Enjoy!

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Steel slowly came awake. He was in the amphitheater on top of the altar, lying on his back. Neither the books or his former party members could be seen anywhere around him. A quick glance down confirmed that nothing was tying him to the altar and he was free to move about. Slightly confused, Steel checked his notifications to see what had happened to him.

Besides leveling up twice to level 5 for "completing" the quest, he had also acquired a rather annoying curse.

You have been cursedYour party has betrayed you by sacrificing your essence to an ancient revenant in order to appease it. The undead has consumed your heart and inflicted upon you it's curse.Curse:Wrath of the Ancient RevenantEven after a millennium of weakening, the spirit of the past still had enough strength to curse you

-50% constitution

-50% intelligence

-50% charm, you have been disfigured

Skill acquired: Unnatural Presence- Passive skill, people have a natural tendency to avoid you. -25% all intimacy to all except trusted and above.

Steel groaned as he read through the curse. It was terrible! Not only would his health and mana be cut in half from now on, he would also have a hard time raising intimacy with NPC's. Not only that, but his new skill actually encouraged people to avoid him!

On the bright side, at least the friends he had already made would not be affected. He sighed as he pulled up his character menu, which held his appearance. With a great sense of irony, his avatar looked similarly damaged to his cyberspace body. His left side appeared skeletal, from his head to his feet. Thankfully, it was only the appearance that was affected and he didn't have any debuffs to go with it. He gazed helplessly at his head, which was now half normal and half skeletal.

Cursing to himself, Steel abandoned any thought of restarting the game. He had worked too hard already and there was no way he would let Hero win. He would beat him with this cursed body no matter what, even if he died.

'Which,' Steel reasoned coldly, 'Is still a distinct possibility at the moment. My body is still in critical condition, and if it dies I'll be trapped here forever.'

Steel clenched his fist as he got up from the altar. A quick inspection confirmed his inventory was the same, except there was a new item equipped that was permanent.

Revenant Soul of VengeanceType:SoulDurability:100/100Quality:UniqueEffects:Curse of the Revenant

Unknown

Unknown

UnknownA soul from an ancient revenant. The revenant was a being that cursed the circumstances of it's death and became undead. Even after being sealed for a millennium, it still had enough power to infuse itself into a descendant of its hated enemies. This item cannot be unequipped.

'So I carry the spirit of vengeance within me.' Steel chuckled evilly, 'How convenient for me.' Steel walked over to one of the skeleton piles and removed a hood. It was a worthless item with no stats, but it served his purpose as he placed it over his head to hide his face. He slowly made his way out of the room and up to the surface.

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When Steel came out of the graveyard, it was night time. However, there was an air of celebration as local NPC's smiled and waved to each other in happy voices. Steel tried to ask what was going on, but no one would talk to him and many threatened to call the guards if he persisted. Annoyed, Steel was forced to travel across the city to Roxanne's Apothecary Shop.

The shop was still open, and he saw quite a few players entering and leaving the shop. As he entered the shop, he noticed that a new NPC was manning the counter instead of Roxanne. He approached the counter.

"Where is Roxanne?" He asked the clerk.

The clerk turned to him with a smile, which turned into a frown as he took in Steel. "I don't know who you are, but you need to leave now."

"I'm a friend of Roxanne, I need to speak with her." He insisted.

"Leave now, or I'm calling for the guards." At this point, the players inside had begun to take notice and Steel noticed a few were touching their weapons. If Steel was declared a criminal, he would be free game to anyone who wanted to attack him. He frowned and removed the letter from his inventory and showed it to the clerk.

"Look, she gave me this letter and . . ."

"THIEF, THIEF!" The clerk cried out and pointed to Steel, "HE STOLE FROM THE SHOP!"

Steel felt himself being tackled tot he ground and was tied up before he could even blink. A guard stood over him and stomped his foot down onto his back. "Criminal scum, you have been placed under arrest."

Steel groaned in response, since the tackle had removed a good bit of his reduced health.

"What's going on?" Steel heard Roxanne's voice from the back.

"Mistress, I found a thief who had stolen your letter from you." He heard the clerk explained, "The guard has him tied up and will be taking him away."

Steel felt himself picked up and turned around. He stared into Roxanne's furious face for just a moment before he watched her eyes widen in surprise.

"I gave this man the letter myself, why is he tied up?" She demanded angrily.

The guard did not hesitate and cut the ropes tying Steel's hands. He apologized and left the shop as he was no longer needed. The players all sighed in disappointment and returned to their browsing. Roxanne berated the clerk for a moment for hurting her helper and took Steel into the back of the shop. She sat him down and sighed.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding Steel, I hope you can forgive me and my shop."

Steel didn't care, "It's fine, I don't hold grudges for petty things." He got a notice of a brief improvement in intimacy, but waved it away quickly.

Roxanne nodded and sat back, studying Steel's face. "You've changed since I last saw you. Your aura is distrustful and I would normally be nervous to be speaking with you except I know you can be trusted. Care to explain?"

Steel gave her a short version of his story, summarizing what had happened to him within the crypts. He did so without a hint of his true feelings, sounding bored the entire time.

When he was finished, Roxanne had a look of utter disgust on her face. "So that's what happened to you. The 5 who returned from the crypts reported their success and were exalted as the newest heroes of the kingdom. That area had been so vile it slowly spread it's corruption through the underground, creating undead. With it gone, the guards and priests no longer have take care of the area and the city can spend it's wealth on other things. The men were whisked away to the capital for training while the two girls were taken away by the elves to be trained in their own kingdom. Their intimacy has reached a very high level, and you won't be able to avenge yourself without inciting the wrath of both kingdoms.

To Steel's surprise, a quest notification appeared in front of him.

Quest Added (Unique)VengeanceYou were betrayed by your allies to further their quest for power and riches. Having been cursed as a result, it's up to you to enact vengeance on those that did you wrong.Objective 1:Kill those who hurt you to inflict your own curse onto themObjective 2:Forgive those who hurt you and walk the path of peaceObjective (special):Remove your curse and forget what was done to youReward:Unknown, dependent on chosen option

Steel accepted the quest without hesitation and returned his attention to Roxanne. "Thank you for your information, I'll be going now."

As he got up to leave, Roxanne held out her hand, "Wait, before you go, please tell me what you intend to do."

"I intend to get what is owed to me." He said simply, staring emotionlessly at her.

Intimacy with Roxanne the Apothecary has risen to Trusted Friend

Roxanne nodded and got up, motioning him to follow her. She led Steel to a bookcase and pulled a lever, opening a hidden door behind the shelf. Walking in, she sparked a torch and lit up the hidden room.

Inside, Steel saw a shrine dedicated to an unknown goddess with offerings and small treasures placed underneath it. Roxanne nodded toward it. "I follow a fallen goddess that understands what you feel. Many generations ago, my people were one of the great races of this world. The other 5, jealous of our happiness, united under their gods and massacre'd us. The few remaining were forced into hiding, and our goddess was sealed away. She was forced to join the pantheon under a new name, and even now suffers. I cannot reveal everything to you yet, but if you help us get our vengeance, we can help you gain yours as well."

Quest Added (Unique)Vengeance of the GodsHaving been betrayed yourself, you understand the pain of loss and the anger of vengeance. Roxanne has revealed to you a secret in the history of Everlife that is long buried; there was once a 6th major race. In order to prove yourself, she has asked you for your assistance.Objective :Complete quests that assist Roxanne and her brethren with their vengeanceObjective 2:You may report the existence of this cult to the authorities for different rewardsReward:Unique class

Steel grinned, his smile evil and dark under the torchlight, "I will help with whatever I can." He accepted the quest.

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Short chapter because I'm tired. Expect fun stuff tomorrow