After Typhoon left the group recovered and patched up the injuries from the scorpion fight. They chose to keep pressing onward into the desert, and Galmi volunteered to take the lead. With his ability to perceive what was under the sands nobody argued.

It was due to that skill they were able to avoid another female scorpion. He also picked a path that got them past most of the scorpion clusters. Though Galmi personally wished to avoid unnecessary fights, Nika seemed to grow more agitated as the peaceful time extended onward.

The heat beat down on the group without a hint of mercy, and Galmi found himself often wiping at the sweat on his forehead. The rings they’d purchased helped to blunt most of the heat, but Scarlet’s presence on his head ruined some of the effect.

When they arrived at the oasis Galmi’s eyes were naturally drawn to the body of water. The large pool glittered in the sunlight, and Galmi licked at his lips and wondered how cool it was. He struggled to curb the urge to rush to it, as he didn’t know the proper etiquette for such a place.

Aside from the water the next item of interest was a pyramid. Galmi found it a bit odd that the top part seemed to have been broken off, as it was flattened, but he wasn’t an architect so he could only expect it was on purpose.

A single entryway was at the front of the temple, the pathway itself created out of heavy stones that seemed to thwart any sand. Near the entryway stood a pair of statues of misshapen things, the bodies slim and tall with numerous tentacles spreading out.

The only other thing of interest were numerous rectangular tents. They were made of a dark cloth and were stretched taut by ropes that ran to the ground. The tents were erected near thin trees that grew alongside the water and had their openings pointed downwind.

“I don’t see anyone,” Marcus said as he stepped up next to Galmi, “isn’t there supposed to be some type of tribe?”

Galmi’s eyes narrowed at the question as he stared at some of the sand off to the side. He reached up and patted the silent Scarlet, certain she’d also caught on to the situation, before he approached one of the tents.

The others followed him without concern, a testament to the trust that had started to build within their small party. When they neared the tents Selene went to check on it. “This is weird,” Selene said as she moved a tent flap to peer inside.

Nika scowled at the tents as though they’d insulted her. “More like boring. How am I supposed to get a class from this?”

“Yeah but think about it,” Marcus suddenly said with a laugh, “a deserted camp in a desert!”

Galmi turned his head slowly to stare at one tree. “Perhaps not as deserted as you think.”

The others looked at where he had and noticed a figure in the shadow of the tree. A man stepped forth, draped in dark brown robes that covered most of his body. The sleeves he wore were long and the rest of the robe looked thin and loose.

“A warm day to meet new people,” the man said as he bowed deeply to the party, “one hopes to learn what has brought you here.”

At the implied question Nika replied, “I was told I can find a class that fits me here.”

The tribesman’s eyes narrowed at the comment. “I believe you are mistaken. I am alone and have no ability to train anyone.”

Nika growled as she started to approach the man, but Galmi lifted his staff and put it between them. “I think it’d be best to not start a fight,” he told her.

The staff was enough to make Nika pause, though she glared daggers at Galmi. “I know he’s lying, let me smack him a few times and I bet he’ll tell me what I want to know.”

“Nika!” Selene yelled, her voice carrying her disappointment with that single word.

Galmi glanced at the tribesman. “He’s lying about something else as well. There’s twenty-three others here.” Galmi swung his staff to point out at the nearby sand. “And they have their weapons drawn.”

While the others in the party responded by looking around, though seeing only empty desert, the tribesman chuckled. “I can not recall the last time one saw through our skills so readily. I hope you’ll pardon the weapons, but when we see others carrying their own we feel the need for preparation.”

Marcus cleared his throat in order to draw their attention to him. “Our apologies, we ran afoul of the scorpions and have been on edge. We mean no harm, and if you wish we can store our equipment.”

The response from the tribesman was a melodic humming. Nearby numerous mounds lifted amongst the sand as more of the tribe emerged. By the time they had finished revealing themselves thirty-six could be seen.

Galmi rubbed at his temple with two fingers as he realized he’d missed some of them. It was obvious that his skill was still fallible, a fact that he hoped to rectify. Given his situation being ignorant to a danger would prove troublesome.

“One wonders how you found out about the class that is offered here?” the tribesman asked.

“A nice guy named Typhoon,” Nika said, “why?”

The answer brought a bit of grumbling from the tribesman. “He’s always doing whatever he wants,” the man said before he motioned at the temple nearby, “what you seek lies within.”

Nika brushed past the man, though Selene bowed to him and murmured some thanks. Marcus glanced at his friends before turning to Galmi, one eyebrow lifted quizzically.

Galmi shrugged at the unasked question. “It’s some sort of class quest right? I don’t have one of those yet,” he said as he walked after the girls.

Yet as he started to approach the temple Scarlet squirmed off of his head. The red wolf jumped down and trotted over to a tree, before she settled down in the shade and fell asleep.

“Does she do that often?” Marcus asked as he mirrored Galmi’s pace.

“No,” Galmi said with a frown, though he continued to approach the temple, “she might let others carry her but this is the first time she’s not followed me.”

“It’s probably some sort of game restriction for pets,” Marcus said.

The seeming attempt at reassuring Galmi caused him to glance at Marcus. The man had since their first encounter seemed distrustful of him. So for him to be acting like a friend did little to comfort Galmi, and instead he wondered if there was some hidden motive.

Ahead of the pair the girls vanished in a burst of light. Galmi paused to stare in shock, but the party system showed they were still full health. Their location was no longer visible, though, and Galmi cast a suspicious glance back at the tribesman.

Marcus responded to their disappearance by shouting in surprise, and then he ran up to the temple entrance without a second thought. Once he’d reached the point where the girls had vanished another light flashed.

Galmi hesitated as he stared at the empty space where Marcus had just been. “Well...it can’t get any worse than being eaten alive,” Galmi said in an attempt to reassure himself.

With those words he stepped forward onto the area where the others had vanished. A flash of light blinded him temporarily, before he was wrapped in absolute darkness. An alert popped open, visible even without any light.

New Quest

Difficulty 5/5

Survive the Gauntlet

No information is available as to the requirements, rewards or contents of this quest.

With no light all Galmi could do was extend his senses out and try to perceive anything of use. There was the taste of dust and sand in the air, which meant they were still in or near the desert. He could smell stale air, along with a hint of rotten flesh that had spoiled weeks ago. There was the sound of wind as it pulsated down the corridor and around his body.

Galmi swung his staff out and hit something hard nearby. The noise of it echoed throughout the place, and with that he was able to form a mental image of the location. There was a hallway, one that stretched in front of and behind him. Aside from that there was nothing else.

There was the noise of stone as it grated against more stone, a sound that caused Galmi to turn left and right in panic. No matter how good his senses were, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the noise was coming from.

That was when a heavy object struck him in the front, the blow more than enough to knock him off his feet. He shouted even as he hit the ground, but hurriedly stood back up. The staff was lifted up in front, yet his senses couldn’t detect any monsters to fight.

There was a slight change in the way the wind moved and Galmi ducked, a move that saved him as a large object swept over his head. The attack had come from behind, which meant there were at least two opponents present.

He paused and tried to think on what to do next, but another attack hit him in the shoulder. The blow drove him hard against the wall of the corridor, the impact strong enough to knock the air out of his lungs.

Galmi tried to figure out what to do but the attacks continued to come in. The longer he paused the worse it seemed to become. With every blow his health dropped, and as the red bar grew shorter a sense of panic began to grow.

It was as he stared at the red bar that he realized something possibly idiotic was required. He could use the ring but it required time to work, and so instead he activated the skill he’d gained from Wyrmfang.

“Shed skin.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

For Nika the worst moment hadn’t been the separation from the others, nor the fact that some unknown entities had started to ambush her, but the darkness. There was an all too familiar feel to the chokingly thickness of the shadows, and she shuddered at the unwanted remembrance.

When the first attack came Nika was almost thankful for it, as it served to distract her from the memories of her childhood. Without a second thought she retaliated at the unknown, but her club-swords broke on contact with the tough bodies of her opponent.

Nika discarded snapped swords and pulled out her metal weapons instead. Without the sun present she had no concern about them melting, and in the end she had no choice since her other weapons were useless.

She started to lash out at the mysterious attackers with her swords, the edges causing sparks to spew forth as they were dragged across the stone bodies. The bursts of light that her swords created allowed her to temporarily see she was in a tunnel.

The brief glimpses were all Nika needed in order to move with more confidence. She could see the humanoid statutes as they emerged from the walls and went back into them, yet the sight did little to make her worry.

Instead she embraced the moment and thrill of the fight. The thoughts of the dark and the closeness of the walls were forcefully pushed away, even as she put all her focus on the feel of her swords striking the stone monsters.

Sometimes they would land a blow on Nika, but she didn’t once stop her assault. Her body flowed through the hall as she leapt and darted, her agile movements making it hard for the monsters to land critical hits.

With every flash of light her insight into the creatures grew, and her movements against them became more and more refined. The puppets began to die as she found the weak point in their bodies, a thin portion on the neck.

Her fight in the tunnel continued on for an uncertain amount of time. As she cut her way through the puppets more came, and though she slowly moved forward there never seemed to be an end.

Then she finally emerged from the end and arrived in a wide open room. The chamber had a shaft of light that came down from above, one that seemed to filter through an array of crystals as the beam was scattered across the entire place.

A granite throne sat in the center on top of a dais. All around it numerous swords and axes were embedded into the floor, with all of the handles pointing toward the throne.

A large dark figure sat upon that seat. Though they were coated in the scattered sunlight the shadows never vanished. Instead it seemed almost as though the shadows were devouring the light.

There was a click and then a stone slab slid down to block the tunnel Nika’d emerged from. She glanced at it in surprise, but returned her gaze to the figure. In that moment of distraction there’d been no attack, nor even movement, from the unknown.

When she took a step forward a puppet flew into the room on her left. The shattered body rolled across the room, parts falling off as it tumbled, before it finally dissolved into particles.

From out of the tunnel stepped a wide and tall creature, one that barely fit in the tunnel. It had dark green skin and wore a loincloth, and for some reason it had two heads instead of one.

“Hey Nika,” the thing said upon seeing her.

Nika frowned, but then her eyes widened as she recognized the voice. “Galmi! What the hell happened?”

The two-headed brute that Galmi had turned into shrugged. “It’s a skill, I can’t pick what I end up as though.”

A chill filled the chamber as the dark figure on the throne stood up. Nika’s body went still, and no matter how hard she tried nothing would move. Not even the mental controls for the menu or inventory seemed to work.

The shrouded head of the entity turned to Galmi and words were spoken. What was said was hard for Nika to hear, but she managed to pick up on Ghandahar. After that the figure lifted a hand and flicked at Galmi.

Then Nika was alone in the chamber with the unknown thing. The paralysis faded as the figure faced her, one dark hand going down to grip one of the sword handles. The metal grated against the stone it was encased in as the figure pulled it free.

Rather than wait for an attack Nika ran at the figure, her own swords brought in close to her chest. Yet when she neared the thing the giant weapon was swung at her with an absurd speed. She barely had time to duck, her own feet tripping over themselves, and tumbled across the stone floor.

Nika sprung back up from the ground and moved in for another attack. When the giant weapon was swung again she slipped under it, and then lunged swords first at the figure’s chest.

The shadowy substance was touched by the tip of her swords, but rather than any blood it seemed to ooze the darkness itself. A kick swung up at Nika’s stomach, one she managed to avoid by leaping backward.

The thing laughed as it fingered at the wound on its chest. The massive sword was lifted with a single hand, and then it was thrown at Nika. She swayed to the right in an attempt to avoid it, but the attack proved to be a distraction.

Instead the figure had closed the gap in that split moment and grabbed at her neck. As the fingers curled around her neck she struggled, and even swung her swords at whatever she could reach, yet all it caused were more shadows to spill out of the body.

There was a hiss of air, and a cold sensation coated Nika as the thing spoke, “Yield and you can leave alive.”

Nika’s response to that was to glare. Rather than merely slashing she brought both swords to the wrist of the thing. She tried to saw at the wrist as she stoutly refused to surrender.

The fingers tightened even more around her throat. There was a popping noise as something broke in her neck and Nika’s swords fell to the ground. Her arms hung loose at her sides and no longer responded.

“If you do not yield the system will take everything you have and delete it.”

There was a moment of hesitation for Nika when she heard those words. Though her character was still new she’d managed to pick up a lot of items, as well as skills, and it’d be days of work to recover everything.

Yet her response to the creature was to swing her legs up and try to kick it. The feet couldn’t quite make it, but that didn’t matter to her. She would never give up, even if it meant starting from scratch.

The head of the thing tilted slowly to the side, and then it laughed. As if in response to that the dark room was illuminated by red crystals in the walls. The shadows that coated the figure flowed off of it and the dark blood it bled shifted to the normal shade of red. Black armor and silver hair were revealed along with a grin that Nika recognized.

The tight fingers that had broken her neck released, which caused Nika to slump to the ground. Typhoon continued to laugh as he reached out with a single finger and touched her forehead. There was a moment of electricity that ran through her body, and then the pain was gone.

“Come on, stand up,” Typhoon encouraged her.

Nika reached up and rubbed her neck. Though the pain was gone there was still the memory, and the sensation of her own gentle touch on the spot seemed to alleviate that minor nightmare.

“I don’t understand,” Nika said as she stood up on shaky legs.

“Perhaps this will help.” Typhoon lifted up his hand in front of her and spread his fingers.

New Class Available

Disciple of Chaos

Officially known as the Blood Dancer class. Only one can exist in the entire world.

Boosts effectiveness of any weapons while wearing light armor. Able to use all Melee skills without penalty. Able to use Unique "Blood Dancer" skills. Can not use Heavy Armor. Inability to play the game for an extended period of time without warning or reason may result in revoking of this class. Must become a worshipper of the God of Chaos, Typhaus.

Warning: Once a class is chosen you can only change it again to an evolved form of the class picked. Pick wisely.

Nika’s eyes widened at the alert but then narrowed as she finished reading the box. “Typhaus?”

Typhoon gave an exaggerated shrug in reply. “It’s my proper name, I suppose. I use Typhoon when meeting regular folk.”

It was an admission that only caused Nika to suspect something. “So you’ve been manipulating me from the start?”

“More like I gave an option, and you chose to take it,” Typhoon said, “like right now. You can either be a disciple or not.”

Nika seethed with frustration at the fact she’d been strung along, but after a minute of thought she also had to admit that he was right. He hadn’t forced her, nor had he really tricked her, though he’d hidden the truth and that irked her.

“I’ll forgive you, this time, but if you want me to be your disciple you’ll need to do something for me.”

Typhoon grinned at her. “Oh?”

“There will be no secrets between us.”

Typhoon flinched at the request, but he didn’t outright turn it down. Instead he shifted his gaze upward and spoke to the ceiling. No audible words came from his mouth but it was obvious there was a conversation.

There was a moment where he stopped moving with his head tilted to one side. A large grin slowly spread over his face as he looked back at Nika.

“Agreed.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Galmi was spat out of the temple without warning. He tumbled away from it, his bare body bouncing across the stone path that led up to the entrance. In the midst of rolling he had a brief glimpse of Marcus and Selene, the latter of which held Scarlet.

Disoriented and slightly nauseous by the time he came to a stop, Galmi tried to right himself and stand up. The warm wind of the desert tickled his entire body, a sensation that made him realize something.

Yet the realization was a little too late as he heard a slight scream of surprise as Selene noticed him. With his face reddening Galmi half-turned in a vain attempt to hide himself, and hurriedly started to summon clothing from his inventory.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Marcus shouted.

Galmi didn’t reply immediately as he was focused on putting the clothing on. When he was finally dressed he turned to the pair with an awkward smile. “Sorry, I used a skill that makes me unequip everything.”

Selene had buried her face into the fluffy side of Scarlet’s body, as though trying to hide away from his temporary nudity. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice partially muffled by the puppy.

Marcus glanced at Selene, perhaps out of concern, before he glared at Galmi once more. “Let’s not use that in front of the ladies in the future.”

Galmi opted to not argue, especially since he didn’t expect that they would follow him when he moved on. He’d gained a big hint thanks to the absurd trial, and his next destination was set.

“So you weren’t automatically denied entry?” Marcus asked.

“No?” Galmi half-answered, as he tried to figure out what he meant, “are you talking about the trial?”

“Yes. The system put us back on the other side of the desert camp.” Marcus jerked a thumb in the direction of the tribesman. “That guy told me if you have a class you can’t take the test.”

Galmi tugged at the shoulder of his light tunic in an attempt to make it fit more comfortably. “It was a dark hallway where you had to fight a bunch of stone monsters. There was some weird guy at the end. Nika was there too.”

“Dark hallway?” Marcus’ eyes narrowed, “was Nika alright?”

“Well...yeah. She even beat me to the central room.”

Marcus glanced at Selene, a momentary glimpse of worry on their faces, but Galmi opted to not pry. “So you’ve been stuck here waiting?”

“Yes.” Marcus leaned against one of the nearby trees. “Any idea how much longer until Nika is done?”

As if in response to his question a dark shadow slowly crept across the desert. Nearby the tribesmen who had remained visible fell to their knees and started to pray, the language they used something alien to Galmi.

Galmi frowned, but when Selene gasped and pointed skyward he noticed the cause of everything. As he watched the sun was steadily blocked from sight by the moon, and soon the entire desert was covered in a deep darkness.

“Crap, does that mean some super boss is about to spawn?” Galmi asked as he looked back at the others.

Marcus had a thoughtful look on his face. “Perhaps, but I haven’t seen any system alerts have you?”

Galmi cursed himself for failing to notice something that simple. “No, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”

While they had talked the moon had continued to move, though far faster than it normally should have. The eclipse started to end at a pace impossible for the real world.

Galmi heard the fresh sound of footfalls as someone approached their group. He turned and saw Nika approaching them, her path leading away from the temple. Her brow was furrowed, though Galmi wasn’t certain if it was out of annoyance or frustration.

“You’re alright!” Selene exclaimed when she saw her sister.

Those words broke the frown and Nika smiled at her. “Of course, did you think some silly stone puppets could beat me?”

“Clearly not,” Marcus said, “so did you get the class?”

In response Nika pulled her swords from their scabbards. Rather than metal the blades were made of a red liquid. “Yup. It’s the Blood Dancer class.”

While the trio started to talk about the trial, eclipse, and class, Galmi found himself withdrawing into silence. They had a sort of natural rapport that was difficult to integrate into, and he didn’t like barreling into their conversations.

Instead he put his thoughts to a single task that he had before him, and thought about the risks involved with requesting their help. On the one hand they might help him, but on the other they’d only call him insane. He could possibly lose the friendship with Selene he’d gained. It was a thought that made him hesitate to speak.

“Galmi?” Selene suddenly asked, “are you alright?”

Galmi snapped back to reality and looked at her. The others had turned to look at him with puzzled expressions, and even Scarlet seemed concerned as she peered at him from Selene’s arms.

“Yeah,” he started to say, but then shook his head, “actually...I need to tell you guys something.”