Three more sprites blinked in and out of Drake’s Spirit Sight. Thin, luminous blades of wind flew towards him from several directions. He leaned low, feeling the muscles in his legs flex as he zipped past the razor-like gusts. “They’re so… slow. Arcanum, did you shift my Stats again?”

“Yes. Unless several of these Wind Sprites band together, they cannot conjure a strong enough attack to significantly injure you in your current state. However, if you fail to dodge and then catch up to them, they will eventually whittle you down before proceeding to finish you off.”

You have been hit! -8HP.

A thin, bright-red line appeared across his cheek as he felt one of the wind blades whooshing past his face, followed by a dull, stinging sensation. ‘So, unless I manage to avoid them completely, they can still deal damage.’ A couple more Sprites darted in and out of his detection radius, twirling in place and then vanishing as they then sent more attacks towards him. Annoyed, he stepped forward. But not even a moment later, he felt the master’s hand shoving him aside.

Roy’s flaming sword came down, sending out another shockwave as it scattered a large wind blade headed straight towards them. “Don’t let yourself be taunted like that. These little bastards can’t wait to catch you off guard like that.” The master then turned around to face him, his lips curled into a wide grin. “But I do understand the sentiment. So, how about we make this more interesting and turn into… What does Arthur call it again? Ah, a teachable moment! I’ll keep most of these whiffs of hot air in check and make sure they don’t clobber you with a big attack, while you focus on taking down as many as you can. If you manage to get at least 5 down before they land a hit on you, I’ll teach you something nice.”

Hearing this, Drake’s eyes widened. “Deal,” he said, brandishing his sword as deep, blue flames erupted from it. “You heard him, guys. Time to get to work!”

Instinctively, he knew that Zane needed no time to prepare. Sending the sliver of the former knight’s skull into his inventory, he then took his stance and sensed the aura around Arcanum shifting as he then felt lighter than ever before. A strange, unfamiliar feeling overcame him. Simply knowing that the two spirits were right there beside him was comforting. With a smile on his face, he took a deep breath and shot forth.

Like a blur, he appeared several meters ahead, right between the swarm of pale orbs. And before he even came to a standstill, he brought up his blade and slashed, hewing straight through one of the Wind Sprites. Its health plummeted close to zero as it tried to escape, but the tip of Drake’s sword ran it through before it could get away.

You have activated Spellcleaver.

The blue flames around his sword coalesced and condensed, becoming even brighter as the orb released a faint whine, shimmering and blinking out of existence.

You have gained 75 experience points. (Dungeon Difficulty Adjustment in Effect)

You have reached level 7!

The floating mass of orbs swirled around him, the light coming off of them more intense than as they started to float away. But Drake slammed his foot down and roared, unleashing a loud, bone chilling howl.

You have activated Grave’s Spite.

With the Sprites frozen in midair, he slashed, severing two orbs cleanly in half and then another two, thin blue arcs trailing the tip of his blade. He then speared another one and turned to strike again when he saw the swarm lighting up. The sight sent a shiver down his spine as he stopped and jumped back with enough force to crack the hardened earth beneath him.

Dozens of wind blades converged onto his former position, shredding the ground and kicking up a dust cloud a couple of stories tall. Landing close to Roy, Drake shot him a cheeky grin. “So, what do six Sprites get me?”

“Hah!” the master bellowed. “Okay, runt, color me impressed! You’ve earned yourself a little bonus. Here…” he said, leaning low and gripping his sheathed sword, poised and ready to draw it. “Come closer to me and don’t move a muscle…”

The second he inched closer to the master, he immediately turned off his Xelian Meditation. But even so, he could still see the air crackling with energy around Roy. He darted right behind the old mage and waited with baited breath. The temperature around them spiked as the master’s aura flared. For a moment, Drake could have sworn he saw wings of fire materializing around them. And as Roy stepped forward, drawing his blade with blistering speed, the entire area around them burst into flames!

The swirling inferno grew around them and expanded outwards, incinerating everything in its path. Drake struggled to watch as the heat radiating off of the fiery tornado singed his face and made his eyes water. As the flames finally died down, he coughed and wiped away his tears.

“M-master,” he stuttered, taking in the extent of the charred circle around the two of them. “What the hell was that?” Steam and ash rose from the burned ground. A bit further beyond, right at the ring’s edge, the blackened tips of severed vines and blades of tall grass dangled in the searing air. ‘They couldn’t even burn… it’s like the heat just cut straight through them.’

Combing his fingers through his beard, Roy chuckled. “That’s something I like to call Hellfire. So? Did you enjoy your little bonus?”

Somehow, hearing the master refer to the spectacle he had just witnessed as little made Drake’s head spin even more than the sweltering air around them. Any semblance of words refused to leave his mouth as he could only stare dumbfounded at the scene in front of him.

“Heh, did the heat get to you?” Roy smirked, taking out the small chest from his pouch that he had used to carve the rune on Zane’s skull. “Just remember, the more familiar you are with a spirit, the more of its strength that you can then draw upon. And once your affinity with a spirit passes a certain threshold, you can even have it manifest in this plane temporarily. But more on that once you actually make a pact with your first spirit. Now–”

“What about Zane?” he asked, glancing at the purple wisp floating just above his shoulder. “Doesn’t he count?”

Roy’s expression turned serious, foregoing his usual demeanor. “No. I used a binding rune infused with necromancy to temporarily tether his spirit to this plane. And I plan on undoing that rune the moment we find out what happened to his family. But even if I didn’t undo it, there’s only so much time that a rune like that can be used to hold someone’s spirit.”

“I see,” said Drake, holding out his hand and materializing the runed skull fragment between his fingers.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” said Zane, his voice more serene than ever before. “I’ve long since made my peace with it.”

He nodded and returned the fragment to his inventory, turning to face the master.

Coming up beside him, Roy placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Best to concentrate on the things that are actually within our control, like finding out what happened to Zane’s family.”

“Right,” he said, taking a long, deep breath before exhaling.

“That’s the spirit. Now, the thing I wanted to show you.” Opening the runed chest’s lid, Roy took out his carving tool and handed it over to Drake. “This is a Rune Scribe’s quill. It’s used to carve out runes into various items by channeling a steady stream of mana into it. The harder the surface, the more mana you need. That’s also the case for things that are already magically enchanted. But if you’re not careful, you can even destroy an existing enchantment by trying to add runes on top of it.”

Rune Quill (Enchanted Item)

An Alarian rune quill, hand crafted out of seemingly high quality materials.

Rune Tracing Success Chance: +50%

Equipment Slot:One-handed ToolEncumbrance:0.1

Durability:100/100

“I see,” replied Drake. He turned the instrument resembling an icepick on all sides. Inscribed with various complex patterns of shapes and symbols, the wooden handle felt like it belonged in his hand. He then attempted to hand it back to Roy, however, the old mage grabbed his wrist and closed his palm over the quill.

“This is now yours, Drake.” As the master undoubtedly saw the look of confusion on his face, he continued. “Around the parts where I myself was an apprentice, it was customary for someone taking you in to gift you a tool of their craft.” He smiled, tapping the pommel of his runed bastard sword. “It would’ve probably been easier to just give you a better sword or a sturdier piece of armor. But you should be perfectly capable of acquiring that sort of stuff on your own. I wanted to give you something a bit more personal.”

“I was more surprised to actually hear you calling me by my name for like… the second time ever,” he chuckled, looking up from the runed quill to meet the master’s gaze.

You have been hit! -362HP.

The sound of Roy’s hand slamming into his back echoed throughout the cauldron as the sheer force of the blow sent him forward several steps. “HAH! Cheeky bastard,” the master howled, resting his hands on the hip-plates of his runed cuirass. “Take care of that and it’ll last you as much as it lasted me and my master.”

“Your master…?” he repeated, rubbing his back as he shut his eyes and coughed from all the ash he had stirred up. “Wait, so you got this as an apprentice yourself? I couldn’t possibly accept something like this!”

“Oh?” Roy smirked, crossing his arms in front of him. “And what exactly are you going to do? Force me to take it back? Leave it behind? Do any of that and I’ll be sure to thoroughly test out every aspect of that resurrection timer of yours.”

Taking a step back, Drake sent the rune quill into his inventory and raised his empty palms towards the master. “No need for anything of the sort.”

“Good. Once we get out of here, I’ll show you how to practice your rune scribing,” said Roy as he turned towards the cluster of pillars at the plateau’s center, his left eye glowing ominously. “Now, time to find you a spirit!”

****

“That damned… fox!” Bane scowled, kicking a stone ahead of him watching it bounce alongside the edge of the road. “I mean, who does something like that? We took her with us and she just up and stabs us in the back? And then she even leaves with all the loot from the Dungeon?”

Once Eris’ Freeze Lock had faded, he had wanted to chase after her. But, given Vala’s insistence, he reluctantly gave up on the matter. After all, with a head start of almost half an hour, the odds of them catching up to her would have been slim at best. As such, after having searched the shrine to make sure they hadn’t missed anything, they descended down the mountain, slowly making their way towards Alissey.

A bit in front of him, right next to Mia, Vala sighed and shook her head. Ever since they had left the Ironwood Sea, the temperature had continued to rise, peaking at noon. And the taur woman’s mood had rapidly deteriorated alongside the growing heat. “We’ve been over this before,” she said, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. “We should have all been a bit more careful. Whining about it now isn’t going to change anything.”

“I know, but–”

“Need I remind you that I mentioned this exact same possibility? That we shouldn’t just randomly invite someone into the group like that, or else we’re going to be sorry once something like this happens?”

Bane opened his mouth only to then close it and groan.

This seemed to soften Vala’s tone as she then continued. “Look, even if you blabbed more than you should have back in the forest, it’s not like I stopped you either.”

“Yeah, but still,” said Bane, moving aside to make way for a large, ox-drawn carriage to pass them by. “All that work just… gone. With barely anything to show for it.”

“I wouldn’t really say anything,” she smiled.

While every fiber of his being screamed at him for being so gullible as to have trusted Eris, Bane opened his Skills window and brought up the window for his newly acquired skill.

Darkness Affinity (Passive Skill)

Rank:ApprenticeLevel: 1 (0.0%)

Skill Scope:Darkness Skills & Spells Proficiency

Having been exposed to powerful Darkness magic, you have managed to gain a rare glimpse into the inner workings of this particular school of magic. As such, you will now deal increased damage when using Darkness type magic while also taking reduced damage from all Darkness type sources.

Bonus Darkness Damage: 5.0%

Bonus Darkness Resistance: 5.0%

Dismissing the window, he brought up his arms and recalled the pain he had felt back when Mel’Hakath’s shell had tried to crush his arms. But moving past that, the alien sensation that had washed over him was unlike anything he had ever felt before. As if his hands were both lighter and heavier at the same time. For an instant, it seemed like the shadows around his hands had grown darker, and the same feeling had returned, albeit weaker. He blinked and the feeling had disappeared.

“Uhm, Bane, are you okay?” Mia asked, slowing down and then adjusted her pace to match his once he caught up.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he smiled, in a weakly veiled attempt to disguise the fact that he simply found himself in a foul mood. However, that was definitely easier said than done. “You don’t have to worry about me. Though honestly, are you sure you’re fine?” he returned, suddenly remembering the way she had cried out back in the shrine. “What did you mean by ‘no, not here as well’?”

No sooner had he asked the question, that Mia simply froze in the middle of the road, her gaze glued to the ground. This prompted even Vala to stop and come close to the two of them. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked, gently placing her large hand over their healer’s golden locks.

The young woman’s shoulders began to tremble as she spoke, her voice barely audible even to Bane and Vala’s ears. “I’m sorry… I was… I was scared that you guys would treat me differently if you knew… But you’re both… so nice! And that makes me feel even worse for doubting you. I’m… I’m done keeping secrets!” she yelled, raising her head as her blue, tear-filled eyes met theirs.

As Mia took a moment to collect herself, Bane exchanged a confused glance with Vala. Ever since yesterday when they had stopped to make camp, it seemed as if she hadn’t been her usual cheery self.

“In real life,” she continued, wiping away her tears, “I’m paralyzed from the neck down. I have been ever since I was a kid… To make things worse, I also had VR sickness. The only reason I didn’t die the first time I tried it, was that the medical attendee was right next to me… and he helped me so that I wouldn’t suffocate when I had to throw up…”

The more Bane heard her speak, the wider his eyes got. He knew full well how hard it was for people like Ryan to live in their modern-day society, cut off from the vast majority of jobs and from most forms of entertainment. Hell… even when it came to basic human interaction, VR sickness was guaranteed to isolate most people. But on top of all of that, to be stuck somewhere, to be unable to even move…

Raising a hand towards the young woman, Vala began to speak. “Mia–”

“Don’t!” she pleaded, intertwining her fingers in front of her. “I know it’s pathetic of me… but it was hard enough for me to gather the courage to tell you the truth, so please, just let me finish…”

With a pained expression on her face, Vala lowered her arm and let her continue uninterrupted.

“I’m just so sick of it… of being so pathetic that I freaked out a… a fucking spell!” she yelled, throwing her hands beside her as her chest continued to heave in frustration. “I’m tired of feeling like a burden to everyone… I thought that at least here I could maybe run away from these things. But I know now that things aren’t that easy. So, please, just give me a chance to prove myself…”

Before Vala could say anything, Bane turned around and continued walking, leaving the two behind.

“Bane?” he heard the taur calling out to him. “Wait up! Where are you going?”

“Where do you think?” he sighed, turning around to see the look of confusion on Vala’s face and the dread in Mia’s eyes. “We’ve got things to do and foxes to skin. So, we better hurry,” he winked.

Seeing the young woman’s expression change so quickly from frightful, to perplexed, and then finally to elated, he couldn’t help but grin as he continued along the road to Alissey.

****

Status Window

Name:Drake

Class-

Level: 8 (116/1500)

Species & Gender:Human Male

Fame:0

Titles:-

Guilds:Mage’s Guild (Initiate)

Health:1092/1550HP Regen:11.63/sec

Mana:1426/1750MP Regen:18.03 /sec

Stamina:498/710SP Regen:5.33/sec

Satiety:73%

Hydration:48%

Basic Stats

Strength:18 (+70)Intelligence:35 (+260)

Vitality:21 (+50)Endurance:20 (+135)

Agility:25 (+170)Power:25 (+150)

Resistances

Fire:0%Water:0%

Lightning:0%Earth:0%

Wind:0%Arcane:0%

Light:0%Darkness:0%

Status Effects:

Xelian Meditation: +6.0% MP Regen

Well Fed (4 Hours 26 Minutes remaining):

+20 STR

+5 END

+50% HP Regen

+50% SP Regen

Spiritual Resonance :

+250 INT

+150 AGL

+150 POW

+100 END

+50 VIT

Arcanum’s Blessing (+100% MP Regen)

Mental Acuity (Rank 1)

Spiritual Pact:

+50 STR

+30 END

+20 AGL

+10 INT

Grave’s Spite (Rank 1)

Dreadknight’s Authority (Rank 1)

Blessing of the Windwalker:

Movement Speed +20%

Wind School Damage & Effectiveness +25%

Cooldown Durations -50%

Having allocated his available Stat points, Drake dismissed the window and turned to look at the old mage perched atop a slim pillar. A moment later, the master jumped down, his runed sabatons issuing a heavy thud the moment they hit the ground.

Roy approached him, never taking his eyes off a point somewhere in the distance. “I take it that World-Gate used to sit at the top of this spire, Zane?”

“That’s right, though I do not remember there being so many pillars surrounding the central spire before.”

The master frowned. He then turned to face Drake as he spoke, his voice lacking part of its usual brevity. “Good news and bad news, runt. First the good news: there’s a pretty interesting, unclaimed spirit at the top of this spire. Bad news: there’s an unclaimed spirit at the top of this spire.”

“If your point was to be cryptic, master, then I must congratulate you on a job well done,” he said, slightly rolling his eyes and smiling. Somehow, seeing the corner of Roy’s mouth curl partway towards his usual grin made him feel a bit more at ease.

“Hah. Let’s see if you’ll be able to hold onto that wit of yours once we reach the top,” he said, his more serious demeanor returning. “Jokes aside, Drake, that spirit… What’s with that look on your face?”

“That’s the second time you’ve called me by my name within less than an hour… are you sure you’re feeling okay, master?”

A chill shot down his spine the instant his gaze met Roy’s. Gone was the master’s serious expression, replaced entirely by what Drake could only describe as the face of a demon being dared to do its worst. He then heard a heavy sigh, followed by Arcanum’s voice. “You really should not have done that, Drake…”