As Vera and Azrael walked down the path together, Vera used the skillbook she obtained from Tessa.

Gained Skill: Dark Arrow

"Check Skill: Dark Arrow" Said Vera.

Dark Arrow - Beginner 1 - 0%

You channel your energy to form a dark arrow, which shoots towards one or multiple targets depending on your mastery.

Deals Magic Attack + 10% damage.

One dark arrow.

Cost 200 mana per shot.

Increased proficiency increases number of arrows and damage.

"Nice! At least I have a form of ranged attack now." Exclaimed Vera.

Azrael just smiled, and the two continued walking. Azrael was thinking about how lucky he was choosing Deschire, in the Kingdom of Haven, as a starting location. Not only did he come upon an amazing class, but he is now partying with the girl next door. Who cares if she is hunted by the church? He will go to hell and back to protect his new friendship.

As the two walked further, Vera then checked the stats of the weathered blade-staff before equipping it.

Weathered Blade-StaffDurability30/30Damage12-14A beaten blade-staff. The wood is old and used, and the blade is slightly dull. It does not hold much magic these days.

+3 INT

+2 WIS

+5% Magic Attack

+2% Max ManaRequires: 25 INT, 25 WIS

To say the two were ill-equipped was an understatement. Azrael wore the beginner clothes, covered with a leather breastplate. He wore leather greaves over his pants, and thick heavy leather boots below. On his arms were leather bracers, and he had thick leather pauldrons as well. He did not have a helmet. Instead, He had a hood made of red cloth to cover his head. Needless to say, the whole set didn't confer much in the way of defense. His slayer blade was currently useless, and Auruk's old sword had seen better days.

Vera was worse off yet. She had the simple beginner's clothes, but no armor. She only had a black robe top and bottom, and a black hood. As for her weapon, it was the best thing on her at least...

"I can confer small bonuses to our stuff with enchanting." Said Vera.

"Wait...Like permanently?" Said Azrael.

Vera nodded, and Azrael hurriedly handed all his goods over to her. She then proceeded to imbue all of his leather armor. The breastplate, pauldrons, gloves, bracers, belt, greaves, and boots were all enchanted with +20 HP enchants, and his hood was imbued with a magic that hid his face underneath it. His blade was enchanted with a simple +2 DMG enchant. Vera's enchanting was only beginner level still, so she could only place one enchantment on an item. Regardless, these enchantments stacked up and helped a lot.

Vera had her robe top, bottom, and hood all enchanted with +5% faster mana regen. She then enchanted her weapon with +2 Magic DMG. She was happy that she could be of some use, and gain proficiency.

You have gained proficiency in Enchanting.

You have gained proficiency in Mana Manipulation.

Enchanting has reached beginner 4.

Mana Manipulation has reached beginner 2.

Vera was so happy that she could finally start progressing her character. Rather than...you know...getting booted out of guilds, and led astray by a demonic old woman. Not to mention getting slain by the church.

As the pair walked, they finally arrived at a small village. Vera waited outside momentarily while Azrael checked for a church. Luckily, there was none. Upon hearing this, Vera was ecstatic. She could actually enter this town without fear of death.

Entering the village, the two quickly took a break at a nearby fountain. The town was in an uproar, soldiers were running to and fro. Women were crying as their sons age twelve and up were armed to the teeth. Even elderly men were taking up weapons.

"Oh god, I hope this isn't because we entered the town." Muttered Azrael.

Just then, they saw a little boy donning armor with his father's help.

"I don't want to fight, I want to stay here and play." Sobbed the little boy.

"You have to. Don't worry, you'll fight alongside me and grandpa. We'll all go down together." Said the father, with tears in his eyes.

At this point, Azrael and Vera approached the pair.

"Excuse me sir, what is everyone preparing for?" Said Azrael and Vera.

The man wiped his eyes and said, "Berrefos the Huntsman has assembled a small army, and plans to raid our village. We need every able bodied man age twelve to seventy to take up arms, and attempt to repel the evil force."

"Ehhh...That sounds kind of harsh. I mean...I am an adventurer...I can try to take care of them before they come here..." Said Azrael.

"We have sent many heroes, but none understand Berrefos' fury. I will offer you the chance adventurer, but honestly you will probably fall." Said the father.

T-ting

Save Athan Village

Athan village is in a state of pre-war, and assembling troops. You have taken it upon yourself to go to Berrefos' lair and destroy the monster and his forces before they reach the village.

Difficulty level: E

Quest requirements

Ask about the war preparations in Athan.

Offer your assistance.

Reward: ???

Failure if you die, or the forces attack the village.

"Wow...they really went to extremes over an E ranked quest. They must be really weak." Mumbled Azrael, under his breath.

The father said, "Thank you, my name is Erik, and this is my son Daniel. If you succeed, it will mean the world to us. Here is a map to Berrefos' Lair."

Erik then went off spreading news of a possible alternative to war, and everyone's spirits soared.

"Oh god, I hope we don't fail. These people may be getting their hopes up..." Muttered Azrael.

Azrael and Vera did some preparations in the village, and got a lot of great discounts due to the task they are undertaking. Upon finally leaving, the entire village waved them off and wished them success.

"Man...This is really played up..." Stated Vera.

Azrael nodded in agreement as the two went on their way. The lair was about a half a day's travel west. Looking at the lair, it was really more of a glorified cave.

T-ting

DUNGEON: You are the very first players to discover BERREFOS' LAIR.

Reward: One party member can not gain fame, none awarded.

Every day for one week, double EXP and double item drops. The rarest items will drop from killing the first monster of each type. Subsequent kills will drop common items.

"Nice!" Exclaimed Azrael.

But upon entering...the site shocked them.

"You have got to be F***ing kidding me." Stated Azrael.

Vera's mouth was simply agape.

Two adorable creatures about three feet tall, were sleeping near the entrance. They had make-shift armor and small spears equipped. They looked like three feet tall teddy bears.

"THIS IS WHAT THE VILLAGE WAS PREPARING TO FIGHT?" Screamed Azrael.

"No wonder the rank was only E." Stated Vera.

As the two were making a lot of noise, the cuddly little denizens of the cave began to rouse. They rubbed their eyes in an adorable manner, and looked at the intruders.

"Intruders! Alert ze others!" Screamed the bears in a cute German accent.

"This reminds me a lot of an old video game..." Thought Azrael, as the bears bull rushed him.

Azrael simply stood there, and when the bear approached, he picked it up by the shaft of the spear and slammed it against the wall.

Critical Hit!

The little creature screamed a most blood curdling scream. It was high pitched and sounded like a child being tortured. It then slammed the ground and had green blood oozing from its mouth.

Azrael didn't know what to do. He felt horrible, and Vera was resisting the urge to vomit.

"You killed mein partner! Have at you, beast! In the name of Freya!" Screamed the other bear as it rushed.

"Oh great...they worship a god revered by the continent...Of course they do." Mumbled Azrael, as he lifted his leg.

When the bear was directly under him he yelled, "Stomp!"

The bear exploded in a cloud of fluff and green blood. It also screamed in a most disgusting manner.

Azrael and Vera's mouths were both open.

"Well...W-we can't a-abandon the quest." Stammered Azrael.

Vera nodded.

You have made enemies of the cuddly race loved by Freya, the Berrikens.

Infamy increased by 100.

"Great...Even better." Said Azrael.

Before they could even dwell further on this, a Berriken wearing nothing ran towards them brandishing a torch. Upon closer inspection, they could see that it had a wick sticking out of its head.

The bear screamed, "FOR MEIN FURRY!"

It then lit the wick and dived towards Azrael and Vera.

"No f***ing way!" Exclaimed Azrael in suprise.

He unconsciously grabbed Vera and dove behind a rock.

*BOOM*

"The...The little bear...He...He killed himself." Mumbled Vera in disbelief at the sight of the suicide bomber.

"That he did...We must be more careful. These "Berrikens" seem to be a race of cuddly fanatics."

For the next two weeks, Azrael and Vera made their way through the cave. The dealt with all manner of horrible bears and bear related deaths. The suicide bombers still made them cringe in fear. Who wouldn't be scared of a three foot tall bear with a wick sticking out of its head?

Azrael had leveled up all of his combat skills twice. Repair and handicraft also increased by two as he kept dismantling and repairing weapons and armors he found.

Vera also gained three levels in her weapon mastery, and three in dark arrow. She could now cast two dark arrows at once, but the mana cost was increasing steadily. As Azrael passed her the weapons and armor, she would enchant them. Enchanted items gave more experience when repairing. Along with two enchanting levels, she also gained one in mana manipulation, and two in dark magic mastery.

The bears didn't really offer much in the way of experience as they were relatively low levels, but they provided plenty of loot and mastery.

By the time they reached the boss' quarters, Azrael had gained three levels, and Vera had gained nine due to being a much lower level.

The mastery alone was worth the trip, but the two now stood before large wooden doors.

On the top of the doors there was a plaque that read,"Ze Alfurry Berrefos."

"Really...I don't even..." Said Azrael.

"Well...let's go in and get this over with..." Said Vera.

The two then entered.