The other nymphs made their way to the mother, some of them grazed by only scratches, and others injured with deep gashes.
DING!
Congratulations! You have completed the quest:
Save the Nymphs II!
You have shown a selfless bravery in saving Kione of the nymphs. Reward: 15000XP. Reward: 25000 Sol
DING!
Congratulations! You selflessly helped the nymphs and braved all danger to serve their cause. Your Reputation is increased by +50 points!
DING!
Congratulations! Your level has increased six times!
Level 8!
That’s a ton of power-leveling you did right there. Hopefully this is the start of many level ups to come. Good luck. You gain 24 stat points to spend on your skills. You also gain a 150% advancement to the skill of your choice.
That’s a ton of leveling. I grinned. My stats are going to get much higher now.
DING!
You have obtained new equipment.
Ogre Club!
A massive weapon made from the hardest wood within the forest. Able to crack rocks and boulders with ease---wielded by the right person of course. Slows down movement speed but increases attacking power. Would you like to transfer the equipment to your ‘Equipment Inventory?’
Yes
No
DING!
You have obtained a new item.
Warrior’s Restoration Potion (x3)!
A strong potion that can heal up to 50% of one’s health. Its ingredients are commonly found but are hard to mix together. Would you like to transfer the item to your ‘Item Inventory?’
Yes
No
DING!
You have obtained new equipment.
Forest Tunic!
A tunic made from the leaves and sap of the forest. Though it is made from leaves, its texture is as soft as any expensive silk. It doesn’t have any defensive benefit, but can increase movement speed. Would you like to transfer the equipment to your ‘Equipment Inventory?’
Yes
No
The extra stuff isn’t bad either. I grinned and tapped Yes on all three screens. The chain quest certainly was a bonus.
Quests in general were basically goals or adventures that the Ga’em gave someone based on things like who they were, who they got the quests from, and what their true inner desires might be. Chain quests, on the other hand, were a set of quests that were interrelated, or part of an overarching goal. It was quite easy to identify chain quests, or the possibility of chain quests, through quest names. If a quest name had a roman numeral next to it, one could be certain it was part of a chain quest.
I turned around and noticed that Kione had gotten back onto her feet. Both she and the Nymph Mother were going around healing the rest of the injured nymphs. One by one the fallen beings healed and soon, their bodies barely showed any sign of battle.
A few minutes later, the Nymph Mother walked up to me, a tender smile on her face.
“What is your name, human?” she asked.
“I am Zoran,” I said.
“Zoran, the human,” she said. “You protected us from the Forest Ogre and saved Kione from her fate, even though you had no reason to.”
That’s true. I chuckled.
“You have proven yourself a worthy ally of the forest, and for this brave act of yours, I reward you with a special gift.”
A screen opened in front of her and she tapped on it a few times.
DING!
A prompt emerged before me as well.
You have obtained new equipment.
Forest Scimitars!
The pride of the Nymph Clan, these weapons have high movement speed and can deliver killer blows given the right precision. Use with caution. Would you like to transfer the equipment to your ‘Equipment Inventory?’
Yes
No
Nice. I grinned and tapped Yes.
“Is there anything else you require?” the Nymph Mother asked.
I shook my head. And then paused.
“Yes?” she smiled.
I held a finger up. “There is one thing,” I said. Can’t believe I forgot about it, I thought. “I came to these woods hoping to find a town or village. Do you know if there such a place close by?”
She nodded. “Langsdale City.” She pointed through the trees behind me. “It is a large city that is far off on the other side of these woods. I can assure you that you are on the right path to reach it.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. Wait. I blinked. Nymphs are good healers. Maybe she can help me with my lost memory as well.
The Nymph Mother raised an eyebrow. “What is it, Zoran?” she asked. “You seem to have something else you wish to ask of me.”
I paused, and then I nodded. “I do have an issue I could use assistance with,” I said. “I recently discovered that I’ve lost memory of who I used to be.”
“Ah.” Her voice changed.
“I still retain my knowledge of the world, and yet have no knowledge of myself,” I said. “Is there any way you can aid me in finding these lost memories of mine?”
“I shall take a look, if that is okay.”
“Certainly,” I said.
The Nymph Mother raised her staff, and a white hue radiated from it. A gentle heat surrounded me for a second, but disappeared as fast as it had arrived. The Nymph Mother looked at me, but her face was expressionless.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“There is a mysterious aura around you, Zoran,” she said. “I do not know what it is, but I am not comforted by it.”
What does that mean? I blinked. “Does it have something to do with my lost memories?”
“I am unsure,” she sighed. “As far as your memories go, I do not know what caused them to disappear. We nymphs are good with healing magic, but whatever it is that caused this amnesia in you, it is not something I can cure.”
My expression drooped. “Ah.”
“However,” she said, “Langsdale City will definitely have answers for you—whether it is about your memories, or the aura that I sensed. It has been many years since I set foot into that city, but I can assure you, it is a place that can help.”
“That is good to hear.”
“Is there anything else you require?” she asked.
“That is all the help I needed. I shall take my leave of you now.”
“It was a pleasure.” She smiled. “Be well, Zoran the human.”
I bowed. “Thank you, Mother.”
DING!
Your relationship with Mother Nymph has improved!
From Stranger to Ally!
The Nymph Mother will fight alongside your side for as long as your motivations and ideals are the same. The Nymph Mother has been added to the contact list on your Message Menu.
I grinned. Well, that was unexpected.
The nymphs silently treaded deeper into the forest, in a direction completely opposite from mine. Not a single nymph looked back at me, or even made a general acknowledgement of my presence. So, this is how we part ways. I smiled.
I thought about what the Mother had said, about this mysterious aura she sensed around me. What did she mean? I wondered.
DING!
You have obtained a quest:
The Mysteries of the Self!
The Nymph Mother has discovered a mysterious aura around you. Visit Langsdale City and see if you can find someone to help you gain answers as to what it could be. Rewards: Unknown.
A sigh left my lips as I closed the screen and headed out my own way. The skies above were still overcast, and the drizzle continued on and off irregularly. The trees around me weren’t as scary anymore. It wasn’t like they’d been hostile before, but now that I’d spent some time in the nymphs’ presence, it almost felt like I was at ease within this forest.
Edge of the woods. I mentally plotted my destination and began walking.
I opened my Ga’em menu as I traveled and went into my Player
menu. I tapped the Stats option, and the screen opened up. A new entry sat at the very bottom of the prompt.
Unassigned Stat Points: 24
I grinned to myself. Twenty-four points was a hell lot of stat points to use. That battle with the ogre had given me a ton of XP. It better have, given the level difference between us, I chuckled. I doubt I’d have gotten more than 8000 or 9000XP if I’d been around Level 10 or so when I took that monster down.
Then again, the only reason I’d even defeated that ogre was because of that spell I’d managed to summon. I still had no clue how I’d done that.
Maybe I can cast it again. I raised my hand into the air. “Levieris.” I winced, anticipating an attack.
But nothing happened.
I stretched my hand out more. “Levieris,” I yelled, louder this time.
The wind replied with silence.
Nothing, I sighed. That move had worked before, when I was fighting the ogre. Was it by pure chance? Was it maybe a one-time spell?
I should check my skills, I thought.
I navigated through my Player menu, and shifted to my Skills submenu instead. The screen had the title Skills at the top, and below it was a table of data.
Skill Name
Level
Buffs
Analyze
Level 1 (9% to next level)
None
Tracking
Level 1 (5% to next level)
None
Ugh, I sighed. None of this helps explain what happened back there.
A few seconds later, I moved on from that question and opened my Stats screen again. I looked at my stat numbers and noticed that there was now an arrow on the right side of all my stats, except for Health, Mana, and Stamina. I quickly recalled that those arrows were what one used to update a stat with their unassigned stat points.
I looked at my numbers. What stats should I upgrade? I wondered. I had to be careful, though, because once a stat point was used, it was used permanently. There were no reassigning points or anything like that. I only had one shot at this.
I looked at all the different stats and thought about the various possibilities before me. I felt like I knew what each stat was for, but I was uncertain whether my knowledge of them was right. I looked at the small icon in the bottom-right corner—a small circle with a tiny i inside it.
An information icon. I tapped on it. A new screen popped up in front of me and populated with text.
Strength – Improves damage with all weapons. Affects anything that requires brawn. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Agility – Improves accuracy with all weapons. Determines movement speed and evasion ability. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Dexterity – Determines attack speed. Improves damage with all weapons. Improves accuracy of all weapons. Improves chances of landing a critical hit during battle. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Constitution – Determines Health. Each point increases Health by 10 points. Affects Stamina regeneration. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Endurance – Determines Stamina. Each point increases Stamina by 10 points. Affects Health regeneration. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Intelligence – Determines Mana. Each point increases Mana by 10 points. Affects strength of certain skills. Determines resistance to mental attacks. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Wisdom – Determines Mana Regeneration. Affects magical resistance. Determines strength of certain skills. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Charisma – Determines the likelihood others will like you or want to interact with you. A high score may open certain quests that would otherwise be locked. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Luck – Determines the likelihood of landing a critical hit during battle. Increases the probability of getting rarer item drops. Increases chance of a randomized event resulting in your favor. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Ah, so that’s why Health, Mana, and Stamina stats aren’t directly upgradable, I thought. It was because their numbers were all determined by other stats. That was probably why they didn’t have any arrows next to their values either.
All these stats do exactly what I’d thought, though. I grinned. Looks like I can depend on my memory more than I thought.
I looked at all my numbers and thought about what stats I needed to increase. I scratched my chin. Should I go the mage path or the warrior path?
The warrior path seemed the safer one to pick at the moment since it was easier to start off as a warrior, and since I had a really good weapon—the Forest Scimitars—that I could use if I was a warrior. My attacking options were murky if I tried to be a mage, though, since I didn’t really know any magical arts, or spells for that matter. There was, of course, the one spell I’d used against the ogre, but that was as good as useless since I couldn’t replicate it.
I thought for another minute or two and decided to start off as a warrior. I was still low-leveled, so I could always switch the path I wanted to develop. Plus, it was always good to have a certain mix of possibilities as well.
I tapped on the arrows next to my stats and updated my warrior-centric ones, adding 5 to Constitution, 4 to Endurance, 8 to Strength and 7 to Agility.
Name
Zoran
Level
8
Health
10 →60
Constitution
1→6
Mana
10
Intelligence
1
Stamina
10 → 50
Endurance
1→5
Strength
3→11
Wisdom
4→11
Agility
4→11
Dexterity
2
Charisma
4
Luck
9
That felt good. I grinned.
I tapped on the Health stat and a mini prompt opened on top of the Stats screen.
Health Regeneration
0.2% per minute
That’s not too bad, I thought. I could regenerate 0.2% of my Health per minute on a regular basis, which meant I could regain full health in about eight and a half hours. But if my health fully ran out though, I’d have to depend on just my Resurrection ability.
Then again, that isn’t the worst strategy either, I thought.
A drop of water hit my face. The sky had now darkened to an ominous gray, and a sharper chill had slithered into the breeze.
Yeah, it’s definitely going to pour now. I hastened my steps. The leaves rustled and the branches swayed as the winds picked up.
I turned back to my screen and opened my Equipment Inventory. The design of the screen had changed. There wasn’t an Empty message written on it like before. Instead, the section below the title was now split into a grid of small boxes. Miniature icons of my new equipment showed up on the grid, occupying the first three boxes.
I tapped on the first one—a club icon—and the weapon’s stat screen spawned next to it.
Equipment Title
Ogre Club
Damage
15 – 17 ATK
Special Effects
None
Grade
Zero Stars
Durability
30/30
Rarity
Uncommon
Value
800 Sol
There were two buttons at the bottom of the screen, with the words Equip and Close written in them.
I read through the screen’s data first and recalled what each weapon stat meant.
Name, damage and rarity were straightforward of course. Durability determined how long the weapon would last before it broke or needed to be repaired. Quality represented one how well the weapon had been made in the first place.
Grade was a complex thing, though. All weapons and armor were split into different grades—from Zero Star all the way t
o Five Star. For each star that a piece of equipment had, it would possess an added special effect that would activate during its use, like status afflictions and stat buffs.
Based on all of that, the Ogre Club was pretty bad. Still better than having no weapon at all, I thought. I closed the screen and tapped on the scimitars instead.
Equipment Title
Forest Scimitars
Damage
15 – 17 ATK
Special Effects
+5% chance of evading enemy attack
+50% attack in forest or woods
Grade
Zero Stars
Durability
10/10
Rarity
Rare
Value
120,000 Sol
WHOA. My eyes widened. I’d already expected the scimitars to be valuable, but these things were crazy good! An evasion special ability was a hard thing to find in equipment, and getting a 50% attack boost in forests and woods was amazing!
The Eternal: A Boxed Set (World of Ga'em Book 6) Page 4
