《Eve to Eternal》 Chapter 1 - To a New Home, To a New World Chapter 1 To a New Home, To a New World Gray. Neither colorful nor colorless. Neither white nor black. For Kristine Nihil, life was like that. Her only refuge from this gray-colored world was this simple wooden house in front of her. It was her great-grandfather''s home. "I''m back," she whispered with a faint sad smile on her face. With a travel bag hanging on her left shoulder, she opened the front door. Boxes covered with stickers and stamps were stacked near the entrance. They contained her personal properties like clothes, old notes, and other necessities. She took off her shoes and walked past the boxes. Along the left side of the foyer was a paper sliding door to the living room. The first door to the right, also a paper sliding door, leads to the dining room, and the wooden door past that leads to the laundry and bathroom. Another sliding door was at the end of the hall, and it leads to an open corridor to another wooden building behind the house. Entering the dining room, Kristine noticed that the house was well-kept despite the absence of its owner for three years. There was a piece of paper on the table. She picked it up and saw that it was a note from the hired cleaner to call if she wanted to continue the service. Just beside the doorway, to the right, was a L-shaped staircase tracing the corner wall. She went up, and saw four wooden doors lining the hallway. The door nearest the stairs was the master''s bedroom followed by the two guest rooms and finally the bathroom. Kristine knocked on first door gently, almost expecting it to open. After a few seconds, with a wry smile, she opened the door. The master''s bedroom was wide but simple. There was only a bed, a closet, a bookshelf, and a table and chair. It has always been like that. She dropped her bag beside the bed and lay down. With a sudden thought she turned face down on the bed and sniffed the covers. "Hmm, it smells like detergent," she said and laughed at herself. "I thought it would smell like grandpa. What a shame." * * * About three centuries ago, a nation that developed biochemical weapons declared war. Countries were wiped out, geological terrain and the world''s climates changed, and other unprecedented disasters occurred. A small technologically developed country, out of options, proceeded with research that violated human rights, and finally developed a squad of genetically modified human soldiers. This squad of super soldiers were sent on a suicide mission to assassinate the leaders of the warring country. They succeeded at the cost of their lives. Only one survived. His name was John Nihil. He was Kristine''s great-grandfather. With the death of the warring nation''s leaders, the war ended, but the casualties produced by the war was irreparable. The world''s environment was now unsuitable for life. Using the research of the defeated nation, the surviving countries developed places where humans can live. These were the enclosed cities. Since then, humans have lived within these cities separated from the outside world. Kristine was born with her great-grandfather''s blood thick in her veins. Because of that, she was easily agitated, her temper was short, and her physical abilities too high at her age. The other children would always end up beaten to a pulp by her. Her parents not knowing what to do, asked John for help. He made her visit his home for two months every year and she went through training under his supervision. He taught her how to fight, how to make use of her physical abilities, and most of all how to control her temper. In a time when no one could understand her even herself, he showed her the way. Three years ago, John Nihil died due to complications in his genetic makeup. All his earnings from his military work and all his properties were transferred to Kristine. His death was a huge loss for her, but she then made a decision to transfer to his city and go to high school there. That''s where she is now. * * * Four days have passed since Kristine finished the move. Today was the first day of school. She had already completed her high school application long before moving in to her great-grandfather''s house. On the way to school, she noticed almost all students were walking in groups. It seems like most of them had been together since grade school, based on their conversations. ''It can''t be helped,'' Kristine thought as she walked. Her grade school years weren''t as fun as theirs. She had always been an outcast because of her physical condition and temper. Other children her age won''t play with her because of fear, and their parents tried to make their children stay away from her without any pretense. She knew that she was different, but not being able to make any friend because of that was a bit too much for her a child her age. Her parents didn''t know what to do and seemed to have just given up on the situation. "Grandpa was really great." With that, her mood improved and she increased her walking speed. Arriving to school without any problems, she attended the opening ceremony followed by the morning classes. The teachers just introduced themselves during class and checked the roster. The day ended without any major events and Kristine decided to go home early. "Hey, you!" As she left the classroom, a short girl sporting long twin tails that reached her knees blocked her path. "You''re name is Kristine, right? Have you joined any club, yet?" "No, sorry, I''m in a hurry." In fact, Kristine had nothing to do after class and just wanted to go home to browse the net for any jobs she could take around the area. Money was not a problem because of the inheritance she got from her great-grandfather. She just wanted to earn money for her own personal expenses and not to rely too much on someone else''s earnings. She wanted to be truly independent. "Oh, this won''t take long! Won''t you join the Adventure Club with me?" The short girl was jumpy and excited. Looking at her, Kristine noticed that this girl was also in her class. Her name was Rayhlee Green, and like her, she also didn''t have a group of friends together with her. Birds of the same feather? "Adventure Club?" Was there such a club? Kristine felt doubtful. She didn''t saw the said club on the list provided by the homeroom teacher right after the opening ceremony along with the student handbook. "Yes! Please accompany me!" The girl suddenly bowed while pleading in a loud voice attracting the stares of the students around. To make her stop bowing as quickly as possible, Kristine accepted the request. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ''I''ll just accompany her then head home,'' she thought as they entered the annex building behind the general classroom building. They walked past clubrooms filled with new students applying. Finally, they reached a plain door, which looked like that for a storage room, at the end of the hallway on the third floor. "This is it," Rayhlee said and took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. A voice from inside the room answered, "Come in." As soon as the door opened, "Hello, my name is Rayhlee Green and I would like to join your club! My older sister is an alumna of this club and recommended it to me!" The sudden outburst surprised Kristine and she jumped a little. Looking inside, she saw two female students standing behind a projector. One of them was operating a computer unit while the other was staring intently at the display on the wall. It was a map with most of it covered in black. Some of the visible parts where shaded green, blue, and red. The girl operating the unit looked at us with a smile and said softly, "Please come in and close the door so the light won''t enter." The two did as told and stood near the door. Rayhlee was fidgeting after her sudden introduction seemed to be ignored. "It seems like there''s no other choice but clear the nearby dungeon before expanding the town," the student staring at the map said while nodding her head. "But we lack manpower." "Well, we don''t have a male player in our guild after all," the girl behind the computer said and chuckled. "Funny," the other girl said with a serious face and turned around. She took out a remote from her pocket and pressed some switches on it. The projector dimmed and the lights in the room suddenly switched on. "Rayhlee Green," she said looking at the girl beside Kristine, "and you are?" "Kristine Nihil, first year student," she answered promptly. The student seemed to have a surprised expression, then nodded and reverted back to her serious expression. "My name is Catherine Pascal. I''m the club chairman. This is Anna Kanova, the secretary. We''re both third year students. You said you two would like to join our club?" "No, I---" "YES!" "Then we''ll hold a simple test tonight at midnight. The meeting point is the inn at Alfao." "OKAY!" "Wait, wait, wait!" Kristine said in a rush. "I-I-I don''t understand what you''re talking about!" The other three looked at her with surprise. * * * Tataria, an unexplored world of swords and magic by the company World Games. It was a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role playing game released 10 years ago. The game gained its fame because of the amount of realism it offered along with its unique system Dream Realizer. It allowed the user to play the game while asleep in an accelerated state. Experiencing two full days in the game only took 24 hours in reality. This garnered a lot of attention and controversy but the actual technology still remained a secret. Despite that, Tataria''s main selling point was the freedom the users could take with their actions, the amount of unexplored lands to travel, and the extremely realistic interaction with the NPCs. "That''s basically it," Anna concluded. Kristine didn''t know the existence of this game because she had been too busy training and lived in a different city. Add that to the fact that she didn''t have any friends to recommend the game to her. "So what''s the relation of this club with the game?" Kristine asked. "Just like the club name, our main purpose is to go on an adventure, to explore the lands of Tataria," Catherine answered. "Tataria, although it''s been present 10 years ago, still have a lot of unexplored areas. Most players were too busy improving their combat abilities and trying to earn money. Exploration of those areas were left to hobbyists like us." "I guess I''ll give it a try then." Kristine wasn''t that interested at first, but after hearing about the realistic combat system and the picturesque landscapes as described by the two seniors, her curiosity was piqued. "I''m guessing you don''t have the required game unit in your home, so just give me your address and I''ll make a call to have one installed before evening." The serious senior offered. "Is that okay? I haven''t joined the club yet." "I''m pretty sure you''ll get hooked to the game but you''ll have problems as a beginner and so we''ll lend you a hand. Here''s my email address. Send me a message in game as soon as you''re done with your character and I''ll come over to get you started. You can then make a decision if you want to join our club or not." "See you two tonight, then," Anna said as she guided the two out of the room. * * * After buying dinner from the convenience store to take home and heat up, Kristine found a truck with World Games printed on its sides and three people wearing black and blue overalls standing outside her house. As soon as they saw her, they approached and greeted then reported that they were here as requested by a Ms. Pascal. Within 30 minutes, they set up a small inconspicuous device behind the house. After signing documents, Kristine saw them off. "So all I need to do is sleep somewhere inside the house and I''ll be able to access the game." Kristine was reading the game guide as she ate dinner. "Hmm.... that''s kind of suspicious." No one can access the game except for her within the set boundary, the walls of her house, unless she allows it. "A lot of things here are strange, but I guess that''s just how the world works nowadays." She took a bath after dinner and prepared to sleep. "I''m kind of excited. I wonder if I''ll be able to sleep like this." Kristine laughed as she lay down on the bed. "Grandpa said that the world used to be covered with wide expanses of green forests and blue oceans. I wish I was born before the war." Closing her eyes, for some unknown reason, she quickly fell asleep.
Would you like to enter Tataria? Yes/No
Yes Chapter 2 - Gathering in Alfao Chapter 2 Gathering in Alfao
Welcome to the world of Tataria.
This is your first log in. User data is being downloaded. Please wait...
Download complete.
Character Creation initiated. Please answer the following questions as you modify your character.
Do you want completely change your appearance?
No
Do you want to make minor modifications to your appearance such as hair color, eye color, etc.?
Yes
Please select from the color palette your hair color.
Silver E6E6FF
Please select from the color palette your eye color.
Red CC0000
Please select a value to Increase or decrease height in centimeters.
0
Would you like to make other changes such as eye shape, bust size, etc.?
No
You have finished making changes to your physical appearance.
Please enter your character''s name.
Pristine Void
Name Pristine Void is available. Go with this name?
Yes
Would you like to choose a starting class archetype for your initial skill build?
Yes
Would you like to select from a list or randomize? Note that randomizing may allow you to get a class not found in the selection list with very low odds. The starting class archetype can not be changed during the character creation stage after randomization.
Randomize
Congratulations! You have finished the Character Creation stage! Character name is Pristine Void Class archetype is War Chanter.
This is your first time playing the game. Would you like to proceed to the tutorial?
No
WELCOME TO TATARIA!
* * * A cool gentle breeze. The sound of rustling leaves. A soft electronic hum. Slowly, Pristine opened her eyes. A translucent blue panel appeared before her with a message.
Welcome to Tataria! You are currently in the Travel Portal south of the town of Alfao. As you explore the world of Tataria, you will find other similar portals. You can then set those as your log in points. Note: Swipe this panel to any direction out of your view to remove.
She placed her right hand on the panel and swiped it to the right outside her field of view. Noticing a blinking icon on the top left part of her view, she clicked it. Another translucent blue panel appeared containing her character info.
Name:Pristine VoidClass:War Chanter
Stats
Strength:Beginner ( 0% )
Agility:Beginner ( 0% )
Dexterity:Beginner ( 0% )
Endurance:Beginner ( 0% )
Intelligence:Beginner ( 0% )
Wisdom:Beginner ( 0% )
Skills
Unique Skills War Chant: Beginner ( 0% )
Non-unique Skills Combat Mastery: Beginner ( 0% )
"So these are my stats. As expected, everything is beginner ranked. According to the guide, the stats will increase the more I use them." Pristine swiped the panel out of her view and looked around her. She was surrounded by so much green that she felt shocked. "This is how forests look like..." A small smile appeared on her face. She could feel joy welling inside her. "Grandpa... is this it? Is this what you told me?" The dirt was soft and covered with patches of grass and some fallen leaves. Rays of light seeped between leaves and branches of tall trees. Behind her, was a three-meter tall black obelisk engraved with silver inscriptions. "This is the Travel Portal?" As she approached the obelisk, an icon blinked in her view beside the portal. She clicked it and another panel appeared.
Travel Portal This Travel Portal is a product of Technomagea. The first travelers appeared 20 years ago on Tataria. They designed the Travel Portal as a means of traveling between distant places. The effectiveness of the Travel portal is not affected by distance. It can even transport people from distant worlds. The existence of the travelers serves as testament for its effectiveness. The Travel Portals are surrounded by a boundary making it appear invisible to the natives of this land. Any non-traveler who approach the boundary are misdirected so as to avoid entering the area.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Note: New information has been recorded into the Codex.
Note: The Codex will blink when new information appear. An icon will appear in your field of view whenever there is important new information. You can swipe the icon outside your field of view without reading it. You can always review the information in the Codex.
"That''s convenient," Pristine said as she clicked the Codex icon beside her Character Information Icon on the top left corner of her view. There were already a list of new informations regarding Tataria in the Codex. Most of them were available through the game guide. She clicked ''War Chanter''.
War Chanter The War Chanter is an expert of combat. They have high mastery of weapon skills and unarmed combat as well as supportive magic that enhances their abilities further. Although their growth is not as exceptional as those of specialized classes, War Chanters are highly versatile and can fill any roles in a party. Growth corrections: All stats 1.1x, All combat skills 1.1x
She then checked her skills.
War Chant
Impetu Parvu : Beginner ( 0% ) Increases all damage caused by a small amount
Munio Parvu : Beginner ( 0% ) Decreases all damage received by a small amount
"So how small is this small amount?" Pristine remembered that the guide mentioned that most of the stats and skill values in the game only give vague descriptions instead of actual numeric values. This was meant to further increase the realism of the game, making it less game-like. "But the blue panels appearing out of nowhere makes it less realistic, you know?" she derided the system. After checking her skills and her surroundings, Pristine focused her attention to her self. She was wearing a simple light gray tunic and brown trousers tucked into black leather boots. A pouch hung on the belt around her waist. Looking inside the pouch, a blue panel containing a list of items in her inventory. The items on the top of the list were visible through the pouch. Herbs, bottles of potion, and some gold coins. "I have 10 gold coins. How much can I buy with this?" Pristine pondered as she closed the pouch. "There''s a town north of here called Alfao. If I remember right, the seniors said we''d meet there tonight at midnight in front of the inn." She looked up through the trees. "But it''s daytime... right?" She inspected her view and found two time displays on the bottom left. The top display showed that it was 11:32 pm. The bottom one showed 11:04 am. "The time here is twice of reality, so it would be exactly noon here at midnight in real." Thinking about it, she realized that whenever it''s twelve o''clock in real, it would always be noon in the game. "It''s interesting," Pristine said with a smile. "This game is interesting. I guess I''ll join the Adventure Club." She stretched and warmed her body up, noticing that her actions felt strangely real. Even the warming up of her body was so realistic it doesn''t feel like she''s in a game. With the help of the compass icon on the bottom right corner of her view, she headed north towards the town of Alfao. * * * The walk to Alfao took roughly 20 minutes. The distance from the Travel Portal was not that far, but Pristine kept on getting sidetracked. She would stop whenever she saw something interesting. There were many small creatures in the forest between Alfao and the Travel Portal, like the three-horned rabbit, the red-beaked sparrow, and the blind hunter toads. All those creatures avoided Pristine whenever she went to observe them, but luckily she was able to obtain some of their information through the Codex. There was a small plaza in the middle of the town where people gathered to trade. Judging by their clothes, most of them were the NPC townsfolk. A stall selling some skewered meat caught Pristine''s attention. The smell from the grilled meat was enticing. She went to the stall and bought two sticks for a copper coin. She was in a dilemma after finding out that a gold coin was equivalent to 100 silvers, and a silver was equal to 100 coppers. She only had gold coins in her pouch. The problem was easily resolved when the system automatically converted the gold coin to 99 silver and 100 copper coins. "Realism with a hint of fantasy, or fantasy with a hint of realism..." Pristine murmured as she took a bite off the meat on the skewer. It was tasty. "Thinking about it, I already had dinner not too long ago, but I don''t feel full." She felt like she could have another full course meal. Suddenly, an icon flashed right beside the skewer.
Hunger and Fatigue Like all living creatures, you can also feel hunger and fatigue. Both affect the performance of your actions. Hunger can be relieved by eating food. Fatigue can be removed by sleeping. Hunger level: low Fatigue level: none
''But I''m already asleep,'' Pristine wanted to retort. There were moments when she actually forgot that it was a game, but there were also moments like this when the system ruins the mood. After finishing the second skewer, she checked her hunger level again to find that it had decreased from ''low'' to ''none''. The appointed time to meet at the inn was almost there when Pristine suddenly remembered that the senior Catherine told her to send an email when she''s done creating a character. It was too late to send one, so she just proceeded to the inn. It was located at the east side of the village. There was a bar in the first floor of the inn. On one of the wooden tables, three female figures were seated around it. One of them wore a heavy-looking white armor that covered almost every inch of her skin except her head. The armor had gray inscriptions on it. A helmet of the same design was on the table in front of her, and a huge sword was leaning on the table to her left. The figure to her right wore red robes that exuded a fiery aura and held an intricate wooden staff with a glowing stone on its top. In front of the two, a short girl with pink twin tails wearing plain leather armor was fidgeting on her seat. She had a short bow on her back and a quiver hung on her waist. ''Undoubtedly, the pink head must be Rayhlee. Then based on personal character, the armor wearing one must be the senior Catherine, and the one in robes should be senior Anna,'' Pristine concluded. She walked towards them and raised her hand to greet them. Hearing her approach, the twin tails danced as Rayhlee turned her around. With a bright smile, she jumped out of her seat to greet her. "I''m so glad you''re here!" Rayhlee said as she took Pristine''s hand and did small jumps. Out of nowhere, Pristine noticed something different about Rayhlee aside from her pink hair. ''Her bust size increased way too much,'' she thought as she watched the twin orbs jiggle with every movement. She then looked up at the two seniors and saw them smile wryly. It seems like this short girl had a complex about her size, but increasing it way too much caused a sense of disproportion with her body. ''This was a game, though, so she''s free to do what she wants,'' Pristine thought. "You didn''t send me an email. I thought you wouldn''t come," the armor-clad lady said. "I''m sorry. I got too overwhelmed as soon as I got in and completely forgot." "It''s okay, don''t worry." She stood up, and the robed figure followed suit. "With this, everyone''s here. Let''s introduce ourselves first. My IGN is Rhinestone Cutter. My skills and stats are centered around melee physical damage and defense. My class archetype is Warrior." "I''m Firequeen Anna, and as my appearance and name suggests, my build is focused on fire magic. My class archetype is Mage." "Raylight Swift! I''m a leather crafter and a bow user! My stats are mainly on agility and dexterity! My class is Scout!" "I''m Pristine Void..." Pristine paused. She felt somewhat reluctant to describe herself as she only started. "I just started so all my stats and skills are still beginner-ranked." "So what''s your archetype? Or did you make a custom skill set?" Rhinestone Cutter asked. "Ah, no. I randomized and got War Chanter," she answered curtly. "War Chanter!?!" The three other girls exclaimed and widened their eyes in surprise. Chapter 3 - War Chanter Chapter 3 War Chanter "So, what''s a War Chanter?" Raylight asked as she tilted her head. The two seniors sighed as they looked at Pristine. "Nothing is known about the War Chanter except that it''s a versatile class archetype with low stat growth compensating it''s supposed huge battle potential," Rhinestone answered. "I said ''supposed'' because until now, no one has appeared with the War Chanter class." "The chance of getting it through the randomization feature during character creation is incredibly low," Firequeen added. "For it to exist in character creation also means that there is an NPC who can teach that class archetype, except that no one has found him yet." "The trainer is probably somewhere in the unexplored lands." Rhinestone sighed again. "For that reason, let''s do our best in club activities." "Promoting club activities out of nowhere is just like you." "I also randomized and I got this Scout. It''s not as rare as your class, but this play style actually suits me well!" Raylight said as she spun once to show off her appearance. The two seniors smiled wryly, and Pristine seeing their expressions understood what they were thinking. A scout should be inconspicuous, and Raylight was the complete opposite of it. The party of four left the bar and continued walking east. "There''s an unexplored dungeon east of Alfao. We''ll take the two of you there to test your abilities. Don''t worry, we''ll provide backup when needed. Otherwise the two of you need to clear it on your own. Even if you perform badly, you can still join the club and the guild. If you perform well, we can even provide you with amazing equipments from the guild storage. That will make your life easier here in Tataria." Rhinestone explained to the two some basic safety measures when exploring dungeons. "This will be your first exploration experience as unofficial members of the Adventure Club. Once we''re done here, you will be recognized as official members and be invited into the guild." Firequeen Anna handed them potions and said, "Potions don''t have instantaneous effects. Just like medicine, it will take time for it to fully work. Make sure you stay safe during combat. Combat here in Tataria is very realistic. If your head gets cut off, even if you have full health, you''ll die." "I-I know that," Raylight said. She kept some of the potions in her pouch, and some on her belt. Pristine copied her after realizing that keeping all the potions inside the pouch was a foolish thing to do, as taking a potion from the pouch while in combat will take too much time. "Don''t you need a weapon?" Rhinestone asked Pristine. "No, I''m fine. I actually know some hand to hand combat in reality." "Oh, that''s pretty good, but be careful, since you''re still a character fresh from the oven, you''ll damage yourself because of your low Endurance stat." She then searched her inventory for something, then took out a pair of chain mail gloves. "Here, take this. It''s better than nothing." "Thank you." She took the gloves and equipped them.
Chain Mail Gloves Provides protection for the hands from bladed weapons. Slash Damage Reduction: 50% Pierce Damage Reduction: 20%
* * * Pristine and Raylight stood in front of the dungeon. There was small entrance to a cave hidden by shrubs. Looking at the ground, animal foot prints could be seen. "I-I-I''ll go check what type of mobs are in there, first," Raylight said as she suddenly sprinted towards the cave entrance. With a sigh, Rhinestone grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her back. "Calm down, first," she said. "You forgot to cast a concealment spell on yourself. You''ll be thrashed by the mobs inside before you could even say ''Hello.''" "Yes." With a depressed look, Raylight cast ''Celumbra'', and as her figure slowly faded, she walked slowly into the dungeon. "Will she be alright?" Pristine asked the two seniors behind her. "I think she''ll be fine?" Firequeen answered with a worrying tone. "Well, unlike you, she has been playing the game for a while now. Despite the quirks in her personality, I think she at least has some basic common sense with regards to the game." "I see." "Will you be alright, though?" Firequeen directed the question to her. "You''re still a beginner still clad in beginner equipment. Aside from the gloves Rhine gave you, you don''t have any better equipments, right?" "Actually, I---" Before Pristine could say something, Raylight appeared. "There are a few parties of Shadow Wolves inside!" She made the report while performing a salute. The action suited her strangely well. "Seems suitable enough," Rhinestone said. "Good luck, you two." "Take care. We''re right behind you to help you if something troublesome occurs." Firequeen gave them a thumbs up. The two walked into the dungeon, with Pristine in front and Raylight behind her, an arrow knocked in her bow and ready to shoot. Shortly after they entered, the two seniors followed and kept their distance from them. "Three Shadow Wolves spotted," Raylight whispered to Pristine. From a distance within the cave, three black figures where sprawled on the ground. The Shadow Wolves have very dark fur and made them almost invisible in the dark dungeon. What gave them away were the traces of red that lined their bodies. "I can slow one of them down and take it out while you hold the other two back. Can you do that?" Raylight asked. "Sure, but wait a second as I prepare my skills." Pristine opened her skill panel and tried to cast ''Impetu Parvu'' and ''Munio Parvu''. She received error messages.
The War Chant Impetu Parvu failed to meet the following requirements for activation: Combat State One Enemy Killed
The War Chant Munio Parvu failed to meet the following requirements for activation: Combat State Receive damage while Vitality below 50%
Pristine felt a bit surprised. After the praises she got from the two seniors about the War Chanter class archetype, she didn''t expect her skills to have such constraints. ''But that makes it more interesting,'' she thought and smiled. High risk meant high rewards. "Let''s go," she said as she slowly approached the wolf party with her open fists raised in front of her. A glowing arrow zoomed past her and hit one of the wolves near it''s neck. This alerted the two other wolves, and they stood up and searched for the intruders. Another arrow quickly flew as it hit the same wolf on it''s leg. Finally, they were spotted, and the two uninjured wolves rushed at them, their red eyes filled with rage. The red lines on their body seemed to glow as they suddenly increased their speed. With a start, Pristine also dashed at them. The closest wolf pounced at her. With subtle hand movement, she hit the wolf in midair below its jaw with her left hand as she dodged to the right, then grappled its neck with her right arm. Twisting her body, she spun around carrying the momentum of the wolf''s attack, smashing it to the other approaching wolf. The two wolves fell back and glared at her. Her quick and precise movements caused them to be wary. ''It didn''t seem like I dealt any damage, but at least I got them to be wary of me,'' she thought. A whimper was heard as the first injured wolf died from successive arrow hits. "Good job holding them off, let''s finish this!" Raylight said pumped up. She then shot her arrows at the wolf to the left. Taking that as a signal, Pristine rushed to the right. The wolves caught off guard where easily dealt with. Raylight pierced her target with a barrage of arrows, while Pristine broke the neck of the other wolf. "Wow, you''re so savage!" Raylight said as she took a carving knife from her waist and started dismembering the wolves. ''Look who''s talking,'' Pristine retorted in her mind as she watched the twin tail girl took some of the wolf meat and leather into her bag. "Here." Raylight handed her three small pieces of red orb. "It''s your share of the loot. Since you don''t have a leather crafting skill, I''ll take all the leather." "What''s this?" she asked as an icon blinked beside the orb in her view. "You can sell those to NPCs for some cheap change."
Shadow Wolf Core A core taken from a Shadow Wolf. You can sense a small amount of magic seeping from within it. Monsters in Tataria were originally normal beasts. The appearance of the travelers 20 years ago caused a change in the magical foundation of the world''s atmosphere. This caused some of the magic sensitive beasts to mutate, turning them into wild monsters. Monsters generally have a magic core within their body, improving their abilities.
"I see. Thanks." "No need to be grateful. It''s your share of the work! We make up a pretty good team, don''t we?" "Yeah. Don''t let your guard down, now." The two proceeded into the dungeon without trouble. They got used to fighting the Shadow Wolves and easily dealt with them. After roughly two hours, they reached an entrance to a wide space. "It''s the boss room," Raylight said with a pale after scouting the area. "There are ten regular Shadow Wolves inside aside from the boss, Three-eyed Shadow Wolf." "You think you can handle it on your own?" Rhinestone asked from behind them. "W-w-we can give it a try. In case we can''t handle it, we''ll leave the rest to you!" Raylight was extremely panicked. "Calm down, we can do this," Pristine said with confidence. "I have a plan," she said as she checked her status.
Name:Pristine VoidClass:War Chanter
Stats
Strength:Beginner ( 66% )
Agility:Beginner ( 89% )
Dexterity:Beginner ( 72% )
Endurance:Beginner ( 51% )
Intelligence:Beginner ( 10% )
Wisdom:Beginner ( 9% )
Skills
Unique Skills The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. War Chant: Beginner ( 15% ) Impetu Parvu: Beginner ( 15% ) Munio Parvu: Beginner (11%)
Non-unique Skills Combat Mastery: Beginner ( 92% ) Unarmed Combat: Beginner ( 81% )
* * * With the concealment spell, Raylight slowly traced the walls of the boss dungeon hall. ''Crazy plan,'' she thought as she found what she was searching for. With very slow movements to avoid making any noise, she grasped for any indentations on the cave walls and climbed up. Reaching a height where one could die if a mistake was made, Raylight entered a small space hidden on the wall. "Hiii---!" she almost screamed out loud. There was a skeleton of a human inside the hole. He was wearing a broken metal armor. A tattered book and a simple dark tinted longsword lay by his side.
Unknown Longsword
Tattered Journal
Raylight picked up the Tattered Journal and opened it. Most of the pages were already rotting, and some were unreadable because of dried bloodstains. The most recent entries were visible.
Found a hidden cave in the forest east of town. Might be treasures inside. If I struck it rich, Zen''s father will surely allow me to marry her!
Weak shadow wolves inside the cave.
They caught me off guard. I was ambushed from behind! These damnable mutts!
Managed to escape and hide. Found a huge space deep inside.
Heavily injured. I managed to climb up the wall and found a hole to hide in. I won''t last long.
If anybody finds this journal, please take revenge for me! The three-eyed wolf can see what the other wolves can see. This means that it has no blind spots. It''s better to kill all the other mutts first. This is the only advice I can give you!
Zen, I love you. I''m sorry.
Raylight almost cried! She took the journal and placed it in her pouch. There''s a chance that this Zen girl is still alive somewhere, probably in Alfao. Strengthening her resolution, Raylight decided to exact revenge for this pitiful man''s soul. Removing her concealment magic, she leaned out of the hole and peered towards the entrance of the hall. * * * ''A war chant consumes 5% of my mana, and only lasts 30 seconds,'' Pristine recited in her mind as she peeked through the cavern hall''s entrance. She was reviewing the information she gathered regarding her skills based on the battles they had earlier against the Shadow Wolves while waiting for Raylight''s signal. ''If i cast the same war chant, the duration refreshes back to 30 seconds and the effects stack up. When the amount of stacks is greater than one, after 30 seconds, the stack decreases by one and the duration is refreshed but reduced by 3 seconds. I still don''t know the maximum amount I can stack up.'' She heard a sound as an arrow hit the wall opposite the entrance of the hall. That was the signal. Almost all the wolves inside looked at where the sound came from, except for the boss monster which continued to lie down in the middle of the hall with its two eyes closed. Only the eye on it''s forehead was open. There was one other wolf which that continued to pay attention at the entrance of the hall. Seeing that there was only one wolf paying attention, Pristine dashed as fast as she could towards it, but before she could reach it the Three-eyed Shadow Wolf suddenly stood and pounced at her with frightening speed. She rolled to the side to dodge. It was a size larger than the other wolves, and its entire body was covered with long black fur. The red lines that covered it''s body glowed brightly as it made a growling sound. Half of the wolves turned to face her, while the other half kept watch on the surroundings. ''It''s quite vigilant, isn''t it?'' Pristine thought. A barrage of arrows came from a hidden area on the wall of the cave towards the three-eyed monster, but it dodged nimbly without even looking. "It can see through the eyes of the other wolves!" She heard Raylight''s voice. "Kill all the other wolves first!" "Isn''t that the original plan?" Six of the wolves chased after her as she made a mad dash around the wide hall. The boss stood in the middle and watched as if observing some ants. The remaining four wolves stood around the boss and kept watch over the hole in the wall. Arrows struck the legs of the wolves chasing Pristine, slowing them down. This gave her some breathing space and allowed her to think of a plan for the current situation. ''I can try to take some damage and then stack up some Munio Parvu, but that would be risky with the boss just standing there. No, it''s waiting for my vitality to lower, and then it will deal the killing blow. I need to think up of a safer and effective plan.'' The chase around the hall took a very long time. With the help of Raylight''s continuous barrage of arrows, the chasing wolves vitalities dropped to critical levels. They were finally able to surround Pristine as she tried to catch her breath. ''That took longer than expected,'' Pristine thought. She still had around 80% vitality. Watching the six wolves in front of her, she couldn''t help but smile inwardly. Earlier she was being treated as prey. Now she was the predator. The six wolves moved in unison as they dashed towards her, but before they could even take the first step, Pristine made a mad dash towards the nearest wolf. Caught off guard, a crunching sound was heard as her fist hit the wolf''s neck with extreme precision. That blow carried all her weight with it, and an exhilarating feeling surged in her body. It was the same feeling she got when she trained with her great-grandfather, the feeling of not holding back, being able to release all the pent up energy in her body. "Impetu Parvu!" An icon for the Impetu Parvu buff appeared on the top right corner of her view along with the duration timer. With the same hand that she used kill off the wolf, she grabbed it''s neck and used its corpse to block the wolf attacking from the side. Another wolf took the place of the dead wolf and attacked from the front, pouncing in an attempt to push her down. She let go of the corpse and crouched beneath the pouncing wolf. She then grabbed it''s hind legs and pulled it with her. Feeling its weight on her back, she made a throwing motion and smashed the wolf on the ground, before it could react to her actions. Its back hit a slab of stone, breaking its spine, and the wolf''s head smashed the ground. "Impetu Parvu!" The duration time refreshed and a number two appeared on the Impetu Parvu buff icon. She swung the broken corpse of the wolf to the right and hit another one trying to jump at her. Before it could hit the ground, she jumped towards it, pinning it down as soon as they landed, and punched its neck, breaking it. She then rolled forwards while chanting Impetu Parvu, avoiding a wolf that attacked from behind. She turned around and caught its front legs, and with a sharp kick, she hit its neck with full force, twisting its head backwards. "Impetu Parvu!" There were now four stacks. The remaining two wolves tried to run away, but their leg injuries from Raylight''s arrows slowed them down. They were easily killed adding two more stacks of Impetu Parvu. With the quick death of the six wolves, the three-eyed boss growled angrily as it dashed towards Pristine. She made a straight dash towards it, unafraid. And the reason for her courage was Raylight''s arrows! The boss dodge the arrows making its straight dash for Pristine lose its track. Pristine on the other hand dashed straight ahead with the arrows almost hitting her. She ignored the boss and headed for the four remaining wolves. They tried to escape, but arrows blocked their path and their legs were shot slowing them down. Whenever the boss attempt to attack Pristine from behind, Raylight''s arrows would cover for her. With six stacks of Impetu Parvu, Pristine''s powerful and precise attacks on the wolves vital areas easily dealt a killing blow.
You have completely made 10 stacking buffs of Impetu Parvu. You will now receive a buff of Impetu Parvu that will last until you disengage from combat. For the next permanent stacking buff, you need 20 stacking buffs of Impetu Parvu including the current bonus buff.
Pristine smiled at the notification message. She was having a problem of what to do during prolonged fights because the war chant buffs only last for 30 seconds. ''For every permanent buff, 10 more stacks is required.'' Seeing this, Pristine finally understood why it was called the War Chanter. More enemies killed, the more powerful a War Chanter becomes. And this was only for the Impetu Parvu skill. What about the others that were still unlocked? Pristine grew excited with the thought. With a wide smile, she dashed towards the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf. She still had 10 stacking buffs of Impetu Parvu plus the permanent combat buff, which gave a total of 11 stacking buffs. As if in a trance, she engaged the boss monster in close quarters combat. She dodge the attacks with the smallest amount of distance possible, sometimes even grazing her, and counter attacked. Her vitality had decreased to 30%, but she had kept on stacking Munio Parvu buffs every time an attack grazed her until her mana run out. When the 30-second buff duration timer for Impetu Parvu was almost over, she finally dealt the killing blow. She dodged an attack and jumped to the side, then hopped on the wolf''s back. She then strangled the wolf''s neck with her arms. After a few seconds, the monster weakened from lack of air, and with a final crunching sound, it finally died.
Rank Up Strength is now Apprentice Rank Agility is now Apprentice Rank Endurance is now Apprentice Rank War Chant is now Apprentice Rank Impetu Parvu is now Apprentice Rank Munio Parvu is now Apprentice Rank Combat Mastery is now Apprentice Rank Unarmed Combat is now Apprentice Rank
Chapter 4 - After the Fight Chapter 4 After the Fight Rhinestone watched the battle with the boss. The girl in beginner wear dodged and attacked with extreme savagery and precision. Each blow she released were done with the aim of killing the enemy as swiftly and as efficiently as possible. She was not just focused on the single enemy in front, but on the entire battlefield. "Seeing a real beginner pawn enemies like this, makes me feel ashamed of how we used to be when we first started the game," Firequeen Anna who was watching beside her commented. "Her class archetype suits her well. I want to see how far she can go with it." "So do I. The fight''s almost over. It didn''t take long." "We needed new members, and these two feels like a Godsend. One''s an expert in combat, the other''s reliable in unexpected places." The two made a wry smile as they remembered the contrast between the pink-headed scout''s attitude outside and during combat. They watched as the boss finally fell and Pristine fainted on top of it. * * * "Hmm?" Kristine groaned as she woke up. It was still dark, and it took some time for her vision to adjust to the darkness. She was in her bedroom, originally her great-grandfather''s. "I''m out?" Slowly she got out of the bed. The digital clock on the table showed the time, 5:03 am. It should have been around five in the afternoon in-game when she defeated the boss and fainted, and the real world time should be around 2:30 am. "This sense of time incongruence is confusing." She took a quick cold shower to completely wake herself, then changed into her training outfit, tight tank-top and shorts. She then went downstairs, grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and walked through the open corridor behind the house. On the backyard, an inconspicuous device could be seen if one looked closely. It was the equipment for playing the game, Tataria. How could something so small do something so complex, she thought. Arriving at the other building, she quickly did warm-ups and stretches. This was the training hall. When her great-grandfather was still alive, they spent most of the time here. She remembered the first time she walked into this hall. A white-haired old man suddenly taunted her, and she went berserk, only to find herself beaten many times. At the end, although she was hurt and exhausted, she laughed and cried her heart out. It was the first time she was able to express true happiness and sadness. It was the first time her world had color aside from gray. After every training session, her great-grandfather would always tell her stories about the pre-war world. Green plains and hills, white-capped mountains, expanses of forests and oceans, and people living in countries that bordered each other. "I wonder if Tataria is the same," she whispered under her breath as she proceeded with her daily training. * * * After class, Kristine and Rayhlee went to the clubroom together. Along the way she asked Rayhlee why there were only few members in the Adventure Club, although there were a lot of people who play Tataria. During class, Kristine heard some of her classmates whispering about what gear they got from the dungeon, or where did they go to grind last night, or when the next competition was. Rayhlee wasn''t able to give an exact answer, so she asked the club secretary, Anna instead. Catherine was still busy with her class representative duties. "Oh, I thought you''d never ask," Anna said with a smile. "That''s simply because there are a lot more fun things to do in Tataria that is less riskier than probing in an unexplored dungeon where unknown high rank monsters could be hiding in. There are a lot of players in the game, but last night you only saw a few of them, right? That''s because the town of Alfao is the very first town you will enter in the game. Most of the players that stay there are beginner players who are still learning the game, and chose to play solo. Those types of players are doomed to fail." Anna shook her head as she emphasized that last statement. "Doomed to fail? Why?" Kristine was curious. Although playing solo was indeed hard, does it really ascertain failure? "Tataria is like a second world. Players are free to do what they want in it, and some of those players want to try their hand in things they can''t do in real life. Although their intentions may not be truly evil, but the morality of their actions are truly questionable." "What do you mean?" Kristine was confused. "PK," Rayhlee said as she hugged her shoulders. "Player Killers, the bane of all online roleplaying games. I first started out as a solo player, too, and I was lucky I have a skill to hide myself. I saw a lot of atrocities done by those PKs." "That''s right, and being a member of a guild means you can have people to party with, providing some protection against those malicious players." The door suddenly swung open and Catherine entered along with a male student. "This is Kenji Galve, the president of the Tataria Warriors Club," she said with an unpleasant expression as she entered the room and walked straight to the front. The male student followed and stood beside her. "Hello, Adventure Club. I''m sorry for stealing some of the students from joining you, Catherine. It''s not my fault that your club was too small and obscure." "Your club name is just too extravagant, Ken." "Hey, it''s part of PR strategies." Kristine and Rayhlee watched the conversations of the two with confused expressions. Anna coughed loudly to get the attention of the two club presidents, and smiled at them with an expression telling them to get straight to the topic. "That''s right," Kenji said. "My IGN is Almighty Ken," "Shameless." "and I''m the guild master of the guild Absolute Strength." "Truly shameless." His eyebrows twitched while he made his introductions because of the side-comments that Catherine made with a straight face. Doing his best to maintain a serious expression he continued, "I''m here to propose a joint operation with the Adventure Club''s guild to raid an unexplored dungeon near the frontier town of Ran Seiden." As soon as he finished saying that, Rayhlee raised her hand and asked a question, "There are other gaming clubs here in school with bigger guilds, so why didn''t you invite them?" "That''s because---," "Absolute Strength is the weakest club guild amongst those in our school. The other clubs denied their invitation," before he could answer, Catherine provided one. With that, his expression changed into an angry one, and he pointed at Catherine. "Your New Eden guild is even weaker than ours!" "First, New Eden isn''t mine. Second, have you forgotten about the guild tournament event last year?" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Ughh," he groaned as he suddenly kept quiet. Kristine leaned towards Anna and asked, "What tournament, and what happened?" "Last year, out of boredom, some players set up a guild versus guild tournament. Each guild could have at most 10 players participate, and it was a team battle on randomly chosen areas. We only had four members participate, me, Catherine, and two seniors who already graduated, but we defeated Absolute Strength who had a full 10-man team without losing any casualty on our side." With a cough, Kenji resumed the conversation with, "So that''s the gist of things. Do you accept?" "When will it be?" Catherine asked. "This weekend." "I see." She closed her eyes as if thinking of something. She then looked at Kristine and asked, "What''s your growth corrections?" "1.1 multiplier on all stats and combat skills," she answered. Kenji had a surprised expression as he muttered, "A new archetype?" Catherine glared at him and he shut his mouth. "We accept," she said. Kenji sighed in relief. "See you girls on Friday midnight then." He then swiftly left the room. * * * 7:43 am, North of Alfao. It was a late dawn on Tataria. The morning breeze was cool, and rays of light started to peak out from behind distant mountain ranges. A lone figure slowly moved while crouching behind a fallen tree. On the other side of the tree, there was a bear-like creature with two heads sleeping on its stomach. The figure peeked from behind the log to check the beast, revealing its silver hair and red eyes. It was Pristine.
Twin-headed Forest Bear The Twin-headed Forest Bear is an uncommon animal found on the southern forests of Tataria. It loves to sleep on cool mornings and is normally harmless. It only becomes aggressive if it is attacked or if its sleep is disturbed. Its meat is a favorite cooking ingredient by many cooks.
As soon as Pristine logged in, she found herself inside a room of the inn. She remembered the seniors telling her that they brought her there when she fainted after battling the Three-eyed Shadow Wolf. That way, she won''t need to return to the Travel Portal when logging in. When she went down to the bar, a female NPC approached her and asked if she was busy, then suddenly gave a request to hunt a Twin-headed Forest Bear for its meat. Apparently, the inn has run out and needs it as soon as possible. The Adventure Club was going to meet in the bar again around 10 am in game time. Noticing that she was way too early, Pristine accepted the request. She rushed to the town plaza and bought a cheap knife.
Multi-purpose Knife This simple knife can be used as a weapon, as a carving tool, or even as a kitchen knife. Truly multi-purpose. It can break after repeated usage, so handle with care.
Smiling wryly at the item description, a stall selling magic spells caught her eye. Remembering the War Chanter class archetype description, it can fill any roles in a party, which includes healing support and magic damage-dealer. She bought the instruction manuals for the basic Heal Minor Wounds spell and the lightning element beginner spell, Shock Grasp. In Tataria, players can learn all non-unique skills. Some can be learned automatically when performing specific actions, others can be learned only by using an instruction manual or through direct instruction from a NPC or a player with a rank of Master on the specific skill, and some can be learned by using either method. Skills need to be equipped in order to utilize them. Initially, a player can only equip five non-unique skills, but the amount that can be equipped increases with the increase in Intelligence and Wisdom ranks. After learning Heal Minor Wounds and Shock Grasp, Pristine went to the forest North of Alfao to hunt for Twin-headed Forest Bears. As quietly as possible, she approached the sleeping bear and jumped on its back. Casting Shock Grasp on both hands, she grabbed the bear''s two necks and held on tight as it stood up and thrashed its arms around in fury and pain. After a while, the bear fell down paralyzed due to the continuous electric shock it received. With practiced motions, Pristine stabbed its necks, killing it. After that she slaughtered its corpse to retrieve the meat. "Finally done," she said as she placed the meat in her inventory. This was the third bear she hunted, and the amount of meat in her inventory looks satisfactory. She then checked her status and skills.
Name:Pristine VoidClass:War Chanter
Stats
Strength:Apprentice ( 24% )
Agility:Apprentice ( 13% )
Dexterity:Apprentice ( 17% )
Endurance:Apprentice ( 10% )
Intelligence:Beginner ( 91% )
Wisdom:Beginner ( 87% )
Skills
Unique Skills War Chant: Apprentice ( 12% ) Impetu Parvu: Apprentice ( 12% ) Munio Parvu: Apprentice ( 4% )
Non-unique Skills Combat Mastery: Apprentice ( 42% ) Unarmed Combat: Apprentice ( 31% ) Holy Elemental Mastery: Beginner ( 7% ) Heal Minor Wounds: Beginner ( 7% ) Lightning Elemental Mastery: Beginner ( 34% ) Shock Grasp: Beginner ( 34% ) Butchery: Beginner ( 51% ) *Knife Mastery: Beginner ( 2% )
Her Dexterity stat increased quickly because of the Butchery Skill. She got Knife Mastery as soon as she used the knife as a weapon, but unequipped it to make room for Butchery. As she prepared to return to town to submit the items, she received an e-mail from Rhinestone Cutter. They were already at the first floor bar of the inn. Chapter 5 - The New Eden Guild Chapter 5 The New Eden Guild Pristine returned to the inn in Alfao and submitted the bear meat items to the bar cook. As a reward, her breakfast is on the house. With the three other members of the Adventure Club, they had roasted bear meat for a hearty breakfast. "I called you here today to officially invite you to our guild, New Eden," Rhinestone said. She looked at Firequeen and gave her a nod. Taking that signal, Firequeen took out two items and placed them on the table. They were silver-colored emblems. Engraved on an emblem was a tree with a mask on its trunk.
New Eden Guild Emblem It is made out of the rare Mytherial Ore. It displays the user''s loyalty to his guild. Mind Spells Resistance bonus: 5% Enchanted Skill: Guild Point Travel
Rhinestone Cutter, Vice-Guildmaster of New Eden, has invited you to join the guild. Accept? Yes/No
"Yes!" Raylight said as she accepted the guild invitation. Pristine clicked on ''Yes'', accepting the invite. Firequeen Anna made a relieved sigh, then started to describe the guild. "New Eden''s purpose is the exploration and discovery of new areas around the frontier zones of Tataria. Although this game has been around for a long time already, the area explored by the players is small compared to the entirety of the world. Right now, most of the players are content with what they have. There are many hidden dungeons within the explored zones, and the high rank players are holding events to prevent boredom. It''s been two years already since the explored zones have stopped expanding, and that is due to the mountain range blocking further conquest to the North. The bigger guilds have tried to cross the mountain range only to fail. They encountered extremely strong monsters and complicated dungeons. Since then, it''s called the Range of Demon Beasts. New Eden aims to cross that zone and pave a path to the rest of the continent." "I''ve been wondering, why is everyone moving to the North?" Pristine asked as it caught her attention. "You haven''t tried going South, right?" Rhinestone asked. Pristine nodded in confirmation. "Past the southern forest is a zone known as the Bottomless Chasm. It extends to the North on both sides and meets with the Range of Demon Beasts. A player once tried going down the chasm, fatigue caught up to him and he fell. He died without reaching the bottom. Even the NPCs also call it that. According to the game lore, the chasm was formed long ago during the age of the Gods, on one of the battles that Gods fought over domination of the land." "Back on topic, New Eden currently has eleven members with the addition of you two. Only us four belong to the same school, the other seven are from different places. Our base is hidden outside the player-controlled city, Richiedom. It''s a secret base, so it''s only accessible by using your Guild Emblem to set a travel point on the Travel Portal, or using it near the entrance. "The rules of the guild are simple. Do not disrespect the other members. Talking about real life matters in front of other guild members you don''t know in reality is prohibited. Performing any actions that would lower the reputation of the guild is obviously not allowed. And lastly, have fun exploring Tataria." Pristine and Raylight equipped the emblems. Pristine placed it on her chest, while Raylight used it as a hair accessory. Looking at the emblem on her chest, Raylight suddenly seemed to remember something. Rummaging through her inventory, she took out a dark-colored longsword, some coins, and a simple leather armor with a chest-plate. "Back in the Shadow Wolf dungeon, remember that hiding spot I was in during the boss fight?" Raylight started. "I found a corpse there with some items, and one of them was for a quest. I took it back and found the corresponding NPC. It was the poor sod''s ex-girlfriend! She''s an old lady now though. If only you saw her, she cried so much it almost tore my heart out. She then gave me that armor she said she used back in her adventuring days, some coins, and this sword which belonged to the dead guy! So here''s your share." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Uh, thanks," Pristine said, not knowing how to respond and took the items.
Iness''s Armor This armor once belonged to the adventurer Iness. She used this armor since her beginner days. She used to travel to the mountain range to the north where she scavenged for magic ores long before it turned into the Range of Demon Beasts. She has enhanced this armor with the magic ores she found. Physical Damage Reduction: 5% Elemental Damage Reduction: 5% Mind Spell Resistance Bonus: 5% Movement Speed Bonus: 5% Enchanted Skill: Auto-repair Enchanted Skill: Sharpen Blade Enchanted Skill: Increase Reflex (Expert Rank) Item Requirements Strength: Apprentice Rank Dexterity: Apprentice Rank
Dewin''s Longsword This longsword once belonged to an adventurer named Dewin. With this sword as his only companion, he roamed the continent to challenge powerful foes, both human and beast. He was unmatched in one on one battles, and he once defeated a fallen angel. The angel''s blood enchanted this sword with a powerful skill. Enchanted Skill: Foresight (God Rank) Item Requirements Strength: Expert Rank Agility: Expert Rank Dexterity: Expert Rank
For such low requirements, the bonus effects were a bit too overwhelming. Pristine wondered if the items equipped by Raylight had better bonus than these ones. She kept the sword in her inventory, and wore the leather armor over her tunic. It fitted just right. She then unequipped the ''Butchery'' skill, and a new skill ''Light Armor Mastery'' was learned and took its slot. "Any other questions?" Rhinestone asked. "I already have some of my stats and skills raised to Apprentice Rank," Pristine said. "Isn''t that too fast?" "No, not really. You went and raid a dungeon all on your own, and raising stats and skills to Expert Rank won''t take too long. The ranks after that is what takes forever to raise. There are requirements for changing from Expert to Master, and Master to Grandmaster, and the said requirements are unknown. Those who successfully ranked up past Expert won''t tell others except for those close to them. It''s an effort to maintain power over others." She had a bitter smile when she mentioned that last sentence. "Don''t worry, everyone else in the guild has already consented to share their knowledge regarding the rank up past expert to guild members," Firequeen said. "So you should do the same." "Okay!" "I''ll keep that in mind." The two agreed. "With that, you two would have to try and raise your stats and skills as much as possible before the joint operation on Friday," Rhinestone said. "We''d like to watch over you, but we are busy with other important stuff to take care of," Firequeen added. "Send us an e-mail if you need anything." The two seniors then left Pristine and Raylight. "What do we do now?" Raylight asked. "I''m the beginner here, so why ask me?" Pristine replied with a serious face. "Oh, right. You were so reliable I forgot, hehe." She scratched her head and started to think of what to do. Leather, Meat, and... Crystal? Two figures emerged from the forest, South of the town of Lancendai around noon. A guard wearing a full leather armor set holding a spear upright stared at the two, then greeted them, "Hail Travelers." Both of the figures were wearing leather armors, although one of them seems to be in rough shape. She was holding a bow with her head drooped in exhaustion, her pink twin tails almost touching the ground. With her posture, something impressive seemed to peak from the collar of her leather armor and shirt, causing the guard to gulp. The other figure sighed as she tidied her disheveled silver hair, then seeming to notice the guard''s line of sight, glared at him with her red eyes. They were Raylight and Pristine. "May I ask what your business is in Lancendai?" The guard stood upright and asked the two attractive ladies in front of him. "We''re here to rest and trade," Pristine answered. "Then, just walk straight after entering the gate and you''ll reach the plaza. Merchants and adventurers have set their stalls and are selling their wares there," the guard answered promptly. He then quickly added, "To the east of the plaza, you can find the inn, a cafe, and the bar. To the west are some specialty shops selling armors, clothings, and weapons." "Thanks." The two then entered the town gates. "I think he likes me," Raylight said as they walked towards the town plaza. ''The state of your armor is just too risqu¨¦,'' Pristine thought as she remembered the guard''s reaction to Raylight''s appearance. It was very realistic. Her mind has been preoccupied lately with the excitement of battles and stuff related to the club. It has been a while since she observed the aesthetics of the game without distraction. ''What if this was actually another world?'' She had that thought, and then laughed at herself. ''Yeah, right. With the amount of people playing in this game for ten years, someone was bound to notice, but no one has mentioned that yet.'' They sold their unneeded junk to the merchants in the plaza, then proceeded to the cafe for lunch. After the meal, Pristine accompanied Raylight to the tailor shop, where she rented equipment to craft new leather equipments from the leather they looted from monsters they killed on their way from Alfao to Lancendai. As she waited for Raylight to finish, Pristine checked her status and skills. Name: Pristine Void Class: War Chanter [ Stats ] Strength: Apprentice ( 47% ) Agility: Apprentice ( 31% ) Dexterity: Apprentice ( 82% ) Endurance: Apprentice ( 30% ) Intelligence: Apprentice ( 29% ) Wisdom: Apprentice ( 28% ) [ Unique Skills ] War Chant: Apprentice ( 23% ) Impetu Parvu: Apprentice ( 23% ) Munio Parvu: Apprentice ( 20% ) Icio Ruo: Beginner ( 3% ) [ Non-unique Skills ] Combat Mastery: Apprentice ( 85% ) Unarmed Combat: Apprentice ( 79% ) Holy Elemental Mastery: Beginner ( 52% ) Heal Minor Wounds: Beginner ( 52% ) Lightning Elemental Mastery: Apprentice ( 2% ) Shock Grasp: Apprentice ( 2% ) Light Armor Mastery: Beginner ( 98% ) Butchery: Apprentice ( 11% ) Beast Anatomy: Beginner ( 23% ) Knife Mastery: Beginner ( 31% ) On their way to Lancendai, they killed a lot of beast-type monsters that are lootable with leather and meat. This quickly raised the rank of her ''Butchery'', and allowed her to automatically learn the sub-skill ''Beast Anatomy.'' The sub-skill improved the quality of the meat she dissected from the beast''s corpses. ''Butchery'' also improved her Dexterity. With her Wisdom and Intelligence gaining a rank each, she gained two slots for her skills. As soon as the slots were available, she quickly equipped ''Butchery'' as swapping skills after and before combat was somewhat annoying. She balanced between dodging and taking hits to improve both her agility and endurance, as well as allowing her to cast Munio Parvu. Raylight also gave her the killing blows, improving Impetu Parvu. To her surprise, when her ''Shock Grasp'' skill raised a rank, she learned a new War Chant. [ Icio Ruo ] [ Consume the electricity coursing through the opponent''s body to provide yourself with a huge momentary movement boost. ] The skill requires the opponent to be paralyzed due to a lightning spell effect. She tried it once after gaining the skill. The result was... devastating. The movement boost was too huge in addition to her already quick movements, causing her to run out of control. She tried dashing to the side and hit a tree about 10 yards away. Once she learns to control the effects of Icio Ruo, it would be a very useful skill in group combat. In addition to the new skills, she also discovered that both Impetu Parvu and Munio Parvu gained an aura of about five yards, probably due to the rank up, providing similar effects to allies within range. She found out after Raylight complained about a buff suddenly appearing and disappearing whenever Pristine got close to her during combat. * * * "It''s done!" Raylight said as she dashed towards Pristine, carrying a bunch of leather equipments. She then grabbed Pristine and dragged her to a changing room within the shop. "Put these on!" she said, then forced the equipments to her, and closed the curtains. "What''s this about?" Pristine asked while putting them on. After a while, she went out wearing the full set, including Iness''s Armor. "It''s perfect!" Raylight exclaimed, attracting the attention of the other customers in the shop. Pristine was now wearing a full set of leather armor. The shoulder-pads were loose enough to allow flexibility of movement, but not too lose to disrupt her actions. There were also thin elbow and knee pads. The pair of bracers had metal plates on the top side. The gloves had open fingers, allowing her to wear the chain gloves underneath. The leather pants fit her perfectly with enough tightness, but still soft and flexible. The leather boots had metal toe protectors and even cleats! Apart from its functionality, the design was streamlined to look elegant. "It''s a job well done," Raylight said proudly, blowing air from her nose. Even the other customers were mesmerized! ''It''s leather armor, not a dress!'' Pristine retorted in her mind. "It''s nice, thanks," she said. It was true that the set was well done. When Pristine moved, she didn''t feel anything out of place. "Now there''s only one thing left!" as she said that, Raylight dragged Pristine to the section selling cloaks. Raylight chose a light blue one with a hood and reached up to her waist while saying, "Scouts must have hoods." Pristine got a muffler looking cloth instead of a cloak. "Why didn''t you get a cloak?" Raylight asked with a pouting expression. "A cloak might hinder me during combat," Pristine answered promptly. "With a muffler, I can tuck it in my armor in case it becomes annoying." * * * The duo left Lancendai through the West gate. "I''m halfway through the Expert rank in ''Leather Crafting'', so help me farm leather!" After saying that, they sent Rhinestone an e-mail asking where to farm leather near Lancendai. After a few minutes, a reply came saying that the Guildmaster told her about an unexplored dungeon to the West of Lancendai along with the map data. After 30 minutes of walking, they finally found the dungeon. Raylight made a prelimanry scouting of the dungeon and reported that the monsters inside were reptilian creatures as big as a bear. They were called Buzzards, and they give high quality leather. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement while murmuring, "Expert Rank, almost there, wait for me." They entered the dungeon with Pristine as the vanguard, and Raylight the rearguard. They found a lone Buzzard near the entrance. Its skin was covered with yellow scales. It crawled on four legs and had a tail with its covered with spikes. It rubbed its lizard like head on the walls of the cave. "Why is it doing that?" Raylight asked. "I don''t know, why don''t you ask it?" Pristine answered in a joking tone. "Yeah, I''ll do that," Raylight said as she posed to attack, "with my arrow!" As soon as she let the arrow fly, Pristine dashed while casting Shock Grasp on her right hand. The arrow hit the reptilian beast''s body, but it didn''t penetrate. The scales were too thick, causing the arrow to glance off to the side. In a moment, a lightning clad fist hit the Buzzards head as it turned to glare at Raylight who disturbed it from what it was doing. It''s head was pushed back, and the lightning current that transferred over to it disappeared. As Pristine wondered what happened, the Buzzard looked at them with menacing eyes, and opened its mouth. From its throat, a bolt of lightning shot out! This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Watch out!" Pristine shouted as she dodged. She heard a groan and turned around to see Raylight on the ground, traces of electric currents appearing here and there over her body. It was the paralysis effect due to lightning damage. ''This seems bad,'' Pristine thought as she moved around the Buzzard, dodging its attacks with agile movements. She tried hitting the Buzzard with punches, but the scales were tough. She then tried using the Multi-purpose Knife, only for it to break. Looking over her shoulders to check if Raylight was still paralyzed, Pristine suddenly had a thought. With a dash, she headed straight for Raylight and touched her body. The pink-head girl let out a sexy moan totally out of place in this situation, making Pristine notice what part of her body she was touching. ''It''s just too huge,'' she retorted in her mind then cast the spell she haven''t mastered yet. "Icio Ruo!" Pristine''s figure disappeared and the Buzzard which was approaching them widened its eyes. It then flew backwards and crashed on the walls of the cave as something hit it with tremendous speed. It was none other than Pristine. "Once more, Icio Ruo!" The reptilian beast which was pinned by Pristine against the wall once more was pushed against it. Struggling to escape from her, the Buzzard opened its mouth towards Pristine. As she noticed this, Pristine grabbed its jaws forcing its mouth shut. She felt the lightning energy collecting in its throat. "Icio Ruo!" With her hand grabbing the Buzzard''s head, she smashed its head against the hard stone wall of the cave using the tremendous speed boost given by the War Chant. The beast finally died. "I took damage from ramming myself against it." She walked towards Raylight while casting Heal Minor Wounds to the limit of its abilities, took a potion from her own pouch, sat down and drank it in front of her. Heal Minor Wounds can only cure injuries like grazes and light surface wounds. It can''t replenish the blood lost from the wounds, so taking a potion was necessary. "That was scary," Raylight said as she also took out a potion and guzzled it down. "Being hit by lightning is scary." Then she sat up and stared at Pristine. "But you''re way way scarier." "I can''t help it. I couldn''t think of a way to take it down at that situation." The two girls then approached the Buzzard''s corpse, skinned it and butchered it. Pristine had to borrow a knife from Raylight. The sight of two pretty girls covered in blood and digging through the corpse of a beast bigger than them was actually the most terrifying sight at the moment. They didn''t realize it though, as they continued to loot the corpse with smiles on their faces. * * * After three hours, they finally reached the boss area. They killed over a hundred Buzzards, and obtained a bunch of leather and meat. Pristine checked her stats and skills before proceeding. Name: Pristine Void Class: War Chanter [ Stats ] Strength: Expert ( 4% ) Agility: Expert ( 2% ) Dexterity: Expert ( 8% ) Endurance: Expert ( 3% ) Intelligence: Expert ( 2% ) Wisdom: Expert ( 2% ) [ Unique Skills ] War Chant: Expert ( 2% ) Impetu Parvu: Expert ( 2% ) Munio Parvu: Expert ( 2% ) Icio Ruo: Apprentice ( 19% ) Impetu: Beginner ( 7% ) [ Non-unique Skills ] Combat Mastery: Expert ( 29% ) Unarmed Combat: Expert ( 15% ) Holy Elemental Mastery: Apprentice ( 7% ) Heal Minor Wounds: Apprentice ( 7% ) Lightning Elemental Mastery: Apprentice ( 91% ) Shock Grasp: Apprentice ( 91% ) Light Armor Mastery: Apprentice ( 72% ) Butchery: Expert ( 2% ) Beast Anatomy: Apprentice ( 33% ) Knife Mastery: Apprentice ( 19% ) Sword Mastery: Beginner ( 55% ) One-hand Sword Mastery: Beginner ( 55% ) All her stats has increased to Expert Rank. She was then able to equip Dewin''s Longsword, gaining the One-hand Sword Mastery skill. She was able to equip the Sword Mastery skill after gaining new skill slots after gaining Intelligence and Wisdom Rank ups. She also gained a new War Chant. [ Impetu ] [ Consume all Impetu Parvu buffs except the bonus buff to deal a very powerful attack. ] She tried using it and found that it consumes all her remaining mana to cast. The longsword''s enchanted skill ''Foresight'' allowed her to see faint outlines of the predicted movement of the enemy. She also tested the Armor''s other enchanted skills, ''Sharpen Blade'' and ''Increase Reflex''. With Sharpen Blade, the cutting power of any blade weapons she used were increased slightly. Increase Reflex, when activated, consumes mana in a steady rate. During that time, she perceives everything around her in a slowed state, increasing her reaction time. "I''m already at 100% Expert Dexterity," Raylight said while fiddling with her status screen. "I''m done," Pristine said as she readied her equipment. She held the longsword on her right hand, and clenched her left fist. "Raring to go, aren''t we?" The pink twin tail girl knocked an arrow and stood beside her. "Let''s go." The duo entered the boss area and were greeted by a strange sight. [ Crystal Buzzard ] [ The effects of the magic distortion that happened 20 years ago were unpredictable. The Crystal Buzzard is a victim of that event. It was once originally a Buzzard, but magic distorted its skin turning it into crystal. It''s ability to produce lightning was also changed and now it breathes rays of light. ] Ignoring the description the two stared at the creature. It had clear transparent crystal for skin, revealing the muscles and organs beneath. "Gross," Raylight said taking a deep breath. "Let''s end this quickly." Pristine made a dash for the Crystal Buzzard. The beast, seeing her, opened it''s mouth and released a beam of light. She dodge to the side, and made another attempt to approach. When she was close enough to strike with the sword, the Buzzard used its tail covered with sharp crystals to swipe at her. Raylight provided covering fire, but the arrows only bounced off the crystal skin. "Doesn''t this seem impossible?" Raylight asked as she watched Pristine fall back while dodging the Crystal Buzzard''s tail swipes and beams of light. "I just need to get close enough," Pristine said as she made another attempt to dash towards it. After a dozen failed attempts, Pristine was down to 20% Vitality. Her left arm was broken, and there were burns and wounds all over her body. Her mana was almost empty casting Munio Parvu and Heal Minor Wounds. ''If only I can cast Icio Ruo,'' she thought. There were no enemies to take the absorb the lightning from. Suddenly, she remembered absorbing the lightning from Raylight when she was paralyzed. ''Does that mean I can absorb it from anyone aside from enemies?'' She made a gamble. After sheathing the sword, she made another dash towards the Crystal Buzzard. The beast opened its mouth and shot a beam of light at her. She dodged to the right, then casted a spell with her right hand. The spell was Shock Grasp. As the lightning covered her hand, she used another spell, the War Chant Icio Ruo. The lightning consumed was small, and thus the movement boost was not very high, but it was enough. Pristine opened her eyes wide as she activated Increase Reflex while drawing the longsword. The world moved slowly, and she dodge the incoming tail swipe. Activating Foresight, she saw the outline of the beast preparing to cast another beam of light. She crouched as low as she could, the beam grazing her hair. "Die!" she shouted as the blade swung through the beast''s neck. With Sharpen Blade and extra effort, it cut through the crystal, decapitating the beast. Raylight watching the scene from behind, breathed a sigh of relief. When she saw that final beam, she thought that Pristine was a goner. ''It''s a miracle she dodged that,'' she thought as she approached the amazing girl who was just a beginner not so long ago. The Guildmaster "Whew, we''re finally done," Raylight said as they went out of the dungeon. It was already 5:00 pm in-game. "That took a lot of time, but with all these leather, I hope I can reach 100% Expert on my Leather Crafting. Then I''ll make you a cute armor." "Haha, no need," Pristine responded with a wave of her hand and a dry laugh. After the battle against the Crystal Buzzard, they rested for a while inside the dungeon. Her stats didn''t grow much after the fight against the boss monster, probably because her actions were limited. Looking back on that battle, she realized that she still had much to learn and improve on. The War Chanter was supposed to be a versatile class, and it could fill any role in a party. If one takes that at face value, then that means that the War Chanter should be able to cope with any situation. She had to rack her brains to think of anything to use on that battle earlier, betting it all on a final gamble. She was lucky that she won out that gamble. "Well then, let''s go back to Lancendai. I want to process these leather as fast as possible!" "Oh, before that, don''t we have to look for the Travel Portal here?" "Right, you didn''t know. There''s no Travel Portal around Lancendai." "Huh? Doesn''t every town have one?" Raylight chuckled after hearing that. "No, I don''t think so. I don''t think every town have one. That would counter the game''s selling point of being realistic, because apparently, walking on foot over long distances for hours is part of realism." "I see. Go on ahead then. I want to check the area." "Not giving up yet on the portal?" "Yeah. When I open the map, there are still black areas. So i thought maybe there''s a Travel Portal there somewhere." "The black areas doesn''t really mean that it''s unexplored. Someone might have already been there, but did not upload the map data to the official database." Raylight turned to leave. "Nothing wrong in trying, though. Good luck!" She then cast Celumbra and faded into the forest. Pristine searched the black areas in her map for an hour. She couldn''t find any signs of the Travel Portal, but found an empty dungeon instead. Dungeons in Tataria are usually filled with monsters and treasures. But what happens after players raid a dungeon? Pristine wondered about this, and now she found the answer. She was checking if there were any items left in the dungeon when she heard a rustling sound in the entrance. She looked back to see a turtle-like beast, but instead of a hard shell, its body was covered by leaves. [ Leaf Turtle ] [ Leaf Turtles are an endangered species. They are weak harmless creatures that are found at the bottom of the food chain. Because of that, their population is extremely low. Their shell that is made of leaves and appears like a bush can actually produce edible fruits. ] Noticing her, it stopped moving and hid inside the ''shell'' of leaves. Now it looked just like a normal bush. From behind it though, eight smaller Leaf Turtles, the size of her foot, continued to totter into the cave. They stopped and twisted their necks as if looking for something, not realizing the bush beside them was the one accompanying them earlier. After a while, they finally figured that out and entered the ''bush''. "So dungeons remain empty until a new set of monsters decide to reside in it." That was her conclusion. The smallest of the Leaf Turtles continued to walk blindly into the dungeon. It only had a few leaves on its back, and one of those covered its eyes. The parent Leaf Turtle in the entrance seemed to not care about the little one and left. It probably thought that Pristine was the current owner of the dungeon, and it didn''t want to risk having itself and its other young ones eaten. "They left you as a sacrifice," Pristine said softly as she crouched down. The small Leaf Turtle continued to slowly move forward. After a while, it bumped its head on her boot. "That must have hurt," she said. Her boots had metal toe protectors. Even though the impact looked soft, thinking about the size of the Leaf Turtle, it must have been painful for it. She lifted the small beast with a hand. It was small enough to fit in her palm. She then peeled off the leaf covering its eyes and rubbed its head softly with a finger. She looked at it closely, her nose almost touching its head. It was actually pretty cute. "Pya!" the small beast cried as it stretched its neck to reach her face, then rubbed its head on her nose. [ Baby Leaf Turtle ] [ The Baby Leaf Turtle was born not too long ago. It still doesn''t know who its parent is, only moving along with the other Baby Leaf Turtles by instinct. They are easy prey when separated from a mature Leaf Turtle, as their shell is not fully grown yet to hide in. ] [ They are sensitive to emotions and will attach themselves to any source of affection, and run away from any source of evil intention. ] [ You have gained the affection of the Baby Leaf Turtle. Maintain a high affection until its maturity to keep it as a pet. ] "A-are you sure?" Pristine asked the cute little beast. It didn''t respond. It only curled its body and settled down on her palm. It closed its eyes and stopped moving. "It went to sleep!" The sudden turn of events left Pristine unable to properly think of what to do. "Do I feed it milk? But I can''t breastfeed yet. Wait? What am I saying? What does it eat? What do I do?!?" She was confused. Although Pristine acts savagely during battles, she''s still a growing girl. She likes cute things. This was a side she doesn''t want other people to know, yet, not because she was embarrassed, but because she was afraid that the people she had now become friends with would look at her with strange eyes because of her ''sudden'' change in personality. "Feed it grains, but dried seeds will also do," a voice suddenly said behind her from within the dungeon. Startled, she hugged the turtle into her chest and turned around while preparing to draw her sword. Standing in the darkness of the dungeon was a cloaked figure. The cloth covered his entire body, revealing only a masked head. The mask looks eerily familiar to Pristine. "Who are you?!" Pristine asked. In Tataria, there was no way to tell if a person is a player or an NPC in just a glance. "No need to be wary," the figure said, bringing out his hands from under the cloak and raised them in a pacifying motion. It was hard to tell what facial expression he was making or where his eyes were actually looking at because of the mask. Slowly, he put his left hand into the cloak, then pulled an object out, showing it to her. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It was a silver-colored emblem with a tree and a mask engraved on it. It was exactly the same as the guild emblem of New Eden, except for the gold frame lining its edges. "I''m the Guildmaster of New Eden." * * * There was a small hidden room inside the dungeon that Pristine went to earlier. The entrance was between a boulder that was leaning against the wall and a crevice around tight a corner. It was unnoticeable unless one knew what to look for. The entrance was narrow, but the path gradually widened. There were strange markings on the walls and when she asked the figure who lead her into such a place, he answered that they were seals to prevent intruders. "I was just about to leave so forgive me for the lack of preparations," as he said that, he started chanting long unintelligible phrases while moving his hands in a pattern. A stone table grew out of the ground followed by two stone chairs. A stone teapot appeared on the edge of the table with two stone cups. Without turning his head, he asked, "Coffee or tea?" "C-coffee," Pristine answered. She was confused and shocked by what she saw. This person was the Guildmaster of New Eden, but his actions were strange and unreasonable. After meeting at the entrance of the dungeon, he invited her inside for an apology to the misunderstanding, led her to a secret room, made furnitures and kitchenware using an unknown skill, and was now preparing coffee as if it''s something natural. "Here you go." He placed the stone cup of hot coffee in front of her along with a small stone plate of small dried nut-like fruit. "T-thanks," she said as she picked up a nut. It was actually tasty. The figure suddenly laughed, surprising her. "It''s for the turtle," he said. Embarrassed, Pristine lowered her head and placed the turtle on the table. Sensing the food, it crawled to the plate and munched on the nut-like fruits. The sight was warm and comforting. "Sorry for the late introductions," the figure said as he sat down on the seat on the other side of the table. "My name is Deus Ultima." He laughed again after seeing Pristine''s shocked expression. "T-that''s quite..." "Shameless, right?" "No, I-I meant to say bold." "Thanks for saving me some face." He took a sip of coffee. Pristine tilted her head wondering how he did that as the mask covered even his mouth. Looking closely, the slits for the eyes doesn''t actually have holes. Noticing her gaze, he said, "This mask is special." "Anyways, I started playing the game way back in the alpha stage. When the game officially started, I rushed to log in to make this name. Reflecting on it, I was really quite a child back then." He took another sip of coffee, then reached out over the table and took some of the food on the plate. The turtle looked at his hand while crying ''pya-pya'' as if telling him not to steal its food. "I''m guessing you''re a new member of the guild?" "Yes, I am Pristine Void." "When did you start playing the game?" "Just this Monday." He paused for a while, as if thinking of something then nodded to himself while whispering very softly, "Monday is... today is... I see..." "And your class archetype?" "War Chanter." "Oh, that''s great." He then started muttering again, "A War Chanter, huh... for the plan... it''s a big help... especially on..." Seeing her stare at him, he then coughed to clear his throat and said, "Sorry, I was carried away by my thoughts. Do you have any questions regarding the guild or the game?" "I''m just curious. If you started long ago, does that mean you already have Grandmaster Rank on all your skills and stats?" "Hmm, something like that." His answer was vague. "There are ranks higher than Grandmaster, right?" When she said that, his aura suddenly changed. "Where did you hear about that?" he asked with a cold voice. "Uh, no. It''s because of this." She showed him the longsword. It had an enchanted skill ''Foresight'' which was God-ranked. "I see," he said and his aura and voice relaxed. "This certainly is a miss by the management, but I guess it would make good preparation when you enter the heart of the continent." "I don''t understand?" Pristine was confused by what he said. "It''s something you don''t have to worry about for no. And for the answer to your question: Yes, there are ranks higher than Grandmaster. Don''t tell anyone else, though. You and Rhinestone are the only people I have told this about." "Yes." "Any other questions?" "None for now." "Well then, there are other places I have to go to. Use this." He handed her a black cube with silver inscriptions on it. The material looked oddly similar to that of the obelisk of the Travel Portal. She tried checking what the item was. [ Unnamed Object #987100923655172 ] [ No data available. ] "Just activate it by pressing the round silver button. Go ahead." Pristine followed his instructions and pressed the silver button. Her vision melted into the darkness. "Hey, watch where you''re going!" a loud unfamiliar voice said as she felt herself hit something, causing her to lose her balance and fall down on her butt. Realizing she had her eyes closed, she opened them to find herself once again shocked. She was back in the town of Lancendai! -------------------------------------------------- This is my first time to leave a note. To those who are following this story and continue reading it, I am truly truly grateful for your wonderful attention. Right now I am so full of emotions, that I don''t want to say that this project will go on hiatus, eternally. JUST KIDDING. (I know April''s fool is over, but it''s never too late to try) What i really wanted to say was, "I really liked this chapter because we finally get to see the feminine side of Pristine." Nah, it''s just caffeine overdose. Anyways, due to the comment by mg021 on the previous chapter, I decided to leave a note here. Any comments and suggestions are fully appreciated, both constructive and destructive. I''m actually thinking of modifying the style (fonts, tables, etc etc), but it might be something I''ll add later. Maybe when I have 1000 followers, ahuehue. Well, that''s all. Once again, thanks. Ta-ta! First Duel Surprise surprise! New chapter! Yey! This is bound to have a lot of grammar and typo errors. I was in a rush to finish this chapter, since I''m going on an overnight trip to the beach with my family. -------------------------------------------------- Kristine was inside the training room. She was sitting on the floor, with her legs folded underneath her thighs, and her bottom resting on the heels. Her hands were resting on her lap, and her back was ramrod straight. This was the pose she use when she undergoes visualization training. In her mind, she was fighting against her great-grandfather. She threw punches, kicks, elbow and knee strikes, head-butts, shoulder rams, and tried to grab him. He dodged them all, never losing that warm and kind smile on his face. "It''s not about speed, or strength," he said. "Even if you are faster than others, or stronger than them, you can still be defeated. Why is that?" Kristine shook her head. She didn''t know. "That is... because your stats are still Expert Ranked." "No, that''s not iiiiit!!!" Kristine screamed loudly as she suddenly opened her eyes and started rolling on the ground. After a while, she lay down on her back and catches her breath. "I can''t concentrate," she said loudly and raised her hand as if to grabbed something. After a while, a loose smile formed on her face as she imagined holding the cute little beast she was taming. "I''ll name him, Leafy." Then suddenly realizing her thoughts had gone astray once again, she rolled on the wooden floor while grabbing her head. On the way to school, Rayhlee met up with Kristine. It was a new feeling for the both of them, probably because of their history of having no friends to walk with to school for a long time. "You made a huge commotion yesterday," Rayhlee said while walking with a bounce on her steps. Kristine who was walking beside her just sighed. "What were you doing when I left for the town?" "A lot happened. A pet turtle, a strange mask, and a teleport item," Kristine said, summarizing the events without any enthusiasm. Rayhlee only tilted her head in confusion. "But still, to think you''d enrage a BT out of nowhere. What did you do?" "BT?" "Beta Tester. You didn''t know? That guy you dueled yesterday was a Beta Tester. He''s been playing the game since the beta testing stage, that''s before it went live." Then she suddenly crossed her arms and made a thinking pose. "It''s weird that he''s in a town far from the frontier towns." "Haaa." Kristine only sighed. "So, what did you do? When I saw you yesterday, the duel was already over. He was pointing at you screaming about some sort of revenge." "Haaa." Another sigh escaped from her mouth as she remembered the previous events. * * * "Hey, watch where you''re going!" After falling down, Pristine patted her clothes and looked around. She was back in the town plaza of Lancendai. Whatever that item was, it teleported her back in town. Because she was still a bit shocked of what happened, she forgot about the burly man she bumped into. She placed the Leaf Turtle on her shoulder and started to walk towards the tailor shop to look for Raylight when she was shoved from behind, causing her to lose her balance. She managed to stop herself from falling down, and glared back at the person behind her. "I finally caught your attention, little girl." It was a big man wearing black plate armor that covered every inch of his body. He was two heads taller than Pristine. There was a huge war-axe on his back. "No one ignores Magnum Max. You better remember my face!" "But you''re wearing a helmet," Pristine retorted. Uh-oh, she thought. She had been a little out of it because of what happened earlier and just said her thoughts out loud. Obviously mad, the man who called himself Magnum Max, violently took of his helmet and said, "You better remember my face!" while leaning towards her. The turtle on her shoulder which was still nibbling on a nut it took along with it when they somehow warped, suddenly spit the nut at him. Still moist from the turtle''s saliva, the nut stuck to his forehead. "Pi pi pi pi pi pya!" it let out a stream of noises as if cursing him! Reaching his limit, Magnum Max took the war-axe from behind him and said in a low growling voice, "Duel with me." "Wait, I just started a fe---" "I said duel with me!" Overwhelmed, Pristine accepted his duel invitation. [ Duel Rules ] [ Players involved in the duel must fight within a 10 meter radius from the point of initiation of the duel. ] If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. [ Victory is decided when one player surrenders, lose all Vitality, lose consciousness, or leave the duel area. ] [ There are no death penalties when dueling. ] A countdown of five seconds appeared at the top of her screen. She tucked the small beast into the space between her chest and her leather armor. It snuggled itself in there with a ''pya''. Unsheathing the longsword on her back, she readied her stance. Magnum Max had a confident smile on his face. He was planning on thrashing this ignorant little girl and teach her a lesson. He had noticed the guild emblem on her chest. New Eden was a small guild but it had a very good reputation of exploring difficult dungeons on the frontier. He planned on shaming this guild in front of the other players. He went to this small town in the beginner area to recruit newbies. His guild, Shining Glory, was aiming to conquer the most difficult dungeon available now. It was the tunnel that leads through the Range of Demon Beasts. Once they cleared the dungeon, it will allow players safe passage across the mountain range. He planned to set up a toll for the passage. It was going to be easy income. The role of the newbie players were to act as bait for the monsters. That way, the core members of the guild can clear the dungeon without suffering death penalties. They can discover the abilities and strength of the demonic beasts present in the dungeon by sacrificing the newbie players. To convince the beginners to join them, he planned on bringing down a member of another guild to show off the strength of him and his guild. ''Judging from her appearance, she probably started a few weeks ago,'' he thought, excited of devouring this easy prey. If he knew that this player he was looking down on only started two days ago, he would be in for a shock. With the countdown reaching zero, he casted a fire elemental enchantment, the ''Blazing Weapon'' spell, on his war-axe, turning it into a fiery blazing weapon of carnage. "Die!" he yelled, sure of his victory. He made a huge step forward and slashed his burning war-axe horizontally with all his might. This was his sure-kill attack that won him all his duels. The wide swinging arc would not allow dodging to the side or to the back. The effects of the fire enchantment increased the range of the damage, and the heat haze that resulted distorted the opposing player''s sense of distance. He had a savage grin on his face, but it soon turned into that of shock and fear. Pristine, upon seeing him cast the fire enchantment on his weapon, knew what he was planning. Increasing attack range and disturbing the opponent''s sense of distance was a very basic strategy among duel strategies. Her great-grandfather did this many times against her by wearing loose long-sleeved robes with weird stripe patterns during their training. With no hints of fear or doubt, she stepped forward within the range of the war-axe. She cast Shock Grasp with her left hand, and consumed it with Icio Ruo. Using the slight movement boost, she parried the war-axe slightly upwards by hitting the bottom flat side of its blade with her sword. Receiving damage from the fiery blaze, her Vitality quickly dropped to less than 40%. She casted Munio Parvu as many times as she could within the small time available at that moment while under the effects of Increase Reflex. Reaching out her hand, she cast another Shock Grasp and tapped his plate armor. It easily paralyzed his body as the lightning currents easily passed through using his armor as a conductor. Seeing that the effects were powerful enough, she consumed the lightning currents with another Icio Ruo, pushing the huge man out of the dueling area. Shocked by what happened, the loser angrily shouted profanities at Pristine and made complaints like it was not fair, and the duel should have been concluded by having one of them dead and not by some stupid disqualification rule. "You should just accept your defeat," she said as she turned around to find Raylight appearing from within the crowd. * * * "So that''s what happened," Rayhlee said while nodding to herself. "I just confirmed one thing." "What?" "You''re actually really really strong! Are you actually some sort of secret superhero?" "Uhh..." Kristine was at a loss of what to say. In fact, what Rayhlee said was not that far from the truth. Only it was her great-grandfather who was a hero, and she only acquired his genes. "Well, let''s report this later to the seniors!" Rayhlee said as she bouncily walked towards the school gate. Trouble! Finally, a new chapter. We arrived last night, and the drive was so tiring. I wrote the draft on paper during free times at the beach, and was ready to type it all down after arriving, but heck, I fell asleep as soon as I lay down on the bed. And there''s something about it totally different from the other chapters. The first one to post the answer, I''ll give a +reputation. Woot woot! Without further ado, here''s the chapter. -------------------------------------------------- It was last period, and Kristine was dutifully taking down notes as the professor discussed the lesson presented on the projector screen. It was about the importance of recycling and reusing materials, and the gradual decrease of salvageable resources outside the cities. A paper plane flew across the classroom and landed on her desk. She turned to look to the side and found Rayhlee from across the room making a thumbs up and raising her notebook with something written on it in huge letters: Bow Skill Rank Up! With a wry smile, Kristine unfolded the paper plane. There was a note on it, "The seniors mailed me to meet on the school gates instead of the clubroom!" ''You could have told me later,'' she thought as she folded the paper and tucked it under her desk. Looking back up, the professor was glaring at her. "I''m sorry!" Rayhlee said while walking behind Kristine. "I''m really sorry!" Because of the paper plane, the professor scolded Kristine after class. He didn''t see Rayhlee throw it. He only saw Kristine ''enthusiastically'' unfolding the plane and reading it while class was going on. She had to spend 20 minutes listening to him point out the importance of listening in class which soon deviated to the topic of recycling paper and the lack of resources to produce them. Since it was last period, the classmates who were vacating the classroom were giving her entertained looks and small chuckles. Ignoring Rayhlee, she walked towards the school gate and found the two seniors already waiting there. "Oh? You look like you''re in a bad mood," Catherine said. "It''s my fault," Rayhlee said while drooping her shoulders. She then explained what happened. "That professor is a real stickler about those kind of thing," Anna commented while fiddling with her phone. "Putting that aside, we called you out here actually because we''re in a hurry," Catherine said. Rayhlee made an apologetic look, realizing that because of her actions, she had also delayed the seniors from their business. Anna whispered an ''It''s okay'' to her and patted her head. "We''re going to meet offline with other members of the guild. We''d like to invite you two, but you should focus on ranking up." "With permission from the Guildmaster, we gave you two limited access for the guild vault. You can find one on any big town with a bank. Feel free to take some items that can help you in ranking up." "Do you need anything else?" Kristine was about to decline when Rayhlee suddenly cried out as she remembered something. "Yes! Earlier Kristine dueled a member of the Shining Glory. I think his name was Magu-something." "Did you mean Magnum Max? So who won?" Catherine asked interested. "I did," Kristine said curtly. "I pushed him out of the duel area." "Hmm. That''s pretty good, although that would be a big blow to his pride. You two should be careful. Magnum Max is quite infamous for his notoriety, and Shining Glory, despite its name is actually a guild with a lot of dark rumors about it." "O-okay." Rayhlee was visibly frightened. "Did he see my face, he saw right? Oh no." she murmured. "Well, then, we''re going." The two seniors left after advising them to take caution. Kristine decided to stop by the convenience store to buy dinner. Rayhlee followed after her and continued to apologize. * * * "It''s them. Based on the screenshot you gave me, there''s no mistake." Two figures dressed in black clothes were talking in a dark alley not far from a convenience store. One of them was a short guy wearing glasses, the other one was average-looking. "You''re guess was right that they were still in high school. I was disappointed by the one with the hair. She had those huge knockers in the image, but they''re actually flat in real." He leaned out of the alley and looked inside the convenience store. There was a girl paying at the counter, and another girl reading a magazine by the shelves. "This is great," the other figure said as he also leaned out to look at them. "They''re stupid enough to use their actual appearance in the game. It makes hunting them in real easier." "You sure you want to do this? I know you haven''t been caught before, but I think this is a bit too much." The short guy looked behind him and saw three other people there. They were equipped with a bronze knuckle, a knife, and a taser. "Nothing is too much when it comes to Magnum Max. I''ll make them suffer. I''ll beat them up, rape them, and take pictures and post them online. I will ruin their entire lives." The three other figures behind him cheered while saying, "Don''t break them too much, we want a try, too!" The glasses guy shook his head and said, "I did what you told me to. I gave you what you wanted, now give me what I want. I want nothing else to do with this. Don''t involve me if you get caught later on." "Sure, sure. Business as always." The average-looking guy, Magnum Max in Tataria, handed the other guy a bundle of paper bills. After receiving the money, he quickly fled into the alley without turning back. "Let''s get ready for some fun," Magnum Max said as he walked out of the alley followed by the three figures. Kristine was about to leave the store when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She could feel that something was off. Looking outside, she found four figures attempting to hide in the shadows. Their figures were hard to notice, but the evil intent they were emanating could be clearly felt by her. "What''s wrong?" Rayhlee asked who was standing behind her. Swiftly, Kristine turned around and grabbed Rayhlee''s arm and dragged her to the back. The four figures outside saw this and they hurriedly rushed to the store, discarding any attempts to hide themselves. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Let us use the back-door!" Kristine told the storekeeper as she ran past the counter. At first he was surprised, but seeing the commotion outside, he understood. "Turn right after you go out the door. It will lead you near the shopping district," he advised. "Thanks!" Kristine was glad that the storekeeper was quick to catch up with the situation. She had been going to this convenience store almost every night to buy dinner for take out, so she was already a familiar face to him. After leaving the door, she turned right following the advice of the storekeeper. It was a long straight alley heading for the shopping district. After a few minutes of running, Rayhlee behind her was already out of breath. "What''s... going... on?" she asked between her gasps for air. "I don''t know. But someone''s chasing us, and they''re clearly out for blood." Being slowed down by the short girl, she heard clamors behind quickly getting closer. "Don''t run, bunny! Let''s have a good time!" Voices echoed behind. They were getting closer and closer. ''Almost there,'' Kristine thought as she rounded a corner only to find that two people were blocking the path. They held metal tubes and sneered at her. This was bad. Although Kristine can handle multiple amateurs in close combat, she does not know the combat capability of the people she''s facing now. There was also the presence of Rayhlee, who doesn''t seem to have any sort of athletic ability. She will have to protect her while fighting against a group of people. "Stay back," she whispered to Rayhlee and gently pushed her to the corner. This way, the opponents would have a hard time reaching her. "We meet again, bunny." A figure walked out of the path they ran from. He was followed by three figures who were licking their lips. "You sure can run, huh? Pity the other girl dragged you down. You should have just left her behind for us to have fun with. Thanks to her, I was able to call for back up." He motioned toward the two people holding metal tubes. "Six people to hold down two girls, huh? That''s very manly." Kristine said with a provocative town. "You owe me big time, bunny. I''ll shame you so much you''ll regret messing with me." Kristine tilted her head. She did not know who this person was. "I''m Magnum Max." She finally connected the dots. "How despicable. Resorting to violence in reality just for a game." "You know nothing, girl. Tataria isn''t just a game. It''s a whole new world." "You''re just crazy." "You''ll never understand. Let''s get this over with." With a wave of his hands, the five other people slowly approached her. The first one to attack was the guy with a knife. With a quick clumsy motion, he made a wide slash at her. Kristine stepped back and parried his hand holding the knife, making sure that the guy will lose his balance to a direction away from Rayhlee who was crouching in the corner behind her. Her back was exposed to the two guys holding the metal tubes, and they took the chance to attack. Their swings were met by the bag she held, and were pushed back. "She''s pretty good even in real. I''m sure she''ll feel really good once she''s been tied down," Magnum Max said as he watched the battle. He was visibly excited as he imagined ravishing her and make her admit that she was just a weak and frail girl. After a while, the guy with the taser saw an opportunity and rushed in. He lurched forwards and stabbed the taser to her side, switching it on. Magnum Max and the five assailants had wide smiles on their faces as they saw her crumple down powerlessly. Rayhlee shouted from the corner in fear and despair. The guy with the knuckles dashed and said, "I''ll knock her out!" and prepared to hit her on the back of her head as she fell down. Kristine''s hand touched the ground, her open palm flat on the concrete. With a buzz, electric currents suddenly surged around her body surprising everyone, then the thin bright sparks snaked around her arm and spread through the ground. "Wha--!" Before the knuckle-guy could react, his feet were hit by a leg swipe knocking him down. Before he could land, Kristine pounced on the guy with the taser, grabbing his wrist and twisting it. With a yelp, he crouched down in pain while grabbing his broken wrist. "Die!" Outraged, the knife-guy began swinging wildly. Kristine dodged with the smallest distance possible and then dashed towards him. The sight sent shivers donw her spine. Her face was so close to his, and he unwittingly stared at his eyes. They were red. Her eyes were so red it was like that of a demon in the game. He lost his breath as a knee blow landed squarely on his abdomen. Before the two metal tubes that were swung down on her defenseless back could reach her, she raised her arms and grabbed them from behind. Pulling with all her strength, she lifted the two and threw them hard on the ground. She then turned around and stepped on the knuckle-guy''s stomach. This all happened in an instant. "Wh-what the hell!" Magnum Max seeing the scene was shocked. It was too impossible. This was reality. Five guys assaulted a single teenage girl, yet they were all defeated. Not to mention that they were all equipped with an assortment of weapons and the girl was barehanded. "Who, what are you!" He fell down on his butt upon seeing her face. She looked calm. She was taking long deep breaths, and her disheveled hair hung on her face, but her glaring red eyes were terrifying beyond compare. She also had red eyes in the game, but that was just the iris color. Now, even the whites of her eyes were red. Slowly, she walked towards him. With each step, he could feel the reverberation on the ground. No, it was his heart beating madly in fear. Run away, he thought. I need to run away or I''ll be killed. But his body would not move. With a feeling that it took forever and at the same time it took only an instant, Magnum Max froze as the figure stood before him. He looked up at her face, and saw a smile slowly formed. It was a demonic smile that almost reached ear to ear, almost splitting her face apart. Magnum Max fainted while wetting his pants. Grinding to 100% Finally! 2 digits chapter! And all chapters are red (hot thread, 150+ views I think?) We''re almost at 200 average views. Thanks for the support, everyone! Here''s the 10th chapter for you! -------------------------------------------------- Rayhlee stared at Kristine with wide eyes. Everything ended in an instant. She thought that they would end up with a terrible fate after seeing her hit by the taser, but what Kristine did afterwards surprised her so much she forgot all her fears. She discharged the electric currents to the ground. It was an impossible feat for an ordinary person to do, but here was a person who just did what was said to be impossible. In her heat, a feeling grew. It was a combination of respect and adoration. Kristine weakly kicked the limp figure in front of her a few times, then turned around to check on Rayhlee. "Are you okay?" Rayhlee asked, seeing her red eyes. It had already reduced the coloration a bit, and now it appeared as if they were bloodshot. Rayhlee quickly stood up and fixed Kristine''s hair for her. Oddly enough, she just stood there, letting the short girl do what she want. Her body was very hot, and her breath produced steam against the cold afternoon air. "I''m... fine," she answered. "Just let me... cool down a bit." Rayhlee gently guided Kristine out of the dark alley, leaving the groaning assailants behind. They were in the shopping district. Stores selling a multitude of products lined the streets. They entered a cafe that had a few customers and occupied a table at the back. Rayhlee brought over two glasses of iced coffee. "...Thanks," Kristine murmured with her head bowed, still taking deep breaths. "This is the least I can do," Rayhlee answered. They sat there silently for half an hour. It was Kristine who broke the ice. "Don''t you want to know what happened?" she asked. She had already calmed down, and her eyes and body temperature were back to normal. "I do, but I don''t really care right now. I''m just glad we made it out of that situation safely, and it''s all thanks to you," Rayhlee said with a smile and reached out over the table, holding Kristine''s hand. Tears suddenly flowed out of Rayhlee''s eyes. "I was so scared... I''m so glad you were there..." Kristine opened her eyes wide. With a gentle and warm smile, she held her hand firmly and said, "Let''s go. I''ll walk you home." * * * It was already past 7:00 pm when Kristine got home. The dinner she bought almost got ruined, but it was still edible. She finished eating it in an instant. After that, she soaked in the bath and thought about what happened earlier. When the taser hit her, she temporarily lost control over her body. As she fell, she saw Rayhlee crouching in the corner, trembling in fear. She remembered what Magnum Max said, and it filled her with rage. This caused some of the dormant genes she acquired from her great-grandfather to awaken. She forcefully discharged the currents in her body to the ground, releasing herself from the paralyzed state. She then striked back. Everything that happened afterwards was hazy. She was in a semi-conscious state as the blood pumped into her head at an alarming rate. "That was dangerous," she murmured as she opened and clenched her fists. Her great-grandfather had always warned her of this. It was fine to use it as a last resort, but he kept on warning her not to overuse it or stay at that state at too long a period of time. He mentioned about his comrades back in the war falling not due to enemy bullets or weaponries, but because of overusing this ability. After getting out of the bath, she sent Rayhlee an e-mail if she was going online tonight. Rayhlee declined. She said that she was exhausted from the shock of what happened earlier and apologized. Kristine decided to go solo again, tonight. She woke up inside a room of the inn in Lancendai, hugging the turtle which she decided to call as Leafy. Checking the time, it was 9:02 pm in real-time, and 6:04 am in game-time. She quickly went down to the plaza to check the items being sold. Right now, she had more than 200 gold, mostly from selling meat and monster cores. It was still early morning, so there were only few stalls being set up. One of the merchants took notice of Pristine and called out to her. "You, over there. Come, come." She was wearing a simple white dress with accessories attached here and there. Pristine guessed she was a player because of her outfit. Regular NPCs wouldn''t wear something so disorderly. Pristine approached her and asked what she wanted. "You, you''re the one who dueled that ape yesterday, right?" the merchant asked. "Uh... yes?" "That was a great job, there. You broke his pride in very well. I hope his skin isn''t as thick as his armor, and he won''t come back here to abuse the ignorance of the newbies." She was clapping her hands while saying that. "Thanks, I guess?" Pristine didn''t know how to respond to the sudden praise. "Oh, don''t tell me... you''re also a newbie? How long have you been playing?" she asked while suddenly leaning close towards Pristine. Their noses almost touched. "Three days... in real-time," Pristine answered in a quiet voice. Thinking back on her actions, she''s been doing pretty well for a newbie, but if people knew about how short she has been playing the game and compared it to her performance, it would seem like she has been cheating. "That''s awesome! Are you some sort of genius? Wahaha! It''s so nice to meet someone like you. Oh, where are my manners? I go by the name of Regina. Regina Ultima." She then looked at the emblem on Pristine''s chest. "I see. So that''s how it is. No wonder you''re so strong!" "Huh?" Pristine tilted her head. She felt like she was struck by a confusion status debuff for a while now. "You''re a member of New Eden, right? Everyone knows that all members of New Eden or a league above the rest." "I-I didn''t know that." She truly didn''t know. The seniors never told her anything about it. And she was still in the newbie area, so there was no way for her to compare her strength to actual veteran players. She did win against a beta tester, but it felt like a lucky win more than anything else. "No need to be humble. Have you met Deus Ultima? He''s your Guildmaster, right?" This merchant, Regina, doesn''t seem like she will ever stop speaking. "Yes." She then noticed their names, Deus Ultima and Regina Ultima. Was there a connection? "You figured it out?" Regina asked while laughing. "We played together back in alpha. Man was he awesome. He was the strongest player I''ve ever met. He did a lot of crazy stuff no one would ever think about, and the funny thing was, that was what made him strong. I didn''t see him about a couple of years after the game went officially live, but his name suddenly popped out of nowhere along with the New Eden guild. I knew it was him. No one would be shameless enough to call himself Deus Ultima, aside from me." "I see." Pristine saw a tinge of regret and loneliness in Regina''s face as she spoke. "Were you two... a couple?" She tried asking. "What?!? Where did that come from? Goodness, no! I was only eleven back then. It was my brother who had the alpha key, but he was busy with his work, so I played the game instead of him." "Eleven? Weren''t you too young to be playing this kind of game?" "Ahahaha! Back then there was less combat and more socializing and exploring. During the alpha stage, there were only few monsters, and most of the beasts were harmless. The exploration area was also pretty small, only about until the area around Lancendai. Back then I rolled Tailor on randomization, and now I''ve changed classes quite a bit already. I''ve gone through a lot of crafting classes. I was more into creating stuff than killing, obviously since I was just a little girl back then. Tailor was the perfect first job for me." She had a proud look on her face. Only few players dared to class-change. The penalties for class-changing involves the reduction of your stats'' ranks by two. So what happens when your rank is less than expert? You enter a negative rank and will need to raise the rank back to beginner without getting any benefits from the stats. You lose all the unique skills of your previous class, only retaining one. The retained unique skill can not be raised. The only benefit of class-changing is that the unique skill you retained can still be used, and it is retained again after class-changing once more. If you class-changed enough, you can retain a number of unique skills normally not available to your latest class. This is a tedious process, and no ordinary player would want to do this. "Sounds like a stupid thing to do, right?" Regina asked, reading Pristine''s thoughts. "I did not name myself as Regina Ultima for nothing. I aim to be the best, the queen among queens." She then stared far away and whispered, "and stand by his side as one of the strongest." Pristine did not miss those words. "I''m sure you''re almost there." Pristine encouraged her with a smile. "No, no, no. Flattery''s not going to work, girl. I won''t give you a discount," she said laughing loudly. "But when you meet with your Guildmaster, tell him a certain queen is looking for him, and that he owes that queen an apology. Tell him, ''The promise still stands''." "I will." "Good, good. See you later then. Oh, and when you have stuff to sell or things to repair, come to me. I''ll give you the best service at the right price." "I''ll take you on that offer. See you later." Pristine set off with a small smile on her face. She has made a connection with someone other than those in the guild. The person may be weird and talkative, but at least she was fun to be with. * * * Pristine left the town of Lancendai and headed North. Before leaving town, she spent almost all her gold on potions, food, water, and an instruction manual for a new skill. [ Lightning Weapon: Beginner ( 0% ) ] [ Imbues the weapon with lightning elemental energy. The imbued weapon may cause random lightning damage on the enemy on hit. It may also cause paralysis. ] Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The mana consumption of the skill was a bit high, around 50%, but it lasts for an hour. She also found out that sheathing the sword while it was enhanced by Lightning Weapon causes some of the lightning to transfer on the inside of the sheath, causing a minor repelling force inside. When she drew the sword, it felt like it was shooting out of the sheath, increasing her drawing speed. She ignored the harmless beasts roaming around the forest, and came upon a river flowing downstream from the north-west. She walked along the river to find a place to cross safely. The current was not too strong, but she would like to avoid risking it. After a few minutes of walking along the river edge, she found a small group of humanoid monsters dancing around a corpse of a beast. They were wearing shabby leather armor over their pale gray skin. They were about four feet tall and equipped with daggers, clubs, and wooden bucklers. Their eyes were red, and faint red lines could be seen all over their skin. There were five of them, and one of them was wearing a torn up robe and holding a staff. It was the only one who wasn''t dancing. Instead, it was quite vigilant of the surroundings. ''This is the first time I''ve met humanoid monsters,'' she thought as an icon flashed on her screen. [ Ajicanus ] [ Ajicanii are the failed products of a God''s creation. They are beings born with low intelligence and low physical abilities. Because of that, they tend to group together. ] [ Every now and then, Ajicanus with superior intelligence would be born, blessed by the God that created them. They have innate talent for magic and leadership. The regular Ajicanii would treat them as their leader. ] Leaving Leafy to hide under a raised tree root, Pristine slowly approached the group of Ajicanii feasting on the corpse by the riverside by circling through the forest, using the trees and shrubs for cover. Suddenly, the robed Ajicanus turned its head to the forest. Its red eyes met with her. Raising its staff, it shouted something towards the other Ajicanii, prompting them to raise their heads, their jaws still covered with chunks of meat and blood. ''Not good,'' Pristine thought as she turned to run, but she was a beat too slow. A fireball landed on her back, exploding and scorching the trees and shrubbery around her. She fell flat on her chest, and feeling the burning sensation on her back, she quickly rolled on the ground, putting the flames out. Her Vitality had decreased by 30%. Quickly, she crawled over the ground, staying as low as possible to avoid their line of sight. She could hear their voices as they searched for her. Hiding behind a tree trunk, she paused to catch her breath and think of what to do while drinking a bottle of potion. She have to take the robed one down. If she was right, that was the one acting as a leader and was a ''blessed one'' amongst the Ajicanii. ''I have to take that one down first,'' she thought. She never knew fighting against a mage as a melee fighter was this difficult. She regretted not buying an instruction manual for a ranged spell. Suddenly a figure appeared beside her, walking from behind the tree trunk. It was the robed Ajicanus. "Wha---!?" Surprised, Pristine decided to strike it before it could make its move. As she was about to draw her sword, the Ajicanus made a weird smile on its face as it suddenly disappeared, and reappeared a distance away, causing her attack to hit empty space. "Teleportation!?!" Another fireball hit her from the front, throwing her backwards landing near a surprised Ajicanus. She quickly rolled to put out the fire and slashed at the Ajicanus, hitting its raised buckler. Lightning jumped over the buckler, but it did not deal any damage. She put her weight on the sword and pushed the short humanoid monster towards a tree, knocking its breath out. She then grabbed the buckler and stole it from its grasp, then stabbed it on the center of its chest. It cried out in a weird voice as it died. Feeling the hair on her nape tingling, Pristine swiftly turned around and raised the wooden buckler, partially blocking another fireball. She was now down to 20% Vitality, but the previous kill and damage she received allowed her to cast Impetu Parvu and Munio Parvu. Seeing the lightning currents jumping around on the corpse, she touched it and casted Icio Ruo, dodging another fireball by dashing to the right. There was another Ajucanis to the place she dodged into. She had now changed her plans. She couldn''t easily approach the robed Ajucanis. The only thing she could do now was to kill all the other regular Ajucanii, stack up Impetu Parvu and Munio Parvu, and use Icio Ruo whenever possible to move towards the next target. With only 3% Vitality left, she had killed the last regular Ajucanis. She was now drenched in blood and covered in burns. She had casted Heal Minor Wounds earlier, but now it was ineffective for any of her current injuries. The potion was taking its effect, but the regeneration was still slow. With only 10% mana left, she doesn''t have enough to cast multiple Shock Grasps and Icio Ruos. The robed Ajicanus snarled at her. "What? You''re discontent after I killed your minions? You can''t blame me. You pushed me this far into a corner." She sheathed her sword and with a demonic smile on her face, she said, "After I kill you, I''ll search the surrounding forests for any more of your race... and wipe you all out!" With that she used Icio Ruo on the corpse which still had remnant lightning currents on it from the sword strike that killed it. She made a mad dash towards the robed Ajicanus. It casted a fireball spell, but after seeing that spell a couple of times already, she already knew its properties. Waiting for the fireball spell to approach her as close as possible, she then casted Foresight and Increase Reflex for an instant as she dodged to the right. The heat of the fireball drained her Vitality down to 1%, and now her mana was enough for one last Icio Ruo. She was close enough to slash at the robed Ajicanus, but it realized this and warped away with a wild smile on its face, sure of its victory. In contrast, Pristine was calm as she thought, ''I knew you would do that.'' She drew her sword out of the sheath, the lightning inside causing a repulsion increasing her drawing speed. It was a quick-draw strike beyond compare. But there was no target in front of her. It had already warped away. As the robed Ajicanus prepared to cast fireball to end the life of the human that massacred its companions, it noticed the movement of her lips. "Icio Ruo." The lightning currents which were jumping between the sheath and the sword disappeared, along with Pristine''s figure. "Kkkkkk-----!!!" The robed Ajicanus tried to scream, but blood spurted out from its neck as its head fell down. Pristine was standing behind its corpse, as it fell down on its knees and landed powerlessly on the ground. "Whew." Pristine took a deep breath and sighed. It was a hard battle, harder than the Crystal Buzzard. "Pya!" Leafy cried out as it crawled out of its hiding place and approached her. She sat down in front of it while drinking a potion. "I''m alright, don''t worry." Leafy rubbed its head on her hand. She rested there for a while until her health and mana was full. She then looted the corpses of the Ajucanii. As she looked down on the robed Ajucanis'' corpse, she smiled and said, "Now, then. It''s time I wipe you out." She scoured the forests for Ajucanis and found small groups of them. There were no ''blessed ones'' among them and she easily took them out. Soon, she found an abandoned mine which seemed to be their hiding place and breeding grounds. There were over 300 of them inside, most of them digging through the rocks in search of ore. There were three ''blessed ones'' among them. There was also a boss, an Ajucanis Chieftain, which was also a ''blessed one''. Needless to say, as a War Chanter she had easily killed off the regular Ajucanii, easily reaching over 300 stacks of Impetu Parvu and more than 30 permanent stacks. Every now and then, she would hide behind rocks and crevices in the walls, to regenerate her mana and vitality with potions within the time limit of 30 seconds, then come out to continue the slaughter. At the end she one-hit killed the boss. It was bigger than her and wearing a full body heavy armor. It used a huge two-handed sword as its weapon, while casting warp and frost skills. She used the same strategy for the first robed Ajucanis she fought. She dodged the attack of the boss using Foresight and Increase Reflex, then used Icio Ruo while drawing her sword. With Sharpen Blade and consuming all her Impetu Parvu buffs with the Impetu War Chant, she sliced the boss in half after it tried to warp away. Name: Pristine Void Class: War Chanter [ Stats ] Strength: Expert ( 100% ) Agility: Expert ( 100% ) Dexterity: Expert ( 100% ) Endurance: Expert ( 100% ) Intelligence: Expert ( 100% ) Wisdom: Expert ( 100% ) [ Unique Skills ] War Chant: Expert ( 100% ) Impetu Parvu: Expert ( 100% ) Munio Parvu: Expert ( 100% ) Icio Ruo: Expert ( 91% ) Impetu: Beginner ( 88% ) [ Non-unique Skills ] Combat Mastery: Expert ( 100% ) Unarmed Combat Mastery: Expert ( 71% ) Holy Elemental Mastery: Expert ( 22% ) Heal Minor Wounds: Expert ( 22% ) Lightning Elemental Mastery: Expert ( 100% ) Shock Grasp: Expert ( 100% ) Lightning Weapon: Apprentice ( 11% ) Light Armor Mastery: Expert ( 100% ) Butchery: Expert ( 100% ) Beast Anatomy: Expert ( 11% ) Knife Mastery: Apprentice ( 88% ) Sword Mastery: Expert ( 72% ) One-hand Sword Mastery: Expert ( 72% ) -------------------------------------------------- And that''s it. Finally leaving the zone for beginners, Pristine finally finds tougher enemies. So, is she really OP, or not? I guess it depends on the opponent, right? Just like rock, paper, scissors... lava. XD Chapter 11 - The Mooncutter Chapter 11 The Mooncutter Pristine was sitting on a huge stone chair that looked like a crude throne embedded on the wall. In fact, it was part of the wall, directly sculpted from it. It was covered with fur rags. She can see the entire room from her position. She was in the boss room of the Ajucanis dungeon and mine that she raided alone. Thinking back on it, it was a ridiculous thing to do. She had close encounters with death, but managed to live through it all. It was her choice, and now she was quite happy with the results. There were a lot of corpses to loot, but for now she had to rest to recover her Vitality and Mana. Leafy was tottering around the room, curious about the things inside. In the center of the room lay the split corpse of the Ajucanis Chieftain. Every now and then, Leafy would look at the corpse and make noises as if mocking it. This made Pristine smile warmly. After restoring her Vitality and Mana to full, she looted the corpse.
The Mooncutter The Mooncutter is a sword believed to be once wielded by a God. It was originally intended to cut the moon into two halves.
New Information: Divine Artifacts You have discovered a Divine Artifact. Divine Artifacts are weapons, armors, or tools once used by the Gods, imbuing them with divine energy. These artifacts are not meant to be used by mortal men. It''s true power will only be unleashed when the necessary requirements are met.
"Divine Artifact?" Pristine pondered. During the battle, the Ajucanis Chieftain used it like an ordinary two-handed sword. That means it has not met the requirements to unleash its power. She tried wielding the sword, but nothing happened.
Ajucanis'' Grimoire A forbidden book containing the instructions on how to use the spells that the Ajucanii are familiar with. Any spell in the book can be used by the owner as long as the requirements are met.
Pristine jumped with joy. This was a treasure beyond compare. She quickly equipped the book. It had a chain on its binder and she used that to attach the book around her waist. A new skill appeared on her status screen under the unique skills.
Ajucanis Magea: Beginner ( 0% ) Fireball: Beginner ( 0% ) Ice Bolt: Beginner ( 0% ) Stone Bullet: Beginner ( 0% ) Wind Blade: Beginner ( 0% ) Shock Bomb: Beginner ( 0% )
She gained five spells in an instant! Excited, Pristine tried casting one of the spells, Wind Blade. Wind gathered around her hand forming a transparent blade. It consumed her Mana over time at an alarming rate. Quickly, she dispelled the skill. "I thought it would be a projectile skill," she said, a little disappointed. After recovering her Mana, she tried the other skills. Fireball shot a ball of fire and explodes on impact causing fire elemental damage on the area that was affected by the explosion, and the burn debuff status. Ice Bolt shot an icicle that pierces the target, and if the target has any form of fluid on the hit area, it freezes the fluid and forms icicles from it, causing the target to rupture the affected area from the inside. Stone Bullet shot a small bullet of stone with enough power to cause the target to stagger even if the spell was blocked because of the impact. Shock Bomb releases a ball of compressed lightning that spreads for an instant after a few seconds. Targets hit receive lightning elemental damage and a chance to be paralyzed. "Why is it that Wind Blade is the only one that''s not a projectile?" It wasn''t important, but it bothers her a bit. She tried using wind blade once again, and when she tried to slice a boulder, it easily split in half, but consumed all her Mana in the process. "A one-hit kill spell, huh?" It was a powerful spell, but was heavily restricted by range and Mana consumption. After that she took the core from the chieftain''s corpse. Luckily, her attack didn''t hit the core and broke it. She went back to the entrance of the cave, looting the corpses along the way. She got a lot of coins and some low quality equipment along with some potions and herbs. "I dunno what to use with the herbs." As she said that, Leafy on her shoulder began to nudge her cheek with its head as it tried to reach out the herbs in her hand with its front legs. "You want these?" Pristine put Leafy on the ground and spread the herbs in front of it. It began to move towards the herbs, leaning its head to each type one by one. Finally, it stopped in front of an herb with sharp looking leaves and began to munch on it. "I thought you only eat seeds and nuts," she said as she poked Leafy''s back covered by sparse leaves. After finishing the herb of its choosing, Leafy tucked itself into a sleeping posture. * * * It was already past three in the afternoon when Pristine arrived in the town of Macca, a half-hour walking distance from the Ajucanis dungeon. It was a much bigger town than Lancendai, and was heavily populated. She searched for a shop to sell the low-quality equipments she looted from the Ajucanis. After a few minutes, she found a joint blacksmith and tailor shop. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Are these all Ajucanis equipments?" the female vendor asked behind the counter as she saw Pristine magically bring out items after items out of nowhere. In Tataria lore, Travelers make use of a magic infused technology called Technomagea. One of the common uses of Technomagea was the Travel Portal. Another common use is for the item storage. It converts items into ether then converted them to data which are stored in the inventory. The data can then be again converted to ether and materialized. This use was already widely known since 20 years ago in-game time, when Travelers first appeared in Tataria. "Yes. Is there a problem?" Pristine responded. "This much... could it be... you got them from the mine southwest of here?" "Yes, that''s the place..." Suddenly the vendor rushed out of the counter and held Pristine''s arms. "Did... did you kill their leader?" "Uh, yes. I actually wiped them all out." The vendor suddenly bowed her head, and small voices could be heard from her. "Thank you... thank you... very much." "What happened here?" a loud voice came from a door behind the counter and big man wearing overalls covered in soot came out. The female vendor upon hearing his voice rushed towards him and hugged him, then she said some quiet words while sobbing. "I see," the man said as he gently led the woman towards a wooden stool. Then, he walked towards Pristine. Bending his entire upper body to form a right angle with his waist, he made a grand bow. "I am truly grateful for what you have done! Please, tell us your name, the name of our avenger!" Overwhelmed, Pristine could only respond with her full name while stammering. "I am Lenden Sewr. This is my wife, Zen Sewr. Well, then, Miss Void. If it doesn''t trouble you, please accompany us for a while and tell us about how you defeated those minions of evil." The man gestured towards the door that leads to the backyard while flipping the sign on the front door from ''open'' to ''closed''. "I''ll prepare something to eat," Zen said as she hurried to the room behind the counter. Pristine followed Lenden to the backyard. There was a garden with a small round table surrounded by four chairs. "I made these," the man said as he tapped the table and chair. They were painted white, but they were obviously made out of metal. "I''m a blacksmith, and my wife is a tailor. That''s the reason for the shop." After a while, Zen appeared carrying a tray of biscuits and tea. Pristine then told them about how she found the dungeon filled with Ajucanii and how she went on a killing spree and killed every one of them. She then mentioned the Mooncutter and showed it to them. "The Mooncutter is our family heirloom," Lenden said as he looked at the huge silver blade and stroke it with his hand filled with emotions. "We had two children, twins. Zanus was the elder brother, pretty good with the sword, and Lenia was the younger sister, a talented mage." He grimaced as he said those names. He was holding his emotions back. "The mine southwest of here belonged to Zen''s family. They entrusted it to me when I married her. When the Ajucanii invaded the dungeon, I set out with friends and my two children to take it back. I brought the Mooncutter with me, hoping it would lend me its strength. But, we were overpowered by the chieftain who was blessed by their God. I was able to run away along with a few others." He stopped and clenched his fists. "Lenia was not able to escape. I can''t imagine what atrocious acts they did to her. Zanus made it home, but he was heavily wounded and died the day after. I had also dropped the Mooncutter and left it behind." "Then, I''ll return the Mooncutter to you." Pristine thought that this was the least she could do. "No, I believe it was fate that dictated this blade to fall into your hands," Lenden declined. "You said you were a War Chanter?" "Yes, is there a problem?" "No. There''s none." Lenden began to ponder for a while then said, "Let me tell you about the legend of the Mooncutter that has been passed down in my family." Pristine nodded and gave him his full attention. "Long ago, during the age of the Gods, there was a God who was driven mad in his search for power. He tried to destroy everything around him until he could not be satisfied anymore. He roared for a hundred days and ninety-nine nights, and on the hundredth night he laid his eyes on the full moon. For an entire month, one lunar cycle, he hid in his temple. And the next full moon, he appeared carrying a sword. It was the Mooncutter. He wanted to cut the moon. But before he could achieve his goal, another God appeared before him. She was Luna Bellucantus, the God my ancestors worshiped, the singer of the Moon''s hymns. She stopped the God and stole the Mooncutter. She sealed its power and left it to her followers to guard it." Pristine was amazed. The NPCs in this game had very rich and long backgrounds. The lore was surprisingly deep, and each NPC has a story to tell. "I have failed to guard the Mooncutter. It is entrusted to you by fate. I am sure, Luna Bellucantus would give you her blessings. She has a temple on the tallest mountain, located on the northernmost part of the continent. The mountain is called World''s Peak. If you go there, you might be able to receive a divination from the Gods." "Thank you," Pristine said. "No, we''re the one who are truly grateful to you." The couple bowed at her. -------------------------------------------------- Sorry, my head''s not working. Intense migraines are killing me. :< Please forgive me for this low quality chapter. Tell me you opinion about the formatting. If you like it, say so. I''ll edit the other chapters to have the same format. Chapter 12 - Leafys Growth While I was in a writer''s block, I drank six cups of coffee and watched Wreck-it Ralph for the first time. It was so beautiful it made me cry. I was watching it along with my cousins (ages ranging from 5-12 year old). They all laughed at me for crying. I can''t help it. I''m such a sucker for those kind of stories. -------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12 Leafy''s Growth As Pristine was preparing to leave the shop, Lenden appeared carrying some items and asked her, "Do you know how to mine?" "No, I don''t." Pristine had just sold all the items she didn''t need to the owners of the shop. She had asked what they would use the equipments of the Ajucanii for, and they told her that those equipments can be dismantled to salvage some of the parts. Those salvaged parts can then be reused to forge better equipments. They offered to improve the equipment she had, Iness''s Armor and the leather equipments made by Raylight, but she declined. She had noticed that the couple had bought the junk she had at prices slightly higher than the market price, because of the gratefulness they had for her. "Here. I know Travelers need a lot of ores for forging their equipments." He handed over a pickaxe and an instruction manual. "I think I have already received too much of your gratitude. I can''t accept anymore." She tried declining. "There''s no such thing, dear. Please take them." Zen at the side convinced her to receive them.
Durable Pickaxe A pickaxe made out of superior material. It can break through almost any rock.
Mining Instruction Manual A manual used to learn the basics of mining. It includes step-by-step instructions on how to properly use mining tools. It emphasizes efficiency and safety.
With Leafy still sleeping on her shoulder, she went back to the mines along with some NPCs that Lenden sent to clear the corpses and restart the mining operation. Pristine used the manual and learned Mining on the way. When they arrived, she checked the time. It was already half past five in the afternoon. "I haven''t been managing my time properly. I guess I was too engrossed with fighting," she thought with a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. It should be past two in the morning in the real world. She usually wakes up at five, so she still had around two to three hours to play. That was four to six hours in Tataria. "I should just see how much I can do during that time, then go back to the inn in Macca around nine pm." With all that sorted out, she helped a bit in taking the corpses outside the mine, then proceeded in testing out the Mining skill. The result: It was terribly hard. Although her Strength and Dexterity stats were Expert-ranked and both at 100%, the correction provided by the stats was not enough. Controlling the amount of power to put in each swing and hitting the right spot was very difficult. When she finally managed to get an ore, two hours had passed since she began.
Small Unidentified Ore Take this ore to a blacksmith to appraise and refine.
It was a bit disappointing, but Pristine didn''t really mind. She had found something to do other than killing monsters and ripping their corpses apart. Although Mining seems like something a girl shouldn''t be doing, it doesn''t compare to what she had been doing the past few days. For her, it was actually quite refreshing. She returned to town and arrived around ten pm. There was not enough time, so she decided to log out at the inn. She will ask Lenden to appraise the ores when she return. Leafy was still asleep. He had been sleeping for a long time already, and Pristine was getting a bit worried. * * * Kristine did her daily routine after waking up and walked to school. She was surprised to find Rayhlee with the two seniors waiting for her along the way. "We heard what happened yesterday," Catherine said. The four of them walked together. "We went to Rayhlee''s this morning to pick her up. We want to make sure the two of you stay safe." Adding more females to the group doesn''t seem like it''ll be safer, though, Kristine thought as she remembered the group that attacked them yesterday. She suddenly felt some strange stares coming from all directions. "I used my connections to hire some bodyguards. They''re keeping their distance, but be assured. Those guys are professionals." Catherine seemed to figure out what she was thinking, and so she provided an explanation. The mention of her connections made Kristine remember her first day, the invitation to the club, and the sudden installation of the necessary equipment to her home. Looking back, they had only met a few days ago, but it felt like a really long time. The extra time she had been spending in Tataria had really messed up her sense of time in the real world. She wondered if the others felt the same. The four of them quickly arrived to school and separated as they went to their respective classes. During the club meeting. "We have procured all the necessary supplies for the operation tomorrow," Anna reported. "Health potions, Mana potions, Food, Water, Repair Kits, extra weapons and armors, Antidotes, and other necessary consumables. We have set a temporary base near the dungeon, and we added the option of accessing it through the Guild Point Travel Portal." "Do we need to prepare anything?" Kristine asked. "Just make sure your equipments are in their best state." It was Catherine who answered. "Anything else?" "I''m in Macca right now, and I don''t know where the closest Travel Portal is." "Just go West from the town and look for a grassy hill with a single tree growing on its top. Head straight North from the tree, and you''ll easily find it." They ended their meeting and had dinner outside together. It was Catherine''s treat. The two seniors then escorted Rayhlee and Kristine home. Kristine quickly took a bath and prepared to enter Tataria. * * * Once again, Pristine woke up on a single bed in a small room. She sat up and stretched as she removed the blanket, and was greeted by a sight that stopped her mind in its tracks. Leafy still had its eyes closed as if asleep, but the sparse leaves on his back were gray and crisp. They were wilting. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "Wh-wha-wha..." her mouth flapped open and close as she didn''t know what to say. Her hands trembled as she slowly reached out towards the baby Leaf Turtle. When she touched him, some of the wilted leaves fell down. The sight pushed her to the brink and tears rolled down her cheeks. She lifted the small creature and hugged it to her chest, then swiftly ran out of the inn. It was still dark outside as it was early in the morning in Tataria. All the shops were closed, and there were no one walking on the streets. Not knowing what to do, she ran towards a familiar building. It was the blacksmith and tailor shop. She began to frantically knock on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened. By then, she had already lost strength and had sat down on the ground while sobbing. "What is it! Don''t you know what time it---!" Lenden opened the door in a bad mood. He was wearing loose sleeping attire and was holding a lit candle. He was about to let out a long tirade when he found the girl sitting in front of the door. He helped her up and brought her in, then went to call his wife, Zen. She prepared hot tea and let Pristine drink it to calm her down. "So, can you tell us what happened?" Lenden asked as Pristine settled down. "Leafy is... Leafy is..." she couldn''t explain properly so she showed it to them. "That''s a Leaf Turtle, right?" Zen asked. "We saw it sleeping on your shoulder the other day. What''s wrong with it?" "I... don''t know... Its leaves are... wilting... and its not... moving!" Pristine answered in between sobs. "Let me see," Zen said as she put on her glasses. She then gently took Leafy from Pristine''s hands and carefully observed him. After a while, she let out a breath and smiled warmly at Pristine. "Don''t worry, dear. Its fine." "Really?" "Yes, take a look." As Zen lifted the baby Leaf Turtle close to Pristine for her to see, she stroked some of the wilting leaves and revealed very small leaves sprouting underneath them. "It seems like your Leafy has started to develop. Its not a baby anymore." Pristine noticed that the new leaf sprouts resembled the herbs that it ate. Realizing her mistake, she sighed in relief and had an embarrassed expression on her face. "I''m sorry to disturb you so early in the morning." "Yeah, you really disturbed us big time---!" As Lenden said that, he received a smack to the back of his head. "Don''t tell me you already forgot about the time when I left you alone with the kids and you started running around town screaming bloody whatever it was because they won''t stop crying, only to find out later on that they just wetted their diapers." Pristine chuckled at the sight. She was truly relieved. After apologizing, the couple went back to sleep, while Pristine went to the plaza to check if there were any stalls open. It was still too early, and so there were no open stalls. She sat on a stone bench around a fountain and placed Leafy down, quietly observing it. Too obsessed into what she was doing, the sun rose without her noticing. Slowly, Leafy''s eyes opened. Seeing Pristine watching it, it opened its mouth and cried "Pya!". "Morning," Pristine said and stroked its head with a finger. It eyes were half-open in satisfaction. Leafy moved back a bit and shook its body. All the wilted leaves on its back fell. As rays of sunlight hit its back, the small sprouts slowly but surely grew. The amount of leaves were thicker now, and covered almost all of the skin on its back. After that, it cried with a "Pi pya pi pi pyaa!". A small familiar looking orb rolled out of its mouth, and a bunch of messages appeared in Pristine''s field of view.
Leaf Turtle successfully tamed. The Baby Leaf Turtle had grown after spending time with you. Due to its high affection, it accepted the name you have given it, Leafy.
Leafy is now your pet.
Name:LeafyRace:Leaf Turtle
Stats
Strength:Beginner
Agility:Beginner
Dexterity:Beginner
Endurance:Apprentice
Intelligence:Expert
Wisdom:Apprentice
Skills
Unique Skills Material Absorption: Beginner ( 10% )
Pet Skills Soulcore Infusion
Note: Pet stats can not be raised normally. It is raised along with the natural growth of the pet, or through evolution.
Note: Soulcore Infusion is gained when pet loyalty or affection exceeds a certain value. The pet will provide a Soulcore to its owner, which can then be infused into an item. The properties of the item can affect the abilities of the pet, and vice versa. A pet with an infused soulcore can be summoned and unsummoned into ether by the item owner.
Leafy''s Soulcore Leafy sees you as its parent and trusts you with its Soulcore.
New Information: Soulcore Tameable beasts do not possess a core unlike monsters. Only when the beasts are tamed by a Traveler do they develop a magic core within their body, known as the Soulcore. It is formed due to the constant exposure of the beast to the warped magic aura of Travelers. Unlike monsters, the Soulcore does not affect the beasts'' mental and physical states.
-------------------------------------------------- A panicking Pristine is also cute. :D