Chapter 18: Before It All Starts

I peeked at Myrddin's direction as he slowly woke up.

He looked, well... like he was thrown into a washing machine, had it cranked up to max, and stayed in there for an hour. His black hair was in one hell of a mess, tufts of it here and there, and his red eyes looked redder than ever with the irritated blood vessels surrounding them.

Yep, he looked like he was suffering the mother of all hangovers.

"Ugggghhh..."

Good. Myrddin deserved it for all the trouble he caused me.

Feeling a bit evil, with a twist of my wrists a very small faction of my mana formed into several Magelights. Promptly, the balls of light floated away from me and towards the direction of my friend's face, hovering just beside his eyes for maximum effect.

I focused for a second. This was still new to me, so...

BANG.

"Argh!"

Myrddin promptly jolted to full awareness as the lights that were previously irritating his eyes suddenly exploded on his face, leaving it all blackened and dirty - not exactly helping with his looks, but right now I didn't feel like being nice anyway.

"Good morning!" I shouted on the top of my lungs, as cheerily obnoxious as possible. "Was your rest wonderful, Sleeping Beauty?"

"Stop shouting!" Myrddin raised his hands to his ears, whimpering loudly. "My head is killing me..."

The grin that was inching towards my face formed fully. Call it Schadenfreude, but the sound of his suffering pleased me.

Myrddin groaned like a zombie. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," I replied, fully aware but acting completely ignorant just to annoy him. "Do you?"

He blinked, then stared at something only he could see at his face. I had a feeling it was some sort of alert or announcement, as his sore eyes widened hugely at what he read. With a surprisingly pale complexion, he turned to me with horror.

"What did I do?" Myrddin started to babble. "D-Did I get drunk? Or go on a rampage? Or did I say something that I wasn't supposed to say, or do something that I wasn't supposed to do? I knew I shouldn't have drank that mead - I never should've tried out alcohol or any-"

Alright, now that's a bit too much.

"You didn't spill anything." I snapped at him, causing him to stop. "We are still neutral with the Vikings, they don't know I'm not just a storyteller, and surprisingly, even with the way you fought with them last night, they haven't declared war on the two of us."

"The way I fought?" Myrddin mouthed, shock still showing in his eyes.

Oops, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that.

"Nobody died, and you won a surprising amount of barfights." I shrugged, trying to act casual. "You apparently fight better intoxicated, who knew? Power levels directly proportional to blood alcohol levels and all that."

'Better' was an understatement. But I wasn't about to describe it all in its gory details anytime soon.

The way his eyes glowed ruby red, evil laughter spilling out his lips as he fought with his fists-

I shivered at the memory.

Myrddin gulped visibly, before closing his eyes in attempt to calm down. Soon enough, he forced a chuckle.

"Well..." He tried, "At least we have that don't we?"

He then groggily stood, rubbing out the sleep in his eyes. Miraculously, within minutes he was fully sober and awake. I supposed it was due to the fact we were in a virtual reality that recovery from intoxication was so much faster and easier.

Damn. And I thought I had more time to squeeze out some more enjoyment out of his pain.

"Where are we?" He asked, stretching his limbs with a loud yawn. "This doesn't look anywhere close to the town..."

Feeling a bit playful, I sniped, "Well, you managed to get us kicked out."

His head snapped to my direction so fast I thought he might get whiplash. "Wait, what? I thought you said the situation was fine!"

"Well, it's fine." I nodded, closing my eyes with a smile all the while knowing he was going to panic at what I said. "In a 'Don't you dare get back here in a week' kind of fine, but still alright. Like I said, they haven't declared war yet."

I opened my eyes just in time to see the amusing expression on his face.

"That's not fine at all!" Myrddin shouted, his eyes going wide. "Are you mad!?"

I said nothing, continuing to grin at him.

"Wait..." His eyes narrowed at me, looking at me doubtfully. "You're pulling my leg here, aren't you?"

I just laughed at his face. In response, his face formed into a pout - a very terrifying pout considering his Syren looks, but a pout nonetheless. It just made me laugh even louder, as at this point the contrast only made it more funny to me.

Myrddin growled dangerously. "Rain..."

"Sorry, sorry." I slowed down, recovering from my laughing fit as I raised my hands in apology. "I just saw the opening and I couldn't resist."

I took a deep breath, fully calming down. "Like I said before, our situation with the Vikings are still neutral. It's just that last night, I had to drag you out of town to make you stop fighting all those people. You should thank that Svaltr for his help - he had helped me pull you out quietly in the middle of the riot you started."

Myrddin looked like he could faint at my mentioning of his drunken escapades, but somehow he managed to say, even if a bit weakly, "Ah, is that so?"

I nodded. "And by the moment we were at the forest, I decided to say goodbye for now to the Vikings. We have things to do after all."

The swordsman closed his eyes, visibly trying to push away his thoughts. "Do what?"

"What else, of course? Grimm sent us a mission to find everything about this situation, and it would be unfair to only listen to one side of the story."

I smiled.

"Myrddin, we're going to find ourselves some Valkyries."

When I entered this world I was in, I didn't know anything - no, not really. And my very first day proved the follies of doing just that, with Blake even pointing the very mistake of entering this world of Fate Online without looking up everything I might need.

And while I didn't learn to buy the corresponding guides before I left Pratumira, I supposed that since it ended up with me gaining my class, I couldn't really complain about it then.

But at some point, I had to learn. That's why before we left, I had Grimm explain to me the basics of what was there to know about Terraria, the world that was inside the 'game' of Fate Online.

In Terraria, there are four parts of the continent. These were landmasses separated not only by the cardinal directions, but also by the vast differences of their landscapes and the people that resided in them. In fact, your race even determined as to where you would start off as a Player.

For now, Grimm told me to focus on my own homeland: Trevignon.

It was the land of humans, he told me, with the most vibrant forests and lush wildlife. Rightly so that the makers of this world do their job, as the Human race physically lacked the capability to live in extreme conditions.

Well, except for Vikings and their female folk, Valkyries.

"Brrr..." I shivered as the chilling wind battered down on us as we continued to climb the steep path of the Rocky Mountains. "It's getting a little too cold for me here."

"Really?" Myrddin asked from in front of me, turning back only to see me lagging behind. "I didn't even notice."

"I think it's your part demonic Race that's doing that for you." I explained as I tugged my clothes tighter around myself. Now, I realized that if it weren't for Elena's help, I would've already frozen. "I'm a Human, so naturally I'm at a disadvantage at this kind of thing."

"So there is a reason as to why people don't like playing as Humans..." Myrddin said as he jogged closer to me. With a few flicks of his fingers, he took out a coat out of his inventory and held it out for me to use. "I just thought that it was because it would be boring to choose something so... mundane."

I shook my head, not taking the coat. "No, I'll be fine. But thanks."

He raised a brow at me. "If you are just being stubborn, I'll forcibly make you wear this."

"No, really. I'll be fine. I think I can do just something about it. Wait and see."

With a practiced ease, I swapped my Story Teller title for my current go-to one, the Magician. Then, with a moment of calm breathing to focus, I closed my eyes and took control of my suddenly easy-to-wield mana pool.

It was a strange feeling, the moment I learned how to notice it instead of just calling out my Skills to automatically use the fantastical energy for me.

Normally, being inside Fate Online felt like I was in reality just as usual, even with the surprising amount of grace and fervor that my virtual body had. I supposed it was due to the same Synchronicity factor Professor Brunnings told me in what felt like a month ago.

After all, as I planned the moment I bought the VRT machine, my virtual body was identical to my real one, if a bit faster to react than usual. If it felt different, then that meant that something was wrong or changed.

But now, that change happened. After that really trying situation inside that Forest, I somehow learned on how to measure and sense the amount of mana available to me by just feeling it, instead of having to look at the MP bar.

It honestly felt like I had blazing furnace inside my chest, like I had something over my heart that was keeping me warm and full of energy at anytime of the day. And from that center, it filled my entire body - like pipes full of hot chocolate running through my limbs and muscles, through my bones and tendons.

And being the Magician helped. While wearing the title, all I had to do was grab what felt right and throw it out in order to use a skill. Saying their names was now unnecessary, and I only had to call out the skill when I wanted to add to my focus.

And now, I was about to try something new.

"I don't see anything," I heard Myrddin say. "If you're trying to-"

"Shhh, ye of little faith." I retorted, still closing my eyes. "Let your leader Rain do his thing, alright?"

He went quiet, and I went back to my focusing.

My mana was a furnace. It was a small little hearth, a warm fireplace inside my body that was apparently not enough for my current needs. So, the solution was simple - add more fuel to the fire and hope that it would do the trick.

With mental hands guiding the pipes in my mind, I pumped and pushed. I tightened and controlled the mana, feeling it grow and rush stronger and stronger all around my body with every second that I put my attention into it. Friction built and heat continued to rise inside me, and soon the cold that had started to permeate in my limbs disappeared like freshly fallen snow in the middle of summer.

I opened my eyes and saw blue.

Manipulation of your mana has created a new skill! You now have Mana Reinforcement!

Mana Reinforcement (Active): Level 1Unlock your body's power like an action hero! Again, power glows!

Effects:

Strengthens your physical stats by a factor directly proportional to mana used.

Input can be controlled, with a minimum of 1000 mp/minute.

Higher efficiency at higher levels, use is currently available while wearing 'The Magician (I)" title.

For a minute, I just stood there, feeling a bit disappointed at the new skill I've made. It looked highly inefficient, and the fact that it was only usable while being the Magician - an obviously magic-oriented title - made it look useless compared to what I knew I could deal with pure magic attacks.

But then, I noticed something yelling.

Myrddin was yelling.

"Rain! You... stop... can't...!"

That was the point I realized that everything was in bright blue. With a short bit of attention to my pool, I found out my current output of mana - twenty times more than what I needed to activate the skill. Twenty thousand mana points per minute.

I was practically blazing in blue, and everything around me was smoldering as my mana shot out of my body with the force of a train and the heat of a desert sun.

With a slight moment of panic, I immediately clamped down on my quickly emptying mana pool, setting my output to the bare minimum the skill could reach before deactivating.

Suddenly, everything calmed. Too bad though, that at that same moment Myrddin had seemed to decide to put his own efforts to stop me. With his entire body.

I went flying as a large, black, Syren body tackled me with all of its might.

Where were we? At a mountain. With cliffs.

I only just managed to grab at something before the two of us fell down more than a thousand meters down to earth.

And even as we hung there, with only my arm keeping us from falling, somehow I managed to give my friend a grin.

"See, I told you." I pulsed the skill for a second just for emphasis, ignoring his pale face as we hung precariously. "Leave it to your leader."

After we crept back up, Myrddin punched me once before stomping off ahead.

I only smiled sheepishly as I followed.

"Do we even have a plan as to how to meet these Valkyries? I mean, the Vikings have spent years, and they still haven't found their town!"

I ignored Myrddin. "Head up the mountain, look down, and if we see a village, head there as fast as we can. Simple."

"And what if that fails?" The swordsman jumped in front of me, arms crossed. "Because I've got a feeling that these Valkyries would've placed their town beneath cover just so nobody would do just that."

I sighed loudly. "Then, we go back to Thordinn and wait for them to invade. Didn't I just tell you about all of this before?"

"That was before I found out that we had to climb up half-kilometer up a rocky mountain."

I would've retorted something along the lines of Myrddin's laziness, but I didn't get to as in the corner of my eyes I noticed yet another red flicker. So, I slung my staff off my back instead, letting it light up in blue once more.

The swordsman in front of me looked at the weapon tiredly. "We have more enemies, do we?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Do I have to tell you about it every time, my padawan?"

"Don't call me that!" He hissed, but in the end he also took out his own sword. Myrddin still looked like he wanted to be anywhere else other than here, but the fact that he was actually preparing for an ambush spoke miles away from what he used to be. "I'm nobody's padawan..."

At least, he wasn't shaking on his legs that visibly.

"Then, Partner?" I offered. "If we're going to go with the cover I made yesterday, it's better we get used to that..."

"Sure, Partner."

That was the moment the monsters pounced on us. Coming from higher ground, they jumped in tandem with each other, loud growls coming out of their teeth as they took out their claws.

The two of us split apart just in time to evade as five of them tried to rend us to pieces.

Andoan Lion: Lvl 55 x 5

"Myrddin! You know what to do!"

I didn't wait for him to shout back a reply. Instead, I went for attacking the nearest of the large felines, my staff moving in a graceful movement as I swung it overhead to bash the bludgeoned end over its skull. Then, automatically as by habit, I pulsed a lance of energy at its tip.

The lion was suddenly slammed to the ground as a minor explosion ignited right over its eyes.

Mana Channeling (Active): Lvl 42Charge your blows with energy! Enemies be warned, power glows!

Effect:

Increases weapon's damage in relation to skill level and INT.

Uses 9 mp per minute. You can overcharge this skill for 182% efficiency at double the cost.

This skill is now limited for use while wearing 'The Magician (I)' title.

Mana Explosion (Active): Level 11A real magician has a dozen ways to make things explode! Note: good children at home aren't supposed to do this.

Effects:

Set an area around you to be affected and a focal point for the explosion to originate. Converts mana to pure destructive force.

Mana to energy conversion increases in relation to skill level and INT. Current conversion: 3.16 Kilo-Joule/MP.

This skill is now limited for use while wearing 'The Magician (I)' title.

Sometimes, I really loved my class for giving me such a destructive title.

A loud roar came from beside me, and I had to hold back a groan as I was suddenly tackled by one of the Lions. But recovering quickly, I kept it away as I whacked my staff over its side in revenge, causing it to be also thrown away by yet another destructive burst of energy.

That was when Myrddin finally did his job.

I just had the time to clasp my hands over my ears as he opened his mouth and a loud bellow came out of it. Wind stopped and small bits of rock flew, but the more important thing was the reactions of the rest of the wild beasts.

Myrddin has inflicted fear to the enemies! Myrddin's Intimidate has leveled up!

"Alright!" I exclaimed, taking the window of opportunity to prepare my strongest of skills. Closing my eyes, I raised my hand over my head, letting myself fall into a familiar meditative state. "Myrddin, protect me!"

"Roger!"

I had to make an effort to not open my eyes just to see how Myrddin was doing. I knew he was getting better at fighting - really, at this point he had higher physical stats that I had, with an obscene amount of Luck to boot. Counting criticals, Myrddin would've passed my damage output a long time ago if it weren't for him still shivering up in fright from time to time.

So, I focused on the skill that was forming in my hand. The newly created Concussive Lights.

Five seconds, four, three, two, one...

The new large ball of mana that had welled up over my head glowed red, and I finished it off by gripping my hand into a fist. Immediately, the skill went to work, causing the sphere that I had poured a quarter of my mana into to break off into hundreds of balls in a lightshow that would've put me in awe had I not known the weaknesses.

Concussive Lights (Active): Level 3Swarm your enemies in a lightshow that would be the last they see! Light them up, and see them explode!

Effects:

Charge up a large ball of mana to create a multitude of magical missiles. Uses a minimum of 2000 MP.

Damage and efficiency is dependent on INT. You can charge up to 10 seconds to allow stronger missiles.

This skill is now limited for use while wearing 'The Magician (I)' title.

As my skill defeated the remaining enemies that were still alive after Myrddin battered upon them, I only sat back and watched it proceed.

The skill I had created was not enough. It was far from enough.

I knew that for the moment, my abilities were prodigious for the level I was in. But considering the fact I could never really know when I would receive my next title - as if my whole time inside the Forest of Life hadn't taught that lesson to me - as it was, I was rapidly reaching the plateau of my growth.

An example was the now-repeated limit in my mana-related skills: "This skill is now limited for use while wearing X title."

It meant that without wearing my title - like wearing 'The Priest (II)' instead of 'The Magician (I)', I was effectively a sitting duck if I was attacked by surprise. It also meant that whatever other useful titles I had became utterly useless in the middle of battle, because how could I wear them when I needed to wear 'The Magician' just to attack?

Another example was the unsaid rules about my titles that I was finding out only now.

The Magician was stuck at 'pure magic'. The Priest was at 'healing'. I couldn't switch them without sacrificing the other. And the Magician itself had a problem - what was 'pure' magic? What did it mean? I realized the answer to that question after I repeatedly failed to create any elemental spells.

'Pure' magic meant 'mana' skills. Everything and anything the Magician could do, it was limited to using and manipulating mana in its basic form - in balls, in surges, in all shape and size as long as it remained to pure mana.

Why was it important? Because it meant that I was racing against time to unlock the next title before a new enemy came along that made me useless. What if a monster came along that ate mana? What 9f 9t also disabled Myrddin? And even then, my current strongest was this: a long-charging skill more focused on dealing waves of small attacks than making any of them strong individually.

I needed to get better, and quickly.

""Hey Rain, what are you thinking about?"

I smiled at him, waving off my worries at the sight of my friend, I didn't want to cause him to worry more than he usually did.

"Oh nothing. Should we get on with the hike? The top isn't getting any closer anytime soon."

Myrddin groaned loudly, and I laughed at him.

Soon enough, night broke in and we started up a camp after calling it a day.

At this point, camping had become a sort of reprieve after a day of journeying - monsters rarely attacked in the presence of fire, and the night sky was always bright with stars and the twp moons Terraria had. Not only that, unlike real life camping, there was a happy lack of night insects - and with the sheer ease in carrying camp supplies, we were far more comfortable than possible under normal circumstances.

It had also become a thing of habit to separate camping work between the two of us - namely, I managed the fire and the cooking meal while Myrddin went out to get supplies in the dark, dreary, cold forest all by himself. Needless to say, there was much teasing on the first night about that very subject.

But tonight, I realized that was going to be a long-shot when I heard Myrddin scream.

I shot up immediately, activating my Critical Eye as I ran towards the direction of the sound.

"Rain! HELP!"

Gritting my teeth, I ran as fast as I could, noticing that the direction I was heading to was in line with a small waterfall. As I got closer, the waterfall revealed to be inside a clearing, where it fell to empty out in a clear brook down the mountain. Had it been any other time, I would've enjoyed the sights, but for now I ran in search for my friend.

That was how we met her for the first time.

It was all rather cliche really, when you thought of it enough. I supposed with the way my life inside Fate Online had seemed to be going along the lines of a story, I should've noticed the signs. But I digress - in my panic, I ran directly to the part of the clearing where the waterfall met the brook, and saw two people there.

One of them was Myrddin, and I heaved a sigh of relief to see him unharmed, if a bit terrified as he gazed upon a spear that was mere centimeters from the side of his head. But I didn't have to time to digest that information as I saw the other person.

She was had long black hair that swept down her body, her chestnut-brown eyes glaring at my friend underneath her long raven tresses. She was fair-skinned and rather curvaceous - a woman around the peak of growth, the middle of the twenthieth year.

And did I mention that she was also naked?

Her eyes fell on me with wide surprise on her face, before an unidentifiable emotion flitted across her features until it finally settled to one simple emotion. She pulled something from one of the nearby rocks, and I realized it was a rather large knife fit for killing wildlife.

Her face said it all. She was angry, and for some reason she looked strangely familiar to me.

"Tell me, scum." She growled as she glared at the two of us. "Who are you two to peek into one of Freya's sacred maidens?"

....Well, at least we found our target. Guess Myrddin's good Luck meant something outside fighting after all.

Sorry for the extremely delayed chapter! I was hit by writers block, and I didn't have the time to do this chapter for the latter part of last week. Right now, I'm heading for school, so I'll be hurrying with this AN. Net chapter would go as usual, and since this chapter has not been sent to Uni, tell me if I made a mistake. Bye!

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