While the Saint does help bringing down those undead, we were also burdened with another task of protecting something, he came out full of wounds by just charging through the hordes of monsters. Iris ordered him to guard the sacrificial barrier just like Hasega and support us with healing magic.

Time remaining until purification ends 7 hours.

“Hey!” Fira, Dem and the others came to us.

“Glad you made it.” Iris said.

“You are late. The party is almost over.” Hasega said.

“We also picked off the enemy in the back you know. So please give it a rest.” Victor said. True to his word, they seemed a little bit injured.

“Hey, don’t relax just yet. The quest isn’t over.” Iris warned.

“But there are hardly any monsters left.” Hasega sat down to rest.

“Umm, it might be just a temporary break. Let us prepare for the worst case scenario. If the enemy attacks in 4 more hours, they will get a 50% bonus because of night-time.” I mumbled.

“I see. Then Dem, set up traps. While others rest. Riri, heal the wounded. The enemy might attack us any minute you know.” Iris said.

The healing was done in 2 minutes. Dem was busy making a trap that was obviously seen from here. I guess he still needed a lot of training on that one. he must have just gotten the skill. Iris’s sandwiches were popular within the group. The sandwiches were delicious alright, the soft bread with tomato sauce and some lettuce salad filled with sunny fried egg and ham are very tempting. Not to mention the mayonnaise sauce within it. He must have cooked it in the real world as well to be able to produce sandwiches this good. Though he might have just bought it wholesale at some random player chef. But the way he spoke about the ingredients of his sandwiches made it seem like he cooked it himself.

Maria was seen drooling inside her golden barrier. She couldn’t let up the barrier now or she wouldn’t be able to cast it again tomorrow. While some of us were teasing her by eating it right in front of her, Iris was kind enough to share some of his sandwiches with her. She seemed so happy when she was eating the sandwiches that the scenery was almost changed from a gloomy cave into that of a flowery scenery.

#Growl#

A growl was heard after 2 hours of leisurely eating and resting. When we heard the growl for a second time, all of us went into preparation mode. Just as we feared, the monsters from the upper floors rushed in again while this time, all of them came at once.

“They came in larger numbers this time. El?” Iris said. If the enemy is grouped together El’s enigma spell was the most efficient.

“Enigma of lightning god bolt of Thor!”

A loud thundering boom occurred as the enemy changed into another pile of loot. We already had quite a mountain behind us even though the bonus loot was supposed to be over. It was just that their quantity and item drop rate is high. Each of them were bound to drop something even without bonus loot. Though most of them were nothing more than thrash worth a few silver or coppers.

“Let’s rest for a while.” Iris said while sitting down again.

“Hey you haven’t even unsheathed your sword!!” El made a retort at Iris’s unreasonable joke. Her lightning vanquished the 50 or so ogres and specters.

The party sat down near the sacrificial altar again. Arknum, Iris, Fira, Dem, Victor, El and me. Baran was supposed to be next in line to help me but Saint couldn’t reach him in time and decided to charge into the dungeon instead. It was amazing that both of them could reach this floor in such short time. Well, I guess if the floor is empty, that made a difference.

Then another swarm of skeletons and zombies appeared. This time some ogres and two-headed ones were mixed in. Everyone was buckled up this time. With exception of Hasega and Saint, everyone charged ahead. The plan was still the same as before, I bait the mob, Saint healed or cured me from curses while others pick off the opponents one by one from behind.

#CRACK#

My sword cracked a bit. After being abused for 1 week and deflecting so many arrows. The durability was finally on its last leg. In a fluster, I quickly sheathed my sword and depended on dodging instead. Everyone was shouting that I should draw my sword but I just ignored them. With great difficulty I dodge many arrows and tried to outrun the melee ones. My health bar was at yellow often now but thanks to Saint’s healing abilities, my health bar was kept safe. I was still far from dying.

Time was ticking away as we fought. The horde of monsters didn’t end this time it just kept spawning and spawning. Is this really a level C quest? Can we stay alive like this?

*BOM*BOM#

More fire explosions were cast by Fira. She has got several nifty spells now. Another AOE attack with better damage than fire blaze but the downside of AOE spells is the aggro it catches. Several monsters that I was baiting went towards her instead. In a way, it removed some of my burden. But with her dexterity, let alone dodging arrows, she couldn’t even outmanoeuvre the melee monsters. Thankfully, Victor and Iris stepped in.

Dem’s trap was more like a child’s prank rather than a real trap. marbles that were supposed to make the opponents fall down were crushed instead. A wire trap that was supposed to trip the opponent was snapped in two. The only thing that seemed usefull was his holding trap that could trap the enemy for about 20 seconds while dealing a minuscule amount of damage. Furthermore, he was limited to 4 traps only.

“Dem, your traps are worthless.” Iris nagged at last.

“I am sorry, I just learned the technique alright! It is still beginner 2. Please give me a break.” He said as he killed another enemy with his dagger.

The number of enemies kept increasing. At this rate, we would be annihilated. Is there anything else I could do? If I could use my sword, I might be able to last longer. But if my sword breaks, I don’t know what will happen to El. Even for Stella’s sake, I can’t just let El be killed like that.

“Ah! There is.” I suddenly shouted out loud.

“What is it Riri?” Iris shouted form a distance.

“Soul transmutation! Lightning Dark Fairy Elkami!” I used my new skill.

My body was soon enveloped with a blue light. My hair turned blue just like El and I could feel something growing on my back. My body then became lighter.

Soul transmutation has been used

Lightning dark fairy Elkami’s soul is infused in your soul.

In this form, your stat are increased by 20% of Elkami’s stats

Strength +10 Dexterity +60

Wisdom +80 Intelligence +150

Stamina +40 Vitality +8

Your magic resistance has increased by 20% of Elkami’s stats

Fire +2% Water +2%

Earth +3% Wind +4%

Thunder +10% Ice +4%

Dark +7% Light +4%

Your race has changed to half fairy

Your class has changed to Mage

Your class restriction of weapon damage reduction has been removed

Magical damage has increased by 50%

Your have gained new skills until transmutation ends

Flight

Thunder mastery

Darkness mastery

Spellcaster

You have learned the following spells

Thunder Barrier

Thunder strike

Thunder shower

Thunder ball

Lightning ball

Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike

Enigma of lightning god Thor Hammer

Enigma of lightning god Zeus bolt shower

Enigma of lightning god bolt of Thor

Lightning bolt

Mana bolt

Lightning charge

Lightning pulse

Lightning strike

Lighting flash

Lightning storm

Shadow ball

Dark lightning

Period until soul transmutation ends 6 hours or until cancelled manually

I felt a surge of power inside of me. I gained a bunch of system messages and notifications. Everyone look at me dumbfounded. When the blue light disappeared, I couldn’t feel my legs. No more likely I couldn’t touch the ground with my legs now. I am flying? No, I am floating.

“Wow, this is an awesome skill.” I said as I looked at my hands and body. Somehow, me and El had the same figure only that El is a tiny version of me. If El is a small and cute fairy, I am a beautiful fairy. The opponent stopped for a moment before deciding to attack. They could feel the surge of power inside me now and they were hesitating to attack.

But they quickly regained their composure and began another attack on me. I felt my wings. They were somehow an extension of my own body. My body felt as light as a feather. I mean literally. I could float if I wanted to and I could touch the ground if I wanted to. Moving in a 3 dimensional way. So, this is flight grandmaster huh?

A horizontal slash was aimed at me. With multitask, I watched the sword with 1 focus and moved my wing with another focus. The result was extraordinary. Like in anime or manga, my movements seemed like a short distance teleport or blink spell. Even I was fascinated by this. I was already behind the monster at that time.

“Whoa, that movement is even faster than my own.” El commented. It must be because of my acrobat skill that also increased my movement capabilities.

This time, I didn’t mess up, I was able to dodge every arrow and every melee attack aimed at me. Even when they surrounded me in a corner, I was able to fly and dodge in mid-air. They were completely 3 dimensional moves. See and dodge, see and dodge. I even had spare time to look at Iris and others who were taking down their opponents.

“Enigma of the lightning god. Bolt of Thor!” I cast a spell exclusive to fairies. My max mana was increased by more than 3000 from the soul transmutation. My wisdom had also increased a lot too. Not to mention I had a different set of skills than El. So my bolt of Thor was no longer on cooldown.

Blue sparks surged within me as a magic circle appeared on the cave ceiling. I could feel a great quantity of magic flowing from my body to that magic circle. Then a mana connection was formed from my body to that magic circle as there was now a counter on that circle. Now I had to keep focusing on the mana connection or the spell would be interrupted. So this is the enigma spell. This connection will drain my mana bit by bit until the counter reaches 0 and the spell is activated.

“Riri, if you get hit, the spell might be interrupted!” El shouted from afar.

“She can use enigma spell too now?” Fira asked in disbelief.

“She can basically use every skill that I have.” El said. Even though El said like she knows it all, in her heart she showed surprise too seeing me capable of casting her spells.

“Eh, how? It should be hard to move while casting enigma spells.” El showed her complete amazement this time. It was true that it took tremendous focus to use an enigma spell. But I had more focuses than I could spare, it was no big deal. Multitask is a cheat skill. Even with the spell active, I could still move as easily as before. I am just lacking a bit of refinement that’s all.

In the end I was able to manoeuvre my way through the barrage of the monsters’ arrows and melee charges. When the counter hit 0 the spell quickly caught every one of them and left them half dead. Everything else was soon finished by others.

Time remaining until purification ends 1 hour.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had such a skill.” Hasega asked in admiration. Everyone nodded at his remark.

“Umm, I just got it.” I Answered. That skill was really too eye-catching! Everyone must be trying to interrogate me now.

“How did you get it?” Iris asked.

“Umm, Stella gave it to me when she died.” I answered honestly.

After another anxious hour of waiting, nothing happened.

Quest has been completed

You have leveled up 3x

Add another 2 levels I got from killing and baiting the enemies before, I had gained a total of 5 levels this time.

“Soul transmutation end.” I chanted the words and my body was enveloped by blue light yet again and I went back to normal Riri.

Soul transformation is now beginner lvl 3

Saint then walked towards the horn and feather. The item on the sacrificial altar was destroyed by unknown forces after curse was removed.

“Whew. That was a surprise. I didn’t know it would turn like that.” Iris said.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t know either. This cave was supposed to be empty when Yggdrasil used it last time around 500 years ago.

“Umm, the quest has been completed. What about Stella?”

At that moment Saint used some kind of spell on the purified feather and horn. He became the new horned Pegasus replacing Swogystar.

”I will take you to the fairy lake. The ritual will be performed there with the several remaining fairies. Meanwhile the rest should go back on their own. I did warn you that you would only get fame and exp for this right?” Everyone then nodded and separated. Some wanted to come but there was no space on Saint’s back.

“Umm okay. I will be in your care.”

With that I rode the newly horned Pegasus once more. After getting out of the cave, the Pegasus flapped his new more brilliant white wings in the sky. With a neighing sound, the Pegasus soared through the sky towards fairy lake. He didn’t seem to be flying, it was like he was running on the wind below him. He was very fast.

“So, you are the new Pegasus leader?”

“Yes, I was appointed by Yggdrasil on a certain condition.”

“Retrieve the horn and feather?”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Nothing, I thought you honored the sacrifice of the Pegasus before that’s why you jumped in the middle of the enemy. It was just the inheritance then?”

“I do respect Swogystar and my fallen comrades in Trisia. But this horn and feather are important. You might not know this, but Yggdrasil thinks very highly of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he is going to use his life force to find your friend in hell. After that he is going to bind her to you. You might think this is simple, but it drains his spirit.”

“I see.”

“The horn and feather are worth more than that. If this horn and feather were lost, Yggdrasil would suffer a more serious drawback. He trusts you but he also has a economical way of thinking in profit and loss. It can’t be denied after all. Without this horn and feather, the Pegasus will have no leader and will scatter around the forests to be hunted by men or wild animals.”

“I see.”

“You see, actually Yggdrasil usually doesn’t trust humans with these kind of tasks. But he seems to trust you.”

“Do the horn and feather have any effect on humans?”

“Horns can be made into powerfull divine spears while feathers could be used as hat or robe decorations. If anyone were to know about this, they would be sure to hunt for it. I was surprised you didn’t take advantage of this.”

“Not really. If Yggdrasil hadn’t made this offer, I would have done anything to revive Stella even if I had to go to Hades myself.” I said that truthfully.

“Well, he trusts you and he knows you so that’s why he made that offer. He didn’t want to use you like other foreigners. Maybe he considered you his friend.”

“I see.“

When we reached the lake 3 fairies appeared forming a triangular space. Saint landed in the center of that space. He then cast some spells and a triangular magic circle formed with the 3 fairies as corner points.

“The ritual is about to begin. Please lay down in a sleeping posture in the center of the spell. That circle.” Saint gave an instruction as he moved away from the magic circle.

I did as he instructed. Then a voice rang out to me as my vision blurred and I was floating in a black space.

“So, Riri, we meet again.”

“Huh? Umm, who are you?”

“I am Yggdrasil. Though we have not met directly, I am glad that El is doing fine with you.”

“I see. Thanks.”

“About your request.”

“Umm, Yes?” I answered while thinking: Is it some trouble again?

“Though it was I who offered you Stella’s soul, are you sure you want this?”

“Yes.” I answered without hesitation.

“I can offer you another sword or any equipment. Your clothes seem to be worn out and do not match your current strength.”

“No.” Is he trying to bargain with me? Is it not possible to resurrect Stella? No. Don’t lose hope yet.

“How about another pet? I can offer a fairy or a Pegasus to be your exclusive pet. You have seen what a fairy and a Pegasus can do. This time, they will not be bound by your mana so you can use them freely. I am sure a foreigner like you will want those powers after seeing them. Some foreigners in the past.....”

“Hey Yggdrasil.” I said with a little sob.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Please get straight to the point. Is it not possible to resurrect her?” I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.

“Hmmmm. I could but....”

“What is it?!” I asked shouting a little.

“Calm down first Riri. Even if I can grant your wishes it will take some time. It will take about 4 days for the ritual to finish. We have time.”

“I see.”

“Well, to be truthful, I was reluctant to revive this friend of yours. El said to me that she was the one who killed Death Manager. I was happy to grant the request at first. But after finding her soul, it turned out she is a demon. A god reviving a demon is a little heretical don’t you think?”

“She became like that to save the entire city! If she hadn’t changed herself, we would never have driven Death Manager away.”

“Ahh, I received that news as well, it is unfortunate that he didn’t die, I have conveyed this to another church and they are trying their best to bring paladins and priest to hunt down this beast. I am glad however that his influence is all gone from my territory so I will still grant your request.”

‘What’s with his many buts and however? Is it the wisdom of the old?’ I asked in my mind. ’Can’t he just be direct!’

“I can read your mind here as well Riri. I am just having a conversation with you. We still have 4 days right?” Yggdrasil said as he read my mind.

“Ahh, I am sorry.” I apologized in embarrassed manner. I must control my thoughts now.

“Continuing on, after searching for this Stella’s soul, I found out that she is a dangerous demon. She has a lot darker and thicker black aura, even more than El in her body. Well, even though her demon form made her more resilient towards this corrupting dark fog, resurrecting her may not return her the way she was. Do you wish to continue?”

“What do you mean?”

“For one thing, I am pretty sure she will lose most of her skills and proficiency as.... a performer right? She might not be able to give you more skills like you hoped for. Do you still wish her to be revived as your pet?”

“I don’t care about that.”

“I see, you are just like I thought. Secondly, she might not be born in her full human form. Her high charm stat that made her shiningly beautiful will not exist anymore. She might be born in an uglier form than she was or worse, she might reborn as she was before dying and that is her wolf form. Do you still wish to continue?”

“Yes. I don’t care even if she is in wolf form.” It is true. Even if she was a wolf, as long as I can talk to her and continue to be her friend. Faces don’t really matter.

“Well, that only works against men I guess. Hahaha.” Yggdrasil gave a dry laugh. He was still trying to persuade me!!

“Now on to the last question. Are you sure that bringing back Stella back from the dead will ensure her happiness?”

“Huh?” I asked in surprise.

“I am always reluctant to bind someone’s soul because of this. You know, when someone’s soul is bound, they will live eternally along with the item they are bound to. Even if your cracked sword of Elkami were to broke down to pieces, as long as the blue gem on the handle still exists, her soul will be trapped there forever.”

“What do you mean? El?” I turned myself to El, she only looked away while looking gloomy. Does she really want to be with me so much that she was willing to be bound like that?

“So far El has been happy with you but can you always make her happy like that? When you are no longer in this world, El will still be trapped in that sword. This pet system is actually not a gift but a curse.”

I was silent this time. I could not answer him again.

“So, are you sure Stella will be happy with you? If so, I will bind her to your Ring and she will have to suffer the same fate as El. That is to suffer for as long as the Item exists. Maybe tens of years or maybe hundreds or even thousands of years. She will be forever trapped inside that accessory and when that accessory is destroyed, her soul will not go to Hades to reincarnate. But her soul will be degraded like objects in this world, just like stones will be eroded to dust.”

Tears then flowed from my eyes. I look at El with a pitiful sight this time.

“Yggdrasil that’s overdoing it. If you want to test her..” El tried to speak.

“She needs to know the truth!” Yggdrasil remark made El stop her speech. “I can’t just put a curse on every soul I find. This is a curse not a gift!”

“I-I-I am sorry El. I am sorry!” I cried to El this time. Does she have to suffer just like Yggdrasil predicted? If I didn’t ask for her resurrection, she might have gone to Hades and be reincarnated as a human or a beautiful Elf. She would have a good and proper live as a mortal.

“Riri....” El hugged my cheek again.

“I can tolerate fairies to be pets since they have lived for hundreds of years. But since she was formerly a human, can she endure this curse? Did you know that most pets in Versailles have made to submit to their master first? They need to be killed several times to get their obedience. This is because these pets have lost their reason to the suffering of living inside of an object. They usually tend to attack their owner on sight until their owner subdues them. Stella will most likely become this kind of creature when you are no longer around or even when you are around. Who knows, she has a demon blood’s in her after all. I can imagine she will turn into something like the wild dogs or wolves you often encounter in a city’s surrounding field. I need to tell you that a demon’s instincts are hard to control, most of these demons were sealed in their accessories and submit to the one that is worthy. But can you kill her say, 20 times when it is necessary?”

Everyone was silent. I knew of the existence of pets from the Royal Road forums. It was true to his saying that pets in Royal Road will attack their owner on sight. Players that get their hands on them complained that they had to kill them around 20 times to get their obedience.

Will Stella be like that? I could imagine Stella coming out from her ring in her wolf form and attacking me on sight. A ferocious beast that had lost its reason and attacks anything on sight. Will my dear friend turn into that?

“Well, this is my last question. Do you still wish to continue? Since I don’t stand to lose anything from it, I couldn’t actually care less about this Stella. But I consider you to be my friend and I know that you are not someone who is happy to have a dog that needs to be whipped. If other foreigners had asked, I wouldn’t have cared less and I would just give them what they want. After all, Stella’s suffering is not my suffering. It is just business. So, will you still continue with the ritual?” Yggdrasil asked again. “That offer before still exists. What do you want? Stat increasing items? Better equipment? New fairy comrades or a Pegasus? I can even offer new skillbooks or a rare and hidden class.”

“Do you still wishes to continue?” Yggdrasil asked for one last confirmation.

http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3797

http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3853&p=24283#p24283

_______________

author note- so, what do you think about yggdrasil. he is a talkative bunch isn't he? i guess that is also part of being wise

- comment suggestions and questions are welcomed. i will try to answer them to the best of my abilities

- on a side note, i notice that my rating is still at 4,3 which didn't change much but my ranking in best rated keep going down for some reason ~_~ now i wonder if my ff is actually worsen

- here is our usual MC stat special thanks for itsalama for notifying my mistakes in point distribution.

Spoiler : Status window

Name Riri class idol performers

Health 6675(+800) mana 10900 (+800)

Level 125 Race human

Fame 1000

Title manager, the white rider

Job none

Health regen/sec 26.5 mana regen/sec 43.4

Strength 143(+122) dexterity 352 (+55)

Wisdom 342 (+102) intelect 311 (+125)

Stamina 305 vitality 117 (+150)

Art 74 charisma 177 (+140)

Leadership. 160(+30) charm 105(+125)

Fighting spirit 180 faith 140 (+105)

Magic resistance

Fire water

Earth wind

Thunder ice

Dark 45%(E) light 45%(E)

Unused points 20

Contribution point church 8000

Contribution point haven 2500

Bonuses

Magic will be reduced by 90%. unless you meet normal requirement of 300 wisdom

weapon will be reduced by 90% unless have intermediate blacksmith

Leather armor will not be penalized

iron armor will have it’s movement speed reduced by 30% and increased stamina consumption by 20%. Only if you meet the equipment requirement

While riding horse the movement speed increased by 10%

Bag 1

Water canteen

Ring of mana(E)

Ring of leadership(E)

Black staff

Circlet of purity.

White high heel shoes

White dress of purity

Sword of Elkami

Earing of faith and wisdom

Necklace of vitality

Ring of vitalityx4

Ring of inteligence x3

Stella’s ring

Skill list

Speed reading beginner’s lvl 2

Manage beginner’s lvl 5(10%).

Magic mastery intermediate lvl 9

Acrobatic intermediate lvl 6

Multitasking intermediate lvl 3

Sword mastery intermediate lvl 6

Ambidextrous beginner lvl 2

Bullet deflector intermediate lvl 6

Sneak beginner level 2

Horseriding intermediate lvl 1

Soul transmutation beginner level 3

Enchanted autograph beginner lvl 1

Break dance beginner level 1

Audience beginner lvl 1

Sub skill

light blessing intermediate lvl 5

phoenix regen intermediate lvl 4

healing hand intermediate lvl 7

Healing Area intermediate lvl 9

Group cure intermediate lvl 6

Expert cure intermediate lvl 6

Single bless intermediate lvl 8

Fireball intermediate lvl 7

El spell list

Thunder Barrier advance lvl 6

Thunder strike advance lvl 8

Thunder shower advance lvl 1

Thunder ball advance lvl 2

Lightning ball advance lvl 9

Enigma of lightning god Zeus strike intermediate lvl 7

Enigma of lightning god thor Hammer intermediate lvl 3

Enigma of lightning god zeus bolt shower intermediate lvl 2

Enigma of lightning god bolt of thor intermediate lvl 5

Lightning bolt intermediate lvl 6

Mana bolt intermediate lvl 6

Lightning charge advance lvl 4

Lightning pulse advance lvl 5

Lightning strike advance lvl 2

Lighting flash advance lvl 1

Lightning storm advance lvl 2

Shadow ball beginner lvl 2

Dark lightning beginner lvl 3