Rhea and Ero both laughed simultaneously while not looking away from each other. Scott could not help but laugh as well. He was so glad that being with the girls was so easy and carefree. He was so tired of dealing with complication relationships.
Chapter 18: Dude. I Know.
A triumphant shout split the heavens and then echoed throughout the Northern Mountain region. Scott basked in the glow of realization and smiled joyfully. A long awaited moment had come to pass.
“Congratulations!” exclaimed Rhea. She smiled warmly at him and reached out to take his hands.
“Yeah! Good job, Scott.” said Ero before she fluttered down and sat on his shoulder.
Scott inhaled languidly then released a sigh of contentment before he thanked the girls. “I almost believed it would never happen. We’ve been here for the better part of a month.
Rhea laughed. “Yeah, but you finally reached level one hundred.”
Scott grinned at her. “Yeah, it was a lot of work, but we’re almost ready now. Aren’t we?”
Ero threw her hands in the air. “Yes! I’m ninety-seven, so almost there.”
Rhea smiled at Ero. “Yep, much closer than I am.”
“How long do you think it will take to get the other twenty-eight levels?” asked Scott.
The elf maiden acquired a thoughtful look. “If we hunted here, probably another two months, maybe as many as three.”
“Is there a better place?” he asked.
Rhea nodded then shared a toothy grin. “Yes, actually. The place we need to go for you to start your class-promotion quest.”
“You can hunt there? Why didn’t we just go there?” A few of the items that she had stashed in her item cache had been experience and ability point modifier items. She wore most of them due to her extreme experience needs, but he had inherited two that more than doubled his own experience gains. Using those items they would have easily cut their leveling time by at least a week.
“You would have died horribly. Even with the gear I gave you, you’re only now on a level where it is possible to survive there. All of the monsters are tier-two, since they are above level 100.”
“Tier-two…” Scott thought back to the first boss fight that he’d ever experienced. The grass rat overlord had only been a few levels higher than he was, but it was a tier-two monster. Compared to a normal grass rat, that thing had been god-like. He could barely injure it save for sending attacks straight down its gullet. If not for being an overlord, it would have probably been half as strong, but that would have still been a hellish fight.
Rhea squeezed his hands tightly. “With the equipment I gave you, it will be like you’ve gone through a few reincarnations. It should be enough. Be careful though, alright? If you die and lose a level, you’ll have to regain it before you can go on the quest.”
“Would there be a problem with gaining a couple of buffer levels?” asked Scott.
“Not at all, the quest only takes about a day. If you want, we can just train together till Ero and I are ready. You should probably gain at least two or three levels in the process.”
“Only two or three?” he asked.
“The experience that you need to level-up grows at certain intervals. You should check that.” said Rhea.
Scott nodded. “Yeah, I’m curious about my base stats anyway.”
He unequipped all of his gear and stood before them wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. A whistle from Rhea caused him to snort. “Lustful woman.”
“Yep.” she replied with a smile.
Scott opened up his status screen to see what his base stats were like. He had not done so since acquiring his new items. He wanted to see the clear difference.
[Status]
Name: Scott Jacobs | Class: Sorcerer | Race: Human
Title: The Unbreakable Burning Terror
Age: 18 | Level: 100
EXP: 26,427,800
Next Level: 996,700
Ability Points: 43,437
Health: 750[750] | Mana: 711[711]
Attack: 597[2657] | Defense: 542[3250]
Strength: 515[515] | Agility: 677[677] | Accuracy: 404[404]
Intellect: 681[681] | Luck: 236[236]
[--]
The level-up modifiers for his stats had been taken as soon as possible at each new interval. The end result was a drastic change in his overall power. He had only expended his ability points to accept new abilities otherwise.
“Holy shit.” said Scott. “This is a lot different than two weeks ago.”
“Yeah, go ahead and use your ability points as much as possible and see the difference there too. You shouldn’t have too many actual spells or abilities to learn, but you’ll see a few substantial bonuses.” Said Rhea.
“Hey, yeah. Can’t take them with me since the other server doesn’t use ability points…” said Scott.
He checked his skills and abilities that could be purchased then blinked. “Damn.”
He only had five spells available, each required five thousand ability points. It took a large chunk of his ability points, but he now had the five level six spells available to him. He could not acquire level seven spells through leveling, but those spells would travel with him to the new server.
Traveling to the new server with knowledge of those spells would constitute a definite bonus since magic was not level-locked on the classic server. He would not be able to use them easily due to the time it would take to charge them up with the stat limitations he would have at first, though. Plus he had been told that magic worked a bit differently there. It was supposed to be more hands-on.
The few physical abilities that he had available included no special attacks or skills. There was an upgrade for his path of balance, but beyond that everything else was related to passive abilities. Scott’s eyes widened when he saw two of the available ones.
He immediately spent all the points necessary to acquire the abilities available then checked his stats once more to see the difference.
[Status]
Name: Scott Jacobs | Class: Sorcerer | Race: Human
Title: The Unbreakable Burning Terror
Age: 18 | Level: 100
EXP: 26,427,800
Next Level: 996,700
Ability Points: 7187
Health: 1150[1150] | Mana: 1111[1111]
Attack: 657[3432] | Defense: 592[4177]
Strength: 555[555] | Agility: 717[717] | Accuracy: 424[424]
Intellect: 721[721] | Luck: 236[236]
[--]
“My stats are just ridiculous compared to when I was level one.” said Scott. Why would they even need to go to level four hundred or higher in a world like this? He was capable of literally doing a thousand times more attack damage, wearing nothing but his underwear, compared to when he was level one. His strength was well over one hundred times greater. Hell he could probably pick up and throw average sized automobiles with only a little effort.
It was no wonder that normal exercise did little for the body in this world due to the effects of leveling and ability point acquisition. Technique could be developed through training and repetition but not much else. In only a few short months of leveling he had gone from reasonably average to some sort of nigh-immortal super human.
“True, though you’re still not on my level.” said Rhea sweetly.
“Barely…” said Scott.
“Let me gain another twenty-eight levels.” replied the elf maiden. The difference between a multi-reincarnate player and a first timer was quite staggering when on equal levels. It was even more so when a human was compared to an elf. By the time an elf normally reached level one hundred, they would have had many more ability points to spend.
“You should be banned from leveling till I reincarnate fifty more times.” said Scott.
She laughed lightly then shook her head. “Maybe, but who has the time for that?”
Ero giggled at Rhea. Both fairy and elf shared a smile. Whatever their issues, they at least found teasing Scott to
be acceptable common ground. It had been a mildly strained but mutually rewarding relationship during the last few weeks.
“So, this is where you’ve all been!” exclaimed a familiar feminine voice.
“Sharde?” asked Scott in surprise. They had not seen her in a while despite the fact that her community service had recently ended.
Sharde pounced on Scott and gave him an overly affectionate hug. “Oh. How I’ve missed you sister.”
“Really? I’m over here, you know.” said Rhea in a flat tone of voice.
Sharde nuzzled against Scott even more and nodded against his chest. “Yes, it’s so good to see you!”
Scott rolled his eyes then patted the affectionate girl on the head. “There, there.”
“Mmhmm. Right there.” said Sharde sweetly.
Her aggressive cuddling caused Ero to lose her balance, or so it seemed. The fairy fell off Scott’s shoulder then fluttered up and over to Rhea. “Hey! Careful. I’m delicate right now.”
Rhea crossed her arms over her chest. “Shara, it’s good to see you, but…”
Sharde sighed loudly. “I know. I know. Get my hands off your man-candy.”
Ero mimicked Rhea by crossing her arms over her chest, but then tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, get your hands off our baby daddy.”
Sharde began to tremble then laughed a little. “Your what?”
She released Scott then turned to Ero with a grin. What game were they playing now? She had only been gone for twenty years, or two weeks depending on who you asked. Surely their relationship had not moved forward that much. They clearly existed within a romantic comedy paradigm. Nothing ever moved forward that quickly in a romantic comedy setting!
Ero patted her tummy then blushed cutely. Rhea sighed loudly then looked to the side.
Sharde blinked at them both then slowly turned back to look at Scott. He winced slightly then shrugged. “Surprise?”
Sharde’s eyelid twitched for a moment and then her ponytail flew straight up in the air. “No way!”
“Yes. Ero may be pregnant.” said Rhea softly.
Sharde turned back to her sister and saw the look on her face. “Origin…”
Ero fluttered over and lightly put her hand on Rhea’s shoulder in an attempt at solidarity. Rhea’s hand moved over to cover the tiny appendage in an act of acceptance.
Sharde looked back and forth between the other three people, admittedly she spent more time gawking at Scott in his underwear, and then her ponytail slowly dropped back down. It had finally calmed down enough to obey the laws of physics.
“This… This is great, right?” asked Sharde. She was clearly uncertain whether this was great or not. The various expressions on their faces made it seem more complicated than that.
“Yes. It is.” said Scott gently.
Rhea nodded slowly, and Ero smiled at the sight of it. Sharde noted the interaction and tried to determine its meaning.
“How did it happen?” asked Sharde.
“Well, when a fairy and a boy really like each other, they hug in a special way and then proceed to have hardcore tentac-” began Ero. Rhea reached over and gently encapsulated the fairy in her palms before she could finish speaking.
The elf maiden glanced over to Sharde. “We’re not even sure if she’s pregnant.”
Sharde tilted her head and looked at Rhea closely. “Really? That’s easy enough to check isn’t it?”
Rhea closed her eyes and nodded. “Yes, it is.” she said, before releasing Ero.
Ero fluttered up and then landed on Rhea’s head. She sat down with her ankles crossed then placed her hands in the space between her thighs. She leaned forward and smiled warmly. “It’s OK, there’s no rush. We’ll find out in time.”
Rhea smiled slightly. But the smile did not quite reach her eyes.
“Right, OK.” said Sharde. They did not seem like they wished to be pressed for information, and she was not completely clueless about such things.
Scott decided to change the subject. “How did community service go?”
She turned around and smiled at him warmly. “It went well, thank you. There have even been rumblings about promoting me.”
“A promotion, Shara?” asked Rhea curiously.
“Yeah. I’m not sure what they might intend. The first noticeable changes to the world won’t start for a few more months. I’m just getting things set up to move back to the town that I grew up in, now.”
“The time-difference hasn’t been set definitively yet, has it?” asked Rhea.
“No, not yet. Sometimes a day there is a few minutes here, and sometimes it’s a day or more. I think they aren’t sure what to set it at, though it’ll probably end at a four-to-one ratio since that’s standard.” said Sharde.
“Sounds like you’ll be busy for a while?” asked Scott.
“No need to sound so sad, big guy. I’ll always have time for you.” said Sharde with a wink.
Rhea did not make a comment about that, but her teeth did grind together slightly. “Still planning to help us out on the classic server?”
“Yeah, I’ll reincarnate and catch up to you guys once things settle down a little. There will be a lot of updates to deal with before that world goes live and the beta testers join the alpha testers.” said Sharde.
“You sure that’s the only reason?” asked Rhea, this time with a smile that bespoke actual warmth.
“Well, you know…” said Sharde, a goofy grin rising up upon her lips. “There might be another reason.”
“Oh? Like what?” asked Scott.
Sharde turned to him then smiled. “Just a reason.”
“Fair enough. Not sure what we’d do about it, but if there’s a problem let us know.” he said. If she did not want to tell him, it probably wasn’t worthy of his notice.
Sharde’s smile brightened considerably. “So, you’re concerned about me, are you?”
“Well, yeah. You’re going to be family.” he said.
Her face became slightly flush. Her voice became deeper, huskier. “Oh my. It’s so nice to know that you care, Scott. You really know how to make a girl feel special.”
Sharde’s expression changed to one of surprise when she was pulled back by her ponytail. “Down girl.” said Rhea.
“All he has to do is ask.” said Sharde shamelessly, before she unleashed a goofy grin.
Rhea frowned at her. Her nostrils flared slightly and she stared at her sister. “Don’t you have a reason?”
“I really hope so.” said Sharde softly, the mirthful expression lessened even as the words left her lips. There were many uncertainties in her near future.
Rhea’s expression softened. She reached out and gently embraced her twisted sister. “Me too.”
Sharde slipped her arms around Rhea then hugged her tight. This was something she had wanted for over twenty years, even more than she had wanted her reason. Her sister had always been there for her, not as much in the last fifty years or so, but twenty of those years were not really Origin’s fault.
Ero fluttered over to Scott and settled down on his shoulder. “Dude.”
“I know.” said Scott.
The two BFFs watched as the divine siblings cuddled and lightly petted each other on what once had been a battlefield. Sometimes people had to take comfort wherever and whenever they could get it.
Chapter 19: Revelation
Rain dripped down from bright green leaves. A rocky dirt path cut through the mountains was trod upon by the confident feet of an uncertain man. One month of hard training, and nightly tenderness, had passed since arrival in the final hunting ground that Scott would see on the casual server.
They had moved to the new location that Rhea had suggested, but between a sudden influx of work that she had been forced to attend to and a few death related set-backs for Scott, they had ended up spending more time on the process of leveling than they had wanted.
Rhea had remained behind to hunt the higher level monsters in the area. She wanted
to force herself to level faster despite the dangers inherent in fighting second-tier monsters. Close to her goal of reaching level one hundred, she wanted to attain it by the time that Scott finished his final business.
Ero had stayed behind with Rhea, as she could not be with Scott during his profession quest. He had to go alone.
He raced along the mountain road, the wind whipping his hair. He had to reach the first stage of his profession quest at exactly the right moment. That was all that he knew.
In the distance Scott could see a mountain. Halfway to the top of that impressive sight there was a massive cathedral-like structure. It was the Dawn Call Citadel, an ancient home for the sorcerers who followed the path of balance. Stationed at neither the base, nor the summit, of the mountain they lived in a way native to their ideals.
His bare feet were not stung by the rocks along the way despite their loose and jagged nature. His flesh was far too tough for such mundane hindrances. However, not all was simple for him. The highland mist that clung to him did not keep his body cool and he sweated heavily during his run. The speeds that he ran at currently were taxing beyond belief.
The journey had begun at midnight. He had only one hour from the moment that false-dawn appeared to reach the base of the mountain. That way, he could greet the sentinel who barred the way forward the moment that the sun rose above the horizon.
The distance that he had to run was one thousand miles. Early in his career, his speed had matched directly with his strength and agility. However, over time his top running speed had ceased to match up in that way. He could outrun a sports car on the highway for a few minutes, but that speed could not be maintained long term. He would not be able to meet that requirement at his fastest steady running speed if he relied on his stats alone. However, upon reaching level one hundred he had acquired a new skill. It was a skill only available to those who had chosen consistently to follow the path of enlightenment and balance when choosing upgrades.
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