Chapter 22: Do You Have My Back?

“So, tell me something. Why had no one ever explore this region?” I asked the rest of the party as we travelled through a series of another tunnel. But this time, it was mouldy, damp and the ground was covered with bioluminescent moss that gave out an eerie-green light.

“I had played the games for more than two months. Was thinking about it too.” Alviss chipped in. Miranda then added on, “Like Alviss, I had been here for 2 months and yet to see anyone explore this region. Aren’t we supposedly have more than what… 50 million unique players?”

“I-I’m here more than 3-3 months…” Sophia spoke shyly. She was the most senior players here then. But the way she played I was sure that she started much later than me. She avoided my gaze when I looked at her. I just gave her a wink, to reassure her that I was not prejudiced against slow players.

“I had been here for more or less a month. Can’t point my fingers why there aren’t many players exploring these areas.” Pressing ahead through the tunnel, we continued to chit-chat a little to fill our time.

Alviss explained further, “Perhaps it might have to do with how recent City of Asgardia is. Remember the Siege of Thoran?”

Though everyone nodded their head, I had not joined the game at that time.

“When we came to the city with one of the siege party, the city and surrounding areas had not been fully explored just yet.” Alviss continued where he left off.

I was surprised to hear that. “You three are not from City of Asgardia?”

The three of them shook their head. Miranda then added on, “All of us were from Brensberg, northeast from the City of Asgardia. Well, perhaps to answer Ghost’s question, maybe the areas around aren’t worth exploring to high-level players.”

“Or maybe, the areas won’t be opened until certain events happened.” Alviss looked to be pondering about something. Looking at him with curiosity, Sophia was next to ask him. “Like how the last event opened up the City of Asgardia and its surrounding places?”

“Perhaps… We might be looking at the possibilities of upcoming new events if this were to be true.”

“What are you all talking about behind us, po?” Popo’s voice suddenly interrupted our idle conversation as he came to us. He and Mimi went ahead of us, helping us to scout for potential enemies or even traps. Or perhaps a way out. It was kind of pathetic that the role had been reversed, but after the lessons back in the old tomb, precautions were necessary.

“Nothing… just about this area and stuff. By the way, had Mimi deciphered that stone tablet we found inside that stone coffin?”

When we opened the stone coffin, all of us were hoping for either one of the two things; treasures or traps. But we found neither. All that was inside the stone coffin were a stone tablet and some bones that perhaps belonged to the King whoever-his-name was.

“Mimi just finished. That’s why I’m here. She’s in front waiting for you guys.”

*****

“Ever heard of the Legend of the Old Gods?” Mimi began by asking this question. I had read it before but I pretended not to know. So too did the rest of the group who shook their head.

“Well, then let me tell you the summary. It is said that the Old Gods had left this realm of ours after feeling disappointed with us; their creations. Where and the exact reason they left was unknown but before they left, they had created 7 keys to open a gateway to their magnificent city, the High Asgard.”

“Wow… that’s so interesting!” Sophia exclaimed excitedly. I could see the rest of them looked with sparkling eyes. The notion of exploring something new like this was too good to be missed even with so little information given. However, Mimi’s next words disappointed them.

“Unfortunately, I am not well versed in the Old Gods research. Unlike my Master, but he died many years ago and all his research was lost.” All of them heaved a sigh of disappointment as I looked at them amusedly.

However, my short amusement looking at my dejected party members was interrupted yet again but this time, from the system message.

Legend of High Asgardia has been updated!

Memoir of the Old Gods has been updated!

I was tempted to open the book and read immediately. But I held my excitement a little. I must thoroughly read it first in private, far from peering eyes and then only I would consult with Mimi. But before I could do any of that, Popo had sent us another warning.

“Boys, be ready! We have incoming guests!”

*****

A group of 8 Skeleton Warriors came at us. This time however, all of us would be participating. Even though our foes were at level 70s but with Popo and Mimi’s help, we could take them head-on.

Popo was the first to charge with his giant hammer. Though he was a swordsman, I might understand his reasoning to choose a blunt weapon instead of a sword. The Skeleton Knight awkwardly tried to slash him, but Popo did not even dodge. He just blocked the attack with his weapon and then, with the swiftest movement I could ever see yet so far in this game, smashed the undead to the wall. One attack was all he needed as his foe lay broken in many pieces. Mimi casted some buffs on us in quick succession that I did not have the time to identify which was which that used on us. However, she increased our attack speed, physical and magical defence, movement speed, HP and to top it off, gave us regeneration status.

Feeling excited and spurred on by the two Bunnians, the rest of them just charged blindly, including Elly. I just shook my head at those headless chickens. Rose was standing beside me, pulling my robes and urging me to enter the fray.

Ahh well, might as well I enjoyed this. Being reckless once in a while would do none of us any harm now. Besides, it was about time we got some advantage in this game. Re-equipping myself with the only blunt weapon I have; a two-handed staff, I joined the rest of them destroying the second batch of Skeleton Warriors that came for us.

One was unlucky enough to spawn next to me. I immediately slammed the end of my weapon onto its head but the damage was not enough to destroy it on one hit. Who was I kidding? Style-wise, it was magnificent. Damage wise, it was laughable. And adding to my insult was the fact that I was the lowest level character here at 35. My pumped up stats somehow did not do me any favour either.

Popo who witnessed my feeble attempts gave out a loud laugh that echoed throughout the tunnel. Feeling irritated, I dealt another blow with my fist on the Skeleton Warrior’s head.

*Critical hit! 20 HP*

The fuck? I could only deal 20 damage? What was going on here, anyway?

The rest who saw what happened to me was chuckling. Even Elly could not help but to laugh at my predicament. Rose at her usual self, oblivious to everything though I swore she just stole a glance at me and laughing at the back of her mind.

“Yargh!!! Fuck you, Bones!!” I continued to hit the hapless Skeleton Warriors nonstop. It was moving awkwardly trying to strike me but I knew better than to get hit by slow and dimwitted enemies like these bones. Avoiding and counterstriking just that one single enemy was doing me in a little as I continued to curse him under my breath.

“Are you done, Ghost? We are waiting for you?!” Alviss who could not help it gave out a loud laugh followed by the rest of them. I had never been laughed at like this before. That was why I hated partying others. In the end, I just skewered a couple of the Skeleton Warriors, pushed them to the tunnel wall and pinned them there. As I spat to the ground, I took my shield as I bashed the bloody bones into smithereens.

*****

“Man, is that the last of them?” Alviss was beginning to break some sweat. The relentless spawning rate of the Skeleton Warriors was beginning to take the toll on us. Mimi had been tasked to find us any exit that we could take. Fearing the worse, we had to find a way out. With her were Miranda and Sophia. The rest of us continued to fight off the undead that kept coming our way.

“Seems like so. Or else I’m going to bail out of this place sooner than later. The EXP is good but we need to get ourselves back to the nearest town first.” Alviss laughed awkwardly as he struck another one of the Skeleton Warrior down. We had levelled up by quite a few but it was no use if we could not get out. To respawn by dying was not even considered as we would fail our quest.

Suddenly, we heard a shout not too far from us. It was from Mimi, “Ghost, we had found a secret door.”

“Another? Make sure this time it leads out and not somewhere weird, again” I shouted my concern but quelling my fear was Sophia. “Mimi said this door might lead us outside.”

“Might huh? Whatever, lead the way then” I just shrugged my shoulder as I urged the rest of us to escape. Popo was taking care of our rear as we turned our back and ran towards the girls.

We hurriedly exited through the door that Mimi found, again expecting that it would not be the exit I that had hoped. And I was right.

However, the sight that greeted us finally had brought a wide smile to all our faces. I turned around and looked at the others and their eyes were shining brightly. Even Sophia was gleefully rubbing her hands together.

“Treasures!!!”

Miranda was the first to run towards the pile of treasures that laid in the middle of this weird place; a cavern that looked like a forest clearing with a pool of water and a statue of a knightly person wearing a cape and a crown standing in the middle of it like how important people would always have their statue depicted as.

Spurred by her, Alviss, Sophia and Elly immediately followed suit. I knew they were excited but I was wary of traps. But seeing Mimi was quite relaxed about it, I just kept quiet.

“There’s a bow for me!!”

“Look! Swords and more swords!!”

Miranda and Alviss were screaming with delight when they laid their eyes on the pile of weapons, armours and other trinkets. Elly was helping herself with some of the items, picking up those that could be useful to all of us.

But they did not pocket it for themselves. They knew better than to go against the party rules I had set earlier; any treasures we found would be given to the most suitable members. The money would be divided equally. Unlike certain party leaders who would do whatever it takes to manipulate their own friends and allies so that they themselves could gain the best amongst the pile, I had no need for those sort of mentalities. Doing that would win me far more hatred and contempt than love and respect. Though this party might be formed temporary, their impressions on me might not. Besides, I knew too well than to lose a few trusts over some trinkets. At this stage, the items might not be worth the hassle.

“Alright, here’s the deal. Take anything that is of use, pile it up here and leave the rest. The money will be divided as we agreed.”

All of them nodded enthusiastically. I would observe that no one would pocket any treasures for themselves secretly. In case of the temptations, I must control their urges using any means necessary. Besides, Popo and Mimi were on my side about this matter too.

After having the go at the whole stash of treasures, we now had 4 weapons, 3 set of armours and a couple of accessories that were unidentifiable in front of us now. Mimi had agreed to help us to identify the items. As the Royal Scholar, her knowledge about antiquities was second to none; not that I had met any until now. She took the time to identify the item one by one for us.

Alviss got himself two items; the level 75 Sword of Light; capable of dealing double damage to undead and level 90 Paragon Armour that boosted his HP by further 2000 points. Though he could not equip it now, that did not stop the pretty boy from nearly hugging me to death from being excited. Miranda received Antares Bow, a level 68 weapon and level 50 Serpent Necklace with the highest HP boost properties at +3000 HP.

Sophia received a level 75 Wand of Purity and a level 80 Robe of Magi thus raising her total Mana point by 2500. The robe too gave her mana regeneration rate at 5%. Elly took Defender, a level 75 Sword that boosted her Attack and Defense Rating and a level 80 Shield of Benevolence that reduced damage by 5%.

All in all, they received excellent items though most of it could not be equipped just yet. But the anticipation of equipping such items gave them the motivation to actually finish what we started.

“Ghost, are you sure you are just taking the ring?” I nodded when Miranda asked me. “It’s enough for me. Besides, the properties of the ring were intriguing.” I checked the information screen of my new loot.

Loki’s Mischief

Requirements: Level 1.

Durability: Indestructible.

Descriptions:

Loki, the God of Mischief left many things for the mortal to find. This was one of them. A forlorn-looking ring that contains the Old Gods power that reversed all known spells and items abilities and properties. The joke is on you, now.

Reverse all active skills, spells and items effects.

+ 2 to WIS, INT and CHA when equipped.

- 15 to STR, DEX and AGI when equipped.

+ 1000 Mana

+ 300 to both Magical and Physical Defense Rating

Equipment Status: Unbound. Untradeable. Unsellable. Cannot be thrown or discard, synthesize, crafted or processed into other materials.

And to my immediate luck, I had found some Mithril plates among the treasures horde. This was one of the unknown ???????? items from the quest for Blake’s Special Request. However, I still needed more of this shards but having the name revealed was quite a relief for me. The rest of the items, we decided to take the maximum capacities our bag could carry. The rest was left here as most of it were ordinary items. And of course, all of us took approximately 200 gold coins each.

“Are you guys done, po?” Popo was shouting for us. I think he and Mimi had found something, yet again. As she laid down the stone tablet onto the pedestal where the knightly statue was located, suddenly it shone and illuminate the whole area.

“Have you found what you seek, mortal? Be wary, the greed of men knows no boundary.”

The words echoed within the small area. Once it ended, a part of the cave’s wall suddenly slit open. And from here, we could hear the sound of running waters; a river or a waterfall most likely.

“This place cannot be entered from the outside, thus take whatever you wanted and we will never be able to come back here,” Mimi said to us before she took the first leave. “Once the door closes, of course.” I never knew that she still could crack a joke at this time. But nonetheless, this was our way out.

*****

Finally, we could escape from this dreaded place. All of us breathed out a sigh of relief as we made our exit. We travelled through a short and linear but an uneventful cavern. We could hear the rustling of the current from the front of us. An underground river was found not too far away. Following it, we had our first ray of sunlight shining on our face as we passed through a waterfall next.

All of us heaved a yet another heavy sigh but this time at the end of it, we could finally shout with joy.

Save Popo and Mimi Special Quest Completed!

Congratulations saving the two Bunnians. You had their eternal gratitude from them.

Rewards:

+5 Affinity with Popo.

+ 8 Affinity with Mimi.

+ 180000 EXPs

+ 350 Fame

You have formed a new Affinity Link with Mimi.

You have now maxed your Affinity with Popo! Congratulations.

Special Quests now available!

You are now able to take Special Quest from Popo. Please talk to him once you return safely to the city.

For the first time, I gained a good reward compared to the usual ‘No Reward’ from nearly every part of these chain quests.

“Ghost, before we reach the city, I want to talk to you,” Popo whispered. I just nodded at him. Honestly, I had something to talk to him and Mimi too.

All of us made our way back towards the nearest town, Brensberg. Leading the way was Alviss who looked mightily happy, whistling and congratulating himself and the other girls about the job well done.

*****

We finally arrived at the town of Brensberg. It felt a bit like the City of Asgardia but smaller in scale and less lively. However, the very first person I saw when I came here made my blood boil.

“GWahaHahaHa! I wish I could see their reaction when I blow the whole mines up!”

Brutus could be seen talking to his men nearby the main gate. Suddenly, the one thing I feared most had taken over me. Remembering the incident back then made me snapped. And I made no attempt to disguise it.

Pacing myself forward from the rest of the party, I’d made my way towards that bloody whoreson. He was facing the other way as I came closer to him from the back. All of his men too did not take notice of my sudden appearance. Without warning, I swatted him with the blunt width of my sword. My action took everyone by surprise, including my party members. As they rushed to my side, I was creating an even bigger scene.

As he fell forward from the force, I kicked his arse and slammed his head on the ground with my leading leg. In safe-zones such as cities, PCs and NPCs could not be killed. The only thing that would be depleted would be our Stamina. However, this did not mean we could not fight. And it was a fight I was looking for. I was hell-bent to tear this whoreson a new hole.

I continued to do so as his men looked dumbfounded. No one expected that and it gave me a good window to pummel this so-called Captain of the Knight’s face further onto the cobblestone ground. Caught by surprise, Brutus could do nothing but to gasp for air. And I knew better than to let him armed himself immediately by pinning his body and arms and locking the joints.

I then lifted his face up and taunted him, “Remember me, arsehole?”

By this time, everyone was crowding us. Standing between the onlooking crowd of passersby was Brutus’ men and my party members. Whispers and murmurs could be heard but I did not even listen to any one of them. I was infuriated and I was taking things into my own hands. Jerking his head, I elbowed his face continuously. Blood splurged all over my face but the sadistic part of me wanted it more. More of this whoreson’s blood and misery pummeled non-stop using my elbow.

“G-Ghost?! What are you trying to do?!” Alviss was the one came first to me. Trying to grab my hand away from pummeling Brutus’s face further onto the ground, he suddenly stopped. Perhaps he remembered that incident back when he did the same thing. I looked at him and hissed.

“Stay out of this! All of you! Especially you, Elly!!” Brutus’ men unsheathed their weapons and ordered me to stand down. However, I did not heed any of their words. They could not kill me and they knew that nothing could stop me from humiliating their Captain in front of them. These were all a sham threats, trying to put fear into me. But the only fear they would ever know now was the fear of humiliation I was dishing out to their so-called esteemed Captain.

“You blew up the mines and left us to rot there. You failed to save your hostages and what worse, you shamelessly stole all the credits that others did for you!!” I slammed him onto the ground one more time.

*You have depleted all your foes Stamina!*

Lifting his face yet again, I cursed him. “Wretched whoreson! You are lucky that none of us died. I’ll never forgive you if that ever happens!”

I slammed him for one final time and then stood up and left. The town guards were coming at us and I did not want to be caught. But before I left, I spat at him. Leaving the scene as quickly as possible, I made my way towards the off-road. Everyone parted for fearing that I would unleash my anger on them. The party quickly ran after me, leaving Brutus and his men humiliated and dumbfounded. All it took was a minute at most but I was sure, that was the most humiliating one minute that whoreson ever endure. If this was the field, I would not hesitate to engage and kill him at all.

“Ghost! What had you done?!” Alviss and the rest came after me. I could not even bother to turn and face them. Or to justify my actions.

“Ghost!!” Elly shouted at me. Her voice pierced through the streets and everyone looked at us. “What had you done?!” These people were too naive for their own good. Withholding my anger, I finally turned around and look at them.

“Ghost! You better had a good explanation why you hit a Captain of the Royal Knight like that! It was uncalled for!” Alviss looked at me. I was waiting for the others to spout their nonsense before I blasted each and every one of them.

“Ghost! I know you are better than this, but you can’t go and make a scene in our hometown! We have our reputation too, you know!” Miranda quipped me next. Even Sophia was trying to say something.

“Y-you were scary… Ghost. W-What happened?” I looked at them and snorted. Turning my gaze to Elly, she too had something to say to me. I jerked my head at her and urged her to speak her mind.

“Y-You are my ally… and I respect you for that. B-But… that’s not a way how you treat people. Fighting doesn’t solve anything. What’s more, making a public scene like that.”

I crossed my arms and looked at them. “Anything else?”

“I’m a Holy Knight, Ghost! I can’t have you go around town and do like that to others!”

“Yeah! Alviss is right. Besides, our guild’s branch office is here. We can’t have you smear our name just because you were pissed off or something! Grow up!” Miranda was adamant that I was at wrong. And Alviss proved her point further. “That’s no ordinary NPC you fought! That’s Captain Brutus and you know damn well who he is!”

Looked like all of them had said their minds. Popo, Mimi and Rose were surprisingly quiet. But from the way they looked at me, I had the feeling that they were on my side.

“So, fighting doesn’t solve anything?” I asked them. All of them nodded.

“Good. So, what solves everything? What solved the problem that the bloody whoreson blew up the mines and let us die inside the mines hours before?” I provoked them with my questions.

This time, none of them spoke. Did they just forget about everything that happened back in the mines?

“You were there with me when they blew up the bloody place!” I pointed to each one of them. “All… of… you!!!”

“B-But we did get out safely, right?” Sophia tried to reason out with me.

I looked at Sophia and spat onto the grounds. “What if we did not? Tell me Sophia, what would you have done if we did not escape from there?”

“I… I…” She stammered to give me her answer but I was relentless. “And what if we failed our quest? Popo and Mimi would die because of that. We were extremely lucky to get out of there at all!”

My shout took everyone around us by surprise. The passersby avoided us altogether as we stood in the middle of the road.

“Tell me, if it was not for me and Rose, can anyone of you go past the titanic God’s Wrath by yourself? Even Popo and Mimi who both were above level 200 were having problems.” I paused for a while. “If Brutus and his men did not want to help us, it was still fine by me. But to trap us with no salvation was a different story.”

“B-But…”

“No buts!!” I shouted. “You Alviss… since you are a Holy Knight as you proclaimed yourself and keep on harping about justice and be good at all times, tell me what honour means to you? What about justice and do good?” I glared at him. And then towards Elly. “And you too Elly! Tell me.”

“Is it watching your friends die while the perpetrator gets away with it because it’s a wrong thing to do to seek revenge? Your reputation worth much more than defending your own friends and allies from mistreatment?”

I paused before I continued on. “Or is it all good and dandy once we have our lives back, no matter who did us wrong? Like Sophia said, it’s alright even if people piss and shit on you as long as you have your life with you?”

The silence was awkward for all of them. I snorted in disgust at them. “Holy Knight my arse. My ally my arse! And you Miranda, are a fecking fence-sitter that needed to be shot down immediately. And Sophia, continue being a sunflower amidst piles of shits that surrounds you!”

All of them were trembling. I decided to cut it short. I had no more time for them. “All of you are nothing but a bunch of unfounded pacifists who are afraid to stand up for others for fear of being hurt! Fucking cowards, that what you all are!”

If this was in the war, I’d stripped them off their badges and sent them home instead.

“Tell you what. I am different from the rest of you pussies. I valued my life and my comrades’ life above all. And I will not tolerate anything done to them, even the Gods Himself!”

I quitted the party immediately. I hated partying because of this; everyone was for themselves. As long as they were getting the end of their share, they would be happy to go along. But once shit hit the fan, they would bail out right away.

I looked at Elly and she disgusted me the most. I thought she would have my back as my ally but looking back at it, I didn’t think I wanted to do anything with someone who needed me only for her own good.

“Elly, you really disappoint me. From now onwards, you’re fucking dismiss!! You are not getting back to my party!”

With that, I immediately logged off.

*****

How fickle could things be? And how fast things could turn out from good to bad and then to worse. As Ghost logged off, leaving the rest of his party behind, all of them had a look that had their joys and happiness rudely sapped away. Moments ago, they were merrily walking towards the town of Brensberg.

“I never see him so angry before.” Elly was holding her tears. Ghost’s last words had stung her so much that she cried. Sophia and Miranda were trying to console her but to no avail. And to add salt to the wound, Popo too was not impressed by the party’s action.

“It’s because you question him, po!” The rest looked at him perplexed. “Who’s your party leader? It’s him, right?” He then continued to voice his displeasure.

“B-But what he did is wrong!” Alviss try to defend themselves.

“So what? Wrong or right is not the point here!” Popo was not amused at all. His cute look just disappeared. “Lest you forget, it was Ghost who tanked the monster for us. It was Ghost who took the risk for us, as party leader. Even when I failed and my knees were shaking, did you see that in him? He had not even an ounce fear in him when he and Rose faced the dreaded monster alone!”

Popo was getting agitated. Mimi tried to calm him down, but the warrior’s soul inside Popo was stirred. He and Ghost were alike, in one way. At maximum affinity, Ghost was among his truest friend.

“And then when this happened, all of you question him. So, it is not wrong for him to think that he did not have your backing. You only support him when he meets your agendas. To think he even gives you all the good items back then and only claimed a cursed ring for himself. He is too good for all of you, po!”

Mimi was next. Trying to calm her husband beside her, she quipped the party. “Popo is right. Ghost is your party leader. Love it or hate it, he is still your leader. It’s alright if you just stood and watch, but to question him so openly like this…”

“Papa is right. I’ll do the same thing if someone bullies Papa like that. Elly is blind and stupid!! Papa is doing this for you and everyone else. Serve you right! Now I can party with Papa alone.” Rose jerked her leaves around and stood next to Mimi.

The rest of them looked at each other. Perhaps what Ghost did was wrong, but as his friends and party members, they must always stand by him. He had their backs all the time without fail and now, when he exacted his anger on someone who meant them harm, they had questioned his motives and leadership. To someone like Ghost, that was a boundary that all of them should have never trespassed.