by Edward Brody
“I mean, where’d you get them?” I clarified.
“Oh…” Jeremy moaned. “I stole these from a vendor.”
“Dude,” I groaned.
“Those are valuable items you stole,” Jax said. “If you’re caught stealing, there can be some serious consequences.”
“I know, I know,” Jeremy said. He held up both arms. “I’m done thieving now. I’m with Unity.”
I huffed and shook my head as I turned back to the chest. The next item was a small blade, just slightly longer than a standard dagger. It had a silver handle with a flat, black, slight-curved blade.
You’ve received: Corrupted Ebon Blade. 15-50 Attack Damage. Requires 14 Strength. Requires 25 Dexterity. Durability: 9/10. Quality: Great. Rarity: Epic. Weight: 1.0. 1% chance to cause disease: Corruption.
“Corruption?” I asked as I held up the blade.
Rina took a step back.
“Nasty disease,” Jax said. “Causes your health to drop about 1% every hour, and any gear you’re wearing slowly deteriorates.”
“Wow…” I said. “And how do you cure diseases?”
“Depends on the disease,” Jax explained. “But curing any disease isn’t easy.”
“I don’t know if anyone’s ever been cured of Corruption,” Keysia said.
“Corruption is a slow, painful death sentence,” Rina added. “An entire town on the other side of the Serpent Sea was wiped out by corruption.”
I suddenly felt like I should be holding the dagger with my fingertips. The on-hit effect had a great potential, and I would’ve been excited about keeping it for myself if the blade had been a bit longer. The fact that it was more dagger than sword turned me off.
“How about this for an upgrade?” I asked, turning to Jeremy.
“Yeah, pass that over here,” he said. “I’ll use it as soon as I have enough Dexterity.”
I tossed the blade on the ground near his feet.
You’ve received: Mobius Staff. 18-22 Attack Damage. Requires 14 Strength. Requires 25 Intelligence. Durability: 9/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 1.0. 10% Magic Damage. On Cast: Energy Strike: 57 Charges Left.
The staff was long, straight, and topped off with a round ball that had two horns springing out from its side. The ball was white, but the rest of the staff was a dark purple color.
“Anyone know about this?” I asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
I held the staff up and honed in on one of the charred harpies that was lying dead nearby. Just as if I were casting a spell, I focused on using the staff’s on-cast ability, and a bright sphere of energy formed in between the two horns above the ball. The energy sped away from the staff, just as fast as an Arcane Missile, and the moment it struck the harpy, it exploded with energy, and pieces of the bird flew everywhere.
It made me wish that I was a staff user.
“I’ll take that,” Keysia and Rina said almost simultaneously.
I looked up to them both, not sure what I should do.
Rina cleared her throat and shrugged. “I just got a new staff, so you can take it, Keysia.”
“Great,” Keysia said. “The staff I’m using now is out of charges, so this will be a nice replacement.”
I tossed Keysia the staff.
There was a heap of what looked like a pelt that I was about to push out of the way, but as soon as I touched it, I found that it was headgear.
You’ve received: Ravager’s Hood. +6 Armor. Durability: 8/10. Quality: Great. Rarity: Epic. Weight: 0.4 kg +3 Dexterity. +3 Strength. +1 Vitality. +1% critical hit chance.
As I lifted the hood, I saw that it was black leather, and the back of the hood was lined with a thick fur of some sort. Attached to the side of the hood were some sort of hard, metal shoulder pads that gave it a menacing appearance. Based on the stats alone, I knew I was going to keep the item. It was a huge upgrade from my scarf.
“How’s that for something to keep you warm?” Jax cooed.
I took my off my slaver’s scarf and immediately replaced it with the hood. It went great with the heritage armor I was wearing.
“Looks good on you,” Rina said.
“Anyone want my scarf?” I asked, holding it out in my hands. “It has +2 dex.”
“I’ll take it,” Jeremy said, and I tossed the scarf to him.
I started scooping out what was left in the treasure chest, and there were 2 emeralds, a pearl, a ruby, and an amethyst. There were also two red inscription powders and 3,017 gold. I was disappointed there were no spells or swords that were significantly stronger than the one I was already using, but it was still a great haul. With the gold in the chest and the amount we’d gain from selling the gems, we’d easily have enough to pay for the castle foundation and have a decent stash of gold leftover in the treasury.
As I counted out the gold, I noticed a small golden ring in the pile that I almost missed. It had a small, ginger emblem on its top. I smiled when I touched it as I knew immediately it would be a great item for Jax.
You’ve received: Ring of Precision. Durability: 7/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 0.1 kg. +5 Dexterity. +10% accuracy with ranged physical attacks.
“You’re spoiling me,” Jax said as I tossed the ring to him.
I stood up from the chest and smiled. “No, I think we’re all spoiled after this treasure hunt. A little over 3,000 gold is a lot for one run, and getting here wasn’t too bad, was it?”
“Well, you almost got killed by harpies,” Jeremy said. “And those one-armed things messed you up pretty bad.”
“You watched us fight the forgotten ones and didn’t help?” I asked, my jaw slack.
“Well, yeah. I was close behind you, but I could see that you guys had things under control—sorta.”
I shook my head and didn’t respond, but he was right about the fight difficulty. The harpies were tough, and the forgotten ones put up a decent fight, considering their limited attack abilities, but he had no idea some of the things I’d been through: all the crazy monsters in Gramora, the psy-demon in the Vale, the Spider Queen, the giant scorpions, Dryden’s dragon… the list went on and on. I shuddered at some of the creatures I’d encountered.
“Now we just need to find Bloodmoss, and then we can head back. Has anyone seen anything that looks like red moss?” I turned my head and saw mostly brown and grey, aside from the few trees that were growing nearby.
Everyone turned their head and scanned the vicinity, but then they all shook their heads.
I sighed. “Maybe we should split up and scour the area? We can keep an eye on each other’s health bars just in case anyone gets attacked.”
I tried willing Jeremy a group invitation.
Your party is currently full!
Your party is currently full!
“There’s a four-to-a-party maximum,” Jax said. “You can adventure with as many people as you want, but you can only share information for three others at a time.”
So much for that idea, I thought.
“Hey, there’s some red stuff up there,” Jeremy said loudly, pointing his finger up the peak where the Harpies had been circling.
Everyone turned in the direction he was looking.
“Yeah, I see it,” Keysia said. “There’s several patches of red mixed in with the green.”
“I hope that’s not it,” I said as we all started walking closer to the skinny mountain peak.
Jax shielded his eyes from the sun when we were right below the peak and looked straight up. “It looks like that might be it,” he said.
“It’s mossy and it’s red,” Rina said.
The slope of the peak leading up to the red spots was almost completely vertical on every side, and the peak was well over a hundred meters high.
“Well, fuck!” I cursed. “There’s no way we can get up there, unless one of you has some incredible secret climbing skill.”
“I think it would take some flying ability to get up there,” Rina said. “This would be
hard to climb even with climbing tools.”
“Damnit,” I cursed gain. “Does anyone have any ideas?”
We all sat silent for a moment as we stared up to the harpy’s peak.
Jeremy pointed to the mountain that was closest to the peak. “There’s a wide path leading up that mountain. Perhaps we could build a bridge from the edge of that path over to the peak?”
Jax shook his head. “None of the trees around here are long enough to use as a bridge, and we don’t have the time or crafting skills to build a proper one.”
Jeremy raised his eyebrows and smirked. “I guess we could try jumping it.” He chuckled a bit and smirked.
“Yeah, right,” I said as I looked up at the distance between the edge of the mountain’s path and the peak. “There’s no way any of us could make that jump. It’s too far.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jeremy said. “I was just kidding.”
“Actually,” Jax said deviously. “Maybe one of us could make that jump—specifically you, Gunnar.”
“What?” I twisted my face as I looked at Jax and then I took another look at the distance between the peak and the other mountain. “There’s no way I could do that. I’m not Superman.”
“Who’s Superman?” Keysia asked.
I waved a dismissive hand to her. “No one. But I know I can’t make that jump.”
“You have that spell, right?” Jax asked. “Boiling Blood—the one that gives you an incredible speed increase.”
I nodded my head and glanced back up to the peak. “Yeah, but even with Boiling Blood, I’m still sure I’d miss that jump.”
Jax glanced down at Jeremy’s shoes. “But Jeremy’s shoes will give you another 5% boost and then another 25% if you activate them. If Jeremy lets you borrow his shoes and you combine it with your spell, I think you might just make it.”
I looked down at Jeremy’s shoes and then I looked up the peak again. Boiling Blood gave me a 30% speed increase, so I’d be going about 60% faster with Jeremy’s shoes on and activated. I had never been good with physics, but with all that added speed, I agreed that it would give me a significant increase in jumping distance.
“Maybe…” I said at almost a whisper.
“If you take off all your gear, you’ll be a lot lighter too,” Keysia said.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “It’s really risky, and even if I made it up there, how would I get down?”
Keysia looked down and started thinking, and Jax rubbed his chin.
“What if you use your fan ability like you used on the harpies?” Rina asked Keysia. “The one where you swing your fan and cause a quick gust of wind.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jax concurred. “If you can fan Gunnar one or two times it should slow down his fall a little bit—maybe enough that Sora can catch him.”
I started laughing and shook my head. “Are you guys crazy? You guys want me to fuckin’ jump from up there and somehow float down from a fan swipe?”
As I looked from person to person, no one else was laughing. They all seemed like they actually thought it might work—even Jeremy.
“I’ll loan you my shoes, dude,” Jeremy said.
I looked at them all with an open jaw. “Why me?”
“You’re the only one with a 30% movement speed buff,” Jax said.
“I’ll resurrect you if something goes wrong, Gunnar,” Rina said.
“It’s either we leave without the Bloodmoss or we give it a try,” Jax said. He waved his around him and turned his head. “Or we could look around more… Maybe there’s Bloodmoss somewhere else around here, but I can tell you from experience that the further you go into a zone like this, the more dangerous it becomes. We might be looking at beasts way nastier than those harpies.”
I took another long look up at the mountain peak, and then I lowered my head, closed my eyes and sighed. “Fine.” I started pulling off my gear. “One of you guys are going to have to beat me down to 40%. Please, try not to make me bleed.”
Chapter Twenty
1/27/0001
“Stop!” I yelled. “Stop! Stop!” I held up my hand in submission as Rina’s staff slammed down into my leg one last time.
I groaned miserably as I grabbed my uncovered leg and then my neck and stomach. I was sore all over.
We decided that it was best to have Keysia and Rina hit me with their staffs, since their weapons were blunt and less likely to cause bleeding, but the women almost seemed to have derived pleasure in smacking me around on every part of my body.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Gunnar,” Keysia said as I pushed myself up onto wobbly feet.
“I feel like I want to heal him,” Rina said.
I held my palm towards her. “Please, don’t. I’m just under the threshold to cast my spell. I don’t want to go through another beat down.”
“Attacking you was rather interesting though,” Keysia said. “I never imagined a man, much less a Reborn, would request that kind of punishment from me. It was…” Keysia shook her head as if she didn’t know the word she was looking for.
“Empowering?” Rina asked.
Keysia nodded. “Yes, I believe that’s the word. It was strangely empowering.” Her eyes were wide and darting around as if she had discovered some forbidden fruit for the first time.
I reached up and touched my sore, swollen lip. “I’m all for whatever empowerment you guys are on, but let’s not make the whole ‘beat down the guildmaster’ a habit, okay?”
Everyone started chuckling, except me.
I began my limp up the mountain path, feeling especially chilly wearing nothing but my boxer shorts, unburdening bag, and Jeremy’s shoes. My body was aching from the ass-whooping that the ladies gave me, so even if I was a bit cold, all I could think about was the soreness coursing through me—and the fact that what I was about to do was extremely reckless and might end up costing me my life.
At least one of my lives. I wouldn’t have even considered doing something so stupid if I weren’t in Eden’s Gate.
The walk up the path only took a couple minutes and was uneventful. For the most part, I only saw rocks and weeds the entire way up. When I reached the area of the path that was most aligned with the mountain peak that was nearby, the path continued further up, and I couldn’t help but wonder what else was up that way? More monsters? More treasure? A cave? I’d have to make my way back to Nestle Rock someday to find out.
I walked to the edge of the wide path and looked over to the mountain peak. There was a bed of short grass and moss growing on top, and in the center of the peak appeared to be a bird’s nest and at least one or two eggs. A few inches below the top of the peak, I could see the red patches, and from that closer location it looked much mossier. I was pretty sure that had to be what we were trying to find.
Visually measuring the distance between the mountain peak and the path I was standing on, the jump seemed impossible. I knew I couldn’t possibly make the jump without a spell, and I had never really tested my jumping ability when casting Boiling Blood. The whole plan was based on a lot of assumptions.
I looked down to my guild mates below. They all looked small, and my stomach did a somersault as I thought of how terrible it would be to fall at that height.
“Are you guys ready?” I asked.
“Yeah, we’re ready!” Jax yelled back. “Rina is ready to resurrect you if you fall.”
Thanks for the reminder, I thought.
Are you sure you want to do this, Gunnar? Sora projected.
No, but yeah, I projected back.
That makes no sense, father.
I know, I replied, and this jump makes no sense. Just try your best to catch me if I fall.
I will. Be careful.
I took several steps back until my back was against the wall of the mountain and took a deep breath. My heart was pounding, and I didn’t want to feel the pain of death. I made a quick, silent prayer that I would make the jump and activated Boiling Blood.
As soon as the heat of
the spell engulfed my body, I felt a little bit more confident, a little less afraid. I pressed my foot against the side of the mountain, hard, and as soon as I took my first step, I focused on using the on-cast speed ability of the shoes.
My legs moved back and forth faster than they ever had before, and with just a few steps before the edge of the wide path, I felt like I had reached my maximum speed.
One last step, I thought as my foot slammed on the edge of the path. And jump!
I leapt as high as I possibly could as I pushed off the side of the cliff, and for a moment, I felt like I was flying. I tried my best not to look down, to only focus on the mountain peak that was ahead of me, and at the summit of my leap, I thought I might actually make the jump. But as soon as I started to fall, I felt for sure I was going to miss.
I heard my guild mates gasp in horror as my gut slammed into the top edge of the mountain peak. The air was knocked out of my lungs from the impact, and my knees slammed against the peak’s side causing additional pain.
Knowing that I was about to die, I clawed at the top of the peak, trying to pull myself up the best I could, but so consumed by pain that my body felt weak. I glanced at my stat bars as one of my hand slippeds and regained a grip onto a patch of moss. I was down to only 5%, and my head was spinning.
“Gunnar!” I heard someone yell from below. “Hold on!”
My feet kicked out, trying to get a footing on something, but the peak was so steep that my boots simply slipped on of everything they touched.
I groaned loudly at the pain and closed my eyes, trying to pull myself up, but it seemed like each time I tried to pull, my hands slipped a little further.
Boiling Blood ran out, and the pain only seemed to intensify.
“Don’t let go!” someone else yelled.
Why not? I wondered. I was hurting badly and I was too weak to pull myself up without a better grip on something other than the moss and grassy dirt I was clinging to. I almost wanted to let go just to get it over with.
