“Well, I’m done here” I take the empty plate and put it in the sink.

“What’s got you in such a hurry? You wolfed that down like a coyote!” says my dad.

“Yeah, got some stuff I need to do. Good night!” I rush up the stairs, straight to my room.

I open up the capsule hastily and lay down on it.

____________________________________

Welcome to “Mortal Coil”!

______________________________________________

***

“Do you think he’s avoiding me?” The woman looks at the man by her side with a worried glance but the man just grins

“He’s more straightforward than that. If he didn’t like you he’d just tell you. How’d you even get that idea in the first place?”

“Well, I’m his stepmother after all. And it’s basically my fault we moved out without notice and he had a fight with his friend. So I was thinking…”

The man put a hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Trust me, don’t worry about this,” he says with a smile. “The only ones to blame for that fight were those two and I’m sure he knows that. He’s a smart kid after all.”

“Okay, honey. I’ll trust you on this.” The woman turned her back to the man but there was still some worry lingering over her.

***

As soon as I open my eyes, I’m greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. I get up off the fluffy bed, a gentle wind blowing in the room… Wait a second…

“Paprika?!” Paprika was leaning on the window frame, looking down on the capital of Plexus.

“Ah, you’re awake,” she said without even looking back.

“You scared me half to death! What are you doing in my room anyway?”

“The view’s better from this window…” Her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence.

Wow, she sounds depressed. I wonder what happened. I get up off the bed and get near her.

“Hehe, the people look like ants from this far up… I wonder how the nobles in this castle feel, most of them having their life decided for them. A life full of monotony, where all the important decisions are made for you. Heh, it must be really frustrating, not having a choice. They must really admire the people walking down those roads, free to do whatever they wish.”

Damn, she must be really feeling like shit. Hm, what do I do…?

I get near the window frame and lean on it. It was too big for one person but a little too small for two.

“I wonder about that. There are things that are decided for you, maybe before you are even born, but does that mean that you always have no option, no choice?”

“What are you talking about?” she turns to look at me.

“In the long life of a person, it is impossible to always have no choice. There is always something that pops up. And if nothing pops up, you can always create one.”

“If that was possible, this problem wouldn’t exist in the first place, ” she says melancholically.

“It is possible. The said noble could always run away. After all, he has the resources to do so…”

“But that’s just…”

“Irresponsible and uncalled for. Running away from your problems doesn’t guarantee a solution. But the choice is always there. He can always run away or do what he wishes. After all… it’s his life. Nobody has the right to judge him for living it like she wishes. Sure, he’ll probably get scolded but if that provides her some relief, so be it.”

“I guess you’re right. It’s his life… and that choice is always there.”

“No matter how much you feel like you have no freedom, it is you who makes the decisions that shape your life, for your life is no one’s but your own. To take away someone’s freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice is impossible.”

A smile flashes on Paprika’s face. A warm, friendly smile… However, it’s replaced by a mocking grin.

“Did you find that in some book?”

“Yes actually, the last part was a quote from someone... can’t remember who though.”

Paprika chuckles ruefully.

“I’m just like a kid, aren’t I? Suddenly confiding in a person I met, what, 2 weeks ago when I don’t even like to open up to people… Don’t you find it annoying?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Weren’t we just talking about some hypothetical noble?” I feign ignorance while smiling at her.

“Hmph, who knew you’d be such a comfortable person to talk to.”

“Of course I am! And no, I don’t find it annoying. Hanging around is kind of fun actually. As for the kid part… well, I won’t deny that. You really lack common sense” I say with a grin.

“Hey, it not my fault I don’t play a lot of games, Mr. Slowpoke”

“How dare you! Is this the reward I get for teaching you everything I know?”

“I could’ve done it myself!” she retorts capriciously.

“Of course you could! Ahh, younglings these days.”

“Hey, we’re about the same age!”

“‘Course we are, lil Missy,” I say in a slurred manner of speech, mimicking the old blacksmith.

Paprika bursts out laughing and so do I. She jumps into the bed, still grinning, her wizard hat flying off her head. I keep looking out the window.

“What are we even doing?” She asks rhetorically.

“I have absolutely no idea!” The little back and forth we had now seemed so out of place when you considered the conversation that we had before that. I don’t know her circumstances and my words were quite presumptuous considering I don’t know anything about her situation. I’m sure it is very complicated. Aah, now that I think back at it why did I say such embarrassing things!?! But… if that conversation made her feel just a little bit better… that would make me very happy.

“They really do look like ants” I mindlessly murmur while looking out the window thinking about what happened.

“Jack…”

“Yeah?” I turn around.

“I feel just a tiny bit better… somehow. So you know…”

“Yeah I get it, you’re welcome, although that ‘somehow’ at the end hurts a bit,” I say, smiling at her.

After that, the room fell into a warm, cozy, silence. A silence that could only be achieved a handful of times in someone’s life. It was that kind of silence. The silence between two people who now understood each other just a little bit better.

***

*Knock-Knock*

After a while, someone knocked elegantly in the door. Paprika turned her head to the door.

“It’s time?”

“I think so.” I went to open the door.

As soon as I open it I’m invaded by a heavy aura. I reflexively put my hand on my sword and Paprika gets to her feet in a fraction of a second, pointing her staff at the door. The one emitting such a heavy aura was…

“I am the head maid in this castle. Mr. Jack, Ms. Paprika. It is my honor to meet you.” She gives us a deep bow. She was a tall woman, dressed in traditional maid attire. Although she gave off a tidy impression, her face looked worn out beyond logic.

“No, no please raise your head. I’m sorry that we overreacted so much.”

“There is no need to apologize. It is my fault for startling you” She raises her head and looks at me with an emotionless expression. Her eyes, however, looked like they belonged to a demon. “Please, follow me. You two need to get dressed properly before meeting his majesty.”

“Erm, aren’t our clothes good enough?” asks Paprika.

“Absolutely not!” yells the maid with a severe expression making Paprika shiver a bit. “Meeting his majesty in adventurer attire is unheard of! Now, follow me.” She walks ahead of us.

“Damn, her aura’s almost as scary as yours” Paprika cringes a bit.

“Eh, what do you mean?”

“Well, I’m saying that it’s almost the same as the aura you emit when fighting seriously. Yours is sharper though.”

“Sharper?”

“How should I explain this…? Well, let’s just say your aura is laced with murderous intent. It feels sharp, like a thousand needles piercing your skin. That’s understandable, being that it comes from your ‘Warrior’s Spirit’ stat. Her, however, ever feels more like it’s gonna crush you. But... still it’s eerily similar to yours.”

“Wait you can feel my aura?”

“Of course I can. Everyone can actually. Why do you think people avoid you when you walk down the street?”

“They do? How did I not notic… Anyway, that doesn’t matter much. But how can she have the same aura as me?”

“I really don’t have any idea. Perhaps she has the same stat?”

“That’s impossible. The ‘Murderous Spirit’ stat is something I got with my class. Without that she couldn’t possibly form the ‘Warrior Spirit’ stat. What a bizarre occurrence… But, I wonder… No, no that’s impossible… But, if she was then…” I start to murmur fervently, thinking about different possibilities.

“You’re creeping me out here Jack…”

“Eh, did you say something? Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

“Sigh…”

“We are here. Ms. Paprika, please enter this room. Do not worry; the maids will take care of you. Mr. Jack, follow me.”

Paprika enters the room and I’m led farther down. While crossing a hallway, the maid speaks:

“About your chat earlier, there are many was to achieve the same result, Mr. Glass Warrior.” I chuckle as soon as I hear her mention my class.

“So I was spot on. May I ask how you know about me though?”

“You’re not doing a good job concealing that unique aura of yours. Anyone that knew Roderick would notice it immediately. It’s exactly the same after all.”

“Wait, I though Roderick died a long time ago. How can you claim you knew him?”

“Some things are better left unsaid.” She stops abruptly. “Enter this room so you can get ready.”

I open the door and get greeted by an expansive room, lit so brightly it almost blinded me. Inside there were 5 maids that bowed immediately when they saw. They stood in the middle of seeming endless clothes. Ah, this is a wardrobe. Wait... maids?

“Erm, aren’t I going to have to change?”

“All the manservants are busy preparing for the princess’s birthday tomorrow. These are all we got.”

I reflexively take a step inside the room. The maids raise their heads. One of them gets near me.

“Please feel at ease milord. We are here to serve you.” This is embarrassing already…

“Here, milord. Let me carry your sword” another maid gets on her knees and presents me with a piece of cloth.

“Haha, I don’t think you could even if you tried. Your fingers would get crushed, along with about every bone in your body if you’re unlucky enough to get under it” The maid’s expression turned into one of terror. Hey, I only told you the truth. Well that’s what happened when Paprika tried to hold it… I unhook my sword and take the hook off my shoulders, placing them on top of a cabinet that was near me. The hardwood cabinet creaked and for a moment it looked like it was going to give way. The maid that offered me the cloth gulped. She took the silk cloth and placed it over the sword carefully, as if the sword was going to bite her.

“Girls, I assume you can handle this situation?” spoke the head maid.

“Yes, Mrs. Headmaid” the maids spoke in unison.

“Very well then. I will get going” while exiting the room she shot me a look that said ‘don’t tease them too much’. I wasn’t trying to mess with them though… The sword’s really that heavy.

The headmaid closes the door and the maids immediately get to work to take my measurements.

“I am sorry but you are going to have to take off your armor.”

It’s going to be a long day isn’t it…

***

The maids had a lot of trouble tailoring a suit to my body. I can’t blame them since I’m basically a walking muscle mass due to my extremely high strength stat. Usually, the aesthetic change is nice but not so much when your abs show through 5 layers of cloth. They finally managed to find something that fit me after searching the wardrobe with the fine tooth comb.

I get out of the room and the maids lead me down another hallway. Unfortunately, they didn’t let me bring my sword and told me it would be transported to my room immediately. After we crossed a couple more hallways that all looked the same we finally arrived at a dome shaped room with two sets of stairs intertwining and leading up to a door. Paprika was standing alone near the stairs, leaning against the wall, maids standing beside her. She was wearing an emerald-colored one piece dress that went down to her knees. She was also wearing long evening gloves of the same color. Honestly, she was looking pretty good.

When she saw me she mockingly grinned.

“Fancy clothes really don’t suit you” she spouted these words shamelessly. This girl… to think I was ready to compliment her. Actually, you know what…

“Well, you look so good, it makes up for it.” She was about to retort but her mouth just hung open in surprise. She closes her mouth and looks down at the ground. Haha, take that! I won’t lose when it comes to teasing.

“Please go through that door. The king is waiting for you” says one of the maids.

“Shall we?” I turn to Paprika.

“Let’s go,” she says without hesitation.

We climb the stairs and open the doors.

“Ah, welcome” The man that was looking out of the giant window turned his head to us as soon as we entered. He was dressed in robes and had a warm but refined looking face.

The room was dimly lit and it had a round ceiling that was made out of glass. A table with a couple of cups of tea stood in the middle. The room wasn’t very big, but the view was breathtaking. You could see the sun setting beneath the ground and the moon rising above the horizon with no obstruction. When you looked up, the stars looked so close, as if you could reach out and touch them.

We were so high up the earth had taken a round shape. It’s like we were in space.

We took some steps forwards and the doors closed behind us automatically. Paprika and I could not get enough of the scenery, looking out the windows in awe, our mouths agape.

“It is quite sublime, is it not?” says the man. Hm, why does that sound familiar…? No, it can’t be!

“W… would you possibly be the old man we met just outside the city?”

“Hoho, it seems I have been found out! Although I’m not that old…”

“AHEM!” Two people stepped out of the shadows, one of them cleaning their throat audibly. It was the head maid and Sir Robert.

“Your majesty, how many times must we say that going out of the walls is dangerous, especially in these times?” says Sir Robert.

“I must agree with Sir Robert,” says the head maid.

“What? Do you think I can’t handle an assassin or two? I’ll wipe the floor with those younglings!” What a scary king!

“Oh, how rude of me to act like this in front of guests! Please forgive my carelessness. Now, Mr. Jack, Ms. Paprika, please sit.”

The king sat and motioned us to do the same. The table wasn’t very long but it was quite wide. Paprika and I sat next to each other, facing the king directly. Next to him stood the head maid and Robert.

“Ah, these are my bodyguards, Ozen and Sir Robert. I believe you’ve met them.”

“But, isn’t she the head maid?” says Paprika.

“Yes she is, but she’s also my bodyguard,” he says with a smile.

“Where are we by the way? It doesn’t feel like we’re even in the castle anymore.” yeah, something was strange about this room.

“I see you are quite sharp. We are indeed not in the castle anymore. This is the Observation Deck and it’s located 4000 meters above the ground.”

Paprika looked at me with eyes that said ‘Did I hear that correctly?’ I shot her the same look.

“Haha, what a priceless reaction! It is the truth though. You got teleported when you walked through that door.”

“A portal… What an extravagant thing to have…”

“It might be, but it offers us much some much needed secrecy.”

“Indeed. I guess we’re going to need secrecy if we’re talking about a demon lord” I say with a grin.

“I guess it’s useless to prolong this conversation much longer then since you seem to know why you’ve been called here” The king gets up from his seat and…

Everyone except for Ozen gasped in surprise but the king did not falter. With his head down, bowing to us, he spoke:

“What I am going to ask you will seem illogical and impossible and nobody will hold anything against you if you deny it. Please, Glass Warrior and Wizard Paprika, I ask of you to kill Corrazgus alone. If you are to accept, we will help you in any way we can.”

“I guess this was inevitable…” Paprika says.

“Sigh, what a difficult situation. First of all, raise your head, please. I can’t think clearly when someone is bowing so formally to me.”

The king raises his head and looks at me.

“I know the situation Soleris is in and why you can’t afford to spare any troops to come with us. You are probably being spread thin as it is. However, I assume you’re going to answer all my questions? Because I have a lot of questions.”

“You can ask us anything and we will do our best to answer. However, give me an answer first. Do you accept this quest?” says the king.

I look at Paprika. She nods. Well, it was inevitable anyway. We were going to have to fight him sooner or later. Might as well get some nice rewards out of it.

“Yes, we accept.”

“Marvelous! I am very pleased to hear that! As I said before we will answer your questions to the best of our abilities.”

“Okay, first things first, does the whole royal court know I’m the Glass Warrior? Why did you call us to kill a demon lord when I could just be some adventurer that got lucky with killing the gargoyle? I also assume that you’re going to tell us all the information you know on the demon lords? Also, I want to know more about this class, Roderick, basically everything since to be honest, I’m very confused. And lastly, what is Arkhalis exactly?” When I mentioned Arkhalis, Ozen twitched a bit.

“The confusion is understandable. Let’s start with the first question, shall we? Ozen, show him the orb.”

“As you wish.” Ozen chanted something and a glass sphere the size of my pal appeared out of nowhere. It shone a bright blue light. She handed it to the king.

“This orb right here is soul bound to the Glass Warrior, no matter who he is. Recently, this orb started shining and vibrating and a couple of days later, we get information that a sect of the Mysticus cult is totally eradicated and that one man took down a gargoyle. It was too much of a coincidence... But calling you here was a gamble. If we didn’t win, we’d have to kill you so we were careful.”

Oh, how nice of them. The image I built up for the king was immediately ruined.

He placed the orb near me and it took a black tint. “But this is solid proof we made the right choice. See how the orb changes color? It’s because it’s close to its owner.”

“So you knew who I was before I even arrived?” I take the orb into my hand and the orb grows pitch black. Paprika and I look at it in intrigue.

“In a sense, yes. And this is the final confirmation. That orb belongs to you.”

“Okay… but what exactly do I do with this thing?” I say fiddling with it in my hands.

“Ozen, release the seal,” The king says in a grave tone.

“Seal, what seal?” I look at Ozen but she just gives me look saying “This’ll hurt a bit”.

Ozen snaps her fingers and the orb starts to shake violently in my hand. Whirlwinds of color flash through it and the orb flies off my hands. It levitates in mid-air, still shaking violently.

“It might be wise to duck under the table… except for Mr. Jack.” Hey, why the hell and I getting singled out. And what the hell is going to happen anyway?

I get my answer soon enough as the orb misses my face by a millimeter while moving at breakneck speed. It then launches at Ozen who just causally dodges it and ducks under cover as well. I was the only person left standing. The orb launches at me with unbridled fury, still swirling with colors. I dodge it by a hair’s width everytime. It seems to target my body indiscriminately, going for my head, legs, neck, abs, anything you can think of.

“What the hell is this thing doing?” I shout while dodging like a madman.

“It’s looking for a place to embed itself in,” says Ozen calmly.

“Embed itself!?!” The orb picks up speed suddenly. The swirling colors inside it seem to slow down.

“Yep, here it comes.”

I trip on my own feet and fall. The orb misses my chest by chance, drifts in midair and goes straight through my left hand.

“It’s over.” Ozen and the others emerge from beneath the table.

What horrible pain! I grunt in agony as I hit the ground, tightly gripping my bleeding hand…

Wait… it isn’t bleeding at all! Suddenly, the pain fades into nothing.

“What the hell even happened…?” I look at the back of my hand which now held a glassy round surface that just so slightly bulged over the skin. Its color had now stabilized to the deathly black it had before but there were a couple of blue dots floating around in it. I look at my palm but there’s nothing there. Half the orb was gone, with only the glassy surface remaining. Suddenly, a notification window popped up. Paprika got close to me to read it.

___________________________________________

You have just acquired the “Mana Orb” artifact!

Grade: 2nd

Type: Physical Augmentation.

Effect: Unknown!!!

___________________________________________________

“That is an augmentation-type artifact. They all do that to merge with the user, looking for the most suitable spot to embed themselves in. You’re lucky; it could have been embedded in your face. Or you could have died.”

“That’s super scary! Did you have to do it right now?”

“If we didn’t it would have overloaded and exploded. Soul bound artifacts tend to get a little excited when their users are around.” Paprika gulped.

“Might’ve helped to tell me beforehand. Either way, what does this thing do?”

“It stockpiles mana when you kill monsters. It can stock up to 100000 points of mana that you can use for whatever you want. This mana is transferable by the way, so it should be of great help to your friend there too. It’s also got a spell programmed into it. However, it changes from user to user so I don’t know what it is. It will come pretty naturally, if you wish to use it.”

“Wow, this thing is amazing! Did that guy also have this?” If he did it would explain the insane MP cost of his skills… “But will it always stay like this?”

“Yes, Roderick also had that. As for hiding it, you can will it to go away anytime you wish.” I say ‘disappear’ in my mind and the orb submerges under the skin, leaving no trace behind.

“That’s two questions answered. What about the other ones?”

“Those will take quite some time to answer…”

“Why don’t you explain it to us while taking us to the armory? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we don’t exactly have the best gear around.”

“We are glad to help. Ozen…” She nods.

“Follow me. I’ll explain everything on the way.” She opens the door where we came for and goes inside.

Now that I see it clearly, the view from the other side looks a bit distorted. So this is how a portal works.

We jump into the portal and before we know it we’re in a dimly lighted hallway.

“This way” Ozen motions to her right and we follow just behind her.

Something feels weird. Although her presence was always there since we first met, why does it seem extra heavy? Like she’s…

With lighting fast speed a punch comes out of nowhere as soon as we turn the corner. I see the punch coming for my teeth and duck just at the last second. My hair gets blown away by the wind pressure. Before I have time to recover, a knee comes from the dark. This time I’m not so lucky, as it hits me square in the stomach and sends me flying straight into the ceiling.

__________________________________

You have taken 99 damage!

WARNING: Health Critical!

____________________________________________

What even happened…? My head is a mess from the confusion and pain. I see Paprika getting kicked in the ribs and coughing blood before falling to the ground.

Ozen clicks her tongue as she looks at us with eyes akin to a demon. Her tall and slender figure now looks like nightmare fuel as her shadow seems to grow larger in the dimly-lighted hallway. She grabs my elbow and picks me up effortlessly, holding me with one hand.

“Dead already?” The disappointment is clear in her voice

“I’ve got more vitality than you think, bitch.” I throw a punch towards her face but she grabs it, yawning.

“So weak. You think you can face Corrazgus like this?” She suddenly moves to the side as a spear of ice misses her by an inch. I see Paprika with her hand up, ready to cast another one.

“Ho, pretty good. Was that measly punch from earlier just to distract me? Admirable effort but…” Paprika holds her hand up but nothing shoots out. Ozen throws me towards her.

“It’s not enough.” We stand in a pool of our blood as Ozen towers above us, more akin to a monster than anything I’d ever seen till that point. I try to get up but fall facefirst into the floor again. Damn, I can’t move a muscle.

“Weak, so, so weak. How is a bunch of useless garbage like you two to defeat a century-old demon? Are you after fame, glory? Do want to be a hero? Or maybe you little pieces of shit think you’re special.” Her face gets dangerously close to mine as she utters those words staring me down with eyes as black as death.

“Nah, nothing fancy like that. If I could cancel the quests, I would. I know they’re leagues above my abilities. However, this girl with personality defects lying half dead next to me constantly bothers me with it so if finally gave in.” Paprika chuckles when she hears that.

“At least I’m still half-living you living incarnation of stubbornness. If we’re talking about personality defects… you’re much more of a mess than I am.”

“No I’m not! What makes you say that?”

“Remember that time you got annihilated by a skeleton 6 times in a row and even though we could easily go around him you adamantly refused to do so? Yeah, or that time when…” A thundering laughter echoed through the hallway, interrupting Paprika.

Much to our surprise the one laughing hysterically was no-one but Ozen herself.

“Haha! Yo-you guys have guts, not even getting fazed in the face of death. You have much more mental fortitude that I gave you credit for. I hope you can hang onto it though.” She clutches her hands into a fist and vitality surges through my body again.

“Congratulations! You passed the test! I will now tell you everything I know, even though I don’t know why you want to know it. Here, this way. It’s the actual way to the armory” I immediately get up on my feet and so does Paprika.

“A test?!?! That was a test? You almost fucking killed us!” I think it was reasonable to be pissed in this situation.

“Ha, that’s precious.” Her expression grows heavier than usual, her eyes taking on a black tint again. “The monsters you two are going to face won’t almost kill you. No, they’re not as soft as I am.”

I can’t help but get goose bumps when looking into her eyes. However, I do not falter.

“I still think you’re fucking crazy.”

“Soon you might be too kid. Now, follow me, I have a lot of things to tell you.”

“Wait, what would have happened if we didn’t pass the test?” Paprika said while sorting out her dress which now featured a front cut done exclusively by Ozen the Psycho.

“You would have died of course.” Ozen says this in a matter-of-fact tone.

“The number of near-death encounter that we’re not even aware of is rising at an unsettling rate” Paprika murmurs.

“Tell me about it!” I murmur as I rub my skin to get rid of the goose bumps and chase after Ozen.

“There are 7 demon lords and the only one we know the location of is Corrazgus’. He is located deep in the Great Swamp. Any scouting party we sent in there was completely wiped out either by the numerous monsters that live in there or by the cultists themselves.”

“Hm, now that I think of it, why didn’t you go there? You seem to be crazy powerful! Why be a maid?”

“Such naivety! Boy, I’d die in seconds. Being a maid is family tradition so all I’m doing is following it.”

So this powerhouse would die within seconds? How powerful are these guys?

“Some of the demon lords surpassed even the King himself in power. Namely, Azazel and that bastard dragon Fenrir” says Ozen as if having read my mind.

“D…did you just say dragon?”

“Yes, the legendary Ice Dragon Fenrir. He could easily be called the most powerful being back when he was still in his prime.”

“But what happened to him?”

“We don’t know. That’s the problem. The majority of the demon lords just seemed to vanish into thin air. Azazel the Archduke of Hell, Corrazgus the Abomination, Anera the Seductress, The Emperor Leivathan Isaiah, Fenrir the Ice Dragon and Balder the Death Knight.”

“Such scary names! But… isn’t there 1 missing?”

“The last ‘demon lord’ huh” She chuckles. “Nobody knows if it is a demon lord at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“We called it “Servatis Umbra” for “observing shadow”.”

“That’s an odd name to choose. Why call him that?”

Ozen’s expression turned grave.

“Everywhere we went there was always a shadow chasing us. A pair of eyes shining in the darkness. And all they did was watch, and watch and watch without even blinking. We tried to catch it more than once but never succeeded. It was like the abyss itself was staring at us…”

Shivers suddenly run through my body. The dim hallway suddenly seems to get darker. Someone’s watching me. That unmistakable and uncomfortable feeling of someone staring at you takes over my body. I can feel someone breathing down my neck. A slow, deep and cold breath. I turn around out of reflex but I see nothing… the only things trailing after us are our shadows.

“What? Did you get spooked by my story, brat?

“T-tell me Ozen. Did that shadow resemble a tall, hooded figure by any chance?” Ozen’s eyes widened.

“How do you…”

“It was there when I first found my class. And there was something else I wanted to ask you… Do you have any idea why I found Roderick’s legacy and a glass totem in a cave just outside of Altair city? Or why a variation of abyss magic was linked to the class? I didn’t think about it much before but it’s been bothering me a bit lately. Why would my predecessor leave the spell that ruined his life to me with his class?” Ozen halted abruptly…

“Don’t tell me… Soul Burn…” Her eyes had a mortified look, like she was remembering something horrific.

“No, not that spell but a variation of it. It doesn’t matter much anyway... I wonder, why didn’t you ask me before how I found this class?”

“I don’t… I don’t know. I don’t know how Roderick found it either. He just found it along with Arkhalis. You have no idea how many times we tried to identify that monster sword to find some kind of information and failed.”

Paprika who had been eerily silent in this conversation finally spoke.

“Jack, didn’t your technique descriptions mention something about Roderick’s master? What about him?”

“Roderick didn’t have a master… he was self-taught” Ozen says, her face growing more mortified by the minute. Seeing this seemingly fearless and almighty individual basically shiver in fear was horrifying. The dim hallway boosted the uneasy feeling but nobody thought of moving. We were all too confused.

____________________________________________________________

Skill information updated!

You have corrected misinformation for one or more skill.

+500 fame added.

Wisdom increased by 30.

_____________________________________________________________

The annotation box snapped me out of my trance but when I read it, it left me more confused than I already was. I open up the skill window and tap all the techniques at once. A number of windows pop up.

“What happened?” Paprika said having seen the annotation box pop up.

“The descriptions have changed!”

“What are you two talking about?” Ozen asked.

“Nevermind that. Paprika, come take a look at this cause I don’t know what to think anymore.” Paprika rushes next to me immediately and reads the descriptions intently. She furrows her brow.

“How…”

“I don’t even know… The descriptions for Glass Sword, Health Burn, Reckless Charge, Endless Steps and Extreme Counter have all changed.”

______________________________________________________________

Swordsmanship (Intermediate, Level 2 | 20%)

Identification (Beginner, Level 5 | 11%)

First Aid (Beginner, Level 4 | 23%)

Extreme Counter (Beginner, Level 1 | 12%)

Extreme counter is a very dangerous skill developed by a nameless swordsman who died centuries ago. He never got the chance to see it perfected

He developed this skill accidentally when he found out that every swordsman creates a gap in their defenses when attacking, however small that gap is.

The danger in this skill stands that you must attack the enemy as he is swinging his weapon, which requires perfect reflexes. When this technique succeeds however, the damage delivered is catastrophically high.

+350% damage delivered.

Health Burn.

A forbidden skill that has been around for as long as time has existed and one of those that can never be fully erased and locked away.

It sucks up all the vitality in the user’s body and converts it into destructive power, leaving just enough vitality so the user doesn’t drop dead immediately. Nobody really knows where it came from, but those who are unfortunate enough to find it and foolish enough to use it are met with a slow, agonizing death. While more than 95% of the skill’s power is sealed in a place even the gods can’t find, some people have managed to use it to its full power before. Namely, Roderick de Azan, who with the help of someone managed to use it… at a cost.

Sunlight God Alanus, who having learned his lesson, sealed this spell along with any knowledge of abyss magic in a far off place even he has forgotten, in hopes it would never fall into human hands again. However, it looks like that effort was for naught…

5% of power is more than enough for this spell to be one of the most dangerous and utterly destructive forms of Abyss “magic”. If, somehow, by some freak accident the full power is unleashed, the user will have enough power to cut mountains in half with sheer wind pressure… at the cost of his soul being devoured and corrupted at a maddening rate by the pitch black Abyss.

Due to the technique’s demonic traits, every time it is used your demonic nature stat rises by 100. Every time this stat rises changes will occur to your character. If this stat ever reaches 1000, an irredeemable change will occur. Also, if any member of the clergy sees you using this skill, you will be branded a heretic.

Mana consumption: 5000.

Lowers HP to 0.1.

Drastically increases attack damage.

Mobility becomes limited when skill is in use.

If not healed within 5 minutes of skill activating you will die.

Demonic nature stat increases by 100 each time you use this skill.

This skill can only be used once every two weeks.

After usage user will get inflicted with serious debuffs due to the curse Alanus placed on this skill.

Glass Sword (Beginner, Level 1 | 0%)

A special skill developed by a battlemage and perfected by Roderick de Azan.

This skill, when activated, cuts the enemy by injecting mana into the edge of the blade in a way that is designed to maximize damage. However, doing this will break the sword in a way that it can’t be repaired. The damage this skill deals is directly related to the quality of the sword.

Mana Consumption: 1200

Reckless Charge (Comprehension, 0%)

A special sword technique developed by countless of people all of who perfected or added something to the technique. It involves 4 movements, all of which are attacks. They radiate with their respective creator’s personality and the personality of the countless others that fully mastered them. It is actually gravity magic what makes the insane movements of this technique doable.

As the comprehension of this technique rises you’ll be able to execute it faster and stronger.

The first movement involves keeping the sword horizontally and bringing it as close to your side as possible. Then you charge at the enemy and deliver a horizontal slash with all your body weight behind it.

Mana Consumption: 400

The second movement involves using the momentum from the first slash to spin around quickly and deliver an overhead diagonal slash.

Mana Consumption: 500

The third movement involves using the momentum again this time to spin around and deliver a strike from below.

Mana Consumption: 800

The fourth and final movement involves spinning around while turning the sword vertically, taking a step forward and thrusting right towards the opponent’s chest. If done correctly it should damage the enemy greatly.

Mana Consumption: 1000

Endless Steps (Comprehension, 0%)

A special movement technique developed and perfected by...

It was considered by many at the time as an impossible technique to perform due to its insane difficulty.

The technique revolves around dodging enemy attacks at the last second by quickly shifting your weight from one leg to another. Performing this technique correctly gives you a major advantage as you have more time to counter attack but nobody has been able to do so besides Roderick de Azan and...

This technique has no mana consumption.

_________________________________________________________

“I didn’t even know this was possible!”

“It is apparently. God damn, things just took a huge U turn.”

“Hmm, this is all very odd but we don’t have nearly enough information to decipher it.”

“You’re right. It’s way too enigmatic…”

“But, this is just another reason to pursue our quest. I have this feeling that if we do we’ll find more information very quickly.”

“You find this intriguing don’t you?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“Huuh, that insatiable curiosity or yours in a demon in it of itself. But you’re right. There’s nothing we can do… for now.”

“What are you two talking about?” says Ozen, confused.

“I’m sorry, you must be very confused. Let’s just say we found another clue to a mystery we didn’t even know existed. Now, let’s go to the armory shall we? We stopped for quite some time.”

“A mystery that you didn’t even know existed huh? That sounds like something he would say” she grins. “Come, the armory’s this way.” Ozen starts moving once again.

***

Amazing. That was the only word I could describe the royal armory with. It was a huge room locked by a safe door that contained seemingly endless equipment. Staves, knives, swords, armor, you name it were neatly organized across the huge room.

“You’re free to take whatever you wish,” says Ozen as she leans against the wall.

Paprika goes to the wizard staff section immediately and I go to the armor section. My sword is amazing but unfortunately my armor is not. I need something sturdy and strong, but also flexible so it doesn’t get in the way of my dodging.

I look at the countless armor sets, cycling through them quickly. They were all excellent but one set in particular caught my eye. The set was all black and it had tons of modifications on it. I decide to identify the armor.

______________________________________________________________________

Item: Black Leather Armor Set

Durability: 450/450

Defense: 75

A set of armor made using the skin of a dragon-like beast.

This set of armor has had many things added to it for those that need to be armed to the teeth to sleep at night.

Those modifications include:

20 throwing knives sheathes running through the breastplate.

The left glove is padded with leather for blunt damage while the right one laced with spikes and some metal as a last-resort weapon. They both have magnetic magic fused into them to help grip weapons better.

High capacity enchanted pouches sewed on the right hip and two sword sheaths on the left hip.

Padded shoulder guards for extra protection while not sacrificing mobility.

Dagger hostlers placed on the obliques.

There are two clips on the back that can hold longbows, staves and even axes. You can easily snap the weapon out of the clips with no difficulty.

A high-capacity arrow quiver in the back.

It also has an integrated cloak that is designed in such a way that it provides maximum secrecy while not blocking the drawing of weapons from the back.

Since the leather used is so flexible the armor also covers the neck for added protection.

While all these modifications are great and the armor durable and flexible at the same time, it doesn’t offer much on the way of defense against heavier attacks. It can be worn by anyone, but if the user plans to get packed, the weight should be considered.

Requirements:

None.

Equipped:

+20% Damage with all types of weapons (Full set).

___________________________________________________________________________________

Amazing… weight, fortunately, is the last thing on my mind and that 20% damage boost in invaluable to me. I take the armor off the rack and equip it immediately. It felt very comfortable on the skin but that might be because I have been wearing super tight clothing for the last hour.

I move around to test the armor a bit. My neck in particular feels very comfortable. The neckpiece isn’t too tight or too loose. Yes, this is perfect. Now, let’s see. So I can hold 2 daggers, 2 swords, throwing knives, consumables, a bow, a staff and/or axe. Holy shit, that’s way too much stuff! Well, I have a feeling I’m going to need all of those things and more. I go over to the swords section.

Now, what would swamp monsters have a weakness to? Monster weaknesses were very important due to some having such high defense, physical attacks just bounced off them. With my attack power this would probably be compromised but it was still not worth the risk. The first weakness that comes to mind is of course, fire! But then again, there is water in there too so I wonder if it’s going to nullify the purpose. No, but the other elements don’t make any sense. What am I going to do with wind, water or even worse, earth? Although dumping a huge boulder on a monster’s head is guaranteed to turn them into bloody mud, it’s just nonsensical. Therefore, I examine the swords until I find one with a fire enchantment. It was a normal steel longsword but the enchantment was pretty powerful. I take the sword and sheath it. A perfect fit.

Now, for the second sword I look around for the most finely made and most expensive looking sword. This one I plan to use if shit really hits the fan. What I’m talking about is of course, ‘Glass Sword’. Since the damage depends on the quality I might as well find the most finely made sword. After a while of digging around in the armory I finally found a sword that fit my needs. A long and beautiful blade, it was more like a piece of art. Yeah, this will do just fine. I feel kinda bad, knowing this sword is more than likely to break. I sheathe the sword just as someone calls me.

“Hey, Jack! Come look at this!” It was Paprika’s voice. She was waving at me from the other side of the room. I walk towards her. I didn’t notice from the other side of the room but what’s up with that gigantic hat on her head? And her robes look like a cultist’s! A red scarf and a traditional red belt that contrasted openly with the pitch black costume. Damn, she looks creepy!

“Hey, Ja… Holy… Are you getting ready to fight a dragon? You look creepy!”

“Who knows? Where we’re going, we might have to. And the only one looking creepy in here is you. What’s up with those robes? And how can you even see with that hat on?”

“What are you talking about? Don’t these look cool? And they give really nice bonuses too. Look at this staff I found. It has 3 magic spells engraved on it!” The staff had an ash-like color. It was a straight stick with a crooked top that looked like a triangle. There were tons on tiny engravings all over it, and it had some decorations tied to it.

“3 spells! That’s insane! Anyway, I feel we’re getting off topic here. Why did you call me over?”

‘Oh yeah, that. Well, I just want you to look at this.” I hadn’t noticed it before but at her feet was a chest.

She opens the chest.

“Oh my god.”

“I know right?”

The chest was full of spell tomes. It was like a wizard’s wet dream!

“It takes time to learn spells from spell tomes though. You should bring a few good ones with you, but don’t overdo it.” It could take anywhere from 1 minute to 5 days of reading the book if you wanted to learn the spell. This depended on your wisdom and intelligence stat and the ranking of the spell. If the spell was expert rank for example you would need a certain wisdom and intelligence stat to even start reading it, not to mention the gazillion other variables like if the spell was an advancement of a spell you already had. Reasons like these were why people didn’t pick magic classes that much. Nobody wants to sit and read when there’s a whole world to explore! The spells you got from reading were phenomenal however and many of the veteran mages’ spells were from spell books.

“Ok, which should I pick? Help me out a bit.” I cycle through the books, identifying each of them.

“Mmm, they’re all good but a bit too advanced for your level. By the way, what spells do you have on that staff?”

“Oh, here I have “Whirlwind”. I can summon a really powerful gust of wind basically. Also, there’s “System Shock” and “Icicle”. System Shock is lighting magic that has a chance to fry the opponent from inside out and Icicle, well, it’s pretty self-explanatory.”

“Hm, those are very nice spells. You picked a good staff; maybe you’re finally getting some game sense in that brain of yours.” I hand her three spell books. “Here, you have a lot of offensive spells but you don’t have any defensive or support spells. It’s better to have a balance repertoire. Especially for elemental wizards like you, not having support spells can be catastrophic”

The books I gave her should be within her wisdom and intelligence stat. The spells were “Stone Wall” which raised a huge wall where the caster wanted. A lot of pro mages used that spell for tactical retreats. The next one was “Sprint” in case we needed to run. It raised the speed of the caster and the people in her party by 30% for a short time.

“Hey, Stone Wall and Sprint I understand… But what’s with this bizarre spell? ‘Spell Charging’? What’s up with that?”

“It’s a very powerful passive skill. It allows you to charge spells up until your mana runs out. It can be used to unleash spells of impossible proportions. Trust me.” Nikoraas used to use this all the time. Damn, his fire magic was devastating at the time. I wonder how much he’s improved since.

“Hey, Jack what do you think of these new things we discovered? The ‘someone’ that gave Roderick the Abyss Magic is obviously that shadow guy right?”

“I don’t know about that really…”

“What do you mean?”

“We might be suffering from cum hoc ergo propter hoc.”

“What is cu… Oh you dirty…!” I sigh.

“Get your head out of the gutter dumbass. It’s latin for ‘with this, therefore because of this’. Basically what I’m trying to say is that if the misinformation box popup is event y and Ozen talking about that Servatis umbra is event X, we think that x is correlated to event y because they happened chronologically. That, however, is not correct. I don’t know what triggered the information correction but there’s probably some kind of threshold of information you need to gather before it changes. That doesn’t mean the Umbra however, is the guy who gave Roderick abyss magic. It can be anyone. We don’t really have the information to know who though.”

“I get what you’re trying to say but… how do you know this exactly?”

“My dad’s a psychologist so I was really into that stuff. I was so obsessed at one time; I read all of my father’s college books. I’m really not proud of that period of my life.”

“You read psychology books?”

“Is there something wrong with that? It’s pretty interesting.”

“Just saying, people don’t normally read psychology books. You know, it’s just a tiny bit odd. I didn’t know you even liked to read. When we were looking for info on Corrazgus, you looked like you were going to pass out.”

“Yeah, that’s because most of them were historic manuals. Most people would get bored really quick.”

“That’s odd. They were super interesting!”

“I feel we’re getting off track here a bit.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right. But don’t you find this exciting? A new mystery to solve.”

I chuckle ruefully. Paprika stops talking and looks at me.

“Is there something wrong?” And her sixth sense strikes again.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I’m just fine.” She looks me in the eye. I didn’t notice it before but her eyes were ashen grey.

“Nice try.”

“Well, to be honest, I know that it’s just a game but… when I fought that gargoyle, you have no idea how scared I was. Thinking back at it, it sends shivers down my spine. Going to a place full of those monsters… I’m fucking terrified.”

“Hey, didn’t you say yourself that VRMMORPG’s are basically reality? It’s perfectly normal to be scared of monsters! I bet other players are too! In fact, I’m a bit scared as well. So, you’re not alone. I’m gonna be right there, shivering as well.” Was she trying to… cheer me up?

“Wow, thanks. That really makes me feel better.” I say sarcastically.

“Hey, I’m trying!”

“Oh, well. I need to stock up so I’ll get going.” She was right. I shouldn’t be scared. Even if the monsters are much higher level, we both boast some pretty destructive firepower. After 2 weeks of grinding, I was level 145 and she was catching up at level 107.

“Yeah, okay.”

I walk away from her. If I was alone right now, I’d just force myself to overcome my fear, saying ‘this is the road I chose so I’m going to stick to it’. But having someone to watch your back sure is nice. It’s almost like back then…

***

“Water, check! Food, check! Spare consumables, check! Yep, we’re all good.” Paprika just finished checking all our supplies.

I hook my sword to the chain hanging on my back. I was all set as well. Swords, ready. Bow and arrows, ready. Wooden staff, ready. Daggers, ready. Mini-bombs, all stocked up. Throwing knives, also all stocked up.

“Yeah, we’re golden.” I open up the map that Ozen gave me. It was a detailed map of the whole continent, handmade by expert tailors and geographers. “Well, the fastest way to the swamp is through the Sun Plain. That’s southwest of here.”

Paprika mounts her horse. It was a very windy day, so her enormous hat almost flew off.

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

Heh, so enthusiastic. I put the map in my inventory and get on my horse as well.

“Have a safe trip.” Ozen greeted us coldly.

“Farewell, Ozen.”

We embarked on our journey that windy morning. That day was a very important day. It was the day that we embarked towards our first real challenge.

It was also the day that King Elliot the VI, Elliot the Kind, got assassinated during his daughter’s birthday. That day marked the beginning of a war.