Chapter 184: Words of Wisdom

Aegis walked through the townsquare of Rene on his own, taking in the sight of the many players haggling with each other over trading goods. There were several market stalls set up by other players selling their crafts, but also many NPCs.

Gathered around his fountain he heard shouts of players looking to trade, or recruit party members for quests and dungeons, and even some people advertising their streams and encouraging people to watch them play. It was incredibly lively, and the negative attitude held by the NPCs that were making their way into the townhall was not present in any way whatsoever.

Once through the townsquare, he found himself in the doorway of Erikson’s tavern and walked inside. It was just as lively, with barely an empty chair in the place. Two bards were on the stage doing a miniature competition with one another, and most of the patrons were looking up and paying attention to it. One of the bards was playing his instruments incredibly seriously, while the other was goofing off and winning the crowd over by getting them to laugh. Mugs of ale were in the air and many people were cheering and shouting up at them.

The attention on the bards made it easy for Aegis to slip across the tavern floor towards the bar on the farside where Erikson was busy handling orders, using the kegs behind the bar to fill up pints and mugs skillfully and sending them out with the barmaids. It wasn’t until Aegis had made his way all the way to the bar and sat on an empty stool that Erikson had even noticed him.

“Oh, hey there, Lord of Rene. I see you’ve caught up in levels pretty damn quick.” Erikson grinned as he stopped what he was doing to lean over the bar in front of Aegis, eying his level and name above his head.

“Yeah, we’ve been busy.” Aegis smiled.

“What can I get for you, need a drink?”

“Uh, just water I guess. Came to talk with you and Luryala.”

“Oh, yeah. You’ve managed to finish her quest, right? We were all watching your boss fight here on our livestream viewers, it was a big viewer event. Shame how it ended, real nailbiter.” Erikson said as he moved his hands around behind the bar to pull up a glass and filled it with crystal clear water, then slid it forward to Aegis.

“So everyone saw me failing?” Aegis replied shamefully as he glanced back at the crowds of patrons still looking towards the bards on the stage.

“Nah, not failing. They saw you going all out with everything you had and not giving up.” Erikson winked at him before fidgeting with his interface. “Josephine said she’s sending Luryala over, should be here in a few minutes.” He said after he’d finished working with his interface and waved it away. “What’d you need to talk with me about?”

“The NPCs, they’ve been causing some issues with Savika lately. Wondering if you’ve noticed anything…” Aegis asked him.

“Nah. I mean, I’ve noticed them getting uppity, but, everyone’s noticed that. It’s happening all over the island.” Erikson shrugged.

“Any idea what might cause it?”

“The going theory that’s been spreading around is that it’s because we’ve mixed two kingdoms together, and the AI doesn’t like it, but…”

“But you don’t think that’s the reason?” Aegis asked with a raised brow as he took a sip of water.

“No, that’s not it. It could very well be the reason, it’s just, I wouldn’t say that to you.” Erikson shrugged.

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” He leaned forward and looked seriously at Aegis. “Me and Josephine are big fans of the stream, we’ve been watching since you saved Arallia. And, when you went in to do that Hrath’mir quest, what do you think I, or most of these people would’ve told you about that quest?” Erikson asked.

“I don’t know… seems ridiculous, maybe?”

“Yeah. What would we have all told you about going for that shattered healer class, leveling up all those skills in the first place with pacifism active?”

“I don’t know…” Aegis looked at him confused, unsure of what he was getting at.

“We, most players would’ve told you that you were stupid, wasting your time. A class like that wouldn’t exist, a quest like that is unbeatable. But you came into this game with no preconceptions of how games work and just did your own thing, and look how far it got you.” Erikson paused to tilt his head to the side knowingly, but Aegis still looked back at him with a look of confusion.

“Look, my point is, you should stick with that. With your instinct. I’ve been watching you lately - the higher level you’ve gotten, the less confident you’ve been in yourself, and you’ve begun to adopt the more standard MMORPG gameplay flow. But what you were doing by yourself, in your own way, is the reason you managed to get this far up on top. You shouldn’t be asking other people what they think is going on, or how to do quests. You should be trusting yourself. You’re near the top of the mountain now, that means, as you put it, there’s no more shoulders left to stand on. You shouldn’t be asking us what’s going on, or how to do things anymore - we should be asking you.”

“So basically, you’re saying I should trust my instincts and think about this NPC problem on my own?”

“Exactly.” Erikson snapped his fingers into the shape of his index pointing at Aegis, then gave him a nod. “All these hardcore MMORPG players like to pretend they are experts, and will backseat game you to the ends of the earth if you let them. But the reality is, none of them discovered the shattered healer class, you did. None of them beat the Hrath’mir quest in under two days. Not even those priests that Makaroth and Feng brought over could do it - following your clips of completing the quest for guidance, they still took longer than you to beat it… And. none of them unlocked the mithral proficiencies…" Eriskon threw him a wink, "and, well, you get the point. Don’t listen to any of them. Not even me. If you think you’ve got the answer, trust yourself.” Erikson said before looking up and nodding towards the entrance of the tavern, causing Aegis to turn and see Luryala stepping inside and walking towards him excitedly with a big smile on her face.

“There’s your quest giver. I’ll leave you two to it.” Erikson finished.

“Ah, wait.” Aegis turned to stop him from walking away to another patron. “Thanks.” Aegis said with a smile.

“No problem.” Erikson smiled back with a nod before turning to tend to the other patrons. Luryala quickly made her way across the tavern floor and took a seat on the stool beside Aegis, looking at him eagerly.

“I’ve heard the news from the others. You have saved the City of the White Tree and defeated the Tyrant?” Luryala asked him hopefully.

“I… yeah, I guess I did…” Aegis replied reluctantly.

“And what of my tribe, are they alive, living within the city?” She asked.

“Yeah, I suppose so. The city is under new rule and should be undergoing some positive changes in the future. They’ll also be able to travel between the Dark Elf city, Rene, and Kordas, allowing your people much more freedom.” Aegis explained.

“That is wonderful.” She smiled with tears swelling up in her eyes. “Here, please take this. It’s a family heirloom passed down to me by my grandfather, the leader of our tribe. It was to protect me on my deadly journey through the underrealm, but thanks to you I never needed to use it. I hope you can make use of it and continue to do good for the people of this island.” Luryala explained as she pulled out a simple golden ring with a clear cut diamond encrusted on the top of it.

Quest Complete!

Name: Ring of Hope

Slot: Finger

Type: Ring

Quality: 87%

Durability: 1/1

Requirements: Level 10

Option 1: When the wearer of this ring is killed, they will be given the option to activate this ring’s effect and revive instantly at the nearest graveyard. Once the ring has been used in this way, it will be destroyed and cannot be repaired.

Description: A simple golden ring enchanted with a powerful diamond of life bringing, passed down by generations of Dark Elves to protect their leaders from the evils of the underrealm.

“Whoa, this… This is very powerful. Are you sure?” Aegis eyed it, reading the item card carefully before looking back up into Luryala’s eyes.

“Yes, I am positive.” She nodded back at him. Aegis took the ring from her hand and didn’t hesitate to equip it on himself, inspecting the ring on his ring finger on the hand opposite to the one he wore his marriage ring on.

“Thank you very much.” Aegis bowed respectfully to her.

“No problem. I know you will use it to continue to save many more people like me.” She smiled before bowing and stepping down from the stool. “Goodbye for now, and take care.” She said before turning and leaving the tavern. Aegis finished his glass of water while admiring the ring, thinking of potential uses, until finally hopping off the stool and making his way out of the tavern.

He found himself standing in front of the tavern for a moment, looking over the various NPCs and players that were walking about, and his mind wandered back to the issue at hand.

“Trust my instincts, stop listening to what everyone else is saying…” Aegis mumbled to himself, and found his eyes wandering over towards the mountain in the north, with the monastery just visible on the side of the mountain, peeking up over the walls that surrounded Rene. His instincts were telling him to get him more information, so that is what he intended to do. With purpose in his step, he began walking hastily in the direction of the monastery.

He made his way out through the northern gates and followed the winding trail up the mountain until he arrived at the open gate of the Monastery of the Stars. Inside he saw the beautiful garden filled with clerics, priests, and apostles all donning the symbol of Eirene as they walked about gracefully.

Immediately upon stepping through the threshold and entering the gardens, he felt at peace. It’d been a long time since he’d seen so many like-minded individuals, or at least that was the first thought that entered his mind. Here, he didn’t need to worry about any evil or deception or darkness, only peace and love.

He surprised himself by how excited and relaxed he’d become just by stepping into the garden of Eirene’s monastery, and quickly tried to shake it off as embarrassment fell over him. He’d never thought himself as someone who would so easily get immersed in the game in this way, and he wasn’t exactly accepting of it. After he’d shaken it off, he briefly glanced up to his livestream counter and saw the viewership holding steady at 100,000. He found himself hoping that no one noticed the peaceful smile that he’d had when he entered the garden, and began strutting hastily along the stone pathways that he’d created many months ago in order to reach the building’s main entrance.

Once inside, he looked straight ahead through the main hall and saw Clara speaking with another Eirene priest player, but the moment the two locked eyes, she looked at him, smiled, and hastily walked towards him.

“Aegis, it has been such a long time since we’ve last spoken. How are you doing?” Clara asked him.

“I’m doing alright…” Aegis shrugged.

“You have become much stronger. Eirene has had things she wished to teach you about her light, I’ve been waiting for you to return so that I could share her words with you.” Clara said excitedly.

“Really? Teach me?” Aegis looked at her with surprise.

“Yes. As a Shattered Healer grows in strength, so must their connection with Eirene. She may empower your magic now, so that you may better aid those who need her light.” Clara nodded, and promptly sent out two quests to Aegis. Both of the quests were identical, instant completion quests that granted him new skills. One had a level requirement of 90, the other had a level requirement of 125. He’d only needed to hit the accept, then complete buttons, and the skills were granted.

Light’s Reach - Passive

Required Deity: Eirene

Your skills that target allies with healing or beneficial magic can now be cast on them as long as you can see them, and they are within 15m.

Skills Affected: Cleanse, Heal, Bless

Requirements: Level 90

Holy Mastery(Intermediate) - Passive: Level 1

Required Deity: Eirene

Holy spells cast by you can be divided to target multiple allies or enemies. Forcing your magic to hit multiple targets will reduce the effectiveness of the spell. Cast effectiveness reduction decreases, and the number of targets possible increases, with this skills level.

Targets Possible: 2 [3 at Level 50, 4 at Level 100, 5 at Level 150]

Spell Effectiveness Reduction: 60% [-.20 per level]

Skills Affected: Cleanse, Heal, Bless, Smite, Healing Wind

Requirements: Level 125

“Whoa…” Aegis’ eyes went wide with excitement as he read over the skills. His first thought was whether or not other people would learn about them as well, so quickly went into the game database to look up Shattered Healer. Sure enough, the entry was devoid of any information on these two skills. This caused Aegis to close out of his database interface and rub his hands together excitedly.

“No other cleric or priest class has skills like this, huh?” Aegis pondered out loud.

“These techniques are granted by Eirene solely to those who follow in her footsteps.” Clara smiled, watching as Aegis looked around the hall and spotted two level 15 Priest NPCs walking side by side, chatting with one another.

He couldn’t resist the urge, and immediately snapped his fingers to cast heal on them. It worked, he was able to target them with his heal despite being so far away, but he struggled to control the spell and split it to target both of them. Upon one of them receiving the healing, the NPCs stopped walking and both looked at him confused.

“He is practicing his healing magic…” Clara said apologetically to the two Priest NPCs who bowed back awkwardly.

“I couldn’t split it…” Aegis looked at Clara confused.

“It will likely take some practice for you to get the hang of it. Manipulating magic is no easy task, not even for the most skilled of wizards.” Clara explained with a smile.

“Tell that to my mom…” Aegis rolled his eyes back at her. “By the way, there are some other things I’d like to discuss with you…”

“Oh?” Clara replied with interest.

“Firstly… While I was in the underrealm, I was ambushed by a group of Dark Elves. I reacted by defending myself with my shield, and struck one of them once. I afterwards learned from my mistake. I was hoping that Eirene would forgive me for this transgression.” Aegis explained.

“Ah, yes, I see. Give me one moment.” Clara said, then suddenly reached forward and clasped her hands around Aegis’ and closed her eyes. It went silent for a moment, and Aegis felt a bit awkward just staring back at her, so decided to close his eyes as well.

“Yes, Eirene watched over your actions, and has decided that such a transgression should not be forgiven. You must not resort to violence unless absolutely necessary, no matter how afraid you are. It must always be the last resort. Only bad things come from violence.” Clara said before releasing his hands.

“Really…” Aegis grumbled back while pulling his lips to the side, then let out a huff of air.

“What was the other thing you wished to discuss?” Clara asked, unphased by his suddenly grumpy mood.

“It’s about the Arallians and the Kalmoorians. They’ve not been getting along, Do you have any insight into why? I’ve noticed everyone up here in the monastery seems to be fine.” Aegis asked.

“Ah… yes. Eirene has been worried. She is concerned that if their unhappiness continues, it will become fuel for darkness to spread throughout this land. But I am unsure of what is causing this behavior.”

“Hm…” Aegis scratched his chin as he pondered her words.

“I apologize I cannot be of more help.” Clara saw his look of deep thought.

“No, it’s fine. You’ve helped plenty.” Aegis gave her a nod. “We’ll be trying a few things over the next weeks to try and improve their moods, so hopefully things will start to fix themselves. Trial and error it is, I guess…” Aegis shrugged reluctantly. “Thanks for everything. I should go, I have lots to do.” Aegis bowed politely to her, causing her to bow back.

“Of course. You are welcome here anytime. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.” Clara replied respectfully, and with that, Aegis made his way back out of the monastery and headed down the trail towards Rene.

“Trust my instincts… but, what instinct?” Aegis grumbled frustratedly to himself as he closed in on the city’s walls. He found himself getting more and more annoyed by the game’s AI itself, rather than what could possibly be making them act like this. Once back within the city, he headed straight for the town hall where he saw the line formed of grumpy NPCs. It appeared to have gotten longer since he'd last seen it, and many of them made uncomfortable grunting sounds in his direction as he approached. A few seconds after he'd stood around staring at them, Chax stepped out of the hall.

"Yuki's been turning them down, but, they just go back to the end of the line and try again. It's not helping at all." Chax explained to Aegis as he moved to stand beside him.

"No... it wouldn't. They're not elite NPCs to begin with. I studied how NPCs in this game work. A non-elite NPC has no personality traits, nothing that would make them abruptly show hatred towards other NPCs on their own." Aegis thought out loud as suddenly his face became very serious. "Trust my instincts..." Aegis took a deep breath, then raised his hands into the air. "AURA OF LIGHT!" He shouted out, releasing a burst of light outward from himself in the shape of a dome. The aura quickly encapsulated all of the NPCs in front of the townhall, and in the nearby structures.

In the instant that the aura effected them, the facial expressions on the NPCs changed from grumpy, to neutral. They quickly began dispersing, leaving the line and heading back into the town of Rene as if suddenly forgetting why they'd lined up to begin with.

"What the hell?" Chax said with disbelief as he saw it happening.

"Yeah. My instincts were right. This has got nothing to do with Kalmoore and Arallia. Someone, or something, is making the NPCs act like this." Aegis clenched his fists.