The same as its first level, the second level of my Cidule presented three choices—a physical DPS option, magic DPS, and a sort of survivability skill. This appeared to be the theme of how Mardukryon Cidules progressed, presenting three branches to the player and letting them choose their path.

In a vacuum, I'd say the magic branch option was the best one among the three. [Friendly Fire] douses an area around the caster with magical fire, damaging all enemies who'd enter. On top of that, within its AoE, it would also reduce the fire resistance of enemies while boosting the fire damage of allies. And the buff worked for both physical and magic—in all, a very good skill whether for solo play or parties.

But [Friendly Fire] wasn't for me in my journey to become the hardest there ever was.

My choice was between [Fiery War Stomp] and [Cleansing Flames].

The first one was an all-around crowd control skill, useful for both DPS builds and tanks. It was customary for tanks to have a CC kit; they may be unable to dish out huge amounts of damage, but they should be able to hold, or, at the least, inconvenience enemies. It wasn't enough to be tanky, there should be utility as well. Being hard is nothing if you don't use it.

And given that the AoE of [Fiery War Stomp] was around the caster, a tank was the perfect character to use it, taking advantage of survivability to dive in the middle of a crowd of enemies and stun them.

However, while I should include utility and CC skills for my tank build, I was less inclined to give up a Cidule choice for it. As I had seen with my [Ancestral Constitution], Cidule skills became stronger at an exponential rate with each level. Furthermore, only Cidule Skills could go up to level fifteen instead of the usual ten.

A level fifteen [Fiery War Stomp] would be very powerful, but why would I want it?

It would have certainly very high damage...which would be useless to me because I wouldn't have the DPS multipliers to boost it. For the CC aspect, it might be better if I went with simpler skills from Ocadules, Shards, or Equipment.

But It wasn't as if the other option, [Cleansing Flames] was any better. I knew its intended purpose. Being available this early, it was obviously for Mirdabons that inflicted multiple negative statuses.

At a glance, it seemed to be a good skill, increasing tankiness when afflicted by negative statuses, and having the option to remove them—the higher levels should be along the same lines. However, it was a skill that was antithetical to itself. Similar to [Fiery War Stomp], it had two aspects, only one of which was useful to me at the time. Either I'd have increased defenses from its passive or cleanse myself from negative status and lose survivability. It couldn't be both at the same time.

And the problem didn't end there.

Tanks, across all RPGs I had played, built resistances to negative status effects. It was hard to kill a tank; better take them out of the battle with CC skills or terribly weaken them with afflictions for a possible kill. A tank wouldn't willingly march into battle without status resistances. But that was essentially what [Cleansing Flames] was telling players to do. Otherwise, its passive effect would be useless.

Furthermore, the passive effect of [Cleansing Flames] wouldn't kick in until after the enemy had already bombarded the player with spells, some of which hopefully caused negative status effects. Funny that a tank would wish for ailments.

[Fiery War Stomp] might be the better choice after all. It wasn't as if I could apply negative status to myself so that I could max the defenses of [Cleansing Flames] before marching into battle.

My eyes narrowed.

Or can I?

"Fifteen percent chance to burn targets for five seconds," I said, reading the effects of [Mehubanarath's Old Sling] that I had equipped. I should count as a target, no? Did the burn effect only apply to the stones shot by the sling, or could I proc it by whipping myself? There was only one way to find out.

After removing its stone ammunition, I flogged my back with the sling. Seven...eight...nine. Nothing was happening yet. But it was only a fifteen percent chance to burn, and I probably had attributes that lessened the chances of negative ailments latching onto me. Fifteen...sixteen...seventeen...

"There we go," I said, seeing my health slowly tick down. I raised my arms, tiny flames frolicked on my charcoal skin. And then it disappeared. "Four seconds? Not five?" Did Vigor increase defenses against negative ailments? Perhaps this Constitution Rating that I knew nothing about?

Whatever it was, I confirmed that similar to [Ancestral Constitution], I could proc the passive effect of [Cleansing Flames] myself. I'd bet my fourth testicle something like the [Mild Upset Stomach] from eating stale bread counted as a negative status. There was potential to this, but I couldn't see the full picture just yet. And it didn't change the fact that, as a tank, I'd rather counter negative statuses than embrace them.

I should make my choice some other time. For now, I decided to use my GS on my only available Cidule Skill, [Ancestral Constitution], pushing it to level three. I could move Greater Skill Points around anyway, so might as well use it now.

Lvl. 3 Ancestral Constitution: Mardukryons inherited but a minute fraction of the divine solar vitality of their ancestors.

Passive: +30 Armor, +65 Health

Each time damage is received (Max stacks [4]):

+15 Constitution Rating, +5 Armor, +5 Health per Second, +25 Health

Duration: 25 seconds per stack

Very beautiful.

With my business at the cliffs all done, for now, I headed to the Golden Forest to meet the Big M and turn in his quest.

It was a stroll in the park returning to the Big M's hideout. Stroll in the forest? The Golden Forest could be a nice park.

Since I could hit the golden crystals from afar, I easily drove Mirdabons off and traveled safely. I did sort of lose my way once again, directions not being one of my strong suits, but the smell of cooking showed me the correct way. Mehubanarath must be starving if he continually roasted mysterious monsters.

Upon reaching the barrier surrounding his secret enclosure, it dissipated, allowing me back inside. There, he welcomed me with open arms as if he didn't kick me out a few hours ago.

"Youngling!" Mehubanarath boomed. "I sense you have fed your Ancestral Flame, and it burns ever brighter. More importantly, you have accomplished this feat while keeping it pure. Have you not gone to the village?"

"No, I haven't, your hugeness, sir."

"I cannot say I approve." He somberly shook his head. "Despite the joy that fills my heart to see a pure Ancestral Flame roar stronger, I do not condone wandering this dangerous forest. I stand by what I have told you the last time we spoke—the place for younglings is with our people."

"I wanted to prove myself to you," I said. Come on, give me the rewards. From the notifications, I was certain I had completed the quest. Our conversation was merely an interaction for player immersion. But it didn't hurt to play along. "I want to show you that I am worthy to learn the secrets of the Ancestral Flame Arts. That's why I didn't go back to Kurghal Village."

He bowed down to examine me more closely, the rings on his tusk jiggled. His eyes which randomly blinked independently of each other bothered me more than they should. Stroking his chin in thought, he replied, "Is that so? And pray do tell this old hermit how a youngling, newly granted his Ancestral Flame, managed this impressive feat?"

"I have killed a Mirdabon pack," I declared, perhaps with more pride than necessary for an achievement inside a virtual game. But I was genuinely pleased with my accomplishment of killing the Mirdabons on my own. It wasn't about the 'what', but the 'how', and the 'how' was something I was proud of. Herald Stone is so awesome...wait, he's me! Awesome!

Mehubanarath held his belly and let out a laugh so powerful it was as if drums were beating. The surrounding trees shook, their branches and leaves waving from the vibrations of the Big M's energy. "A youngling ordained with bravery? That delights the tired heart of this old hermit. Although I am not the Village Chief, as a Warrior, I call you a fellow Warrior."

"We're best bros now? Brothers-in-arms? Brothers-in-horns?"

"Nonetheless, what you did was reckless. Learn more about prudence as you grow to become to be a fine warrior. But for now, from one Warrior to another, I gift you this for your protection."

[ Received: Mehubanarath’s Old Bracers {1}{Pyro Shell Lvl 1} ]

"You're just giving me hand-me-downs, aren't you?" I said, opening my inventory to check the new item. What was with NPCs passing on their used equipment to new players? "You must have dozens of old bracer's stored there inside your tent."

[Mehubanarath's Old Bracer] was of Rare quality but nothing special—well, it was the first piece of clothing, if it could be considered one, that my nudist Mardukryon self had worn, so it was special in a way. It gave twenty armor, thirty health points, and thirty AS points. The only bonus effect it had was to add five AS regeneration per second.

I didn't care much for that. What got my attention was the Ocadule Shard, also of Rare quality, slotted into the bracer. [Open-Compatibility Accessory Data Module (Ocadule): Lvl 1 Pyro Shell] was an interesting skill.

Lvl. 1 Pyro Shell: The blessing of the ancestors coats you with a barrier of protective flames that absorbs (50% of incoming damage) up to the amount of Ancestral Shroud/Energy spent to summon it. When the barrier expires or is depleted, the damage it has absorbed is dealt to nearby enemies as Fire Damage.

Cost: 15% Ancestral Shroud for Mardukryon; 10% Energy for other Races

Duration: 15 Seconds

Cooldown: 7 Seconds

Even if it wasn’t restricted for only Mardukryon usage—all Ocadules could be used by all races as Captain Edmund and the Dalkanus had told me—this skill had a different computation for Mardukryons compared to other Races. It was Mardukryon-favored, which was logical since the Ancestral Flame lore was connected to us.

"A skill for tanks," I said with a grin. Unfortunately, it scaled off of Ancestral Shroud rather than Health. Then I recalled that each point of Vigor not only added Health but also some AS. While it wouldn't provide as thick a shield as I'd like, I could make do with it, especially given that I had nothing better to use anyway. My five free Lesser Skill Points should make this stronger.

The DPS aspect of [Pyro Shell] was a joke as the barrier only dealt damage when it expired after fifteen seconds or when it was popped; it wasn't on-demand damage like most DPS skills. And I wasn't even sure how high its damage could reach since it was based only on Ancestral Shroud.

But that was just icing on the cake. The main thing was that I had a barrier skill. And while Health would still be my top priority, I should squeeze in additional AS if I could.

"Thank you for this. I'll treasure this—uh, sir?"

Mehubanarath closed all his four eyes and stretched both his hand over my head, palms down. A sprinkle of light showered me. He whispered in a pained tone, "Our Flames resonate. All the hardships you have experienced...they speak to me. And it brings great sorrow to my aging heart that a youngling endured something like this."

"Something like what? When am I going to get a new Oca—Hey, what's this?" A system notification popped up.

[ Hidden Achievement: A Century Of Failure]

Die more than one hundred times at level one

before entering Kurghal Village.