Chapter 68: 'Adversity'

Chapter 68: 'Adversity'

It was midnight in Orm. The villagers and players within were all but finished with their tasks for the day, most of them already fast asleep, but a few players were still buying, trading, and crafting to progress their characters. However something was off - there was a sound making its way into the ears of the inhabitants of this land. It was quiet, like a whisper, carried in on the cool night breeze from the forests nearby.

If you’d ask them, they’d tell you it sounded like the wailing cries of a haunting banshee, seeking revenge for an unjust death, but no, the sound was something much simpler than that.

“FUCK ME THAT HURTS!” Aegis shouted in pain as he stood waist deep in the river outside of Orm. Lina stood by the edge of the river watching Aegis nervously as he was engulfed in burning hot holy flames.

Level up! Fire Resistance has reached Level 7!

“You’re lucky! Even though I’m level 98, I never get to level my holy fire skill. I’m usually healing and buffing in the Night Hunter dungeon groups.” Sapphire smiled as she formed another white ball of flame and flung it at Aegis’ chest - she seemed to be enjoying it very much.

“How is that lucky?!” Aegis shouted in agony between casting heals on himself to withstand the damage.

“If my skill was at a higher level, you wouldn’t be able to heal through it, silly!” Sapphire said this matter-of-factly.

“Maybe you should lower your pain threshold?” Lina winced as she watched the next ball of holy flame crash into him.

“No way, that’ll just drag this out.” Sapphire shot down the suggestion before Aegis could humor it. “None of the top players play below 100%. That’s what it’ll take to catch up to your old man.” Sapphire wagged her finger at Lina who glared back at her.

“I’m fine, I can tak- SON OF A BITCH!” Aegis shouted as the next blast of flames hit him.

Level up! Fire Resistance has reached Level 8!

Aegis stood with his gloves, vestments and chest armor off while waist deep in water to help lessen the durability loss. It also helped limit the pain to his upper body where the blasts were hitting, making it more bearable. Repeatedly experiencing what it's like to receive 1st degree burns wasn’t something he’d ever imagine himself doing on purpose, but he tried his best to think of it as a form of empathy training for if and when he ever became a doctor, and that helped him cope with the pain. He longed for the intervals between each blast where the pain faded after each hit. The training went on through that night until the following morning. As Aegis’ resistance went up in level, Sapphire was able to pelt him with flames more frequently, and eventually she joined in to help with healing.

Aegis couldn’t help but feel like he was putting himself through exactly what Luryala went through using the magic manacles they’d found in the Darxon Hideout. His mind wandered to whether or not somewhere an orb of suffering was getting fully charged due to their actions. He’d gotten warned twice by the Simbox that it would kick him out of the simulation for his mental health safety, but ultimately after 12 hours of suffering, he got the notification he was hoping for.

Level up! Fire Resistance has reached Level 30!

“Stop, stop! It’s level 30!” Aegis waved Sapphire’s next attack off. With the sun rising over the treetops around them, Sapphire had taken to sitting on the edge of the river, reading a book she held in her left hand as she flung Holy Flame’s at Aegis from her right hand, and she didn’t notice Aegis’ shout as she’d taken to tuning out his screams over the past hours, but Lina quickly shadow stepped beside Sapphire to stop her next throw by grabbing her wrist.

“Oh, done already?” She asked nonchalantly. “What level?” She hopped to her feet.

“Th-thirty.” Aegis replied while breathing heavily.

“Are you sure 30 is enough? Resistance skills aren’t like others, they don’t go beginner or intermediate, they just stop at level 75.” Sapphire said as she held her hand like she was about to throw another holy flame.

“Yes, but the experience requirements go up drastically after level 25. 30 should be enough!” Lina said commandingly.

“Alright.” Sapphire shrugged. “Well, let’s go see what you’ve won, shall we?” She put her book away and replaced it with a carrot.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, just, give me a minute.” Aegis stumbled to sit down on the side of the river.

“Are you okay?” Lina ran to his side to check on him.

“Yup, oh yeah, I’m great.” Aegis replied sarcastically. “Who wouldn’t be great after being repeatedly blasted with flames for 12 hours straight?” He said before dipping his head in the water to cool off.

“Oh relax, the pain goes away after a few seconds doesn’t it?” Sapphire asked.

“Does it?” Aegis snapped back at her before shivering from the sudden chill of the cold water on his face. He took the time to re-equip his leather armor to not be standing shirtless when they re-entered Orm, then stood up with the help of Lina. “This class thing better work this time or I’m going to burn that church down.” Aegis grumbled to himself angrily as he stomped towards Orm, Lina and Sapphire following behind him. When they reached the front of the church though, Aegis felt his nerves building up once more, and he decided to quickly scan over his character information to double check he'd done everything that Clara hinted at.

Name:Aegis

Title:Lord of Rene[Land Rank: 1 (Encampment)]

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Marriage Partner:Lina[+25% Experience While Grouped]

Level: 30

Class: Priest

Health:6340/6340

Mana:1535/1535

Stamina:324/324

Hunger: 100/100

Armor Rating:2430[32.73% DMG Reduction]

Strength:51

Agility:28

Constitution:80

Intelligence:11

Spirit:114

Charisma:12

Favor:

Leatherworking(Beginner):Level 30

Artistry(Beginner): Level 30

Architecture(Beginner): Level 30

Scribing(Beginner): Level 30

Cooking(Beginner): Level 30

Enchanting(Beginner):Level 25

Stone Cutting(Beginner): Level 30

Farming(Beginner): Level 30

Crafting Mastery(Beginner): Level 29

All of the hard manual labor over the course of the past few weeks was measurable in the form of the skills and stats that Aegis looked at in front of him, and he had a sense of pride in it as he gave it a respectful nod before waving it away. The three entered the church of Eirene, this time Aegis walked without anxiety, but curiosity and hope, and he’d managed to catch Priestess Clara unoccupied.

“Ah, you’ve returned... but I sense something different about you. Please, take my hands.” She smiled while holding her hands out for Aegis to place his on top of. He repeated the process he had done the previous day, and this time Clara’s face lit up with joy.

“Incredible! I never thought I would be the one so lucky to meet one worthy!” Clara smiled as Lina and Sapphire both watched with excited anticipation. “The Great Prophet of Eirene has foretold that ones such as yourself would appear across the Shattered Islands one day, and I believe you may be the first. If you would be willing to walk this path with me, I would be happy to escort you to my Elder in Kordas, so that he may give you more details.”

Priestess Clara has offered to lead you on the path of the following intermediate class:

(Unknown)

Requirements:

[Minor Heal(Beginner): 30][Healing Wind(Beginner): 30] [Bless(Beginner): 30] [Pacifism] [Leadership(Beginner): 30] [Taming(Beginner): 30] [Riding(Beginner): 30] [Shield Mastery(Beginner): 30] [Any Armor Proficiency: 30] [Any Resistance: 20+] [15 or more Crafting Skills: 30] [Priest: 30] [Strength: 25+] [Agility: 25+] [Constitution: 50+] [Spirit: 50+] [Favor with Eirene: 2500+]

[Accept Quest]

Aegis’ jaw dropped when he read over the list of requirements.

“I didn’t need land vehicle mastery... and only 20 levels in the resistance...” Aegis whispered as he ran his finger over the list floating in front of him.

“What’s the class called?” Sapphire asked excitedly.

“Doesn’t say yet...” Aegis mumbled back.

“Sounds like an escort quest though. You gonna do it?” Sapphire asked.

“No, no. I let you set me on fire for 12 hours straight just for kicks.” Aegis replied sarcastically as he pressed the accept button. He was warned that once he completed an intermediate class quest, he wouldn’t be able to change it, and he skipped past the warning to get a following quest card.

Quest[1/3]: Escort Priestess Clara of Orm to the High Priest of Eirene in Kordas, within the Kingdom of Kalmoore.

Objective: 0/1 Priestess Clara Escorted

Quest Giver: Priestess Clara of Orm

Reward: Intermediate Class: (Unknown)

Difficulty: Unknown

Restrictions: Limited to classes: Priest, If the Pacifism skill is lost during this quest, the quest will fail automatically.

Aegis read over the details of the quest and hit accept without hesitating. As he did, a huge wave of relief washed over him as his theory was finally proven right. He was on the right path now, and all he had to do was complete this quest.

“I’ll prepare my things to travel and inform one of my students to take my place here in Orm while I’m away. Please, wait outside and I will be ready to leave in a moment.” Clara smiled before heading to the backrooms of the Church. Aegis, Lina and Sapphire quietly walked out of the church with big dumb smiles on their faces, but once they got outside Aegis dropped to his knees and threw his hands into the air.

“YES!” He shouted as loud as he could, startling others nearby.

“You did it.” Lina cheered him on, sounding equally relieved.

“Are you allowed to stay in a party? Most of the intermediate quests require you to be alone.” Sapphire asked.

“Oh, yeah, it doesn’t say anything about being grouped, but it’s got three parts so I’m not sure.” Aegis replied as he moved through his interface to re-read the details.

“Only three? That’s a bit short isn’t it? Maybe it's a doozy.” Sapphire commented.

“If it’s only three, one of the steps is probably going to be tough...” Lina said worriedly.

“The difficulty says Unknown...” Aegis replied.

“Hm, sounds spooky.” Sapphire faked a shiver. A moment later, Priestess Clara stepped out of the church with a large knapsack over her shoulder.

“I’m ready to go!” Priestess Clara smiled.

“Great, let’s go!” Sapphire cheered.

“W-wait, you’re coming with us?” Lina looked at her with an annoyed expression.

“Uh huh. I’m finally off duty in Orm as of yesterday! I just stuck around to help out. We can head back to Kordas together!” Sapphire cheered. “Aren’t you lucky? A high level player to protect you on your escort quest!” Sapphire added as she began marching in the direction of Kordas. “Wow Sapphire, you’re so nice.” She said to herself with a deep voice, mocking Aegis’ voice. “You’re the best Sapphire!” She mocked Lina’s voice. “Eh, no problem guys, don’t mention it. Just doing my duty as a Night Hunter.” She said in her normal voice as she continued walking.

“Can’t hurt, right?” Aegis shrugged at Lina who was looking progressively more and more unhappy the more Sapphire spoke. “Let’s head out.” He said to Clara and she nodded, and the three set off behind Sapphire, beginning their journey back to the city of Kordas.