Mature Content Warning: a little language

Author's Note: We are coming close to the end of the volume. It has taken longer than I would have liked, but I can finally bring out the next advancement of the plot. :) Some of you might hate what I intend, but it has finally gotten to the point where I can set it up for the future.

Chapter 47: Hardcore Mode

Three long and grueling days had passed in the mountains. Rhea had slaughtered her way through well over two thousand, nearly three thousand, and monsters of much higher level and had managed to increase her level to seventeen. The high-elf took a breather to consider her options. The spawn rate of the highest level monsters in the open sky areas had dropped considerably since she had gone on her one elf crusade to cleanse the land and earn moderately epic loot.

The Fayth and ability points had poured in during that time, she had made more in that short few days than the entire time that they had fought the undersea monsters. It was to be expected, however. Most of the creatures that she fought on the mountain had a level range that average between fifty-five to level sixty. She had left the small-fries for Scott to pick off. His experience bonus made them much more viable as a fast experience gatherer.

She glanced down at her sword then sighed. “Why didn’t you pick a sword profession? We could be so much farther along...”

Of course, he could have simply learned to wield a sword through the use of lore crystal rings. Ultimately, he did not do that because it would short-change him in the end. He needed the ability points to boost his stats, or rather, he probably did.

Rhea gazed at her sword and sighed. He was training so hard, but she had still not told him what he would have to do if he truly wanted to protect ARS. The things that she had spoken of were all necessary in their way, but the truth was that he would have to do something far more difficult. She knew that she would have to tell him, and soon, but she did not want to tell him. The possibilities were too terrifying.

“There has to be another way...” she said to herself softly. She did not want to believe that the only possible way for him to become strong enough was to undertake that method. Yet, she knew that there was no choice. He would not even be able to fight the Lords of Destruction as he was now. They would run uncontested across the world.

After she finished taking a breather she hefted her sword and ran off to find one of the local cave systems. The monsters were similar in level but more numerous. Hopefully she would be able to reach at least level twenty-five within the two week period.

Heart heavy with the burden of true knowledge, Rhea ran toward whatever monster she could find. She and Scott would need to reach level one hundred as soon as possible if he was to meet the destiny that she had chosen for him. How she cursed her heart for wanting to spend time with him. He would be in incredible danger and it was her fault! She already knew what his answer would be when she told him the final truth. He was that sort of person, she could tell.

***

Nearly one week had passed and no word had come from the ninjas of Crimson shadow. Time was running short for the mermaids. Scott had trained like it was a new religion. Ero had reached level eighteen and now he had to increase his level so that he could increase hers. Before that, however, he wanted to complete her power set and acquire a class two spell.

Ero had five powers remaining at present. Their total ability point cost was seventeen hundred fifty points. He purchased them all then smiled.

Scott’s smile grew three sizes when he heard a loud gasp and an outcry of pure bliss from his fairy BFF. She had certainly loved the upgrade. She now had defensive abilities, greater healing capacity, actual magical attacking powers, and a few other things. As far as Ero was concerned, she was now complete. Rather, she was complete until she reached level twenty-five. There was no way to know if she had more abilities in the future or if the ones she had simply became stronger.

“So, five hundred six ability points left...” Scott looked at him available upgrades. He had five spells to choose from the second-tier and three physical abilities that he could acquire. There were also four more basic element spells in the first tier that he intended to get as they would work well with synchronicity.

He looked through the class two spells for a moment then frowned. They had the same sort of set-up as before. Some were cone of effect, some worked on touch, and others were ranged. Was variation a crime? They were basically just stronger versions of five of his previous spells. Ah well, he needed at least one of them. By the time he was twenty-five and then forty he would be able to learn level four spells from his list.

He would probably be better off saving up to acquire at least one or two spells from level three and four before back-training for the weaker spells. He needed them all because he was that sort of person. However, he needed to maintain an edge even more.

“I think I’ll go with Ar-Lita. Freeze still does alright, and burn is strong enough to do serious damage still. I need a ranged paralysis ability.” Scott chose the short-range lightning spell and spent four hundred of his remaining ability points. He brought up the spell information blurb to learn more.

<<< Spells >>>

[Second] Ar-Lita [LV. 0]-Force: 6] Mana: 12[0/100]

Ar-Lita is an elemental lightning spell that sends an arc of current outward to strike your foes. Higher levels have more arcs.

Special: Chance to inflict paralysis 50%, chance to inflict paralysis is double against opponents weak to lightning.

>>

Scott grinned at the paralysis chance. He had been confused about that in the first few days of adventuring. After several long talks about world mechanics with Rhea he had learned that the percentages were not absolutes. They actually related to what were known as hidden variables.

He actually had stats that he could not directly influence other than through gaining a level, acquiring spells, or through equipment upgrades. A spell also had a hidden increase or decrease in a specific variable attached to it.

His ability to paralyze via magic actually had a hidden stat number. The fifty percent paralysis chance actually related to how much of that number would count when attacking a monster. The monster’s hidden magical paralysis resistance stat would then be used as a counter. Basically, the higher number won.

Each time he acquired a spell of a specific element his hidden variable attached to that element increased. Lightning spells added to the hidden paralysis modifier. Wind added to an ability to move objects through kinetic force, Water increased the chance of asphyxiation. Each of them had a special stat related to it. This factor was the reason why higher level spells were necessary.

As monsters grew higher in level their natural resistance factors increased as well. It was also why sorcerers were deemed to be so weak. Their innate spell-list ended at level seven at most. They could learn spells beyond that point, but they had to do it via specialized lore crystals that were for specific spells. They were rare treasures or even rarer drops. Few stores carried a spell crystal beyond fourth level and those were hideously expensive...

A non-mage class using magic would have terrible effectiveness when using his spells because their hidden stats would not be high enough to matter. Things actually made more sense to Scott after learning that tidbit. Of course, that also worked on other things besides spells. Weapons had certain effects as well. He had not inflicted the heavy bleeding status with his spear even once. Sure, monsters bled when he stabbed them, but it was not the same thing apparently. His unarmed skills staggered monsters and broke bones all the time, but his weapon attacks rarely ever did anything special other than kill things.

Warrior classes could do that sort of thing easily. Rhea had a tendency to stagger and inflict heavy bleeding all the time, though he had not realized that was what she was doing. She would aim for critical areas to increase the chance of paralysis or rendering a limb useless. Actual skill would allow for any of these status effects to occur, but a higher hidden variable for a given effect would allow the system to reinforce it and cause the effect to happen more often.

Scott looked over his list. He could purchase another weak level one spell, but he also had other options. He could increase the force of his spells one more time. He could reduce the mana cost of his spells as well. However, there was one side of his skills that he had largely ignored. He needed more physical capacity. He had around ten abilities sitting undeveloped, and eight of those abilities were physical.

He looked at the physical skills he could learn. He chose improved counter, improved critical chance, and Rapid Strike. They were all his most basic skills and cost little in the way of ability points. However, they did remove. Improved counter and critical chance were passive abilities that added to his so-called hidden variables. Rapid Strike, however, was his first sorcerer physical attack skill.

<<< Abilities >>>

Rapid Strike Level 0, Mana: 3 [0/100]

Strike an opponent repeatedly with supreme speed. Higher levels increase the speed, precision, and damage of the skill.

Special: You will be able to attack with a minimum of 50% more speed than normal. However, attack damage will be lessened by 50%.

>>

“Not bad. I will definitely need to train it before I get to the point that I can use it properly in a fight.” said Scott.

He called out to Ero. “Hey, can you use your healing spell to allow my mana to regenerate faster?”

Inside his mind the only response he received was a warm sensation and a softly whimpered, “Oh my goodness... Oh my goodness... Oh...”

“Damn... she’s still dealing with having her powers unlocked.” said Scott. She was such a sweet little perverted thing, but he would have liked to have had his mana regenerate more quickly. He decided to just use his mana restoratives instead.

They cost around ten thousand Fayth just to restore fifty mana, but he did not care about that. He would be able to replenish his supplies later and training quickly was more important.

He experimentally worked with his new skill to see how it was activated. It would be weird to activate it vocally. Thankfully, however, he discovered that all he needed to do was to visualize the name of the ability and it activated.

Scott blurred forward two steps and then haphazardly punched at the air with great speed. The sudden shift in position caused him to fall over and he hit the ground with an embarrassing thump.

“Man, that was severely uncool of me...” He stood up and dusted his backside off. That skill needed to be practiced. Scott grinned. It had been fun though!

He set about training it as much as possible. He managed to use it over seventy times in the course of a half hour and his mana had been depleted. Ero was still babbling about her goodness so she would be no help. He chugged a mana restorative then waited for it to take effect. A few minutes later he began to train once more.

It did not take long for his new ability to reach level one. He checked the information for his rapid strike ability then grinned. Hit had increased to one hundred percent more speed and a forty percent reduction in damage. “I have to use it another two hundred fifty times?” he asked. It seemed that physical skills required more training than magical ones. He was not certain that it made sense, but he suspected that it had to do with his hybrid nature. He was more magic oriented than physical combat oriented as a class.

He chugged two more mana restoratives and got back to work. He planned to try and master his new physical ability as soon as possible; followed by mastering his two unmastered spells.

After Scott blurred forward and punched furiously a few more times he had an idea. “I wonder...” he said lightly.

He knew that synchronicity worked with his regular unarmed attacks, though the effects were different than when he used his boomerangs or his spear. He decided to see what would happen if he tried to cast a spell while using rapid strike.

Scott blurred forward and cried out, “Flash!”

Tiny bolts of energy raced around his fists as they struck out in a blur. Scot grinned like a moron. “Now this is something I can use!”

He experimented with his skill and synchronizing it with his spells. He could use freeze and burn quite easily. Howling gale caused a hard blast of air to slam outward that pummeled whatever was directly in front of him. His water spells caused his punches to deviate. After a few tries he realized that he had to use it like an uppercut. A short spiraling pillar of water erupted outward but it did not travel far.

“I think I see now...” Scott suspected that the true power of a sorcerer was not in the spells themselves. He would bet almost anything that a sorcerer was supposed to devote their training to synchronicity. What other classes had such ease of use with spells and abilities? Few to none had that sort of utility.

“Not bad...” said a familiar and welcome voice. Scott turned and smiled at his lady love.

Rhea smiled softly at Scott as well. It was nice to see him train so hard. He smile faded a little, however. It was time that they had another talk about the future, and it was not a fun topic.

Scott noticed her fading smile and he walked over to her. “What’s wrong?”

She tried to smile once more but she could not manage it. “Scott... We need to talk.”

He blinked. Why was she so serious right now? They talked all the time. “What about?”

Rhea took a deep breath. “It’s about your role in the upcoming battle and the truth.”

“OK... There’s more than what you told me?” he asked suspiciously. Was she still hiding things from him? There are many things that he might not fully understand or even accept, but she could at least tell him everything important.

“One more thing... Something that I wish did not have to happen, but must if you truly wish to protect ARS.” said Rhea.

“Alright...” said Scott in a non-committal manner.

Rhea closed her eyes and then opened them once more. “The Lords of Destruction do not actively exist... on this ARS server.”

Scott blinked. “ARS server...? You... Are you saying that there is more than one ARS?”

She nodded. “Specifically, there are four servers. There is an admin only server where we actively make updates to the world and see what happens. It is a chaotic and ever changing reality, but the people seem to like it.”

“That makes sense. That sort of server is like a place where you test new game concepts before they go live?” asked Scott.

“Exactly. Good, you understand... Well, the other three servers are for players.” said Rhea.

Scott waited patiently for her to explain further. She liked to drag things out when she had bad news to report, he already knew that much about her.

“One of those servers is a kid friendly sort of place where the monsters are even cuter and foul language is censored.”

“Really? So, a G-rated ARS exists?” asked Scott.

Rhea smiled softly. “Yes, on that server everyone, even the humanoid monsters wear underwear that can’t be removed and children are born simply by parents hugging each other and praying for a child to love. They kiss and the next day a stork will bring their new baby by if the gods decree the union successful.”

“That sounds like a fun world, but not quite something I would pick...” said Scott. It sounded absolutely adorable and innocent, but he would lose his mind in such a place.

She chuckled softly then nodded. “Yes, it is. However, it is the other server that we need to discuss.”

“OK, hit me with it.” said Scott. He was up for anything.

“Well... It is known as ARS Classic, or by another name it would be called the hardcore server. It is a much more dynamic version of this world and features a much higher level of realism.” replied Rhea.

“Really?” asked Scott.

“Yes, really. It is a much more challenging version of this world. The monsters are still adorable, and the people are still mostly cheerful. However, everything is much harder.”

“How so?” he asked.

“There are many differences. You can’t use lore rings to gain outside skills unless they are techniques based on your class, for instance. Another thing is that you don’t gain stats when you gain a level. You have to train them directly.”

“Train stats directly...? What about things like ability points?” asked Scott.

“There are none. Also, you would have to train strength by doing normal things like push-ups or carrying heavy loads.”

“That actually sounds fun.” said Scott. He would love something like that!

“Death is also permanent.” said Rhea.

Scott’s eyes widened. “Wait, so just get killed once at its... game over?”

“Yes and no. It is more like game restart. You would be forced to start all the way over at level one unless you were resurrected within three days.”

“So, that’s not so bad! You just need to be resurrected.

Rhea shook her head. “You could be level four hundred and if you were killed and your corpse hidden for three days or completely destroyed you would be completely reset and forced to start over again.”

“Now that would suck, but at least you are not permanently deceased.” he replied.

She nodded. “True, but hardcore players are more likely to do that to you. It is an open PVP environment unlike this server.”

“Open PVP? What about what Corpse Rat did?” asked Scott.

She shrugged. “You killed one of their people. That made it alright to seek out your party and attack.”

“He was a known murderer, though.” said Scott.

“That’s why you were not given a big red name over your head. However, killing one of their guild members granted consent. As a member of your party they had the right of consent of me as well.”

“What about when Sharde attacked them?” asked Scott. This was quite interesting. He loved to find out as much as he could about the systems of this game-like world.

“She has an official guild and guilds always have consent when interacting with each other. It is the equivalent of being PVP open.” said Rhea.

Scott nodded. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, but in the hardcore server it is open season on everyone and guilds routinely conquer areas and demand money to be allowed to enter. Player killing happens with extreme frequency. ARS Classic is sometimes called the rage-quit server. “ she said.

“This... actually sounds like my kind of place.” said Scott. Hell, he was excited now!

Rhea rolled her eyes then smiled. “I figured that you would say that.”

“Two things do confuse me, however.” he said.

“Hmm, what?” asked the beautiful elf.

“If there are no ability points and your level does not increase your stats, what is the point of having a level? Also, if there are no ability points how can being there make me that much stronger than training here?” asked Scott.

“Ah, it’s because you can train your stats, and your spells and abilities have no level limit. You would have fewer of them and each one that you have at the start is a custom ability that you choose before your account is transferred to that server.”

“The game mechanics work much differently there is what you are saying? Also, why have a player level?” asked Scott. He had just gotten used to this place! The other server sounded awesome, but this change-up was out of nowhere.

Rhea nodded at him. “The mechanics are much more streamlined but allow for easier customization. You can basically create your own custom skills over time. That capacity was removed here for the most part.”

She continued, “Levels still influence your hidden variables and unseen stats, so they are important for that. They also determine what equipment you can use because items have level locks to prevent low-level people from using epic swords and things like that.”

Scott grinned at Rhea. “You mean like you and your super epic sword of badassery?”

“Exactly, this sword would require me to be level one hundred thirty to wield it on the hardcore server. Ah, and having a higher level allows you to train your visible stats easier.”

“That sounds interesting... Are there any other changes?” asked Scott.

“Well, the biggest visible change is thematic. The world is more grand and epic than it is on this server, and the devotion to realism changes the way the world works by quite a degree.”

“So, it’s more like an epic fantasy world with game-like qualities, instead of a roleplaying game with a real world backdrop?” He was not certain if he was asking the question right, but he was still curious to hear her answer.

“Oh yes, on this server the landscape and many things are focused on being more like a medieval world with a game interface. On the hardcore server everything is just epic. The monsters are still adorable, and the musical score is quite lovely, but the world itself is... well, breathtaking I guess.”

“Why not have a version of that for casual players?” asked Scott. It seemed like a no-brainer to be honest.

She shook her head. “The council keeps blocking that. Honestly, my family thinks that opening a fifth server for casual players of that version of ARS would probably solve most, if not all, of our current minor player retention issues.”

Scott rubbed his chin. “How does that whole end of the world thing work if the Lords of destruction are only on the hardcore server?”

Rhea sighed. “They are native to that server, but once they trash that world they will move to the other two player servers. Epic hardcore gods of destruction and carnage are far beyond the capacity of the casual players of this server or the innocent and sweet natured people in the kid friendly server. “

Scott envisioned it as a bit like Vegeta from Dragonball Z landing on his version of Earth. He related his thoughts to Rhea and she nodded.

“Yes, it would be quite similar to that. No power of this world could stop them.” said Rhea.

“Why trash all three of the player server worlds, though?” Scott did not understand that. The G-rated world should not even be included.

“Honestly?” she asked him.

He nodded to her. Yes, he wanted to know.

Rhea snorted. “The council is a bunch of jerks.”

She blinked. “That’s the reason?”

“Yeah, they don’t have to do any of this. They just choose to do it because it is fun for them and they think it will make more money to unleash an end of the world event.” said Rhea.

“So, basically they are a bunch of total dicks who like screwing with people for profit?” asked Scott.

“Are there any other types of business executives?” asked Rhea with a soft smile.

Scott snorted at her then shook his head. He granted her a wry smile. “I see your point.”

They shared a small laugh. Life was certainly going to become more interesting in the near future.