by A P Gore
Intelligence 22
Wisdom 68
Chance 2
Charisma 10
Health 911/1215 (304 reserved)
Stamina 573/765 (30.00/s) (192 reserved)
Mana 165/220 (9.84/s) (55 reserved)
Spirit 510/680 (51.24/s) (170 reserved)
Stat points available: 0
Skill points available: 20
Experience: 56500/64000
Utility Class:
Herbalism (Level 6)
Skills:
Passives:
Death Aura
The Circle of Land
Mark of the Formation Master
Formation Painter
Speak with Plants
Mana Manipulation (Level 1)
Land Tasting (Level 2)
Spirit Cycling (Level 9)
Pain Attunement (Level 9)
Formation Painter (Level 2)
Copying (Level 1)
Throwing (Level 5)
Active:
Mold Earth (Level 4)
Healing Space (Level 3)
Acid Vine (Level 5)
Land Heal (Level 2)
Elemental Shield (Level 1)
Purify (Level 1)
Earth Spike (Level 5)
Conjure Light (Level 1)
Call Lightning (Level 3)
Earth Mend (Level 1)
Water Wall (Level 2)
Dispel Poison (Level 1)
Plant Regeneration (Level 1)
Underground Vine (Level 2) (Disabled)
Vine of Darkness (Disabled)
Vine of Light
Utility Skills:
Perception (Level 5)
Formations:
Formation of Lock
Formation of Hurricane
Formation of Congregation
Formation of Amplification
Formation of Illusion (Disabled)
Sentient Skills:
Path of Growth
Cause of Soul
Intrinsic Vision
Item Skills:
Dark Clone
Child of Darkness (Passive)
Light Clone (Passive)
Child of Light (Passive)
Blessing of Light (Passive)
Shudder
“My friend...” The flabby mayor came running as Jon's dirty clothes turned clean and neat. “I see you have gained a level.”
Jon put on a small smile and shrugged it off like it was nothing. He was quite happy about the level gain, but after meeting the Gen 05 duo, he understood it was better to hide his levels from others. At least he could intimidate people with the mystery surrounding him. Otherwise those level 25+ players or these level 40+ NPCs would trample all over him easily—something he didn't want at any cost.
No matter what world you lived in, power and mystery reigned supreme.
The mayor blinked as he stopped in front of Jon.
“Thanks for saving my men. I'm truly grateful for you. Whatever you need, I shall bestow it if it’s within my power.” The mayor bent in an unnatural way to show his gratitude.
Jon stepped forward and held the mayor’s hands in his. “It was nothing, Mr. Mayor. As a citizen of Hurricane Empire, it's my job to perform such duties.”
The mayor raised his head, his eyes shining with bright light. “I knew when I saw you for the first time, my friend. You're a man of your word and integrity, and now I can ask you about this important matter without doubt.”
System:
Quest Alert
Heal the Soul IV
Quest Class: Unique
Mayor Mason wants you to clear the Dungeon of Arthia near the town of Chinari with his 1000 men on Expert difficulty.
Quest Reward:
50000 EXP. 10000 Reputation with the town of Chinari. 3 Rare resources from Mayor Mason (Ore/Gems/Crystals). Mayor will owe you 2 favors.
Do you want to accept? Yes/No.
“Dungeon of Arthia?” At first Jon was shocked and then double shocked. The difficulty of the quest had increased a lot. At first, it was just an Uncommon quest type, then it became Rare—as he had to heal one thousand one hundred souls—and now Unique? Would he end up healing ten thousand souls or something?
The mayor’s face darkened. “It's a one thousand-man dungeon, so I'll send one thousand men with you. My men are all level 40+, so they can easily clear the obstacles, but the boss is a soul devourer Abo—” he stopped abruptly.
“Is that the same boss that afflicted your men?” Jon asked.
“No, actually. An Easy-level boss afflicted my men, but we need to clear the Expert level dungeon to prevent a calamity.” The mayor rubbed his forehead. He seemed to be under some kind of pressure. But what? Something was off here.
“Then I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor. But I can't fight with that boss with my current powers.”
Chapter 46
Deadeye tossed and turned on the hard granite surface before staring at the cleavage Agatha flaunted while sleeping peacefully. As they were married, the guard captain had allowed them to stay in the same cell, but that didn't mean they could have sex. And damn, Agatha had always been his weakness. Especially the scent of her body. Even though her charm didn't work on him, her curvy figure and the way she went down there...
Damn! He breathed hard to control his hormones.
A guard walked toward them and stared at Agatha's breasts. Lust was visible in his eyes as they lingered on Agatha.
Deadeye did a flip and stood between the guard and his wife.
Bending the right corner of his mouth downward, the guard sent him a mocking smile.
Strange. The guard wasn't supposed to be lustful and mocking. Was there another expansion released for NPCs?
An icy dagger scratched against his spine. No, it couldn't be true.
Five real-world years ago, BlackFlame Online released their second expansion, Rise of the NPCs. That expansion boosted NPCs’ Intelligence by a notch. When the game company said by a notch, the actual improvement was terrifying. NPCs started behaving like real humans, and it turned out to be a pain in the ass. A real pain. They robbed players, made false accusations, and conspired against them in political plots. Thousands of players ended up in jail on the second day of launch and the whole community was in uproar. Finally, Laxania tweaked something so the NPCs no longer acted so aggressive toward players. But they would still pursue you if you went against them openly.
Unless you could kill them, no player messed with NPCs.
“How is the jail, my friend?” The guard's voice changed into something familiar.
“Rob, is that you?” Deadeye squinted, staring at the fat guard standing across the bars.
The guard's face changed into his guildmate Rob for a moment before reverting. “Yes, but I have little time. How did this happen? And where's the ring Guild Leader wants?”
Deadeye's face hardened. That bastard. He tricked him and his wife into this. “Search for a player named Jonathan around here. I heard he is a village lord. There aren't many villages around here, so it should be easy.” His fingers clenched. If only he was free, he would smack that bastard and pull his tendons out with his own hands.
The guard scratched his ass. That was Rob. Rob had a funny habit of scratching his own ass, and everybody laughed at him for that, but no one dared mock him because he was one of the top players in the guild. He was a level 34 Rogue, and if you got on bad terms with a Rogue, you might end up in a drainage ditch the next day.
“How many men have you brought with you?” Deadeye asked. Rob was leading a small party for the upcoming crusade against Abomination Continent.
“Two hundred Rogue, Paladins, and support classes. How many do you have?”
“I’ve got four hundred in the guild hall,” Deadeye said. “Take them with you and destroy this bastard Jonathan. He has lots of gold and items that the guild leader would be happy to get.”
Rob tapped his metal spear on the ground. “Okay, I'll see to that. Guild Leader has spec
ifically asked for that ring, and he also mentioned that this man is responsible for Ashima and Deathblade's lock-out from the game. This guy has some forbidden spell that makes the opponent locked for one hundred twenty game days. It's a soul-related spell.”
That made sense. Only soul spells could lock someone out of the game. He had met a Soul Necromancer once who put him out of the game for two real-world days. It was scary. He couldn't log in and continue his grind.
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Deadeye asked.
Rob smirked, like he had something up his sleeve. “I’ve got a priest who can suppress any soul spell user.”
“Sounds good.” Deadeye nodded. Priests had advantages against the forbidden spells.
“Also, we’re targeting the Dungeon of Arthia tomorrow with Silver Wolf's team. That dungeon should drop darkness resistance items. Can you believe he got six hundred men here in two days’ time?”
“Are you sure about that?” The Dungeon of Arthia was a one thousand man dungeon and required a huge co-ordination effort from players to clear it.
“Don't worry, we’re clearing it on Normal difficulty first. The darkness resistance items will be useful in Abomination Continent.”
“Rob, you've got to take revenge for our guild's humiliation by destroying that player Jonathan,” Deadeye said after a brief amount of silence.
Rob nodded and vanished suddenly. Another guard appeared.
Abomination Continent. Two words, but they put pressure on Deadeye's shoulders. Would their guild survive this?
Chapter 47
The paved road turned into a packed dirt road within one hour of passing through the gates of Chinari. Hiren ran through the bushes, unchallenged by the assault of air and dust.
The view changed from a green scenery to a barren terrain. Last time he went through here, he didn’t pay attention to this patch, but today he did.
Through the gap in the cloth wrap around his face, Jon observed the barren terrain in front of him. He licked his dry lips behind the wrap. There was a lot of dust in the air, and it entered his mouth even through the cloth wrap.
A dehydration debuff appeared in his vision, so he pulled his water skin.
As the water entered his parched mouth, the taste of nitrogen and ammonia covered his tongue. Was this patch full of nitrogen and ammonia-filled soil?
He’d better check. This wasn't a normal scenario. The barren patch seemed unnatural. It was like it existed only to stop the forest around the town from advancing past the town's border.
Could it be?
The sudden drum of horses’ hooves on the packed dirt alerted him to a new arrival, but before he could stop and check, five horsemen surrounded him.
“Stop there,” one of the burly men, sitting on a brown horse, shouted. A thin staff hung around his waist, and a metal ball was in his left hand. How the heck did he manage the reins of the horse with just one hand?
“What do you want?” Jon slipped some authority into his voice and adjusted the red two star insignia on his chest. It signified his authority as a baron in the territory of Chinari, and he was still inside their territory.
In fact, the mayor had assigned a guard to accompany Jon through the territory. He moved his horse next to Hiren, a hand on his sword.
Seeing that insignia, a heavyset man whispered something to the tall man on the horse next to him.
“May I know your name, fellow player?” the tall man asked. He had pinchy eyes, but a deep and intense gaze.
“J— Jeremy,” Jon said. While he was readying to depart, the mayor had advised him to be vigilant on the route, as the guild he had fought with had two hundred new players join at the town guild hall.
“Mr. Jeremy, are you level 32+? May I know why can't I see your level?” the tall man asked. Though he spoke respectfully, he held none. Nothing that Jon sensed from his tone, anyway.
Jon patted Hiren’s neck and pulled out a water skin for her. She loved drinking from a water skin.
“What do you want?” Jon asked without looking up.
Leather creaked as the man shifted on his horse. “Do you know if there's a village around here? It's named Epic village.” His shoulders tensed.
Fear clawed at Jon. Why the heck did these people want to find his village? “What if I know?” His fingers brushed his wand, and he readied himself to throw his flags around. Though the players were high level, he could still take them on with the guard's help. He wouldn’t let anyone get near his village. Not if they had ill intentions.
However, before he took action a rustle emerged from the group.
Glancing up, he found two panthers running at them through huge boulders to the east.
“Boss, darkness type creatures,” the heavyset man shouted, and the other two visibly quivered on their horses. Even their horses whinnied.
Before Hiren shivered, Jon patted her neck so she didn't make a sound.
“Mages, target your light spell,” the tall man shouted and pulled a long sword and a shield out of his bag. “Matty, you take one and I'll take one.”
Surprised, Jon cast perception on one of the panthers.
Panther of Darkness
Monster Class: Minion (Magic)
Level: 15
HP: 1500/1500
Mana: 600/600
Imbued with darkness, this panther has increased speed and attack power. Casts darkness spells to debuff enemies. Claws are coated in darkness type poison.
Jon sneered. Just a level 15 monster. Why were these level 20+ players afraid of two low level monsters? Even he wasn't afraid of them anymore.
One black-eyed panther growled as it charged the group.
Raising his sword above his head, the tall man charged it right back.
The panther jumped at the tall man, swiping its claws at his head.
The tall man’s sword met one claw, but the shield missed the other and that claw dug into the ear of the tall man. Blood gushed, and -200 popped up over the man's head.
That was odd. The damage seemed high for the monster, considering the player level.
“Fuck, their darkness debuff is so strong,” the heavyset man said.
Another -400 popped up over the tall man, and then he pulled out a red bottle out and gulped it in one go.
The burly-looking man engaged the other panther, wielding a dagger in his hand. Stepping lightly around the panther, he moved like a dancer and avoided most of the attacks. With every moment, his speed seemed to increase by a fraction, like a skill that built up with time. By the third second, he had turned into a shadow and the panther couldn't even target him.
The burly man halted abruptly, hitting the panther behind its head, but it dealt only 100 damage to the monster.
“Lord, do you want me to engage the creatures?” Jon’s guard asked. “Those level 24 immortals are no match for the darkness type creatures.”
Jon shook his head. “How can a level 15 monster deal that high damage to normal players?”
The guard squinted at the fight before replying. “The immortals lack darkness resistance. If they had a priest with light type magic, this fight would be easy, but without that they might die at the hands of the creature. Ever since the Valley of Darkness opened, many darkness creatures are making their way toward the mainland.”
A shiver passed through Jon's legs. If the creatures were here, would they attack his village too? Damn! He had to work on his village’s defenses now. His village was practically next door to Abomination Forest. What if a horde like last time attacked in his absence?
The burly man tried to build the same movement pattern again, but the panther halted it with a fortunate swipe and bit into the man's gut.
Blood sprayed from the wound, and the man screamed in pain. -250 damage popped up over his head. Gritting his teeth, he glanced at the sky and closed his eyes, murmuring something.
The sky darkened. The air grew damp. Lightning flashed in the sky.
“Marcus, are you mad? Why
did you use your Sentient skill?” the tall man shouted as he gulped another health potion. The remaining three had formed a group and had been chanting some spell for the last thirty seconds, but it didn't seem to be complete yet. “This will disturb the healers’ Light Heal. You motherfucker.” The tall man charged with his shield and pushed the panther back.
-100 damage popped on panther's head, and it charged again ferociously.
“What’s Light Heal?” Jon asked, hoping the guard would know.
“Lord, that's a group spell a healer can cast,” the guard said. “It is a large-scale healing spell imbued with light magic. That's their only defense against these panthers. I can use this sword of light to banish the creatures if you ask. At my level, I can dispatch those filthy creatures.”
“No need. I'll act when the time is right.” If these monsters feared light magic, he had the perfect spell with him, and he was eager to use it with his own hands.
Lightning struck the panther, reducing its life by one third, but at the same time the shockwave the bolt generated disturbed the three mages chanting their spell, and their faces turned pale. The spell had backlashed, and -200 damage popped up over their heads.
However, something changed, and the panther attacking the burly man jumped at the mages. One of the mages swiped his staff at the panther and began to cast a spell, but he wasn’t quick enough. The panther clamped its jaws down on his shoulder.
-500 damage popped up over the mage's head and he dropped to his knees, screaming.
The second panther jumped over the head of the tall man and charged into the pack of the mages, attacking the same mage first panther had.
The attack did -1200 damage, and the mage died.
“What?” Jon couldn't contain his shock. The mage only had 1800 life?
“That's the chain attack of darkness creatures. They can destroy a single man with just two attacks,” the guard said with a sad voice.
The remaining mages died in seconds. The two melee players couldn’t get to them in time. It was brutal. Two level 15 monsters had killed three level 24+ players.
The guard drew his sword. “Lord, we must attack before the creatures build their rage.”
Too late. The panthers turned their eyes toward Jon and the guard, especially Jon. Their dark red eyes held an intense rage, like they sought his blood.
