《Evolution Arts》 Chapter 1: Unfortunate Start In the middle of a empty temple, cut off from the world around it, stood two figures. One was battered and weary. His once fine armor, chipped and rusted. The sword on his back, filled with spiderweb cracks. The other had an ageless quality that looked like he had existed since time itself began. The many wrinkles on his face and the long white beard told volumes about his age. Although with a frame battered by time, he carried himself with solemn dignity. ¡°You have completed the assigned task. For that, I offer you an unique class, Time mage.¡± The old god intoned.
You have been offered the unique class Time Mage Do you accept? Yes/No
Raine thought about the class offer very carefully. That is to say, he did not think about the class at all. His decision was made the moment he read the word mage in the class name. Although he didn¡¯t know what class he wanted to be, a time mage was certainly not it. Dreams of a battlefield filled with enemies, cutting down each foe as he approached with a sword and carving a path through the enemy filled Raine¡¯s head. With the penalties a mage class would bring to sword related art growth, such a dream would be impossible. Not to mention all the other arts it would hinder the growth of. ¡°Ehhh¡­ No thanks.¡±
Class refused. Intimacy with Chronos has dropped to a minimum.
¡°I am glad you liked it¡­ Wait, what did you say!?¡± The god asked, bewildered. ¡°Err¡­ That I did not want to... become¡­ a Time Mage?¡± The young man stuttered off under the angry god¡¯s stare. ¡°Ho¡­ And why have you rejected my generous offer?¡± With a vein bulging on his forehead, Chronos asked the insolent human in a dangerous tone. ¡°Well¡­ A mage wouldn¡¯t do well holding a sword. And time magic? That sounds like it is more suited for a support class rather than a hero fighting on the frontlines¡± Raine unhesitantly bashed the class that he had just heard of. ¡°You dare insult time magic, my domain? You would rather be waving a stick around than practice the noble art of time magic? Curse you human! Forever remain as how you first came into this world¡± With an angry sweep of the hand, Chronos casted a god level curse. ¡°Wha-!?¡± Blinded by light as a giant magic circle appeared below him, Raine let out an exclamation in surprise. Suddenly his body erupted in pain and a transparent box appeared in front of him.
Warning: You have been cursed! For angering the god of time, Chronos, you have been cursed with an Origin spell. Your level has been reset to 1 and stats have returned to the starter value. No matter how much experience you gain, you will never level up and your stats will remain at their starter values. All arts have been unlearned and future arts and spells are impossible to learn. This curse can only be removed by a god.
You have been killed! Respawning in the nearest town.
Raine found himself floating amidst a sea of darkness. Bewildered and alone, he noticed a light shining in the distance rapidly approach. Raine idly wondered what happened. Instead of respawning right away like usual, something different had happened. As the light got closer, what could only be called a beautiful goddess approached. With a faint laugh that brightened the surroundings, the she asked a question. ¡°Haha, I have not seen Chronos that angry in ages. He was a bit harsh on you, how about I help you out?¡± ¡°What? How would you do that?¡± ¡°You see, removing curses is not my specialty. That said, the curse Chronos casted is targeting you, so if we remade your body, what do you think would happen? I have a potion that can transform your body. Do you want to try it out?¡±
A mysterious goddess has offered you a suspicious potion. The effects are unknown but it could free you from your curse. Do you accept? Quest completion: Drink the potion. Quest Failure: Do not drink the potion and incur the goddess¡¯ wrath. Quest Difficulty: F
Thinking it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to anger two gods in the same day, Raine accepted the suspicious potion. Warily eyeing the bubbling, foul smelling thing, he closed his eyes and swallowed it down in one gulp. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Hahahaha¡± Raine briefly heard laughter from the goddess before his body erupted in pain. Forcing his eyes open, he saw the beautiful goddess change from a women to a handsome man. A goddess that transformed into a god? Barely managing to squeeze out a few words, he exclaimed. ¡°You¡­ It couldn¡¯t be!?¡± ¡°Hahaha, I just remembered, I forgot to introduce myself. I am called Loki, the god of deception. Nice to meet you, young adventurer. Hope you enjoy your new body.¡± With that parting line, Loki vanished, leaving Raine alone in a pain filled darkness.
You have gained a new title: Loki¡¯s Favored One. You are more likely to have random events unfortunately befall you. As being favored by the god of deception, you will have streaks of uncontrollable good luck as well as bad luck.
Waking up next to a familiar fountain, Raine couldn¡¯t help but burst out in anger. ¡°Cursed!? Nooo! If I had known this was going to happen, I would have rejected the quest to begin with. And Loki, the god of deception? What has he done to me now.¡± Raine immediately knew something was wrong. But he was too angry at the moment to care. Something sounded off. But seeing what damage Loki¡¯s potion had done came first. Looking at his reflection in the water, Raine was petrified. ¡°Wha-?¡± Am I having auditory and visual hallucinations simultaneously? That sounded a lot like a girl¡¯s voice and this reflection looks a lot like a girl''s. No no, It must be a hallucination. Looking into the fountain, a silver haired beauty stared back. Confused, Raine quit thinking. Regardless of his new body, he had to check the status of the curse. ¡°Status.¡±
Status Window
Name:RaineAlignment:Neutral
Level:1Class:Novice
Race:???Gender:Female
Titles: Loki¡¯s Favored One
Health:100/100Health Regen:0.1 per second
Mana:100/100Mana Regen:0.1 per second
Stamina:100/100Stamina Regen:0.1 per second
Stats
Strength:10Agility:10
Vitality:10Endurance:10
Intelligence:10Wisdom:10
Arts
Cumulative Arts Level:Lv 1Equipped Arts Level:Lv 1
Equipped:
Altered TimeLv 1
Unequipped:
-
Art Points:5
Status Origin Curse: Damaged Your level has been reset to one and can not increase past one. Because your level is linked to the soul while stats and arts are linked to the body, the curse on your stats and arts has been removed. You can now gain additional stats and arts.
¡°At least I can gain stats and arts now¡­ right?¡± Raine hopelessly tried to encourage himself. The silver haired girl stared back at him with a cramped smile on her face. Even so, he still found her beautiful. Reaching his hand to his face, he saw the beauty touch her own face as well. Raine¡¯s brain overheated. Overwhelmed, he logged out. Very briefly, Raine wondered whether he should just remake his character. It was now midnight. Drew had spent the entire day playing Evolution Arts. Unable to cope with all the sudden changes in the game, Drew called it a night and went to sleep. Chapter 2: A New Day Waking up on a bright Sunday morning, the events from the day before hit him in full. With a mournful sigh, Drew fell into a depression. He would lose the bet. Stuck at level one, even if he remade his character, he would be the weakest by far of the group. Today was also the last day of the beta test. After today, the game would be down a week for tweaks before it was released to the public. Distractedly, he stared into the bathroom mirror. With short brown hair and soft brown eyes, he had a clean face that could neither be called handsome or ugly. For the first time in a week since the beta started, there were no bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. One benefit of yesterday¡¯s disaster, he dispiritedly thought. After cleaning up and grabbing a quick bite of breakfast, Drew laid down on his bed and put on the dive gear. He was glad they decided to go with a small eye visor type dive gear rather than a full dive pod. A full pod would have been much more expensive. ¡°Link Start.¡± The world faded to darkness and with a flash of light, Raine reappeared in front of a familiar fountain.
System Announcement: To mark the end of the beta test today, a special event will be held. All logged in players will be forcibly teleported to participate in the event. A special reward will be held for those that complete the event that will carry over to when the game is released.
New Quest: Special Event Not much is known about what this quest entails. Depending on how well you do in this event, you could even obtain a unique class. Time until Event Starts 39:25 IGT(In Game Time)
Watching the timer tick down, Drew calculated that the event that ends the beta test will start at 10pm his time. He still doubted how a time dilation of 1:3 real time to game time was possible, but the proof of it was in front of his eyes. ¡°Now then, since I have some time before the event starts, time for the most important thing...¡± ¡°Delete Character.¡±
System Message: Character can not be deleted when suffering from a god level curse. Either remove the curse or buy a new account.
¡°Wha-?¡± When the beauty first logged in near the fountain, several players furtively stole glances at her. Hearing her exclamation of surprise, they all quickly gained an interest in something else. Finding out that her surprise was not related to their discrete behavior, they went back to their cautious observing. ¡°... Now what? I doubt I could join any party¡­ ¡®Nice to meet you, I am Raine. Level 1. Did I forget to mention I have no chance of leveling up? Teehee~¡¯ Will I become one of those players that relies on guys to gift her with gold and carry her?.¡± Raine shuddered at the thought. Before she could fall into a spiral of negativity, a loud growl rang out in the plaza. "What a monster made it into the safe zone!?" Worried, Raine scanned the nearby surroundings. Seeing nothing but people looking at her strangely, she relaxed. Maybe I just imagined it? ¡°Gyuuuu~¡± A very loud cute sounding growl rang out once again. ¡°Woah, you can hear it even from here,¡± said a low level warrior. ¡°Newbie-chan let her satiety drop too low,¡± said a strong looking thief. ¡°Seriously, it is the last day of the beta. You think she would have learned by now,¡± said the warrior. Ears turning red in embarrassment, Raine quickly ran away from the scene. Once she put sufficient distance between herself and the fountain, she stopped to catch her breath. "My stamina is pitiful. I will level the endurance stat again." In Evolution Arts(EA), a player started out with 6 basic stats. These 6 stats can be leveled through player action or the level up bonus stat points. ¡°Gyuuu~¡± No no no. I need to find some food and fast. Ah! There is an inn. Walking into the inn, Raine ordered some stew from the innkeeper and sat down at a table. As the food arrived, Raine mechanically ate it, her thoughts elsewhere. "Basically, the only thing I managed to keep was my inventory. I would have wagered I would lose my inventory before even my gender. Sadly, most of these items have level restrictions. The newbie gear automatically equipped itself when Chronos cursed me," thought Raine. "Well, might as well verify that I am indeed cursed. Off to hunt horned rabbits." Plan decided and stew finished, Raine got up from the table, payed for the meal, and left. Five minutes later, She was out of the town¡¯s gate and in the open fields. Scattered across the fields, a few players fought horned rabbits. When the beta test first started, these fields were filled with players, but now only a few remain. Most moved on to bigger and stronger monsters. Beginner sword in hand, Raine slowly approached her target. In front of her was a horned rabbit. The furry critter was level 1 and commonly targeted by beginners to gain experience. "Sorry little one, today you will become another victim in the name of science." Sword raised high against an unsuspecting foe, it ruthlessly slashed down. ¡°Eh?¡± A voice of shock leaked out. As Raine¡¯s blade slashed down, the rabbit jumped out of the way. ¡°Why?¡± In the gap born from confusion, the horned rabbit attacked. A dull thud. Filled with pain, Raine desperately lashed out. The horned rabbit let out a small yelp as Raine¡¯s sword grazed it. Raine warily eyed her opponent. The horned rabbit''s attack had taken out 20% of her health. In turn, she had only taken out 10%. As the rabbit charged, Raine jumped out of the way. Yet she still took a glancing hit. A frown formed on Raine¡¯s face. Her typical strategy used to deal with the small critters failed. Changing her stance, Raine abandoned defense. As the rabbit leaped at her, she slashed out, bisecting the rabbit in two.
You have killed a horned rabbit. You gain +10 EXP.
Altered Time activated! You lost all experience.
You have died! Respawning at the nearest safe location.
With a familiar flash of light, Raine found herself once again at the fountain. ¡°I died? Come to think of it, a box did pop up saying the curse activated.¡± Confused, Raine stormed off for the town gates to fight a few more horned rabbits. -------------- With a weary sigh, Raine collapsed onto a bed in the inn. The last few hours were exhausting, both mentally and physically. The sun had set and half the village was asleep. ¡°I am really cursed, huh? No matter how many rabbits I kill, I don¡¯t level up.¡± Mournfully, she gazed at her experience bar. Six dead rabbits and still it was empty. ¡°Not only that, but I have that stupid art as well. It takes up one of my precious art slots and I can¡¯t even remove it.¡± Courtesy of a certain angry time god, Raine gained the art ¡¸Altered Time¡¹. That is to say the curse is activated through this art. The art itself reads:
Passive Art: Altered Time Lv.5(Permanent) Reverts the art owner to their original state. Exists as part of the curse by the Time God Chronos. Impossible to remove from equipped art list unless the curse is removed. Implanted in the owner¡¯s soul, it uses the owner¡¯s mana to activate. As it is a god level art, it consumes an unimaginable amount of mana upon activation
¡°So basically, my mana is too low so when the art activates, the mana drain kills me. On the bright side, I already gained a stat point in wisdom, increasing my mana by 10. And the art itself is already level 5.¡± Hollow laughter rang through the room in the inn. Desolately, Raine buried her head in the pillow. The art itself was a curse that couldn¡¯t be removed and players started with only 5 slots for arts, leaving 4 slots for arts. ¡°Even the production path is blocked from me. Hahaha, who knew crafting a potion also gave experience?¡± Just recalling that particular death almost brought tears to her eyes. How would everyone in the Alchemy Guild take her sudden disappearance? ¡°Well, playing the flute didn¡¯t generate any experience but then again, the songs I played didn¡¯t give any stat bonuses either.¡± She had bought a beginner silver flute, but being a novice made it difficult to generate arts in profession specific fields like that of a bard. ¡°But worse of all¡­ this body. I was not sure at first. I thought maybe it was just the low stats that were throwing me off.¡± Raine struggled in her first fight with the horned rabbit. Her initial strike missed and she failed to dodge an attack. Similar problems occurred in the subsequent battles. But that was strange. The horned rabbit was the weakest mob in the game, perfect for beginners to practice combat on. Even when she first started the beta with her new character, she did not struggle so. ¡°There are no abnormalities in my stats, so that leaves one thing. This body.¡± Raine tried to ignore one simple fact. Loki¡¯s potion freed her from the full effects of the curse. As a result, her arts and stats had leveled up after the curse activated a few times. She thought if she ignored one particular issue, she would be okay for the rest of the beta test. But this issue caused a problem. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°My body is now female instead of male. Of course there would be differences between how the two bodies move.¡± Glancing down at herself, her throat suddenly felt dry. There were several obvious differences between the two bodies. She was shorter and her reach wasn¡¯t as long as well. And most of all... ¡°No no no, what am I thinking?¡± Players were not allowed to create a character of the opposite gender and the beta test will soon end. Such a chance would never come again. ¡°I have been ignoring it the best I could... Maybe I should explore the differences... Come to think of it¡­ I never actually verified that my new body is indeed female.¡± With a loud gulp, Raine guiltily looked around the room. Nothing but the sight of an empty room greeted her. Her hand trembled on the game menu as she unequipped her newbie gear. With a flash of light, a stunning sight appeared. A silver haired maiden adorned only in her snow white underwear sat on top of the bed. Her long silver hair, grey eyes, and creamy white skin gave her a sense of innocence. With breasts that were neither too big nor too small and a fragile figure, she looked like she would break if you held her too tightly. Trembling like a newborn fawn, she rested one hand atop her chest as if to calm her rapidly beating heart. The other hand slowly snaked downwards. Hesitantly, it traced the curves of her stomach as it went lower and lower. Passing her cute belly button on its way, it reached the holy land. And stopped. Turmoil flashed across the maiden face as she argued with herself. Reason told her to stop, but the devilish snake said otherwise. The snake whispered sweet temptations. It told her to sink her fangs into the ripe fruit presented before her. Conflicted, the hand gained a will of its own and resumed its trek. With increasingly ragged breathing, the sinful hand reached the snow white holy land. And then--- ¡°You look like you are enjoying your new body.¡± ¡°Kyaaa!¡± A familiar voice spoke out in the empty room. With a girly scream, Raine threw the pillow at the source of the voice and frantically covered herself in embarrassment. ¡°Umph! That was rude! Is that any way to treat a god?¡± the intruder complained. ¡°You!¡± That voice was a familiar one, she had heard it just the other day. Embarrassment forgotten, Raine angrily charged at her foe and pinned him against the wall. Staring at him with hate filled eyes, she vehemently protested. ¡°Because of you I turned into a girl! And the curse was not even removed you liar!¡± ¡°Now now, calm down. I don¡¯t know how to handle being stared so passionately by a maiden in such a position.¡± ¡°Wha-!?¡± Meaningfully, Loki lowered his line of sight down. Confused, Raine followed his line of sight. Clad only in her snow white underwear, she held Loki against the wall, her face only inches from his. ¡°Kyaaa!¡± *Slap* ---------- Nursing the handprint on his cheek, Loki looked at the trembling maiden. On the furthest corner of the bed, she covered herself with the blanket, leaving only her face with its teary eyes peaking out. Fearfully, the maiden stared silently at the god. Unable to take the pressure, Loki spoke up. ¡°No, no. I understand. After such a disastrous days, anyone would want to take whatever comfort they could get. In hindsight, maybe I should have waited until you were finished...¡± Loki trailed off as the stare got stronger and tears threatened to spill from the maiden¡¯s face. ¡°Eh!? Look, I am sorry! Truly sorry! Please forgive me!¡± Desperately the god asked the mortal. ¡°...¡± The bundle of blankets and tears did not respond. ¡°I won¡¯t do such a thing to you ever again! I promise!¡± The god of trickery and deception hastily made a promise. ¡°...Promise?¡± A reply filled with hope came back for the first time since the slap. ¡°Yes, yes. I promise I won¡¯t walk in on you when you are in the middle of---¡± Loki suddenly halted his words. Tears streamed down the maiden¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ahh! Please don¡¯t cry! I can¡¯t handle it when a maiden cries.¡± Frantically, the god confessed to the girl. ¡°...¡± With tear filled eyes, the maiden looked upon the desperate god. ¡°Umm... lets see¡­ did you know that Freyja use to cry a lot when she was younger? Such a gap from her current image of a mature beauty, right? Hilarious right? Thor went through a huge effort to put an enchantment on his hammer so that it returns to him. This was actually because he was such a muscle head, he would forget where he placed his hammer and spend a thousand years searching for it¡­ What else?... Did you know that I once mistook a man for a women and spent a decade trying to woo him? Isn¡¯t that funny? Ah, what am I even saying...¡± Loki trailed off in confusion. The sound of a small chuckle raised his head. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The once crying maiden now had a faint smile. ¡°... Such a weird god. Getting so desperate because someone is crying.¡± Loki didn¡¯t quite know what to say to that. He could only weakly laugh. ¡°No defense? You really are too weird.¡± With another small chuckle, the maiden dried her tears and sat up straight on the bed. ¡°So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?¡± She inquired to the god in a bell-like voice. ¡°Ah, er, thats right. My original purpose. Raine, the great God Loki has come to---¡± Again, a small chuckle, interrupting his prepared speech. ¡°It¡¯s too late to try to sound like a proper god after all that, you weird god.¡± ¡°... As an apology for the potion turning you into a girl and all your recent troubles, I came to give you a small bit of help.¡± ¡°Help? You?¡± Her eyes contained a hint of laughter. A god of trickery helping somebody out? ¡°Of course, the help would be hidden behind riddles and half truths. It wouldn¡¯t be my fault if you drew a false conclusion from my help.¡± ¡°Alright, lay it on me.¡± ¡°No, well you see. I was going to have some fancy riddle that basically said you needed to return to the origin. But as compensation for the trouble I have caused you, I will go ahead and tell you. Although you will be unable to meet Chronos, if you complete the same dungeon that you did in the Clock Tower, your troubles with the curse will surely lessen.¡± ¡°I see, so there is something in that dungeon that can help me?¡± Inquired the maiden. ¡°Basically¡± affirmed the god. ¡°Alright, thanks for the help.¡± Loki froze in surprise. The maiden¡¯s warm smile took away his breath. He quickly gathered himself to reply. Suddenly, the smile changed to a very familiar smile. One he often sported himself. A mischievous smile. ¡°I am glad to see you fell for my act.¡± said the maiden in a devilish tone. ¡°Ac...t?¡± A look of shock flashed across Loki¡¯s face. Her tears. Her smile. Her embarrassment. All an act? The god of deception was deceived? Her rage when she first saw him, her embarrassment when she realized her position, her teary silence and subsequent smile. They were all an act? And now that she had the information she wanted, she ended the act? The tense silence was broken abruptly. ¡°Hahahaha! The look on your face! You looked like your world had suddenly been turned upside down!¡± said Raine. Hearing her laugh, Loki realized the truth. ¡°Huh, I will admit defeat this time. Be prepared, next time I will pay you back for this!¡± Sporting a mischievous grin of his own, Loki challenged the victor. At this proclamation, the face of both of them fell. ¡°... That¡¯s right. There probably will not even be a next time,¡± muttered Raine. They could only look at the other sadly. After all, in less than two days in game time, the beta test would end and there would be a character wipe. After that, whatever connection Raine had with Loki would be lost in the flood of new users and characters. Raising her head, Raine looked Loki in the eye. ¡°Very well, I will look forward to next time, whenever that may be.¡± Seeing her challenging grin, Loki couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Then until next time.¡± ¡°Until next time.¡± With a flash of light, Loki left the room, leaving Raine alone with a faint smile. ¡°What a weird god...¡± As if remembering something, her faint smile froze. Slowly, her ears turned red and her face was on fire. ¡°Not only did I scream like a girl, I exposed myself and cried like a child! What happened to my manly pride? It has not even been 24 hours and I am already behaving as a women.¡± Just remembering the events caused Raine writhe in shame. Not only did she behave like a girl would, she also childishly cried. Loki did nothing wrong but was rewarded with a slap. ¡°No, what kind of man trespasses unannounced upon a maiden¡¯s room. It is all that weird god¡¯s fault! No, Wait. That is not right, I am a guy. Not an innocent maiden. I am a guy.¡± Raine desperately corrected herself. She found herself immersed in quicksand as she struggled to free herself from her image as a girl in a slowly losing battle. ¡°Forget it, I am going to sleep.¡± ---------- Anguished moans leaked outside the door. Guests that stayed at the inn would quickly cross the door and murmur ¡°ghost¡± under their breath in fear. Not only that, a few unearthly screeches were heard by all the residents earlier in the day. Maybe a banshee had moved in as well. The inn would later become famous to its visitors for supposedly being haunted. Chapter 3: Inside the Clock Tower Stretching like a cat after waking up, Raine noticed she had a few unread notifications blinking in the corner of her vision. ¡°Hmmm?¡± Opening up the notifications, her eyes widened in surprise.
A little present as thanks for getting even with a certain trickster. From F.
New Art: Passive Ability: Natural Beauty Lv.2 ????????????????????? ????????????????????? ?????????????????????
¡°Huh? When and how did I get this? An art related to beauty and an initial of F. And a certain tricksters tale. It couldn¡¯t be¡­¡± Raine trailed off in doubt. The entire situation was unusual. To acquire an art, one first had to meet the specific requirements to unlock it. Then, one needed to spend art points to buy the art. Arts varied in cost depending on your associated profession and the strength of the art. A warrior would find the one-handed sword art to cost one art point while for an alchemist, it might cost three. ¡°Not only was this art free of the art point cost, it¡¯s description is also mystery.¡± Looking into the mirror, Raine saw no difference between when the art was equipped versus when it was off. Her appearance did not change nor did she feel the mysterious effect of charm that such an art would typically have. ¡°Well, leveling it will help me gain art points and it certainly will not hurt me to have it equipped.¡± Every 10 art levels gained from the combined sum of all art grants an additional art point to spend. Thus, with a level 5 art ¡¸Altered Time¡¹ and a level 2 art ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹, Raine only needed 3 more levels to gain an additional art point. Taking breakfast at the inn, she once again verified that ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹¡¯s ability didn¡¯t seem to do anything. Thinking about what to do before the special event, she recalled Loki¡¯s words. ¡°Go back to the angry god¡¯s place, huh? Well, it as good a place as any to spend the last day of the beta test. Better get started early.¡± It wasn¡¯t that the dungeon was particularly difficult. It just was long and with beginner stats, would require a few tries. ¡°Speaking of the finale, I better stock up on a variety of stuff for whatever the event will be.¡± Raine happily set off humming a little tune as she shopped. Raine had accumulated a decent sum before Chronos cursed her to level one, and thus could afford to splurge a little on potions and the like. ¡°Alright, ten beginner potions of each type: healing, stamina, and mana. Food and bandages as well. Beginner bow and arrows as well as a sword. I think that is about the limit I can prepare at my current level.¡± Done shopping, Raine set off for the clock tower, the place where it all began. ------------------- Walking up to the clock tower, Raine smiled with nostalgia. ¡°Back at the start of the beta, we all thought there was a hidden quest associated with this clock tower.¡± In the city, the clock tower stood out as the tallest building. On each face of the tower rested a giant clock, showing the in game time. ¡°After all, a clock tower sticks out quite a bit in a fantasy world. Nobody could figure out how to make it to the top.¡± Looking at the outside of the building, Raine remembered her attempt to scale the building. With little handholds, she had clung to the side of the building with the tips of her fingers. Her progress was at a snail¡¯s pace and small cuts on her fingers had only served to make it even slower. In the end, a sudden gust of wind caused her to fall to her death less than a third of a way up the tower. ¡°In hindsight, I should have guessed that any class quest related to this place was associated with time. And that I wouldn¡¯t be able to cheat my way to the top by climbing. Still, that was quite the cruel quest.¡± Pulling out a broken pocket watch, Raine stared fondly at it. She received it as a reward for a chain quest. ¡°A long grueling five part chain quest that rewarded only a broken pocket watch. With no quest to give it value, I was so angry at the game for a worthless reward.¡± Raine had spent a good two days angry at the game. After that, she would take it out on occasion and stare at it, but the connection always eluded her. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that coincidence, I would not be cursed right now. Give me back my happiness at solving the riddle!¡± Only a few days before, Raine leaned against the wall and took out the pocket watch. Holding it up to the sky in frustration, she placed it side by side with the clock tower in her vision. Besides the unmoving hands on the broken pocket watch, the two were exactly the same. ¡°After Chronos cursed me, I thought I would never visit this place again. Yet here I am, once again filled with hope and venturing into that accursed dungeon.¡± Entering the clock tower, Raine was greeted with an empty silence. The players gave up long ago on searching the small barren room inside the clock tower. Holding the broken pocket watch in hand, Raine walked up to the furthest wall and--- ---Went right through it. ¡°All that effort spent searching every corner of the room when the actual method is quite simple. One only needs a key.¡± Sighing at her wasted hours, Raine put away the pocket watch. Much like the room before it, the first room in the clock tower dungeon was a small barren room. Only a large magic circle in the middle of the room gave any indication that the hidden room was any different. Stepping onto the magic circle, Raine appeared in a new location.
You have entered Chronos Dungeon.
Raine stood alone in a platform in the sky. Engraved on this platform was a magic circle identical to the one she came from in the clocktower. Walking to the edge of the platform, Raine looked over the side. ¡°Floating platforms and only clouds below. How does Chronos do it? Maybe the magic circle is hidden by the clouds?¡± Raine pondered the impossibilities of the dungeon. The Chronos Dungeon contained no monsters. Instead, it had floating platforms. *Sigh* ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± With a running start, Raine jumped onto the first floating platform. The sound of a clock ticking filled the sky. Raine looked at the next narrow platform. A click tick resounded once again. Hurrying, she leaped towards it. Tock. Behind Raine, a platform crumbled. Landing on the second platform, Raine immediately ran for the third narrow platform. Tick. She jumped. Tock. Another platform crumbled behind her. Thud. Raine landed poorly on the narrow platform. Tick. Off balance, she slowly steadied herself and reached the end of the narrow platform. Tock. ¡°Kyaaa!¡± The platform crumbled underneath her. Falling into the clouds, Raine suddenly found herself back at the entry magic circle. Looking at the long puzzle in front of her, Raine sighed. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I will have to buy the Running and Jumping Art for 1 Art Point each. I should be able to easily level them in this dungeon and have them pay for themselves. Eh? I unlocked the deception art as well? Not that I need it. ¡± Spending 2 Art Points, Raine equipped the two arts and tried again. Less than a minute later, she found herself back at the entrance to the dungeon. *Sigh* ¡°Not only am I unused to this body, I have to rapidly jump from platform to platform. This will take awhile.¡± Resigning herself to a long effort, Raine tried once again. ------------------- Tick tock tick tock. A figure flied through the air from platform to platform. Tick tock tick tock. As if they were in a race, the crumbling platforms chased her. Calm grey eyes remain focused on the next platform, heedless of the danger approaching her. Tick tock tick tock. Her form could only be described as clumsy. Landing, her steps faltered. Running, her body wavered. Jumping, her mind hesitated. Falling, her soul prayed. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Tick tock tick tock. The crumbling platforms chased her. Her heavy legs dragged her. The playful wind teased her. Her unfamiliar body tripped her. Only determination kept her from falling. Tick tock tick tock. The clock echoed throughout the sky. Every second tick heralded the coming demise. The wind howled in protest. The sun shined with warmth. The clouds beckoned comfort and the sky observed in silence. Tick tock tick tock. Over the hours, the figure became faster; her steps, surer. The short attempts became longer. Her initial frown became a smile. Her laughter charmed the wind. Her face radiated happiness like the sun. Her smile drew the clouds and her joy filled the sky. Tick tock tick tock. Platforms of all sizes appeared. Ones that could only fit one foot. Ones that were long and thin. Ones that were short and stubby. Sometimes, they carried the figure of the girl up towards the sky, requiring that she jump with all her might. Othertimes, they drastically fell to the clouds, requiring her to take a leap of faith. Tick tock tick tock. Her long silver hair danced in the wind. Her feet carried her from platform to platform. Leaving behind both the sound of a ticking clock and the crumbling of a falling platform, she glided forward, unbound like a fairy. Her eyes sparkled in delight and her smile contained childish excitement. The fairy suddenly laughed.With a great leap and a resounding thud, the sound of a clock disappeared and the crumbling of platforms halted. Breathing heavily, the fairy that charmed even the wind laid down. She had completed the dungeon at last. Laying on the cool stone platform, she felt her heart being rapidly. ¡°What was that feeling just now? I feel like I was on the verge of understanding something then the dungeon ended.¡± Raine tried to recall the last moments of her dungeon run. The wind had streamed past her, as if teasing her. Her once heavy feet felt light as a feather and her body felt filled with boundless energy. Her joy seemed to fill the sky. Like a wind spirit, she had danced along the wind, bounding from one platform to the next with ease. ¡°I felt so alive. That was the single best experience I have had throughout the whole beta test. Why didn¡¯t it happen the first time I ran through this dungeon?¡± The first time she ran the dungeon, she had slowly and ponderously made her way through the dungeon. With much higher agility, she had more time to carefully jump from platform to platform. ¡°Maybe it was because I was constantly sprinting and jumping? I don¡¯t have any active stamina arts and yet my stamina is at the rock bottom.¡± Giving up, Raine turned to look at the stone platform she rested on. Near the center was a big treasure chest. Behind that was the magic circle that would take her out of the dungeon. ¡°Hmm, given that Loki wasn¡¯t lying, the thing that would help me with my curse should be in the chest.¡± Opening the chest, Raine¡¯s face contorted into several expressions. Her initial happy smile froze stiffly. Then, it changed to confusion, followed by a brief glint of understanding, and finally, an expression of utter horror.
Novice Time Wizard¡¯s Skirt Type: Cloth Leggings Durability: 20/20 Defense: 5 Stored Time: 0 (Limit: 0.25 seconds) Description: Part of the Novice Time Wizard set, this stylish black short skirt and leggings can store time by infusing mana into the skirt. Collecting more pieces of the set increases the amount of time that can be stored.
Her, wear a skirt? A Guy In Real Life, wear a skirt!? There could only be one person to blame. ¡°LOKKKKIIIIIIII!!!!¡± Utter horror gave way to smoldering rage. Raine thought she heard faint laughing in the distance. She wanted to leave right then and there and give up on a solution to the curse but curiosity eventually won her over. The item description said something about converting mana into time. ¡°It is okay. I am a guy. I will just put on the skirt, try out its function, then quickly unequip it and never use it again. This is only a game.¡± Again, Raine thought she heard laughter in the distance. Shaking off her hesitation, she equipped the skirt. It was a curious sensation, wearing a skirt. One unlike any she had felt before. A gentle breeze tugged playfully on the skirt as it passed by. Raine tried to identify the unfamiliar feeling. This foreign sensation, it was--- An unexpected gust of wind. The flapping of cloth. The sudden appearance of a snow white cloth which should not be seen. ¡°Kyaaa!¡± --Shame. Crouching down and frantically using her hands to push down her skirt, Raine let out a girly scream. This time for sure, she heard laughter in the distance. With tears in her eyes, she warily looked around. She didn¡¯t know how, but that perverted god must have had a hand in the wind being so playful. It took her a full minute to regain herself and test out infusing mana into the skirt. Even so, she infused mana while holding down both sides of the skirt with her hands. ¡°... It took all my mana and I only stored a hundredth of a second? How is this suppose to help me?¡± Confused, Raine take a leap of faith and believe in the trickster god. The dungeon should give experience as a reward for completing it. Hence, Raine moved onto the final magic circle.
Congratulations, You have cleared the Chronos Dungeon This dungeon can only be cleared once a day. Subsequent attempts to enter the dungeon will take you directly to the exit. For completing the dungeon for the first time, you gain additional experience. Seek out other versions of the clock tower to try out an upgraded version of the dungeon.
Altered Time activated! Extracting time. Reverting soul to previous existence. You lost all experience.
With a flash of light, Raine appeared atop the clock tower. Her face sported a surprised look. ¡°I didn¡¯t die? So time can be substituted. By using my own stored time, I bypass the near infinite mana the curse requires and thus, the curse does not kill me. Well, whatever¡­¡± Weary with all that happened, she equipped the newbie pants and sat down. Idly, she enjoyed the view. ¡°I don¡¯t see how girls can wear such a short skirt. Aren¡¯t they afraid they will accidentally reveal their panties?¡± A town dyed in crimson as the sun set. The noise of activity as people quickly walked from building to building. ¡°And that perverted god! How can he just shamelessly barge into my room unannounced.¡± The neighing of horses and the clanging of blacksmiths. Hawkers screaming their wares and the rowdy brawl of adventurers. ¡°I bet that pervert sent that sudden gust of wind to laugh at my reaction. I swear I heard him laughing.¡± The drunken revelry and the melodic songs of bards. The sounds of the town below rose up to the top of the clock tower. ¡°First he turned me into a girl. Then he embarrassed me. Desperately, he apologized and told bad jokes. Then that look of horror at my act followed by that bold challenge. That last lonely smile before it was covered up with false cheer.¡± Not a word was spoken about the curse that took place. What should have been the most frustrating event was replaced by a wave of memorable events. ¡°Really, these past few days have been something else.¡± Words spoken alone into the empty air. Sometimes containing disbelief. Sometimes spoken with anger. Always, they carried an undercurrent of warmth. Silently, she gazed up into the sky. Amidst the bustling town, alone atop the clock tower she quietly passed the rest of the day looking up into the sky. Chapter 4: The Special Event
Quest Update: Special Event The heavens are in turmoil. The sudden outbreak of strange weather phenomenon herald that something will soon begin. All players will be forcibly teleported at the start of the quest. Time Remaining: 00:10 (IGT)
Shortly after the system notification about the special event, Raine received a chat invite.
Player Leon wants to initiate a voice chat with you. Do you accept?
The silent girl¡¯s face paled. Leon was her best friend from school who, along with Raine¡¯s other friends, got into the beta test as well. ¡°Ah, er. I have to trick him somehow. That¡¯s right. That deception art I unlocked.¡± Hurriedly, Raine bought ¡¸Deception¡¹ and equipped it. She now had 5 equipped arts. Only after the cumulative sum of her equipped arts exceeded 100 would she be able to equip another one. Projecting a calm tone, Raine accepted the voice chat. ¡°Accept voice chat with Leon.¡± ¡°Hey Raine, what is up?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I am just waiting for the event to start.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± A strange pause. Raine waited uncomfortably for Leon to continue. After a minute, he spoke up again. ¡°... This is Raine, right?¡± ¡°Ah, er, yeah¡­ I drank a strange potion and now my voice is different. Stupid trickster¡­¡± Although she maintained a calm voice when talking to Leon, inside she was mentally banging her head against the wall. This deception art is not working at all. Maybe it is Loki¡¯s way of getting back at me, thought Raine. ¡°Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to party up with us for the special event?¡± ¡°Us? No wait... party up?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you were going to try to solo the event?¡± ¡°...¡± Raine maintained her silence as cold sweat dripped down her back. That was exactly what she planned to do. And Leon seemed to be suggesting... ¡°Ugh, never mind. Drake, Rose, Camellia, Lily, and I all formed a party together. Naturally, you are joining us, right?¡± ¡°... Actually, I think I will just try it on my own.¡± ¡°Is it because of your voice? Don¡¯t worry, Drake might make fun of you a bit but nobody will really care.¡± ¡°That is part of it, but me joining the party will cause a lot of trouble¡­ in various meanings of the word.¡± Just the thought of appearing in front of her friends in a female avatar caused her to break out into cold sweat. If the guys weren¡¯t bad enough, the girls would probably raise an even bigger ruckus. ¡°Hm? I don¡¯t think it would be such a big issue.¡± ¡°Nah, I am good by myself. I will explain it to you tomorrow at school. Besides, I will be the one to get that unique class.¡± ¡°Hoho... a challenge. Very well then, it will be all of us against you. No complaining right?¡± Secretly, Raine praised herself. Leon never could pass up on a competition, especially if it meant competing against his friends. ¡°Yeah. See you later.¡± ¡°Cya.¡± Ending the voice chat, Raine let out a deep sigh. Although she would have to answer questions tomorrow, she could come up with some excuses in the meantime. A level 1 wouldn¡¯t be much help anyways. Since the curse would probably activate during the finale, Raine saw no other choice. Reluctantly, she equipped the novice time wizard skirt. "... They won''t recognize me even in this form... Right?" One last time, Raine checked her status.
Status Window
Name:RaineAlignment:Neutral
Level:1Class:Novice
Race:???Gender:Female
Titles: Loki¡¯s Favored One
Health:110/110Health Regen:0.11 per second
Mana:110/110Mana Regen:0.11 per second
Stamina:120/120Stamina Regen:0.12 per second
Time:0.02/0.25
Stats
Strength:10Agility:14
Vitality:11Endurance:12
Intelligence:10Wisdom:11
Arts
Total Arts Level:Lv 37Equipped Arts Level:Lv 37
Equipped:
Altered TimeLv 6Natural BeautyLv 7
RunningLv 11JumpingLv 11
DeceptionLv 2
Unequipped:
-
Art Points:4
Status Origin Curse: Damaged Your level has been reset to one and can not increase past one. Because your level is linked to the soul while stats and arts are linked to the body, the curse on your stats and arts has been removed. You can now gain additional stats and arts.
Active Quests: One Time Event Quest: Special Event Not much is known about what this quest entails. Depending on how well you do in this event, you could even obtain a unique class. Forced teleportation will occur at the start of this event. Time until Event Starts: 00:03 IGT(In Game Time)
Raine had gained one stat point in vitality as well as two points in endurance and four in agility from the dungeon run. Her Arts, mainly ¡¸Running¡¹ and ¡¸Jumping¡¹, also increased in level. Still, with each level up granting 10 stat points to spend, she wasn¡¯t even at level two stat wise. ------ The town plaza was filled with noisy adventurers. Excited, they chatted to one another as they watched the timer countdown. Slowly, dense clouds formed above them. The heavens rumbled while the adventurers quieted and waited with bated breath. The timer hit zero. Brilliant lines of light flashed down from the heavens. As the light faded, the once full and noisy plaza was now empty and quiet. --------
Quest Update: Special Event The gods have summoned you to their domain in order to test the worthy. Survive the incoming waves of enemies. A bonus will be awarded to players who survive until the countdown ends. Special actions can increase the level of award you receive. Survival Countdown: 00:30 IGT
Raine found herself in a giant crowd in the center of a plaza. Every online player had been teleported to that very same plaza. Needless to say, it was packed. ¡°Survival? Against what? And for 30 minutes?¡± Raine looked around in confusion. Surrounding the plaza were several temples along with a familiar looking clock tower. There were no immediate threats visible. ¡°That clock tower, I wonder if it contains a hidden dungeon similar to the one in the starter village.¡± Inside such a hidden dungeon, Raine would be safe from enemies and could simply wait out the end of the event. Not to mention she might have another try at a new jumping puzzle in the dungeon. Hurriedly, Raine pushed her way through the crowd to the clock tower. She couldn¡¯t shake an uneasy feeling, despite her plan¡¯s assured success. Her unease only grew as she got closer to the clock tower. A small portion of the players slipped off into the nearby buildings while the rest milled about confusedly in the main plaza. At the doorstep of the clock tower, Raine¡¯s uneasiness spiked. A black mass hurtled from the sky directly into the center of the plaza. Like a meteor, it crushed the few unlucky players it landed on. ¡°Rooaaarr!¡±
For being in the presence of a monster over 50 times your level, You have been inflicted with the status effects: Terror, Fear
Terror: Mind falls into confusion. Arts will fail upon activation. Strength and Agility stat fall by 75%. Slowly lose health, stamina, and mana in the presence of the source of your terror.
Fear: For facing an opponent 50 times your level, stats are reduced by 50%.
¡°Level 50!? The highest level player is only around level 35!¡± Raine stared in horror at the giant black ape that fell from the sky. It had abyssal black fur that absorbed the nearby light, vicious spikes protruding from its shoulders and arms, and cruel red eyes that sneered at its surroundings. Terror rooted her in place. Desperately she tried to flee but her body would not listen to her. Although the players vastly outnumbered the intruder, no one made a move to attack it. Looking around in disdain, the Abyssal Ape began its rampage. With one sweep of its paws, three nearby players died instantly. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± ¡°Get away!¡± ¡°Run for your life!¡± Pandemonium erupted in the plaza. The Abyssal Ape crushed those that were too slow in fleeing. The weaker players frantically ran away in terror. Meanwhile, the higher level players struggled through the dense crowd to reach the monster. Shrugging off any attacks, the black ape massacred the nearby players. As the surging crowd reached the edge of the plaza--- "Roaarrr" "Growwlll" "Ahhh! They surround us!" "Run awa--" ---An unfortunate lowbie died immediately to the new enemies that appeared. Although similar in appearance to common monsters such as wolves and lizardmen, these new monsters were covered in black sludge and much stronger. The panic stricken crowd had no idea what to do as they found themselves trapped between the level 50 Abyssal Ape and the waves of enemies. "Dammit, to the temples! These monsters seem endless and we can better fight them at a choke point." A familiar voice rang throughout the plaza. "Wow, Leon can maintain his calm and think logically even in a situation like this. How pathetic, I am still frozen in terror." Raine said to herself. Rooted at the doorway of the clock tower, she fearfully watched the ongoing fight and prayed that no monster noticed her. Amidst the confusion and bloodshed, a voice of valor rang out. "To arms men! Let''s show these monsters who is boss!" A loud grizzly man wreathed in full plate armor called out. To his call, a group of about 500 players answered him. "For the Vanguard!" Like the grizzly man, most of them were equipped in plate armor and they all shared the same symbol across their helmets. Satisfied, the grizzly leader rallied his troops. "Do we shirk from danger?" shouted the leader. "No!" "Do we shy from protecting others?" "No!" "And why is that?" "We are the Vanguard!" "So are we going to hide and cower in fear from some little monkey while it massacres our people?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "No!" "Alright men, let''s show these monsters who is boss!" "For the Vanguard!" The Vanguard began their coordinated attack on the Abyssal Ape. Raine watched in disbelief. The sheer size and coordination such an effort would take astonished her. That grizzly leader must be one of the top players in the game. Any thoughts of watching the outcome of their showdown was lost as--- "Let''s hole up in the clocktower!" --- A small group of people rushed towards the clock tower, pushing the frozen Raine inside.
You have left the presence of the source of your terror. Terror has been removed.
She did not have much time to enjoy the loss of the terror status. While she was helplessly watching the Abyssal Ape¡¯s battle, she had noticed out of the corner of her eye-- "Watch out! Enemies incoming!" Desperately a scout yelled out. --that the monsters had made it to the clock tower. Moments later, the scout engaged in a furious battle with a hound covered in black sludge. It looked like a fairly even fight, but the enemies numbers were endless. Raine took that as her signal to disappear. "Eh?" "... Where did the silver haired girl go?" Amidst the confusion, Raine slipped through the wall into the secret room. Temporarily safe, Raine could tell the situation wasn¡¯t good on the other side of the wall. Any guilt she might have felt was alleviated by the knowledge that staying behind would have only gotten her killed. "There are too many!" "Ahhh!" At least, that is what she told herself. She still shuddering at the screams coming through from the other room. Raine hurriedly stepped onto the magic portal.
You have entered Chronos Dungeon level 2!
She appeared in a familiar sky. The dungeon remained largely unchanged with one exception. "Level 2? All I see is three rows of platforms where there use to be one." Curiosity piqued, Raine tried out the upgraded dungeon. Not like she could die from falling in this particular dungeon, she thought to herself. Jumping on to the center platform, a tick resounded through the sky. Readying herself to jump onto the second platform, Raine immediately noticed another difference. Woosh. Multiple arrows sailed through the sky towards two of the three rows of platforms. Hastily, Raine corrected her jump and landed on the only safe platform. Woosh. More arrows. Raine jumped to the side, only to hear the resounding tick of a clock and feel the platform crumble from underneath her. Back at the start of the dungeon, she pondered the upgrade. "Hmm, only one of the three platforms is safe and I have to correctly jump onto each safe platform continuously to avoid the arrows. This shouldn''t be too bad." She had gotten the hang of completing the jumping puzzle in the original dungeon. The new puzzle only required a minor correction in method. Since the speed boost from the arts and extra agility would help, she could take her time picking out a safe route. After a couple more test runs, Raine felt confident in her ability to complete the dungeon. "Alright, let''s do thi---" For being in the presence of an enemy 15x your level, you have been inflicted with the status effect: Fear. 15% reduction in status. "Wha!?" A brilliant flash of light shone near Raine. From the magic circle poured out monsters. With no where else to go, Raine quickly jumped onto the first platform, initiating the jumping puzzle. The more agile monsters quickly followed. "How did they get in here!? Without the quest item, they shouldn¡¯t be able to go through the secret wall!" The magic portal lit up as more monsters came into the dungeon. The smallest error in jumping or landing would spell her death. If she slowed, the hounds would catch her. If she misjudged the correct path, the arrows would pierce her. Worst of all, if she fell, the dungeon would teleport her right into the middle of a pack of monsters. "Arooo!" Woosh. Tick tock tick tock Raine desperately jumped through the puzzle with the arrows pursuing her and the hounds on her tail. The hounds were furious and the arrows, indiscriminate. Hearing pained yelps behind her, Raine smiled. "Guess I am not the only one having difficulties with the arrows." One particular hound that frantically yelped and howled as it fell through the sky because of a crumbling platform caused Raine to break out in laughter. "Haha, this isn''t so bad! The wind on my face, the race against both time and my pursuers. What a fun finale!" Raine felt confident. The hounds only hurt as a stat reduction at this point. Crumbling platforms caused them to slowly drop out of the chase. Literally. And when she focused on them, the arrows weren''t too difficult to avoid. For being in the presence of an enemy 20x your level, you have been inflicted with the status effect: Fear. 20% reduction in status. "Kaw!" A new foe appeared. Unlike the previous hounds, it traveled unhindered by the crumbling platforms. With sharp talons, long black feathers, and a wide wingspan, the black roc observed its latest prey. Unlike the weaklings below it, the sky was its domain and any who dared enter it would perish. Although the wind was unusually treacherous, the human below would not escape its claws. Seeing the bird sweep down for the attack, Raine desperately jumped to the next platform. A savage gust passed right behind her as the roc ripped through the area she just vacated. Raine broke out into a cold sweat. "I need to be faster." Raine furiously jumped from platform to platform, barely landing on the platform before taking off for the next one. "Lighter." Wind tore at Raines body. A screech resounded behind her. Raine hastily jumped to the next platform. "Smoother." The roc wised up and positioned itself at the only open area of the platform free from arrows. Raine had no safe place to jump. Either she jumped into the bird''s attack or jumped into the path of the arrows. Pray that a level 20 attack would not one shot her or take a risk with the arrows. There really was only one choice. Raine desperately twisted her body while she jumped. Woosh. The arrow drew a small line of blood on her arm as Raine landed on the platform. Her last minute maneuver lost her speed. The crumbling platforms caught up. The angry roc turned around for another pass. "Too slow!" Kicking off the ground, Raine rapidly accelerated. The crumbling platforms collapsed in despair as they fell behind once again. "This feeling again..." Raine fluttered away like a feather on the wind. Neither arrow nor talon could touch her. Raine avoided the attacks much like how air currents push away a feather when one tries to catch it. At first, she appeared harried on all fronts. Cruel talons and precise arrows passed only a hair¡¯s breadth away from touching her. Soon she left them behind and both roc and arrow struggled to keep up. When she landed, her feet touched the ground only for the briefest of moments before she took to the sky. When she jumped, the arrows threw themselves to the ground in protest. And when she flew, the wind danced in her wake. Frustrated, the roc could do nothing but follow her. The closer he got to the maiden, the more unpredictable the wind grew. The annoying arrows also hindered its progress. Angry, it pushed itself faster. Focused only on speed, the roc was late in noticing the arrows and took a glancing hit. The roc, a creature of the wind, could not keep up with that ¡®wingless fairy¡¯. With wounded pride, it followed. Followed and bid it''s time for the opportune moment to strike. "Haha." A bell like laugh rang throughout the sky. Her heart pounded, her lungs frantically gathered air and yet her body felt light and the wind danced at her fingertips. Raine couldn''t help but burst out in joy. Neither the roc, nor the arrows could touch her. Alone, she danced on the wind, jumping from platform to platform. Seeing the end in sight, Raine felt sad that the chase would come to its end. Pushing that thought away, she planned out her exit strategy. In the span of one breath, Raine reached the exit platform, opened the chest, equipped the item within, and charged through the exit portal. With a blinding flash of light, Raine appeared atop the clock tower running at a dead sprint. Barely stopping in time, she collapsed to a sitting position at the edge of the clock tower facing the main plaza. Looking at her empty stamina bar, Raine sighed contently. Although the battle below raged on, she happily enjoyed the cool breeze as she rested. She was safe. It is not like the roc would be able to follow her through the magic port--- "Kaaw" A brilliant flash of light followed by a triumphant shriek. Seeing its prey sitting exhausted before it, the roc did not immediately attack. It knew how much the fairy was loved by the wind. The roc would make sure its escape into the ground below was impossible. Circling its prey, the bird positioned itself so that even if the human jumped, it wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the roc¡¯s talons. After all, a bird could dive faster than a human could fall. Besides, the roc told itself, even a ¡®wingless fairy¡¯ would be helpless once it lay exhausted upon the ground. Suddenly, the roc felt a disturbance in the air currents. Frantically, it tried to pull away but it was too late. The air wavered and the roc split in two. Recalling the entire chase, the roc had one thought in its final moments. A bird should never pursue a wind spirit. Watching the two halves of the roc fall into the chaos below, Raine came up with a plan. A devilish grin formed on her face as she glanced at the rampaging Abyssal Ape. The plan itself was filled with holes but it was just crazy enough to work.
For being in the presence of a monster over 50 times your level, You have been inflicted with the status effects: Terror, Fear
Terror: Mind falls into confusion. Arts will fail upon activation. Strength and Agility stat fall by 75%. Slowly lose health, stamina, and mana in the presence of the source of your terror.
Fear: For facing an opponent 50 times your level, stats are reduced by 50%.
Raine froze. Fear clawed at her throat. Terror gripped her heart. She would fail. Embarrass herself. Die in the most humiliating way in front of all the survivors. She was only a beginner. The weakest. The most inexperienced. How could she hope to succeed? Her plan was based on multiple assumptions to begin with. Her fears slowly swallowed her whole. Raine didn¡¯t even need to look at the remaining survivors to know they were in desperate straits. From the few sounds below, she knew only a couple of dozens of players still survived. The quest was hopeless. Regardless of what she did, everyone would die. As the light in her eyes faded, a gentle breeze stirred her hair. Raine ignored it. After rustling her hair, the wind moved to a different location. A playful tug on her black skirt startled the lifeless maiden. Mischievously the wind tugged again. And failed in its ultimate goal. At its continued persistence and subsequent failure, she finally laughed. The little breeze did not know when to give up. Shrugging off her fears, Raine thought back to one of the major flaws of her plan. She realized worrying was a waste of time. Just recalling the feeling of dancing freely through the wind caused Raine to laugh at herself. Her fears were pointless and the wind was on her side. Less than five minutes remained in the survival quest. Raine began her plan to change the tide of battle. Chapter 5: Despair Authors Note: Arts will now be referred to in brackets. Altered Time -> ¡¸Altered Time¡¹
Bodies were strewn everywhere. Armor was ripped to shreds. Swords lay snapped in half like twigs. Pools of blood covered the stone plaza in a murky darkness. Desperately, the doomed cried out for help. No help came. The faithful prayed for salvation. Their prayers went unanswered. ¡°Haha. It is all over.¡± Lifeless eyes surveyed the battlefield. Easily, they picked out corpses left and right. What had been once valiant players were now lifeless corpses. Of the thousands of people initially in the plaza, only a few dozen remained. ¡°My plan failed. Those I tried to help? Dead.¡± Those lifeless eyes that once contained life and vigor now held only resignation and self-mockery. ¡°I tried to be someone I am not. I thought I was stronger than I actually was. For my conceit and arrogance, I was punished.¡± Great gouges marred the plaza. Flames dotted the landscape. The black monstrosity continued its rampage. Its fur, matted red with the blood of its victims. Its mouth, contorted into a savage grin of delight. Scratches marred its limbs. Burns dotted its fur. The sum of all their efforts. Only minor wounds. ¡°What was I thinking? That Abyssal Ape is too strong.¡± Sitting helplessly, the eyes watched the Abyssal Ape. Ruthlessly, the ape¡¯s arms crushed an adventurer. One by one, comrades with the same goal perished. Fellow adventurers lives were cut short. ¡°They placed their hopes in me. I promised myself I would save them. Yet I failed.¡± The eyes watched the Abyssal Ape approached. They seared the scene of their failure into their corneas. Unblinking, they waited for their end to come. It was the least they could do to make up for their failure. ¡°The pain of death is next to nothing when compared to the magnitude of hopes I failed.¡± The Abyssal Ape raised its arm up in preparation. Its eyes gleamed. Withheld potential was unleashed. The monsterous fist slammed down. ¡°...?¡± Confusion entered the eyes. The black vision of death was replaced with a peaceful view of the sky. The eyes blinked. A pretty face placed itself inches in front of them. Her lips were lush, her eyebrows refined. Yet, the most striking feature of her face was her eyes. Unlike his own, her eyes still contained hope. Feeling her weight resting upon him, he finally realized. She had saved him. She had denied him the death he deserved. Risking her life, she tackled him to the ground in order to avoid the attack. The Abyssal Ape¡¯s fist rested only inches from where the two lay. ¡°You can¡¯t give up!¡± A beautiful voice entered his ears. It denied his failure and urged him to think again. Yet the weight of his failure was too heavy. His comrades at the Vanguard had been decimated because of his own foolishness. His pride and arrogance killed his friends. Stubbornly, the beautiful voice called out again. ¡°You can¡¯t give up!¡± The weight on him lifted. Her face disappeared. In its place, a soft hand reached out. She offered no words of comfort. She made no promises. The situation was still as helpless as ever. She simply refused to give in. Reaching up from the ground, he grabbed her soft hand. His hollow eyes looked directly at her radiant eyes. Then, he abruptly pulled her to the ground. A mass of black fur swept the air above them. Its passage stirred their hair. ¡°Can¡¯t these guys survive long enough to hold aggro? Really, these warriors have no skill.¡± he complained. Wearily, he got to his feet. He held no delusions. Her words had not swayed his emotions. They were all going to die regardless of what actions he took. It was just¡­ His life was not solely his own. He had failed his comrades, the Vanguard. His death alone could not make up for that failure. The glory they sought. The legacy they wanted to leave behind. As the last surviving member, his actions would reflect on the guild. Also... she had saved his life. He owed it to her to get up once again. His armor lay in shambles. Rather than deal with it, he removed the whole set. The plate had not helped his guild one bit against the Abyssal Ape¡¯s attack. The weight on his shoulders considerably lessened. He gave his savior one last glance. She had a bitter smile on her face. A smile as though she had not quite achieved the goal she was hoping for. No matter. Briefly, he surveyed the battlefield. Most of the survivors focused on holding back the endless waves of enemies. A couple of warriors attempted to tank the Abyssal Ape and failed horribly. Only one particularly skilled healer kept them from instantly dying. Yet even she was unable to prevent the inevitable Through one brief look, he understood the situation. Upon this despair drenched battlefield, the girl herself was an oddity. Wherever he looked, only hollow eyes greeted his gaze. Just one pair burned brightly in the face of their defeat. Whereas everyone else had long since given up, only she continued to have hope. Wherever she went, his eyes could not help but follow her. Her appearance stood out that much. A small spark amidst a sea of despair. Watching another would be warrior die, he sighed. Did they not spend any time training their arts and honing their abilities? No matter. Amateurs would be better off holding off the waves of enemies. With a heavy gait, he placed himself between the Abyssal Ape and newbies. ¡°Go help with the endless waves of enemies. I will hold him off here.¡± Their shocked expressions brought him no mirth. He had long since passed the point of caring. Looking death in the eyes, he had no confidence. He had watched as it massacred his men. The same would happen to him. Still, if his men¡¯s death had shown him anything, it was that more numbers would not help. If one of them was incompetent, they would hurt the rest. For what felt like the first time in ages, he changed his equipped arts. He had been idle for so long even the system no longer considered him as part of the battle. Unhesitantly, he threw away his usual setup. ¡¸Leadership¡¹? That would not save them. ¡¸War Cry¡¹? Who would even listen to him? He was no longer a guild master. Instead, he was now a simple warrior fighting to protect his comrades. ¡°When was the last time I fought on the front lines like this?¡± He could not remember. He once prided himself in his ability, the ability that had laid the foundation for the creation of Vanguard. Yet, once the guild grew, never once did he use that prided ability. Instead of protecting his comrades on the front line, he sat in the back and coordinated them. Thus, he was helpless to save them when the Abyssal Ape tore them apart. He could only dumbly watched as the guildmates he trained were tossed like rag dolls. Firmly gripping his shield, he placed it between his enemy and himself. Being up this close to the Abyssal Ape, a scent of death pervaded the air. The monster charged him. A black fist swung down. The lone warrior braced himself as a small light filled his shield. Clang. The stones rumbled. The man wavered unsteadily on his feet. His shield arm was numb. Next to him, the Abyssal Ape¡¯s attack rested in the ground. In fury, the monster swung his other fist. The warrior once again activated ¡¸Guard¡¹. Boom. The fist smashed into the ground. The warrior flew and crashed into the ground a couple of meters away. Yet the Abyssal Ape did not pursue him. In confusion, the monster looked at its hand. The blow was not a solid one. With a tinge of respect, it looked at its latest prey. Warm healing light wrapped the warrior. Getting up, he gave the healer a quick look of gratitude before turning to face his foe. He had only exchanged two blows, yet he already knew the situation was helpless. His stamina would not hold up with continuous uses of ¡¸Guard¡¹. Yet even activating ¡¸Guard¡¹ and trying to parry the blow by angling his shield, he had still taken massive damage and been blown away. With grim resolve, he approached the Abyssal Ape. Silently, the two measured each other. The monster was the first of the two to move. It unleashed a fury of blows towards the human. Unlike earlier, the warrior had no intention to stand his ground. With the agility of a man free of the plate armor that always weighed him down, he ducked, dodged, and parried the attacks. Clang. Clang. Woosh. Clang. Each successive attack caused his whole body to shudder. He had lost all feeling in his arm. His mind desperately overworked itself. He watched the ape¡¯s fist draw backwards, traced the path that the fist would follow, and placed the shield in the middle of the fist''s path. Angling both his body and the shield, he braced himself. Moments before the Abyssal Ape¡¯s fist was about to collide with his shield, the warrior activated ¡¸Guard¡¹. As the furious tons of force slammed into his shield, he let part of the force carry him out of the fist¡¯s path. Clang. Clang. Clang. Continuously, he parried the attacks. Every second ¡¸Guard¡¹ was activated drained more stamina. To keep up with the monster, the warrior could only activate ¡¸Guard¡¹ at the last second. The instant he failed to activate ¡¸Guard¡¹ in time or the instant ¡¸Guard¡¹ failed to activate, he would die. Clang. Clang. Clang. Craters dotted the area. His footing became unsteady. The Abyssal Ape¡¯s assault continued unrelenting. Seconds felt like minutes. Minutes felt like days. He was reaching his limit. Both he and his shield were battered. A scream resounded from nearby. For a brief instant, he lost focus. By the time he regained himself, it was too late. The fist was too close. His shield would not make it in time. With no other choice, he activated ¡¸Castle of Stone¡¹. For the first time, the Abyssal Apes fist struck him squarely. Even with a 3x defense increase, he felt like a truck had run him over. The warrior felt a sense of weightlessness. A great wind tore at his clothes. Boom. He smashed heavily into a wall. The fight was over. Using the art had only delayed the inevitable. He couldn¡¯t even stand up. ¡¸Castle of Stone¡¹¡¯s aftereffects were hitting him. In return for a 3x increase in defense for 10 seconds, it slowed down movement by 90% for two minutes. Dazed, he looked at his surroundings. He had wondered why the healers had healed him less and less often. Now he knew why. The endless waves of monsters were overwhelming. Unbeknownst to him, the rest of the survivors were slowly picked off. Those that remained held their last stand next to the same wall that he had crashed into. The only reason he had not encountered any of the waves of monsters was because of his close proximity to the Abyssal Ape. Even as fellow monsters, they kept a distance from that beast. With a start, he came to a realization. He could not find the girl who had saved him. With her appearance, she should be easily found in a single glance. Yet no matter how much he looked, he never found her. The shield in his hand suddenly felt heavier. The pain from his wounds hurt more. Looking at the Abyssal Ape slowly saunter its way toward them, he gave up. He could hardly lift a finger as it was. He never had any hope to begin with. He had fully realized the futility of his actions with his own body. From the posture of the others, he knew they had given up as well. The one spark of hope on the battlefield had long since been extinguished. Resignation filled him. Slowly the world lost its color. The hand holding the shield relaxed. The ape grinned savagely in delight. A helpless bystander, he waited. The warmth in the world slowly disappeared. The reeking odor of death returned in full force. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Thud. Something large and black fell. The Abyssal Ape froze. So too did the monsters¡¯ slow advance. The despairing man stared at it blankly. Seconds dragged on yet he still could not comprehend what it was he was looking at. It looked like two halves of a giant black roc, but such a thing was impossible. After all, how could such a thing happen? Even the highest level players could not cleanly cut a monster in half. A bell like laugh rang out from above. Powerlessly, the warrior¡¯s gaze searched for the source of the sound. A glint of silver caught his eyes. Finally, he found her. He heard a collection of gasped breaths nearby. He paid them no mind. He imagined he had the same reaction when he saw her as well. Her silver hair flowed in the wind. A soft smile totally out of place with the blood drenched battlefield adorned her face. The man completely forget about his imminent death. He could only stare. She had beautiful grey eyes. Helplessly, he compared the two. Unlike his savior, her eyes carried only carefree laughter. Her face looked as if it was sculpted by the gods. Her every action was graceful and refined. With frilly sleeves, her pure white blouse fluttered in the wind. Coupled with her short black skirt and creamy white skin, she looked like an ethereal fairy perched on the edge of the clock tower. Bringing her fair hands up, she carried a simple silver flute to her lips. As the first notes rang out, the world changed. The world regained its color. Heat returned to his limbs. The warrior struggled to his feet. A bright light filled his eyes. The girl was a complete beginner. She had not the foggiest idea of the basics of music. The tempo was all over the place. The rhythm was inconsistent. Yet, just hearing her play brought a smile to his face. By no means could the song be technically considered good. Still, he thought the song was a masterpiece. Such contradictory thoughts arose in him. The warrior rose undaunted. Even with a 90% movement reduction, he stood up and held out his shield. He would fight until death claimed him. Such a fire was lit in his heart. She moved from one note to the next, as if dancing between them. Perhaps it was because of her complete lack of knowledge in music that such a song came out. Her song had no predetermined course. It would change tune and intensity as suddenly as the wind changed directions. It was the embodiment of free-spirited. He took the first step. The horde of monsters shook themselves awake and resumed their attacks. In such a critical condition, he activated ¡¸Undying Will¡¹. His body felt lighter. Yet, the negative effects of ¡¸Castle of Stone¡¹ still dragged him down. Unconcerned, he unsheathed his sword. The first of the monsters were closing in. Heat exploded in front of him. Arrows whooshed past him. Healing warmth covered him. Lightning rained down from the heavens. He grinned. ¡°Looks like I am not the only one who had a change of heart.¡± With minimal movements, he intercepted the first hound''s charge with his shield. Ponderously, he brought his sword to bear. As a second hound charged him, he blocked its bite with a small movement from his sword. On the other side, he continued to guard against the first hound with his shield. Hearing her song, his heart felt lighter. The girl herself couldn¡¯t be ordinary. He found the song filling his head. It carried him. He recalled the happiness he found when he first came to this world. There was more to this battle than despair. Her song reminded him of the warmth of being together with his comrades as they challenged a difficult dungeon raid. Unconsciously, he began matching his movements with the tempo itself. He did not bother attacking. That was not his role. Two arrows flew out piercing the hounds head. Unperturbed, the warrior turned to face his next enemies. Healing warmth engulfed him and heat consumed his foes. His shield halted his enemies advance. Kaw. Kaw. Kaw. Several bird-type monsters screeched out in protest. A jolt of fear went through his heart. Her song continued on uncaring. Notice them! Stop playing the song and notice them! Desperately, he pleaded to the girl in his heart. His pleas went unanswered. The song continued uninterrupted. Distracted, a hound jumped at him. By the time he finished off the hound, it was already over. Eight birds fell to the ground split into two. Yet he was given no time to ponder the significance of what had just happened. ¡°ROOOAAAAARRRR¡± The battlefield shook with the ape¡¯s voice. So loud was it, the voice drowned out the maiden¡¯s song for a brief instant. He felt like a lump of iron dropped into his stomach. It couldn¡¯t be! The Abyssal Ape slowly approached the clock tower. The warrior¡¯s blood boiled. Furiously, he advanced. Yet, the aftereffects of ¡¸Castle of Stone] continued to drag him down. Each heavy step brought him forward. His shield crashed furiously against the waves of monsters. Yet, he was too slow. Far too slow. Fire bloomed continuously around him. Arrows rained down constantly. Flashes of silver danced on the edge of his vision. The monsters pained death cries desperately echoed out. The remaining survivors attacked like madmen, but there were far too many monsters. The Abyssal Ape made it to the base of the mountain. The effects of ¡¸Castle of Stone¡¹ ended. The warrior became a whirlwind of destruction as he lashed out with his sword. Slowly, he carved a path through the horde of monsters. Yet, the Abyssal Ape was already out of his reach. As the monster took the first step up the clock tower, it turned to face him. He felt like cold water splashed on his face. The Abyssal Ape had a savage grin on his face, enjoying his despair. ¡°Run away!¡± Desperately he called out to the girl. Death was coming for her. Surely, she knew that? Yet, the song continued. She appeared oblivious to her impending death. With mounting fear and rage, he watched helplessly at the Abyssal Ape¡¯s progress. His sword grew even faster. Yet, despair filled his heart. He was too late. They had failed. The Abyssal Ape had finally reached its target. ---------- The black ape was furious. It had massacred adventurers left and right. None of them had been able to touch him. Ever since they realized that, they had all given up. Then she appeared on the battlefield. She had brought a few of the lifeless ones back to life. Under his command, she had disappeared under a swarm of hounds. That should have ended the matter, but those few ones she had helped were more annoying than the rest. Especially that foolish man. He had dared to go head to head against the Abyssal Ape. The ape knew it was stronger. Its attacks should have sent the man flying to an early death. Yet they all seemed to glance right off of him. Under the ape¡¯s rapid storm of punches, the man had endured. The Abyssal Ape¡¯s pride was wounded. A weakling was causing it that much trouble. Finally the monster landed a satisfying blow and the man did not get up. Gloating, the monster took his time walking over to the few weakling humans. The Abyssal Ape enjoyed watching the despair on their faces. The fight was over. The monsters had won. The annoyances would finally be put to rest. Those thoughts crossed the Abyssal Ape¡¯s mind. Then, the roc fell to the ground. Moments later, that cursed melody began to play. The ape almost lost itself in the free spirited music, but the monster quickly gathered itself. One glance at the humans before it quickly confirmed its fear. Their once empty glass eyes were now filled with fire and with renewed vigor, they fought back. Hmmph, it''s all that melodies fault. Well, the aerial monsters will take care of it, thought the boss monster. Expecting a fragile cry and the sudden cease of the song, the ape was caught by surprise when several birds crashed into the earth around him. That left him no choice. Seeing as how killing their friends brought humans such despair, the Abyssal Ape decided to take care of the matter itself. The look of horror on the humans'' faces when they saw the monster begin climbing brought a cruel grin of delight to its face. The handholds were few, the wind fierce, but slowly the boss monster approached the source of the melody. Climbing higher, the wind battered the ape but it could do nothing against his tough fur. With a savage grin, he passed the face of the clock and reached the top. The monster froze. Directly a few inches from the monster''s face sat the maiden. Her beautiful visage showed no signs of recognizing its presence and her hands continued to play that enchanting music uninterrupted. Incredulously, the ape could only stare at the sight. Her long silver hair flowed carelessly in the wind and her poise was relaxed. She paid more attention to the wind around him than to the ape himself. Never before had it been slighted so but no anger arose at her behavior. She was like a part of the wind, uncaring of who it passed on its travels. The Abyssal Ape quickly blinked and regained his purpose. The music and her beauty had caught it by surprise but the monster roused itself to its goal. Reaching out with its hand, the ape crushed the maiden. Uncomprehending, the monster stared at its arm in confusion as the music continued unabated. The ape hadn''t even felt the pain of losing half its arm. Furiously, it looked around for the intruder. Nothing but the maiden and the wind greeted his eyes. The monster intuitively knew that the maiden held no such power to hurt it. With only one good arm to grip the clock tower, it could not crush the maiden without falling. Yet, the ape would not give up here. Though it could not find the intruder, the Abyssal Ape was now prepared for an attack. The maiden would die. Yet, the unknown foe could cause problems. Thus, the Abyssal Ape moved to a more advantageous location. It leaped onto the roof of the clock tower. In midair, the black ape finally understood the intruder¡¯s identity. The maiden herself was merely the bait. A savage gust of wind lashed out like an enormous blade. Striking the Abyssal Ape, the blade of wind split the monster in two. Gravity took over. The corpse of the boss monster fell to the ground in defeat. ---------- Thud. A loud sound echoed through the courtyard as two giant black masses fell to the ground. The warrior stared in shock. Above, the song continued on, uncaring of the Abyssal Ape¡¯s death. As if that crash was the signal, a change occurred on the battlefield. From the desolate temples, small parties of adventurers surged out. A flash of shockingly bright pink appeared on the edge of his vision. He broke out into a smile. She hadn¡¯t died after all. He watched as she made quick progress towards his group along with the reinforcements she had brought. Under their combined forces, the adventurers now pushed back the hordes of monsters. Finally getting a brief reprieve, he approached his savior. ¡°I didn¡¯t get the chance to say thank you for earlier. Thanks. May I know the name of my savior?¡± She looked surprised to see him again. A small smile graced her lips. ¡°It is Camellia.¡± ---------- Ignorant of the ape''s struggle and ultimate fall, the music continued on. As if spurred on by the song, the adventurers fought fiercely. Eventually, the music slowed down. The notes dragged out. Finally, the song ended. As the last note died on the wind, the clock tower rang loudly throughout the plaza. A familiar torrent of light shone down from the heavens. Chapter 6: Sylph When Raine opened her eyes, she found herself floating in an endless black void. She let out a weary sigh. The beta test was over. Finally, her troubles would end. The curse, the absurd body, and the stupid skirt. With the end of the beta test, they would all disappear. Her hand still clutched the simple silver flute. It was a common item that the bard guild handed out to newcomers. With one hand, she gently traced the surface of the flute. Faint echoes of the song she had played still resounded in her head. A soft smile formed on her face. She had played whatever came to mind. As a result, her song had changed on the drop of a dime. Even she knew her song was somehow different than most. What would the people who heard her think? Briefly, she wondered if she had sounded like a simple child banging a drum. Embarrassment tinged her cheeks. She hadn¡¯t made a complete fool of herself, had she? She knew she was clueless when it came to music. When she had gone to the bard guild and played the flute, everyone had given her odd looks. Raine tried to completely recall her song. It was no good. She couldn¡¯t remember. Raine had lost herself in the music. She couldn¡¯t even remember if she had managed to help anyone or not. Time passed by in a flash and before Raine knew it, she was here. Her song was not the best piece ever played, but she felt like she did an okay job. All that really mattered to her was that she did not embarrass herself. That, and if she could draw the monsters aggro towards her. ¡°Still, who would have guessed that my failed attempt at climbing the clock tower would become my trump card,¡± Raine mused. When she tried climbing the tower before, the wind was unnaturally strong. Even with sparse handholds, she should have been able to cling to the tower and climb to the top. Yet Raine was knocked down, not even a third of the way up. When she saw the roc suddenly split in half as it was circling the tower, a thought hit her. ¡°There must be either spirits or god level magic to prevent people from getting to the top of the clock tower through illegal means. That would explain why no one ever made it to the top without the quest item.¡± The clock tower was related to a unique quest and a god¡¯s domain after all. Trespassers would not be allowed to enter so easily. Raine wasn¡¯t entirely sure her plan would work. She had only her own thoughts and the roc¡¯s death to go off of but, the fact that she was still here meant that she was correct. Still, Raine wondered, where was here? She had been in the black void for a few minutes but nothing had changed. ¡°Is it just me, or does this situation seem familiar from somewhere¡­¡± Raine muttered to herself. ¡°Are you so lonely without me that you started talking to yourself?¡± A beautiful voice called out to Raine. Caught by surprise, Raine quickly turned to the newcomer. Her figure captivated Raine¡¯s gaze. She was a gorgeous bombshell blonde. Her lips were curved into a mysterious smile and her long wavy hair was as brilliant as the sun. Raine shook her head and regained herself. ¡°You are¡­?¡± ¡°What, you forgot me already? How cruel.¡± The pouting face of the woman did nothing to diminish her beauty. Instead, it brought a smile to Raine¡¯s face. Try as she might, Raine could not guess who the blonde might be. ¡°Well, no matter. The other gods and goddesses were quite interested in you but I stole you away from their summons.¡± ¡°So you are a goddess¡­. Wait, summons?¡± ¡°The rest of the survivors were summoned to the gods¡¯ great hall to be bestowed their rewards. A few of them will be offered unique arts or classes based off of how they did.¡± The goddess easily explained the situation to her, but Raine could not quite ignore the bombshell that the goddess had so casually dropped. ¡°Wait, you stole me from the rest of the group? Away from the place the rewards will be handed out?¡± ¡°Well, wouldn¡¯t it have been a problem if you appeared with the rest of them?¡± ¡°Send me back! My reward¡­ My reward¡­.¡± Raine trailed off almost in tears. Even if she had not done much, she still deserved something for all her efforts. She had even tossed away her pride to wear a skirt and make sure the curse did not kill her. Now, this goddess was telling her that she not only wasted her time, she even set aside her dignity and yet she would not be rewarded!? ¡°Alright. Alright. Just say something if you want to return here so we can continue our conversation.¡± The goddess gave in surprisingly easily. Before Raine could ponder her easy acceptance, the black void disappeared and she found herself in a great hall. A massive feast was laid out on the great table. Behind her were several beautiful and handsome figures, which must have belonged to the gods and goddesses. Yet, Raine did not have much time to look at them. In front of her was¡­ ¡°Found her!¡± An excited voice called out. In unison, all 100+ players turned and looked at her. ¡°...Eh?¡± A sound of surprise escaped from her mouth. Raine did not know how to handle all the passionate gazes upon her. If it was just the woman, she might have been okay but, men staring passionately at her as well? The expression on her face froze. She wanted to hide, but that would only make the situation worse. All at once, they exploded. ¡°Who are you!?¡± ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°You saved me!¡± ¡°Thanks for the help!¡± ¡°Join our guild!¡± ¡°Be our mascot!¡± ¡°That song was amazing!¡± ¡°I am your fan!¡± ¡°Can I have your autograph!¡± ¡°I love you!¡± ¡°Marry me!¡± As the force of their voices slammed into her, Raine flinched. She thought she heard something amazing in the last two but she quickly erased them from her mind. The players waited for an answer. What was she supposed to say? She felt like she was piece of juicy meat thrown before a pack of hungry beasts. ¡°...¡± The gazes of the gods and goddesses on her back hurt. She could feel their pity and laughter. Only one of the gazes looked at her warmly. That warmth brought her a small margin of comfort. The blonde goddess had said something important. Raine desperately tried to remember what it was. Meanwhile, the crowd got unruly. Perhaps not satisfied just to talk to her, one player slowly walked towards her. Seeing his approach, the others moved forward as well trying to pass him. Soon, almost the entire group of players were sprinting directly at Raine. Only a handful of players held back with weary looks on their faces. Raine brought her hand up as if to tell them to stop. Yet, no words came out of her throat. Having close to a hundred people charging directly at her with passionate gazes caused her words to die on her tongue. In the midst of her crisis, she finally remembered what the blonde goddess told her. All she had to do was say something. With a smile of relief, she waved her hand at the incoming players. ¡°Goodbye.¡± For some reason, they all came to an immediate halt with odd gazes. Especially the women. Their gazes were warm yet goosebumps broke out on Raine¡¯s skin and her hair stood up on its end. Every fiber of her being told her to run away from those gazes. She had no time to ponder the contradiction though. The world disappeared and she found herself back in the endless black void with the blonde goddess. ¡°Did you get the reward you desired?¡± The blonde asked Raine as her shoulders trembled slightly. Just as quickly as it started, the goddess¡¯ trembling vanished without a trace. ¡°Urk!¡± Raine couldn¡¯t tell her that she had fled at the first sight of the players charging her. That she had wasted the goddess efforts and not gotten a reward out of it. Yet, it seemed she did not have to. ¡°If I had known all you wanted was to be smothered by all the other players, I wouldn¡¯t drawn you here in the first place.¡± So she saw what happened¡­ Raine could not help but break out into a cold sweat. If she had appeared right next to them, what would have happened? If the goddess had not saved her¡­ ¡°... Why were they all so half crazed? I hardly did anything in the special event.¡± Right, she thought to herself, all I really did was play the flute on top of the clock tower. I didn¡¯t fight the waves of enemies like they did. I mean I am only level one, at most I could have served as a small distraction. The blonde goddess¡¯ smile froze. Her shock was evident from her eyes. Incredulously, she asked Raine. ¡°Could it be you don¡¯t know what you did?¡± ¡°What I did?¡± Raine tilted her head in confusion as she echoed back the goddess¡¯ words. ¡°You didn¡¯t notice him? ¡°...No way! Did a player make it up to the clock tower and I completely ignored him? I didn¡¯t think anyone would be able to make it up there except me.¡± A look of horror appeared on Raine¡¯s face. Was that why everyone was acting so weird around her? No wait, that didn¡¯t make much sense... ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Beautiful laughter broke the silence. It was the first time she heard the goddess laugh. Raine wished she could hear it again. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Never mind. I am sure you will find out soon enough.¡± Raine wanted to pursue the matter but gave up. The blonde did not look like she wanted to elaborate any further. Switching gears, she voiced her complaint. ¡°If you knew that was going to happen, why did you drop me in the middle of that war zone? I felt like a rabbit tossed before wolves.¡± Raine shuddered just remembering. She had never had so many people staring so passionately at her before. ¡°I warned you didn¡¯t I? That you would cause a commotion with the rest of the players. Yet you still wanted to go.¡± ¡°You could have stopped me!¡± Raine¡¯s anger was short lived. She had told the goddess to send her after all. The goddess answered her in a happy voice. ¡°Imagine my surprise when you insisted on going! Not only were the players there, but basically all of the gods would be in attendance. Naturally, this includes a certain time god.¡± A thought hit Raine so hard, she felt like she had been punched in the stomach. All the gods? A look of horror appeared on Raine¡¯s face. Fearfully, she asked the goddess. ¡°You said all the gods¡­ By that, do you mean ALL the gods?¡± ¡°Yeah. Of course.¡± The goddess replied in confusion. ¡°If all the gods were handing out rewards, that means they had to have watched the event itself unfold, right?¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± Raine hesitantly asked the one question she wanted to know the answer to. ¡°... Then¡­ was Loki watching?¡± ¡°...¡± The goddess averted her gaze. Her hands tightly grabbed her body as if to desperately suppress her shaking shoulders. ¡°Did Loki see me... Wearing a skirt?¡± Raine was bright red to her ears. Her voice got quieter and quieter as she continued on. ¡°I am a guy. If he saw me, he is probably laughing his head off.¡± ¡°...¡± The goddess desperately tried to suppress her trembling, but Raine¡¯s words weren¡¯t helping. ¡°I was jumping and running around in a very windy environment wearing a skirt. He didn¡¯t see me, right?¡± ¡°...¡± The goddess hunched over in pain. Her shoulders were violently trembling and a hand was clamped over her mouth. Raine she was too preoccupied with her fears to notice her odd behavior. ¡°No wait, he already saw them so it is okay... No what am I saying! It is definitely not okay!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why do you remain silent! This is important! Did Loki see me or did he not!¡± Finally noticing something was wrong, Raine raised her voice as she turned and looked at the goddess. Seeing her teary face, the goddess couldn¡¯t contain it anymore. ¡°Hahahaha!¡± The beautiful laughter rang out through the void once again. Dumbfounded, Raine did nothing but watch as the goddess laughed her eyes out. Something was amiss but Raine couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was. Finally, the goddess caught her breath. ¡°You care about Loki that much, huh?¡± ¡°Wha!? No!¡± ¡°And here I thought you would be worried about Chronos. Nope, all you wanted to hear about was Loki.¡± ¡°Chronos...?¡± A piece of the puzzle slowly fell into place. The feeling of something being off returned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Loki was watching but he didn¡¯t find your appearance or your performance unsightly.¡± Another piece fell into place. Raine thought back to the goddess earlier words. ¡®What, you forgot me already?¡¯ The goddess continued on happily ¡°He quite enjoyed watching Chronos as the time god lavished praises on the very person he cursed, not knowing they were indeed the same person. A pity he only accepts male disciples.¡± Raine had only met two gods, and one of them initially had a female form. It couldn¡¯t be. ¡°Lok...i¡­?¡± ¡°Ah, you finally figured it out?¡± Loki quickly returned to his normal appearance. Raine turned as white as a sheet. ¡°You!... You!¡± Raine could not complete her sentence. What had she said to him again? She desperately tried to forget it. Her one fear and she had voiced it out in front of the person she didn¡¯t want to hear it the most. ¡°I told you I would get back at you for your earlier deception! And besides, I never thought you would be idiotic enough to appear before the banquet of the gods.¡± ¡°Idiotic?¡± ¡°Surely you must know that competing in that final event would result in obtaining special rewards, right?¡± ¡°...¡± Raine wasn¡¯t sure where Loki was going with this. Nevertheless, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. ¡°So as you probably have figured out, Arts are tied to the body and not the soul. So, if one received a unique Art from the banquet, how would she keep it if her body disappeared?¡± ¡°... You can¡¯t be saying¡­¡± ¡°Not only did you participate, you achieved one of the highest results possible. What were you thinking? No, let me correct that. You weren¡¯t thinking.¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± ¡°I am not conceited enough to believe you did it to see me again. Nor do I believe you wanted to remain cursed or in a female body.¡± ¡°You are lying!¡± ¡°Congratulations on completing the event. Your body will carry over in the future, though your stats will be reset and your arts levels will be set to 1.¡± ¡°Its a lie!¡± ¡°Oh yes, the reward for your hard work. Since you didn¡¯t want to claim one from the other gods, I guess it is up to me to hand out your reward. I see you have the deception art equipped so I will help you out. This is important. The first rule of deception: Never deceive yourself.¡± ¡°Nooooo!¡± An anguished maidens scream echoed endlessly in the black void as the beta test for Evolution Arts came to an end. ---------- Two men stood alone in a dark room filled with bright monitors. One was the lead programmer for Evolution Arts while the other was the director. ¡°Director, are you sure this is okay? Not only have we not gotten permission from all the players yet, one of the most important ones agreed to it as well.¡± ¡°It is fine. Go ahead as planned. If anyone complains, we can say that in playing the beta test, they handed over their rights to be filmed. Besides...¡± On the bright monitor in front of two men was the image of a girl sitting alone on top of the clock tower. In her hands, she held a simple silver flute. ¡°Any update on the analysis?¡± ¡°Yes, most of her equipment is fairly common but her tunic and skirt have no matches with our database.¡± ¡°...What do you mean? Did somebody craft them?¡± ¡°No. Every unique crafting recipe is stored in the database. They are items that should not exist in the game.¡± That was not the only part that puzzled the staff of Evolution Arts. The girl herself was a huge mystery. ¡°Her character model? ¡°Again, no matches in the database.¡± The two men shared a weary silence. The database should contain the character models for all the characters and npc¡¯s created. Yet, the girl did not appear in it. ¡°Now how did she get on top of that clock tower? It should be a male only quest.¡± ¡°Although there is one player who got close to finishing the quest, nobody completed it and received the unique class.¡± ¡°And the records for that player?¡± ¡°This is where it gets confusing. We think he deleted his character after failing the quest. Shortly after, his name and unique identifier was taken by somebody else so at this point, it would be hard to find him.¡± ¡°How do you know it was somebody else? He could have just remade his character?¡± ¡°Well, the new character was female. She did appear in the finale of the beta test and managed to survive, but at level 1, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to accomplish anything.¡± ¡°Female huh? True that would make it impossible to be the same person. Not only did we create the system to forbid it, when we tested it out in the alpha test, it was impossible.¡± ¡°Well, speaking of impossible, the fact that she was on top of the clock tower and her gear not being in the system is just as impossible.¡± On another screen, a trailer for Evolution Arts began to play. An song by a complete beginner played out in tune with the trailer. Watching it, the lead programmer spoke up. ¡°The sound director is going to complain. He will probably say there are much better songs to pick from.¡± ¡°It does not matter. The song itself is a form of advertisement.¡± ¡°What should we call that song?¡± ¡°How about¡­ Sylph¡¯s Melody?¡± ¡°You went with that one after all... I feel sorry for her.¡± With those parting words, the lead programmer left the director alone in the room. Looking again at the monitor of the silver haired girl, the director sighed. ¡°A player? Or a NPC? Well whatever. She will not be able to stay hidden for long. Not when the whole world is searching for her.¡± Chapter 7: School Days Drew woke to his alarm on a Monday morning. His mood sunk to an all time low. The beta test was over. Leo would want answers for ditching them. He was stuck as a girl in Evolution Arts. The reward for all his efforts in the finale was only a simple phrase. You must never deceive yourself? Was that not the first thing you should do in deceiving others? Drew did not understand. Maybe Loki was trying to trick him again. Drew wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and pretend it was all a dream. *RIIIIIING* ¡°Ugh, fine. You win. I will get out of bed.¡± Drew got up and shut off the blaring alarm. Readying himself for school, he headed off. As a senior in high school, the only thing left to do was graduate. Afterwards, he and his group of friends would probably go their separate ways. The thought saddened him a bit. Luckily, there wasn¡¯t too much time to talk to his friends between classes. Thus, Leo would grill him either at lunch time or PE. Still, that wouldn¡¯t stop the smaller discussions that would occur between passing periods. Drake took the opportunity to ask him a question. ¡°Hey, have you seen the latest game trailer released for Evolution Arts?¡± ¡°No, what is it about?¡± ¡°It showed the finale event. Man was it great. I wish I was as good of a tank as that warrior. And---¡± Whatever Drake was going to say was cut off by the bell. Quickly, Drake told Drew. ¡°I will show it to you during lunch break.¡± Then the class began and the time for talking had ended. Drew had trouble paying attention to the lecture. He was curious about how the special event had ended. His memory was vague and Loki suggested that something special had happened. In the end, the class was over before he realized it and his notes were blank. Sighing in remorse, he headed off to the cafeteria. Grabbing a plate of food, he reached his usual place and walked in on an argument. A black haired boy with an athletic figure was arguing with a blonde girl who had the air of a mature beauty. ¡°Still, I can¡¯t believe you used your real name as your in game name Drake.¡± ¡°You did the exact same thing Camellia.¡± Drake said exasperated. ¡°Well, err..¡± Camellia trailed off as she averted her gaze. ¡°Now, now. We all picked names similar to our real names. The only exception to this was Drew.¡± Leonardo, or Leo, intervened. Truly, there names were all very similar. Leo became Leon. Rosaline became Rose. Liliana, Lily. And of course, Drake and Camellia used their real names as their in game names. Taking the cease in hostilities as an opportunity, the handsome blond haired boy spoke up. ¡°Speaking of Drew, why did you ditch us during the special event?¡± asked Leo. At last the question came that Drew wanted to avoid. How to answer¡­ ¡°Well, I got cursed by a certain angry time god and thus, my level was reset to 1.¡± He hoped that would be enough. Already, he could see Drake on the verge of laughing. Leo didn¡¯t let up though. ¡°How did you get yourself cursed?¡± ¡°Ah, err¡­¡± Drew stuttered. Seeing Drew¡¯s reluctance, the group of five leaned forward in interest. With an averted gaze, Drew finally muttered an answer. ¡°I may or may not have unintentionally insulted him by saying his time magic profession was not hero-y enough.¡± ¡°Ha---¡± ¡°You had the chance at a unique class to be a Time Mage and you turned it down!?¡± Drake¡¯s laughter was interrupted by Rosaline¡¯s outburst. The cafeteria itself quieted at the tall girl¡¯s shout and then resumed. She played as a mage in the beta test and liked to experiment with magic. In a quieter voice, she continued. ¡°Time magic! Do you know how overpowered that would be!? You could slow down or freeze your enemies and speed up your allies! Just imagine what the end game area of effect spells would be like!¡± ¡°Wha!? But Time Magic wouldn¡¯t be too useful in solo play. I would always need a party. Besides, I wanted a stronger class in combat. Something between a rogue and a warrior.¡± ¡°Seriously? If you wanted to solo, you would just need to apply haste to yourself and slow to your enemies. No one would be able to touch you! It wouldn¡¯t matter if you wanted to use a sword without the bonuses. With Time Magic, you would be unstoppable!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°And the experiments you could run. I wonder if you could kill something by simply freezing the time on its heart? Is that even possible? What would happen if you slowed down a bird? Would it still fly or would gravity cause it to plummet? Would a cat always land on its feet, even when slowed? The experiments¡­¡± Everyone made eye contact with each other and silently agreed to refrain from commenting. In times like these, it was best to let her go on rather than try to interrupt her. Noticing their silence, Rosaline cleared her throat and got back on topic. ¡°Anyways, Time Magic is like the highest level possible of magecraft. Just having the class means you stand at the pinnacle of all mages. And you turned it down!?¡± Drew was dumbfounded. The class he had thought as a useless support had the potential to be that great? Not only had he been cursed, he threw away his chance at such a great class? ¡°He was probably looking for something else in his class.¡± A kind voice spoke up in his defense. The owner of the voice had a timid atmosphere and soft brown hair. ¡°That¡¯s right. As Liliana said, if he could chose his class that easily, he wouldn¡¯t have spent so long in the beta without a class. Besides, maybe it is for the best. I can¡¯t see him sitting back behind his teammates casting spells.¡± Leo also came to Drew¡¯s aid. Under their united front, Rosaline faltered. ¡°I guess. Still, its a shame he didn¡¯t accept the class.¡± ¡°If I could go back in time, I would have accepted the class even before you said anything.¡± Regretfully, Drew told the fanatic. It was ironic that only a time god, the very being that cursed him, could do such a thing. ¡°Anyways, Drake. You said you had a video you wanted to sho---¡± ¡°Not so fast! You still have one more question to answer!¡± His attempt to change the subject failed as Leo brought up the one matter Drew wanted to keep hidden. ¡°What happened afterwards? You said you drank some weird potion that changed your voice? Your voice was so high it almost sounded like you were a---¡± ¡°Yeah! I drank a suspicious potion!¡± Drew frantically interrupted. ¡°Why would you do such a thing?¡± ¡°No, you see. I was tricked by a perverted weirdo god.¡± ¡°Perverted?¡± echoed Drake. ¡°Weirdo?¡± said Camellia. The group hurriedly whispered between themselves. Unfortunately for him, Drew could still hear them. ¡°Has anyone heard Drew insult somebody before?¡± said Leo. ¡°Nope.¡± said Drake. ¡°Neither have I.¡± said Liliana. ¡°Same here.¡± said Camellia. Having reached a conclusion, his friends turned to him. Drake looked at Drew with a proud look on his face. Camellia looked like a mother gazing fondly at her child growing up. Liliana sported a surprised look on her face. Rosaline still seemed slightly angry at him. Meanwhile, Leo was lost in thought. ¡°What?¡± Drew couldn¡¯t help but ask at the weird stares he was getting. ¡°No, we just thought our innocent Drew was growing up.¡± No, I am not as innocent as you guys think, Drew retorted in his mind. Feeling like he had to explain himself, he spoke up. ¡°No, you see. That god first appeared in front of me as a beautiful goddess right after I had been cursed.¡± ¡°Oh? You were taken in by her face and that is why you drank the potion?¡± Drake interrupted. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Her boobs? Well they are important as well¡­¡± ¡°What are you talking about!¡± Feeling three angry glares on him, Drew desperately denied it. Why aren¡¯t you angry at Drake! ¡°Then was it her butt or her thighs? I don¡¯t think you have a foot fetish.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t because of her appearance that I accepted the potion!¡± ¡°Ah good. I was worried for a second there but despite your harsh words, you are just as innocent as usual.¡± ¡°I was harsh because it was a guy pretending to be a girl. I mean seriously. What kind of perverted¡­ weirdo¡­ does that?¡± Drew¡¯s anger faltered. Who was he insulting with that statement? He was only digging himself into a deeper hole. ¡°Well, I will admit that is kinda creepy,¡± said Camellia. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to meet such a person either,¡± said Rosaline. ¡°That explains why the kind and innocent Drew would be angry at someone,¡± said Drake. His friends all nodded in unison at Drake¡¯s statement.Their words, although meant to agree and cheer him up, only served as arrows that pierced through him. I can never appear before them in game, thought Drew. Getting back on track, Drew resumed his story. ¡°Anyways, after just refusing one god and being cursed for it, I didn¡¯t feel safe in refusing another god.¡± ¡°So, what actually happened?¡± Leo rejoined the conversation. ¡°Yeah. My race became question marks, my height shortened a little bit, my hair turned silver and grew longer, and my voice became higher.¡± Oh, and my body became that of a girl. Obviously Drew didn¡¯t voice the last one. ¡°Long silver hair?¡± Muttered Leo. Drew wasn¡¯t sure he could avoid meeting his friends in game, thus he decided to give more detail on the changes that occurred. If he left out mentioning the gender change, perhaps they would draw their own conclusions and hopefully overlook that very small fact. Of course, at least one person wouldn¡¯t let him get away with his brief description. Though, what she raised a point on surprised Drew. ¡°Your race is just question marks?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rosaline quickly fired off a question. ¡°Have you noticed anything different?¡± You mean the fact that my character is a girl and everything is slightly off? Nope, not a thing is different from normal. ¡°Well, nothing really feels any different. I am like a regular human in appearance and movement.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I will need to thoroughly examine this¡­¡± ¡°Wha!? What are you suggesting?¡± ¡°Just examining you from head to toe and maybe casting some spells on you as well.¡± ¡°I am not a lab rat!¡± With pleading eyes, Drew turned towards Drake for help. In return, Drake simply laughed. Perhaps sensing that Drew wanted to escape, Rosaline quickly acted. ¡°How about we meet up in game when it officially launches?¡± ---------- Just remembering the conversation at lunch caused Drew to sigh. He had spent the rest of lunch coming up with excuses on why he couldn¡¯t meet up with Rosaline in game. Leo had luckily rescued him before she could press the matter further. There were more topics he was interested in. He was curious how his friends fared in the finale event. Then there was that video Drake wanted to show him. Well, there would be more than enough time tomorrow for all that. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Partly because Leo still looked like he wanted to interrogate him, Drew was currently running faster on the track for PE class. He wasn¡¯t very athletic, but just remembering the feeling of running against the wind in the game caused a thought to arise in him. What if I could experience that same feeling in the real world? The more realistic side of him told himself that of course it was impossible. A game was a game after all. But the side of him that liked to dream wondered. Wasn¡¯t virtual reality based on reality after all? The fact that Leo was still looking his way lost in thought served as a clear motivation regardless of which side of him was correct. In the end, Drew¡¯s efforts only rewarded him with legs that felt like they had weights on them. He made no progress towards reproducing that feeling at all. Collapsed pathetically on the ground, Drew looked enviously at Drake had finished even earlier and was barely sweating. Leo looked winded, but not as badly as Drew himself. Of the three of them, Drake was the most athletic, followed by Leo, then Drew. Likewise, that was also the order of the amount of effort put into the PE class. Thus, it was no surprise his two friends commented on his unusual behavior. ¡°You really put in some effort today.¡± said Drake. ¡°Ah! Maybe you thought it would transfer over to your character in Evolution Arts? Perhaps I should start taking this PE class more seriously...¡± said Leo. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± That is totally not what I was thinking, but it is more convenient than saying I was trying to avoid you. Drew ended up going with it. ---------- The next day in the lunch cafeteria, Drake dropped a bombshell statement. ¡°Guys, after thinking about it for a day, I have turned over a new leaf! I am going to aim to become the strongest in the game so I can meet Sylph.¡± Camellia turned to stone. Liliana and Rosaline alternated between worried looks at her and surprised looks at Drake. Leo just laughed. Only Drew looked at Drake in confusion. ¡°Now, I know what your thinking. One such as myself is not worthy to stand besides her. However, that is the me at the moment. Sylph far surpassed the other players in strength during the beta test. If I can do the same, I should be able to meet her.¡± Camellia still remained petrified. From the looks of things, she didn¡¯t hear a single word Drake said after his first statement. Drew took the opportunity to ask his question. ¡°Sylph?¡± ¡°What, you have not seen the new Evolution Arts trailer yet?¡± ¡°No, I was waiting for you to show me.¡± ¡°Alright, watch this and you will understand. She is probably the strongest player in Evolution Arts. Camellia actually appears in this video as well.¡± ¡°And the rest of you guys?¡± ¡°Well... We all died except for Leo who, although survived until the end, did not appear in the video.¡± Drew looked at the video playing on the phone. The first thing he noticed was a familiar clock tower from the finale event. The video was silent as it showed the open plaza where both players and monsters appeared frozen in time. Rapidly, the camera ascended to the clock tower where a lone maiden sat. Silently, she lifted a flute to her lips and began to play a song. As the first note burst out through the ear, the battle below resumed in full force. Even to Drew¡¯s untrained ears, he thought the song sounded great. Focusing on the battle, the camera showed off the adventurer¡¯s bravery and skills as they displayed the full power of each of their classes. From time to time, the camera would switch back to the maiden as she continued to play. Any monster that came close would perish to a blade of wind. Drew continued to watch the video with a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach. Why was a video of that figure circulating on the web? Why did such a figure appear in the official trailer? Drew had no answer to his questions. The figure of the person Drake admired was a very familiar one. Every time Raine looked into the mirror, that figure was the one who greeted her eyes. Taking no notice of Drew¡¯s expression, Drake continued on after the video finished playing. ¡°Right now, everyone is trying to figure out who Sylph is. Somebody even sent an inquiry to the game developers but they refused to comment. She appeared like a bolt from the blue and single-handedly changed the tide of battle. She briefly appeared during the banquet of the gods but disappeared before anyone could ask anything. Well, at this point in time, we aren¡¯t even sure if it is an actual player or an NPC.¡± Hearing Drake go on and on about praising Sylph, a helpless feeling arose in Drew¡¯s chest. That feeling soon erupted. ¡°Hahaha.¡± He could only laugh at the absurdity of the situation. The strongest player? Her? And the majority of the players were searching for her? Drake felt like something was wrong. Camellia had been petrified for awhile and Drew was letting out a weird hollow laugh after watching the video. Rosaline and even the normally kind Liliana were shooting him glares. Leo was just face palming. ---------- The rest of the week, Drew passed in a daze. He had searched the word Sylph on the internet. The results shocked him. The official game trailer had brought Sylph a lot of publicity and popularity yet another video vastly outshone the trailer in both the amount of posts related to it and the number of views. The video itself was no more than thirty seconds long. It contained the gameplay footage of a certain player who made it to the banquet of the gods. In the video, he was the first to notice her appearance and he let the world know by calling out. The maiden upon which he gazed had a complicated expression. Trying to cheer her up, the players called out to her at once. Yet, even their cheers were useless. Despite their best efforts, sadness lined the maiden¡¯s face. One player could not take it anymore. He walked towards her intending to comfort her. He was too slow. Tears formed in her eyes. The rest of the players rushed towards her in hopes of soothing her sorrow. Yet, they soon froze. As the first tears spilled from her eyes, she smiled. Her smile was a sad one yet it contained hope. The men wanted to protect her. The women wanted to cuddle her. Yet, her sad smile stopped them. She uttered one word. It was only a single word, yet it contained a message to them all. ¡°Goodbye.¡± From her tears, they could tell she was sad that they would be leaving. Soon, the beta test would end and they would all disappear. She could not stay together with them much longer. Yet, despite her tears, she smiled. Her smile and words told them that she hoped to see them again in the future. As if her one word was magic, Sylph disappeared. If they wanted to see her again, they would have to play the game when the servers officially opened. ---------- Watching the video, Drew lost all strength in his limbs. During the video, he simply wanted to flee and had smiled in relief when he realized he only had to say a word to escape. ¡°How did it turn into such a big deal!?¡± The world had come to their own conclusions about his expressions and words. He hadn¡¯t even realized that he had almost cried when he saw all the players. He couldn¡¯t read the thread anymore. Reading only brought him anguish. His newfound popularity had worn down his spirit. He had managed to somewhat survive the unfortunate fame mostly by trying to ignore it as much as possible. What truly finished him off was something Leo said. It happened on Friday, the last day of school before Evolution Arts would be released. Leo had been unusually quiet for the past week pondering something. Carmelia gradually recovered from her petrified state and became more talkative yet she did not quite have her usual vigor. Drew still felt worn out from his fame but somehow managed. Seeing the weary Drew, Leo¡¯s face lit up as if he was suddenly enlightened. Looking directly at Drew, he spoke. ¡°I finally understand. Your sudden gloominess when Sylph is mentioned. Your character having long silver hair. These signs all point to one thing.¡± ¡°W-W-W-What are you talking about!¡± It came out of nowhere. Caught off guard, Drew panicked. Leo couldn¡¯t have found out, could he? ¡°It is no use denying it.¡± ¡°Denying it? What do you mean?¡± Drew played dumb. Cold sweat dripped down his back. ¡°You can¡¯t fool me. Its okay. I understand. You might be embarrassed but it is nothing to be ashamed of. You should always be clear about these kinds of things.¡± They were in the middle of the cafeteria. All his friends were watching. Surely, Leo wouldn¡¯t say it here? Unfortunately, Drew¡¯s hopes were shattered. ¡°You fell in love with Sylph, didn¡¯t you!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Drew felt like something incredible was just said. He was expecting something else so he couldn¡¯t quite catch it. All he noticed was the giant grin on Leo¡¯s face as he spoke like a great mystery had been solved. Likewise, Drew¡¯s friends appeared shell shocked at Leo''s unexpected statement. ¡°Man, I was wondering why you were so gloomy whenever someone mentioned Sylph¡¯s popularity. It was because you loved her so much you wanted her all to yourself. You even went to the extent of drinking a suspicious potion to make yourself look like her.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t look like you are proud of yourself! Besides, I drank that potion before Sylph even appeared. Surely you know that? I mean, you even talked to me before the special event occurred. I am not in love with Sylph.¡± ¡°Haha, he is embarrassed.¡± Leon continued unfazed. Amidst the turmoil, Drew felt someone pat his shoulders. ¡°I only admire Sylph. I have no intention of getting in the way of your love.¡± Drake assured Drew. Unfortunately, it only did more damage. ¡°I wholeheartedly support you! Do your best to win her love!¡± Camellia was shining brighter than ever. It was like the past week of lifelessness never happened. Did she really love discussing love stories that much? ¡°Um¡­ guys, you shouldn¡¯t be talking like that.¡± A kind, timid voice came to his rescue. Only Liliana believed him. Drew was relieved the misunderstanding would finally be resolved. ¡°Drew is probably embarrassed talking about his love. You shouldn¡¯t force him to admit it here in front of all these people.¡± Her words put the last nail in the coffin. Drew collapsed. His friends believed he was in love with Sylph and all his attempts to persuade them were seen as him being embarrassed. He did not quite remember how that day ended or even how the rest of the week went. Before he knew it, the day Evolution Arts would be officially released had arrived. Chapter 8: A Peaceful Stroll Drew couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Maybe he should just not play Evolution Arts. Sure, it was fun, but if the whole world was looking for him, what would they do when they found him? If he chose not to play the game, someone else could take his place and be [Sylph]. Already on the internet, a lot of imposters showed up claiming such a thing. A few of them even looked pretty credible. He had asked his parents about buying a second copy of the game but was flatly turned down. Still, Drew thought, his character could be said to be one of the most unique in the game. It would be a shame not to see what he could do, even while cursed. Torn between hiding from the world or trying to make do with the cards dealt to him, Drew eventually decided to log in. If it was really as bad as he feared, he could always quit the game later. For now, there will be a lot of starting players, who probably will not know [Sylph]. If he could slip into that crowd and disguise himself¡­ Laying down on the bed, Drew put on the VR head gear and started up Evolution Arts. ¡°Link Start!¡± The world faded to darkness. Raine found herself in front of yet another fountain. Looking around, what she saw surprised her. The city she found herself in was different from the two previous ones she had been to in the beta test. Larger than both the beginner city in the beta and the small area where the finale of the beta event took place, the new city was filled with vibrant life. ¡°How did I even end up in this city? Do I not get a choice on where to start playing from?¡± Heedless of Raine¡¯s questions, life in the city went on. No one even gave her a second glance. Several other players were logging in as well and she was just another one of them to the inhabitants of the city. Yet, it was neither the new city, nor the lack of attention that anyone gave her that surprised her. What stunned her was the number of silver haired girls walking around. They had hairstyles of all different sizes and styles. Unlike in the beta though, there was a lot more silver haired characters than usual. Raine was baffled until a nearby conversation about her shed light on the matter. ¡°Yet another Sylph wannabe joins the group. Well, this one is slightly better of a copycat than the rest of them. Her outfit matches well with the actual Sylph. Do you think maybe she is the actual Sylph?¡± ¡°Hahaha. I doubt it. She is just looking around dumbly. The real Sylph would be more noble and graceful. She is probably the third best copycat we have seen so far though.¡± Their insulting words only brought a smile to Raine¡¯s face. The situation might not be as bad as she initially thought. Her popularity had some benefits after all. If no one could tell the real thing apart from the fakes, then she could roam freely. But first, she would need another outfit. Wearing clothes identical to Sylph would give her away in a matter of time. But the effect of storing time was too vital to throw away. Well, if Raine¡¯s hopes were correct, that could be remedied by a quick visit to the nearby clock tower. ---------- Several hours later, an exhausted Raine finally reached the top clock tower. The third upgrade of the dungeon involved rising and falling platforms. Not only did this make it more challenging, her agility and arts had reset to their initial values so she had to level them once again. Wearily, she made her way to the ledge of the clock tower and sat down. She took a moment to admire the view. North of the city gates was a small patch of grasslands that quickly turned into a dense forest. To the south stretched endless plains and to the west was either the lake or the ocean. Raine could not tell since the body of water stretched as far as the eye could see. Jagged mountains that cut through the sky lay to the east. The sunset dyed the both the town and the sky in red. The day was coming to an end and night would soon take over. Glancing down at her attire, she briefly thought it would be a shame to part from it. From both the video trailer and looking at it now, she thought the clothes were cute. If only she wasn¡¯t the one wearing them. The frilly white blouse that, although fairly normal for girls, Raine found it showed off slightly too much skin. The black skirt and stockings that contrasted well with her pale skin. If Drew had a girlfriend, he would be happy if she wore such clothes. Raine allowed herself such feelings. It would be the last time after all. She had received exactly what she wanted from her third run through the clock tower. Looking at the vibrant city spread out below her, she solemnly made a promise to herself. ¡°Never again will I wear a skirt!¡± With one last glance, Raine walked away from the ledge of the clock tower back into the magic circle. She changed her equipment then logged out to eat dinner. Roughly an hour later, Raine logged back on and spawned in at the fountain. She was curious why logging out in the secret room of the clock tower had her appear at the fountain, but she ignored it. She was clad entirely in newbie gear except for her black boots. Like the skirt and blouse she had picked up in the beta, they allowed her to store a quarter of a second. That meant, with the full time stored, she could gain experience 25 times before the curse killed her. Or if she wore the entire set¡­ No she just promised herself that would never happen. She tried to avoid thinking how it would take roughly 6 hours in game for her with her low mana regeneration to fill the boots fully with time. Or about 17 minutes to regenerate enough mana to store a hundredth of a second. Still, in the beginner days, Raine had an advantage no other player had, a small side effect of the curse. Stuck as a level 1 novice, she had no reason to fear death. It was impossible for her to lose experience that she did not have and as part of the special treatment for beginners, the Novice class did not lose any items upon death. Thus, although she could only safely kill an enemy every 15 minutes, there was nothing stopping her from killing a monster and activating the curse to regain full health and mana after respawning back in the city. The only downside would be running to the fields of monsters, but that was what the Running and Jumping arts could help with. Of course, as time went on, this benefit would become less. Running from the city, killing two monsters, dying, and running back was less efficient than staying and sweeping through the enemies. Raine still had her sword and bow from the beta test. Although she had yet to decide on a play style, she decided to hunt some monsters outside the city. On her way to the gates, she noticed the city seemed much more lively than when she first logged on even though it was in the middle of the night. Regardless of the fact that the merchants had closed shop for the day and less villagers were out in the streets, the amount of players in the city had swelled in numbers. They all appeared to be fairly excited as many players were even sprinting through the streets. Strangely, most of them seemed to be heading in the same direction. ¡°Is there some event going on in the city?¡± Whatever the case, Raine continued on her way to the north gates. Passing through the gates, the two guards gave her odd looks. Unconcerned, Raine continued on her way. From the view on the clock tower, she knew that most players would be hunting in the plains to the south. The lake to the west was out of the question as it raised some concerns she would rather not think about at the moment. The mountains in the east were likely a high level area, thus Raine was left with the forest to the north. Her hopes at some easy practice were quickly shattered. Even in the less populated area to the north of the city, beginners were still massacring helpless bunnies left and right. Watching the poor rabbit¡¯s plight, she felt a twinge of pity. With no other option, she walked into the forest to find other prey. The sun had long since set. Walking amidst the trees, Raine¡¯s visibility was limited at best. Warily, she moved from tree to tree. Slowly, the plains disappeared from view and she was surrounded by nothing but trees. It wasn¡¯t long before Raine felt like something was wrong. ¡°...Why haven¡¯t I seen any monsters?¡± The forest was usually teeming with life, yet she still had not found any monsters. With the amount of noise she had been making, surely she would have attracted at least a monster or two by now. Yet, her trek through the forest continued uninterrupted. Before she had noticed it, Raine¡¯s pace slowed down as not enough moonlight streamed through the branches from above. ¡°...¡± Each hesitant step crunched leaves, creating a sound that was too loud for Raine¡¯s liking. Shadows covered the forest . Amidst the darkness, Raine¡¯s vivid imagination envisioned monsters hiding behind each and every bush. ¡°Hoo hoo. Hoo hoo.¡± An owl hooted. Gripping the sword tightly, Raine thought her foray into the forest sounded like a worse and worse idea with each passing second. Hesitantly, she continued on through the forest. *Crack.* Raine froze as she stepped on a twig. The forest went silent. Even the eerie owl hoots disappeared. Alone in the quiet, Raine found herself wishing the dreaded hoots quickly returned. The lack of noise was unnerving and seemed to press down on her. The forest waited in anticipation. Not even the crickets dared to chirp. Raine stood in tense silence in the now still forest. Seconds passed by that felt like hours. Slowly, the sounds of the forest resumed. ¡°Perhaps I should head back¡­¡± Having had enough, Raine turned to go back to the city. It took her only a couple of steps to realize she was completely lost. All the trees surrounding her looked the same. She began to doubt herself as she continued walking through the forest. The trees she once walked through without care gained menacing tones as they towered over her and reached for her with their long limbs. ¡°That is silly, trees don¡¯t move. They are just plants.¡± Raine told herself. Though her logic was sound, she couldn¡¯t shake her fear. All she was doing was walking through the forest¡­ In the middle of the night¡­ Alone... The sound of the leaves swaying in the wind. The creaking and bending of branches. The crickets chirped. The owl hooted. The cicadas cried. The familiar sounds offered her no comfort. Almost blind in the dark and completely lost, Raine¡¯s heart pounded loudly in her ears. Something rustled behind her. Badump. Badump. Badump. Her heart rate spiked. Gripping the sword so tightly the whites of her knuckles showed, Raine turned around with clattering knees. The bush nearby her rustled again. She placed the sword between her and the bush. The sword trembled as its owner slowly approached the bush. The bush rustled once more. Raine¡¯s heart pounded. Her hands shook. Fearfully, she poked the bush with her sword. A cute yelp called out and a small harmless ball of fur darted out of the bush and into the distance. ¡°...¡± Raine stood alone next to the bush, sword still outstretched. Suddenly, she felt like she had been very foolish. She was terrified and it turned out to only be a small rabbit? The menacing trees and eerie sounds of the forest returned to normal. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Hahaha.¡± Raine laughed. She had made the entire situation worse than it actually seemed. Leaning against a tree, she closed her eyes. She was letting fear get the better of herself. Raine took a deep break to calm herself. Finally calm, Raine opened her eyes. Inches from her face were two luminous gold eyes. Before she could even react, they disappeared. ¡°...!¡± Raine¡¯s scream got stuck in her throat. With ragged breathing, she desperately searched but found only darkness. No matter where she looked, she could not find the owner of the two gold eyes. Only the darkness and the sound of her ragged breathing filled the forest. Unsteadily, she got to her feet. At first, each of her steps was hesitant. Her mind screamed at her body to run away yet she could only shakily take each step forward one at a time. A flash of gold at the edge of her vision spurred her trembling footsteps faster. Before she knew it, Raine was flat out sprinting through the forest. Low hanging branches clawed at Raine¡¯s face. Trees jumped at her. No matter how far she ran, her adversaries would always surround her. They clung at her clothes, trying to hold her back. There was no escape. A root snuck up and struck her foot. Hitting the ground hard, Raine quickly pushed herself up and continued running, heedless of the dirt in her hair. Miraculously, she saw the number of trees thin. Running through the gaps in the trees, she arrived at a clearing. She collapsed into a terrified heap in the middle of it. Although not out of the creepy forest, she was at least in an small open area. Her heart pounded. Her breathing was ragged. Desperately, she looked at the edge of the clearing she came out of. Two golden eyes peered back at her. Raine fearfully dragged herself backwards. She had not escaped. She was still being watched. Raine turned to the other side of the clearing in hope. ¡°Arrooooooo!¡± A wolf howl rang out in front of her. ¡°Arooooo!¡± ¡°Aroooo!¡± ¡°Aroooo!¡± Several more howls echoed out throughout the forest. The worst part was that the howls were nearby. Several sharp eyes appeared in front of her. ¡°...Ahaha¡­¡± With a single pair of golden eyes behind her and dozens of sharp eyes in front of her, Raine was surrounded. Hopelessness clawed at Raine. She was too weak. She could not fight off both the mysterious foe and a pack of wolves. Raine gave up and laid down on the ground, closing her eyes. She did not want to see what end was in store for her. Badump. Badump. Badump. Badump. Raine tried to calm her pounding heart. A death would send her back to the city where she would be safe. Badump. Badump. Badump. The wolves growled menacingly. She heard rustling in their direction. With a tinge of hope, she welcomed the death that was coming for. Badump.... Badump.... Badump.... Her heartbeat slowed down. Minutes dragged by but nothing happened. Hesitantly, Raine opened her eyes. ¡°...?¡± Raine looked around. The golden eyes still stared at her. Most of the wolf pack had disappeared with only one set of eyes remaining on her. ¡°...Why am I still alive? The wolves looked like they wanted to kill me. I was not even resisting.¡± Raine sat dumbfounded. Idly, she stared at the golden eyes on the other side of the clearing. Even from this distance, they felt eerie. Yet, they did nothing but watch her. ¡°Can it be? That it is not hostile? No, no, no. That is ridiculous. That still wouldn¡¯t explain why the wolves didn¡¯t attack me even when I practically begged them to. Could there be something special in this clearing?¡± Raine finally calmed down. For whatever reason, she was not being attacked. Looking around the clearing, it was a fairly normal clearing with only a small rock near the center. There wasn¡¯t any visible thing that would ward off monsters that she could see. Raine was still in a bad situation but for the moment, it was not terrible. Finally, she noticed a familiar blinking at the edge of her vision. Clicking on the notification, Raine was stunned.
Fear: For facing an opponent 30 times your level, stats are reduced by 30%.
You have gained a new title: Sylph This title can be used to take the place of your name. Adventurers have spread tale¡¯s of your exploits around the world. Equipping this title results in increased affinity with spirits.
Even the system had named her Sylph? Walking around with this title was like painting a big target upon her back. Although¡­ If it could take the place of her name, maybe she could create a separate identity? Raine shook her head to clear her confusion. She was now Raine. She wanted nothing to do with Sylph. As far as she was concerned, Sylph was a npc the developers created to help people out. Raine stood up and looked up at the moon, solidifying her resolve. She had nothing to do with Sylph. All the imposters could lay claim to that title. She would forever be known solely as Raine. Raine shivered. Confused, she looked around her. The golden eyes still watched her and the last wolf had disappeared. Why did she shiver? Nothing had changed. That is right. Nothing had changed. So, Raine asked herself, why does it feel so cold? As a cold breeze brushed against her skin, Raine¡¯s face slowly paled. ¡°... Why can I feel a breeze on my stomach? The beginner outfit should easily cover it.¡± The cold breeze reached not only her stomach but all over her body as well. Raine shivered again, her former fears forgotten. No longer was she worried about the golden eyes that observed her. She had much more pressing concerns. Raine hesitated. Her instincts told her that looking down could prove disastrous. She did not want to know. All it would take was a simple glance down to confirm her suspicions. Yet, her gaze remained fixed on the moon in the sky. Raine opened her inventory. Her hand became impatient as it looked searched through her items. As she reached the end of the list, her hand froze. ¡°...None.¡± She went back to the top again, and searched her inventory once again. Yet, she reached the same conclusion. No matter how many times she tried, the result remained the same. ¡°None. I have no others.¡± This time, her shiver had nothing to do with the cold. She remembered the situation in town. As much as she tried to deny it, the population in the town suddenly increased. Also, all the adventurer¡¯s seemed to be heading towards the same direction in town. Both of these happened only after Raine had logged out. The direction these players were heading? It was directly towards the clock tower. Most likely, she was seen when she made her resolve. She had underestimated her popularity. Someone had been keeping a watch on the clock tower. Probably, they were still waiting for her to come out. If she had not been teleported to the fountain upon leaving the clock tower¡­ Raine shuddered at the thought. While walking through the forest, Raine had been terrified. She had given up and wanted something to kill her so she could respawn in the city. Yet, now she couldn¡¯t afford to die. Raine made a promise with herself today, one that she planned to keep for the rest of her days. Yet, not even a day had passed and she already thought about breaking it. After all, breaking the promise would be better than the alternative. Raine shivered again. She couldn¡¯t put it off any longer. She would catch a cold, if such a thing was possible in the game. Resignedly, she glanced down as she assessed the damage. ¡°...!¡± The ragged clothing barely covered the important places and little of anything else. Creamy white skin peaked out from the many holes in the clothing. Her fragile body trembled in the cold. Only her black boots remained untouched. ¡°... If I died right now and respawned in the city with my current clothing¡­¡± Raine could not even complete the thought. Her only alternative was almost as bad. The results would be just as disastrous or perhaps, even worse. Regardless, she could no longer afford to die. Raine opened her inventory again. Her hand hovered over two items. Slowly, it started trembling. Could she really do this? As she hesitated, a devil appeared in her mind, perched on her left shoulder. It whispered to her. ¡°It is fine. Go ahead and do it. It will only be uncomfortable in the beginning. Once you get used to it¡­¡± Raine broke out into a cold sweat. ¡°I do not want to get used to it!¡± Furiously, she retorted. An angel appeared on her right shoulder. Hopefully, Raine turned and looked towards the angel for a solution. With a saintly smile, the angel spoke. ¡°Go ahead and don those holy clothes. A skirt contains the hopes and dreams of young men and women. It is truly a fitting piece of clothing to guard the divine artifact that all younglings chase after.¡± ¡°You too!?¡± Raine cried out in protest at the angel¡¯s betrayal. Yet, she could think of no alternative. Raine gave up. When even an angel was agreeing with a devil, she knew there really was only one option. The trembling hand reached out and equipped the two items. With a flash of light, Raine was now wearing the white blouse and black skirt along with her black boots. She collapsed to the ground as a great sense of loss welled up within her. She swore to never wear a skirt again. That vow did not even last a day. But she had no choice, her only other option was to wear rags that could hardly qualify itself as clothing. Running madly through the forest at night did a number on the beginner outfit. It did not have much durability to begin with. With a sigh, Raine cleared her thoughts. She looked around herself. The golden eyes had vanished at some point in time, leaving her alone in the small clearing. Raine was tired. She had madly run through the forest in the middle of the night after all. The fact that the angel and a demon appeared on her shoulders spoke volumes about how tired she was. ¡°World domination! It is not just a dream! With your good looks and the mystery surrounding you, men and women will gladly fall under your command!¡± ¡°That is right! Don the holy garb and spread hope and peace. Your smile will save the desolate and your beauty will end all wars.¡± Remarkably, they were in agreement. Raine walked to the edge of the clearing and sat down against a tree. For whatever reason, both the wolf pack and the mysterious monster refused to enter this clearing. Hence, Raine considered it to be something like a safe zone. Exhaustion dragged at her and her eyes started closing of their own accord. Regardless of whether she was right or not, she needed sleep. Hesitantly, Raine equipped the Sylph title and placed it as her name. She couldn¡¯t afford for the two identities to be connected after all. Listening to the angel and devil with their weirdly in sync plans, Raine wondered if she was actually a narcissist before sleep finally claimed her. Chapter 9: A Warm Greeting Authors Note: While Raine has the title Sylph equipped, she will be referred to as Sylph.
Warm sunlight streamed down through the trees. Birds chirped happily as they flew through the air. The leaves rustled softly as a gentle breeze stirred Sylph¡¯s hair. Her head rested against a solid tree while the rest of her body lay upon the soft grass. The sound of muffled footsteps on grass echoed through the clearing. A collections of soft gasps escaped. Quietly, they started whispering amongst themselves. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Sylph was sleeping on a cloud. The temperature was perfect and the wind was gentle. Her only complaint was that her pillow was a little hard. A small ping representing a notification reached her sleep filled brain, but she ignored it. The subsequent pings were insistent, yet Sylph ignored them all. She was too comfortable to rouse herself for them. Eventually, the pings stopped. The group once again quietly whispered amongst themselves. One member took charge. With gentle, careful steps, he approached the sleeping maiden. Sylph was in paradise. Just as she was about to return to her peaceful slumber, a shadow was cast over her face and she heard a kind voice. ¡°Hey, a girl shouldn¡¯t be sleeping in a place like this. Come on, wake up.¡± ¡°...Mmmm?¡± Sylph opened her eyes. A large figure covered in plate armor knelt gently before her. At first shadows covered his face. Yet, as Sylph¡¯s vision cleared, she smiled. She knew that face. ¡°...Good morning.¡± ¡°..!¡± A bell like voice called out a warm greeting. The man froze in shock. A commotion arose in the people behind him. One figure dashed out and approached Sylph. ¡°..?¡± Sylph caught an image of blue before she was engulfed in warmth as two soft things pressed into her. Slender hands wrapped themselves around her body and a head snuggled up against Sylph¡¯s chest. ¡°..?¡± Sylph was not sure how to respond, but she was still comfortable so she didn¡¯t particularly care. With one hand, she hugged back the girl while with the other, she gently patted her silky head. Gaining such a soft and warm blanket, a sigh of contentment escaped Sylph''s mouth. ¡°Eh¡­ Uhm¡­¡± The armored man before Sylph uttered dumbly. His eyes shifted uncertainly as if he didn¡¯t know what to make of the scene before him. ¡°Hahaha.¡± Brilliant laughter rang out behind him. As if following his lead, the last two figures hunched over in laughter as well. Their laughter was infectious. ¡°Haha.¡± A bell-like laugh joined them. Upon hearing her laugh, the girl hugging Sylph finally looked up. ¡°Ummm¡­ N-Nice to meet you!¡± Nice to meet you? Sylph questioned why she said that. They were friends after all. ¡°...¡± What was she doing before she woke up again? Also, why was Lily hugging her? The two of them did not have that kind of a relationship. ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°...¡± Lily trailed off in uncertainty at Sylph¡¯s silence. Looking around, Sylph froze. She was finally fully awake. She was in the game. Upon waking up, she found herself surrounded by her friends. ---------- The man in full plate armor with orange hair before her was Drake. Off to the back and looking at the scene in amusement with blonde hair was Leon. Camellia stood with her fists clenched as if she was resisting something next to the red haired girl, Rose. Finally, Lily with her blue hair was hugging her. ¡°...¡± What is with this situation!? Sylph complained in her head. She didn¡¯t know whether to be embarrassed or terrified. Lily was still clinging to her, after all. Don¡¯t tell me this was her plan!? It is always the innocent looking ones that are actually the most dangerous! One look at Lily¡¯s happy face dispelled such thoughts. But Sylph noticed another problem. ¡°No, stop you traitorous hand!¡± Sylph commanded her hand. Yet, it did not listen. Against her wishes, her hand continued to pat Lily gently on the head. Perhaps enjoying it, Lily had a warm smile on her face with closed eyes. ¡°Ah, no good. I can¡¯t stop. I think I am getting addicted.¡± Sylph surrendered. Still, she did not know what to do. Lily was usually shy with strangers so why had she hugged a person she just met? Helplessly, she looked at the girl who was hugging her. Perhaps encouraged by her glance, Lily spoke up once again. ¡°Nice to meet you!¡± ¡°...Nice to meet you.¡± Seeing the innocent joy on her face, Sylph was stunned. She was happy over such a simple thing? Lily renewed her hug. "Stop! Even though I am a girl, I am still a guy! " thought Sylph with conflicted emotions. Lily happily rested her head against Sylph¡¯s chest. ¡°... Why is nothing listening to me. Both my hand and Lily are traitors!¡± Raine tearfully complained in her heart. Perhaps seeing some of her hesitation on her face, Leon called out. ¡°Sorry, she is not usually like this.¡± ¡°... It is fine.¡± Sylph gave up on everything. Drake was still frozen in shock. Rose looked on with curiosity on her face. Lily was content and happy. Leon just smiled. Camellia looked frustrated as she walked up and kicked the petrified man. Finally, Drake woke up. ¡°Y-Y-Y-Y-You¡­ C-C-Could it be!?¡± ¡°...?¡± Sylph tilted her head. Drake was so incoherent she could hardly understand him. Leon took over. ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°...¡± Sylph felt Lily shift on top of her as she turned to look at her face. Five pairs of gazes latched onto her in anticipation. ¡°...Sylph.¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± Eh? Did I say something strange? Sylph thought they already knew who she was. So why were they so shocked? ¡°Your name is Sylph? Sylph is a reserved name that players can not use. Anyone who had that name during the beta test was forced to change it. Yet, you say your name is Sylph?¡± ¡°...It is the name you guys gave me, after all.¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°..!¡± ¡°Well, if you guys do not believe me, I do not particularly care.¡± No, in fact, please do not believe me, thought Sylph. ¡°Is it alright if Camellia uses ¡¸Scan¡¹ on you? Her level is only high enough to see your name.¡± Sylph nodded in acceptance. Finally, the warmth on her chest disappeared when Lily got off of her. Did she feel relief or disappointment at the hug ending? Not even Sylph herself knew. Taking the opportunity, Sylph stood up as well. Sylph looked around. As nice as it was seeing her friends, the longer she stayed the more she risked exposing her secret. Just running into the trees would probably not work. The tree branches were too high to reach through one jump alone. Luckily, there was a platform right before her. As Sylph pondered her course of action, Camellia finished using ¡¸Scan¡¹. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°...No way.¡± Camellia words of disbelief became the cue. Raine leaped onto Drake¡¯s shoulder, then in the same motion jumped back on top of the branches of the tree she was resting on. Five sets of gazes stared at her in shock. ¡°Well, as nice as it was meeting you guys, I have to go¡­¡± ¡°--Wait!¡± Just as she was about to leave, a voice interrupted her. Normally, Sylph would have ignored it, but she had never heard this particular person raise her voice. Unconsciously, she stopped. ¡°Will we see you again?¡± ¡°...Yeah. See you later.¡± Jumping from branch to branch, Sylph disappeared from sight. As soon as she confirmed that she was far enough away and she stopped. Looking at the several notifications she had received, she sighed wearily. They were all from Leon sent to Raine telling her that they found Sylph and that she should hurry to their spot. He was telling the actual person that he found that person. What a joke. Gloomily, Sylph logged out. Laying on his bed, Drew wearily sighed. How could he say no to her? She was his friend and seemed to want to meet again so much. If it meant that much to her, then maybe it was worth the risk. Still, the first day had been a disaster. On that thought, he called it a night. He was not looking forward to the next day of school. ---------- Drake did not even give him a chance to start his food. As soon as Drew sat down, Drake started speaking. ¡°You will not believe what happened yesterday in Evolution Arts!¡± ¡°Given how excited you are, you met Sylph.¡± ¡°Nope. We met---¡± Drake trailed off as he realized what Drew said. Perhaps it had not been the smartest move but Drew enjoyed the look of shock on Drake¡¯s face. A couple of chuckles from around the table told him that the rest of his friends found it funny as well. ¡°Alright, you got me. We met Sylph. But! I bet you did not expect me to get this!¡± With a triumphant grin, Drake thrust his phone at Drew. Upon seeing the phone, Drew almost choked on the food he was eating. ¡°Wha-!?¡± ¡°Haha, amazing right? Don¡¯t worry, I already texted you a copy of it.¡± Upon the phone was a simple picture of a silver haired girl. Her head rested against a solid oak tree. She had obviously been there for awhile as a couple of leaves sat in her hair. Her eyes were closed and her face, unguarded. Without a care in the world, the maiden was sleeping against the oak tree in a scene of pure innocence. ¡°Why would you take a picture of a sleeping girl! Who would even want such a thing!?¡± At Drew¡¯s words, two people sheepishly averted their gazes. ¡°Eh!?¡± Not just Lily, even Camellia wanted a copy of the pictures!? No, knowing Drake, they both probably already had a copy of it. ¡°Besides, this Sylph is probably a fake, right?¡± Drew wanted to make his friends question the validity of their belief. Even though he didn¡¯t think he would be able to, his question had surprising results. ¡°Actually, we do not know.¡± Leon took over for Drake. He probably spent the longest time pondering about it after all. ¡°You do not know?¡± ¡°Well, Camellia used ¡¸Scan¡¹ and proved that her name is Sylph. This points to the fact that the girl is real. It is just¡­¡± ¡°It is just¡­?¡± ¡°The real Sylph was sighted at the clock tower earlier in the day since then, the clock tower has been surrounded by players. She should still be holed up in the clock tower since nobody has seen her come out yet.¡± Drew froze. He had suspected it but actually hearing it was a different story. They were waiting for him at the clock tower? All night, and they continued to do so? If he had not logged out and if logging out in that dungeon had not teleported him to the fountain, he would have been swarmed by players? Drew thought that was too close of a call. Being swarmed by players would have been even worse than being discovered by his friends. The events of the god¡¯s banquet after the beta test flashed back into his mind, a hundred plus players looking at him like ravenous hounds looking at a piece of meat. Only, it wouldn¡¯t only be a hundred players now. It could be thousands of them. Drew broke out into a cold sweat. He had been too careless. Yet, he had to know what his friends planned to do now. ¡°...So you saw Sylph. What are you going to do now?¡± ¡°Well, I wanted to post the video of our encounter on the internet, but..¡± Drake trailed off and looked at Lily. Eh? Lily stopped him? ¡°That would trouble her so for now, we are not going to do anything!¡± Drew almost had tears in his eyes. Lily, you are my savior! Still¡­ ¡°Why are you so interested in Sylph?¡± Upon being asked, Liliana''s face glowed. Like a fan discussing their favorite idle, the quiet Liliana became the passionate Lily as she talked about Sylph''s great points. ¡°She is cute! Just like a doll, I want to hug her and never let go. She was so comfortable to hug and her skin was so smooth and also--¡± ¡°No, she isn¡¯t a doll!¡± Drew couldn''t take anymore and interrupted. Secretly, he was relieved to know she did not awaken to a forbidden interest¡­ Searching for something to change the subject, he remembered about the horrors of the forest at night. He did not quite understand what happened. Perhaps asking them about those golden eyes would help? Drake spoke up with such thoughts. ¡°Actually guys, I wanted to ask you something¡­¡± ---------- ¡°You actually went into the forest at night!? Didn¡¯t you hear the rumor that everyone who goes into the forest at night never returns? That those who are adventurers who go into the forest die without realizing what is going on?¡± Leon exclaimed in shock. Huh, so that is why those guards gave me odd looks, thought Drew. Rosaline continued where Leon left off. ¡°Since you saw a pair of golden eyes, that was likely an area boss that only appears at night and kills anyone who enters the forest. The fact that it did not kill you was either coincidence or it was just toying with you. Still, I wouldn¡¯t recommend going into that forest at night. The citizens tend to call it the Forest of Lost Souls.¡± Drew could only sigh. He was now stuck in such a forest. On the bright side, if he could spend the nights hiding, the threat of the area boss will prevent players from getting too deep into the forest. As the bell rang, he headed off to class. Chapter 10: Trapped Logging back into Evolution Arts, Sylph found herself perched on a tree branch. From the amount of daylight streaming through the leaves, she knew the sun was still out. Still, she only had a couple of hours until night fell once again. Looking around, only the silent forest greeted her. Sylph sighed. ¡°I wanted to avoid them at all costs. How did we end up meeting each other right away? Not to mention those photos they took¡­¡± Drake had bragged all day about his encounter. Liliana glowed with happiness every time she looked at her phone. She had even set the photo as her home screen for her phone. ¡°If it made her that happy, perhaps I should meet up with them some more.¡± For a moment, Sylph thought about such a thing. Then, she remembered the dangers of getting exposed. No matter how happy it made them, she should not appear before them again. ¡°Now¡­ what should I do? I originally came into this forest to hunt some monsters¡­¡± As she pondered what to do, the bush beneath her rustled. Sylph froze and waited. The bush rustled once again. A ragged wolf with a bloody maw stepped out, savoring the kill of its latest victim. Sylph quieted her breathing as she watched the wolf. It appeared to be alone. With the way it licked its maw, the wolf was too busy savoring its kill to notice an ambush. Despite the risks, it was a heaven-sent opportunity that would not come again. Sylph equipped her sword and unsheathed it. Then, she converted all her mana into a hundredth of a second. Her preparations were done. It was time. Sylph sat perched on a branch above the unsuspecting wolf. With a small leap, she jumped down from the branch. Gripping the sword with both hands, she pointed it down at the unsuspecting wolf. Sword met flesh as Sylph attacked the wolf from above. The result was unsatisfying. The wolf still lived to growl in anger. The wolf''s tough fur had deflected the brunt of the attack, causing her downward thrust to only graze the wolf. A small yelp. As she fell, Sylph¡¯s weight slammed into the wolf. The wolf buckled under the pressure. She had aimed to fall directly onto the wolf. Only, she hadn¡¯t planned for the wolf to survive her first attack. Sylph hesitated a moment. That was all the opening the lone wolf needed as it threw Sylph off and stood back up. Before she could even react, it was too late. The wolf was already at her face, claws flashing. Sylph raised her left arm in response. Pain. She gritted her teeth as the wolf¡¯s claws sunk into her flesh. Three gruesome lines of blood appeared. With clenched teeth, Sylph brought up the sword in her right hand. Pow! The pummel connected with the wolf¡¯s jaw. A pained yelp broke out. A trace of fear entered Sylph¡¯s eyes. The situation was bad. A full powered pummel to the face only stunned the wolf for a second. A surprise thrust from above bounced off its fur. Her left arm throbbed in pain. Moving it would only make the bleeding worse and she would not be able to draw much power out of it. Fear crept into her mind. She would lose. Such a thing could not be allowed. Such a thing was not allowed. The consequences would be too devastating. She could not afford to die but she did not see how she would win the encounter. Sensing her fear, the wolf growled happily. Its tongue rolled over its fangs in anticipation. Looking at the cruel set of teeth, Sylph lost her nerve and panicked. If she could not win the fight, there was only one thing to do. ¡°Run!¡± Sylph turned away and ran. Yet, she was in unfamiliar territory. With a moment''s hesitation, the wolf caught up to her. Its claws lashed out again. Pain erupted in Sylph¡¯s back yet the attack lost the wolf some speed. Still, it would only be but a moment before the wolf caught up again. Another strike like that would likely kill her. The pain brought her back to her senses. Sylph had no choice but to accept it. She could not outrun the wolf in the forest. Likewise, she would lose if she fought the wolf head on. So she did something different. Something she should have done the moment the ambush failed. Sylph jumped up a low hanging branch and made her way up to the top of the tree. Seeing its prey attempt to get away, the wolf followed. Yet, jumping from tree to tree, it was no match for Sylph. Frustrated, it returned to the ground and chased her. Wolves were not meant to climb trees. Sylph sighed in relief. As long as she was up in the trees, the wolf would not be able to reach her. Most trees were not low enough for the wolf to get up to. Best of all, if it was just one wolf. Sylph was confident she that given enough time, she would be able to lose it. As she was about to sigh in relief, a sound rang out shattering her calm. ¡°Arooooo!¡± ¡°Aroooo!¡± ¡°Aroooo!¡± ¡°Aroooo!¡± The forest rumbled. An ominous feeling built in Sylph''s chest. With renewed efforts, her legs carried her from tree branch to tree branch. Stubbornly, the wolf chased her. Cold sweat dripped down Sylph''s back. If she couldn¡¯t get away in time¡­ No, such thoughts were useless. Sylph picked up the pace. Her breathing was uneven, but the wolf was even more ragged. A distance opened up between the hunter and the hunted. Sylph flashed a grin of victory. She had done it! Then, the bushes in front of her erupted in fury. The sight brought Sylph to a stunned halt. From all around her, wolves appeared in large numbers. Standing atop the tree, one hundred plus eyes stared at her. A weight pressed down on her. She might be able to escape from one or two wolves, but a hundred? And when they coordinated their movements together? No matter how long Sylph ran, she would never escape. She might not be able to escape, but they would have trouble reaching her. Sylph found the tree she stood on was too low for her liking. Looking around, she saw a particularly large one off in the distance. That would do nicely. Tree branches creaked as weight pressed down. Leaves rustled as they fell. The ground rumbled as hundreds of paws trampled upon it. The forest quieted in their passage. Sylph found jumping from tree to tree with one hundred wolves following her to be an odd experience. The scene was so bizarre that the fact one slip would spell instant death did not bother her. ¡°... I hope there are no players in these parts of the forest.¡± Sylph was pretty deep into the forest. The levels of the monsters would be too high for the players who just started the game. What would a player think if he stumbled upon a scene of a girl running from over a hundred wolves? ¡°Well¡­ If he stumbled upon such a scene, the wolves would kill him.¡± Regardless of the player''s strength, taking on a hundred wolves was a death sentence. Even the forest quieted in their passage because nobody wanted to get involved. Finally, she reached the large tree. Coming to a stop, she rested against the tree. The pack of wolves encircled the tree and sat down. From their snarls, it looked like they had no intention of leaving anytime soon. Sylph sighed. She could only wait them out. There was too many of them to outrun. She had failed miserably when she tried to ambush one wolf alone. Fighting them all was a hopeless endeavor. No, Sylph told herself, she could only wait. ¡°...¡± Fear slowly crept upon her. She knew she was safe. Wolves could not climb trees after all. So, why was she scared? Finally, she noticed a blinking notification.
You have been inflicted with the status effects: Fear For facing an opponent 20 times your level, stats are reduced by 20%.
¡°...¡± She not only had to wait until they left, she also had to tremble in fear the whole time while she waited? That would not work. She tried to think of some way out. ¡°That clearing? No, I don''t even know where I am. I would only get lost.¡± Five minutes passed. Sylph still had no plan. She started to worry. The wolves were in no hurry to leave. ¡°...¡± Another five minutes passed. Sylph''s thoughts were getting darker and darker. Every scenario ended with her getting killed by the wolves and respawning in town. ¡°...¡± Couldn¡¯t the wolves stand atop one another and pile their way up to reach her? Was she only moments away from death? A notification interrupted her thoughts.
You have unlocked the art: Fear Resistance Would you like to purchase this art for 2AP?
As a level 1, she would face many enemies that would induce the status effect fear. The stronger enemies would even cause Terror. As such, an art to mitigate the effect of Fear would be important to Sylph. Sylph bought the art. Yet, she ran into her first problem. She had 5 arts already equipped. ¡°It will have to be ¡¸Running¡¹ or ¡¸Jumping¡¹, huh?¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡¸Altered Time¡¹ was bound to her, courtesy of a stupid time god. ¡¸Deception¡¹ could prove useful. She also did not want to write off ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ . As an art that she received under mysterious circumstances, the art should not be useless. ¡°Maybe ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ can charm the wolves and cause them to forgive me. Yet, I tested it in town and it didn¡¯t seem to change my appearance or how people looked at me.¡± Being stuck in a tree, ¡¸Running¡¹ would be entirely useless. Sylph swapped out ¡¸Running¡¹ for ¡¸Fear Resistance¡¹. Although not entirely gone, she felt the weight pressing down on her ease. Her fears were too ridiculous. She had all the time in the world. Surely, the wolves would tire and go somewhere else. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± The setting sun dyed the sky crimson. Rays of light peeked through the canopy. The chirping birds gave the forest an air of tranquility. Yet, Sylph could not admire the scenery. ¡°...¡± A few hours had passed. The wolves sat below her. Though less in number, she was still completely encircled. Although the wolves did not appear alert, they would rise at her slightest movement. Yet, that was not what tormented Sylph. ¡°... I am bored.¡± Waiting for the wolves to leave grew tiresome. She had done nothing but stare at the scenery for hours. The ¡¸Fear Resistance¡¹ level ups were no longer enough to preoccupy her. ¡°...Ah, I am so bored they have appeared again.¡± A familiar angel appeared on her left shoulder along with the devil on her right. Well, she roughly knew what they were going to say. ¡°Go ahead and give in to your desires. So what if you draw hundreds of players to their deaths? They would all die with a smile on their faces anyways,¡± said the Devil. ¡°No, this is a heavenly tribulation! You must endure this trial the heavens have sent you!¡± The angel had a weird fanatical gleam in her eyes as she emphasized the enduring part. Sylph felt torn. Yet hearing the angel¡¯s half crazed mutterings about heavenly trials caused Sylph to side with the devil. Sylph could call for help. Maybe a dashing young man on a white horse will appear to save her. Sylph hoped so. That way, she could abandon him to the wolves while she ran away through the trees. An entire horse was probably more filling than a scrawny girl, right? Yet, Sylph had her own pride. She would not call for help. She was not entirely sure if she wanted anyone to find her or not, even if it meant rescuing her. Her friends had kept quiet about finding her, but the rest of the world might not be so kind. Doing anything was better than doing nothing. If doing anything resulted in drawing help from other players, then she would use that chance to escape. With such thoughts in her mind, she pulled out the silver flute. Its appearance remained unchanged from the beta test. The last time she pulled it out, things spiraled out of control. Before she knew it, the entire world listened to her song in the Evolution Arts trailer. She fearfully looked around. No players appeared before her. It was just her in the tree with the wolves surrounding her. She sighed in relief. Even if she played, it would not cause a huge commotion like last time. Right? She brought the flute up and began to play. ¡°~~~?¡± Sylph frowned. Playing the flute was difficult. She couldn¡¯t regain that feeling she once had. Up on the clock tower, she felt attuned with the wind. Just by following that feeling, Sylph had played out her song. Yet, in the forest, the feeling was different. The wind¡¯s presence was muted. Even a novice like her could tell the huge difference between the song she played atop the clock tower and the one she now played. Her song was a failure. Playing it caused frustration to well up. She had gotten cocky when everyone praised her song. Now, she would only embarrass herself if others heard her play. Once again, Sylph realized she was not an expert at music. She tried to explore the differences. Sylph did not make much progress. She thought she would be better off forgetting the feeling and playing from scratch. The answer eluded her. Time passed. Only when she heard the wolves howl did her song stop. ¡°...It is already dark.¡± With a start, Sylph realized the area boss would be out on the prowl. She had gotten lucky with her midnight stroll but that would not happen a second time. She needed to hide herself but with the wolves watching her every move, she could only sit in the tree. Sylph hoped the darkness would hide her. Yet, her white blouse would stick out quite a bit. She could take it off for something else¡­ ¡°No, no, no! What am I thinking. Then my upper body would be bare! I only have equipment with too high of a level to equip or the rags that remain of my beginner clothes.¡± Sylph froze. ¡°...Wait, equipment that is too high a level?¡± When she found out her beginner clothes had become rags, she panicked. Although she saw she had equipment that was too high a level, she passed over it because she couldn¡¯t equip it. Yet, now she pondered the implications. Back before Sylph was cursed, she had a favorite black set that had a level 20 requirement. It had a comfortable black shirt, a long black coat with silver trim, and black pants. Praying in her mind, Sylph tried to equip the black coat. ¡°...No good huh? Of course, it would not be that easy.¡± Sylph started the second experiment. If she could not equip it through the system, then perhaps she could manually equip it. Grabbing the item out of her inventory, the black coat appeared in her hands. Putting it on, a weight crushed her and strength left her body. The situation was not unbearable, but putting on any more of the gear would be impossible. The result left Sylph with mixed feelings. ¡°So there are penalties for using items that too high a level. Not to mention if I wanted to wear the entire set, I would first have to unequip or remove what I am currently wearing.¡± Wearing a skirt was already pushing her limit. Stripping clothes? If that was not bad enough, stripping out in the middle of the forest where gods know who could be watching? That was far beyond what Sylph could handle. Just the thought caused Sylph¡¯s face to burn with embarrassment. ¡°... For now, I will settle with just the jacket.¡± The jacket itself did a good job of hiding the white blouse underneath it and reached all the way to her ankles. It was a bit big for her taste, but she had gotten smaller after changing into a girl after all. Satisfied, Sylph turned her attention back to the situation below. About half the wolves attention were on her. The other half looked into the forest, growling menacingly. She was still trapped in the tree, but obviously they were not as concerned with her as before. ¡°Perhaps now is my chance!¡± She had been in the tree for hours. The wolves had waited for hours. Although they still watched her, they should be tired by now. Thinking so, Sylph carefully moved. Yet, the wolves immediately reacted to her movement and howled. A hundred pairs of eyes stared at her once again. Sylph froze. Being stared at by so many wolves, she just wanted to sink into the tree she was resting on and hide. That is right, she told herself, I am just part of the tree. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I am a tree. I have long limbs with leaves that sway in the wind. I am a tree. I am a tree...¡± Out of fear, Sylph claimed to be a tree. The hundred stares lost focus. The wolves milled around in confusion. Seeing them, a thought arose in Sylph. ¡°Could it be they lost sight of me?¡± Distracted by such a thought, the wolves attention snapped back to her. Why did they lose sight of her? All she thought of was being part of a tree. Could it be because of ¡¸Deception¡¹? Once again, Sylph thought of herself as being a part of the tree. The wolves¡¯ gazes lost focus. For a few seconds, they started to wonder around. One wolf approached the tree branch and sniffed. ¡°Aroooo!¡± The wolves halted and turned to stare at Sylph. Sylph then unequipped ¡¸Deception¡¹. Thinking of herself as part of the tree, she monitored the wolves¡¯ behavior. Regardless of her thoughts, their behavior did not change. They all continued to stare at her. Reequipping ¡¸Deception¡¹, she put her thoughts into order. ¡°So, ¡¸Deception¡¹ can cause them to lose sight of me for a moment but is not strong enough to make them ignore my scent. If I increase the level of ¡¸Deception¡¹, maybe I can sneak my way out of here.¡± Sylph gave up for the day. She decided to go to sleep while maintaining her deception as being a part of the tree. She would have two options to try in the future. Either she outran the pack of wolves or she would sneak out in the middle of the night with ¡¸Deception¡¹. Hopefully the wolves lose interest in her before she manages to sneak out or run away. Hopefully, the golden eyed area boss wouldn¡¯t show up and kill her. Chapter 11: The Forest of Lost Souls Authors Comments: An update! After a two month break. Updates will be irregular/slow, though at this point, I don''t think you need me to tell you that. Thanks for the support. E-Eh? You have already forgotten who I am in our short time apart? How about now? W-Wait, what is with the torches. Why are you tying me to a wooden stake? N-No. W-Wait a moment! Ahhhh!
When Sylph woke up, it took her a moment to remember that she was stuck in a tree surrounded by wolves. If she had turned over in her sleep and fallen off, that would have been the end of her. Full of hope, she glanced downwards. Although less in numbers, the wolf pack still rested at the base of the tree. Only about 20 of the original 100 odd wolves remained remained. One wolf continued to watch her while the others were asleep. Although she her attempt to deceive the whole pack failed, when there was only one wolf¡­ Sylph thought of herself as part of the tree and the wolf¡¯s stare lost focus. Just as Sylph was about to cry out in triumph, the wolf howled. Twenty pairs of eyes snapped open. The wolves spread out and began searching around the tree. As if it was inevitable, one wolf closed in on her position. Its nose twitched in confusion A sinking feeling rested heavily in her stomach. With bright eyes, the wolf looked up and spotted her. The subsequent howl alerted its fellow wolves to Sylph''s presence and ended her hopes of an easy escape. Sylph sighed. ¡¸Deception¡¹ would take some time. Removing it, she reequipped ¡¸Running¡¹ and waited. The wolves spent a few chaotic running around the tree before they sat down and went back to sleep. Soon, only one wolf was on guard. ¡°Now!¡± Sylph jumped off the branch of the large tree onto another nearby tree. Without looking back, she fled through the forest. Only the startled howls of the guard wolf followed her. ¡°Aroooo!¡± The guard wolf was delayed a beat before he howled. Hadn¡¯t he ever heard the phrase ¡®Let sleeping dogs lie?¡¯ Sylph complained in her heart. Either way, Sylph managed to put some distance between her and the pack before they recovered. Jumping from branch to branch, Sylph carefully plotted her course. A misjump would cause her to fall to her death. An awkward landing would cause the wolves to catch up and she would lose all hope of escaping. Having to zig-zag from branch to branch lost her precious speed. With the wolves outnumbering her, trying to lose them by suddenly changing directions was hopeless. She would have to lose them with only speed. Unfortunately, Raine was not fast enough. When she turned to gauge the wolf¡¯s progress, a few of the lead wolves had already caught up. It wasn¡¯t long before the rest of the pack showed up. Today¡¯s escape ended in failure. Heedless of that fact, she continued to flee through the forest. Her only alternative was sitting in the tree for the rest of the day until nightfall. The wolves obviously knew the surrounding forest while Sylph had to waste time planning a course. Not only would continuing the game of tag raise ¡¸Running¡¹, ¡¸Jumping¡¹, and her stats, she could gain familiarity with the forest. She had to be careful though. Not only did she not want other players to spot her, running into a group of players with a pack of 100 wolves did not sit well with her. If they came to their deaths while she was sitting in a tree was one thing, directly leading monsters into them was an entirely different matter. In both sneaking out and running away, she had a ways to go. With a weary sigh, Sylph momentarily rested in a tree. The hundred wolves did not even look the slightest bit tired. --------- Sylph was impatient. Although she made progress on every attempt, each day ended in failure. Of her arts, ¡¸Running¡¹, ¡¸Jumping¡¹, ¡¸Fear Resistance¡¹, and ¡¸Deception¡¹ could help her escape. ¡¸Altered Time¡¹ was permanently equipped and could not be removed. She had kept ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ because she did not know what it could do and thought it might help the situation. Still, Sylph could not get away. Since ¡¸Deception¡¹ was guaranteed to be helpful, Sylph decided to swap out ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ for ¡¸Deception¡¹. Getting her arts set, she waited for the perfect moment. The wolf pack below her was getting faster at waking up and responding to her sudden maneuvers. Each day, the head start she received from suddenly jumping into action decreased. That is why, Sylph waited. Even the most watchful guard dog would have a moment of distraction. Sylph crouched on the tree, prepared to take flight at the drop of a hat. In a tense silence, she waited and watched. The guard dog eyed her warily as it noticed her behavior. Only because she had not yet made a move did it not call out to wake its fellows. Between the intense staring contest, a small butterfly approached the wolf and landed on its snout. Distracted, the wolf sneezed. By the time it regained itself, the girl had disappeared from the tree. It took a few moments of puzzled silence before the wolf realized what had happened and woke its comrades. The huge lead she had gained surprised Sylph. All she had to do was activate ¡¸Deception¡¹ at a tree a little further in the distance and she would vanish from the wolf¡¯s sight. From experience, she knew it took the wolves careful attention for them to sniff out her location when she is hiding with ¡¸Deception¡¹. Sylph found the perfect tree, only three leaps away. Not only was it high up, there also was a hole in its opening for her to hide in. Smiling, Sylph headed for it. Her first jump. ¡°Eh?¡± Something was wrong. The back of Sylph¡¯s brain screamed at her, yet she was so close to getting away. As soon as she hid in the tree and activated ¡¸Deception¡¹, she would escape from the wolves. Sylph continued on, regardless of her bad feeling. The second jump. ¡°Wait a second.¡± Her feeling of unease skyrocketed. Sylph began to realize what was wrong and yet, her forward momentum carried her into her third and final jump. The jump was further and narrower than the previous two. The previous day she had made this kind of jump several times while fleeing from the wolves, but this time¡­ ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Sylph barely landed at the edge of the branch before her unsteady footing caused her to lose her balance. A weightless sensation filled her and she wildly flailed her arms. Eyes closed in fear, her hand gripped something hard and her sudden descent was halted. Hesitantly, Sylph opened her eyes. ¡°... Safe.¡± Dangling by one arm from a tree branch a few feet from the ground, Sylph avoided the worst case scenario of falling out of the tree. ¡°Arooo!¡± The howl of wolves came from nearby. Sylph¡¯s face turned white. The only reason she had lived so far surrounded by wolves was that she was far above them in the trees. Yet, now she was dangling from a much lower branch at a height the wolves were likely capable of reaching. Growing frantic, Sylph quickly secured her grip on the branch with both hands. Putting strength into her arms, she slowly lifted herself up. ¡°This pitiful strength!¡± She was too weak, her strength stat too low. The sound of bushes rustling reached her ears. Sylph looked around her fearfully. ¡°...Now, now. I know we may have had our differences in the past but can¡¯t we set that aside? Hahaha...¡± Sylph smiled and spoke to the wolves around her. Ignoring her, they formed a circle around her. One wolf stepped out of the pack and with a bark, jumped at Sylph. Seeing her impending death, Sylph tried to pull herself up. The jaws of the wolf snapped down on empty air just inches away from the bottom of her feet. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Sylph let out a sigh of relief after escaping from the most immediate danger. She had narrowly avoided the bite but still fell short of pulling herself up. She was much closer this time around. After all, death is a strong motivator. Giving her no time to relish in her small victory, another wolf stepped up, barked, and jumped at Sylph. Sylph frantically pulled herself up. As the wolf passed her, the tree branch she clung to let out the sound of an ominous snap. Sylph felt her position get lower the ground as the tree branch bent under her weight. When the next wolf snapped at her heels, she barely avoided losing her feet. The tree branch shook and the splitting sound of the branch signaled that it would not hold for long. Sylph was rapidly losing feeling in her arms. Her breathing grew increasingly ragged. She was too weak to fully pull herself up the branch. Yet her only alternative was to drop down in front of the entire pack of wolves. Thus, she could only continue her impromptu and forced strength training. Next, a white wolf stepped out of the pack. Both its size and color marked it as the alpha of the pack. A much higher level, it would be able to leap to a height the rest of the wolves were unable to reach. Seeing him, Sylph felt her death draw near. Her arms were already at their limit. The tree branch could break at any moment. There was no way she would be able to pull herself up enough to avoid the attack. If she had that much strength, she would have already been on top of the branch and out of this mess already. ¡°No, I can¡¯t give up here.¡± If strength would not work, she would have to use something else. Quickly, Sylph swapped ¡¸Deception¡¹ for ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹. Preparations made, she eyed the alpha wolf carefully. She would only have one chance. Her low strength gave her neither the ability to pull herself up or the ability to damage the alpha wolf. Her situation was never ending. If she couldn¡¯t pull herself up, she could only avoid. If she only avoided, she would eventually tire and become wolf chow. Sylph forcibly calmed her breathing and honed her focus. If she could not pull herself up with her own strength, then there was really only one option for her to get atop the branch. The white wolf flashed a toothy grin. When it barked, the rest of the wolves surrounding it also howled. With powerful steps, the alpha launched itself at its prey. Unlike the past, Sylph did not put strength into her arms to try to avoid the leap. In fact, she welcomed it. Reaching out with her feet, she stepped on the wolf¡¯s snout and propelled herself up with her legs. Gracefully, she flipped herself onto the tree branch using the borrowed momentum. With a quick kick, she jumped off the branch to a higher one. The white wolf disappointingly fell to the ground, its hunt ending in failure. A huge snap sound shook the tree as the tree branch broke from the sudden force and fell to the ground. ¡°That was too close.¡± Sylph firmly rested once she was safely high enough up the tree. As if to mock her efforts, a window appeared in front of her.
For performing an incredible feat of agility, your agility stat has increased by 1. +1 Agility
After all her effort, her reward was a stat point in agility instead of strength. Sylph couldn¡¯t help but think a certain trickster god had some hand in this and was laughing at her efforts. It must have been quite the show, watching her do pull ups while wolves leaped at her from below. She took a moment to rest in the tree. Sylph thought back to the reason for her escapes failure. Her unsteady balance as she jumped from one tree branch to another had caused her to slow down. It only got worse the faster she pushed herself and she even slipped at the end. In a situation where a single fall meant instant death, she couldn¡¯t afford to slip again. ¡°I did everything as I normally did, so what was different?¡± Only one thing stood out to her that was different from the past. She had unequipped ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹. The art¡¯s effects were ambiguous and she had replaced it with deception. If the lack of ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ was truly the cause of her fall, Sylph would have to give up the easy run-and-hide method to escape. It was this suspicion that caused her to reequip ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ at that critical moment. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Jumping from branch to branch with ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ equipped, Sylph confirmed that there was no problem with her balance or posture. She then unequipped it and tried again. Each jump carried with it a loud noise of its passage. Upon landing, the shaking of the branch would throw her off balance. With ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ equipped, she hadn¡¯t even noticed the shaking, but now it was enough to almost cause her to fall. She was unable to rapidly jump from branch to branch without risking the chance of losing her balance. ¡°So I was right. ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ is a useful art after all.¡± ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ likely carried with it a movement correction, albeit a much smaller and more subtle one than your normal art. With ¡¸Swordsmanship¡¹ equipped, a person''s motion as he swung his blade carried a large and noticeable movement correction. ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹ was different though. Most of the corrections were minute and seemed to be related to balance and posture. ¡°Now then, what should I do now?¡± It was the fourth day Sylph was trapped in the forest and escaping from the wolf pack still seemed to be a far off venture. She had mapped quite a bit of the forest the previous day but still was no closer to finding a way out of it. Night had come and she returned to her tall tree for shelter in avoiding the area boss. Returning to where she left off at the previous day, Sylph continued her search of the forest. Of course, her patient wardens went with her, scaring off any would be monsters they crossed. Sylph traveled for about 30 minutes before coming to an abrupt stop. A familiar sound reached her ears, one she had not heard before in the forest. The gurgling sound of a river brushing up against some rocks. Sylph¡¯s face lit up. ¡°A river! This could be my ticket out of here!¡± With a newfound purpose, Sylph followed the river downstream. Time ticked away. The wolf pack followed her unceasingly. A couple of hours later, the river opened up into a lake. Reaching the lake, a peaceful feeling swept through Sylph. Sitting on the branch of a tree nearest to the lake, she took a moment to rest. The scene was so beautiful and tranquil that she couldn¡¯t help herself. The peaceful feeling slowly lulled Sylph to sleep. Even the wolves below her seemed to calm down and close their eyes. --------- An unsettling feeling woke Sylph. She glanced around in confusion. The sun was setting over the horizon. The peaceful aura of the lake had disappeared so thoroughly that it was like it never existed. ¡°How could I let this happen?¡± It would soon be night, the most dangerous time of day in the forest. The area boss would be on the prowl and here she was in a fairly open location. The once pristine and clear blue lake water had turned inky black. The warm atmosphere from earlier disappeared and a slow, creeping chill pervaded the air. It was too late to run. Night had fallen. Helpless, Sylph put on the dark coat from her inventory and equipped ¡¸Deception¡¹. At some point, her honor guard of wolves below her had completely vanished. Normally, Sylph would rejoice. Now though, she wished they had taken her along with them. She did not want to stay by the inky lake a moment longer. Even with ¡¸Fear Resistance¡¹, the place was causing her to break out in chills. Yet, something told her that moving would not be a good idea. When night falls, those golden eyes came out and ruled the forest. Sylph¡¯s uneasiness sprang from the lake. Its black surface gave it the illusion of being a bottomless pit. The boundary of where the lake ended and forest began disappeared as fog rolled off the edges of the lake. The lake was completely quiet. A blue orb of flame winked into existence followed by several others. The orbs floated over the dark surface of the lake, creating a ghastly scene. Soon, the howling began. Originally quiet and still, the orbs of flames began to move erratically. Each orb produced their own sounds. From one, the sound of broken wailing as if everything in the world was lost. Another howled like a banshee in anger. From one orb, incomprehensible shouts of confusion. Together, the many orbs formed a symphony of anger, torment, and sorrow. Their cry summoned hundreds of more orbs over the lake. Combined, their din erupted into a howl. As their howls reached a new crescendo, the lake began to boil. With one ultimate final cry, the flaming orbs above the lake quieted and it stepped out. Its entire body was covered in darkness. The lines of its figure were blurred and wherever it traveled, a bone piercing cold followed. It blended completely into the night and only its two luminous eyes were visible. Sylph froze. In her surprise, she even forgot to maintain her deception to hide herself. The lake was the summoning point for the area boss that killed off everyone that entered in the night. Seeing the pair of golden eyes look directly at her, Sylph regained herself in shock. ¡°Run? No, it will certainly kill me before I can escape. I can only hope ¡¸Deception¡¹ holds out.¡± Sylph desperately thought. Turning away from the area boss, she leaned against the tree and thought of herself as part of the forest. From the its actions, the monster only targeted intruders of the forest and not actual inhabitants. So, if Sylph could trick it into thinking she belonged here, she would be safe. Twigs snapped. Leaves rustled from soft footfalls. The sounds of movement were gradually getting closer. The cold air from the lake left her trembling. The fog hindered Sylph¡¯s sight. A foul odor of rot and decay reached Sylph¡¯s nose. The monster was close. Sylph¡¯s heart beated too loudly in her chest. The tree shook. Startled, Sylph fearfully clung to the branch she was resting on. She carefully looked around, afraid that her sudden movement might have attracted attention. Her eyes could not find it. No matter how desperately she searched the forest ground, she could not find the monster. Yet, the foul stench was stronger than ever. The tree shook a second time. Better braced, the shake did little more than cause Sylph¡¯s heartbeat to quicken. An idea slammed into Sylph. The tree shook a third time. The bone piercing cold hung over her neck like a blade. ¡°If it is not on the forest ground, then it could only be¡­¡± Like a well oiled doll, Sylph¡¯s head rotated besides her. It sat on a branch adjacent to her own. If she reached out a hand, she would be able to touch it. Even at this close of a range, she still could not make out what it was. Its two luminous eyes gazed off into the distance. Slowly, that gaze shifted and started scanning the area. She couldn¡¯t move. If she moved, she would be noticed. Yet, how could it possibly miss her at this close of a distance? Sylph tried to quiet her breathing but it sounded terribly loud in her ears. Not even her hands that firmly gripped the tree branch could avoid trembling. As the gaze slid on her, Sylph prayed. ¡°Don¡¯t notice me! Whatever god that is listening, please stop this monster from noticing me. I will do anything you want! Anything!¡± Her fear made her prayers desperate. The golden eyes seemed to linger on her location before moving on. Finished scanning the area, the monster jumped down and walked off into the distance. Sylph released a breath she did not even know she was holding. It took her a full five minutes to calm down enough to remember her prayer. Then, a familiar laughing voice spoke into her ear. ¡°Anything?¡± ¡°Ahhhh!!¡± Sylph jumped in fright. The movement upset her position on the branch and she plummeted to the ground. ¡°Owowow¡­¡± ¡°You said anything, right?¡± The teasing voice followed her down to the ground. Looking up, Sylph saw Loki standing with a smirk on his face. Meaningfully, Loki cast his gaze up and down. It took Sylph a moment to realize what he was looking at. Blushing furiously, she tried to recover. ¡°W-When a girl says anything, she doesn¡¯t mean Anything!¡± Although Sylph missed her slip up, Loki certainly did not. His smirk got even bigger. Seeing his gaze turn into one of a wolf eyeing a lamb, Sylph took a step backwards as if to run away. Yet, she was too naive. ¡°You said¡­¡± Loki disappeared from Sylph¡¯s view. Suddenly, a hand firmly gripped her shoulder from behind. ¡°...you would do anything, right?¡± His voice was full of laughter but the contents caused Sylph to break out in a cold sweat. Seeing her hesitation, Loki spoke up. ¡°Here, let me help you out.¡± He snapped his fingers. Suddenly two figures appeared, one on each of my shoulders. The figure on her right spoke up. ¡°Who cares? It is just a game. You might as well take advantage of it. Anything? Why not have some fun and do anything?¡± In a much more reverent tone, the figure on the left spoke up. ¡°You made an oath to the gods. Such an oath must be upheld, even if it comes at great personal cost. You will forever be remembered as a martyr who sacrificed herself to uphold her principles.¡± Seeing the two figures, both seeming polar opposites yet somehow in agreement, Sylph erupted in fury. ¡°I-IT WAS YOU!!¡± Loki didn¡¯t let Sylph sidetrack him. With just a few words, he threw a bucket of cold water on her anger. ¡°You said anything¡­ right?¡± Sylph was trapped. She couldn¡¯t take back the words she had already said. She couldn¡¯t see a way out. In the worst case scenario, she could run away by logging out. Full of false bravado, Sylph looked Loki in the eye and dared him to suggest anything outrageous. ¡°That is right. I said anything. So what?¡± ¡°Heehee. I will have to think carefully on what to ask you to do. For now, as thanks for all the help I have given you thus far, I think I will have you do me a favor. Of course, you can¡¯t refuse.¡± ¡°A favor?¡± ¡°All of this is bothersome. Not a good place for tricks or deception at all. Fix it.¡± With a careless wave, Loki gestured to the black lake. The blue orbs floated around quietly and fog rolled off its surface. ¡°If you don¡¯t take this task seriously, well¡­ let¡¯s see. Ah, I know. I will leak your location to all the players in the world so that you have enough help to get the job done.¡± ¡°To everyone?¡± Sylph did not want to the chaos that would occur. Spending the entire day in the forest, she had forgotten what might happen if she met somebody. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Haha, wouldn¡¯t that be a lot of fun? Seeing my cute Sylph run around trying to avoid all her fans.¡± Sylph shivered at the thought. Grudgingly, she acquiesced. ¡°Fine, I will do it.¡± ¡°Very good. Remember what should happen if you fail or give up¡­¡± With those final ominous words, Loki departed. A quest window popped up soon after.
New Quest: Purify the Forest of Lost Souls The Forest of Lost Souls is known to swallow any brave soul that enters its boundaries within the night. This is actually because of the corrupted lake deep within the forest. Loki has asked you as a favor to purify the lake. Quest Difficulty: B Quest Completion: Purify the lake and its guardian. Quest Failure Penalties: -Gain the titles: Holder of Broken Promises, Loki¡¯s Plaything. -All the players in game will be alerted of your location.
Sylph felt her cheek cramp. Chapter 12: Impossible Task Authors Comments: Hmm, I should probably say something... Last update had a 2 month break. This update had a 3 month break. Following that pattern.... See ya in 4 months?
¡°Quest difficulty, B!?¡± Sylph felt dizzy. ¡°This has to be some kind of mistake.¡± She was level 1. Only level 1. A player who played the game for a day would be stronger than her. Of all the people to ask, Loki had asked her. ¡°This definitely has to be some kind of a mistake.¡± A level 1 getting a B rank quest should have been impossible. An entire guild would be necessary to complete a B rank quest. Usually, these quests ended up as a raid with some kind of massive giant boss fight. Such a fight would require a lot of people. ¡°Well, I could always just broadcast my location. Players would come in swarms to help me out.¡± Sylph took a moment to ponder the consequences. Guilds would try to recruit her. Players would spam her with friend requests night and day. The worst one of all, pictures of her would circulate across the world. Shameful pictures of a guy in a girl avatar wearing a skirt would be available for the entire public to see. Sylph conveniently ignored the fact that such pictures were already out there. ¡°N-No. I can¡¯t do that!. Failing would be a better alternative than that!¡± Thinking so, Sylph switched gears and looked at the consequences for failing. ¡°All the players in game will be alerted of your location.¡± Okay, Sylph could live with that. If she logged out for a week, surely she could somehow avoid the worst. ¡°Hmm, what are these titles I will receive upon failure?¡±
Title: Holder of Broken Promises. You break promises even to the gods above. Effects: You are unable to gain intimacy with people you meet. People will doubt your words. Misfortune follows you wherever you travel. Anything you make has a high chance of failing. Your equipment breaks much easier. You are more likely to be the target of a god¡¯s anger.
¡°E-Eh? Isn¡¯t that a bit harsh. No, I could still live with such a penalty. And the other title?¡± Sylph took one look at the title, Loki¡¯s Plaything. Before she even got past the first line of text, Sylph¡¯s face turned ashen. Her body started trembling. Sweat gushed out of her like a waterfall. ¡°Nope! That is not an option. I have to beat this quest. No, I WILL beat this quest.¡± Filled with determination, Sylph loudly proclaimed her victory. Then, a thought hit Sylph. ¡°This is a B rank quest, what is the reward?¡± Her eyes scanned up and down the quest dialogue box. No matter how long she searched, there was no mention of a reward. ¡°I am forced to do this impossible task¡­ for free?¡± The thought staggered Sylph. ¡°N-No. As Loki said, I am repaying him for all the help he has given me¡­ help he has given me?¡± Sylph took a moment to think about it. Sure, his potion allowed her to gain stats and use arts, but it turned her into a woman! The other time Loki showed up was in the middle of her room at the inn. That encounter was a constant source of embarrassment and shame for Sylph. When Sylph had finished the special event at the beta test finale, Loki gave her a meager reward. ¡®First rule of deception: Never deceive yourself.¡¯ Such advice was nonsensical and useless. ¡°What help!? You have done more damage than good!¡± Yelling at the sky, Sylph heard faint laughter. Frustrated, she logged out. Not only was the quest impossible, she was basically working for free and could not afford to fail. ---------- In a dark room filled with several computer screens, personnel tapped furiously away at their keyboards. Watching the flow of information streaming through the monitor, one woman let out a gasp before raising her voice. ¡°Director, another B rank quest has been activated!¡± The grizzled veteran replied in a bored tone. ¡°Is that so? There have already been over a 100 such quests activated already. I don¡¯t have the time to hear about every little quest that activates.¡± Despite the harsh rebuke carried within his tone, the woman continued to make her case. Her voice became a bit louder as she lost control of herself. ¡°Y-You don¡¯t understand. The newly activated quest is a chain quest. Not only that, the difficulty¡­ I am not sure there is a group of players capable of beating this quest yet.¡± ¡°A chain quest? High difficulty¡­ You can¡¯t mean?¡± ¡°I am afraid so.¡± ¡°Dammit! How has it already been activated? It should have taken at least half a year¡­¡± Although the quest seemed simple at first glance, there were a lot of hidden factors for both its activation and completion. If the first part failed, well the situation would not be too bad. Failing the second part would have devastating consequences and even the most skilled players in the game would struggle with it. As for the third and final quest, there was no penalties for failure. That being said, the director was confident. No player, party, or guild could complete the final quest. It would be months before they reached the point where players could stand at the threshold of beginning to beat the final quest. ¡°Do we know who activated the quest?¡± ¡°No. Apparently the quest was given through a non-standard method.¡± ¡°Non-standard, huh?¡± The director recalled the image of a certain girl, whose actions seemed game breaking. Worried, he called out. ¡°And the other similar quests?¡± ¡°Yes, they are all dormant. No one has stumbled onto them yet.¡± The director let out a breath of relief hearing that. He really would not know what to do this wasn¡¯t a singular occurrence. ¡°I want eyes on all major guilds in the area. If a guild makes a move to complete the quest, I want to be the first to know about it. It will be hard for them to conceal such a large scale movement.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± As the woman went back to her monitor, the director mused silently. They would fail. Of course they would fail. No player had reached a high enough level to gain the purification art yet from the second class change to bishop. There was also a noticeable lack of paladins and druids. Despite his certainties, an expectation arose within the director¡¯s chest as he recalled the figure of a certain girl. He still didn¡¯t know her actual name. Secretly, he thought to himself that if anyone could beat the quest, it would be her. ---------- ¡°Drew, have you heard of the Fakes?¡± One day at lunch, Leon suddenly asked an incomprehensible question. ¡°Fakes?¡± ¡°The fake Sylphs. They are getting pretty popular. Multiple people have come forth claiming to be Sylph. Yet, they are all fakes. We saw the real one with our own eyes after all.¡± ¡°How do you know they are fake? Just because the people named her Sylph, I doubt that was her actual name. What you could have saw was just a very clever fake.¡± Drew did not quite understand why he was defending them. They were fakes after all. Maybe it was because they labeled him a fake when he first appeared, he thought. ¡°The community came up with something called the Sylph Trials to determine the real thing from the rest of the fakes. It is quite simple actually. There are only two trials.¡± ¡°Two trials?¡± ¡°Perfectly reproduce the song Sylph played and get to the top of the clock tower. Although many of them have managed to do the first, no one has been able to do the second.¡± ¡°They managed to do the first!?¡± Not even the real Sylph could do that. He had just played whatever came to mind after all. There was no way he could play the exact same thing again. By the communities own standards, the true Sylph was a fake. How ironic. ¡°The bard''s guild has seen a huge swell in numbers. More and more players want to become bards after Sylph¡¯s performance. Yet, the best of the fake Sylphs chose not to be bards.¡± ¡°The best fake Sylph?¡± ¡°Yeah, her in game name is Sylphiette. She is one of the few non bard fakes and likely the closest to being acknowledged as the real thing. That said, the person herself denies being Sylph. She claims she just had great admiration for the real thing. If it was not for the fact she could not get to the top of the clock tower, she would be the undisputed number one for the title of Sylph.¡± ¡°Why would you say she is the best if she is not a bard? Isn¡¯t Sylph known for her music?¡± ¡°Sylph¡¯s music itself is imperfect and lacks a specific rhythm or tempo. The bard¡¯s music skill corrects the owners music to make it sound better. Thus, it distorts Sylph¡¯s flawed song into something better. Also, none of the players received a status buff from her song, yet a bard¡¯s song always gives status boosts.¡± All Drew could think about was that things have gotten complicated. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ---------- ¡°Ah, what a lovely view.¡± As if she did not have a care in the world, a content voice echoed across the lake. The owner of the voice sat perched lightly on a tree at the edge of the lake. A gentle breeze stirred the surface of the lake, rustled leaves, and tugged at her hair with its passage. One could not help but pause at the breathtaking scene. The clear blue water shimmered with a glint of emerald as the waves caught the sunlight. Small animals scurried around the rocks at the lakes edge. Deer rested at the edge and drank from the gem¡¯s bounty. Birdsong interwove with the soothing sound of waves lapping at rocks could calm even the most spooked wild life. In a scene so distant from the touch of humanity sat a maiden perched on a tree. She should have been a foreign element in the beautiful tapestry of nature¡¯s beauty but she appeared at home with the forest. With a small smile on her fair face, she watched the scene. It was a peaceful and tranquil scene, something that was missing from her life recently. All her worries were swept away gazing upon the serene scene. She sat still for so long that the more adventurous of the critters looked at her with curiosity. Her hands reached into the air and a simple silver flute appeared in them. The fair maiden simply stared at the instrument in thought, as nature''s symphony continued around her. Determination filled her eyes and she brought the flute up to her lips. The tranquil scene shattered as her first note hit the air and the many animals scattered. Frowning, the maiden stopped playing and waited, listening. An hour passed before the lake resumed it''s previously tranquil scene. The animals chattered to one another, throwing weary glances at the girl. She made no move to play her flute again. She looked on lost in thought. As the day fell, she disappeared from the lake. The next day, the forest residents found her there again. ---------- From Sylph¡¯s investigations, she deduced that the Forest of Lost Souls was filled with a corrupting presence at night. The howling souls summon the source of the corruption in the center of the lake. During the day, the lake serves as a sanctuary of rest for all the inhabitants. At night, it becomes a cursed zone of death. For now, she tried to adapt to the forest. She had no other choice. The quest prevented her from leaving and she was clueless about how to progress. Perhaps during her stay, she would figure something out. Sylph thought that the peaceful scene of the lake during the day was a hidden key towards solving the quest. Yet, the days dragged by and she still had made no progress towards understanding what to do. As much as Sylph enjoyed the view, she could not help but feel frustrated. Not only was she stuck with a curse that prevented her from leveling up, she was stuck in the forest while her friends adventures and grew stronger. She needed to find a solution, yet none presented itself. Loneliness gnawed at her. Days in the forest without human contact caused her to seek out the other denizens of the forest. Yet, they either fled at her approach or were readily hostile to her. Rebuffed at every attempt, Sylph turned to her songs. Even then, she failed. There was an awkwardness as the sound felt out of place. For now, Sylph avoided being near the lake when the sun set. She wasn¡¯t so sure that she would escape the corrupted guardian¡¯s notice a second time. Plus, she could not afford to owe Loki anything more. Sylph did not understand Loki¡¯s choice of picking her to handle this problem. She had no purification arts. She was not a druid nor did she have any particular way to heal the forest. Sylph was only level one. Purify the lake? That idea was hilarious. She had no idea where to even start. For now, she sat and watched. Unlike at night, the lake was peaceful during the day. So much so that she fell asleep many times. Sylph found her days ending in one of two ways. Either she ventured outside the lake, was found by the wolves and chased or, she stayed by the lake and hid while the area boss came out. As much as she tried, going outside the lake inevitably resulted in the wolves finding her. If she somehow managed to complete the quest, she would still be a long way from escaping the forest. Those nights the wolves caught her were spent listening to the wolves howl at night. As the days passed, she came to realize. Their howls were another form of songs. Together, they weaved a beautiful tapestry of love and sorrow, the joy of the hunt and the happiness of a newborn. In those moments, Sylph could only listen. She was an outsider to their story. Her song had no place in the song the wolves created. Sylph felt cornered. If she tried to force her way into the wolf¡¯s song, it created a chord of dissonance. It was as if no matter how hard she tried, the forest and its denizens were rejecting her. Her existence was tolerated. As long as she remained a quiet observer, the animals at the lakeside would not run. The moment she left the lake, she would be surrounded by hostile animals just like she was now. A glance down showed the wolf pack continuing their self-appointed task. With a bitter grimace, Sylph snapped off a branch. She had made no progress for the past week. Any attempt she made to better the situation just alienated her further. Taking aim at a fruit hanging in a nearby tree, she threw her branch. Her throw was a poor one, completely missing the tree and hitting the one next to it. Unconcerned, she snapped off another branch and repeated her throw. Another miss, this time by an even wider margin. Sylph didn¡¯t have any particular reason for doing this. Perhaps, she idly mused, if she hit an object enough times with a projectile, she would receive the ¡¸Throw¡¹ Art. It would not help her any in her current situation, but she was not making any progress regardless. Her thoughts wandered while she amused herself with her little game of target practice. Her Arts were mostly passives that would not help the situation. If Loki thought she had a chance at beating this quest, the only two Arts that could possibly be useful were ¡¸Deception¡¹ and ¡¸Natural Beauty¡¹. With ¡¸Deception¡¹, she had tricked the wolves into believing that she was not there. Although it was not a high enough level to allow her to escape detection, it still produced surprising results. ¡°Could I use ¡¸Deception¡¹ to trick the wolves into believing I am one of them?¡± Sylph involuntarily muttered to herself. The thought felt¡­ wrong. Sylph recalled her interactions with the so called god of deception. He had deceived, tricked, teased, toyed with, and even embarrassed her, yet not once had he pretended to be something he was not. As much as she hated to admit it, Loki had some manner of decency to him. Sighing, Sylph gave up the idea of using ¡¸Deception¡¹. Wistfully, she recalled the song that the wolves played out the previous night. ¡°How could I do something as boorish as forcefully inserting myself into such a song?¡± Sylph¡¯s branch tossing throws became more erratic as the melancholic thought hit her. ¡°Arf!¡± The sound of movement below reached Sylph but she was too distracted to notice. Frustrated, she gave up on her Art acquiring attempt and stood up on the branch to resume her daily game of cat mouse. ¡°Huh?¡± A goofy exclamation escaped from Sylph¡¯s mouth as she looked at the scene below her. Unlike their usual patient behavior, the wolves were dogpiled on top of each other a little ways from her tree. ¡°What on earth happened?¡± Although she expected the wolf underneath the pile to be in a lot of pain, it came out looking fairly triumphant. In a great show of sportsmanship, the fellow wolves were playfully brushing up against the happy wolf. With a sigh, Sylph gave up on understanding the incomprehensible social intricacies of the wolf pack. ----- That night, like any other, was spent by the lake. She had done this many times in the hopes of finding a solution to the quest. She hid up in a tree in a secluded spot to observe the ghastly howls. That night, like usual, she waited for the corrupted guardian to appear. It took her awhile to realize that the ritual was longer than usual. When the corrupted guardian finally appeared, it was not alone. Numerous small figures stepped out of the inky black lake with it. Sylph watched quietly. Like usual, the guardian disappeared into the forest. The small corrupted figures followed. A blue screen flashed, drawing Sylph''s attention.
Quest Update: Purify the Forest of Lost Souls The corruption has started to spread throughout the forest. Creatures can now become corrupted. If the forest''s corruption exceeds 50%, the quest will automatically fail. Forest Corruption Level: 3%
When morning came, the corrupted guardian returned to the lake''s waters. Meanwhile, the many small corrupted figures were nowhere to be seen. Chapter 13: The Magic that Makes Friends Gunununu. An angry groan echoed throughout the forest. The sound originated from a figure collapsed on a tree branch. The strength of the protest was in direct odds against the lifeless form which did not even twitch. The eyelids of the figure began to close as it gave up. Gunununu. Her stomach groaned in protest at her decision. Her stock of food ran out the day before and now she had nothing to eat. If she descended and searched for berries, she ran the risk of encountering the wolf pack. She had collected a wide assortment of fruit from the trees. Her main problem was that the food could be poisonous or cause various side effects. Back during the beta test, she died from eating an innocent looking carrot in the middle of a jungle. Just the memories of that time caused her to shudder. Gunununu.
Your Satiety has dropped below 10%. You will lose 1 health every 5 seconds.
¡°Hah¡­ If this keeps up, I will die. Well dying from hunger is much better than dying from food poisoning.¡± Sylph had no energy. Her motivation was at an all time low. Her eyes closed as she displayed a smile as if she had made peace with the world. As she was about when a stray thought brushed by. ¡°That one title.¡± A trace of alarm swept through her body, yet the haze pushed it down. Sylph wanted to rest. At that moment, Sylph remembered. She was in the middle of a quest. A quest of the utmost importance. It was not as if the quest determined the fate of the world. Even so, she could not fail. Failing meant that Sylph would fall into his hands. Falling into his hands, she would never escape his grasp. Her current situation would be like a peaceful dream compared to that. Sylph¡¯s eyes snapped open. With the last of her strength, Sylph checked her inventory. She eyed the list of potential food candidates. Some appeared completely harmless while others blatantly looked like poison. Warily, she grabbed one that appeared both safe and out of the ordinary, a golden apple. Her health climbed down to a critical point. Sylph could delay no longer. She closed her eyes and took a bite. A smoky, woody taste with fragrant juices exploded on her tongue. ¡°Now what will it be?¡± Her experiences in the past caused her to brace herself. Blurred vision, hallucinations, gut wrenching stomach pain, poisoned, paralysis, and random fits of rage were all symptoms she had experienced before. Five seconds passed. Sylph fidgeted. A minute passed, Sylph nervously looked around. Nothing had happened. ¡°Did I manage to pick a completely safe fruit?¡± Gunununu. She waited another minute just to be sure. When no side effects showed themselves, she gave in to her hunger. Pulling out a stack of the golden apples, she scarfed them down. Her satiety shot to max and her lost health recovered. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled her. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt this full in days¡­ hic.¡± Sylph basked in the afterglow of a sumptuous feast. She was so comfortable she almost fell asleep. A blue window popped up, surprising her.
Due to consuming a large portion of an unidentified food, you have determined its effects and nature with your own body. The food you have identified:Whiskey Apple An apple that tastes like whiskey. If a person has a low tolerance to alcohol, they may become intoxicated. Effects: Satiety + 20% 10% Chance of becoming drunk
¡°What a silly fruit¡­ hic¡± Sylph waved her hand and the window disappeared. A warm haze blanketed her thoughts. Her vacant gaze wandered around the forest until it settled down on a particular tree branch. A black cat was resting under the sunlight up in the trees. With quiet movements, Sylph leaped up the tree onto a higher branch above the sleeping cat. The fur looked so soft that Sylph could not resist the temptation. Dropping down from a tree branch above, she landed on the cat and rubbed her cheeks into the smooth fur. ---------- The noble panther was particularly pleased with how his day was going so far. A bird fell prey to his sneaky claws and he impressed a fellow lady panther. Since the day went so well, he decided to take a nap in his favorite spot, a spot high up in the trees that warmed by sunlight. Directly below it was a soothing river that never failed to lull him into a comfortable sleep. It was a spot he fought his fellow peers for, a spot that belonged only to him. His friends knew how jealously he guarded that spot. When he once caught a young kitten lying in his spot, oh how the kitten suffered. The kitten spent everyday for a week straight being dunked into the water. Ever since then, no feline ever dared to approach his spot. That day, like usual, he spent the afternoon in his spot. He was having the most wonderful dream. His amour approached him. She sent him flirtatious cat calls. He was more than happy to carry on his duty to help create the next generation. He rubbed his nose with affection against her. He could not stop himself from purring at this sudden turn of events. Something slammed into him from above. Whatever it was started rubbing itself into its fur. The panther sprang up in shock. He was so startled that he even forgot where he was. His leap carried himself out of the intruders hand and into the river. The only thing the panther hated more than having his spot stolen was getting wet. Not only was his dream interrupted and his spot taken, the intruder also caused him to take an early bath. Oh, how the intruder would pay. Furious, the panther got out of the river and glared at the intruder. If looks could kill, the intruder would have died many times over again. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t. He would have to settle for rending the intruder with his claws instead. The panther took a good look at its enemy. There could only be one word that described her, weak. The panther instinctively knew that his foe was much weaker than himself. Despite her apparent weakness, a terrifying feeling of pressure took hold of him. Her gaze was not one of looking at a monster many times her level. No, the situation may be far worse than he first thought. He had heard the stories told about how fearsome the humans were, but he had dismissed most of them out of hand. Yet, there was one story about humans that haunted him to this day. The most terrifying humans are not the ones wielding swords and bows, but the ones that approach empty handed, or so Old Swiftpaw told. Especially the empty handed females. With an audible gulp, the panther looked at the human in front of him. Sure enough, she was both empty handed and female. He had not heard of one of her kind making it so deep into the forest. His mind raced as he tried to recall Old Swiftpaw¡¯s tale. The human female had approached Old Swiftpaw without a weapon, so the old cat had let down his guard. In the blink of an eye, the female appeared before Old Swiftpaw. With a grip that put a bear to shame, the female held the proud Old Swiftpaw down and rubbed his fur. As much as Old Swiftpaw struggled, he could not escape. Even when killed, the female would come back the next day. The torture continued for a whole week until the female tired and chose another poor unlucky animal as her target. To this day, the panther never forgot the look of trauma on Old Swiftpaw¡¯s face as he told his story. Ever since then, the Old Swiftpaw passed down its story as a message for its descendants. Be wary of humans who appear harmless. Before you know it, they will be grabbing you with superhuman strength. The hair rose on the panther¡¯s neck. He was exactly in that situation right now. If he was not careful, he would share the same fate as Old Swiftpaw. Even so, he could not forgive her. His spot was taken and the wretched water soaked him. She was weak. Surely, Old Swiftpaw embellished his story. He pushed down the terrifying pressure he felt and hopped up into the tree to kill his foe. Her movements were strange and lacked any apparent reason. Her face flushed as she swayed on the tree branch. Framed under the sunlight, it all gave her a mesmerizing appearance. A bead of water plopped down from the panther¡¯s coat, reminding him of the beauty¡¯s crimes. He would have his revenge. He rushed the beauty. The closer he got, the more his sense of danger acted up. His claws flashed out. The girl¡¯s body swayed to the side and his attacked passed right by her. It was unbelievable. She was so weak and yet she avoided it. The terrifying pressure behind him intensified. Thin, slender hands reached for him. The panther panicked and slipped. He plummeted into the river below a second time. Sputtering out the water, he dragged himself to shore and glared at the girl. Not even his mother was ruthless enough to dunk him under the water twice in one day. Surely, her dodge was only a coincidence, thought the panther. Old Swiftpaw¡¯s story got the better of him and he rushed his attack. That is why, reasoned the panther, she managed to avoid his lunge. This time, the proud panther erased his presence and disappeared into the forest. From a branch nearby, he watched the beauty sit in his favorite spot. Not once did she glance his way. The thrill of the hunt rose within the panther. Catching his target off guard and successfully capturing the prey was his greatest pleasure. Among his generation, there was not a feline better at hunting than him. All it took was a moment¡¯s distraction. Before the panther¡¯s eyes, the maiden disappeared. The panther stared at the empty tree branch stupefied. A terrifying pressure behind him caused him to spring up and jump to another branch. A soft, clean hand brushed his coat before he managed to get out of the way. Safe on another branch, his hair stood on its ends as he saw the girl standing where he was previously hiding. Her melodious laughter ignited his pride. His prey dared to sneak up on him. He would show her who was the true king of hunting. ----- With his keen instincts, he eventually figured out the secret to her success. To put it plainly, she was weak. His initial assumption was not wrong. She was pitifully weak. This deep into the forest, she was on the level of a newborn kitten. Yet, the weak have their own way to survive. She was weak. An oppressive aura, a shining strength, a strong presence, she lacked all of these. Precisely because she was weak, her presence within the forest was small. The difficulty of hiding an terrifying presence was many times more difficult than hiding a weak presence. She was weak. Although only at the level of a mere human, she would still fear those much stronger than her. Because she was weak, she could point out the direction of a monster by searching for the source of her fear. Not only was she weak, she also adapted. To hunt, one had to consider the wind direction, the location, the approach, and the timing. A sudden change in the wind could give away your intent. The ever changing forest would reveal your presence at a moment¡¯s notice. Only those that took care in considering the situation would be successful. Her long stay in the forest helped mask her scent. Her presence was neither loud and boisterous like a typical human. Instead, her presence was like a breath of fresh air that gently brushed fur with its passage. It was not a presence native to the forest. Even so, it was a presence that slowly integrated into the forest. To a king of the game such as himself, the panther could gauge her abilities. Her approach was naive. She failed to mask her intent when she pounced. Her actions spoke of her utter inexperience at hunting. Yet, her sensitivity surpassed his own. That earned her a measure of respect from him. She fully utilized a passing breeze to hide her presence. Jumping from tree branch to tree branch would inevitably create some noise. Such a noise would alert the prey to the hunter¡¯s intention. The only option for the hunter was to either lay in wait or move at a time when the forest drowned out the sound. The average hunter chose the former. Yet, the inexperienced huntress immediately went with the latter. Her movements followed the wind. As the leaves rustled through the wind¡¯s passage, she stalked her prey. Already, the panther could not deny it. This game of cat and mouse would not allow him to deny it. The ease with which she moved through the forest, the natural grace she carried herself with, she could no longer be considered an outsider. A human would not own such qualities. The panther flicked his tail in annoyance. Befriending a human, what a stupid idea. The panther pounced at the girl. She gracefully leaped to another branch and then disappeared. The panther did not let his guard down. He focused his ears. He hated to admit it, but the girl was skilled. Her passage would only rustle a few leaves. If he did not listen carefully, he would miss it. The difficulty only made the game more worthwhile. ---------- Loves Honey and Beeswatter ambled through the forest in search of their favorite delicacy. The two bears were accomplished partners in stealing from the pesky golden bees. The biggest problem they ran into was knocking the delicious honeycombs to the ground where they could enjoy the feast. Bears were not the best of climbers. Loves Honey was quite satisfied with today¡¯s target. They had stumbled upon the mother of all honeycombs. Beeswatter would have his hands full if they managed to bring it down. There was just one problem, the target was far up in the tree. A tantalizing dessert just out of reach. Even when he tried standing on Beeswatter¡¯s back, the two of them did not have the height to knock down the hive. Loves Honey wished he could call upon his other forest brethren. Unfortunately, the panther¡¯s who excelled in navigating the canopy did not share his love for honey. It was when he was about to cover his face with his bear paws in shame that he heard it. A melodious laughter that tickled one¡¯s heart. Although it provoked a gentle feeling in his heart, Loves Honey could not help but stand up on his haunches and back away slowly in fear. That laughter belonged to only one race. Humans. Old Honeyfoot still told stories of that day. A lone human, innocent and frail looking had pranced into the forest. Honeyfoot had thought to intimidate her. It was a well known fact that among the forest, bear¡¯s were the strongest. Unsuspectingly, Old Honeyfoot fell right for the girl¡¯s trap. With power bellying her size, the girl wrestled evenly with Old Honeyfoot. For three days and three nights they fought. Never once did the two combatants separate. When three days later, Old Honeyfoot collapsed in exhaustion. His opponent was not even tired. The girl had leaned against him glowing in satisfaction. Her smile seemed to say she would not mind going for another few rounds. Honeyfoot had no choice but to concede his defeat. It was only when the girl finally fell asleep did he run away in terror, never to return to that part of the forest. The most courageous bear of them all still had nightmares about that moment even to this day. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Humans were terrifying, especially the more sweet and innocent they looked. That is why when the girl showed up, Loves Honey immediately put himself on guard. Only his great size hid his shaking. Beeswatter, ignorant of the latest arrival, kept reaching for the honeycombs in the tree. Loves Honey cursed at his choice in companions. Taking in the scene, the girl¡¯s smile widened. The bear was about to turn tail and flee, leaving his friend as the next helpless victim when it happened. She moved. With an agile grace that could put a haughty panther to shame, she appeared on the branch above the beehive. With a great kick, she knocked down both herself and the beehive. Covered in honey, she laughed foolishly. The girl pulled out a golden apple and smothered it honey. Taking a bite, a foolish grin appeared on her face. Loves Honey finally relaxed his guard and joined her in the meal. Perhaps Old Honeyfoot exaggerated how fearsome humans were. Anyone that loved honey could not be a bad person. The curious fruits she had plucked from the highest of trees was an excellent compliment to his favorite honey. A loud angry buzz filled the air. Beeswatter¡¯s eyes glowed with a joyous light. His time finally came. From the crushed beehive came a swarm of angry bees. Loves Honey was a bit worried for his newest comrade with how weak she was, but his worries vanished as she proved herself quick to escape. Loves Honey watched her go with a warm sense of camaraderie. Silently, he wished for another chance to share in the sweet delicacies of a honey covered apple. ---------- Blackscale slithered through the forest looking for delicacies to feed on. As an apex predator in the forest, he had little to fear and went where he pleased. One of his favorite haunts was the spider territory with half dead trees. The reason was that the spiders liked to bind his prey in their webs, making them easy pickings for him to feed off of. The snake flicked out his forked tongue, testing the air. Satisfied, he headed for a nearby web. When he got there, he hissed in surprise. Several stingers were bound head to toe in the surrounding web. Dead in the center, was a large figure covered almost entirely in webs. Only strands of silver peaked out from the bindings. Blackscale could not make heads or tails of exactly what kind of animal had walked into such a web. Long and skinny, he thought it might be one of his snake brethren. Sighing to himself at the stupidity of the younger generation, Blackscale decided to free the captive. If it was one his young uns that got caught, why he would deny them the right to sunbask for three cycles of the moon. With his poisonous fangs, he easily rended the web to pieces. He ate the bound stingers as a consolation prize for his hard work. When the large silver bundle fell to the ground, he and webbing fell away from its face, he finally recognized exactly what had been caught. A human, and a female to boot. Immediately he braced himself for the loud shocking vibration that would come from her. Blackscale waited and waited¡­ and nothing came. Puzzled, he looked at the human. He was almost disappointed to find that the human female was asleep. A line of drool leaked from the foolish grin on her face. Blackscale felt like his grandeur was being underestimated. His old granddad spoke about the time he encountered a female human. Why the moment they met, she let out such a piercing scream that it vibrated through the old man¡¯s body and left him stunned. Never carelessly approach a human, especially females, was the lesson of that story. Yet, now their was a human female that did not mind his presence one bit. She underestimated him. Angry, he hissed at the female to wake up. Weak grumbles reached him as finally the stubborn girl woke up. Blackscale beamed at his success and waited for the impending screech. As the female fully opened her eyes, he watched her slowly register his terrifying form. Only, her reaction left much to be desired. Instead of shrieking, only her eyes widened. After a moment, the female furiously started struggling. Because of the web binding her, leaving only her face exposed, she could do little than slither. To Blackscale, it was an exceedingly peculiar sight. Although obviously a novice, her movements had a certain beauty to it. Still, that was not enough to stop the insulted snake from swallowing her whole for offending his existence. He was terrifying, Blackscale reassured himself. It was just that this human was too ignorant of the grandness of his being to shriek. His old granddad must have been exaggerating. As he was about to make a move, a change occurred to the struggling female. She managed to free only her hands towards her head, but she could not escape the binding. A silver instrument appeared in her hand. Thinking he was about to be attacked, Blackscale drew back and readied himself to kill the female. Instead, she lifted to the instrument to her lips and wonderful vibrations spread throughout his entire being. Was this what his granddad was talking about? Rather than a painful experience, it was something¡­ soothing. The old man must have wanted to monopolize such an experience all for himself, Blackscale reasoned. His intention to attack faded and he gave himself over to the vibrations. His body began to sway in tune. Blackscale completely forgot his original goal. When the song ended, he felt invigorated and rejuvenated. Blackscale scorned his old man. He would not be selfish like the old man and monopolize this wonderful vibration. Picking up the female, he carried her to his home so that all the snakes could share the wonderful vibrations a human female could produce. ----- Kor flew through the air. She prided herself in being the ruler of the sky. Today, she decided she would have her revenge. Birds and snakes were natural enemies and that damn snake had gone too far. Some of his kind, oozing black taint, had attacked one of her own. Unforgivable. A snake should know its place as the prey of birds. She would steal his most precious son and feed it to her children. When she reached the snakes nest, her feathers ruffled in bafflement. Her keen eyesight picked up an encirclement of snakes surrounding a silver snake. This white snake was producing a melody that the rest of the snaked undulated too. She was too far away to hear clearly, but what little she caught delighted her. If the snakes who were too deaf to hear the music properly were captivated, what would happen to her kind who had much more sensitive hearing? Wouldn¡¯t that just be heaven? Stealing away the snakes source of enjoyment would indeed be a fitting revenge. Deciding on her target, Kor swooped down and snatched the strange white snake. Instead of the hard scaly body of a snake, her claws gripped soft flesh. The strange silver snake continued to produce music despite being kidnapped. If anything, amidst the whistling howls of the wind, the music got better. The song reminded Kor of the freedom of the skies and the joys of flight. As she expected, the damn snakes below were livid. She redirected her flight path to her nest and crooned to herself in joy. Although she had not figured out what kind of strange creature she had captured, she intuitively knew it was weak. This was a sense that all denizens of the forest could grasp. Even her hatchlings should have no problem if the strange creature was a threat. Reaching her nest, she dropped off the silver creature in her nest. The shock of the fall finally caused the music to stop. Full of curiosity, Kor turned landed and looked at the creature she had captured. It was not a snake like she had thought. Instead, it was a human bound in spider webs. Kor was impressed with her courage for one as weak as her to stare down. Many lesser creatures would avert their eyes in fear. It was the chicks that interrupted the staring contest. The strange female yipped in pain as the chicks mistook her for the latest dinner and pecked her. White strands of web fell away and finally the human was fully released from her bindings. The hatchlings looked at her in curiosity. They had never seen a human before, especially one in such a sorry state as her. Strands of web clung to her body. Twigs were in her hair and splotches of honey stuck to her clothes. Not to mention the feathers that had stuck onto the honey. The human was a mess. Seeing her chance, the female brought the silver instrument up to her lips and played. The birds lost themselves in the music. Even the hatchlings who had never flown before felt like they were above the clouds. Kor gained a greater appreciation for the human. She truly understood the fickle mood of the wind. Not many landlubbers understood the difficulties of fighting an updraft or the thrill of a dive. As Kor immersed herself in the song, her body relaxed and eventually, she drifted off to sleep. Seeing her audience pacified, the musician lowered her instrument and walked off carefully in order to not wake the young ones. By the time she was back in a familiar area by the lake, she had worked up a foul odor. The warm haze was slowly fading from her thoughts. Nothing would be more comfortable than a nap, but first she needed to clean off the grime of her journey. With nary a thought, the girl jumped into the lake. The ice cold water penetrated through the haze of her thoughts and Sylph woke up. As she recalled the events of the day, she shuddered in horror. Her body temperature plummeted. She struggled out of the waters and onto the shore. Her wet clothes clung to her body. A breeze across the lake caused goosebumps to break out on her skin. With an unsteady gait, she climbed a tree to her familiar perch. A blue box rewarded her for her efforts. Sylph sneezed.
You have caught a cold. Regain your warmth to recover.
Waving away the window, she cursed her situation once more. She blamed Loki for her poor luck today. Surely he had a hand in all the misfortunes of the world. A yip below interrupted her thoughts. Her ever so persistent guides had found her, was Sylph¡¯s first thought. It turned out that traipsing through the forest while getting webs, feathers, and honey on her did a good job of hiding her scent. Wolf cubs play bit each other on the ground below. A few adult wolves watched the scene with a twinkle in their eyes. Without the constant fear of being monitored and detected, Sylph was able to watch them peacefully. She had never noticed this side of them before. Although her body was cold and sick, her heart was warm. She thought back to her quest. Loki had tasked her with removing the corruption in the forest. That is to say, he had given her a mission to protect scenes of innocence like the wolf cubs playing before her. Just maybe, he was not such a bad guy. A snarl broke her out of her reverie. It was directed not at her, but a newcomer. Pitch black ooze covered a wolf shape and its eyes glowed red with menace. Sylph gasped at the sight of the corruption. Before anyone could react, the red eyed wolf was on one of the cubs, tearing into its throat. The other cub attacked the enemy, but the monster swatted the cub aside. The child landed below Sylph¡¯s tree, where it laid unmoving. The older wolves howled and charged the corruption. Furious howls and snarls evolved into a clash of claws and fangs. Sylph shivered at the sight. She must still be drunk or her cold was worse than she thought. Her mind was considering to help the child. They were her enemy, who had chased her around for days without rest. Sylph¡¯s eyes strayed to the fallen cub who was playing earlier. Even when outmatched, it yipped and struggled to stand. The fight was going poorly for the wolves. The corrupted one was stronger. Sylph hesitated. Her head heated up.
You have caught a fever. Regain your warmth and rest to recover.
Her body was cold and yet, her head was overheating. The breeze across the lake chilled her to her bones. Sylph needed something warm¡­ something fluffy to recover herself from her fever. That is why, it couldn¡¯t be helped, Sylph reasoned to herself. For the first time since she arrived in the forest, Sylph dropped out of the tree branches and approached the small wolf. Picking up the pitiful bundle of warmth, she held it tight to her chest and fled. Even if she stayed and fought, she would get both of them killed. The only chance for the little one¡¯s survival was if they fled. Sylph rushed through the forest, leaving the snarls of combat behind. The cub in her arms struggled weakly in protest. Sylph tightened her arms in response. Her mind was a mess and her fever made the world sway. It was not long before the howls of wolves quieted. An eerie silence took its place. Even so, Sylph did not stop her feet. The fear from the corrupted wolf had not gone away. Sylph¡¯s breath came in gasps. She knew it was behind her and rapidly approaching. Each second, her fear grew stronger. Branches snapped and bushes rustled. Even though her actions were futile, Sylph desperately fled. Her hazy mind immediately latched onto the game with the panther. Almost on instinct, Sylph blended her two strongest arts, Natural Beauty and Deception. Her presence grew thin as it merged with the forest. Her speed also picked up. Still, she could not hide her scent. At best, her efforts would only delay the corrupted wolf for a little bit. The fact that she had a fever did not help. She could almost feel the corrupted wolf¡¯s gaze upon her back. Without the Fear Resistance art equipped, her fear grew as the monster closed in on her. Her stamina emptied and she ran on fumes. The bushes rustled behind her. She tripped over her own feet and crashed into the ground. Sylph tightly hugged the wolf cub to protect him. Her fever and sudden frantic flight caught up to her. Her vision grew dark. Behind Sylph, the corrupted wolf jumped out with a victorious snarl. ¡°So this is the end.¡± Sylph murmured. Sylph blacked out as the forest around her erupted into a flurry of snarls. ----- Sylph woke up to a warm fluffy paradise. It was like her pillow was born just to bring her this supreme comfort. She wanted to continue sleeping but something wet touched her face. ¡°Nnnn..?¡± Blinking away the sleep from her groggy eyes, she looked around her. She was in the middle of the wolf pack with most of her body covered by fluffy wolves. She pinched herself, thinking she was dreaming. The pain told her this was no dream. ¡°.... What the hell!?¡±