. I have a lot to talked about. Want some drink? We only have water here though.¡± She said while taking some cups from the cupboard and a bottle of water. I can only look at her in astonishment. I kinda felt like my eyes was about to pop and my jaw was about to drop seeing this twin personalities


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Thank you. i am taking that.¡± Stalla took a glass casually. She seemed to have experience with this kind of situation. She then looked at me then giggled along with Hasega. El can only blatantly look. i am glad that i have some inexperienced company that deal with this absurd situation


    ¡°It is normal Riri. After all, looks are important when you are an important person.¡± Stella said some wisdom out of her mouth while winking at me.


    ¡°Well, at least she is kind both inside and outside. Just a little bit different on how you look at it. she is 18 years old after all .haha.¡± hasega laughed a little while drinking.


    ¡°True!¡± Stella replied vigorously.


    ¡°Could you stop teasing about me? it felt a little uncomfortable.¡± Maria said looking embarrassed


    ¡°¡±It is a compliment Maria.¡± Stella said cheerfully


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Well, then Maria greetings aside, these two here wants to inquire about that order from gods.¡± Hasega said returning us back to the topic


    ¡°Hmm, okay.. as you already knew, Death Manager is still alive. Yggdrasil asked the other gods to help him vanquish the devil. Seeing at how abominable his power is, the god decided to kill him. Freya included. However, we can¡¯t openly request adventurers about this sort of situation not to raise panic. We don¡¯t know anything. So, there was this kind of secret quest given about his whereabouts. Freya, Yggdrasil, Ares, and Thor has already giving out this kind of quests to some trusted foreigner. But there was no result so far.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°So, seeing that you two are his bane, are you willing to join us searching for that devil?¡± Maria asked us


    <table><tbody><tr><td> a quest has been offered </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Find Information about Death Manager


    Find death manager whereabouts so the gods can prepare a crusade against him.


    Quest difficulty A


    Quest requirements must have close relationship to the church


    Quest failure others have found and reported death manager whereabouts first and killed him


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Rank A..... if i am not mistaken, this quest only required us to find Death Manager right. not kill him? That alone is rank A?¡±


    ¡°Awesome right?¡± Hasega blurted out.


    ¡°The danger is pretty much the same. Remember, he has an army of more than 100 thousand when he storm this city. right now he is injured. If we want to kill him, now is the time.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°By the way, who injured him? Is it you Riri? Or is it El?¡±


    ¡°It is me.¡± Stella


    ¡°ah, Yggdrasil hid some information. Freya was kind of furious that he resurrect a demon. Hold on, i will relay this info to her. ¡°


    ¡°Stella is not a demon...¡± i whispered softly.


    ¡°Take no offense Riri. Her race is a demon but i do not say that she is bad as a person. Demons are generally bad though. This is a truth but most demons have this disgusting necessity to devour humans to live so we view them as bad thing. But if we take a look from their perspective, well, that is not something i should say.¡±


    ¡°It is fine. I despise demons all the same.¡± Stella said it herself.


    ¡°so will you accept our quest? Riri?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have accepted the quest </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Our business with Reis isn¡¯t over yet anyway. and there are no time limits. So it is fine then.¡± Stella made a positive comment when i accepted the quest


    Well truth to be told, even if i accepted the quest, i have no plan on actively completing it yet. It is just a gamer mentality to accept all quest and then as the game continued we will complete it on the way. this quest doesn¡¯t have time limit. Even if it failed i don¡¯t think it would be a big deal.


    ¡°so Riri, do we have any other things that we forgot?¡± Stella made a question.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t think we have any other business here.¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s go home then. I already missed that village even though it was only a couple of days since we left it.¡± Stella said


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    And so we bid Maria farewell and together with Hasega we rode his griffin. Griffin can only take 3 passenger at most. But since Hasega wear full clad iron body armor and i am overloaded with items in my inventory, the griffin can only take 2 so i unsummoned Stella and El. It was a pity, she seemed really eager to rode the griffin.


    The griffin was fast. We were already back at the village by nightfall. After fulfilling his duty, the royal knight went off with his horse immediately after adding me to his friend list. He sure is busy. He said that he will need to get to rosenhelm immediately to continnue his job. This is a game, and he seemed like he is working. The word game and reality is twisted in this game. I don¡¯t really understand.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>your stamina is at 10%


    Attack speed decreased by 40%


    Movement decreased by 50%


    If you didn¡¯t rest, you will collapse for 5 hours</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Ah.¡± I looked at the system message. I didn¡¯t do any heavy activity, but even standing still while carrying a heavy load of items exhaust our stamina this quickly?


    ¡°hurry to the cabin, or you might collapse from exhaustion.¡± Stella grabbed me and told me to unpack our things at the cabin. The stamina bar which at 3% quickly rose once the overloaded status was gone.


    ¡°okay. Lets sort this.¡± Stella said while picking all the books and putting them on the shelves. Equipments are hanged on the wall or put on drawer and tables clothes and shoes goes into the wardrobe. The equipment and weapons that Stella brought didn¡¯t looked shabby or crude at all. In fact, it was very shiny and eye catching making the cabin we stayed at looked even better.


    ¡°now that i looked carefully, Stella? The weapon and equipment is....¡±


    ¡°yup. It was every type. From equipment, there is a leather and iron plates. For weapons, we have bows, swords, spear, staff, etc. We are going to train every type of this weapon. A performer must be able to use every weapon. We can¡¯t master them but we must at least be able to use them.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°But, before we touch any of this equipment, here is a skill book.¡± Stella picked a book form a shelf ¡°we are going to learn the skill from this book first.¡±


    ¡°okay. learn.¡± I tapped the book. But nothing happened. After a few seconds of awkward silence Stella finally muttered


    ¡°umm, sorry Riri. It is not that kind of skill book. This book is a normal book. But the inside there are some instructions on how to get a skill. Sorry that we have to learn this thee hard way.¡± Stella scratched her head. Ahh, i messed up. She must be uncomfortable now. I should have known that a skill book isn¡¯t that easy to made and produced.


    ¡°Okay. I liked reading anyway. let¡¯s start.¡± I grabbed the book with an embarrassed look.


    chapter 35</a>


    chapter37</a>


    _______________________


    author note


    - managed to found some time between college


    - please make a comment ^_^ ( i am kind of begging). any critics and questions are welcomed. it is not like i ignored your critics so far. but i can''t do anything that''s already written. so please make a critic that will help me in the next chapter. i will try to answer any question but i can''t answer something that will limit my imagination and spoiling the story. so, i apologize beforehand


    - enjoy the read. and there is a question about changing the name of the game Riri is currently in. will that make the story any better ? for example, instead of Royal road i will change the game into Eiden. Haven into Saint kingdom, kallamore into KnightSword, there are no other change beside that i think. i can''t edit the 36 chapter though, i will just put some not in the next chapter and in fiction page. please give your opinion okay.

 chapter 37 training

    The cozy wind blew under the shade of a tree. A little girl sat on it while looking at a book with enthusiasm. It was like a picturesque scene of an intelligent maiden. Such is the situation Riri was currently in. Such a natural scene made villagers that pass by from the village to the field always stop for a while to steal a glance.


    ¡°whoa. Riri looked extremely beautiful just now.¡± El made a surprised point


    ¡°I can see that. That pose was very natural.¡±


    The two pets looked at the lone brown haired girl from a far. These two was receiving quest under the name of their master to assist in clearing a mine. Although the villages have build an appropriate weapon an its guard was steadily increasing in level, just to avoid any casualties, Rebecca and Paul asked Riri to accompany them. But Stella cut them off and they volunteered themselves instead. And such was the situation before this happened.


    ¡°Riri. We have done the quest.¡± Stella and El finally made a contact


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Does she act like this before?¡± El made a comment


    ¡°I have never seen her read before.¡± Stella madee a comment


    ¡°I thought so at first. That comment wasn¡¯t a joke huh? She really like reading.¡± El answered ¡°Why didn¡¯t she worked at the library? And she chose to be a performer of all things.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± glanced to my side as a shadow was covering the book that i was reading. It was a little bit disturbing. ¡°Ahh, Stella and El. So, how was the quest.¡±


    ¡°it went fine.¡±


    ¡°You just realized that we was here just now?¡± El said.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°well, it is fine so how much did you learn?¡±


    ¡°Here. I managed the basic elemental spellbook.¡±i said to them. ¡°I have learned third quarter of them. Give me more time. This book might be done tomorrow¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned water ball spell  </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned lightning bolt spell  </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned sand bolt spell    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned wind ball spell  </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned light bolt spell    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned dark bolt spell    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned mana bolt spell    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s.... great.¡± Stella made a stiff smile. That¡¯s weird. She looked disappointed. El as well.


    ¡°Riri. It has only been 2 days and you almost finished that book?¡± El said


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fast.¡±


    ¡°Studying from book is my specialty.¡± I said with a proud smile. I am not exactly a genius but once i see a book, i tend to read it wholeheartedly and i ended up learning from it. It is fun to read book. No matter what kind it is. From novel to instructions about some mechanics and software. I can¡¯t practice mechanics as i  do not like dirty things and i am a little bit clumsy softwares are expensive and i don''t have any use for them except making powerpoint, tables, and report pages and i already learnt most of them except programming software. But here in Eiden, there is something we called a magic. It was easy to learn it since it was only memorizing spell and working some formula into it. It is easier than junior high algebra.


    ¡°I see.¡± Stella was clearly disappointed just now


    ¡°Okay. There i nothing we can do for now. But asks us for opinions once in a while okay. If you stumbled into something difficult.¡± El forced a smile while waving.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I turned back into my book and read


    ¡°.............¡±


    ¡°It went silent again.¡± Stella said


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t she knew we are bored here?¡±


    And as my pets were making random noises, i focused into my books if we are talking about reading, i already finished it 4 hours since i held the book.but learning and plain reading is different thanks to the skill bookworm, i can read faster, i just need to comprehend what¡¯s inside this book. So in here just like the spell i learnt before. We just need to change the property. Stella already taught about mana. Thanks to that i can made some adjustment to my fireball spells earlier. But i stumbled on this multicast skill. The other skill was also hard but it is manageable since i can already feel mana. I just need to change its elemental property. But the rest of this book. There are 2 skills left but what is with this vague description? Multicast? Firesnow?


    It is literally impossible to mix opposite element into each other.wait a second, it is quite possible to mix earth and win to become a sandstorm so why can¡¯t i mix fire and ice? But it is not known that earth and wind is an opposite element, how about lightning and earth? But we can mix dark and light into grey like color. Light and dark can mix but fire and earth can¡¯t? Hmm, if we are talking about RGB colour (red, green, blue) then every kind of colour can be mixed resulting into different colour.


    But we are talking about elemental here. Not just light, wait, why did i go this far? This is supposed to be basic. The skill on this one was a little bit harder than the rest since the rest are pure elemental and this one is mixed. There are intermediate elemental spell book after this one. Let¡¯s look at it later if i can¡¯t still figure this one. And so, there is still one other skill called multicast. I have seen Stella use this when fighting spiders. But seeing and doing was different. It is like looking into the left and the right at the same thing. I can¡¯t use shadow clone like that anime movies so, why can Stella use it. And moreso, it is up to at least 20! The beginner is supposed to cast 2 spells at once. i have multitasking skills, so thinking the formula for 2 different spells was not hard. But, i only have one mouth.


    Wait, multicast that Stella was using is one spell only. I already tried repeating what She did last time but to no avail. Just b saying multicast fireball isn¡¯t doing anything. The circumstances might be different if i have a skill book. But this one is a normal book. A skill that are learn through skillbook and normal way s different, in Eiden Manual book, a skill book imbued with magic will impart the knowledge directly into your body. While the other way is to learn it manually. So, i have to analyzed the way she used her spell and the logic behind it. Even if i figured the logic, it will need sometime to apply it to practice before generating a skill


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you took 50 damage </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have caught a cold.


    Moving speed decreased by 50%


    Ice resistance decreased by 20% </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Eh?¡± i muttered as a force pushed me and threw me. The damage wasn¡¯t high but it was still quit painful. As i browse the system message icon that i have been hidden, various message that indicated that i have a cold was seen.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± i shouted. I didn¡¯t equip any armour and weapons. So i am at disadvantage here. At worse case scenario i might have to run away.


    The man wearing black cape was running as he keep shooting some arrows at me. My dexterity is my top stat. I easily evaded all of them. Guessing from the damage and his skill, he is at most level 50. As he was running away i just looked at him dumbfounded.  He then soon stopped at the corner of the woods. He tilted his head while looking at me. I followed suit by tilting my head. A strange silent awkwardness quickly filled the area.


    ¡°who is it? Wait criminal!! Don¡¯t run away. Guards!!!¡± a guard was sounding an alarm to rally the others and chase after the criminal/ looking confused, the black hooded man continued his escape into the forest.


    20 minutes later, Rebecca and Dorus apologizes to their failing at protecting the village and letting that assassin escaped. They apologized many times but my head was still on that multicast thing so i only register the summary of their conversation. I just said the casual it is okay and it is fine and walk off back to my house.


    Now where was i? Ahh, right. It was at multicast, So, Stella was able to use multicast just by speaking the word but i need to figure out how she do it with one mouth. No, that¡¯s not it. All she was saying was multicast and some other spell. So the mouth problem as over. That¡¯s weird, even though the mouth and the double formula was solved, i can¡¯t still cast double fireballs. There was no other conflict. Is training all that was left? This means i just need to rest up and tomorrow began another practice to test out my solution. Now, for firesnow, i put a hypothesis that it was a mix of fire and ce. But i only got a fire and water spell. Why does this skill was even in basic element book Stella keep anyway? She told me that it was all that i need and i should not progress further on intermediate and advanced spell casting until i learned every spell on this one.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you took 100 lightning damage </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Ouch.¡± I was surprised at the sudden attack. El cast a small lightning bolt at me with annoyed look on her face.


    ¡°Seriously. Riri! You have been ignoring us this entire time! My patience is at its limit! Will you please put that damn book now! Besides, how can you read while walking!¡±


    ¡°Ehh. But i was on the verge of understanding this book.¡± I moaned as i received El¡¯s wrath. When i looked over at Stella¡¯s face she gave a complicated look.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean you have to abandon everything else. You have been ignoring the village request even now! And heck, you didn¡¯t even respond when someone talked to you.¡±


    ¡°But that will disturb my concentration.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just limit your studying to 8 hours okay? You don¡¯t need to rush this Riri. Let¡¯s say, total of 7 hours?¡± Stella made a suggestion


    ¡°mm.... well, if you said so. It is okay.¡±


    ¡°You got that? You are forbidden to even think about that book outside of that time frame. I do not care if we are asleep though.¡±


    ¡°Umm, well, okay.¡± I don¡¯t really understand why they are so agitated though.well, they might want to show me something else in between my study so i think it is fine. It is also true that i have neglected the village a little. But the village has no more need of my help. The soldiers here have already reached lvl 30 or 40 yesterday. I think they can keep themselves safe if some wild animal attacked.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s sleep.¡± Stella said while dragging me to bed. It is already midnight. I didn¡¯t notice at all. I guess i have to log out for a moment. I just pass along words that i will return to my world. I logged out back into my room. My muscle is all stiff. The manual says i should not play for an extended amount of time. Is this the aftereffect?


    ¡°Now, i will do the homework my teacher gave me in 20 minutes and went to sleep. Tomorrow after school i have to go back into Eiden again after all.¡±


    When you are sleeping, a night really felt like a second. I barely slept. My body was even more exhausted compared to before i slept. I guess i need to cut my playtime a bit. Sleeping at 2AM is wrong for various reasons. The teacher gave a lot more homework than i though. There was only 10 questions but all of them are essay questions. It took 2 pages to answer all of those.


    ¡°Hello. ¡° i said to Anya


    ¡°Hello Lily. You looked tired.¡±


    ¡°The homework increased compared to before.¡±


    ¡°yeah. I haven¡¯t played Eiden at all yesterday. Nearly took 6 hours for that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, speaking of Shella, she will had her first guild war. Any idea of joining? She was a captain you know! That was just below a commander.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. If i remember correctly the lowest is group leader, then a squad leader, then a battalion or a legion, then a captain, then a commander? Right?¡±


    ¡°How did you know? Ahh forget it you have already participated in a siege so you must knew.¡±


    ¡°It was on Eiden manual book.¡±


    ¡°Really? Not on forums?¡±


    ¡°The forum has several way to applicate and real example. The manual is mostly theories on chain commanding.¡±


    ¡°well, bookworm like you is sure to know. Talking to you is like talking to Wikipedia. ¡° Anya look a little bit annoyed ¡°So, will you join?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, i was on the verge of learning new skills so i doubt i can make it. When is the war?¡±


    ¡°It will be held next week. That means 4 weeks in Eiden. Think you can get your training done?¡±


    ¡°Dunno.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get nervous. The average member of our enemies are 80. Even though you have been slacking on levelling, you should have reached over 100 right?or is it 120?¡±


    ¡°It was 127¡±


    ¡°So, hey Stella think you can fit her in?¡±


    ¡°well, the level limit was 50 so you can participate. And clerics are most welcome even if they are below that. ¡°


    ¡°So you are good to go.¡±


    ¡°Does she have any experience?¡±


    ¡°She does. Remember that Trisia incident?¡± Anya said while smiling.


    ¡°Ahh, she was there?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°Well you are most welcome then. Please come by all means. I can¡¯t make you a squad leader or battalion leader like Anya and her companions. But, we can definitely use you.¡± Shella smiled


    ¡°Anya is a squad leader? Why?¡± i asked dumbfounded.


    ¡°Why? She is a captain of guards in Trisia right? She also had level of almost 200. And her skill levels, spells in addition she has experience and even good equipments. All of them were enough. It is stranger if she were put into lower level than squad leader.¡± Shella made a blatant answer she was right on. Why did i forgot that


    ¡°umm, you said that the average level is 80? but someone like Anya is a squad leader?¡±


    ¡°well. You have been in a siege but not guild wars so i will tell you. In a guild war usually there are 1 commander and 12 captain, each captain have 4 or 5 battalion, each battalion have 10 squad. And each squad has 6 group. Each group has up to 5 members.  So usually there are more than 15 thousands member on one side. Well, i admit that a squad leader was a position a little bit to low for Anya skills but premium members and core guilds has already filled the seat for battalion leader. It can¡¯t be helped. If they just take a peek at her equipments and skills. But those premium members poured some money for potions so it can¡¯t be helped. Corruptions do happened even inside the game. But a squad leader meant that you are top 500 of over 15 thousands player. It is prestigious enough¡°


    ¡°I see. Sorry.¡± I apologized as i was recalling manual book. There are no limits like that. Only the party or group that is limited to 5 members. But there are no limits for the rank above that.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. Even i just knew about it. It is not an easy knowledge.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if i can make it¡±


    ¡°What? You are on difficult quest?¡±


    ¡°Umm not exactly. How should i say it. I kind of training new skills.¡±


    ¡°Well, just train at our guild castle. It is better than monsters. Just don¡¯t die early at wars. Well, you are a cleric right? I doubt you will have an early death.¡±


    ¡°Umm, ¡°


    ¡°Ahh, She isn¡¯t a cleric. Well she has a healing skills though. Her class is kinda ambigious.¡± Anya answered


    ¡°Jack of all trade kind of class?¡±


    ¡°Seems like it. Not really sure. She had fireball spell and a healing spell, her speed is almost reaches thieves. But she wield swords and she can parry attacks very well. But her damage was incredibly low with her swords. But she has 2 pets right now. Her pets was extremely powerful¡±


    ¡°Whoa. A rare class? But rare class will pose a dificult problem in guild wars. but from your description. She is seriously jack of all trade isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Like a shaman. But her dodging ability is one thing to be proud of.¡±


    ¡°Dodging? She?¡± Shella looked at me dubious


    ¡°Umm. My skills are helping me.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, sword prediction, spell prediction. Some kind of skill like that huh?¡± it was multitask and acrobatics by the way. But let¡¯s just nod


    ¡°yeah.and acrobatics.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, i forgot about that. Wait, acrobatic is in a fencing technique. Your class is even weirder the more i hear about it.¡±


    ¡°Well, even i was confused. Hahaha, so i was still training with my mentor.¡± I am not lying Stella is still tutoring me right? Shella didn¡¯t doubt anything. It is normal for class development to upgrade in stages. For a knight example, there are advancement into royal knight or paladin when the user reached at least level 150. Shella might thought my circumstances was similar o that


    ¡°But, eventhough she was jack of trades, last time i battled her together with Hasega, dem, and victor, we could not beat her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Her class isn¡¯t really weak for some reasons. ¡°


    ¡°You lost? When?¡±


    ¡°Well, a long time ago actually. 2 or 3 weeks after we first met. So i am not sure about now. We could not kill her in a duel. Well, she also had difficulty of killing us since we surround her. But nevertheless, she has good ways of keeping herself alive.¡±


    ¡°A tanker? With agility?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Weird right?¡±


    ¡°Umm,¡± i feel a suspicious eyes were cast on me. What is this feeling .and i am not a tanker in the slightest


    ¡°Well, that kind of class was weird. Well, i don¡¯t mind as long as i can use it. Anya say that you can fight. I will believe that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t say that i will come though.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure. Come when you have finished things with your mentor.¡± Shella said while smiling. ¡° most of our class also joined for the guild war. It is a pity if you can¡¯t come so please come okay?¡±


    chapter36</a>


    chapter38</a>


    ____________________


    author note''


    - enjoy reading


    - i don''t havemany thing to comment so,this is all

 chapter 38 another dangerous mining

    IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!


    as you might have read from my previous thread. the name of he game Lily was in was changed.


    please give comments about it. does it improve the story or not?


    RoyalRoad turned to Eiden online


    Haven into Saint Kingdom


    Kallamore into knightsword


    Rosenhem into Rosen Kingdom


    ____________________________________________________


    It is still not acquired. I wonder where it went wrong. It has already been 4 hours and there are no clues the multicast skill will be obtained. It still can¡¯t cast 2 spells. Besides, this multicast skill is breaking the law. If you cast a fireball, for example, there will be cool down of 3 or 5 seconds which made you unable to cast the same spell again. But multicast from what it see from Stella clearly abandon this rules as she was casting bunch of the same spells at the same time. Now it am at lost, for fire snow skills, it tried for 2 hours by casting fireball and other skill simultaneously. But it has no effect. If we can acquire skills that easily, mages will have no need to buy any spell books for learning. There must be something wrong. it had predicted that we should fuse the mana, but it is kind of difficult to fuse different kind of elemental mana to each other, the last time I tried it exploded and my HP was depleted by over 40%. It was a dangerous experiment.


    ¡°Riri. Time is almost up.¡± Stella and El waved at me. It looked like it have to stop thinking about this and went doing some quest to the village. Does this village need something? I mean, there are already guards here.


    ¡°Ohh, Miss Riri. Sorry for disturbing your precious time learning.¡± Rebecca said while bowing her head. As it was kind of like a savior of this village, my intimacy was literally at maximum with all the villager. Almost none of the villager speak to me without respect. It is kind of disturbing experiencing it. But if it think about it, in this world, it is normal to respect someone like that.


    ¡®No, it is fine. I am not disturbed at all. Please, since you are kind enough of letting me staying in this village, please let me do you a favor or two?¡¯ I said while returning the polite speech. Honestly, it is quite a pain to speak like this, but it can¡¯t really speak like usual when the other side speak so politely can it?  I will be remarked as arrogant


    ¡°It is just the usual wolf hunting and mining. If Miss Riri would be kind enough to accompany our soldiers in training, we will be very grateful.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Where are the soldiers?¡±


    ¡°We are the soldiers miss.¡± 10 teenagers and 2 adults from the village came forward with iron lance and swords. With the exception of the adults, the others really looked like greenhorns that can barely even wield a sword. I assume they barely reached level 15 in strength


    ¡°Umm, okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± I said looking uncomfortable


    <table><tbody><tr><td> a quest has been accepted </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> escorting new trainee


    You have been entrusted to guard the village new trainee to explore a new mine by the village elder Rebecca


    Quest difficulty: D+


    Quest requirements: High intimacy with village elder and level above 100


    Quest failure: all trainee died


    Quest reward : 10000 exp and 5 gold for every trainee survived and additional gold for every level the trainee got


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    The reward was so-so. Well, I have 2 pets forcing me to help the village once a while so even if there are no rewards, it still have to do it.


    ¡°Sorry if the rewards are inadequate.¡± Rebecca said while looking ashamed.


    ¡°No, it is fine, you don¡¯t even have to pay me.¡±


    ¡°No, we will be ashamed even in our graves if we accept something like that. Please at least accept this small token of gratitude when your quest finished¡± Rebecca said


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The ways into the mine were uneventful. It was the same wolves of level 20 attacking the trainee. I don¡¯t even have to do anything the trainee handle all the killing. Casting phoenix regen or healing area solves everything. Why the level requirement must be above 10 for guarding trainee against level 20 monsters? Judging from the mines we previously explored, only the hidden area and boss monsters were extraordinary. But we came to mine, not exploring. The mob was usually lvl 0 or 40 at max. 10 lvl 15 trainee was surely able to surround and kill monsters like that


    ¡°So, this is the mines. Why aren¡¯t we going to the previous one?¡± it asked


    ¡°The previous ones only had iron and coal ores, this one had quartz and occasionally some crystals.¡±


    ¡°Do we need them?¡±


    ¡°We can do jewelries and accessories if we have them. So it was worth it. We can even export them raw to Trisia for sale.¡±


    ¡°I see. ¡° i said while nodding. Certainly now that the village was developing, they need a lot of cash and this mining would prove to be a way out of their financial crisis. But exploring a brand new dungeon with trainees is a little bit hard to stomach. I guess that¡¯s why they hired me and my pets as an escort huh?


    ¡°Well, we are here.¡± Said Jonas as we arrived at the entrance of the mines. It really was similar to the previous caves.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in everyone.¡± Jonas, one of the two adults cheered the trainee group. I guess he was their coach so he forced to tag along. The other adult coach seemed as bored as me I guess this one was coerced to tag along by either Rebecca or Dorus. People really have different taste huh? The one likes to tag along, the other is the opposite


    You have entered the acolyte mine 2


    Shaak!!


    The sound of some slithery monster came into view. It was a python snake. And a huge one at that. Is it a python? Or is it anaconda? It was seriously huge its head was as big as someone¡¯s chest and its length, around 15 meters i think. Is this a movie?


    ¡°Whoaa. Watch out everyone. For a circle!¡± one of the more formidable trainee shout trying to rally his allies. I am quite impressed now, unlike fighting wolves and rabbit, the group showed some enthusiasm and the fruit of their training now. They still looked like greenhorns here and there well, at least they remember some theory the village guard taught them.


    the group was circling the snake, the snake fight back by whipping its tail but the trainee manage to repel it. Huh? Is the damage from the python a little bit too high? Just a graze from the tail manage to reduce the trainee HP by 10%. Is it Lvl 50? It is higher than the previous mine.


    ¡°Phoenix regen.¡± I said while casting some buff to the trainee that got lightly injured. I started to draw my sword. The trainees that fight the snake is a greenhorn. If they got a critical hit from the snake, the damage might be fatal for them. I need to take precaution.


    ¡°Take turns to attack, play defensive. Dan, pull the snake hatred to you. Switch!¡± The leader said with enthusiasm. The coaches play the tanker, since the adult¡¯s level was higher, it was a wise choice. But, even though the hatred was pulled, some random movements from the snake still managed to hurt the recruit. They really are greenhorns. The commands are perfect but the execution is a little bit poor. Their skills aren¡¯t that high huh.


    ¡°AHH!¡± the coach that was defending suddenly got caught in a perilous attack. The best movement of venomless snake is to wrap their bodies and strangle the victim.


    ¡°Fireball!¡± i cast fireball at the snake¡¯s face. It was a direct hit. The snake that was hit in the face glared me with his murderous eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s scary.¡± i muttered


    And thus, the battle between me and the snake began.  Every time the snake tried to bite me, i jumped to his heat and tried to slash away with my sword. Its tail whip also rendered useless as i can see where the attack was going to land into. Little by little the snake¡¯s hitpoint decreased and went into red zone.


    ¡°Miss Riri, let us take care of the rest.¡± The cheerful coach said with vigor. The gloomy one that was wrapped earlier has already finished his health potions and went into attacking stance with his shield and spear


    ¡°Ahh, yes. if you say so.¡± I said while pulling back. The trainee finished the rest of the battle slowly. Even if the enemy was in the red zone, that doesn¡¯t make them harmless. In fact its attack will go more ruthless the lower their HP is.


    ¡°Healing area.¡± I cast another healing technique. Even without my cleric set equipment, my healing was still a little bit high if it is against lvl 15 trainee.


    ¡°Thanks miss Riri. You saved us on that one.¡± The coach thank me


    ¡°And you even let us deal the killing blow. Unlike other adventurer you are generous Miss Riri.¡± Another Trainee praised me. Somehow this praises made me feel better


    This dungeon was different. Just after reaching the entrance, the monster here is about lvl 80. It was clearly different than the other one which is at forties. This dungeon is different.


    ¡°Umm, should we get out from here? I think the difficulty of this cave a little bit too hard for trainees.¡± I said


    ¡°Hmm, as long as Miss riri step in, then there is no problem right? The trainee got 3 levels at once even if it was just one monster¡± the coach refused my suggestions.


    ¡°A little danger is a given for soldiers!¡± the other one replied.


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°But, it might be a better if Miss Riri were to lead the way from now on.¡± Said the coach ¡°if we were to be ambushed, we might got into some trouble.¡±


    ¡°Umm, well, okay.¡± I nodded reluctantly.


    The situation quickly turned dire. In the next encounter, 5 snakes come up together. Luckily i was in the front and has all the aggro. Stella and El jumped in to help me. The coach and the trainee went on waiting at the corner of the battlefield until there were only 2 snakes left with less than 20% of their HP. And even with that, some trainee¡¯s HP went into red zone. Even after all of my help, The battle was quite difficult for them.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Hey. The monsters here was hard. Are you trying to use us to powerlevel the trainee?¡± Stella glared at the coach. ¡°I need to tell you something, it is not like we hate you for stealing exp from monster we were about to kill. But the problem from powerlevel is that the skill will remain low. The recruit will turn up to be a low quality soldier at this rate.¡±


    ¡°Umm, honestly, we didn¡¯t have any clue about this mine. We thought since was near the previous one so we assume that this one was about the same level as that one. We didn¡¯t knew this dungeon has so much difficulty.¡± the coach replied


    ¡°Then should we got back then?¡± El answered


    ¡°Then, the quartz? ¡°The coach asked


    ¡°If you want the quartz, then you should bring more experienced soldiers with us. This dungeon is too difficult. Just look at yourself, you can¡¯t even deal with the monster here whose HP is already in the redzone.¡± Stella said.


    ¡°We are extremely sorry. We just thought since we will just mine, we could somehow manage. But i am afraid, we can¡¯t go back empty handed either. How about we just stayed clear of any battles until we can get some quartz to our hands.¡±


    At that response, Stella and El stared at me. I just nodded and continue traveling. Just as we were about to reach deeper into this cave, there were over 10 snakes waiting to ambush us. With haste, i cast all of my magic to lure their aggro at me. El quickly went back to back me with some support magic while Stella is always with me to deal some damage. The snakes were immune to poison but not acid. As Stella got bitten, the snakes took damage and quickly release its grip. They can¡¯t wrap her either. I jump like monkeys here and there to dodge their attacks.


    ¡°Enigma of the lightning god, zeus bolt shower.¡± El trump card went into play. As she hid somewhere in the rock at the back, she cast her most dreadful skill. Now i just need to round them and wait until the counter reach 0.


    5 minutes later the bolt successfully annihilate the snakes, and i went off picking the remains of the snakes that manage to slip past the bolt. The trainee were diliggently picking any loot that the snake dropped. Stella scolded them but they answered that they will buy them or gave them back to Riri once she finished exploring. I guess they don¡¯t want to be a dead weigh and helped as much as they could even to the point of becoming extra bag


    ¡°this is the site right?¡±  Stella asked after another 2 hours of exploring and encountered another 3 group of enemies


    ¡°Yes Miss.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Start digging. Don¡¯t leave the site unless you are running away.¡±


    ¡°You seemed in a bad mood Miss.¡± One of the trainee asked


    ¡°Okay, i will bluntly say it. i don¡¯t like how the trainee are forcing themselves to train against an enemy like this. This dungeon is hard even for us. We just barely manage to the second floor, but i can tell you, not even us can be sure to clear this one. Please don¡¯t look at us like some omnipotent god or it might cost your live. Okay? Other adventurer might be happy since they will got a good reward. But not us.¡±


    ¡°Stella, that¡¯s a little bit.....¡±


    ¡°They need to know this Riri.¡±


    ¡°Umm, well, okay.¡±i am at loss for word. What stella said might be true. But her way of rejecting was kinda harsh. Or is it me that is to soft?


    While the trainee mine for ores, Stella instructed me for ways to do multicast and firesnow spell. The secret lies in multitask, for multicast, you need to have your spell in intermediate level, after that, you need to use multitask to duplicate the spell in your head. After that, those two spell will be cast with each have their own momentum. Stella said that this one is the hardest to master so she even praised me for reaching this far. For firesnow, the name might be confusing since the skillbook was explaining about snow behavior. But it was essentially a pure fire AOE spell. the spell use fire to mimic snow and inflict mediocre damage plus burns.


    ¡°Ahh, i see. So that was the secret. ¡°


    ¡°Sorry. The book should explain more, but compressing 12 skills into 1 book isn¡¯t easy.¡±


    ¡°i mostly got it if it is firesnow, but i will have to do a little more experiment if it is about multicast skill.¡±


    ¡°Confused about cool down? If you hold the spell before casting and divide the mana at that time, you might be able to do it. it took a little practice though ¡°


    ¡°so, how long should we wait here?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, may be 3 to 4 hours. Let¡¯s practice until they finished. ¡°


    ¡°Okay. ¡°


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learn firesnow spell </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learn multicast </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Okay. I already learn all of them¡± i said 6 hours later to Stella. Multicast was a little hard but essentially it was similar to creating matrices in our mind. In this world matrices doesn¡¯t exist so it was understandable for Stella to explain it in a roundabout way. Now let¡¯s see what i have learn in a more detailed way


    I opened my skill window and checked the spell and skills i have learnt


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Light bolt beginner lvl 1


    Creates a bolt of light with magic and aimed at enemy


    Has chance to cause blind


    effective on enemy with darkness attribute</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dark bolt beginner lvl 1


    Creates a bolt of darkness with magic and amed at enemy


    Has chance to cause blind


    effective on enemy with light attribute</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Sand bolt beginner lvl 1


    Creats a bolt made out of sand and aimed at enemy


    Has chance to cause blind


    Effective on enemy with lightning attribute </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Water ball beginner lvl 1


    Creates  ball of water and shot at enemy


    Small damage on enemy


    Highly effective against enemy of fire attribute</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Wind ball beginner lvl 1


    Creates a ball made of wind and shot at enemy


    Dealt a medium physical damage


    Dealt a small elemental damage of wind


    Effective on enemy with earth attribute


    Chance to stun a target</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Mana bolt beginner level 1


    A standard bolt used by mage


    Used primarily to attract monster from afar


    Has small damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Lightning bolt beginner lvl 1


    A bolt made out of lightning


    Very effective on enemy with ice or water attribute


    Small damage on enemy with earth attribute


    Chance to cause paralyze on target</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Firesnow beginner lvl 1


    And Area of Effect (AOE) spell made with fire shaped like snow.


    Dealt a small amount of fire damage to enemy in an area.


    Radius AOE : 50 m


    Effective on enemy with wind attribute


    Chance to cause burn on target(</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>multicast beginner lvl 1


    A skill which enabled mages to cast multiple of the same spells at once


    Currently enable to cast 2 spell at once</td></tr></tbody></table>


    This is all the skills that i acquired. Firesnow¡¯s damage is even lower than fireball with mana cost is more than 3 times as huge. But radius of 50 meter isn¡¯t small either. It is effective on a crowd of monster. I can¡¯t test this on a cave. The field on village would have to do. i also leveled up 3 times. this monsters gave good exp.


    Water is treated almost the same with ice. i wonder why the system differentiate them. In normal RPG usually water and ice were combined. And water magic in Eiden were rare and an offensive at that. I watch the forum and water magic is usually in a form of healing and barrier. This is my first time seeing offensive water magic. Well, boss is an exception though, some mage boss were able to summon tsunami.


    ¡°miss riri, we are done.¡± The trainee reported


    ¡°ok. Let¡¯s head back¡± i answered. Since we were only at second floor, there were no boss monsters. But if i went deeper i might found them. But i can¡¯t possibly defeat it alone. Let¡¯s invite Hasega and co for this dungeon later.


    chapter 37</a>


    chapter 39</a>


    ________________


    author note


    - does anyone agitated that Riri didn''t clear the dungeon? no boss monster? no rare loot?


    - does anyone miss Riri status window, skill, and items? please comment if you miss it. i will not code the window though. you knew the hell of coding such a thing. my college is starting


    - enjoy reading and critic, and comment and suggestions are welcomed

 chapter 39 fast training

    The mining was successful. No one died and we returned safely. Although Dorus seemed a little bit disappointed that the recruit only gained 4 or 5 levels, Stella just flushed it out saying that the mines was too dangerous for greenhorns. I was amazed by her resolution. If it was me, I would never be able to oppose someone like that. After I got my meager exp and gold, which also contributed to my 3 level up last time, I went back to my house to get another book.


    ¡°Hmm, although you can actually began for another spell training, isn¡¯t it time to improve your swordsmanship?¡± Stella said while handing me book about weapons and skills


    ¡°But I still got my 90% penalty. My repair skill is still at beginner lvl 5¡± once I got it into intermediate, I will be able to get blacksmith ability. Hendrick at blacksmith shop is more than willing to teach me as soon as I got to that point. But raising repair skill is harder than I thought. I can only return half of the durability with this. If I do any more than this, the max durability might be reduced instead. Unless I got to intermediate this will always happened.


    ¡°You will get it soon enough. Although not instant, I can teach you how to accelerate your skill. If you repair something, don¡¯t use a skill. But use your hand instead. This way, your skill will raise a bit faster.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡±


    ¡°Crafter is a difficult job isn¡¯t?¡± Stella said while giggling


    ¡°Yeah. It really is. I don¡¯t like it at all. Why performer need blacksmith anyway?¡± I asked while looking at my class requirement


    ¡°We don¡¯t really made stuff. But we still need blacksmith ability? From my personal opinion which I have experienced. We need them in order to understand our props, our tools. For example, this is a sword, but this Elkami sword has different weight than wooden sword which you have noticed right? So we need to have at least a minimum understanding about what are we going to use, what is the difference between metal and wood. Which sword is for decoration and which is for killing. I think it was like that.¡±


    ¡°Knights don¡¯t need them.¡± I said while scoffing a little


    ¡°That is the point I can¡¯t refute. Hahaha. They are taught I guess. Everyone has different way to understand things. You will see them when you learned the skills and weapon styles I think.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s learn. For this one, let¡¯s have 8 hours for studying and 4 hours helping in Hendrick. By fixing other¡¯s weapon, I think you will gained the skill faster.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Sorry but, all the weapons and armors that I brought here have 200 level cap so you can¡¯t wear it yet. But we can still learn the skill from the book here regardless. Just pick some random wooden sword and spear and bow and we can practice. The village has a lot of those right?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Now I will introduce you to swordsmanship. Learning sword mastery and swordsmanship is a different thing. Sorry that you have to learn it manually, rather than wasting money making a skill book, normal books like these are easy to pass on.¡± Stella apologized over and over again at the same thing. Please Stella, I already forgive you. It was a blunder on my part so would you please stop it.


    ¡°Now. We have around 40 books here. Spear, 2 handed sword, one handed sword, mace, shield, bow, dagger, martial arts, axe, and lastly, throwing weapon. Each have 4 sets of book and each book have several skills¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s..... a lot.¡±


    ¡°I already said it. We performers is an all-rounder, we can do everything but we can¡¯t master it. Our strong point is having no weakness but our weakness is having no strong point. We can even learn magic. ¡±


    I just tilted my head at Stella¡¯s remark. But quickly stood straight after understanding her words. She is just playing with words. Why don¡¯t you just call us jack of all trades?


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s learn. First of all. Let¡¯s open a one handed sword book. A sword skill contain one or more certain strike pattern.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I wondered why I never had it.¡± I said while remembering Eiden Manual book. In manual, it explained in a battle section, it explained about styles and sword skills. The manual only explained about swords, but it can also applied to other weapons such as spear and axe. A sword skill is a certain pattern of sword strikes which has an increased damage than normal attack. Sometimes defying the law of the world such as the skill Marissa was using which is too fast to follow. After acquiring a certain set of skills, we could gained a combat style which further improves that certain set of skills efficiency. I have a class but I never got a skill never mind styles. I was starting to wonder if my class doesn¡¯t even has a skill and styles. But a class that wields weapon must have at least one skill for that weapon so I was wondering when will I got it. I wonder if this is intentional.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry. I was just wondering if performer has weapon offensive skills or not. I have never got it before.¡±


    ¡°Well, sorry. You should learn this when you are around lvl 40 or 60. But various circumstances hindered me from teaching you.¡± Argh!, I stepped on another landmine. I should stop criticizing her teaching method from now on.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s learn¡±


    3 weeks later


    <table><tbody><tr><td>you have learned all weapon masteries.


    Your sword, spear, and staff masteries will be embedded on this skill </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>you have learned dashing slash</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>you have learned piercing stab</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>you have learned side stepping</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ........


    After reading all the messages, I summarized the skills I got based on its styles. All of performer¡¯s weapon skills were inside of certain styles. This class has the most skills of any class I have ever read on forums by dozen folds


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Fencing Style.


    A style which mainly consist of stabbing and quick movement of a one handed sword category


    Increase damage of quick stab and piercing stab


    Increase movement speed by 10%


    Decrease cooldown by 20% for quick stab. Piercing stab, side step and flash slash</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> swordmaster style


    A style which mainly consist of slashing at joints of a one handed sword category


    Increase damage of crippling slash, meteor slash, Vertical Square, tornado slash, severen slash


    Increase damage against armored enemies


    Increase resistance to fear status.


    Increase critical hit when using all related skill causing double damage


    Increase chance of counter parry when using parry.


    Decrease cooldown for all related skills </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Ranger assassin style


    A style which mainly consist of using bows, dagger, and throwing weapons


    Increase damage of double shot. Triple shot, precision shot, knife throwing, backstab, double stab


    Increase range for throwing javelins, shurikens, and knives


    Increase the effect of stealth


    Critical hit chance when making an ambush </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> knightsword defender


    A style which mainly uses a shield along with one other one handed weapon or spear


    Increased defense when using shield stroke, fortress stance, defensive stance, defensive form, shield bash, shield parry, parry


    Increase resistance to fear. Morale will be harder to drop


    Reduce cooldown of related skill </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Jujitsu


    A style which consist of barehanded skills.


    Increase damage and remove cooldown of flash punch, triple kick, shadow punch, wyvern kick, keen edge, master punch, martial combo, somersault, sea attack.


    Decrease cooldown for side step, shadow step, quick step, air walk, wall run, inertia change


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> knightsaint swordmaster


    A style which consist of using a two handed sword skills.


    Increase the damage of hurricane, vorpal strike, avalanche, vertical slash


    Increase defense when parry


    Chance of knockback or knockdown when using parry


    Increase resistance to fear. Morale will be harder to drop


    Decrease the cooldown of related skills </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> kung fu


    A style which focus on using spear and kick attack.


    Increase damage of triple kick, wyvern kick, shadow kick, spear stab, quadruple stab, Tsunami barrage, whirlwind attack,


    Decrease cooldown of all related skill.


    Increase movement speed by 10%


    Chance of stun when the skill hit.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> heavy knight


    A style consist of using axes or maces


    Increase damage of related skill


    Chance to stun


    Chance to knockback


    Chance to knock down


    Increase damage to armor durability


    Axe                                                                        mace


    -          Whirlwind smash                             - megaton smash


    -          Skull splitter                                       - meteor smash


    -          Horizontal slash                                - skull smash


    -          Avalanche                                           - avalanche


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    That is all the skills and styles I learned. I also learned that different styles bonuses do not stack together. And to use a style, I need to perform an initial pose. After the style activated, I can use the related skills in that style. If I use anything outside of that style, the style is cancelled. I knew that some classes have 1 or 2 styles, but this is kind of ridiculous. I have 8 styles and most of them use different skills. How do I train all of this?


    ¡°She is really a fast learner huh?¡± Elkami whispered to Stella


    ¡°Fast? That¡¯s not fast. That¡¯s terrifying. She learned all of those skills in 3 weeks. In addition, she gained 10 levels when raiding some mines to train her styles and skills. Sometimes she even skipped a chapter in a book saying she already understood it. How can she gained a skill without reading it first?¡±


    ¡°Maybe she analyzed it from previous chapters?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one logic. But I need more than twice of her time to learn that. It is depressing you know. I will run out of material to teach her in no time if these keeps up.¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Haha, I know how that feels.¡± El giggled a bit


    ¡°Well, I am happy. She can become a great performer in no time if this keeps up. She just need to get rid of her shyness and she will be perfect. I will became a mere pet when that happened¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like I am her pet though. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Right.¡±


    ¡°Umm.. Stella, I am done. So, what¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Sorry Riri, but we have to force you a bit. You need to reach 200 to use the equipment I brought after all.¡± Stella winked


    After that I went to the upper level of the caves that are filled with snakes. Apart from my Elkami sword, I take some other weapons such as wooden bow, iron axe, wooden spear, throwing weapons, and leather gloves. This is what the villages are willing to give me for free, they have steel now but they seemed unwilling to give it away except to their soldiers, I don¡¯t need these weapons for long anyway. I already have Elkami and Tensaiga for swords although Tensaiga can¡¯t damage anything it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t train my skill with it.


    My skill is currently beginner. Although this class is very flexible, Stella said that I need to use proper skill against proper enemies. For example, snakes have soft skins thus they are for vulnerable against sharp weapons such as swords and spears. However bugs that have exoskeletons such as spiders or scorpions are more vulnerable against heavy weapons such as axes or maces. The same applied to humans. If the enemy is a shield user like Hasega, axe or maces can knock them down. But against fast and thin armor such as thieves, it is better to use swords.


    ¡°Hmm, there is going to be a guild war right? Your friends? Are you going to go there?¡± Stella asked. The truth is, 2 days ago when I trained at the caves, I asked Hasega and co and thus we manage to clear the caves. The loot was quite good, but I choose cash instead and gave every equipment to others. They didn¡¯t accept either as their equipment was better so we decided to sell and split the money. Sometime during that time, Anya mentioned about that guild war. Everyone participated and thus we are also invited. I dodged the invitation by saying I want to train with Stella.


    ¡°Hmm, currently I am lvl 170. The war is 2 days away. I can¡¯t make it to lvl 200 in 2 days, the exp these snakes gives are getting fewer and fewer. Although I already have blacksmithing skill. Not to mention the journey to the castle itself. I heard it is extremely far away¡±


    ¡°If you ride that griffin Hasega was using, it might only took a day to get there. How about whispering him?¡± El said


    ¡°Hmm....¡°I pondered at El suggestions. Truth be told, I really want to go. But I don¡¯t have anything to show them. And looking at Anya and others. I feel inferior. They have such a high rank in Trisia and moreover, their equipment looked rare. ¡°So, does all of you want to go?¡± I asked. If Stella and El said we should go I guess I should tag along.


    ¡°That¡¯s no good Riri, it looks like we force you to.¡± El said while pouting.


    ¡°Well, I do want to go. But, if it means forcing you, I guess we can skip it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well, let¡¯s go then. I will contact Hasega. But don¡¯t think highly of my performance later ok? I haven¡¯t improved at all except for the past week.¡± I said while contacting Hasega. Maybe the truth is I just don¡¯t want to let them down. Those guys have high levels and positions and they trained regularly unlike me who is goofing off in a place like this.  Anya has invited me numerous times, but Shella didn¡¯t. I guess she didn¡¯t have high hopes from jack of all trades.


    Hasega was very glad that I could come to guild war. He rushed out his griffin to pick me up and we left just like that. The place for the guild war was indeed very far. While from Trisia to Acolyte was just a few hours, the journey to the Silphia castle took more than 24 hours. Now that I think about it, I didn¡¯t even know where the guild war took place. If not for Hasega, I think I would have gotten lost somewhere. I could read maps, but if flying by griffin took more than 24 hours, journey by foot would take weeks. I suppose it is understandable now that Shella was recruiting from a week before where in here it would be 1 month.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± Hasega said proudly while landing. The castle was very well fortified. A moat and a drawbridge surround the castle. The castle itself was backed by a cliff so any army that wanted to attack it would have to go from the front, unless there was some secret passage somewhere.


    ¡°Hello Riri. You came. Have you finished your training?¡± Anya said while greeting me


    ¡°Umm, no. I can¡¯t make it¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the training has finished.  It is just that she doesn¡¯t have sufficient levels yet to use the special equipment for that. So, you have to be content with the usual sword. Ahh, if I remember, she will be participated as a healer right? You don¡¯t have to worry about a thing then.¡± Stella reassured Hasega. Stella, please don¡¯t make such a demand from me okay.


    ¡°Hahaha, okay, I will speak to Shella, umm, she is Audine here. ¡° Hasega said while walking toward the inner castle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t looked so down. The level requirement is 70 here. You are already way past that. no need to worry.¡± Anya reassured me ¡°and you have El and Stella too¡±


    ¡°Umm, okay.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, who is she?¡± Some random swordsman


    ¡°Well, this is Lily. It is Riri here. Not very different isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Although the face is different, you can tell them straight away. Hahaha.¡± He laughed


    ¡°No kidding.¡± Anya giggled ¡°Ahh, but when it is battle time, you might not recognized her, and she has this different personality when fighting.¡±


    ¡°Alter Ego? Hahah, I would like to see that.¡±


    ¡®Please don¡¯t spread some rumors about meee!!¡¯


    ¡°Ahh, my name is Rund. It is Mario in real world level 100 mercenary although I am not really strong, I am free spirit so I am looking for a class that is not bound to any places and here I am. Recognize me? I am in class B next to you. And this one is Sam, Dune, Howard. No need to mention their real names okay, they are from different school just like Hasega.¡± He said while pointing at his member


    ¡°Now,i heard from Anya that you are new? Should I teach you some basics?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would love too.¡± In order not to look ridiculous, at least I have to memorize some basics


    ¡°Alright, so, as you may already know, for this battle there are 1 commander, 6 captains which each have 5 legions each legions have 10 squad leaders. And lastly each squad has 6 groups, for me the commander is Audine. The captain is Hasega. Our battalion leader is Victor, our squad leader is Anya, and under her is my group. That¡¯s the gist of it, there are some free spots left in my group, I do not socialize much so our group is basically leftovers hahah. I think Hasega is trying to place you into my group if you were put in, we will have a solid 6 group members and will not be treated as reserves anymore. Our army here is around 10 thousands. It is quite big especially for castle defense. ¡±


    ¡°umm, so, where are Dem and Iris?¡± I asked


    ¡°Dem is a battalion leader under Hasega while Iris is another captain. ¡° Anya said. Since the everlasting group has their own group to lead, I guess I won¡¯t be seeing they worked together again.


    ¡°Hello, tired of waiting? So, I have talked toward our commander. She said it is okay to let you joined. Since you came so late, she just threw you to my group. So, Riri, the positions for battalion and squad leader has been filled. Although it is a shame that someone of your talent is an ordinary group member and reserve troops. But please hold on for a while. You might get into action the day after tomorrow¡± Hasega said while playing something in front of him. His status window is big. Is that for a captain?


    ¡°Hmm, Rund has 5 members although their average is just 100. The others already have their own hired NPC priest. Sorry, but I guess you have to put up with it. You came late anyway.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have been invited by Hasega to guild war. You will be placed in Rund¡¯s group. Do you accept? </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Umm, okay.¡± Why do I feel left out? Hasega seemed reluctant but his decision gave no space for opposition.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have joined a guild war as Defender


    You are tasked with defending Silphia castle which is under guild Odin rule.


    You will be rewarded with 10 silver for each contribution point you got


    Upon death, you will not be revived until the war is over.


    Contribution points will be earned based on your performance


    Exp will be rewarded based on the performance of your group


    The defender is not allowed for reinforcement


    The attacker is allowed for reinforcement


    The defender is allowed for castle weapons


    The attacker is allowed for siege weapons


    Condition for losing :


    -          Attacker has conquered throne room


    -          Commander Audine dies


    -          The castle is damaged more than 90%


    Conditions for winning


    -          Commander Qirin dies


    -          Attacker has less than 10% of defender¡¯s army


    -          No attack for 24 hour consist of at least 300 troops


    The war will begin in 23 minutes


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Well, the other group have paladins or NPC hired priests. It is only natural that you fall into my group Riri. Let¡¯s work well together.¡± Rund said happily


    ¡°Just 20 more minutes and the battle will start.¡± Hasega said. ¡°Any question anyone?¡±


    ¡°Umm. How many is our enemy and what do you mean the day after tomorrow? Is this going to be a long battle?¡±


    ¡°Well, basically, we fight until no one is left so, it might took weeks if there is a big siege like this. However, unlike us, the enemy is allowed for reinforcements so we don¡¯t know their total number. From our scouts, the enemy is currently 12 thousand but it might increase later. For the detail you might ask Anya.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Okay, everyone, head to your post.¡± Hasega said and alarm sounded which marks the siege has begun


    chapter 38</a>


    chapter 40</a>


    _______________


    Author note


    - i feel like ending this series soon so, i skipped how she trained. i know it would feel horrible if a fiction stopped midway so i tried to accelerate the pace and finish it. it is better if the ending is a bit crappy than not finishing at all right? i hope this chapter isn''t to crappy for you to read


    - any comment and questions will be answered. you can even ask what is going to happen after this. beware of spoilers though. i will try to answer your questions to the best of my capabilities


    - enjoy reading.

 chapter 40 finale

    Due to space limitations, there can only be 2000 troops stationed. Silphia castle do not have levels like Trisia so there can only be so many numbers to put on its wall. So we stayed in a reserve room watching monitor in our status window. It was like watching TV of some siege. It has a bird eye view of the battle and we can zoomed in as much as we like. It is not as cool as Lord of the ring since we are looking from 90 degree up. But it has all the information and tension that we need. Currently there are over 5000 troops on the other side. But there are no movement yet.


    ¡°Hey, we are on reserves?¡± Anya pouted at Hasega


    ¡°What can I do about it? This castle do not belong to our guild. They want to hog all the exp and points¡± Hasega said while watching the monitor ¡°So, there are only 1 or 2 captains out there. Iris is also with us here. All of the captains and the troops outside is from their guild¡±


    ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t quite understand.¡±


    ¡°Basically Riri, they put us on standby while their own guild make a killing. If the situation is dire, only then they will ask our help.¡±


    More question mark appeared on my head. Why do the owner of the castle put on their body in front of first? If you die early you won¡¯t be revived until the end of the game. Isn¡¯t it better if reserves dies first? Moreover, even if the chance is small, there is still a chance that you might drop your equipment if you die. If I have a shiny swords or armors like Hasega, I would definitely want to come out last


    ¡°Well, usually the enemy ditch out low leveled warriors first. The exp for each killing here is big. It is equal to ? of the exp for 1 level of the killed enemy. So basically, if you killed someone of your own levels here 4 times, you will gain a level up. So, if you knew that information, will you come out first, or come out last?¡± Anya asked


    ¡°I see.¡± If the exp is that big, I can probably gained 10 levels for 1 day of war here if I survived and killed a lot of enemy


    ¡°Moreover, their money isn¡¯t infinite. I am sure that they want to kill first to reduce the contribution points for us outsiders as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, if it is their own members who acquired contribution points, they can just returned the gold they accept back to the guild.¡±


    ¡°Exactly¡± Anya said while in teaching mode


    ¡°Ahh, but the enemy seemed quite high leveled this time.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you are right. Measuring from their equipment, they should be at their 100¡± Anya said. ¡°Maybe the opposite of what the guild desire would come. Sometimes it is inevitable that all member of their guild dies and we took all the glory. Hihi.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, battalion leader Kaliska, please go outside, please reinforce the southwest part.¡± Hasega made a call. So, this is the system for guild wars. I kind of feel like they are calling us to die here


    ¡°Hmm, we are taking turns?¡±


    ¡°The battle might took weeks. If we have problems in real time, someone will replace us. Convenient isn¡¯t?¡± Anya said ¡°Since we are on reserve, I might as well give Hasega a PM and log off. Need to take a bath and having dinner. Byee¡±


    Anya said while meddling with her screen and log off momentarily. Meanwhile, I continue watching the battle. The battle was so-so. The enemy only send several hundred from their unit. Mainly wizards and archers. After they got their HP in red they quickly went back and another group replaced them.


    ¡°Hmm, so, they use this kind of tactics. What a boring battle¡± Rund commented


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped Rund. If they rushed ahead, an AOE offensive spell will kill them. Moreover, their number isn¡¯t really that large compared to us.¡±Hasega commented


    ¡°So, is this battle going to drag on like this?¡± I asked


    ¡°No. Soon either their patience or ours will run out. When that happens you can expect a large scale battle. If no one makes a move, then in 5 days or so, players will start leaving in both sides because of boredom.¡±


    ¡°We can quit?¡±


    ¡°Just cancel your quest and you will be teleported to last town visited.¡±


    I feel like quitting already. They are practically playing volleyball out there. Casting spell and then returning them. After that they switch players, if you take a look more closely, the switched players didn¡¯t even use potions to heal themselves


    ¡°We will get big exp right?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. In another town, the battle is usually more intense. But our castle has height advantage, sturdy walls, many siege weapons, and above that, a powerful guild protecting it. It can¡¯t be breached simply by blindly assaulting it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I heard 10 or 20 thousand is normal.¡±


    ¡°It is, but more than 20 thousand is quite difficult. Anyway, usually the attacker is more than twice than defender. But look at now, our numbers aren¡¯t really that far off right? I was questioned as why do they dared to attack this castle. I was expecting an army of over 30 thousand you know? They need to be at least that much if they dared to storm this castle.¡±


    ¡°Whoa.  How would they take turns?¡±


    ¡°Beats me. War above 30 thousands is rare. And usually you would do it in open field which makes it very cool and interesting, you know that famous video right? They fought in front of their castle. Now that was what we called a fight. But relax, before and after that happened something like this actually happened, it is just that YouTube only shows the good part.¡°


    And so after a very boring talk about war mechanism and tactics which I already memorized, nothing really happened. It is the usual skirmishes consist of several group of people. Rund and the other went to log off and promised to come back again 2 days later which mean 12 hour. I followed suit to log off, sleep, doing homework in morning and going to school.


    In school, Shella seemed to play with her phone a lot. She was looking into the war statistics. Using some kind of app, she was still able to maintain communication to her guild mates and coordinating the war. The work of a commander is very tough. By the way, once in a while, I use my phone too to communicate with my pets. The app is very convenient. It can even move our character. This way, I do not need to use a capsule every time I need to speak with Stella. The app can also simulate a battle but it is very inconvenient not to mention internet lagging. Playing real time and shouting skill name was much better.


    1 week later


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned icicle spear </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned serpent fume </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned thunder spear</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned flame sword </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned ice sword </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned dark sword </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned light sword</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned thunder sword</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned wind sword</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> you have learned earth sword</td></tr></tbody></table>


    It is a good thing that I brought my books with me.  There are only intermediate spells and advanced spell left but there are more than 20 books for that. During this week I manage to train and got another 10 spell by training at the corner back of the castle where no one is watching, by the way our battalion was called several times into battlefield. But our group mostly just standing at the back of the wall. Good thing I knew some basic buffing and healing spells plus I can do some offensive spell though it is minor so I manage to gain 100 contribution points. But my group is essentially only killed 2 opponents thus far.


    ¡°I should become a mage or archer if I went to participate like this.¡± Rund said


    ¡°Well, I am a mage and I manage to gain 1000 contribution point. Tough luck Rund¡± Anya said while puffing her chest ¡°it is a good thing I manage to kill so many.¡±


    ¡°What the hell.¡±


    ¡°Rund, you are going to get your chances. Be patient.¡± Hasega said


    ¡°But we barely scrap 15 contribution point each! I can get more than 10 gold in 1 week at my level even by doing lousy quest. But I barely scrap 2 gold at this rate¡±


    ¡°It is the whining of the weak. Look at Riri, she scrapped more than 100 points by 0 killing.¡± Anya said while winking. ¡°Accept your fate, some coward do this kind of cowardice battle. It is not like we want it too you know.¡±


    Actually I noticed this 2 days after the war began. In this battle, the enemy is allowed for reinforcement while we don¡¯t. This mean the enemy can invite more member at their leisure while we can¡¯t. Moreover, we are locked inside this castle. Unless we can fly like Hasega and co, we can¡¯t get outside of this castle. It is a battle of patience and attrition. If we take a look at the statistic of this war, from our 10 thousand army, more than 1000 already quit the quest and the complaint about cowardice and flaming on the forum grew wilder each day. It is far lower than the number of killed which is merely 225 people.for the opposition, there are no quits but they have took more than 2000 casualties but their number is still way above 10 thousand. To break this stalemate, 1 or 2 squad already tried to skirmish them but the enemy is tougher than it looks. They reinforced their camp and even have adequate shift at night. A mere 100 people can¡¯t get past them and chose to pull back.


    ¡°Riri, what say you on this matter?¡± Hasega asked


    ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t mind waiting. I still have 15 more books to learn.¡± I said the truth of the matter.


    ¡°Well, not everyone is as patient as you are Riri.¡± Anya said. ¡°The truth is, I am also a bit agitated. Even though I have a griffin and could fly¡±


    ¡°The commander said that we will never lose as long as we stay cooped on this wall. And I dare to say that is true. But if this keeps going on, we will never win either. Moreover, the money for supply are growing thinner each day. Well, our commander has flying eagle and she could use it to brought food, so at least so our satiety bar is no problem. Hmm. are you saying that we should wait Riri?¡±


    The truth is, if this situation prolongs any further, we are going to lose for sure. I kinda expected more than 3000 player will quit next week. And another 2000 the week after that. In just 3 week, the battle will not be between 10 thousand vs 12 thousand army but it is going to be 1000 vs 9.000 or 8000 army. The only one who would stay here to the end would only be hired NPC and flying user after all and possibly some loyal guild member. Even if the opponent would lose additional 6000 due to some random skirmishes which totaled 8000 including, they could still invite more or hired more npc if they want to. The only way to win is to summon 5 from 6 captain and storm the enemy camp and thus bringing the siege to the end by killing Qirin or killed the entire army. Killing the entire army is unlikely. But killing Qirin should be possible.


    After thinking like that I look at Hasega. He knows that if we wait like this we are not going to win. The guild might win since the castle has a very thick wall and a lot of siege engines. So 1000 vs 8000 might be winnable. But the chance is slim and we outsider gain nothing from it. The one that profit would be the defending guild. Audine and the other captain certainly took this into consideration when announcing that kind of strategy. Politics rule even in fantasy world settings huh?


    ¡°You knew the answer Hasega. Why ask us?¡± Stella interrupted


    ¡°I knew we can¡¯t win like this. But I can¡¯t find a way to win. And by winning means a profit and honorable battle. I am now a paladin knight. I need honor stat to maintain my character strength you know. So, maybe I could ask for a little miracle from you Riri. Just like last time.¡±


    ¡°Ummm.¡± The truth is he asked for something impossible. A lightning never strike the same place twice. How can he expect a miracle to come to me more than once? What can a single person do in a battle like this?


    ¡°I am a captain. After some loses, I still command more than 1000 soldiers. We can ignore our commander orders to stay put and storm the enemy camp. Iris can summon another 1000 which would totaled about 2500 soldiers. After giving this number, do you think we have a chance Riri?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why are you asking Riri captain Hasega?¡± Rund was confused


    ¡°Riri is very smart you know.¡± Anya commented while smiling at me


    ¡®Stop putting pressure on me!! You knew I am weak to pressure¡¯


    ¡°But asking someone who has such a poor equipment, no status, and no explicit rank. Even if her skill was quite okay and her level is higher than normal is it okay to leave this kind of decision to her?¡± Rund answered.


    I kinda feel insulted at the way he describe me. Sorry for being poor with lousy lvl 20 rare equipment and common lvl 100 equipment. I can¡¯t deny this equipment is too outdated for me. And it is also true that I have no rank to brag about. In the village, everyone listen to me and I have been offered to be the village leader but I denied it


    ¡°She commands a village you know. And that village is soon to be a town. You might as well call her a duchess now or several weeks later¡± Anya said


    ¡°Does she? She have never left this castle. If she commands a territory, she must visit the village like Hasega to handle some matters right?¡±


    ¡°Well, she does not own that village. But that village practically worship her, so is it not the same?¡± Anya said ¡°More than that. She has experience¡±


    ¡°2500 against 12.000?¡± Rund said


    ¡°She has gone through worse and still could win¡± Hasega said while grinned


    ¡®Stop bragging about me. Your praises hurts me. You know an antisocial person would never like to stand out!¡¯ my thought almost screamed out from my lip


    ¡°Okay Rund, you have no say in this matter, I am asking Riri. So you should keep your mouth shut and wait until Riri make some plan.¡±


    ¡°Umm. Give me some time.¡±


    ¡°Okay. But no escape okay. I can already see you want to escape into some other books you have in hand.¡± Anya said. It is a horrible thing if your enemy knew how you would behave. How can she predict my behavior so accurately?


    4 hours later, I am still sitting on come corner of the room. Hasega and Anya still has their eyes on me. It is a torture. If I do not make some kind of strategy I am screwed


    ¡°So, Riri. Do you have any plan?¡±


    ¡°Umm. I do. It is actually simple. We just need to kill Qirin right?¡±


    ¡°But the commander at this battle should be at least lvl 350. Even we are still 250¡± Anya said while pointing toward their everlasting group


    ¡°Exception to Iris which is 280.¡± Hasega added. Whoa, what a huge gap. The level limit here is a mere 70 but there are someone who is 5 times more than that. And to note, I am still a good 80 levels below you Hasega.


    ¡°Umm, so, how many should we gather to fight him alone?¡±


    ¡°That is the difficult thing. Level is ambiguous you know. Each level up only bring up 5 skill point. But we can gather those 5 point from somewhere else. For example is training center. By beating up wooden dolls we can gain stat. participating in a unique quest also brought some stat point. And drinking or eating rare food may also bring up stat point. But if you think he is a normal player. 4 or 5 level 200 player gangbanging him should bring him down. Someone who is surrounded bring many disadvantage to them. But if he is in a party, it is quite a difficult story¡± Anya said


    Now, I have no clue what normal means. Am I normal? Is Anya and Hasega normal? What about Dem? Soldiers in my village which is now lvl 40? But that soldier is lvl 40, I can¡¯t just multiply their strength 5 times to expect a normal lvl 200 players can¡¯t I?


    ¡°But he is a commander. He can¡¯t be normal.¡± Hasega said.


    ¡°Well, even if he is a badass, he can¡¯t possibly handle more than 10 at a time right? So the number isn¡¯t too far off.¡±


    ¡°He might be weaker.¡± Hasega said ¡°Qirin is a mage like you Anya. But she leans more to thunder magic.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, so you knew him¡± Anya said


    ¡°Yes, and he being a mage simply state that he will have several bodyguard around him. If he is able to cast his magic, even 10 or 20 can¡¯t handle him. But we might be able to assassinate him, we have Dem after all. An assassin is best for killing mages after all. He might match him 1 on 1 while the other distract the bodyguard¡±


    ¡°So, umm, so, I am proposing that we assassinate Qirin while the others is a decoy.¡± I said my opinion


    ¡°That thought have crossed my mind Riri. But this castle only pointed to one direction. How do we send the assassination team without anyone noticing?¡± now that is the hard part. I was kinda expecting the enemy to all gather at ours but it might not be that simple


    ¡°Umm, the decoy isn¡¯t actually a decoy. But an attacking team. So, just in case your group failed we just need to rush out to kill Qirin immediately.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, attacking from 2 front? One is blindly assaulting while other is sneakily assaulting?¡± Hasega said while thinking.


    ¡°AT LAST! HAHAHAHA! You need to speak like that from day one, Riri. Why the hell did you wait for us to rot here? Hasega, stop thinking and let¡¯s do it. I need to bring my axe out there, it has been gathering rust here. And I don¡¯t want to come with the sneaking team. I want to be at the very front right now okay?¡±


    ¡°ummm, I was thinking of sending Hasega, Dem, Victor, Iris, and Anya together as assassination team.¡±


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°You have better equipment and skills than the other member right¡±


    ¡°But we are more eye catching that way.¡±


    ¡°Ummmm¡± actually I knew something like this is about to happen. I have a plan for this, but I do not want to say it out loud.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Nothing is more eye catching than our Riri here.¡± Stella said while hugging me from behind


    ¡°Ahh, white rider.¡± Iris said while remembering something.


    ¡®Stop it! I can¡¯t take it anymore. Don¡¯t speak any more about my past!!¡¯


    ¡°White rider?¡± Anya, Hasega, and the others tilted their head


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Stella is right. Nothing is more eye-catching than Riri. During my battle at city of acolyte, her equipment and skill is the most eye catching of all. Even if she almost didn¡¯t kill anyone. She has that aura where she just drawing some attention you know.¡± Iris smiled


    ¡°Well, even if it at Trisia, she is definitely become popular. I thought it was because she was a strategist. But I guess it is not because of that.¡± Hasega said. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do it tomorrow at night. Me and Iris need some preparation too gather our troops. ¡°


    ¡°Suicide huh? Well, if 2 captains are going, I am going too. I was thinking like that since day one but if I just rushed out alone and got killed, I can¡¯t revived until the war is over. ¡°


    So, that¡¯s why everyone chose to quit than risking to storm our enemies. The system was quite ruthless. But I think it is more realistic this way, to plant some fear into the heart of our enemies and us. If we can just revive after losing 1 level and some skill percentage, the penalty was too light while the reward is too good and people would just rushed out without obeying their commander.


    ¡°Umm, how should I speak to Shella tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I will handle it. Part of this is essentially her fault anyway. We can just say we want to rush out. We win in the end right? If we lose we will say sorry about losing 2500 soldiers. But 1000 soldiers have quit in the past few weeks right? An answer like that will make her speechless.¡± Anya said ¡°Okay, I will PM some of my group members to gather. Victor is already fired up, he seemed like he want to rush out now, Dem get to work with those PM¡±


    ¡°Okay miss¡±


    ¡°Anya should be lower in terms of rank. But why does she able to command Dem and Victor like that?¡± I whispered to Stella


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what you call social standing Riri.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I don¡¯t really get it. But let¡¯s nod.


    And 1 day passed just like that. I got another skill at that time. It is called wind jump. A short spell with no cooldown which allowed me to jump on wind. With this skill I can almost fly. But my mana can¡¯t sustain it. It needs 100 mana for each jump. It might be useful for fighting. This way I can utilize 3 dimensional movement even if the terrain is plain. This might be useful if combined with fire sword or ice sword skill. That spell essentially added our weapon with elemental damage.


    I kinda feel like a sword mage now. At last, after tremendous training I finally got rid of this class stupid penalty of blacksmithing skill. I can finally slash someone good this time. No one will call me agility based tanker or dodging tanker anymore. Even if my sword is still for lvl 20, my stat is quite high and I can use elemental buffing for my sword. I should bought more mana potions from this castle store now.


    ¡°Riri, have you done you preparation?¡± Anya asked


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± Hasega said together with Iris


    And so we came outside of our castle. Somehow i seemed hesitant and reluctant to leave. Is this the feeling of a shut in? It does seemed hard to take the first step outside. If we were not together, i doubt i would ever be able to leave this castle.


    After I stepped outside, I take out a normal horse brought from the castle. Some wealthier player also chose to mount a horse including Hasega and co. The night was very silent, every move we made seemed to make loud noises. Even the steps we made seemed as loud as thunder cracks.


    ¡°Here we are. That¡¯s the first guard post.¡± Said Hasega and co. They wore a cloak over their face, the cloak seemed to resemble the one they wore during an escape towards Trisia with Maria. How nostalgic.


    ¡°So, we are going to hide away while our Riri here will catch the show.¡± Said Anya


    ¡°Hey, are you sure that we should let Riri do the leading?¡± Rund asked for confirmation


    ¡°All you need to do is rush ahead. Who cares with who is leading?¡± Said Hasega


    After that I inhale, then exhale, after that I inhaled again before I shouted ¡°CHARGE!!!¡±


    I wore my cleric suit so in the dark of the night, my white clothes together with white dotted brown horse stood out. Moreover, due to my title as the white rider, my horse ran a little bit in front of the others.  All the guard post eyes seemed to be fixated on me


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Your ability have raised by 10% due to audience </td></tr></tbody></table>


    The cloak wearing group detach themselves as I and the others charge strike through the enemy camp.


    ¡°Fire sword.¡± I said as my Elkami sword blazed with fire and slashed through the enemy.


    ¡°Holy. That was really cool. Where did she learn that?¡± Hasega said as he sneak a peek towards us.


    ¡°Damn that kid always stealing the show.¡± Victor said while brandished his axe and putting some stranded soldiers to the after life


    ¡°Wind jump.¡± I said while jumping from my horse which was pierced through by some random spear a second later.


    ¡°Wind jump! Wind jump! Wind jump! Thunder sword!¡± I said while zigzagging above enemy troops and slashed an archer at the rear with ¡°Meteor strike, severen slash¡±


    I feel awesome. Even though the enemy is roughly lvl 70 and cannot withstand much of my strikes, killing one after another made me feel I am at the top of the world


    ¡°Summon Stella, Elkami.¡±


    And then, I summoned my two friends into the fray, Elkami came out and directly let out a blue glow while flying toward the sky and gaining a height advantage. The only thing that can hit her is either arrow or magic now. Stella on the other hand, being very aggressive on the start clawing and biting everyone. From her glare everyone was inflicted with fear and just being near with her everyone¡¯s HP dropped little by little


    <table><tbody><tr><td> your stat rose by 25 % due to audience </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s a lot.¡± I murmured while I looked at my stat.


    ¡°I am on my 5th kill Hahahaha.¡± Rund said while laughing like a psychopath. He said that sounding so cool. But even I already killed more than 20. I can¡¯t really praise him. Well, there are also level difference so, 5 kill might worth much for him


    ¡°Well, I am on my 59th I guess. I think I missed my count somewhere.¡± El said while counting her fingers. What a scary numbers! As expected of a mage


    ¡°Stopped counting and do more killing. Don¡¯t brag El!¡± Stella said while tearing one of the warriors head sending him to the afterlife. Her killing might be fewer than me but her area of effect debuff is something that can¡¯t be count with numbers. Thanks to her the enemy around us moved more slowly and thus more easily to be killed


    20 minutes later, I drank another mana potion while dodging and countering some warriors attacks. The mana consumption for this battle is no joke. I am on my 5th bottle already. El using spells and I use sword skill and spell consumed my mana at tremendous rate. If this continued I can only hold on for another 10 minutes. I should have brought more mana potion. When will Hasega and co do their job, we are slowly getting pushed back here.


    Hasega POV


    ¡°So, where is the commander tent?¡± I said to Dem. He is our scouts now. With his ability as assassin there are no one more suited for this than him.


    ¡°Whoa, everyone really rushed toward Riri¡¯s place. Only a meager 2 or 3 soldiers came to our way. And moreover they are all injured. A single stroke from victor is enough to kill them.¡± Anya commented


    ¡°Okay, found the tent. The commander is running away with his 2 bodyguards. Let¡¯s kill them. This way.¡± Dem said while leading us. The plan was successful until now. Even if his bodyguards are strong, we can outnumbered them. There are 4 of us and Dem specialized in killing mages. I will attract their attention and tanking, Anya will snipe with her spell from afar, and Victor will stand beside me as damage dealer


    ¡°Go!!¡± I said as the commander was seen. We took a little runabout way of getting towards Qirin. In 2 minutes we can get behind him. After that it will be a piece of cake.


    ¡°CHAARGEE!!!!¡± Victor loudly swung his axe towards Qirin. Using vertical axe slash.


    ¡°Argh!¡± Qirin took a step back and his bodyguards rushed in to protect him


    ¡°Okay Anya, take a position, Victor, and will deal with the bodyguards. Keep the enemy reinforcements at bay!¡±


    ¡°Roger. Firestorm!!¡± Anya cast her most powerful spell behind Qirin. Even though it is her most powerful spell, it is an AOE Spell so it would be pretty unlikely to kill of the entire enemy. But it should be sufficient to hinder them. Now let see, I should deal with the bodyguards at the front while Victor deal With Qirin and Dem will assassinate Qirin from his back. With this Qirin should die


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I definitely hit him at that time. Why isn¡¯t his HP decreasing?¡± even if it is only 1 hit, a normal mage should lose more than 40% of his HP if it got a clean hit from Victor. What¡¯s the meaning of this?


    ¡°Rise fallen warrior. Obey me and slay my enemy!!¡± as he said that several skeletons rose up from the earth


    ¡°He is a necromancer?!¡± Victor screamed


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t explained his HP.¡± Anya commented while casting another spell called fire strike. With a concentrated fire, one of his bodyguard fell down and thus finished by Victor.


    ¡°Backstab! Death strike!¡± Dem said while unleashing his moves from behind Qirin.


    ¡°ARG!!¡± Qirin screamed and try to counter with his staff but it was futile. There is no way a mere mage can handle assassin in close range. But his HP doesn¡¯t seemed to decrease at all. Even if he is above lvl 350 with the best of equipment, getting attacked like that, he should lose more than 50% of his HP already.


    ¡°Dark curse! Shadow ball!¡± Qirin started to cast his spells toward us. I quickly shielded myself with my shining knight tower shield.


    We continue the battle in this fashion. I and Victor are handling the summoned skeletons and Qirin¡¯s bodyguard while Dem focused on Qirin, Anya was handling enemy reinforcement with her spells. The battle has gone on for quite a while. My HP was down by 30% even though I am a tanker and my mana has almost dried up because of my healing spells and defensive skills. Victor is down to 40%. Anya is still safe at the rear but it is only a matter of time. And Qirin¡¯s other bodyguard was finished somewhere at this interval


    ¡°This is cheating. Why isn¡¯t his HP decreasing!?¡± Dem finally shouted. His HP was at the red mark just now. An assassin losing to a mage in close range was unimaginable. Something must went wrong somewhere.


    ¡°Hasega!¡± Elkami shouted at me. She left Riri and came to us asking for confirmation on Qirin assassination. Riri was on her last bottle of mana potion and thus her battle down there were no longer aggressive but defensive


    ¡°We have been attacking her for quite a while now. But her HP isn¡¯t decreasing!¡± I shouted to El.


    ¡°Huh? Hmm. Wait a second. I sense a curse attached to him.¡±


    ¡°A curse?¡±


    ¡°It is the same feeling as Manager of death. It is just a little bit different though. Maybe he is a follower of Embinyu church as well. Just like Reis.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t explained why his HP isn¡¯t decreasing!!¡± I shouted as I cast a healing spell toward Dem with my last bit of mana left.


    ¡°Yggdrasil said that every follower of Embinyu life gauge is enforced with the souls of the corrupted dead souls. And thus, His HP is far larger than his maximum HP. But if you continue to strike him, his HP will eventually goes down and he will soon be killed. And every time a follower of Embinyu used his skill, some of his life force was taken. That¡¯s all that I can say. Sorry if it is not much of a help. ¡±


    What unreasonable request. At this rate, even if this Qirin¡¯s HP goes back to normal and went down.  We will get annihilated first. My mana has run out. Dem Hp is in the red. Anya was also out of mana. Victor was also in the red now while drinking some health potion.


    ¡°Hey Qirin. Are you by any chance knew about Reis and Embinyu church?¡± Dem asked in the middle of a battle. Hey Dem, even if he knew will he answered us truthfully?


    ¡°How did you....¡±


    ¡®Dem. asked him about Reis.¡¯ Anya said on party channel


    ¡°So, Qirin. Do you knew a person named Reis or not?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why should I answer? Are you retarded? Just die already now!¡±


    ¡°W-w-wait!¡± Anya shouted


    ¡°W-w-wait just a second. Let¡¯s make a deal!¡± Dem said while sweating. His HP is already below 5% now. Any hit he received will be instant kill to him.¡±


    ¡°What deal?¡±


    ¡°You tell us all you knew about Reis and we will let you kill us and thus win this war.¡± Dem said


    ¡°No. I can already kill you here and now. Don¡¯t speak about letting me kill you when you only have barely 5% HP left!¡±


    ¡°Qirin! I knew for sure that you are Embinyu. If you tell us the detail I will not share this secret to anyone. But if you didn¡¯t tell us, then I will ask church of Freya to hunt you over even after the war was over!¡± I said to Qirin. This threat should be effective. Even if we killed here now, if I send a word about Qirin being a member of that church a quest for hunting him should be easy to pass. Once killed, his job will be forcibly changed or even worse, he will received a punishment of his level reset back to 1.


    ¡®That was a good one Hasega. ¡®Dem said in party chat while raising his thumbs up


    ¡®The groundwork for this deal is mine. Remember Hasega, yours is only a follow up. Don¡¯t steal my show.¡¯ Anya said. It is quite true that she was whispering Dem about the things he said until now.


    Qirin suddenly went silent. His chant stopped and he seemed to be thinking a lot of things. His expressions said that he was anxious¡°Okay. Very well. I will kill you now and message you about Reis. Add me to your friend list. Damn it, if I knew this is going to happen I will never going to this stupid war. And i lose a lot of souls too when facing you. Damn it!¡±


    ¡°Keep your promise to hide my identity. If this information leaked somewhere, I will ask some friend to personally hunt you until you went back to level 1!¡±


    ¡°Sure. I have no grudge towards you. After all, the one I chased is Reis. You are not on our hit list.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Now die.¡±


    And thus our group was annihilated


    Riri POV


    I have received word from Anya that we will lose on purpose. It happens that our enemy commander knew the whereabouts of Reis, the Death Manager. By the way, Iris was left stranded by the group somewhere on the way to the camp and thus he retreated and joined our ranks. Thanks to him, most of the enemy was pulled here he was also an excellent warrior. We fight with our backs leaning on each other, the scenery was just too cool. I wondered if he left the assassination group on purpose.


    I feel bad about this. Betraying our commander, then betraying the troops that stayed with us here until the very end. But it can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s just said the plan failed and Hasega group got annihilated before managing to kill Qirin. Anya said that we can go on killing spree here so let¡¯s not waste our acting. Let¡¯s try to bring as many contribution point as we can. Even if we lose the war, and we do not received even a single gold, the exp that we gained will not go anywhere and we will still gained a considerable amount of exp. I wonder how much have I killed already. The exp that Stella and El got by killing should also went to me right?


    And thus after 1 hours Stella and Elkami were forcefully recalled back (killed). El already exhausted my mana a long time ago and only flying around attracting attention.  It helped me quite a bit. Stella changed her way from aggressive to chasing some stranded soldiers when her HP went to red zone. She was able to hold on for a while but eventually killed. Losing debuff that Stella applied, our enemy began pushing us back. I tried to resist but it was in vain and eventually killed. Iris was still standing but his HP is already on the red zone. I guess he will be following us soon.


    In the end, the stronghold fell, Qirin¡¯s army made through the throne room and killed our commander. It only took 1 more week in the game. The opposing army only seemed troubled when they charged toward the walls. But after that was destroyed, the rest was easy. It turned out to be a quite balanced fight when they charged towards the wall. But when the wall was conquered, it was the end. I guess it was pretty close at the end for both of them. Qirin seemed to make a sullen mood even when he entered the throne. On forum, many ridiculed Qirin¡¯s tactic, but there are some who defended it. but in contrast to Qirin, many forums also ridiculed our faction. Saying that we easily gave up, we should charge bravely all at once like the white rider. And so on.


    Since I was playing Eiden, I have read less and less. I managed my objectives of making friends through the latest VRMMORPG. It is nice to be busy and surrounded by friends but it feels like I was abandoning books now that I have friends I feel guilty. Our quest about Reis is done. Qirin has informed us a very crucial info about Reis whereabouts through whatsapp. Maria and the other church went to work immediately. They are sending scouts and some knights to scout the area informed by us


    Shella put all the blame of losing the war to some of her captains. She apologized to Anya and me for doing that selfish strategy. I am amazed, we are the one that disobeyed her orders and yet she was the one apologized. Well, after she explained the reasons, we can¡¯t exactly hate her either. And it is just a game, we should not bring grudge to real world.


    Ahh, my level rose like hell after that war, I managed to go to lvl 210 and I was able to equip all the equipment Stella brought to me. All the equipment are in a set. It is called Master Performer Equipment set. I am not a master yet but Stella already sees me so.


    The equipment is a cheat I tell you. Unlike normal equipment that raise your stat by addition, this equipment raises your stat through percentage. It means you can literally equip it forever. Moreover, every type of weapon and every type of armor is inside that set Stella brought. From robes, steel plates, and leather coats. Boots, gauntlets, gloves, even rings but no helmets, but there are circlets. It is mainly made for females I see. For weapons, there are just every type. 2 swords (both 1 handed and 2 handed), 1 axe, 1 staff, 1 hammer, and 1 bow. I can¡¯t bring everything. Stella said I just need to bring 1 set of armor and 2 or 3 weapons. Even though I can use everything I can¡¯t bring them all. My hard earned skill seemed wasted. In the end, I decided to bring 1 handed sword, equipped along Elkami sword, a bow, and a staff. That¡¯s my weapon. Tensaiga already occupied 2 handed sword, he seemed anxious he seemed like he want to cry when he see Stella¡¯s 2 handed sword. We decided not to use 2 handed sword except him for his sake.


    It has already been a few month after that war. I have managed to learn all of the spell in Stella books. I can¡¯t learnt her Original skill though. She said I need to learn it myself. She said it would need years to get a grip on that skill so I can just wait leisurely. It is fine, I do not plan on quitting and Eiden Online isn¡¯t going to close anytime soon. Since Stella is my goal, I will work hard on learning from her. She is already my dearest friend.


    ?-----------------¨¤


    ¡°Hello everyone.¡± Maria said in front of the church


    ¡°Hello.¡± I replied along with Hasega and co.  When I logged in from my house, Hasega quickly PMed me saying that Maria urgently awaited and pick me up. I wonder what the rush is.


    ¡°Please come in.¡±  She led us into her work office


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the rush?¡± Stella asked


    ¡°Well, we have acquired information about death manager and verified it. ¡°


    ¡°And?¡± Hasega asked. It seems like even Hasega and Anya hasn¡¯t been informed on this


    ¡°The knights we sent were annihilated and few of them managed to get back with serious injury bringing precious information.¡±


    ¡°I see. So, you want us to participate on the next assault?¡± Iris said


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°But, although I am a paladin, the city is still bigger than the church. You need count¡¯s permission to send us out right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy. This city is already in worst relationship with Reis.¡±


    ¡°So, where is the quest?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t finish explaining and yet you are so eager. Well, I guess that is your group¡¯s forte.¡±


    You have received a quest


    War against Death manager


    Gather at the darkness grasslands and then march toward dark lord castle and annihilate Death Manager.


    Quest difficulty: A+


    Quest reward: unknown


    ¡°Gather?¡± Anya asked


    ¡°So, it seems that Reis has amassed some army. We need some army too if we are to hope for Victor y.¡±


    ¡°Are there other city or church backing us?¡± Iris asked. Maria then showed a smile


    ¡°Not just a city or two. But the entire country. We have backing from half of royal army and 2 third of the entire church and clerics. We even received some of foreign knights backing us. Not to mention other races are also participating in this war. Elves, were beast. And dwarves. I think some of that fairies also came to help, even holy beast as unicorn and pegasus. Reis is quite hated¡±


    ¡°Whoa, he is top list criminal.¡± Victor said ¡°even terrorist do not get such a treatment.¡±


    ¡°Well, not really. These country actually paid no mind at first. But, after our 100 knights were annihilated leaving 2 or 3 people alive, they brought information about Death manager¡¯s army. And I tell you, his army is around twice or even 3 times bigger than when he attacked us. And thus, without any other persuasion needed, the nation lent almost all of their strength to attack this dark lord castle. ¡±


    ¡°I actually praised the nobles for a second there. I will ask those nobles to give my praises back. They are selfish to the bitter end.¡± Hasega said


    ¡°Well, I already has some vague idea. So I am not surprised.¡± Stella said


    ¡°So, when should we go there?¡± Iris said


    ¡°Hmm, 2 months. Gather at the designated spots. Well, actually, I would have been happier if you got here now.¡±


    ¡°But, that grasslands. Certainly, it is far. Are you sure 2 months is enough? Well, we can get there by griffin in 3 days. It is no big deal for us¡± Hasega said


    ¡°The quest has been spread since 2 months ago but the news reach us just 2 days ago. But, if we hurried, we can get there in less than 2 months.¡±


    ¡°Okay, should we go now group?¡± Iris asked us.


    ¡°Let¡¯s speak with Count Ignis first. After that you can chose to depart at your own convenience.¡± Maria said ¡°And the soldiers need to depart this week if we hope to reach there at time.¡±


    2 hours later the meeting finished. The count easily agreed on sending almost all of their knights leaving minimum number for Trisia protection. The meeting took so long is due to arranging necessary supplies. While Trisia easily agreed on sending troops, its budget is very limited and they also need to arrange vigilante corps. It seems like Count Ignis already view the departing troops as dead man as he easily gave those knight title of Trisia Knights hero. With additional budget from the church, the knights is scheduled to march toward destination the day after tomorrow.


    ?------------1 week later---------------¨¤


    ¡°Hasega, Anya. Are you sure you are okay with this?¡± I said while hunting at darkling woods just before the grasslands of darkness.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hasega asked


    ¡°You have an army to command right?¡±


    ¡°They are soldiers and I am not a babysitter. They can march on their own. Besides, it is better for us to arrive early. We can reserve some good camping spot at the middle. ¡°


    ¡°Camping spot at the corner is close to monsters. Even if there are watchtower and night duty, you won¡¯t be able to sleep peacefully.¡± Iris added


    ¡°That¡¯s it Riri.¡± Anya said


    ¡°Besides, we have to know our enemy. Some scouts from dark lord castle have made some skirmishes. Frankly, they are very strong. Somewhere around lvl 100. ¡°


    It is true. Their average is 100. When they attacked Trisia, they only have average of 70 or 80. And we have Maria cheating buff. But that buff can¡¯t be used when assaulting a castle. Moreover, I heard their number numbered hundreds of thousands. It is a lot more than when they attacked Trisia


    ¡°We have amassed 100 thousands on our side. They are all over lvl 100. I think this is going to be a match. And we have some more army that are marching towards our direction.¡±


    ¡°This is a special event on Eiden Online. The forums are littered with anticipation to joining this event. Even some guild wars were abandoned because of this. I am glad I can join. We are definitely going to carve our name in this world¡¯s history. Hahahaha¡± Victor said with anticipation as he swung his shining 2 handed axe giving a last blow to some dark monster lurking around.


    ¡°We are not sure to win. Riri, any strategies?¡± Hasega asked for my opinion


    ¡°Umm, I have never attacked a castle before. ¡°


    ¡°The standard tactic is we march head on while our catapults and trebuchets is breaking the castle walls. Special for this event, some famous guild and nation even employ their disaster magic.¡±


    ¡°Disaster magic?¡±


    ¡°It is comparable with Enigma spells that your fairy uses far more powerful if we look at the duration of the spell. But it requires several magician working in unison. Some group will guard those magician.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, something like ritual and cooperative magic?¡± I said


    ¡°Yeah. Just the effect is different. We will employ Thunderstorm spell. During the war, please be wary of stray thunderbolts okay. I heard the spell will be 2 or 3 hours long and will be cast for every 6 or 10 hours.¡± Iris said


    ¡°That is some ridiculous magic. Why aren¡¯t we using something like those when those bastards attacked us?¡± Victor asked with a scoff


    ¡°The spell is of course a national secret. If you knew this spell, either you will be hunted and killed or you will be imprisoned in some wealthy houses. It is not a level a city count will have access towards to.¡±


    ¡°I thought Trrisia was a big city.¡±


    ¡°It is. We have that blessing spell right?¡± Hasega said


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just see how the battle turned out. Audine and Rund is back you know. They also participated on this event. Though they are not the one in charge this time. ¡±


    The leader of this war is Commander Edgar. An NPC High Paladin Knight. His level is over 400 I think. His armor is a full plated with cross shaped shield and shining silver sword. Every piece of his equipment is a top class item I am sure. Those armors and weapons are glowing for god¡¯s sake. I can faintly see a bluish aura wrapped around it.


    ¡°I have no clue who he is. But just by looking he is supposed to be good right?¡± Hasega said


    ¡°No joke. His armor literally shined back then.¡± Victor said.


    ¡°By the way Riri¡± Hasega said ¡°is the entirety of your equipment a set?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Stella gave them of course.¡±


    ¡°New skills and equipment..... I am so jealous.¡± Anya commented. You get those new skills and equipment first Miss Anya. Why are you jealous towards me now?


    ¡°Let¡¯s wrap it for this day everyone. I am tired. Let¡¯s return. Don¡¯t forget to bring many potion during the war.¡± Hasega said ¡°no, it is more like, use your entire money to buy potion during the war. Seeing the enemy like this, we might need every each one of them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said while releasing my 1 handed sword skill with my night moon sword easily cut the enemy into 2 parts. I have been testing my weapons here and I found that for close combat, I chose night moon sword and Elkami sword for far range I chose elven star bow, and for magic I chose arch mage golden staff. I found out that sheathing Elkami sword and carry them on my waist is enough to summon El. But for close combat, bringing a weapon you don¡¯t use on your body greatly hinder your balance and thus, I decided to use the sword. Even though it is quite outdated. Tensaiga isn¡¯t for combat, although its sword can parry, Tensaiga is best used on the rear. I wonder if Tensaiga should be used like a staff.  Need to carry Elkami sword when using Tensaiga anyway. Front liners are a no when I use Tensaiga


    7 weeks passed just like that. We go to several nearby dungeon to clear them but it is just that. There are some shameful stories and very funny one. We worked out how we cooperate. Our group was lacking a healer so instead of attacking, I return to my old jobs of being cleric girl. I kind of miss but hate those nicknames at the same time. Hasega being paladin also helped out with some healing spells but casting a spell in front liners and the rear gave a very different impression he looked like a leader while I look like a cheerleader.  When the enemy thinned out, I fast change my weapon with a skill and charge forward annihilating the rest. I kind of want to show off too. Weird that just a year before I would never want to show off. I am still reluctant to show myself to others but to these guys, I think it is okay.


    4 days after the Knights from Trisia arrived, we began to march, and we are split into 2 groups. Group 1 advance first and cleared the land while group 2 march slowly while protecting siege engines. Honestly, I though we are the last one but there are apparently some guild and mercenaries which arrived at the very last minute. I think I saw some familiar mercenary there. Gerik and Marissa if am not mistaken.


    ¡°That screamed dark lord castle alright. Is Count Dracula lives there?¡± Victor made some useless remarks once again. But it truly is a castle ripped out from that story. With those dark creatures and dark cloud with occasional lightning, the setting is perfect. Those dark army that is standing by in front of the castle is numbered more than 50 thousands not to mention all of them looked strong some of them has mid boss aura around them. If I count the army also within the castle, the future of this battle looked grim


    ¡°Okay, we are beginning the disaster magic. Our group is charged of protecting those magicians along with other elite groups. We are protecting from the west part. And unfortunately, Anya can¡¯t participate as she is one of mana providers for the spells.¡± Iris said. ¡°We relied on you with magic support and healing Riri.¡±


    ¡°Sucks to be a mage huh?¡± Victor said ¡°Let¡¯s rip those beast apart.¡±


    As dark cloud loomed over the dark lord castle, the dark lord¡¯s cavalry troop began to march. Those rhinos that demolished Trisia walls were among them. On top of those gigantic rhinos now stood several dozen ghost archers. Behind them some dark knight and wolf riders mounted by dark goblins emerged.


    ¡°I have a bad feeling.¡± I said while looking at those army.


    ¡°If I am not mistaken, those rhinos are able to crush 3 meters thick walls of Trisia right? Can we survive that kind of charge again?¡± Victor spirit went downhill. Don¡¯t show off at the start only to cower in fear now dunce


    ¡°We might be annihilated in one sweep.¡± Dem said with a gloomy face.  He certainly remember those terrifying rhinos and their charging power


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are only 15 of them.¡± Said Iris


    ¡°Only?¡± Victor said with a blank face


    ¡°Paladins will deal with it. We just focus on those horses. Right Hasega.¡±


    ¡°We will try to hold them. You guys kill them. That¡¯s all. 4 or 5 paladins of my level might top them.¡±


    ¡°Hey, they are beginning to charge toward us already. When those disaster magic will come?¡± Victor said in anxious voice.


    ¡°Somewhere around 5 minutes. They are already chanting from more 20 minutes ago¡±


    ¡°Siege Weapons, ready!!¡± the captain issued a command in loud voices.


    ¡°FIREE!!!!¡± and thus the battle began. More than 20 catapults, 5 trebuchets, and 7 fire ballista released their ammunition


    Rocks poured out from the sky hitting those cavalry units.  But as expected, siege weapons don¡¯t fare too well on such a units. They tried to aim at the rhinos but only 5 were down. The ballista were especially effective. The burning tip of javelin is able to pierce those thick skin of rhinos.


    ¡°CHARGEE!!¡± Edgar said while sprinting at the middle Rhino as he and the rhinos clashed, a heavy sonic boom were spread across the battlefield. The sound that it produced isn¡¯t at the level of metal clashing at each other anymore. Its follower followed his trail and just like water hitting a rock, the charge was stopped and the archers which sitting atop of that rhinos were immediately flung forwards.


    ¡°Holy, he can block that Rhinos alone.¡± Victor said while looking astonished. No kidding, even I can only stared at it in awe


    ¡°More of those are coming back me up!!!¡± Hasega said while using his skill ¡°Shield stance, immobile fortress!!¡±


    Hasega, along with 2 other royal knight that uses tower shields took one of the rhinos charge. The rhinos were successfully stopped after Hasega and the others were pushed back around 10 meters. Victor followed up immediately using is axe he jumped at hitting the rhinos straight at his head. The Rhino fell down but it is still far from death door.


    ¡°Archers!!! Volley!!¡± another shouts from another captain could be heard. Immediately, a rain full of arrows were rained down towards


    ¡°Enigma of the lightning god. Bolt of Thor!!¡± El said just after the Rhinos fell down.


    ¡°Precision shot¡± I said while picking off some random dark army that charge towards us. This elven star bow is extremely useful. I only trained this briefly and only managed to reach beginner lvl 7 but I don¡¯t think I have ever missed my target with this bow. But I can¡¯t just focus on firing with my bow. My role here is a cleric. I am using a bow now as a substitute of attack magic.


    ¡°Healing hand, healing area.¡± The dark force is a force made from dark souls. It is no different than undead. Just like in Trisia, they are also vulnerable against healing spells. An AOE healing spells works wonder here. Not just that they healed your allies but they also harm the enemies. But a bishop light based magic is even more effective. Although most of the enemy is dark forces, this some goblins and trolls were included. Healing magic is ineffective against them. They obliterate their enemy with one spell. One bullet for one lives. Even though Victor needs at least 2 or 3 it for each lives he took. That just shows how effective they are.


    ¡°UAAA!!!¡± Victor raised a battle cry as his body suddenly have a red aura surrounding it. After that he slammed and pummeled a huge troll in front of him. Stella is out there hunting. Her speed makes it easy for her to bite of horses legs. But as she is demon affiliated, sometimes a stray arrow from our group is aimed at her. Although her affinity is not chaos some people especially church related still targeted her. Thank goodness she can speak. She screamed at some paladins that brandished their sword against her. By the way, most of her debuff do not work against dark forces. Only her poison attack is. Her poison is very special. It corrodes the enemy. Demons HP continue to decrease in her vicinity and once bitten or clawed by her, the demons HP continue to decrease until it dies. But our allies is also affected by those poison. That¡¯s why she deliberately chose to fight a little behind enemy lines. When her HP decrease, she pulled back and swap to her human form. That way the poison won¡¯t affect our comrade. It is admirable on how she was able to adapt in the battlefield so well.


    BLAARRR!!!


    A huge thunder strike crashed nearby sending some dark force back to the afterlife. That thunder was quite close. It is actually not close but very close, Hasega¡¯s HP decreased for a bit due to aftershock of that one.


    ¡°Hey, where the hell are you aiming?¡± Victor screamed while closing his ears


    ¡°Victor! Rather than screaming watch your back. Disaster magic is an AOE effect spell. You can¡¯t blame it if some thunderbolts were flying at us. Just continue battling while keeping watch! It will be instant death if you are hit.¡± Hasega said while parrying with some other monsters.


    BLAAR! BLAR! BLAR!


    Few thunder strikes followed suit. The disaster magic has begun. The lightning generally strikes at the opponent¡¯s sides but due to us standing in front lines, some of those lightning struck very close at us chipping away our health. Ahh, a random paladin just got hit straight at the center of his body leaving a trail of dust behind. I need to watch carefully now, I will not be alive after getting hit by that. Even if the mages tried to aim at the opponent, it is practically impossible to aim at such a large numbers.


    ¡°This is bad,¡± Hasega said after drinking another bottle of health potion at the back. The battle has been going on very well at the start but somehow it is deteriorating now ¡°Overall strength we are able to push them back. But they keep pouring over from the gate. When we close in, those dark archers keep messing with us and more than that, their stamina is limitless.¡±


    ¡°So, what should we do?!!¡± Victor screamed as he smashed 3 skeleton soldiers with a horizontal swing from his axe.


    ¡°Victor, behind!¡± I said as I aimed my bows towards a Cyclops targeting Victor with its club. Taking a critical hit on its head, the Cyclops staggered and was soon finished by Victor.


    ¡°Everyone!! Pulled back!!¡± the commander issued an order through his underling.


    And so, the day ended. Fortunately, the main dark forces didn¡¯t chase us. Maybe they can feel that there are light attributes traps everywhere near our encampment. Victor and everyone else pulled back while Hasega and other paladins tried to buy some time. After that, we all run away successfully


    ¡°Whew, today was quite good. I got 3 level today.¡± Victor said as he ate some food


    ¡°Yeah. Well, I am not the commander so I am happy with the exp points. but I am sure the commander was in a frustrated state by now. The battle flow wasn¡¯t going accordingly to plan after all.¡± Anya commented and Hasega nodded


    ¡°The siege weapon can¡¯t break through their defenses. Those walls are quite sturdy. And those archers dangling on the wall is a real pest.¡± Hasega added


    ¡°The commander planned to concentrate the disaster magic on the gate. That way we hope some damage can be done to that gate.¡± Anya said


    ¡°But, without that magic, can¡¯t we win against the dark force? Ost of our talented mages were out for that magic right?¡± Victor added


    ¡°We have to.¡± Hasega added.


    ¡°Okay, this day is out. Let¡¯s sleep. We are going to attack them again tomorrow.¡± Hasega said while heading to his tent. I also rose and heading to my tent after checking my weapons to blacksmiths for reparations.


    ¡°Hey, Stella.¡± I asked Stella who sleep besides me


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Why Reis did all of this? Collecting these souls?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I am not sure. Reis was kind of ambitious about power since the day I met him. He was an exiled noble after all.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why he needs to conquer the world.¡±


    ¡°Well, we will not understand unless we experience it we are not nobles anyway.¡±


    ¡°I see. Stella.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Do you, hate him?¡± I asked while gazing my eyes to her She stares back. If it was me, I was sure that I will hate him to the very depth of my soul. He has killed my precious Tantalus member after all. Not only that, he made her killed her own teammates and planned to enslave her. But Stella never said any curses or words of hatred towards him. I wonder why


    ¡°I am not sure.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°If you asked if I like him, I will say that I disliked him very much. But I am no longer wanted to hate anyone again. Even if they are evil. ¡°


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I am just tired I guess. I have other things to worry about rather than hatred. Besides, if I hate him now, I afraid that the people that I killed will hate me. I have done many wrong things too after all.¡±


    ¡°I see. I wonder if I can be as strong as you. You have come through a very hard times and yet you are still strong and not broken down.  I might go suicide if I were you.¡±


    ¡°It was hard, I admit it. But I am not alone you see. I have Tantalus member. And now, I have you.¡±


    ¡°I see. ¡°After that we went to sleep. And the dawn come


    ?---------------------¨¤


    ¡°Hello good morning. Having a good sleep?¡± Hasega said while waving his hand.


    ¡°Yeah. Quite well.¡± I said while equipping my elven star bow. Today I am an archer again.


    ¡°We are in high spirits today. Even without disaster magic, let¡¯s break through those gate.¡± Stella said while raising her fist


    ¡°Ahh, I just received a word from Edgar, he said that after the gate is destroyed, the mages will come and reinforce us. We should not be hasty running through the broken gate.¡± Hasega said


    ¡°And let me add. Riri, you will no longer within Hasega team like yesterday. The opponent will conjure flying dark forces this time.  We see some pteranodon and black eagles on that side. Some giant wasp was also seen flying by.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, they have an aviation fleet this time. What do we have besides archers?¡± Victor made another sarcasm and question


    ¡°Some ballista but don¡¯t rely on them. Don¡¯t expect such a huge thing to aim at something small like giant wasp from 1 km range. That¡¯s why Commander Edgar asked us to deliver him every archer capable of shooting flying monsters.¡±


    ¡°I am not that capable. I only wield a bow for 1 week.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Right. You are not capable of shooting a bow but you can accurately pick enemies around Hasega from 100 meters long¡± Anya said with sarcasm. I want to say that it is the bow that is from high quality but I guess she will retort back with more sarcasm.


    ¡°This is bad. Without mages and archers, we should fight without back up?¡± Hasega groaned.


    ¡°The enemy ground force were taking heavy casualties the other day, we should be able to make it.¡±


    ¡°With disaster magic, those flying enemies isn¡¯t a bother. But now that magic is used for the gate, they intent to attack from the sky huh?¡± Hassega commented


    ¡°Well, this is the situation. We have to deal with it. Commander Edgar was petty frustrated too yesterday.¡± Iris said as he tried to raise the group morale. ¡°In addition, some of the knight that were late have arrived yesterday. We have some reinforcement. And more supplies are coming our way like blacksmith for repairs and top notch potions.¡±


    ¡°So, where is this top notch potion?¡± Victor asked


    ¡°Go to some stores. It is not free but it is way cheaper than market price.¡±


    ¡°With money we received from defeating dark force and our saving we should manage to buy something.¡± Iris added ¡°Ahh, but let me warn you. Even though there are many various kind of buff potions. Please focus on stamina and health restoration potions okay. For you Hasega, you might like to add some mana potions since you use holy and restorative magic. ¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked. I would love to buy some dexterity buff potions. And wisdom buff potions to increase my mana


    ¡°This is a battle of attrition. You guys are over lvl 200.buff that only last for an hour isn¡¯t going to cut it.¡±


    ¡°Then for me?¡±


    ¡°For Riri, I would suggest Mana potions. Don¡¯t even ask why. That battle before, you still ran out of mana long before dying right?¡± Iris said.


    ¡°Umm, yes.¡± I nodded


    Stella sighed ¡°This was my mistake. She should have enough if El wasn¡¯t around. But with El, her Mana consumption has gone through the roof.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it Stella. She became stronger in the end right? ¡°Iris smiled


    ¡°Umm, what about Stella and Elkami?¡± I said looking at my 2 familiars.


    ¡°How far can she go?¡± Iris tilted his head. It seems it was a given that I can¡¯t separate from these 2


    ¡°We can go as far as we like. ¡°Both answered.


    ¡°Whoa. These are some exceptional familiar. I should have known from the battle before.¡± Iris said ¡°Good. These guys are in dire need of range support. Stella is okay to go with them. It is better so that no one misfired.¡±


    ¡°Umm, okay then.¡± I said to them. It is quite sad that I am about to be separated from my familiars. But what he said is true. Stella and Elis more useful on the front line.


    ¡°Okay. Buckle up. Buy whatever you need and we will kick death manager butts in 1 hour.¡± Iris commanded.


    After using all of my savings to buy mana potions, I am positioned in archer group 500 meter from the main force. Hasega is there at the very front. Wait a second, why am I also in the front of these archer group? There are stacks of 100 people behind me forming 10x10 formation.


    ¡°Okay. So, now is the briefing. Your order is simple, just shoot any flying monster. Please march forward as the frontal assault moves forward. But watch out for any infantry that slip by the frontal group. That¡¯s all. ¡°Edgar said as he rode his horse to the frontal group. He belongs there I guess. His shield is practically impenetrable.


    ¡°Okay, so your name is Riri. The group behind you will follow you. Your group is group number 4. There are 10 archer group so everything you do will contribute 10% of our army. Please do well.¡± Some random high leveled looking paladin called me. ¡°Your main post is somewhere 150 meter behind center left. It is very close so beware of some stray dark force group attacking you. And your orders, as you already heard from Commander Edgar, is to kill any flying dark force. But in case you found it necessary, you may change your orders to providing fire support against ground enemy troops.¡±


    ¡°Umm, why am I the group leader?¡±


    ¡°Above lvl 200 with rare weapon, dexterity at least 350, and advanced archery. Well, in your case though you are still beginner, your weapon is extraordinary. And your dex is also high and you are proficient in close combat, so we made an exception and put you a little bit in front. Please protect your fellow archer group¡±


    ¡°I-I see.¡± So everything can be bought by money huh? And what¡¯s with proficient in close combat so put you in front? You know an archer is a dead meat in close combat. Am I supposed to protect them alone from dozens of enemy infantry if they breach through the frontal defense?


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Okay. Do your best. If I haven¡¯t see your battle yesterday, I wouldn¡¯t believe such a timid girl to be able to use weapons besides healing staff.¡±  He smiled and giggled while waving good bye. He then come to another archer group member. So he is the one in charge of archer group.  I can see that he can also wield bows and sword.


    ¡°Umm, captain Riri? Where is our post?¡± some archers shyly asked me for directions.


    ¡°Umm, let¡¯s go there. He said that we are going to act behind that group.¡± I replied back


    The formation are set 1 hour later and we marched toward the dark lord castle once more. Without delay as we come closer, giant wisp filled the sky and pteranodon and dark eagle also followed suit. I nocked my arrow on my bow and fired at those dark force. They are still quite a distance away, but, with their number that literally filled the sky, I doubt I will miss as long as my arrow can reach them. My arrow fly alone and hit some random giant wisp.it fell and died. Why the heck is no one firing?


    I glared behind at my back ¡°why no one isn¡¯t firing?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Right. Sorry.¡± they nocked their arrows and aimed. 20 seconds later, no one hasn¡¯t fired a thing. The dark forces came closing in


    ¡°Riri. Please shout fire to order them to shoot. ¡°Anya said through whisper.


    I completely forgot. I need to order them to shoot or they will not shoot. I take a breather, nocked my arrow and then as the dark force came closer almost above our frontal group, I shouted to fire. And this time, rain of arrows shot out from my group killing the enemies. Other group also followed suit after us. Shouts to fire came one of another as a volley of arrows came one after another.


    While we took care of the aviation unit, the dark force infantry also stepped forward and defending against our forces. Inferno knights were pouring out from the castle and their tower shield barricaded us from the gate and their archers keep shooting us from a distance.


    BLAR! BLAR!


    Several thunderbolt strikes at the castle gate. The bolts look brighter and stronger than the ones they randomly scattered yesterday. Those huge gate have several cracks already from that strike. If they keep this up those gate will come down in less than 1 hour and we will crush them inside those gate


    GRAAA!!


    Loud monster screams can be heard as those thunderbolts trying to destroy the gate. That scream was even louder than the lightning.


    ¡°Ohh my god.¡± Hasega and Victor looked above to the source of the cry. It was a black dragon with Reis on top of it followed with 6 wyvern with black knights on top of them.


    ¡°That¡¯s the boss alright.¡± Hasega whispered. He then concentrate back on the enemies in front of him.


    ¡°Fall back! Those dragons and wyverns are aiming for our siege engines and mages!!¡± Edgar shouted as some ranks behind him summoned their horses and scurrying back. Edgar followed suit while other paladins tried to close the hole he made.


    The battle was getting harder. Don¡¯t even think about handling wyverns or dragon. I am having a hard time just to kill dark eagles and pteranodon. I often had to change to my sword and slash at the incoming enemies using a skill.


    ¡°Kyaa!!¡± some girls shouted as a pteranodon opened its maw to swallow her but I quickly ran and with wind jump and severen slash I managed to cut the pteranodon into two. I barely used any skill at all but my Mana was almost at the bottom. El must be working hard somewhere. This is already my second bottle of mana potion my mana regeneration is slow due to summoning those 2 pets. My mana is really inefficient now.


    BLAAR!! *Rumble*


    ¡°The gate has been destroyed. Mages, fire at those wyverns!!¡± Edgar shouted as he stepped in front of the siege engines and mages group.¡± He seemed determined to chase any wyvern that was aiming for our precious artillery. He is also preparing to fire light magic. That is all good but we also need fire support here.


    Various light effects and color started to sprout from behind fireworks in our modern world can¡¯t even compare. The wyverns nimbly evading them but those riders obviously aren¡¯t Touhou players so they can¡¯t possibly dodge all of them. While some of those bullets hit, the wyverns is still going strong. The dark knight started to counter fire by firing his AOE dark magic


    While his henchmen are doing the dirty job, Reis and his dragons just flew around at higher altitude and firing his dark magic. No last boss is going to die first. I think he took this battle seriously now unlike Triisia. A glimpse of caution is seen on his face.


    But, betraying my expectations, he landed straight at the frontal group, just in front of Hasega and Iris. As his dragon firing dark flame over at his surroundings killing numerous players, he unsheathe his sword and glared at my familiar, it is Stella. Oh no, he is going to abduct her again. This time Stella was much weaker than she was before, she is going to be abducted easily.  Need to get to her now!


    ¡°Archers!!, Fire at that dragon and that black cloaked man, he is the boss!!¡± I issued an order as I run while firing arrows towards him. This is no good, my arrows were easily deflected by his sword, but I am still a good 100 meters, need to keep firing and at the end, I will change to my sword and engaged him.


    Stella wasn¡¯t staying put either, she maneuvered brilliantly and tried to evade Reis. She knew just by looking that she could not win against him now. Iris and Hasega engaged him and put him on his ground, the battlefield quickly became emptied in a circular shape between them. No one is brave enough to come closer to them as their skill was clashing at each other. As Reis swung his sword, Hasega took stance to receive the blow while Iris beautifully circled around Hasega to make a counterattacks which is also easily repelled by Reis ¡¯s sword. Stella was just running here and there behind Hasega. Stella wanted to retreat but if she ran, she was sure that Reis will chase her, and thus she can only rely on Hasega and Iris in front of them. Her form was back into demi human ones by the way. The clashing and the battle was so severe it is like they are dancing with an absurd speed that no one dares to interrupt them. They knew that if they entered, somehow they would become either a mincemeat or a hindrance towards their superiors


    As I changed my bow into night moon sword I used a skill and dash to stab Reis on the face. He successfully repelled my attack and took a large step backwards. I quickly changed to Tensaiga and unleashed a slash of for my 22 comrades bringing their HP from 70 back to max. Then I unleashed blessing of water to enhance their regeneration rate. This 2 slash of from Tensaiga only took less than 2 seconds. Which is why it is much more efficient than chanting. The cool down is more than 100 minutes though. I can¡¯t really spam this skill around. And with manage skill, I quickly swap back to night moon sword and Elkami sword. But let¡¯s forget dual wielding now, my Elkami sword will get snapped into 2 pieces at the first clash with Reis sword. I can feel it on my hand when that sword impacted my night moon sword. A level 20 Elkami sword will be no match for that sword no matter how good it is. Rather than dual wielding, let¡¯s use my other free hand to help me concentrate to chant a blessing.


    Without words being spoken, Hasega and Iris knew what I am about to do, they quickly stepped forward within 1 second to block Reis incoming attack. Then, they clashed again while I dodged. 5 seconds later, my single bless and light blessing kicks in for us. We managed to push him back with a counter. Single bless is aimed at Iris since he has higher levels. After taking some distance, Reis just stood with no sign of assaulting


    ¡°Even if your charisma is gone, and your face isn¡¯t as pretty as it used to be. I can¡¯t be wrong. You are Stella. Why? Why instead of bonding with me, you are bonding with that filthy girl?¡± Reis finally opened his mouth


    To me, her face doesn¡¯t changed a single bit. But, since her charm stat and charisma stat were lost, I guess the resident of this world saw him as a normal plain girl. No wonder she didn¡¯t get any attention nor recognition from anyone except players.


    ¡°I have already called for the commander. He will be here shortly. We just need to hold. Don¡¯t let him return to the castle or let him fly back that dragon.¡± Hasega said


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I already ordered my archer to aim at the dragon. He is being pin cushioned by my archer group.¡± I said back to Hasega. I ordered them to fire both Reis and the dragon though. But I guess they judge firing at Reis will cause friendly fire so the just shot at the dragon. I need to forget that I am ordering people not some AI in games. As I glimpse at the dragon, though dozens of arrows were flying at it regularly, he doesn¡¯t seemed to be close to dying. Most of the arrows were deflected by it scale and some skillful archer in my group manage to scratch and cause some minor bleeding. But it is still far from dying. If Reis was determined to flee, we can¡¯t stop him now


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we might actually beat him now. He is far weaker than when he fight me at Trisia. Some of my poison must have damaged him permanently. ¡°Stella said as she stand behind me. El was coming too after randomly spending my mana somewhere. Now, with 5 of us, I don¡¯t think we could lose. ¡°And Riri, I can¡¯t fight in the group and he is too strong for me, my skill might damage everyone. Unsummon me so you can have more mana regeneration for yourself and El.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± I said as she disappeared


    ¡°I said that our goal was holding him. But killing him will do us better. Let¡¯s try it! Hasega said.¡±


    We clashed sword again. This time, Reis ¡¯s sword was glowing with dark pulse. Unlike before, the hit that he caused seemed to be heavier than before. Hasega grunted every time he took a blow and his HP is rapidly fading. Iris was also easily pushed back, I closed the gap with my sword, but it was the best that I could do. Elwas firing her skills but it was easily deflected with Reis sword. Is that sword has magic imbued in it. No normal sword was able to cut magic. Only something as rare as my night moon sword. And moreover, it has to be socketed with gems. Let¡¯s forget that, the act of he cutting an attack as fast as a bullet surprised me even more. His skill and weapons are top notch


    ¡°Change to Tenseiga, healing wave!¡± I said as I used another skill of Tenseiga. This is another AOE healing skill with superior power compared to slash of healing. Our HP which have fall below halfway mark was instantly recovered back to full. But this one is 30 min cool down. And slash of healing is still 6 more minutes. Unless someone died, Tenseiga will be useless now.


    I charge and slash horizontally at him. Thankfully my dex was high so I can somehow keep up even though I am the lowest level here. My armor was also of high level and legendary. We Can keep up if it is the 3 of us. Iris is our main attacker, Hasega a defender, and I am a jack in all trade.  Elis our mage. Victor and Dem are quite busy dealing with the dragon.


    ¡°Final Judgment!¡± Commander Edgar shouted as he swung his sword while riding his horse towards us. In an instant, the area around us quickly turned bright. An angel came down from the sky and sounded a horn and the light goes blindingly white it started to feel hot.


    ¡°My HP is falling.¡± I said to Hasega


    ¡°This is a supreme light attack my commander of paladin.


    ¡°Hey, he is going to strike us too?¡± I asked


    ¡°Maybe, sacrificing 3 people to kill enemy commander sounds good right?¡±


    ¡°Riri, let¡¯s flee!!¡±


    Without even answering back, we fall back and just before us, a beam of light strike the place we were before. My eyes went blind for a second due to the brightness of the spell. This is quite nuts if I may say. Even before the beam, my HP went down a quarter


    ¡°Damn it, he is still alive?¡± Iris said. He is as fast as me so he was able to escape. But Hasega was caught instantly. When the attack came, his HP s already halved. And even if he is a paladin with high light resistance, I guess he can¡¯t came out of there alive. But when the light dissipated I saw a black scale and black wings


    ¡°He used the dragon to cover himself. Damn it.¡± Edgar said as he step down from his horse, readied his shield. The dragon was dead, but I can see black aura covering it. The dragon fell down with a thud and Reis with menacing aura stood there.


    An awkward silence followed. Reis just glared at us. But our commander isn¡¯t making a move too. Even captain paladin can¡¯t make a reckless charge huh?


    ¡°I command, rise dark dragon¡± he said. The corpse of the dragon twitch a bit and stood.


    ¡°Huh? He can revive that thing so easily?¡± Iris was shocked at this development. Id that was true then killing the dragon was meaningless. The dragon itself was so hard to deal with. If we have to deal with both of them, I don¡¯t know how I should respond. Victor, Anya, and Dem came to us to support. We still took a chance then. I, iris, and Edgar will take Reis and the dragon will be for Anya dem and Victor


    ¡°It is a zombie dragon. It is weaker. But it has poisons mixed inside. Kill it quickly and kill Reis !¡± Edgar shouted as he brandished his sword


    ¡°I shall see you at the castle.¡± Reis said as he sprouted black wings and flee.


    ¡°Tensaiga. Water revival.¡±  I unleashed Tensaiga last skill which has a cool down about 70 hours.  And then, Hasega revived. With Reis fleeing, all of his wyverns, dark knight, and all of his ground infantry flee with him to the castle. He is determined to make a last stand there. I guess it was my stupidity to think we can kill him here the zombie dragon let out a poisonous gas across our army, my archers have been shooting arrows for a while, his body is already looked like a hedgehog but it seems like that dragon was not close to dying for the second time


    ¡°Damn it! he manage to get away. Let¡¯s chase him. He has wings was a news to me. This time, after we capture the castle, we will erect a barrier so he can¡¯t escape.¡± Edgar said as he used another amazing skill and cleave the dragon into two. The cleaved dragon then turned into ashes, it will not revive again now. After that he ran towards the front gate that has already been destroyed. ¡°Everyone, follow me. Let¡¯s crush them!!¡±


    At the rubble of the gate, we encountered a heavy resistance of the remnants of the dark force. We are weary and their stamina is limitless. I want to retreat and rest but the commander wants us to destroy him now while he is wounded. Our forces was already not what it was like before. Only about 100 paladins left. This group has a very bad balance now, the frontal melee group was heavily injured while our wizards have spent their mana. Our archers were also low on arrows.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s storm the keep. Charge!!¡± Edgar said as he rammed the inferno knight desperately blocked the ruined gate.


    ¡°Charge!!!¡± Victor and Hasega also followed. While Anya took up the rear guard preparing spells, our everlasting group charge into the castle. Returning back to my bow, I followed them while picking any enemy that came from afar.


    We scoured through the garden, there was a little resistance here. Now onto the buildings itself. The door was easily smashed by our commander. And our remaining forces went in.


    ¡°Let¡¯s clear the first floor. First group went into the kitchen, my group will go to the main hall, Hasega, go to the second floor!¡± Edgar commanded


    ¡°Umm, is this good idea? ¡° I asked Iris


    ¡°This is the normal routine when you conquered a castle. But I have to agree with you, spreading our weary and thin forces really isn¡¯t the best. We might get annihilated group by group. Those dark forces seemed few and losing. But they still have those wyvern and dark knight remember?¡±


    ¡°We do not question our superior orders Riri. Let¡¯s just get to the second floor and do our best to wipe the remaining dark force.¡± Hasega shouted as he climbed the stairs upward. Ur group and several leftover knights from Trisia followed


    We met some groups of trolls and inferno knights. But Hasega worked better than before dealing with those armies. Even their dark archers and giant wisp was in disarray here. My fear of sudden ambush might be unrelated. We might win this day after all


    ¡°Okay, here it comes. This is the second floor main hall. There should be something big here.¡± Victor said as he opened the door.¡± There should be some mid boss or strong monsters inside.¡±


    ¡°Where is your confidence come from?¡± I asked


    ¡°In all games I played, that is a standard scenario. Hell, Reis might be in there.¡±


    ¡°Wait, if Reis is in here, we should prepared beforehand right? Like resting and recovering our HP and mana?¡±


    ¡°Well, Reis should be inside the min hall on first floor. That is more standard. This room should be safe.¡± Iris said as he opened the door. A black cloaked figure stood there with his back on us. It then slowly turned around and together with him 4 armored war trolls were with him. Armored troll, like its name implied a troll equipped with full steel plated armor from its helmet down to its foot and 2 giant iron maces. It was a lot tougher than war trolls that only used a crude wooden club and naked skin as an armor. But a single war troll itself was fitting opponent for a group lvl 100. and this war trolls were of course, a lot more tougher we saw some of them before, and they took around 20 or 30 people to take a single one out from our army. And there are 4 of them together with Reis .


    ¡°Iris, what did you said about the last boss can¡¯t be here?¡± Victor said as he staggered back.


    ¡°Well, they are going to be entertained with my knights down there with their wyvern. Those knight were as tough as me now. I am quite wounded because of Stella¡¯s poison that time at Trisia. I wonder if that captain paladin can handle them. Let¡¯s forget them for now and focus on to us.¡±


    ¡°Why are you doing this Reis?¡± Stela asked while appearing besides me ¡°Why are you joining the dark church?¡±


    ¡°Why not? Look at this power that I got. All of you are jealous of this power right? That¡¯s why you tried so hard on killing me.¡±


    ¡°Talking to him is a lost cause Stella. Something like a last boss can¡¯t be talked over. Let¡¯s just prepared ourselves.¡± Victor said as he brandished his 2 handed axe. The nice beautiful axe was now in a battered state with all of the scratches it accumulated while battling.


    ¡°Knights!!! Ready your weapons. Dem, take half our knight to deal with 2 of those war trolls. While Anya and the other half of the knights will deal with the other 2. Riri, I, and Iris will take down Reis.¡± Hasega said as he readied his weapon


    ¡°I am death manager. I conquered life and death. You guys can¡¯t possibly prevail against me. ¡°He brandished his weapon ¡°Dark stone from the abyss of hell, give me the blessing of hell to help me sent my enemy to your abyss.¡±


    He crushed a black stone and the stone let out a dark miasma enveloping him. Okay, that was definitely a buff, we are in deep trouble now. It was a close match before, but he is buffed up now, we have Victor but, a boss monster receiving buff is no joke right? Even if the buff was only 10% if it applied to boss monster its damage and speed will shoot up.


    ¡°Charge!!¡± Hasega shouted and we ran towards our corresponding enemy. Dem together with 20 knights were assaulting 2 armored war trolls, Anya with other 30 knights assaulting the other 2 war trolls and we will be attacking Reis.


    Reis swung his sword downwards to parry with Victor¡¯s axe. A loud clanging sound could be heard with shockwave followed behind. Without delay Hasega slashed from the right while iris slashed from the left. Reis skillfully dodged those slashes behind. But I leaped to him and slashed downward. He will not be able to escape now. But to my surprise, Reis with an impossible speed swung his sword and sent me flying. My armors are too light to parry with Reis strength. Thankfully I have acrobatic skills and I managed to land without any decrease in health.


    He ignored me and slashed at Victor. By reflex, Hasega quickly blocked his slash with his shield but the power was different from before, he fell back with Victor. Reis tried to slash and kill the incapacitated Victor and Hasega but Iris took the initiatives to slash at him from behind. Reis reacted by swinging his sword. They slashed with incredible speed one after the other, all of Iris slashes were blocked and all of Reis Slashes were either dodged or diverged from its trajectory. It is hard to completely block Reis buffed up state now. Even with that, Iris HP was plummeting, he is not a tanker so it is understandable. I need to react fast too, I dashed and tried to stab Reis from the back, Reis just deflected my sword like it was nothing. I am not a heavy hitter, I did not rely on heavy hit. My forte is speed, so even if my sword is deflected, with my dex I quickly took another slash, but he blocked it too, not giving up, I continued the attack, he was pushed back a little with the flurry of my attack. My speed was greater than him, his sword is strong, but I can outmaneuver him. Not to mention, I am not limited to physical attack, I have magic and wind walk. I can move three dimensionally and if he took a distance, I can come closing in while chanting a spell.


    I and Iris continued this for a while until Hasega and Victor returned back to their stance. But, as I and iris slashed at him, he let out his black wing disrupting our concentration and balance. He didn¡¯t let that moment to pass, he let out a slash and it hit directly at my chest and Iris. We were blown away with half of our HP remaining. He then continued to charge but this time, Hasega and Victor came to the rescue, the battle returned to stalemate with those 2 now replacing us. Hasega deflected Reis sword with his shield, and Victor charge at him. Reis seemed fatigued a bit but he is still far from defeated.


    I quickly drank mana potion to recover my Mana and cast healing spells for all of us. The effect was meager but Iris also drank his health potion while looking at the battlefield. Dem and Anya managed to kill 2 trolls. Only 2 trolls are left now. But they are in a haggard state now. If you asked me, they did quite well managing to kill those 2 in such a short amount of time. As far as I know, trolls have an absurd high amount of HP and strength but they are prone to magical attack and they are slow as well. Dem¡¯s high dexterity and speed together with Anya and El¡¯s spell makes it efficient for them. It seems to me that Hasega put some thought when choosing who to engage those trolls. But the knights that we brought from Trisia looked like they are about to die with any hit now. Their numbers are almost halved too and Anya and Dem seemed exhausted. Those trolls are special afterall.


    ¡°Riri! Let¡¯s charge! Hasega and Victor s HP are already below halfway mark.¡± Iris said


    ¡°But, our health isn¡¯t full yet.¡± I replied. I looked at my HP that is at 90%


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s charge.¡±


    With that I followed him and dashed. As I found an opening between their duel, my sword then were enveloped by a bright light as I cast a skill light sword. It pierced Reis. But he quickly counterattacked by slashing his sword downright. But it was blocked by Iris¡¯s swords. He then leaped backwards to gain some distance


    ¡°That skill just now? Why you didn¡¯t use it earlier?¡±


    ¡°If it hits and I didn¡¯t care about mana usage, I would use it more often.¡± I replied. That skill was quite mana consuming since my mana regen was almost nonexistent now. El was helping Anya and Dem with the other 2 trolls. Stella can¡¯t help at the moment. It seems like she was about to cry for her uselessness. But it can¡¯t be helped, she is a pet for solo players after all.


    ¡°Reis, now equipped with his black wing dashed and he strike at me. his strike has become lighter but faster. So he is adapting his style to our style after all.  This is difficult, I can catch up since I also have wind walk. But Iris was struggling, Reis black wing was obstructing our view, when we tried to slash the wing, it just diminished into shadow. It isn¡¯t a real wing after all.


    With as little break as ever, Hasega and Victor tried to mix themselves into our duel.  They just drank a potion and came back. Their HP was still at the halfway mark. We managed to deal some damage now, our cooperation has gone smoother and Reis can¡¯t catch up with our coordinated assault. It seems like his buff also wanes with each passing time. But we are also at our limit, we can barely keep up and we keep accumulating damage. In this battle of attrition, who is going to last I wonder?


    ¡°Dark slash!!¡± he said as a dark miasma enveloped his sword. He then slashed at Victor. Victor  tried to defend with his axe, but his axe was split two on the handle. Oh no, a critical hit. His HP is already below half only at 30%% a clean hit will kill him


    ¡°Die now!¡± he then slashed upwards and Victor flew way. His HP has already gone


    ¡°Damn it, he got Victor.¡± Iris said in a low voice


    ¡°What a shame, that was one expensive axe.¡± Hasega replied. Is that what you cared about? Well, this is a game so you are not wrong that equipment are more important than lives. But you are breaking your heroic tale here Hasega.


    ¡°Watch out!!¡± El screamed.


    ¡°ARGG!!!¡±  Dem screamed as an iron mace sent him flying crashing down the wall. Even if you have high dodge ability you will still get hit eventually. Now it is only Anya left, with 2 war trolls. The knights were almost annihilated. Only 5 are visible.


    ¡°Sorry Riri, I think I will have to use this.¡± El said as she chanted an enigma spell. My mana was sucked out, I am already low on mana but true to what she said, if she didn¡¯t use it, we are going to get killed with those war trolls or Reis.


    ¡°Heads up! Reis is coming again.¡± Iris said as he dashed and parrying Reis slash with his two swords


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Reis grunted as he received Hasega slash from behind


    ¡°Anya, please hold those trolls for a minute more!¡±


    ¡°no promises El, you know I am weak in close combat. Fire wall!!!¡±


    ¡°Riri, use Stella to help Anya. It is okay now, I will tell the knights to pull back, they are a burden with their injuries now.¡± Hasega said. ¡°And keep your eyes on Reis, don¡¯t wandered off now, we are at a critical stage!!¡±


    I did as I ordered. Stella was as eager as she ran, transformed and bit a troll right on the nape. It was a critical hit and the poison will slow down that troll regeneration now. No time to watch them, I can only trust them, I have my own duty. That is to fight against Reis.


    BLAAR!!


    Just a few minutes later a loud sound rang behind us. The spell that El cast has launched. I sneak a peek behind me. Finally Anya can come to our side. Those 2 trolls has finally died. Anya stepped on their bodies and came to us


    ¡°Wait. Anya!! One of them hasn¡¯t died yet!!¡± I screamed. Anya looked behind her. But it is too late, the troll has already raised his club and swung down. Without even a scream, Anya¡¯s body was pulverized.


    ¡°Damn it. Anya fell too. Riri, kill that troll immediately!!¡± Iris said


    ¡°But..¡±


    ¡°Hurry!! We will stall for some time with Reis. He is already exhausted. We can make it if you hurry!!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I reluctantly faced the troll. The troll already staggered when walking. Just 2 or 3 more strokes of slashes should bring him down. I need to finish this as soon as possible


    I quickly ran and cast thunder blade. Lightning covered my sword I slashed at the troll. The lightning stunned him a little so, without delay, I continue my strokes of slashes. The troll recovered and tried to hit me horizontally with its club but I quickly dodged and cast flame blade towards it and thus killing him. It only took 10 seconds in total but I was not fast enough.


    ¡°Watch out!!¡± Reis tried to slash Iris but Hasega with his shield stand in between them and they both flew to the wall.


    ¡°Dark laser!!¡± Reis said as he chanted.  The laser shot through those two. Hasega skillfully shielded against the attack while protecting Iris at the same time but he then dropped his shield


    ¡°The shield was cursed. I need to rely on my sword now.¡± he murmured as his shield was turned black. A cursed shield can¡¯t be equipped and need to be purified on the church first. I have no idea that some darkness attack could inflict such a status on your equipment.


    ¡°Just die you insects¡± Reis said while panting, he gathered another mana on his hands.


    I quickly launched light bolt on Reis while running towards him. My light bolt interrupted his chant while I ran towards him. We finally cross blade again. How long has this battle progress? While my stamina bar was already reaching towards red, my mental fatigue was reaching its limit too. Even if I tried the initiative to attack, I was immediately pushed back to defensive. This is too hard. His hit was precise and heavy. If I forcibly countered, my sword will just get deflected and I will lose my balance.


    ¡°Arg!!¡± I was flown back. It is futile. I can¡¯t possibly fight him alone.


    ¡°Darkness bind!!¡± he chant and dark chains emerged from his hand


    ¡°Riri!!¡± Hasega and Reis dashed between us and used their body to block Reis. The chains bounded them.


    ¡°Insects be gone already! Dark wave.¡± Reis said as he swung his sword horizontally creating a dark torrent and killed both Iris and Hasega


    ¡°Riri!¡± Stella ran towards me. Now that we are alone, we can fight together. Reis HP was a mere 10%. We were so close on beating him. But I probably can¡¯t made it. 10% is still a long way for me alone. If Hasega and iris were still present, we might make it. But alone is impossible.


    ¡°Riri, don¡¯t give up. ¡°


    ¡°But...¡± I looked at her. She is still in full spirit. Her eyes looked expectantly at me.


    ¡°Why Stella? Why did you look at her but not me?¡±


    ¡°Because she is my closest friend. The one that understands me.¡± Stella said while standing beside me


    ¡°So, is my years of gaining your attention worthless? You, you always looked at me like that. Even now, with eyes neither of hatred nor fondness, you never looked directly into my eyes. Am I only a passing commoner to you?¡±


    ¡°No, you were my friend. A long time ago.¡± She replied. But somehow I understood what Reis is talking about. Stella never made any close friends. Even Ragnar, she always maintained her distance with others, even at Headquarters, she looked lonely but she never interacts with others more than necessary. I knew why though, because she felt guilty to the death of her friends, she should never be happy when her friends died in her hands. And most importantly, she was terrified of her impending death. She really never tells anyone about this except me huh?


    ¡°I will definitely make you look at me! I will bound that girl and torture her in front of your eyes. With that, our bond of hatred is complete! HRAAGH!¡± he said while dashed towards me. I get shivers when he talk like that. This is supposed to be a game but it is so realistic. He is a total villain, I can¡¯t even reply back towards his goal. He is far more villainous than demon king that wants to rule the earth.


    ¡°Stella, he has some screw loose in his head.¡±  I complained. ¡°How is someone like him became Tantalus member?¡¯


    ¡°I thought so ever since we met.¡± She replied ¡°Tantalus is just that kind of a group. It was still tolerable that time, I thought he was just idolizing me. But on the way he got more screw loose than normal.¡±


    Then he charged. Just like before, I have no choice but played defensively. Whenever I am in a pinch, Stella circled around and bit him. He seemed to be in so much pain just being near Stella. I knew her aura can damage someone. But it is just a little damage. Yet every 10 seconds or so, his HP is decreased by 1% alone.


    ¡°Damn it. I am not going to die now. ¡°


    ¡°Please Reis. You have done too much evil and you already contracted with demon. You can¡¯t live normally anymore.¡± Stella said with her green eyes in her wolf form


    ¡°Unsummon beasts.¡± He said. Dark miasma flow from the outside, creep inside of walls into Reis In an instant his HP recovered halfway. No way, what is that technique


    ¡°What? Only 50%?¡± he said dumbfounded


    ¡°Riri, he took every dark creatures he summoned and feed his soul with it. His stamina and magic has also recovered. Not only his HP


    Alright. That is what I call cheating. I can barely manage 10% of his HP and now I must fight him while he is half of his power. My stamina is already dry A few strikes more and I might fall unconscious. My magic is in a similar state. This is so desperate, the developer is truly evil if he made a scenario like this. Am I going to be captured and be separated from Stella again?


    ¡°Just give up! Don¡¯t struggle anymore, and I will ease your suffering. I will just unbound you from Stella and release you.  After that I will flee this castle, I have no need for this stone slab for our living place¡±


    ¡°Reis...... okay. Just don¡¯t hurt her okay.¡± Stella said as she returned to her human form looked very tired. She looked at me again smiling while crying¡± At least I could save you. ¡°


    I felt my heart pierced with such a spectacle. She has suffered so much. I can only give her several months of freedom. After resurrecting, she smiled much more brightly than she used too, she has been lonely and looking for a close friend up to now. If I let her go now, she will suffer under that death manager. As a toy, she will be treated no more than dolls until her soul fade away and Reis became bored of her.


    ¡°No! ¡° I shouted. ¡°Even if I have to sacrifice everything, my equipment, my character, or even my soul on the other side, I will not let her go and suffer alone, ever!¡±


    ¡°What a pest. I need to clean you up before the others arrived. Fortunately, it will take some time for me the other to arrive for I have destroyed the stairs from which you came. Now prepare to be tortured by me.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second, Riri, are you going to use that?¡±


    ¡°Sorry Stella, I can¡¯t let you go no matter what.¡±


    ¡°You broke your promises!!¡± Stella cried more awfully now. I am sorry, but I have to do it, I can¡¯t win otherwise, if I lose you, I might as well just delete his character.


    ¡°I won¡¯t die. My life might get shorter, but even if use it once right now, we can still be together for a few years more right? Please don¡¯t cry Stella.¡± I said to her while preparing my skills


    ¡°Soul transmutation! To Elkami¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    Soul transmutation has been used


    Lightning dark fairy Elkami soul is infused with your soul


    In this form, your stat increased by 20% of Elkami stat


    Strength + 30 dexterity +180


    Wisdom +240   intellect +450


    Stamina   +120 vitality +24


    Your magic resistance has increased by 20% of Elkami stat


    Fire    +2%     water +2%


    Earth   +3%   wind +4%


    Thunder+ 10%   ice +4%


    Dark   +7%    light+ 4%


    Your race has changed to half fairy


    Your class has changed to mage


    Your class restriction of weapon damage penalty has been removed


    Magical damage has increased by 50%


    Your have gained a new skill until transmutation ends


    Flight


    Thunder mastery


    Darkness mastery


    Spell caster


    You have learned the following spells


    Thunder Barrier


    Thunder strike


    Thunder shower


    Thunder ball


    Lightning ball


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike


    Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer


    Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor


    Lightning bolt


    Mana bolt


    Lightning charge


    Lightning pulse


    Lightning strike


    Lighting flash


    Lightning storm


    Shadow ball


    Dark lightning


    Period until soul transmutation ends 6 hours or until canceled manually


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    A surge of power came within me. I feel my power getting stronger. I get additional mana thanks to the increase of my stats. And my movement were faster, in short, I feel overwhelmed by my own power. This is about the same as the last time I used it.


    ¡°Damn it. Just die and give Stella back to me you insect!!¡± Reis roared and lunged against me. I dodged with impossible movement. This form gave me flight grandmaster. Even if Reis also has wings, he can¡¯t match against me in maneuverability. We fight in 3 dimensional room, Reis has an advantage in power and health but I have numerous advantage in speed and magic.  Reis was pushed back, when he tried to slash at me, I dodge above or below and countered his attack. It was surprisingly easy now with this form. If only this soul transmutation skill do not have a limitation, this is without a doubt a cheat skill. I don¡¯t know what will happen when this skill reach advance level. Maybe my account will be deleted and my character became a mob monster, or maybe my race will simply change into fairy or demon wolf. I am not sure so with all of my might, I have to finish this battle as soon as possible.


    With my increased dex and int, I do not spare any effort of using magic. With each passing minute, Reis HP has decreased by 1 percent. If this keep going, he will die in less than 40 minutes.  Using sword magic when in close range and using normal magic when he gained a distance. Reis got an advantage in a further range his spell is far more advanced. But with a barrage of my intermediate and beginner spell, I still overwhelmed him.


    ¡°Damn you. DAMN YOU!!!¡± Reis screamed as he blindly charged at me. he launched a desperate attack. But, with my enhanced stat, it is easy to dodge and counterattacked. His HP continue to decrease even faster.


    30 minutes later, Reis was out of breath, with 5 % HP left. With his desperate attack, I can¡¯t get away unscathed either. I was left with 30% of my health. If this was a movie or a game, this is a time when both party unleashed their finishing move. But will it also applied to this game?


    ¡°I found you!¡± Commander Edgar finally ransacked into our room. He really took his sweet time getting here.  But considering the stairs getting destroyed I guess it is a wonder in itself that he managed to get here at all.


    ¡°Good job stalling for time Riri. Now let us finish this.¡±  He said as he pat my shoulder and step forward. My job is finished right? I should leave it to them. With Reis left with 5% HP fighting with Commander Edgar should be easy for commander. I Already did all of my job here right? I should left right? No matter how I think about it, it was the correct thing to do but why is my heart aching? I feel like something is missing. Reis glared at me with all of his hatred like I am his parent¡¯s killer. There is nothing more that he could do and he knows it, so he can only glared like that. I turn my head to Stella, she just looked at Reis with a pained expression.


    ¡°Wait commander..... I will deal with him myself.¡± I hold Edgar¡¯s hand while stepping forward bypassing him. ¡°This is something that I must do.¡±


    Edgar looked at me with a strange look but he finally nodded ¡°But if you died or something extraordinary happened, I will take charge. I can¡¯t let him flee after all of this. I will focus in barrier magic with the others in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I replied. Reis looked at me with an astonished look. He probably thinks that I am weird for making such a proposal. Sorry but I do not know about it myself. This action is the first thing I did outside the norm and logical calculation. Even I was surprised at myself for making this kind of decision


    ¡°Why?¡± he looked at me warily ¡°Being arrogant now that you can defeat me yourself? Or are you afraid that he will take credits for killing me? I am just a monster in your eyes right? Foreigners from another world?¡±


    ¡°No. Proving myself that I can defeat you myself is not the goal. Nor is the drop loot or contribution points. I stand here before you, just to tell you that you are mistaken. You have lived with Stella far longer than I am. And I think your love for her is even bigger than mine. But, I pity you that the one who understands her the most is not you. But me.¡± I speak in a firm tone from my heart. In my heart I knew that this as the case. When we met at Trisia and that forest, I just looked at him like he is some madman or monster. Or maybe just some NPC that is designed to do bad things. But when we crossed blades earlier, somehow I can understand his thoughts.


    Stella was too bright. I always wondered why such a girl choose me to be her friends. Maybe it is because that first day when I caught her making a mistake. In front of another, she always made a dazzling appearance regardless of what she did. There are many who adored her including me. But that admiration of me turned into friendship while Reis admiration turned into obsession. If Stella didn¡¯t die and always like that, perhaps I might ended up the same as him. But when she shows me her fear at in that forest, when she turned into a summon, my admiration turned into friendship in that instant. I felt a connection from her.


    ¡°Nonsense! I will eradicate you and take Stella for myself.¡±


    ¡°I guess it is no use telling you. You can¡¯t understand that if you did it that way, Stella will not getting closer but will get further away from you. As her friend, I shall free her from you.¡±i said hile raising my sword. ¡°Enigma of lightning god!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, my enigma is stronger than your! Enigma of the dark god¡± he laughed and smiled ¡°Hades wrath!¡±


    I smiled back ¡°multicast, Bolt of Thor, Zeus, Srtike, Thor hammer, Zeus bolt!¡±


    Four blue spell circles light up besides black one. The one that Reis cast. The timer from the spell ticking down. In a minute everything will be decided. Reis spell is more advanced than me, but with my multicast, I managed to summon all of my enigmas while he can only keep one.  He shows a restrained face, he tried to bring his spell to maximum power by sacrificing all of his mana. In contrast, I did the opposite, I do not have enough MP summoning 4 enigma so, I tried to lower its power a little bit so I can summon the 4th one.


    30 seconds have passed, we still maintained our position. Reis can¡¯t put any more strength in his spell, if he does, the spell will collapse and failed. Silence permeated the air and no one makes any sound. Even commander Edgar that watched from the sidelines keep her silence and moved slowly to the door with all of their soldiers, even without telling, they are able to grasp that I am going to unleash a powerful spell. The room was filled to the brim with mana that you can sometimes see it sprouting some bubble glow on the entire room. It was a pretty scenic appearances if not for the tensely 2 individual that are about to kill each other.  Stella firmly stood behind me.


    5 seconds more, concentrate. Do not think about anything except destroying the enemies in front of you.


    3 seconds.  I will be able to do it right? No! Do not hesitate. I am no longer a shy and lonely girl. I have friends now and I have a responsibility now.


    As the seconds passed, a loud thundering sound unleashed itself from the densely packed magical circle behind us. Reis unleashed something like a dark abyss in front of him while I unleashed a bright blue lightning from all of my circles. In less than a second, the 2 powers clashed with great intensity. A crack suddenly filled the entire wall and castle pillar from the shockwave of our powers colliding


    My lightning quickly engulfed the dark shadow Reis has cast and my spells hit straight to his body letting out a bright light followed by huge blast. As he let out a last scream, Reis fell. With caution, I approached him but he didn¡¯t move anymore. He is finally dead. That was the end of what we know once as death manager.


    ¡°It is finished.¡±  Edgar said as he step forward besides me and stared at Reis¡¯s fallen body. I quickly returned back from my half fairy to normal human. When I checked back I was beginner level 8 on soul transmutation. With just an hour or so using this skill it has gone up 5 levels.  But I guess it will still take a long time for it to reach advanced.


    ¡°Riri.¡± Stella hugged me from behind, ¡°This is the last time okay. I will not forgive you if you use that skill again.¡± She said while weeping


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Reis groaned. Everyone¡¯s relaxed atmosphere jumped into alertness except Commander Edgar


    ¡°Relax, His dark aura completely vanish. He is at the last breath of his life.¡± He said while praying besides his body.¡± He is now a normal human at death door, may god bless his soul and forget his wrongdoings.¡± He prayed as he nodded his head.


    Reis opened his eyes and stared at us. With a weak expression, he spoke while coughing blood. ¡°Stella.¡±


    Stella just stare back without saying a word. Tears started flowing from her eyes. Even if Reis has done many wrongdoings, he is still something like a family to Stella. I do not quite get it, but maybe Stella didn¡¯t hate Reis that much.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Stella replied


    ¡°When you shower me with kindness and affection, my heart felt an instant joy. It was a joy like no other.  For the first time, I felt so happy. I managed to get into Tantalus with my talent and connection. You smiled at me. That furthered my ego thinking that I might have a chance. As a prince, I always rescue you in our play. I thought, maybe I could be your prince in life? Not just in our play. But your kindness, your affection, and your attention slowly wanes. No, it is not that, your behavior didn¡¯t change and that¡¯s the problem. Your affection didn¡¯t change at all when my love of you continue to grow. I was disappointed. In actually, you just treat me like an ordinary member. When I tried to appeal to you, you smiled and praise me. But that praise was empty, its word has no weight, you would say pretty much the same thing to everyone. When I tried to confess to you, you rejected me with a polite gesture. It hurts me the most. No matter what methods I tried, you didn¡¯t looked at me. Our bonds are slowly fading, if this continues, I will just become a background character to you. That¡¯s why....¡±


    ¡°You make a pact with dark churches?¡± I said with solemn tone


    ¡°They offered me great powers. They said with these dark powers, I can manipulate someone¡¯s mind. They showed its power to some village girl and it really worked, I accept that powers without hesitation. I was so content. With that power, I can get what I want. Even if by force.¡±


    ¡°The dark powers that you possess erodes your mind. You have made a wrong decisions.¡± Edgar butted in ¡°You are overwhelmed by its power and the dark god that its church deifies used your desire to extinguish thousands of lives. Massacring city of acolyte and Trisia. And not to mention your past events before that. Just to obtain a single girl forced love.¡±


    ¡°I see. So, I was wrong. GUARGH!¡± Reis coughed up blood. His life is nearing his end. I let out a silent tear as I hear this man¡¯s story. ¡°I can somehow feel it. But I can¡¯t fall back. If I fall back, Stella will never be mine. And I will be all alone.¡±


    Reis then looked at e ¡°Sorry little girl. I do not know your name. May I know it?¡±


    His question astonished me. But I answered back while trying to hold back my tears ¡°It is Riri.¡±


    Then, he looked back at Stella. ¡°Stella, I do not deserves a forgiveness for my behavior. But still, I am sorry for what I have done.¡± He turned back at me again ¡°Riri, I was so fool not understanding her nd went on my own foolishness. I realized now that isn¡¯t true love but mere ambition. I have done something so cruel to me beloved... And to you too, I apologize. And at the very last..... Please take care of Stella..... May she finally found happiness living with you... and your friends....¡±


    With that final words, Reis closed his eyes. His body slowly turned into a black cloud and disintegrated. As lights from the window filled the entire room, his body vanished and a system window rang up in front of me congratulate me for beating boss monster and telling me the loot that I get. This is one cruel world, there are no cemetery for him. He is treated as a boss monster in this world. And when he disappeared, he leaves no trace. The room looked so solemn and sad. Why is my heart so hurt when I finally freed Stella from her chain of the past? I have free her from Reis. But my heart still ache. I am not the only one, even Stella didn¡¯t smile for her freedom. She cried instead like me. A silent tears fell from her cheeks as she continued to watch the spot where Reis body was.


    I switched back and forth from watching her and watching the spot where Reis body is. Commander Edgar and the rest of the soldiers gave a final salute and returned. Not long after that, Stella wiped her tears and asked me to go back, leaving a sad and ruined castle behind. The once scary castle has turned into a castle filled with tears. When I looked back into this castle, somehow I can feel my hart aching with sadness and tears start to gather at my eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s forget this and continue on Riri. The village of acolyte still need us.¡± Stella forced a smile


    ¡°I do not think I will forget this. You know, I love books. No matter if the ending is sad or happy ones I still liked them. If this events were to be turned into books, it will most probably be a sad ending. But I still will not forget this sad events. After all, in these sadness there is happiness, I can learn many things. Therefore, I do not want to forget him. At least in this world, let us 2 be the last to remember him. Reis the death manager.¡± I replied while I stare into the wide blue sky. ¡°I came to these world looking for friends. And thanks to these events, I finally found one. A true friends.¡± I looked at her ¡°that¡¯s why I should not forget¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s soo like you. Thanks again Riri.¡° Stella said while hugging me.


    chapter 39</a>


    epilogue</a>


    Author note


    -          And that¡¯s the ending of this story. sorry for a very long delay, i got school and got hooked on some useless internet games. this chapter was a very long one I have to admit. With over 20 thousand words. Closing the plot holes took a lot of effort. Maybe I do not even need to do any filler in my head which I discarded when I tried to rush the ending.  But without fillers, Stella past is still unveiled and it will be a dark history no one knew about. At first i tried to separate this into 2 chapters but ending at chapter 41 is kinda bad in my eyes so, i forcefully combined them. Well, since this story is about Riri, not Stella please pardon me for leaving Stella¡¯s past behind.


    -          I hope this ending satisfies you. I personally thought this ending was good and the best one out of possible endings in my mind. I agonized on how the wording of Reis and Riri should be to express their emotions and atmosphere. I first thought that Reis should spoke like he gives up bonding over loves and started with a bonding of hatred but i do not have the vocabulary to express it finely. So, I guess obsession of love is better so I chose this ending.


    -          Comments or questions regarding someone¡¯s feelings are welcomed.


    -          After this last chapter, there will be a short epilogue which might also include a little prologue for next series. But don¡¯t hope too much, the next series might never come though. I want to learn to draw like some illustrations on Japanese light novel. Until I can do it, the next series will never come. And i have opened every thread. Please post a comment or question on the post you are confused about


    -          And enjoy reading this last chapter. As the last one, please shower me with comments okay?


    -          This is the latest of Riri Stats


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Riri</td><td width="25%">Alignment:</td><td width="25%">Good</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">250</td><td width="25%">Class:</td><td width="25%">idol performer</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Race:</td><td width="25%">human</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">female</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Manager, White Rider</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fame:</td><td width="25%">5150</td><td width="25%">Infamy:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MaxHealth:</td><td width="25%">6675 (+800)</td><td width="25%">Health Regen:</td><td width="25%">26.5/Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">MaxMana:</td><td width="25%">10900(+800)</td><td width="25%">Mana Regen:</td><td width="25%">43.4 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">309</td><td width="25%">Vitality:</td><td width="25%">127 (+150)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strenght:</td><td width="25%">147 (+142)</td><td width="25%">Dexterity:</td><td width="25%">350(+55)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intelect:</td><td width="25%">311(+125)</td><td width="25%">Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">332(+102)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Leadership:</td><td width="25%">165(+30)</td><td width="25%">Luck:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">charisma:</td><td width="25%">182(+140)</td><td width="25%">Charm:</td><td width="25%">110(+125)</td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fighting Spirit:</td><td width="25%">190</td><td width="25%">Faith:</td><td width="25%">140(+105)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Art:</td><td width="25%">74</td>[/tr


    ][tr]<td colspan=''4''>Elemental Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire:</td><td width="25%">1%</td><td width="25%">Water:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wind:</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Earth:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr>[tr]<td width="25%">Light:</td><td width="25%">45%</td><td width="25%">Darkness:</td><td width="25%">45%</td></tbody></table>


    Riri¡¯s latest used weapons (She has more weapons at her house in acolyte but i only speak about the most used weapons. other weapons aren''t mentioned much since i decided to rush this story)<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    -          Tensaiga


    -          Elven star bow


    -          Elkami sword


    -          Night moon sword


    -          Archmage golden staff


    Riri¡¯s equipment(She also has other armors at home but same reason as above, i deliberately ignore them)<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    -          Stella¡¯s ring


    -          Ring of leadership


    -          Ring of mana


    -          Performer¡¯s mithril enhancement ring


    -          Ring of vitality x3


    -          Ring of intelligence x3


    -          Earing of faith and wisdom


    -          Necklace of vitality


    -          Performer¡¯s dragonskin¡¯s leather armor and skirt


    -          Performer¡¯s angel shoes


    Riri¡¯s skill


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Speed reading intermediate¡¯s lvl 2 (40%)


    Manage beginner¡¯s lvl 9(10%).


    Magic mastery advanced lvl 5


    -          Light blessing   advanced lvl 4


    -          Phoenix regen intermediate lvl 7


    -          Healing hand advanced lvl 4


    -          Healing Area advanced lvl 3


    -          Group cure advanced lvl 6


    -          Expert cure advanced lvl 6


    -          Single bless advanced lvl 2


    -          Fireball intermediate lvl 9


    -          Light bolt beginner lvl 7


    -          Dark bolt beginner lvl 2


    -          Sand bolt beginner lvl 2


    -          Water ball beginner lvl 2


    -          Wind ball beginner lvl 2


    -          Mana bolt beginner level 3


    -          Lightning bolt beginner lvl 4


    -          Firesnow beginner lvl 3


    -          Cure poison beginner level 3


    -          Cure paralysis beginner level 2


    -          icicle spear beginner level 3


    -          serpent fume beginner level 6


    -          thunder spear beginner level 4


    -          wind jump beginner level 7


    -          flame sword beginner level 1


    -          ice sword beginner level 3


    -          dark sword beginner level 2


    -          light swordbeginner level 7


    -          thunder sword beginner level 5


    -          wind sword beginner level 3


    -          earth sword beginner level 3


    Acrobatic advanced level 4 (Movement 160%)


    Multitasking advancd lvl 2


    Weapon mastery intermediate lvl 3


    -          Fencing style


    -          Swordmaster style


    -          Jujitsu


    -          Ranger assassin


    -          Knightsword defender


    -          Knightsword swordmaster


    -          Kung fu


    -          Heavy knight


    Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2 (Dex +2)


    Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6 (Dex +80)


    Sneak beginner level 2


    Horse riding intermediate lvl 1


    Soul transmutation beginner lvl 8


    Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1


    Break dance beginner level 1


    Audience beginner lvl 2


    Repair beginner lvl 5


    Tailor beginner lvl 1


    Cooking beginner lvl 2


    Fire mastery beginner lvl 5


    Multicast beginner lvl 1


    Stealth Beginner level 1


    Stella¡¯s skill <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Wolf form intermediate lvl 2


    -          Venom claw


    -          Venom fang


    -          Venom fur


    -          Venom aura


    -          Venom blood


    Devil glare intermediate lvl 4


    Hunter instinct intermediate lvl 5


    Elkami¡¯s skill<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6


    Thunder strike advance lvl 8


    Thunder shower advance lvl 1


    Thunder ball advance lvl 2


    Lightning ball advance lvl 9


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7


    Enigma of lightning god Thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3


    Enigma of lightning god Zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2


    Enigma of lightning god bolt of Thor intermediate lvl 5


    Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6


    Lightning charge advance lvl 4


    Lightning pulse advance lvl 5


    Lightning strike advance lvl 2


    Lighting flash advance lvl 1


    Lightning storm advance lvl 2


    Shadow ball beginner lvl 2


    Dark lightning beginner lvl 3

 Epilogue

    ¡°Lily. Have some time before going home?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I do have some time? Do you want to go somewhere?¡±


    ¡°yes. i want to try experiencing virtual reality at this internet cafe you know. I heard they used the latest model. Want to join? Shella and Hasega team seems to come too¡±


    ¡°Ehh? Aren¡¯t Hasega, Victor, and Dem in different school?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We changed phone numbers. They are the one that advertise that cafe you know.¡±


    ¡°I see. Sure thing. Let¡¯s go.¡± i said back to her


    ¡°Ahh, here they are. ¡°Anya said as 2 man approaches.


    ¡°Hello. My name is Jason. It is Hasega in game. Nice to meet you.¡± he said while smiling. He is wearing glasses and totally feel like a gentleman. I heard he is one of major company¡¯s director¡¯s son.


    ¡°And my name is Rickson. You can call me Victor in game¡± said a muscular and carefree individual. In game he is more wild and looked like vikings but in here he is kind of macho man. Not much difference but he is better looking in real world ¡°You must be Riri huh? Your face is totally different but your aura is the same. Hahaha¡±


    ¡°Ahh, and i forgot to mention this one, he is a little shy in real world, but this is my childhood friend Ricky.¡±


    ¡°Hello. I am Lily here.¡± I replied while nodding my head


    Ricky is a total silent and have nerd looking. He is also wearing thick glasses. Comparing to Dem, their thin atmosphere is the same but he is so much better looking and have a better attitude in game. He is too shy i guess. Looking at him kinda looking at myself before playing Eiden online. But unlike him, i don¡¯t have this irritating inferiority complex on me. i wonder if he is bullied at school. Or wait, he is just like me right? No, he seemed totally afraid to interact unlike unlike me who is just nervous when interacting.


    ¡°Ahh, the bus has arrived.¡± Shella said as she waved at the bus which is totally unnecessary. I mean, the bus will stop by itself on a bus stop.


    ¡°The bus is densely packed. Should we wait for another?¡± Anya said while she seemed reluctant to go. personally i do not like standing on a bus either. But the boys and Shella seemed eager enough that they have begun climbing into the bus. Me and Anya reluctantly ride the same bus. It is 2 vote versus 4 so there is nothing we can do. i can use my car but there are 6 people here so i just send a mail to my driver telling him to go home and pick me up later.


    The bus moves like usual and stopped at the usual traffic light. But i wonder why i feel so uncomfortable. I know the bus is densely packed until we are almost unable to breath. But what is this uncomfortable feelings. My senses are screaming for me to get out and run as fast as possible.


    ¡°what is it Lily? You looked incredibly pale just now.¡± Anya asked me with a worried look on her face.


    ¡°I have an incredibly bad feeling just now.¡±


    ¡°Hah? What are you talking out of nowhere?¡± Anya asked with a surprise look


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. I just feel uneasy.¡±


    Anya looked around her and smiled ¡°Well, you were a shy person. Maybe you are still uncomfortable with so many people around. Don¡¯t worry, you will get used to it. just like Dem, ah i mean Ricky. Even though he is shy, he isn¡¯t that rich so he used bus to commute to his school. He is more shy than you and he can get used to this situation, you will get used to it in n time.¡±


    ¡°Okay, sorry that i bothered you with such useless worry¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± she gave a hug and looked back at Shella and Jason talking. Sometimes butting in heir conversation


    The red traffic light is supposed to be only 2 and half minutes. But why do i feel like i have been in a traffic jam for hours. My strength is already drained. This bus air conditioner isn¡¯t functioning well with so many people riding it. I opened my smartphone to chat with Stella through app. If i talked with her maybe i will feel more delighted against this moving oven called bus


    the traffic light finally turned to yellow. The bus started to turned on its gears and moves. But a speeding gasoline truck was approaches  from the side. A horn sounded with a very loud voice.


    ¡°Watch out!!!¡± some men screamed when they looked at the truck


    ¡°AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!¡± the women screamed


    I can only blankly looked at the truck speeding towards us. In just a moment, i feel a great force shocked my entire body and the world around me seemed to spin around. The bus fell to the opposite side of the truck and got spun around. As my head crashed to something, the world fel silent and my sight gradually blacked out.


    BLAAR!!!


    The gasoline truck exploded as to ensure our deaths and before i lose my sight i saw an enormous flame bigger than any flame i see on Eiden. In a moment i fell unconscious a faint light appeared on the corner of my view and the world fell silent with darkness around me. Stella, sorry, i might be not be able to meet you again, i was supposed to never leave you again, will you be okay without me?


    chapter 40</a>


    Author note


    -        my internet is acting up. sorry i posted this a little bit late


    -          And that¡¯s the epilogue + prologue for another series. Please don¡¯t curse me for such a cliffhanger epilogue ^_^ (This series is finally come to an end. some devils started whispering to me to just leave the story hanging at chapter 39 which is why it took so long to finish this


    -          Support me by giving me comments okay. And when i learned to draw, maybe i will write the sequel