Chapter 7: Hitting the levels hard and my first dungeon

I still have plenty of time and energy to spend. The grey and green mobs will be easy to take care of thanks to my stats. I think until I reach level 10 I wont even have to use a skill on them. I will get decreased exp now that I am the same level as them. I will have to kill a lot of the beasts and animals in the special zone. Now is the perfect time to do so. I leave the house and look around the immediate area and there are no more monsters. I did kill a lot to get the essences, I head to the next clearing about a mile deep and I come across plenty of mobs and monsters. I read a system notification that I ignored earlier.

[You are the first player to reach level 5]

[You will get a unique quest to clear a dungeon]

[Do you wish to accept? Y/N]

I immediately think yes and I bring up the new quest so I can see what the objectives are. The original person who did this didn't leave any instructions behind, not even the name or location of the dungeon.

[Clear the dungeon, Devils Willow]

[Objective 1: Go to the dungeon location]

[Objective 2: Find and kill the dungeon boss]

[+10,000 exp]

[Complete set of dungeon gear]

Looking at these rewards the one that excites me the most is the set of dungeon gear. I know what comes after this. This also happened when the first player reached level 5. Its to bad I cant deny it permission to announce this.

[World-wide Announcement: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael is the first one to reach level 5! He will receive a unique dungeon quest and rewards!]

The announcement rings out and I don't really know how most people will react to this. In a couple days they will all learn better leveling strategies and the gap will close fast. It really is a priority for me to be the highest level so I can keep getting rewards and missions to make up for the half leveling speed.

The dungeon Devils Willow is in the dead part of the dark forest. The lore stated that the forest once belonged to the fairies. The fairies were peaceful creatures with incredible healing magic. When the dark ones waged the first war they attacked the fairies in an attempt to destroy the church of lights healing division. An Arch-Demon by the name Mammon, cursed the Willow tree that gave birth to the fairies. Soon the curse spread into the kingdom of the fairies and they all perished from the curse.

The war was thousands of years ago, and the war between light and dark was stopped by the Almighty Father. He casted the dark ones into the underworld and locked them away. He took his sons and people into the overworld or heaven and the empty space where the war was fought was renamed Gaia. Gaia is the true name of Ancients World, players will learn this in about 2 years.

This dungeon is very important to the lore of the war and the fairies kingdom. I wonder why I received this specific dungeon. There was a feature in the game that quests may be based on your class and current stat power. The system is giving me something that is tailored to my class and me.

I know where the dungeon is and its about 7 miles south east. I will end up closer to the city, but not by much. It took me 4 hours to reach this place which was 10 miles and some change. So its going to be 1 or 2 in the afternoon in the real world, that means I have plenty of time to get to the dungeon and clear it. My health and mana are fully recharged now.

I head to the dark forest south east of my location and I come across a barrier. It is blocking my entrance to the dark forest and the dead part of it. After I touch the barrier I get scanned with magic by the wall. The barrier shakes for a little bit and opens a little hole for me. I walk through it and it closes behind me. I look around the dark forest and I feel the dangerous and powerful monsters in my way to the dungeons entrance. All of them are elites and strong enemies, this is a great opportunity to level up my slash skill. Protected by heaven still has 7 hours till cooldown is lifted which is risky. My heavens light is ready for action though.

I spend about an hour fighting my way through monsters and demons, I don't get any player level exp for some strange reason. My slayer of evil perk is working wonderfully right now. My skill slash went up to level 5 and its half way to 6. I finally make it to the giant willow tree and I can see the entrance to the dungeon. I walk up to it and put my hand on the barrier keeping things out.

[You are about to enter a dungeon alone]

[Do you wish to continue? Y/N]

I think yes since I came all this way anyways. Dungeons work differently in Ancients World than other games. They have different mechanics considering the lore about the location. Sometimes a dungeon may not have any monsters and others may be packed with them. I then get a weird alert from the system

[You angelic blood and power is angering the demon guardian in this dungeon]

[He will not let you leave alive]

[Sub-Quest: Lift the curse of the dead willow tree]

[Description: Use your angelic powers to revive the willow tree]

So this is why I was given this quest. It wants me to lift the curse and free the kingdom of the fairies. What worries me is the demon guardian. They are two ranks lower than a greater demon, and they have incredible fighting capabilities. They don't use offensive magic like Elementals do, they are like warriors or knights.

I don't sense any enemies nearby, all I can sense is the hatred and fury of the demon guardian. I follow the path since this is the only one I have and I eventually reach a room that has a giant wooden stalactite coming from the top of the room. The lore stated that this is the chamber where fairies would be born. When I enter I feel the incredible energy of the demon guardian.

I hear heavy footsteps come out a room in the back, that must have been the nursery for the newly born fairies. He must have stayed there to feed off the corrupted energy from the curse afflicting the newborn's. He looks at me with his goat eyes and he looks like a true demon. His feet are hooves and his body is covered in fur.

[Demon Guardian Krel'wis Lvl.5 dungeon boss]

50,000/50,000 HP

Talk about powerful, dungeon bosses are much stronger than bosses you find in quests and in the wild. This is an actual demon and not a subspecies like the Elemental, he has a higher life rating than every player playing right now. I am the only one that has a higher life rating than him. "A little angel has step-foot in my masters trophy." He sounds demonic and evil, not a sense of good in this creature. "You will make a great meal after my master corrupts your body." Demons use corruption on light aligned creatures and devour them for more power.

I draw my iron sword and I cant help worrying about its durability. It should last this fight, but it is low. Instead of speaking I engage him in combat and he is already attacking with strong skills. I dodge them well, but I haven't got an opening to use any of my abilities yet. He pulls back and has a stamina debuff. Looks like he wore himself out trying to hit me. It wont last long so I should do damage while I can. With the +35 increase to strength my damage is now 1900. Combine that with slash I get 3325 damage every swing

-3325

-3325

-3325

I Knock out almost a fifth of his health in one slash combo. His debuff will be ending soon and he will be able to dodge and parry soon.

-3325

-3325

-3325

[Demon Guardian Krel'wis Lvl.5 dungeon boss]

30,050/50,000 HP

I hit him hard with my slash attacks and he is not looking happy about it. He leaves his debuff state and attacks me. I have 1240 health with the adjusted ratings from strength and endurance. He almost catches me with his downwards strike, but I dodged it. He uses his momentum to head butt me.

-600

[You are stunned for 3 seconds]

I fly against the the wooden wall and make an indent, there is a lot of space between us so my stun lock lifts before his slow body reaches me. He is very large at almost 9 feet tall so he isn't as fast as I am. They say speed kills for a reason.

Now that I have some distance and I can move again I cast heavens light for the 250% to 350% damage buff. Put the minimal 250% onto the 3325 I get when using slash I can do at least 8312.5 damage. This time I am going for vital areas and hitting for 100% criticals.

-8,312.5

-8312.5

[You have caused bleeding damage]

[Target will lose 100 health every second unless stopped]

-14962.5 Critical!

+2000 exp

+400 slash mastery

+75 heavens light mastery

[You have leveled up]

[Heavens light has leveled up]

[Slash has leveled up]

The last strike I hit was 350% percent boosted by a 100% critical. I watch him fall to the ground dead bleeding from all the open wounds. He knocked out a lot of health with a single headbutt, I have 640 health left after this fight. I'm also level 6 now with that last little bit of 2000 exp. I check my new stat board.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.6]

[Exp: 1060/8000]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden),+1 more]

[Stats]

[Strength - 155]

[Endurance - 155]

[Dexterity - 160]

[Speed - 155]

[Focus - 155]

[Mana: 400/1550]

[Health: 1240/1240]

[Stat Points: 40 unspent]

[Inventory]

[Skills]

I am going to be leveling up a lot now. I didn't think this would be so good. I continue to read the system notifications.

[You have killed the dungeon boss Krel'wis]

[10,000 exp rewarded]

[Hardened Sap of the Willow tree armor set rewarded]

[You have leveled up]

This is an incredible loot bonus. Hardened sap with fairy imbued magic to increase armor rating is incredible. The armor in Ancients World comes in 5 pieces. Head, Wrists, chest, legs and feet. This armor has the weight of light armor but the values of medium armor.

[This armor will level with you till level 25]

[Hardened sap helmet - +40 armor rating]

[Hardened sap chest piece - +120 armor rating]

[Hardened sap Wrist gauntlet's - +40 armor rating]

[Hardened sap leggings - +80 armor rating]

[Hardened sap boots - +40 armor rating.]

[Total armor value - 320]

This is way better than the measly 25 armor that Lvl.1 leather armor provides. You can also hide your armor in Ancients World, I use the looks of complete leather armor and paste it on the sap armor. Now I wont stick out. Now it's time for the headache.

[World-wide Announcement: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael has cleared the dungeon Devils Willow!]

The announcement rang throughout the world and guilds were trying to find the location of Devils Willow because that is where Cera is. They don't have access to it because they aren't level 5 yet and nobody has gone this deep into the wilds.

I look at the dead body of the demon guardian and notice a skill book and a black stone. I take the skill book and I can see that is a useful skill called parry. This will help me in all future fights with mobs of my size or smaller, so I absorb it. I pick up the black stone and I get a notification from the system.

[Parry has been learned]

[Description: You can block 3 blade skills in a row without taking any damage.]

[You have picked up the sub-quest item]

[Purifying this cursed drop of the fairies tear will lift the curse]

[You need a holy priest to cleanse this]

[You can bypass this process by using your divine power]

[Do you wish to purify the drop of fairies tear? Y/N]

I think yes and a golden light shines within my body and transfers into it. It goes from black to white gold.

[You have purified the drop of fairies tear]

[Take this to the alter under the heart of the willow tree]

The alter must be the table under the long wooden stalactite. That means that wooden stalactite is the heart of the willow tree. I walk over and place it on the alter and it begins to glow. I get another system prompt that will complete this quest.

[The willow tree wishes to use your angelic powers to revive itself]

[Do you want to lend it your power? Y/N]

I immediately think yes and my power is quickly drained and I am overcome with exhaustion as I sit down so I don't pass out.

[You are fatigued for using a lot of your power]

[Movement and speed debuff for 12 hours]

[Sub-quest competed]

[+20,000 reputation with the new fairies kingdom]

[The fairies will go to war for you if you ask them]

[The fairies will help hide your identity if people come asking]

[The Holy Willow Tree wants to give you a reward]

[Do you accept? Y/N]

I think yes and a new perk is added to my perk list.

[Holy Willow Trees savior - Passive]

[Description: You have saved the Holy Willow Tree and the kingdom of the fairies. 150% permanent healing rate boost.]

This is a powerful perk, might be my favorite one now. This never happened in the future, and by reading this the fairies will be returning to Ancients World. I don't get any exp rewards since it gave a huge reputation bonus and a new perk. I have never seen such a big reputation boost before. Now another system announcement happens.

[World-wide Announcement: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael has revived the Holy Willow Tree in the fairies kingdom! Fairies will be returning to this world for the first time in 3000 years! Players will be able to do quests and build a relationship with the fairies new kingdom once they reach level 75!]

[World-wide Announcement: The dungeon Devils Willow has been permanently removed from the world!]

[World Mission Announcement: The church of light wants any information regarding The Son of Arch-Angel Michael. They have increased their rewards!]

[World Mission Announcement: The church of the darks ones want any information regarding The Son of Arch-Angel Michael. They have increased their rewards!]

The announcements repeat for a 1 minute and 30 seconds. This will cause even more people to search for me. Unknown to Cera is that the forums are being blown up by the biggest guilds giving cash rewards for valuable information. Cera doesn't know that he has become the single most important mission to the players of Ancients world.

Thinking about it I should try my hardest to stay hidden. The first post-launch press conference will be next week. There will probably be tons of questions about the revival of the fairies and my involvement with them. I think now is a good time to check my stats.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.7]

[Exp: 3060/9000]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden),+1 more]

[Stats]

[Strength - 155]

[Endurance - 155]

[Dexterity - 160]

[Speed - 155]

[Focus - 155]

[Mana: 1550/1550]

[Health: 1240/1240]

[Stat Points: 50 unspent]

[Armor rating: 320]

[Inventory]

[Skills/Perks]

[Inheritor of the sword (Passive) - Son of Heaven (Passive) - Heavens light Lvl.2 0/200 (Active) - Protected by Heaven Lvl.1 25/100 (Active) - Slash Lvl.6 150/600 (Active) Slayer of Evil - (Passive) - Holy Willow Trees savior - (Passive) - Parry Lvl.1 0/100 (Active)]

I know what is in my inventory. I actually leveled up twice from this and my slash skill is doing really well. I cant really see how anyone is more than level 4 right now. The best guilds and team leaders are probably close. This has turned out to be a fantastic start to my journey.