Sora led the group back to the area around the elven village, making quite an impressive display when the group came riding in on their wolves. Many players couldn’t help but take a glance to see who the group was, being a little surprised when they saw the famous names. Sora separated from the group to go find Desakor, he had tried to share the quest with them but couldn’t since it was probably limited to people who had a high reputation with the elf village.

When Sora was at the base of the large tree it automatically opened up, making some players confused since even the people that have been here since the territory was taken were barely able to even talk to the elves. Sora went up the winding path of stairs until finally reaching the top floor where Desakor’s house was located. As soon as he walked in the little elf girl could be seen in the garden, using some sort of magic on the plants. She noticed Sora and was scared at first since there was a human at her house, then she realized who it was and ran inside to get her father. Desakor came walking out shortly after with his daughter close behind.

“How did it go?”

“We were able to defeat the source of the corruption for now but I don’t know if this will be the end of it.”

“Hmm, I see… As long as the problem is solved for now then it should be alright. I thank you for your hard work, I am once again in your debt, brother.”

[Quest Complete]

“We elves don’t have much treasure to give so I hope this will be able to convey my appreciation. It’s a mortar and pestle that was carved from the wood of our divine tree.”

[x1 Mystic Darkwood Mortar and Pestle obtained]

-Use this item to grind down rare materials for alchemy.

+10% chance to obtain two ingredients from one material.

The reward was related to alchemy and had a decent effect, especially is the effect triggers on an expensive material. Sora thought about just giving it to Athenes but held onto it for now. After a short exchange with Desakor, Sora left and went back down the stairway, which was completely empty since no other player had the right to enter yet. Sora met back up with his group since they were all heading back to Var anyway. Sora received a message from Kira along the way, saying that everything was settled with the company and he was ready to talk about sponsorship.

The group took the flight service from Tidal Wave Pass to Var and separated from there. Sora went back to the usual restaurant and found Kira sitting on the second floor where they discussed the sponsorship in the first place. Kira looked to be extremely happy and greeted Sora with a friendly smile and an exaggerated handshake.

“Good to see you again! Ah, I’m so glad everything went smoothly.”

“Likewise, does this mean you're ready to set the sponsorship in stone?”

“Yup! We already have your first payment ready to be deposited as soon as you set us as your sponsors.”

Sora pulled up his guild page and found the sponsorship page. After putting in all of the information he accepted the settings and obtained his first official sponsor. From now on, anybody who viewed his guild would also see who he was sponsored by and have a link to their site. Kira also had a ‘Phoenix Rising’ website set up that would make it easier for other players to view the recent achievements of the guild and even set up guild application forms that could be sent from the website. PointFoods Inc. was also able to talk with the developers of “The Divine Path” and set up a way for players to order food while still playing the game. Sora was impressed by the speed of the company since a lot of work was needed to make all of that happen. Kira let out a sigh of relief as the final piece of work that was needed was complete.

“Sorry for my absence in the game, I should be able to be on more now that everything is ready to start.”

“Sounds good, do you know anything about the game's economy yet?”

“I was able to pick up a few things but it will take a while to get it going.”

“Alright, use this as a starter, you can pay me back when you earn enough.”

Sora gave Kira 2,000 gold as a starter, nearly every gold piece he had. Kira was a bit hesitant but when he thought about how much profit he could make if he had this to work with he finally grabbed the money. Sora was indifferent about it since his Elven Dew Drops were still selling quite well. With the official business done he decided to get some money out of the auction house before going to train some more.

The auction house was usually full but today it barely had anyone in it. It seems that everyone started flooding the new territory, especially the ones who were trying to find out where the Elven Dew Drops came from. Sora walked up to the half-elf lady that he always went to and checked his auctions. He already sold half of his Elven Dew Drops and three pieces of equipment he had in had also sold. Sora was able to withdraw 15,000 gold in total, bringing the near-zero total of gold skyrocket back up. Sora was satisfied with the profits so far and estimated that he should be able to almost sell every Elven Dew Drop he had before others were able to buy it. He restocked on supplies, repaired his equipment, and made his way back to the elven village. He didn’t stop there and continued heading further up until the forest opened up into a circular open area that was surrounded by the tall trees.

This area had hundreds of mobs that were tightly packed together, creating an incredibly efficient grinding spot. When he fought with the tree boss he wasn’t able to use Luna since she was level one and would have been one hit by a single tick of the miasma. Even Snow, who was at the same level as Sora wouldn’t have lasted long and only made Athenes have more targets to heal. Sora wanted to grind out mobs here since they had a high experience gain along with the chance to get an evolution stone for Snow. Luna seemed to be able to evolve over time but normal pets would need evolution stones to reach adulthood, greatly increasing their survival and damage. Sora looked across the open area, spotting hundreds of bunnies that looked shiny and green.

Level 50 -Jade Rabbit-

He summoned Luna and made sure she was positioned behind him in a safe place before charging at the first group of rabbits. The enemies let out a squeaking noise before charging at Sora, using the advantage of numbers to deal damage since their stats were low. Sora was able to dispatch them fairly quickly, making Luna level up at a rapid pace.

Sora kept charging at the bunnies, only stopping when he fell to critical health. Luna was able to rocket up to level 30 but started to slow down now that she was a higher level. Sora wasn’t able to get any evolution stones but was getting a steady stream of EXP for himself. His first enchanted enemy appeared after fighting for about an hour.

Level 50 -Viscous Jade Bunny-

Sora had to be more careful during this fight since the bunny had a buffed up attack. He waited at the side until the bunny hopped a little bit too far from the rest of his group. Sora pelted the bunny with a pebble to grab its attention before running back to avoid taking any more aggro than necessary. The bunny ran at him and bit down viciously on his leg, dealing a huge amount of damage before getting struck with a [Slash]. The rabbit quickly responded with another bite towards the neck that was parried by Sora.

The bunny may have had a buff to attack but its defense was still very poor, resulting in its death with only a few attacks. The bunny shattered, leaving behind some coins and the red orb that Sora needed for his sword. He immediately found a secluded area nearby and started to trace the enchantment onto a piece of paper, which was finished much more quickly than the last enchantment he made. He pulled out his sword and placed the enchantment in the center of the blade.

[x1 Viscous Edge of Corruption obtained]

Rarity - Corrupted Epic

Durability - 80/80

Damage - 140-155

Requires - Level 50 - Sword Class

“A sword that was made from black crystals that hold an immense amount of corrupt power. Be wary of the sacrifice that must be made to wield such power.”

+60 Strength

-10 Constitution

(Enchantment Effects)

+10 Strength

+10-10 Damage

The damage boost didn’t seem like much since the sword had high stats already but every point of damage helps. Luna was already level 34 so he could be finished with grinding here in a couple days but he also wanted to try and get the evolution stone, meaning he could be here for a lot longer if he was unlucky. He continued grinding with ease, leveling Luna up every now and then while he waits for the evolution stone to drop.

…..

It had been four days since Sora started grinding the jade bunnies. Sora had leveled up three times himself, making his level match that of the dungeon that would open up in a couple days. Luna had also already caught up with him in level and was now helping Sora fight the bunnies. She could be seen bouncing from one bunny to the next, tearing them apart with her extremely sharp teeth. Sora laughed bitterly as he looked at the ground that only had some coins. His eyes seemed lifeless as he looked at the next group of bunnies, unfocused and full of unwillingness.

“Excuse me… Excuse me… Excuse me!”

Sora finally broke out of his stupor when he heard someone's voice. He looked behind him and saw a warrior with a greatsword, looking at Sora cautiously. Sora looked around to make sure the man was talking to him and eventually turned to face him.

“Y-yes?”

“Are you alright? I came through here a few days ago and saw you attacking these rabbits. Have you been at it the entire time?”

“I would rather not talk about it…”

“O...kay… Do you mind if I take a few of them from you?”

“Go ahead.”

Sora started grinding once again, looking like he had every enemy spawn time memorized. He worked in a circle, perfectly finishing off one group right as a nearby one spawned. The warrior that had joined him started attacking groups in another area, making sure to avoid Sora’s path.

After only a couple hours the warrior noticed something that was left in the fields where Sora was killing the rabbits, hiding in a small hole that looked to be a burrow. A small green stone that looked to be made from the same material as the jade rabbits. He picked it up and started inspecting it, making sure it wasn’t just a piece of one of the rabbits that had yet to disappear. After a while, he looked towards Sora for a second and then at the wolf following by his side. He walked up to Sora once more and waited for him to finish off the group of rabbits he had been fighting.

“Hey, I think you forgot to pick this up. It was at the entrance to a rabbit burrow.”

Sora turned around with his unfocused eyes and saw the small green object in the warrior's hands, immediately becoming lost for words as he noticed what it was. He ran up to the warrior as fast as he could and grabbed the stone, making sure he wasn’t having a trick played on him.

[x1 Evolution Stone obtained]

Sora nearly started to cry as he looked at the stone that he had been wanting to drop for the last four days. After hearing what the warrior said he felt extremely embarrassed since he had simply overlooked it after killing off the jade rabbits for so long. He swore to never let himself become so careless again as he shook the warrior's hands for a long time, thanking him profusely before leaving the area.

The warrior figured that Sora had been here looking for that item and felt like helping him out since it was his in the first place. The warrior turned back to the jade rabbits since he was mainly here for the EXP and walked back to his grinding area. Before he made it there a message popped up.

[Ethereal has invited you to join Phoenix Rising. Would you like to join?]