《Mistress of the Forge》


 Chapter 0: Prologue

    ''Welcome to Ascension Online.


    The system doesn''t recognise any saved data, would you like to create a new account?''


    Hearing a disembodied cybernetic voice, Alex took a look around at her surroundings. Standing at the center of the cathedral-like interior, humongous pillars lined up on both sides supporting the dome. From the clerestory windows, light rained down on the imposing statues towering over her lone figure.


    Behind her, an arched doorway that remained open outlying the horizon of the azure sky let out a sacred feeling. Moreover, in plain sight where the altar was supposed to be at were eight empty seats, emanating power over the whole place. The question echoed inside the cathedral,


    Alex: "Yes." breathless and wide-eyed, Alex answered.


    ''The system will be doing a full body scan. Please wait for a moment.''


    Disconnecting her from the game, the game minimised itself on her Nerve Gear as it scanned her brain waves.  Without a word she lie on her bed, waiting for the scan to finish. Before long, the game initialised itself and an information prompt greeted her.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Full Body Scan: 100% [Completed]</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Failing to notice that she was naught but an apparition, Alex gasped as her body materialised right before her eyes.  A familiar light feeling landed on her back as her waist length hair appeared . Inhaling in the fresh air, a wide grin spread on her face. Continuing with the questions, the disembodied voice danced around the cathedral.


    ''What''s your name?''


    Alex: "Alex..."


    ''What''s your race?''


    A crease formed in her forehead. ''Of course I''m human...''


    Alex: "Human?" Confusion laced her voice causing another information prompt to appear.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Human</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>A human once was able to occupy one of the Seats of Power


    despite the advantages the other races held.


    It was one of humanity''s greatest feats.


    Most of this race inhabits the continent of Tethys


    and currently has the largest population in the world.</td></tr><tr>[td1]Choosing this race will have the following bonuses and drawbacks:[/td3]<td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr>[td1]Do you belong to this race?[/td2][td3]Yes / No[/td4]</tr></tbody></table>


    Reading over the mass of text carefully, she swiped at the prompt to see any other available information. Other race''s information came at her fingertips as she continued to observe their deviation from one another.


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    Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons and Demi-Humans. With the differences in their starting locations, stat allocation and stat scaling, it gave the players an important choice to make.


    ''Considering I''m a beginner, drawbacks might amount to more while bonuses might amount to less.'' following her thought process, an immediate answer presented itself on her mind.


    Alex: "Yes."


    ''Do you wish to make any changes to your appearance?''


    Another window appeared, containing a human image of her. Not giving it any thought, she replied.


    Alex: "No."


    ''To start your journey, please choose a starting location.''


    Replacing her image with a map, names of kingdoms and towns scribbled itself under the continent named in bold as ''Tethys''. Noticing a darker shade in the names of kingdoms compared to the towns with faded names, Alex started looking at the outskirts of the continent.


    Embedding itself on the land like a wide spread plague, the mark of civilisation drove nature into a corner. And surrounding it was one of the few remaining landmarks in Tethys -Sleeping Dragon. An aptly named mountain range in the form of a sleeping dragon separated civilisation and nature like a barrier.


    Situated between the mountain range and the remaining forest, a village caught her attention. Minuscule compared to it''s surroundings, the village''s name was almost completely faded. Squinting her eyes, thoughts of peace and quiet invaded her mind.


    ''Alone...'' without fear, she tried to read the name.


    Alex: "V..i..ll..a..g..e."


    ''Huh, it doesn''t have a name?'' a look of bewilderment passed over her usually impassive face. Suddenly, a gust entered the cathedral causing the dormant dust to grind against the weathered interior. Turning into a gale, the winds howled in her ears while continuing to drag her out of the cathedral.


    Alex: "Who are you?!"


    Returning the question to the one who questioned her on a whim, she didn''t expect an answer, considering that it was an AI. Yet, right before she lost her footing on the uneven, cobbled floor and heard the doors close shut, she saw him.


    Standing at the foot of the steps towards the eight seats - the Seats of Power - with his back facing her, his disembodied cybernetic voice transitioned over flawlessly to an amused human tone.


    "Hermes."

 Chapter 1: Mysterious Anvil

    ''At your fingertips.''


    Reaching out my hand, that phrase passed through my mind while the cathedral - Flying Fortress, Hall of the Gods, stood majestically in front of me. With a stone-made underside several times larger than the cathedral, it hovered above the clouds suspended by magic. Obstructing the sun with it''s massive structure, it casted a stupendous shadow upon the clouds. However, it didn''t matter how huge it was. Because the only thing my hand grabbed was <del>the empty space</del> an anvil


    You have acquired a Mysterious Anvil.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>System: Congratulations to {Alex} for obtaining the [SS] Mysterious Anvil!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    You have become a [Blacksmith].


    Alex: "Wha-"


    Plunging down the sky, Hermes'' boisterous laughter blended in with the roaring in my ears as the pixels flew from the scenery surrounding my free fall. In an instant, everything faded into a still, pitch-black chamber before being enveloped in a flash of blinding light.


    ...


    Piercing through my closed eyelids, the light dulled into a soft, warm beam acting like a spotlight on my whole body. Eyes fluttering to slits, I gasped. A flourishing forest basking in sunlight dyed the whole area in hues of green comparable only to the ''enchanted forest'' seen in fairy tales.


    Alex: "Faeries?" With a glint in my eyes, I scanned my surroundings. Ever since I was little, I had a huge fascination with the Fay. As a child, I simply found their thin, wispy bodies and butterfly wings beautiful after watching ''Tinker Bell''. But, my interest grew as time went by to the point where you could call it an obsession.


    By the time I reached adolescence, I had the image of a faerie as ''perfection'' in my mind. Their difference in appearances - which I found gorgeous no matter what, intrigued my inquisitive nature which led me deeper into their grasp. Entering high school, I''ve conducted multiple crash diets just to maintain that appearance of ''perfection''. My wardrobe was also filled with flimsy dresses in a multitude of colors and its matching sandals -


    ?: "Im sorry to break it to you but they don''t exist anymore."


    Interrupting my ruminating, I shot a poisonous glare towards the direction where the clear, feminine voice came from. Slipping past the thick and thin trunks of the forest, I caught a glimpse of a dress'' fringe tinted with a wavy, light-blue marking.


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    ?: "-Or at least, that''s what I''ve heard."


    Hearing the smile from her voice coming from behind me, I whipped around. Facing the perpetrator, it was a hard-fought battle to keep my impassive expression. Eyes hinting at mischief, long lashes, high cheek bones and her long, silky white hair pinned up into a messy bun complemented her fair skin and her snow, white dress. Tightening my jaw, I prevented the incoming assault of admiration begging to be let out to this girl I barely knew.


    ?: "Puh! Whatever, follow me." As if dissatisfied with my reaction, she pouted her lips and started walking down a path.


    Alex: "Um.. Who are you?" Standing at the middle of the clearing, I noticed an ornate design embedded in the ground below my feet.


    ?: "Mm.. the Village Chief?" Purposely drawing out her words, she slowed her pace and looked back at me.


    ''Totally not suspicious. And why is that a question. Aren''t you too young to be a Village Chief? Speaking of which ...'' Taking a step out of the clearing, a prompt came up.


    Unnamed Village


    ''So I am in the Village ...'' Following her, I watched her fragile figure walking off from behind.


    Alex: "Where are we going?" Skipping ahead, she ducked below a fallen tree.


    ''Did ... she just ignore me?'' A crease formed in my forehead as I tried to catch up to her.


    ''Oh, I almost forgot.''


    Alex: "Inventory." Seeing the anvil, I hovered my hands over it.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mysterious Anvil</td></tr><tr>[td1]Rank; SS[/td2][td3]Durability: -[/td4]</tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Smithing Proficiency: +4</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Given to {Alex} by the [God], {Hermes}. Made with an unknown material, this anvil is said to improve the results of smith-related crafts. The owner of this item is forced to be a [Blacksmith].</td></tr></tbody></table>


    -------


    AN:


    *Mysterious [ --- ] are given to the first players starting in an area.


    IMPORTANT: being edited rn to quality.